Page 90 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Paris

88  P ARIS AREA B Y AREA

9 Sainte-Chapelle

Ethereal and magical, Sainte-Chapelle has been
hailed as one of the greatest architectural master-
pieces of the Western world. In the Middle Ages, the
devout likened this church to “a gateway to heaven”.
Today, no visitor can fail to be transported by the
blaze of light created by the 15 magnificent stained-
glass windows, separated by the narrowest of
columns that soar 15 m (50 ft) to the star-studded,
vaulted roof. The windows portray over 1,000
religious scenes in a kaleidoscope of red, gold, green,
blue and mauve. The chapel was built in 1248 by . Rose Window
Louis IX to house Christ’s purported Crown of Thorns Best seen at sunset, the religious
(now housed in the Notre-Dame treasury). story of the Apocalypse is told in 86
panels of stained glass. The window
was a gift from Charles VIII in 1485.

Lower Chapel Servants and commoners
worshipped here, while the chapel above
was reserved for the use of the king and the
royal family.

Main Portal
The two-tier
structure of
the portal,
the lower half
of which is
shown here,
echoes that
of the chapel.

KEY
1 The Crown of Thorns decorates
the pinnacle as a symbol of the first
relic bought by Louis IX.
2 The spire rises 75 m (245 ft) into
the air. It was erected in 1853 after
four previous spires burned down.
3 The angel once revolved so
that its cross could be seen from
anywhere in Paris.

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