Sacristy of Notre-Dame de Paris, Gothic sacristy at Notre-Dame Cathedral in 4th arrondissement, France.
The sacristy of Notre-Dame is a section on the cathedral's southern side with stone walls and vaulted ceilings that match the cathedral's style. Inside, liturgical vestments and sacred objects are stored where clergy can access them directly from the altar area.
A first sacristy was built by Jacques-Germain Soufflot in 1758 and damaged in the riots of 29 July 1830 and 14 February 1831. In 1845 the National Assembly voted 665,000 francs for the chapter sacristy, but the unstable subsoil required foundations about 9 metres deep. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc designed the neo-Gothic replacement in 13th-century style, linked to the choir by two parallel arms around a square cloister.
The main hall's stained glass by Laurent-Charles Maréchal shows bishops of Paris; the eighteen cloister windows, made by Alfred Gérente from Auguste Steinheil's drawings, depict scenes from the life of Saint Genevieve, patroness of Paris, each with a caption beneath it. The Coronation of the Virgin fills the top of the cloister's main window.
This space is typically not directly visible from outside, as it lies behind the cathedral's walls and is only accessible during specific tours or events. Visitors should check ahead to learn when tours include access to this part of the cathedral.
In 2013 beekeeper Nicolas Géant donated a hive to the sacristy roof, stocked with Brother Adam bees; two more hives followed, and by 2019 about 200,000 bees lived above the cathedral's treasury. The sacristy itself escaped the fire of 15 April 2019, when the Sainte Couronne and Saint Louis's shirt were carried first to the Hôtel de Ville and then to the Louvre reserves.
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