19 February 2016

L'Eglise de la Sainte-Trinité

There are two well-known 19th century churches in the Paris neighborhood where I spent a couple of hours wandering the streets Monday afternoon. The neighborhood is in the 9th arrondissement, just north of the Opéra Garnier and the Galeries Lafayette department store and not far from the Gare Saint-Lazare.


L'Eglise de la Sainte-Trinité is the larger of the two churches. It was built in six years' time in the 1860s when the Baron Haussmann decided to relocate an older church of the same name to the present site. The building is 90 meters (295 feet) long and the bell tower is 65 meters (213 feet) high.


I've still never been inside the Trinité church, even though I've walked past it hundreds of times, especially during the years when I was commuting on trains in and out of the Gare Saint-Lazare.

The statues on the four corners of the bell tower represent saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

One of the church's claims to fame is that the funeral of the composer Hector Berlioz was held here in March 1869. The façade is decorated in Italian Renaissance style, with elements of Gothic and French Renaissance architecture. An iron and steel framework, while nowhere visible, reinforces the structure.



I like the way the face on the left side of the photo seems to be peering down over the wall of the tower.

The other church in the neighborhood is the Eglise Notre-Dame de Lorette. I took some photos there too...

15 comments:

  1. The style of many churches built in the late 19th century is by far not my favorite. I would call it the "new, improved" style which tries to imitate legitimate styles and overdoes it in the wrong way.

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  2. That's a good way to put that, chm :)
    Well, Ken, these views are certainly not what you see every in Saint Aignan, are they? :) And, certainly not in North Carolina!

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  3. Well, there's not much point in pretending such places don't exist, is there? Besides, tous les goûts sont dans la nature.

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    1. As usual, your photos are excellent. Nothing wrong with them.

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    2. I have not taken a single photo since I left Paris Tuesday morning. No time. Too busy.

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  4. Thank you Ken for those photos.
    I have passed by Sainte-Trinité so many time during my visits ( to go to a chocolate store - my last visit 2 yrs ago was disappointing since the owner,being too old left the day-to-day to her son and the offering is not the same) and never picked up on all those details you've captured.

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    1. The Casino de Paris is in the neighborhood too. I've been to concerts there. If I remember correctly, CHM's notaire has his office right there too. I went there with him once.

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  5. I especially like the first photo that captures so well the dramatic skies and golden buildings of Paris.

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    1. I like that one too. It was a quick snapshot with a lot of car and truck traffic that you can't see because I cropped it out.

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  6. As usual, your love for Paris comes through your photos.

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  7. The interior of the church is beautiful, you should go in one day.

    Belated birthday wishes to MA. While you were celebrating, I was flying home from New Delhi so missed your post.

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  8. Love it that you had sunshine!

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What's on your mind? Qu'avez-vous à me dire ?