The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was the traditional location for the coronation of the kings of France. Reims Cathedral is considered to be one of the most important works of Gothic Architecture. The cathedral, a major tourist destination, receives about one million visitors annually. The cathedral church is thought to have been founded by the bishop Nicasius in the early 5th century. Clovis was baptized a Christian here by Saint Remigius , the bishop of Reims, about a century later.
He was the first Frankish king to receive this sacrament. Construction of the present Reims Cathedral began in the 13th century and concluded in the 14th century. A prominent example of High Gothic architecture, it was built to replace an earlier church destroyed by fire in Although little damaged during the French Revolution , the present cathedral saw extensive restoration in the 19th century.
It was severely damaged during World War I and the church was again restored in the 20th century. Since the law on the separation of church and state, the cathedral has been owned by the French state, while the Catholic church has an agreement for its exclusive use.
The French state pays for its restoration and upkeep. The settlement of a tribe of Gauls called the Remes, named Durocortorum, had been recorded by Julius Caesar in his accounts of the Gallic Wars. The first Christian church there was founded by the first bishop, Saint Sixtus of Reims between and At the beginning of the 5th century, in the Merovingian period, the Bishop Nicasius transferred the cathedral its present location, the site formerly occupied by Gallo-Roman bath built by the Emperor Constantine.
Clovis I , the King of the Franks , was baptised there in about A. This was the event that inspired the long tradition of royal coronations at Reims. The work was interrupted in , and then resumed under a new archbishop, Hincmar , with the support of Emperor Charles the Bald. The interior of the church was adorned with gilding , mosaics , paintings , sculptures and tapestries.
