Église luthérienne de la Résurrection

Whispers of royal weddings and artistic legacies echo within these walls. We stand before the Église luthérienne de la Rédemption, a place where history and faith intertwine. The Église luthérienne de la Rédemption began its life not as a church, but as a bustling unloading hall. Constructed between 1821 and 1825 by architect Louis-Adrien Lusson, this hall served a very different purpose. Imagine the clatter of carts and the shouts of merchants where hymns now rise. In 1837, a royal wedding graced this very spot. Princess Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a Protestant, married Ferdinand-Philippe d’Orléans, the son of King Louis Philippe I, at the Église luthérienne de la Rédemption. This event marked a turning point for the hall. The princess, a devout Lutheran, frequently attended services at the Église des Billettes. However, the Marais district, where the Église des Billettes was located, was considered unsafe at the time. To address this concern, the city of Paris allocated the former unloading hall to the Lutheran Consistory in 1841. Between 1841 and 1843, German architect Franz Christian Gau transformed the hall into the church we see today. He preserved the original four bays of the eleven-bay structure and added the portal, the apse of the choir, and the bell tower. Upon Gau’s death, the renowned architect Théodore Ballu completed the project. The church’s history is also intertwined with the life of the famous artist Paul Gauguin. In 1873, he married Mette-Sophie Gad, a young Danish Lutheran, within these very walls. Another notable figure connected to the Église luthérienne de la Rédemption is Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann. A regular parishioner, he donated the large crucifix that adorns the communion table. The crucifix is unique, lacking a crown of thorns, with open eyes, and arms raised towards the heavens. Haussmann’s funeral was also held at the church in 1891. The Église luthérienne de la Rédemption has witnessed history unfold, from royal weddings to the lives of artists and city planners. Today, it stands as a testament to the enduring power of faith and the rich tapestry of human experience woven within its walls.