Tour Saint-Jacques
St. James the Great | |
Europe and North America | |
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Designated | 1862 |
Reference no. | PA00086479[1] |
The Tour Saint-Jacques (French pronunciation: [tuʁ sɛ̃ ʒak], 'Saint James's Tower') is a monument located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France, at the intersection of Rue de Rivoli with Rue Nicolas Flamel. This 52-metre (171 ft) Flamboyant Gothic tower is all that remains of the former 16th-century Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie ("Saint James of the butchers"), which was demolished in 1797, during the French Revolution, leaving only the tower.[2]
What remains of the destroyed church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie is now considered a national historic landmark.
History
The Way of St. James
The tower's rich decoration reflects the wealth of its patrons, the wholesale
Nineteenth century
The church, with the exception of the tower, was demolished in 1793; preservation of the tower was a condition of the contract by which the church was bought for the value of its building materials. In 1824 it was being used as a
During the Second Empire, the architect Théodore Ballu restored the tower, placing it on a pedestal and designing a small city park around it. This coincided with the construction of the rue de Rivoli and the avenue Victoria nearby, requiring huge quantities of earth to be removed to ensure the rue de Rivoli a smooth flat path. The pedestal allowed the tower to retain its original elevation: nowadays, the change in ground level can best be appreciated in rue St-Bon, just northeast of the tower, where a staircase leads up to the original street level at rue de la Verrerie.
A statue of Blaise Pascal is located at the base of the tower, commemorating the experiments on atmospheric pressure, though it is debated whether they were performed here or at the church of Saint-Jacques-du-Haut-Pas.[citation needed] A meteorological laboratory is also installed at the top of the tower.
The tower inspired
Modern restoration
The tower was surrounded by scaffolding and obscured by sheeting for some years as surveyors investigated the condition of the stone. Recent findings show that most of the stone and its ornamentation originates from the late-medieval era of the tower's construction, and was not added by the 19th-century restorers. Unfortunately, the survey also indicates serious cracking. The top three quarters of sheeting were taken down in March 2008, revealing a renovated upper section of the tower. From October 2008 to February 2009, the scaffolds and sheeting were completely removed and the surrounding park's landscaping was being restored. Finally, on 18 April 2009, the park was re-opened to the public.[6]
Gallery
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Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie and its surroundings on the Turgot map of Paris (1736)
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Saint-Jacques Tower as seen from the Conciergerie, with the "Victory Column" of Place du Châtelet in 2008
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Restoration of the Saint-Jacques Tower in November 2007
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Saint-Jacques tower at dusk, 2015
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Pinnacle sculpture by Paul Chenillon
See also
References
- ^ Base Mérimée: Tour Saint-Jacques, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- ^ Tupigny, Jacques Pierre Meurgey, baron de (1926). Histoire de la paroisse Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie. Paris: H. Champion.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Villain, Etienne F. (1758). Essai d'une histoire de la paroisse de St. Jacques de la Boucherie: ou l'on traité de l'Origine de cette Eglise, de ses Antiquités. Paris: Prault. p. 69.
- Turpin, Archbishop of Reims, affirms that the church had been founded by Charlemagne.
- ^ Briois, Clément Jules (1864). La Tour Saint-Jacques de Paris, Volume 1. Paris: Debuisson & Cie. p. xi.
- ^ Jean-François Lagneau, "La restauration de la tour Saint-Jacques", Monumental (Les Éditions du patrimoine, no semestriel 2), 2008
External links
- Media related to Tour Saint-Jacques at Wikimedia Commons