This past Saturday, April 15 we were able to stand in the shadow of Notre Dame and reflect on the last 860 and also 4 years since a fire threatened to destroy the beloved cathedral. In this week's newest episode of the La Vie Creative - Paris History Avec a Hemingway podcast we share the history as well as the details on the restoration and where we are today.
When the fire raged 4 years ago, President Macron vowed to have it reopened in just 5 years. While it gave hope to many it was also met with a ton of naysayers that said it couldn’t be done. Well, as we watch today the spire is being rebuilt and we are projected to be back inside on December 8, 2024.
Let’s venture back to the start first. The birth of Notre Dame de Paris can go back to just one man, Bishop Maurice de Sully. He wanted to create an immense church that would be a gift back to the faithful. The building began in 1161 but the first stone wasn’t laid until 1163. Sometime between March 24 and April 25, 1163, in the presence of Pope Alexander III and Louis VII, 860 years ago. The church was built to be 416 feet long, 131 feet wide, and 109 feet high and today is still the largest in Paris.
The building continued after Bishop Sully died in 1196. Leaving a large sum of money to finish the roof including 43,000 sheets of lead that melted away on that April evening four years ago. It took until 1345 for the cathedral to be finished and she stood for many years holding mass and events until the Revolution. As the churches were taken over the cathedral became the Temple of Reason and a depot it fell into disrepair.
On April 18, 1802, Napoleon gave it back to the church and followed it with his coronation but the church was falling apart. Years of neglect had the old girl not looking so great and a Parisian writer decided something should be done about it. Victor Hugo walked over the island regularly and always past the doors of Notre Dame. In 1831 Notre Dame de Paris was released and an outpouring of support rallied around the cathedral. Leaders couldn't turn away and a competition was held for the next architect of Notre Dame.
Eugene Viollet-le Duc and Jean-Baptiste Antoine Lassus had just finished the restoration of Sainte Chapelle including a complicated spire. When the original plans were revealed Viollet-le-Duc proposed adding two spires to the roof but in the end, only one was created. The spire replaced an original one that stood from the 13th century to 1786, over 500 years. After it was damaged by lightning and a later storm almost destroyed it the spire was removed in 1786.
The Viollet-le-Duc spire began construction on May 4, 1858, and a year later on June 29, 1859, the rooster was placed on top marking the end of construction. In 1935 the rooster was removed for re-gilding and Cardinal Verdier placed the three precious relics of Paris. A relic of Sainte Genevieve, Saint-Denis, and a piece of the Crown of Thorns, all of which were saved after the rooster fell from the top of the spire in the fire.
On April 15, 2023, the 4-year anniversary the base of the new spire was put in place and the beginning of the spire will grow from the roof and is projected to be finished by the end of the year.
The roof was known as the “forest” as it was made up of over 1300 trees, the equivalent of 52 acres. All of them were lost in the fire and within a few weeks 273 donations rolled in for more than enough timber coming from around France. Half of the donations came from private land and the other half from public forests. A team of devoted lumberjacks that know their land well we’re able to quickly find the perfect trees. They needed to be 4 feet wide and at least 88 feet high. Harvesting began within a year with the first tree cut on March 5, 2020, by Daniel Pichon of Pichon Freres.
One thousand people work on-site every day with one goal in mind. When they are finished a cleaned and shiny version of Notre Dame will return for another 860 years.
Listen to the newest episode for even more goodies about the beloved cathedral and check out a live video record on April 15, 2023, the anniversary of the fire.
