The Gothic cathedral that makes Chartres look hurried — where the UNESCO Cathédrale Saint-Étienne has five porches, five naves, and the greatest ensemble of medieval stained glass in the world outside Chartres, and the 15th-century merchant prince Jacques Coeur built the most ambitious secular Gothic mansion in France
Bourges (65,000) in the Cher is the historical capital of the Berry region — the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne (UNESCO World Heritage, begun 1195) has five portals, five naves (unique in France), and 1,350 square metres of 12th–17th century stained glass of exceptional quality. The Palais Jacques-Coeur (1443–1451) is the finest surviving example of 15th-century secular Gothic architecture in France, built by Charles VII's finance minister and the richest private citizen of medieval France. Bourges served as the provisional capital of the Kingdom of France during the English occupation of Paris (14…
Avaricum (Bourges) was the largest city of the Bituriges Cubi — Julius Caesar's capture and massacre of the population (52 BCE) is one of his most brutal Gallic Wars accounts. Jacques Coeur (c. 1395–1456) rose from son of a Bourges fur dealer to become the Argentier (financial minister) of Charles VII, the wealthiest man in Europe, a pioneer of Levant trade — and was ultimately destroyed by the same king he had enriched on fabricated charges in 1451. Bourges was the provisional capital of the Kingdom of France during English occupation (1418–1436), when Charles VII ruled here as the 'King of…