THE MONUMENT
The episcopal palace of Rheims owes its name to thefact that it is shaped in the form of a T ("Tau" in Greek). The first documented use of this name dates from 1131.
Archaeological remains testify to the existence of a rather large Gallo-Roman villa on the site in the 6th and 7th centuries; certain parts of the Carolingian palace are still visible in the wall of the lower hall.
The Palatine chapel which still exists dates from 1207, but there is no specific information on this palace which must have looked like a fortified castle until the end of the 15th century. At that date, it was transformed into a Flamboyant Gothic palace before being entirely modified between 1671 and 1710 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Robert de Cotte. Burned in 1914, it was not restored until after the Second World War.
In the banquet hall, which dates from the Middle Ages, took place significant events relating to the coronation of the kings of France: the sovereign’s levee and dressing before the ceremony, and a banquet for several thousand people which was paid for by the City of Rheims. The first mention of a coronation banquet dates from 990. The last coronation and the last royal banquet were held when Charles X was crowned in 1825.
The Palais du Tau houses the Musée de l’Oeuvre, whose collections contain decorative sculptures from the cathedral, Flemish tapestries representing the history of Clovis and the treasury with coronation items and precious works of art given by the kings and queens of France.
THE VISIT OF THE CASTLE
- Â The lower room
The lower room was probably used as a store-room. It is divided into two naves by columns with sculpted capitals, and has cross-ribbed vaulting. Arches can still be seen in the masonry of the north wall, evidence of Carolingian construction.
- The lower chapel
The lower chapel is reached via a door surmonted by the 14th-century tympanum depicting a Virgin with Child. Built in the early 13th century, since 1919 the chapel has housed a lapidery collection, notably including fragments from the cathédral’s rood screen dating back to the 15th century.
- The Deneux room
This room presents the restauration work carried out on the cathedral and palace between 1915 and 1938 by architect Henri Deneux
Opening on may 2008
- The King’s antechamber
The antechamber depicts the coronation ceremony of the kings of France and displays the portraits of the 32 kings crowned in Rheims cathedral
- The Charles X room
The room is devoted to the last coronation celebrated in Rheims, that of Charles X. The cathedral’s treasure, and religious object and regalia used in the coronation are displayed in the following two rooms.
- The 19th-century treasure
It includes a set of neo-classical style gilded silver plate ordered for Charles X’s coronation
- The upper chapel
Its very light style is especially characterised by the passage hollowed out in its interior buttresses.
- The Tau room
This room is reached by walking beneath a tympanum decorated with the Adoration of the Magi. It was used as a banquet hall after coronations. Of its mediaval layout, all that remain are its size and the fireplace bearing the arms of Archbishop Guillaume Briçonnet who, had work carried out in the palace. The 15th-century wall covering depict episodes from the life of Clovis.
- The Goliath room
This room houses the sculptures removed when the cathedral was restored. It is dominated by a 5.4 metre high Goliath, part of a set dating back to 1260.
- The Gargoyle room
The room displays two large staues of Abraham the patriarch, and the high priest aaron, probably made around 1215.
- The Song of Songs roomÂ
This room refers to the book of the Bible from which the scens depicted on 4 large embroidered pieces (17th-century) are taken. Small sculptures show the faces of angels, bishops and executioners.
- The square room
The sacre room is decorated with 17th-century tapetries woven in Rhiems, depicted the life of Christ
- The King of Judah room
This room gets its name from a statue moved here from the great gallery over the façade. These 14th-century sculptures were designed to be viewed from the ground and have amazing proportions.
- The room of the Crowning of the Virgin
The room provides a rare example of chancel hangings. Donated to the cathedral in 1530, the hangings tell the story of the the life of the Virgin Mary.
This room is named after the original gable of the cathedral’s central portal, inspired by the Apocalypse (mid-13th-century)
LODGING
see the listing of the Hotels in Reims
PRACTICAL INFORMATIONS
Palais du Tau
2 place du Cardinal-Luçon
51100 Reims
Going there
From Paris or Starsbourg A4, from Lyon or Lille A26
exit Reims-Cathedral
TGV Est (45mn from Paris)
At the intersection of the Strasbourg/Paris and Lille/Beaune roads
48 km northwest of Châlons-en-Champagne