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 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 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.

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.

Significant events at Notre Dame

* 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.




http://www.uiowa.edu/~c009113/images/notredamefacade.jpg

http://www.marie-stuart.co.uk/images/NotreDame2.jpg

http://www.fno.org/exhibits/cathedral/nd9.jpg

http://www.eskimo.com/~rwb/images/europe/19-paris-notre-dame.jpg

http://imagesgaulois.tripod.com/004_dameS.jpg

http://www.teaser.fr/~bdebreil/paris01.gif

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/r/images/rosewndw_notrdm.par.int.lg.jpg

http://www.camt.usyd.edu.au/people/zqsu/EuroSummer/temp/Paris%20Notre%20Dame%20Tower%2004.jpg

http://www.spudles.com/travels/Europe2002Pics/Paris%20-%20Notre%20Dame%20-%20Entrance.jpg

http://www.westminster.net/faculty/boller/French%20V%20Civ/Paris/Paris%20slides/Notre-Dame-jpeg.jpg

http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/~sedwards/photos/paris2002/Images/P3011042%20Notre%20Dame%20Int.jpg

http://bode.diee.unica.it/~giua/SEBASTIAN/anon-notre-dame-paris.jpg

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jerome.lafourcade/IMG/Tourisme/notre_dame/Notre%20dame%20de%20Paris%20vue%20ensemble2.jpg

http://www.camt.usyd.edu.au/people/zqsu/EuroSummer/temp/Paris%20Notre%20Dame%20Tower%2001.jpg

http://www.australienbilder.de/paris/bilder/paris2.jpg

http://www.cgdesignsgroup.com/Images/highres/Notre-Dame-Paris.jpg

http://www.eveandersson.com/photos/france/paris/620-notre-dame-interior-large.jpg

http://romanes2.free.fr//Notre_Dame_de_Paris0090.jpg

http://romanes2.free.fr//Notre_Dame_de_Paris-90200033.2.jpg

http://romanes2.free.fr//Notre_Dame_de_Paris0001-2-2.jpg

http://romanes2.free.fr//Notre_Dame_de_Paris-90200028.jpg

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8.5/10
the cathedral has the best rose-window among all the cathedrals in Europe.

9/10

9/10

9.5/10

the laterals and back are awesome, but the front isn't so perfect.

Fantastic building, but those pics are crap. Way too blurry and grainy.

Does anyone have any better pics?

9/10

ok, not the best gothic cathedral, but i love it. great!

9/10

10

10.0 It's THE classic gothic cathedral, and is recognizable pretty much throughout the Western world. It's not my favorite, but it has to rate a 10 for being a model for all gothic churches in the world.

10/10

10/10.

9/10

7/10 :cheers:

8.5/10 ;)

10/10.

8.5/10

8.50/10
;)

10/10

9/10

9/10

10/10....awesome :)

9/10

9/10

10 :yes:

10 to the most famous cathedral of the world!

9.5 very nice!

10/10

This one I like - 10/10

One of the most famous gothic cathedrals, and one of the oldest, right?

9.5/10

8,5/10 :)
Anyway, I'm really missing something on its roof... But I don't know what it is ^.^ Maybe a real spire or something like that...

10/10

out of hand 10!
:okay:

It's overrated, because there are hundreds of cathedrals, who are older, bigger, more spectacular...
I'll give it an 8/10.

9.5/10

the laterals and back are awesome, but the front isn't so perfect.

^^ That's exactly what I think about it.

http://www.naturepixel.com/notre_dame_paris_facade_9.jpg

http://www.naturepixel.com/portail_notre_dame.jpg

http://www.naturepixel.com/tympan_voussures_portail_notre_dame.jpg

http://www.naturepixel.com/tympan_portail_notre_dame_paris_4.jpg

http://www.naturepixel.com/rosace_statues_facade_notre_dame_paris_7.jpg

http://www.naturepixel.com/rosace_statues_facade_notre_dame_paris_9.jpg

http://photoenligne.free.fr/Top/N13310_NotreDame_Paris.jpg

http://photoenligne.free.fr/Top/N15196_NotreDame_Paris.jpg

10!

10/10

10/10

It's not the best gothic cathedral, but 7/10

7,5

8, famous and world-renowned. But France is home to better Gothic cathedrals.

10!!:)

10/10

9/10

:)

10/10

9/10

10/10 for sure :cheers:

10. Excellent. Regards.

9.5 of 10, but that's only because Notre Dame d'Amiens and Notre Dame de Reims blew me away SO completely...

Her west front has, like Chartres, that serenity and dignity that come from beautiful proportions. Viollet le Duc, who directed the 19th c. restoration, drew the west front and added a hypothetical design for the spires that had originally been planned for the towers. Thank God he didn't try to add them, because they weren't needed! She rises to the skies very well as is!

The rose windows dance with the light; the transepts and flying butresses leap upward together without a dissenting line. Magnificent!

A little bit of irony - I've heard of a scholarly conference that met to discuss the question "Were the Middle Ages Civilized?" within a short walk of Notre Dame. Seems to me a little stroll and a good look at the cathedral would have answered their question.... :lol:

I understand that when LeClerc's forces liberated Paris during WW II, the first thing some of the tank crews did after they rumbled into the parvis was to jump out, race up into the towers, and set the bells ringing...now that must have been a WONDERFUL sound!

9/10

9.5/10

10/10
just want to post these old photos I shot long time ago which I converted to B&W

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/1859/paris5a.jpg

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/9890/paris6a.jpg

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10/10

voted 10/10 incredibly amazing!

10/10

10/10

10/10

9/10

10/10

9/10

9.5/10

10/10