Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

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