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Post by woody77 on Aug 25, 2013 9:17:55 GMT
When people go to the center of paris, to the Isle of the City in the middle of the Seine, they're usually headed to Notre Dame. And for good reason. But if you go to the other end of the island, you can find something else that's quite amazing. In late July, we took a stay-cation here in Paris, and headed over to see Notre Dame one day (like everyone else). Unfortunately, everyone else was already there. Remembering an amazing photo by travel photographer Trey Ratcliff of the interior of Ste Chapelle, we decided to go look at it, instead. Ste Chapel was the royal chapel. It was built by King Louis IX in the mid 13th century to house relics from Christ. As such, every inch of the interior is covered in beautiful colors, gold leaf, or mosaics. It's incredible on the inside. But the outside is a little uncertain, as it's within a courtyard of the Palais de Justice. A rather foreboding location. But the gates of the are quite nice.  DSC_0014 by aaronwood77, on Flickr The church is covered in scaffolding from restoration work that they're doing on the windows. Such amazing windows... But we're not there yet.  DSC_0071 by aaronwood77, on Flickr The current entrance is nondescript, as it leads you into the lower chapel, not through the original main entrance which is on the upper floor.  DSC_0181 by aaronwood77, on Flickr  DSC_0179 by aaronwood77, on Flickr |
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Post by woody77 on Aug 25, 2013 9:27:16 GMT
The lower chapel is beautiful, every surface is painted in beautiful colors, or gold leaf, or a statue...  DSC_0081 by aaronwood77, on Flickr At the end of the lower chapel, is this beautiful tableau:  DSC_0089 by aaronwood77, on Flickr The details are just amazing. I strongly recommend spending a good bit of time down here before heading upstairs to the main chapel.  DSC_0080 by aaronwood77, on Flickr  DSC_0094 by aaronwood77, on Flickr  DSC_0099 by aaronwood77, on Flickr  DSC_0101 by aaronwood77, on Flickr |
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Post by woody77 on Aug 25, 2013 9:31:47 GMT
After we spent a good while looking at the details in the lower chapel, we found the stairs in the corner, and headed up into the main chapel, where you arrive in a corner via a spiral staircase. As beautiful as the lower chapel is, it doesn't prepare you for what's upstairs.  DSC_0110 by aaronwood77, on Flickr  DSC_0127 by aaronwood77, on Flickr The walls of the chapel are almost non-existent. It's supported by external buttresses so that they could have these amazing stained lass windows. My pictures don't even come close to doing it justice, so I will instead link to travel photographer Trey Ratcliff's dazzling photo of the chapel. Please go look at it, because I can't convey just how amazing this place is, and his photo gives a feel for the awe that it inspires when you're there. This is apparently the largest collection of 13th century stained glass in existence 2/3 of the windows are original. While we where there, about 1/3 of the windows were covered for renovation work, so I didn't try to get a sweeping view like Trey took. Here's a closeup of a small portion of one of the windows, to give an idea of the amount of detail involved:  DSC_0147 by aaronwood77, on Flickr |
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Post by woody77 on Aug 25, 2013 9:34:52 GMT
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Post by woody77 on Aug 25, 2013 9:37:50 GMT
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Post by bjd on Aug 25, 2013 11:09:26 GMT
The last time I went to La Sainte Chapelle, it was a gloomy November day years ago. Even so, it was beautiful and I told myself to return on a sunny day. But each time I go to Paris, there are people waiting in line so I don't bother.
Your pictures made me decide to make the effort next time.
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Post by woody77 on Aug 25, 2013 11:25:15 GMT
It was intermittently cloudy/sunny. I should go back on a really bright clear day, especially later in the afternoon, so that the sun is streaming in the south west windows. Or mid-day in the winter, if it's clear. The low-angle light through the windows would be amazing.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2013 11:52:21 GMT
Thank you for these remarkable pictures. As you have probably figured out, I do not authorise myself to cover the main tourist sites of the city, but I am always hoping that somebody else will!  |
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Post by woody77 on Aug 25, 2013 12:12:54 GMT
Kerouac, many thanks for the compliments on the pictures.
As someone that's now living here, I really appreciate your walks into the less frequented (by tourists) corners of Paris. I have more of these on the way (Notre Dame, the boat ride up Canal St Martin, walking through the heart of the Marais, etc).
I'm so very glad that we took a week off and just went sightseeing, it's easy to fall into the habit of just going about your routine when you live somewhere.
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Post by fumobici on Aug 25, 2013 19:18:13 GMT
As tourist attractions go, this one looks well worth visiting.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 25, 2013 20:03:28 GMT
I can safely say this is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen! Your pictures are wonderful, Woody, especially since I checked out the full-screen Flickr versions. I appreciate your inclusion of the Ratcliffe link, but really, your photos do full justice to this amazing place (& are crisper than Ratcliffe's, to boot).
There are so many stellar features in that one church -- the exquisite carved wooden portraiture, the rich and rather modern-seeming color combinations, the absolutely perfect proportion of all the design element to each other -- but the walls of glass are mind-boggling. It's not only the beauty of the colored glass, but the boldness of the medieval architect who decided to use glass instead of stone -- wow!
However did so much of it survive so many centuries?
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Post by woody77 on Aug 26, 2013 12:37:31 GMT
Bix, thanks for the compliments on the photos. Trey's captures the feel better, but it _is_ a bit over the top.
It's a wonderful church, I'm looking forward to going back when we visit with friends and family that are visiting us (and Paris).
It had a pretty rough life, especially after the French Revolution, but I think it's also had people caring for it and working to keep it up, and restore it when needed.
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Post by bjd on Aug 26, 2013 14:46:32 GMT
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Post by woody77 on Aug 26, 2013 16:07:16 GMT
bjd, that's where I was cribbing history of the chapel from.  |
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Post by fgrsk8r1970 on Nov 4, 2013 15:03:42 GMT
woody-we went to St. Chapelle 2 years ago and it's still one of my favorite places!! Your photos are breathtaking and now I wish I would have taken more photos of the details (and believe me I took many pictures LOL) It was christmas time when we were there so the lower chapel also had a tree which made it look very cozy IMO. Thank you for all the fantastic photos…. as our trip is getting closer I am getting more and more excited reading the great reports here again and again |
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Post by woody77 on Nov 5, 2013 12:01:30 GMT
fgrsk8r1970: Thanks, it's a really beautiful place. And with christmas decorations, wow, that must have been impressive. Did they have anything other than a tree in the lower chapel?
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Post by fgrsk8r1970 on Nov 5, 2013 18:56:48 GMT
Not that I recall woody. Here is the one photo I actually took with the tree in it.  |
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Post by woody77 on Nov 11, 2013 18:17:32 GMT
fgrsk8r: that's beautiful!
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Post by fgrsk8r1970 on Nov 11, 2013 18:52:55 GMT
Thank you woody |
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