Entry
The Panthéon — The former church of Sainte-Geneviève, turned under the Revolution into the tomb of great men
A church willed by Louis XV in thanks to Saint Geneviève for his recovery, commissioned from Soufflot in 1755, its first stone laid by the king in 1764 and completed in 1790 by Rondelet. The Revolution made it the tomb of great men as early as 1791, the Empire returned it to worship, the Restoration too, the July Monarchy took it back, the Prince-President returned it again: it took Hugo’s funeral, in 1885, to settle it in the role it still holds. (Editorial synthesis)
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