Who owns Notre Dame? Notre Dame Cathedral (Notre Dame de Paris) in Paris is the greatest Catholic cathedral in the world. Notre Dame Cathedral on the map

Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris erected on the site where once stood an ancient Roman temple, and later a Christian basilica. This cathedral is the personification of classical Gothic, striking in its grandeur, wealth, beauty of the main façade and the ease of its design. east side openwork flying buttresses. The majestic and beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral has played the role of the “heart” of the capital of France for many centuries. Imperial coronations and national funerals were held here. In 1429, a thanksgiving service took place after Charles VII was crowned in Reims. French kings and queens were married in this cathedral, in particular, Henry IV and Margaret de Valois.

Construction of Notre-Dame de Paris began in 1163 during the reign of Louis VII of France. Historians disagree on who has the honor of laying the first stone in the foundation of the cathedral - Bishop Maurice de Sully or Pope Alexander III. What is known for certain is that previously there was a Halo-Roman temple to Jupiter on this site, and later the Basilica of St. Stephen. Construction took 182 years and was completed in 1345.

The building has the traditional shape of an elongated cross for Catholic cathedrals. The start of construction occurred at a time when Gothic was just coming into its own as a style in architecture, therefore, despite the dominance of the vertical, the horizontal still successfully competes with it. Thanks to this, incomparable clarity can be seen throughout the entire appearance of the building. The main facade with the proud height of the towers is powerful and at the same time elegant. It is horizontally divided into three tiers by galleries. In the lower tier there are three portals - the Virgin Mary, the Last Judgment and St. Anne. Between the lower and middle tier with the main rose stained glass window is the Gallery of the Kings, which consists of 28 statues of kings from the Old Testament.

The original appearance of Notre Dame was distorted by time and endless wars that brought destruction. In particular, under Louis XIV, graves and stained glass windows were destroyed, and during the Great French Revolution, on the orders of Robespierre, statues depicting French kings were beheaded. Later it turned out that a Parisian bought them, allegedly planning to use them as building material. In fact, the new owner hid the statues under his house, where they were discovered in 1977.

From 1844 to 1861, the architect Viollet-le-Duc carried out the restoration of the temple. In addition to the standard bay windows, arches and colonnades for medieval basilicas, he supplemented the building with many sculptures of demons, chimeras, monsters, strange birds, grotesque figures of evil monsters, which, looking out from the most unexpected places of the facade, ironically contemplate the city from above. It seems that these stone sculptures, perched on a Gothic pinnacle, hanging over a wall ledge, or hidden behind a spire, have existed for an eternity, immersed in their thoughts about the fate of people swarming far below. In particular, medieval gargoyles served as the prototype for chimeras. Viollet-le-Duc involved 15 sculptors, led by Geoffroy Deshaume, to create the sculptures.

During the restoration, the cathedral also received a new oak, lead-clad spire, the height of which was 96 meters. Its predecessor was dismantled in 1786. At the foot of the spire there are four sculptural groups by Deshmo. In addition to the bronze statues of the apostles, each group contains an animal symbolizing one of the evangelists. Therefore, next to Saint Mark there is a lion, Luke - a bull, John - an eagle, and near Saint Matthew - an angel. The faces of all the statues are turned towards Paris, except for Thomas, who looks at the spire, probably for the reason that this saint is the patron saint of architects.

One of the most notable features of Notre-Dame de Paris is its stained glass windows. In addition to its direct purpose - to provide natural light in the cathedral, stained glass windows complement interior decoration, thus replacing the wall painting. Most of the stained glass windows were created in the mid-19th century during reconstruction. Interestingly, they were originally supposed to be assembled from transparent glass. But the famous French writer Prosper Merimee, who at that time was the chief inspector of historical monuments in France, insisted that they be made similar to the medieval ones, that is, multi-colored. As for the stained glass window above the main entrance, it was quite well preserved from the Middle Ages, so it was restored, partially replacing the missing elements. In the center of the rose is the Virgin Mary, and on the “petals” are depicted all kinds of scenes from Everyday life peasants, virtues and vices, zodiac signs. The diameter of the main stained glass window is 9.6 meters, and the two side roses are 13 meters, making them the largest in Europe.

Notre Dame Cathedral is famous for its bells. The largest of them sounds in F-sharp tone, but it is used extremely rarely. Four other bells, each with its own name (Denise David (F-sharp), Hyacinthe Jeanne (F), Antoinette Charlotte (D-sharp) and Angelique Francoise (C-sharp)) delight Parisians and guests of the French capital twice a day - at 8 and 19 o'clock.

Notre-Dame de Paris houses a magnificent organ. The cathedral received the first such instrument in 1402. To do this, the old organ was placed in the new Gothic building. Subsequently, the instrument was rebuilt and reconstructed many times. Thierry made a significant contribution to the improvement of the organ in 1733, after which the instrument already had 46 registers, located on five manuals. In addition, the organ was placed in a new building, the facade of which was made in the style of Louis XVI. The next important restoration was carried out in 1788 by François-Henri Clicquot.

Under the leadership of the outstanding French organ builder Aritide Cavaillé-Coll, a complete modernization of the instrument took place in 1864-1867. As a result, the organ received 86 registers and a mechanical structure equipped with Barker levers. In addition, the sound has changed somewhat, which has acquired the softness traditional for Cavaillé-Coll instruments.

From 1902 to 1932, the instrument was once again expanded, and the tractor was replaced with an electro-pneumatic one. The initiator of the innovations was Louis Vierne, who from 1900 to 1937 served as titular organist of Notre Dame Cathedral.

During the reconstruction of 1959, the organ’s console was replaced with an American one, and the tracquet with an electric one. About 700 km of cable were used for the latest improvement. However, the system turned out to be unreliable and often broke down, as a result of which in 1992 the copper cable was replaced with an optical one, and the console was computerized. Today the organ is the largest in terms of the number of registers (111). It consists of 8,000 pipes, more than 900 of which were installed during the time of Thierry and Clicquot.

The titular position of organist of Notre-Dame de Paris, which is one of the most prestigious in France, is now occupied by three musicians: Philippe Lefebvre, Olivier Latry, Jean-Pierre Legue.

The symbol of Paris is now the Eiffel Tower, but the “heart” of Paris is the famous Notre Dame Cathedral, Notre Dame de Paris. It was with him that we began our acquaintance with the French capital.

The cathedral, 35 meters high, stands on the Seine River on the Ile de la Cité. It stands in a majestic bulk in the center of the city, the height of most of the houses in which is about 20 meters.

Notre-Dame de Paris was built in just under 2 centuries, from 1163 to 1345, although its main altar was consecrated already in 1182.

The portals of the cathedral are richly decorated with sculptures on biblical subjects.

At the main entrance to Notre-Dame de Paris is depicted Last Judgment.

From the side the cathedral looks quite stern. On the top sit gargoyles that have turned green with time, and the stained glass windows of the cathedral from the outside look like dirty windows, and even behind bars.

Stained glass windows located high up are no longer so protected and look delicate. By the way, from the inside of the cathedral they look simply magnificent! But more on that below.

Behind Notre Dame Cathedral there is a small park.

In the center of the park is a statue of Our Lady.

This park is worth visiting if only to see the back of the cathedral.

It is significantly different from the front facade that most tourists look at.

For example, this spire is not visible from the square in front of the cathedral.

Let's go back. On the banks of the Seine in front of Notre Dame Cathedral stands a monument to Charlemagne.

We go inside the cathedral. He's impressive. They say that the cathedral was built in such a way that it could accommodate all 10,000 inhabitants of medieval Paris.

The cathedral is active. We came to the end of the service. By the way, tourists are not prohibited from filming in the Cathedral. They just ask you to do it without flash, so as not to disturb anyone.

And here are the legendary stained glass windows of Notre Dame de Paris.

Entrance to the cathedral is free, but there is a treasury in it, the entrance to which requires a fee.

Various relics, valuables, fragments of relics and especially expensive church items are collected here.

Interesting Catholic tradition- install a Nativity scene in churches.

In the center, as it should be, is a stable with the baby Jesus and the wise men with gifts.

A separate part of Notre Dame Cathedral is intended more for tourists. For example, there is a model of a cathedral.

Anyone can light a candle here. The candles are right in the boxes with the cost of the candle written on them. You take it, put the coin in the box, and put a candle on it.

There is in Notre Dame de Paris and orthodox icon, donated to the cathedral by Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus', Alexy II.

You can climb the towers of the cathedral and the famous gallery of chimeras. To do this, you really have to stand in line under the walls, looking at the hanging gargoyles.

The queue moves slowly, since the staircase to the towers of the cathedral is very narrow and in one of the places it is necessary to go up and down the same staircase on which two people cannot pass each other.

But if time and health permit, it’s worth going upstairs.

Even in cloudy weather, a very interesting view opens up from here.

It is so high that the top is lost in the clouds.

Listed embankment of the Seine River world heritage UNESCO.

The hill of Montmartre with the Sacré-Coeur basilica is lost in the fog.

The cathedral has many statues of fantastic animals - chimeras.

Some of them look at the city as if they are terribly worried about what is happening in Paris.

Others look at the angel, waiting for him to start trumpeting.

Chimeras were installed on the cathedral in the mid-19th century, during the reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris.

At the foot of the spire are bronze figures of the apostles, greened with time.

And below, as far as visibility is clear, is Paris...

2015, Mochalov Artyom

“Il est venu le temps des cathédrales”...the song from the musical “Notre-Dame de Paris”, which became so popular, brought fame not only to the performers, but also aroused the world’s interest in Victor Hugo’s novel, and in the most grandiose cathedral in France, Notre Dame Cathedral.

The cathedral, glorified by Victor Hugo in his novel of the same name, is considered the main spiritual center of Paris, and many call it the “heart” of the city. Rising above Paris, the cathedral attracts not only with its splendor, but also with its many secrets; legends are made about the secrets of Notre Dame Cathedral.

On the site of the current Notre Dame in the 4th century there was the Church of St. Sebastian, and not far from it there was a temple Mother of God. However, in the 12th century. Both of these buildings fell into a deplorable state, and the Parisian Bishop Maurice de Sully decided to build a new cathedral in their place, which, according to his plan, was to surpass all the cathedrals in the world in its grandeur.

The construction of Notre Dame Cathedral lasted almost two centuries. More than a dozen famous architects worked on its appearance, but the greatest contribution to the creation of such a multifaceted cathedral was made by Jean de Chelles and Pierre de Montreuil.

The length of the cathedral is 130 meters, the height of the towers is 69 meters, the capacity is about 9,000 people.

Notre Dame Cathedral was built on the ruins of a Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter. The first stone of the basilica was laid by Pope Alexander III in 1163.

Many different architects took part in the construction, as evidenced by the different style and height of the western façade and towers.

The towers were completed in 1245, and the entire cathedral in 1345. The gigantic size of the cathedral had no equal until the middle of the 13th century, when construction began cathedrals in Reims and Amiens.

Le Corbusier spoke of the western façade of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris as “a pure creation of the spirit.” Indeed, there are two present here geometric figures- a circle and a square symbolize, respectively, the infinity of God and the limited space he created. Their coexistence in the lines of the facade shows how the world of God invades the world created through the sacraments of the Incarnation and the Nativity of Christ.

Under the balustrade stretches the “gallery of kings”, 28 statues of which represent 28 generations of Jewish kings - the ancestors of Jesus and Mary.

The western façade of Notre-Dame has three entrances; their pointed portals are decorated with sculptural panels depicting various episodes of the Gospel. Here the essence of Christianity is briefly and expressively told and embodied.

The photo shows the central portal, known as the "Portal of the Last Judgment." The entrance arches are supported by seven statues on each side. Below in the center on the lintel there are depictions of the dead rising from their graves, awakened by two angels with trumpets. Above them is a scene of the weighing of the souls of the dead by the Archangel Michael. According to this, the elect are led to Paradise (on the right hand of Christ), and the damned are led by the devil to hell, to the left. Further up, on the tympanum, Christ the Judge and angels are depicted. The curves of the vault are occupied by images of angels, patriarchs, prophets, martyrs and virgins.

The northern "Portal of Our Lady" tells about the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, her ascension to Paradise and coronation as the Queen of Heaven.

The facades of Notre Dame Cathedral are richly decorated with sculptures. They are among the best sculptures of the Middle Ages. The sculptures tell us the story from the Fall to the Last Judgment.

The spire of the Cathedral, at the base of the statue of the Apostles.

Equestrian sculpture of Charlemagne in front of the façade

Behind the Cathedral of the Cathedral Fountain of the Virgin

The decoration of the cathedral is dominated by gray color, this is the color of the stone from which the walls are made. The cathedral has very few windows and is quite dark and gloomy. The only source of light is the stained glass windows, but the light penetrating through the numerous stained glass windows fills the temple with a variety of shades.

In addition to candles, the cathedral is additionally illuminated with bronze chandeliers, but the light is still not enough, and it takes some time for the eyes to get used to the twilight reigning inside. This play of light gives the cathedral a special enchanting beauty and a certain mystery.

The majestic interior of the cathedral, its incredible size of naves and transepts amaze everyone who enters! North Dame served as the site of the coronations of French monarchs and the blessing of the crusaders. And on August 18, 1572, it was here that the marriage of Henry of Navarre (the future King Henry IV) and Margaret of Valois, familiar to us from Dumas’ famous novel “Queen Margot,” took place.

The massiveness of the columns on which the pointed arches of the naves rest is facilitated by carved capitals. The ornament with which they are decorated resembles the foliage of trees and serves as a reminder of the Garden of Eden.

Standing with your back to the entrance, you can take in at one glance the central nave, located in the center main altar with a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, as well as the intersection of the central nave and the transept of the cathedral - the middle cross, especially illuminated and marked with the image of the Virgin Mary.

First, having felt a subtle aroma that cannot be confused with anything, and then - seeing a huge bouquet of royal lilies that exudes it, you can see the image of the Virgin Mary - actually Our Lady of Paris - towering in the depths of the temple. This 14th-century work was placed in the cathedral only in 1818 to replace a 13th-century statue destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. French Revolution. Placed in its historical location, this Virgin Mary is one of 37 images of Our Lady in the cathedral dedicated to her.

The darkness of the pointed arches of Notre Dame is brightened up by bright stained glass windows, which decorate not only the huge rose windows of the northern and southern portals, but also the many windows located under the very stream.

It is thanks to these amazingly clear and richly colored pictures that the temple ceases to oppress and constrain with its size, the stained glass windows add “humanity” to the interior and the meager lighting of the cathedral is reborn into a mysterious twilight. In front of these bright spots, you involuntarily stop and look at the images, trying to remember or recognize this or that biblical story that the stained glass window illustrates.

Of course, rose windows also make a colossal impression. Pictured here is the north rosette, created around 1250, the one that retains much of the original glass. In the center is the Virgin Mary carrying the baby Jesus in her womb, surrounded by characters from the Old Testament. Both rosettes with a diameter of 13 m are considered masterpieces of Christian art.

Like most Catholic cathedrals (as opposed to Orthodox), Notre Dame has a double gallery surrounding the choir and high altar. It disappears along the altar barrier - a high partition separating the choir from the nave, which allowed the priests to pray in peace and solitude, protecting themselves from the noisy flock.

On the gallery side, the altar barrier is decorated with polychrome bas-reliefs, which, however, are only partially preserved in their original form. Here in the photo is a bas-relief in which you can recognize Christ and his disciples.

The cathedral houses one of the greatest relics of Christianity - the Crown of Thorns of Jesus Christ. He traveled from Jerusalem to Constantinople. Until 1063 it was kept in Jerusalem; in 1063 it was transported to Constantinople. Then the crusading warriors captured Byzantium.

Byzantium was in a plundered state, local princes needed money, and Bedouin II began to sell off relics. So the crown of thorns was redeemed by Louis IX.

In 1239, the Crown of Thorns was delivered to Paris. By order of Louis, he was placed in a specially built chapel, where he remained until the French Revolution. During the revolution, the chapel was destroyed, but the crown was saved, and in 1809 it was placed in Notre Dame Cathedral, where it remains to this day.

Along with the Crown of Thorns, the cathedral also contains a nail from the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Another nail can be seen in the cathedral of the city of Carpentras. Two more nails are in Italy.

Nails have long been a debate among historians; how many were there, three or four? But the answer to this question has not been found to this day.

Notre Dame is surrounded by legends. One of these legends is associated with the gate in front of the entrance to the cathedral. They are so magnificent that it is difficult to believe that man could have created them. Legend has it that their author was a blacksmith named Biscornet, who, commissioned by the canon of Notre Dame, agreed to forge a gate worthy of the grandeur of the cathedral. Biscornet was afraid of not justifying the trust of the canon, and he decided to turn to the devil for help, promising to give his soul for a magnificent job.

The gates for the cathedral were a real masterpiece; openwork interlacing was combined with figured locks. But the trouble is, even the blacksmith could not open the locks on the gates; they did not yield to anyone, only after sprinkling with holy water did they yield. Biscorne could not explain what was happening, he was speechless, and a few days later he died from an unknown illness. And he took one of the secrets of Notre Dame Cathedral with him to the grave.

But the most exciting and memorable event for me when visiting the cathedral was a walk through the gallery of chimeras!

Looking from the outside at the walls of the cathedral from bottom to top, you can see with the naked eye monsters, bats, vampires and mythical creatures, which seem to jump out and crawl out.... In fact, these are nothing more than the ends of beams and ceilings, covered with the faces of monsters. This combination of images of demons with the building itself seems completely unthinkable and incompatible. Christian temple. However, according to Christian iconography, everything here is logical and natural. In the Middle Ages, people believed that like scared away like, and accordingly, in order to ward off evil spirits and the Evil One himself from the temple, it was necessary to depict this very evil spirit on the temple itself. This is how these strange creatures “settled” here. And either they are guarding the temple, or they are fleeing from it, gripped by horror.....

But why do they “decorate” the temple building? Are they just a decorative element, or are they endowed with some kind of mystical powers?

Chimeras have long been considered the silent guardians of the cathedral. It was believed that at night chimeras came to life and walked around their possessions, carefully guarding the peace of the building. In fact, according to the creators of the cathedral, chimeras personify human character and the diversity of moods: from melancholy to anger, from smiles to tears. Chimeras are so “humanized” that they began to seem like living beings. And there is a legend that if you look at them in the twilight for a very long time, they “come to life.” And if you take a photo next to a chimera, then in the photo the person looks like a stone statue.

At the corners of each of the bell towers there are statues of chimeras and gargoyles - an intricate invention of the architect Viollet-le-Duc, who has been in charge of restoration work at Notre Dame since 1841, and who wanted to decorate the building in this way, and at the same time arouse interest and attract public attention to it.

This is the most famous of the chimeras and can be seen immediately at the entrance to the gallery. As if lost in thought, she contemplates from above the life of the ever-changing capital... I confess that I came to the gallery partly for this shot, because I had already seen such an image many times, but, of course, I wanted to verify the existence of such a character myself.

All these incredible monsters, hybrid animals and fantastic birds perched on the ledges of the bell towers and “guard” the ancient building... And here, even more than there, below, you are amazed at this combination of incongruous things in one and the same place - good and evil, holiness and vice exist here independently and parallel to each other - the sacred abode of Christianity, and evil spirits on its bell towers....And yet - all this forms a single building of the temple, an architectural complex, to which, perhaps, the epithet “frozen music” is most suitable.

But the gargoyles of Notre Dame settled here already in the Middle Ages. Yes, gargoyles and chimeras are not the same thing. Gargoyles are inferior in popularity to their “younger sisters”. And it is believed that the most beautiful gargoyles are at the level of the flying buttresses of the choir. If chimeras are a decorative element of the cathedral, then gargoyles had a completely different purpose.

Gargouille is translated from French as gutter or drainpipe. Thus, the monsters are nothing more than drainpipes that divert streams of rainwater from the roof and walls of the cathedral.

Notre Dame Cathedral is so diverse and diverse that every year it attracts great amount tourists. Every Sunday you can attend a Catholic mass, and hear the largest organ in France, hear the extraordinary sound of a six-ton bell (it was this bell that Quasimodo had a special love for)

The views of Paris from the heights of the cathedral are amazing! The entire city can be covered at one glance. To the east is the Seine and the modern part of the city...

And in the west, there is its historical part. On the Ile de la Cité you can see the Sainte-Chapelle chapel and the Palace of Justice, and further away are the Louvre, the La Défense district and the Eiffel Tower.

Having been in the gallery of chimeras for 5-10 minutes, you don’t know where to look: either at the gargoyles, or at Paris, or at the cathedral that has become incredibly close, at those corners of it that are not visible from below, and to which here - just a stone's throw away!

For example - to a 90 m high spire, designed by the same Viollet-le-Duc instead of a small spire that was destroyed during the Revolution...

Or to the angel announcing the Last Day of the World...

Or to bloodthirsty monsters devouring their victims...

"Emmanuel" weighs more than 13 tons, and its tongue weighs about 500 kg. The bell rings only on the most solemn days - on major Catholic holidays.

There is a certain extraordinary harmony and harmony in the entire appearance of this particular temple. Bulky and monolithic - at first glance, and extraordinary lightness and airiness - if you look more closely, or walk around and examine it from all sides.
This square behind the cathedral is one of the most secluded and cozy corners in the city. Very close by are crowded boulevards, water bus piers, metro stations, noisy squares, crowds of restless three hundred attacking the cathedral itself and other attractions of the Ile de la Cité... But it’s quiet here. The water in the fountain is quietly gurgling, the flower beds are fragrant, random passers-by are resting in the shade of the trees... And the cathedral itself is the logical dominant feature of this place, where the gaze of everyone who is here is directed. From here there is a wonderful view of the sculptural compositions, rose windows and arched buttresses and flying buttresses of the eastern part of the cathedral. It is unlikely that Notre Dame would be so monumental and impressive if it were not reliably protected from its most vulnerable and fragile side - from the rear - by such a wonderful garden... And the more time you spend here, the more you wonder: is it a cathedral? built in the middle of the garden.....either the garden was planted around the cathedral in order to shelter and protect it from all evil spirits and from prying eyes

God's Garden ~ Notre Dame de Paris

In the heart of Paris is the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral. For many centuries, the Catholic church has amazed people with its grace, splendor and monumentality.

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Construction of the cathedral began under the reign of Louis YII in 1163. Bishop Maurice de Sully initiated the construction. Historians believe that the foundation was the destroyed St. Stephen's Basilica and other buildings:

Romanesque Cathedral
Carolingian Cathedral
Paleo-Christian Church

The work lasted for almost two centuries, which suggests that there were many participants in the construction, but almost no information about them has been preserved. The names of the architects who began construction are known: Jean de Chelles and Pierre de Montreuil. Construction of the temple proceeded slowly.

Despite the fact that parishioners, rich and poor, noble and common people, tried to help the construction by donating whatever amounts they could, there was not enough money. Construction proceeded in stages: the walls were completed by 1177, the altar was built (and consecrated by Cardinal Albano) in 1182. By the end of the 12th century, a lead roof was installed, towers were erected in 1245, and interior decoration was completed in 1315. The year 1345 is considered to be the end of construction.

Since that time, there have been no major restorations, the building has deteriorated, and there was especially a lot of destruction during the revolution. The figures of the Jewish kings were removed and beheaded, the stained glass windows were broken, and the artistic carvings were also damaged. At the very end of the XYIII century, the Convention issued a decree according to which believers are obliged to pay money for the needs of the revolution, otherwise the temple will be destroyed. The residents managed to defend their shrine, but Robespierre declared it a stronghold of obscurantism and renamed it the Temple of Reason.

Interesting fact: sculptures of kings were discovered during construction work at the end of the twentieth century. As it turned out, the former owner of the house, who lived at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, purchased the statues and buried them with honors. In 1802 the cathedral was returned catholic church and re-consecrated. In the 19th century, they began to repair the building, led by the architect Viollet-le-Duc - they restored stained glass windows, sculptures, erected a new spire, and installed sculptures of chimeras. Catholic Church It was the site of royal weddings, burials, and parliamentary meetings. Here the destitute found lodging for the night and criminals found protection.

Appearance

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris is individual and unique. The cathedral took about two hundred years to build, many architects took part in the work, so the building styles are different - Gothic and Romanesque. The temple is a basilica with double aisles on the sides, a design that was almost never used before. The height of the temple is 35 m, length is 130 m, width is 48 m. The weight of the bell tower, located on the south side, is 13 tons. The façade is divided vertically into three parts, horizontally divided into three rows by galleries, and the façade is crowned by two towers.

The first tier has three portals, they depict the Virgin Mary, Saint Anne and paintings of the Last Judgment. Above the entrance there is a panel with scenes from the Gospel, and statues of saints are installed above the arches. Above is the Gallery of Kings with 28 figures of the kings of Judah. The beauty and brightness of the structure is given by stained glass windows, almost entirely recreated in the 19th century. The main stained glass window (rose) remains from the Middle Ages and has been partially restored. It depicts the image of the Mother of God and other pictures, including virtuous and sinful actions of people. The two roses on the sides are considered the largest in Europe, their diameter is 13 m.

The cathedral is crowned by a 96-meter spire covered with lead plates. Nearby are sculptures of the apostles, divided into four groups. An animal was placed near each saint, which is a symbol of the evangelist. The statues are installed facing Paris, and only Thomas, who is considered the patron saint of builders, looks at the spire.

Gargoyles

A striking decoration of the façade, gargoyles, were installed in the 13th century. These are demonic creatures that look like large dragons. They are well preserved, as they are made of durable limestone quarried in the Seine River basin. Translated from Old French it means “throat”. In Gothic style, gargoyles were intended to drain rainwater; gutters made of stone or metal were installed in them to hide their unattractiveness.

Chimeras are evil demonic creatures, usually depicted as demons, fairy birds or animals with wings like bats. embody human sins. The architect Viollet-le-Duc decided to install them during a major restoration. He himself made sketches of the monsters and sculptors under the direction of Geoffroy Dechaumes embodied them in stone. One of the popular chimeras is Strix, a half-woman, half-bird who, according to legend, fed on the blood of babies. It’s interesting that if you take a picture with a living person, he seems stone sculptures, and gargoyles and chimeras - full of life.

Interior decoration

The internal space of Gothic architecture is created thanks to transverse and longitudinal naves, forming the shape of a cross. There are no internal walls supporting the structure in the room; they are replaced by two rows of columns. The walls of the cathedral are decorated with artistic carvings. One part of the cathedral contains sculptures, paintings and other works of art, which are presented by parishioners on May 1, a Catholic holiday dedicated to Our Lady.

Sculptures of rulers are installed under the high tier Old Testament. The original figures were destroyed and replaced with copies. The organ is famous - it was equipped in the Middle Ages during the construction of a temple, the largest in Europe. It was reconstructed and rebuilt many times. The spiral staircase leads to South Tower The temple, from which a grandiose panorama of the city opens up, is convenient to see the bell, gargoyles and chimeras from a close distance.

The center of the long nave is decorated with compositions telling scenes from the Lives of the Saints. The interior of the temple is made of steel-gray stone. Since, according to Gothic canons, the walls are not decorated with wall paintings, the somewhat gloomy picture is enlivened by the sunlight entering through colored stained glass and lancet windows, giving the temple color and brightness. The chapels located on the sides tell about the earthly life of the Mother of God. The central stained glass window contains several dozen scenes from the Old Testament.

The novel that glorified the cathedral

TO 19th century The cathedral had become so dilapidated that it was about to be demolished. The publication of the novel “Notre Dame de Paris” by the French writer Victor Hugo in 1831 contributed to his salvation. The novelist wrote about good and evil, love and hate. The idea did not arise by chance - Hugo was an ardent defender of ancient architecture and his activities were aimed at protecting it. The chapter of the novel “The Cathedral of Our Lady” talks about the structure, describing its beauty. The writer expresses concern, rightly believing that humanity may lose a unique structure.

The heroine is a gypsy named Esmeralda. The clergyman Claude Frollo, the bell-ringer Quasimodo, a pupil of the archdeacon, and the captain, Phoebus de Chateaupert, became infatuated with the beauty. Frollo fell passionately in love with the girl, tried to seduce her, but was refused. The enraged priest orders Quasimodo to kidnap Esmeralda, but Captain Chateaupert prevents this. The young people liked each other and had a date. During the meeting, Frollo, blinded by jealousy, wounds Phoebus and accuses the girl of the crime. She is sentenced to death.

Quasimodo hid Esmeralda in the cathedral ( God's temple, according to the laws of Catholicism, is a refuge where a person can hide from any offense) in order to save it from the gallows. Esmeralda could not fall in love with the ugly hunchback, but she developed friendly feelings towards him. The ending is tragic - Esmeralda dies, the unfortunate Quasimodo takes the girl’s body to the temple and also dies of grief.

Hugo's novel is stunning with its tragedy, vivid images, and description of Notre Dame Cathedral. They no longer talked about destroying the temple; they decided to restore it. Restoration of the building began in 1841 under the leadership of Viollet-le-Duc. Finished in 1864.

Museum and treasury

The museum tells about the history of the appearance of the temple, about interesting facts Associated with this place, there are interesting exhibits here - art objects, utensils. Through the museum you can go to the Treasury, where one of the main Christian shrines- Part Life-giving cross and the Savior's Crown of Thorns. Church vestments, utensils, paintings, manuscripts, and other items of artistic and historical value are exhibited.

Notre Dame Cathedral (Notre Dame de Paris) is one of the masterpieces of world Gothic architecture, which rises above the Ile de la Cité like a huge ship anchored with powerful buttresses.

Visiting hours of the cathedral: Monday-Saturday from 8.00 to 19.00, and also on Sunday, 8.00-12.30, 14.00-17.00; Free admission; Metro St-Michel/Cite.

You may not know about the existence of buttresses unless you approach this amazing “H” shaped structure.

This one is the most impressive architectural feature The external design of the cathedral is that its vertical supports are balanced by the horizontal line of the frieze and gallery, which are centered relative to the rose window.

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris is a massive structure, the result of a thoughtful architectural design that implements, to some extent, the traditions of the Romanesque style. Notre Dame Cathedral was built on the site of the old Saint-Etienne Cathedral, which in turn was built on the site of a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter.

Construction this cathedral began back in 1160 under the patronage of the Archbishop of Paris, Maurice de Sully, and ended around 1345. The seminaries of Notre Dame actually became the concentration of spiritual power in the period of the XIII-XIV centuries. Six bishops emerged from their walls, but subsequently the cathedral partially lost its supremacy, losing the Olympus of primacy to such dioceses as the cathedrals of Reims and Saint-Denis.

Centuries passed, and the cathedral gradually fell into decay. Particularly great damage was caused to it during the times French Revolution, when the most ardent adherents of the revolutionary idea began to destroy the statues of the Jewish kings on the western façade of the cathedral, mistaking them, out of ignorance and lack of education, for French monarchs.

The importance of the cathedral increased slightly after in 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned here as emperor, but by this time the walls of the cathedral had become so dilapidated that they even had to be draped to create a majestic atmosphere for the coronation.

The long-awaited restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral began only in the 20s of the 19th century, largely thanks to the petition of Victor Hugo, who attracted the attention of wide circles of the public to this problem in his novel “Notre Dame Cathedral,” in which he described in detail the deplorable state of the cathedral.

Victor Hugo, like other writers of the romantic genre, treated Gothic architecture with reverence, seriously believing that the soaring naves of great cathedrals served as the best refuge for “tormented souls.”

The restoration of the cathedral was entrusted to the architect Viollet-le-Duc, who carried out very extensive and thorough restoration work, according to some experts, even too thorough.

Most of the lost statues of the facade were restored (their originals are now kept in the National Museum of the Middle Ages), a spire was added, and gloomy gargoyles (snouts of drainpipes in the form of fantastic figures) were installed.

You can see them at close range if you dare to climb the towers of the cathedral (visiting hours daily, April-September, Monday-Thursday from 9.00 to 19.30, Friday-Sunday 9.00-21.00; October-March, 10.00-17.00; cost 7 euros) . By the beginning of the new millennium, the facade of the cathedral was thoroughly washed, removing deeply ingrained dirt, after which the amazingly beautiful carvings on the portals of the cathedral became clearly visible.

Perhaps, first of all, the eye stops at the central portal, representing “Judgment Day”. The lower frieze is a continuous movement of the dead rising from their graves, while in the upper part sits Christ, who administers the Last Judgment. He sends the people who are on his right hand to heaven, while the sinners who are on left hand doomed to terrible torment in hell.

It is curious that among the depicted sinners there are people similar to bishops and monarchs, which means that medieval masters had the opportunity to criticize the powers that be. The craftsmen also had a sense of humor: around the arch of the portal there are depictions of playful, playful angels, the models for which, as they say, were boys from the church choir.

The left portal depicts the Virgin Mary, crowned by Christ; the lower frieze of the portal represents scenes from her life. On the right portal, the Virgin Mary is enthroned, below you can see scenes from the life of St. Anne (Mother Mary) and Christ.

These scenes use visual aids and symbolism to help them be understood not as separate episodes, but as a whole. For example, in the scene of the birth of Christ, the baby is positioned above Mary, which indicates his higher status, while he lies not in the cradle, but on the altar, which historians believe contains a hint of his future role as a victim.

Inside the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, you will undoubtedly be struck by the amazing contrast between the darkness of the central nave and the light falling on the first large column of the choir - this seems to emphasize the sanctity of the altar.

This light enters Notre Dame through the far walls of the transepts, which are two-thirds glass, including the magnificent purple rose windows. All of this, including the vault and the soaring columns reaching up to the top of the vaults, are typically Gothic architectural elements, while the spaciousness around the nave columns and the general desire for square space are characteristic of the Romanesque style.

Treasury of Notre Dame Cathedral

The treasury of Notre-Dame de Paris (Notre-Dame de Paris), trezor (visiting hours daily from 9.30 to 18.00; cost 3 euros) contains mainly richly decorated monstrances and chalices of the 19th century, but in general the value of the collection is unlikely to merit the specified entrance fee .

The cathedral offers free tours; Collection at the entrance at the excursion table. You can also combine a tour of the interior with organ concerts (free admission), which take place every Sunday at 16.00 or 17.00. The cathedral organ is considered one of the best in all of France. It was created by the great master of the 19th century, Aristide Cavalier-Col, and has more than six thousand pipes.

Before leaving Notre-Dame de Paris, visit the garden at the east end of the cathedral to see the arched buttresses supporting the choir, then stroll along the river under the south transept. Here you can sit for a while in the spring under the falling white petals of the cherry blossoms.

To the north, on the other side of the cathedral, are the streets of Chanonesse, Yoursin and Colombes, three of the few streets that Baron Haussmann paid attention. There is nothing special about them, except for old buildings, which can be used to judge what the city used to look like. Ile de la Cité .

Kilometer Zero and the Crypt of Notre Dame Cathedral

Notre Dame is the symbolic center not only of Paris, but of the whole country: here, on the porch near the cathedral, there is a sign (marked with a bronze star) of the so-called “zero kilometer” point, from which the length of all the main roads in France is calculated.

Opposite the cathedral, at the end of the square, there are steps that lead into the daylight Crypt of Notre Dame (visiting hours Tuesday-Sunday from 10.00 to 18.00, price 3.50 euros), which is worth a visit if you are interested in the history of the island.

In this large space, located under the porch of the cathedral and representing the result of archaeological excavations, you can see the remains of the old cathedral, as well as the streets and houses that once surrounded Notre-Dame de Paris.

Most of them belong to the Middle Ages, but some date back to Gallo-Roman times and represent fragments of the Roman heating system under the floor (called a “hypocaust”).

Official site: www.notredamedeparis.fr