Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois Church
The first Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois church was built in the 5th century, where Saint Genevieve (patron saint of Paris) and Saint German (Auxerre’s bishop) met.
In the 9th century, the Normans destroyed the first building during the great siege of Paris in 885-886.
In the 11th century, the Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois church was re-built.
In the 12th century, the church was remodeled, with works on the bell tower and the western portal, around 1220-1230.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, the choir, the first span of the Virgin Chapel, the nave and the porch – which is identical as today – were built.
In the 16th century, the construction of the church was finally over, when the transept and the choir chapels were built.
In the 17th century, an important wave of works was launched: the sanctuary and the nave were re-modeled and redecorated.
In the 18th century, Claude Bacarit (architect in charge of the Châteaux de Buzancyet and Bois Préau) and Louis-Claude Vassé (sculptor of the “Sleeping Shepherd” and “the Comedy”, exhibited at the Louvre Museum) redecorated the choir.
During the revolution, church Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois was closed and served other purposes as of 1793.
In the 19th century, it was given back to the Catholic Church (1802). During the riots of February 14th and 15th 1831, the church was defiled and closed again.
The church reopened in 1837, and many inner and outer restoration works started at this date. The paintings and the stained windows were entirely renewed during this time.
Outside the Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois church, don’t miss the porch, the stone statues and the portal (restored or replaced during the 19th century), the rose lighting up the façade, and the gable decorated with a Saint-Michael statue.
The belfry – 38-meters high – was built in 1860 in a neo-gothic style, and calls to mind the Tour Saint-Jacques.
Inside, some items from the former church still remain. Among the most famous ones, “the Pulpit”, made in 1635 in te nave, and the assembly bench made between 1682 and 1684. The organ represents the furniture from the old church from the Sainte-Chapelle, which borders the choir and a forged-iron fence made by the king’s locksmith, Pierre Dumiez, executed in 1767.
The building kept only part of its original stained glass from the 16th century, regrouped in the bays of the transept’s two branches. In the northern branch are scenes of the Passion and Public Life of Jesus Christ. In the southern branch, you can see “the Pentecost”, made in 1532 by Jean Chastellain, in the rose of the facade. The other two skylights represent the Incredulity of Saint Thomas, executed in 1533, and the other is the Assumption of the Virgin, realized around 1534-1535.
The building offers many works of art: the statue of Saint Germain d’Auxerre in the chapel of the Virgin (13th century), the Virgin and Child above the chapel’s altar (14th century) and the Virgin with a bird (15th century).
The church has two retables dating back from the 16th century. The first one is located in the southern ambulatory of the choir and represents the Virgin’s life, whereas the second one, about the Passion, is in the northern chapels of the nave.
In the transept and the chapels, glass-painters realized several murals between 1840 and 1865.
The skylight in the central bay of the chapel of the ambulatory, given to the church in 1838, is composed of scenes of the Passion, copied on the stained glass of the Sainte-Chapelle.
Open: every day.
Monday - Saturday: 8am-7pm,
Sunday: 9am-8pm.
Rates: Free entrance.
Information: Every year in June, the Festival of Saint-Denis features the greatest musical classics by Mozart, Verdi, Mahler, and Puccini…
How to get there: 2 Place du Louvre 75001 Paris.
Métro line 1 Station "Louvre - Rivoli" and
Métro line 7 Station "Pont Neuf".
Bus lines: 21, 24, 27, 58, 67, 69, 70, 72, 74, 75, 76, 81 et 85.
