Gothic: Notre Dame Cathedral

http://www.romanes.com/Paris/Notre_Dame_de_Paris/Notre_Dame_de_Paris_0003_en.html
Here is a photo of Notre Dame. The flying buttress are very apparent in this photo. The flying buttresses were designed to balance the weight of the nave, and which the nave was created higher in the cathedral.I think the flying buttress gives emphasis to the center and an open, kind of airy feel to the cathedral. For this research I looked at photos of Notre Dame, which were all from the history link above and I watched a video on youtube. Here is the video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFQDuQUY-XM I found out Notre Dame's construction had begun 1163 and finished 182 years later. Also the high alter was created during the time. There are a lot of statues included on this Gothic cathedral. The final judgment is within the designs. There are also a lot of stain glass windows. I am glad Victor Hugo wrote about the cathedral as mentioned at the end of this video. The book made people interested in the building again and wanted to redeem it. Though, I have heard from friends that Hugo goes into long passages of describing Notre Dame and should have just made a book for Notre Dame. I think I would like to see Notre Dame on my Dream trip to France.