The Tour Saint-Jacques is a monument located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris (France), at the intersection of Rue de Rivoli with Rue Nicolas Flamel. This 52-metre (171 ft) Flamboyant Gothic tower is all that remains of the former 16th-century Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie (“Saint James of the butchers”), which was demolished in 1797, during the French Revolution, leaving only the tower.
What remains of the destroyed church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie is now considered a national historic landmark.
The tower’s rich decoration reflects the wealth of its patrons, the wholesale butchers of the nearby Les Halles market. The masons in charge were Jean de Felin, Julien Ménart and Jean de Revier. It was built in 1509 to 1523, during the reign of King Francis I.
With a dedication to Saint James the Greater, the ancient church and its landmark tower welcomed pilgrims setting out on the road that led to Tours and headed for the Way of St James, which led to the major pilgrimage destination of Santiago de Compostela. A relic of the saint preserved in the church linked it the more strongly and in modern times occasioned its listing in 1998 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO among the sites and structures marking the chemins de Compostelle, the pilgrimage routes in France that led like tributaries of a great stream headed towards Santiago in the northwest of Spain.
Address: Square de la Tour Saint-Jacques, 75004 Paris, France.
Hours:
Monday Closed
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday Closed
Thursday Closed
Friday 10 AM–6 PM
Saturday 10 AM–6 PM
Sunday 10 AM–6 PM
Phone: +33 1 78 90 26 67
Construction started: 1508
Height: 52 m
Architects: Jean de Félin, Julien Ménart
Burials: Nicolas Flamel
Opened: 1523
Architectural style: Gothic architecture
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