Appointed bishop of Paris in 1160, Maurice de Sully decided to give the capital a cathedral worthy of France's leading city. He wanted to build it in the style of the time, a style we now call Gothic. King Louis VII, his classmate, favored the project. The Church, the town's notables and the entire population participated, some offering money, others their labor and know-how. Construction began in 1163, but Notre-Dame was not completed until just over 100 years later, in 1272. Since its construction, the cathedral has been one of the great symbols of Paris and France.
