Paris: Basilica of the Sacré Coeur

The Sacré-C?ur is a famous building in Paris (France), located on top of the Montmartre hill. It is a basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (in French, Sacré C?ur de Jésus). Initially conceived as a public monument to honor the memory of the many French citizens who had lost their lives during the Franco-Prussian War and to atone for the sins of the commune. He was the architect Paul Abadie who won the tender for its construction.

The first stone was laid in 1875, and was completed in 1914 but not consecrated until the end of the First World War in 1919. The church was built with the direct involvement of the government of the Third Republic, and to celebrate the beginning of a new regime, whose laws were constitutional voted that year.

Although very controversial, is one of the most visited monuments in Paris. The basilica has a Greek cross, adorned with four domes: the central dome, 80 meters high, is touched by a flashlight, formed by a colonnade. In the apse, a huge square tower steeple serves as keeping, among others, the Savoyarde, a bell diameter of 3 m and over 26 tons of weight, offered by the diocese of Chambéry.The crypt has the same layout as the church, and is one of the curiosities of the basilica.

The architecture of the basilica is inspired by the Roman and Byzantine architecture and influenced other religious buildings of the twentieth century, such as the Basilica of Sainte-Thérèse of Lisieux. You can access the basilica taking the funicular of Montmartre.

More information: www.wikipedia.org