Description of the attraction
This chapel was built by order of Saint Louis IX to store the relic - the Crown of Thorns. The king bought this relic in Venice in 1239, where it was brought from Constantinople. The chapel's creator, Pierre de Montero, decided to build two churches, one above the other, and both were consecrated in 1248. The lower church serves as a kind of high foundation for the entire structure, from which colossal windows rise upward, ending in lancet turrets.
The steep sloping roof is decorated with a light, graceful marble balustrade, and this exquisite architectural element is crowned with an openwork, towering spire 75 meters high. On both sides of the façade there are two more towers with spiers; in front of the façade there is a portico, above which there is a large rosette window dating from the 15th with scenes from the Apocalypse.
The lower church, small in height - about 7 meters, consists of three naves, but the main nave seems huge compared to the side ones. Decorative trefoil-shaped arches supported by graceful columns run along the walls. The apse at the back of the church is polygonal. This part of the chapel was intended for servants, while the splendid upper chapel, which could be accessed by a narrow spiral staircase, was visited by members of the royal family and their courtiers.
In the upper church there is one huge nave 17 meters wide and 20.5 meters high. The whole church is surrounded by a high plinth with openwork marble arcades, interrupted by deep niches. In the third aisle there are two niches intended for the king of his family. Each pilaster has statues of the apostles dating from the 14th century. The structure has been lightened as much as possible in order to leave more space for 15 huge stained glass windows with a height of about 15 meters, which date from the 13th century, contain 1134 scenes and cover an area of about 600 square meters. Biblical and Gospel stories are presented in bright "flaming" colors.
