construction was actually completed by a student of François Mansart, Gilles-Marie Oppenord. Dedicated to Sulpitius the Pious, the church is only slightly smaller than Notre-Dame.
The church’s beautiful façade is by Giovanni Niccolo Servandoni and dates from 1732. It is an unusually restrained
piece of Neoclassicism in an era famous for its riotous Rococo. Consisting of two tiers of columns with loggias behind them, the only jarring note is the fact that the two towers don’t quite match. Jean Francois Chalgrin altered one of them just before the Revolution, and the other one has been left untouched ever since. The church was turned into a Temple of Victory during the Revolution, when its interior was damaged. This was repaired by hiring Eugène Delacroix to paint some magnificent murals in the 19th century. These murals adorn the side chapel and are Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, Heliodorus Driven from the Temple and St Michael Killing the Dragon.
Place St-Sulpice, the large square in front of the church, was built in the second half of the 18th century and its main feature is the Fontaine des Quatres Points Cardinaux (Fountain of the Four Cardinal Points) by Joachim Visconti and dating from 1844. Depicting four French church leaders facing in the direction of the four cardinal points, the fountain’s name is also a pun – point also means ‘never’ in French, which means that these four leaders never got to the rank of cardinal. Overlooking the square is the Café de la Mairie, a popular spot with students and writers, and frequently seen in French films.
St-Sulpice
Opening times: 7.30am–7.30pm daily
Tel: 01. 42 34 59 98
Did You Know?
The Marquis de Sade and Charles Baudelaire were both baptised at
St-Sulpice.
8
Retrace your steps back to rue de Vaugirard and turn right. The church of St-Joseph-des-Carmes will be on your right at No. 70. This simple little church faces out onto a small courtyard and was built as a chapel for a Carmelite convent in 1620. Used as a prison during the Revolution, more than 100 priests met an untimely death here in the church’s courtyard during the September Massacres of 1792. Their remains are now buried in the crypt.
St-Joseph-des-Carmes
Opening times: 7am–7pm Mon–Sat; 9am–7pm Sun
Closed Easter Mon, Pentecost
Tel: 01. 44 39 52 00
Luxembourg
125
