The Church of Saint Roch

The present Church of Saint Roch replaced previous chapels and churches and was built during a long period over the 16th, 17th and 18th century with a number of architects involved. It was finally completed in 1754. The design is a bit special with a series of chapels in succession.

Apart from the fact that the church is beautiful, there are some points which may be highlighted. The Marquis de Sade got married here. Some illustrious people are buried in the church including Diderot and the Baron d’Holbach (see previous post about the “philosophers”), Corneille, the garden architect (Versailles…) André le Notre…

The church has also a special chapel dedicated to the deported during WWII, normally hardly seen inside a catholic church. 

Another, maybe less well-known personality buried here is Jean-Michel de l’Epée, a priest who around 1760 created the world’s first public school for the deaf. He did not invent the sign language, but it was somehow rather created by the teachers and pupils in the school and later much improved and simplified. He’s referred to as one of the fathers of deaf education.

A lot of concerts are given here, including at lunch hours all Tuesdays (free of charge).

Saint Roch is also known for an event which took place in front of it, in 1795, when Bonaparte (aged 26) led a troop which killed some 200 “royal rioters” on the steps leading to the church. This is known as a “Whiff of Grapeshot” and thanks to this Bonaparte was rewarded with the command of the Army of Italy a year later… thus an important step on his way to become Napoleon. You can still see the traces of the “whiff” on the front of the church. (I wrote about these and other wall "traces" in previous posts, see here and here.)

There are still some shops attached to the church building. One of them, very small, pretends to have been there since 1638. It was originally a shop where religious items could be bought, then, during some 200 years, a barber shop, now an antique shop.

A few traces...

During its fairly long history, there has of course been some violence in Paris, including the St. Bartholomew’s Day (totally some 30.000 Protestants killed in Paris), the different revolutions and wars...

Most physical traces are gone. Here is a short list (certainly not complete) of what still can be found:

The Saint Roch Church (built 1653-1754) has quite some history - Corneille, Le Nôtre, Diderot... are buried here - but it’s perhaps especially known for an event which took place in 1795, when Bonaparte led a troop which killed some 200 “royalist rioters” on the then seven (now thirteen) steps leading to the church. This event is known as the “Whiff of Grapeshot” and was actually considered as a big step on his way to becoming Emperor. You can still see some more or less repaired traces of the battle on the church facade.

After taking the photos, I entered the church and listened to a very nice (free) organ and soprano concert (Bach, Haindl, Beethoven).
I have already posted about the late 15th century Hôtel de Sens, originally the home of the Archbishop of Sens, later occupied by one of the Guise cardinals, by (ex-)Queen Margot ... then a stage coach company and several other less glorious activities until it was taken over and restored by the City of Paris in 1916. It’s now the home of the “Forney Library”, specialised in architecture and with a collection of about a million old postcards.

July 28, 1830, during the July Revolution - which led to the abdication of Charles X (younger brother of the decapitated Louis XVI), replaced by Louis-Philippe who remained King until the next Revolution in 1848 – a cannon bullet landed on the front of the building and can still be seen. The famous Delacroix painting “Liberty Leading the People” celebrates the 1830 event.
The facade of what is commonly known as the Odeon Theatre, now officially named Théatre de l’Europe, has numerous traces of some fusillades. I have not been able to get it confirmed if these are also traces from the July revolution, 1830, or rather from some shooting between German soldiers and French resistants in August 1944.

Maybe a few words about the theatre? It was originally built to be home of the “King’s Actors”. Marie-Antoinette officially opened the theatre (1782) and she was also present during the première of the “Marriage of Figaro” (1784). During the Revolution, the republican actors left (1791) for what today is the “Comédie Française” on the other side of the Seine. The theatre got the Odeon name in 1796. In 1819 it was promoted to be the “Second Théatre Français”, part of the “Comédie Française” and remained so until 1959. In May 1968, the theatre was one of the centres of the student uprising. In 1971 it was again promoted to the rank of “National Theatre”. It was however more and more used for foreign guest performances and for non-French plays and in 1990 declared “Théatre de l’Europe”.
March 8-11, 1918, during WW I, the German aviation bombarded Paris, preparing more heavy bombarding by long distance cannons. (Contrary to what normally is “known”, the super-cannon “Grosse Bertha” (named after Mrs. Krupp) was not in use in the bombardment of Paris). Serious damage and a lot of causalities were noted. March 11, the “War Ministry”, where then Georges Clemenceau led the French government was hit. Some traces are still there on the front of the building, which today is marked “Ministère des Armées” and houses the French Army headquarters. (See also top picture.)
When I made my posts about the “Grands Boulevards”, I found a street name plate with clear evidence of shooting. I have no idea of the origin of these traces. Sorry!