St. Germain des Pres Churches Tour
Overview
Called by many the most classically Parisian neighborhood, St-Germain-des-Pres gets its name from the oldest church in Paris, which has been a place of worship for over 1500 years. Our tour also covers another amazing church, “Eglise St-Sulpice” whose grounds have been a place of worship for nearly 800 years. Both of these churches feature some Baroque architectural features as well as Baroque Artwork.
Before you go
No tickets are required to enter either church, but do check the websites to ensure they are not closed for renovation / special events.
Itinerary
Eglise St-Germain-des-Pres
Our itinerary starts on Bd St-Germain-des-Pres, near the dueling cafes of Le Cafe de Flore and Les Deux Magots. As you continue walking south east past Les Deux Magots, you will see the bell tower and entrance to Eglise St-Germain-des-Pres.
Enter the church and appreciate the vastness as you start to walk down the nave (center aisle). If you look up you will see the newly restored, breathtaking ceiling. After you reach the altar, be sure to turn around and take in the amazing pipe organ soaring above you. Continue walking to the right side of the altar to the very end of the church and you will find the newly restored Chapel of the Virgin.
Chapel of the Virgin (la chapelle de la Vierge)
St. Germain des Pres Chapel of the Virgin
Upon entering the Chapel, you will see a statue of Mary and baby Jesus in the center. On either side of them are beautifully restored paintings depicting the epiphany and the presentation in the temple.
These are paintings made to look like statues, using a technique called Grisaille. The painter, François-Joseph Heim, was a neo-classicist known for mythological and historical paintings. These photographs do not do the paintings justice, it is absolutely worth the visit just to see these paintings.
St. Germain des Pres Bust of Saint John Paul II
The next chapel to the left is dedicated to St. John Paul II, who was canonized in 2014. Very interesting to reflect on how the church, despite its age, continues to evolve with the times, and will change focus in its various chapels to recognize more modern saints.
Chapel of St. Joseph
St. Germain des Pres Chapel of St. Joseph
A few chapels down, you will find the chapel of St. Joseph where you will see the mausoleum of William Douglas, who was a 17th century Scottish nobleman that was exiled for his conversion to Catholicism. The statue is looking rather comfortable on top of Douglas’ remains.
Continue walking back toward the entrance of the church and you will see many large paintings on the right.
Paintings on the North Aisle
Entry of Christ into Jerusalem” La Hyre
“Entry of Christ into Jerusalem” by Laurent de La Hyre. This painting is an example of a European painting in the 1600s that is not considered Baroque. This is an example of Parisian Atticism, where La Hyre uses a bright color palette and evokes Raphael’s sensibilities.
St. Phillip Baptizing the Enuch of Queen Candace of Ethopia. (1718) Bertin
Further down the aisle, you will find another interesting painting by Nicholas Bertin. “St. Phillip Baptizing the Enuch of Queen Candace of Ethopia.” This is also not a Baroque painting, but I find it interesting that perhaps during a restoration of the painting they lost the sponge and the water that was in St. Phillip’s hand above the Enuch. Queen Candace is sitting on a camel in the background holding an umbrella. This is a bible story from the Acts of the Apostles.
Eglise St-Sulpice
After you finish with St. Germain-des-Pres, head back toward the intersection of Bd St-Germain-des-Pres and Rue Bonaparte (Cafe Deux Magot will be on your right), cross Bd St-Germain-des-Pres and continue down Rue Bonaparte until you reach Rue Saint-Suplice. You will see the Cathedral on your left.
Standing on the plaza in front of the church you may recognize the facade is similar to that of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The design was indeed inspired by Christopher Wren’s masterpiece.
St. Sulpice Nave
As you enter the Cathedral, walk down the nave (center aisle) and you will notice a beautiful and ornate pulpit on the right and a crucifix on the left.
Pulpit (3)
The pulpit was built in 1788 and is considered a masterpiece of cabinetmaking and balance: it rests only on the side staircases that support it.
Once you reach the transept (where the chairs stop), turn around and look at the organ. It is one of the most famous organs in the world and was most recently rebuilt in 1862, by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. Because of the organ’s quality and the acoustics of the church, famous organists from all over the world have played here.
St. Sulpice Organ
After admiring the organ, turn back around to face the altar and look left and you will see the obelisk portion of the famous St. Sulpice Gnomon. Look down at the ground and you will see the brass line running across the transept to the other side of the Church. The light comes in from the south and depending on the time of year is either projected on the brass line ground (summer time) or on the obelisk (winter time).
St. Sulpice Gnomon
The Gnomon was featured in Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code, although he embellished pretty much everything except the fact that it does indeed exist. The book claims that the obelisk is Egyptian and the “Rose Line” runs through the church. Neither is true, the obelisk was made in the 18th century and the “Rose Line” is actually called the Paris Meridian and is several hundred meters to the east of the church. The Paris Meridian was a rival to England’s Prime Meridian and served as the focal point for French cartography and astronomy until the late 19th century.
Make your way all the way to the apse (behind the altar and sanctuary, directly in the back of the church and you will see the Chapel of the Virgin.
Chapel of the Virgin (la chapelle de la Vierge)
St. Sulpice Chapel of the Virgin (4)
This baroque styled chapel features a sculpture in the niche of the Virgin and Jesus crushing snake by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle and recently restored ceiling fresco of the Virgin in her Glory is by François Lemoyne.
Chapel of the Holy Angels
After you are finished in the Chapel of the Virgin, head towards the exit of the church by walking along the south aisle (the opposite side of the Gnomon in the transept). The last chapel on the left will be the Chapel of the Holy Angels. This chapel features 3 frescos by Eugène Delacroix depicting Angels in action.
Delacroix is a celebrated French painter known for leading the Romantic movement in the 19th century. Delacroix took six years to paint the frescos (1855-1861). These frescos have been recently restored and look magnificent even though there is a file cabinet in front of one of them.
This concludes our walking tour of St. Germain-des-Pres and St. Sulpice. Of note, the famous Baroque artists Antoine, Louis and Mathieu Le Nain are buried at the St. Sulpice.
Please let us know what you think in the comments below!
Photo Credit
1.By Bernard Gagnon - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3664985
2. By Mbzt - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13264362
3 By Selbymay — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22620689
4.By Zairon — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70643650
