Tour Jean Sans Peur; Eglise [church] Saint-Etienne-du-Mont (with the tomb of St. Genevieve)

September 18-19, 2015

The tower (tour) Jean Sans Peur is the last remaining structure of the Hotel de Bourgogne (where "hotel" roughly translates as a mansion or estate house).  During the early 15th century, the hotel was the home of Jean Sans Peur (Jean the fearless), Duke of Burgundy, who reinforced it during the Armagnac-Burgundian civil war in France (part of the Hundred Years' War).

The tower, which is open to the public but has rather limited hours, was featured in the book Metronome by Laurent Deutsch, which I studied at the Alliance Francaise in Portland.  It includes certain features which I was keen to see in person:

There is a spiral staircase inside the tower, with each landing leading to one or two rooms with exhibits and commentary.  (The staff very kindly gave me a bound English translation of the commentary which I was able to carry around with me.)  The landing that is the third from the top has this remarkable vaulted roof. There are three different kinds of leaves, representing, respectively, Jean Sans Peur's father, his mother, and himself (if I recall correctly).

There are two small stained-glass windows nearby (partially visible in the first photo).  One shows a coat of arms -- pretty standard -- and the other, a carpenter's plane!

I think the meaning was that Jean Sans Peur would flatten his enemies...

One amusing feature that was not in the book was this wallpaper near the privy (2nd floor from the top), which also includes the plane!  Clearly not original, though.

The next day, I was passing a church near the apartment which I had passed many times, and I finally decided to go in.  This is the church of Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, and it contains the tomb of St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris.

The little plaques going up the left side of the photo are something like prayers and/or thank-you notes to St. Genevieve.  These went all the way up to the ceiling on both sides, in several columns.

This larger one below describes how to obtain an indulgence (time off from Purgatory -- a Catholic thing).  I'm not sure how long ago it was that the Church decided it was bad form to be able to buy indulgences rather than pray for them, but at least in this case one is instructed to pray, and you get 50 days.  Sounds like an excellent deal:

The building itself was also very beautiful.  

A closer view of the stairs:

These large cathedrals generally have alcoves along the sides which are referred to as "chapels".  This one had some beautiful stonework:

This church also has a large collection of stained glass in the back, behind the altar.  Here is Noah's Ark.  So what did happen to the unicorn??

And finally, near the entrance (and exit), an impressive holy water font (there were two like this).

So, I was glad I finally decided to go inside!  (To give myself a little credit, the doors of this church are seldom open, unlike some others that make it pretty obvious that you can go inside.)