Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. It’s among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. Notre Dame de Paris is french for “Our Lady of Paris”. Notre Dame is known for housing Catholicism’s most important relics, including the “Crown of Thorns”, a fragment of the True Cross and one of the Holy Nails. Construction began in 1160, when the cornerstone was laid. Work went on and the remaining elements were completed between 1250 and 1345.
I visit Notre Dame every time I go to Paris. It’s amazing to look at the front of the building and see all of the details in the sculptures that adorn the church. You’re allowed to go inside but the line can be very long. The first year I went to Paris, I went inside but didn’t take any pictures out of respect. You’re also allowed to go up on an upper level and walk out on a small balcony. I didn’t go up to this level but I plan to on my next visit to Paris. The picture below only shows a small part of the sculptures on the front of the church. They are about five and a half to six feet tall.
In the 1790’s, Notre Dame was desecrated during the French Revolution and much of its’ religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. A restoration began in 1845 and another restoration and maintenance project began in 1991. The picture below was a selfie I took during one of my winter trips. If you look on the left side of the picture, you can see the scaffolding on the side of Notre Dame. This was during the restoration period that started in 1991.
When thinking of Paris, you can’t help but think of Notre Dame right along with the Eiffel Tower. Paris is one of my most favorite places to visit and I love seeing all of the monuments and historical places every time I go, even though I’ve seen them before.
I hope you have enjoyed reading about Notre Dame.
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Spider Michaels