Oratory of Saint Germain l’Auxerrois
Saint Germain l’Auxerrois Church replaced an earlier chapel built on one of the small mounds that dotted the river bank.
The oldest known building was constructed around 500 AD to commemorate the visit of Saint Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre.
A baptistery was built three centuries later, as this section of the riverbank was frequently flooded by the Seine, to baptise the children who perished during these floods.
At that time, the right bank was indeed a vast marshy area dotted with a few hamlets.
Saint Germain l’Auxerrois, the parish church of the kings of France
King Robert the Pious commissioned the construction of Saint Germain l’Auxerrois Church at the beginning of the 11th century.
In the 1180s, King Philip-Augustus built a wall and the Louvre fortress to protect the Right Bank and the Halles covered market. Located on the east side of the Louvre, Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois was enlarged and became the parish church of the kings of France.
The church is thus renowned for its magnificent Gothic entrance porch, the work of master mason Jean Gaussel, completed in 1439. This porch, along with that of Sainte Chapelle, is one of the oldest in Paris.
The statues that adorned it were restored in the 19th century, with the most damaged ones being replaced. Despite successive enlargements and modifications over the centuries, the church has also retained its original Romanesque bell tower. However, the spire was demolished in the 18th century and replaced by a balustrade.
The church’s only bell, named Marie and cast in 1529, is infamous for ringing the signal that triggered the Saint-Bartholomew’s Day Massacre on August 24, 1572.
Saint Germain l’Auxerrois Church’s interior
Saint Germain l’Auxerrois Church houses the magnificent 13th-century Chapelle du Saint Sacrement (Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament), recognised as a masterpiece of Gothic architecture.
This chapel boasts an exceptional 15th-century polychrome wooden statue of Saint Germanus, as well as a 14th-century painted stone representation of Saint Mary of Egypt.
The church’s architectural evolution spans several centuries. The Gothic chancel and the first bay of the Chapel of the Virgin were built in the 14th century, and the nave a century later.
The transept and the chapels surrounding the chancel were added in the 16th century, during the height of the French Renaissance.
The 17th century mutilations
Unfortunately, the canons’ efforts to modernise Saint Germain l’Auxerrois Church led to radical alterations in the 17th and 18th centuries.
At a time when Gothic architecture was considered outdated, they indeed demolished the portal’s tympanum and the Renaissance rood screen created by Jean Goujon and Pierre Lescot. They also repainted the murals and vaults of the choir in white and undertook the redecoration and sculpting of the pillars and capitals.
To bring more light into the nave, they also replaced the original 14th-century stained-glass windows with translucent glass panes.
However, master glass-makers replaced these with stained-glass windows during the church’s restoration in the 19th century. Fortunately, the 16th-century stained-glass windows on either side of the transept remained intact.
Post French Revolution
Saint Germain l’Auxerrois Church narrowly escaped destruction during the French Revolution, as it was converted into a saltpetre works, a barn, a printing press, and even a police station!
In 1802, it reopened to the public, before being desecrated and forced to close again during the riots of February 1831 and briefly served as the town hall for the 4th arrondissement of Paris.
Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois officially reopened in 1837 and underwent significant restoration work over the next two decades.
However, the architects Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc faced considerable challenges in restoring it to its former glory.
The damage inflicted during the transformations and mutilations of the 17th and 18th centuries did indeed constitute obstacles that could not all be entirely overcome.
A wealth of architectural features and art works
Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois boasts a treasure trove of architectural features and works of art spanning several centuries.
These include two 17th-century baptismal fonts adorned with finely sculpted angels, a superb collection of Renaissance stained glass, including a magnificent rose window, a remarkable rear door dating to 1570, a pulpit designed by the renowned artists Charles Le Brun and Le Mercier, along with two 16th-century Flemish and French altarpieces, superb 19th-century frescoes in the transept and chapels, and an exceptional organ, built by Clicquot in 1771.
Finally, the adjacent tower is often mistaken for the bell tower of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois. This tower is actually the belfry of the Paris 1st arrondissement town hall, located right next door.
Saint Germain l’Auxerrois Church is one of the 25 Paris churches I have selected for you, lesser-known, yet equally remarkable!
Directions: 1st District – Place du Louvre
Metro: Louvre-Rivoli on Line 1Coordinates: Lat 48.859579 – Long 2.340874
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 8am to 7pm – Sundays from 9am to 8pm
N.B. The Chapelle du Saint Sacrement is reserved for prayer and meditation and photos are not allowed.
