Notre-Dame de Paris, 1870s
Street level view of Notre Dame, Paris, France, with pedestrians on the street in the foreground. Notre-Dame de Paris is a historic Catholic cathedral of Paris, France. The cathedral is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. Notre-Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress. Many small individually crafted statues were placed around the outside to serve as column supports and water spouts. Among these are the famous gargoyles, designed for water run-off, and chimeras. The statues were originally colored as was most of the exterior. The paint has worn off, but the gray stone was once covered with vivid colors. The cathedral was essentially complete by 1345. The cathedral has a narrow climb of 387 steps at the top of several spiral staircases along the climb it is possible to view its most famous bell and its gargoyles in close quarters, as well as having a spectacular view across Paris when reaching the top. While undergoing renovation and restoration, the roof of Notre-Dame caught fire on the evening of April 15, 2019. Burning for around 15 hours, the cathedral sustained serious damage, including the destruction of the spire and most of the lead-covered wooden roof above the stone vaulted ceiling. Lithograph by Charles RiviC re, 1870s
