Notre-Dame de Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. Construction began in 1160 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely complete by 1260. Approximately 12 million people visit the cathedral annually, making it the most visited monument in Paris. The roof of the cathedral caught fire on the evening of 15 April 2019.

About Notre-Dame de Paris in brief

Summary Notre-Dame de ParisNotre-Dame de Paris is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral’s construction began in 1160 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely complete by 1260. It is one of the most widely recognized symbols of the city of Paris and the French nation. Approximately 12 million people visit the cathedral annually, making it the most visited monument in Paris. While undergoing renovation and restoration, the roof of the cathedral caught fire on the evening of 15 April 2019. The government of France hopes the reconstruction can be completed by Spring 2024, in time for the opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, but a law has been enacted requiring that the restoration must preserve the cathedral’s ‘historic, artistic and architectural interest’ The cathedral was the site of the coronation of Napoleon I and the funerals of many Presidents of the French Republic. It was built in the 7th century and remodelled in the 11th century. The Cathedral of Saint Childe-tienne was the first basilica of Saint-Étienne, then the fourth basilica, before the first cathedral of Notre Dame was built. The current cathedral was consecrated to the Virgin Mary in the 12th century, and is considered to be one of France’s finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Its pioneering use of the rib vault and flying buttress, its enormous and colourful rose windows, as well as the naturalism and abundance of its sculptural decoration set it apart from the earlier Romanesque style.

Major components that make Notre Dame stand out include its large historic organ and its immense church bells. In 1710, the Pillar of the Boatmen was discovered in the cathedral and replaced with an Early Christian basilica. This was replaced in the 14th century by an Early Catholic church dedicated to Saint Stephen. For its time, it was very large—70 metres long and separated into four nave and four naves. In 1805, Notre-Damé was given the honorary status of a minor basilica and is now the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris, and contains the cathedra of the Archbishop of Paris. In 1831, Antonieta Rivas Mercado died at the altar of Notre- dame after shooting herself in the heart with a pistol stolen from her lover, José Vasconcelos : 625. The Crown of Thorns, a sliver of the true cross and a nail from the truecross, are preserved at Notre-dame. In recent years, an increasing number have been given by leading public figures and state-employed academics. The cathedral has been progressively stripped of its original decoration and works of art. Several noteworthy examples of Gothic, Baroque, and 19th-century sculptures and a group of 17th- and early 18th- century altarpieces remain in the Cathedral’s collection. In the 1830s, the cathedral was renowned for its Lent sermons, founded by the Dominican Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire in the 1800s.