Germany’s Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has announced his country’s intention to present six stained glass windows to Reims Cathedral to mark the Centenary of the First World War.
Mr. Steinmeier made his announcement on a trip to France where he attended a meeting of the Council of Ministers on the 14th May, which was chaired by French President François Hollande.
The French Embassy in Germany said Mr. Steinmeier’s presence at the meeting reflected the “extraordinary confidence” in Franco-German relations.
Reims Cathedral also suffered damgae during the First World War, image in the public domain
It was a sentiment echoed in the Foreign Minister’s announcement that Germany intends to gift six stained glass windows to the Cathedral of Reims to mark the Centenary.
The originals were destroyed by German bombing during the Second World War. The new windows will replace six temporary ones.
Mr. Stenimeier said that Germany is donating the windows “both in commemoration and with our faces turned towards a bright shared future”.
Source: German Foreign Office press release; French Embassy in Germany press release
Date of press release publications: 15/04/2014