Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame Cathedral is one of Paris's best-known landmarks, and widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world. It is noted, among other things, for its famous architectural gargoyles.
Gargoyles of the living variety are also linked to Notre Dame. The Praying Gargoyle was hidden for sixty years in the cathedral until Demona recovered it on the night of September 28, 1980 (just before she killed the Hunter, Charles Canmore). ("The Last", "Hunter's Moon" Part Three)
Demona and Thailog also used the cathedral as their headquarters 1996 when they were laying their schemes against Macbeth in Paris, with Thailog actually roosting atop the cathedral in the daytime amid the architectural gargoyles. ("Sanctuary")
After her recruitment into the Redemption Squad (which has its base in Paris), Robyn Canmore revisited Notre Dame, where the memory of her father's demise came rushing back to her. ("Estranged")
Sometime after 2198, Notre Dame will become the home of the Notre Dame Clan, but the details for this are, as yet, unknown. [1]
Real World Background
Construction of Notre-Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris) began in 1163 on Île de la Cité, an island in the river Seine in Paris. It was not completed until 1345. In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France at Notre Dame. In 1806, Napoleon relocated various Christian relics, including the purported Crown of Thorns, to the cathedral after they were first brought to Paris by King Louis IX in the 13th Century.
Notre Dame Cathedral has been restored many time over the centuries, most notably in the decades after Victor Hugo wrote The Hunchback of Notre-Dame in 1831. On April 15th, 2019, the cathedral's roof and spire caved in after catching fire during an extensive restoration. Reconstruction began in 2021 and was completed in 2024, with the cathedral reopening on December 7th.
Tidbit
The Justice League Europe story "The Flashback of Notre Dame" featured a clan of cursed gargoyles resting atop Notre Dame Cathedral supposedly until the structure rose above the clouds or more accurately until Captain Atom and Bette Sans Souci kiss on the "night of the last full moon in February".
See Also
- Notre Dame Cathedral at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
