Laon

Laon sits on a limestone ridge rising abruptly about a hundred metres above the Picardy plain, walled and largely medieval, and it was a Carolingian capital before Paris took that role. Its cathedral, begun around 1155, is among the earliest Gothic buildings and unusual for having had seven planned towers, five of which stand; carved into the openings of the west towers are sixteen life-size oxen, put there in acknowledgement of the animals that dragged the stone up the hill. Inside, the nave is four storeys rather than the later three, an early solution. A rack railway once climbed from the station; a cable-drawn shuttle replaced it.

History

The hill of Laon, rising a hundred metres above the plain, has always been a stronghold: the Romans fortified it, and it held off Franks, Burgundians, Vandals, Alans and Huns. Remigius of Reims, who baptised Clovis, founded its bishopric at the end of the fifth century; around 847 the Irish scholar John Scotus Eriugena headed the palace school of Charles the Bald, and from Louis IV Laon was the main city of the last Carolingian kings, until Hugh Capet won it through its bishop. In the 12th century Anselm of Laon's school of theology became the most famous in Europe, and the townspeople's commune rose against Bishop Gaudry on 25 April 1112, when the bishop was killed and the cathedral burned; the commune was abolished in 1331. In the Hundred Years' War the town was held by the Burgundians and the English until it fell to Charles VII in 1429, and in August 1594 Henry IV took it from the Catholic League (Wikipedia, Laon).

Highlights

• The cathedral oxen - sixteen carved oxen in the west tower openings.
• The four-storey nave - an early Gothic elevation before the standard three.
• The ramparts - walls and gates around the ridge-top town.
• The plain view - Picardy spread out a hundred metres below.

When to go

April to October; the cathedral is open year-round and free. Tower tours run seasonally and must be booked. The upper town is a steep climb or a shuttle ride from the station.

What to expect

The upper town is a hard climb from the station; the shuttle has been out of service for extended periods. Laon is off the main tourist routes with limited dining. Tower access is restricted.

Nearby

Reims lies southeast; Soissons is south.

Key facts