Notre-Dame de Paris
The cathedral of Paris on the Île de la Cité is early Gothic that grew over almost two hundred years. The façade with two towers and a large rose window became a model, and the flying buttresses around the choir are among the earliest. After the fire of 2019 the cathedral was reconsecrated in 2024.
Construction began in 1163 under Bishop Maurice de Sully, as Paris was growing into the capital of the kingdom. The choir was consecrated in 1182, the façade was completed around 1250, and the chapels between the buttresses were finished in the mid-14th century. The cathedral originally had smaller windows and a four-storey elevation; when more light was wanted in the 13th century, the windows were rebuilt and the flying buttresses were reconstructed.
After the Revolution the cathedral was in a sorry state, and Victor Hugo’s novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame of 1831 helped bring about its restoration. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc led the work from 1844 and added the spire and many of the fantastical beasts, the chimeras, that can be seen on the towers today. The fire of 15 April 2019 destroyed the roof and the spire; the cathedral was rebuilt with the same techniques and materials, with oak beams hewn by hand, and was reconsecrated in December 2024.