Architecture - Paris - page 680

No remaining building in Paris is entirely Romanesque but several have important repres-
entative elements. Église St-Germain des Prés, built in the 11th century on the site of the
Merovingian ruler Childeric's 6th-century abbey, has been altered many times over the cen-
turies, but the Romanesque bell tower above the west entrance has changed little since AD
1000. The choir, apse and truncated bell tower of Église St-Nicolas des Champs, now part of
the Musée des Arts et Métiers, are Romanesque. Église St-Germain l'Auxerrois was built in
a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles between the 13th and 16th centuries.
Designer Rooftops
Grand Palais
Cathédrale de Notre Dame
Galeries Lafayette
Fondation Louis Vuitton pour La Création
Gothic
The world's first Gothic building was Basilique de St-Denis, which combined various late-
Romanesque elements to create a new kind of structural support in which each arch counter-
acted and complemented the next. The basilica served as a model for many 12th-century
French cathedrals, including Notre Dame de Paris and Chartres cathedral.
In the 14th century the Rayonnant - or Radiant - Gothic style, named after the radiating
tracery of the rose windows, developed. Interiors became even lighter thanks to broader
windows and more translucent stained glass. One of the most influential Rayonnant build-
ings was Ste-Chapelle, the stained glass of which forms a curtain of glazing on the 1st floor.
The two transept facades of Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris and the vaulted Salle des
Gens d'Armes (Cavalrymen's Hall) in the Conciergerie, the largest surviving medieval hall
in Europe, are other fine examples of Rayonnant Gothic style.
By the 15th century, decorative extravagance led to Flamboyant Gothic, so named be-
cause the wavy stone carving made the towers appear to be blazing or flaming (flamboyant) .
Beautifully lacy examples of Flamboyant architecture include the Clocher Neuf (New Bell
Tower) at Chartres' cathedral, Église St-Séverin, and Tour St-Jacques, a 52m tower which is
all that remains of an early-16th-century church. Inside Église St-Eustache there's some out-
standing Flamboyant Gothic arch work holding up the ceiling of the chancel. Several hôtels
particuliers (private mansions) were also built in this style, including Hôtel de Cluny, now
the Musée National du Moyen Âge.