Notre-Dame de Paris
The plan consists of a wide central nave rising 110 ft (34 m) high and flanked by double aisles, with a transept of slight projection from the main body. The aisles continue around the east end, which, with the projecting chapels, forms a chevet. Three sculptured portals are deeply recessed in the majestic west front. Above them a row of sculptures in niches extends across the facade, and over this, in the center, is the huge traceried rose window.
In the French Revolution rioters converted the cathedral into a “Temple of Reason” and destroyed the sculptures of the west facade. Skillful restorations taking 25 years were begun in 1845 by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and Jean-Baptiste Lassus, and a new central spire was constructed. Fire in 2019 destroyed the roof and spire and damaged other parts of the cathedral.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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