Notre Dame du Haut

General Description

The Notre Dame du Haut was constructed on top of the hill of Bourlemont beginning in September 1953 and was finished in June 1955. The site was used in the fourth century AD to build a sanctuary in homage to the Virgin Mary, and legends of miracles sprung forth from there. This makes it a good site to build a place of worship as many believers would come because they believed in the miracles. Because there was a church built in the valley of Ronchamp, the building was named Notre Dame du Haut in order to distinguish it from the parish church. On September 1873, the day of the commemoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary, after French-German hostilities ceased, 30,000 pilgrims visited this chapel marking the recovery of its pilgrimage history.

Architectural Design

Much opposition slowed the start of the construction of this chapel by parishioners of Ronchamp, the city surrounding the site, as well as the diocesan clergyman and the press because of the design that was not a traditional design of religious architecture but more of the design of a sculpture. Le Corbusier, in designing this chapel, purposely combined “Cubist methodology, Marian, alchemical, Catharist, and astrological themes simultaneously”. The south entrance exhibits curvilinear walls that have many orthogonal holes all covered on top by the massive crab-shell roof. The outside altar was built to accommodate the many pilgrims as the building was quite small. Its canopy slopes down to rest on a pier that is inside a cylindrical sheath. Most of the building is reinforced concrete including the outside altar.

Harmony with Nature

The holes in the wall were covered with different types of glass, many painted with symbolism of nature. Birds, flowers, butterflies, the sun, the stars, the moon, the clouds all suggest harmony with the outside. Sunlit rays come in through these windows as well as through a thin gap under the roof to enlighten the room with a style that emphasizes the beautiful forms of the chapel. Because the chapel is on top of a steep hill, nature is a definite aspect of the chapel itself, surrounded by a vast green landscape with plateaus and plains that hinders the visibility of the chapel from below but illuminates the beautiful landscape from atop.

Symbolism and Sacred Objects

From the outside of the chapel to the inside, the construction of the chapel suggests biblical symbolism, many focused on the Virgin Mary. The design of the chapel “recalls praying hands, the wings of a dove, and the shape of the boat”. These are all symbols of “divine generosity to humans”. Inside, an image of the Virgin Mary is placed in the east wall with sunlight coming through the windows illuminating the image, recalling a verse from the Scriptures: “The Sun Her Mantle”. Even the roof suggests sacred symbolism as a coffin lid that is raised up to suggest the assumption of Mary into Heaven, as the Christians believe.

How it is used by Worshippers

The Notre Dame du Haut is a pilgrimage destination for Roman Catholics. On pilgrimage days, the outside chapel is used to accommodate large crowds of about 12,000 pilgrims. Due to the beautiful display of light created by the sun, the inside of the chapel is naturally “a vessel of silence, of sweetness”. Catholics come to celebrate Mass inside and outside the chapel, with the altar is the focus of attention during this time. They also come to pray in the chapel for miracles and special blessings and the vast amount of sacred symbolism and the peace and tranquility of the chapel allows them to connect themselves to God and to Mary.

Sources

Coombs, Robert (2000). Mystical Themes in Le Corbusier's Architecture in The Chapel Notre-Dame-Du-Haut at Ronchamp. United Kingdom: The Edwin Mellen Press.

Lazzari, M, & Schlesier, D (2005). Exploring art, A global, thematic approach. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc..

Pauly, Daniele (2008). The Chapel at Ronchamp. Paris: Fondation Le Corbusier.


written by Thanh Truc Ngo