Tourist attractions in Paris : Tour St-Jacques
Saint Jacques Tower is a monument located on Rue de Rivoli, which is one of the most famous streets of Paris in the 4th arrondissement. This 52-meter (171 ft) Flamboyant Gothic tower is all that remains of the former 16th-century Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie ("Saint James of the butchery"), which was destroyed shortly after the French Revolution.
It was built between 1509 and 1523, during the reign of King Francis I. With a dedication to Saint James the Great, the ancient church and its landmark tower was a point that Christian pilgrims begin their journey along the Santiago de Compostela route.
The church, with the exception of the tower, was demolished in 1793; preservation of the tower was a condition of the contract by which the church was bought for the value of its building materials. It was repurchased by the City of Paris in 1836 and declared a Monument Historique in 1862. A statue of the saint was installed on the top of the tower during the 19th century. During the Second Empire, the architect Théodore Ballu restored the tower, placing it on a pedestal and designing a small city park around it.
In the mid 17th century, mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal carried a barometer up to the top of the tower, conducting a variety of experiments on atmospheric pressure. Commemorating his experiments, a statue of Pascal is located at the base of the tower. A number of meteorological instruments are also placed on the roof.
Text Source : wikipedia.org
