5616 x 3744 px | 47,5 x 31,7 cm | 18,7 x 12,5 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
9 ottobre 2009
Ubicazione:
Reims, Champagne Ardenne , France, Europe.
Altre informazioni:
The cathedral was completed by the end of the 13th century, with the exception of the western front. That portion was erected in the 14th century, following 13th century designs, giving Reims an unusual unity of style. The nave in the meantime was lengthened to afford room for the crowds that attended the coronations. The towers, 81 m tall (approx. 267 ft), were originally designed to rise 120 m (approximately 394 ft). The south tower holds just two great bells; one of them, named “Charlotte” by Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine in 1570, weighs more than 10, 000 kg. In 1875 the French National Assembly voted £80, 000 for repairs of the façade and balustrades. The façade is the finest portion of the building, and one of the great masterpieces of the Middle Ages. The cathedral ablaze: German shellfire during the opening engagements of the First World War burned, damaged and destroyed important parts of the cathedral. Scaffolding around the north tower caught fire, spreading the blaze to all parts of the carpentry superstructure. The inside of the cathedral is 138.75 m long, 30 m wide in the nave, and 38 m high in the centre. It comprises a nave with aisles, transepts with aisles, a choir with double aisles, and an apse with ambulatory and radiating chapels. It has interesting stained glass ranging from the 13th to the 20th century. The rose window over the main portal and the gallery beneath are of rare magnificence. The cathedral possessed fine tapestries. Of these the most important series is that presented by Robert de Lenoncourt, archbishop under François I, representing the life of the Virgin. They are now to be seen in the former bishop's palace. The north transept contains a fine organ in a flamboyant Gothic case. The choir clock is ornamented with curious mechanical figures. Marc Chagall designed the stained glass installed in 1974 in the axis of the apse. The treasury includes the Sainte Ampoule, holy flask containing the oil with which French kings were anointed
