Tourist attractions in Paris : Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre-Dame de Paris ( French for "Our Lady of Paris"), is a historic Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. The naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass are in contrast with earlier Romanesque architecture.
As the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame is the parish that contains the cathedra, or official chair, of the archbishop of Paris. The cathedral treasury is notable for its reliquary which houses some of Catholicism's most important first-class relics including the purported Crown of Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross, and one of the Holy Nails.
.JPG "Notre Dame de Paris - The western facade") |
| Photo by Amin Mana |
Many small individually crafted statues were placed around the outside to serve as column supports and water spouts. Among these are the famous gargoyles, designed for water run-off, and chimeras. The statues were originally colored as was most of the exterior. The paint has worn off, but the grey stone was once covered with vivid colors. The cathedral was essentially complete by 1345. The cathedral has a narrow climb of 387 steps at the top of several spiral staircases; along the climb it is possible to view its most famous bell and its gargoyles in close quarters, as well as having a spectacular view across Paris when reaching the top. The design of St. Peter's Anglican Cathedral in Adelaide, Australia was inspired by Notre-Dame de Paris.
.JPG "Notre Dame de Paris - The western facade") |
| Photo by Amin Mana |
.JPG "Notre Dame de Paris - The western facade") |
| Photo by Amin Mana |
.JPG "Notre Dame de Paris - The western facade") |
| Photo by Amin Mana |
Notre-Dame was built on the ruins of two earlier churches, which were themselves predated by a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter. The cathedral was initiated by Maurice de Sully, bishop of Paris, who about 1160 conceived the idea of converting into a single building, on a larger scale, the ruins of the two earlier basilicas. The foundation stone was laid by Pope Alexander III in 1163, and the high altar was consecrated in 1189. The choir, the western facade, and the nave were completed by 1250, and porches, chapels, and other embellishments were added over the next 100 years.
.JPG "Notre Dame de Paris") |
| Photo by Amin Mana |
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| Photo by Amin Mana |
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| Photo by Amin Mana |
In 1793, during the French Revolution, the cathedral was rededicated to the Cult of Reason, and then to the Cult of the Supreme Being. During this time, many of the treasures of the cathedral were either destroyed or plundered. The statues of biblical kings of Judah (erroneously thought to be kings of France), located on a ledge on the facade of the cathedral were beheaded. Many of the heads were found during a 1977 excavation nearby and are on display at the Musée de Cluny. For a time, Lady Liberty replaced the Virgin Mary on several altars. The cathedral's great bells managed to avoid being melted down. The cathedral came to be used as a warehouse for the storage of food.
.JPG "Notre Dame de Paris Altar") |
| Photo by Amin Mana |
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| Photo by Amin Mana |
.JPG "Interior view of the Rose window") |
| Photo by Amin Mana |
A controversial restoration program was initiated in 1845, overseen by architects Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. Viollet Le Duc was responsible for the restorations of several dozen castles, palaces and cathedrals across France. The restoration lasted twenty five years and included a taller reconstruction of the flèche (a type of spire) which was destroyed during the French revolution. As well as the addition of the chimeras on the Galerie des Chimères.
The Second World War caused more damage. Several of the stained glass windows on the lower tier were hit by stray bullets. These were remade after the war, but now sport a modern geometrical pattern, not the old scenes of the Bible. In 1991, a major program of maintenance and restoration was initiated, which was intended to last ten years, but was still in progress as of 2010, the cleaning and restoration of old sculptures being an exceedingly delicate matter.
.JPG "Interior view of the Catherdal") |
| Photo by Amin Mana |
.JPG "Interior view of the Catherdal") |
| Photo by Amin Mana |
.JPG "Interior view of the Catherdal") |
| Photo by Amin Mana |
Though several organs were installed in the cathedral over time, the earliest ones were inadequate for the building. The first noteworthy organ was finished in the 18th century by the noted builder François-Henri Clicquot. Some of Clicquot's original pipework in the pedal division continues to sound from the organ today. The organ was almost completely rebuilt and expanded in the 19th century by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.
Text Sources: wikipedia and britannica
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.JPG "Notre Dame de Paris - The western facade")
.JPG "Notre Dame de Paris - The western facade")
.JPG "Notre Dame de Paris - The western facade")
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.jpg "Gargoyles and Grotesques on the Towers of Notre Dame")
.jpg "Gargoyles and Grotesques on the Towers of Notre Dame")
