Eglise Saint-Roch, a rich church in the 1st arrondissement

At 126 meters long and inspired by Notre-Dame-de-Paris, theEglise Saint-Roch is one ofthe largest churches in Paris. Built to the plans of Jacques Le Mercier, the architect of the Sorbonne, during the construction of the Tuileries in the 17th century, the first stone of theEglise Saint-Roch was laid in 1653 by Louis XIV himself! Due to a lack of funds, construction did not resume until 1701, under the direction of Jules Hardouin-Mansart and then Pierre Bullet, before finally being completed in 1740.

Given the many decades it took to build theEglise Saint-Roch, different architectural styles, such as classical and baroque, rubbed shoulders. Shortly before the French Revolution, works of art by the great artists of the time were added to the edifice.

But then came the Revolution, and with it the looting and destruction of religious monuments. Diderot's tomb, buried in theEglise Saint-Roch, was emptied and his remains never recovered.

For the record, it was on the steps of theEglise Saint-Roch that Bonaparte machine-gunned royalist insurgents in 1795. Until the building was restored in 2000, bullet holes, symbols of revolutionary conflicts, could still be seen on the façade.

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Fortunately, the interior decoration of theEglise Saint-Roch resumed just after the Revolution, masking the destruction. The church was adorned with new paintings and sculptures, and many works of art from destroyed buildings were repatriated, turning it into a veritable museum of religious art. All these works can still be seen today, to the delight of visitors.

While the nave is rather classical and uncluttered, the choir and its magnificent vault painted by Adolphe Roger are well worth a visit. And don't miss the Chapelle de la Vierge (Virgin Chapel), with its baroque style and beautiful oval dome featuring a "Triumph of the Virgin" painted by Jean-Baptiste Pierre.

Finally, for music lovers, theEglise Saint-Roch often organizes concerts of classical and religious music .