From ashes to glory! Notre-Dame’s spire rises anew after a five-year restoration. On December 8, this 800-year-old symbol of resilience will be reborn. CGTN’s Iolo ap Dafydd takes you behind the scenes of its remarkable rebuild.
#NotreDame #Paris
#NotreDame #Paris
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00The Notre-Dame Basilica
00:02The Notre-Dame Basilica is in the middle of Paris, quite literally so.
00:06It stands on an island in the middle of the River Seine.
00:09This Catholic cathedral is a place of worship,
00:13but it's also a historical site since the Middle Ages.
00:17It's a place of worship and it's dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ,
00:22and it's attracted pilgrims and people for 800 years.
00:26Now, French official figures say that between 12 and 14 million people come here annually.
00:33It is one of Europe's most celebrated sites,
00:36or at least it was before a fire five years ago,
00:39and since then the cathedral has been closed to the public.
00:45Since then, scaffolding has surrounded the church as renovation work is carried out,
00:50but gradually the French Gothic architecture is being revealed again.
00:57For example, the large flying buttresses that reflect the feet of the 13th century architects,
01:03in terms of height and slenderness.
01:05Usually, flying buttresses have two flights separated by a support point,
01:10but here there's a single flight spanning over the aisles.
01:15The building work began in the mid-12th century and carried on for up to 200 years.
01:20Modifications were needed in the 18th century and major restorations
01:24in the 19th century.
01:26During the last 100 years, it's maintenance work that's kept the cathedral open.
01:31Standing above the Seine, it's hard to miss it.
01:34The two towers are 69 meters high.
01:37The spire at the back is 96 meters.
01:40The cathedral is 128 meters in length and 48 meters wide.
01:45And when it's open, you'll have to climb up 387 steps to reach the top of the towers.
01:55The Notre-Dame was closed after a devastating fire that began near the roof
02:00after six in the evening on the 15th of April in 2019.
02:04By the time around 400 firefighters had arrived to extinguish the flames
02:09that was blazing for 15 hours, the cathedral's wooden spire had collapsed
02:14and most of the roof had been destroyed.
02:17The upper walls were severely damaged,
02:19but more extensive damage to the interior was prevented
02:23by the vaulted stone ceiling inside the cathedral,
02:26and that contained debris from the burning roof.
02:29Many works of art and religious relics inside were moved away to safety.
02:33Some were damaged by smoke, and some of the exterior art has also been destroyed.
02:38According to the investigators, in 2020, they said that the fire
02:42may have been started by either a cigarette or a short circuit in the electrical system.
02:47More than 900 million US dollars has been donated from people
02:51in 150 countries to rebuild the cathedral.
02:54In October, the French culture minister, Rachida Dati, caused some controversy.
02:58She said in an article in French newspapers
03:01that visitors here should pay 5 euros each to enter the church once it's been reopened.
03:07And she argued that that could raise up to 18 million dollars
03:11that would pay for the upkeep of the cathedral.
03:14I think it's very inexpensive. I think it should be twice as much.
03:18They've done an amazing job putting this thing back together.
03:21And what about this feeling that nobody really should pay to go into a church, a place of worship?
03:27Well, I'm sure it costs quite a bit of money to fix this.
03:30And this is really, I think, just paying for the fixing of the building.
03:34I would say that it's worth it.
03:36I don't think so, because it's like for me, for a tourist,
03:40it's better that it doesn't cost something.
03:44And it's, I think, a cultural thing. It should be open for everybody.
03:49And should be free.
03:50Yeah, free.
03:52If you had a choice, would you pay or not?
03:59I would pay, because, for example, now they are rebuilding.
04:05So, somehow, we need resources to rebuild the church.
04:11No, I would not pay, because I would talk with the guide,
04:16to tell him that I'm not going to visit, but I'm going to pray.
04:20Personally, I don't go to church, so I'm not concerned about it.
04:23So I can see it more as a monument.
04:26And I can understand that we have to pay.
04:29But, well, it's only five euros. Why not?
04:34Long queues are expected when it reopens in mid-December.
04:38Almost 40,000 visitors are expected every single day.
04:43There will be a special mass and several services,
04:47and then a reopening programme that will run throughout 2025.