Exterior view

The Abbey of Saint-Remi was founded in the sixth century. Since 1099 it has conserved the relics of Saint Remi (Remigius), the Bishop of Reims who converted Clovis, King of the Franks, to Christianity at Christmas in 496. The present basilica was the abbey church; it was consecrated by Pope Leo IX in 1049. The eleventh-century nave and transepts, in the Romanesque style, are the oldest; the façade of the south transept is the most recent.

The rebuilding of the abbey church began in 1165-70 with the west façade. The original upper part no longer exists, but the surviving two lower stories provide us with a clear idea of the new façade of the 1160s, which was built between two older side towers.

The photo shows the west façade.

View the ground plan of the Abbey Church of Saint-Remi, Reims.