Metz Cathedral

Metz Cathedral is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Metz, the seat of the bishops of Metz. It is dedicated to Saint Stephen. The diocese dates back at least to the 4th century and construction of the present Gothic cathedral began in the 13th century. In the mid-14th century, it was joined to the collegiate church of Notre-Dame, and given a new transept and late Gothic chevet, finished between 1486 and 1520. The cathedral treasury displays a rich collection assembled over the long centuries of the history of the Metz diocese and include sacred vestments and items used for the Eucharist. Metz Cathedral has the third-highest nave of cathedrals in France (41.41 meters (135.9 ft), after the cathedrals of Amiens and Beauvais. It is nicknamed la Lanterne du Bon Dieu ("the Good Lord's lantern"), on account of its displaying the largest expanse of stained glass in the world, totalling 6,496 m2 (69,920 sq ft). The stained glass windows include works by Gothic and Renaissance master glass makers Hermann von Münster, Theobald of Lixheim, and Valentin Bousch. Later artistic styles are represented by Charles-Laurent Maréchal (Romanticism), Roger Bissière (Tachism), Jacques Villon (Cubism), Marc Chagall, and Kimsooja.. Since 2014, the cathedral has been part of "Metz royale et impériale", a site covering the historic centre of Metz and its early 20th-century German extension, on France's Tentative List for World Heritage status.