Reims Cathedral (Cathédrale de Reims), also known as the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in France’s Champagne region was the site of every royal coronation since the medieval period. The final monarch to be crowned there was Charles X in 1825.
A cathedral has stood on the site on which Reims Cathedral sits since 401 AD. The current cathedral was constructed from 1211, after the previous one on the site had burned down and was almost entirely completed by the end of the thirteenth century, with its Western façade added in the fourteenth century.
Reims Cathedral is vast, at 460 feet in length and a nave rising 125 feet with intricately designed stonework and looming towers. In fact, with its incredible architecture, Reims Cathedral has been hailed by UNESCO as “one of the masterpieces of Gothic art” and has been listed as a World Heritage historic site since 1991.
Much of Reims Cathedral has had to be restored since its construction, including its windows, damaged during the French Revolution and later its stonework, which suffered during First World War bombings. Nevertheless, from the thirteenth century Great Rose Window to the Gallery of the Kings, Reims Cathedral is imbued with beauty and with history.