027 FRANCE - Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Reims (WHS)

Notre-Dame de Reims is the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims, where the kings of France were crowned. The cathedral replaces an older church, destroyed by a fire in 1211, that was built on the site of zje basilica where Clovis was baptized by Saint Remi, bishop of Reims, in AD 496. The three portals are laden with statues and statuettes; among European cathedrals, only Chartres has more sculpted figures. The central portal, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is surmounted by a rose window framed in an arch itself decorated with statuary, in place of the usual sculptured tympanum. The "gallery of the kings" above shows the baptism of Clovis in the centre flanked by statues of his successors. Fire destroyed the roof and the spires in 1481: of the four towers that flanked the transepts, nothing remains above the height of the roof. Above the choir rises an elegant lead-covered timber bell tower that is 18 m (about 59 feet) tall, reconstructed in the 15th century and in the 1920s.

The interior of the cathedral is 138.75 m (about 455 feet) long, 30 m (98 feet) wide in the nave and 38 m (125 feet) high in the centre. It comprises a nave with aisles, transepts with aisles, a choir with double aisles and an apse with ambulatory and radiating chapels. It has interesting stained glass ranging from the 13th to the 20th century. The rose window over the main portal and the gallery beneath are of rare magnificence.

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Ulla Bonora Alijoki (direct swap) sent from Marly (France) on 1.09.2013