L'église de la Madeleine
La Madeleine is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to St. Marie Magdelene who is one of the greatest saint of the Bible.
It is located in the 8th arrondissement (a disctrict) of Paris.
La Madeleine was designed in its present form to be a temple to the glory of Napoleon's Grande Armée. Two previous attempts were made to build a church on this site:
1)
The construction of the church started in 1764 with the plans made by architect Pierre Constant d'Ivry but but he died 13 years later.
2)
When he died in 1777, his designs were dismissed by Guillome-Martin Couture who decided to renew the project with a design based on the Roman Pantheon. At the start of the Revolution of 1789, the existing structure was demolished in 1797.
After the fall of Napoleon in 1815, Bourbon King Louis XVIII (18th) determined that the structure would be completed and used as a church dedicated to Mary Magdalene.
Many contests were held to see how and who would build a part of the building because every time they had somebody, they had to die before finishing it.
It was built in the Neo-Classical style.
52 (Corinthian) columns, each 20 meters high, encircling the building.
Inside, you will see a statue made by Charles Marochetti that's St Mary Magdalene being carried up to heaven by two angels and also a (celebrated) pipe organ that is widely regarded as one of the best in Paris.
In 1842 the building was declared as a church.
Many religious services, weddings and funerals are done here.
Opening Hours are from:
Monday - Saturday 7:30 am - 7 pm
Sunday 8 am - 7 pm