By Katherine Abayev, Staff Writer
Every building in Paris, France, is measured evenly to the Notre Dame Cathedral, which is located in the center of the city. This world-renowned cathedral is known for its beautiful Gothic architecture. Fitted with flying buttresses, stained glass, and high ceilings, it began a wave of influence across Europe. These features stood the test of time.
The Notre Dame Cathedral is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world by people everywhere. It is popular as a tourist destination and locally in Paris, locally, with many residents attending mass at the cathedral. This well-structured landmark has continued to be properly cared for throughout the years. It was built in the year 1163, carrying history in the wood that constructed it and the floors that have held so many people. It is with no doubt that the Notre Dame Cathedral is an icon of Paris.
However, in 2019, a disaster struck in the cathedral when a fire began to burn within the building. It was a structural fire and it impacted the roof along with the spine of the building. The roof is famously called “The Forest” because of the long wooden planks that it is built with. The stone ceiling helped contain most of it, yet due to the height of the building, it was very hard for firefighters to combat it quickly.
The cause of the fire is unknown, most likely due to a cigarette that was discarded, or a faulty electrical circuit. Unfortunately, two firefighters and one police officer were injured when responding to the fire, but other than that, members of the public were safe from the flames.
This fire devastated Paris. Many were disheartened because this was their building, their symbol of hope and of God. Many tears were shed for this. Thoughts and prayers for the building to come back and many very sizable donations were also made to help the reconstruction efforts.
The French president Emmanuel Macron, quickly began the reconstruction process of the building, proposing an ambitious five-year plan to get the cathedral back to how it was. The architect overseeing the plans was Philippe Villeneuve. His team made sure that every detail from the shape of certain wooden pieces to the marks on some of them was carefully crafted to make sure the cathedral would be almost identical to what it was. The team overseeing this project additionally added some new stained glass pieces, restored the murals to their original colors, cleaned and treated the bells, and much more.
Yet, the public did not believe that the Notre Dame Cathedral would open back up so soon, many believed that it would take maybe a couple more years, especially with the COVID pandemic happening a year into the reconstruction. Most of the public’s opinion was proven wrong when on Dec. 8, 2024, the Notre Dame Cathedral opened its doors to the public once again. There are glowing reviews from the Parisians who were fortunate enough to witness the reopening and thankful that they could return so soon. Now anyone from locals to visitors from around the world can see the Notre Dame Cathedral and walk through its aged halls filled with grandeur.
LIU students share their opinions on the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Junior computer science major Luke Paniagua shares the importance of historical sights.
“It’s great seeing important historical buildings and places get restored. The cathedral physically being there is the best way for our generation and newer ones to really see why this holds so much importance in France. It’s easy to forget about these things from the past or to even imagine what they were like,” he said.
Junior computer science major Rose Smyth added that amidst COVID, she is impressed that Notre Dame has reopened quickly.
“I’m glad it reopened so soon. I know that I thought that Paris would not spend the time rushing to get this done just because there are so many issues in the world and they also had the inconvenience of dealing with COVID during the reconstruction, but I’m glad they stayed focused and kept their word to the public,” Smyth said.
Overall, it is impressive to see the swift recovery of this notable landmark. LIU students are elated to see that this structure still stands and hope that more efforts like these can be made to historical sights across the world.
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