Sainte-Chapelle

Paris, France

Sainte-Chapelle (The Holy Chapel) is a 13th-century Gothic chapel on the Île de la Cité in the heart of Paris, France. Sainte-Chapelle was founded by the ultra-devout King Louis IX of France, who constructed it as a chapel for the royal palace and to house precious relics. The palace itself has otherwise utterly disappeared, leaving the Sainte-Chapelle all but surrounded by the Palais de Justice.

Unlike many devout aristocrats, who regularly swiped sacred relics, the saintly Louis bought his for a hefty sum. In 1239, he purchased the crown of thorns from the impoverished Latin emperor at Constantinople, Baldwin II, for 135,000 livres (the entire chapel, by contrast, cost 40,000 livres to build). A piece of the True Cross was added, along with other relics, making Sainte-Chapelle a valuable reliquary.

In addition to properly sheltering his holy relics, Sainte-Chapelle was a result of Louis' political ambition to be the central monarch of western Christendom. At the time Louis' royal chapel was constructed, the imperial throne at Constantinople was occupied by a mere Count of Flanders and the Holy Roman Empire was in uneasy disarray.

Sainte-Chapelle was planned in 1241, started in 1246 and quickly completed: it was consecrated on April 26, 1248.

Just as the Emperor could pass privately from his palace into Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, so now King Louis could walk directly from his palace into the Sainte-Chapelle. The king died of the plague on a crusade, was later canonized by the Pope, and is now known as Saint Louis.

During the French Revolution, the chapel was converted to an administrative office, and the windows were obscured by enormous filing cabinets. Their all-but-forgotten beauty was thereby inadvertently protected from the vandalism in which the choir stalls and the rood screen were destroyed, the spire pulled down and the relics dispersed.

Most of Louis' precious relicswere lost or destroyed in the French Revolution; the few that remain are in the treasury of Notre-Dame Cathedral. In the 19th century, Viollet-le-Duc restored the chapel. The current spire is his design. Sainte-Chapelle has been a national historic monument since 1862.

Despite its small and humble exterior above the Palais de Justice buildings, Sainte-Chapelle is among the high points of French High Gothic architecture. The interior gives a a strong sense of fragile beauty, created by reducing the structural supports to a bare minimum to make way for huge expanse of exquisite stained glass. The result is a feeling of being enveloped in light and color.

Sainte-Chapelle stands squarely upon a lower chapel which served as parish church for all the inhabitants of the palace. This chapel, which is rather plain, is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. A souvenir stand often occupies most of the chapel today.

The most visually beautiful aspects of the chapel, and considered the best of their type in the world, are its 6,458 square feet of stained glass windows of the upper chapel, surrounded by delicate painted stonework. The windows are in deep reds and blues and illustrate 1,130 figures from the Bible. The rose windows added to the upper chapel in the 15th century.

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Details

Founded: 1241-1248
Category: Religious sites in France
Historical period: Late Capetians (France)

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Jeffrey Costellia (41 days ago)
We almost didn’t include during our visit but so glad we did! Stunning church with amazing history. Hard to believe just how old this church is. It was originally built to hold a portion of the crown of thorns. Just spectacular!!
Katrina D (50 days ago)
Beautiful chapel inside the royal palace. It was beautiful but very crowded. Since it was for royal use before, the church itself looks very extravagant but quite small. We finished checking it in like 30-45 mins (with taking pictures and reading stuff). I went in for free as it was the first Sunday of February
Amanda (57 days ago)
Probably one of the most beautiful place to visit in Paris. Walking up the stairs and then getting into the Chapel is just breathtaking. The colours of the windows are beautiful and relates the story from Genesis to the Apocalypse. With the Paris pass, you get free entry but you will have to pay a fee to get the audio guide. We were the last entry which meant that we got to have the chapel for ourselves as they were closing it down.
Mohammad Ayoub (3 months ago)
Very beautiful but very noisy, silence should be required according to everything in a small building and even a bedroom. Overall a nice visit even if there was a very large crowd and noise There are two spaces to see, the most beautiful of course being the one at the top which has wonderful stained glass windows and is truly exceptional. Fairly quick visit, I advise you to buy your tickets online as you will save a little time.
Colin Beaton (4 months ago)
Small but exquisite chapel with the most amazing stained glass windows. Make sure to book at time slot in advance, avoid the weekend, go early in the day, the chapel is small so 30 minutes is all you need once you are in. It’s just one block from notre dame, easy to find with google maps but few signs. A great brief experiment as part of a walking tour of Paris. Great gift shop.
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