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But it was King Dagobert I that had the chapel rebuilt and turned
it into a royal monastery, which we all now know as the Saint Denis Basilica.
Yet, St Denis as it is today, is a leafy suburb that has another far more modern claim to
fame - the Stade de France which was built for the
1998 World Cup and is a futuristic stadium that is used for both major sporting and
concert events.
Saint Denis is located only about 10km from the centre of Paris and is a commune in the Northern suburbs of Paris
in the department of the Seine-Saint-Denis on the River Seine
in France. The population is estimated at around 95,500 and the inhabitants are
known as Dionysiens.
It has always been a working class industrial area with factories producing such things as
glass, chemicals, machinery, metal goods, etc although in recent years this has declined,
but with the Stade de France being built, St Denis has become a thriving community yet
again and visitors today will find this a youthful community with around 1 in 3 residents
now being under the age of 25.
There are also a large number of immigrants, especially Muslims from former French
colonies, which are concentrated in this area.
Saint Denis also has a well-known market, which is one of the largest in the Ile de France
region and it plays host to numerous events every year, not just concerts and matches held
at the stadium, but also festivals such as the festival of Saint Denis for classical music
and the Banlieues Bleues Festival for jazz music.
St Denis also draws tourists to the Municipal Museum that has a complete section which is
devoted to Paul Eluard, a 20th century poet.
Apart from visiting the Stade de France football stadium, or the St Denis Basilica you can
also visit the tombs of past French Kings and the life sized figures of these monarchs,
but if you want more history or perhaps modern art, then the Musee d'Art et Histoire is
worth a visit, whilst spending time in this area of France.
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