Primatiale Saint-Jean

The Primatiale Saint-Jean, formally the Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste, stands on Place Saint-Jean in Vieux Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, beside the Saône. The archbishop of Lyon holds the title of Primate of the Gauls, a rank dating back to the Middle Ages that gives the church its name. Construction began around 1180 on the site of earlier religious buildings, including a 6th-century cathedral and a baptistery, and continued in stages until the 15th century. The east end is Romanesque in character, with a semicircular apse decorated with geometric stonework, while the nave and western façade show the transition to Gothic, with a three-portal front finished in the 14th and 15th centuries. The cathedral was the setting of two ecumenical councils, in 1245 and 1274, and in 1600 Henri IV married Marie de' Medici here. Its best-known interior feature is the astronomical clock in the north transept, built in the 14th century and rebuilt in the 16th, which strikes chimes and animates figures several times a day. The choir has stained glass dating from the 12th and 13th centuries, among the oldest in the region, and the Bourbon chapel contains late Gothic sculpture. The building suffered damage during the Wars of Religion, when Protestant forces ransacked it in 1562, and during the French Revolution, and was restored in the 19th century. The cathedral lies within the UNESCO-listed Historic Site of Lyon. Entry is free, and the building remains an active place of worship, so visitors should dress modestly and keep quiet during services. The adjacent Maîtrise courtyard and archaeological garden show remains of the earlier churches. The cathedral's position at the foot of Fourvière hill makes it the natural starting point for a walk through Vieux Lyon.