The Protestant churches in Paris are in general closed, except for services … and
sometimes a concert. So, I went for a concert… and finally got to see the
interior of the “Temple Protestant de l’Oratoire du Louvre”.
This church with origins
from the early 17th century was first built for the French branch of the “Oratory
of Saint Philip Neri” which appeared as an alternative by the Catholic Church, trying
to counterbalance the Protestant Reformation. Just across the street from the
Louvre, the “Oratoire” became a royal chapel and this is where the funeral
services for King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu and others took place. However,
the royalty left for Versailles… and after difficulties with acquisitions of
neighbouring buildings etc. it took until the middle of the 18th
century before the church reached its present size.
After
having served as a warehouse after the Revolution, the church was in 1811 given
by Napoleon to the Protestants … and today the minimum interior decoration
leaves no doubt that we are in a Protestant church.
Since 1889
you can at the rue de Rivoli end of the church find a monument of Admiral
Gaspard de Coligny, a Huguenot leader of the 16th century who was
killed in 1572 during the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre.
Here we can
see the church in 1654 and today … and how the Louvre and the surrounding
streets have changed.
Forgetting
about all religious matters, I enjoyed a concert with mostly Chopin and Liszt
music, played by an excellent “Haydn Quartett” and by the fabulous now 84 year
old Swedish-Japanese pianist Ingrid Fuzjko Hemming (who also is an excellent
painter).
Here are some examples of Ingrid’s art:
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