Saint-Étienne-du-Mont

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont stands on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, in the Latin Quarter of Paris, beside the Panthéon and not far from the Sorbonne, and it is one of the most interesting churches in the city. Its mixture of styles is the result of a long building history. Work began in 1492, in the late Gothic period, to replace an old church of the abbey of Sainte-Geneviève, and it continued for more than a century, so the church was only finished in 1626, when the façade was completed. By then the Renaissance had arrived in France, and the church shows a mixture of the two styles, which gives it its character. It is protected as a historic monument.

The façade is the first surprise. It has three stacked pediments, a classical element, set over a Gothic rose window, and the combination of flowing curves and classical forms is unlike any other church in Paris. Inside, the nave is Gothic, with tall pillars and flamboyant vaulting, but the most celebrated feature is the rood screen, the jubé, a delicate stone bridge with a spiral staircase on either side that crosses the church between the nave and the choir. It was built in the 1530s and is the only rood screen that survives in a church in Paris, since the others were removed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and its lace-like carving is admired as a masterpiece of the Renaissance.

The church holds the shrine of Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, who is said to have saved the city from the army of Attila in the fifth century by rallying the inhabitants to pray and stay put, and the shrine of gilded metal is a place of pilgrimage. The relics were burned during the Revolution, but the shrine still contains the stone that covered her tomb, and each year in January a procession is held. Two great figures of French thought are buried in the church. The mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal and the playwright Jean Racine are both buried here, and plaques mark their tombs. The church also has fine stained-glass windows of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and an old organ, and it has been connected with students, among them Frédéric Ozanam, the founder of a charitable society, who was a student in the quarter in the nineteenth century.

The church is open every day, with hours that vary, and a longer break at midday on some days. Entry is free. Please keep quiet and avoid walking about during services. Guided visits are arranged during the year by an association for art, culture and faith. A visit takes about thirty minutes. Film fans may recognise the steps outside, which appeared in Midnight in Paris.

The church sits in a neighbourhood full of things to see. The Panthéon, the Luxembourg Gardens, the Sorbonne and the Rue Mouffetard market are all within a short walk. It suits architecture lovers and anyone who enjoys a quiet moment in the Latin Quarter.