Top 10 amazing facts about Notre-Dame Cathedral

Cathedrals are known to be the hospital of every sinner and not a museum for saints. It is made for those people who believe and who want to honor God that is why it is a very significant and sacred place. But what would happen if this holy monument was destroyed by the blazing fire?

Just a moment ago, one of the most popular landmarks in Paris, which is being visited by more than thirteen millions guests yearly have been damage by fire. The landmark being referred to is the Notre-Dame de Paris or also known as Notre-Dame Cathedral. This sacred building is the most prominent among all Gothic cathedrals during the period of European history. In fact, this cathedral was initiated by Bishop Maurice de Sully in the year 1160 and was finished in the year 1260. During the 1790s, Notre-Dame experienced damaged and deterioration due to the French Revolution. Thanks to Napoleon, emperor of French in 1804, because he was able to save the cathedral from its possible destruction. In the mid-19th century, it underwent the process of restoration for it to be rescued from total destruction.

But what’s the big deal if this cathedral burned? Is it really that important? To help you understand why this cathedral means a lot of the majority of people, here are the top 10 facts that you need to know about this! Check this out and your mind will surely be enlightened!

1. The cathedral is the most visited landmark in Paris- It is not surprising that Paris is being visited by millions of people, but do you know what particular landmark do people drop in once they were here? If you are thinking about the Eiffel Tower, then you are absolutely wrong! In fact, the one that is being visited the most is the Notre-Dame Cathedral. More than thirteen million people drop in here yearly just to witness the beauty of this religious and treasured architectural building. Moreover, people do visit here because it is considered as a very important edifice and it is a part of the City of Lights’ attraction.

2. The cathedral is located on a holy location– Notre-Dame de Paris is located on the Île de la Cité or known to be as the City Island which lies in the middle of Paris. It is built on a location which is devoted to the religions during the Age of Romans.

Moreover, it is very hard to visualize the City Island without the presence of the cathedral. In fact, several years ago, when Notre Dame does not yet exist, there is a lot of Catholic churches standing there, but when it all vanished, Notre Dame was later constructed on the remaining of these tabernacles.

3. The cathedral is a source of measurement- Once you are already standing in front of the cathedral, try to observe the surroundings. Do not just be mesmerized by the beauty of this facade because you will miss out the other interesting facts about this. As much as possible, try to look down first on the ground before you look at the edifice because you will find there the little plate escaped with a compass which is known as the Point Zero of the French Roads. It is the measurement reference of all the distances to and from Paris.

4. The cathedral bells had their own names– All the bells that you can find in the Notre Dame has their own names. The main bells’ name is Jean-Marie and the others are Maurice, Etienne, Denis, Marcel, Anne-Genevieve, Gabriel, Marie, Emmanuel, and Benoit-Joseph. Aside from their names, another interesting fact about these bells is their convulsive lives. However, the ring of bells that we hear during these days is not the original one that we hear during the past.

5. The cathedral’s fantasies are not too old- There are a lot of Gothic art components to finding in the walls of Notre-Dame. Gargoyles or human figures with an unpleasant look are located in a specific part of the cathedral to be sure about the water drainage. There are also famous fantasies to find in the tower of the cathedral, which allows the visitors to take a picture of this.

6. The cathedral was rescued by a non-fiction character named Quasimodo– As mentioned above, the cathedral was almost damaged during the French Revolution. Few of the sculptures had been destroyed and almost all of the bells had been melted. In the 19th century, instead of becoming a religious spot, it became a storage area. In 1831, it was remembered by many people because of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece. After it had been forgotten so many years, it was preserved due to the story of Quasimodo.

7. The cathedral is home to a timber- Notre-Dame has a dimension of 127 meters in length and 48 meters in width and its main interior part measures 43 meters high under roof. With this dimension, it was considered as the house of the forest because its roof is made entirely of woods. About 1300 trees were used to complete the roof of this cathedral.

8. The cathedral was an area of decapitating– Decapitating is defined as the cutting off of the heads and the ones that are being referred to this is not literal beheading. During the French Revolution, people were very disappointed because of the monarchy. Because of this, they begin to dishonor all the symbols of the majesty on the streets. The revolutionary then remove the heads of twenty-eight statues that they thought resembled the kings and queens without knowing that this statue actually resembles kings of Judah.

9. The cathedral follows a golden proportion– In its architectural design the golden part of the cathedral is very visible consisting of a square and a rectangle which has a mixed dimension of 1:1.61 ratio. This ratio is considered as a measurement of perfection in art. Other architectural designs such as Parthenon also follow the golden ratio that is why it is popular and is being visited by many.

10. The cathedral is home to the holy crown– Notre-Dame is considered as home to the holy crown because most of the crowns worn by Jesus Christ are found there. You can also find here some of the invaluable treasures.