Five years after the fire, the glory of Notre Dame revives

PARIS (EFE).— The flames that illuminated the Parisian night reached all homes in the world in the form of emotion and sadness. Notre Dame, the most iconic of the world’s Gothic cathedrals, was burning live, creating a global feeling of emotion and solidarity.

Five years after April 15, 2019, the temple is gradually recovering its initial appearance, following the guidelines issued by the president, Emmanuel Macron, who put a bet on the table: reopen five years after the disaster.

“Thanks to everyone’s mobilization, we are making the challenge, which could seem crazy, of reopening the cathedral in 2024 a reality,” Maryline Guiry, director of the organization that coordinates the restoration works, tells EFE.

The date set on the calendar is December 8, the day of the Immaculate Conception, a day that will culminate a special year in France, marked by the Olympic Games, but also by the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings during the Second World War.

Those two events, along with the reopening of Notre Dame, are being used by Macron to create a feeling of unity in the country in the face of political division.

“One of the great things about Notre Dame is that it has survived all regimes and has always been linked to the State,” historian Mathieu Lours, author of the book “Cathedrals in the World,” tells EFE.

The one in Paris has, in his opinion, a special symbolism because since its construction it has set a trend and has been a reflection of the power of the French church and the country.

That is also why it has been a symbol of the city for centuries and that is also why its fire had a greater impact throughout the world and created deep emotion among Catholics, but also among non-believers, Maryvonne de Saint Pulgent tells EFE. , who for years was in charge of the national directorate of monuments in France and who is the author of the essay “The glory of Notre Dame, faith and power.”

“The images of the flames at night made it seem like we were attending a movie,” he recalls.

Since its creation in the 12th century, Notre Dame, which rose 50% higher than the largest Gothic temple built until then, has attracted attention.

Her celebrity multiplied when Victor Hugo dedicated a novel to her, which was taken up in films and musicals and which turned her “into a contemporary character,” explains Maryvonne.

The 2019 fire gave it that part of epic that it was missing, because in 800 years of history the Paris cathedral had been safe from that epidemic of flames that has affected a good part of its Gothic sisters around the world.

“It was a very happy cathedral and overcoming this challenge makes it more tender, more glorious,” explains the expert.

After a first moment in which there was speculation about a contemporary reconstruction, Macron finally chose to restore it in the most identical way possible to the one that burned that day.

In five years, craftsmen from all over the country have allowed the temple to recover its wooden roof, for which hundreds of oaks from all over the country have been cut down imitating medieval techniques.

Only a small part remains open to the sky, that of the transept, where an impressive scaffolding rises from the ground to hold the spire, which once again reigns proudly in the sky of the city as conceived in the 19th century by the famous architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

“The essential part of the works is already done,” says Guiry, who promises that Notre Dame will recover its previous appearance on the outside but will be “more splendorous” on the inside, because “it will have a clear stone that will reflect an extraordinary light.”

It will not be the only advantage that the cathedral will take from the tragedy. Lours assures that Notre Dame was “somewhat abandoned” and that a 20-year leap has been made in its restoration.

In it, Saint Pulgent points out, archaeologists have learned medieval techniques that were hidden behind the walls, while Guiry affirms that the temple will have a modern fire protection system and improvements in other aspects.

There is still money in the coffers of the restorers from the impressive solidarity that the fire raised, although Saint Pulgent doubts that it will be enough to tackle the next stages, such as strengthening the flying buttresses and other exterior decorative elements.

That phase will remain until after the cathedral reopens its doors, proudly showing that it was created to transcend time.

FireSolidarity

While the flames put the future of the temple in check, a wave of solidarity made its way around the world.

Avalanche of donors

Almost 400,000 donors made it possible to amass 850 million euros to face the restoration. “It’s as if everyone felt like they were going to contribute to the restoration of the temple,” Maryvonne Saint Pulgent recalls.

The scheme is repeated

The historian Mathieu Lours witnessed the tragedy “in situ”, in which the same pattern that he has seen recounted so many times in his studies on cathedrals was repeated: “the speed with which the flames spread, the debacle of the spire, the prayers of the faithful…”