Why is the Cathedral of Notre Dame so famous?
The Cathedral of Notre Dame is famous because it was the first structure to be built with flying buttresses, which are masonry bridges that place the main weight of a vault or a roof onto an outer support. The use of the flying buttress allowed the builders of the cathedral to achieve a great height. With its elaborate ornamentation and stained-glass windows, Notre Dame became the model for the Gothic style of architecture, which was popular in northern Europe from the twelfth century until the sixteenth century. The cornerstone to the cathedral was laid in 1163 by Pope Alexander III on a small island in the middle of the Seine River in Paris, France. The flying buttresses were installed in 1230. The building was finally completed at the beginning of the fourteenth century when it had been transformed into an elaborate and ornamental work of art. The largest cathedral in…
