Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims is considered to be the best example of French and classical Gothic. It is no coincidence that from the Middle Ages until the 19th century, solemn coronations of almost all French monarchs took place in it, and not in the Paris Cathedral.
In Reims, the cathedral was built after the Notre Dame Cathedral. The architects had a wonderful example of Gothic to follow. Construction began in 1210 on the site of an ancient church of the V century, but a grand fire destroyed the building. In 1211, a new construction began with the involvement of four famous French architects. And as a result, a stone-openwork miracle was born, which survived to our days.
Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims is not a copy of the Paris Temple. Architects Jean d'Aubreux, then Jean Le Loop, Gauche de Reims, Bernard de Sauson in turn contributed to the construction of their vision of the Cathedral. They not only imitated the pattern, but surpassed it in some ways. So, the length of the main nave is 138 meters, 8 meters longer than the Parisian one. Two central towers reached 80 m and were 11 m higher than Parisian ones. They are now the highest among the cathedrals of France. It was thought to build another 5 towers, but failed to bring it to life, as there was not enough strength and money.
Reims Cathedral is equipped with many sculptures. There are more than 500 of them only in the "Gallery of Kings". On the facade are represented not only sculptures of kings, but also prominent bishops, knights, artisans. The figures of angels installed in niches above the portal gave the building the popular name "Cathedral of Angels".
It is difficult to look away from Reims Cathedral. Especially stands out its main highest western facade. At the base, it seems heavy, massive. It is like a frozen vertical carved stone wall with two aerial towers. It is worth moving away from the cathedral, and it already seems light, weightless, as if floating in the air. This is the amazing effect that the builders of the Middle Ages achieved.
