The Church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, a Gothic jewel facing the Louvre

Located opposite the Louvre Museum, the Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois Church is one of the oldest churches in Paris, and one of the capital’s greatest Gothic monuments. Yet it almost didn’t survive, having undergone numerous renovations and been destroyed and rebuilt many times.

We must go far back to find the first historical traces of the Eglise Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois: to the Merovingian era. But there are no physical remnants from that period—the church was completely destroyed during the Viking siege of Paris in 885.

It would be another century before the church, then known as the Eglise Saint-Germain-le-Rond, was rebuilt under Robert II the Pious, only to fall into ruin again and be rebuilt under the name Eglise Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois in the 13th century. From that era, only the Romanesque base of the bell tower remains.

From the 14th century, the church becomes the parish of the Kings of France, thanks to its proximity to the Louvre, then the royal residence. But it is a macabre episode that will mark the history of the Église Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, since it is its tocsin (the civic bell meant to warn the people of imminent danger) that will ring in the night of August 23–24, 1572, triggering the massacre of Protestant civilians during the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

But the church has also hosted joyful moments, such as Molière’s wedding in 1662 or Danton’s in 1787. In this regard, since the Ancien Régime, the church has been known as the "parish of artists" or the "Saint-Denis of Genius and Talent." Many artists, then living at the Louvre, chose to be buried there.

Thus follows a troubled period for the Eglise Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, which, during the Terror, serves first as a fodder warehouse, then as a printing shop, a police station, and a saltpeter factory. After being threatened with destruction under the First and Second Empires, the church (having been returned to church use in 1802) ultimately remains standing and soon finds itself next to the new town hall of the 1st arrondissement.

Built as a faithful replica of the façade of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, the Mairie du Premier Arrondissement comes to life in 1859, thanks to architect Jacques Hittorff. It’s so like the church that at first it can be hard to tell them apart! The neo-Gothic belfry, 38 meters tall, was erected in 1863 by Théodore Ballu to bring the two buildings together.

Not to be missed during your visit are the stained glass windows, some dating back to the 16th century; the magnificent porch dating from the 15th century (the only one in Paris in flamboyant Gothic style alongside the Sainte-Chapelle) and the Chapel of the Virgin.

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