NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS

Paris, France 1163 – present

In a city boasting the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum and the Arc de Triomphe, Notredame has nevertheless managed to hold its own. Before it was ravaged by the fire of 15 April 2019, which destroyed its spire and melted the roof, this fine example of Gothic architecture was welcoming 13 million visitors each year, making it Paris’ number one tourist attraction.

The construction of Notre-dame on the Ile de la Cité began in 1163 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and it was completed in 1345. Given this lengthy timeframe, it was a construction project that evolved over the years – the rose windows being added later in the 13th century, for example.

But even when it was thought to be finished, architects added their own stamp over the following centuries. The roof was modified in

1726 by the archbishop of Paris Louis Antoine de Noailles, for instance, and stained glass was removed in 1756 to allow for more light, leaving only the rose windows intact.

The cathedral has also been well-used. It was where Henry VI was crowned king of France, aged 10, in 1431 and where James V, king of Scotland, married Madeleine of Valois in 1537. Pope Pius VII crowned Napoleon Bonaparte emperor there in 1804 while Pope Pius X beatified Joan of Arc in 1909 for her role in the Hundred Years’ War. And yet it’s had its fair share of trouble, not least during the French Revolution of 1787 to 1799 when it was terribly ransacked.

It was Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel, The

Hunchback of Notre-dame, which shone a light on the poor state of the cathedral, leading to its Gothic-sympathetic restoration 10 years later. Dishearteningly, it was then set alight by bombs during World War I. But it’s this cycle of destruction and restoration that has kept this cathedral alive. It will bounce back from the terrible events of 2019, undoubtedly ready for whatever comes next.