Gargoyles on North Tower

first      previous      next      last     

These are two stone chimeras /ˈkɑɪ̯mɚəz/ on the railing of the gallery that circles and connects the towers of the facade of Notre-Dame Cathedral. The one on the right is relatively famous, the one on the left much less so.

I called this photo a picture of gargoyles because most people confuse chimeras and gargoyles. In fact, gargoyles are the little, vaguely-tube-shaped sculptures that direct rainwater away from the cathedral; they are everywhere on the structure, sticking straight out from the building (in order to throw rainwater as clear of the cathedral as possible). Chimeras, in contrast, are grotesque sculptures that combine the body parts of several different animals and are intended for decoration only; the sculptures shown in this picture are thus chimeras, not gargoyles. But a lot of people just group both under the heading of gargoyles.

These gargoyles/chimera are at the south corner of the north tower. In order to reach this point, you must climb the tiny, steep spiral staircase that leads up to this gallery, then squirm around the corner that you see behind the sculptures in this photograph (it is only about 60 cm wide, and the ground is about 15 stories below). The gallery itself is the highest of the galleries you see connecting the two towers when you look at the facade of the cathedral from below.

There are even more famous chimeras than these, but I haven’t had a chance to photograph them thus far.

The buildings in the immediate background are part of the Hôtel-Dieu, the oldest public hospital in Paris.

Photographed on December 13, 1997.