made in 1537, and while the instrument has been regularly modified and updated, the wooden buffet or cabinet is original. Crypt The original romanesque crypt beneath the choir was enlarged at the beginning of the 16th century to serve as a foundation for the new chevet. and contains ambulatory leading to three chapels. It was originally largely filled with tombs, It now serves as a museum of cathedral history. The crypt displays the Graouilly, a large figure of the mythical dragon which was said in legend to been slain by Saint Clement in about 1000 AD. It was carried in religious processions in Metz beginning the 13th century and was described by Rabelais after his stay in Metz in 1546–47. The body of the current Graouilly is made of canvas covering a metal frame is from the 19th century, while the head is wood from an 18th-century effigy of the creature. Treasury The treasury of the cathedral, located in the old sacristy next to the south transept, lost most of its precious objects during the French Revolution, when they were taken away to be melted down for their gold or stripped of their jewels. The most famous item in the Treasury is the reputed "Cape of Charlemagne", a garment probably made in the 12th century. It is made of purple silk with three large eagles embroidered with gold, whose wings are decorated with roses and griffons. It was further adorned during the Renaissance with a plus a hood embroidered with silver. The treasury also displays a large Bishop's ring made of stone and gold, called the Ring of Saint Arnoul, made in the 7th century. It is one of the oldest Bishop's rings still existing. See also Gothic cathedrals and churches French Gothic architecture List of highest church naves List of tallest churches List of Gothic Cathedrals in Europe References Bibliography External links Photos Buildings and structures in Metz Roman Catholic churches in Metz Metz Architecture in Metz Romanesque architecture in France Gothic architecture in France Roman Catholic churches completed in the 1520s Burial sites of the Pippinids 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France Monuments historiques of Grand Est