A Tale of Two Cathedrals

Thursday we had a day trip to see two cathedrals in towns about two hours east of Paris.  The first was in Reims and the second in Laon.

Reims Cathedral

Laon Cathedral

The cathedral in Reims, which began construction in the 1200s, is where almost all of the kings of France have been crowned since 816.  It is where Joan of Arc brought the dauphin, Charles VII, to be crowned in 1429 so that he would be recognized as the legitimate king of France.

Reims Western Rose Window and Statues

Reims is also known for its statues--there are over 2,300.  It has the most statues of any cathedral in France.  They were everywhere inside and outside the cathedral.  This smiling angel is its most famous statue.

Smiling Angel

The cathedral was heavily damaged during WW I and John D. Rockefeller contributed one million dollars to the Reims Cathedral and the chateaux at Fontainebleau and Versailles for repairs.  Part of his money replaced the fleur-de-lys you can see along the roof line of the cathedral.

Northern Facade and Fleur-de-Lys along the Roof Line

My favorite feature of Reims Cathedral are the stained glass windows designed by the Russian artist, Marc Chagall, in 1974.  They were so beautiful and the blues exquisite. 

Chagall Windows

Close up of Chagall Window

This is the view of the east facade of the cathedral as we left the town of Reims.  Everyone loved this cathedral.

Our bus driver, Robert, who was also our bus driver in the Loire Valley and Normandy, drove us about one hour to the town of Laon.  Kelly and I had visited Laon with our friend, Dominique Forgon, in January.  It is at the top of a hill and the roads are narrow and winding.  Somehow Robert was able to steer our big pink bus up to the top. 

Kelly, Robert and the Big Pink Bus

Laon Cathedral

After spending a lot of time on the bus with Robert for all of our trips, we all had become quite attached him. We think he liked us, too.  He had been our driver in 2009 for our Loire trip.  He said he didn't drive much anymore, and won't drive French students.  But when he saw the address of the BYU apartment as the pick up spot for our Loire trip earlier this month, he knew it would be a good group and decided to do it.  We were so glad he did and requested him for the rest of our trips.
Laon was one of the first Gothic cathedrals to be built.  It was started in the 1100s soon after St. Denis (where the kings of France are buried).  The Laon cathedral has the oxen carved on the top.  Our guide took us up into the gallery (about 50 steps up a circular staircase).  Here is where some of the original statues and gargoyles that are beyond repair are kept.

View from the Gallery

Gargoyle Head

Audrey, Mary Claire and Madeleine Make Gargoyle Faces

After seeing the statues and gargoyles, our guide took us up an even narrower spiral staircase of about 170 steps into one of the towers of the cathedral.
Even Mom and Dad made it up all those stairs into the tower.  We could see the oxen up close from the tower.

Arriving at the Top

The Oxen

It was very windy up there but we had a great view of the town and a new perspective on the cathedral.

Sydney and McCall

Mary Claire and Madeleine

Hillary, Phoebe and Christina

Rebecca with the Town of Laon Below

Madeleine, Kate and Mary Claire

We were all pretty dizzy by the time we walked down the 219 stairs to the main floor of the cathedral.  We had a few minutes to look at the old town of Laon and then returned to Paris that evening with more great memories of France.