Notre Dame de Paris

Before entering the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris take time to sit in the square in front of the cathedral. Listen the multiple languages around you. Look at the faces of the pilgrims and tourists, some pilgrims cross the square on their knees as a sign of respect before entering the church. Gypsies beg in front, give if you wish, but be careful of your purse. Pigeons swoop down, vigilant for falling crumbs. Before they can pick them up, small brown birds hurl themselves between pigeon beaks and snatch the food. Peddlers in the square sell souvenirs and food. Watch people as they enter the doors to the cathedral, the scale of human to the monument to the Virgin Mary.

Notre Dame de Paris was built on holy ground. The Celts raised wood and reed tabernacles to the gods there before the Romans. During the reign of Tiberius, Emperor during the time of Pontius Pilate and Jesus, the Romans built a temple to Jupiter. You can see their altar at the Cluny museum. The first Christian church, dedicated to St. Etienne, was built ton this site in the fourth century. In the sixth century a basilica was built to honor the Virgin Mary, the first such building in France.

In 1160, bishop Maurice Sully, a peasant renowned for his scientific knowledge, practical genius, and spiritualism, rose to wealth and power. With his Bishop's Crosier he drew the outline of Notre Dame de Paris on the ground. It became the first of the great Gothic Cathedrals. Building codes had to be changed to allow for the great volume of the cathedral. The bishop purchased a number of houses around and on the site and had them torn down. He established a road for getting building materials to the site. Bishop Sully selected artists, purchased materials, and chose the subjects for sculptures and the stained glass windows. He paid for the leaded roof from his own fortune.

By 1163 the foundations of the choir were in place work on the wall could begin. Pope Alexander III, (exiled at the time) along with Bishop Sully, Louis VII, and other notables of church and royalty attended the laying of the first stone of the new church. The Pope blessed the stone, and work began; it would require 140 years of construction to finish the cathedral. According to the original plans spires were planned for the two front towers, but were never put in place.

Like today, the square in front of the cathedral was full of pilgrims. Mystery and Miracle plays were performed in front of the church and merchants sold souvenirs and food in a nearly unbroken line to the present. During the French Revolution, when religion, especially Catholicism was outlawed, the cathedral was a "Temple of Reason," with clearly pagan festivities held within.

When architects began using flying buttresses and pointed arches, churches opened up and became brighter. Walls were thinner and more stained glass windows, the "eyes of God" appeared. Everything in the church was designed to lead the worshiper toward God and heaven. As you enter and begin to walk down the aisle, your eye will follow the lines of the arches upwards. Sit in one of the chairs, and, if possible, attend Mass at the cathedral. Cathedrals and churches are living, evolving bodies of the Christian faith. The worship service shows the church as it was meant to be. Visit the cathedral on a Monday morning when the chairs are removed for cleaning. The design and vastness of the building becomes apparent. The facade of Notre Dame de Paris features the Virgin Mary cradling the infant Jesus. The Rose window is her halo. Below Mary are the 28 Kings of Judah. During the French Revolution, these statues were mistaken for French nobility so they were "decapitated". They have since had their heads restored. The decapitated heads can be seen at the Cluny Museum.

Although the Kings of France were crowned at Reims, Henry the VI of England was crowned King of France there and Napoleon made the place into a Roman temple for his self-coronation. Neither of the coronations were long-lasting. The Rose windows at Notre Dame de Paris, especially the North window contain much of the original stained glass. Their diameters are 13 meters (43 feet) in diameter and 21 meters (67 feet) high. When the south window was being re-worked, the builders had to resort to using old glass instead of the more translucent new because the weight of the building was making the windows unstable. Other windows in the cathedral were replaced to give more light to the church. The North Rose is dedicated to the Old Testament, and the South Rose in dedicated to the New Testament. A corridor off to the right leads to the treasury (entrance fee required). Among other things the Treasury contains the precious relic of the Crown of Thorns worn by Christ. The relic was acquired by St. Louis who brought it to Notre Dame de Paris on 18th of August 1239. It was kept at St. Chapelle, which had been built for this purpose. After the Revolution it was entrusted to the Cathedral. Sketches and photos represent the relic, normally exposed only for an hour on Fridays during Lent.

Notre Dame is literally the center of France and Paris. A star in the courtyard is the point from which all distances are measured in France. Across the river, on the Left Bank, is the student quarter of Paris. Across the square, the Prefecture de Police, and the Palais de Justice, bring the sacred in contact with the secular. The law courts were a former palace of the kings. Louis XIII called Notre Dame de Paris, "our parish church". The Hotel-Dieu, the first hospital in Paris is on the north side of the square. Bishop Sully did not want to build a new cathedral without re-building the hospital for the sick and poor. The money collected for the building of the cathedral was divided into two parts, one for the cathedral, and the other for the hospital. Even though it delayed the building of the cathedral, the hospital was re-built.

The cathedral is open from 8:00 to 18:45, and is free. The Treasury is open 9:30-17:30 and costs 3 euros. Climb to the top of the North Tower (about 400 steps) for great views, entrance outside, cost 5 euros. Metro is Cite. At the far end of the square is the archeological crypt. For 5 euros you'll see Roman ruins and early street plans and development of Paris.
Article courtesy of Constance Montague.