A masterpiece of Gothic medieval architecture and one of the most famous historical landmarks in Paris, over the course of its history Notre-Dame Cathedral has hosted dozens of royal coronations and weddings, and takes a starring turn in Victor Hugo\u2019s 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame<\/em>. We explore the history of Notre-Dame de Paris (\u201cOur Lady of Paris\u201d in French) through 10 surprising facts\u2026<\/strong><\/p>

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Building work on Notre-Dame Cathedral began in the reign of Louis VII<\/h3>\n<\/div>
There have been four iterations of holy buildings on the site where Notre-Dame stands. The cathedral was built over the course of 200 years \u2013 construction began in 1163 during the reign of King Louis VII, and the first stone is said to have been laid in the presence of Pope Alexander III. Building work on the cathedral, the interior of which is 427 by 157 feet (130 by 48 metres), was completed in 1345.<\/p>\n
Read more about the Notre-Dame fire: \u201cNot the worst chapter in its 850-year history\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
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Notre-Dame Cathedral has hosted several coronations and royal weddings<\/h3>\n<\/div>
The boy king of England, Henry VI<\/a>, was crowned king of France inside Notre-Dame in 1431, two years after his coronation at Westminster Abbey<\/a> in 1429. And in 1804, Napoleon<\/a> I and Josephine were crowned as emperor and empress of France at Notre-Dame.<\/p>\n
Notre-Dame has also hosted a number of famous royal weddings<\/a>: James V, king of Scotland, married Madeleine of Valois there in 1537; Mary, Queen of Scots<\/a> married her first husband (Francis, Dauphin of France) at Notre-Dame in 1558; and King Charles I<\/a> of England married his wife, Henrietta Maria<\/a> of France, in front of Notre-Dame by proxy in 1625, shortly after his accession to the throne.<\/p>\n
Requiem masses were held at Notre-Dame for presidents Charles de Gaulle (who led the French Resistance against Nazi Germany<\/a> in the Second World War<\/a>) and Fran\u00e7ois Mitterrand (president of France from 1981 to 1995).<\/p>
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King Louis XIV ransacked Notre-Dame Cathedral<\/h3>\n<\/div>
In the 18th century, Notre-Dame was plundered by King Louis XIV. According to National Geographic<\/a>: \u201cIn the 18th century ideas of architectural taste radically shifted. In the middle of the reign of Louis XIV, the venerable cathedral faced a radical and controversial makeover, a \u2018restoration\u2019 that later generations would consider caused more damage than centuries of wear and tear.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rood screen, studded with sculptures, was pulled down. The stained glass windows from the 12th and 13th centuries were replaced with clear glass. Only the three Notre-Dame rose windows retain much of their original glazing. A pillar of the central doorway was demolished to allow grand processional carriages to pass through.\u201d<\/p>
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The April 2019 fire caused more damage that the French Revolution<\/h3>\n<\/div>
Notre-Dame suffered further damage and devastation during the French Revolution<\/a> (1787\u201399): regarded as \u201ca symbol of the power and aggression of church and monarchy\u201d, the building was ransacked; sculptures and statues were destroyed; lead from the roof was pillaged for bullets and a number of bronze bells were melted down to make cannon, says National Geographic. By the end of the revolution, Notre-Dame was \u201ca shadow of its former self\u201d and had been de-Christianised.<\/p>\n
Comparing the 2019 fire to the havoc wreaked during the French Revolution, Dr Emily Guerry told History Extra<\/em>:<\/a> \u201cEven during the French Revolution we did not have half this level of destruction. What took place during the French Revolution was targeted iconoclasm \u2013 holy images were destroyed because of the perception that they were associated with the Ancien R\u00e9gime (the political and social system of France from the late Middle Ages until 1789); old Catholic traditions; and tyranny; it was an attempt to destroy Notre-Dame\u2019s power. This fire is a very different type of destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n
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