Paris1972-Versailles2003

Well this is a classic and marvelous monument of Reims, in my belle France. Yes indeed folks, the history and architecture runs deep in Reims, I have been here often, been the place with my dear late wife Martine and sisters used to worked the vineyards to help pay studies etc. They took me early in 1990 ,and then some. The City of Reims is in the department 51 of the Marne, in the region of Grand Est, of my belle France, I found me again old paper pictures in my vaults that should be in my blog for you and me, Therefore, here is my take again on the glorious Basilica Saint Remi of Reims , part II !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I. 

The Basilica of Saint Remi after the Cathedral, which it equals almost in size, it is 122 meters long (403 ft) , the Basilica is the most famous church of Reims. It was a long time attached to an important abbey, the Abbaye Saint-Remi de Reims. Saint-Remi dates from the 11-13C and 15C. The Basilica Saint Remi has the nave and the transepts, Romanesque in style, are the oldest, while the facade of the south transept is the most recent. The choir and the apse date back to the 12-13C. The monuments of value that were in the church in the past were looted during the French revolution; The tomb of Saint Remi is a 19C revival.

In 533, Remi, Bishop of Reims, wished to be buried in the Chapel dedicated to Saint Christophe, which was located 2 km from the Cathedral. Very quickly this Chapel Saint-Christophe becomes a place of pilgrimage. People flocking, religious folks to keep the body of the Holy man. The primitive chapel is enlarged to the dimensions of a church, where the body is transferred in 533, the day that became, the Saint-Remi. At about 760, Abbé Jean Turpin founded the Abbey of Saint-Remi and settled there a Benedictine religious community that remained there until the French revolution. The church was consecrated by Pope Leo IX in 1049, during the Council of Reims between 1118 and 1151, the sanctuary and the monastic choir was decorated and was preserved until the French revolution. It has been done like a mosaic pavement in the choir of the monks, which occupied the last four bays of the nave, and in the cross of the transept. The pavement surrounded and highlighted funerary slabs of important characters, buried in the church since the time of the Carolingians.

It was not until 2000 that the basilica was again equipped with a large organ by the organ builder Bertrand Cattiaux. It followed a whole series of organs, an organ commissioned by the monks in 1662. A choir organ was built in 1842. A large organ in the eleventh bay was installed in 1898 but burned down on August 1, 1918 during the First World War. In 1972, an organ in the chapel of the University college was installed.

A commemorative plaque in the south aisle commemorates the coronation of three Frankish kings in this basilica: Charles III the Simple in 893; Robert I in 922; and Lothair in 954. My short list of famous people buried in the Basilica of Saint-Remi are Carloman I, King of the Franks; Louis IV of Outremer, King of the Franks; Lothair (c. 941–986), King of the Franks; and Vulfaire, Archbishop of Reims, in 816; Among the royal and ecclesiastical figures buried in the basilica, the Carolingian kings Louis IV of Outremer and Lothair (King of the Franks) are notable, and have been described: at the time of their destruction during the French revolution, the two tombs of Louis IV and his son, King Lothair, were located on either side of the choir, on the Epistle side for Louis IV and on the Gospel side for Lothair. Their remains were moved in the mid-18C and transported to the right and left of the mausoleum of Carloman I under the first arcade of the collateral nave on the sacristy side of the Basilica of Saint-Remi . The statues placed on the original tombs were left in place. Other anecdotes tell us that the painter Tsuguharu Fujita experienced a mystical illumination while visiting it, which led him to embrace the Christian faith. Pope John Paul II visited Reims in 1996 to celebrate the 1500th anniversary of the baptism of Clovis, the first king of the Franks, by Saint Remi.

The city of Reims on the Basilica Saint Remi: https://www.reims.fr/la-ville-de-reims/reims-et-son-patrimoine/la-basilique-et-lancienne-abbaye-saint-remi

The Reims tourist office on the Basilica Saint Remi: https://www.reims-tourisme.com/en/activite/basilique-saint-remi/

The Marne dept 51 tourist office n the Basilica Saint Remi : https://www.tourisme-en-champagne.co.uk/basilique-saint-remi/reims/pcu0000000000733

There you go folks , nothing more to say ,you need to come here. Reims is great, and not to forget this is Champagne country! Again, hope you enjoy the post to the Basilica Saint Remi of Reims, part II !!!

And remember, happy travels , good health, and many cheers to all !!!