Panthéon, Paris

The Pantheon in Paris is a 19th century Neoclassical building located in the Latin Quarter of Paris (5th arrondissement) on the mountain of Sainte-Geneviève. Originally, it functioned as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, but now is a civic temple and a famous burial place. It was designed by the architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot, who wanted to combine the features of a Gothic cathedral with the classical style. Unfortunatelly, Souflot did not live to see the completion of the building, and its design was slightly altered after his death. The façade of the building was modelled on the Pantheon in Rome and it is surmounted by a dome reminiscent of a small martyrium called Tempietto built by Donato Bramante in Rome.

The origins of the building go back to 1744, when King Louis XV vowed to erect a church dedicated to the patron saint of Paris Sainte-Geneviève if he managed to recover from a serious illness he was suffering at that time. The church was to replace the 6th century basilica known as the Abbey Sainte-Geneviève. The construction of the new church commenced in 1757 and lasted for 34 years. In the year of its completion, the Assembly of the Revolution decided to convert the church into a temple that would serve as a burial place of the distinguished men of France. Although in 1806 the building was transformed into a church again, since 1885 it functions as a civic building.

The structure of the building is in the shape of a Greek-cross, 110 metres long and 85 metres wide with a 83 metre high dome. Inside the portico, modelled on the 2nd century Pantheon in Rome, there are large Corinthian columns. The dome consists of three shells combined with each other in a way similar to St. Paul's Cathedral in London. The structure of the dome was further strengthened by Iron reinforcements.

The building also offers quite a remarkable view on the city of Paris.