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St Sulpice Church - Paris 6th
History
Following the rue Bonaparte, arriving on the place Saint-Sulpice,
make a stop and take a rest. Cafes are everywhere at every corner
(like the rue du Vieux-Colombier). Admire the square. Opinions are
divided, some like it, some not. But like it or not the houses here
are the most expensive in Paris. You can easily imagine why: you’re
just coming from of one of the noisiest and most polluted areas
of Paris. People like to live here between the soft spouting fountains
of 1844, the benches beneath the chestnut trees, the loitering promeneurs
eating a sandwich they bought at the “traiteur” in the
rue du Vieux-Colombier. Here the busy city people have the impression
to get some extra oxygen.
Above the square the towers of the heavy looking, EGLISE SAINT
SULPICE rise high above the neighbouring roofs. See the Hebrew JAHWE
on the left tower, curious..... . The ground map and the size are
the same as Notre-Dame. The first stone was laid in 1646 on the
remains of an older and smaller church. The building being interrupted
several times, all styles and epochs are mixed in the construction.
One of the most interesting items inside is the wall fresco (the
fighting of Saul with the Angel) painted under the supervision of
Delacroix, the Maria chapel and the organ of 1781. A copper line
in the middle of the choir symbolizes the zero meridian of Paris.
A few anecdotes about the church. The ancestor of the telegraph,
the Chappe system (moving panel system set on heights) had a fixed
place on the roof until 1850. Baudelaire and the marquis de Sade
were baptized in this church. Victor Hugo got married here.
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