Sainte-Chapelle,1

Sainte-Chapelle has been undergoing restoration and cleaning of its windows since the 1970s, when we first saw it. But Rebecca saw it during her Paris visit and reported the windows were totally done and clean and well worth another visit. So we got up early August 13th and were among the first to get inside that morning. Indeed it was almost like seeing it all anew. Sainte-Chapelle was the royal chapel of Louis IX (aka Saint Louis), rayonnant Gothic, built to house the Passion relics Louis had acquired from Constantinople, and with what some regard as the finest of 13th century windows. Certainly the cleanest.

Approaching Sainte-Chapelle, which is located within the
Conciergerie, the royal palace until the 14th century, on the
Ile de la Cite

Alas, the lower chapel, where palace employees could worship.
is now the gift store; in earlier times, the lower chapel by itself
was blown-away impressive...

But the upstairs is better than ever...in recent times; anyhow,
you can see we were the 3rd and 4th persons to enter that day

A look at half a dozen of the windows (details
follow), first the port side

Chancel

Then the starboard side

Depicts the acquisition of the Passion relics
(some of them miraculously survived the
Revolution and are housed now in the cathedral)

Cain bonks Abel

Adam and Eve and apple tree

Noah and ark

Moses...note horns...they change colors in different panels

Someone getting dunked

Joseph being helped out of the well

More bonking