Churches of Paris

CHURCHES OF PARIS

CHURCHES OF PARIS

CHURCHES OF PARIS Churches of Paris unites three enduring passions – religion, art and history.

With lush colour photography and behind-the-scenes historical commentary, Churches of Paris takes readers on an intimate tour of some of the world’s most stunning architecture and art – all found inside the city’s 20 arrondissements in 75 of the most historically significant and beautiful churches in Paris, spanning the 12th to the 21st centuries.

Sure to intrigue and satisfy Francophiles and curious armchair travellers alike, this glorious pictorial record of French cultural heritage and history showcases distinguished landmarks as well as lesser-known, seldom-seen wonders that spotlight the culture, traditions, and celebrated artisans of their day.

Each church is presented in beautiful colour photographs, w i t h historical narrative, information on its patron saint, and must-see highlights.

Throughout its history, the church has defined the architecture, cultural landscape, and sense of nationalism in Paris. Churches of Paris reveals the evolution of artistic and architectural styles through the notable creations of the past from divisive political upheavals – the French Revolution, the Religious Wars, the Prussian War and the World Wars – to the ascent into modernism and the contemporary landscape.

The attention to detail, the artistry, craftsmanship, artifacts, stained glass, and history showcase the overall majesty and beauty of these treasured monuments in the City of Lights.

PEGGY SHANNON

PEGGY SHANNON

Germain died in Ravenna sometime between 445 and 448 during a visit as a papal emissary and was interred in u erre t is near this to that lotilde, rance s first atholic ueen, ould encourage her husband, King Clovis, to accept the Christian faith. Germain is venerated in both the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox churches.

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois, one of the oldest churches on the Right Bank, served as a parish and collegiate church. Facing the colonnade of the Louvre, the church was considered the parish of the kings of France; from the fourteenth century to the nineteenth, the royal family attended services here while in residence at the Louvre Palace.

Artists also favored the church. The playwright Molière married here in 1662, and the impressionist painter Claude Monet featured the church in a landscape dated 1867. Many of the artists represented in today’s Louvre Museum, as well as the king’s architects, were buried in the church. aint er ain l u errois as first dedicated to aint incent a ter ing hilde ert esto ed the church ith the saint s relics n the se enth century, the congregation enerated aint andry, the fi th isho o aris, hose ody as uried here andry, in addition to aint er ain and aint incent, remains a patron saint of the church.

Over the centuries, the church has been rebuilt four times. All traces of the earliest chapel built in the fi th century ha e disa eared one, too, is the structure uilt in the se enth century t as urned to the ground by Norman invaders between 885 and 886. Today, only the base of the twelfth-century bell tower at the southern transept remains—the single trace of the third structure built on the site.

The stone rood screen built in 1541 was removed in the eighteenth century to modernize the church.

The screen contained two side altars and bas-relief sculptures depicting the life of Christ. One of the basreliefs, the Deposition of Christ, is in the Louvre Museum.

Much of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois’s 256 feet of stained glass was replaced during the church’s restoration between 1838 and 1855, after the Revolution. Although some of the fourteenth-century stained glass remains, most was replaced in the eighteenth century with translucent glass to provide the newly literate population with light for reading during services. The glass on each side of the transept and the rose windows, which depict the Pentecost, the doubting of Saint Thomas, and the Assumption of the irgin, date ro the fi teenth and si teenth centuries Designated a heritage landmark in 1862, the church just ten years before had been almost demolished as part of Napoléon III’s great renovation of Paris. One of the emperor’s senior ministers insisted on leveling the church to uild a uni ying oule ard et een the ou re and the tel de ille, the ne city hall aron Haussmann intervened and skillfully advised the minister, a Protestant, that people would assume he had destroyed the church as revenge for the Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre. Realizing Haussmann was correct, the minister let the church stand.

(Below left) Choir (Below) Chapel of the Blessed Virgin

SAINT-GERMAIN L’AUXERROIS WHO WAS SAINT GERMAIN?

(Above) Exterior

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Germain of Auxerre (aka Germanus) was born to a wealthy family in Auxerre around 378 AD. He received an elite education in Arles and Lyon before studying and practicing law in Rome. His high status, marriage to an i erial socialite, and early success as a high ran ing go ern ent o cial ca tured the attention of the emperor. Germain was anointed a duke by the sovereign, and he returned to Auxerre to govern the Gallic territories.

Germain’s indulgent lifestyle and his habit of hanging hunting trophies on a tree that was a former site of pagan worship drew the ire of the local bishop, who tried unsuccessfully to reform Germain.

Emboldened by his own impending death, the bishop lured Germain to the church, barricaded the door, and tonsured Germain’s hair against his will, leaving him with a monk’s ring of hair and bald scalp. The bishop told Germain to live as his successor and appointed him a deacon. Transformed by the bishop’s belief in his character, Germain committed to a life of prayer and charitable works.

Germain succeeded the bishop in 418 at the age of forty. In 429, at the pope’s request, Germain traveled to Britain to combat Pelagianism, which had swayed some clergy. The heretical clerics were no match for Germain’s intelligence; he handily won the theological debate, championing the Augustinian doctrine of divine grace.

On his journey to Britain, Germain stopped in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, to bless the faithful. In the crowd, he met an exceptional young girl and, recognizing her divinity, encouraged her to dedicate her life to serving Christ. The young woman would become Sainte Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris.

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Germain died in Ravenna sometime between 445 and 448 during a visit as a papal emissary and was interred in u erre t is near this to that lotilde, rance s first atholic ueen, ould encourage her husband, King Clovis, to accept the Christian faith. Germain is venerated in both the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox churches.

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois, one of the oldest churches on the Right Bank, served as a parish and collegiate church. Facing the colonnade of the Louvre, the church was considered the parish of the kings of France; from the fourteenth century to the nineteenth, the royal family attended services here while in residence at the Louvre Palace.

Artists also favored the church. The playwright Molière married here in 1662, and the impressionist painter Claude Monet featured the church in a landscape dated 1867. Many of the artists represented in today’s Louvre Museum, as well as the king’s architects, were buried in the church. aint er ain l u errois as first dedicated to aint incent a ter ing hilde ert esto ed the church ith the saint s relics n the se enth century, the congregation enerated aint andry, the fi th isho o aris, hose ody as uried here andry, in addition to aint er ain and aint incent, remains a patron saint of the church.

Over the centuries, the church has been rebuilt four times. All traces of the earliest chapel built in the fi th century ha e disa eared one, too, is the structure uilt in the se enth century t as urned to the ground by Norman invaders between 885 and 886. Today, only the base of the twelfth-century bell tower at the southern transept remains—the single trace of the third structure built on the site.

The stone rood screen built in 1541 was removed in the eighteenth century to modernize the church.

The screen contained two side altars and bas-relief sculptures depicting the life of Christ. One of the basreliefs, the Deposition of Christ, is in the Louvre Museum.

Much of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois’s 256 feet of stained glass was replaced during the church’s restoration between 1838 and 1855, after the Revolution. Although some of the fourteenth-century stained glass remains, most was replaced in the eighteenth century with translucent glass to provide the newly literate population with light for reading during services. The glass on each side of the transept and the rose windows, which depict the Pentecost, the doubting of Saint Thomas, and the Assumption of the irgin, date ro the fi teenth and si teenth centuries Designated a heritage landmark in 1862, the church just ten years before had been almost demolished as part of Napoléon III’s great renovation of Paris. One of the emperor’s senior ministers insisted on leveling the church to uild a uni ying oule ard et een the ou re and the tel de ille, the ne city hall aron Haussmann intervened and skillfully advised the minister, a Protestant, that people would assume he had destroyed the church as revenge for the Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre. Realizing Haussmann was correct, the minister let the church stand.

(Below left) Choir (Below) Chapel of the Blessed Virgin

SAINT-GERMAIN L’AUXERROIS WHO WAS SAINT GERMAIN?

(Above) Exterior

2

Germain of Auxerre (aka Germanus) was born to a wealthy family in Auxerre around 378 AD. He received an elite education in Arles and Lyon before studying and practicing law in Rome. His high status, marriage to an i erial socialite, and early success as a high ran ing go ern ent o cial ca tured the attention of the emperor. Germain was anointed a duke by the sovereign, and he returned to Auxerre to govern the Gallic territories.

Germain’s indulgent lifestyle and his habit of hanging hunting trophies on a tree that was a former site of pagan worship drew the ire of the local bishop, who tried unsuccessfully to reform Germain.

Emboldened by his own impending death, the bishop lured Germain to the church, barricaded the door, and tonsured Germain’s hair against his will, leaving him with a monk’s ring of hair and bald scalp. The bishop told Germain to live as his successor and appointed him a deacon. Transformed by the bishop’s belief in his character, Germain committed to a life of prayer and charitable works.

Germain succeeded the bishop in 418 at the age of forty. In 429, at the pope’s request, Germain traveled to Britain to combat Pelagianism, which had swayed some clergy. The heretical clerics were no match for Germain’s intelligence; he handily won the theological debate, championing the Augustinian doctrine of divine grace.

On his journey to Britain, Germain stopped in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, to bless the faithful. In the crowd, he met an exceptional young girl and, recognizing her divinity, encouraged her to dedicate her life to serving Christ. The young woman would become Sainte Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris.

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SAINT BARTHOLOMEW’S DAY MASSACRE n ugust , , the streets o aris o er o ed ith re elers cele rating the east day o aint artholo e and the union o arguerite de alois, ing harles s sister, to the rotestant enri de a arre, ho later con erted to atholicis to assu e the rench cro n as enry The day turned loody hen three o the ells in aint er ain l u errois, na ed er ain, incent, and Marie, signaled the start of an attack—orchestrated by the king and his mother, Catherine de Médici, a ong others on rotestant uguenots in the ca ital to cele rate the edding o alois and the uture king.

Over the next three days, an estimated three thousand Protestants were slaughtered inside Paris, with re orts o an additional thirty to fi ty thousand illed in the ollo ing onths as the assacre s read across France. Of the three bells that heralded the massacre, only Marie survives.

FRENCH REVOLUTION

Boss of the Last Supper on porch ceiling

(Opposite) Wood altarpiece depicting the passion (Below) Painted altarpiece of the life of the Virgin

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Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois was closed in 1793 during the Revolution and used as a barn, print shop, police station, and saltpeter factory. Two years later, its priests signed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, pledging allegiance to the ideas o the e olution This allo ed aint er ain l u errois to o er artial religious services, but the priests were forced to share the space with the Théophilanthropes, who converted the church to a Temple of Reason. Full religious services did not resume until 1802. During the revolutionary actions o uly , a a the uly ays, hich orced the a dication o harles and his son, the church unctioned as a a eshi t hos ital and orgue, ith the dead laid in the cha el o the irgin iolence eru ted again on e ruary , , a ter riots ollo ed the ser ice or the e ory o the u e o erry, son o harles The o o anti egiti ist su orters ransac ed the church and thre its sacred holdings into the Seine. After this desecration, King Louis Philippe forbade worship here, fearing further destruction. Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois was then used as a town hall and a factory until the archbishop of Paris reopened the church in May 1837.

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SAINT BARTHOLOMEW’S DAY MASSACRE n ugust , , the streets o aris o er o ed ith re elers cele rating the east day o aint artholo e and the union o arguerite de alois, ing harles s sister, to the rotestant enri de a arre, ho later con erted to atholicis to assu e the rench cro n as enry The day turned loody hen three o the ells in aint er ain l u errois, na ed er ain, incent, and Marie, signaled the start of an attack—orchestrated by the king and his mother, Catherine de Médici, a ong others on rotestant uguenots in the ca ital to cele rate the edding o alois and the uture king.

Over the next three days, an estimated three thousand Protestants were slaughtered inside Paris, with re orts o an additional thirty to fi ty thousand illed in the ollo ing onths as the assacre s read across France. Of the three bells that heralded the massacre, only Marie survives.

FRENCH REVOLUTION

Boss of the Last Supper on porch ceiling

(Opposite) Wood altarpiece depicting the passion (Below) Painted altarpiece of the life of the Virgin

4

Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois was closed in 1793 during the Revolution and used as a barn, print shop, police station, and saltpeter factory. Two years later, its priests signed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, pledging allegiance to the ideas o the e olution This allo ed aint er ain l u errois to o er artial religious services, but the priests were forced to share the space with the Théophilanthropes, who converted the church to a Temple of Reason. Full religious services did not resume until 1802. During the revolutionary actions o uly , a a the uly ays, hich orced the a dication o harles and his son, the church unctioned as a a eshi t hos ital and orgue, ith the dead laid in the cha el o the irgin iolence eru ted again on e ruary , , a ter riots ollo ed the ser ice or the e ory o the u e o erry, son o harles The o o anti egiti ist su orters ransac ed the church and thre its sacred holdings into the Seine. After this desecration, King Louis Philippe forbade worship here, fearing further destruction. Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois was then used as a town hall and a factory until the archbishop of Paris reopened the church in May 1837.

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MUST SEE PORCH (I) The massive Gothic porch, with many of its earliest statues intact, was built in 1439. This porch and the one at the Sainte-Chapelle are the only two of their kind in Paris. One of the original statues is a stone car ing o aint ary o gy t nside, a ainted fi teenth century olychro e statue o this na ed saint stands near the cha el o the irgin ronically, des ite her lack of clothes, she is the patron saint of a guild of clothiers who retained an early chapel in the neighborhood. n the orch, a ong stately statues o saints and assorted gargoyles, is a fi teenth century sculpture of a ball of rats. Such carvings, depicting rats infesting a globe, can be seen on approximately a dozen churches across the capital. The globe is often crowned by a cross to symbolize evil invading the spiritual world. Unlike at other locations, however, at Saint-Germain l u errois, the rodents a ear to e eeing rather than coloni ing the glo e

I.

PASSION ALTARPIECE (II) Inside, in the Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Compassion, just north of the entry, resides an ornate oak altar iece ar ed in nt er et een the fi teenth and si teenth centuries, the or as donated to the church by Count de Montalivet in 1839. The wall-sized carving depicts scenes from the life of Christ, the Tree of Jesse, and the Passion.

CHURCHWARDEN’S PEW AND PULPIT

II.

An oversize churchwarden’s pew in the nave is still used today. The stall, which once seated distinguished guests, was created between 1682 and 1686 from designs by Charles le Brun, a painter and decorator o ouis ear y hangs a assi e crucifi cra ted y ouchardon in The south side of the nave features a wooden pulpit that dates from 1635. The uppermost piece, which was designed as a crown, was defaced during the Revolution but restored in 1814 and again in 1839.

(Above) Chapel of the Good Death

THE CHAPEL OF THE VIRGIN (III) (Left) South transept

The cha el o the irgin s ans our ays on the south side o aint er ain l u errois Completed in the fourteenth century, it encompasses the oldest area of the church. Its choir was reserved for the canons of the church until 1744. The painted and gilded carved stone altar iece as adorned in the style o the si teenth century y iollet le uc lan ing the early ourteenth century statue o the irgin ary is a richly detailed car ing o the Tree o Jesse, which illustrates the sleeping prophet and the six kings of Judah. Overhead, an ornate ainting o the ssu tion and the oronation o the lessed irgin fills the cha el ith a chorus of angels.

TRIPTYCH ALTARPIECE OF THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN (IV)

III.

On the south side of the ambulatory is a brightly painted triptych depicting the life of the irgin and scenes ro enesis The ooden altar iece, created in orthern rance in the early sixteenth century, includes painted illustrations of the Annunciation, the Garden of Eden, and ulti le iracles er or ed y the irgin ary

ORGAN Not to be missed is the organ built by François-Henri Clicquot in 1771 for the Sainte-Chapelle at the re uest o ouis The instru ent as trans erred to aint er ain l u errois in , after the Sainte-Chapelle was closed to worship around 1790, during the Revolution.

IV.

(Right) Statue of the infant Jesus of Prague and radiant chapels

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MUST SEE PORCH (I) The massive Gothic porch, with many of its earliest statues intact, was built in 1439. This porch and the one at the Sainte-Chapelle are the only two of their kind in Paris. One of the original statues is a stone car ing o aint ary o gy t nside, a ainted fi teenth century olychro e statue o this na ed saint stands near the cha el o the irgin ronically, des ite her lack of clothes, she is the patron saint of a guild of clothiers who retained an early chapel in the neighborhood. n the orch, a ong stately statues o saints and assorted gargoyles, is a fi teenth century sculpture of a ball of rats. Such carvings, depicting rats infesting a globe, can be seen on approximately a dozen churches across the capital. The globe is often crowned by a cross to symbolize evil invading the spiritual world. Unlike at other locations, however, at Saint-Germain l u errois, the rodents a ear to e eeing rather than coloni ing the glo e

I.

PASSION ALTARPIECE (II) Inside, in the Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Compassion, just north of the entry, resides an ornate oak altar iece ar ed in nt er et een the fi teenth and si teenth centuries, the or as donated to the church by Count de Montalivet in 1839. The wall-sized carving depicts scenes from the life of Christ, the Tree of Jesse, and the Passion.

CHURCHWARDEN’S PEW AND PULPIT

II.

An oversize churchwarden’s pew in the nave is still used today. The stall, which once seated distinguished guests, was created between 1682 and 1686 from designs by Charles le Brun, a painter and decorator o ouis ear y hangs a assi e crucifi cra ted y ouchardon in The south side of the nave features a wooden pulpit that dates from 1635. The uppermost piece, which was designed as a crown, was defaced during the Revolution but restored in 1814 and again in 1839.

(Above) Chapel of the Good Death

THE CHAPEL OF THE VIRGIN (III) (Left) South transept

The cha el o the irgin s ans our ays on the south side o aint er ain l u errois Completed in the fourteenth century, it encompasses the oldest area of the church. Its choir was reserved for the canons of the church until 1744. The painted and gilded carved stone altar iece as adorned in the style o the si teenth century y iollet le uc lan ing the early ourteenth century statue o the irgin ary is a richly detailed car ing o the Tree o Jesse, which illustrates the sleeping prophet and the six kings of Judah. Overhead, an ornate ainting o the ssu tion and the oronation o the lessed irgin fills the cha el ith a chorus of angels.

TRIPTYCH ALTARPIECE OF THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN (IV)

III.

On the south side of the ambulatory is a brightly painted triptych depicting the life of the irgin and scenes ro enesis The ooden altar iece, created in orthern rance in the early sixteenth century, includes painted illustrations of the Annunciation, the Garden of Eden, and ulti le iracles er or ed y the irgin ary

ORGAN Not to be missed is the organ built by François-Henri Clicquot in 1771 for the Sainte-Chapelle at the re uest o ouis The instru ent as trans erred to aint er ain l u errois in , after the Sainte-Chapelle was closed to worship around 1790, during the Revolution.

IV.

(Right) Statue of the infant Jesus of Prague and radiant chapels

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