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According
to
local
tradition,
Christianity
was
brought
to
Amiens
in
the
3rd
century
CE
by
two
Christian
martyrs,
known
as
Firmin
the
Martyr
and
Firmin
the
Confessor.
Saint
Martin
was
baptized
at
Amiens
in
334.
The
church
was
suppressed
by
the
Vandal
invasions,
and
only
resumed
at
the
end
of
the
5th
century,
with
the
baptism
of
Clovis
I
in
498
or
499.
The
first
bishop
of
Amiens
was
Edibus,
who
participated
in
a
Council
in
511.
An
early
cathedral
with
two
churches
dedicated
to
the
two
Fermins
is
reported
in
documents
to
have
existed
at
the
site
of
the
present
church,
but
there
is
no
archaeological
evidence.
A
fire
destroyed
both
churches
and
much
of
the
city,
and
a
Romanesque
cathedral
was
built
to
replace
it
between
1137
and
1152.
This
cathedral
hosted
the
1193
marriage
of
King
Philip
II
of
France.
In
1206,
Amiens
received
a
celebrated
relic,
the
supposed
chief
of
John
the
Baptist,
purchased
in
Constantinople.
This
relic
made
Amiens
an
important
pilgrimage
destination
and
gave
it
an
important
source
of
income
(The
reliquary
was
destroyed
during
the
French
Revolution,
but
a
recreation
made
in
1876
by
a
Paris
jeweler,
using
part
of
the
original
rock
crystal,
is
exhibited
today
in
the
Cathedral
Treasury).
A
fire
destroyed
the
Romanesque
cathedral
in
1218.
The
design
for
a
new
cathedral
was
made
by
builder
Robert
de
Luzarches,
and
in
1220
Bishop
Evrard
de
Fouilloy
laid
the
first
stone.
Luzarches
revolutionized
the
Gothic
building
system
by
using
stone
pieces
of
standardized
sizes
and
shapes,
rather
than
making
unique
pieces
for
each
function.
He
was
the
architect
until
1228,
and
was
followed
by
Thomas
de
Cormont
until
1258.
His
son,
Renaud
de
Cormont,
served
as
architect
until
1288.
Construction
was
carried
out,
unusually,
from
west
to
east,
starting
from
the
nave.
De
Cormont
gave
the
structure
its
striking
dimensions
and
harmony
with
the
construction
of
the
large
arcades
and
upper
windows.
The
nave
was
completed
in
1236,
and
by
1269
the
upper
choir
windows
were
installed.
At
the
end
of
the
13th
century,
the
arms
of
the
transept
were
completed,
and
at
the
beginning
of
the
14th
century
the
facades
and
upper
towers
were
completed.
During
the
works,
chapels
were
added
between
the
buttresses
and
in
the
angles
of
the
transept.
The
cathedral,
like
other
cathedrals
throughout
France,
suffered
considerable
damage
during
the
French
Revolution.
Much
of
the
sculpture
was
struck
with
hammers
and
many
statues
had
their
heads
broken.
Much
of
the
furniture
and
interior
decoration
is
gone;
part
of
the
cathedral
was
used
as
a
repository
for
materials
used
in
various
revolutionary
celebrations.
.
Viollet-le-Duc
began
a
more
ambitious
program
with
the
aim
of
restoring
the
building
as
much
as
possible
to
its
medieval
spirit,
including
the
addition
of
carved
gargoyles
and
other
legendary
Gothic
creatures.
Viollet-le-Duc
worked
almost
continuously
on
the
Cathedral
until
1874.
The
church's
stained
glass
windows
were
removed
to
protect
them
during
World
War
I
and
II,
and
the
church
suffered
only
minor
damage.
However,
in
1920,
some
of
the
windows,
which
for
their
protection
were
kept
in
the
workshop
of
a
master
glassmaker,
were
destroyed
by
a
fire.
Between
1973
and
1980,
the
flèche,
or
spire,
was
fully
restored.
In
1981,
the
cathedral
was
declared
a
UNESCO
World
Heritage
Site.
The
restoration
of
the
west
facade
was
completed
in
2001.
In
1992,
art
historian
Stephen
Murray
was
appointed
by
the
French
Ministry
of
Culture
to
the
scientific
committee
to
oversee
the
restoration
of
Amiens
Cathedral:
Murray
was
named
an
honorary
citizen
of
Amiens
and
awarded
a
Honorary
Doctorate
from
the
University
of
Picardy,
Jules
Verne,
following
this
work.
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