Notre Dame of Bercy

Located in the heart of the village of Bercy, this 19th century church houses a very pretty collection of paintings of 17th and 18th centuries. The church is also called Notre Dame of Nativity. In 1677, a convent was implemented by the Fathers of the Christian Doctrine – two years later, i twas dedicated to Notre Dame du Bon Secours. 1790 saw the birth of the city of Bercy – the church became the parish church. In 1821, about to collapse, the church was demolished, to be followed n 1822 with a decision to rebuilt it. The project was given to the architect André Marie Châtillon. In 1826, the church was delivered under the name of « Dame of Nativity ». The village of Bercy is annexed to Paris in 1860. During the 1870 Commune revolution, the church as well as the town hall was arsoned.
In 1873, a new church was built under the direction of Antoine-Julien Hénard. The remains of the former church were used in order to achieve the same dimensions and organisation. However, the construction remained uncompleted until the beginning of the 20th century, particularly the ceilings. To make amends, the Seine préfecture (regional authority) donated to the church paintings of great value, which can still be seen there today. During the 1910 floods, the church was flooded, and was affected by the 1944 bombs meant to affect th nearby railways.
More recently, in 1982, a fire destroyed part of the building – the pew and calvary, as well as a portion of the wooden floor. The renovation works have started in 1985.