Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle

For such a small island (only about 1km long and less than 1/2 km wide) the Île de la Cité packs a lot of celestial punch.  There are two historic gothic churches on the island: the larger Notre Dame de Paris and the smaller but delightful La Sainte-Chapelle.  We first visited Notre Dame and then waited until late afternoon to view the stained glass at Sainte-Chapelle.

Notre Dame is the focal point of the island.  The 295-foot spire and twin bell towers are impossible to miss from the surrounding streets.  Building began in 1163 and was not completed until the mid-1200's.  Religious aspects of the cathedral were destroyed during the French Revolution, then restored during Napoleon's reign.  The structure is architecturally important for the flying buttresses that allow it to soar to remarkable heights.  Inside is an enormous vaulted transept that seemingly goes on forever, and the cathedral's treasury supposedly houses the original crown of thorns.

Entrance to the cathedral is free and because the space inside is enormous, the line to get in moves quickly.  It almost goes too fast to get close up shots of the exterior, but I managed to snag a few anyway without holding up the line too much.  Of course we forgot to bring the SLR camera, so we may go back and add a post to the blog with better photos sometime in the next few weeks.

This photo might give you some idea of the crowds at the entrance.

Religious sculpture adorns the facade

Can't tell you how long I waited to get this shot -- I almost photoshopped the one guy out.

Judgement Day -- note the extreme devilish-ness of the Devil

As you approach the entrance the two towers loom large above you

Saints sit in judgement beside the entryway

Ironwork detail on the heavy wooden door

Inside a muted recording of chorale music plays while you move slowly around the interior spaces.

Pointed arches are a hallmark of Gothic architecture

View of the ceiling and pipe organ -- it has 7800 pipes altogether.

A hooded "Death" hovers in one of the side chapels

Stained glass is a bright spot in the dim interior

A shadow cast onto a column by the ironwork behind me

Stained glass detail

North Rose Window

Just down the street from Notre Dame is the Sainte-Chapelle.  King Louis the IX (Saint Louis) had paid an enormous fortune to acquire the supposed crown of thorns and a piece of the true cross.  He built this chapel to house the relics (although the crown of thorns has been moved to Notre Dame's treasury).  According to our DK guide book, he paid 3 times more for the relics than to build the chapel!

We waited an eternity to enter the chapel.  This is because the church is in the same complex as the Palais de Justice (which can be likened to the US Supreme Court building), so everyone goes through a pretty thorough security search which holds up the line.

Thorn imagery on the spire to mimic the crown of thorns

Exterior sculpted panel

Sainte-Chapelle has two floors consisting of the lower chapel and the upper chapel.  You enter through the lower chapel which also serves as a gift shop.

Altar in the lower chapel -- only the king and royal family got to worship in the upper chapel.

While pretty, the lower chapel is somewhat dark and at first we were thinking "we waited all that time in line for this?".  But then we walked up the spiral staircase and turned the corner.

The walls of the upper chapel are almost entirely stained glass.  Unlike the heavy solemnity of Notre Dame, the interior of Sainte-Chapelle feels ethereal and joyful.  Clockwise from the entrance, the windows become a pictoral bible, showing scenes from Genesis through the New Testament and finishing with the Rose Window which depicts the Apocolypse.

In addition to the stained glass windows, every surface inside the chapel seems to be awash in color.

Multicolored floor tiles

Gilded columns and walls

Even the statues get a coat of bright paint

It's impossible to get a true idea of what the chapel is like from photographs.  So we tried to capture it on video for you.