Oct 15, Part 14 - In the north transept of St Denis Basilica

As we came back up out of the crypt, Hermentrude was one of the first tombs we encountered. Sometimes she's called Ermentrude, especially, it seems, in genealogies.

As I said before, they have the tombs marked out clearly. Here are a couple of very famous monarchs.

I didn't do a good job of noting which monument markers went with which photos, though. Online I found that this is the tomb of Louis XII of France and Anne de Bretagne. Louis was crowned in 1498.

Stained glass and architecture of the cathedral.

There were some nice displays for tourists. As I said, the place seems about half church and half museum. What history there is here!

I don't know who they are. This is just another interior scene of the basilica.

Gothic arches and stained glass.

Another nice tomb sculpture with details of the clothing.

This photo shows the three main levels of the basilica. We're standing on the ground floor. The stairs go up to the main altar level, which also contains monuments and tombs. You can't see it well, but on the far right below the banister, stairs go down to the crypt. This is the design on both sides of the church. It makes a really interesting plan for the visitor.

More leaded glass.

I'm not sure which tomb this is. It's one of the few really large ones.

A nice detail of the stained glass. Yes, it's in focus and exposed well. I love it when that happens! :)

This photo again shows the southern rose window of St-Denis, which is being repaired. The amount of glass they were able to build into the walls of this church is amazing. But that's what Gothic was about.

It occurred to me to record what the floor tiles looked like. In some churches they put carpet down that resembles the floor, but in this case I think it was the real tiles.

Here's another favorite.

I don't remember if this is the only brass tomb cover, but there are not many. I took the photo because it was unusual, and because I like the way the stained glass is reflected.

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Go to Part 15

Oct 15, Part 16 - Leaving St. Denis

We came out of the south door. It was a bigger door, probably to the right or left of this door.

Rather than heading straight back to the metro, we went into the small museum to find a bathroom and look around. I'm still not sure if the whole museum is small or only this entrance area. It was about closing time, and we didn't search for a way to see the rest of the grounds or more museum displays. This model of the basilica and the Medieval town was just inside the entrance.

Here's another display of pieces of Gothic arches that was near at hand.

The bathroom was reasonably nice, but it was a unisex, which we're not that accustomed to. And yes, there was more than one seat.

This is the town hall again (hotel de ville), as we left the front of the basilica into the empty parvis. To reach the metro stop, you go to the end of the building and turn right.

Another scene of the town of St. Denis. I was sorry to leave.

Now we've approached the corner and turned. The metro is straight ahead (actually, you walk around the back of the building a bit).

Nice buildings, nice square. They say people get pick-pocketed here a lot, but we never had any trouble. The square was almost empty on a drizzly day this time of year.

Go to Part 17