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The most important church building of King Louis IX was the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. Constructed in the first half of the 1240s, it was consecrated in 1248. As tall as many an older cathedral, it rises up in the middle of the royal palace like a stone shrine - which is in effect what it is, for it was built to house what was thought to be Christ's crown of thorns, acquired from the Byzantine emperor Baldwin II and brought to Paris in 1239.
The Sainte-Chapelle is one of the earliest surviving buildings of the Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité. Although damaged during the French Revolution, and restored in the 19th century, it has one of the most extensive 13th-century stained glass collection anywhere in the world.
The Sainte-Chapelle (the upper chapel) stands squarely upon a lower chapel, which served as parish church for all the inhabitants of the palace, which was the seat of government. The wall is completely translated into shallow wall arcading and very tall, narrow windows. Slender responds of varying sizes support the vault with its high springing. The architecture is painted all over in the colours and motifs of the royal coat-of-arms, while the vault webs portray a starry sky. Despite major restoration, the present colours are probably close to the original scheme, in which intricate glazing in strong red and blue predominated.
The lower chapel of the building is two-storied in the style of palace chapels. Supporting the floor of the upper chapel is the lower vault, which is supported by thin columns standing well away from the walls.
The photo shows the upper chapel.
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