Church of Saint-Germain of Charonne

The Church of Saint-Germain of Charonne stands as one of only two churches in all of Paris that still maintains its original parish cemetery on-site. While most burial grounds were cleared from the city center for sanitary reasons in the nineteenth century, this cemetery remains tucked behind the building as it has since the Middle Ages. The site itself is deeply linked to local lore, as tradition holds that it marks the spot where the bishop Saint Germain met a young girl named Genevieve in the year four hundred and thirty. She would later go on to become the patron saint of Paris, and the church was established here to commemorate their legendary encounter.