Pantheon

By on 20/08/2009 in Attractions
Pantheon Interior View

Pantheon Interior View

Sightseeing Attractions The Pantheon: The Pantheon is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris, containing the remains of distinguished French citizens.

In 1744, King Louis XV of France suffered from a serious illness and vowed to replace the old church of the Abbey of St Genevieve if he recovered. He did recover, and entrusted Abel-François Poisson, marquis de Marigny with the fulfillment of his vow. In 1755, Marigny commissioned Jacques-Germain Soufflot to design the church, with construction beginning two years later. Due to the economic problems in France at this time, work proceeded slowly. In 1780, Soufflot died and was replaced by his student, Jean-Baptiste Rondelet. The remodeled Abbey of St. Genevieve was finally completed in 1790, but during the early stages of the French Revolution, the National Constituent Assembly decided to convert it into a secular mausoleum for prominent Frenchmen, retaining Quatremere de Quincy to oversee the project.

It is an early example of neoclassicism, with a façade modeled on the Pantheon in Rome, surmounted by a dome that owes some of its character to Bramante‘s “Tempietto”. Located in the 5th arrondissement on the Montagne St Genevieve, the Pantheon looks out over all of Paris. Soufflot had the intention of combining the lightness and brightness of the gothic cathedral with classical principles, but its role as a mausoleum required the great gothic windows to be blocked. Nevertheless, it is one of the most important architectural achievements of its time and the first great neoclassical monument.

In 2006, Ernesto Neto, a Brazilian artist, installed “Leviathan Thot“, an anthropomorphic installation inspired by the biblical monster. The art installation was in the Pantheon from September 15, 2006, until October 31 for Paris’ Autumn Festival.

In late 2006, a “cultural guerilla movement” calling itself Untergunther completed a year-long project where they covertly repaired the Pantheon’s antique clockworks.Text Source: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

  • Location: Le Panthéon, Place du Pantheon, 75005 Paris France
  • Tel: 1 44 32 18 00/1 44 32 18 01
  • Fax: 1 44 07 32 23
  • Official Website: www.pantheon-i.com

Pantheon is located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. So, you may want to see;

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