Église Saint-Germain-des-Pres - Paris by Beausoleil Star this if you like it!

Saint-Germain-des-Pres was founded by Childebert I in the 540s as the Abbaye Sainte-Croix-Saint-Vincent. By the middle of the 8th century it had been renamed Saint Germain after the man appointed bishop of Paris by Childebert and later made a saint. The Abbey stood in the middle of meadows, called prés in French, hence the name. This also serves to distinguish it from the church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois near the Louvre which is definitely also worth a visit especially if you are at the Louvre.

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