Saint Denis Basilica Cathedral

The other day I had the pleasure of seeing Saint Denis Basilica, the resting place of some of the kings of France. It was a very historical church, actually I think it was an abbey first. It was built on top of the resting place of Saint Dennis in the 7th century. Many kings would also be buried here. It was a place of pilgrimage for the people. Many viewed it as beeing buried closer to Saint Denis himself would of course help their case to being closer to heaven. One particular tomb has a carved sculpture showing just this, I believe it was Dagobert's tomb, the man who constructed the abbey and the first king to be buried here. It is still in the main area next to the altar. It shows the man falling in sin, then it shows the demons coming to take him away, followed by St. Denis stepping in for the man, and then finally his ascension into heaven being caried by angels.

It was incredible, yet eery. You had the tombs of all but 3 kings of France in this abbey. As you walked in you could see the incredible tombs made for the kings. Most of which where done in a true to form spirt. The sculptures on the tops of the tomb in marble or stone, would have life size depictions of the kings. Most seemed to be a lot smaller then myself. However king Francois the 1st was a man of great stature. Being close to 6'6". I do believe he is the one who had a spear wound through his groin during a battle.

We also saw the statues for the kings hearts. King Henry the third I think had his statue that contained his heart. Also we saw the small heart of one of the dauphins who died at a young age, it is sealed into the wall and he would have been Louis XVII. It was a pretty eery site, but still so much history in this place.

Marie Antoinette was buried here along side of Louis XVI and Louis XVIII after that. There craves where a massive black head stone rested in the bottom of the crypt. Each statue had an animal at the base of the feet. This was so to identify the kings and bodies. It was interesting seeing how different kings where remembered. As a king with prayerful hands, strong fists, or even holding a church. It was very old and took you back to the time period.

You can find the links to the pictures here. CLICK ME.