Tower Saint Jacques in Paris description. Tower Saint-Jacques: detailed description

) was built with money from one of the richest medieval guilds in Paris - the butchers' guild.

The church was dedicated to Saint James, and it was located on the route of pilgrims who were heading to Spain, to Santiago de Compostela. The church became famous thanks to Victor Hugo, or rather his novel “Notre Dame Cathedral”. It was in this church that a bell ringer named Quasimodo lived in the Middle Ages.

Church history

The fifty-meter tower of Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie was built at the beginning of the 16th century. It was she who delighted Hugo with her magnificent square bell tower. Particularly impressive are the sculptures of monsters installed on this tower in 1526 sculptor Ro.

The side portal of the tower was built with the money of the famous alchemist Nicolas Flamel, who spent most of his life searching for the “philosopher’s stone”. At the very top of the tower you can see statue of Saint James and a sculpture of a Taurus, an Eagle and a Lion, which symbolize the evangelists Luke, John and Mark. In the second half of the 19th century, a statue of the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal, who conducted his experiments on measuring atmospheric pressure in this tower in 1648, was installed inside the tower.

During the French Revolution, the church was destroyed, and only one tower remained. In 1836 it became the property of the government and was restored. Today, this tower is one of the tallest buildings in the city.

Church of Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie on the map

	Nearest hotels:	180 meters	Novotel Paris Les Halles	from	185 € *
		200 meters	Hotel Saint Merry	from	160 € *
		350 meters	Hotel Flor Rivoli	from	95 € *
			* minimum room rate for two in low season
	Nearest metro:	120 meters	Châtelet		lines

A stone's throw from the glorious Place du Châtelet, there stands in the middle of the square a late Gothic tower, recently cleared of soot, which still makes it a little artificial.

A strange, unusual sight - a lonely Gothic tower... Here you need to dive into history to understand how this architectural wonder could have come into being.

In the early Middle Ages, butchers and clerks lived and worked in this area - the fate of both trade unions is closely woven into the history of the tower. It was the butchers who in the 12th century chipped in to build a large Romanesque church on this site, calling it Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie (Boucherie in French means butcher's shop), to distinguish it from the Saint-Jacques Hospitaller church built at the same time from the Tuscan town of Altopascio, which is located on Rue Saint-Jacques in the V arrondissement of Paris. Why are there so many Saint-Jacques, you ask, because all these streets and buildings are connected with the medieval pilgrimage road to the Galician city of Santiago de Compostela

Here it is necessary to say a few words about the Apostle James, because of whom it all began. Saint James (aka Saint-Jacques, aka Santiago, aka Saint James) after the ascension of Jesus was active in the Holy Land until he fell from the sword of King Herod Agrippa in the year 44.

The body of the apostle was placed in a boat and launched into the Mediterranean Sea. Then a completely detective story begins: the boat, having crossed the entire sea to the west, passing Gibraltar and rounding Portugal, landed on the shores of Galicia, where 800 years later the relics were discovered by a hermit monk.

At the end of the ninth century, a church was built on the site of the discovery, and after that a city grew, now called Santiago de Compostela and, over time, became the third most important city of Catholicism after Jerusalem and Rome. Santiago became the patron saint of Spain and helped the Spaniards a lot in the Reconquista, appearing at important moments of the battles. In the 11th and 12th centuries there was a peak in the popularity of pilgrimages to the tomb of the apostle: Christians flocked in streams from all over Europe and somewhere near Pamplona on the current Franco-Spanish border they merged into a human river flowing to the west, guided by the Milky Way (in Spain it is also called Camino de Santiago - Way of St. James). Pilgrims from BeNeLux, Britain and northern France walked through Paris, passing many churches and monasteries along the Rue Saint-Jacques (you can read how St. James took part in the founding of the Sorbonne). Over the years, interest in the Way began to fade due to the plague, the Reformation, etc., and only at the end of the 20th century it awakened again, rather due to the explosion of interest in tourism in a united Europe. Since 1993, the entire Route to Santiago de Compostela has been included in the UNESCO Heritage List. Paulo Coelho described this road in his book “The Diary of a Magician”; if you are interested in this type of literature, you can read it.

Let's return to our Parisian tower. It was built at the beginning of the 16th century as a bell tower for the same butchers' church, rebuilt in the Flamboyant Gothic style. In the revolutionary year of 1793, the temple was nationalized, immediately privatized and within 4 years dismantled down to the foundation for building materials - such a sad fate. The bell tower was saved by physicist Blaise Pascal, who used it in his experiments on measuring atmospheric pressure. For this, a monument was erected to him at the base of the tower. Later it was used to produce shot: barrels of water stood below, into which molten lead was poured on top. And finally, in 1836, the tower was bought by Paris. Since then, it has been restored four times, the last time in 2008, so thoroughly that it’s like nothing has happened in the past five hundred years - it stands sparkling, pasteurized. Lovers of antiquities will now have to wait 50 years until it turns black again.

The story about this wonderful place would be incomplete if we omitted the story of Mr. Nicolas Flamel, probably the most famous alchemist of all time.

He lived in the second half of the 14th - early 15th centuries and was a clerk who worked for Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie. At that time, all the places near this church were built up with clerks' offices, and the adjacent part of the Rue de Rivoli, laid by Napoleon, was called the Rue des Scribes. The entire semi-mythical life story of this man seems to be woven from stereotypes. He worked quietly as a clerk, until suddenly one day he acquired by chance the book of the Jew Abraham and, having translated it, made the philosopher's stone. In order to understand the text of the book written in Aramaic, he undertakes a pilgrimage to Spain, but not to the tomb of Jacob, but to the Jews there. And now, after 20 years of work, the manuscript is finally translated, the philosopher’s stone is mined, and Nicholas undertakes several sessions of transforming something into gold + receives the elixir of eternal life. Until his “death” he was a philanthropist and helped everyone. He is buried in Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie, but when the grave is subsequently opened, the body is not found. Pa-ba-a-m! A curtain:)

This story shows the extreme primitiveness of the thinking of a medieval Frenchman: you want gold to be made from lead - please, but if there is a lot of gold, then it would be nice to live forever - again, be kind, the same stone, only crushed, will help you. And most importantly: who can possess this, so desired, knowledge... well, of course, Jews :)))

In general, Nicholas Flamel is repeatedly seen alive with his dear wife, either 200 years after his death in Turkey, then 300 years in India, then at the Paris opera... the last time he came to life was in JK Rowling’s book “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.”

One thing is certain, a man named Nicholas Flamel existed and did a lot of useful things. Like all the stones of the Church of Saint-Jacques, his tombstone was sold and found 50 years later in the shop of a greengrocer, cheerfully chopping his goods on the stove. Now this small tombstone is on display in

Not far from the Ile de la Cité there is a real “beauty”, the embodiment of Gothic art – the Parisian Tower of Saint-Jacques. The height of the structure is 52 meters. The top of this bell tower is completed by the figure of St. James. At the foot of the tower there is a small park where you can relax and admire this work of art.

The Parisians themselves consider it the embodiment of the true history of the city of Paris and all of France. Passion, betrayal and delusion are intertwined in her story. It is no coincidence that it was a place of pilgrimage for true connoisseurs of art and scientists. From the top of the bell tower there is a beautiful view of the city. Tourists wishing to climb Saint-Jacques should book a tour in advance.

Origin story

The tower was once part of the Church of Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie, which was built at the beginning of the 16th century. The church occupied almost the entire territory of the square. Citizens representing the wealthy class provided funds for its creation: wealthy butcher shop owners, representatives of the bourgeoisie and writers. It was built at the intersection of many routes, including Santiago de Compostela - the road that led to all the famous shrines of Spain.

The Saint-Jacques Tower in Paris is inextricably linked with the name of the famous medieval scientist Blaise Pascal. It was in the bell tower that he conducted experiments related to measuring the atmospheric pressure of the surrounding air. Unfortunately, during the Great French Revolution (late 18th century), the building was destroyed and a small tower remained alone in its place. The authorities began its restoration in the middle of the 19th century, practically rebuilding the building from scratch. In 1891, a meteorological station was equipped here.

Practical information

Address: Square de la Tour Saint-Jacques, 75004 Paris, France.

The excursions are conducted by an organization called Des mots et des Arts. The easiest way to sign up for a visit to a historical monument is in the summer, when the city is visited by many travelers. The group should include no more than 17 people.

Opening hours: from 10:00 am to 17:00 pm. Tourist groups climb it every hour. Tickets cost 8 Euros (children and students pay 6 Euros each).

There are several metro stations within walking distance from the building: “Hotel de Ville” and “Chatelet”. Tourists traveling by car should go to 39 Rue de Rivoli, 75004 Paris. Near the monument you can find several catering outlets, shops and other architectural monuments.

It is impossible to count all the sights of Paris, but among them there are several that were undeservedly consigned to oblivion and only today they are regaining their place in history and on the map of attractions.

A similar fate befell the Saint-Jacques Tower, which is located very close to the glorious Place du Châtelet.

A little history

This Gothic beauty, 52 meters high, today, after a recent restoration, looks somewhat artificial; it seems that along with the washed away soot, part of the mystery has gone away.

The tower makes a somewhat strange impression, a lonely Gothic tower, there is no church, no castle nearby, not even the ruins of the fortress walls. In fact, its history is so mysterious and deep that it seems that providence itself preserved this ancient witness to the bygone days of Paris; neither transformations nor revolutions destroyed it, time spared it. So it has stood in the very heart of Paris since the beginning of the 16th century.

The top of the lonely tower is crowned by a statue of St. James (Saint-Jacques, Santiago, St. James), the work of the sculptor Chagnon. But the tower was not always alone; in the old days it was the bell tower of a huge church, which occupied the area of ​​the entire current square surrounding the tower.

Saint-Jacques - assistant to alchemists and scientists:

It was Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie - an ancient Parisian church, located at the intersection of the main roads, including the road to the south, the pilgrim path to Santiago de Compostela, a shrine located in Spain. Prosperous butchers, rich bourgeois and clerks, whose tiny huts huddled nearby, donated to the church. Among them was Nicola Flamel. There is a legend that a mysterious manuscript fell into Flamel’s hands, and from that time on he began searching for the philosopher’s stone and the formula for turning metal into gold. They say he found it and revealed all the secrets, but...

Nikola Flamel died and took all the secrets with him, they buried him in the church, and miraculously the tombstone with the inscription was preserved.

The name of the great 17th-century mathematician Blaise Pascal, who repeatedly climbed to the top of the tower and there tested his discoveries about gravity and emptiness, is associated with the famous church. It is said that it was here that he invented his hydraulic press.

François Couperin, an outstanding composer, played in this church at the beginning of the 18th century, and at the end of the 18th century there was a revolution in Paris...

The church was looted and sold for scrap, but even the revolutionary authorities did not dare to destroy the Saint-Jacques tower. In 1836 Paris bought it. Reconstruction and restoration began in 1854, the tower was a pitiful sight, the lion, eagle, calf and angel - symbols of the evangelists - were thrown down to the ground, and the figure of Saint-Jacques was also thrown down. Fortunately, we managed to restore everything bit by bit. Looking at the “flaming gothic” tower, you involuntarily think about what secrets this guardian of eternity hides.

How to get there

Ticket price

• Adult: 10 €
• Reduced: 8 €

Not far from the Cité there is the famous Saint-Jacques Tower - it is clearly visible from the bridge on the Ile de Cité or from the Rue Saint-Jacques. Built in the Flamboyant Gothic style, this tower is a true embodiment of the controversial history of Paris.

Now the tower stands alone in the middle of the city, which looks a little strange. However, at one time it was the bell tower of the Parisian Church of Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie (Church of Saint James), built at the beginning of the 16th century under King Francis I. It was erected in the settlement of butchers, who generously donated for the construction. That is why the name contained the word “boucherie” (French boucherie - meat trade, butcher shop).

It was here that the main road to the south passed through Paris, leading to the famous shrine in Spain - Santiago de Compostela (in French - Saint-Jacques de Compostela). This circumstance will play a role in the fate of the tower three and a half centuries later.

The height of the bell tower is 52 meters. Blaise Pascal chose it in 1648 to conduct experiments on measuring atmospheric pressure. In 1793, during the French Revolution, the Church of Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie was destroyed, but the bell tower, as a sign of respect to the great physicist, was left untouched.

The new revolutionary authorities of France curiously disposed of the fate of the tower - they sold it to a hunting shot manufacturer. The shot production technology looked like this: molten lead poured in a thin stream from a 50-meter height. During the flight, the stream broke up into balls, which were finally cooled below in a barrel of water.

In 1836, the city of Paris bought the tower back. In the middle of the 19th century, the tower was restored: in fact, it was rebuilt. Paul Chenillon made a new statue of St. James for her to replace the one destroyed during the revolution. In 1856, the first square in Paris was laid out at the foot of Saint-Jacques. In 1891, a small meteorological station appeared on the tower.

In 1998, the Tower of Saint-Jacques, among seventy other pilgrimage sites located in France on the way to Santiago de Compostela, was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The last time the tower was restored was in 2008. Today it is open to tourists.