Saint-Pierre-des-Arcis was a former Catholic church located on the ÃÂle de la Cité in Paris. Constructed in the 15th century, it was demolished at the end of the 18th century.
The church forecourt formed a small square opening onto . The building was bordered on the east by and on the west by a passage leading to the apse of .
The church was founded in 926 by Theudon, , on the site of a ruined chapel dedicated to Saint Peter that depended on the . The origin of its name is uncertain; Arcis is commonly linked to the Latin arcisterium, meaning âÂÂmonastery.â A bull of Pope Innocent II refers to the church as Ecclesia Sancti Petri de Arsionibus.
In 1130, the church was established as a parish of modest size, similar to other parishes on the ÃÂle de la Cité. Its territory included houses east of and west of , with an estimated population of about one thousand inhabitants. The parish was merged with that of in 1722.
In 1789, during the confiscation of Church property, Saint-Pierre-des-Arcis remained one of the . Its priest, Abbé Roch-Damien Dubertrand, appointed in 1774, declined to take the oath to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and was removed from office in January 1791.
In February 1791, a series of decrees issued by the National Constituent Assembly, following a proposal from the Paris city authorities, transferred the parish status of Saint-Pierre-des-Arcis, along with that of the other churches on the ÃÂle de la Cité, to Notre-Dame Cathedral. The building was subsequently repurposed as a bell depot for the production of copper coinage.
On 13 Ventôse Year V, the State sold the building with the requirement that the purchaser open a planned street between Rue de la Vieille-Draperie and the Seine embankments. The church was subsequently demolished, and was opened in 1812.
The original church comprised a nave measuring 13.5 by 6 meters, terminating in a semicircular apse and accompanied by a south aisle. It was reconstructed around 1424 with a four-bay central nave flanked by two aisles, the southern aisle extending further than the northern one.
Saint-Pierre Square, which adjoined the church, was replaced after 1522 by two chapels. The portal was rebuilt in 1702 by the architect Jean-François Lanchenu.