Saint-Louis en l'Île, Baroque church on Île Saint-Louis, Paris, France.
Saint-Louis en l'Île is a baroque church on the island of Saint-Louis in Paris, with a stone structure featuring an openwork bell tower and an iron clock projecting over Rue Saint-Louis-en-l'Île. The interior is marked by high vaults, stone columns, and a long choir chapel that extends the space to the rear of the building.
Construction began in 1664 under architect François Le Vau but faced multiple delays before completion in 1726. The building underwent significant transformations during the French Revolution, when religious symbols within were reinterpreted for new purposes.
The church is dedicated to King Louis IX, who is said to have prayed on the Île aux Vaches, later absorbed into Île Saint-Louis, and to have taken the cross there in 1269 before besieging Tunis. The 19th-century curé Bossuet sold his personal library in 1888 to fund the gilding, murals, stucco sculpture and windows seen today.
The entrance is on Rue Saint-Louis-en-l'Île, marked by the iron clock hanging over the street; the portal relief shows two angels holding the royal arms, whose shield was smashed in the Revolution. The tower's openwork obelisk form was chosen so the island wind passes through it. The church stands at the corner with Rue Poulletier, a short walk from the Pont Marie metro stop.
François Le Vau planned a main west facade, but it was never built: houses already stood on the land it required. The church instead grew from the choir eastward, and the entrance was moved to the side facing Rue Saint-Louis-en-l'Île, where the tower clock hangs over the street like a shop sign.
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