7.1.13

Restored facade



About a year and a half ago I posted about the Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis Church, about its connections to the Jesuits, to Père Lachaise, about the former convent (now Lycée Charlemagne), about the musicians who worked and performed there… and I made the remark that the façade was in heavy need of restoration. It’s done!

Here you can compare the façade as it looked a bit more than a year ago and today. 


I guess that previously most people passed in front of it – rue Saint-Antoine – without taking notice. Now you do and I guess most of us are impressed by its baroque splendour.

The equally restored clock is marked with the year 1627, the year when the church began to be built. It seems however that it was transferred from the former Saint-Paul Church, which was demolished in 1797 (the Revolution).






And… don’t forget to get inside!

One day, I hope to be able to visit the crypt where Louis Bourdalou, Père Lachaise, and many other celebrities were buried and  where the hearts of a number of kings, princes, dukes… (Louis XIII, Louis XIV, Condé, La Tour d’Auvergne…) were deposed. Not much left of course and there is even a troubling story that the heart of Louis XIV later was eaten (!) by some eccentric English personality.   Addendum: (As I have got some surprised comments on this, here are some sites where you can read about this true or false story: 1 and 2.)

17 comments:

M said...

Oh, Peter, I can't believe how beautiful it looks!

Owen said...

Eaten ? Grim story indeed. Quite a restoration job there, will have to go by that way, and find a way to get into the crypt...

French Girl in Seattle said...

Enfin! Finally! I can't tell you how sad and depressed that old, grimy façade made me feel on [many] grey days as I attended l'Institut d'Anglais Charles V, a couple of blocks away, during my college years! How many times did I pause for a second and wonder when the city of Paris was FINALLY going to renovate it? Voilà. C'est chose faite. Doesn't she look just smashing, that old 17th century lady? Thank you for the good news, Peter. Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)

Olivier said...

belle restauration, j'aime beaucoup cette horloge

Starman said...

Beautiful!!! They did a fantastic job....as did you in reporting it to us!

Thérèse said...

Une premiere cette histoire de "coeur de Louis XIV!"
L'horloge doit attirer nombre de regards.

Studio at the Farm said...

What a magnificent job of restoration! It looks superb!!!
[Eating Louis IV's heart???]

Cezar and Léia said...

Great renovation work there!I'm impressed by the clock in your first shot, it's wonderful!
Léia

Synne said...

I passed by not long ago, and it really does look marvellous at the moment!

Heather said...

What an incredible difference. C'est belle!

Vagabonde said...

It certainly makes a difference to have it renovated. Isn’t it great that old churches in France (pre-1905) are considered museums and not places of worship and can be renovated at tax payers’ expense? Here, in the US, people would not like that and there is very little money in the budget for historic restoration. In the US they don’t like socialism, but it has its benefit, don’t you think? Taking care of buildings for people’s enjoyment – bravo!

Adam said...

Happy new year Peter - I hope all is well with you now.

This church certainly did need the restoration, and it's looking much better for it.

Right, I'm off to read about the eaten heart!

Hilda said...

It sure cleans up handsomely! The details are amazing.

But Eeew! at the story of Louis XIV's heart.

Gaëlle said...

Ça fait une sacré différence quand même ! J'aime beaucoup l'horloge.

Bon et puis je suis toujorus à la bourre mais je te souhaite une très bonne année 2013 !

Amanda said...

Beautiful!

Jeanie said...

Peter, these results are stunning. You're right -- you see it one way and get used to it; the change is dramatic and it's simply wonderful. Thanks for the before and after. That's very nice!

Anonymous said...

La fachada de esta vieja iglesia

quedo espectacular...

Tus fotos son fantasticas!

Gracias Peter.