Église Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois
باريس
Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois is the Gothic church opposite the Louvre. It was the parish church of the kings of France, and later of the palace artists.
The kings' church
The church is dedicated to Saint Germanus of Auxerre, who lived in the fifth century. When the kings lived at the Louvre, it became their parish church.
Later it was also called the "parish of the artists". Painters, sculptors and architects working for the king lived in the palace and got married here.
What to look at from the square
On the front is a Gothic porch from the 1400s, the work of Jean Gaucel. Together with the Sainte-Chapelle's, it is the only one left in Paris. Above it opens a great round window between two small towers.
To the left stands the town hall of the 1st arrondissement, designed by Hittorff. Its front is an almost exact copy of the church's. In between rises a tower by Théodore Ballu.
Opposite, the king's palace
Turn around: the long front with the columns is the Louvre Colonnade. It was built between 1667 and 1670, under Louis XIV.
The design is credited to Claude Perrault, a doctor who became an architect. Louis Le Vau and the painter Charles Le Brun also worked on it.
