6 Place du Paris-Notre-Dame
Tel. 01-42 34 56 10
Subway:
Cite
Busses: 21, 38, 85, 96
Open: 7:45am-6:45pm daily
(Treasury: 10am-6:45pm daily; towers: 9:30- 6:45 pm daily)
Service:
Mon-Fri
Sat
Sun
8am, 9am, 12pm, 6:15
8am, 9am, 12pm, 6:30
8:30, 10am, 11:30am, 12:45pm, 6:30
The Roman Catholic Church of Notre-Dame de Paris (German "Our Lady
of Paris") is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris. The church,
under the patronage of Our Lady, i.e. the Blessed Virgin Mary, was
built between 1163 and 1345, making it one of the earliest Gothic
church buildings in France. Its name in French is Cathédrale
Notre-Dame de Paris (Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris), often just
Notre-Dame. Its characteristic silhouette rises in the historic
center of Paris on the eastern tip of the Île de la Cité in Paris'
4th arrondissement.
The church is oriented with the main axis
roughly parallel to the near left bank of the right arm of the
Seine, thus the apse with the altar points in a direction about 30
degrees south than east. The towers, which stand symmetrically on
either side of the other branch of the main axis, are often referred
to collectively as the west towers, and locally as the north and
south towers.
The two towers made of natural stone are 69
meters high. The interior of the nave is 130 meters long, 48 meters
wide and 35 meters high; it can accommodate up to 10,000 people. The
slender wooden ridge turret reached a height of 93 meters and also
served as a 5th order survey point.
Victor Hugo's 1831
historical novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, much of which takes
place inside the building, made its way into world literature.
The cathedral suffered severe damage in a major fire on April
15, 2019. On July 16, 2019, the French Parliament approved the
faithful reconstruction of Notre-Dame.
The construction of today's cathedral began at the time of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic and lasted nearly 200 years. It is characterized by the fact that the choir began in a largely Romanesque style, as construction progressed towards the west, more and more technical possibilities and Gothic stylistic devices were used, after eight and a half decades the building was as good as finished and the next century with a Gothic style Remodeling, expansion and equipment of older components passed.
The cathedral replaced a previous building that was built under the reign of the Frankish King Childebert I (king from 511 to 558) around 540/550 and was known as the Cathédrale St. Etienne (St. Stephen's Cathedral). This makes its location - after that of the Panthéon and a burial chapel mentioned by Gregory of Tours at the then necropolis of Saint-Marcel - one of the oldest known Christian places of worship within today's Paris city limits.
The construction of the chancel and its two galleries began in 1163
under Bishop Maurice de Sully and Louis VII. After completion, the choir
was consecrated in 1182.
In the second construction phase, the
middle third of the church building was set up by 1190, consisting of
the crossing with the transept, the three bays of the nave in front of
it and two bays each of the two northern and two southern aisles. The
church initially had no termination to the west.
In the third
phase of construction from 1190 to 1225, the lower floors of the west
facade and the front third of the nave were built, consisting of the
foremost bay of the nave with the lower floors of the towers in front of
the side aisles and the second bay of the nave with the first two bays
of all four aisles. The first 18 years of this were spent laying the
foundations. From 1208 the ground floor of the west facade with the
three large portals was bricked up and decorated. From 1218 the tower
bays of the nave were raised, which were needed for the stability of the
facade. Around 1220 there was a fire in the eastern parts of the
building. During the subsequent restoration, there were some changes
that determined the current shape of the chancel and nave.
In the
19th century, Viollet-le Duc attempted to explore the original condition
and incorporate it into his restoration measures. He found indications
that the choir lofts had initially had pent roofs, and on the south side
of the second nave bay the remains of a round opening. Due to its
reconstruction, the clerestory adjacent to the transept are now smaller
than the others and early Gothic without tracery. The round windows
below are inspired by the findings from the second nave bay, but should
not be misunderstood as a reconstruction of early Gothic windows, but
are to be understood as glazed reconstructions of original unglazed
triforium openings.
The rose storey of the tower front with the
western rose window was built somewhat more quickly between 1220 and
1225. With this, the church was built in its entire length, apart from
the open storeys of the towers. The rose window already has a fully
developed tracery, the neighboring coupled windows in the towers consist
of early Gothic pointed arch windows without tracery, but between the
peaks there are round screens with mullions.
During the fourth
construction phase from 1225 to 1250, the tower floors were built.
Changes to the construction plan and the first conversions are
documented from this period. Chapels were added to the side aisles
between the buttresses. After the completion of the south tower in 1240,
it was decided in the same year not to add tops to the towers. With the
completion of the north tower in 1250, the cathedral was effectively
complete and functional.
In the meantime, people took offense at the early Gothic forms of the
parts built before the renovation carried out from 1220, such as the
facades of the transept. Therefore, the transept was partially
demolished and extended by Jean de Chelles from 1250 to the north and
then to the south. He also created the new, high Gothic north facade of
the transept.
Its new southern facade was created by his
successor, Pierre de Montreuil, who was also involved in the
construction of the Sainte-Chapelle. He then began replacing the choir's
buttresses with sturdier and more elegant ones. Therefore, today only
the west facade is early Gothic, and, little noticed, the lateral outer
walls of the choir gallery. The next master builder, Pierre de Chelles,
erected the rood screen and in 1296 began to provide the double
ambulatory with a ring of chapels.
Jean Ravy was master builder
from 1318 to 1344. He completed the last side chapels of the ambulatory
and built the most elegant buttresses of the choir. Inside, he began
designing the choir screens. His nephew Jean le Bouteiller directed the
work from 1344 to 1363.
His successor, Raymond du Temple,
completed the construction work. Above all, he completed the choir
screens.
In the Age of Enlightenment, in 1728, the stained glass windows were
replaced with white glass windows and the walls were whitewashed. In the
decades that followed, most of the figures on the towers were removed.
In 1793, the supporters of the revolution stormed the church and
destroyed the interior, the metal parts of which were melted down in the
Hôtel des Monnaies. Unlike many French monasteries, the church was not
demolished, but desecrated and declared a temple to the supreme being,
reason. Later it served as a wine depot.
After signing the
Concordat of 1801, Napoleon I allowed the cathedral to be used again for
liturgical purposes in 1802, before crowning himself Emperor here two
years later. On February 27, 1805, Pope Pius VII elevated the church to
the first French minor basilica. But even that could not stop the
decline started by the revolution. In addition, during the July
Revolution of 1830, insurgents devastated the archbishop's palace and
treasury adjoining the church.
In 1905, like almost all French
religious buildings, the building became state property through the law
separating church and state.
It was Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame that
brought the beauty of the building back into focus, contributing to the
decision taken in 1844 for a major restoration campaign led by Eugène
Viollet-le-Duc, which was not completed until twenty years later came.
Among other things, the damaged or missing sculptures were replaced and
a new crossing tower, resembling a high turret, made of lead-clad wood
was erected. In 1858, as part of the restoration of the archbishop's
burial chamber, more graves were uncovered.
In the 1990s the
tower front was cleaned.
Due to the poor condition of the
cathedral recently, another major restoration was planned for 2019 to
2022. The repair work started in April 2019.
On the evening of April 15, 2019, a major fire broke out in the
cathedral, which was brought under control in the early morning of the
following day. Large parts of the oak roof truss burned, the wooden
crossing tower collapsed and the vault of the nave was breached in at
least two places. However, numerous art treasures and relics could be
saved.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced the same
evening that the partially destroyed building would be rebuilt. The
reconstruction should take place within five years. In September 2020,
the crypt opened its doors to visitors again. This archeological zone
under the cathedral has existed since 1980 and was visited by 13 million
people a year before the fire.
The construction of the west facade began 45 years after the
consecration of the choir. It was completed around 1250. Its balanced
relationship between vertical and horizontal is actually atypical for
the Gothic period. The facades of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, completed
in 1137, and that of the Cathedral of Laon (1190), although they have
many more Romanesque details, are already more vertical.
The
proportions of the facade are based on the arrangement of squares that
are interlocked. This creates a rectangle with an aspect ratio of around
2:3. This was how St Augustine's ideal was to be realized: an
architecture whose proportions were based on musical consonances, which
in turn reflect the harmonious order of the universe. The central portal
is only slightly emphasized compared to the side portals.
Overall, the facade is designed according to the principle of the golden
ratio and has the characteristics of the golden triangle and the golden
rectangle.
The King's Gallery is an innovation in terms of
subject matter, for example the west facade of Notre-Dame-la-Grande in
Poitiers, built around 1130, has a two-story gallery of saints. The
King's Gallery symbolizes the close connection between church and
monarchy. The 28 figures represent the kings of Judah. As early as the
13th century, people thought they were the kings of France. This series
of larger-than-life royal statues was adopted in some of the most
important cathedrals after Paris, such as Reims and Amiens. However, the
royal figures of the Paris Cathedral are all modern replacements. Like
many works of art in Notre-Dame, their originals – which for the people
generally represented the claim to power of the French kings – were
destroyed during the French Revolution. The figures were replaced by
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc during restoration work from 1845. Two of the
royal figures show the facial features of Viollet-le-Duc and
Jean-Baptiste Lassus. In 1977, 21 of the 28 original heads were
rediscovered. They are now on display in the Musée national du Moyen
Âge.
Notre-Dame has significant figural portals on both the west
facade and the transepts. The three portals of the west facade were
extensively restored in the 19th century and only a small part of the
original substance is left. When Notre-Dame was converted into a temple
of reason in the course of the French Revolution, most of the depictions
were destroyed or badly damaged. However, since the original program and
appearance were known, the restorers have largely kept to the medieval
condition.
The northern of the three western portals, the Portail
de la Vierge, is the oldest. It was built around 1200 and is dedicated
to the Virgin Mary. In the tympanum, the gable above the portal, the
so-called Coronation of Mary is shown. The lintel below shows Mary
raised from the dead by Christ, being lifted from her coffin by two
angels in the presence of the 12 apostles. The lowest part shows
representations of prophets.
The central west portal, the Portail
du Jugement dernier, was built a little later than the Portal de la
Vierge. Depictions of the Last Judgment were widespread in medieval
Gothic and can also be found on the portals of other important
cathedrals. At the top of the tympanum, Christ is depicted as the judge
of the world. Directly below Christ is an angel with a scale weighing
the souls of the deceased. Immediately beside him is a devil who is
arguing with the angel about which dead go to hell (to the devil's
right) and which to heaven (to the left of the angel).
The
southern side portal, the Portail Sainte-Anne (about 1230), is the
youngest of the three western portals, but has the oldest elements; they
date from the 12th century and were used for the tympanum and a lintel.
It is named after Saint Anne and also corresponds thematically to the
Portail de la Vierge on the other side. In the center of the tympanum,
the Virgin Mary is shown enthroned, holding the blessing Child Jesus on
her lap.
The buttresses from 1180/1200 are considered to be a crucial
invention in the history of Gothic architecture, which was initially
attributed to the master builders of Notre-Dame, Pierre de Montreuil and
Jean de Chelles. So far, it is not certain on which structure the open
buttress structure was used for the first time. Subsequent enlargements
of the window zones, structural damage or restorations have obscured the
original condition of many earlier buttresses. In Paris, the struts were
initially installed under the gallery roofs.
Between 1160 and
1180 the first flying buttresses rising above the aisle roofs were
built, possibly not at Notre-Dame but a few hundred meters further at
St. Germain-des-Prés. Although the Gothic construction of Notre-Dame as
a whole was not begun until later, the flying buttresses here were
improved after 1225.
The famous gargoyles of the "Galerie des Chimères", which look down
on the city from the upper balustrade (see also drollery), have always
had an apotropaic meaning, i.e. they were supposed to ward off evil
magic. The monsters of all kinds are a special feature of Romanesque
art. In the 13th century their depiction in preferred places such as the
portals declined noticeably, probably due to the strong influence of the
Cistercian monks. In the Gothic period, the strange mythical creatures
were only attached to the rain gargoyles.
The original gargoyles
were removed in the 18th century when some began to crumble from the
elements and fell 60 meters to the pavement. The figures are now copies
or new creations from the 19th century and influenced by the novel by
Victor Hugo. You can clearly see this up close by the concrete character
of the material.
Notre-Dame is not the last great cathedral in France to be started in
the early Gothic style. This was followed by the cathedral of Soissons
(galleries only in the south transept), and the cathedrals of Bourges
and Tours without any galleries. Outside of France, Magdeburg Cathedral
was begun in 1209 as an early Gothic gallery basilica, but it was
completed in High Gothic style and in the nave without galleries.
The five-nave interior of Notre-Dame is almost 130 meters long and
can accommodate around 9,000 people. The central nave is 32.5 meters
high. However, looking east into the choir does not show the original
picture from the 12th century, because when the original choir was
completed in 1182 there was no tracery. The interior has also undergone
radical changes between the first and final completion. He didn't even
have a vault at first. However, it was not uncommon for a church to be
vaulted several years after it was commissioned.
The nave
originally had a four-storey wall elevation with a triforium as in Noyon
and Laon Cathedrals. However, since the interior was too dark with the
clerestory beginning at a great height, this was changed from 1220 to a
three-storey wall structure with a tracery storey in the clerestory
based on the model of Reims.
At one point - around the crossing -
Viollet-le-Duc reversed the change in the 19th century in order to
document the original condition at least here. What appears to be a
break in style in the shape of the building today can be explained by
the intentions to preserve monuments that began at that time, which had
not existed in previous centuries.
The arcades to the side aisles
are supported by round columns with Corinthian capitals, typical of
early French Gothic. The services characteristic of Gothic in general
begin on the cover plates of these capitals. In the arcades between the
inner and outer aisles, columns and pillars of services alternate with
each other. The pilasters between and pillars in front of the chapels
are cross pillars with services in front. In a nationwide comparison,
unstructured columns can be found in all phases of the Gothic period.
Conversely, some Romanesque churches, such as the Sacré-Cœur in
Paray-le-Monial, already have pillars with services.
The central
nave and transept of the Paris Cathedral are 32 meters taller than the
side aisles, and at over 12 meters about twice as wide. In order to give
each bay an almost square aspect ratio on the one hand, and on the other
hand to lead all services to the apex, one main nave bay corresponds to
two side nave bays in the longitudinal direction, is supported on six
columns and has six fields. The inner bays of the transepts separating
the side aisles from the ambulatory are designed in the same way, as are
the two front main aisle bays of the choir. The last main nave bay of
the choir with the polygonal apse has an eight-bay umbrella vault. Of
course, the vault of the crossing only has four fields, as do the
transversely rectangular outer bays of the transepts, which were only
built in the expansion phase.
The floor plan shows the unusual shape of the choir of Notre-Dame.
The ambulatory and ring of chapels actually only continue the side
aisles of the nave and encircle the choir with mathematical precision.
In 1330 the choir chapels were added, so that the cathedral appeared to
have seven naves and the transept in the middle was hardly noticeable.
In order to allow the transept to protrude beyond the chapel walls,
the old transept facade was demolished as early as 1267 and this
component was extended by a yoke on both sides and provided with a new
facade, which was now so artistically and elaborately designed that it
no longer in danger of being lost in the rest of the building. The new,
huge windows are the finest tracery. They are among the best and most
beautiful in the field.
The style of tracery windows is generally
referred to in art history as High Gothic. In France, however, a classic
Gothic (from 1185) beginning before the tracery is distinguished from
the rayonnant (radiant) style that then prevailed from 1231 to 1380. The
transept facade of Notre-Dame in Paris is also one of the first and most
important of this style.
Starting the construction of churches with the sanctuary or choir and
consecrating it, i.e. handing it over to its function long before the
other parts were completed, was the usual procedure at a time when
worship was primarily conceived as the service of the priests to God
became. Some churches from the Middle Ages still consist only of what
was once supposed to be the choir. However, the fact that the
modernization of older parts began as soon as the original plan was
reasonably complete is seldom as clear as in the case of Notre-Dame
Cathedral in Paris. However, in contrast to most other church buildings,
the financial resources available here were hardly limited.
The
Gothic architectural style developed in the context of the French royal
court. Nevertheless, it is not surprising that the capital's cathedral
was not the first great Gothic church, but the Saint-Denis Abbey Church.
Paris was not yet the country's pre-eminent metropolis. As the burial
place of the kings, the abbey church had a leading position among the
places of worship in the kingdom. France was not yet governed in an
absolutist manner, as it was under Louis XIV. Apart from royal donors,
the builders of the large churches were high officials of the church.
When and where architectural innovations were introduced depended not
insignificantly on their ambitions. These powerful churchmen included
Suger of Saint-Denis, Abbot 1122–1151, and Maurice de Sully, Bishop of
Paris 1160–1196.
Of the former high altar in the choir, which was renewed several
times - most recently by Viollet-le-Duc - only the canteen has survived,
above which a marble Pietà by Nicolas Coustou rises. It is flanked by
two marble sculptures: on the left Louis XIV of Coysevox, on the right
Louis XIII. by Guillaume Coustou, both kneeling.
Jean Touret
(1916–2004) designed today's bronze folk altar, which stands in the area
of the crossing, in 1989[15] on behalf of the Archbishop of Paris,
Cardinal Jean-Marie Funeral. The four evangelists of the New Testament
(Mark, Matthew, Luke, John) can be seen on the front side in a modern,
abstract way, and the four great prophets of the Old Testament (Isaiah,
Jeremiah Ezekiel, and Daniel) on the two short sides. Judaism and
Christianity, the Old and New Testaments are placed in a direct
connection here. In connection with Christian prefiguration theology,
the Old Testament is interpreted as pointing towards Christ: Jesus
Christ is to be presented as the fulfiller of the Old Testament Jewish
promise of salvation, of which the evangelists bear witness:
According to the testimony of the Bible, Isaiah saw God in the Holy of
Holies surrounded by six-winged seraphim proclaiming his holiness (Isa
6:1-3 EU), prophesied the promise of the virgin birth of the Messiah
(Isa 7:14 EU) as descendant of David and denounced the atoning death of
the Messiah (Isa 52:13-15 EU to Isa 53:1-12 EU).
In his message,
Jeremiah emphasized the new covenant of peace and justice and announced
the Messiah from the house of David (Jer 23:1-8 EU). For Christian
theologians, the fate of Jesus Christ is announced in the passion of
Jeremiah's life and his submission to the service of God.
Ezekiel's
vision of God with the tetramorph (four forms) (Ezek. 1:4-28 EU) was
taken over by the author of the New Testament apocalypse and the four
winged creatures were interpreted by Christian iconography as symbols of
the evangelists. Ezekiel's announcement of the Messiah as the "Good
Shepherd" is interpreted by Christian theologians as referring to Jesus
(Ez 34:1-31 EU).
Daniel proclaimed that Messiah's kingdom would
include all peoples and be without end. It is a kingdom of saints (Dan
7.13-18 EU, Dan 3.33 EU, Dan 4.31 EU).
See also: Baroque chancel of
Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris
choir screen
The choir screen
separates the inner choir from the ambulatory surrounding it. The
sculptures placed here were created between 1300 and 1350 by Pierre de
Chelles, Jean Ravy and Jean Le Bouteiller and show nine scenes with
apparitions of the Risen Christ in the southern aisle, while the life of
Jesus from infancy to death is depicted in the northern aisle.
Part of the church treasury can be viewed in an extension. In addition to historical chalices and robes, you will find old crucifixes in magnificent cupboards. The two containers designed in the Napoleonic era for the crown of thorns and a nail of the cross are significant. The relics were originally housed in the purpose-built Sainte-Chapelle and are now locked away in the cathedral.
The history of (organ) music in Notre-Dame goes back to the late 11th or early 12th century. The earliest concrete evidence of the existence of an organ dates back to 1357. It was a block structure, which hung as a swallow's nest organ in the nave and was probably built in the middle of the 13th century. Today, Notre-Dame has two organs: the Great Organ, which dates back essentially to an 1868 Cavaillé-Coll organ (using older pipework from the 17th to 19th centuries) and was extensively remodeled several times between 1904 and 2014 and currently includes 115 registers on five manuals and pedal. The two-manual choir organ was built in 1969, repeatedly rebuilt and expanded between 1970 and 2005 and had 30 stops. The choir organ was destroyed in the fire in April 2019.
The history of the Notre-Dame church bells dates back to the 12th
century. Immediately prior to the start of the French Revolution (as of
1769), the cathedral had a total of 20 bells. In 1791 and 1792 a large
part of the bells of the two towers fell victim to the revolution.
Today, 10 bells hang in the two west towers of Notre Dame. Of
particular importance is the largest bell in the south tower, the
Emmanuel, which is said to be the most euphonious bell in France. The
so-called "Grand Bourdon" was cast in 1685 by three wandering casters
from Lorraine and is the only bell that has survived the turmoil of
time.
In 2013, another Bourdon, the so-called "Petit Bourdon"
Marie, was hung in the south tower. A total of eight new bells were hung
in the north tower.
Three small bells from 1867 hung in the
crossing tower until 2019. In addition, three small clockwork bells hung
in the attic of Notre Dame, which were only audible in the interior of
Notre Dame.
In 1905, like almost all French religious buildings, the building
became state property through the law separating church and state. As a
monument (monument historique), the building is under the responsibility
of the Ministry of Culture. Of the 40 to 50 million euros that the
ministry spent annually on religious buildings throughout France, the
Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral benefited from around 2 million euros a
year for maintenance and restoration before 2018. Most of the annual 12
to 14 million visitors visited the church interior for free; the towers,
which require a fee to climb, were visited by 476,000 tourists in 2018.
Even before the great fire, the French state launched a 10-year
program of restoration work totaling 60 million euros, for which
extensive donations were to be raised, which the state promised to
supplement with special contributions. In this context, the cost of the
renovation of the spire above the crossing, carried out before the great
fire, was estimated at 12 million euros, of which the state raised 4
million euros.
The usual operating costs are borne by the
Catholic Church, to which the state has made the building available for
religious use. They also amount to several million euros per year
(before the 2019 fire). In winter alone, the heating cost around 1,000
euros a day. About 50 employees are employed to maintain operations;
there are also dozens of volunteers. The church's source of income
includes the souvenir and devotional shop in the cathedral, the proceeds
of which go to it. For example, 80,000 rosaries alone were sold there
each year before the great fire.
Although the Church and State
Separation Act of 1905 prohibits charging to visit cathedrals in France,
an exception was made in 2006 specifically for Notre-Dame de Paris. For
example, (until the great fire of 2019) visitors had to pay to view the
church treasury and the towers, the former under the responsibility of
the Association Maurice de Sully, which is close to the church, and the
latter by the state monument preservation institution Center des
monuments nationaux. The proceeds went to the organization responsible
for the organization. In addition, an association for church music, the
Association Musique sacrée à Notre-Dame, organized weekly concerts for a
fee and entertained church choirs for children and adults. So far
(before the fire in 2019), the clergy have resisted abolishing free
access to the nave.
The Notre-Dame School, which was in operation from around 1160 to 1250, is significant in terms of music history. Its name derives from the Paris cathedral church, where the two main representatives of the composition school, Léonin and Pérotin, worked as masters.
The history of Notre-Dame reflects the history of France.
Buried in the cathedral were:
1161: Philip of France († 1161),
dean of St. Martin de Tours, archdeacon of Paris
1190: Isabella of
Hainaut (Isabelle de Hainaut, * 1170; † March 15, 1190), first wife of
King Philippe-Auguste, died giving birth to the twins named below, aged
20
1190: Philip of France (March 15, 1190 – March 18, 1190), son of
King Philippe-Auguste and his wife Isabella of Hainaut, aged 3 days
1190 Robert of France (March 15, 1190 – March 18, 1190), twin brother of
aforementioned, aged 3 days
1415: Louis of Valois, Duke of Guyenne (*
January 22, 1397 in Paris; † December 18, 1415 there), son of King
Charles VI. and his wife Isabeau, aged 18
1531: the heart of Louise
of Savoy, Countess of Angoulême (September 11, 1476 - September 22,
1531), mother of King Francis I.
1654: Jean-François de Gondi (1584 -
21 March 1654 in Paris), first Archbishop of Paris
1643: the entrails
of King Louis XIII; the heart burial took place in the Couvent des
Grands-Jésuites monastery (Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis church)
1643: Jean
Baptiste Budes de Guébriant (* 1602 in Plessis-Budes, † November 24,
1643 in Rottweil) was a Marshal of France.
1659: Renée Crespin du Bec
de Vardes (1613 – 2 September 1659 in Périgueux), wife of Marshal
Guébriant and first French diplomat
1715: the entrails of King Louis
XIV; the heart burial took place in the church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis
of the Jesuit monastery Maison professe de Paris (also called Couvent
des Grands-Jésuites) in the Rue St. Antoine.
1807: Napoléon Charles
Bonaparte (October 10, 1802 in Paris – † May 4, 1807 in The Hague) son
of Hortense and Louis Bonaparte, Queen and King of Holland, nephew of
Napoléon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, and grandson Joséphine de
Beauharnais , Empress of the French
1808: Jean-Baptiste de Belloy
(October 9, 1709 in Morangles, Dép. Oise; † June 10, 1808 in Paris),
Archbishop of Paris and Cardinal
1840: Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen,
Archbishop of Paris 1821-1839, tomb in the Saint-Marcel chapel
While the French kings were traditionally crowned in the Notre-Dame
Cathedral in Reims, the ten-year-old English king Henry VI. crowned King
of France at Notre-Dame de Paris in 1431 during the Hundred Years' War.
Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of the French on December 2,
1804 in the presence of Pope Pius VII. He crowned his wife Joséphine
Empress.
1558: Marriage of the future King Francis II and the young Mary
Stuart
1572: marriage of the future King Henry IV and Margaret of
Valois; the blessing took place under the portal, since the reformed
bridegroom did not want to enter the cathedral and consequently did not
take part in the bridal mass that was held inside afterwards. The
magistrates of the Parlement de Paris stayed far away from the ceremony,
categorically rejecting such a mixed-denominational connection, for
which incidentally no dispensation had yet been granted.
1816:
Marriage of Charles-Ferdinand, Duke of Berry (son of the future Charles
X) and Maria Carolina of Naples-Sicily
1853: Wedding of Napoleon III.
with Eugenie de Montijo
1200: Confirmation of the Rite of Elevation of the Eucharistic
Elements by the Bishop of Paris, Odo de Sully
1239: temporary storage
of the crown of thorns by Louis IX. until the completion of the
Sainte-Chapelle.
1246: First celebration of the feast of Corpus
Christi (Fête Dieu/Voir Dieu)
1302: First convening of the
States-General by Philip IV the Handsome.
1455: Opening of the
revision process for Joan of Arc.
1638: Consecration of King Louis
XIII. of himself and of France to the Virgin and Mother of God Mary and
establishment of the patron saint procession of the cathedral on the
Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary.
1789: On July 15, the capture of
the Bastille was celebrated with a solemn Te Deum.
1793: Closing of
the Cathedral for Christian worship from November 7th
1793:
Consecration of the former Marienkirche on November 10th to the goddess
of reason (Déesse Raison) on a boulder dedicated to philosophy as a new
altar
1795: Reintroduction of the patronal feast of the Assumption of
Mary on August 15, but only for the constitutional clergy who had sworn
the constitutional oath to the republic
1802: Transfer of the
Cathedral to the Catholic Church on April 18, following the concordat
between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII.
1918: State act on November 17 at
the end of the First World War
1929: State ceremony for Ferdinand
Foch (Maréchal Foch).
1931: State ceremony for Joseph Joffre
(Maréchal Joffre).
1934: National memorial service for President
Raymond Poincaré.
1944: General Dietrich von Choltitz prevented the
demolition of numerous Parisian buildings planned before the German
occupation troops left Paris.
1944: Celebration of the liberation of
the city of Paris on August 26 under the patronage of Charles de Gaulle
and Jacques-Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque
1945: State act on May
9th at the end of the Second World War
1947: State ceremony for
Jacques-Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (Maréchal Leclerc).
1952:
State ceremony for Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (Maréchal de Lattre de
Tassigny).
1955: State ceremony for Paul Claudel.
1963:
Commemoration of the 800th anniversary of the founding of the cathedral
1967: State ceremony for Alphonse Juin (Maréchal Juin).
1970:
National memorial service for President Charles de Gaulle.
1974:
National memorial service for President Georges Pompidou.
1980: Visit
of Pope John Paul II.
1996: National memorial service for President
François Mitterrand.
1997: Pope John Paul II visits again.
2004:
Memorial service for the victims of Flash Airlines Flight 604.
2007:
Requiem for Abbé Pierre.
2008: Visit of Pope Benedict XVI.
2008:
Requiem for Soeur Emmanuelle.
2009: Ecumenical memorial service for
the victims of Air France Flight 447.
2013: Public suicide of French
right-wing extremist Dominique Venner in front of around 1,500 visitors
in protest against the introduction of same-sex marriage in France
2015: Mass honoring the victims of the terrorist attacks of November 13,
2015 in Paris.
2016: Islamist terrorists attempted to attack the
cathedral, but were prevented. One of those involved, Enis Madani, was
therefore sentenced to eight years in prison.
2019: During a
devastating major fire, the roof truss burned out and the crossing tower
collapsed.
On September 3, 2006, the square in front of the Cathedral, Parvis de
Notre-Dame, was solemnly renamed Parvis de Notre-Dame – place Jean Paul
II, due to the great historical contribution of Pope John Paul II. Paris
Mayor Bertrand Delanoë pushed this through in the city parliament in
April 2006 despite violent protests from opposition political groups,
Les Verts, who pointed to the preservation of the principle of
secularism in the state.
France's kilomètre zéro (kilometer
zero), the reference point for the distances of the motorways leading to
Paris, is in the square in front of the cathedral.
The forecourt
has been closed to the public since the fire in April 2019. So far,
there is no telling when it will be open to the public again.
Victor Hugo (1802-1885) wrote the historical novel Notre-Dame de
Paris in 1831, German translation under the title The Hunchback of
Notre-Dame. Among the many film adaptations, Jean Delannoy's The
Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956) starring Anthony Quinn and Gina
Lollobrigida is one of the best known. Unlike other film adaptations, it
was actually shot at the original location.
The Austrian composer
Franz Schmidt wrote the opera Notre Dame based on the novel by Victor
Hugo in the years 1902-1904.
Christine Le Goff, Gary Glassman
(Director): Cathedrals - Marvels of the Gothic. Fri, 2010, 81 min.
(Compared to Beauvais and Amiens)
Isabelle Julien: The organ of the
Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral. Fri, 2015, 53 min. (Guided tour through
the parts of the organ. In the 19th century it was largely rebuilt by
the organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. The building history is
explained and made audible at the console. In the arte france program
about the Organist Olivier Latry and the organ builder Philippe Guyonnet
can also experience historical recordings of earlier organists and see
many impressions of the interior.)
The cathedral is mentioned and modeled in some video games,
especially those taking place in Paris. It is sometimes the scene of a
mission or a quest.
in Timesplitters 2 (2002), the player
embodies a temporal soldier and finds himself in the cathedral in 1895,
to stop an army of undead;
in Civilization IV (2005) and Civilization
V (2010), the cathedral is considered a "wonder", which provides
benefits to the first player who builds it in the game;
in The
Saboteur (2009), the cathedral is the focal point of the game area which
depicts Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II;
in Remember Me
(2013), the cathedral is visible at certain points in the game (without
being able to be explored) in the middle of a neo-futuristic Paris in
2084;
in Assassin's Creed Unity (2014), set during the Revolution,
the player can climb and virtually visit Notre-Dame de Paris. It took
two years to model the cathedral. However, it is not an exact
reconstruction and some stained glass windows or various elements,
protected against reproduction, have been redesigned;
in Eagle Flight
(2016), the player embodies in virtual reality an eagle in subjective
view in a Paris that nature has reconquered, without human presence. It
is possible to fly inside the cathedral;
in Forge of Empires;
in
Overwatch (2016), added as part of the February 2019 update, the Paris
map allows the player to observe the cathedral in the background.
in
Minecraft (2008), the cathedral is built (last updated in 2020) from the
outside, with the inside left empty;
in Age of Empires IV (2021), the
cathedral is considered a "marvel" with French civilization.
The site is served by line B and line C of the RER at Saint-Michel - Notre-Dame station, by metro line 4 at Saint-Michel and Cité stations, by metro line 10 at Cluny station - The Sorbonne as well as by eleven bus lines (21, 27, 38, 47, 63, 67, 86, 87, 96).