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The Pantheon In Paris France

The Pantheon comes from the Greek word Pantheon, meaning "All the Gods" and is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris, France.

It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, but after many changes it now has a role as a famous burial placeand is an early example of Neoclassicism, with a facade modelled on the Pantheon in Rome.

It is located in the arrondissement on the top of Montagne Sainte-Genevieve, and the Pantheon looks out over all of Paris.

The Pantheon Paris

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The Pantheon in Paris France

Jacques-Germain Soufflot, the architect, had the intention of combining the lightness and brightness of the gothic cathedral with classical principles, but unfortunately, his plans were not entirely followed as Jacques-Germain Soufflot died before his work was achieved, and the transparency he had planned for his masterpiece was not attained.

Nevertheless, it is one of the most important architectural achievements of its time and the first great neoclassical monument.

History

King Louis XV vowed in 1744 that if he recovered from an illness he would replace the ruined church of Sainte-Genevieve with an edifice that would be worthy of the patron saint of Paris.

The Marquis of Marigny was entrusted with the work and sponsored the architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot, whom he chose for the construction of the new Eglise Sainte-Genevieve, which is now known as the Pantheon.

The overall design was that of a Greek cross with a massive portico of Corinthian columns and its ambitious lines called for a vast building 110 metres long by 84 metres wide, and 83 metres high.

The foundations were laid in 1758, but then due to financial difficulties, but it was only completed after Soufflot's death by his pupil, Jean-Baptiste Rondelet, in 1789.

As it was completed at the start of the French Revolution, the new Revolutionary government ordered it to be changed from a church to a mausoleum for the internment of great Frenchmen.  But since then it has reverted to being a church twice, only to become again a temple to the great intellectuals of France.

In 1851 physicist Leon Foucault demonstrated the rotation of the Earth by his experiment conducted in the Pantheon, by constructing a 67 metre Foucault pendulum beneath the central dome.  This original iron sphere from the pendulum was returned to the Pantheon in 1995 from the Conservatoire National des Arts et M?tiers.

Burial Place

The inscription above the entrance reads "To great men the grateful homeland".  The absence of a verb in French emphasises that the implicit notion of honour is given from the great men to the homeland and by burying its great men in the Pantheon, the Nation wants to acknowledge the honour it received from them.  As such its entrance is severely restricted and is allowed only by a parliamentary act for "National Heroes".

Among those buried in its necropolis are Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Jean Moulin, Louis Braille and Jacques-Germain Soufflot, its architect.

A story that said the remains of Voltaire were stolen by religious fanatics in 1814 and thrown into a garbage heap, resulted in the coffin being opened in 1897, which confirmed that his remains were still present.

On 30 November 2002, in an elaborate procession, six Republican Guards carried the coffin of Alexandre Dumas, the author of The Three Musketeers, to the Pantheon.  The remains were transported from their original interment site in the Cimetiere de Villers-Cotterets in Aisne, France, draped in a blue velvet cloth inscribed with the Musketeers' motto "One for all, all for one".  In the speech by President Jacques Chirac he stated that an injustice was being corrected with the proper honouring of one of France's greatest authors.

The Pantheon is open from the start of April to the end of September from 10am through to 6.30pm and then from October through to March it is open from 10am through to 6pm.

The last time you can enter is 45 minutes before closing time and please also note that it is closed on all major holidays such as New Year.

The cost of entry for 2010 is €8 for an adult and €5 for concessions, however, people under 18 are admitted free when accompanied by an adult.


Address & Contact Details:

Le Panth?on
Place du Pantheon
75005
Paris
France

Telephone: 1 44 32 18 00 or 1 44 32 18 01
Fax: 1 44 07 32 23


The Pantheon in Paris France



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