Notre-Dame Cathedral: Facade, Kings & Point Zéro

The Monumental Western Façade

Situated on the Île de la Cité at the historical core of Paris, Notre-Dame Cathedral features one of the most recognized Gothic facades in the world. The western front spans approximately 41 to 43.5 meters in width and reaches 69 meters high to the crest of its two square towers. Construction of this grand stone elevation began around 1200 and concluded between 1240 and 1250.

Directly above the three grand entrance portals rests the Gallery of Kings. This prominent horizontal band displays 28 stone figures representing the biblical kings of Judah, the ancestors of Christ, standing high above the public approach.

The Fall and Return of the Kings

The statues adorning the Gallery of Kings today are not the medieval originals. In 1793, during the height of the French Revolution, anti-monarchist crowds mistook the biblical rulers for historical French monarchs. The mob tore the sculptures down from the building and decapitated them in the square below.

Decades later, interest in the cathedral surged following the 1831 publication of Victor Hugo's novel. Architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc spearheaded a sweeping 19th-century restoration of the structure, commissioning sculptor Adolphe-Victor Geoffroy-Dechaume to reconstruct the 28 missing figures.

The fate of the original 13th-century statues remained a mystery until 1977. During excavation work inside a bank basement on Rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin, workers unearthed 21 of the original decapitated heads, which had been buried face down during the revolutionary turmoil.

Chimeras of the 19th Century

Among the cathedral's most celebrated sculptural elements are the brooding stone monsters perched along the upper balustrades, including the famous Le Stryge resting its head in its hands. While frequently identified as medieval gargoyles, these figures do not function as water spouts and do not date to the Middle Ages.

The creatures are decorative chimeras created entirely in the 1850s. They were designed by Viollet-le-Duc and sculpted by Emmanuel Frémiet as part of the Romantic-era Gothic Revival restoration.

Point Zéro and the Parvis

The open stone square fronting the cathedral, known as the parvis, serves as an active gathering space for visitors and worshippers. Embedded directly into its stone paving is Point Zéro des routes de France, an octagonal stone and bronze medallion inaugurated in 1924.

This bronze compass rose marks the national baseline from which all French highway distances are officially measured. When road signs throughout France state a distance to Paris, the measurement terminates precisely at this marker rather than at the municipal border. Worn smooth and shiny under the shoes of millions of pedestrians, the marker is surrounded by folk traditions, including spinning on one foot atop the disc or tossing coins onto the bronze to ensure a future return to Paris.

Centuries before receiving this geographic marker, the same location held a far sterner function. During the Middle Ages, the site hosted the échelle de justice (ladder of justice), where judicial condemnations were publicly proclaimed to gathered crowds.

Following a devastating fire in April 2019, the cathedral underwent an extensive restoration project leading to its scheduled reopening in December 2024, with the parvis and Point Zéro remaining central fixtures of the landmark's public grounds.