Sainte-Chapelle

On the same island and a few minutes walk from Notre Dame Cathedral is the fabulously beautiful gothic church of Sainte-Chapelle.  I love this little church and am awed by it every time I visit it.   

Saint-Chapelle is surrounded by a huge complex of local government buildings and has been since ancient Roman times. It was originally part of the gothic palace of the early French Kings.  The only medieval buildings still standing are Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie prison.  The site is now home to the giant Palais de Justice.  You kind of have to know that Sainte-Chapelle is there to visit it as it is difficult to just happen upon.  You  can't see it from the street, you have to enter through the government complex of buildings, and you have to pay to get in (all of which, I suspect, makes it far less crowded than Notre Dame), but it is well worth seeking it out.

Sainte-Chapelle from in front of the Palais de Justice

Sainte-Chapelle was built in 1248 for King Louis IX and as a showplace for the Crown of Thorns (now at Notre Dame), and it's architectural synchronicity is due to the fact that it was built under one architect and completed in 5 years (unheard of!  Notre Dame took 200 years!).  Notice all those buttresses?  They are there to hold up the walls of a church that was designed with very large and very tall windows.

You enter Sainte-Chapelle on the lower level.  This is the chapel designed for the staff and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.  Little light reaches the lower level because the windows here are placed high on the wall and are small.

The lower chapel - the ceiling is painted to resemble a starry sky

The columns are painted red with a golden tower motif and azure with golden fleurs-de-lys

Detail of the lower chapel

To get to the upper chapel, you ascend a spiral staircase and when you reach the top, you are treated to a dazzling display of color and light that is truly awe-inspiring.  The upper chapel is the triumph of Sainte-Chapelle.  There are over 6,400 square feet of stained glass nestled in the walls of the chapel.  Most of the glass in the windows is original dating to the thirteenth century.  Sainte-Chapelle is a stained-glass wonder to behold:

Royal Christians worshiped here

The interior height of the chapel is about twice the width, and coupled with the soaring windows, the chapel has a towering and airy feel.  It is this, along with the buttresses and columns framing each window that makes Sainte-Chapelle difficult to photograph; you can't see the expanse of windows in the above photograph, and because they windows are so high on the walls and the chapel is narrow, you can't get far enough away to capture a whole wall of windows.  Still, you get a sense of what Sainte-Chapelle is; a celebration of light in 15 panels of stained glass, each with more than 1,100 different scenes from the Bible. 

South window depicting Helena in Jerusalem - it tells the story of how Christ's Crown of Thorns found its way from Jerusalem to Sainte-Chapelle

Panel detail - notice the detail in the glass - folds in the robes, and shading

  This Rose window is a later addition from the fifteenth century:

Rose window depicting Judgment Day - there's a tiny Christ in the center

The altar area - these panels depict the Passion of Jesus and was designed to be the backdrop for the Crown of Thorns

Altar area - the Crown of Thorns was displayed here

North wall panels - without sunlight, the windows aren't as dramatic

View from the floor - the massive stained glass panels lead to a beautifully painted ceiling - the columns and ceiling ribs are classic gothic style

The floor - a 760-year old, well-worn mosaic of colorful stone

 After being awe-inspired for about an hour, we descended the spiral staircase

Gack!  More stairs!

 and headed out into the courtyard.

A view of the south side of the church

The east side - view of the altar area and some very cool gargoyles

Love this curved wrought iron fence - and Dennis too!

As you leave the inner courtyard, you have to walk past the Palais de Justice.  It was built in 1776 and is home of the French Supreme Court:

Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood

The steps in front are a perfect spot for a nice portrait!

Dennis and Beth

If you find yourself in Paris, do yourself a favor and visit Sainte-Chapelle.  You will never see anything like it!