A few years ago, the famous French cathedral was substantially destroyed by a fire, including its spire. The reconstruction started immediately after this terrible accident. The work in different parts of the cathedral continues intensely and is scheduled to finish in 2025. In particular:
- The “forest”, a dense network of wooden trusses above the vaults, has been completely rebuilt.
- The “grand ducs”, eight cast-lead eagles, guarding the spire, have been reinstalled.
- Last February, the scaffolding covering the spire was removed piece by piece, slowly revealing the spire.
- The stunning glass windows have been cleaned of lead dust and restored to their former splendor.
- The Grand Organ has been restored and reinstalled. The pipes are being harmonized and refit, one by one.
- The ornate wrought-iron railings of the Cathedral’s stands have been cleaned and restored, and the restoration of the chapels’ wrought-iron fence grille is in progress.
We are pleased to report all this progress today and will continue to report the reconstructing and restoring of this jewel of Gothic architecture. Though all the work will not be finished, it is scheduled to reopen Notre-Dame in December 2024.
On July 18th, a documentary on the cathedral will be broadcast on DW News.