With its multi-faceted octagonal bell tower standing tall next to small spires, the façade with its tapered point, the giant rosette window, the portico and its lights and shadows, Saint-Germain gives off a note of cheerful fantasy. Apart from the additions, supposed embellishments, and restorations, the church was built in two periods that correspond to different phases of the Gothic style: the portal and the back section including the chorus dates back to the 1200s, while the portico and naves were built two centuries later during the mid-1400s.
FUN FACT: the Church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois was the protagonist of a bloody story of history. In fact, its bells announced the beginning of the terrible massacre of St. Bartholomew on August 24th, 1572, where Catholics killed nearly 30,000 Protestants in just a few days.
