Notre-Dame de Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris
South façade and the nave of Notre-Dame in 2017, two years before the fire
48°51′11″N 2°20′59″E / 48.8530°N 2.3498°E / 48.8530; 2.3498
Location	Parvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul-II, Paris
Country	France
Denomination	Catholic Church
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Website	www.notredamedeparis.fr
History
Former name(s)	Replaced the Cathedral of Etienne
Status	Cathedral, minor basilica
Founded	24 March 1163 to 25 April 1163 (laying of the cornerstone)
Founder(s)	Maurice de Sully
Consecrated	19 May 1182 (high altar)
Relics held	Crown of Thorns, a nail from the Cross, and a sliver of the Cross
Architecture
Functional status	Closed/Under renovation after the 2019 fire
Architectural type	Gothic
Style	French Gothic
Years built	1163–1345
Groundbreaking	1163 (1163)
Completed	1345
Specifications
Length	128 m (420 ft)
Width	48 m (157 ft)
Nave height	35 metres (115 ft)[1]
Number of towers	2
Tower height	69 m (226 ft)
Number of spires	1 (the third, completed 16 December 2023)[2]
Spire height	96 m (315 ft)
Materials	Limestone
Bells	10 (bronze)
Administration
Archdiocese	Paris
Clergy
Archbishop	Laurent Ulrich
Rector	Olivier Ribadeau Dumas
Laity
Director of music	Sylvain Dieudonné[3]
Organist(s)	Philippe Lefebvre (since 1985); Olivier Latry (since 1985); and Vincent Dubois [de; fr; ko] (since 2016)
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	I, II, III
Designated	1991
Part of	Paris, Banks of the Seine
Reference no.	600
Monument historique
Official name	Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris
Type	Cathédrale
Designated	1862[4]
Reference no.	PA00086250

Notre-Dame de Paris (French: [nɔtʁ(ə) dam də paʁi] ^ⓘ; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame,^[a] is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. The cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Several attributes set it apart from the earlier Romanesque style, particularly its pioneering use of the rib vault and flying buttress, its enormous and colourful rose windows, and the naturalism and abundance of its sculptural decoration.^[5] Notre-Dame also stands out for its three pipe organs (one historic) and its immense church bells.^[6]

Built during the medieval era, construction of the cathedral began in 1163 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely completed by 1260, though it was modified in succeeding centuries. In the 1790s, during the French Revolution, Notre-Dame suffered extensive desecration; much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. In the 19th century, the coronation of Napoleon and the funerals of many of the French Republic's presidents took place at the cathedral. The 1831 publication of Victor Hugo's novel Notre-Dame de Paris (in English: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame) inspired interest which led to restoration between 1844 and 1864, supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. On 26 August 1944, the Liberation of Paris from German occupation was celebrated in Notre-Dame with the singing of the Magnificat. Beginning in 1963, the cathedral's façade was cleaned of soot and grime. Another cleaning and restoration project was carried out between 1991 and 2000.^[7] A fire in April 2019 caused serious damage and forced the cathedral to close for a number of years; it is planned to reopen on 8 December 2024.

The cathedral is a widely recognized symbol of the city of Paris and the French nation. In 1805, it was awarded honorary status as a minor basilica. As the cathedral of the archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame contains the cathedra of the archbishop of Paris (currently Laurent Ulrich). In the early 21st century, approximately 12 million people visited Notre-Dame annually, making it the most visited monument in Paris.^[8] The cathedral is renowned for its Lent sermons, a tradition founded in the 1830s by the Dominican Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire. These sermons have increasingly been given by leading public figures or government-employed academics.

Over time, the cathedral has gradually been stripped of many decorations and artworks. However, the cathedral still contains Gothic, Baroque, and 19th-century sculptures, 17th- and early 18th-century altarpieces, and some of the most important relics in Christendom – including the Crown of Thorns, and a sliver and nail from the True Cross.

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