Saint-Jacques Tower
Ce point d’intérêt est disponible en audio dans le circuit: Visit Paris, From the Mona Lisa to the Notre-Dame Cathedral
I know, it’s pretty strange to see a beautiful tower like the Tour Saint-Jacques standing all alone in a park. Well, believe it or not, it’s just the bell tower of a church that’s no longer in existence. The church of Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie had stood here since the 12th century. It’s where the famous Parisian bourgeois Nicolas Flamel was buried. He was so rich that people came to believe that he was an alchemist who had discovered the philosopher’s stone. In 1509, they began construction of a massive bell tower in the flamboyant Gothic style. During the French Revolution, however, the church became national property and was sold to be used as a stone quarry. The church was demolished and the tower was the only thing left standing, not for its beauty, but because it was the tallest monument in town at the time. It then became the perfect spot for scientific experiments. At the base of the tower, for example, you can see the statue of the mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascale, who conducted here the same barometric experiments he had carried out at Puy de Dôme. His experiments taught us that atmospheric pressure varies depending on the altitude of the site of experimentation. Today, the Saint-Jacques Tower marks the beginning of one of the four routes of the Way of St James, the Via Turonensis, a 1,000-kilometer pilgrimage route that leads to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It may be hard to see from down here, but the tower is topped by a statue of St James the Greater, dressed as a pilgrim. He is surrounded by four statues representing the symbols of the four Evangelists – a Lion for Mark, an Ox for Luke, an Eagle for John and an Angel for Matthew. If you’d like to see them up close and marvel at the many sculptures, gargoyles and chimeras adorning the tower, you can pay an entrance fee to climb to the top, offering a 360° view of the city.
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