Big Ben vs Notre Dame

Informations

Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the striking clock in the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London; the name is often extended to refer to both the clock and the clock tower. The official name of this tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower; it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Queen of the uk. The tower was designed by Augustus Pugin at a neo-Gothic style. When completed in 1859, its clock was the largest and most accurate four-faced striking and chiming clock on the planet. The tower stands 315 ft (96 m) tall, and the climb from ground level to the belfry is 334 steps. Its foundation is square, measuring 39 ft (12 m) on each side. Dials of the clock are 23 feet (7.0 m) in diameter. On 31 May 2009, celebrations were held to mark the tower's 150th anniversary.Big Ben is the biggest of the tower's five bells and weighs 13.5 long tons (13.7 tonnes; 15.1 short tons). It was the biggest bell in the United Kingdom for 23 years. The origin of this bell's nickname is open to question; it might be named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw its own installation, or heavyweight boxing champion Benjamin Caunt.

Four quarter bells chime at 15, 30 and 45 minutes past the hour and just before Big Ben tolls on the hour. The clock uses its first Victorian mechanics, but an electric motor can be applied as a backup. The tower is a British cultural icon recognised all over the world. It is among the most prominent symbols of the uk and parliamentary democracy, and it is often used in the establishing shot of films set in London. The clock tower has been a part of a Grade I listed building since 1970 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. On 21 August 2017, a four-year schedule of renovation works began on the tower, which are to include the addition of a lift. In addition, there are plans to re-glaze and repaint the clock dials. With a few exceptions, such as New Year's Eve and Remembrance Sunday, the bells should be silent until the work is completed in 2021.

Source: Wikipedia

Informations

Notre-Dame de Paris (French: [n?t?? dam d? pa?i] (listen); meaning'Our Lady of Paris'), known simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral was consecrated to the Virgin Mary and considered to be among the best examples of French Gothic architecture. Its pioneering use of the rib vault and flying buttress, its enormous and vibrant rose windows, in addition to the naturalism and prosperity of its sculptural decoration set it apart from the previous Romanesque style. Major components which make Notre Dame stand out include its large historic organ and its immense church bells.The cathedral's construction began in 1160 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was mostly complete by 1260, although it was modified frequently in the next centuries. In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered desecration during the French Revolution; much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. In the 19th century, the cathedral was the site of the coronation of Napoleon I and the funerals of several Presidents of the French Republic. Popular interest in the cathedral blossomed soon after the publication, in 1831, of Victor Hugo's book Notre-Dame de Paris (better known in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame). This led to a major restoration project between 1844 and 1864, supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. The Allied liberation of Paris in 1944 was celebrated within Notre-Dame with the singing of the Magnificat. Beginning in 1963, the cathedral's façade was cleaned of centuries of soot and dirt. Another cleaning and restoration project was carried out between 1991 and 2000. The cathedral is one of the most widely recognized symbols of the city of Paris and the French state. As the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame comprises the cathedra of the Archbishop of Paris (Michel Aupetit). In 1805, Notre-Dame was given the honorary status of a minor basilica. Approximately 12 million people visit Notre-Dame annually, making it the most visited monument in Paris. The cathedral was famous for its Lent sermons, founded by the Dominican Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire in the 1830s. In recent decades, a growing number have been awarded by leading public figures and state-employed professors. The cathedral has been progressively stripped of its original decoration and functions of art. Several notable examples of Gothic, Baroque, and 19th-century sculptures and a group of 17th- and early 18th-century altarpieces remain in the cathedral's collection. Some of the most important relics in Christendom, for example, Crown of Thorns, a sliver of the true cross and a nail from the true cross, are preserved at Notre-Dame. On 11 February 1931, Antonieta Rivas Mercado expired at the altar of Notre-Dame after shooting herself in the heart with a pistol stolen from her lover, Jose Vasconcelos.While undergoing renovation and restoration, the roof of Notre-Dame caught fire on the night of 15 April 2019. Burning for about 15 hours, the cathedral sustained serious damage, including the destruction of the flèche (the wood spirelet over the crossing) and the majority of the lead-covered wooden roof above the stone vaulted ceiling. Contamination of the site and the nearby environment resulted. After the fire, many proposals were made for modernizing the cathedral's design. But on 16 July 2019, the French Parliament passed a law requiring that it be rebuilt exactly as it appeared prior to the fire. Stabilizing the structure against potential collapse is expected to last until the end of 2020, with reconstruction beginning in 2021. The government of France expects the renovation can be completed by Spring 2024, in time for the opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Source: Wikipedia