Notre-Dame Basilica, Montreal
by Juergen Weiss
Title
Notre-Dame Basilica, Montreal
Artist
Juergen Weiss
Medium
Photograph
Description
Notre-Dame Basilica (French: Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal) is a basilica in the historic district of Old Montreal, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The church is located at 110 Notre-Dame Street West, at the corner of Saint Sulpice Street. It is located next to the Saint-Sulpice Seminary and faces the Place d'Armes square.
Built in the Gothic Revival style, the church's is highly decorated. The vaults are coloured deep blue and decorated with golden stars, and the rest of the sanctuary is decorated in blues, azures, reds, purples, silver, and gold. It is filled with hundreds of intricate wooden carvings and several religious statues. Unusual for a church, the stained glass windows along the walls of the sanctuary do not depict biblical scenes, but rather scenes from the religious history of Montreal. It also has a Casavant Freres pipe organ, dated 1891, which comprises four keyboards, 92 stops using electropneumatic action and an adjustable combination system, 7000 individual pipes and a pedal board.
In 1657, the Roman Catholic Sulpician syndicate arrived in Ville-Marie, now known as Montreal; six years later the seigneury of the island was vested in them. They ruled until 1840. The parish they founded was dedicated to the Holy Name of Mary, and the parish church of Notre-Dame was built on the site in 1672.
Francois Baillairge, an architect, designed the interior decoration and choir 1785-95; facade & vault decoration, 1818.
The church served as the first cathedral of the Diocese of Montreal from 1821 to 1822.
By 1824 the congregation had completely outgrown the church, and James O'Donnell, an Irish-American Anglican from New York City, was commissioned to design the new building. O'Donnell was a proponent of the Gothic Revival architectural movement, and designed the church as such. He is the only person buried in the church's crypt. O'Donnell converted to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed perhaps due to the realization that he might not be allowed to be buried in his church.
The main construction work took place between 1824 and 1829. The cornerstone was laid at Place d"Armes on September 1, 1824. The sanctuary was finished in 1830, and the first tower in 1841, the second in 1843. On its completion, the church was the largest in North America. It remained the largest in North America for over fifty years. A new pipe organ was built in 1858 by Samuel Russell Warren.
The interior took much longer, and Victor Bourgeau, who also worked on Montreal's Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, worked on it from 1872 to 1879. Stonemason John Redpath was a major participant in the construction of the Basilica.
Because of the splendour and grand scale of the church, a more intimate chapel, Chapelle du Sacre-Coeur (Chapel of the Sacred Heart), was built behind it, along with some offices and a sacristy. It was completed in 1888. In 1886 Casavant Freres began building a new 32-foot pipe organ at the church, completing it in 1891. It was notably the first organ with adjustable-combination pedals to be operated by electricity. (Resource Wikipedia).
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November 22nd, 2009
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Comments (20)
Hideaki Sakurai
Wow! Amazing image. Fantastic capture, Juergen! Thank you for your comment on my photograph. I appreciate it.
Juergen Weiss replied:
Thank's for dropping by and making your lovely comment, Hideaki ! I truly appreciate it ... ! Best regards, Juergen
Amanda Vouglas
This is just amazing!!! What a beautiful cathederal and photo of it that you have captured! The color contrast is absolutely stunning!
Juergen Weiss replied:
Thank you for commenting on the " Basilica Notre Dame "- Photograph, Amanda ! So much appreciated !
Carole Spandau
Juergen, This is really beautiful, and one of the most difficult church interiors to shoot, the guards are so restrictive, because thousands of tourists descend upon this place each summer, they allow photographers a tiny window of opportunity to take their shots. People are elbowing and blocking each others shot, just my experience the last time I visited. I remember that the lighting inside is far from ideal because they are trying to preserve the paintings, stained glass etc and the historicity of this famous cathedral. You have succeeded beautifully my friend, love it.
Juergen Weiss replied:
Thank you so much for your nice words, Carole ! Merci beaucoup ! All the Best ♥ ♥