Some Notre Dame "details"...

I of course already posted a number of times on Notre Dame. I was there again some time ago together with a friend. Of course I had to take some additional photos.

(Another preprogrammed post, while I’m away in the south, looking for sun.)

Close to Notre Dame

If you visit Notre Dame (see previous posts), I have already recommended that you take a look from the back side, which I feel offers a much better view of the once criticized, today mostly admired, gothic architecture. (The description of “gothic” was given as a pejorative description of this type of architecture during the Renaissance; referring to “Goths”, East Germanic “vandals” with Scandinavian origins - my birth town is called Gothenburg / Göteborg - who played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire.)

Thanks to the arriving spring, yesterday I could see the Notre Dame spire behind the first  magnolias bursting out.

But, the real purpose with this post is to recommend a walk in the little adjacent area on “Ile de la Cité”, where a lot has been rebuilt, but where you still find some old buildings, some narrow streets, some nice back yards, some old attractive looking restaurants …

If we compare the plan from 1739 with today, we can see that a lot of buildings, especially those in front of Notre Dame have disappeared, some already destroyed by Napoleon during the preparations for his coronation as Emperor. The old hospital, Hôtel Dieu, to the right of Notre Dame has been demolished and is replaced by a new one to the left (see previous post)…

On this view from 1550 we can see the great number of churches… Now only Notre Dame remains.

Referring to the top picture, where we can read “Rue de la Colombe”, maybe a short story about the origin of this name. Where we now see a restaurant, possibly one of the oldest eating places in Paris (which in the 1950’s / 60’s was a famous cabaret and later for some years could announce 3 Michelin stars / macaroons) a couple of doves had built their nest in a building which collapsed in 1223. The female dove and her brood were trapped under the stones, but the male escaped and for several weeks he fed them. The people living in the area were very touched, managed to free all the birds and this became a place of worship… until forbidden by the Archbishop as “pagan”.

In the same street a different cobblestone design indicates where once stood a 4^th century Gallo-Roman wall.

No doubt that we are close to Notre Dame.

Some of the streets are still narrow.

A mixture of really old and some a bit more recent; the really old looking one has been “arranged” in the 1960’s. The little green sign indicates the level the flood of the Seine reached in 1910.

Pushing some doors…

One of Paris’ smallest “parks” (jardinet).

Some restaurants, shops…

At the extreme end of the island, Ile de la Cité, you can find a Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation – photos of the interior not allowed.

... and also in "my" park (Square des Batignolles) there are some nice spring signs.

Notre Dame (part two)

This is a second post about Notre Dame. My preceding post concentrated on the exterior, so here are some shots from the interior. Referring to the preceding post, I will not give any further information here; just let you – hopefully – enjoy the beauty of the place, including the stained glass windows, some samples from the treasury...

The top picture represents the North Rose Window from 1250 – it has its almost copy in the South Rose Window from 1260. Both have of course suffered from time and revolutions and been restored, but basically they are as they were. Together with the third Rose Window - behind the organ - they are certainly worth all our admiration!

Notre Dame (part one)

Thanks for your patience during my repeated absences! I’m back in Paris!

After three years of blogging and some 600 posts, I have not yet made one on Notre Dame! So, it’s about time. I will actually make two posts, one about the exterior of the Cathedral, one about the interior. Let’s logically start with the exterior, including a visit to the top of one of the towers. (The global pictures below have been taken during different seasons, which explains that the trees are not always naked.)

The richness of arches and other decorative aspects is perhaps even more visible from the back side.The Notre Dame de Paris is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris. It was basically constructed between 1163 and around 1250, but was really completed in 1345. It’s definitely one of the master pieces of the Gothic* architecture – arches, vertical emphasis, light....

As most churches Notre Dame suffered a lot during the Revolution, but was restored as close as possible to its original state during the 19th century by the architect Viollet-le-Duc (see previous post), who also restored and saved the Sainte Chapelle (see previous post), the Saint Denis basilica (see previous post) and a lot more.

The mostly rich ornamentation is very present here; it's amazing to see how the whole building is covered by friezes, statues of saints, prophets, kings and also by legendary creatures, gargoyles... originally partly painted, as often was the case with gothic church facades.
Many of the stained glass windows have suffered from previous restorations, revolutions..., but fortunately the rose windows which we see here only from the exterior (we will see them from the interior in my following post), from the 1250’s, are still there; the smaller one on the front facade is even from 1225.The towers date from about 1250 and are 63 m (207 ft) high. You can visit the SouthTower. There are some 400 steps to climb (no lift).

The top picture as some of the other ones where we can see some “funny” creatures are taken from half way up.
On the way to the top you can have a look at the biggest bell (the Emmanuel bell) which is to be found in this tower. It dates from 1685 and has since rung out the high historical points of the Cathedral, of Paris, of France...From the very top, you have of course some splendid views of Paris. We can also have a look at the “parvis”, the open space in front of the Cathedral and see the traces which have been left of the small streets and buildings, including the old hospital “Hôtel Dieu”, which still existed here until around 1870, when Baron Haussmann “cleaned” it all (see previous post).
On one of the close-ups we can see the little, perhaps oldest, Paris church, Saint-Julien-du-Pauvre with the oldest Paris tree in front of it, planted in 1601 (see previous post) and the bookshop “Shakespeare & Co” (see previous post).__________________
*/ “Gothic” architecture has actually nothing to do with the historical Goths. The Goths are said to have their origin in “Götaland”, in the south of Sweden. They crossed the Baltic Sea during the 2nd century and established themselves in the present Poland. Different Gothic civilisations, often referred to as “vandals” can be found in Europe until the 6th century. “Gothic” architecture is actually originally a pejorative term used by the Italian Renaissance finding this type of architecture too extravagant and not in line with their Roman ideas.