On November 10, 2025, the French postal service, La Poste, issued a stamp in its Tourism and Heritage series featuring Beauvais Cathedral, which was celebrating its 800th anniversary.
In 2025, Beauvais Cathedral celebrated its 800th anniversary.
In 1225, the cathedral built around the year 1000, Notre-Dame de la Basse-Œuvre, was destroyed by fire. Bishop Milon de Nanteuil seized this opportunity to build a new cathedral, surpassing its neighbors: Amiens, Rouen, Senlis, Paris... It remains the tallest Gothic building in the world today.
Construction began with the choir, which was completed in 1272. Following a partial collapse of the vaults in 1284, major restoration work was undertaken but slowed during the 14th and 15th centuries due to the wars of the late Middle Ages. It wasn't until 1500 that the first stone of the transept was laid, and in 1569, the tower built at its crossing was completed. But fate intervened, and four years later, the spire collapsed, taking with it part of the transept and the choir.
From the 17th century onward, Saint Peter's Cathedral underwent no further major modifications. It was never given a nave. Its instability remained a concern, leading to regular restorations in the 19th and 20th centuries and, in 1993, necessitating the installation of shoring to prevent any further movement of the masonry.
Since 2007, the restoration work has resumed: south façade, lead roof of the choir, chapter house, cloister, and creation of an access ramp for people with reduced mobility via the lower level. Currently, efforts are focused on strengthening the fire safety system and restoring the transept heights in order to remove the supports that have been holding up the cathedral for 30 years. Unique in the setbacks encountered during its construction, Saint-Pierre Cathedral in Beauvais is also a masterpiece of French heritage, of unparalleled height, gracefully blending the remains of the Carolingian church with a monumental Flamboyant Gothic façade.
