Notre Dame's Design Plan Was Just Released — and It Includes a Park, Underground Walkway, and More (2024)

FAQs

What is the new design of the Notre-Dame? ›

The new spire of the restored Notre-Dame de Paris experienced a rebirth with its eight faces, each decorated with nearly 200 hooks and floral motifs, 16 pinnacles, 32 gargoyles, 16 bay arches, and 8 quatrefoils. They are all inspired by the medieval aesthetic brought back to life in honor of Viollet-le-Duc's design.

Like most French cathedrals, Notre-Dame de Paris draws a plan in the shape of a Latin cross. Its main facade is oriented west-north-west, and the apse is oriented east-south-east. The cathedral can hold up to 9,000 people, including 1,500 in the stands.

Archeologists have found that iron reinforcements were used in the construction of Notre Dame in a unique way in the mid-12th century. Iron staples found in the structure reveal that Notre Dame is the first known Gothic cathedral where iron was massively used.

French Gothic architecture

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris / Architectural style

In fact, the architectural firm Bureau Bas Smet would like to create greener and more flowery spaces surrounding the cathedral. The architects announced that they would make the space behind the building larger and create a new park. The square in front of Notre-Dame will be surrounded by trees and new flowerbeds.

Design at the University of Notre Dame lays emphasis on the art, science, and practice of building platforms and experiences that create tangible communication between content and users through traditional and contemporary media. Students can major in industrial design or visual communication design.

During restoration efforts at Notre-Dame Cathedral, which burned in a fire three years ago, archaeologists discovered two mysterious sarcophagi buried under the church's nave. After months of research, they now know more about who was entombed in them. One contained the remains of a high priest who died in 1710.

Notre Dame students benefit from a unique, personalised approach to education and pastoral care. Our personalised approach starts with our admissions process, which goes beyond a single score. We not only look at your ATAR, we look at the person behind it.

Notre Dame Cathedral was commissioned by King Louis VII who wanted it to be a symbol of Paris's political, economic, intellectual and cultural power at home and abroad. The city had emerged as the centre of power in France and needed a religious monument to match its new status.

The first contains the remains of a high priest who died in 1710 after what experts say appeared to be a sedentary life. The occupant of the second has not yet been identified – and may never be – but is believed to be a young, wealthy and privileged noble who could have lived as far back as the 14th century.

What is something unique about Notre-Dame? ›

Notre Dame is also the first to establish a campus fire department, a university band, and is home to the oldest Catholic law school in the country.

Established in 1980 under the forecourt of Notre-Dame de Paris to preserve archaeological remains discovered during digs between 1965 and 1972, the crypt offers a unique perspective on urban and architectural evolution in the île de la Cité, the historical heart of Paris.

Notre-Dame de Paris, cathedral church in Paris. It is the most famous of the Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages and is distinguished for its size, antiquity, and architectural interest.

Since 1905, France's cathedrals (including Notre-Dame) have been owned by the state, which is self-insured.

They completed the stone arches and the oculus of the transept crossing in February 2023, and the breaches in the choir and nave vaults were sealed in May 2023. Apart from the transept crossing vaults which will be rebuilt in 2024, the cathedral's vaults have completely regained their original form and structure.

Notre Dame's new spire revealed in Paris, marking a milestone in cathedral's reconstruction after fire. Scaffolding that covered the top of Notre Dame cathedral following a devastating fire in April 2019 is being removed, marking a milestone in its reconstruction.

According to Rebuilding Notre Dame de Paris, there are nearly 250 companies and art workshops across France tasked with “working on the cathedral's renaissance.” This includes carpenters, stonemasons, scaffolders, sculptors, gilders, glassmakers and even organ builders, who are restoring the 8,000 pipes and 115 stops ...

According to the Culture Ministry, work will continue through 2025, notably to rebuild the spire, which will be a copy of the one created by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century. The complete restoration of the building, accompanied by a renovation of the forefront, might continue until 2028.