Audio GuideChurch of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont

Église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont is a historic Roman Catholic church in the heart of Paris that tells a long and fascinating story. Its roots stretch back to the Merovingian era when King Clovis built a basilica on the hill. Later, as the city grew, the church became a landmark near the Collège de Sorbonne, reflecting Paris’s religious and artistic heritage.

Fred Booker

The church is a unique blend of French Gothic and French Renaissance styles. Its construction began in fourteen ninety-four and was completed in sixteen twenty-four, resulting in a mix of design elements. The Renaissance façade and the richly decorated interior with high collateral aisles and large stained glass windows share space with an intricately carved pulpit from sixteen fifty-one, the only surviving rood screen in Paris from around fifteen thirty, and a historic organ with a case dating back to sixteen thirty-three.

Dimitrios Papadopoulos

Église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont houses the shrine of Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, whose legacy of faith and determination continues to inspire. The church also holds the tombs of notable figures such as Blaise Pascal and Jean Racine, further connecting it to centuries of cultural achievement. Restorations by Napoleon III and architect Victor Baltard gave the building its current elegant look, while its curved interior layout speaks of the historic constraints of the site.

Leszek Drabik

Sira Pornsiriprasert