November 11, 2024 by Max Vogel (‘26)
The Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France is a world-renowned piece of ancient architecture and symbol of religion. It is one of the oldest standing churches in Europe and the 6th most popular tourist destination in Paris.
The church sits on the Seine River in the center of Paris and is visited by 13 million people annually. The massive popularity of Notre Dame made for devastating global news in 2019, when a large section of the historic cathedral caught on fire.
The source of the fire is still debated with main theories claiming the fire started due to a short fuse, cigarette ash, or a welding spark. Regardless, the fire started at 5:20 PM in the south-east attic and spread to the middle and north sides on the top floor. The fire viciously ripped through the wood roof for over 15 hours and was finally extinguished around 10:00 A.M. the following day.
Although the fire was eventually put out, the damage was devastating as most of the roof was burnt completely off, the main steeple had collapsed, and debris was strewn throughout the ground floor. The restoration process costs about 1 billion USD and is on track to be fully completed by December this year.
Although the building is not fully finished yet, three new bells were installed into the cathedral and rang for the first time since the disaster. One of the bells belonged to the Stade de France and was used during the 2024 Paris Olympics. The two other bells were crafted in Normandy and have an engraving of the Notre Dame carved into the front of them. Although the cathedral is not open to the public yet, the Parisiens and French are proud to have the hourly bells back as a reminder of the resilient French culture and architecture.
Credit: The Guardian
Credit: NBC News