Description of the attraction
The Basilica of Saint-Denis is one of the oldest churches in Paris, a pearl of medieval Gothic architecture, a national spiritual shrine. Here is the resting place of the country's greatest monarchs, who left their mark on the history of Europe and the world.
Under the Romans, there was a settlement of Catulliac. It was here that the first bishop of Paris, St. Dionysius, after which the place was named Saint-Denis. In 475, here, with the blessing of St. The Genevieve built the basilica. In 630, the rebuilt basilica became the central temple of the Benedictine monastery.
In the 13th century, Louis IX brought the ashes of his predecessors here. From that moment on, the Basilica of Saint-Denis became the tomb of kings. The name of the "royal necropolis of France" was assigned to it.
Here are the tombs of 25 French monarchs, 10 queens, 84 princes and princesses. Among them are legendary personalities, without whom Europe might have looked differently: Clovis I, the baptized king of the Franks, Karl Martell, who stopped the advance of Islam to the European continent, the intellectual Charles V, who defended the sovereignty and unity of France. The famous royal standard, oriflamma, is also kept in Saint-Denis.
During the French Revolution, the monastery and the basilica were plundered and closed, the remains of the reigning persons were thrown into a ditch, covered with lime and set on fire. In 1814, during the restoration of the basilica, the bones of kings and their families were collected in an ossuary - a special storage facility. In the local crypt, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, who were executed on the guillotine, were reburied. In 1830, burials ceased.
An exception was made only on June 9, 2004: on this day in Saint-Denis, the heart of the young Louis XVII was buried, the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, who never ascended the throne.
The royal tombstones in Saint-Denis are a striking sight: on the tombstones, lying sculptures of the deceased, carved with a portrait resemblance, rest. The basilica is decorated with magnificent stained-glass windows, the stories of which tell about the crusades.
