Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris, without a doubt, the most famous in Europe. In France, all roads lead to it - back in the 18th century, geographers decided to measure distances from the “heart of Paris” - Notre-Dame de Paris. For centuries, Notre Dame Cathedral was the main center of city life: emperors were crowned here and the first parliament of France met, royal weddings and funerals were held, the rich deposited their valuables here, and the poor sought shelter here. Nowadays, about 13 million tourists visit it annually - this is more than all of them combined.
Myths and facts
In the Middle Ages, Notre-Dame de Paris was the Bible for those who could not read - the entire history of Christianity from the Fall to the Last Judgment is clearly depicted in numerous sculptures decorating the building. And the eerie and bizarre chimeras and gargoyles, watching from the roof over the endless stream of parishioners, have collected an incredible number of legends and myths about the secret meaning of the symbolism of the mystical temple. Esotericists believe that the code of occult teachings is encrypted here. Victor Hugo called Notre Dame "the most satisfactory brief reference book of occultism." In the 17th century, researchers tried to decipher the secret of the philosopher's stone, which, according to legend, was encoded by medieval alchemists in its architecture.
Other legends tell of devilish participation in the construction of the temple. The blacksmith Biscornet was commissioned to forge the most beautiful figured gates for the Paris Cathedral. Unable to complete the order, the blacksmith called on the devil for help. In the morning, when the minister of Notre Dame came to look at the sketches of the future gate, he found the blacksmith unconscious, and in front of him shone a masterpiece with openwork patterns of unprecedented beauty. The gates were installed, the locks were installed, but it turned out that they could not be opened! The locks gave way only after sprinkling with holy water. The Parisian historian Henri Sauval, who in 1724 investigated the origin of the patterns on the gates, which do not look like either forged or cast, said: “Biscornet took this secret with him without revealing it, either fearing that the manufacturing secret would be stolen , or fearing exposure, because no one saw how he forged the gates of Notre-Dame de Paris.”
The Paris shrine is built on the site of a pagan temple where the Romans worshiped Jupiter in the 1st century. Later, in 528, the Romanesque church of Saint-Etienne was installed here. And finally, in 1163, the Bishop of Paris founded a new cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Notre Dame).
The legendary building was destined to witness many significant events V . Here the crusaders prayed before leaving for the holy wars, Philip IV convened the States General - the first parliament in 1302, Henry VI (the only ruler of England who bore the title “King of France”) was crowned in 1422 and Mary Stuart was married to Francis II, and in 1804 Napoleon wore the Emperor's crown.
In the midst french revolution, in which Paris was the epicenter, outraged people stormed the cathedral, which had become a symbol of royal power, and in the heat of the moment they beheaded 28 statues of the kings of the Jews. Many treasures were destroyed or looted, only large bells escaped melting down. The building survived by luck - after the destruction of Cluny Abbey, the revolutionaries ran out of explosives. So Notre Dame Cathedral was declared the Temple of Reason, and the premises were used as a food warehouse.
Only in mid-19th century, after the publication of Victor Hugo’s first novel “Notre-Dame de Paris,” where in the preface he wrote: “One of my main goals is to inspire the nation with love for our architecture,” restoration began famous temple. All the broken statues were replaced, a tall spire was added, and the roof was populated with demons and chimeras. In addition, houses nearby were demolished to improve the view of the renovated building.
And yet, the main merit of the popularity of the most famous one does not lie in its history. Notre-Dame de Paris houses one of the greatest Christian relics - the Crown of Thorns of Jesus Christ, bought by Louis IX from the Byzantine emperor in 1238. Today, the popular shrine, which attracts huge crowds of pilgrims, can accommodate 9,000 people at a time.
What to see
The main western façade of the building is divided into three tiers. The lower one consists of three portals - the Last Judgment, the Madonna and Child and St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, the middle tier is the gallery of kings with 28 statues of the kings of Judah and Israel and a rose window of the 13th century, the upper tier is a tower 69 meters high, which was the highest structure at the time of construction.
Each bell on the towers of Notre Dame has its own name. The oldest of them is Belle (1631), the largest is Emmanuel, weighing 13 tons, his beater alone weighs 500 kg. But they use it only in special cases. The remaining bells ring every day at 8.00 and 19.00. The bravest can climb 387 steps to the top of one of the towers.
The sculpture of the left portal “Glory” is amazing in its execution Holy Virgin", which is the best example of early French Gothic (1210). The Madonna and Child sits on a throne, flanked by two angels, a bishop with an assistant and a king. The upper part depicts scenes of the coming of Christ (Annunciation, Nativity, Magi), the lower part tells the story of Anna and Joseph.
IN Paris Cathedral no wall painting. Huge stained glass windows in the windows, letting in the sun's rays, paint the gray walls with a whole rainbow of shades. In some parts of the temple, purple and blue colors predominate, in others - orange or red, which gives enchanting luxury to the interior. Three 13th-century round rose windows shine like jewels on the west, north and south façade. Stained glass windows with a diameter of up to 13 m depict scenes from the Old Testament, the earthly life of the Savior and the Mother of God.
Over the years, valuable items and gifts used in religious ceremonies have accumulated - bishops' vestments, chalices, valuable manuscripts and a collection of 268 cameos, as well as a nail and a piece of the cross on which Jesus was crucified.
Notre Dame Cathedral is a working church where services are held using modern video effects: the text of a prayer in French and English and an image are projected onto a transparent screen biblical stories, and Notre Dame's own stained glass windows shine through it. The performance accompanies Beautiful music the largest organ in France.
In France there are many churches dedicated to Our Lady:, and others. Therefore, when saying Notre Dame in Paris, do not forget to add de Paris.
Notre-Dame Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame) is open daily from 8.00 to 18.45, on weekends - until 19.15, except May 1, December 25, January 1. Entrance to the tower from June to August is until 23.00.
Cost: admission is free. Visit to the tower: 8 euros, under 18 years old free.
Guided walks on English language: Wednesday and Thursday at 14.00, Saturday at 14.30.
Official website: www.notredamedeparis.fr (French, English)
The novel “Notre Dame de Paris,” created on the verge of sentimentalism and romanticism, combines the features of a historical epic, romantic drama and a deeply psychological novel.
The history of the novel
"Notre Dame Cathedral" - the first historical novel on French(the action, according to the author, takes place about 400 years ago, at the end of the 15th century). Victor Hugo began to hatch his idea back in the 1820s, and published it in March 1831. The prerequisites for the creation of the novel were the rising interest in historical literature and in particular to the Middle Ages.
In the literature of France of that time, romanticism began to take shape, and with it romantic tendencies V cultural life generally. Thus, Victor Hugo personally defended the need to preserve ancient architectural monuments, which many wanted to either demolish or rebuild.
There is an opinion that it was after the novel “Notre Dame Cathedral” that supporters of the demolition of the cathedral retreated, and an incredible interest in cultural monuments and a wave of civic consciousness arose in society in the desire to protect ancient architecture.
Characteristics of the main characters
It is precisely this reaction of society to the book that gives the right to say that the cathedral is a genuine main character novel, along with people. This is the main place of events, a silent witness to the dramas, love, life and death of the main characters; a place that, against the backdrop of transience human lives remains just as motionless and unshakable.
The main characters in human form are the gypsy Esmeralda, the hunchback Quasimodo, the priest Claude Frollo, the military man Phoebus de Chateaupert, and the poet Pierre Gringoire.
Esmeralda unites the rest of the main characters around her: all of the men listed are in love with her, but some - disinterestedly, like Quasimodo, others fiercely, like Frollo, Phoebus and Gringoire - experiencing carnal attraction; The gypsy herself loves Phoebus. In addition, all the characters are connected by the Cathedral: Frollo serves here, Quasimodo works as a bell-ringer, Gringoire becomes a priest's apprentice. Esmeralda usually performs in front of cathedral square, and Phoebus looks through the windows of his future wife Fleur-de-Lys, who lives not far from the Cathedral.
Esmeralda is a serene child of the streets, unaware of her attractiveness. She dances and performs in front of the Cathedral with her goat, and everyone around her, from the priest to the street thieves, gives her their hearts, worshiping her like a deity. With the same childish spontaneity with which a child reaches for shiny objects, Esmeralda gives her preference to Phoebus, the noble, brilliant chevalier.
The external beauty of Phoebus (coincides with the name of Apollo) is the only positive trait an internally ugly military man. A deceitful and dirty seducer, a coward, a lover of drink and foul language, he is a hero only before the weak, and a gentleman only before the ladies.
Pierre Gringoire, a local poet who was forced by circumstances to plunge into the thick of the street French life, is a little like Phoebus in that his feelings for Esmeralda are physical attraction. True, he is not capable of meanness, and loves in the gypsy both a friend and a person, putting aside her feminine charm.
The most sincere love for Esmeralda is nourished by the most terrible creature - Quasimodo, the bell ringer in the Cathedral, who was once picked up by the archdeacon of the temple, Claude Frollo. For Esmeralda, Quasimodo is ready to do anything, even love her quietly and secretly from everyone, even give the girl to his rival.
Claude Frollo has the most complex feelings for the gypsy. Love for a gypsy is a special tragedy for him, because this is a forbidden passion for him as a clergyman. Passion finds no way out, so he either appeals to her love, then pushes her away, then attacks her, then saves her from death, and finally, he himself hands the gypsy to the executioner. Frollo's tragedy is determined not only by the collapse of his love. He turns out to be a representative of the passing time and feels that he is becoming obsolete along with the era: a person receives more and more knowledge, moves away from religion, builds something new, destroys the old. Frollo holds the first printed book in his hands and understands how he disappears without a trace into the centuries along with handwritten volumes.
Plot, composition, problems of the work
The novel takes place in the 1480s. All the actions of the novel take place around the Cathedral - in the “City”, on Cathedral and Grevskaya squares, in the “Court of Miracles”.
A religious performance is given in front of the Cathedral (the author of the mystery is Gringoire), but the crowd prefers to watch Esmeralda dance on the Place de Greve. Looking at the gypsy, Gringoire, Quasimodo, and Frollo's father simultaneously fall in love with her. Phoebus meets Esmeralda when she is invited to entertain a group of girls, including Phoebe's fiancée, Fleur de Lys. Phoebus makes an appointment with Esmeralda, but the priest also comes to the date. Out of jealousy, the priest wounds Phoebus, and Esmeralda is blamed for this. Under torture, the girl confesses to witchcraft, prostitution and the murder of Phoebus (who actually survived) and is sentenced to hang. Claude Frollo comes to her in prison and persuades her to escape with him. On the day of the execution, Phoebus watches the execution of the sentence with his bride. But Quasimodo does not allow the execution to take place - he grabs the gypsy woman and runs to hide in the Cathedral.
The entire “Court of Miracles” - a haven of thieves and beggars - rushes to “free” their beloved Esmeralda. The king learned about the riot and ordered the gypsy to be executed at all costs. When she is executed, Claude laughs a devilish laugh. Seeing this, the hunchback rushes at the priest, and he breaks, falling from the tower.
Compositionally, the novel is looped: at first the reader sees the word “rock” inscribed on the wall of the Cathedral, and is immersed in the past 400 years; at the end, he sees two skeletons in a crypt outside the city, intertwined in an embrace. These are the heroes of the novel - the hunchback and the gypsy. Time has erased their history into dust, and the Cathedral still stands as an indifferent observer above human passions.
The novel depicts as private human passions(the problem of purity and meanness, mercy and cruelty), and people's (wealth and poverty, separation of power from the people). For the first time in European literature the personal drama of the characters develops against the backdrop of detailed historical events, and the private life and historical background are so interpenetrating.
The symbol of Paris is now the Eiffel Tower, but the “heart” of Paris is famous Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris, Notre Dame de Paris. It was with him that we began our acquaintance with the French capital.
The cathedral, 35 meters high, stands on the Seine River on the Ile de la Cité. It stands in a majestic bulk in the center of the city, the height of most of the houses in which is about 20 meters.
Notre-Dame de Paris was built in just under 2 centuries, from 1163 to 1345, although its main altar was consecrated already in 1182.
The portals of the cathedral are richly decorated with sculptures on biblical subjects.
The Last Judgment is depicted at the central entrance to Notre-Dame de Paris.
From the side the cathedral looks quite stern. On the top sit gargoyles that have turned green with time, and the stained glass windows of the cathedral from the outside look like dirty windows, and even behind bars.
Stained glass windows located high up are no longer so protected and look delicate. By the way, from the inside of the cathedral they look simply magnificent! But more on that below.
Behind Notre Dame Cathedral there is a small park.
In the center of the park is a statue of Our Lady.
This park is worth visiting if only to see the back of the cathedral.
It is significantly different from the front facade that most tourists look at.
For example, this spire is not visible from the square in front of the cathedral.
Let's go back. On the banks of the Seine in front of Notre Dame Cathedral there is a monument to Charlemagne.
We go inside the cathedral. He's impressive. They say that the cathedral was built in such a way that it could accommodate all 10,000 inhabitants of medieval Paris.
The cathedral is active. We came to the end of the service. By the way, tourists are not prohibited from filming in the Cathedral. They just ask you to do it without flash, so as not to disturb anyone.
And here are the legendary stained glass windows of Notre Dame de Paris.
Entrance to the cathedral is free, but there is a treasury in it, the entrance to which requires a fee.
Various relics, valuables, fragments of relics and especially expensive church items are collected here.
An interesting Catholic tradition is to install a Nativity scene in churches.
In the center, as it should be, is a stable with the baby Jesus and the wise men with gifts.
A separate part of Notre Dame Cathedral is intended more for tourists. For example, there is a model of a cathedral.
Anyone can light a candle here. The candles are right in the boxes with the cost of the candle written on them. You take it, put the coin in the box, and put a candle on it.
There is in Notre Dame de Paris and orthodox icon, donated to the cathedral by Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus', Alexy II.
You can climb the towers of the cathedral and the famous gallery of chimeras. To do this, you really have to stand in line under the walls, looking at the hanging gargoyles.
The queue moves slowly, since the staircase to the towers of the cathedral is very narrow and in one of the places it is necessary to go up and down the same staircase on which two people cannot pass each other.
But if time and health permit, it’s worth going upstairs.
Even in cloudy weather, a very interesting view opens up from here.
It is so high that the top is lost in the clouds.
Listed embankment of the Seine River world heritage UNESCO.
The hill of Montmartre with the Sacré-Coeur basilica is lost in the fog.
The cathedral has many statues of fantastic animals - chimeras.
Some of them look at the city as if they are terribly worried about what is happening in Paris.
Others look at the angel, waiting for him to start trumpeting.
Chimeras were installed on the cathedral in the mid-19th century, during the reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris.
At the foot of the spire are bronze figures of the apostles, greened with time.
And below, as far as visibility is clear, is Paris...
2015, Mochalov Artyom
Notre Dame Cathedral (Notre Dame de Paris; French: Notre Dame de Paris) - the geographical and spiritual “heart” of Paris, located in the eastern part of the Ile de la Cité, on the site of the first Christian church in Paris - St. Stephen’s Basilica, built in its queue, on the site of the Gallo-Roman temple of Jupiter.
The architecture of the cathedral reveals a duality of stylistic influences: on the one hand, there are echoes of the Romanesque style of Normandy with its characteristic powerful and dense unity, and on the other hand, innovative architectural achievements were used gothic style, which give the building lightness and create the impression of simplicity of the vertical structure. The height of the cathedral is 35 m, length is 130 m, width is 48 m, the height of the bell towers is 69 m, the weight of the Emmanuel bell in the eastern tower is 13 tons, its tongue is 500 kg.
Story
Construction began in 1163, under Louis VII of France. Historians disagree about who exactly laid the first stone in the foundation of the cathedral - Bishop Maurice de Sully or the pope Alexander III. The main altar of the cathedral was consecrated in May 1182, by 1196 the nave of the building was almost completed, work continued only on the main facade. By 1250, the construction of the cathedral was largely completed, and in 1315 the interior decoration was also completed.
Construction of the west gable, with its distinctive two towers, began around 1200.
The main creators of Notre Dame are considered to be two architects - Jean de Chelles, who worked from 1250 to 1265, and Pierre de Montreuil (the creator of the Holy Chapel. He died in 1267), who worked from 1250 to 1267.
Many different architects took part in the construction of the cathedral, as evidenced by the different styles and different heights of the western side and towers. The towers were completed in 1245 and the entire cathedral in 1345.
The powerful and majestic facade is divided vertically into three parts by pilasters, and horizontally into three tiers by galleries, while the lower tier, in turn, has three deep portals: the portal of the Last Judgment (in the middle), the portal of the Virgin Mary (left) and the portal of St. . Anna (right). Above them is an arcade (Gallery of Kings) with twenty-eight statues representing the kings of ancient Judea.
The cathedral with its magnificent interior decoration For many centuries it served as the venue for royal weddings, imperial coronations and national funerals. In 1302, the States General, the first parliament of France, met there for the first time.
A thanksgiving service was held here for Charles VII, who was crowned in Reims. And a century and a half later, the wedding of Henry IV, who was the king of Navarre, and the sister of the French king Margarita de Valois took place.
As in other Gothic churches, there is no wall painting, and the only source of color is the numerous stained glass windows of the tall lancet windows.
During times Louis XIV At the end of the 17th century, the cathedral experienced serious changes: the graves and stained glass windows were destroyed.
During the Great French Revolution, at the end of the 18th century, one of the first decrees of Robespierre declared that if the Parisians do not want “the stronghold of obscurantism to be demolished,” then they must pay a bribe to the Convention “for the needs of all revolutions that will occur with our help.” in other countries".
The cathedral was declared the Temple of Reason.
In July 1793, the Convention declared that “all emblems of all kingdoms must be wiped off the face of the earth,” and Robespierre personally ordered the beheading of “the stone kings who adorn the churches.”
The cathedral was returned to the church and re-consecrated in 1802, under Napoleon.
Restoration began in 1841 under the direction of the architect Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879). This famous Parisian restorer also worked on the restoration of Amiens Cathedral, the Carcassonne fortress in the south of France and the Gothic church of Sainte-Chapelle. Restoring the building and sculptures, replacing broken statues and constructing the famous spire took 23 years. Viollet-le-Duc also came up with the idea of a gallery of chimeras on the façade of the cathedral. The statues of chimeras are installed on the upper platform at the foot of the towers.
During these same years, buildings adjacent to the cathedral were demolished, resulting in the formation of the current square in front of its façade.
The cathedral houses one of the great Christian relics - the Crown of Thorns of Jesus Christ. Until 1063, the crown was located on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, from where it was transported to the palace of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople. Baldwin II de Courtenay, the last emperor of the Latin Empire, was forced to pawn the relic in Venice, but due to lack of funds there was no money to buy it back. In 1238, King Louis IX of France acquired the crown from the Byzantine emperor. On August 18, 1239, the king brought it into Notre-Dame de Paris. In 1243-1248, the Sainte-Chapelle (Holy Chapel) was built at the royal palace on the Ile de la Cité to store the Crown of Thorns, which was located here until the French Revolution. The crown was later transferred to the treasury of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Architecture
Main facade The cathedral has three doors. Above the three pointed portals of the entrances are sculptural panels with various episodes from the Gospel.
Above central entrance An image of the Last Judgment is placed. Seven statues each support the entrance arches (1210). In the center is Christ the Judge.
The lower lintel depicts the dead rising from their graves. They were awakened by two angels with trumpets. Among the dead are one king, one pope, warriors and women (symbolizing the presence on Last Judgment of all humanity). On the upper tympanum there is Christ and two angels on both sides.
Plan of the cathedral from the book " Dictionary French architecture of the XI-XVI centuries"
Viollet-le-Duc, 1856.
The doors are decorated with forged reliefs.
The roof of the cathedral is made of 5 mm thick lead tiles laid in overlapping layers, and the entire roof weighs 210 tons.
Top part The cathedral is decorated with images of gargoyles (protruding ends of beams decorated with the faces of fantastic creatures) and chimeras (these are individual statues of fantastic creatures).
In the Middle Ages there were no chimeras at the cathedral. It was the restorer, the architect Viollet-le-Duc, who came up with the idea of installing them, using medieval gargoyles as a model. They were performed by fifteen sculptors, led by Geoffroy Deshaume.
The oak, lead-covered spire of the cathedral (also added by the restorer instead of dismantled in 1786) has a height of 96 meters. The base of the spire is surrounded by four groups of bronze statues of the apostles (by Geoffroy Dechaumes). In front of each group is an animal, the symbol of the evangelist: the lion is the symbol of Mark, the bull is Luke, the eagle is John and the angel is Matthew. All the statues look towards Paris, except St. Thomas, the patron saint of architects, who faces the spire.
A significant part of the stained glass windows was made in the middle of the 19th century. The main stained glass window - the rose above the entrance to the cathedral - is partially original, preserved from the Middle Ages (9.6 meters in diameter). In the center is the Mother of God, around are seasonal agricultural work, zodiac signs, virtues and sins. Two side roses on the northern and southern facades of the cathedral in both transepts are 13 meters in diameter (the largest in Europe). During the restoration, the stained glass windows were initially supposed to be white, but Prosper Merimee insisted that they be made similar to the medieval ones.
The big bell (sounding in F-sharp tone) rings very rarely. The remaining bells ring at 8 and 19 o'clock. Each of them has its own name:
- Angelique Francoise, weighing 1765 kg (C sharp);
- Antoinette Charlotte, weighing 1158 kg (D sharp);
- Hyacinthe Jeanne, weighing 813 kg (fa);
- Denise David, weighing 670 kg (F-sharp).
Inside the cathedral, transepts (transverse naves), intersecting with the main longitudinal one, form a cross in plan, but in Notre Dame the transepts are somewhat wider than the nave itself. In the center of the long nave is a successive series of sculptural scenes from the Gospel.
In the chapels located on the right side of the cathedral there are paintings and sculptures different artists, which, according to a centuries-old tradition, are presented to the cathedral annually on the first day of May.
The cathedral's chandelier (chandelier) is made of silvered bronze according to a design by Viollet-le-Duc, replacing the one melted down in 1792. (Taken in for restoration in 2007.)
Gallery of Kings
Stone figures lined up between the portals and the tier of rose windows. Those that are now made in the 19th century and depict kings from the Old Testament.
Previously, this place housed medieval statues of French kings. During the Revolution they were thrown down and beheaded.
In 1977, during work under one of the houses, part of the statues was discovered. It turned out that during the Revolution one owner of the house bought them, supposedly for the foundation, but in fact buried them with all honors and built his own house on this place.
Organ
First large organ was installed in the cathedral in 1402. For these purposes, an old organ was used, placed in a new Gothic building. During its life, the organ was repeatedly completed and reconstructed. The most important are the restorations, reconstructions and extensions of Thierry in 1733, François-Henri Clicquot in 1788, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in 1868, and Boisot in 1960, as well as the collaboration with Synaptel in 1992, which allowed the organ to be completely computerized. Already from the time of Thierry's restoration, the instrument consisted of 46 registers located on five manuals. During its construction, most of the original instrument's pipes were used, 12 of which survive to this day. The organ also acquired its current building with a façade in the Louis XVI style.
In 1864-67, the leading French organ builder of the 19th century, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, carried out a complete reconstruction of the organ. The baroque instrument acquired the romantic sound typical of Cavaillé-Coll. The number of registers was increased to 86, the mechanical structure was equipped with Barker levers.
Among a number of other composers, Cesar Frank and Camille Saint-Saëns played on this organ. The position of titular organist of Notre Dame Cathedral, along with the position of organist of Saint-Sulpice Cathedral, is considered one of the most prestigious in France. From 1900 to 1937, this post was held by Louis Vierne, with whose participation the instrument was expanded in 1902 and 1932, and its structure was replaced with an electro-pneumatic one.
In 1959, the Cavaillé-Coll console was replaced with a console traditional for American organs, and the structure became completely electric, using more than 700 km of copper cable. However, the complexity and archaic nature of such a design, as well as frequent failures, led to the fact that during the next reconstruction of the organ in 1992, the control of the instrument was computerized, and the copper cable was replaced by an optical one.
The organ currently has 111 stops and approximately 8,000 pipes, approximately 900 of which are from the period instrument of Thierry and Clicquot. This is the largest organ in terms of the number of registers. In 1985, four titular organists were appointed, each of whom, according to the tradition of the 18th century, conducted services for three months a year. Since 1990, the titular organists of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris have been three musicians: Olivier Latry, Philippe Lefebvre, Jean-Pierre Legue.
In fiction
The cathedral is the main " actor» the following works:
- Victor Hugo. "Notre Dame (novel)" (1831).
- Elena Chudinova. “Notre Dame Mosque (novel)” (2004).
In popular culture
- The cathedral is featured in the documentary series Life After People After 2000 Years.
- In the movie Armageddon, Notre Dame is destroyed along with the center of Paris due to a meteorite falling.
- In the movie Van Helsing, Van Helsing kills Mr. Hyde here.
- In the cartoon "Cars 2" the cathedral is shown in a slightly modified form.
- In the cartoon "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" the cathedral is shown in great detail.
- Mentioned in the song “Faith and the Swastika” from the 2011 album “Animal Jazz” by the group Animal Jazz.
- Mentioned in words in the film “Operation “Y” and other adventures of Shurik”, 1965.
What associations come to your mind when you hear “Notre-Dame de Paris”?) For me - the Cathedral, Paris, Quasimodo, Belle and Slava Petkun)) In fact, there are many more associations for this place - after all, this is the main attraction of Paris, along with with the famous Eiffel Tower!
Notre Dame Cathedral- the geographical and spiritual “heart” of Paris, built in the western part of the Ile de la Cité, on the site where in the 1st century AD there was an ancient Roman altar dedicated to Jupiter. Among the Gothic churches of France, Notre Dame Cathedral stands out for the austere grandeur of its appearance. In terms of beauty, proportions, and the degree to which the idea of Gothic art is embodied, this cathedral is a unique phenomenon. Today, looking at its holistic and harmonious ensemble, it is impossible to believe that the cathedral took almost two hundred years to build, that it was remodeled and thoroughly restored many times.
Construction began in 1163, under Louis VII of France. Historians disagree about who exactly laid the first stone in the foundation of the cathedral - Bishop Maurice de Sully or Pope Alexander III. The main altar of the cathedral was consecrated in May 1182, by 1196 the nave of the building was almost completed, work continued only on the main facade. By 1250, the construction of the cathedral was largely completed, and in 1315 the interior decoration was also completed.
Construction of the west gable, with its distinctive two towers, began around 1200.
The main creators of Notre Dame are considered to be two architects - Jean de Chelles, who worked from 1250 to 1265, and Pierre de Montreuil, who worked from 1250 to 1267.
During the construction of the cathedral, many different architects took part in it, as evidenced by the different styles and different heights of the western side and towers. The towers were completed in 1245 and the entire cathedral in 1345.
The powerful and majestic facade is divided vertically into three parts by pilasters, and horizontally into three tiers by galleries, while the lower tier, in turn, has three deep portals. Above them is an arcade (Gallery of Kings) with twenty-eight statues representing the kings of ancient Judea.
The cathedral, with its magnificent interior decoration, served for many centuries as the venue for royal weddings, imperial coronations and national funerals. In 1302, the States General, the first parliament of France, met there for the first time.
A thanksgiving service was held here for Charles VII, who was crowned in Reims. And a century and a half later, the wedding of Henry IV, who was the king of Navarre, and the sister of the French king Marguerite Valois took place.
As in other Gothic churches, there is no wall painting, and the only source of color is the numerous stained glass windows of the tall lancet windows.
During the time of Louis XIV, at the end of the 17th century, the cathedral experienced serious changes: the graves and stained glass windows were destroyed.
During the Great French Revolution, at the end of the 18th century, one of the first decrees of Robespierre declared that if the Parisians do not want “the stronghold of obscurantism to be demolished,” then they must pay a bribe to the Convention “for the needs of all revolutions that will occur with our help.” in other countries".
The cathedral was declared the Temple of Reason.
The cathedral was returned to the church and re-consecrated in 1802, under Napoleon.
Restoration began in 1841 under the direction of the architect Viollet-le-Duc. This famous Parisian restorer also worked on the restoration of Amiens Cathedral, the Carcassonne fortress in the south of France and the Gothic church of Sainte-Chapelle. Restoring the building and sculptures, replacing broken statues and constructing the famous spire took 23 years. Viollet-le-Duc also came up with the idea of a gallery of chimeras on the façade of the cathedral. The statues of chimeras are installed on the upper platform at the foot of the towers.
During these same years, buildings adjacent to the cathedral were demolished, resulting in the formation of the current square in front of its façade.
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris houses one of the great relics of Christianity - the Crown of Thorns of Jesus Christ. Until 1063, the Crown of Thorns was kept on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. In 1063 it was transported to the palace of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople. In 1204, the sacred relic was captured by Western European crusading knights who burst into Constantinople and plundered the Christian city. Before this, for a thousand years the conqueror had not set foot on the stones of the streets of Constantinople. Under the attacks of the crusaders, the Byzantine Empire fell apart into several parts. Constantinople found itself under the rule of a dynasty of some provincial princes, who insatiably plundered the remnants of the great heritage they had inherited, but were still constantly in need of money. One of them, Baldwin II, began selling sacred relics of Christianity to get out of debt. As a result, the Crown of Thorns went to the French King Louis IX. On August 18, 1239, the king brought it into the Notre Dame de Paris. In 1243-1248, the Sainte-Chapelle was built at the royal palace on the Ile de la Cité to store the Crown of Thorns, which was located here until the French Revolution, when crowds of revolutionary-minded citizens, intoxicated by “freedom, equality and fraternity,” tore the chapel to pieces. However, the Crown of Thorns was saved and in 1809 was transferred for storage to Notre Dame Cathedral, where it continues to be located for almost two centuries.
The cathedral reveals a duality of stylistic influences: on the one hand, there are echoes of the Romanesque style of Normandy with its characteristic powerful and dense unity, and on the other, innovative architectural achievements of the Gothic style are used, which give the building lightness and create the impression of simplicity of the vertical structure. The height of the cathedral is 35 m, length is 130 m, width is 48 m, the height of the bell towers is 69 m, the weight of the Emmanuel bell in the eastern tower is 13 tons, its tongue is 500 kg.
The main facade of the cathedral has three doors. Above the three pointed portals of the entrances are sculptural panels with various episodes from the Gospel.
Above the central entrance there is an image of the Last Judgment. Seven statues each support the entrance arches. In the center is Christ the Judge. The lower lintel depicts the dead rising from their graves. They were awakened by two angels with trumpets. Among the dead are one king, one pope, warriors and women (symbolizing the presence of all mankind at the Last Judgment). On the upper tympanum there is Christ and two angels on both sides.
The doors are decorated with forged reliefs. The roof of the cathedral is made of 5 mm thick lead tiles laid in overlapping layers, and the entire roof weighs 210 tons.
The upper part of the cathedral is decorated with images of gargoyles (the protruding ends of beams decorated with the faces of fantastic creatures) and chimeras (these are individual statues of fantastic creatures).
In the Middle Ages there were no chimeras at the cathedral. It was the restorer, the architect Viollet-le-Duc, who came up with the idea of installing them, using medieval gargoyles as a model. They were performed by fifteen sculptors, led by Geoffroy Deshaume.
The cathedral's oak, lead-covered spire is 96 meters high. The base of the spire is surrounded by four groups of bronze statues of the apostles. In front of each group is an animal, a symbol of the evangelist: a lion - a symbol of Mark, a bull - Luke, an eagle - John and an angel - Matthew. All the statues look towards Paris, except St. Thomas, the patron saint of architects, who faces the spire.
A significant part of the stained glass windows was made in the middle of the 19th century. The main stained glass window - the rose above the entrance to the cathedral - is partially original, preserved from the Middle Ages (9.6 meters in diameter). In its center is the Mother of God, around are seasonal agricultural work, zodiac signs, virtues and sins. Two side roses on the northern and southern facades of the cathedral in both transepts are 13 meters in diameter (the largest in Europe). During the restoration, the stained glass windows were initially supposed to be white, but Prosper Merimee insisted that they be made similar to the medieval ones.
Unfortunately, among the stained glass windows of Notre Dame Cathedral, very few are authentic. Almost all of them are later works, replacing the broken and damaged ones long history stained glass. Only the rose window has survived intact to this day. But not only the stained glass windows, but also the cathedral itself may not have survived to this day: the Masonic leaders of the French Revolution and the crowd they led aroused particular anger at the Church of Our Lady, and since the bacchanalia raged with particular force in Paris, the Cathedral of Notre Dame suffered. significantly larger than other cathedrals in France. Heavily damaged during the revolution, the ancient building fell into disrepair from the end of the 18th century even in the years when Victor Hugo wrote his famous novel“Notre Dame Cathedral”, the temple was already threatened with complete destruction.
Inside the cathedral, transepts (transverse naves), intersecting with the main longitudinal one, form a cross in plan, but in Notre Dame the transepts are somewhat wider than the nave itself. In the center of the long nave is a successive series of sculptural scenes from the Gospel.
In the chapels located on the right side of the cathedral there are paintings and sculptures by various artists, which, according to a centuries-old tradition, are presented to the cathedral as a gift annually on the first day of May.
The cathedral's chandelier (chandelier) is made of silvered bronze according to a design by Violet Le Duc, replacing the one melted down in 1792. In the photo - the ceiling Notre Dame Cathedral
The first large organ was installed in the cathedral in 1402. For these purposes, an old organ was used, placed in a new Gothic building. Such an instrument could not give voice to the huge space of the cathedral, so in 1730 François-Henri Clicquot completed its completion. The instrument consisted of 46 registers located on five manuals. During its construction, most of the original instrument's pipes were used, 12 of which survive to this day. The organ also acquired its current building with a façade in the Louis XVI style.
In 1864-67, the leading French organ builder of the 19th century, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, carried out a complete reconstruction of the organ. The baroque instrument acquired the romantic sound typical of Cavaillé-Coll. The number of registers was increased to 86, the mechanical structure was equipped with a Barker lever. Among a number of other composers, Cesar Frank and Camille Saint-Saëns played on this organ. The position of titular organist of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, along with the position of organist of the Cathedral of St. Sulpice, is considered one of the most prestigious in France. From 1900 to 1937, this post was held by Louis Vierne, under whom the instrument was expanded in 1902 and 1932, and its structure was replaced with an electro-pneumatic one. In 1959, the Cavaillé-Coll console was replaced with a console traditional for American organs, and the structure became completely electric, using more than 700 km of copper cable. However, the complexity and archaic nature of such a design, as well as frequent failures, led to the fact that during the next reconstruction of the organ in 1992, the control of the instrument was computerized, and the copper cable was replaced by fiber optics.
The organ currently has 109 stops and approximately 7,800 pipes, approximately 900 of which are from a Clicquot instrument. In 1985, four titular organists were appointed, each of whom, according to the tradition of the 18th century, conducts services for three months a year.
