PARIS – Notre Dame Cathedral, which should reopen to the public on Sunday after a five-year restoration following a devastating firepresents itself as a jewel of Gothic architecture, a symbol of Paris and a tourist hotspot.

But behind the grandeur of the cathedral, whose construction took 182 years between the 12th and 14th centuries, there are surprising stories. From medieval myths to modern-day mysteries, here are five special things to know about this Parisian monument:

The heart of France, literally

The importance of Notre-Dame goes beyond its architecture and history: it is literally the starting point of all roads in France.

In front of the cathedral, embedded in the cobblestones, is a modest slab of bronze and stone bearing the inscription “point zero des routes de France”, meaning “starting point of the roads of France”. This plaque marks the starting point. to measure the distances between Paris and other cities in the country.

Although the plaque was installed in 1924, the idea of ​​a national “zero point” dates from 1769. King Louis XV envisioned a central reference for France’s growing road network, a concept that linked the geography of the nation at its heart in Paris.

The great myth of the gargoyle

These creepy stone creatures on Notre-Dame may seem ancient, but they are not all what they seem. Real gargoyles, which are monster-shaped gutters used to drain rainwater, have been around since the cathedral was built. But the dramatic monster-like figures often depicted on postcards and in films are chimeras and are much more recent.

In the 19th century, the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, responsible for renovating the then ruined building, added these creatures to add to the mystique of the cathedral. Viollet-le-Duc was inspired by Victor Hugo’s famous book “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” to create these figures of demonic animals with personified expressions.

How to differentiate them? Gargoyles look like horizontal spikes sticking out of the facade and have holes in their beaks to allow water to drain.

A revolutionary makeover

During the French Revolution, which saw waves of protests against the Church, Notre-Dame wasn’t exactly treated like a revered cathedral. In 1793, revolutionaries stripped it of its religious symbols and renamed it “Notre-Dame de la Raison”.

Instead, the cathedral hosted festivals celebrating science and Enlightenment ideas, and for a short time it was even used as a wine warehouse.

Religious services resumed in 1795 and Notre-Dame regained its sacred status under the leadership of the French emperor Napoleon I, who held his coronation there in 1804, immortalized in a famous painting by Jacques-Louis David.

The beheaded kings who returned centuries later

In 1792, revolutionaries also decapitated 28 statues from the facade of Notre-Dame, mistaking them for French monarchs. They were actually ancient kings of Judah, biblical ancestors of Jesus. The heads were thought to be lost forever, perhaps destroyed or sold as building materials.

But in 1977, workers renovating a courtyard in the 9th arrondissement of Paris discovered hundreds of fragments of stone sculptures. Experts confirmed that these were the missing heads of the kings of Notre Dame. How they were buried there remains a mystery.

Today, 22 of these heads have been restored and are on display at the Cluny Museum in Paris. Their discovery is considered one of the most remarkable archaeological discoveries in the city’s modern history.

A fiery awakening on lead dust

The 2019 fire that nearly destroyed Notre-Dame revealed a serious health risk. When the flames melted the roof, tons of toxic lead dust were released into the air and installed across Paris.

The problem ? Officials discovered that there were no rules for measuring the danger of lead dust outdoors. This wasn’t just a Parisian problem: big cities like London and Rome, and even the World Health Organization, don’t have guidelines for outdoor lead pollution.

The Notre-Dame fire exposed a hidden problem, forcing authorities to take a closer look at their safety standards. It took the city four months to complete a deep cleaning of sidewalks even as tourists, residents and merchants roamed the streets around the cathedral daily.

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