Located along the Meuse, the old abbey church of St. Peter's was founded by Irish monks in the 11th century is full of charm.
People admire its massive and imposing tower, its architecture devoid of artifice and its lovely setting along the river. To a great extent it is in the Romanesque style with its tower, its nave with beautiful square pillars supporting the arcatures with round arches, its transept and its crypt. The choir is Gothic (1264).
In the interior, one will notice the stalls and the wall paintings, both very old, dating from the 13th century. The statuary is very rich, especially with works by Lambert Lombard. The crypt contains Merovingian sarcophagi and very aged reliquaries.
References:The Cathedral of Saint Mary Major, often called Lisbon Cathedral or simply the Sé, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Lisbon, Portugal. The oldest church in the city, it is the seat of the Patriarchate of Lisbon. The cathedral has survived many earthquakes and has been modified, renovated and restored several times. It is nowadays a mix of different architectural styles.
The site where it stands was the principal mosque of Lisbon when it was an Arab settlement. The construction of the cathedral started around 1150, three years after the city was conquered from the Moors during the Second Crusade. Shortly after the victory the English knight Gilbert of Hastings was named bishop of the city of Lisbon.
One good reason to visit the Cathedral is to visit its charming cloisters located in the back. There are several tombs in the cathedral, the most notable of which is the beautifully sculpted tomb of Lopo Fernandes Pacheco and his wife.