Saint-Bénigne Cathedral
Dijon

The history of Saint-Bénigne Cathedral in Dijon dates back to the Gallo-Roman period, when the first crypt was built to house the sarcophagus of Saint-Bénigne (a martyr from the late 2nd to early 3rd century). After the construction of a basilica in 535, a monastery was built during the Carolingian period (871). A century later, the abbot of Cluny entrusted new work to Guillaume de Volpiano from Piedmont, who began construction of a Lombard-inspired basilica in 1001. The building, consecrated in 1016, is characterised by a three-level rotunda at its chevet. The devastating fire that ravaged the city of Dijon in 1137 led to the reconstruction of the part of the church that had suffered the most damage. In 1271, the collapse of a tower led to a new construction campaign. The choir was rebuilt between 1280 and 1287. The rest of the building was completed in half a century. The nave is characteristic of Burgundian Gothic architecture, with three levels.

The abbey church became a cathedral in 1792. The rotunda was then demolished due to disuse. It was restored by Jean-Philippe Suisse from 1858 to 1865, in an exemplary but incomplete manner. The cathedral was listed as a historic monument in 1846. The 93-metre-high neo-Gothic spire was rebuilt in 1894 by the diocesan architect Charles Suisse, who also redesigned the liturgical space and completed the furnishings.

Dijon Cathedral is unique in that it combines a masterpiece of pre-Romanesque architecture, the rotunda, with a Gothic building of remarkable sobriety. Its identity as a cathedral was completed in the 19th century by the work of Charles Suisse. Its spire is one of three masterpieces of its kind in the 19th century, along with those in Paris and Orléans, with which it rivals in size and elegance.

Dijon Cathedral undergoes regular maintenance and restoration work under the supervision of the State, which owns the building (Regional Conservation of Historic Monuments of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté).

In the last quarter of the 20th century, a major restoration campaign was carried out on the characteristic polychrome roofs of Saint-Bénigne (dir. Bernard Colette ACMH 1994). The restoration campaigns then focused on the western section (Eric Pallot ACMH 2003-2011), followed by the sacristy and the rotunda dating from the year 1000 (Martin Bacot ACMH 2018-2023). For the latter, a major archaeological campaign accompanied the work and provided a profound renewal of knowledge about the oldest part of the building. New liturgical furnishings were commissioned by the Diocese and installed in the Rotunda (Bacot-Alquin-Alechinsky, 2024).

Fundamental restoration of the spire has been under consideration since 2022. The work will take place between 2026 and 2030. It will involve dismantling the framework piece by piece (more than 600 elements) to replace 25% of the wood affected by damage and breakage due to dimensional defects. To this end, a campaign to select, fell and dry the exceptionally large trees required has been launched.