French Catholics have a date marked on their calendars this year: Notre-Dame will reopen its doors on December 8, the day of the Immaculate Conception, its patron saint. After the fire, President Macron set the ambitious goal of restoring the cathedral in five years, just in time for the 2024 Olympic Games, which take place this summer. However, there were delays compared to the initially planned schedule, due to the arduous lead decontamination work around the cathedral and the pandemic.
This Monday marks five years since the incident but it can now be confirmed that the temple will not be open to the public during the Olympic Games. However, “the spire, a good part of the ceilings of the nave and the choir and the entire façade of the south arm of the transept with its large rose window will be clearly visible,” Philippe Jost, president of Rebâtir Notre-Dame, announced a few days ago. , public body in charge of restoration. The works are progressing at a good pace and the building is gradually recovering its silhouette. The cathedral's spire, which collapsed during the fire, is once again visible in the Paris sky.
Although Macron had been in favor of giving “a contemporary architectural touch” to the cathedral's spire, he ultimately opted to build an arrow identical to the one designed by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century restoration. The name of General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who died in August 2023, has been engraved into the wood of the spire in tribute to the man who led its reconstruction for four years.
The famous sculpture of the rooster, which contains relics from the cathedral, has crowned the 96-meter-high spire since December. The original figure, which suffered many damages during the fire, will be exhibited in the future Notre-Dame museum. Eight months before its reopening to worship, “the roofers have taken over from the carpenters to place the cover of the arrow spire and the hundred lead ornaments that decorate it in just two months,” they explain from Rebâtir Notre- Give to me.
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The lead covering of the ceiling of the nave and choir of the cathedral has also begun to be placed, after the carpentry works in that area were completed. It is expected that this phase will be completed between now and the Olympic Games. The wooden frame or 'charpente' of the cathedral has been rebuilt according to its medieval design. This wooden structure, located on the roof, was known before the fire in France as 'the forest' due to the number of trees that had to be cut down in the Middle Ages for its construction. After the incident, 1,000 French oak trees were cut down to rebuild it identically.
Money left over
The restoration works on the three gables – north, south and west – of the cathedral have also been completed; the statues of Jesus Christ and Saint-Denis are already placed on top of the first two ornaments. Soon it will be the turn of the statues of Saint-Martin and Saint-Ètienne, which will decorate the south gable. Inside the cathedral, the scaffolding has already been removed from the choir, five years after the fire. “What has surprised me is the halo of luminosity recovered from our cathedral,” said the French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, when she visited the works.
The great organ, considered the “voice of the cathedral” since 1733, was removed for cleaning and restoration of its 8,000 pipes, as it could not be cleaned in situ. Although the flames did not reach it and it received relatively little water during the intervention of the firefighters to put out the fire, a thorough cleaning of the organ has been carried out, since it was covered in lead particles that spread throughout the interior of the instrument.
For now, about 1,000 tubes have already been placed in place. The work of harmonizing the instrument will last six months, say those responsible for the restoration of the cathedral. Between now and December 8, the date of the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris to worship, it is expected that a fire-fighting system will be installed in the 'charpente' and new technical and electrical installations.
Notre-Dame was inundated with donations after the fire. Thanks to the generosity of some 340,000 patrons and donors from around the world, some 840 million euros were raised. It is estimated that the restoration will cost around 700 million euros. The remaining 140 million will remain in Notre-Dame and will be used to cover other expenses, such as the remodeling of the surrounding area.
Although the temple opens for worship in December, restoration work will continue on the outside of the sacristy, choir and nave. The works are expected to be fully completed in 2029 or 2030.
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