| In 1744, while suffering a serious illness, King Louis XV vowed that if he survived
he would build a church dedicated to Sainte-Genevi�ve. The king recovered and
instructed Marquis of Marigny
to build a church which would replace the 6th century basilica, known as
the Abbey Sainte-Genevi�ve. Construction started in 1757 and took 34 years to
complete.
The building was finished in 1791, during the French Revolution.
The Constituent Assembly of the Revolution decided by decree to transform the
church into a
temple to accommodate the remains of the great men of France. Some of the most famous buried here are Victor Hugo,
Jean Monnet, Marie and Pierre Curie and Emile Zola. |
