Exploring Europe 2023

The next church to see was the Notre-Dame of Dijon. Considered a masterpiece of 13th century Gothic architecture, it began on the church in 1230. The church contains the statue of Notre-Dame de Bon-Espoir, formerly called the Black Madonna and its decorations include two symbols of Dijon, the jacquemart (bell-striking automation) and the owl.

Situated above an altar of goldsmithery is a wooden statue called Notre-Dame de Bon-Espoir (Our Lady of Good Hope), formally known as the Black Madonna. Dating from the 11th or 12th century, this statue of the Virgin is thought to be one of the oldest in France. Originally she was seated on a throne, holding the baby Jesus on her knees. The baby Jesus disappeared during the French Revolution in 1794 and by the 18th century, the Virgin's hands had been lost. In contrast, her face is almost undamaged. Originally, the sculpted clothes of the Virgin had a Romanesque polychrome decoration and her face was pale brown. In the 16th or 17th century, the statue was painted black, for an unknown reason. In 1945, this layer of paint was removed, revealing the original colours. However, a black tint was applied to the face only, to maintain the tradition. In 1963, this was removed, and the face returned to its original colouring. Now the statue can no longer be considered a Black Virgin — rather, it is a former Black Virgin and is now called Notre-Dame de Bon-Espoir. I love learning the history of these pieces and how they came to be.

Several miracles have been attributed to Notre-Dame de Bon-Espoir. In September 1513, the Swiss army laid siege to Dijon and bombarded it and the situation seemed desperate. On 11 September, the citizens of Dijon carried the statue of Notre-Dame in procession in the neighbourhood of the church. Two days later, on 13 September, the Swiss unexpectedly left their camp. The citizens saw in this liberation the intervention of the Virgin. A second liberation event attributed to the Virgin took place in September 1944. Dijon was occupied by the German army, which seemed to be intent on resisting the advance of the French troops. On 10 September, during a ceremony at the Notre-Dame Church, the bishop of Dijon made a public plea to Notre-Dame de Bon-Espoir to protect the town from the ravages that people feared would occur. In the night of 10–11 September, the Germans left Dijon, and the French army entered on 11 September, the day of the anniversary of the procession of 1513. Believers saw this as a miracle. On the initiative of some Dijon individuals, a tapestry commemorating the deliverances of 1513 and 1944, titled Terribilis, was commissioned from the artist and monk Dom Robert. Made between 1946 and 1950 it was placed in the church in 1950, where it is still on display today under the organ. It is so amazing seeing these items still in place today.

The exterior is just as interesting as the pieces within the church. On the north side of the church is a chapel bordering on rue de la Chouette (Owl Street), a pedestrian way. A corner of a buttress of this chapel bears a sculpted bird thought to represent an owl. The ornament could possibly be the personal mark of a stonemason. The owl became worn over the centuries because of a superstition that luck would accompany anyone who stroked the bird with their left hand while making a wish, which is something we made sure to do. As a result the sculpture now lacks detail. On 5 January 2001 a vandal damaged the owl with several blows of a hammer. A mould of the owl, made in 1988 by an expert from the Louvre, served as a model for the repair completed in February 2001. The restored owl, now under video surveillance, was officially inaugurated on 12 May 2001. It is obvious the town has embraced the owl as its symbol as it adorns so many tourist items and window displays.

On another side of the church are fifty-one decorative gargoyles, meaning that they don’t function as drain sprouts as functional gargoyles do. I have always had a fascination with gargoyles and the many different forms they take. They have so much detail for what is a functional item, to do a job a simple drain pipe could do. According to the account of the monk Étienne de Bourbon, the original gargoyles were in place for only a short time: they were removed around 1240, following a fatal accident. A usurer was killed on the church forecourt as he was about to get married: a stone figure representing a usurer became detached and fell on him. His colleagues organised the destruction of all the dummy gargoyles on the façade, except for one at the upper right corner that survived until the 1960s, when it was replaced. The dummy gargoyles which today decorate the façade, and which represent human beings, animals and monsters, were made in 1880-1882, during the restoration of the church. It is certainly unusual to see rows of them like this and it definitely catches the eye.

On top of the cathedral is the clock with its jacquemart. It has four metal automations, two called Jacquemart and Jacqueline which sound the hours by striking a large bell with a hammer. And the other two, their "children", Jacquelinet and Jacquelinette, strike the quarter hours, each on a small bell. Set in place in 1383, it has been added to throughout the centuries with the addition of the two “children”, the last being added in 1884.

This cathedral, while not overly decorated by others we have seen, still has so many historical and interesting things to learn about and admire. Definitely a church worth visiting.Read more