Saturday, July 17, 2010

St. Christopher in Reims

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This is a shot of the interior of the Basilica of St. Remi in the city of Reims, France.
The Abbey of St. Remi founded in the sixth century contains the relics of the Bishop St. Remi, who converted Clovis, the king of the Franks, to Christianity in 496 AD. The small church later became a basilica thanks to the Pope Leo IX.

The origins of the abbey lie in a 6th century chapel dedicated to Saint Christopher, as seen on the photo carrying baby Jesus on his shoulder. The church later acquired the relics of St Remi which founded its success and was visited by many kings and Popes.
The Basilica was looted during the French Revolution and many valuable objects where destroyed. Later during the first World War, the building was bombed and a huge fire destroyed the roof and vaults. The restoration lasted until 1958 and the stone vaults were replaced with wood and plaster.

The original organ was destroyed during the 1918 bombings. In the year 2000, the French organ-builder Bertrand Cattiaux offered this magnificent instrument to the basilica. It looked like it was almost glowing in the dark.
The chandelier seen in the background contains 96 candles representing the Bishop's age when he died in the year 533 AD.

In 1991, the Basilica of Saint Remi became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I recommend visiting the place!

4 comments:

SpunkyGirl said...

Wonderful capture!

ScenebyLaurie said...

Great photo. This is my first visit to your site, but I'll have to come back more regularly, love your photography.

Zooey said...

hi laurie! this guy has many strings to his bow. very talented. check out his old posts and his travel blog. for loads of great portraits check out ziadsalloumphotography.com :)

Daniel N. said...

Thanks a lot everyone! I'm glad you appreciate it!

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