The Church of Saint-Augustin de Paris
The Église Saint-Augustin de Paris (Church of St. Augustine) is a Catholic church located at 46 boulevard Malesherbes in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The church was designed to provide a prominent vista at the end of the boulevard both of which were built during Haussmann's renovation of Paris under the Second French Empire.Saint-Augustin was built between 1860 and 1868 in an eclectic style combining Tuscan Gothic and Romanesque elements
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La Madeleine
L'église de la Madeleine, Madeleine Church; more formally, L'église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine; less formally, just La Madeleine is a Roman Catholic church occupying a commanding position in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The Madeleine Church was designed in its present form as a temple to the glory of Napoleon's army. To its south lies the Place de la Concorde, to the east is the Place Vendôme, and to the west Saint-Augustin, Paris.
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La Madeleine
The Madeleine is built in the Neo-Classical style and was inspired by the Maison Carrée in Nîmes, one of the best-preserved of all Roman temples. Its fifty-two Corinthian columns, each 20 metres high, are carried around the entire building.
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Chinese tourists resting on the steps of La Madeleine |
Facade of La Madeleine-Pediment sculpture of the Last Judgement
The pediment sculpture of the Last Judgement is by Lemaire, and the church's bronze doors bear reliefs representing the Ten Commandments. Its size is 354 feet (108 meters) long and 141 feet (43 meters) wide.
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Place de la Concorde from La Madeleine |
Interior of La Madeleine
Inside, the church has a single nave with three domes over wide arched bays, lavishly gilded in a decor inspired as much by Roman baths as by Renaissance artists.
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Interior of La Madeleine-Frescoed half dome above the altar
The half-dome above the altar is frescoed by Jules-Claude Ziegler, entitled The History of Christianity, showing the key figures in the Christian religion with — a sign of its Second Empire date — Napoleon occupying centre stage.
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Interior of La Madeleine-Statue of St Mary Magdalene
At the rear of the church, above the high altar, stands a statue by Charles Marochetti depicting St Mary Magdalene being lifted up by angels which evokes the tradition concerning ecstasy which she entered in her daily prayer while in seclusion.
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Georgia outside La Madeleine |
La Madeleine's massive 60 foot columns dwarf Georgia |
World famous Ladurée bakery and sweet shop, celebrated for its macarons
Ladurée is a French luxury bakery and sweets maker house created in 1862. It is one of the world's best-known premier sellers of the double-decker macaron, fifteen thousand of which are sold every day.
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A mountain of macarons at Ladurée |
Église Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Paris (1676)
This church is now apparently home to the large expatriate Polish community in Paris. When we visited, a Mass was in progress in Polish and the church was full on a Friday evening, a reflection of the Polish people's continued devotion to the church.
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The Polish parishioners of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption are proud of their sainted countryman |
