Home > Notre-Dame de Paris

Notre Dame and Notre-Dame redirect here. It is French for "Our Lady" and is thus the name of a vast number of Catholic churches in French-speaking countries, including several inside Paris.

In the United States, Notre Dame is most typically used to refer to the University of Notre Dame.

Notre Dame de Paris is the title of a Victor Hugo novel, also known (particularly in the United States) as The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

For other uses of Notre Dame, please see Notre Dame (disambiguation).

Notre-Dame de Paris, (French for "Our Lady of Paris," meaning the church in Paris dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus) often known simply as Notre-Dame in English, is a gothic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in Paris, France, with its main entrance to the west. While a major tourist destination, it is still used as a Roman Catholic cathedral ( archbishop of Paris).

1 History

Notre-Dame de Paris stands on the site of Saint Etienne basilica , which was itself built on the site of a Gallo-Roman temple to Jupiter. Saint Etienne basilica was founded by Childebert in 528, and became the cathedral of the city of Paris in the 10th century9th century 10th century 11th century other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. Events The beginning of the Medieval Warm Period Viking groups settle in northern France N. However, in 1160Events Erik den helige is succeeded by Karl Sverkersson. See Swedish monarchs. Heiji Rebellion in Japan Yasovarman II succeeds his uncle Dharanindravarman as ruler of the Khmer Empire. Dharanindravarman's son Jayavarman, acquieses to his cousin's successi, 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 began in 1163Events Owain Gwynedd is recognized as ruler of Wales. Silesian duchies accept suzerainty of Holy Roman Empire. Law of Succession is introduced in Norway. Council of Tours is held, names and condemns Albigensians. Abbey of Lokkum in Hanover is founded as a, during the reign of Louis VIILouis VII ( 1120 September 18, 1180) was King of France from 1137 to 1180. A member of the Capetian Dynasty, Louis VII was born in 1120, the second son of Louis the Fat and Adelaide of Maurienne (c. 1100 1154). Construction began on Notre-Dame de Paris in, and opinion differs as to whether Bishop Maurice de Sully or Pope Alexander IIIAlexander III ne Orlando Bandinelli (d. August 3, 1181), was pope from 1159 to 1181. He was born in Siena, and first made his mark as teacher of canon law at the University of Bologna, where he composed the Stroma or the Summa Magistri Rolandi one of the laid the foundation stone of the cathedral. Construction of the west front, with its distinctive two towers, only began in around 1200, before the naveFull descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are found at the entry Cathedral diagram. Tewkesbury Abbey. The nave is coloured yellow and red. The crossing (red) is visually and liturgically part of the nave. Eliminating the rood screen visually had been completed. Over the construction period, numerous architectsAn architect is a person licensed in the art of planning, designing and overseeing the construction of buildings, or more generally, the designer of a scheme or plan. See architecture or landscape architecture Architects and landscape architects are consi worked on the site, as is evidenced by the differing styles at different heights of the west front and towers. Between 1210Events End of the reign of Emperor Tsuchimikado of Japan Emperor Juntoku ascends to the throne of Japan Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor excommunicated by Pope Innocent III for invading southern Italy in 1210 Gottfried von Strassburg writes his epic poem Trist 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.

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 1991, a major program of maintenance and restoration was initiated, which was intended to last 10 years, but is still in progress.