Notre Dame: Paris’ Gothic jewel to reopen five years after fire

The world got its first look inside a stunning new Notre Dame on Friday, when French President Emmanuel Macron gave a televised tour of the cathedral’s reopening.

Five-and-a-half years after a devastating 2019 fire, Paris’ Gothic jewel has been rescued, renovated and refurbished – promising visitors a breathtaking visual treat.

The president – accompanied by his wife Brigitte and Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich – is launching a program of events that culminates with an official “entry” into the cathedral on December 7 and the first Catholic Mass the following day.

After showing highlights of the €700m (£582m) renovation of the building – which includes huge roof timbers that replace the medieval frame that was gutted in the fire – he is home to around 1,300 craftsmen and women. Will give thanks to those who gathered in Naf.

Notre-Dame’s re-vamped interior has been kept a closely guarded secret – with only a few photos released over the years showing the progress of the renovation work.

But those who have been inside recently say the experience is surprising, with the cathedral taking on a new clarity and brightness that contrasts sharply with the previously pervasive gloom.

“The word that best captures the day is ‘spectacular,'” said an Elysée insider close to the restoration.

People will know the beauty of cut stone [which is] A flawless whiteness such as had probably not been seen in a cathedral for centuries.”

On the evening of April 15, 2019, Viewers around the world were shocked as live images of the orange flames spreading along the cathedral’s roof were broadcast.and then – at the peak of the conflagration – the collapse of the 19th-century spire to the ground.

The cathedral – whose structure was already a concern before the fire – was undergoing exterior renovations at the time. Theories for the cause of the fire include a cigarette left by a worker, or an electrical fault.

About 600 firefighters battled the blaze for 15 hours.

At one point, it was feared that the eight bells in the north tower were in danger of collapsing, bringing down the tower itself, and possibly much of the cathedral’s walls.

Eventually the structure was saved.

What was destroyed were the spire, the wooden roof beams (known as “forests”), and the stones on the center of the transept and part of the nave.

A lot of damage was also caused by falling timber and masonry and water from flammable material.

Thankfully, what was saved made a very long list – including all the stained glass windows, most of the sculpture and artwork, and the sacred relic known as the Crown of Thorns. The organ – the second largest in France – was badly affected by dust and smoke, but it was possible to repair it.

Cathedral priests also celebrated some “miracles” – miraculous survivors.

These include the 14th-century sculpture known as the Choir of the Pillar, which escaped being crushed by the fall.

Sixteen large bronze statues of the apostles and evangelists, which surround the spire, were taken down for renovation just four days before the fire.

After inspecting the devastation the next day, Macron made what was to many at the time an absurd promise: to reopen Notre Dame to visitors within five years.

A public body was created by law to manage the work, and an appeal for funds met with prompt response. A total of €846m was raised, mostly from major sponsors but also from millions of smaller donors.

The task was entrusted to Jean-Louis Georgelin, a no-nonsense military general who shared Macron’s impatience with the committees and the “legacy” establishment.

“They’re used to dealing with frigates. It’s an aircraft carrier,” he said.

Georgelin is given universal credit for the project’s undoubted success, but he died in an accident in the Pyrenees in August 2023 and was replaced by Philippe Jost.

An estimated 2,000 architects, carpenters, restorers, roofers, foundry workers, art experts, sculptors and engineers worked on the project – giving a huge boost to French arts and crafts.

As a result of the publicity many trades – such as stone carving – have seen a large increase in apprenticeships.

“[The Notre Dame project] It has been the equivalent of a world fair, the way it has been an exhibition of our handicrafts. It’s a wonderful shop window internationally,” said Pascal Payne-Epenzler, whose association promotes traditional construction skills.

The first task of the project was to secure the site, and then remove the huge tangle of metal scaffolding that had previously surrounded the spire but had melted in the fire and joined the stonework.

Initially a decision had to be made about the nature of the renovation: whether to faithfully recreate the medieval building and the 19th-century Neo-Gothic alterations built by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. is, or to use the opportunity to mark the building. Modern imprint.

Appeals for new designs led to unusual ideas, including a glass roof, a green “eco-roof”, a large flame instead of a spire, and a spire topped by a vertical laser shooting into the sky.

In the face of opposition from experts and the public, all were abandoned and the reconstruction is largely true to the original – albeit with some concessions to modern materials and safety requirements. Roof timbers, for example, are now protected against splashing and splitting.

The only remaining point of contention is over Macron’s desire for a modern design of stained glass windows in the six side chapels. Artists have submitted entries for the competition, but it is being strongly opposed by many in the French art world.

Macron has tried to make the renovation of Notre Dame a theme and a symbol.

He has involved himself closely with the project, and has visited the cathedral several times.

At a moment when their political fortunes are at an all-time low – after parliamentary elections in July – the reopening is a morale booster.

Some said he was stealing the limelight by organizing Friday’s event — officially marking the end of the project — a week before the official reopening. This means that the first, long-awaited photos of the interior will also inevitably focus on it.

In response, the Elysee authorities stated that the cathedral – like all French religious buildings under a 1905 law – belonged to the state, with the Catholic Church as its “designated user”. And that the work could not have been completed so quickly without Macron’s speed.

“Five years ago everyone thought it would be difficult to keep the president’s promise,” said the Alessi insider.

“Today we not only have proof that it was possible – but that it was at heart what everyone passionately wanted.

“What will people see? [in the new Notre Dame] Collective willpower is the glory and power à la française“