Abbey of Saint-Victor, Paris

The Abbey of Saint Victor is defined by its complete disappearance from the skyline, leaving behind only the street names like Rue des Victorins to mark its former footprint. Founded in the early twelfth century by William of Champeaux, it grew into a powerhouse of European intellectual life, training theologians and philosophers for hundreds of years. During the French Revolution, the buildings were sold and demolished for stone, and today, a modern police laboratory sits over the site where the great library once stood.