A few weeks ago, Michael and I finally got up to the northern Parisian suburb of Saint Denis to visit the royal tombs of the French Kings and Queens at the Basilica of Saint-Denis. This particular church is the final resting place of nearly all French kings from the 10th century to the 18th century (and some from before then), but it is incredibly not on the typical tourist route for visitors to Paris. If you would have asked me a few years ago where the French monarchy is buried, I would have probably guessed that they were scattered around the country - or maybe Notre Dame. Mais, non! They are all on magnificent display in Saint-Denis!! The basilica that stands today was completed in 1144, and is considered to be the first church built in the Gothic style following Romanesque architecture. The site was originally a Gallo-Roman cemetery in late Roman times, but legend has it that after St Denis was decapitated on the hill of Montmartre in the 3rd century AD, he carried his own head to the site of the current church while preaching a sermon, indicating where he wanted to be buried. Along with the relics of St Denis, 43 kings and 32 queens were buried at the basilica. While the effigies of many of these monarchs remain on their tombs today, their bodies were removed in 1793 during the French Revolution and dumped into trenches and covered with lime to destroy them. The mass graves were re-opened in 1817 and the bones were put into an ossuary in the crypt of the church. So when you visit today, the reward is an incredibly beautiful and architecturally significant church, especially on a sunny day when the stained glass windows soften the stone pillars and marble tombs with brilliant glimmers of color. It is absolutely worth the cost of entry to visit the statues and monumental tombs.
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AuthorBecause why not get married and move to Paris to really kick off your thirties? Archives
December 2016
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