Reims Cathedral

A Gothic cathedral in Reims, Marne, where almost every king of France was crowned. Built from the 13th to the 14th century, it was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1991.

Reims Cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims in northeastern France. According to tradition, the Frankish king Clovis was baptised here by Saint Remigius around the end of the fifth century, and from the 11th century nearly all the kings of France were crowned in the cathedral.

The present building was begun in the early 13th century, after a fire destroyed the earlier church, and completed in the 14th century. Celebrated for its 2,303 statues, it is one of the most important works of Gothic architecture. Heavily damaged by German shelling in the First World War, it was restored in the 20th century, and in 1991 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.