Five years after the devastating fire, the restoration work of Notre Dame has been completed and the church is reopening to the public. But is it too early for such a thing?
For France, Notre Dame is not just a church, but something like… a national treasure.
On April 16, 2019, a day after a fire destroyed part of the church, Macron promised that the Roman Catholic church would be renovated and open to the public after just five years – and that it would be “even more beautiful than before.” .
France spent a lot of money and overcame a lot of bureaucratic hurdles, so the work is progressing completely on schedule – at least officially.
With an impressive celebratory event on December 7, Notre Dame will once again open its doors to the public. President Macron is expected to address the guests, which will include many heads of state and government. The following day, December 8, Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will hold the first mass in the church since the day of the fire.
The new view of the temple
Those who remember what Notre-Dame was like will be surprised: the walls have been thoroughly cleaned, as have the 2,300 statues and 8,000 pipes of the church organ, while more light now comes through the windows, making the vivid colors and gold leaf of the frescoes to shimmer. In addition, 1,500 new chairs have been installed. A total of around 250 companies and studios worked on the restoration work.
So far the cost of cleaning and renovating the church has reached 700 million euros, out of the 840 million that had been raised in total. The rest of the money will be used to restore the arch and buttresses, with work expected to continue for another three years.
“The Miracle of Our Lady of Paris”
Five years after the devastating fire, everyone agrees that ultimately things could have turned out much worse. Although the bell tower was destroyed, the Gothic statue of the Virgin Mary that was right next to it remained intact. “The miracle of Notre-Dame de Paris,” Barbara Schock-Werner, an expert on cathedrals, told DW at the time.
“The risk of the whole temple collapsing was great,” Schock-Werner now recalls, “all it took was one storm and the devastation would have been incalculable.” But Paris was lucky in its misfortune. And finally, all the problems that arose during the restoration work were overcome.
Does the temple open in a hurry?
Under the coordination of Schock-Werner and cultural commissioner Armin Lacet, Germany also helped restore the church.
But as much as she admires the speed with which the work was completed, Schock-Werner warns that the pressure of time and money has obvious drawbacks: “The building is still very wet,” warns the architect. “We can only hope that the plasters inside will hold up.” The same goes for the oak used on the ceiling. “Normally, we use the oak only after it has dried. In this case, however, this could not be done, due to time pressure.”
“A French Success”
It is still unclear how Paris plans to manage the hordes of visitors who will flock to Notre Dame. France’s culture minister, Rashida Dati, wants to introduce an entry ticket for visitors, but the Catholic Church has refused.
Although there are still open issues, Macron did not hesitate to hail the restoration of Notre Dame as a “French success”. At the opening of the restored temple, prominent figures in world politics are expected, such as President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President Zelensky, but also the newly elected President of the USA, Donald Trump – who even gave credit to Macron for the “amazing job” he did did with the renovation of the temple.
Edited by: Giorgos Passas
Source :Skai
I am Frederick Tuttle, who works in 247 News Agency as an author and mostly cover entertainment news. I have worked in this industry for 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I am a very hard worker and always strive to get the best out of my work. I am also very passionate about my work and always try to keep up with the latest news and trends.
