Notre Dame de Paris

One of the most common destinations for visitors to Paris is the Notre Dame de Paris, a Roman Catholic cathedral situated on one of the islands at the centre of Paris,  Ile de la Cite. We took the opportunity to visit it one Sunday in January.

Notre Dame is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in France and Europe. It is an actively  functioning church with many mass and vespers services being held there every week.

Construction began on the cathedral in 1163. The North Tower of the west facade which you see in this photo on the left, was completed in 1240 and the South Tower was completed in 1250. However, the entire building was not completed until  around 1345. By then numerous architects had been involved in the work on the site. This accounts for the variation in architectural styles that can be seen in the building.

David and I found the entrance portals to be one of the most fascinating parts of the exterior. There are three arches and each is crammed full of sculptures – all with specific meanings.

The arch on the left is the Portal of the Virgin; the one in the centre is the Portal of the Last Judgment and the one on the right is the Portal of Saint Anne.

The picture on the left shows the Portal of the Last Judgment.

The section immediately above the door depicts the dead being raised from the dead. Above that, the archangel Michael is judging each soul to see whether they go to Heaven (the line on the left) or to hell where they are lead by a devil on the right side.

Immediately to the left and right of the doors, you can see the 12 apostles – 6 on each side. Christ is shown in the centre between the doors.

We entered through the Portal of the Virgin which depicts the death of Mary and her Ascension into Heaven.

Despite its slightly more positive theme, this portal also has its own gruesome figures. The photo on the right shows the four life-size figures that were to the left of the door. They are Emporer Constantine, an angel, Saint Denis holding his head and another angel. Check out the amazing gargoyle-like figures below the statues. I just love the reassuring nature of this religious art!

Of course, once you are inside the cathedral the real beauty appears. There is nothing like the glow and colour that stained glass windows bring to these stone interiors.

David and I were also intrigued by the flying buttresses on the exterior of the cathedral at back.

Flying buttresses are arched supports used to hold walls up when the construction begins to get too high. Notre Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the buttresses.

The building was not originally supposed to have these supports, but as the thin walls (in the Gothic style) grew higher, stress fractures began to appear as the walls pushed outwards. As a result, the flying buttresses were added to counteract that outward push.

Another architectural element that is always so beautiful in Gothic churches is the rose window, named for the flower. Round windows have been used in architecture since Roman times, but they are particularly characteristic of the Gothic cathedrals of Northern France.

This photo shows the beauty of the form of Notre Dame de Paris’s rose window from the exterior.

However, the true glory of a rose window must be seen from inside to be fully appreciated, and we were able to enjoy this beauty as you can see below. Despite the fact that there was a service going on, visitors were allowed to circulate around the outside edges of the church.

It was a beautiful opportunity to enjoy hearing the music in the cathedral as well as seeing the architectural beauty!