A peek inside the ‘Jewel Box of Paris’ at the end of the Olympics
Aug 16, 2024, 10:46 AM | Updated: 12:26 pm
PARIS — Most people visiting Paris for the Olympics took some time to check out a few sights; taking some selfies at the Eiffel Tower, checking out the front of Notre Dame, and visiting the inside of the Louvre. But there’s one place that isn’t quite as popular as those spots — and maybe it should be,
From the outside, it may not look all that remarkable. But what’s inside has been called the “Jewel Box of Paris.”
The outside of Saint Chappelle, in Paris. KSL’s Ray Boone spent four months working to be able to enter, before tourists hit the streets of Paris. (Ray Boone, KSL TV)
It’s called Sainte-Chapelle: A structure where the very walls themselves are made of stained glass. It’s a sight that amazes even those who work here, like Audrey Denis-Bosio.
“Well first, I say ‘Wow,'” she said with a laugh. We spoke with her in the lower part of the chapel, reserved for those who worked in the palace. The level above, reserved for those a bit more regal.
This space was for the King of France and his family. Namely, King Louis IX, who had these curtains of glass built in the 1200’s, continuing a long Medieval tradition.
“You don’t have many people who could read,” Denis-Bosio said. “So that’s why they used the images to explain to the people the Bible.”
Biblical stories, through a Medieval lens. The images seen in the glass don’t show scenes from the times those stories were written, but ones contemporary with when the glass was made.
“Pictures that people can recognize,” said Denis-Bosio. “So you use horses, you use knights.”
All possible through developments in Gothic Architecture, like thick buttresses and hidden belts of iron running through the glass, holding the chapel together.
“You’ve got the stones, but you need to have some metal on it,” Denis-Bosio said. “To have the solidity of the construction.”
But the question remains: Why did King Louis forge this garden of glass? It wasn’t just a place for prayer; it was a home for his most valuable possessions.
“It’s for the relics of the Passion,” Denis-Bosio said.
Biblical artwork of angels and a crown of thorns inside the Sainte Chappelle. (Ray Boone, KSL TV)
Relics from the crucifixion of Jesus — most notably, the Crown of Thorns, said to have been placed on the head of Jesus at the time of the crucifixion.
“It was a great opportunity for the King of France at that time,” Denis-Bosio said.
King Louis bought the Crown of Thorns from the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople, and built Sainte-Chapelle as the place to show them off.
A sign inside the Sainte Chappelle, explaining biblical relics. (Ray Boone, KSL TV)
“With buying those relics, you put Paris and your country as a new Jerusalem,” Denis-Bosio said. “It was a religious point, but also a political point.”
The Crown of Thorns was later moved to Notre Dame, where it was rescued from the fire that consumed that cathedral in 2019. It now rests in the Louvre. But is it really what it’s claimed to be?
“As a historian, I cannot say, because you don’t have a scientific point on this,” Denis-Bosio said. “It’s really difficult to say.”
For some, it’s simply a matter of faith.
“For the people who can believe in it, it’s alright,” she said. “And for them, it’s the Crown of Thorns.”
But one thing that’s undoubtedly real is the look on the faces of those who visit this space for the first time — a sense of wonder and astonishment that transcends the centuries.
Tourists in awe of the stained glass windows inside Sainte Chappelle. (Ray Boone, KSL TV)
“You’ve got this light in their eyes,” Denis-Bosio said.
And even if you’re someone who’s here every day, seeing this place through those eyes is a feeling that lasts almost as long.
“To see people liking it, to see people being amazing with it, to say to themselves, ‘I really enjoyed it, and I learned something,’ that’s why I like it,” Denis-Bosio said.
