Page 84 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Paris

82  P ARIS AREA B Y AREA

1 Notre-Dame

No other building is more associated with the history of
Paris than Notre-Dame. It stands majestically on the Ile de
la Cité, cradle of the city. Pope Alexander III laid the first
stone in 1163, marking the start of 170 years of toil by armies
of Gothic architects and medieval craftsmen. Ever since, a
procession of the famous has passed through the three
main doors below the massive towers.
The cathedral is a Gothic masterpiece, standing on the site
of a Roman temple. At the time it was finished, in about 1334,
it was 130 m (430 ft) long and featured flying buttresses, a
large transept, a deep choir and 69-m (228-ft) high towers.
. West Front
Three main doors with
superb statuary, a central
rose window and an
openwork gallery are
important details here.

. Galerie des Chimères
The cathedral’s legendary gargoyles
(chimères) hide behind a large upper
gallery between the towers.

KEY
1 Portal of the Virgin The
Virgin surrounded by saints and
kings is a fine composition of
13th-century statues.
2 The south tower houses the
cathedral’s famous Emmanuel bell.
3 The spire, designed by Viollet-
le-Duc, soars to a height of 90 m
(295 ft).
4 The treasury houses the
cathedral’s religious treasures,
including Christ’s purported
Crown of Thorns.
5 The transept was built at the
start of Philippe-Auguste’s reign,
in the 13th century.
6 The King’s Gallery features . West Rose Window
28 Kings of Judah gazing down This window depicts the
on the crowds. Virgin in a medallion of
rich reds and blues.

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