Cathedral of Notre Dame

Notre-Dame de Paris is a Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary—so central to French identity that it has repeatedly been used for national moments as well as worship. Construction began in 1163 under Bishop Maurice de Sully, and while the great work was largely finished by 1260, later centuries kept shaping the building. Its early Gothic design is notable for innovations that helped move French architecture beyond the earlier Romanesque style, including the rib vault and flying buttress, alongside its rose windows and sculptural decoration. In the political life of France, it holds two defining episodes: the coronation of Napoleon I on 2 December 1804, and, during the Revolution’s aftermath, the extensive desecration in the 1790s that damaged religious imagery. In the modern era, a fire on 15 April 2019 closed the cathedral for major repairs—then it reopened in December 2024. …

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