9 Facts About The Notre Dame Cathedral That Will Make You Miss It Even More
9 Facts About The Notre Dame Cathedral That Will Make You Miss It Even More
The whole world stopped when this beloved, ancient relic burned to the ground. Here are 9 facts that will help to keep it in our minds forever.
The whole world stopped when this beloved, ancient relic burned to the ground. Here are 9 facts that will help to keep it in our minds forever.
An average of 35,000 visitors pass through the gates of the cathedral every day, adding up to about 13 million per year!
There were several different monuments built on the grounds of the Notre Dame Cathedral, including a Royal Palace and several churches, it wasn't until the 12th century that the Notre Dame Cathedral was built out of the remains of these buildings.
The bells of the Notre Dame Cathedral rung by the beloved, fictional "Quasimodo" have been replaced several times. They were often removed and melted down to make cannon balls for the war. The bells you would hear ringing today were installed in the mid 19th century. Still pretty old!
When Napoleon crowned himself the Emperor of the French in the Cathedral people became more interested and respectful of the monument. In the 1800's Victor Hugo brought everlasting fame onto the church when he set his book, "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame" in the bell tower of the cathedral.
When you look up into the frame of the roof, you'll see that it is being held up by whole trees from the 12th century. Now we know why it went up in smoke so quickly.
During the french revolution, civilians would behead statues at the cathedral in an act of protest against the "monarchy". Notre Dame was famous for a while for having "headless statues".
Like other iconic buildings including the Taj Mahal and the Parthenon in Athens, the Notre Dame Cathedral was built using the golden ratio of 1.61 which artists like Leonardo DaVinci would swear by. If you take the height of the cathedral and divide it by its width, you get 1.61.
The organ inside the Notre Dame cathedral contains 8000 pipes and 5 keyboards making it one of the largest and most "grand" organs in the world.
At the sacristy, adjacent to the cathedral, is a hive of Buckfast bees (a breed of gentle, non-stinging bees introduced by the monk, Brother Adam). The honey harvested from this bee hive is then handed out to the poor as a token of kindness from the grand cathedral.