Looking almost straight down from the Panthéon's "balcony" is a good view of the church called St-Étienne-du-Mont, built between 1490 and 1625 after a 13th-century church on the site had become too small to accommodate the population of the neighborhood. The Michelin green guide for Paris describes the church's façade as "highly original" because of its mix of Flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance elements.
Interesting photo. In addition to St-Étienne-du-Mont, there is a Tour-Montparnasse look alike, the Tour Croulebarbe, an apartment building also known as Tour Albert; and to the right, the Tour Clovis in the Lycée Henri IV. It was the bell tower of abbaye Sainte-Geneviève destroyed at the Révolution. The Panthéon, aka église Sainte-Geneviève, was supposed to replace it! Confused?
ReplyDeleteYes, you have confused me. I think the Tour Croulebarbe = Tour Albert. It's just two names for the same building, which is in the 13th. I'm not sure I was looking toward the 13th when I took the photos. I can see only three towers in my photo, except some on the distant horizon. And as for the Tour Montparnasse look-alike... well, it's not really. It's usually just called Jussieu, I think. It has two names as well. The real name for it is the Tour Zamanzky. I was up there in 1974 or so, to see people in offices on the top floor. Outdoors, up there, it was snowing. Down at street level, just a light crachin was falling. I was disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI like this neighborhood :)
ReplyDeleteI worked in the Latin Quarter in 1974-76. I really liked it too. Back then, however, I lived in a little apartment out in Asnières-sur-Seine. The commute was not easy, especially in winter when the weather was cold and damp. I was teaching at something like 5 or 6 different schools in the Latin Quarter and in the St-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood. I had an exhausting schedule. I finally threw in the towel and returned to the U.S. in the spring of 1976. Little did I know that I was paying into several different French retirement systems. Those pensions made it possible to get free health insurance here in the Loir-et-Cher a few decades later.
ReplyDeleteThose commutes were difficult. It helps that you were young. It is amazing how it has benefited you now.
DeleteI always seemed to have 8 a.m. classes. The commute from Asnières took an hour, so I had to get out of the apartment on onto a train pretty early in the morning. Then I changed either to a bus or the métro at the Saint-Lazare train station. Buses were my preferred option, but sometimes they were just too crowded. If it was raining and cold, it was miserable. But I did enjoy teaching classes to French students and adults.
DeleteGreat shot. This is one of my favorite churches in Paris.
ReplyDeleteBettyAnn
For me too. I realized yesterday that I really need to go back to the Sainte-Chapelle and take some pictures one day.
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