Vault at Pontigny

We drove today from Saint Florentin to Provins, further north to the very edge of Burgundy. Our trip is nearing its end; tomorrow we drive ca 120 km to Paris to take an early flight the next day back to New York.

Pontigny Abbey  was our first stop this morning; founded in 1114, it is "the largest Cistercian Abbey still standing in Europe." Its style marks the transition from Romanesque to Gothic.  Entirely in light stone, the simplicity and grandeur of the interior is overwhelming. It was flooded with light on this sunny day; this is the east end of the church, captured looking straight up.

Our other  stop was Auxerre, with lovely views of churches from the Yonne River. We made two visits. First the Auxerre Cathedral, Gothic in style, built mainly in two stages, the choir in 1234 and most of the rest in 1400. Outstanding are the stained glass windows in the 13th century choir--far the most interesting we've seen on our trip.  After lunch (under swallow nests in the eaves above our table) was the Abbey of Saint-Germain d'Auxerre--also Gothic, but built over a large and fascinating crypt from the 800s--the era of Charlemagne. It has several frescoes from that eara--faint and hard to discern, but probably the earliest in France. The two most striking show the judgement and stoning of Saint Stephen.