If you visit Saint-Germain des Prés area in Paris, stop by the church/abbey. It is absolutely stunning. The paintings were renovated in 2019.
History
The Abbey was founded in the 6th century by the son of Clovis I, Childebert I.Childebert erected to house the relic, dedicated to the Holy Cross and Saint Vincent. It was set on fire by Vikings in the ninth century and was rebuilt in 1014 and rededicated in 1163 by Pope Alexander III to Saint Germain of Paris, the canonized Bishop of Paris.
The abbey was a royal necropolis until the creation of the basilica of Saint-Denis. The relics of Saint Germain are venerated there, but no medieval burial remains. The current choir was built in the middle of the 12th century in the early Gothic style, and consecrated by Pope Alexander III on April 21, 1163. It is one of the first Gothic buildings in France and in the world.
The convent buildings were successively rebuilt during the 13th century, and an abbey chapel inspired by the Sainte-Chapelle was built by the architect Pierre de Montreuil and dedicated to the Virgin; the whole was unfortunately demolished at the beginning of the 19th century. But the French Revolution imposes the suppression of all the abbeys, and for Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the end occurs on February 13, 1792. The church soon becomes a manufacture of saltpeter, and worship is only reestablished there. April 29, 1803.
Between 1821 and 1854, the church, put to the test during the revolutionary period, was restored. It is classified as historical monuments by the list of 1862. The Saint-Germain-des-Prés church is the oldest of the great Parisian churches
Some personal pictures
Pictures from @Mairie de Paris
ThinkerSquid 