Interior view

The Convent of the Order of Sainte-Marie de la Visitation was established in Paris in 1619. It was closed in the French Revolution and its church was given in 1802 to a Protestant congregation which, as the Protestant Temple du Marais, continues its ministry to the present.

The church was designed by François Mansart in 1632. The church's benefactor, Noël Brulart de Sillery, an admirer of the Pantheon in Rome, desired a centralized plan. Mansart, no doubt also influenced by the chapel of the Château d'Anet, delivered a highly original design. The plan, strictly central in conception, consists of a domed circle round which are grouped three curved chapels. The central chapel, forming the choir is covered with an oval dome into which strong light falls from a tall lantern.

The photo shows the interior of the central dome.

View the ground plan of the church.