Recently, the official Instagram page of the unit responsible for the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris posted a picture of the roof of the project with a completion level of more than 90%. Accordingly, the cathedral is ready to reopen to welcome tourists on December 8.
On November 8, the bells of Notre Dame Cathedral rang for the first time since the 2019 fire. The bells rang a month before the cathedral officially reopened after five years of restoration work on the historic structure.
To date, the spires of Notre Dame Cathedral have been restored to their original form, following the 19th-century Gothic architectural style.
The 19th-century Gothic spires have now been restored to exact replicas of the originals, the stained glass windows have regained their colour, and the walls are gleaming again. But the reopening is not the end of the major restoration work. Part of the lead roof still needs to be finished, and the statues of apostles and saints, which were removed before the fire for restoration, will be reinstalled in the first half of 2025.
The fire that broke out on April 15, 2019 at Notre Dame Cathedral collapsed the spire, roof and many other treasures of the 860-year-old Gothic architectural work in France.
However, the major restoration process is not over yet. Part of the lead roof still needs to be completed and statues of apostles and saints will be reinstalled in the first half of 2025.
After the fire, it took two years just to stabilize the structure so that restorers could work safely inside. The reconstruction project is now underway with a team of about 1,000 artisans and craftsmen from across France.
The total cost of the restoration is expected to be close to 700 million euros (more than 750 million USD), funded by 846 million euros in donations from 150 countries. The remaining money is being reallocated to urgently restore the exterior of the cathedral, on the east side.
More than five years later, an investigation into the cause of the fire is still underway, with initial findings suggesting it was caused by accidents such as an electrical short circuit, a welder's blowtorch or a cigarette.
