I took my car into Paris, glorious yeah !!! Easy once again ride on the A3 getting around Porte de Bagnolet into inner Paris and easy parking at Place Saint Michel !! And for diversity the way back I took out by the Porte de la Chapelle as easy as well! I said once into Paris the best way is to walk, and walk I did all over. However this time will update this post on text and links for you and me, Therefore, will tell you a bit more on the St James’s Tower or Tour Saint Jacques of Paris. Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The Tour Saint Jacques is the only vestige of the Saint-Jacques-la-Boucherie church, whose new bell tower was built between 1509 and 1523, this bell-tower is erected in the middle of the first Parisian square, which bears its name , in the 4éme arrondissement of Paris. While resuming certain elements of the contemporary Louis XII style, this building shows how much Parisian and particularly religious architecture is reluctant to the innovations brought from Italy and remains as in the hotel Cluny, faithful to the essential style 15C flamboyant Gothic. It does not take less certain novelties induced by the new Louis XII style that triumphs then marking a transition between art Gothic and the Early Renaissance.
The Tour Saint-Jacques tower is an architectural jewel, with its slender structure, its ornamental decoration and its emblematic statue of Saint Jacques at the top. It is a witness to the history of Paris, having been used as an astronomical observatory and a benchmark for pilgrims on the Camino de Compostela (via Tolosana). The tower also played an important role in the scientific revolution of the 17C, notably thanks to the astronomer and philosopher Blaise Pascal, who conducted important experiences on atmospheric pressure. The Place Saint Jacques square also attracts tourists and Inhabitants of the neighborhood by the beauty of its plantations and the elegance of its lawns, which makes it one of the most beautiful public gardens in Paris. This square was created in 1856 by Jean Charles Alphand, with an area of about 6, m² ,it houses a stele erected in 1959 with a bronze medallion of Jehan du Seigneur, in memory of the poet Gérard de Nerval, not far from the place where it was found hanging from a grid in 1855.
Accessible by its narrow spiral staircase and limited in number of visitors (about 17) due to the smallness of its interior spaces,(stairs are 85 cm or about 33 inches) going up 62 meters or about 16 floors, The tour is made only by registration, under the guidance of an organization that responded to the call for projects from the city. Magma Cultura is currently responsible for organizing, facilitating and securing visits. To admire this unforgettable view, it is better to be in good physical condition, and not to be subject to dizziness or claustrophobia… The tower is located at 36 rue de Rivoli and is open from Friday May 17 to Sunday November 10 2024. Guided tours, led by a guide-lecturer, are take place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10h to 18h Boutique magmacultura for reservations : https://boutique.toursaintjacques.fr/bin/index.php
A bit of history I like tell us that the Tour Saint-Jacques is an old Bell tower constituting the only vestige of the Saint-Jacques-la-Boucherie church, dedicated to Saint Jacques le Majeur (St James the Major). This sanctuary was home to a relic of Saint James and was a famous place of pilgrimage and the place of worship of the merchants of the neighborhood. This bell tower was built between 1509 and 1523. It measures 54 meters up to the balustrade. The church was destroyed in 1793 and closed by the French revolution and became a national stone quarry site. It is said that the tower was not demolished because of the Church Saint-Jacques-du-Haut-Pas on the hill of Sainte-Geneviève . A statue, installed at the base of the tower, reminds us. It is true that the later buyer of the church had a condition of not demolishing the tower. It was at the time one of the tallest monuments in Paris.
In 1824, an industrialist buys the tower to install a foundry of lead shots, turning it into a plumb bob. In 1836, after two fires, the tower was bought by the City of Paris. In 1852 the work undertaken on the occasion of the piercing of the rue de Rivoli and its decided of the restoration of the belfry. The statue of St. James, destroyed during the French revolution, is replaced by another, 3.80 meters high. The Church of Saint-Jacques d’Illiers-Combray, dear to Marcel Proust, retains the lead, made in 1858 to serve as a model for the sculptor. It was offered by Napoleon III to the municipal council of Paris which had made the request. At the foot of the tower, was created in 1856 the first square of Paris (now place tour Saint-Jacques). At the foot of the tower, at the end of the 19C, the hiring of the workers takes place in the open air, the meeting place of the latter, as was the Place de Grève (current Place de l’Hôtel de Ville) is closed.
Since 1965, a plaque offered by Spain to the city of Paris, on the initiative of the Society of Friends of Saint Jacques, makes it a starting point for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. On the platform is installed a small weather station since 1891. It depends on the Montsouris Observatory. The carved symbols of the four Evangelists, the lion (Mark), the bull (Luke), the eagle (John) and the angel (Matthew), appear in the corners. The current statues date back to the beginning of the 20C, like gargoyles and eighteen statues of saints decorating the walls of the tower. The sculptures date from two eras. Some are from the origin of construction in the 16C, others were created in the 19C and 20C.
The Paris tourist office on the Tour St Jacques: https://parisjetaime.com/eng/culture/tour-saint-jacques-p993
There you go folks now you have another monument in my eternal Paris so good to be visited, worth the detour me think, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Tour Saint Jacques of Paris as I
And remember, happy travels good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 