Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris-the Outside

Notre Dame is located in the center of Paris. It has a beautiful architecture done in the Gothic style. During the 12th. century, Maurice de Sully, who was the bishop of Paris, began construction of a cathedral on the site of Saint Stephens. He wanted to dedicate a cathedral to Virgin Mary( Notre Dame) and make the church a bishop's church, a canon church and a baptistry. When looking at the cathedral from the outside it takes about 10 minutes to look at all the intricate detail of the statues and scenes. On the facade there are twenty-eight religious statues representing ancestors of Christ. There are also three portals with each portal having a religious theme with statues in the portal depicting the theme. There are also two monstrous doors on each portal used for entrance into the cathedral. The famous gargoyles that keep watch over the building are really used a storm drains that keep rain water from damaging the cathedral. The frighteningly grotesque chimeras are half-man half-beast with horrific features such as serpents tails, talons and wings. These are for simple design. The rooster at the top of the spire holds three relics: part of the Crown of Thorns, Saint Denis's relic and Saint Genevieve's relic. These relics are said to protect the worshipers inside the cathedral as they prey to God. Notre Dame is a spectacular work of art full of detailed work that makes this cathedral exceptional. If your visiting Paris this is a must see.