Rheims Cathedral, France. (Part Three).

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.

Please note: “Reims” (French) is often spelled “Rheims” in English.

English: The High Gothic architecture

of Rheims Cathedral, France.

Français: Vue de la Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims.

Photo: 7 June 2015.

Source: File:Cathédrale 01554 Reims.JPG by G.Garitan

Author: Source: G.Garitan

Derivative: User:MathKnight

(Wikimedia Commons)

Rheims Cathedral, France.

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The three Portals are laden with Statues and Statuettes; among European Cathedrals, only Chartres has more sculpted figures. The Central Portal, Dedicated to The Virgin Mary, is surmounted by a Rose Window framed in an Arch, itself decorated with Statuary, in place of the usual sculptured Tympanum. The “Gallery of The Kings” shows the Baptism of Clovis.

The facades of The Transepts are also decorated with sculptures. That on the North Side has Statues of Bishops of Rheims, a representation of The Last Judgment and a figure of Jesus (le Beau Dieu), while that on the South Side has a modern 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 Lead-covered Timber Bell-Tower that is 18m (59 feet) tall, reconstructed in the 15th-Century and in the 1920s.

The Great West Doors,

Rheims Cathedral, France.

Photo: 8 September 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Szeder László

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Interior of the Cathedral is 138.75m (455 ft) long, 30m (98 feet) wide in The Nave, and 38m (125 feet) high in the centre. It comprises a Nave with Aisles, Transepts with Aisles, a Choir with Double Aisles, and an Apse with Ambulatory and Radiating Chapels. It has interesting Stained-Glass, ranging from the 13th-Century to the 20th-Century. The Rose Window over the Main Portal and The Gallery, beneath, are of rare magnificence.

The Cathedral possesses fine Tapestries. Of these, the most important series is that presented by Robert de Lenoncourt, Archbishop under François I, representing The Life of The Virgin. They are now to be seen in the former Bishop's Palace, The Palace of Tau.

Sculpture over The Great West Door,

depicting The Crowning of The Blessed Virgin Mary.

Rheims Cathedral, France.

Photo: 4 November 2011.

Source: FLICKR

Author: Tony Bowden

(Wikipedia Commons)

The North Transept contains a fine Organ in a flamboyant Gothic Case. The Choir Clock is ornamented with curious mechanical figures. Marc Chagall designed the Stained-Glass. installed in 1974. in the axis of the Apse.

The Treasury, kept in The Palace of Tau, includes many precious objects, among which is The Sainte Ampoule, or Holy Flask, the successor of the ancient one that contained the oil with which French Kings were anointed, which was broken during The French Revolution, a fragment of which the present Ampoule contains.

Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral, the former Abbey of Saint-Remi, and The Palace of Tau were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1991.

The Web-Site of Rheims Cathedral can be found HERE

PART FOUR FOLLOWS.