When we arrived to Sacre-Coeur we were surprized to
recognize the Byzantine style in the architecture of the basilica. We
weren't quite expecting it, after days of seeing only Gothic architecture
in most of the city's churches. That made me very curious about
Sacre-Coeur's past. The French government decided to erect the basilica
after France's defeat by the Prusians in 1870 to symbolize the end of
the misfortunes and the return to strength of the 19th century France.
The construction was started in 1875 to Paul Abadie's design. Like many
other buildings in Paris, this one was controversial with people loving
it and hating it with the same passion. The basilica was finally
consecrated in 1919. Because of the location and size its effect is
grand. The inside has beautiful mosaics.
