MINISTÈRE DES AFFAIRES ÉTRANGÈRES ET EUROPEENNES
No. 24 – July 2011
In 2011, Reims Cathedral celebrates 800 years of history
Reims Cathedral, a jewel of Gothic art and
cradle of the coronation and anointment of the
kings of France, was one of the very first
monuments to be listed as a UNESCO World
Heritage site. Known all over the world for its
remarkable architecture and rich statuary, this
emblematic building of the Champagne region is
celebrating its 800th anniversary until 23 October
2011, following three years of restoration.
To accompany this significant event, the
City of Reims is hosting a panoply of festivities,
including exhibitions, concerts, lectures and film
screenings, as well as a spectacular son et lumière
show that combines imagination, poetry and hightech effects.
2011 is the 800th anniversary of Notre-Dame de
Reims. A very special event for which the city of
Reims has joined the tradition of great builders and is
decking itself with lights. The city, which is involved
in an ambitious project with the implementation of
© Photo credit Jean-Christophe Hanché
the major urban development scheme Reims 2020,
City of Reims
lies in a strategic location between the Paris basin,
northern Europe and the Mediterranean. “Building on our achievements with the recent opening of the
new tram system, we have once again chosen to provide an ambitious and popular programme that is
accessible to everybody,” points out Adeline Hazan, Mayor of Reims.
To celebrate one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Europe is also to pay homage to those who
built it. The cathedral took around 300 years, from 1211 to 1516, to build, to a design of great artistic
richness, which used original architectural techniques. Its statuary, the most impressive of any
cathedral, contains over 2,300 works of art, including the famous Smiling Angel, the stone of which is
tinted ochre with the setting sun.
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The cathedral owes its fame particularly to its important link with the kings of France. The
baptism of Clovis by Bishop Remi, on Christmas Day 496, in the earlier cathedral dedicated to Mary,
was its founding act. From the beginning of the 11th century, Notre-Dame de Reims became
established as the only place in which the coronation and anointment of kings would take place. No
fewer than 25 kings of France have been crowned at Reims, from Louis the Pious in 816 to Charles X
in 1825. On the cathedral forecourt, the statue of Joan of Arc, with her sword raised towards the
façade, recalls the coronation of Charles VII in 1429.
At nightfall, the cathedral forecourt becomes an enormous theatrical stage. Bright pinks, deep
greens, sky blues and dazzling yellows flood the building’s façade with life. Created by set designer
Skertzo, Dream of Colours is a unique spectacle using the highly advanced technique of highdefinition dynamic polychromy. The light display gives onlookers a chance to rediscover the original
colours of the statuary down to the finest detail, from the shading of complexions to patterns of
clothing and mantles, and the colour of hair. The sound of chisels on stone can be heard everywhere,
the racket of carriage wheels too… Lasting 25 minutes, the show is put on twice every evening and
will be repeated in future years for the tourist season.
Seriously damaged during the First World War, the cathedral took on a European dimension in
the contemporary world when the Franco-German reconciliation was ratified under its roof in 1962 by
General de Gaulle and Chancellor Adenauer. The cathedral has been restored under the direction of
Henri Deneux, a native of Reims and Architect-in-Chief of Historic Monuments. The work began in
1919 and is still ongoing. The French state carries out major work for its day-to-day maintenance.
In 2004, the French state launched a public procurement tender to replace the stained-glass
windows lost in the 19th century and during the bombing in the First World War. On 25 June 2011, six
stained-glass windows designed by Imi Knoebel, a German artist of international standing, were
unveiled. Abstract in design, based essentially on the primary colours, red, yellow and blue, they frame
the fresco of stained-glass windows designed by Marc Chagall in 1974 on both sides. “It seems right to
go back to the cathedral’s original chromatic language and create a symbiosis between the old and the
new. Colour gives it quality, weight and balance,” explains Imi Knoebel.
The splendid Palais du Tau, former palace of the archbishops of Reims, standing to the right of
the Notre-Dame cathedral, whose name refers to its T shape (the Greek letter tau), has some fabulous
treasures on public display. Its most distinctive objects are the famous gold chalice which was used for
the communion of the kings of France, the relic of the Holy Ampulla used for anointing kings since the
baptism of Clovis, and the magnificent talisman of Charlemagne.
A focus for tourism in the Champagne region, the cathedral receives a million and a half visitors
every year. A city of art and bimillenary history, Reims is also the city of Champagne wine. Famous
worldwide, champagne, the symbol of excellence and of the French art of living, has acquired the
reputation of being the perfect wine for any festive gathering.
Annik Bianchini
Website:
www.cathedraledereims.fr: 800th anniversary of Reims Cathedral.
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