Cathédrale de Bourges

Saint-Étienne Cathedral stands in Bourges, in the Cher department of Centre-Val de Loire. Built from the late twelfth to late thirteenth centuries, it has a five-aisled plan with chapels around the choir. Double flying buttresses help support the high central space and admit light through the surrounding walls. UNESCO highlights the proportions, the coherence of the interior and the quality of its sculpture and stained glass. The central west doorway carries a Last Judgement; other sculpted entrances and later windows show that decoration continued across successive centuries. The cathedral entered the World Heritage List in 1992. Its significance concerns the building as a whole, including structure, light and decoration, rather than a single object within it.