Reims Cathedral – Wikipedia

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady (French: Notre-Dame metropolitan cathedral ) is the main place of Catholic cult of Reims, in the Marne, the episcopal seat of the Archdiocese of the same name. ^[first]

Among the highest examples of Gothic art in Europe, it was the place of the coronations of all the kings of France, starting from 987, when the Count of Paris Ugo Capeto, initiator of the Capetingi dynasty, was crowned there, until 1825 , when the coronation of Charles X. has been celebrated there. Since 1862 it has been a historical monument of France. ^[2] In addition, together with the Abbey of Saint-Remi and the Tau palace is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List of Humans since 1991. ^[3]

The church is built on the site where the previous cathedrals stood. The first was built by the bishop of Reims San Nicasio in the 4th century AD On the remains of a protocristian church that stood on the Gallo-Roman spa of ancient Durocortorum, and was consecrated in 401 by San Nicasio himself, who in 407 will then be martyred by the vandals on his churchyard. In it Clodoveo was baptized by San Remigio, bishop of Reims, in 496, thus becoming the first Catholic king of the Franks.

In 852 it was widely restored and renovated and again consecrated by Bishop Hinmar. In 1210 it was completely destroyed by a fire that developed in the city center. On May 6, 1211 the archbishop Aubry de Humbert began the construction of the current Gothic cathedral. The construction was conducted by four architects who succeeded each other (Jean d’Orbais, Jean Le Loup, Gaucher of Reims and Bernard of Soissons) and most of the construction was completed in 1275. The towers were then completed in 1475.

Among the coronations of the French kings who took place in it, are to be remembered:

• the coronation of San Luigi IX, the Pio (1226);
• the coronation of Charles VII, which took place in the presence and behind the pressures of Giovanna d’Arco (1429);
• The coronation of Charles X, the last king of France (1825).

During the French Revolution it was transformed into a temple of the goddess and most of the ancient furnishings were dispersed or destroyed.

In 1875 the French national assembly voted for the repair of the facade and balustrades. The facade is the most beautiful part of the building, and one of the great masterpieces of the Middle Ages.

In 1914, during the First World War, the German artillery fire destroyed important parts of the cathedral: the roof collapsed, most of the ceiling sometimes, numerous decorative elements (including the sculptural cycles of the major portal), while the windows (already replaced in large numbers, by the canons, with neutral glasses during the eighteenth century according to the fashion of the time) shattered. The disaster caused by the war was followed by a remarkable work of restoration and reconstruction, also possible thanks to the subsidies of the Rockefeller family, which ended only in 1938, with a ceremony that took place on 14 July.

On July 8, 1962, French President Charles De Gaulle and German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer held a ceremony in the Cathedral which colored reconciliation between their two countries 17 years after the end of the Second World War.

Architecture [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The building is divided into a Latin cross plant, divided into three naves along the main body and the transept, while choir and apse have a double series of navetelle, crowned with five radial chapels; The central one, called axial, has a greater depth, obtained thanks to the addition of a span than the general system of the others, which underlines its visual and structural importance. The central nave is divided into nine spans, which are reduced to two on each side in correspondence with the transversal nave. Observing the system of the Chartres cathedral, not very front for the Foundation, you can see an almost similar structural approach, still taken as a model by the architects who will later raise the Amiens Notre-Dame, an example of Gothic architecture that now brings to all ‘Apex all the potential of the style.

The cathedral assumed the current appearance by the end of the thirteenth century, remaining unfinished: of the seven towers initially designed (two for each of the three facades plus one to crown the point of intersection between central nave and transept), all surmounted by tall patlies According to the original idea, only those of the west side were erected, however left without cusp coverage: originally designed to rise up to 120 meters, they did not exceed the 81 threshold. The southern tower contains two large bells; one of these, called Charlotte From the cardinal of Lorena Luigi di Guisa, in 1570, weighs more than 10 tons. This portion was erected in the fourteenth century, on projects of the thirteenth. In the meantime, the nave had been elongated, compared to the initially adopted dimensions, to make room for the crowds who participated in the coronations. Above the choir, an elegant wooden bell tower and lead, 18 meters high, which was reconstructed in the fifteenth century.

The interior of the cathedral is 138.75 m long, 30 wide and 38 meters high at its center. It includes a central nave with lateral naves, transepts with naves, a chorus with double naves and an apse with clinic and chapels arranged in a radials.

Works of art [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The three portals are covered with statues of large and small proportions. The central portal, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is surmounted by a rose window, where the bezel is usually adorned, in the Gothic panorama, with sculptural motifs throughout its space. A similar choice, also adopted for the minor portals, guarantees greater lighting to the aisles placed in correspondence with these entrances. The “Galleria dei Re”, which winds between the central rose window and the bell towers, collecting the latter to the rest of the facade, shows at the center the statue of Clodoveo, caught at the moment of baptism, while the portraits of his are placed on the sides successors.

The facades of the transepts are also decorated with sculptures: the one in the north with statues of the main bishops of Reims, a representation of the universal judgment and a figure of Jesus ( The beautiful God ) while on the south there is a nice rose window with the prophets and apostles. The fire destroyed the roof and the turns in 1481: of the four towers that flanked the transepts, nothing remains above the height of the roof. The interior of the cathedral contains statues in profusion, similar to those present outside, and colored windows of the thirteenth century. The rose window above the main door and the gallery below are of rare magnificence.

The cathedral has refined tapestries. Of these, the most important series is that presented by Robert de Lenoncourt, Archbishop during the kingdom of Francis I, who represents the life of the Virgin. The chorus watch is adorned with curious mechanical figures. Several paintings by Tintoretto, Nicolas Poussin and others. Even the inlays and the chorus railings deserve a mention. The work of the famous Russian painter Marc Chagall can be admired in the cathedral thanks to the windows subsequently installed on the back and on the side of the cathedral.

The cathedral treasure contains the holy ampoule ( Holy bulb ), heir of the ancient ampoule that contained the chrism oil with which the kings of France were greased, which was broken during the French Revolution, and of which a fragment is contained in today’s ampoule. A part of the treasure is located at the Palais du Tau (whose name depends on the form to T), where a pendant deemed the talisman of Charlemagne (of the 9th century) is also exposed.

Bodies in rods [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Close to the head of the left arm of the transept, there is the main barrel organ of the cathedral. The original nucleus of this instrument was made by Oudin de Hestre in 1487-1489 and subsequently expanded and reconstructed several times; Among the most significant interventions, there were the expansion of two keyboards by Denys Collet (1570-1571) and the complete renovations of Étienne Énocq respectively (1647), Louis Péronard (1765-1775), John Abbey (1853) and Victor Gonzales ( 1938). ^[4] Currently the organ has 86 registers and is mixed transmission (mechanical for manuals and pedal, electropneumatic for registers); The console has four keyboards and pedal. ^[5]

Another organ is positioned below the right arch of the eighth span of the central nave, on the floor, made by John Abbey in 1844 and expanded by Charles Mutin 1926; It is enclosed within a neo-Gothic wooden case of Étienne-Gabriel Vantadour. In full with mechanical transmission, it has 17 registers on two manuals and pedal. ^[6]

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  The coronation of Louis XV in 1722

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  Bombing of the cathedral in 1914

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  Interior of the northern tower

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  Detail of the counter -deal

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• A. Erlande-Brandeburg, Reims cathedral – Gothic masterpiece , Ed. Acttes Sud and Aristeas, 2007.
• P. Kurmann e A. Many, Notre-Dame de Reims cathedral , Editions du Patrimoine.