The Church Notre Dame de la Croix of Paris !!!

Posted in France, Paris

This is again another dandy monument in my eternal Paris. I have done quite a bit of walking in Paris, and still amazes me of the wonderful monuments that not only are known but also unknown to most. Glad to have found again pictures in my cd rom vault that should be in my blog for you and me, Therefore, here is my take on the Church Notre Dame de la Croix of Paris !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.

The Church Notre-Dame-de-la-Croix in Ménilmontant 20éme arrondissement, It’s impossible to miss this church’s impressive dimensions: 97 meters long, 38 meters wide, and 20 meters high under the nave vault! It has a 78-meter-high bell tower and a monumental staircase that precedes its façade. It is one of the largest churches in Paris.

The Church Notre Dame de la Croix architecture is inspired by Romanesque and Gothic models, based around a very elongated plan and a fairly narrow central nave. The current church was designed during the reign of Napoleon III in a neo-Romanesque style. It is built on the steep slope of Ménilmontant Hill, which required the construction of a flight of 54 steps to bridge the difference in level between the square where the façade is located and the apse.

This church, of traditional design, was nevertheless built with a touch of modernity thanks to the metal beams that can be seen under the vaults of the nave. The oldest painting depicts The Martyrdom of Saint Crespin (1620) by Alexandre Durant. It is the only known work by this painter. Dating from the 19C and mostly from the church’s inauguration, the others are the work of the following artists: Jean-Jacques Lagrenée (The Death of Joseph, left transept, east side); Pierre Claude François Delorme (Jesus Descending into Limbo, left transept, west side); Albert Chanot (mixed composition including a statue of the Virgin at the Foot of Christ on the Cross and a large painting illustrating The Story of Suffering and Saved Humanity, right transept, east side); Jean-Pierre Granger (Jesus Healing the Sick, right transept, west side); Jean-Baptiste Charpentier (Saint Paul on the Road to Damascus, 1819, left side of the ambulatory); Constant-Louis-Félix Smith (Moses and the Brazen Serpent, 1819, left side of the ambulatory; painting designed for the Church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis); Jules Loebnitz and Léon Chédeville (faience depicting Two Angels Adoring the Sacred Heart, 1881, right side of the ambulatory) ,and Jules Louis Machard (four scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary, apsidal chapel), The organ was built in 1874 by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. To allow for the passage of the bells and avoid obscuring the large rose window, the organ builder left the center of the gallery empty and arranged the organ case on both sides. The above with tourist brochures and wikipedia.

A bit of history I like tell us that for a long time, Ménilmontant, then a hamlet, remained under the care of the parish priest of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church in the village of Belleville. At the beginning of the 19C, its population grew significantly, and in 1823, the parish priest of Belleville, Abbé Longbois, had a chapel built: Notre-Dame-de-la-Croix. In 1858, the chapel became a parish in its own right. It was demolished and then replaced by the current church. Work began in 1863 and was completed in 1880, but it became a place of worship in 1869. Shortly after, activists of the Paris Commune used it to hold political meetings, and it was here that the death of the Archbishop of Paris, Monsignor Darboy, was voted by acclamation on May 6, 1871. The name of the church comes from a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary originally located in a building in Ménilmontant, owned by the Brothers of the Holy Cross, regular canons based in Paris, on Rue Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie , a building destroyed during the 1789 French revolution.

The official parish Church Notre Dame de la Croix : https://www.notredamedelacroix.com/

The Paris tourist office on the Church Notre Dame de la Croix : https://parisjetaime.com/eng/culture/notre-dame-de-la-croix-de-menilmontant-p1819

The City of Paris on the Church Notre Dame de la Croix : https://www.paris.fr/lieux/eglise-notre-dame-de-la-croix-de-menilmontant-3738

There you go folks, a hugely wonderful church to see while in Paris It is really wonderful to see, and I finf myself looking at something that is not much mention but really a gem of Paris.  Do come to see this church, worth the detour me think, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Church Notre Dame de la Croix of Paris !!! as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

Unknown's avatar

Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.