Basilique de Saint-Denis: station history
Served by: metro line 13.
Did you know?
A line 13 station in the centre of Saint-Denis, a stone's throw from the basilica after which it is named. It opened when line 13 was merged with the former line 14, under the name « Saint-Denis - Basilique », before being renamed Basilique de Saint-Denis on the maps with the extension to Saint-Denis - Université. Its subtitle « Hôtel de Ville » refers to the nearby town hall, like Créteil - Préfecture, on line 8. Two entrances, passage de l'Aqueduc and place du Caquet, lead to the town hall and to the Basilique shopping centre.
Anecdote
Renovated from 2015 to 2018, the platforms received large bevelled tiles, and old marble-effect columns are lit by LED pavers whose lighting design evokes the basilica's stained glass. A photograph by Robert Doisneau shows the station's escalator with the basilica in perspective, and appears on the cover of his book « Portrait de Saint-Denis ». The basilica, a mid-12th-century cathedral and one of the first jewels of Gothic art, is the necropolis of the kings of France.
Audio guide
The Basilica of St Denis, Royal Necropolis
Dagobert was the first king of the Franks to be buried there. It will be followed by many crowned heads. Today, there are more than 70 recumbents and tombs in the royal necropolis, most of which were damaged during the Revolution during the period of the Terror. Struck by lightning in 1837 and weakened by storms between 1842 and 1845, the original spire (built in the 13th century) was dismantled. Its reconstruction is currently underway.
Dagobert founded the abbey around 625, which became a place of pilgrimage and the administrative centre of the Frankish kingdom. In 1122, Suger became its abbot and decided in 1130 to rebuild the church. The choir was consecrated on 11 June 1144: Saint-Denis is considered the cradle of Gothic art.
The restoration of the basilica began in 1813 with François Debret, then moved to Viollet-le-Duc in 1846. A storm destabilizes the north tower, which Viollet-le-Duc dismantles. The basilica became a cathedral in 1968, with the creation of the department of Seine-Saint-Denis. The spire reconstruction project, partly financed by visitors, was the subject of an agreement signed in 2018.
Around Basilique de Saint-Denis
- Basilique de Saint-Denis, 140 m away — The first Gothic building in history, the necropolis of the Kings of France for over a thousand years.
- Stade de France, 1200 m away — France's national stadium, opened in 1998, where the French team won its first football World Cup.
- Marché de Saint-Denis, 300 m away — One of the largest markets in the Île-de-France region, known for its lively, cosmopolitan atmosphere.