La Sainte-Chapelle (French pronunciation: [la sɛ̃t ʃapɛl], The Holy Chapel) is a Gothic chapel on the Île de la Cité in the heart of Paris, France. It is often regarded as the high point of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture. The Sainte Chapelle was sponsored by King Louis IX of France. The date when building work started is unknown (some time between 1239 and 1243) but the chapel was largely complete at the time of its consecration on the 26th of April 1248. Prior to dissolution of the Sainte-Chapelle in 1803, following the French Revolution, the term "la Sainte-Chapelle royale" also referred not only to the building but to the chapelle itself, the Sainte-Chapelle (choir).