1. ArchDaily
  2. Suger

Suger: The Latest Architecture and News

AD Classics: Royal Basilica of Saint-Denis / Abbot Suger

The origin of Gothic architecture, a style which defined Europe in the later Middle Ages, can be traced to a single abbey church in the northern suburbs of Paris. The Basilique royale de Saint-Denis (Royal Basilica of Saint-Denis), constructed on the site of an abbey and reliquary established in Carolingian (800-888 CE) times, was partially rebuilt under the administration of Abbot Suger in the early 12th Century; these additions—utilizing a variety of structural and stylistic techniques developed in the construction of Romanesque churches in the preceding centuries—would set medieval architecture on a new course that would carry it through the rest of the epoch.

AD Classics: Royal Basilica of Saint-Denis / Abbot Suger - Religious Buildings, Facade, ArcadeAD Classics: Royal Basilica of Saint-Denis / Abbot Suger - Religious Buildings, Arch, ArcadeAD Classics: Royal Basilica of Saint-Denis / Abbot Suger - Religious Buildings, Facade, Arch, Column, Door, BenchAD Classics: Royal Basilica of Saint-Denis / Abbot Suger - Religious Buildings, Door, Facade, Column, Arcade, ArchAD Classics: Royal Basilica of Saint-Denis / Abbot Suger - More Images+ 4