The best running trails around Goincourt

The statue of Jeanne Hachet impresses with its realistic depiction of the fighting woman! 😄

The Cathedral of Beauvais is one of the most important Gothic churches in France 🇫🇷!

It is always nice to meet old friends again, especially when it happens unexpectedly. When you enter the wonderful but only half-finished cathedral of Beauvais, you are greeted by the famous image of St. Peter from St. Peter's Basilica. This fits with the building's claim: the highest Gothic vault, the highest church tower, the largest church in France. However, it is a Gothic Babel: the vault and tower collapsed, and that was the end of money and Gothic architecture. The cathedral is a huge torso, the nave of which is a comparatively tiny Romanesque building that stands lost in front of the huge, centuries-old temporary dividing wall that the nave was supposed to replace.

Beauvais Cathedral was the most ambitious cathedral building project in France. Construction began in 1247 and the aim was to build nothing less than the largest church with the highest vault. Unfortunately, construction technology was not yet advanced enough. The towering choir was finished in 1275 and partially collapsed in 1284. The vaults, which were then built with no less ambition, reached 48.5 metres and are the highest Gothic cathedral vaults ever. Instead of a nave, the highest tower in the world was built over the crossing, 153 metres high. It was completed in 1569 and was the highest building in the world for four years, then the tower collapsed too. After that, money and Gothic architecture ran out and the church remained a gigantic torso. A slated wall closes off the church behind the crossing to the planned nave; the comparatively tiny Romanesque nave still stands here. This is probably how Cologne Cathedral looked before further construction in the 19th century. You enter the church through the wonderful south façade with its magnificent carved doors, past a statue of Peter, which is a replica of Peter in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and are overwhelmed by the feeling of space. The vault rises infinitely high, huge, bright windows bathe the room in bright light. The blue of the windows in the chapel ring of the apse glows mysteriously. Between the enormous pillars of the transept, powerful wooden auxiliary structures support the sensitive statics (which have now held for 700 years). Interestingly, the crossing pillars are different: one pillar, which may have survived the tower's collapse, has the familiar, diversely sharply contoured Gothic appearance, three pillars have distinctly round profiles. We are lucky enough to experience a baptism service and see the church "in operation". But it is a space of peace and contemplation: only a few visitors find their way to this building, which makes it all the more impressive. And there is another marvel that amazes visitors: a tower-sized astronomical clock from the 19th century, which displays an almost incalculable variety of astronomical data on numerous, beautifully designed dials.

From there, you can reap the rewards of your ascent (or look forward to your descent) while enjoying magnificent views of the city of Beauvais.

The MUDO is thus installed in the former palace of the bishops-counts of Beauvais. This place first became a courthouse and then a museum at the end of the 20th century. After several years of renovation work to enhance the heritage and develop in a contemporary manner, the museum now presents part of its 19th century collection as well as various temporary exhibitions. From the entrance, past the reception of the impressive gatehouse built in the 14th century, discover the gardens and the Renaissance palace, which houses the museum's collections.

Jeanne Laisné (born 1454 or 1456; date of death unknown) was a French woman known by the nom de guerre Jeanne Hachette (little axe) for saving the city of Beauvais from an enemy attack in 1472. The beautiful bronze statue of Hachette was unveiled in Beauvais on July 6, 1854.

It's impossible to visit Beauvais Cathedral without being dazzled by its size! This true jewel of Gothic art houses the tallest choir in the world, at 48.50 meters high.