The Pantheon, a 19th century Romanesque building has served many roles. It first served as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve and then it went on to being the burial site for French heroes.
The first thing you notice as you enter The Pantheon is the mix of religion and politics. Where there is usually an altar lies "La Convention Nationale," a sculpture that portrays the men and women who stood up and fought for liberty against the monarchy. On the roof, you can see figures of saints in mosaic.
Under the ground floor, you can find the crypts of French heroes such as scientists, philosophers and writers. Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie are buried there as well as French writer Victor Hugo and Louis Braille, the creator of the Braille writing system, among many others.
Aside from serving as a church and burial site for French men and women, it also served as a place for science. It was the house of the Foucault pendulum which was located beneath the central dome. The rotation of the Earth was demonstrated with this experiment by Leon Foucault in 1851. During the time of our visit, the pendulum was removed and some parts of the building were being restored, so we were not able to access the entire building.
The first thing you notice as you enter The Pantheon is the mix of religion and politics. Where there is usually an altar lies "La Convention Nationale," a sculpture that portrays the men and women who stood up and fought for liberty against the monarchy. On the roof, you can see figures of saints in mosaic.
Under the ground floor, you can find the crypts of French heroes such as scientists, philosophers and writers. Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie are buried there as well as French writer Victor Hugo and Louis Braille, the creator of the Braille writing system, among many others.
Aside from serving as a church and burial site for French men and women, it also served as a place for science. It was the house of the Foucault pendulum which was located beneath the central dome. The rotation of the Earth was demonstrated with this experiment by Leon Foucault in 1851. During the time of our visit, the pendulum was removed and some parts of the building were being restored, so we were not able to access the entire building.