Notre-Dame Cathedral

As an impressive marvel of medieval architecture, Notre-Dame Cathedral is probably the most famous of all cathedrals in the world. The grand cathedral stands on the Ile de la Cite, the oldest part of Paris. Notre-Dame literally means "our lady". Started in 1163 and completed in 1330, Notre-Dame Cathedral has a striking gothic exterior, with two broad towers. The gothic exterior is full of intricate details. The Cathedral had to reflect Paris's status as the capital of the Kingdom France. This cathedral was among the first buildings in the world to use arched exterior supports, known as flying buttress. It was the first cathedral built on a monumental scale and became the prototype for future cathedrals in France.

During the early 19th century, the cathedral was in a state of poor condition, after the French Revolution. The city planners began to consider tearing the structure down. French novelist Victor Hugo, an admirer of the cathedral, was in opposition to the government. He then wrote his famous novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame to raise awareness of the cathedral's heritage, which sparked the renewed interest in the cathedral's fate. A campaign to collect funds to save the cathedral soon followed, and finally restorations are done to renovate the cathedral. In 1996, the Hunchback of Notre Dame is made into a Walt Disney Movie. You have likely seen the Notre-Dame Cathedral in it!

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