Notre Dame Cathedral Square

Notre Dame Cathedral Parvis (Square)

With a surface area of around 3,000 square feet, the Notre Dame Square in Paris is located in front of the cathedral. On one side of the square, you can see a statue of Charlemagne created by sculptors Louis and Charles Rochet. Point Zero, in the center of the square, is a bronze plaque marking the official geographical center of Paris, from which all distances are measured. Underneath the square, you can visit the archeological crypt which shows archaeological remains discovered during excavations in the 60s and 70s. 

The equestrian statue “Charlemagne et ses Leudes”

Charlemagne’s leudes (paladins), Roland and Olivier, were two of twelve warriors from the nobility who protected their lord, Charlemagne, King of the Francs (742-814.) 

Charlemagne and his guardsmen, Roland and Olivier 

Look closely at the base of the sculpture on the right, behind the lamp post, and you will see a man surrounded by pigeons.

 

Roland, on the left, with his famous sword  at his side

According to legend, an angel gave the sword, Durendal, to Charlemagne, who gave it to Roland. It was reputed to be the sharpest sword ever made.

The sign originally said, “If you love birds, don’t feed them.” It was altered to read, “If you love birds, feed them.”

The “Bird Man of Notre Dame” is feeding the pigeons directly to the right of the Charlemagne monument. Never mind what the sign says.

He coos to them, and they coo back.

He cradles a pigeon in his hands.

He feeds them by hand and offers them bottled water.

Although the pigeons flock around him, there are plenty of food scraps left by tourists having lunch in front of the cathedral. He must bring the pigeons something special. Or maybe he’s the only one who doesn’t shoo them away.

Archaeological Crypt sign

According to the introduction sign at the crypt entrance, the Archaeological Crypt under Notre-Dame Cathedral Square was created in 1965 to protect historical ruins discovered when an underground parking lot was being built. It covers 20,000 square feet and was opened in 1980. The remains that were unearthed between 1965 and 1972 in the course of archaeological excavations on the parvis of Notre Dame  present a unique account of the history of Paris, covering nearly 2,000 years of architectural and urban development of the heart of the city. It shows us a city that has constantly been rebuilt on top of older versions of itself. 

Steps leading down to the crypt

The crypt is located at the far end of the square, directly across from the cathedral.

“Paris lost and Paris regained”

The middle part of the poster shows the excavation site on the Cathedral square. Before the 1860s, the area in front of the Cathedral of Notre Dame was filled with buildings, some dating to the Middle Ages. When the buildings were torn down, remnants of foundations and artifacts dating back to pre-Roman times were discovered. This area on the banks of the Seine has seen human habitation since the early Paleolithic Period, some 500,000 years ago.

Block from the foundation of a Gallo-Roman rampart

The Gallo-Roman town of Lutetia began to develop on the left bank of the Seine in the reign of Augustus (27 BC to 14 AD). This site was occupied by the Gaulish tribe, the Parisii, whose name features on coins recovered from the river Seine.

From the middle of the third century right up until the fifth century AD, Lutetia, which was threatened by the first Germanic invasions, was a strategic site for the defense of the Roman Empire against the barbarians. The Île de la Cité was fortified in 308, becoming the active center of the city, and the settlement on the left bank was partially abandoned.

 Decorative molding of a cornice 

The purpose of a projecting cornice is to throw rainwater free of the building’s walls. 

Seeing these ruins was interesting, but it was difficult to figure out exactly what the ruins were of. The signage didn’t help much, and the ruins from different eras were juxtaposed so that an Ancient Times Gallo-Roman house was just behind the remains of a wall from an eighteenth century orphans’ hospital. The city was built and rebuilt with successive buildings erected on the site from ancient to modern times.  Mediaeval and classical remains are superimposed on ancient ruins.

Ruins

Ruins

Portico Ruins

Ruins of a Gallo-Roman thermal bath house

Wall of the quai on the Seine 

The ancient port on the Seine River is made of small stones bound with limestone mortar. It was built on the small branch of the Seine to the south side of the island. Traces of a storage depot containing grains of wheat indicate that significant trade took place on the river. This room was replete with sounds of seagulls and a seaport mural.

Ruins of a port

Ruins of a port

“Paris in the Middle Ages”

The Middle Ages saw the rise of development focused around the cathedral, whose construction began in 1163. This included the creation of a new street, the rue Neuve Notre-Dame, in line with the central great door of the cathedral, the reconstruction of the Hôtel-Dieu hospital to the South of the cathedral square and the construction of buildings and churches.

Marble pillar base

Discovered in 1981 near the corner of the façade of Notre Dame Cathedral, the marble is believed to have come from the Pyrenees Mountains around the 4th or 5th century. Similar to other examples of the same type, the column may have come originally from the basilica of Saint Etienne.

Map of Paris in the 16th century

Ongoing urban development, beginning with the founding of Lutetia by the Romans at the beginning of the first century, AD, and continuing through the present day generated research into the origins of Paris as early as the end of the Middle Ages. Since then, historians and archaeologists have hypothesized the way the city might have been in earlier times. 

Map of Paris in the 17th century

Map of Paris in the 18th century

The archaeological remains discovered during excavations from 1965 to 1972 present an overview of urban and architectural development of the Île de la Cité. Touring the crypt is supposed to provide a better understanding of how the city has been in a continuous state of reconstruction for over 2,000 years by revealing its various archaeological layers. I think that objective is overreaching. Touring the crypt didn’t provide me with insight into the development of the birthplace of Paris. However, seeing the remains of ancient buildings in situ, even superimposed on each other and from different eras, was an interesting experience. 

Ruins of another kind: Gravestone Courtyard

Rue Chanoinesse

Rue Chanoinesse is a small, medieval-looking street close by Notre Dame Cathedral. This charming street was once the domain of Chanoine monks, who isolated themselves from the general population and were attached to the service of nearby Notre Dame Cathedral. (Archdeacon Frollo, the fictional scoundrel from Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, was a Chanoine monk. Much of the action of the novel took place in this area, which was preserved pretty much intact until the 18th century.) 

Behind the tall red doors marked number 26 is a passageway partially paved in gravestones with Gothic-styled texts. The ultimate in repurposing, the tombstones once belonged to church cemeteries that closed around the 19th century, and architects used them to tile the ground.

The passageway as seen from the portal entry

Notice the large pieces of “flagstone” on the left side of the passageway.

Tombstone inscription in Gothic letters

Fragmented tombstone

View of the passageway looking toward the portal and street, with my husband, Robert, silhouetted in the doorway.