The Temple of French Thought and Culture - The Panthéon in Paris.

The Panthéon, also known as the Pantheon, is located in the Latin Quarter on the left bank of the Seine in central Paris. It was completed in 1791 and serves as a permanent memorial to notable figures in French history. After the July Revolution of 1830, the Panthéon took on the characteristics of 'pure patriotism and nationalism.' The Panthéon houses the remains of 72 individuals who made extraordinary contributions to France, including Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, Marcellin Berthelot, Jean Jaurès, André Malraux, the Curies, and Alexandre Dumas, among whom only 11 were politicians. They silently receive the admiration of people from France and around the world here. The Panthéon is designed in the shape of a Greek cross, measuring 100 meters in length, 84 meters in width, and 83 meters in height. The portico of the temple can be accessed via the front steps. The portico is supported by 22 columns, each 19 meters high, which uphold the triangular pediment. In 1831, David d'Angers created the relief 'The Fatherland between Liberty and History' on this pediment. Below it is the famous inscription: 'To the great men, the grateful homeland.' The majestic dome covers the entire building. The Panthéon is an early example of neoclassical architecture, modeled after the Roman Pantheon. The interior is grand and magnificent, adorned with exquisite murals. The artistic decorations in the Panthéon are very beautiful, with large murals on the dome created by the famous painter Antoine-Jean Gros. In 1851, Léon Foucault hung a pendulum from the ceiling of the Panthéon to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth, a replica of which can still be seen today. The Panthéon, located on a high point in Paris, was used as a receiver for experiments on Eugène Ducretet's TSF. The cross on the Pantheon is also a fundamental point of the New French Triangulation (NTF).