Church of St Catherine

The Gothic Church of St Catherine was built in the fourteenth century in an area where historically many poor people lived and this is reflected in the church. There are signs that economies were made in the building itself: it is quite modest in scale and many of the vaults are made of wood rather than the more expensive stone.

The church is full of references to Catherine, a mythical figure from the Roman period. Legend has it that she refused to renounce her Christian faith and the Roman emperor sentenced her to death on the wheel. She was tied between the spokes of the wheel, which was then turned so fast that normally death resulted. However, legend has it that it was not Catherine who broke but the wheel. Eventually it was decided that Catherine should be beheaded, but again something extraordinary happened: milk flowed from the wound in her neck, dispelling the plague in the city.

Other references to Catherine include twelve rose windows in the nave recalling Catherine’s instrument of torture and a beautiful rose window in the façade.