The church Saint-Merri is located rue de la Verrerie, at the corner of rue Saint-Martin, in the 4th arrondissement of the capital.
It owes its name to Mederic, a hermit who came from the abbey of Autun who had settled in the seventh century in a hut near an oratory erected on the site of the current building.
In the 9th century, his body was exhumed and became Saint Merri, his relics were deposited in a chapel.
A first church succeeded him in the eleventh century, rebuilt from 1515 to 1612 before being remodeled in the eighteenth.
Transformed saltpeter factory during the Revolution, the church Saint-Merri is returned to the cult in 1803 and classified as early as 1862.
Flamboyant Gothic style, the building long served by canons of the cathedral is nicknamed "Our Lady the little".
At the level of the outside, one notices the rich carved decorations of the facade.
On the west facade, an amazing cloakroom composed of many small sculptures is also visible, dating from the sixteenth century. It is also necessary to stop at the level of the sculpture adorning the keystone of the portal. Restored in the nineteenth century, it represents the devil in the form of a horned mid-man and mid-woman with bat wings, evoking the "occultist" literature of the time.
Inside, you can admire 16th century stained glass windows at the first spans of the nave, evoking in particular the lives of Saint-François d'Assise and Saint-Madeleine.
However, it is for its many paintings that the church is appreciated by lovers of sacred art. A Pietà by Nicolas Legendre (seventeenth century), several works by Van Loo (eighteenth), frescoes by Théodore Chassériau (nineteenth) are exhibited, among other things, on the walls of chapels or aisles.
A superb richly carved wooden pulpit from 1753, an old baptismal font decorated with the arms of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany are also housed in the church, which is finally famous for holding the oldest bell of Paris. It is 1331 and is located in a campanile overlooking the left portal.
Located near the Pompidou Center, the Saint-Merri church regularly hosts concerts, theatrical performances and exhibitions of contemporary art. It is the seat of a parish known for its special attention to the poor, migrants and minorities.
Open every day. Information on +33 1 42 71 93 93.
