Page 208 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

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REIMS CATHEDRAL

! E2 ⌂ Place du Cardinal Luçon ~ £ @ Reims # Cathedral: 7:30am–
7:30pm daily; towers: hours vary, check website ∑ cathedrale-reims.fr
Noted for its monumental stature, Reims’s magnificent Gothic
EXPERIENCE Champagne val times till 1825, when Charles X was crowned. In 1429 the corona-
Cathédrale Notre-Dame was the setting for coronations from medie-
tion of Charles VII here was attended by Joan of Arc. The Gallery
of the Kings, with 56 statues of past monarchs, decorates its
western façade.

A cathedral has stood on this site since 401,
but the present building was begun in 1211.
During the Revolution, the rood screen and
windows were destroyed, but the stonework
survived. World War I damage was fully
restored in 1996, to coincide with the
1,500th anniversary of the baptism of
Clovis, King of the Franks, at Reims –
considered the first coronation of a
French king. Rich in statuary, Reims is
often called “the cathedral of angels” on
account of the many statues of angels that
grace the façade and flying buttresses. Angel
musicians can also be seen in the glorious
13th-century rose window. Inside are beautiful
stained-glass windows designed by Chagall.

World War I damage was fully
restored in 1996, to coincide WHAT ELSE TO
SEE IN REIMS
with the 1,500th anniversary
of the baptism of Clovis, King Reims’s Roman past is
recalled by the Porte de
of the Franks, at Reims. Mars, a richly decorated
triple arch from the 3rd
century. Basilique St-
Rémi, a Benedictine
abbey church, mixes
Romanesque and early
Gothic elements. The
Musée des Beaux-Arts
(www.musees-reims.
fr) houses portraits by
the Cranachs and land-
scapes by Corot. At the
Musée Hôtel Le Vergeur
(www.museelevergeur.
com), the highlight is a
set of original prints by
Albrecht Dürer (1471–
1528). The French HQ of
Dwight D Eisenhower
now forms the centre-
piece of the Musée de
la Reddition (www.
The cathedral’s majestic façade, a musees-reims.fr).
masterpiece of the French Gothic style
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