Notre-Dame de Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris is one of the French symbols. It’s a medieval Catholic cathedral on the island Cité in Paris, France. Before this cathedral, there were two temples on that place. At first, the temple of Jupiter was on the site of the Cathedral. But after the Roman Emperor Constantine recognized Christianity in the early IV century, the previous temple was destroyed and the St. Stephen's Church was built on this place. In the middle XII century, this church was too small for all believers. Under the King Louis VII and Bishop Maurice de Sully, it was decided to build a new grand cathedral instead of the old church.

The construction of the cathedral started in 1163 and finished in 1345. On its appearance worked more than a dozen famous architects, but the greatest contribution in creating the Cathedral was made by Jean de Chelles and Pierre de Montreuil.

About two centuries were spent for the constructing of Notre-Dame de Paris. When the constructing was started, there was the Roman style in architecture. But then this style was change to Gothic style. It is the reason why the cathedral has two different styles in its appearance.

The cathedral became the center for the most important events in France. On 18 August 1572, the Cathedral hosted the wedding of Margaret of Valois with Henry of Navarre. But Henry could not come into the cathedral because he was a Huguenot. So he was outside during the whole ceremony, and his bride tried to remember everything to tell him later. 6 days later after the wedding, all Huguenots were killed by Catholics.

Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned in Notre Dame Cathedral on 2 December 1804.

In the XVII century during the reign of Louis XIV, the tomb and the stained glass windows of the Cathedral were destroyed. During the French revolution, the Cathedral bells were melted into the cannons, tombs and tombstones were transfused into bullets and the cartels.

‘The Hunchback of Notre-Dame’ by Victor Hugo saved the cathedral. After this novel was published in 1831, the cathedral became an attention center of government. In 1832 a commission was established to restore the building.

There are many legends about the cathedral. One of them is about the cathedral gates. They are so beautiful that it’s really hard to believe that they were made by a human. According to a legend, the author of the gates was a smith Biscornu. He was so afraid to make his work badly. So he promised his soul to the Devil if the Devil helps him to make the gates.

There are some legends about the cathedral chimeras. They are considered as guards of Notre-Dame for a long time. According to a legend, they come to life at night, walk around the cathedral, and protect it. Actually, according to the creators of the Cathedral, the Chimeras represent human nature and the variety of moods, from melancholy to anger, from smiles to tears. They were so humanized that became to look like living creatures. There is a story that if you look at them for a long time, they will come to life.