Montmartre, Paris, France
(Unknown / Keystone France / Getty)
The Parisian Roman Catholic church of Sacré-Cœur – in full, ‘The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris’ (Basilique du Sacré-Cœur) – sits at the summit of Montmartre, the highest point in the French capital. Construction of the Basilica began in 1875 and was finished almost forty years later, in 1914.
The impetus for the work was the church’s interpretation of France’s defeat in the 1871 Franco–Prussian War, and of the Socialist Commune of the same year. Both were seen as forms of divine retribution for the nation’s moral degeneracy since the Revolution, which had culminated in the execution of the Parisian Archbishop Georges Darboy at Montmartre by the Communards.
Visiting the scene in 1872, Derby’s successor was possessed by a vision to construct the Basilica and so restore the Church’s divine purpose to the city and French nation.
‘A monster church is now in process of construction on the summit of the Butte Montmartre (Elise Sacré Cœur) and will be, when completed, the most conspicuous edifice in Paris; a good view of the works can be obtained from the Calvaire, or Jardin des Oliviers, to which pilgrimages are frequently made.’
Paris in Four Days: a complete and practical guide to all the sights and objects of interest in and around the metropolis (40th year of publication), C. Moonen, 1886–7
