13 Hidden Secrets of the Famous Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is an architectural gem of the Gothic style, as well as being one of the most emblematic places in all of France. This majestic building is home to many stories and the main stage of Victor Hugo’s novel, Our Lady of Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame). If you’ve read the book, been to Paris or simply reviewed a tourist guide, you could say you already know Notre Dame, but have you heard about the secret details that made this cathedral so important historically?

And, if you are going to take advantage of your vacation to travel to this incredible city, be sure to visit the cathedral.

O awesome.club joined the most impressive secrets of the famous cathedral, from the beginning of its construction (1163), to the background of those characters that we thought were only fictional.

A document belonging to the Tate Modern museum in London has revealed an impressive fact for fans of Victor Hugo’s novel. It is the autobiography of the sculptor Henry Sibson, who was hired by the French government to work on the repair of Notre Dame cathedral. In this text, Sibson reports that, along with him, there was another sculptor hired by the government, which was hunchbacked and lonely🇧🇷 Victor Hugo’s novel was written at the same time that Sibson and the hunchbacked sculptor were working on the cathedral. Is it a coincidence or is it the real Quasimodo?

The construction process of the Paris cathedral lasted almost two centuries with the intervention of many architects. After the French Revolution, the Notre Dame was devastated and forgotten and it was then that the restoration process began at the hands of Viollet-le-Duc.

Le-Duc’s work was criticized because a large part of his intervention came from his romantic vision of the Middle Ages, but the fact is that, from that moment on, the cathedral regained its splendor and prestige. There are many curious elements in Viollet-le-Duc’s work, one of the most interesting being the apostles introduced as decoration. If we look closely, we can see that one of these characters is the architect himself, observing his creation.

Another unmissable attraction of Notre Dame is the large rose window located on the north facade. It measures 13 meters in diameter and contains 80 images from the Old Testamentarranged around the central image of the virgin.

Meanwhile, at the opposite end, there is a rose window with the image of the Christ of the Apocalypse, which was added by Viollet-le-Duc during the restoration.

In the central part of the cathedral, a huge tower was installed, adorned at the tip by a rooster, symbol of of the country of the Gauls. Not only is the rooster itself a very curious detail, but the Cathedral also contains three relics: one of Saint Denis, one of Saint Genevieve and part of Christ’s crown of thorns.

Gothic architecture is characterized by its long pointed arches, element used for Christians to feel closer to God. It was Bishop Mauricio de Sully who had the ambition to create the largest church of the time. As a result, the main nave of Notre Dame was raised 33 meters high and with a capacity for 9,000 people.

The massive arches of the main building end with an impressive wooden roof. This peculiar coverage was made with more than 1,300 chestnut woodthat is, about 24 hectares of forest.

Emmanuel is the name of the great bell of Notre Dame. weighs 13 tons and was restored in the 17th century. To get to know him, you must go to the tower on the right, where you will see him at the highest point.

Another element added by Viollet-le-Duc were chimeras and gargoyles. The most famous is a styx, something like a vampire in roman mythology.

Nowadays it is difficult to imagine a similar festival, however, in the Middle Ages, inside this religious building, a ritual with donkeys was celebrated. Every December 26th, a man disguised as a bishop was riding a donkey and rode through the interior of the cathedral. Hundreds of people dressed in costumes danced and sang alongside him. Can you imagine something like that? Today we only see parades of tourists photographing non-stop.

Although this work is considered the most important representation of Gothic, Notre Dame, 90 meters high, is far from being the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. The largest of them is in Ulm, Germany (161.5 meters high), and the second, in Cologne, also in Germany. As a curiosity, the Sé Cathedral, in São Paulo (in neo-Gothic style) it is also taller: it is 100 meters and is one of the five tallest in the world in this style.

After the reforms carried out by Viollet-le-Duc, the great cathedral of Paris regained its importance. This renaissance also made it included in Baron Haussmann’s urban plan. Under the authorization of Napoleon III, Haussmann it demolished countless houses and buildings that obstructed the view of the cathedral. This is how a new square was created in front of the main façade.

In 2013, a beekeeper donated a hive of bees to the cathedral. The administrators, grateful for this gift, decided to put it in the sacristy roof, on the south side of the building. On your next visit, don’t forget to visit the roof.

In the center of the main square of Notre Dame is a circle integrated into the pavement, divided into four parts, which remind us of a compass. You can read about it: “Ground zero of routes in France”, since it is from there that the country’s distances are recorded. If you stop inside that circle, you can be sure you are on the Paris exact city center and at ground zero for all of France.

You are now an expert on the majestic cathedral. But did you happen to notice any of these secret details before?