Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris: Is It Really a Medieval Building?

Beginner travelers looking for Paris attractions quickly find their way to Notre-Dame Cathedral, which has been one of the symbols of the city ever since it was built in the Middle Ages. Most tourists who look at the cathedral are certain they’re looking at an ancient structure, without realizing that the magnificent cathedral in front of them is largely the creation of a 19th-century architect.

The Construction and Destruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral

Let’s start from the beginning. Île de la Cité served as a place of worship as far back as the Roman era, when a temple to Jupiter stood there. In 1163, the Bishop of Paris, Maurice de Sully, one of the ancestors of Henri IV’s (r. 1589-1610) finance minister, decided that the Romanesque church standing there wasn’t grand or impressive enough. And so began nearly 200 years of construction, which produced one of the most beautiful and impressive Gothic cathedrals in Paris, and in the world. But starting in the 17th century, the cathedral began to be destroyed, not by barbarians or the ravages of time, but by some of the most famous architects of the day, all in the name of fashion! The first to tear things down were Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646-1708), known as the builder of the Palace of Versailles, and Robert de Cotte (1656-1735). Both decided to remove the stone screen separating the main nave from the choir, because the Gothic style had gone out of fashion. Later it was decided to dismantle a large part of the cathedral’s stained glass windows, so more light could come in, and while they were at it, to remove some of the more beautiful tombstones that stood there. The only window that survived completely intact is in the north facade, as did some of the stained glass in the south facade. Sadly, the west facade was completely destroyed, and all we can do now is imagine the walls painted blue and decorated with gold stars that once stood there. The original portal on the west facade was also destroyed during the 18th century, to allow larger religious processions to enter. Responsible for this destruction was none other than the architect of the Panthéon, Jacques-Germain Soufflot (1713-1780). At the end of the 18th century, Notre-Dame Cathedral managed to escape destruction thanks to Robespierre, who decided to turn it into a Temple of Reason. Along the way, however, the revolutionaries decided to destroy the statues of the Kings of Judah on the west facade of the church, because they thought they were statues of the Kings of France (some of these statues can be found today at the Musée de Cluny).

Viollet-le-Duc Rebuilds Notre-Dame

And so Notre-Dame Cathedral arrived at the 19th century broken and battered. As a result, when Napoleon decided to crown himself there, tapestries had to be ordered to cover the bare walls. The very fact that these walls were still standing was something of a miracle, since the cathedral had already been put up for sale, and a potential buyer had even been found who planned to build a residential neighborhood on its ruins. That buyer was none other than Claude-Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon (1760-1825), the famous philosopher and father of modern socialism. Luckily for us, the deal fell through and the cathedral remained standing. However, its physical condition kept deteriorating. The one who saved Notre-Dame from destruction this time was the famous writer Victor Hugo, who published “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” in 1831. Hugo’s book sparked a wave of Parisian nostalgia for the Gothic era, and as a result a committee was formed to prevent the cathedral’s destruction and restore it. In 1844, a competition was held among the leading architects of the time for the right to be in charge of restoring the cathedral. The winners were Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879) and Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus (1807-1857), but shortly after work began, Lassus died of liver disease, and Viollet-le-Duc became the project’s chief architect.

Viollet-le-Duc’s philosophy regarding the restoration of Notre-Dame was not to try to rebuild the original structures of the cathedral that had been destroyed over time. Instead, the architect decided to rebuild Notre-Dame and make it, in his view, more beautiful and more Gothic than the original. And so, the south side of the church and the sacristy building were all built in the 19th century. To these were added the statues that adorn the west facade of Notre-Dame, replacing those destroyed during the French Revolution. If you look closely, you can find, among other things, a statue representing the triumphant Church, alongside a blindfolded woman representing the Synagogue (a bit ironic, considering the blindness displayed by the government and the church in France in recent years). To these were also added statues of chimeras and gargoyles, all the work of Viollet-le-Duc. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, one of the great symbols of medieval architecture was actually born in the 19th century!

The Cathedral of Paris Keeps Surviving, Against All Odds…

The new-old cathedral reopened in 1864, but by 1871 it once again faced complete destruction, when members of the Paris Commune piled wooden benches and barrels of gunpowder inside it, intending to burn it down, just as they burned the Tuileries Palace and the Paris city hall. Luckily for the city of Paris, soldiers arrived just moments after the benches were set on fire and put out the blaze before any damage was done to the cathedral. About 70 years later, Notre-Dame again faced destruction, this time by order of Hitler, who commanded that it be destroyed along with the rest of Paris. And once again, it was saved almost miraculously, and went on to host Charles de Gaulle at a thanksgiving service after the city’s liberation. As of now, the danger of destruction has passed over Notre-Dame (aside from the risk of it becoming a mosque), and visitors could go on enjoying its stunning beauty and the lovely music of its bells.

Then Came the Great Fire

On April 15, 2019, Notre-Dame Cathedral caught fire, and large parts of it were damaged. In the article below, you can learn about the long road to restoring the cathedral. Restoration efforts are progressing, with a target date of 2024, when the Paris Olympics are set to take place. In the meantime, the cathedral’s organ has already been restored through a collaboration of organ builders from across the country, and is expected to be reassembled in October 2023. As you can see, there’s still a great deal of work ahead, and it will take a long time. But I’m hopeful that in a few years we’ll be able to return and visit this beautiful church again, as it transforms from a structure mostly built in the 19th century into one that also carries no small number of 21st-century elements.

What Else Should You Do After Visiting the Cathedral (or Passing By)?

Whether you’re reading this article after Notre-Dame’s renovations are finished or not, you’ll be glad to know there’s still plenty to do in the area. Here are a few interesting options:

• If you love churches, don’t miss Sainte-Chapelle (especially if the weather in Paris is sunny and summery). And while you’re there visiting Sainte-Chapelle, don’t skip the Conciergerie.
• Looking for a walking route that includes Notre-Dame? I highly recommend the route through Île de la Cité and Île Saint-Louis.
• For a walk on the Left Bank, I recommend trying the Latin Quarter walking route. If you decide to explore the Right Bank, I recommend the Marais walking route, which you can start at Hôtel de Ville (instead of its original starting point) and walk south and east, then north and west until you return to where you started.

Is It Worth Staying Near Notre-Dame Cathedral?

Notre-Dame sits at the very heart of Paris (in fact, there’s no more central location, since this is the point from which all distances from Paris to anywhere else in France are measured). However, as far as I know, there are no hotels or vacation rentals on Île de la Cité itself, where the cathedral stands. So if you want to stay nearby and enjoy a great location, you have two options:

• If you want to stay on the Right Bank, I recommend the 4th arrondissement (you can find recommended hotels in this article and recommended apartments at this link).
• If you want to stay on the Left Bank and be close to Notre-Dame, I recommend the 5th arrondissement (recommended hotels in this district can be found at this link, and recommended apartments can be found here).

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