Legal Insurrection covered the devastating fire that destroyed France’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019.
At one point, the original projection for the rebuilding of this magnificent wonder of architecture was going to take 15 to 20 years.
Both the building and its esplanade might remain under renovation for another “15 or 20 years,” Patrick Chauvet told The Associated Press on Friday.…Shortly after the fire, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to rebuild the burned-out cathedral, a symbol of national pride, in just a few years.“We will rebuild Notre-Dame even more beautifully and I want it to be completed in five years. We can do it,” Macron said at the time.“It is up to us to convert this disaster into an opportunity to come together, having deeply reflected on what we have been and what we have to be and become better than we are. It is up to us to find the thread of our national project,” he added.
But it is going to take less than 5. As noted by John Sexton of Hot Air, the cathedral will reopen in time for Christmas next year.
Paris is hosting the summer Olympics next year and President Macron had originally hoped to have the cathedral reopened in time for that. The schedule has since slipped a little bit but it is currently scheduled to fully reopen next December 8 in time form Christmas. There are hundreds of people working at the site every day to meet that deadline.
The new spire is now in place, complete with a new rooster weathervane to replace the one severely damaged in the fire. There are also a number of fire safety enhancements that will make the building less vulnerable to fire in the future.
The rooster is a national symbol in France….The designer of the rooster, architect Philippe Villeneuve, said its “wings of fire” were a reminder that “the cathedral can be reborn from the ashes, like a phoenix”.The designer of the rooster, architect Philippe Villeneuve, said its “wings of fire” were a reminder that “the cathedral can be reborn from the ashes, like a phoenix”.The man in charge of Notre-Dame’s restoration, Philippe Jost, described it as “an unparalleled human adventure”.”The rooster now means it’s the very end of the rebuilding of the spire,” he said.
Artisans and craftsman have also remade and restored many of the other iconic elements of the building, including the gargoyles, that adorned the original structure.
I am delighted by the good success and beauty of these restoration efforts, especially the focus on keeping the original gothic style. I look forward to covering the reopening next year very much.
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