Best Western Le Saint Denis

93 seine st denis

by fabrice

if you follow the TV news , it is the most dangerous part of the paris region , riots almost everyday , all kinds of deals , drugs , cocaine, whatever you want , the french government tries unsuccesfully to take back this territory from the mafia ; many young criminals have already been arrested up to 75 times by the police and the judges always let them free with no court , no judgement because, poor things , they are not regarded as criminals, but as victims of capitalism.

Study the Rose Windows

by hquittner

The Rose windows are appropriately 12-petalled . The North one has subsidiary rosettes in the second circle; rosettes are in the outer circle on the South. I think the North one deals with the calendar (I can make out Zodiacal symbols) but I do not have details and the sharpness was impossible for me to achieve. Perhaps someone else can do this.

Look at the Tomb of Dagobert I

by hquittner

It is a 13C tabernacle depicting scenes from the life of Dagobert I who founded the basilica. It is located just to the right of the chancel. It was tastefully restored under the direction of Viollet-le-Duc.

Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette

by Diana75

Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette are represented kneeled in prayerful postures on the left side of the Basilica, but they are buried in the crypt.

After the distruction of the tombs during the Revolution, the bodies of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were found in 1815, brought to St. Denis and buried in the crypt.

Saint-Denis - The Royal Necropolis

by Diana75

42 kings, 32 queens, 63 princes and princesses, 10 great men of France rest in Saint-Denis in more than 70 Renaissance monumental tombs.

Located at 10 km from the center of Paris, the suburb of Saint-Denis is home to the royal necropolis of Saint Denis Basilica but also of France's national stadium, Stade de France, built for the 1998 Football World Cup.

But Saint-Denis has a long history.

Around the year 250 Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris and patron saint of France, was martyred and buried in the cemetery of Catolacus, a village located on this place.

His tomb soon became an important pilgrimage place and in 475 on Sainte Genevieve order a small chapel was built on Denis's tomb.

Dagobert I was the one that transformed the small chapel into a royal monastery and starting from him almost every French king is buried in the Basilica.

"Saint Denis"

Saint Denis, also known as Denise, Dionysius, or Dennis is the bishop of Paris and the patron saint of France.

According to old legends, it seems that Denis was sent from Italy to convert the people in the region where Paris is located now.

He was executed by beheading on Montmartre, who took this name from the martyrdom of Denis (in French Montmartre means mountain of the martyr).

It seems that, after his head was chopped off, St Denis picked it up and walked several miles, all the time preaching a sermon and stopped on the site where Saint Denis Basilica stands today.

In all the representations of today St. Denis is depicted as headless, holding his head in his hands.

His feast day is October 9.