Places
The west front of Notre-Dame de Paris, with its two square towers and central rose window.
The west front. Photo: P e z i, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Place · Cathedral

Notre-Dame de Paris

Medieval Gothic cathedral on the Île de la Cité, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and seat of the Archbishop of Paris.

Location
Paris, France
Building
Cathedral (archdiocesan see); minor basilica
Tradition
Roman Catholic
Religious use
In use as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris.
Official website
Notre-Dame de Paris

Map Building location: Apple Maps · Google Maps — the building, not a confirmed visitor entrance.

Notre-Dame is regarded as one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, with early use of the rib vault and flying buttress, great rose windows and abundant sculpture. It is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris.

In the Atlas

Each paragraph says whether it is documented history, a tradition handed down, or disputed.

  • Documented

    Construction began in 1163 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely complete by 1260, with later modifications.

  • Documented

    The cathedral suffered extensive desecration in the 1790s during the French Revolution. It was restored between 1844 and 1864 under Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, after Victor Hugo’s novel of 1831 had renewed interest in it.

  • Documented

    In the nineteenth century it hosted the coronation of Napoleon, and on 26 August 1944 the Liberation of Paris was celebrated there with the Magnificat.

Reference draft. The statements were checked against the general reference sources below, read in a build session (Wikipedia at a recorded revision, and Wikidata). They have not yet been checked against scholarly or primary sources.

  • Reference work · Read in a build session

    Notre-Dame de Paris — Wikipedia (English)

    Read on 28 Oct 2026 at revision 1382151475, fetched by the research workflow (research/fetched/places/notre-dame-de-paris/wikipedia.txt). A general reference work, not a scholarly source; the statements here were checked against it.

  • Reference work · Read in a build session

    Wikidata item Q2981 (Notre-Dame de Paris) — Wikidata

    Read on 28 Oct 2026: instance of, religion, diocese, coordinates and official website.