March 05, 2008

Saint-Eustache

Some of you suggested that I should now offer you a lunch or dinner at “Lipp”. I’m sorry, but immediately after Saint-Germain-des-Prés, there will be another church - Saint-Eustache, some 500 years younger; the construction started in 1532 and lasted for about 100 years. The facade was rebuilt during the 18th century and the church was restored in 1844 after a fire, by Baltard, especially known for the creation of “les Halles”, the central market place in Paris, torn down in 1972-73.
As you can see, the church is situated very close to what still is called “les Halles” and it’s also close to rue Montorgueuil (on which I recently posted), which starts at the back end of this church.

The church represents a mixture of gothic and renaissance style.

Molière was baptized and got married in this church and Louis XIV received his communion here. You can find a lot of paintings, including by Rubens. Among the tombs, you can find the one of Colbert, great statesman and minister of finance, who managed to keep the French finances more or less afloat despite big expenditures by Louis XIV for wars and for the building of Versailles.

The church’s musical tradition is very strong; Lully and Rameau performed here and the premieres of Berlioz’s “Te Deum” and Liszt’s “Messiah” took place in this church. Rameau is buried here. I don’t know if Mozart played at Saint Eustache, but he organized the funeral of his mother. A lot of concerts are still given. The organ has been completely rebuilt in recent years and is considered as one of the biggest and best in the world.In front of the church you can find a different kind of sculpture, called “l’Ecoute” (see photo bottom right on the first patchwork). If you want to know something more about it, I can refer to a recent post by Cergie.

Some of the pictures can be found on my photo blog.

I have visitors around I may not find the time to post tomorrow, nor to visit your blogs as I usually try to do, … so I wish you already now a nice weekend!

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

The big head looks very photogenic. What I didn't know that there are so many treasures in that church. I've never been inside, perhaps next time.

Have a nice weekend with your friends, Peter.

Noushy Syah said...

Internal deco of the church look fantastic.Look like this church ain't ordinary church,with so many different sculptures.

A breathtaking atmosphere!

BTW, hope you have a decent meal tonite! A chines food maybe? tehehhee..

Cu around,enjoy your time with the visitors.

lyliane six said...

Bonne visite de Paris avec tes invitées, je ne sais pas si elles apprécieront les églises, mais il y a tellement d'autres choses à voir à Paris. Celle ci est très belle et les photos aussi. Bonne promenade, bon week end et à bientôt pour une basilique.

Anonymous said...

That is a very photogenic sculpture for posing with.

Annie said...

The arch of this cathedral is beautiful to behold and I imagine gives wonderful resonance to the organ.

hpy said...

Have a long, nice and sunny weekend!

alice said...

Alors bon week end à toi et tes visiteurs!

Olivier said...

donc toi aussi tu amènes ta famille pour être sur les photos ;o)). L'écoute aura inspiré beaucoup de monde.

L'eglise Saint-Eustache est vraiment tres belle, son interieur est impressionnant , avec des orgues magnifiques.
Bon Weekend

SusuPetal said...

Visitors are fun, so do have a nice and relaxing weekend, peter!

di.di said...

the hearing is a very interesing sculpture... thumb ups, Mr Miller!!

Mona said...

what fantastic architecture and sculpture!

Amazing!

Anonymous said...

Have a fun filled weekend, Peter.

I really liked that oil painting in the post today.

claude said...

La phot de St-Eustache la nuit est sublime !

Shammickite said...

You are such a dedicated historian, educating us all about the treasures of your beautiful city. Thanks, Peter. I love reading your posts. You make me want to run to the nearest travel agent and book a ticket to Paris.

GMG said...

Well, since you are busy, I'll try to recover...
First, the Furstenberg. I use to show it to some friends as the most beautiful place in Paris (probably exagerating, since there is also Vosges), but quite close to reality... The lamp in the middle is super!
Then, St. Germain: everything is there, but Sartre, Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty et Juliette Greco... You caught everything else! Maybe I miss La Hune...
Finally, St. Eustache! Great pictures and a beautiful windows! Of course, you may take the visitors to Le Pied de Cochon, but I would suggest you Chez Denise (À la Tour de Montlhery, 5, rue des Prouvaires), since Chez La Vieille is gone to other hands...
Enjoy your weekend!
Gil

Cergie said...

Je ne suis pas entrée dans l'église, nous ne sommes copines que depuis peu.
Elle offre de très beaux reflets dans les façades vitrées du Forum des Halls
Merci d'avoir établi un lien vers mon message, mais ta photo de l'Ecoute est très belle, bien sûr un tantinet petite, montage oblige

Profite bien de tes visiteurs, et à bientôt...

krystyna said...

Hi Peter!
Very beautiful Paris is, and of course your photos.
Enjoy your visit, and have a wonderful weekend!

krystyna said...

Thank you very much for visiting my mom's blog. She was very happy!

Ash said...

Awesome images Peter. The architecture as well as the interiors of the church are fantastic!

Have a great weekend!

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hey Peter,
Great information as always I love Moliere, wannna wish you a great weekend ( we have a lot of bithdays this weekend)

Warm and Busy greetings of JoANN

Peter said...

april:
It's worth to have a visit inside!

noushy:
You are right with your comments and even for the Chinese food (how could you know / guess?)!

lyliane:
Alors tu imagines que j'étais qu'avec des femmes?

Peter said...

ruth:
That's right .. of course especially popular with children!

annie:
I must go to an organ concert here and get the confirmation!

hpy:
When I write this I can unfortunately not confirm the nice weather part! Your wishes did not work this time!

Peter said...

alice:
Merci, Alice!

olivier:
Non, ce n'était pas ma famille cette fois! Merci pour le lien pour l'orgue!

susupetal:
Thanks! (I can now confirm that it was nice!)

Peter said...

di.di:
I see that your French is good and that you looked on Cergie's post! Bravo!

mona:
Yes, indeed. You should come here and get your impressions confirmed!

oldmanlincoln:
Thanks! There are a lot of paintings and statue around here!

Peter said...

claude:
Malheureusement, un peu flou en grand!

ex-shammickite:
It should be easy to find a travel agent!

gmg:
I think I wil soon show Place des Vosges, for comparison! I should of course also have shown La Hune. Life is not only physical nourishment, like eating and drinking!

Peter said...

cergie:
Tu n'es pas amie avec les églises? Pourtant, c'est tellement beau à l'intérieur. Je me sentais obbligé de montrer "L'écoute", elle me plait beaucoup!

krystyna:
Thanks! Your mother's blog is fantastic! I wil be back and have look now and then, despite the language problem!

ash:
Thanks for these kind words! Hope you find your new life in Cardiff as nice as you had hoped!

Peter said...

joann:
Hope your birthday parties gave you and your friends some good fun!

muebles said...

Gosh, there is a lot of useful material here!