The fire of 1134 destroyed the western porch and the adjoining belfrey. During the 40 years after the first fire and before the fire of 1194, two large towers were built in front of the surviving church: one at the northwest corner with a wooden steeple, and one at the southwest corner which had an octagonal steeple. The [G 10 / crypts] were made longer and the royal [G 24 / portal] was built with three windows above it.
These two towers were outside the design of the original church, and yet they fitted into the dimensions of the new cathedral exactly, which was only constructed after 1194. Which way did this design go? Was the 1194 cathedral designed around the towers? Or were the towers, built between 1134 and 1160, designed around the new cathedral? Could the new cathedral have been conceptualized, even designed at an earlier date, for example, when the first of these new towers was built? Could there have been detailed plans for a new cathedral at that date?
The date of the fire, 1134, and the possible date of the plans for the new cathedral are close to the date of the return of the Templars from Jerusalem in 1128. Was it possible that the return of the [G 18 / Knights Templar] from Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem had something to do with the plans for the new cathedral?
