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Origin and history

The church Saint-Pierre-de-Montrouge, located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, is a parish church built between 1863 and 1869 as part of the Haussmann urban transformations. It replaces a first church inaugurated in 1847, which became too small for the parish of Petit-Montrouge, a former part of Montrouge annexed to Paris in 1860. The architect Émile Vaudremer freely inspires Christian basilicas and Romanesque churches to design this milled building, characterized by a bell tower and a unique nave basilical plan.

The chosen triangular terrain, at the intersection of the avenues of General Leclerc and Maine, once housed a tree plantation, including a tree of freedom planted in 1848. During the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, the nave served as a hospital under the flag of the Red Cross, while the apse and transept remained dedicated to worship. In 1871, during the Paris Commune, the church was transformed into a revolutionary club: the bell tower became an observatory, then a cannon was installed there before the assault of the Versaillais on 23 May, marked by the execution of 37 communes.

The building, inscribed in the historical monuments in 1982, is distinguished by its neo-Roman style, its frescoes designed by Eugène Capelle, and its stained glass windows signed by Gaspard Gsell and Émile Laurent. The nave, covered with a painted wooden frame, is illuminated by large windows. The sanctuary in the north includes a transept flanked by absidioles and an axial chapel dedicated to Christ, framed by St Joseph and St John. Commemorative plaques recall the Prussian bombings (1870-1871), the resumption of worship after the Commune, and the tribute to the soldiers of the First World War.

The organ, built by Barker in 1868, was modified several times, notably by Merklin and Gutschenritter. The church also houses baptismal fonts and a statue of St Peter, recalling the foundation of the Church (You are Petrus...). Nearby, Victor-et-Hélène-Basch Square and Alésia Metro Station highlight its anchoring in the neighborhood.

The parish, initially served by an annex hall of the printing house of Abbé Migne and the chapel of the La Rochefoucauld hospital, was officially established as a branch of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur in 1846. Father Count, appointed by the archbishop of Paris, supervised the first church. Today, Saint-Pierre-de-Montrouge remains a place of memory, marked by the conflicts of the 19th century and the urban transformations of Paris.

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