This Good Friday marks the third anniversary of the devastating fire in which the pointed crossing tower fell from the roof in flames and the collapse of the bell towers was only just prevented. The renovation of four large glass windows will soon begin in the Cologne Cathedral workshop. Every Parisian can probably remember the moment three years ago, when thick clouds of smoke rose over the city centre. The fire in the cathedral, which is not only sacred to Catholics but also part of the French identity, shocked all of France. Donations were also received from all over the world. Even before the ashes had cooled, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Notre-Dame should be rebuilt within five years – “more beautiful than before”.
The walls are now largely free of soot. Experts have identified nine quarries in the Paris area where massive blocks are being cut to repair damaged vaults. A total of 1,000 cubic meters of stone blocks are needed for the reconstruction.
The approximately 1,000 oak trees that were felled for the reconstruction of the medieval roof truss and the 19th century ridge turret are currently being processed into massive beams. The organ with its 8,000 organ pipes has been dismantled and is being restored in several workshops.
In Cologne, four of the sooty and cracked glass windows are to be restored. “The windows first have to be freed from lead dust,” explains the former head of the cathedral workshop, Barbara Schock-Werner, in an interview with the AFP news agency. This doesn’t happen in the workshop, but in a separate tent. “Special vacuum cleaners and special filters are used for this,” she explains. Once the windows were decontaminated, they would be shown to the public.
The four windows are by the artist Jacques le Chevallier and were installed in 1966. Your motif is reminiscent of an irregular check pattern. They should return to the Paris Cathedral as early as next summer.
“Vault still damp from extinguishing water”
Schock-Werner is skeptical about the French President’s ambitious schedule. “The problem is that the vaults are still damp from the extinguishing water,” she says. “They should actually dry longer, otherwise the next renovation will soon be due.”
Former chief of staff Jean-Louis Georgelin, whom Macron has put in charge of the reconstruction, is now handing out assignments to specialists across the country. “I am very pleased that all of France is taking part in the fate of Notre-Dame,” he says. Chief architect Philippe Villeneuve approaches his task with so much passion that he had the burnt-down roof tower tattooed on his arm.
Source: Nachrichten
