• 4th century – Cathedral of Saint Étienne, dedicated to Saint Stephen, built just west of present cathedral.
• 1163 – Bishop Maurice de Sully begins construction of new … See more

• Towers on west façade (1220–1250)
• The gallery of chimeras pictured in 1910 by Georges Redon
• The 19th-century flèche
• The rooster reliquary at the top of the flèche. It was found lightly damaged in the rubble after the 2019 … See more

Unlike some other French cathedrals, Notre-Dame was originally constructed without a crypt. In the medieval period, burials were made … See more

It is believed that before the arrival of Christianity in France, a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter stood on the site of Notre-Dame. … See more

The Gothic cathedral was a liber pauperum, a "poor people's book", covered with sculptures vividly illustrating biblical stories, for the vast majority of parishioners who … See more

• The earliest rose window, on the west façade (about 1225)
• The west rose window (about 1225)
• North rose window (about 1250) See more

One of the earliest organs at Notre-Dame, built in 1403 by Frédéric Schambantz, was rebuilt many times over the course of 300 years, however 12 pipes and some wood survive from this … See more