Montagne Sainte-Geneviève

The Panthéon dominates the crest of the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève with its massive stone dome and Corinthian columns. Originally commissioned by King Louis the Fifteenth as a church to hold the relics of Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, the building became a secular mausoleum during the French Revolution. Inside, the remains of Voltaire, Victor Hugo, and Marie Curie rest in the crypt. The architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot intended for the structure to combine the lightness of Gothic cathedrals with classical Greek temple forms.