Research Paper On Notre Dame De Paris

The Cathedral looms over viewers as they walk past and tourists line up expectantly waiting for their turn to enter one of the hottest tourists sites of Paris—Notre Dame de Paris. This Cathedral that was once a place of worship has lost most of the prayerful atmosphere it once would of held and now hosts a gift shop as well as a museum including a relic of the crown of thorns (that of course, people can see for a fee). At first glance the throngs of tourists may deter people from appreciating Notre Dame de Paris, but in truth, the architects who created Notre Dame used beauty to educate and inform fellow Christians and as a result, this Cathedral is overflowing with information into the past if only one takes the time to look. Notre Dame de Paris has a staggering dimension of 41 meters wide, 43 meters high up to the base of the tower, and 63 meters up to the top of the tower. The amount of history and the number of stories architects and artists managed to fit onto the exterior of Notre Dame alone is overwhelming. One could spend hours, even days investigating the meaning, the care and the thought that went behind the creation of the façade of Notre Dame and still barely scratch the surface. Historically speaking, it is said that the first stone of Notre Dame was laid in 1163 in …show more content…
The square part of the Cathedral represents created and limited space, whereas the circle (or the rose window) stands for the boundless, perfect figure without beginning or end, similar to God. Because the circle could be found in the square, it meant that God’s word (circle) ascended into the limited, finite area (square) telling viewers that God became man. This explained the incarnation in a simple and yet eloquent way. Furthermore, Mary’s head is perfectly placed in the center of the west rose window, which showed viewers that Mary’s acceptance allowed God, as Jesus, to come into the