Notre-Dame's Beautiful History — in Pictures

The huge interest in the cathedral brought about by the publication, in 1831, of The Hunchback of Notre Dame led to plans to restore the church. The contest to take on the project was won by a thirty-year-old architect, Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, who built the famous spire on the cathedral, replicating part of the original medieval design.

He also added statues of the apostles around the new spire. The model of St. Thomas is said to bear an uncanny resemblance to the architect himself.