Le Panthéon
place du Panthéon - 750015 Paris |
Louis XV
started work on this building, originally intended to be
a church dedicated to Saint Geneviève, to fulfill a vow
he made while fallen ill. In charge of the project was
Soufflot. Work began in 1757, but Soufflot died before
the building's completion in 1789. In the form of a Greek
Cross and crowned by a grand dome, the building measures
130 meters long, 82 meters wide, and 83 meters tall. The
Pantheon's neoclassic styling, evidenced by the peristyle
Corinthian columns evoking the Pantheon in Rome, show the
grandeur of that era's architecture. The Church of St. Geneviève was transformed during the Revolution into a temple in honor of Great Men. The inscription on the front of the building reflects this change: "Aux grands hommes la patrie reconnaissante" (For great men the grateful homeland). Mirabeau was the first to be buried at the Pantheon, which would later receive the ashes of Voltaire and Rousseau. After another stint as a church, the building permanently became a temple in 1885 upon the burial of Victor Hugo. Pierre and Marie Curie were the last to be buried in this highly symbolic place. |
