SAINT-DENIS


Meaning of SAINT-DENIS in English

I

City (pop., 1999: 131,557), capital of the French overseas department of Réunion , in the western Indian Ocean.

It lies in a basin at the mouth of the St.-Denis River on the northern coast of the island, wedged between the ocean and a mountain rising abruptly behind it. It was originally the main port of Réunion, but an artificial harbour at Le Port, on the northwestern coast, replaced it in the 1880s. It is primarily an administrative town.

II

City (pop., 1999: 85,832), northern France.

Now a suburb of Paris , until the mid-19th century it was only a small township centred on its famous abbey church, which had been the burial place of French kings. King Dagobert I founded the abbey in the 7th century and built it over the tomb of St. Denis , patron saint of France. Abbot Suger built there a new basilica which later transformed Western architecture from the Gothic ; most late-12th-century French cathedrals, including Chartres , are based on that of Saint-Denis. Remarkable tombs found there include those of Louis XII , Anne of Brittany , Henry II , and {{link=Catherine de M%C3%A9dicis">Catherine de Médicis. The city is now an industrial centre.

Britannica English dictionary.      Английский словарь Британика.