L’église de la Madeleine, Madeleine Church; more formally, L’église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine; less formally, just La Madeleine) is a Catholic church occupying a commanding position in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.
The Madeleine Church was designed in its present form as a temple to the glory of Napoleon’s army. To its south lies the Place de la Concorde, to the east is the Place Vendôme, and to the west Saint-Augustin, Paris.
The first church built on this site began in 1764. However, after the death of the architect in 1777, his successor decided to bring the whole building down, designing a completely different temple. When the Revolution broke out, the construction was paralysed whilst they decided what to do with the church.
The second attempt was also demolished and Napoleon I assigned a new architect to build an edifice based on the design of an ancient temple in honour of the French Navy.
With the fall of Napoleón, the building was made into a church in 1842, in honour of St Mary Magdalene.
