This church originally had three towers, two at the east end and one at the west entrance. Saint-Germain-des-Prés as we see it today has been considerably altered since the original construction. In fact, the entire site has been modified beyond recognition. Where once were the buildings and fields of an extensive abbey, today is the Left Bank of Paris.
The abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés took in much of what is now the 5th and 6th Arrondissements along the river. At one point the abbey donated land so the University of Paris could be built, thereby creating the name "Latin Quarter" since that was the language both of the monks and of university instruction.
這間教堂原本有三座鍾樓，東邊兩座（已毀），西邊入口處一座。我們現在看到的聖日耳曼德普雷相對它原來的樣貌已經麵目全非了。這所修道院曾經擁有的建築和大片領地，變成了今天的整個巴黎左岸。聖日耳曼修道院曾經占據了今天巴黎沿著塞納河的第五區和第六區的大部分土地。正是這間修道院捐出的土地，才使得巴黎大學能夠建立。正因為如此，巴黎的這個地區被人叫做“拉丁角”，因為拉丁語是修道院的修士和巴黎大學授課使用的共同語言。
