Notre-Dame de Paris was partially destroyed by a fire in 2019. The building is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. VIDEOGRAPHIC
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00:00The construction of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris began in 1163 and the basic structure
00:11was finished in 1345.
00:14The building covers a surface area of 6,000 square meters, 127 meters in length, 40 meters
00:20wide and 33 meters high, until the mid-13th century it was the largest religious monument
00:27in the Western world.
00:29A masterpiece of Gothic architecture, Notre-Dame was laid out in the form of a cross to reflect
00:34the divine order.
00:37Architectural features and technical innovation made it possible to construct ever-higher
00:41buildings.
00:43Builders could produce pointed arches on doorways and made systematic use of higher and higher
00:48ribbed vaulting, thanks to the flying buttress, a support built against the outside walls.
00:55To reach these great heights, the builders invented hydraulic saws to section the blocks
00:59of stone, lifting gear like the so-called squirrel cage, which made it possible for
01:04one man to raise 600 kilos high onto the scaffolding.
01:08Thanks to these techniques, it was possible to make large openings in the walls that housed
01:13vast stained glass windows, much bigger than was possible in the Middle Ages.
01:18To protect the stone from the rain, gargoyles were positioned at the end of the gutters,
01:23leaning into the void.
01:26The forest, the name given to Notre-Dame's timber work, was an impressive tangle of oak
01:30beams.
01:32Around 1,000 trees were used in the 13th century construction.
01:37Before the fire in April 2019, the forest was regarded as a masterpiece for its technical
01:41complexity and exceptional state of preservation.
01:46Because of a lack of clay to manufacture tiles, the roof was made of lead.
01:50It weighed 210 tons.
01:53There was an organ in Notre-Dame as early as the 12th century.
01:56The instrument that survived the fire in April 2019, however, dates from the 15th century.
02:02With nearly 14 million visitors a year, Notre-Dame was the most visited monument not only in
02:07France but in Europe before the blaze.