Eglise Notre-Dame, Versailles (must see)

Although the Eglise Notre-Dame isn’t as grand as the cathedral, it is by far more lavishly decorated and less austere.

The church was commissioned by Louis 14th in 1686 and built by Maurice Gabriel on plans by Jules Hardouin-Mansart. It is 80 metres long, 34 metres wide and 19 metres high under the vault.

The sculptures in the quire of Faith and Hope were installed in 1786; the bas-reliefs of Religion and Charity were carved a little later.

The nave is wide with a barrel vault ceiling. Only the paneling, the organ case and the pulpit are the originals, the rest of the furnishing was destroyed during the French Revolution. The pillars are decorated with marble medallions of Mary Magdalen and the 12 Apostles; they were created by the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, which is now a part of the Academy of Beaux-Arts.

The marble statue of Christ by Magmer came from the Priory of Longjumeau in 1695. In the Chapel of the Sacred Sacrament you can admire a painting of The Assumption by Michel Corneille. In the Mansart Chapel there is an embroidered silk banner donated by Pope Pius 6th which was hidden during the French Revolution.

Another prized possession that survived the Revolution is the fine cenotaph raised for Louis 16th’s Foreign Minister, Vergennes, who died in 1787. There is another memorial of note that contains the heart of General Hoche.