France's Macron sees Notre Dame cathedral's restoration more than 5 years after it was gutted by fire
CBSDec 07, 2024
The historic Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is set to reopen on December 7, 2023, following an extensive five-year restoration project that cost approximately 700 million euros ($739 million) funded through donations from 150 countries.French Pres. Emmanuel Macron conducted a tour of the newly renovated Notre-Dame Cathedral, officially set to reopen on Dec. 7, five years after a massive fire gutted the Gothic masterpiece.
The restoration project mobilized roughly 2,000 craftspeople, including stonemasons, carpenters, sculptors, and organ builders, who worked to restore the 12th-century Gothic masterpiece after a devastating fire in April 2019.The five-year restoration project, which cost €700M ($739M), mobilized 2K craftspeople, including stonemasons, carpenters, sculptors, and organ builders, to restore the 12th-century monument.
The renovation included cleaning 42,000 square meters of stone, restoring 8,000 organ pipes, rebuilding the wooden framework roof known as 'the forest,' and reconstructing the 96-meter-tall spire that collapsed during the fire.The renovation included cleaning 42K square meters of stone, restoring 8K organ pipes, rebuilding the wooden framework roof, and reconstructing the 96-meter-tall spire that collapsed during the fire.
The restoration represents a triumph of French craftsmanship and determination, successfully meeting President Macron's ambitious five-year deadline while making the cathedral even more beautiful than before through meticulous attention to historical detail and preservation of cultural heritage.
The modernization efforts and rapid reconstruction timeline may have compromised the cathedral's historical authenticity, with some original medieval elements lost forever and new materials and techniques potentially altering the building's character.