Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris

The famous west front of Notre Dame Cathedral. Photo by the author.

The west front at sunset. Photo by Richard Lowkes.

The North Rose Window. Photo by Farl.

South side of Notre-Dame. Photo by the author.

Notre-Dame by night, from the east. Photo by Carlos Pardo.

Diagram of the west front. Image licensed under GFDL.

Central portal in the west front. Photo by the author.

Interior of the Notre Dame, looking east. Photo by flipsockgrrl.

A Notre-Dame gargoyle surveys the streets of Paris (by the author);
detail of dastardly devils on the portal (by Claude Covo-Farchi).

Notre Dame Cathedral (full French name: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, "Our Lady of Paris") is a beautiful Gothic cathedral on the the Île de la Cité in Paris, France. A major tourist destination and one of the most famous cathedrals in the world, Notre Dame is also a working Roman Catholic cathedral.

History

The Notre Dame de Paris stands on the site of Paris' first Christian church, Saint Etienne basilica, which was itself built on the site of a Roman temple to Jupiter.

Notre-Dame's first version was a "magnificent church" built by Childebert I, the king of the Franks at the time, in 528, and was already the cathedral of the city of Paris in the 10th century.

However, in 1160, having become the "parish church of the kings of Europe," Bishop Maurice de Sully deemed the building unworthy of its lofty role, and had it demolished.

Construction on the current cathedral began in 1163, during the reign of Louis VII, and opinion differs as to whether Bishop Maurice de Sully or Pope Alexander III laid the foundation stone of the cathedral.

Construction of the west front, with its distinctive two towers, only began in around 1200, before the nave had been completed. Over the construction period, numerous architects worked on the site, as is evidenced by the differing styles at different heights of the west front and towers.

Between 1210 and 1220, the fourth architect oversaw the construction of the level with the rose window, and the great halls beneath the towers. The towers were completed around 1245, and the cathedral was completed around 1345.

During the reign of Louis XIV and Louis XV, at the end of the 17th century, the cathedral underwent major alterations — tombs and stained glass windows were destroyed. During the French Revolution, at the end of the 18th century, many of the cathedral's treasures were destroyed or stolen. The cathedral's great bells avoided being melted down, but the cathedral was used as a warehouse for the storage of food.

Generally, French Catholic religious events of national significance take place in Notre-Dame. In addition, many important historical events have occured at Notre-Dame over the years, including:

Napoleon Bonaparte, who had declared the Empire on May 28, 1804, was crowned Emperor at Notre-Dame on December 2, 1804.
The Te Deum Mass took place in the cathedral to celebrate the liberation of Paris in August 26, 1944.
The Requiem Mass of General Charles de Gaulle took place in the cathedral on November 12, 1970.

A restoration program was initiated in 1845, overseen by architects Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus and Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. The restoration lasted 23 years, and included the construction of a spire.

In 1871, a civil uprising leading to the establishment of the short-lived Paris Commune nearly set fire to the cathedral, and some records suggest that a mount of chairs within the cathedral were set alight. In 1905, the law of separation of Church and State was passed; as all cathedrals, Notre-Dame remains state property, but its use is granted to the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1991, a major program of maintenance and restoration was initiated, which was intended to last 10 years, but continued well into the 21st century, the cleaning and restoration of old sculptures being an exceedingly delicate matter.

What to See

The west front of the cathedral is one of its most notable features, with its two 69-meter (228-feet) tall towers. The three portals of the west front depict scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary (Portal to the Virgin), Christ enthroned judging the living and dead (Portal of the Last Judgement), and scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary's mother (Portal to Saint Anne).

The South Tower houses the cathedral's famous bell, "Emmanuel." The bell weighs 13 metric tons (over 28,000 pounds), its clapper alone weighs 500 kilograms. The bell is Notre-Dame's oldest, having been recast in 1631.

The Galerie des Chimères or Grand Gallery connects the two towers, and is where the cathedral's legendary gargoyles (chimères) can be found.

The West Rose Window is 10 meters in diameter and exceptionally beautiful. Many of the elements of the stained glass window date back to the 13th century construction of the cathedral. In front of the window stands a statue of the Virgin Mary carrying the Baby Jesus.

The King's Gallery is a line of statues of the 28 Kings of Judah and Israel, which was redesigned by Viollet-le-Duc to replace the statues destroyed during the French Revolution. The revolutionaries believed the statues to represent the French kings, so they decapitated them.

Quick Facts

Names:	Notre Dame Cathedral; Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris; "Our Lady of Paris"
Type of site:	Cathedral; World Heritage Site
Faith:	Roman Catholic
Dates:	Built 1163-1345
Architecture:	Gothic
Status:	Active
Address:	6 place du Parvis Notre-Dame, Île de la Cité, 4e, Paris
Phone:	01-42-34-56-10
Métro:	Cité or St-Michel
RER:	St-Michel
Hours:	Cathedral open year-round daily 8am-6:45pm. Towers and crypt Apr-Sept daily 9:30am-6pm; Oct-Mar daily 10am-5:15pm. Museum Sat-Sun 2-5pm. Treasury Mon-Sat 9:30am-6pm, Sun 2-6pm
Cost:	Cathedral: free admission Towers: €6.10 adults, €4.10 ages 18-25 and seniors, free for children under 18 Ttreasury: €3 adults, €2 ages 12-25 and seniors, €1 ages 5-11, free for children under 5

Location Map

Below is a location map and aerial view of the Notre-Dame. Using the buttons on the left, zoom in for a closer look or zoom out to get your bearings. Click and drag the map to move around. For a larger view, see our Paris Map or get our free Google Earth download.

Paris Travel Resources

More Information

Traveler Reviews of Notre Dame - TripAdvisor
Notre Dame – Paris Pages
Cathedrale Notre-Dame – Lonely Planet Paris Attractions
Notre-Dame de Paris – A View on Cities
Eight centuries later, Notre Dame still a fascinating work in progress – Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 3, 1998
Reviews of Notre Dame de Paris – IgoUgo.com
Reviews of Cathedrale Note-Dame de Paris – Yahoo! Travel
Paris Hotels - HotelTravel.com