Just devastating. But the NYT now says that while the spire and two thirds of the roof have gone, the towers have been saved. It seems that renovations are really dangerous - think of the Glasgow School of Art. Same thing happened to an historic courthouse near where I live - different scale of course but again, during renovations..

I'm sure funds will come from all over the world. My thought from a personal perspective, I likely won't live long enough to see the restoration completed, the 1st time I've had such a thought.

Twenty years ago or so I climbed the towers with my large camera to take pictures of the view with gargoyles, as so many have. Small consolation but a little.

The government does not maintain places of worship built after 1905 which is the year of the law of separation of Church and State. The maintenance of churches built before 1905 is still funded by the state for their artistic or historical value just like castles, Roman gates, acqueducts etc

I'm no construction expert, but I'm fairly optimistic that, so long as the structural integrity of the walls is not in question, a new (fireproof) roof can be built within a few years time. Restoring the vaulted fan ceiling, so that the interior is restored to its pre-fire look, will probably take longer. And, tragically, the beautiful stain glass windows may never be fully restored (those lost in the fire--I'm hopeful that some may have been saved). You have to figure that the central spire collapsed around the alter, and that the area around the altar would have been heavily damaged. A lot of the other art was housed in the side chapels, which may have escaped the worst.

Yes tragic loss for Paris and the world. I do wonder why such a monument did not apparently have any inner ant-fire things and why took Paris first responders seemingly so long to get into action. Thank God no one got hurt except minor injuries apparently to a first responder.

If I were Pope I skip St Peter's Easter Mass and come to Paris and use a large open area like around Eiffel Tower and do an outdoor mass celebrating the new Notre-Dame de-Paris.

Thanks for the clarification, Askar01. I will pass that along to my local station...they don't normally miss such details.

A profound loss for the world.

In three days I was going to take my teens up those towers.... something I remember loving so much and wanted to share. Let's hope that enough is saved that it can be restored for the next generations.

Heartbreaking.
My thoughts are with Parisians, and everyone who is touched by this tragedy.

Of course it will never be just "a replica", just like it never was just "a place of worship". Something "modern" after what has happened? I don't think so.

If the Laurenskerk could be rebuilt, then certainly Notre Dame as well. Here's Rotterdam's Laurenskerk, just after the war. That took 16 years, and then too there were voice who thought that rebuilding would be "making a replica" and advocated exactly what you are describing. Still grateful every day that there was so much popular opposition to that.

https://wederopbouwrotterdam.nl/arti...e-laurenskerk/

What menachem wrote.
Many important buildings that we admire today have been damaged or destroyed in the course of the centuries - by fires, earthquakes or wars.
I am confident that with today's technology, it will be possible to rebuild and restore Notre Dame in full glory.

"And, tragically, the beautiful stain glass windows may never be fully restored "

Almost all "medieval" stained glass in Europe's major churches has been semi-continuously restored for the past three or four hundred years. As have most exterior church gargoyles and statues. Their authorities swap craftspeople almost as frequently as Michelin starred restaurants or opera houses.

The York Minster fire 35 years ago was a dress rehearsal for this: go inside now and you simply won't believe there was a catastrophic fire so recently.

I'm 70: I fully expect to go to Mass in a perfectly restored Notre Dame before I die.

I was a bit confused by reports that the crown of thorns had been saved, I thought it was in the Sainte-Chapelle

The firemen complained about access difficulty due to the bridge. Who knew the chathedral was on an island

The Sainte Chapelle is no longer a religious building so they would not store religious relics there, even if they did so in the past. Anyway, all of those things are now in a safe in the Hôtel de Ville. Bigger artworks are going to be taken to the Louvre for drying out and restorations.

At the press conference that just ended, they said that the two main rose windows appear to have survived, as did the 15th century organ.

A very hopeful article about Notre Dame. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/w...gtype=Homepage

Such a big loss. I remember the first time we visited. Our kids were young and our son was fascinated with it and the gargoyles. We have been back many times, so fond memories of it like many others. Our daughter is headed back again this summer with a friend who has never been to Europe. It will be interesting to hear from them their experience while there.

It's terrible, but from this morning's reports, it could have been very much worse. She survived the French Revolution, I fully expect her to survive this. BTW, according to the NYT, the spire was only built in the 19th century - and some statues had been removed from it because of the renovation work. (Sometimes statues are replicas in any case - in Strasbourg you can see the originals in the cathedral museum.)

I think Kerouac should go to visit Notre Dame on his day off, take photos and post them here for us.


Thin💳

He did and the photos are super. Scroll down to #18

giant fire at Notre Dame | Any Port in a Storm