Everything you need to know about the iconic Norte-Dame de Paris before in burned to ashes

Structure Review

📍Paris 🇫🇷 🥖

By Madhurantakam - Norte Dam de Paris

General Information ℹ️

Location: Parvis Notre-Dame – place Jean-Paul-II, Paris, France 🇫🇷

Architect: Style: French Gothic

Construction Dates: 1163–1345

Website: www.notredamedeparis.fr

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Dennis Jarvis, Julie Anne Workman, Peter Haas

Architectural Insight

The Île-de-la-Cité on which Notre-Dame de Paris now stands was once a Gallo-Roman city known as Lutetia. The cathedral has been built right over remnants of a temple. Around 1710, pieces of a sculpted altar dedicated to Jupiter and other deities were discovered during an excavation under the choir.

Cross-section of the double supporting arches and buttresses of the nave, drawn by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc as they would have appeared from 1220 to 1230.

At first glance, Notre-Dame’s two towers appear like identical twins. Closer examination reveals that the north tower is, in fact, a bit bigger than the south.

As with all the elements of the cathedral, they were built over time, and reflect how the cathedral is more of a collage of architectural trends and leadership than the culmination of one person’s vision.

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