St. Denis: The Cradle of Gothic

The facade of St. Denis.

Today is the feast of St. Denis, the martyr bishop who kept talking after his head was cut off and the namesake of the great abbey of St. Denis outside of Paris.

The interior of St. Denis.

 St. Denis is often credited as being Europe's first truly Gothic building, thanks to the work of Abbot Suger and served as the burial place for most of the kings of France.

Click for a walk through the treasures of St. Denis.

This interactive site on the treasures of St. Denis allows you to have a look through the abbey's collection of reliquaries and royal regalia, most of which were melted down at the time of the French Revolution. 

There are more pictures of the basilica on Flickr.