Église Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais

The Église Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais, with its seventeenth-century facade, stands in Paris, behind the Hôtel de Ville in the Marais.

The church stands on a small square close to the Seine and the Île Saint-Louis, and it is one of the most interesting churches in central Paris because it combines two very different architectural worlds. The facade, completed around 1620 and attributed to the architect Salomon de Brosse, is the earliest classical front in Paris, built with three superimposed orders of columns, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian, in a strict and symmetrical design inspired by ancient Rome. Behind it, however, the interior is Gothic, with a tall nave, ribbed vaults and slender pillars that reflect the late Gothic taste of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The meeting of the Renaissance-influenced facade and the Gothic body gives the church its unusual character.

The church has a long musical history. Members of the Couperin family, a dynasty of musicians, were organists here for nearly two centuries, from the seventeenth century into the eighteenth, and François Couperin, called the Great, held the post at the end of the seventeenth century. The organ, whose origins go back to the early seventeenth century, remains one of the most famous in Paris, and concerts and services still make use of it. The church is also known for the liturgy sung by a religious community, the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem, which has been based here since the 1970s and fills the interior with chant at the daily services, creating a contemplative atmosphere in the middle of the city.

The church has a dramatic episode in its past. On Good Friday 1918, during the First World War, a shell from a long-range German gun struck the church during a service, killing many worshippers, an event commemorated inside. The church was repaired, and it is now a quiet refuge from the busy streets.

Nearby are the Hôtel de Ville, the Marais district and the banks of the Seine. Since 1975 the church has been the home of the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem, whose services of sung prayer are open to visitors.

The church suits architecture lovers, music lovers and anyone looking for a calm space in Paris. Check service times and opening hours before you go.