Located in the suburbs of Paris is the final resting place of the kings of France.
The English have Westminster Abbey; the French have St. Denis. The Basilica of Saint Denis is the final resting place of the French monarchy.
It may seem weird to find a burial place for the most important people of France in a Paris suburb. They weren’t here to start with. French kings were originally entombed at the Abbey of St. Genevieve in the center of Paris. Kingly tombs first started appearing here in the 10th century and every king, save for three, since then have been entombed in this very church.
The Basilica of St. Denis on a rainy November day. There used to be a tower on both sides, but the one on the left had to be removed due to cracking. It was much taller.
Such detail around the main door, dating from around 1135.
St. Denis started as a normal pilgrimage church. St. Denis (the saint, not the church) is the patron saint of France, the first bishop of Paris. Now it makes more sense why the kings of France are buried here.
St. Denis (the church this time) is the first church to really show Gothic architecture (the famous architecture of medieval times). It started out as a Romanesque church but was transformed in the Gothic style we know today through early rebuilding in 1135. Romanesque churches had small windows and were really dark. Gothic churches use flying buttresses to support thin stone walls with giant windows.
The very impressive nave. It was really dark in the church due to the rain outside.
The flying buttresses (exterior supports) allowed these windows to happen. Such a great invention.
Without flying buttresses, we would definitely not have rose windows.
Or this fantastic altar with rows of windows behind it.
And definitely not this awesomeness. (OK, maybe I’m a little obsessed by flying buttresses.)
Enough with the windows, now for some kingly (and queenly) tombs. I’m just going to tell you about some of the people that are buried here and a little about them as I travel around the church.
Bad photo to start with. Many of the tombs are clustered like this. The really important one is the one in the far back next to the pillar, that of Charles Martel (685-741). He was more of a de facto ruler of the Franks, rather than a king but he started the Carolingian line, which included the great Charlemagne. The lady in the closest tomb, Isabelle d’Aragon (1247-1271) has a fancier tomb than her husband, on the close right side.
Giant tomb this time, that of Francois I (Francis I) (ruled 1515-1547) and his wife, Claude de France. He helped initiate the French Renaissance and was a great lover of Italian art. He even imported Leonardo da Vinci to work for him. Leo brought the Mona Lisa with him and that’s how she is in the Louvre today.
Down into the crypt of the church.
Louis XVII (1785-1795) the second son of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. He may have been king, but he never actually ruled because after his father was executed, France was considered a democracy. He was only King of France in the eyes of the royalists. Only his heart his buried here.
Louis XIV (1638-1715) is known as the Sun King. He reigned for 72 years and 110 days, the longest recorded of any monarch in European history. He converted a hunting lodge built by Louis XIII into the spectacular Palace of Versailles.
This is the crypt you really came for, it is here that Louis XVI and his wife Marie-Antoinette are buried, along with a couple of other Louises.
Louis XVI (1754-1793).
Marie-Antoinette of Austria (1755-1793).
Under the church there is a creepier crypt area where the tombs are all hodge podge.
Back upstairs with the tomb of Carloman I (751-771) (on the right), the younger brother of Charlemagne. His death allowed Charlemagne to take over all of France and begin conquering other people. Charlemagne as his brothers shared the country.
My favorite tomb here belongs to Louis XII (1462-1515) and his wife, Anne de Bretagne (1477-1514) (Anne of Brittany). Not only was he the King of France from 1498-1515, but also the King of Naples from 1501-1504. (Naples, Italy, was passed around a lot.) Louis XII died without a male heir after three marriages, although he did have two surviving daughters. The first one was to a sterile relative (forced to by his cousin, King Charles VII). The second to Anne of Brittany, widow of Charles VII. The third to Mary Tudor, the sister of Henry VIII of England. He died only three months after that last marriage.
This opulent tomb belongs to Henri II (1519-1559) and Catherine de’ Medici (1519-1589). Henri II died in a jousting tournament. Catherine is the more interesting of the pair. She came from the powerful Medici family of Italy and was the mother of three kings of France, serving as regent for her son Charles IX. While she had no power while she was queen, she held huge sway within the monarchy of France through her sons.
Not only do they have a large tomb, they also have a couple of effigies.
Tombs surround the altar under all those wonderful windows.
The tomb of Clovis (465-511) (far left). Clovis was the first king of the Franks (a Germanic tribe that would later become the French). He united all the Frankish tribes under one ruler. He also found the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled the Franks for the next two centuries. Clovis is also responsible for the Christian conversion of the Frankish peoples.
Last but not least, a memorial to Louis XVI and Mari-Antoinette added in 1830.
St. Denis is an easy journey by metro from the center of Paris. It’s a fantastic place to soak in some French history, especially with the awesome audio guide. I had been to Paris two times before (even staying out by St. Denis) and had never visited. I’m so glad I finally spent a morning at this wonderful church.
Check out all my other posts on Cemeteries and Tombs!
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Check out the rest of my Hidden History series!
