Reims Cathedral stands on the site of a Gallo-Roman bath, where Bishop Nicasius built a church in the early 5th century. A fire destroyed that church on May 6, 1210. The present High Gothic cathedral was begun in 1211, and its structural work was completed in 1275. Four master masons, Jean d'Orbais, Jean-le-Loup, Gaucher of Reims and Bernard de Soissons, are named on a floor labyrinth.
Kings of France were crowned here from 1027. The Gallery of Kings on the west facade holds 56 statues, and the Smiling Angel stands beside the north portal. The two west towers are 266 feet (81 m) tall, and the cathedral is 489 feet (149.17 m) long.
Shelling in 1914 set the roof timbers on fire, and restoration ran from 1919 until the cathedral reopened in 1938. Marc Chagall's three apse windows are well known. UNESCO listed the cathedral in 1991, and about a million people visit each year.
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