Thirteenth Century Stained Glass in Bourges

We made a stop in Bourges today, for a spot of KULTUR on our drive through France.

Bourges is a fine old city, and has been an official "Royal City" since 1100. It has a really pleasant atmosphere, and is lovely to walk in. The present cathedral was begun in 1195, replacing (much) older predecessors. The cathedral is, of course, an exceptionally famous example of Gothic architecture. It is truly massive.

I had a go at making some pictures of the early 13th Century stained glass. There are 22 of these windows in the ambulatory of the Cathedral (480 separate panels in total). What work for the medieval craftsmen, and what an achievement!

There's an excellent guide to these windows, and some much better pictures than mine at the site linked here.

My photograph was, of necessity, done hand-held, so it is only a feeble representation of the glory of these windows. I know that it is very hard, in any case, to begin to approach the glowing luminosity of the real thing in photgraphs. Positive (reversal) slide film may be the best bet.

We have ended up in Clermont Ferrand this evening. We stuck mostly to non-motorway roads for a bit of relaxation. The weather was pretty good (a storm at the outset, but hazy sun most of the rest of the time). The approoach to Clermont Ferrand gives spectacular views of the volcanic mountains (extinct, unfortunately) for which this area is famed. The sun was shining over the Puy de Dôme, but storm clouds were gathering to the north and east: the result, a fine rainbow, with the volcanic mountains looking dark and forboding.