Page "Arras" Paragraph 17

Many of Arras's most notable structures, including the museum and several government buildings, occupy the site of the old Abbaye de Saint-Vaast.

The abbey's church was demolished and rebuilt in fashionable classical style in 1833, and now serves as the town's cathedral.

The design was chosen by the one-time Abbot of St Vaast, the Cardinal de Rohan, and is stark in its simplicity, employing a vast number of perpendicular angles.

There is a fine collection of statuary within the church and it houses a number of religious relics.