Notre-Dame-de-Bercy

A religious building stood here by the end of the seventeenth century. The present church was begun in 1823 to designs by André Chatillon and consecrated in 1826 as Notre-Dame-de-la-Nativité. In May 1871, during the Commune, it was set on fire; the architect Antoine-Julien Hénard rebuilt it in 1873 on the walls left standing, keeping its plan and proportions. The plan recalls the basilicas of ancient Rome, and four Doric columns carry the pediment of the porch.

After the rebuilding, paintings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were placed in the church, among them Daniel Hallé’s Annunciation of 1659 and Jean-Baptiste-Marie Pierre’s Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket of 1748. The church was listed as a historic monument in 1982.

Four visits are recorded, from March 2019 to June 2024. Below is one photograph from each, in order.