Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Notre Dame de Reims

One of the major points of interest in Reims (besides the champagne, more on that later...) is the cathedral.  Notre Dame de Reims was where 33 French kings were coronated, starting with Louis I (you may know him better as Louis the Pious) in 816.  The current structure has been there since around 1211, having celebrated its 800-year anniversary.  It is an imposing structure, and you can read more about its architecture (gothic, baby!) here.



Leaning cathedral of Reims.
(Not leany at all in real life...)

















The angel at right is the famous "smiling angel" of Reims.
She's actually kinda smirky in person.















These are the Chagall stained glass windows, which were installed in 1974 and depict everything from the Abraham to the apocalypse.
























Fleur de lys with a statue of St. Jean Baptiste de La Salle (a local of Reims) in the background.
(This one goes out to Phil.)





Mostly headless mini-statues.























How creepy are those little guys under the middle statue?!