jane1144

Ahhhhh!

Traviata

I am in Paris and just returned from Notre Dame.........we watched for almost three hours hoping it would be contained, but, it seems to have gotten worse. I can't stop crying.......

Nikki

Moderator1

We have combined the three threads about the horrible fire at Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris.

twk

I'm going to guess that the windows and a lot of the carvings will be lost. However, as long as the outer walls don't collapse, they can rebuild the roof and restore it to something like the original. See what happened with Windsor Castle and it's fire, 20 some odd years ago.

bjl

This is tragic. It's too much to think that a building that has been standing for hundreds of years is gone.

Edward2005

That's what I was thinking. Many cathedrals were obliterated during WW2 and later rebuilt to various levels of prior glory. ND will rise again. What sucks is the many people who were planning their first and possibly only visit in their lifetimes in the next few years who will now see only a shell.

kerouac

The spire collapsed in 1792. Thanks to Victor Hugo's novel, the cathedral was finally restored in the 19th century. The blueprints by Viollet-le-Duc still exist and they will be used for the restoration... if there is anything left.

The fire brigade has just announced that the north tower is indeed in risk of collapsing, and if it does, it makes everything much much worse.

gomiki

This is impossible to imagine and yet I am seeing it live on the news It makes me cry. .

quokka

Holy crap. There are really more important matters to worry about now than tourists. Paris is not just a theme park.

kerouac

On the French news they just explained why it is possible that at least one of the towers could collapse. The giant bells are held up by the same huge wooden beams that burned so well all over the roof. Wood from the 13th century burns much better than normal wood. Anyway, the firemen were saying that if the beams holding the bells collapse in flames, the tower will come down too.

socaltraveler

sassy27

This is just so so sad to me I feel like I've lost a piece of my heart hearing this news. Truly such a shame

kerouac

hetismij2

And who will pay for it? They struggled to raise the money for much needed repairs and restoration, who do you propose they should raise the money to rebuild a replica of Notre Dame.
Firefighters are saying it probably can't be saved.
Perhaps it would be better in that case to build anew, a modern place of worship rather than a tourist trap look alike that would take even longer then Sagrada familia to complete, even if they havd the finnaces to do so.

MarnieWDC

Just so very sad...devastating...and in Holy Week ! Thank goodness it was not a terrorist attack and there have been no reports of serious injury or death.

jars50

I just watched a segment on the French news last week about the renovation of the statues of the Apostles that adorned the spire of ND. From that uplifting story to this tragic one. The cathedral at Reims was able to be rebuilt after WWII, so perhaps they can save ND as well.

TDudette

Very sad news. Whether for tourists or not, the historical importance of Notre Dame can't be denied.

A reporter on NPR said that government funds do not maintain places of worship. Because of this, frequent repairs to the wood roof have been made in a less than ideal way. She speculated that current repairs could have caused this fire...not sure.
On MSNBC, Macron says he will put up a national subscription for repairs.

Pepper_von_snoot

I just pray, Madam, that a Mango, Zara or Eataly cafeteria doesn't go in there! I can imagine some already planning a new shopping mall @Notre Dame.

First Karl Lagerfeld, then this horrific fire. If Hermes were to go, I would have to go back on Klonopin.

Today is another bad day for Paris. She has seen so many.

Thin🐩

nukesafe

Well, S**T!!!!!!!