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Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville Church à Paris 1er dans Paris

Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville Church

    139 Rue de Belleville
    75019 Paris 19e Arrondissement
Ownership of the municipality
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville
Crédit photo : LPLT - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
1543
First chapel in Belleville
1802
Creation of the parish
1854-1859
Construction of church
1859
Church Consecration
2014
Inventory classification MH
2015
Historical monument classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Belleville, located 139, rue de Belleville, in total, with the two buildings extending on either side of the axial chapel, the steps, the courtyards surrounded by walls, including the latter, and the external grids, including the floors separating them from the building, as delimited in red on the plan annexed to the decree (Box EA 01 75): classification by order of 23 June 2015

Key figures

Jean-Baptiste Lassus - Chief Architect Neogothic designer, author of the structure.
Aimé-Napoléon Perrey - Sculptor Author of sculpted tympanos and portals.
Louis Steinheil - Master glass Creator of stained glass after his cardboard.
Henri Guérin - Glassware glass slab Author of modern stained glass (XX century).
Charles Longbois - Curé (1833-1859) Founded the chapel Our Lady of the Cross.
Édith Piaf - Related personality Baptized in this church in 1915.

Origin and history

The church Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Belleville, located at 139 rue de Belleville in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, is one of the first neo-Gothic churches built in the capital. Built between 1854 and 1859 according to the plans of architect Jean-Baptiste Lassus, it embodies the outcome of his research on medieval architecture. Lassus, pioneer of the restoration of cathedrals (Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle), applies a style inspired by the great churches of the thirteenth century, combining rational structure and luminous poetry. The church, completed by its pupil Casimir Truchy after his death in 1857, was classified as a historical monument in 2015.

The façade, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, illustrates his life through sculptures of Aimé-Napoleon Perrey (baptism of Christ, preaching, taking off). The stained glass windows, designed by Louis Steinheil from the cartons of Steinheil and Henri Guérin (XX century), combine biblical accounts with symbolism. The nave, flaked with side chapels, houses glass windows narrating the Old Testament, while the choir, renovated in 2008, highlights an octagonal baptistery evoking the "eighth day" of the Resurrection.

The history of the parish dates back to 1543, when Belleville, then a village, obtained a chapel dependent on Saint-Merri. It became an autonomous parish in 1802 and was incorporated into Paris in 1860. The church, end of the Belleville funicular (1891-1924), was also marked by tragic events, such as the aggression of two priests in 2013. His organs, signed Cavaillé-Coll (1863) and Suret (1859), as well as his historic bells (including a crack in 2018), testify to his central role in local life.

The frescoes of the transept, works of Theodore Maillot (baptism of Christ) and Auguste Leloir (Nativity), dialogue with the stained glass windows of the Passion and the Resurrection. The iconography, inspired by medieval cathedrals, reflects the erudition of Lassus, hailed by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc for his "original character". The parish, served by figures such as parish priest Charles Longbois (1833-1859), welcomed personalities such as Edith Piaf, baptized in the church, or painter Georges Rouault.

The architecture, with its two towers of 57 meters and its nave of 68 meters, fits into the Parisian landscape as a tribute to Gothic. Materials (stone, glass, iron forged by Pierre Boulanger) and techniques (glass slab window by Guérin) illustrate 19th century innovation. Ranked entirely with its outbuildings, the church remains an active place of worship, marked by recent renovations (LED lighting in 2015, brought to electric standards in 2014).

External links