Church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis

Church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis

The Church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis is a church in the Marais district of Paris, commissioned by King Louis XIII in the 17th century. The church faces Rue Saint-Antoine and is adjacent to the Collège Charlemagne, also established by the Jesuits. This church is called “Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis” in memory of the nearby Church of Saint-Paul, which was destroyed in 1796.

The church incorporates architectural elements from both Italian and French traditions. Indeed, as André Chastel noted, “the Jesuits paid close attention to local traditions,” making it easy to compare it to Rome’s Church of the Gesù, though it is taller and wider. The design is a compromise between the side chapels of the Church of the Gesù and the traditional French Latin cross layout, with an elongated transept that is quite prominent and a shorter semicircular apse. Tall windows allow ample light inside, and the dome above recalls the designs of the earlier Italian architect Carlo Maderno. Its taller proportions are quite close to those of French Gothic architecture. Its façade is in the Italian style but includes the verticality of Gothic and the ornate flair of Dutch style.

Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis

Why Go: One of the oldest churches in Paris’s Marais district

Continent: Europe【Europe】

Country/Region: France[France]

Province/State: Île-de-France Region [Ile-de-France Region]

City: Paris [Paris]