the Cathedral of Notre-Dame

Notre-Dame de Paris (“Our Lady of Paris”) is one of the oldest, best-known cathedrals in the world. Few, if any, internationally revered landmarks have such a storied history.

Construction on the Cathedral of Notre-Dame began in 1163 on Île de la Cité in Paris under the reign of King Louis VII, and took almost 200 years to complete. Many modifications and additions were made over the following centuries.

Over the centuries, NDC has served various non-religious purposes and suffered damage, as in the 1790s when much of its religious imagery was desecrated during the French Revolution. It had fallen into such a state of disrepair in the decades after the Napoleonic Wars that Paris officials even considered its demolition.

Enter Victor Hugo, whose passion for architecture helped rescue this medieval landmark. His novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame not only served as a tribute to the nearly forgotten cathedral, but became so popular among the French public that a 25year restoration project was launched and Notre Dame was transformed into what the world saw and loved before the 2019 fire.

Chanteuse Édith Piaf, too, was inspired by the cathedral. In the French icon’s song, appropriately titled “Notre-Dame de Paris”, she sings about the beauty of the cathedral, the hard work that went into its creation and its future as a Paris landmark. In many ways,