The Basilica of Saint-Denis is a large medieval abbey church in the city of Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of singular importance historically and architecturally as its choir, completed in 1144, shows the first use of all of the elements of Gothic architecture.
The site originated as a Gallo-Roman cemetery in late Roman times. The archaeological remains still lie beneath the cathedral; the people buried there seem to have had a faith that was a mix of Christian and pre-Christian beliefs and practices. Around 475 St. Genevieve purchased some land and built Saint-Denys de la Chapelle. In 636 on the orders of Dagobert I the relics of Saint Denis, a patron saint of France, were reinterred in the basilica. The relics of St-Denis, which had been transferred to the parish church of the town in 1795, were brought back again to the abbey in 1819.The basilica became a place of pilgrimage and the burial place of the French Kings with nearly every king from the 10th to the 18th centuries being buried there, as well as many from previous centuries. "Saint-Denis" soon became the abbey church of a growing monastic complex.
In the 12th century, the Abbot Suger rebuilt portions of the abbey church using innovative structural and decorative features. In doing so, he is said to have created the first truly Gothic building. The basilica's 13th-century nave is the prototype for the Rayonnant Gothic style, and provided an architectural model for many medieval cathedrals and abbeys of northern France, Germany, England and a great many other countries.
The abbey church became a cathedral in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis, Pascal Michel Ghislain Delannoy. Although known as the "Basilica of St Denis", the cathedral has not been granted the title of Minor Basilica by the Vatican.The 86m high spire, dismantled in the nineteenth century, will be rebuilt. The project, initiated more than 30 years ago, will begin in May 2020. It should take about 11 years and cost 28 million euros.
The Musée d'Art et d'Histoire , is a museum located in the historical city of Saint-Denis, France, in the northern outskirts of Paris.The museum, established in 1982, is located in an ancient cloister of the order of the Carmelites, founded in 1625, not far from the Basilique Saint-Denis.
The museum holds displays about the Carmelites, the Paris Commune and the surrealist poet, Paul Éluard. There is also an archaeological department focusing on the ancient finds in and around the Basilique Saint-Denis.
From September to December 2007, the museum had a display about the Silk Road, entitled "Marco Polo et le Livre des Merveilles".
Recommended access is underground Metro station Saint-Denis Porte de Paris, on Line 13, located about 100 meters south of the museum.
