Reims Cathedral is one of the masterpieces of the Gothic style of architecture in its heyday. In addition to its cultural value, the Cathedral of Reims has a high historical value, since for 900 years almost all French kings were crowned in the Cathedral of Reims.
The Cathedral in Reims is called Notre-Dame de Reims. It is dedicated to Holy Virgin, like many other cathedrals in France. The choice of the place of the coronation of the French kings is not occasional. The founder of the Frankish state was the legendary king Clovis I, who united disparate tribes. He was the founder of modern France, and he was the first in France to be baptized. After that, the Christian religion began to spread throughout all regions of the Frankish Kingdom.
The Archbishop of Reims, Saint Remigius, baptized Clovis in the Nicene rite. This event occurred on December 25, 496. According to legend, for baptism, he used myrrh from a Holy Ampoule (a Sacred Vessel), which was brought to Saint Remigius from heaven by a dove. Together with them, 3,000 soldiers of his squad were also baptized. During excavations at the base of Reims Cathedral, a 5th-century baptistery was found, that could have been a font of Roman baths. Thus, the Cathedral of Reims was really built on the site where the Christian religion began to spread in France.
The first small Cathedral on the site of the baptism of Clovis was built in the 9th century. Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne, chose Reims Cathedral as the site of his coronation in 816. In the two following centuries, coronations took place in various places. However, since 1027, after the coronation of king Henry I, all the kings of France were crowned in Reims Cathedral. Only twice due to the exceptional circumstance of the ceremony of the coronation took place in other places. We are talking about kings Louis VI and Henry IV. Louis VI was crowned at Orleans in 1108 because of the risk of usurpation of power by another pretender.
As for Henry IV, this king is associated with the era of fierce religious wars in France. Henry himself was a Protestant (Huguenot), but he was able to conquer Paris and win the war with the Catholics. In 1593, at the Abbey of Saint-Denis, he renounced Protestantism, and in 1594 was crowned in Chartres Cathedral.
A great fire that occurred in Reims in 1207 destroyed the old Cathedral. After that, the construction of the largest Gothic Cathedral in France began. It has become bigger than Notre-Dame de Paris. Reims Cathedral was consecrated in 1311. It is 138 meters long and 30 meters wide. The height of the arches of the Central nave reached 38 meters. The original project provided for the construction of 120-meter-high spires, but in the end, 80-meter-high Gothic towers were built.
The Gothic style of architecture began to spread in the north of France, and Reims Cathedral can be considered one of the peaks of this style. Despite its size, it doesn`t seem massive. The Cathedral is filled with light from stained glass windows, openwork arches and tall columns. On the facade of the Cathedral you can see the gallery of 56 kings. The first king of the Franks Clovis sits over them. Next to him are sculptures of his wife Clotilde and Saint Remigius, who baptized the king.
One of the symbols of Reims was the sculpture of a smiling angel on the left side of the entrance portal of the Reims Cathedral. His right hand is raised as if holding a glass of champagne. As you know, Reims is the main city of the Champagne province, where hundreds of wine houses produce this wine. Almost everywhere in Reims, in restaurants and on posters, you can see this angel raising a glass of champagne.
