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The cathedral is a widely recognized symbol of the city of Paris and the French nation. In 1805, it was awarded honorary status as a minor basilica. As the cathedral of the archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame contains the cathedra of the archbishop of Paris (currently Laurent Ulrich).
Sep 24, 2024 · Notre-Dame de Paris is a cathedral church in Paris. The most famous of the Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages, it is distinguished for its size, antiquity, and architectural interest. A fire in 2019 destroyed most of the cathedral’s roof and the entire 19th-century spire.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Apr 16, 2019 · Notre-Dame, which translates in English as "Our Lady", has played a role in key moments of history and captured the imagination of people around the world, drawing an estimated 13 million...
- A Pagan City Lies Below The Cathedral.
- Notre-Dame’s Façade Features Some Recycled Architecture.
- Notre-Dame Had A “Forest” in Its roof.
- Its Flying Buttresses Were Gothic Trendsetters.
- 28 of Its Kings Lost Their Heads in The French Revolution.
- The Towers Are Not Twins.
- Its Bells Were Once Melted Down For Artillery.
- Napoleon and Victor Hugo Saved Notre-Dame from ruin.
- Its Monsters Are Modern, Not Medieval.
- Its Spire Was A Saintly Lightning Rod.
The Île-de-la-Cité on which Notre-Dame de Paris now stands was once a Gallo-Roman city known as Lutetia. The cathedral may have been built right over remnants of a temple: Around 1710, pieces of a sculpted altar dedicated to Jupiter and other deities were discovered during an excavation under the choir (although it remains unclear if this is eviden...
There are three portals on the western façade of Notre-Dame, each laden with sculpted saints and sacred scenes. One doesn’t seem to fit, however—the Portal Sainte-Anne features a much earlier style than the rest. Its figures, such as the central Virgin and Child, look stiffer in their poses and less natural in their features compared to the other s...
Before the fire, the cathedral contained one of the oldest surviving wood-timber framesin Paris, involving around 52 acres of trees that were cut down in the 12th century. Each beam was made from an individual tree. For this reason, the lattice of historic woodwork was nicknamed “the forest.”
The cathedral was one of the earliest structures built with exterior flying buttresses. They were constructed around its nave in the 12th century to lend support to the thin walls, after the need for more light in the incredibly tall church required larger windows, and thus greater supports. The exposed flying buttresses became an iconic aspect of ...
In 1793, in the midst of the French Revolution, 28 statues of biblical kings in the cathedral were pulled down with ropes and decapitated by a mob. (King Louis XVI was guillotined earlier that year, and any iconography tied to the monarchy was under attack.) The mutilated stones were eventually tossed in a trash heap, which the interior minister de...
At first glance, Notre-Dame’s two towers appear like identical twins. Closer examination reveals that the north tower is in fact a bit biggerthan the south. As with all the elements of the cathedral, they were built over time, and reflect how the cathedral is more of a collage of architectural trends and leadership than the culmination of one perso...
The kings weren’t the only part of Notre-Dame destroyed during the French Revolution. The cathedral, like other churches around France, was transformed in the late 18th century from a Christian space and rededicated to the new Cult of Reason. All 20 of its bells—except the colossal 1681 bourdon called Emmanuel—were removed and melted downto make ca...
When Napoleon Bonapartedecided to have his 1804 coronation as emperor in Notre-Dame, the building was in bad shape. Centuries of decay as the city developed and changed around it, as well as the vandalism of the French Revolution, had left it on the verge of demolition. For years it had been used as little more than a warehouse. So when Napoleon de...
Some of the most popular images of Notre-Dame are from the perspective of its gargoyles or chimera (the carved monsters that don’t act as waterspouts). Few visitors would guess that the fantastic creatures now on the cathedral weren’t there until the 19th century; they were addedbetween 1843 and 1864 during the radical restoration overseen by Eugèn...
Photos of the cathedral before the fire show a rooster on top of the spire. This rooster was not a purely decorative bird. In 1935, three tiny relics—an alleged piece of the Crown of Thorns and some bits of Saint Denis and Saint Genevieve (the city's patron saints)—were secured inside the metal bird’s body. The idea, the story went, was to create a...
- Allison C Meier
Apr 15, 2023 · Notre-Dame Cathedral, referred to as Notre Dame de Paris (“Our Lady of Paris”) or simply Notre Dame, stands as a testament to history and faith on the eastern half of Île de la Cité, an island in the Seine River within Paris, France’s 4th arrondissement.
Dec 17, 2019 · Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is famous for its intricate Gothic-style design and for its aesthetic grandeur and harmony. On a first visit, many of the small details are easy to miss, so here's a guide to help you focus your visit, understand the basic elements of Gothic architecture, and.
Apr 16, 2019 · What Notre-Dame Means to Parisians—And to All of Us. She remains the beating heart of the city, but stands radically and permanently transformed. My heart sank when I first learned of...
