0 The Pantheon of Paris

 Pantheon (Pantheon) is a building in the Latin Quarter of Paris Paris. The Pantheon was originally built as a church m honor of St. Genoveva (St. Genevieve), but after many changes now she plays the role of the mausoleum, which houses the mortal remains of famous French citizens.

The building is one of the first buildings constructed in the spirit of neoclassicism, its facade is modeled on the Pantheon in Rome. Pantheon is covered with a majestic dome.

The architect who designed the Pantheon, a soufflé, Germany Jacques (Jacques-Germain Soufflot), who wanted to combine the grandeur of a gothic cathedral with classical principles. The architect died before seeing his creation completed. Lightness and transparency, he sought and was not achieved, but this does not diminish the architectural value and beauty of the building, which was the first great neoclassical monument.

 In 1744 King Louis Fifteenth (Louis XV) vowed that if he can recover from a severe illness which knocked the bed, he will build on the ruins of the abbey church of Saint Genoveva magnificent building. Once recovered, he set out to make this promise. He loaded the Marquis Francois Pouson Abel (Abel-François Poisson) with the task to deal with the implementation of this major project. In 1755 Marquis hired architect Jean-Germany soufflé and construction of the building began after two years.

The design of the monumental building is a classic Greek cross, with massive Corinthian columns and porticoes. The building has a length of 110 m wide is 84 meters and 83 meters high. The crypt of the Pantheon is huge. The dome of the building is triple, the second dome is painted on the inside with exquisite frescoes Apotheosis of St. Genoveva.

Foundations were laid in 1758, but due to economic problems of France at that time, with much work goes slow. The building was completed in 1790, which coincides with the early stages of the French Revolution. National Constituent Assembly ordered that it be modified by the church mausoleum in place for disposal of some of the greatest Frenchmen.

In 1851 physicist Leon Foucault (Léon Foucault) demonstrates the rotation of the Earth with an experiment that was conducted in the Pantheon, by building a 67-meter Foucault pendulum under the central dome. The original area of ​​the pendulum was exposed in the Pantheon in the nineties of last century, but today there is a copy of the original, and he is in the art museum. From 1906 to 1922
 

Pantheon was the place where she was exposed to the famous sculpture by Auguste Rodin (Auguste Rodin) "The Thinker".

In 2006, antique clocks of the Pantheon was completely renovated.

Above the entrance of the Pantheon has the words "AUX GRANDS HOMMES LA PATRIE RECONNAISSANTE" ("On the great men the grateful homeland"). Funerals here are strictly prohibited and are allowed only by parliamentary act and then for national heroes.

Among those buried in the necropolis of the Pantheon known French figures such as Voltaire (Voltaire), Rousseau (Rousseau), Victor Hugo (Victor Hugo), Emile Zola (Émile Zola), Marie Curie (Marie Skłodowska-Curie), and the architect of building - Jacques-Germany souffle. Due to rumors that the remains of Voltaire were stolen from the Pantheon and thrown in the garbage is gone so far as the coffin with his remains was open to be proven that they are still there. Pantheon is a symbol of Paris.