The Notre Dame cathedral is one of the world's truly great historic monuments.
Each year between 12 and 13 million tourists take a trip to the building, making it the most visited landmark in Paris.
Work began on the magnificent structure during the reign of King Louis VII in1163 and was completed in 1345.
It is widely considered one the finest example of French Gothic architecture in Europe, with enormous and colourful rose windows, a rib vault and flying buttresses that set it apart from other Romanesque structures.
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Its 90 metre spire towered high above the Île de la Cité, the natural island where it stood.
Dominating the structure are its two 13th century bell towers.
The so-called "bourdon", the largest bell, goes by the name of "Emmanuel".
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Notre Dame – which means ‘Our Lady’ – has been modified on a number of occasions throughout the centuries.
The 387 steps up to the towers take visitors past the gallery of chimeras, mythical creatures typically composed of more than one animal.
The most famous of these, the 'Stryge' gargoyle sits atop the cathedral watching Paris with its head resting in its hands.
Before it became a modern day tourist destination the cathedral was at the centre of a long and often destructive history.
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In 1548 rioting Huguenots smashed some of the cathedral's statues they considered to be idolatrous.
Following the French Revolution in 1793 the cathedral was rededicated first to the Cult of Reason and then to the Cult of Supreme Being.
Many of the grand building's features were plundered and destroyed by revolutionaries, who also beheaded 28 biblical Kings they mistook for French royalty.
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The stone heads were found during a 1977 excavation and now sit in the Musée de Cluny.
So low had respect for the cathedral fallen that it came to be used as a warehouse until 1801 when Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the building be returned to the church.
Three years later Napoleon's coronation as Emperor took place in the cathedral where he would go on to marry Marie-Louise of Austria in 1810.
In 1831 Victor Hugo published 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', shining a spotlight on the then dilapidated tower ahead of a large restoration ordered by King Louis Phillippe 13 years later.
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It was during this rebuild that the spire that collapsed this evening was built, mainly out of wood and lead.
Stray bullets fired during the liberation of Paris in August and centuries of grime and pollution were not enough to dampen the cathedral's glory, which was restored to its original off-white colour in 1963.
The cathedral had been in the midst of renovations before today's fire, with some sections under scaffolding.
Bronze statues were removed last week for works.
