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Saint-Augustin, Baltard's surprising church

The interior | DAVID ILIFF / CC-BY-SA
Parish church Saint-Augustin church in Paris

Saint-Augustin was raised by architect Victor Baltard between 1860 and 1871, on a triangular land... a problem! What was the solution? To raise a very vast nave without aisles, widening as far as the big choir flanked by a dome! A dome 50 metres high which crowned the church...

A pretty original thing for that Romanesque and Byzantine building!

You know what? Baltard raised the Halles, in the heart of Paris, a real iron monster... well, he did the same thing with Saint-Augustin framework! Instead of recovering iron with plaster as usual, he let the metal visible! People were shocked...

So, come on, follow me... The façade is decorated with the 4 evangelists, sculpted by Jacquemart. Above, the 12 apostles. Inside, paintings made by Signol and Bouguereau, stained-glass windows by Maréchal, Metz and Oudinot.

Oh, here, look at this small chapel: inside, Charles de Foucault changed religion... This former officer in French Army moved in Morocco. He lived a dissolute life, and when he came back in Paris, he became a Catholic believer, in the church of Saint-Augustin, in 1886. Then he was ordained in 1901...

About the the author

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I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!