St Eustache isn’t one of the best-known churches in Paris, and it seldom shows up in the ‘you must visit’ lists, but it deserves to be.
I’m biased, of course; it’s one of my favorite churches in Paris, and one I visit on almost every trip. I first wandered into it years ago and was struck by its massive spaces, and especially by a whimsical sculpture that touches on its historic connection to Les Halles, for centuries the central food market of Paris.
It’s the work of Raymond Mason, paying tribute to the market workers, and to the centuries during which the central food markets, the “belly of Paris” operated just outside the doors of St Eustache until they were moved outside the city in 1969.
In a way, the church owes its existence to the markets; the first church on the site, a small chapel built in 1213, financed by a merchant who was repaid by being allowed to collect a tax on the sale of fish baskets.
Eventually, the church became too small for the growing population, and in 1532 construction started on the current church, with work finishing in 1632. From a small chapel, St Eustache moved into the second-largest church in Paris; only Notre Dame is larger. Because of its relatively spare fittings and massive windows, it sometimes seems larger than Notre Dame.
St Eustache’s stained glass is also spectacular, but unlike the 500-year-old church, most of its stained windows are 19th and 20th century work. Much of it is glass painted with silver stains that allow highly precise drawing, similar to oil painting.
One of the most unusual windows is in the third picture below; it’s another reflection of the church’s history with the markets. It was installed in 1946, a gift of the Corporation des Charcutiers, the guild of pork butchers, who had been important patrons of the market from the 17th century on.
The church’s exterior is an interesting mix of styles, including Flamboyant Gothic, Renaissance and classical. The main Gothic part of the exterior is the apse, seen in the title image above. The side facades, which are now the main way into the building, took on Renaissance features. But the real surprise is west entrance, intended originally to be the main way in, with its Greco-Roman classic style, complete with its Doric and Ionic columns.
That happened because two chapels that were added to the church in 1655 destabilized the facade, requiring demolition and rebuilding. It’s actually still not finished; another tower was planned. Before the reconstruction, the facade looked quite different.
St Eustache is one of my favorite churches in Paris; it’s one of the few places I get to on every visit. Of course, its location helps; it’s just down the block from Au Pied de Cochon and its onion soup and beyond that, the incredible E Dehillerin cookware shop.
St Eustache has some famous names attached to it, including some funerals and tombs. They include the Italian comic actor Scaramouche; Mozart’s mother Anna Maria Mozart and the composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. The playwright Moliere was married in St Eustache; prominent figures baptized there include Cardinal Richelieu, Madame de Pompadour and Moliere. And, to cap the big name list, it was the site of Louis XIV’s First Communion.
It was also the scene of the funeral of the revolutionary leader Mirabeau, although at the time the church had been turned into the Temple of Agriculture by the Revolution.
Outside the church is another of my Paris favorites, the sculpture Écoute, or Listening, by Henri de Miller. During the years the Les Halles site was transformed into the park it is today, the sculpture moved from spot to spot near the church, as if the giant was listening to all the changes. No matter where it’s been, there always seems to be someone posing with it or climbing on it. Most often children, but this time adults.
