Top 13 Surprising Facts About Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris

France is the most visited country in the world. Surprisingly, its most visited landmark is not the Eiffel Tower. If Disneyland Paris is the number one tourist destination in France, then Notre-Dame Cathedral is the most visited monument within the city limits of Paris. Over 13 million visitors pass through the grand entrance of Notre-Dame Cathedral each year. This means the cathedral welcomes around 35 thousand visitors per day, making it the most visited monument in the capital of France.

Notre-Dame Cathedral is a masterpiece of medieval architecture, a cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary, considered one of the most exemplary examples of early Gothic architecture. Built in the 12th century under Bishop Maurice de Sully and mostly completed by 1260, although it underwent regular modifications in the centuries that followed, Notre-Dame Cathedral is one of the most visited landmarks in Paris. Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris has not been open for tours since the major fire on April 15, 2019.

If you've stood in line in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral, you're likely looking at the sculpted facade, or towards the banks of the Seine... but perhaps you didn't look down to the ground; if you didn't, you missed an important detail: the official reference point representing Paris. Indeed, on the square in front of the cathedral, a small plaque looks inconspicuous, carved in a compass rose, and is called 'point zéro des routes de France' (Point Zero of the roads of France), indicating all distances to and from Paris.

From Notre-Dame Cathedral's Le Point Zéro, one can accurately calculate distances to other places in France. Imagine, if you want to know how far Bordeaux is from Paris, you would set your own mark at Km 0 in Paris. To commemorate this important point, tourists sometimes place some coins on it (for luck, like tossing a coin into a fountain) or place their feet on the octagonal shape. Some will stand on top of the marker with coins and take photos, and couples will stand on Point Zéro when they kiss. It's another ritual for travelers.

Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris is erected on Île de la Cité (City Island) right in the heart of Paris. It's hard to imagine that the Île de la Cité area existed without the presence of Notre-Dame Cathedral. Standing here since the 12th century, the Gothic masterpiece gives a sense of permanence. However, Île de la Cité has been around long before the cathedral. After the Gauls were defeated by the Romans in the Battle of Lutetia (52 BC), the new Gallo-Roman city, Lutetia, settled and developed on both the Left Bank along Rue Saint-Jacques.

Since its inception, Île de la Cité was divided into two parts: the western half exclusively for the construction of the City's special architectural structures and where the rulers could reside during their visits to Lutetia. On the other hand, the eastern half was reserved for worship and had some altars. This part of the island, with one half dedicated to religious needs, persisted through time. During the Middle Ages, the Roman Palace was replaced by the Royal Palace, later becoming the Palace of Justice and Conciergerie, and the altars were replaced by successive Catholic churches. Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris was then built on the remaining part of these churches.

After the French Revolution, Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris suffered extensive damage. Some statues were destroyed, and the bells were almost melted. It entered the 19th century in a state of much decay and nearly fell into oblivion, used as a storage facility rather than a place of worship. However, in 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France in the Cathedral, restoring it to its original glory. In 1831, Victor Hugo's masterpiece, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, set in 15th-century Paris with Notre-Dame de Paris at the center, brought unprecedented fame to the long-forgotten cathedral.

Hugo feared that Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris was falling into ruins. He wanted to write a novel describing the cathedral as a sacred work of art, condemning society's indifference to its plight and encouraging its preservation. Popular efforts to preserve it, and government programs for its conservation, led to major renovations directed by Viollet-le-Duc in the mid-19th century, thus saving the gem of Gothic art.

The book is appropriately titled as the story unfolds in and around Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris facing decay. Many could describe the medieval tragedy as a love story. The main characters are Quasimodo, a grotesque and deformed hunchback; Frollo, Archdeacon of Notre Dame and Quasimodo's evil guardian; Esmeralda, a beautiful street dancer, loved by both Quasimodo and Frollo; and Phoebus, the captain of the king's archers and Esmerelda's lover, whom Frollo murders. However, the story transcends a captivating horror film.

A characteristic element of Gothic art, chimeras and gargoyles are splendidly portrayed on the walls of Notre-Dame Cathedral. Gargoyles are hollow statues strategically placed to ensure water drainage. Chimeras are purely decorative. On the towers of Notre-Dame Cathedral, the famous bells allow tourists to capture iconic scenes with the bell towers in the foreground and Paris in the background. People often think these bells represent the medieval style of the Cathedral. However, the decorative chimeras overlooking the tower landscape are not medieval at all!

Firstly, almost all the bells of Notre-Dame Cathedral have been replaced since the medieval era: indeed, the animal heads in particular, due to their function, were not designed to last. Most had to be replaced after each century or 150 years. Most of the chimeras have also been replaced. The famous ones, in the Galerie des Chimères on the towers, were simply added during the restoration by Viollet-le-Duc in the mid-19th century.

The western facade of Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris is adorned with statues of twenty-eight kings of Judah. Unfortunately, the heads of the original figures were beheaded during the French Revolution. In the revolution, citizens loathed the monarchy to the extent that they even began toppling all royal symbols on the streets of Paris. On the main facade of Notre-Dame Cathedral, revolutionaries beheaded twenty-eight statues in a display room, thinking they were figures of French kings. However, they were mistaken as these statues actually symbolized the kings of Judah. The statues remained headless, but 21 of them were later found and can be observed at the Musée du Moyen-Âge de Cluny (Cluny Museum of the Middle Ages) on the Left Bank.

Notre-Dame Cathedral gained temporary fame for having 'headless statues.' In 1977, 21 out of the original 28 heads were excavated and are now exhibited along with other fragments from the cathedral's portal. Two hundred years after the kings' heads vanished, construction workers on a job site discovered 21 heads. They also found three hundred other statue fragments buried in a plaster wall at the foundations underground. For over 500 years, these faces witnessed the history of Paris from their perch on Notre-Dame Cathedral. They then disappeared for 200 years.

Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris measures 127 meters (length) x 48 meters (width), and the central nave rises 43 meters under the roof. With such dimensions, it might be surprising that the entire roof structure is made of wood, dating back to the 12th century. The wooden frame is crafted from over 1300 trees, each beam made from a single tree. The roof structure is often affectionately referred to as the 'Forest' due to its enormous size!

Indigenous oak trees from the forests of France were used to construct the cathedral since medieval times. Now, century-old oak trees have been felled for the reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris. In March 2021, more than 1,000 oak trees, estimated to be between 150 and 200 years old, were selected from over 200 private and public forests in France to rebuild the spire and the roof with stone vault supporting beams of the cathedral. Some trees stand at least 65 feet tall. The wooden supports for the roof will require about 1,500 additional oak trees. The Gothic cathedral's roof caught fire on April 15, 2019, while the building was undergoing renovation and restoration.

The relics of the Passion are displayed at Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris, including a piece of the Holy Cross along with the Crown of Thorns, and among all the artifacts at Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Crown of Thorns is undoubtedly the most precious and revered. The cathedral houses an invaluable treasure, including the Holy Crown worn by Jesus Christ, a piece of the Holy Cross, and a nail. While the rest of the treasure can be admired throughout the year, you can see the Relics on the first Friday of each month during dedicated worship services, as well as during Lent and Good Friday.

The Crown of Thorns has been an object of prayer for Christians for over sixteen centuries. However, despite numerous studies and historical and scientific research on this famous relic, its authenticity still cannot be conclusively confirmed. You will find the Crown of Thorns housed at Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris, consisting of a circle of intertwined rods held together by golden threads, with thorns then attached to the woven circle, measuring 21cm in diameter. Over the years, Byzantine emperors and French kings divided the thorns across centuries, yet 70 of these thorns are of the same type and have been confirmed to be original.

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, constructed from 1163 to 1250, seemingly incorporates the golden ratio in some crucial design proportions. In architecture, the golden ratio can be observed in any shape formed by combining squares and rectangles with corresponding dimensions in the ratio of 1:1.61. This ratio is known as a dimension of perfection in art. Architecturally, some of the most highly regarded and celebrated buildings adhere to this ratio, such as the Parthenon in Athens or the Taj Mahal in Agra.

The architecture of Notre-Dame Cathedral is one of the most iconic examples of opulence. The West facade of Notre-Dame Cathedral is clearly arranged according to the ratio. The height of the nave divided by the width approximates 1.61, the total height equals 1.61 times the height of the first two levels, the total width (center + two towers) equals 1.61 times the width of one tower plus the center section... The architecture of Notre-Dame Cathedral also adheres to the 'Golden Ratio,' making the structure visually perfect. The overall building, as well as decorative details, all follow the golden ratio.

Despite being destroyed in World War II, Notre-Dame Cathedral remained in ruins for over 40 years. In 1989, a group of citizens came together to plan its reconstruction. Czech composer Vaclav Trojan saw an image of this cathedral (not the grand one) and used it as the inspiration for his work for accordion, 'The Ruined Cathedral.' American composer Carter Pann (born in 1972) wrote 'Two Portraits of Barcelona' in 1994, and its first movement is focused on the cathedral.

French icon Edith Piaf also drew inspiration from Notre-Dame Cathedral, much like Victor Hugo. Her song appropriately titled 'Notre-Dame de Paris' is one among many famous songs she wrote and performed throughout her life. “Notre-Dame de Paris” speaks of the beauty of the cathedral, the challenging work that created it, its long history, and its future as an icon of Paris. In many ways, she seems to sing about the cathedral as a metaphor for herself; both come with a complex history as well as a bright future.

Notre-Dame Cathedral stands on the ruins of a former ecclesiastical city. Constructed on the site where the Gallo-Roman city of Lutetia once stood, the foundation of Notre-Dame Cathedral changed hands several times before the construction of the famous cathedral began. It began as a temple dedicated to Jupiter before being converted into a Romanesque-style church. Eventually, the old structure was dismantled, and its foundation (along with some of its sculptures) was repurposed to build Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Four Christian architectural structures are believed to have succeeded the Pagan Temple with the celestial star in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral. First is the Holy Palace of Saint Etienne from the 4th century, followed by a Merovingian-style reconstruction, later renovated into a church in the 9th century. There was another reconstruction of the structures before reaching the pinnacle of Notre-Dame Cathedral. The final structure before Notre-Dame Cathedral was demolished, and its materials were recycled to construct the Gothic Cathedral. The Pagan Temple at this location gave way to Christian churches, symbolizing a transformative era.

Notre-Dame Cathedral was constructed during the medieval period around 1160. This attests to its long history and why it left a lasting impression even before the fire. The cathedral has withstood the test of time as it endured through wars, becoming a significant masterpiece in Gothic architecture during this era, adorned with towering spires and vaulted ceilings.

Notre-Dame Cathedral boasts an age of approximately 856 years, confronting the challenges of time and surviving through wars. Ironically, the fire occurred during a period of peace, amid the French Revolution and both World Wars when it remained serene. It became a pivotal work during this time in Gothic architectural art, characterized by its soaring height and vaulted ceiling.

During the restoration in 2019, the Notre-Dame Cathedral's roof ignited, burning for 15 hours - devouring the central spire and ravaging the vaulted ceiling and lead-covered roof. Although the original spire was completed in the 13th century, it was dismantled in 1786 and reconstructed with oak covered in lead in the late 19th century. The splendid Gothic symbol of the cathedral initially reached a height of 91.44 meters (300.0 feet) but tragically succumbed to the flames in the April 2019 blaze, consuming significant portions of the roof as well.

Parisians gazed helplessly as the 856-year-old Notre-Dame Cathedral, a medieval Catholic cathedral, turned to ashes during a Monday evening blaze. Thick smoke and flames could be seen billowing through the cathedral's windows as modern firefighting equipment was employed to combat the ferocious fire.