Not the largest cathedral in the world, the Notre-Dame might be the most famous of all cathedrals. The gothic work of art is located on the Ile de la cité, a little island in the heart of the city.
Notre Dame Cathedral (full name: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, “Our Lady of Paris”) is a beautiful cathedral on the the Île de la Cité in Paris. Begun in 1163 and mostly finished by 1250, Notre Dame is an important example of French Gothic buildings, sculpture and stained glass.
The Notre Dame is the most popular monument in Paris and in all of France, beating even the Eiffel Tower with thirteen million visitors each year. After a period of neglect, it recaptured the popular imagination when 19th-century writer Victor Hugo immortalized it in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. To visit this wonderful cathedral, you can take a appartement de luxe paris
Construction
Bishop Maurice de Sully started the structure in 1163. The Cathedral was to be constructed in the new gothic style and had to reflect Paris’s status as the capital of the Kingdom France. It was the first cathedral constructed on a monumental scale and became the prototype for upcoming cathedrals in The country, like the cathedrals of Amiens, Chartres or Rheims, just to name the most historic.
The Building
It took until 1345 before the cathedral was finished, in part because the design was enlarged during construction. The result is an overwhelming edifice, 128m long with two 69 meter tall towers (420 x 226 ft). The spire, which reaches 90m, was added in the 19th century by Viollet-le-Duc. The Notre-Dame Cathedral has many large rose windows, the northern 13th century window is the most impressive. The huge window has a diameter of 13.1 meter.
The spectacular eastern buttresses are 15m wide. The west side features three wide portals, the gallery of Kings and the famous gargoyles.
Restoration
During the Revolution, many of the cathedral’s sculptures, gargoyles and interior was removed or demolished. Even the gallery of Kings was severely damaged. It wasn’t until the 19th century before the Cathedral was completely restored by a Parisian architect, Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. It was restored again between 1991 and 2001. You already visited paris and its cathedral, take a look at Appartement près de la Fontaine de Trévise
Address: Place du parvis de Notre Dame, 4th arrondissement
Metro: Cité or Saint-Michel (Line 4)
RER: Saint-Michel (Line C)
Bus: Lines 21, 38, 47, or 85
