Even though it wasn’t a particularly hot day in August 2019, cold sweat still ran down my forehead. I sat in one of the cars of line 13, waiting for the metro to pull into my destination: the Basilica of Saint-Denis.
The train finally stopped at the station and I stepped out onto the street. My nerves kept building: after all, not every day do you go wandering through one of the most notorious suburbs of Paris. But I was determined not to give up and to reach my destination. I walked as fast as I could, and to my relief, I reached the square in front of the basilica. I had expected something like a French version of a rough, crowded old market quarter, but to my surprise, I found a rather impressive town hall and a French bistro.
So let me bust a myth right at the start: Saint-Denis isn’t the scary, dangerous place some make it out to be (at least not around the basilica), so there’s really no reason to skip this gorgeous building. True, Paris has no shortage of beautiful churches, but the Basilica of Saint-Denis holds the tombs of most of France’s kings, which means you’ll find some stunning graves here and a fascinating history to go with them.
So today, we’re going to visit, at least virtually, this beautiful church. We’ll learn about the saint it’s named after and discover some of the most beautiful tombs you can find there. And don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten to include practical details like how to get there, opening hours, and ticket options. All of that is waiting for you at the end of the article.
So let’s get going and pay a visit to the final resting place of most of France’s kings.
The History of the Basilica of Saint-Denis
A Saint Rises, Picks Up His Head, and Starts Walking
Our story begins with a man named Dionysius, born in Greece, who lived in the third century AD. Dionysius arrived in Lutetia (as Paris was known in the Gallo-Roman period) to convert the city’s residents to Christianity, and since he was remarkably successful at it, he quickly became a threat to the pagan religious establishment in the city.
After Dionysius (or Denis, in French) ignored warnings to stop preaching Christianity, the local ruler had him arrested along with his companions, Eleutherius and Rusticus, and thrown in prison. At their trial, the three men were charged with sorcery and sentenced to death.
The execution was supposed to take place on top of a hill in the north of the city, where a temple to the god Mars stood. The three condemned men were led by a group of soldiers along what is today the Rue des Martyrs (named for them), but they never made it to the summit.
The soldiers grew tired along the way and decided to behead Dionysius and his companions at what is now the intersection of Rue des Martyrs and Rue Yvonne le Tac (today you’ll find a chapel there, built in their memory by the Jesuit order).
But after the deed was done, Denis rose to his feet, picked up his head, and started walking. He walked several kilometers north, still preaching to anyone he passed, until he met a Roman noblewoman named Catulla. He stopped, placed his head in her hands, and collapsed. On the spot where he fell, the Abbey of Saint-Denis would later be built, while the hill where he was beheaded would become Montmartre, meaning “the mountain of the martyrs.”
And before we move on: am I the only one who finds something darkly comic about a man getting up and walking off while carrying his own severed head in his hands?
The Burial Place of France’s Kings
As I mentioned, Denis’s fame spread far and wide, and he was soon canonized as a saint. As a result, the place where he was buried became a hugely popular pilgrimage site. During the 7th century, King Dagobert I (r. 603-639) decided to build an abbey there, and Saint-Denis himself was given a magnificent tomb, the work of Saint Eloi (588-660).
Dagobert I is considered one of the most powerful kings of the Merovingian dynasty, though his reign was short: he died at age 36. Before his death, he asked to be buried in the Benedictine abbey at Saint-Denis, which he himself had founded, thereby starting a tradition that would hold (with a few exceptions) all the way to the 19th century.
And don’t be mistaken: France’s kings didn’t travel to Saint-Denis only to be buried there. They sent their sons to study with the monks, and every time they entered Paris, they did so only after visiting and praying at the abbey. That’s why Rue Saint-Denis became such an important street in Paris: living kings traveled along it heading south, toward the Louvre Palace, while dead kings traveled it heading north, toward the abbey where they would be buried. On top of that, the banner of Saint-Denis became the official battle standard of the French kings, who rode into battle shouting “Montjoie Saint Denis!”
The First Gothic Church
But let’s rewind a bit. As I mentioned, a small chapel used to stand where Saint-Denis was buried, serving pilgrims who came to visit. The chapel grew into a fairly modest abbey, and during the 8th century, the first church we know of was built there (the Carolingian version of Saint-Denis, named for the dynasty ruling France at the time).
During the 12th century, Abbé Suger (1080-1151), abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Denis and close advisor to kings Louis VI and Louis VII, decided to rebuild the abbey church. He chose to use the newest techniques of his era (for example, the rose-shaped stained glass window you can find on the church’s western facade), and in doing so created a new style, initially known as “the French style” and later, during the Renaissance, given the dismissive nickname “Gothic.”
The reconstruction of the church began in 1135 and was completed in 1264, and during this process new tombs were built for several of the Carolingian and Capetian kings buried there.
Meanwhile, France’s kings kept being buried at Saint-Denis, and their tombs grew more and more elaborate as time went on. Take, for example, the tomb of Anne de Bretagne (1477-1514) and Louis XII (r. 1498-1515).
The elaborate tomb you see in the photo isn’t the original, which was vandalized during the French Revolution. This one dates from 1830, built in a style that was very popular in the 15th and 16th centuries. In this style, you can see the couple shown praying at the top, while below them their bodies are sculpted in a very realistic way (meant to remind every mortal what awaits them).
And by the way, it wasn’t only France’s kings who were buried at Saint-Denis. You’ll also find the tombs of some of the most important commanders of the French army, chief among them Bertrand du Guesclin (1320-1380), who managed to turn the tide of the Hundred Years’ War and drive the English out of large portions of the territory they had conquered.
The Revolutionaries Desecrate Saint-Denis
When the French Revolution broke out, the revolutionaries began desecrating churches across France. They needed money to fill the empty coffers of the newly formed republic, and they hated the Church, which they saw as a tool of oppression.
To them, Saint-Denis was a double symbol: both of the hated religion and of the monarchy, so it’s no surprise that the revolutionaries descended on it in a campaign of destruction and vandalism. First, they opened the tombs and threw the bones into a mass grave. Then, they looted the gold artwork and destroyed much of the tombs and statues. They even went so far as to destroy a group of statues that were originally meant to depict the kings of Israel, mistakenly believing they were French kings (the same thing happened at Notre-Dame Cathedral).
And as if that weren’t enough, the revolutionaries smashed most of the stained-glass windows at Saint-Denis so they could melt down the lead that held the glass in place and use it to make bullets. As a result, today only 5 of the basilica’s stained-glass windows are original; all the rest were recreated during the 19th century.
Naturally, during the Revolution the site stopped serving as a royal burial ground, and when Louis XVI (r. 1774-1792) and Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) were beheaded, in January 1793 and October 1793 respectively, their bodies were unceremoniously dumped in the Madeleine Cemetery (you can read about the fascinating history of their burial and the chapel built there in my article, Chapelle Expiatoire: The Mysterious Chapel in the Heart of Paris). Only after the Bourbon Restoration did the royal couple receive a burial befitting their rank, along with a beautiful tomb.
Even the remains of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette’s son, the unfortunate Louis XVII (1785-1795), were eventually brought here. But that only happened in 2004, after genetic testing proved beyond doubt that the remains found at the Church of Sainte-Marguerite really did belong to him.
Fortunately for us, the revolutionaries never damaged the walls of the church itself, so the building has survived, more or less, as it was. Napoleon began restoring the church and even built a crypt there meant for himself and his family. But as we all know, Napoleon never ended up buried at Saint-Denis, and had to “settle” for Les Invalides instead.
After the Bourbon Restoration, renovations continued on both the church and its tombs. But then nature decided to step in and try to finish what even the revolutionaries couldn’t. In 1837, the north tower was struck by a powerful bolt of lightning, and nine years later, a storm battered the site, causing severe damage.
The city decided to take the tower down temporarily, for safety reasons, and that “temporary” fix became nearly permanent. In 2016, France’s Ministry of Culture decided to finally set things right and rebuild the tower, but it didn’t bother to allocate a proper budget for the project. Only after a dedicated association was formed and raised the necessary funds did serious talk of rebuilding the tower begin, and a start date was finally set: May 2020.
I have no idea whether the work ever got underway, or whether the pandemic joined the ranks of forces of nature that, for some reason, seem to have it in for the north tower. Either way, I’ll keep following the story to see if there’s any progress, but for now the facade remains with just one tower.
Saint-Denis: Practical Information
I hope the fascinating history of this church, and of those buried inside it, has convinced you not to be afraid and to come visit on your next trip to the City of Light. If you’ve decided to take my advice, you’ll find everything you need below to plan your visit.
How do you get there?
The simplest way is to take metro line 13. Keep in mind that the line splits at the La Fourche station, and you’ll need to take the branch that ends at Saint-Denis – Université, otherwise you’ll end up in Asnières (and if that happens by mistake, feel free to go visit the pet cemetery located there).
Opening hours
The basilica is open daily from 10:00 to 18:15, except on Sundays, when Mass is held and the church only opens to the public at noon.
Where can you buy tickets?
Since this isn’t just a simple church but a fascinating museum centered on the burial of France’s kings, admission costs money. There isn’t always a long line, but as with any attraction, I highly recommend buying tickets in advance so you can walk straight in instead of waiting around.
If you’d like to buy a ticket online, you can find one on my monuments page.
Are all of France’s kings buried at Saint-Denis?
Almost all of them are. Some were buried there originally, while others’ remains were moved there later (for example, the remains of the Merovingian kings, which were transferred from the abbeys of Sainte-Geneviève and Saint-Germain-des-Prés). The only kings who were not buried at Saint-Denis are:
Louis XI (1423-1483)
who is buried at the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Cléry, in the town of Cléry-Saint-André, not far from Orléans.
Charles X (1757-1836)
who fled France during the Revolution of 1830 and died of cholera in 1836 in the town of Gorizia, which today is in Slovenia. He’s buried there, in an abbey, alongside his son, the Count of Angoulême, who ruled France for about 20 minutes as Louis XIX.
Louis Philippe (1773-1850)
Like Charles X, Louis Philippe also fled France, this time after the Revolution of 1848, and died in England. But unlike Charles X, his remains didn’t stay in England. They were moved to the royal necropolis of the House of Orléans in the town of Dreux. You can read about it in my article, Dreux: The Burial Estate of France’s Last King.
Want to visit more fascinating cemeteries in Paris?
Paris’s cemeteries hold no shortage of beautiful tombs and fascinating historical stories. So it’s no surprise they’ve become one of the city’s major attractions. If you’d like more information on the various cemeteries of Paris, you can find it in my article, The Cemeteries of Paris: If Only the Tombstones Could Talk.
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