This is a landmark and just around the corner from a major site, walked all over and a bit upset as looking into my vaults could not find a picture unbelievable indeed. Nevertheless, doing a post on the streets of Montmartre found one of the church that should be in my blog for you and me. Therefore, let me tell you a bit on the Church Saint Pierre of Montmartre in Paris, part I !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The Church Saint-Pierre de Montmartre is located in the 18éme arrondissement of Paris, at the top of the Butte Montmartre, at no 2 rue du Mont-Cenis, west of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica. Since the French revolution, it represents the oldest parish church in Paris after that of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. It succeeds a Merovingian basilica dedicated to Saint Denis, of which five marble capitals and four columns were reused in the current church, the columns themselves from an ancient temple. The queen Adelaide of Savoy at the same time founds a abbey of Benedictine nuns in the south of the church, known as the Royal Abbey of Montmartre. The church is therefore parish and abbey at the same time. In 1686, the nuns moved to a new monastery near the Place des Abbesses, and the church has since been for the exclusive use of the parish, but remains the property of the Royal Abbey of Montmartre until the dissolution of this one in 1792. Renovations was undertaken between 1900 and 1905, and the Church Saint Pierre, then obtained its current face. Today it is a high place of Christian spirituality in the north of Paris.
The construction in the 12C of the Church Saint-Pierre, for the royal abbey of Montmartre by King Louis VI and his wife Adelaide of Savoy. The name of the hill of Montmartre and the church , which replaced the Roman temples, was erected in honor of the holy martyrs Saint Denis, Rustique and Éleuthère, beheaded according to legend on the hill and whose chapel, located on the southern flank of the hill, was to commemorate the traditional place of execution, taking the name of Saint-Martyre. The Mont de Mars could therefore be reinterpreted around the 9C as Mont des Martyrs , then by popular derivation as “mont de martre”, martre meaning “martyr” in Old French. The toponymic substitution of the pagan mount by the Christian mount remains however hypothetical and the double etymology of Mount of Mars and Mount of the Martyrs is still currently traditionally proposed. It would be necessary, to be able to decide the question, to know what the people, in their spoken language, called this hill before the 9C, since it was at that time that the written documents recorded the change of name.
The first Merovingian church built in these places in the 6C is therefore one of the oldest Christian remains in Paris. These columns and these capitals would be the remains of an ancient temple dating from the Gallo-Roman period and reused in the Merovingian period. Montmartre has been a sacred place since antiquity. Vestiges of this period have testified to this for centuries. To be convinced of this, just go to the Louvre to admire a Pietà by the Master of Saint-Germain-des-prés (Ecoles du Nord, Richelieu wing, 2nd floor room 7). On this canvas from the 15C, we can see the ruins of Gallo-Roman buildings on the Montmartre hill. And for good reason ! These ruins remained visible until the 17C, Two Gallo-Roman temples, one to the west of rue Lepic and the other on the site of the cemetery of the Church Saint-Pierre of Montmartre on the Calvary garden. The 19C buildings also hide another vestige of the Gallo-Roman era: the Fontaine au but a thermal establishment, located at the height of the Lamarck-Caulaincourt metro station. A small spring fed it. In short, the ancient columns and capitals of the church are the only visible witnesses to the Gallo-Roman period and its spirituality.
The official Church Saint Pierre of Montmartre : https://www.saintpierredemontmartre.net/
The City of Paris on the Church Saint Pierre de Montmartre : https://www.paris.fr/lieux/eglise-saint-pierre-de-montmartre-19452
The Paris tourist office on the Church Saint Pierre de Montmartre : https://parisjetaime.com/eng/culture/eglise-saint-pierre-de-montmartre-p1266
There you go folks, get your highs while looking the beautiful scenes of Paris from the hill=butte, at night is sublime,and if clear day awesome. Its a must visit while in Paris or France. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Church Saint Pierre of Montmartre in Paris, part I !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 