The story of this place
Begun in 1211, the Gothic cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims became the traditional site of French royal coronations, a role rooted in the baptism of Clovis, king of the Franks, in Reims around 496. Thirty-three kings were crowned beneath its soaring nave. Its most fabled moment came on 17 July 1429, when Joan of Arc, having lifted the siege of Orléans, stood beside Charles VII as he was consecrated king, fulfilling her divine mission. In September 1914 German shelling set the cathedral's timbers ablaze, gutting it; its post-war restoration, aided by Rockefeller funds, and its luminous Chagall windows now crown a masterpiece reborn.