Paris: Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie

Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie in Paris:

The Sainte-Chapelle also known as “Holy Chapel and is located within the center of Paris on the Ile de la Cité, which is a natural island where the medieval city was built. The Church is built in a beautiful Gothic architecture in Rayonnant Style, erected by King Louis IX between 1241 and 1248 before the seventh Crusade. This church has a lower chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This church has many stained glass windows, which are its dominant art feature throughout the church. There are hardly any walls in the church because the building is mostly covered with those windows that start in one corner with the story of Adam and Eve and continues to tell stories found throughout the bible. King Louis IX constructed the palace to house precious relics, such as the crown of thorns, a piece of the cross, and other precious relics. The crown is not kept in the church today, but every year on Good Friday the priests bring it out for worshipers to kiss and show reverence to. The Chapel was built in the Conciergerie, which was a castle where the kings and queens of France used to live while in Paris and was originally a Roman fort. The Roman emperor Julian was acclaimed emperor here in 361 AD and this fort lasted for more than a thousand years. About 1300 AD, King Philip IV tore down the old castle and built the new one and was made into the old palace prison in 1400 by Charles VI, which is Paris’ Oldest Prison and is where Marie Antionette and later some of the leaders of the Revolution were held before their execution.

Here is the websites I found this information and they also have some pictures if you are interested: http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Cathedrals/Paris/Sainte-Chapelle.shtml; http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/paris-sainte-chapelle; http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/architecture/conciergerie.htm