A chapel was first built in the 13th century, in a field planted with chardons (thistles), hence the name.
It was later replaced with a church.
The clocktower is part of an earlier structure, built sometime prior to 1600.
The church was reconstructed between 1656 and 1763.

In 1612, Adrien Bourdoise founded a seminary at Saint-Nicolas.

In the late 17th century noted harpsichordist Jean-Nicolas Geoffroy (1633–1694) served as titular organist of the church.

In the 19th century the adjacent Mutualité site was occupied by a seminary.
There, Ernest Renan studied under the direction of the Abbé Dupanloup, who attained celebrity in 1838 when he reconciled the notoriously amoral diplomat Talleyrand, who had received the minor orders at Saint-Nicholas, to the church on his death-bed. (
Dupanloup subsequently became Bishop of Orléans and a member of the Académie française).

The painting, Le Baptême du Christ, is by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, who also decorated the ceiling.

Since 1905, the city of Paris, following the law on the separation of Church and State, claims ownership of the church but grants the Roman Catholic Church a free usage right.
A chapel was first built in the 13th century, in a field planted with chardons (thistles), hence the name. It was later replaced with a church. The clocktower is part of an earlier structure, built sometime prior to 1600. The church was reconstructed between 1656 and 1763.
In 1612, Adrien Bourdoise founded a seminary at Saint-Nicolas.
In the late 17th century noted harpsichordist Jean-Nicolas Geoffroy (1633–1694) served as titular organist of the church.
In the 19th century the adjacent Mutualité site was occupied by a seminary. There, Ernest Renan studied under the direction of the Abbé Dupanloup, who attained celebrity in 1838 when he reconciled the notoriously amoral diplomat Talleyrand, who had received the minor orders at Saint-Nicholas, to the church on his death-bed. (Dupanloup subsequently became Bishop of Orléans and a member of the Académie française).
The painting, Le Baptême du Christ, is by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, who also decorated the ceiling. 
Since 1905, the city of Paris, following the law on the separation of Church and State, claims ownership of the church but grants the Roman Catholic Church a free usage right.
Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet