Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois

The original bell tower was placed against the south transept of the church in the late 12th century; its lower portions are the only remaining Romanesque elements of the church. This was the bell tower that gave the signal for the beginning of the Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre of Protestants on 23 August 1572.[1]

The north tower was added in about 1860 and is opposite the hall of the 1st arrondissement (1859). It was built by architect Theodore Ballu. It was part of the vast reconstruction of central Paris conducted by Baron Haussmann To maintain harmony, he made the facade of the city hall almost identical in size and form with the facade of the church, complete with a rose window and a porch. He also designed the campanile or bell tower between the church and the city hall, in the same Neo-Gothic style.[8] At the same time Ballu rebuilt the upper portions of the old belfry of the church.[3]

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  Rebuilt original bell tower of the church by Théodore Ballu, lower portion from the 12th century
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  The church bell tower (foreground), with the Louvre in background and the campanile of the arrondissement city hall behind and to right.
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  Campanile of the city hall of the 1st arrondissement by Théodore Ballu, linked to the church (right) and the city hall (left) (1858–63)

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  Plan of the church
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  Nave of the church, facing east, with pulpit (17th c.) on the right
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  Bank of seats for the royal family (17th c.)
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  Carving on the pulpit (17th c.)
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  A sculpted angel in the nave

The church has a standard plan: a long central nave, built in the 15th century,[5] on the west for the parishioners; a short transept, or crossing: the choir, where the clergy worshipped during the service; the altar, and the apse, with a ring of chapels, on the east. It is crossed by a short transept between the choir and the nave. There are collateral aisles between the nave outer walls, and the church is ringed by small chapels, each decorated with paintings and sculpture. Much of the decor comes from the time of Louis XIV, and the interior is lighter and brighter than in Gothic churches. The additional light is contributed by the upper windows, which, under the influence of the Neo-classical style, have a majority of clear rather than coloured glass.[6]

The most prominent element of the nave is the monumental carved wooden bank of seats created in 1684 for Louis XIV and the royal family. It is nearly in the center of the church, facing the pulpit. It was made by François Mercier, based on designs by Charles Le Brun.

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  The south transept, with 16th century rose window
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  The north transept. The original rose window glass was destroyed in a workshop fire in 2009, and was replaced by clear glass.
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  North transept window; St. Vincent, martyr
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  North transept- polychrome wood statue of saint Germain l'Auxerrois (15th c.)

The south transept contains stained glass windows from both the 16th and 19th century.

The north transept retained most of its original 16th-century stained glass, as well as 19th century windows. but a fire 2009 in the workshop where the windows were being restored destroyed them, and they were replaced by clear glass. The north transept also displays a polychrome wood statue of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, dating to the 15th century.[9]

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  The choir, longer than the nave
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  Lancet windows of the choir (19th c.)
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  The altar in the choir. The columns in the choir have cannelures, or vertical grooves, typical of classical or Renaissance architecture

The choir, where the clergy traditionally workshops, is unusual because it is longer than the nave, the seating for lay parishioners. Its Gothic architecture makes it the oldest part of the church interior, though it is overlaid with a considerable amount of Renaissance decoration, particularly the cannelures or vertical grooves of the columns, typical of the classical style.

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  The Chapel of the Virgin (13h c.) (left)
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  Detail of the "Crowning of the Virgin" in the Chapel of the Virgin
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  Statue of Saint Germain the Auxerrois (13th c.)
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  Statue of Saint Marie the Egyptian (end 15th or beginning of 16th century), with her three loaves of bread

The Chapel of the Virgin, usually located in the east end of a cathedral, is found at Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois near the entrance of the church on the south collateral aisle. The choir and the first bay of the chapel date from the 14th century.[5] It was created by combining four earlier chapels, then restored in the 19th century. It was originally used exclusively by the cannons of the cathedral chapter, but in the 15th century the cannons moved to the choir and the chapel was opened to the entire congregation.[1]

The chapel is decorated with very elaborate sculpture combined with a with a group of paintings by the 19th century artist Eugene Amaury-Duval (1808–1185), especially the fresco painting "The Crowning of the Virgin". His works were created in a style close to that of the Pre-Raphaelite movement in the 14th century, especially the work of Fra Angelico, with a great simplicity of composition and elegance. Amaury-Duval's His paintings are distinguished from the Pre-Raphaelites by their more sculptural figures.[1]

The oldest work on display in the chapel is a statue of the patron saint of the church, Saint Germain of Auxerre, dating from 13rh century. Nearby is a statue of Saint Mary the Egyptian, from the end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century. The figure depicts her clothed only with her long hair, and holding three loaves of bread, which, according to her legend, allowed her to live for sixty years in the Egyptian desert.[6]

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  The Chapel of the Tomb
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  Sepulchre of Christ altar in the Chapel of the Tomb (1840)
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  Chapel window with scenes of life of Christ, by Etienne Thevenot (1840)

The Chapel of the Tomb (or Chapel of Calvary), along the disambulatory behind the altar at the east end of the church, is one of the oldest in the church. It was created in 1505 by a merchant of drapery named Tronson. He also donated money for ornament of the exterior, sculpture slices of fish, or "Trocons", a pun on his name. It became the chapel of the Guild of Drapers, which held special masses and events in the chapel. During the 1831 riots, the chapel was badly damaged, the tombs pillaged and the stained glass smashed. It was restored in the Neo-Gotnic style beginning in 1840, with new stained glass by Etienne Thevenot (1840), modelled after the windows of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, with scenes depicting the life of Christ. The altar dates to the 1840, and is in the Louis XIV style, carved of the stone of Conflans. The origin of the statue of Christ below the altar in the chapel is of uncertain origin, likely from the 16th century.[10]

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  The Disambulatory, looking southwest. To the left is the Chapel of Saint Landry

The disambulatory is the passageway that circles the church, enabling parishioners to walk around to the chapels even when a service is going on. It leads to several important chapels and displays several important works of decorative art.

At the entrance to the sacristy is a major work of the 17th century painter Sebastien Bourdon (1616–1671), "Saint Pierre Nolasque receives the habit of the Order of Notre Dame of Mercy." It is an example of the enormous and complex altar paintings for which he was known. Painted at the height of hs career, it displays his particular skill at blending architecture and crowds of figures in rising levels.[11]

Another notable work in the disambulatory is the triptych depicting the history of the original sin and the Legend of the Virgin Mary. It was made of carved and painted wood in Flanders between 1510 and 1530. It portrays (right) God the Father offering the fruits of the tree of life to Adam and Eve; (left) Satan extends the forbidden fruit to Eve; and (center), scenes form the life of the Virgin Mary. It was confiscated from the Church during the Revolution and returned afterwards, with two panels missing.[11]

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  Chapel of the Patron Saints
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  Neogothic retable in the Chapel of the Patron Saints
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  Rostaing tombs in the Chapel of the Patron Saints

The Chapel of the Patron Saints, accessed from the ambulatory around the choir, traditionally contained the tombs of those who were authorised burial in the church, but did not have a separate sepulchre. When the chapel was restored, many tombs were found. The two statues are from the Rostaing family.

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  Tomb of Saint Landry of Paris, founder the Hôtel-Dieu, Paris hospital

The Chapel of Saint Landry dates from the 19th century, but it was originally built between 1521 and 1522, and was originally devoted to Saint Peter and Sent Paul. It became a family tomb for Etienne d'Alegre in 1624. It 1817, Louis XVIII took it as the repository of the heart of Joseph Hyacinthe François-de-Paule de Rigaud, comte de Vaudreuil (1740–1817). The rest of Rigaud's corpse remained in the family plot of the Calvaire cemetery in Paris. Later in the 19th century, after the overthrow of Louis XVIII, it was rededicated to Saint Landry of Paris, who died in 661. Landry was the Bishop of Paris in the 7th century who founded the Hôtel-Dieu, Paris, the oldest Paris hospital, considered the oldest hospital in the world still in operation.[12]

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  The Flemish retable (16th c.)
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  Detail of the Triptych of the Virgin Mary
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  Detail of the Triptych of the Virgin Mary

The Chapel of the Compassion, accessed from the disambulatory, was the former royal chapel, and it contains one of the most notable works of art in the church, a Flemish carved retable made in about 1515 in Antwerp, near the end of the Middle Ages, when Flanders was at its artistic height. The carved sculpture represents scenes from the Old and New Testament, full of figures from all ranks of society, from kings and nobles to soldiers and peasants in traditional Flemish costume. The central compartment depicts a Tree of Jesse, illustrating the genealogy of Christ.[11]

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  Rose window of the Pentecost, south transept, by Jean Chastellain (16th c.)
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  Detail of the Pentecost window (16th c.), south transept
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  "Incredulity of Saint Thomas" by Jean Chastellain (glass) and Noël Bellemare (drawing), (1533) south transept
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  Detail of the "Incredulity of Saint Thomas" (1533), south transept

Most of the medieval and Renaissance stained glass was destroyed in the sacking of the church in 1831, but some notable examples remain. These include the rose window in the south transept, with scenes of the Pentecost designed by Jean Chastellan, with the Holy Spirit taking the form of a dove,[13] and the window depicting the Incredulity of saint Thomas, with glass by Jean Chastellain from a drawing by Noël Bellemare (1533).

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  Window in Chapel of Virgin by Charles-Laurent Maréchal and Louis-Napoléon Gugnon (between 1844 and 1847)
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  Signature of Maréchal and Gugnon (1847)
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  Scenes of the life of Christ, window by Etienne Thenvenot (1844–47)
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  Window of Saint Toby by Etienne Thenvenot (1844–47)
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  Window of Christ and the 12 Apostles, designed by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, made by Antoine Lusson
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  Saint Peter by Antoine Lusson
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  Window depicting Saints Catherine, Theresa, Katherina of Alexandria, Chlotilde, Gertrude, Anna and Magdalena, by Antoine Lusson (1868)

Most of the medieval and Renaissance stained glass was destroyed during the Revolution and in the 1831 riots. but a few notable examples can still be found in the side chapels.

The largest part of the glass in the church dates to the mid-19th century. Very good examples of work of this period, by Charles-Laurent Maréchal and Louis-Napoléon Gugnon, made c. 1844, are found in the Chapel of the Virgin. Another major glass artist of the period, Etienne Thenvenot, created a multi-scene window of scenes of the life of the Virgin Mary, now in the Chapel of the Virgin.[14]

The rose window depicting "The Pentecost" in the south transept was made by Jean Chastellain.[15]

Antoine Lusson, who worked in collaboration with Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, also created Neo-Gothic glass for the church.