burned down in April 2019. The fire was watched on television all over the world, and the breaking spire became a symbolic beginning of problems of global significance – shortly afterwards, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in earnest, and the war between Russia and Ukraine began in our region. France immediately announced that . As announced, so it was done.
Although the work is still far from completed, Paris will regain this one of the city’s most important tourist spots in December this year. The cathedral will reopen to tourists.
In December, Notre Dame Cathedral will be opened to tourists
The reconstruction was stopped several times by the pandemic – if it weren’t for global problems, the cathedral would have been returned to the city and tourists a little earlier. In the summer of 2021, the remains of the fire were cleaned up. In the following years, what was damaged in the fire was rebuilt step by step and what was irretrievably burned was rebuilt on the basis of the preserved documentation. Now the interior of the cathedral looks as if it had been built in the 13th century – the stone has been cleaned, the floors have been polished, the wooden elements are shiny and new, and the windows have new stained glass. The interior looks cleaner and fresher. The paintings were restored, fresh gold leaf was applied to the newly carved elements – some evidence of the building’s centuries-old history disappeared:
More than a thousand 200-year-old trees were cut down especially for the reconstruction of the vault and interior. The roof was covered with lead again – the cathedral was originally covered with this material. No change was made in this matter, regardless of the opinions that could be used to protect the wood. In February this year, part of the scaffolding under which the reconstructed tower was hidden disappeared – the whole thing is to be “freed” with the start of the Olympic Games in Paris in July this year.
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris Photo REUTERS/Staff
A lot of work still needs to be done around the historic organ. The instrument was not destroyed in the fire, but it was covered with molten lead and dirt. All eight thousand pipes were cleaned, but it would take many months to install and re-tune them to their former sound.
The reopening of the cathedral is scheduled for December 8. The total cost of reconstruction was estimated at over 700 million euros. So far, almost EUR 900 million has been collected in fundraising activities around the world.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
