Notre-Dame de Paris
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris (French: Notre-Dame de Paris) is a majestic Catholic church on the Isle of Cité in the center of Paris. This outstanding architectural monument is sung in art and is one of the most famous iconic buildings in the world. Every year 13-14 million tourists come to see Notre Dame de Paris, wishing to see in person the upward-looking Gothic silhouette decorated with picturesque stained glass windows and creepy gargoyles. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris is the geographical center not only of Paris, but of the whole country. It is here that the so-called “Kilometer Zero” is located, from which all distances in France are counted.
Video: Notre Dame de Paris
Contents- History of the cathedral’s construction
- Facade and gargoyles
- Interior decoration of Notre Dame de Paris
South Bell Tower - Museum and Treasury
- Order and cost of admission
- How to get there
History of the cathedral’s construction
The history of France and Notre Dame cannot be separated, for it was here that knights offered their prayers as they set out on the Crusades, the coronation of Napoleon, the celebration of the victory over Hitler’s forces, and many other events.
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It was decided to reconstruct Notre Dame according to all the rules of ancient technology. Viollet-le-Duca successfully coped with such a difficult task, because the architect had knowledge of the construction methods of the ancient masters who worked on the construction of the temple. The restoration of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris lasted more than a quarter of a century. During this time restored the facades and interior decoration, reconstructed ruined by revolutionaries sculpture gallery and part of the gargoyles, returned to their rightful place all the surviving infernal “guards.”
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Additionally, a spire more than 95 meters high was built and installed on the roof. In the following years, the Parisians were extremely reverent about their shrine. It is noteworthy that the temple was practically unharmed during the period of the two World Wars. At the end of the XX century, another restoration was initiated, which allowed to completely clean the building from urban dust, to return the sandstone, of which the facade is composed, the original golden hue.
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Video: Aftermath of the cathedral fire
Facade and gargoyles
Traditionally, unattractive pipe outlets were masked with figures of gargoyles, chimeras, dragons, and, less often, humans or real animals. Many people see hidden meanings in these demonic images, so there is a great scope for fantasy. It is noteworthy that at the time of construction there were no stone demons on the cathedral, they were installed at the suggestion of the restorer Viollet-le-Duc, who used this medieval tradition.
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The interior of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris
Southern Bell Tower
From the shrine you can go to the underground Treasury, brought out under the square in front of the cathedral. It contains historical and religious relics: utensils, precious art objects and so on. But the most important exhibits are the Crown of Thorns of Christ, one of the nails with which Jesus was crucified, and a fragment of the cross.
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Order and cost of admission
