Notre Dame is regarded as one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture, and beloved for its beauty, grandeur, and rich history by people of all faiths and nationalities. The full name is Notre Dame de Paris, translating to Our Lady of Paris. It was one of the first buildings in the world to make use of the flying buttress, or the many supporting arches that allow it to stand as tall as it does. Napoleon was actually coronated there in 1804. In the mid 1800's, the building was going to be demolished to create for more supplies and more space, until the famous author Victor Hugo wrote the novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", and made the cathedral very popular. During the French Revolution in the late 19th century, much of Notre Dame was destroyed because of a simple misunderstanding. The carvings on the walls contained what appeared to be statues of royalty, but what were in fact symbols of Catholicism. Eugene Viollet-de-Duc started restoring the cathedral in 1845, and it is still in the process of being fully restored today. Sadly, on May 21, 2013, Dominique Venner, a famed historian, committed suicide in the Notre Dame, following in the footsteps of Antonieta Rivas Mercado, who did the same while at the altar of the famed cathedral in 1931.This is only a tiny summary of the many events surrounding this awesome(in the older sense of the word) masterpiece. Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_de_Paris