![]() Sully claimed that Notre Dame appeared to him in a vision, but it’s more likely he was trying to compete with Saint-Denis, to ensure that Paris remained the most important Christian city in the area. The Basilique Saint-Denis (1140-1144) in nearby Saint Denis was the first of the great Gothic Cathedrals here in Paris, Notre Dame, begun by the Bishop de Sully in 1163, was the first to appear. These three innovations were: pointed arches, which can carry more weight than Romanesque round arches cross vaults, or X-shaped ribbing growing up from columns inside the arch, for better support and flying buttresses, which channel the weight of the roof and walls to the ground, allowing walls to be thinner and opening them up for windows. It dates back to the 10th-century, the truly Dark Ages.īy the 1100s, three unique engineering improvements appeared in Paris and France and created a new, Gothic style. Be sure to visit the Saint-Germain-des-Prés Church, one of the few remaining churches in Paris that has retained its Romanesque shape. This early tradition featured a wide central aisle or nave, usually flanked with narrow aisles on each side. In France, as in much of Europe, churches evolved through a series of styles beginning with the Romanesque. Most surviving medieval architecture in France is religious this is partly a question of durability: the earliest secular buildings were roughly built, often using flammable wood and straw, whereas religious buildings were made to last with stone, built for the glory of God. During this entire period, the “architect” per se didn’t yet exist, and important Paris buildings were designed and constructed by teams of masons. During the early Middle Ages, the people of Paris sometimes stole and relocated entire sections of Roman walls to use for their own buildings, because the Roman walls were so much sturdier. But when the Roman Empire crumbled, its architectural genius disappeared as well, and the Dark Ages were actually a step backwards architecturally. In 52 BC, the Romans defeated a tribe called the Parisii and established a city they named Lutetia, which probably means “swampy.” Today, that city is Paris-and it’s still swampy in the springtime! Traces of Roman architecture remain visible in Paris: if you look at a map, Rue Saint-Jacques cuts right through the middle of the city and was the main Roman road in and out. It’s not surprising that some of the oldest buildings are near the center of the spiral. ![]() This succession of walls, gradually torn down and rebuilt through the centuries, has created a spiraling city, which grew gradually out from the Ile de la Cité. Paris has really never lost its walls: 900 years after the 12th-century wall of Philippe August, we now live in a city walled by its ring-road, the Péripherique highway. Paris evolved out of a walled city, and some historians argue that this alone has given Paris a certain logic that London or Boston lacks. ![]() Our Paris guide traces a millennium of building in Paris, and what’s amazing is that so much remains visible and integrally important to the way that Paris works, from the earliest Medieval period through the most contemporary constructions. Paris’ modern buildings have developed gradually out of earlier styles palaces and mansions have survived by transforming into apartments and shops, and most streets harbor a range of buildings from various centuries. Paris, France, is an unusually coherent architectural creature. ![]()
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