Saint-Denis (city, France)

Saint-Denis (city, France), city in north central France, in the Seine-Saint-Denis Department, on the River Seine near Paris. It is an industrial centre with factories producing metal goods, glass, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, and processed food.

In the city is the famous Abbey Church of Saint-Denis (1137-1144), an architectural landmark considered to be the first important building in the Gothic style. The Abbey Church, incorporating part of a Romanesque church (8th-10th century), served as the model for such Gothic masterpieces as the cathedrals at Chartres and Amiens. It was restored in the 19th century by Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc after suffering much damage during the French Revolution. The Abbey Church contains the tombs (some with magnificent sculptures) of many French kings and queens; among them is the grandiose free-standing tomb (1563-1570) of Henry II and Catherine de Médicis by Germain Pilon and Francesco Primaticcio.

Saint-Denis grew up around a Benedictine abbey founded in the early 7th century by Dagobert I, king of the Franks, near the supposed grave of St Denis, the first bishop of Paris. The abbey later became influential and wealthy. Abbot Suger, who was also a minister of state, supervised the construction and decoration of the Abbey Church. The industrial development of the town dates from the 19th century. Population 95,800 (2005 estimate).