Description
The Sainte-Chapelle is the royal chapel on the Île de la Cité in Paris, built between 1242 and 1248 by Louis IX to hold the relics of the Passion. It is a masterpiece of Rayonnant Gothic, famous for walls that are almost entirely stained glass.
It has two levels. The lower chapel, low and painted, was for the palace's servants and soldiers. The upper chapel, reserved for the king and his guests, is where the walls almost vanish: 15 great windows, some 670 square meters of glass, mostly deep blues and reds.
The windows are one of the most extensive collections of 13th-century stained glass in the world, and they read like a picture Bible: from Genesis through the Books of Kings, ending with Louis IX himself receiving the relics. Nearly two-thirds of the original glass survived the Revolution.
The rose window, nine meters wide, is a 15th-century addition, with 89 panels illustrating the Apocalypse. Look also for the two alcoves where the king and queen prayed, he on the north side, she on the south.
The trick is hidden: each pier is disguised as a bundle of slender columns, and belts of iron chain, concealed behind the window bars, hold it all together. The chapel measures 36 by 17 meters outside, yet rises 42.5 meters, like a cathedral.
The relics cost 135,000 livres; the chapel built to hold them, stained glass included, just 40,000. For Louis IX the Crown of Thorns was worth far more than any building.
The king bought the crown from Baldwin II, the Latin emperor of Constantinople, who had pawned it to the Venetians. When it reached Paris in 1239, Louis carried it the last stretch himself, barefoot and dressed as a penitent.
The Revolution turned the chapel into a grain store, smashed its statues and melted down the great silver chest of the relics. Then it held the court archives, and the bottom of the windows was removed to give the clerks more light. A 28-year restoration, begun in 1840, gave it back its colors.
The Crown of Thorns, the reason for it all, was kept in a silver chest above the altar, which made the chapel a pilgrimage destination to rival the great shrines of Europe.
Don't miss
• The upper chapel's windows.
• The Relics of the Passion window.
• The rose window.
Did you know?
• The nave's windows are slightly taller than those of the apse, to make the chapel look longer.
• The Crown of Thorns is no longer here: since 1805 it has been kept by Notre-Dame.
It has two levels. The lower chapel, low and painted, was for the palace's servants and soldiers. The upper chapel, reserved for the king and his guests, is where the walls almost vanish: 15 great windows, some 670 square meters of glass, mostly deep blues and reds.
The windows are one of the most extensive collections of 13th-century stained glass in the world, and they read like a picture Bible: from Genesis through the Books of Kings, ending with Louis IX himself receiving the relics. Nearly two-thirds of the original glass survived the Revolution.
The rose window, nine meters wide, is a 15th-century addition, with 89 panels illustrating the Apocalypse. Look also for the two alcoves where the king and queen prayed, he on the north side, she on the south.
The trick is hidden: each pier is disguised as a bundle of slender columns, and belts of iron chain, concealed behind the window bars, hold it all together. The chapel measures 36 by 17 meters outside, yet rises 42.5 meters, like a cathedral.
The relics cost 135,000 livres; the chapel built to hold them, stained glass included, just 40,000. For Louis IX the Crown of Thorns was worth far more than any building.
The king bought the crown from Baldwin II, the Latin emperor of Constantinople, who had pawned it to the Venetians. When it reached Paris in 1239, Louis carried it the last stretch himself, barefoot and dressed as a penitent.
The Revolution turned the chapel into a grain store, smashed its statues and melted down the great silver chest of the relics. Then it held the court archives, and the bottom of the windows was removed to give the clerks more light. A 28-year restoration, begun in 1840, gave it back its colors.
The Crown of Thorns, the reason for it all, was kept in a silver chest above the altar, which made the chapel a pilgrimage destination to rival the great shrines of Europe.
Don't miss
• The upper chapel's windows.
• The Relics of the Passion window.
• The rose window.
Did you know?
• The nave's windows are slightly taller than those of the apse, to make the chapel look longer.
• The Crown of Thorns is no longer here: since 1805 it has been kept by Notre-Dame.