Description
The Sacré-Cœur is the white basilica on the top of Montmartre, in Paris, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Built between 1875 and 1914 in a mix of Romanesque and Byzantine styles, it is among the most visited landmarks of the city, second only to the Eiffel Tower.
The stone is part of the show. The travertine releases calcite when it rains, so the basilica washes itself white. The elongated dome, 83 meters high and ringed by four smaller cupolas, is open to visitors, with all of Paris and its suburbs spread out below.
Inside, the mosaic over the choir, The Triumph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, shows Christ in white with open arms, flanked by Mary and the Archangel Michael. It covers 475 square meters, about 25,000 ceramic pieces, among the largest mosaics in the world.
The crypt is unusually bright: a trench around it lets in daylight through stained-glass windows. The basilica's bell, the Savoyarde, weighs about 19 tons, was cast in 1895 and can be heard from 10 kilometers away.
It all began with a defeat. In 1870 Prussia crushed France at Sedan and captured Napoleon III. For a group of devout Catholics it was a punishment from God for a century of sins since the Revolution, and they vowed a church to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
They chose the top of Montmartre, where Saint Denis, according to tradition, was beheaded. But the hill also looked down on the Paris of the Commune, the uprising crushed in blood in 1871. For some it is a promise of atonement, for others a monument to a massacre. The left never forgave the choice.
Building it was a struggle of its own. The hill was unstable: 83 wells, each 30 meters deep, were filled with rock and concrete to hold it up. Five architects followed Paul Abadie, who died in 1884. Georges Clemenceau tried twice to stop the work, but cancelling it would have meant repaying millions of donors.
Finished in 1914, the basilica was consecrated only in 1919, after the war. It became a listed historic monument only in 2022, over the protests of the left. Its grand organ was built by the celebrated Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.
Don't miss
• The mosaic over the choir.
• The dome.
• The crypt.
Did you know?
• Its bell, the Savoyarde, weighs about 19 tons. Gift of the dioceses of Savoy, it was hauled up the hill by 28 horses.
• Its opponents once proposed a full-size copy of the Statue of Liberty in front of the basilica, to hide it.
• Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament has gone on day and night, without a break, since 1885.
The stone is part of the show. The travertine releases calcite when it rains, so the basilica washes itself white. The elongated dome, 83 meters high and ringed by four smaller cupolas, is open to visitors, with all of Paris and its suburbs spread out below.
Inside, the mosaic over the choir, The Triumph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, shows Christ in white with open arms, flanked by Mary and the Archangel Michael. It covers 475 square meters, about 25,000 ceramic pieces, among the largest mosaics in the world.
The crypt is unusually bright: a trench around it lets in daylight through stained-glass windows. The basilica's bell, the Savoyarde, weighs about 19 tons, was cast in 1895 and can be heard from 10 kilometers away.
It all began with a defeat. In 1870 Prussia crushed France at Sedan and captured Napoleon III. For a group of devout Catholics it was a punishment from God for a century of sins since the Revolution, and they vowed a church to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
They chose the top of Montmartre, where Saint Denis, according to tradition, was beheaded. But the hill also looked down on the Paris of the Commune, the uprising crushed in blood in 1871. For some it is a promise of atonement, for others a monument to a massacre. The left never forgave the choice.
Building it was a struggle of its own. The hill was unstable: 83 wells, each 30 meters deep, were filled with rock and concrete to hold it up. Five architects followed Paul Abadie, who died in 1884. Georges Clemenceau tried twice to stop the work, but cancelling it would have meant repaying millions of donors.
Finished in 1914, the basilica was consecrated only in 1919, after the war. It became a listed historic monument only in 2022, over the protests of the left. Its grand organ was built by the celebrated Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.
Don't miss
• The mosaic over the choir.
• The dome.
• The crypt.
Did you know?
• Its bell, the Savoyarde, weighs about 19 tons. Gift of the dioceses of Savoy, it was hauled up the hill by 28 horses.
• Its opponents once proposed a full-size copy of the Statue of Liberty in front of the basilica, to hide it.
• Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament has gone on day and night, without a break, since 1885.