Lisieux Cathedral, the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre, is one of Normandy's first Gothic buildings. An earlier cathedral is presumed to date from the sixth century, and Geoffrey of Anjou burned a Romanesque cathedral in 1136. Bishop Arnulf began the full rebuilding in 1160. The austere nave was inspired by Île-de-France Gothic, with quadripartite rib vaults and flying buttresses.
After a fire in 1226, Bishop Guillaume Du Pont-de-L'Arche added three ambulatory chapels. The lantern tower was built in 1250, and a new south-west tower in 1553. The chevet and west facade date from the eighteenth century and are in Norman style.
Pierre Cauchon, named bishop in 1432 and involved in the trial of Joan of Arc, is thought to be buried in the right transept. The cathedral came through World War II intact and is a monument historique.
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