Landmark Europe
Basilica of Saint-Denis
The Basilica of Saint-Denis is a big old church near Paris, France. It helped start the Gothic style. It has tall ceilings and lots of colored glass!
The Basilica of Saint-Denis, just north of Paris, is a former abbey church that has been a cathedral since 1966. In the 12th century, Abbot Suger had it rebuilt in a new style with ribbed vaults and great windows, and it is called one of the cradles of Gothic art. Many kings and queens of France are buried here, and today its lost north tower and spire are being rebuilt.
Rebuilt from the 12th century under Abbot Suger with ribbed vaults and an exceptional surface of glass, Saint-Denis is, in the words of the Centre des monuments nationaux, one of the cradles of Gothic art. The church is 108 m long with 29 m vaults, holds 70 tomb effigies, and is rebuilding the north tower and spire taken down in the 19th century.
Photo: Chabe01, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover the Basilica of Saint-Denis
The Basilica of Saint-Denis is in the town of Saint-Denis, very close to Paris.
It is a huge stone church with tall windows. It has one tower now, and a second one is being built again!
The Basilica of Saint-Denis stands in the town of Saint-Denis, a short trip from Paris. It was once the church of an abbey, a community of monks, and has been a cathedral since 1966.
It is known for its building style, which helped start Gothic architecture, and for its tombs: many kings and queens of France were buried here. The church keeps a collection of 70 carved tomb figures and large stained glass windows.
The Centre des monuments nationaux's site presents Saint-Denis as a former abbey church, a cathedral since 1966, and the burial place of the kings of France, with a unique collection of 70 recumbent effigies and a spectacular set of stained glass windows.
The church as it stands today dates from the 12th and 13th centuries. It is 108 meters long, and its vaults rise 29 meters.
- Where
- Saint-Denis, close to Paris, France
- Gothic rebuilding
- 12th century, under Abbot Suger
- Size
- 108 m long; vaults 29 m high
- Cathedral since
- 1966
Abbot Suger and a new style
About 900 years ago, a leader named Abbot Suger had the church rebuilt.
He used a new way of building that let in lots of light. People call it Gothic.
In the 12th century, Abbot Suger, an adviser to the French kings Louis VI and Louis VII, had the church gradually rebuilt in a new style. The builders used ribbed vaults and a great surface of glass, so the church was bathed in light.
The Centre des monuments nationaux calls it one of the cradles of Gothic art and says it inspired new buildings all over Europe. Its large rose windows served as a model for those of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Under Abbot Suger, adviser to Louis VI and Louis VII, the 12th-century church was gradually rebuilt in a new style with innovative principles such as ribbed vaults and an exceptional surface of glass. The monument's managers consider it a major work of Gothic art that contributed to new buildings across Europe, and they call its west front the world's first Gothic facade.
In 1809 the old monastery buildings became an educational establishment of the Legion of Honor, which is still there today. In 1813 the architect François Debret was asked to restore the building: its stained glass windows, facades, floors, vaults and sculptures.
Vaults, glass and two great roses
Inside, the ceiling is 29 meters high!
Two round windows are more than 12 meters across.
The church is 108 meters long, and its vaults rise 29 meters above the floor. Its builders used ribbed vaults, new for the time, and large windows of colored glass.
Its transept, the part that crosses the main hall, is lit by two great rose windows, each more than 12 meters across.
The 12th–13th-century church measures 108 m in length with vaults 29 m high. Its immense transept is lit by two rose windows more than 12 m in diameter, which, the site says, served as a model for Notre-Dame de Paris.
The monument's managers name the ribbed vaults, the exceptional glass surface and the colorful stained glass windows among the features of the new style.
The lost spire, rising again
Long ago, a very tall spire stood on the north tower. Storms damaged it, and later it was taken down.
Now builders are making the tower and spire again, stone by stone!
Until the middle of the 1800s, the north tower carried a spire almost 90 meters high. Lightning struck it in 1837, a tornado weakened it in 1845, and from 1847 the north tower was taken down.
Today they are being rebuilt from the original drawings. The foundation stone was laid on 14 March 2025, and the project counts 15,228 stones cut, 130 craftsmen and young people in training, and about five years of work.
Lightning struck the 90 m north spire on 9 June 1837; Debret repaired it, but a tornado in 1845 weakened it again, and Debret was replaced by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, who had the whole north tower taken down from 1847. Under an agreement signed with the Ministry of Culture in 2018, the association Suivez la flèche manages the rebuilding.
The foundation stone was laid on 14 March 2025. The tower and spire are to be rebuilt as they were, using the original drawings, with 15,228 stones cut, 130 craftsmen and trainees and five years of work. The Fabrique de la flèche, a workshop and exhibition space beside the church, has been open since October 2025.
- Old north spire
- almost 90 m high until the mid-19th century
- Rebuilding
- foundation stone laid 14 March 2025; about 5 years of work
- Stones cut
- 15,228
The west front
In the photo, you see the front of the church with its three big doors.
There is only one tower, on the right. The north tower on the left is being built again.
The photo shows the west front on 26 May 2020. You can see three arched doorways, a big arched window above the middle door, a pointed gable, battlements along the top and one tall tower on the right with a pointed roof.
The north tower, on the left, is missing: it is the one being rebuilt. Visitors walk in the square in front.
The photograph (26 May 2020, by Chabe01; Commons calls it the west facade) shows three carved portals, the large arched window above the central portal, the pointed gable, crenellated parapets and the surviving south tower with its open bell stage and pointed roof. Facing a west front, north is to the left, which is where the dismantled north tower stood.
Since April 2025, a new visitor trail in French, English and Spanish presents the royal necropolis, the architecture and the history of the building.
Amazing facts
-
Builders have cut more than 15,000 stones to rebuild the tower and spire!
The rebuilding of the north tower and spire counts 15,228 cut stones, about five years of work and 130 craftsmen and trainees.
The rebuilding needs 15,228 cut stones, which the site compares to the weight of five to six Airbus aircraft.
-
Its round windows were copied at Notre-Dame de Paris.
The two great rose windows at Saint-Denis, each more than 12 meters across, served as a model for Notre-Dame de Paris.
The transept's two roses, over 12 m in diameter, were a model for those of Notre-Dame de Paris, the site says.
-
A school still uses the old monastery buildings!
Since 1809, an educational establishment of the Legion of Honor has used the old monastery buildings.
Napoleon's 1809 decree placed an educational center of the Legion of Honor in the former monastic buildings, where it remains.
Words to know
- abbey
- a place where monks or nuns live and work, with its own church
- Gothic
- a building style with pointed arches, ribbed vaults and large windows
- vault
- an arched stone ceiling
- rose window
- a large round window divided into many colored parts
- spire
- a tall, pointed top on a tower
- effigy
- a carved figure of a person, often lying on a tomb
Discovery challenge
-
Who had the church rebuilt in a new style?
Which abbot had Saint-Denis rebuilt in the 12th century?
Under which abbot, adviser to Louis VI and Louis VII, did the Gothic rebuilding happen?
- Abbot Suger
- Napoleon
- Charlemagne
Show the answer
Abbot Suger
Abbot Suger!
Abbot Suger.
Suger.
-
Which building style began here?
Saint-Denis is called one of the cradles of which style?
Of which art is Saint-Denis considered a cradle?
- Gothic
- Modern
- Egyptian
Show the answer
Gothic
Gothic!
Gothic, with ribbed vaults and big windows.
Gothic art.
-
What is being built again at Saint-Denis?
What has been under reconstruction since the foundation stone of 14 March 2025?
Which parts, dismantled in the 19th century, are being rebuilt?
- The north tower and its spire
- A swimming pool
- A bridge
Show the answer
The north tower and its spire
The tower and its tall spire!
The north tower and its spire.
The north tower and spire, from the original drawings.
-
How long is the church?
How long is the Basilica of Saint-Denis?
What length does the site give for the 12th–13th-century church?
- 108 meters
- 10 meters
- 1,080 meters
Show the answer
108 meters
108 meters!
108 meters, with vaults 29 meters high.
108 m.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Saint-Denis near Paris and describe the church's west front and tower.
- Describe the ribbed vaults and large stained glass windows of the new Gothic style.
- Describe how a lost tower and spire can be rebuilt from old drawings.
Recommended ages: 4 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- The builders wanted a church full of light. How does light change the way a room feels?
- Storms damaged the old spire. Why might people want to rebuild it now?
- Young people are training as craftsmen on the rebuilding. What skills would you like to learn?
Try at home or in class
- Make a 'stained glass' window from black paper and colored tissue paper and hang it in a sunny window.
- Fold paper strips into arches and cross two of them to see how a ribbed vault works.
Key vocabulary: abbey, Gothic, vault, rose window, spire, effigy
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- History of the monument , Centre des monuments nationaux (Basilique cathédrale Saint-Denis)
- At the heart of Europe's largest heritage project , Centre des monuments nationaux (Basilique cathédrale Saint-Denis)
- File:Basilique St Denis façade ouest St Denis Seine St Denis 20.jpg , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.