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Places of Worship
Saturday, April 17, 2004
Today was church day. It was cold, gray, and drizzly, but I braved the elements to visit two beautiful places of worship: Sainte Chappelle and Notre Dame de Paris.
Both are within about half a mile of each other, on the Ile de la Cite. Sainte Chappelle is in the upper left on the map, and Notre Dame is in the lower right. Talk about gargoyles! They were visible in both places, but only on the outside, of course. Inside was another story entirely.
This shot was taken when the clouds were doing their best to obscure the sun. I had to lighten it to get what you see here.
This one was taken later, after the sun showed its face.
Sainte Chappelle is considered by some to be the most beautiful church in Paris. It's been called "a veritable Sistine Chapel of shimmering stained glass." It was built by King Louis IX from 1242 to 1248. From outside, it looked to me like just another chapel, but...
...the people lining up to pay over 6 Euros to view it evidently knew what to expect.
The entrance features beautiful craftsmanship, and you can just catch a glimpse of the greater beauty inside, all done with warm colors and lighting.
Once we got inside, we were reminded to be silent. I don't believe there are services still held here (not sure about that), but there was an attitude of reverence regardless.
Flash pictures were allowed, although I tried to do all mine with natural light. Kinda challenging, considering I needed long exposures to accomplish the feat, since the ambient light was low.
The craftsmanship in the ceiling was magnificent, and the play of light against the wood produced a warm, rich tone.
But that was only the lower chapel (did you notice "Chapelle Basse" on the sign that asked for silence? The lower chapel was used in the time of Louis IX as the palace's parish church). To get to the upper chapel (Chapelle Haute), which was originally for the king's use only, we had to climb a narrow, circular staircase that seemed to have no end...
...and where the steps were hardly large enough for my size 13 feet.
But once we got there.... Gorgeous is the only word I can find. Stained glass all around, 6,458 square feet of it, and people just staring up in awe. I wonder what it would have been like on a bright day. Probably couldn't stand it.
You can see the beautiful ceiling work like in the chapel downstairs, but now elevated to a much higher level, seeming even more majestic.
I think the picture on the left is a little fuzzy because I needed such a long exposure, but you get the idea. Each of the stained glass windows had a series of inlaid shapes with a Biblical scene in it. I spent quite a while here, just meditating and taking it in. I struck up a conversation with some Americans who had been in Paris for three weeks (yeah, that's the way to do Paris!), and then, just as I was about to leave...
...the sun decided to peek through the clouds and bathe us with a shaft of multicolored light.
The rose window at the end of the chapel opposite the altar uses more than 80 glass panels to depict the Apocalypse.
That was Sainte Chappelle. Notre Dame? It'll have to be later. Right now it's 4:00 a.m. Paris time, so even though you might still be awake (it's only 10:00 p.m. for you) I think I better hit the sack.
Guess what? When I get back to Paris, I'm going to arrange a special sunny day, and go back to Sainte Chappelle, just so I can see the real light show.
TTYL.
Both are within about half a mile of each other, on the Ile de la Cite. Sainte Chappelle is in the upper left on the map, and Notre Dame is in the lower right. Talk about gargoyles! They were visible in both places, but only on the outside, of course. Inside was another story entirely.
This shot was taken when the clouds were doing their best to obscure the sun. I had to lighten it to get what you see here.
This one was taken later, after the sun showed its face.
Sainte Chappelle is considered by some to be the most beautiful church in Paris. It's been called "a veritable Sistine Chapel of shimmering stained glass." It was built by King Louis IX from 1242 to 1248. From outside, it looked to me like just another chapel, but...
...the people lining up to pay over 6 Euros to view it evidently knew what to expect.
 |  |
The entrance features beautiful craftsmanship, and you can just catch a glimpse of the greater beauty inside, all done with warm colors and lighting.
Once we got inside, we were reminded to be silent. I don't believe there are services still held here (not sure about that), but there was an attitude of reverence regardless.
Flash pictures were allowed, although I tried to do all mine with natural light. Kinda challenging, considering I needed long exposures to accomplish the feat, since the ambient light was low.
 |  |  |
The craftsmanship in the ceiling was magnificent, and the play of light against the wood produced a warm, rich tone.
But that was only the lower chapel (did you notice "Chapelle Basse" on the sign that asked for silence? The lower chapel was used in the time of Louis IX as the palace's parish church). To get to the upper chapel (Chapelle Haute), which was originally for the king's use only, we had to climb a narrow, circular staircase that seemed to have no end...
...and where the steps were hardly large enough for my size 13 feet.
But once we got there.... Gorgeous is the only word I can find. Stained glass all around, 6,458 square feet of it, and people just staring up in awe. I wonder what it would have been like on a bright day. Probably couldn't stand it.
You can see the beautiful ceiling work like in the chapel downstairs, but now elevated to a much higher level, seeming even more majestic.
 |  |
I think the picture on the left is a little fuzzy because I needed such a long exposure, but you get the idea. Each of the stained glass windows had a series of inlaid shapes with a Biblical scene in it. I spent quite a while here, just meditating and taking it in. I struck up a conversation with some Americans who had been in Paris for three weeks (yeah, that's the way to do Paris!), and then, just as I was about to leave...
...the sun decided to peek through the clouds and bathe us with a shaft of multicolored light.
The rose window at the end of the chapel opposite the altar uses more than 80 glass panels to depict the Apocalypse.
That was Sainte Chappelle. Notre Dame? It'll have to be later. Right now it's 4:00 a.m. Paris time, so even though you might still be awake (it's only 10:00 p.m. for you) I think I better hit the sack.
Guess what? When I get back to Paris, I'm going to arrange a special sunny day, and go back to Sainte Chappelle, just so I can see the real light show.
TTYL.
