I know it's not exactly fun, but it's important.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47941794
The main spire has collapsed, and some suspect that the cause was renovation work. It's been in bad condition for a while.
"A 55-year-old furniture restorer, who did not wish to give his name, says he arrived at the start of the fire and watched the flames move from the back of the cathedral towards the bell towers.
“This is a major moment,” he says. “This building is a symbol of Catholicism. It’s a symbol of Paris.”"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2019/apr/15/notre-dame-cathedral-fire-paris-france-landmark-live-news
"Work began on Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral in 1163.
The first stone of the original structure was laid in front of Pope Alexander III after the Bishop of Paris, Maurice de Sully, proposed the cathedral after his election in 1160.
The cathedral also houses a beehive over the sacristy, which was added in spring 2013.
The original structure was completed nearly 200 years later, in 1345, and its name literally translates to “Our Lady of Paris”.
About 13 million people now visit the Catholic landmark every year - more than 30,000 every day on average - according to its official website, and it is believed to be the most visited structure in the French capital."
I know it's my heritage but I'm exhausted and for now it's just surreal and strangely beautiful. It has a sort of poetry in itself.
Surely it will be rebuilt, I wonder if they'll choose to use the same materials and techniques, or add some modern features.
5Reply
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· 5 years ago
It's hard to believe that there will be anything left at this point, so saddening to see such an iconic building burn down
Most of it has been saved, and buildings from this time period often have massive, 1 meter thick stone walls, so those were never even in danger
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· 5 years ago
The most senior firefiger in paris was quoted in the live feed i was reading as saying “We are not sure we are capable of stopping the spreading” to Notre Dame’s second tower and belfry,” said Jean-Claude Gallet at the scene as his crews worked outside and inside the iconic cathedral. “If it collapses, you can imagine how important the damage will be.” so they were clearly concerned at one point that at least some of the stone structure could collapse luckily that wasn't the case
Hmmmmm, if this happened in Medieval times I wonder if they're gonna make a big fuss out of it like some random village idiot yelling "THY END BE NEARETH!
However, @anthracite, the stone walls were limestone and while they cannot burn the fire chips the stone and the walls lose their integrity. Even the stone is in danger of collapsing
I can't help but wonder what started it, and if it was just simple negligence that could have easily been avoided. That would just make this heart wrenching tragedy exponentially worse.
They mentioned on the news earlier that they *think* it might have been related to some construction that was under way on the cathedral, but no confirmed source has been listed so far that I know of. The plus side is that several of the figures/statues from the cathedral had already been removed for restorative work, so they were completely undamaged
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47941794
The main spire has collapsed, and some suspect that the cause was renovation work. It's been in bad condition for a while.
"A 55-year-old furniture restorer, who did not wish to give his name, says he arrived at the start of the fire and watched the flames move from the back of the cathedral towards the bell towers.
“This is a major moment,” he says. “This building is a symbol of Catholicism. It’s a symbol of Paris.”"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2019/apr/15/notre-dame-cathedral-fire-paris-france-landmark-live-news
The first stone of the original structure was laid in front of Pope Alexander III after the Bishop of Paris, Maurice de Sully, proposed the cathedral after his election in 1160.
The cathedral also houses a beehive over the sacristy, which was added in spring 2013.
The original structure was completed nearly 200 years later, in 1345, and its name literally translates to “Our Lady of Paris”.
About 13 million people now visit the Catholic landmark every year - more than 30,000 every day on average - according to its official website, and it is believed to be the most visited structure in the French capital."
Surely it will be rebuilt, I wonder if they'll choose to use the same materials and techniques, or add some modern features.
(I'm sorry, jokes aside it's really sad news)