Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Visiting the Church:
Though the inside is beautiful, the exterior is basically func-
tional. The muscular buttresses hold up the stone roof, so the walls are essentially there to
display stained glass. The lacy spire is Neo-Gothic—added in the 19th century.
Inside, the layout clearly shows an
ancien régime
approach to worship. The low-
ceilinged basement was for staff and other common folks—worshipping under a sky filled
withpaintedfleurs-de-lis,asymboloftheking.RoyalChristiansworshippedupstairs.The
paint job, a 19th-century restoration, helps you imagine how grand this small, painted,
jeweled chapel was. (Imagine Notre-Dame painted like this...) Each capital is playfully
carved with a different plant's leaves.
Climb the spiral staircase to the Chapelle Haute. Fill the place with choral music,
crankupthesunshine,facethetopofthealtar,andreallybelievethattheCrownofThorns
is there, and this becomes one awesome space.
Fiat lux.
“Let there be light.” From the first page of the Bible, it's clear: Light is di-
vine. Light shines through stained glass like God's grace shining down to earth. Gothic
architectsusedtheirnewtechnologytoturndarkstonebuildingsintolanternsoflight.The
glory of Gothic shines brighter here than in any other church.
There are 15 separate panels of stained glass (6,500 square feet—two thirds of it
13th-century original), with more than 1,100 different scenes, mostly from the Bible.
