Interesting Facts About Notre Dame De Paris

There are many interesting facts about Notre Dame De Paris.

Located in the heart of Paris, the Notre Dame Cathedral is both a religious and architectural wonder.

People have traveled from all around the world to capture its fascinating rose windows and soaring buttresses.

Notre Dame Cathedral’s history dates back over 850 years. It is not surprising that many interesting and surprising details about the cathedral have come to light – from its history to its distinct architecture.

Interesting Facts About Notre Dame De Paris

Read on and find out more about Notre Dame de Paris’ history and some noteworthy facts. 

History of Notre Dame de Paris

This famous church was built on what’s known as Île de la Cité, a sliver of land that sits in the center of Paris’s Seine River.

Built between 1163 and 1345 under the reign of Louis VII. In medieval Gothic architecture, the church was regarded as a jewel.

Adding flying buttresses to the cathedral’s design was done after building had begun. The design was intended to prevent cracks in the thin, lofty Gothic-style walls.

Along with  providing structural support, the flying buttresses adds to the Gothic architecture of the cathedral.

During the French Revolution in the 1790s, the cathedral was destroyed and neglected. In his 1831  novel “Notre-Dame of Paris”, Victor Hugo described the building’s decaying state which was a way to inform the people of Notre Dame’s condition. 

Since then, the spire and flying buttresses have been redesigned by the architects Jean Baptiste Antoine Lassus and Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc.

Interesting Facts About Notre Dame De Paris

Beyond being one of the oldest buildings in France and an iconic landmark, here are some interesting facts about Notre Dame de Paris:

1. It took two centuries to build the Notre Dame de Paris. 

The cathedral was constructed over a period of 200 years, beginning in 1163, during the reign of King Louis VII, with the first stone laid in the presence of Pope Alexander III. 

2. The cathedral was one of the most visited monuments in Paris.

It was estimated that more than 13 million people per year passed through the grand gate of Notre-Dame each year prior to the fire in April 2019. There are approximately 35 thousand visitors a day at the Cathedral.

3. There used to be an ancient pagan settlement below the cathedral.

It is believed that Lutetia, a Gallo Roman city, once stood on the island of La Cité, where Notre-Dame de Paris now stands.

As early as 1710 pieces of a sculptured altar dedicated to Jupiter and other deities were discovered under the choir during an excavation in the 1960s and 1970s.

4. The iconic towers of Notre Dame are not really identical (or twin towers).

Notre-twin Dame’s towers appear identical at first glance. However, the north tower is in fact slightly larger than the south.

Since the towers were built over time, like the rest of the cathedral, the towers  illustrate how the cathedral is more of a collage of architectural styles and leadership than the culmination of a single person’s vision.

5. The gargoyles are not medieval.

It is commonly believed that these chimeras and gargoyles represent the cathedral’s medieval style.

However, the decorative chimeras are not designed to last long, so the Cathedral had to replace nearly all of its gargoyles since the Middle Ages.

Most of them need to be replaced every century or 150 years, depending on how old they are at the time. 

6. Notre Dame de Paris was almost dechristianized. 

Notre Dame was seized and nationalized after the French Revolution in 1789. It was vandalized and many treasures were stolen, including the 28 heads of Biblical Kings.

The cathedral was then  dedicated to the Cult of Reason in 1793.  and then the Cult of the Supreme Being a few years later. This was an attempt at dechristianization by the French Revolutionaries. 

7. Victor Hugo wrote a book to save Notre Dame De Paris. 

Paris officials considered demolishing Notre Dame during the Napoleonic Wars because it had taken such a beating.

Victor Hugo wrote ‘The Hunchback of Notre-Dame’ in 1831 to bring attention to the ancient cathedral and to revive interest in Gothic architecture.

As a result of the book’s success, King Louis Philippe ordered the church’s restoration in 1844.

8. Notre Dame Cathedral is Paris’ “point zero.”

A little plate carved with a compass on the square in front of the church, known as “point zéro des routes de France” (Point Zero of French Roads), displays the starting point for all distances to and from Paris.