Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
Five years ago flames engulfed the eaves of Notre-Dame de Paris, a medieval cathedral that took nearly two centuries to build but just a few hours to leave in smouldering disarray. Shorn of its flèche, its roof obliterated and stained glass blackened, Notre-Dame was saved from total collapse by its 13th century flying buttresses. The task of rebuilding began immediately. Decking was placed under the buttresses to hold them in place, motion sensors were installed to prevent structural accidents, and thousands of stonecutters, steeplejacks, architects, engineers and carpenters got to work. Unearthing skeletons of a canon and a poet on the way, the craftspeople hand-hewed oak logs to recreate the nave, cleaned up the ancient fittings and limestone, reassembled the organ, and built a new 315-foot spire topped with a copper rooster. And here’s the news: on Saturday afternoon, Notre-Dame officially reopened.
Within the gilded bird atop the reopened cathedral is a scroll with the names of everyone who helped with the restoration. The cost of the entire build? $900 million, funded by donations from around the world.
Emmanuel Macron cut the ribbon alongside a host of foreign dignitaries that included Donald Trump, Jill Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky and Prince William. Pope Francis did not attend, choosing instead to unveil a nativity scene at the Vatican.
But the guest list feels parenthetical to the restoration itself, which took
- 48 levels of scaffolding;
- 1,200 oak trees free of knots and frost-crack; and
- 2,000 workers tirelessly recreating and improving on the pre-fire Notre-Dame.
Eight bells, ranging in weight from 800kg to four tonnes, were removed, cleaned and returned. Damaged gargoyles, which act as rainwater management systems, were digitally scanned and remade. The 12 metre-high great organ was disassembled, decontaminated and redesigned, its 8,000 pipes painstakingly retuned over six months thanks to the discerning ears of the four organists of Notre-Dame. Perhaps the most important part of the restoration was the installation of a misting system that automatically activates if the roof temperature exceeds 500 degrees.
What caused the 2019 fire is still unknown. Prosecutors have previously suggested it could have been an electrical malfunction or still-lit cigarette. They continue to investigate, but for now they lean towards accident rather than arson.
For the past five years, Notre-Dame lovers have had to satisfy themselves with the late Andrew Tallon’s laser-scanned 3d model of the cathedral and Caroline Miousse’s hand-drawn recreation for the 2012 video game Assassin’s Creed Unity.
What relief they would have felt at seeing Archbishop Laurent Ulrich herald the reopening of the cathedral, by knocking on the giant iron-wrought doors with a crosier made from Notre-Dame’s fire-scorched beams. Now they will be able to step back inside, for real.
