The holy chapel of the Palais de la Cite is still lauded as one of the best examples of Gothic architecture of the Rayonnant period. Once commissioned by Louis IX to hold the famous Passion relics including “crown of thorns” and the “true cross” the Chapelle shot to fame because of its spectacular 13th century stained glass windows and its extraordinary seemingly weightless structure.
The Sainte Chapelle stands on the royal courtyard of the Ile de la Cite palace….this is now the La Conciergerie administrative complex (the palace was destroyed during the French revolution). The chapel was meant to be a reliquary chapel or a chapel holding relics. 22 relics were once housed here…now only 3 remain and these too are housed in the Notre Dame.
More than 90,000 tourists visit the Sainte Chapelle annually. It can justifiably be called a wonder of engineering; neither the Greeks nor the romans nor the Muslims have accomplished anything like this before. Enter the sainte Chapelle and feel like you have walked into a coloured crystal; the fact that it was built many centuries before the crystal palace and the Louvre shows the brilliance of the medieval architects, engineers and artists. This is a place steeped in history and power and a tour of this place reveals more than mere aesthetics.
History
History says that King Louis specially built the Chapelle in the centre of his palace on Ile de la Cite to house the relics that were brought to king Baudouin II of Constantinople after the latter pawned the relics to a bank in Venice. The marvellous structure and all its brilliant artwork took just 7 years to be accomplished; a big indicator of the wealth and clout of the French monarch.
The chapel took 40,000 livres just for its construction and stone glazing, and the holy relics that it was meant for comprised of some 30 odd items including Crown of thorns, Image of Edessa, fragments of True Cross, Holy Lance etc. In medival times these relics were shown to the public every year by the King on Good Friday. Only 3 of these relics remain…a piece of the cross, a crown of thorns and a nail; all of these now reside in the Notre Dame. The acquisition of the crown of thorns cost 135,000 livres (this is half the total income of the royal family) and building the Chappelle took only 1/3rd of the money.
The consecration ceremony of the Chapelle was held with much aplomb on 26 April 1248 and King Louis and his successors used the holy place for furthering their cultural and political ambitions. King Louis had a reputation for patronising artists and architects and he established himself as the reigning monarch of western Christendom with the creation of stunning chapels out of which the “Sainte Chapelle” was the most brilliant.
A scholar of history/ architecture can easily make out the similarities between Charlemagne’s Palatine Chapel in Aachen (built between 792 to 805) and the Sainte Chapelle and an indicator of the fact that Louis wanted to present himself as a sort of successor to the line of Holy Roman Emperors. The Catholic Church later recognised King Louis (after he acquired the holy relics) as a saint and till date he is referred to as “Saint Louis”.
The French revolution was most unkind to the Chapelle; the steeple was destroyed and relics scattered around. A lot of the windows were destroyed and the melted down. In 1836 the windows and much of the chapel was restored.
A 7 year massive restoration project aimed at reviving some of the true beauty of the stained glass in the Chapelle just got completed in 2015 (marking the 800th anniversary of Louis IX). The huge windows were dismantled and cleaned with lasers while an outside glass skin was moulded on them. The restoration project cost around 10 million euros and was a massive collaboration project between artists (metal, stone, and glass painters), historians, chemists, architects and structure restorers.
Design and Structure
The Sainte Chapelle (upper Chapel) is a superb example of the Rayonnant style of architecture. There is a distinct sense of weightlessness and a stress on pure vertical lines. The more elaborate and artistic upper chapel’s reigns on a lower chapel that served as a Parish church for all household members of the royal palace.
There are two separate chapels inside; lower chapel (dedicated to commoners and officers) and the upper chapel (dedicated to the royal family). There are more than 618 m2 of stained glass windows in the upper chapel and they show scenes from the bible in the two testaments…try counting the 1130 figures inside. The rose window dates back to 15th century and the stained glass dates back to 13th century.
Steeple
The church steeple is 108 feet high and is built mostly out of cedar wood with intricate wood carvings. This steeple is the fifth edition; earlier versions have been lost to wars and the ravages of time. Historians say that the faces of the architect and the stained glass painter are represented in the faces of the apostles who are sculpted at the base of the steeple. There are heavily ornamented gables which show cherubs carrying instruments of the Passion and blowing the trumpet.
Lower chapel
This has a height of 21 feet and looks like a crypt. There is a central nave inside that’s 20 feet wide and there are narrow side aisles (each of which are 7 feet wide); both of these form the ambulatory of the apse. The central vault has thrusts which are buttressed by braces and the nave opening has a curved and pierced tympana lined with rosette inscribed windows. The bays with small elevations have arches that bear medallion sets which glitter with false jewels (these symbolise the apostles). The choir area has a 7 section hemicycle and the walls are covered extensively by paintings.
The lower chapel was badly damaged when the Seine flooded over in 1690. If you look at the lower chapel now you will see stained glass windows showing the life of the Virgin ….however these were created in the 19th century. The bay has a mural painting of the Annunciation. It’s easy to see that the lower chapel is considerably less decorative and meant as a prayer place for people of lower rank (household staff of the royal family).
There is a beautiful “coronation of Mary” statue at the entry point of the lower chapel on the tympanum. The trumeau has the depiction of the virgin with child.
Upper Chapel
The upper chapel can be reached by slim corkscrew staircases that go up to the roof. There is a nave and 4 bays which trail off in a 7 sided apse; the design maximises free space. Coloured light and a sense of weightlessness created by glass fill up the 34 feet wide and 108 feet long space. There are seemingly no walls and there is 6458 sq. feet of glass surface with lovely stonework that holds up the ribbed vaulting.
A group of 9 pillars, ribbed vaulting and other supportive metal elements (all cleverly positioned) supports the improbably light and airy structure. There is a minimum of masonry work and maximum usage of glass in the upper chapel and modern architects and civil engineers still marvel at its beauty and structural strength of the upper chapel. Only the immediate members of the royalty could pray in this part of the chapel; this housed the sacred Passion relics.
The statues of the upper chapel are many but the 12 apostles are not to be missed. They stand on all sides of the nave and fall back on the walls…they have undergone many restorations and it’s impossible to understand how the original apostles looked like.
Both the lower and upper chapels were restored in the 19th century. The present decoration of the upper chapel is based on drawings of the original building but the lower chapel had no documented evidence and was therefore ‘reconstructed’.
Stained Glass
Such is the loveliness and the vast array of the stained glass in Sainte Chapelle that it has been called the jewel box of Europe. The reflection and the fracturing of light into various rich hues of colour changes from hour to hour and the Saint Chapelle should be seen at least at 3 times in the day to appreciate its chameleon like beauty.
There are 15 stained glass windows now and each of them are about 15 feet in height an 4.25 feet in width. Nearly 1113 figurative panels lie inside the windows and about 2/3rd of them are original; this is the biggest collection of stained glass in Europe. The mind boggles when one thinks of the original Saint Chapelle stained glass collection which was many times larger; most of it was destroyed during the French revolution.
Every window group has 4 lancets and 3 small rose windows though the choir window only has 2 lancets. The central window right in front of the entrance depicts the story of the passion of the Christ.
The well demarcated scenes are held firmly by saddle bars and separately mounted on a decorated background called “mosaic”. If you get a chance to inspect the background carefully… notice the French official crown symbol (fleurs de lis) and the castille towers drawn on the background. The Sainte Chapelle windows show scenes related to the True Cross and Crown Thorns (relics of the Chappelle).
The iconography (impossible to comprehend if one is not a religious scholar) is said to be divided into stages. Right from genesis to book of revelations to the transfer of relics to French royalty and passion of Christ are the popular topics behind the stained glass depictions. Some of the windows show writings in French and not in Latin (another indicator of the power Saint Louis held). One window is entirely devoted to drawing parallels between Esther (important biblical figure) and Blanche de Castille (Saint Louis’s mother).
The west façade is very beautiful and is known for its 2 storeyed porch with a large central bay and 2 narrow side bays. The great rose window (this dates back to 15th century) has glass furls emerging out from the centre like a rose. The famous window has 87 petals as opposed to the other windows which were originally created in the 13th century. The story shown here is of the apocalypse and the enthroned figure of Jesus.
The windows are meant to be shining examples of aesthetic religious beauty and heralders of the concept that the French royalty were religious and political leaders under divine rule. Louis IX undoubtedly employed a team of theologians and stained glass artists to create such a masterpiece narrative through glass.
Open Hours, Tours & Tickets
- From 2nd January to 31st March: 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
- From 1st April to 30 September: 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m.
- From 1st October to 31 December: 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
- The Sainte Chapelle is open on all days except 1st January, 25th December, and 1st May.
A single ticket to see the Sainte Chapelle will cost about 10 euros. It’s more profitable to take a joint ticket of 15 euros to see both the Sainte Chapelle and the Conciergerie. If you have invested in a Paris Museum Pass/ Paris Pass then you needn’t pay entry fee to see the Chappelle.
There are 1 hour self-guided tours (with audio guide) available in English, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, Chinese etc… these cost about 3 euros. There are guided tours available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and tour lectures of 1.5 hours (conducted by guides of centre des Monuments Nationaux) available only in French. Tour lectures for groups may be arranged in English. You need to book ahead by contacting phone: 01 44 54 19 33, or you can Email: [email protected]
You can purchase entry ticket online (including skip the line entry) or take one of many guided or self guided tours through this Viator site.
Classical music concerts happen in Saint Chapelle and they can be an ethereal experience. Choose a timing that allows you to enjoy the majestic beauty of the sun rays as they filter through the windows. You can browse through concert schedules and buy concert tickets On This Website.
There is a bookshop selling historical books, souvenirs etc. inside the premises. Because of the location of Chapelle within the French Palace of Justice there are compulsory/ unavoidable police checks. Sharp objects, metallic items and pets are not allowed inside.
Usually there is a single long line for entry to the Chappelle but if you scout around you may see a separate line for Paris museum pass holders. The delay in entry is mainly because of stringent security checks though and that’s unavoidable.
TIP: choose to go at a time when the sun rays filter in through the glass walls at a lower angle i.e. morning or late afternoon.
Location & How To Reach
The Sainte Chapelle lies on the beautiful Ile de Cite island …a frozen historical time capsule with important attractions like the Conciergerie, Notre dame, Musee Cluny etc. There are antique markets and quaint cafes dotting its streets and its undoubtedly one of the loveliest zones of Paris.
The island is connected to right and left banks of Seine by 8 bridges and by 1 bridge to Saint Louis. Pont Neuf, pont Saint Michel, pont au Double can be used to access left bank while pont au Change, pont d’arcole and pont Notre dame can be used to access right bank. Touring the Chappelle will take at least half an hour of your time but if you take the audio guide it’s a justified hour long worthy investment.
Drop in to the Shiso burger, Boulangerie Saint Michel, Brasserie les deux Palais and the Paradis Marguerite should you feel hungry….they are all a short walk away.
Here is how you can reach the Sainte Chapelle:
The nearest RER station (line B & C) to the Sainte Chapelle is the Saint Michel Notre Dame station. The nearest metro stations from Notre Dame are Saint Michael (line 4). The City Hall (line 1& 11) station is also nearby. Many RATP bus routes go up to the Sainte Chapelle and some of them are 21, 27, 38, 85, and 96.
Address:
8 Boulevard du Palais
Phone: 33 / (0)1 53 40 60 80; Official Website
A travel addict. Still celebrating the day when he quit his high-profile corporate job to pursue his passion for travel writing.