The Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, the Notre-Dame, reopens its gates today, five and a half years after it was badly damaged by a devastating fire that destroyed its arrow and roof and nearly caused the complete collapse of this masterpiece of Gothic art.
The 860-year-old medieval cathedral, a symbol of both France and Paris, has been painstakingly restored, with a new roof and has returned to its former glory, with its white and gold ornamentation sparkles more than ever today.
On the evening of April 15, 2019, Parisians who rushed to the scene and viewers around the world watched in horror as the arrow and roof of the church collapsed from the fire that threatened the main bell towers and the entire structure, which barely escaped complete destruction.
“The planet was shaken that day,”French President Emanuel Macron said ahead of today’s reopening ceremony. “The shock of the reopening I believe and I want to believe will be as strong as that of the fire, but it will be a shock of hope.”
Macron, who has been weakened by the country’s deep political crisis, will have a chance to forget those problems when he welcomes U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Britain’s Prince William and dozens of heads of state and government, including Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, to the ceremony to reopen the temple, which is due to begin around 7 p.m.p.m. (local time, 20:00 GMT).
Late yesterday, Friday, evening, Macron’s office and the Archdiocese of Paris announced that, due to high winds, the ceremonies would all take place inside the church. Macron had originally planned to deliver a speech outside.
“I’m afraid I’m going to break down when I go in because it’s going to be very moving, says Cecilia de Vargas, a member of the choir that is to take part in the ceremony to reopen the church.
“Despite the horror of what happened, there is a positive side when you see how all the people, all the French people rebuilt the cathedral with such speed.”
“Many people said to me, ‘Give us back the cathedral as it was’. But it will be much more beautiful”,” Catholic Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich promised, moreover, speaking to Agence France-Presse.
The restored church opens to visitors
Thousands of skilled craftsmen, from carpenters and stonemasons to stained-glass artists, have been at work continuously over the past five years, using old methods to restore, repair or replace what had been damaged or destroyed.
“Notre Dame is more than a Parisian or French monument. It is also a world monument,”says historian Damian Byrne.
“It is a landmark, an emblem, a reference point that reassures in a globalized world where everything is constantly evolving,” says Byrne, a member of the scientific council for the restoration of Notre Dame.
The cathedral’s foundation stone was laid in 1163 and its construction continued over the next century, with restoration and additions in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Victor Hugo helped make the cathedral a symbol of both Paris and France when he used it in 1831 as the setting for his novel “Notre Dame de Paris.” Quasimodo, the central character of the novel, has been adapted into Hollywood films, a Disney animated film, and musicals.
So much money was raised for its restoration from around the world – more than 840 million euros, according to Macron’s office – that there are funds left to invest further in the building.
The Catholic Church now expects the cathedral to welcome about 15 million visitors a year.
If anyone is lucky, they will be able to visit tomorrow night from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., but it is likely that there will be huge lines of visitors.
The cathedral has announced that from today visitors will be able to book a free ticket online, on its website, on social media or on an app made for this purpose, so that they can enter the building on the same day or a day or two after booking the ticket. There will also be a queue on site for those who want to get in without having made a reservation. Groups will be accepted from next year – from February 1 for pilgrims from religious organizations and from June 9 for guided tourists.
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