5433 x 3595 px | 46 x 30,4 cm | 18,1 x 12 inches | 300dpi
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The Notre-Dame de Reims (Our Lady of Rheims) is the Cathedral of Reims, where the kings of France were once crowned. It replaces an older church, which was destroyed by a fire in 1211 and built on the site of the basilica, where Clovis was baptized by Saint Rémy, bishop of Reims, in AD 496. The cathedral was completed by the end of the 13th century, with the exception of the west front. That portion was erected in the 14th century after 13th century designs—the nave having in the meantime been lengthened to afford room for the crowds that attended the coronations. The towers, which are 81 m (approx. 267 feet) tall, were originally designed to rise 120 m (approx. 394 feet). The southern tower contains two great bells; one of them, named “Charlotte” by the cardinal of Lorraine in 1570, weighs more than 10, 000 kg (approx. 11 tons). In 1875 the French National Assembly voted £80, 000 for repairs of the façade and balustrades. The façade is the finest portion of the building, and one of the great masterpieces of the Middle Ages. German shellfire during the First World War destroyed important parts of the cathedral, but all was restored after the war. The three portals are laden with statues and statuettes. The central portal, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is surmounted by a rose window framed in an arch itself decorated with statuary. The “gallery of the kings” above shows the baptism of Clovis in the centre and statues of his successors. The façades of the transepts are also decorated with sculptures—that on the north with statues of the principal bishops of Reims, a representation of the Last Judgment and a figure of Jesus (le Beau Dieu) while that on the south side has a beautiful rose window with the prophets and apostles. Fire destroyed the roof and the spires in 1481: of the four towers that flanked the transepts, nothing remains above the height of the roof. Above the choir rises an elegant bell tower of timber and lead that is 18 m (approx. 59 feet) tall and was r
