Through My Lens: Basilique Saint-Denis

Today is Palm Sunday, and I’m posting a photo of the stained glass windows from the apse of Cathédrale royale de Saint-Denis, or Basilique Saint-Denis.

I first heard about Saint-Denis from my Dutch cousin in Amsterdam. After she showed me her photos and postcards, I decided I had to see this church for myself one day. Fast forward ten years, and I finally made it here on Boxing Day 2010.

Saint-Denis is a massive church located in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, which you get to by travelling to the second-last stop of Métro Line 13. It was the first major structure to be built in the Gothic style of architecture and was made a cathedral in 1966.

What’s so unique about Saint-Denis is that most of France’s monarchs ― from Clovis I (died 511) to Louis XVIII (died 1824) ― are buried here, including the two who lost their heads during the French Revolution (Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette). A total of 42 kings, 32 queens, and 63 princes and princesses are entombed within the cathedral.