Kodachrome © National Geographic Society

Rank of copper saints stands below the central spire of Notre Dame, all but one gazing over Paris. The Apostle Thomas, patron of architects, looks up at the 150-foot lead-and-wood tower. The statue bears the face of Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, 19th-century French architect who rebuilt the steeple and restored the time-ravaged cathedral. He had his own name inscribed on the apostle's ruler.

For more than 2,000 years men have worshiped on this site. A Celtic tribe called the Parisii revered forest gods; at the time of Christ, Roman legionaries bowed to Jupiter. Seventh-century Christians raised a basilica to Mary.

In 1163, as a fever for cathedral building surged across France, Bishop of Paris Maurice de Sully began a vast shrine dedicated to Notre Dame - Our Lady. Collecting tithes and taxes, borrowing from lenders along the nearby Street of the Jews, the Church demanded the best materials and workmanship. Quarries on the Left Bank, background, provided fine limestone. Gifts from nobility, bourgeoisie, and workers enriched the decor.

In the next centuries architects substituted white panes for some of the stained glass to admit more light, and revolutionaries tore down statues of kings and saints. Then in 1845 Viollet-le-Duc began his restoration, following early drawings and records of the cathedral.

In 1968 experts began to gently wash the grime-encrusted walls for the first time since their construction.

source: National Geographic, May 1968

all things mikedust introduction archives most recent

previous