Construction on the cathedral began in 1163, led by Maurice de Sully, the bishop of France. Notre Dame de Paris means "Our Lady of Paris" and the cathedral was meant to be a tribute to the Virgin Mary. Construction wasn't completed until about 1345. The cathedral was built in stages, with the choir area completed in 1183, the nave completed in 1208, and the west front and towers completed in 1250 along with a series of chapels that were added to the nave. Counter-braces, choir chapels and large flying buttresses were added in the final years.
Robert de Cotte refurbished the sanctuary and the choir areas in the 17th century. The Le Vieil brothers replaced the stained glass windows with white windows in the mid-1700s. The cathedral was damaged and taken over by citizens during the French Revolution, but it was returned to the Roman Catholic church in 1802. In 1844, King Louis-Philippe I ordered a restoration of the cathedral, which was completed by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc in 1864. During the restoration, the spire was reconstructed, sculptures were restored, the great organ was repaired, the windows were replaced with stained glass and a new sacristy, a room that held sacred objects and treasures, was built. The latest restoration began in 1990.
The first organs in the cathedral were small instruments to accompany the choirs. The first great organ was built in the 13th century. It had one keyboard and four to six pipes per note. A new organ was built in 1401 and it is still in use today. It was expanded, restored and reconstructed over the centuries, but it still has some of its original pipes. The great organ has five keyboards and 8,000 pipes and is the largest organ in France. The cathedral also has a smaller organ, which is used to accompany the choir, and a portable organ that is used to accompany the Notre Dame de Paris choir school's small choirs and soloists.
The cathedral was built at the beginning of the Gothic period and has heavy Gothic influences. It is also one of the first buildings to use arched exterior supports, known as flying buttresses. These were added when the walls started showing stress fractures because they were being built so high.
The cathedral is open every weekday from 8 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. and from 8 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. on weekends. There is no entry fee. Four masses and a vespers service are held every day with an additional mass and a lauds service held every Sunday. Tours of the cathedral are held daily. Tours given in English are Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons.
