La Sainte-Chapelle (on left); Palais de Justice (on right)

La Sainte-Chapelle is the only surviving building of the Capetian royal palace on the Ile de la Cite in the heart of Paris, France. It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion Relics, including the Crown of Thorns, one of the most important relics in medieval Christendom. Begun some time after 1239 and consecrated on the 26th of April 1248, the Sainte-Chapelle is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture. Although damaged during the French revolution and heavily restored in the 19th century, it retains one of the most extensive in-situ collections of 13th century stained glass anywhere in the world. The Palais de Justice located in the Ile de la Cite in central Paris, France, is built on the site of the former royal palace of Saint Louis, of which the Sainte Chapelle remains. Thus the justice of the state has been dispensed at this site since medieval times. From the sixteenth century to the French Revolution this was the seat of the Parlement de Paris.