Notre Dame Is Back, 5 Years After The Fire

Slowly, but surely, "Our Lady of Paris" has been healing. Politely hidden behind construction hoarding, razor wire and a gauze of scaffolding, Notre Dame cathedral is coming back to life five years after it was engulfed in flames.

"It’s a wonder. Even for us who are very often in the cathedral, it doesn’t get old, it gets more beautiful every day," Philippe Jost, the head of the effort to rebuild Notre Dame, said in November.

"There’s a Sistine Chapel effect," he said of returning to the beloved landmark, with something to see and discover wherever you look.

With the cathedral set to open to the public on 8 December, the cause of the catastrophic fire that blazed through the monument on 15 April 2019, remains a mystery, though investigators believe it was accidental.

Regardless, the numbers behind the reconstruction efforts are striking. Restoring the historic monument to its former state has cost an estimated €700 million (US$ 737 million), according to Rebuilding Notre Dame de Paris, the public body headed by Jost which is responsible for the work. Overall, €846 million (US$ 891 million) were raised in donations from 340,000 donors in 150 countries, with the extra funds used to restore other monuments.

Beyond that, there are the materials used in its rebuilding: The tallest oak felled was 27 meters tall (88 feet high), 1,300 cubic meters of stone were replaced, 8,000 organ pipes (belonging to France’s largest instrument) cleaned and retuned, 1,500 solid oak pews hewed – all the work of 2,000 dedicated artisans.

The result of their labor is even more impressive.

Perhaps the most recognizable elements within Notre Dame are its famed stained-glass windows – masterpieces of French Gothic art – and, in particular, its three rose windows set into the north, south and west facades.

While the glass extraordinarily survived the fire, it required careful restoration to resolve smoke and lead damage as well as extensive cleaning after decades of weathering and wear and tear.

Years of grime have been removed, restoring the vibrant colors so that once more, lipstick reds and lapis lazuli blues bathe the cathedral’s interior when the daylight shines through.

In the days, months and years ahead, Notre Dame - hailed as one of the greatest instances of French Gothic architecture – will retake its place in Paris’ cultural pantheon.

Many will be eager for their first visit to this newly restored landmark. And the fiery colors of those famous windows will surely be all the proof needed that Notre Dame – scarred and wounded but transformed – lives on.