More than 2,000 days after the devastating fire that struck the Parisian monument, Notre-Dame is finally reopening its doors. With 860 years of history behind it, the cathedral is turning a new page in its existence, magnified by the work of hundreds of craftsmen. A look back at this major renovation.
On 15 April 2019, a fire suddenly struck Notre-Dame de Paris. Just before 8pm, the cathedral’s legendary spire fell, in front of millions of people watching the event live on television. 340,000 private donors from 150 different countries raised €846 million, more than two-thirds of which was contributed by Bernard Arnault, the Bettencourt family, the Pinault family and TotalEnergies. After five years of work, the cathedral will be rededicated on 7 and 8 December at a long-awaited ceremony attended by 3,000 guests, including around fifty heads of state, 340 French and international media and 40,000 people from the quayside. After an inaugural week, Notre-Dame will welcome back its public and its faithful from 16 December. A lovely Christmas present for the whole world.
Years of work to rebuild Notre-Dame de Paris
Today, Notre-Dame de Paris may be more beautiful than ever, but the architects and craftsmen had a long way to go. The spire rebuilt by Viollet-le-Duc in 1859 had collapsed, the roof structure was destroyed, works of art were damaged, the north tower was damaged and a gigantic hole in the vault revealed a pile of rubble covering the nave.
Around 250 companies were mobilised to rebuild the cathedral. Carpenters, roofers, metalworkers, stonemasons, sculptors… ‘It’s our life’s work. It was the project of a lifetime,’ says most of the 2,000 craftsmen who worked on the project for years. Many of the tools have been reproduced from medieval tools in order to respect the history of the site.
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