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The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims in the northern
French city of Reims, the episcopal church of the archdiocese of the
same name, is one of the most important Gothic church buildings in
France because of its seemingly uniform, balanced architecture and the
most extensive architectural features (mainly from the 13th century). In
Reims one finds the first fully developed tracery in history. The
architecture and sculpture of Reims Cathedral dominated the French
Gothic influence on the development of church architecture and sculpture
east of the Rhine since the 1220s. The cathedral is an important
historical place of remembrance not only of monarchical France. This is
where his kings were crowned, this is where Joan of Arc triumphed, this
is where German artillery shot down hundreds of the most important works
of art during the First World War and this is where de Gaulle and
Adenauer demonstrated Franco-German reconciliation in 1962.
The
cathedral has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991 and is
classified nationally as a monument historique. With around a million
visitors a year, it is one of the main attractions of Champagne.
Reims Cathedral, formally known as Notre-Dame de Reims and
serving as the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims, has roots
stretching back to the early 5th century. The initial church was
erected by Bishop Nicasius on the foundations of ancient Gallo-Roman
thermal baths constructed during Emperor Constantine's era, with
archaeological excavations in the 1990s uncovering remnants of an
early Merovingian baptistry beneath the modern structure. A
foundational legend, crafted by Archbishop Hincmar of Reims,
recounts how Saint Remigius (also called Saint Remi), the bishop of
Reims, baptized Clovis I—the first Frankish king to embrace
Christianity—around 496 AD and anointed him using sacred oil
divinely dispatched from heaven. This momentous occasion established
the tradition whereby the Archbishop of Reims held the exclusive
right to crown and anoint every succeeding French king in the
cathedral, often using the legendary Holy Ampulla containing the
miraculous oil. The site has hosted a renowned cathedral school
since the Carolingian period, attracting illustrious scholars like
the polymath Gerbert of Aurillac (who ascended to become Pope
Sylvester II and advanced mathematical concepts such as the abacus
in Europe), as well as key figures in monastic history including
Bruno of Cologne, Lotulf of Novara, and Alberich of Reims, who were
instrumental in founding the Carthusian order. Between the 11th and
18th centuries, up until the French Revolution, the cathedral was
the venue for the coronations of nearly all French
monarchs—excluding only a handful like Hugh Capet and Louis
XVIII—with highlights including the 1429 ceremony for Charles VII,
which Joan of Arc helped orchestrate after her forces reclaimed the
city from English occupation during the Hundred Years' War. As a
High Gothic masterpiece built primarily between 1211 and 1345 under
architects such as Jean d'Orbais, Jean-le-Loup, Gaucher of Reims,
and Bernard de Soissons, the cathedral embodied the profound bond
between the French monarchy and the Catholic Church, featuring
intricate elements like its 149-meter length, twin 81-meter towers,
elaborate rib vaults, flying buttresses, and iconic sculptures
including the famous "Smiling Angel" on the west façade. Despite the
Third Republic's 1905 law enforcing church-state separation, the
cathedral endures as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (designated in
1991 alongside the nearby Abbey of Saint-Rémi and Palace of Tau) and
a enduring emblem of French national pride and Catholic heritage.
In the tumultuous era of the French Revolution, Reims Cathedral
experienced relatively limited harm compared to other religious
sites, with some vandalism such as the melting of bells and removal
of royal symbols like the fleur-de-lis, though it was briefly
repurposed as a grain storage and "temple of reason." Restoration
initiatives gained momentum in the 19th century, notably from 1860
when the celebrated architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc led efforts to
revive the ornate western façade, including repairs to its portals,
rose window, and Gallery of Kings with 56 towering statues. In 1870,
Pope Pius IX bestowed upon it the title of minor basilica, affirming
its ecclesiastical stature.
The 20th century brought profound
trials and triumphs for the cathedral. It sustained catastrophic
damage amid World War I, with the utter annihilation of its
15th-century wooden roof framework among the losses. After the
pivotal Battle of the Marne from September 5 to 12, 1914, German
armies fell back to fortified lines north of Reims, maintaining
control until 1918. French forces retook the city on September 13,
only for it to face sustained German artillery barrages that
demolished much of the urban core. The cathedral itself endured
repeated strikes beginning no later than September 17, culminating
on September 19 when 25 shells struck, igniting wooden scaffolding
on the north tower. The ensuing collapse ravaged the façade's
detailed sculptures, and the fire rapidly consumed the entire roof,
causing the lead sheeting to melt and pour through gargoyles while
obliterating a significant portion of the medieval stained-glass
windows—some of which dated back centuries and depicted biblical
scenes with vibrant colors. Protective measures like sandbag
barriers were implemented from 1915, but sporadic shelling continued
until March 1918, leaving over 300 impacts in total and even melting
bells in the intense heat. By the war's conclusion, the battered
edifice stood sentinel over the rubble-strewn city, its walls
pockmarked and interiors exposed.
Given its central role in
French political identity, royal history, and architectural
legacy—boasting features like the innovative bar tracery in its rose
windows and Flamboyant-style gables—the cathedral's ruination became
a flashpoint in wartime propaganda. The German command's report on
September 22, 1914, defended the attacks as necessary to neutralize
a supposed French observation post atop a tower. In stark contrast,
French and international media outlets framed the assault as a
premeditated act of cultural vandalism and barbarism, amplifying
global outrage.
Rebuilding efforts in the interwar period
kicked off in 1919 under the guidance of architect Henri Deneux
(1874–1969), who pioneered the use of prefabricated reinforced
concrete elements to reconstruct the roof, blending modern
engineering with Gothic aesthetics for enhanced durability. Generous
funding from the Rockefeller family bolstered the project, alongside
contributions that enabled the replacement of lost artworks,
including new stained-glass installations in the 1960s by artist
Marc Chagall in the axial chapel, depicting themes like the Tree of
Jesse and biblical narratives. The cathedral partially reopened for
services in 1927, and its full reconsecration occurred on October
18, 1937, during a grand mass attended by French President Albert
Lebrun. Following World War II, Reims Cathedral evolved into a
beacon of Franco-German amity, set against the backdrop of its
earlier devastation: On July 8, 1962, French President Charles de
Gaulle and West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer participated in a
symbolic mass during a state visit, fostering reconciliation. This
gesture was echoed on its 50th anniversary, July 8, 2012, when
President François Hollande and Chancellor Angela Merkel convened
there to honor the enduring partnership. Additional milestones
include Pope John Paul II's 1996 visit commemorating the 1,500th
anniversary of Clovis's baptism, and ongoing restorations addressing
pollution and war scars, with notable artworks like 16th-century
Flemish tapestries and a 14th-century astronomical clock preserved
in the north transept.
The construction history of Reims Cathedral, a masterpiece of High
Gothic architecture, is partially documented through a famous labyrinth
that was embedded in the nave floor during the second half of the 13th
century but destroyed in 1779 (originally noted as 1778 in some
sources). This labyrinth, known from 18th-century drawings, listed the
names of the alleged master builders and symbolized the growing prestige
of architects by associating them with mythical figures like Daedalus.
However, the exact wording and order of these names remain uncertain and
debated among historians, as no other works can be definitively linked
to them. Recent studies propose a clockwise sequence along the
labyrinth's path: Gaucher de Reims, Jean le Loup (or Jean-Loup), Jean
d'Orbais, and Bernard de Soissons (sometimes spelled Soisson). The
architect Villard de Honnecourt likely visited the site around
1215–1217, as one of his sketches accurately depicts only the lower
level of the choir, indicating that the upper sections were still under
construction at that time.
Following a catastrophic fire on May
6, 1210, which destroyed the previous Romanesque cathedral—possibly due
to carelessness but suspected by some to have been intentional to
facilitate a grander rebuild—construction commenced swiftly. Archbishop
Aubry de Humbert laid the first stone of the chevet (eastern end) on May
7, 1211, using standardized stones and materials to accelerate progress.
Limited documentary evidence exists for the early phases, but building
activity was intense from the outset. Between 1233 and 1236, a violent
revolt by the Reims townsfolk over taxation and jurisdictional disputes
led to the archbishop and cathedral chapter fleeing the city; this
imposed an interdict (banning religious services), causing a three-year
construction halt amid the unrest, until royal and papal mediation
allowed work to resume more gradually. By 1241, after a consecration,
the cathedral chapter began using the choir, likely just its eastern
sections, with the eastern chapel already in service by July 1221.
Around 1220, possibly coinciding with Jean le Loup assuming
leadership of the project, a significant design revision occurred. This
involved demolishing the 12th-century entrance massif in the westernmost
nave bay and shifting the new facade further west, which extended the
nave (with land acquired in 1218 to accommodate larger coronation
crowds) and widened the transept to maintain harmonious proportions. The
lower levels of the nave and transept were largely completed by about
1230–1235, with work on the west front beginning around 1230. Following
this, the upper portions of the choir, transept, and nave—emphasizing
greater height and grandeur—were built between 1235 and 1250. Only then
did construction advance on the new west facade, with the final houses
in that area cleared in 1252. The facade itself reflects two distinct
planning stages: an earlier one up to the capitals above the draped
figure sculptures, and a later one incorporating Rayonnant Gothic
elements in the two rose windows, which persisted until the project's
end. The transept rose windows blended Classic and High Gothic styles
with bar tracery, while the west facade's large rose (completed around
1275–1280) featured more advanced Rayonnant tracery. By the time King
Philip the Fair (Philip IV) was crowned in 1286, the western structure
reached the height of this grand rose window.
The three-aisled
basilica was essentially finished in 1311, excluding the upper levels of
the west towers, and topped with its final lead roof; the nave roof was
specifically completed in 1299 after a lead tax exemption. The towers,
originally envisioned at 120 meters, were built to 81 meters and housed
bells, including a massive one over 10,000 kg named "Charlotte" in 1570.
Structural work concluded overall in 1275, though decorative elements
continued. Progress slowed considerably during the Hundred Years' War
(1337–1453), with the cathedral enduring sieges, such as unsuccessful
ones in 1359–1360, while still hosting events like the coronation of
Charles VI in 1380. A devastating fire in 1481, sparked by negligence
during work on a spire over the transept, obliterated the roof, crossing
tower, galleries, and spire framework, with molten lead causing
additional damage; this catastrophe dashed any remaining plans to fully
complete the towers. Reconstruction, funded by kings Charles VIII and
Louis XII through a salt tax grant, was finished by 1505, with the new
roof featuring fleur-de-lis and royal arms motifs. Later events included
a 1580 hurricane destroying the south rose window, which was rebuilt
with simpler tracery.
The cathedral's design prioritized its role
in French royal coronations, from Philip II Augustus in 1180 (in the
prior structure) to Charles X in 1825, including notable ones like
Charles VII in 1429 aided by Joan of Arc. Subsequent centuries brought
further challenges, such as minimal Revolutionary damage in 1793,
19th-century restorations by architects like Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, and
severe World War I shelling in 1914, leading to major 20th-century
repairs using reinforced concrete.
Despite various changes in plan during the High Gothic construction period, which took up around the entire 13th century, the building appears at first glance to be a unified structure with an undisturbed sequence of its parts. The floor plan reads from east to west: five radially positioned chapels surround the ambulatory, whose structure system continues through the three-aisled transept with its slightly larger crossing into the nave. With its eight bays, plus the tower bay, the church reaches 138 meters inside, an unsurpassed length, the impression of which is further enhanced by the central nave width, which remains the same throughout west and east.
Reims was the coronation church of the French kingdom and for such national celebrations, of course, enough space had to be made for the ceremony and the dignitaries. In addition, the two front choir bays have five naves, with double aisles. The polygonal ambulatory, on which the radial chapels hang, is single-lane, continuing the side aisles of the three-aisled nave. It is only on a floor plan that one can see how sensitively the master builders designed some of the subtleties: The length of the yoke between the crossing and the polygonal choir is reduced in small steps in order to gradually adjust to the distance between the pillars in the choir. The tracery, the groundbreaking innovation in Reims, was first realized in the choir chapels built from 1211 onwards by joining two lancet windows with a rosette.
The outline of the high central nave follows the scheme of arcades –
triforium – clerestory that was preformed in Chartres and became classic
in French cathedral construction around 1200. The unwindowed triforium
with walkway separates the high central nave arcades from the clerestory
windows, which are fully lit. The cathedrals in Soisson and Chartres had
preceded this arrangement, but here the walls have given way once again
in favor of the mullioned windows. Just as the elements of the tracery
are subordinate to a unit, the profiles on the pillars and vaults are
also related to one another. The cantoned pillar surrounded by columns
is taken from Chartres, but in the crossing it has already been
developed into a bundle pillar, in which all the vault ribs are led down
to the base as profiled bars that rest on the pillars (so-called
"services") and thus the derivation of the give a visible expression to
the vault print.
The nave is illuminated in the west through the
new tracery windows and the glazed tympanum of the portal zone also
enables completely new lighting conditions. Even behind the lashes of
the portals, the wall was dissolved in glass, so that a middle band of
light was created here between the two roses. This is a precursor of the
glazed triforium that was developed a little later. Here we have the
fully developed High Gothic scheme before us, which will not change
significantly in France: three-zone wall construction, four-part
cross-ribbed vault and tracery window.
The facade is considered the classic example of French High Gothic
par excellence, and also the most dynamically balanced. It was built
from the middle of the 13th century (1252-1275). Here the motif from
Laon has been taken up again: a dominating center in the middle and a
powerful movement through the whole facade. The portal zones are far
forward and ciliated upwards, beyond the first story.
Also in the
portal zone, tracery replaces the tympanum, which was previously filled
with reliefs, a completely new idea that is of great importance for the
lighting of the interior space behind it. The rose window is the center
of this plastically and dynamically highly moving façade. This idea from
Reims was so successful at the time that the west facades of numerous
cathedrals were modified based on this model. Only the large wheel
window from Laon from the period after 1220 can in a certain way be
regarded as a forerunner.
As a counterweight to the mighty portal
floor and the rosette on the second floor, the crowning king's gallery
stretches around the entire tower floor. Her figures were originally
gilded.
The western towers have not been fully completed, and the
originally planned peaks have been left out. A crossing tower is
missing, only four implied arbor-shaped towers, which do not protrude
over the roof of the central nave, flank the central square on the side
aisles of the transept arms.
The most striking feature of the cathedral is its west facade, richly
decorated with figures. No other Gothic building has been so opulently
decorated inside and out with reliefs and sculptural decoration. Plastic
decoration surrounds the entire cathedral, right down to the flanks of
the buttresses and the tabernacles crowning them and the console heads,
which are so expressive in facial expressions. A comprehensive cycle of
figures is developed across three west portals, within which clearly
legible developments in High Gothic sculpture can be seen. Together with
the sculptures on the western inner wall, choir and transept, they form
the most extensive series of 13th-century sculptures in all of Europe.
On the style history of the Reimser sculptures
The large volume
of work involved in sculpting all parts of the building, changing
architects, changes in plans and the construction period that lasted for
decades meant that not only different sculptors worked on the cathedral,
but also their works often long after it had been completed were
transferred. Work began on the portal figures soon after the start of
construction, some of which had to wait decades before they were placed
on the west portal. The oldest sculptures can be found on the portals of
the north transept. They were erected when the new building had not
progressed far to the west, but a representative access to the choir
areas that were already in use was to be created. Around 1220 the row
Simeon to Moses, which was later added to the right west portal, was
also created. They are gigantic-looking, broad and powerfully
proportioned figures with large heads. Their tightly pleated draperies
are reminiscent of the north transept portals of Chartres, but in Reims
the figures begin to detach from the columns and a more varied play of
folds covers the less schematic figures. Nevertheless, by the time they
were moved, they had already been overtaken by a more modern development
in style and were therefore used in a less prominent position.
The figures carved by a troop of stonemasons from Amiens, who brought
with them a sharp-edged style of drapery with pointed bowl folds,
probably date from the early 1230s (some say only after the interdict
was lifted in 1241). These include the representation in the temple and
the Annunciation Mary at the central portal.
Again and again,
motifs have been noticed in the Reims sculptures that reveal a
connection with antique models. Whether this is based on direct
knowledge of Roman remains or mediation services via Mosan goldsmithing
must be decided on a case-by-case basis. The legacy of antiquity can be
seen particularly clearly in the famous Visitation group (also around
1230-35) in the central portal. But we shouldn't be talking about a
"Reimser classicism", the expression and feeling in the interaction of
the figures are designed entirely from the spirit of the Middle Ages.
The protagonists of a late group of sculptures, indisputably made around
the middle of the 13th century, are Joseph from the central portal and
the Smiling Angel on the left portal.
Clamped between two flying buttresses, and therefore placed under a pointed-arched barrel without the usual beveling of the robes, six apostles flank the blessing Trumeau Christ in front of the left portal opening, which is walled up today. He lost his head in 1914 as a result of German shelling. The tympanum depicts the Last Judgment, below the seated Judge of the World the resurrected, saved and damned populate the three-striped pictorial narrative. The portal is recently dated around 1210/15 otherwise around 1230.
The portal in the middle, also known as the Calixtus or Sixtus
portal, gathers the most important local saints from Reims. Calixtus I
in papal regalia is standing on the pillar of the trumeau. The draped
portal with six figures shows St. Nicasius of Reims between his sister
and an angel on the left; on the right side of the robe St. Remigius of
Reims between an angel and another saint.
In the tympanum, the lower
strip describes Nicasius legends, in the second and fourth strips
miracles from the Remigius-Vita, in the third register the story of Job
is inserted. About 1225-1230.
On the far right, the most westerly portal, also known as porta preziosa, shows a Madonna seated in front of the smooth Typmanon surface under an archway with angels and a soul carried up on her head, crowned by the hand of God. The iconography and monument type suggest that the remains of a niche tombstone from around 1180, taken from the previous building that burned down, were used again in the first half of the 13th century to decorate the relatively small gate.
While previous cathedrals often place the Last Judgment in the middle
of the west portal, the Mother of God is the central theme here,
although the coronation of the Virgin Mary had to be pushed back because
of the glazing of the tympanum (modern copy, original parts in the
museum). The archivolts were largely renewed in 1612. Madonna on the
Trumeau from around 1250. The figures in the robes refer to the
childhood of Jesus.
Right robe: the pair on the left represents
the Annunciation, the group on the right represents the so-called
Visitation, i.e. the meeting of the two women Maria and Elisabeth who
are expecting a child. Especially the face of Maria, the second figure
from the right, has the clarity, the nobility and the large areas of
antique female figures. The treatment of the robes is also more
reminiscent of Greco-Roman sculpture than the more traditional figures
on the left side of the robe. The figures were made in the early 1230s
for a differently planned portal on the west façade, which was later
demolished, but were only moved to the new west complex around the
middle of the century, in line with the progress of construction.
Left robe: Finer differences can also be seen in the left robe. The
scene of the offering in the temple of the two central figures reveals
different views than those of the side figures. The statues come from
two workshops, but none from the workshop that produced the Visitation
group. Mary and Simeon in the center are little moved and have a calm,
collected expression; they are among the sculptures influenced from
Amiens
In the powerfully built heads, simple, not particularly
individual traits prevail, which correspond to a given type. The thick
fabrics lie on the upper bodies in large, smooth areas, while they fall
from the arms in heavy folds, forming deep valleys and fully plastically
arched ridges, capturing space and shadows. These people are neither
idealized in the classical sense, as in the case of the Visitation, nor
escalated in a visionary or dramatic way, but down-to-earth, human and
popular, but endowed with dignity through their measuredness.
The
master who carved Joseph next to Maria and Hannah next to Simeon on the
far left is completely different. Bodies are leaner and begin to sway in
the hips, twist the shoulders, and lose stability. The slender, fine
little heads sit flexibly on thin necks. Since the fabric-rich and
fold-rich robes no longer have any proper support, the sweeping curves
and puffs acquire their own liveliness.
Here a view becomes
recognizable that suggests a different attitude to life and is sometimes
described in the literature as disembodiment, sometimes as preciousness.
No longer the harmonious balance of physicality and inspiration as in
the middle group is wanted, but one that leads to greater elegance in
the further development. In any case, the phase of classical sculpture
in the first half of the century has passed. Since similar tendencies
can be seen in Parisian works from around 1245–55, this appointment can
also be reconciled with the structural completion of the western facade.
The left west portal is christologically determined. The crucifixion in the gable, the temptation of Christ in the archivolts at the bottom left, above it scenes from the Passion that culminate in the wimperg with the crucifixion. The right archivolts have been renewed.
Compared to Chartres, the statues on the right-hand robe have been
liberated from the column in every sense and become autonomous so that
they can relate to one another. The bodies are powerful moving masses
with broad shoulders and powerful limbs, the heads large and heavy. They
were written about three decades before her transfer.
Overview of
the figures on the wall of the west facade
The three following
schemes of the western garment figures are intended to offer both a
thematic and iconographic overview and, by indicating the presumed times
of origin, to facilitate a stylistic-historical grouping of the works
from different phases. Listed from left to right.
After the western portals were completed, the pace of construction slowed down. The rose storeys and western nave tabernacles must have been built in the 1260s, the royal gallery below the tower storeys only in the 14th century. At its center is the baptism of Clovis. Here, then, reference is clearly made to the royal succession of the Frankish kingdom. The preceding royal figures on the buttresses of both transept facades are more significant in terms of stylistic history. 14 statues were placed individually in tabernacles around 1230-1240 at the height of the rose window. They are related to a biblical program.
To the side of the windowed portal arch, the inner west wall is divided into a regular grid of seven storeys and 50 uniform, rectangularly framed niches in which stand individual figures, who, however, usually interact with one another in the neighboring niche. The left half contains scenes from the life of Mary, the right side tells the story of John the Baptist, who was also the patron saint of stonemasons. The sculptures were made around 1250-60, at the same time as or immediately after the last jamb statues of the portals outside.
The capital zone of the pillars in the interior is extensively expanded in Reims. First of all, the capital zone of a bundle pillar indicates that the upper part of the two-zone structure forms a continuous band. Here the two-zone structure is only present in the presented ¾-columns, but the capital height is already the same. In the final stage of this development, the mother column and the columns in front of it are connected by a continuous band of capitals.
Before the First World War, the cathedral still had numerous original 13th-century stained glass windows in the higher sections of the central nave, in the choir and in the transept. Some were of documentary value, as well as decorative and religious, depicting parts of the cathedral's history. The windows destroyed in the war were initially given emergency windows made of colorless glass during the reconstruction. In the decades that followed, the cathedral gradually received new windows designed by contemporary artists: in the 1930s, the small rose above the main portal of the west facade was renewed, as were the bays of the side portals and the rose window of the south arm of the transept. In 1974, Marc Chagall designed three windows for the axis chapel of the choir: they depict the Root of Jesse, the two testaments and important events in the history of Reims. Other windows were designed by Brigitte Simon, Tsuguharu Foujita and Maria Helena Vieira da Silva. In 2011, on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the cathedral's consecration, six windows in the apse, designed by the German artist Imi Knoebel after Gerhard Richter refused the commission, were inaugurated. The last three windows in the Joan of Arc Chapel, also designed by Imi Knoebel, that had had emergency glazing since the 1914 bombing were installed in May 2015. In contrast to most of the cathedral's other stained glass windows, Knoebel's windows are abstract and painted in strong primary colors. Its fragmented composition refers to the devastation caused by the fighting and can be understood as an indication of the resulting disruption in Franco-German relations. On the other hand, when the new windows were inaugurated, their symbolic importance for Franco-German friendship was emphasized.
The history of organs dates back to 1489, when the first, probably
single-manual, instrument was installed. This instrument has been
extended and rebuilt several times over the course of time, and the
organ case has also been changed several times.
Today's organ was
built in 1937-1938 by the organ builder Victor Gonzales. The instrument
has 86 registers on four manuals and pedal. Some of the pipes from the
17th to 19th centuries are still preserved in this instrument.
Around 1360, Guillaume de Machaut composed his Messe de Nostre Dame
at Reims Cathedral, the oldest complete setting of the Ordinary Mass by
a single composer.
The labyrinth on the floor of the cathedral,
destroyed in 1778, served as a template for the symbol (see
illustration) used to mark a monument historique in France.
Every
year in summer, after dark, the "Regalia" takes place, a sound and light
show that sets the scene for the facade of the cathedral.