La Conciergerie was a palace built in the 13th Century by
Phillipe the Fair. It served as a prison for centuries and was a place of torture
and death. It’s most famous prisoners included Marie Antoinette,
Charlotte Corday, Danton, and Chenie. Marie Antoinette's cell is now a chapel
to her memory, and includes her crucifix, and two portraits of her from life.
It does have some beautiful features, in particular the Salle des Gardes
- the room of the guards with elegant vaulting - the colonnaded Salle des
Gens d'Armes - 69m long and 27m wide now sometimes used for concerts - and
the Cuisines with its four large fireplaces, each large enough to roast
an entire ox. The building now makes up much of the Palais of Justice complex.
Sainte Chapelle
The beautiful Gothic church Sainte
Chapelle, with gorgeous 13th century stained glass, was built in 1298 by
Louis 9 to house relics, including part of the True Cross. The chapel itself is
now surrounded by the Palais of Justice on the Ile de la Cité near Notre Dame.
It has two "tiers", the first one at ground level being rather dark
and close, the second one having radiant tall, stain glass windows, as well as
a small balcony.
Sainte Eustache
Saint-Eustache
was a splendid church built from 1532 to 1754. The name Saint-Eustache comes from a Roman General
who was burned along with his family for converting to Christianity. Several
paintings by Rubens remain in the church today.
Notre Dame
This gothic masterpiece was begun in 1163 by Bishop Maurice de Sully, and
its construction was completed only in 1345. The choir was completed in 1182;
the nave in 1208, and the west front and towers circa 1225-1250. A series
of chapels were added to the nave during the period 1235-50, and during
1296-1330 to the apse. The transept crossings were build in 1250-67. It was
essentially completed according to the original plans.
One of the grandest churches in Europe,
Notre Dame has been the venue of much history. Events which occurred here
include the opening of the first States-General by King Phillipe the Fair, the
crowning of Napoleon as Emperor of the French, a Te Deum mass in 1944
celebrating the liberation of Paris,
interrupted by sniping, and the requiem mass for Charles de Gaulle in 1970.