As a testament to the correlation between glorious spaces and heavenly thoughts, the Notre Dame de Paris has stood for 750 years as the apex of European religious architecture. Seeking to liberate their creation from the sepulchral atmosphere of the plague-ridden medieval era, the Notre Dame architects conceived of a design more spacious than that of their predecessors. New developments in arched doorways and supports allowed for thinner outer walls and larger windows, including the famous Rose Windows on the cathedral's north, south, and west sides.