Exterior Architecture

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Materials

The cathedral is built from cut stone sourced from quarries located in the former suburbs of Paris. It is a Lutetian limestone known for its technical properties since the Gallo-Roman era. The building consists of a soft limestone called “lambourde” used indoors and a hard limestone reserved for exterior facades and pillars. There is also a hard and fine limestone called “liais” used for certain sculptures and monolithic columns. Before the 2019 fire, the roof framework was made of wood, primarily oak, and the covering was made of lead sheets. These same materials constituted the great spire.

The Parvis

The cathedral’s forecourt forms a large esplanade. It became a workshop for construction and restoration projects. Its current surface, designed by architect Beaufrand in the 18th century, was redesigned in 1960. The kilometer zero marker is located at the center, marking the starting point of fourteen radiating roads from Paris throughout France. 19th-century excavations revealed the preexistence of the old Saint-Étienne church-cathedral built in the 4th or 6th century and demolished to build Notre-Dame. An archaeological crypt is accessible from the forecourt.

The Facades

The cathedral is constructed on a rectangular plan inscribed with a Latin cross. It is articulated around four main parts:

• The west facade serves as the main entrance.
• The two lateral north and south facades and their transepts form the transept.
• The rounded apse closes the building to the east.

In the 13th century, a modification of the initial plan brought more interior light, in the spirit of religious buildings constructed at the same time. This is the emergence of the “Gothic style.” The walls were raised and extensively hollowed out to mitigate collapse risks. The windows were enlarged, and the galleries were topped with terraces. A complex drainage system, ending in long gargoyles, projected rainwater far from the walls. The roof and framework were refurbished. The upper double-flight flying buttresses were replaced by large single-flight flying buttresses, spanning over the galleries.

The West Facade

The architect of the 1200s adopted the traditional “harmonic facade” concept on the western facade, meaning a symmetrical and tripartite facade. Its construction took fifty years from 1200 to 1250. This facade measures 43.5 meters in width and 45 meters in height, 69 meters with the towers. Three portals constitute the lower part: the central Last Judgment portal, the left Virgin portal, and the right Saint Anne portal. The Gallery of Kings forms the upper part. A small terrace, the Gallery of the Virgin, bordered by an openwork balustrade, overlooks the Gallery of Kings. At the center, a 9.6-meter diameter rose window pierces the facade. The two square towers remained unfinished.

The North Facade and Cloister

The Rue du Cloître Notre-Dame runs along the north facade. Jean de Chelles built the south facade in the mid-13th century. Three levels supported by flying buttresses structure it. Some of the original statues of the cloister portal no longer exist. The tympanum depicts the childhood of Christ and the Miracle of Theophilus. The base contains 14th-century bas-reliefs in a quadrilobed decor, representing episodes from the life of the Virgin.

The South Transept and Saint-Étienne Portal

The Saint-Étienne portal dates from the 13th century and is located on the south facade, facing the Seine. It narrates episodes from the life of Saint Stephen. The reference to this first Christian martyr also recalls the presence of the old Saint-Étienne cathedral in the place of the current Notre-Dame forecourt.

Flying Buttresses

The large flying buttresses demonstrate the genius of the 13th-century architects. Their construction is an exceptional architectural feat in Gothic architecture, both in height and slenderness. Ordinarily, flying buttresses have two flights, separated by an intermediate support point. Here, the flying buttresses have a single flight, spanning over the aisles. Their heads support the upper walls of the cathedral. They have a dual function: countering the facade to prevent it from collapsing under the vault’s weight and solving the rainwater drainage problem without runoff on the stone.

Gargoyles

Gargoyles are decorative elements. Their function is to protect the walls from rainwater runoff that deteriorates the stone. They designate the ends of gutters to discharge water far from the roof. Thus, they appear as overhangs, leaning into the void, primarily located on the large flying buttresses of the choir. They are designed simultaneously with the architecture. The word originates from the Latin “gorge” and Old French “gueule.” They often take the form of fantastical and frightening animals.

The Apse

The construction of the cathedral began with its apse, in the shape of a semicircle. Therefore, it is the oldest part of the sanctuary. It surrounds the apse chapels and corresponds to the interior apse. In the 14th century, Jean Ravy replaced the old 13th-century flying buttresses. He placed fourteen around the choir with a span of fifteen meters, six of which are for the apse itself. Like the nave facades, their function allows rainwater to be drained far away. Panels depicting episodes from the life of the Virgin decorate the apse.

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