Notre-Dame Cathedral was commissioned by King Louis VII who wanted it to be a symbol of Paris’s political, economic, intellectual and cultural power at home and abroad. The city had emerged as the centre of power in France and needed a religious monument to match its new status. Henry VI of England was crowned inside the cathedral in 1431 and in 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of France here too.

Construction of this impressive structure took 182 years to complete.