△ Notre Dame cathedral was destroyed in the fire
Two years ago, at about 6 p.m. on April 15, Notre Dame Cathedral, a French landmark with a history of more than 800 years, was caught in flames. Under the raging fire, two-thirds of Notre Dame's roof structure was burned down, the spire built in the 19th century collapsed, and the church was littered with burned building debris.
Macron vowed to rebuild Notre Dame "more beautifully"
Two years on, the restoration of Notre Dame is still ongoing. Can French President Emmanuel Macron, who has promised that the cathedral, destroyed by fire, will return to its former glory ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will open on July 26, 2024.
How is the restoration of Notre Dame cathedral progressing?
△ The long repair process continues
Over the past two years, the restoration of Notre Dame has focused on the protection of the undamaged parts. The work began in the summer of 2019 and included scaffolding around the church to repair the spire, laying tarpaulins on the vaults of the church, etc.
Workers began to dismantle the burned scaffolding
At the beginning of 2020, due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, the relevant work was stalled until it was restarted on June 8 of that year, and workers began to remove the 30,000 tons of burned scaffolding, which was successfully completed at the end of November of that year.
△ French Minister of Culture Bassello
On March 5 this year, French Minister of Culture Bassello announced that the protection of Notre Dame Cathedral was completed and the restoration work officially began.
On that day, eight oak trees with a diameter of more than 1 meter and a height of more than 20 meters were selected to rebuild the burned spire. A total of more than 1,000 such oak trees are needed to restore the spire.
△ On March 8, local time, workers were cutting down oak trees in a woodland in Paris, France. The oaks are the wood that was selected a few days ago for the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral.
Starting this spring, oak trees for reconstruction are cut down and transported from all over to Paris, where they will be preserved for 12 to 18 months and dried in preparation for reconstruction work that begins in the fall of 2022.
△ The cause of the fire is under continuous investigation
In addition, investigations into the causes of the fire are also under way. According to foreign media reports, on-site evidence collection has been completed and analysis work will begin soon.
It has been identified that there are several hidden dangers in the safety of the church, in particular the deficiencies in the alarm system. Claims that the fire may have been caused by short circuits or discarded cigarette butts remain unconfirmed.
The severity of the damage to the church complicates the identification of the cause of the accident. Sources said the cause of the fire may never be ascertained.
How much does it cost to rebuild Notre Dame?
Since the fire broke out, the raising of repair funds has been a concern for the outside world.
△ Two years after the fire, scaffolding was erected around the cathedral
At present, the French authorities have not yet determined the budget for the total cost of the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral.
According to Reuters, a major European insurance company has said that the total cost of the project may be close to the cost of about $8 billion (about 52.3 billion yuan) of renovation of the British Parliament building.
According to the British "Guardian" report, various donation activities began immediately after the fire, and as of April 11, 2021, according to incomplete statistics, about 833 million euros (about 6.5 billion yuan) of restoration donations have been raised, which is far from enough to support the completion of the final repair.
The restoration of Notre Dame cathedral is difficult
Leaving aside the lack of funds, it is also very difficult to restore this medieval Gothic monument as it is.
First of all, building materials are a problem. The stones and oak trees needed for restoration are not "at your fingertips" as they were in the Middle Ages.
△ Cathedral destroyed in a fire
Three places, such as the pillars, arches and vaults of the church, are made of different limestone heads, for which experts have gone deep into the 18th-century underground mining site (which is also a tomb) in Paris to find suitable stone underground that is full of human bones.
△ The top of the tower, which used to be a wooden structure, is now difficult to find the same wood
Built in the 19th century, the wooden spire uses 1,300 oak trees from different eras since the Middle Ages, and similar wood is hard to find.
△ At present, only 8 oak trees suitable for reconstruction have been found
In order to rebuild as is, in addition to requiring up to 1,000 oak trees, these oak trees must also meet the almost stringent requirements ↓
Trees range in age from 150 to 200 years
The diameter is between 50 and 90 cm
The height is between 8 and 14 meters
As of March this year, only 8 oak trees had been found that met the requirements, which was a long way from 1,000.
In addition, there are manpower problems. Craftsmen with traditional skills are indispensable in restoration.
For example, carpenters who built spires in the 19th century cut down each oak tree by hand and polished it to the required size, a job that no one who was proficient in medieval craftsmanship could do.
According to foreign media reports, it is expected to take 10 years to train 400 craftsmen of all kinds who are proficient in traditional skills before the reconstruction work can be completed.
No wonder relevant experts believe that the restoration of Notre Dame cathedral may take up to 20 years.
△ At sunset, a cruise ship on the Seine Sails next to Notre Dame Cathedral, picture taken in 2016.
Originally built in 1163 and not completed until 1345, Notre Dame is one of the most iconic monuments in Paris and a symbol of French and European culture. Two years have passed since the fire of Notre Dame Cathedral, and the world is still looking forward to its early and proper restoration, so as not to let this cultural relics become an eternal pain for the world.
Producer 丨 Tang Yi
Producer 丨 Zhao Xinyu
Editor-in-chief 丨 Cui Chong
Editor 丨 Zhang Baiyi