Basilica of Saint-Denis

The Basilica of Saint-Denis (French: basilique royale Saint-Denis; now formally known as the basilique cathédrale Saint-Denis) is a Roman Catholic cathedral that originated as a medieval abbey church. It is located in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris, France. The building is of singular importance historically and architecturally because its choir, completed in 1144, is widely considered the first structure to employ all of the elements of Gothic architecture.

The basilica became a place of pilgrimage and a necropolis containing the tombs of the kings of France, including nearly every king from the 10th century to Louis XVIII in the 19th century. Henry IV of France came to Saint-Denis to renounce his Protestant faith formally and become a Catholic. The queens of France were crowned at Saint-Denis, and the regalia, including the sword used for crowning the kings and the royal sceptre, were kept at Saint-Denis between coronations.

The site originated as a Gallo-Roman cemetery in late Roman times. The archaeological remains still lie beneath the cathedral; the graves indicate a mixture of Christian and pre-Christian burial practices. Around the year 475, Saint Genevieve purchased some land and built Saint-Denys de la Chapelle. In 636, on the orders of Dagobert I, the relics of Denis of Paris, a patron saint of France, were reinterred in the basilica.