The Cathedrale Saint Julian du Mans is a marvelous timeline of Christian architecture. Located in Le Mans, France, it is one of the sites we visit on our Summer Travel-Study in France sponsored by the History Department at UA.
The cathedral is dedicated to St. Julian, first bishop of Le Mans, who built a Roman style church on the site in the 5th century CE. The uniqueness of this current cathedral is that it incorporates elements of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance architecture. 
Most unique are the unusual Y-shaped buttresses on the apse end of the building. 
Alongside the cathedral is the old Roman Wall, a remnant of the city's time as an outpost of the Roman Empire.
Alongside the cathedral is the old Roman Wall, a remnant of the city's time as an outpost of the Roman Empire.
I fell in love with Le Mans the first time I saw the old Medieval city. Over the past few years we've set up a great opportunity for students to travel and live for the month of June in Le Mans, take history and language courses, and travel to uniques sites like this cathedral. If you want to see this amazing place, among others, ask me about my Humanities class in Le Mans!
