Notre-Dame de Paris, (French for "Our Lady of Paris," meaning the church in Paris dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus) often known simply as Notre-Dame, is a gothic cathedral on the Ile de la Cité in Paris, France.

some rough notes:

Notre-Dame Cathedral seen from the River Seine. Larger version

• construction: 1163-1345, began during the reign of Louis VII.
• road distances to Paris are measured from the front of the cathedral.
• underwent restoration in 19th century: Eugene Viollet-le-Duc

External links and References

• http://ndparis.free.fr/ (in French)
• http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Cathedrals/Paris/Notre-Dame.shtml (in English)
• http://catholique-paris.cef.fr/nd2/index.htm
• Notre Dame of Paris (©1952, 1955) is a book by Allan Temko about the building of the cathedral and includes many black-and-white photos. Written for people with no expert knowledge, it was so popular it was republished in 1962 by the Time Reading Program[?].

Notre-Dame de Paris (published in English as The Hunchback of Notre Dame) is a novel by Victor Hugo about a fictional bell-ringer of the cathedral. It has been made into several movies and musicals.