Notre Dame Cathedral Research Paper

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Recommended: Styles and trends of gothic architecture

Why is it unique?

Many would be shocked to know that Notre Dame Cathedral is the most popular monument in Paris and all of France. It even beats the Eiffel Tower with 13 million visitors each year. The church remains operating through out the centuries, and it is a pivotal point for Catholicism in France. Created between 1211 and 1516, the Cathedral is a figurative center of the Archbishops influence. The cathedral shows the first examples of flying buttresses and French Gothic architecture. In addition to that it also includes the world’s largest organs and church bells. The Cathedral remains intact and open to the public, but many are unaware that the cathedral has suffered through revolutions, wars and destruction – but through careful …show more content…

The gothic period was born in Paris during an architectural uprising. This new style permitted the altitude and the opening of the walls so the incorporation of large windows and rosettes could be an option. The cathedral contains other touches of gothic style as well as a heavy influence of naturalism in its stained glass windows and sculptures. The building includes several flying buttresses, which are arched exterior supports. These weren’t originally part of the proposal but due to the Gothic influence the ceilings and walls needed to be tall and sloped (Gothic Arches = 55 degree incline), which was triggering a lot of stress fractures. To avoid the thinner walls failing due to stress fractures architects made supports around the external walls and later add-ons continued these patterns. It is said that each beam in the cathedral is made from a different tree, getting its nickname “the forest”, for the immense amount of wood needed during construction. These beam structures were generally made of oak. The building was severely damaged in the French revolution—among other times, and during the 19th century there was a large repair project to entirely restore all the battered structures in the Cathedral. The restoration included getting rid of a lot of the burnt wooden beams in the Cathedral (Bombardment) and replace them with concrete. Although not all of the cathedral could be restored to original state—many of the stain glass windows (originally al multicolored) have disappeared due to acts of vandalism during the 18th century enlightenment movement and

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