Notre Dame

Yesterday, we saw Notre Dame and descended underneath to tour the 4th century ruins of buildings and streets below the level of the city (see the picture at the bottom). It was interesting to read about the heating system installed under the floor, even so long ago.

The cathedral itself was built between 1160 and 1345, and the Gothic style allowed for large stained-glass windows to be installed. Since windows cannot support the weight of the roof, there must be thick columns inside and a vaulted ceiling, along with supports on the outside of the building, called flying buttresses, that prevent the walls from falling outward under the weight of the roof. These flying buttresses are visible on the back of the cathedral, and resemble arches that descend from the walls.

The Gothic style contrasts with the earlier Romanesque architecture because the arches are pointed and because of the presence of large stained-glass windows. The largest of these windows is round, and it is visible in the picture below. Romanesque architecture does not implement sophisticated methods of support, such as flying buttresses, so a Romanesque building of an earlier time would be very dark inside because of the tiny windows, and would have semi-circular arches instead of pointed ones.