A huge fire has broken out at a Gothic cathedral in France, shattering its beautiful stained class windows.

Onlookers watched as the historic monument in the city of Nantes, in the west of the country, went up in black smoke early this morning.

Emergency workers have cordoned off the area around the St Peter and St Paul Cathedral, in the old centre of the city on the Loire River.

Firefighters warned people to avoid the area while they continue to attempt to extinguish the blaze.

A spokesperson from the fire brigade said: ‘Seventy workers have attended the scene following an alarm call soon at around 7.40am.

‘The cathedral was immediately evacuated, and there are not thought to be any serious casualties so far.’

A City Hall official said the cause of the fire is as of yet unclear.

The fire broke the main stained glass windows between the two towers of the 15th-century cathedral.

The fire brought back memories of the devastating blaze in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last year that destroyed its roof and collapsed its spire.

St Peter and St Paul Cathedral was listed as a historic monument by France’s Culture Ministry in 1862, and dominates the centre of the city.

Construction began in 1434 and it took more than four centuries to complete.

Its nave is 37.5 metres high – four metres higher than Notre Dame in Paris.

It was heavily bombed by the Allies during World War II in June 1944, when severe damage was caused to the sacristy and three side chapels. It also suffered another serious fire in 1972.

The Cathedral contains the 16th-century Renaissance tomb of François II, the Duke of Brittany and his wife, Marguerite de Foix.

It was built by sculptor Michel Colombe and architect Jean Perréal between 1502 and 1507, and is considered a masterpiece.

The cathedral is illuminated by 500 metres squared of colourful stained glass, and there is also an 11th-century Roman crypt.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.  

Source: Read Full Article