Garden of
cloister of Saint Stephen's Cathedral

MDT - Hélène Attenont-Valentin

Measuring 54m by 42m, the cloister of Saint-Etienne Cathedral is one of the largest Gothic cloisters in France. Dating from the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, it opens onto the garden through large bay windows formed by two lancets topped with three gaping oculi. It symbolizes the Earthly Paradise where three worlds coexist: The plant world through the sculpted elements on the capitals as well as the frieze bordering the roof. The animal and human worlds through the gargoyles and modillions. In the Garden of Eden there is a river where flows "the water of life", it is marked here by the well in the center of the garden, from which four paths depart, symbolizing the four secondary branches of the river: the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Pishon and the Gihon. This garden is designed as a place of meeting and expression where calm and serenity prevail. During the summer, artists exhibit their works amidst a blooming of perennials in soft colors.