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Le Panthéon, Paris, France | |
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Originally built as
a church (1755-1790), the Panthéon is
now a grand memorial to France's most revered
men and women.
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The upper part of the temple-like church houses marble statues and paintings, many depicting the life of Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris. The maze-like crypt contains the marble tombs of heroic figures of French history. Though the Panthéon was constructed in the mid-18th century, it was preceded by a basilica built by King Clovis in 507 to house the remains of himself, his queen, and Saint Geneviève. The current Panthéon is the final resting place of geniuses such as Rousseau, Voltaire and Victor Hugo, Marie Curie and Louis Braille. Rebel Émile Zola and founder of the European Community (later to become the European Union), Jean Monnet, rest here as well. Above the crypt is housed a modern marvel: a pendulum, used to prove that the earth turns. The original pendulum, now in the Museum of Arts et Métiers, was created by Léon Foucault in 1851. The current bronze weight, installed in 1995, swings above a platform showing the numbers 0-24: the pendulum always shows the correct time. The Panthéon is a short walk away from the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Sorbonne. Panthéon
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Above, Le Panthéon, Paris, seen in late afternoon sun.
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