Auxerre

Auxerre stands on the Yonne, where the cathedral of Saint-Étienne and abbey of Saint-Germain rose above the river. The abbey grew around the tomb of Germain, bishop of Auxerre, and became a celebrated Carolingian monastic centre. Its crypt preserved early religious painted scenes, while later rebuilding added Romanesque and Gothic work.

The cathedral continued to receive new artistic decoration in the sixteenth century, including rose windows in both transepts, completed in 1528 and 1550 respectively. In 1567 Protestant forces took and plundered Auxerre during the Wars of Religion. The cathedral suffered serious damage, and the shrine of Saint Germain was desecrated. The town's churches thus bore the marks of a conflict that reached both their buildings and the relics they had long sheltered.