Inside renovated Notre Dame de Paris

It was the 16th of April and I had tears streaming down my face as I watched live coverage of the conflagration consuming the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. In Paris, 12 hours behind, it was the 15th of April. The horrified gasp as onlookers lined along the Seine saw the spire with its gilded brass rooster collapse into the transcript. President Macron swore to local residents, citizens of France, tourists and the world watching that the cathedral would be restored, in just five years. And it was!

On my recent trip to France in blazing 37 degree heat I was determined to get to Paris to see the restored cathedral. I'm an atheist but I can appreciate such a monument to the skill and labour of thousands of artisans who, over the many centuries, built this amazing cathedral. I recognise it has played a part in so many historical moments.

 The construction of the cathedral began in 1163 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely completed by 1260 so it is close to 900 years old. It's a magnificent collaboration of stone masons, carpenters and metalworkers, artists having done such a massive job together over so many years, and the financial contributions of ordinary people. 

Notre Dame is a prime example of French Gothic architecture, known for its soaring height, stained glass windows, and intricate detail. It contains relics such as the (supposed) crown of thorns and a splinter from Christ's cross. Hmm.

By the time Victor Hugo published his novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1831 the cathedral was starting to crumble  and no-one seemed to care but V. Hugo did. His book was such a success it brought international attention to the cathedral and highlighted its architectural beauty. Parisians started to appreciate the old monument and funds were raised to restore it, between 1844 and 1864, supervised by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc who is famous for designing the metal spire.

The last time I was inside this cathedral I couldn't help but notice how dark and grimy it was after centuries of soot and pollution had attached themselves to everything. Entering the monument now was so very different; so light, so sparkling and so colourful, as it would have been originally and which no other generations will have seen. The folks who have worked to restore the building have done an incredible job. Led initially by a retired general, old and traditional ways of doing things,  and even an ancient oak stand (2,400 trees) cut down to restore the 'forest' inside the roof have all contributed to a very authentic restoration.

250 different companies and 2000 workers worked and collaborated in sequence over the span of the project because everyone was happy and proud to be contributing. 

The day I visited there was a gregorian mass in progress which did limit how we could move about. However, with a bit of patience you could stay as long as you liked and see most things up front. 

Of special note are the restored wooden sculptured freizes; they are gleaming with gilt and all telling part of a much larger story, the new chandeliers certainly caught my eye; the bronze absolutely sparkles, and what was particularly interesting were the side chapels with the painted columns and freshly cleaned stained glass. There were statues and artworks galore. The famous rose windows have survived, with careful cleaning and repair.

 

 A few amazing renovation statistics to share:

2000 statues and decorative features were restored or re-created, 43,000 square feet of lead was shaped to cover the roof, all stained glass taken out, cleaned and restored. There are 1,500 new seats of solid oak. There's a programmable array of 1,550 LED spotlights that can vary in intensity and colour accordin to the event. The great organ survived the fire but had to be completely dismantled and cleaned and each of  the 8000 pipes had to recalibrated, one by one.

The only section I didn't like was the garish stuff in the open souvenir shop, not even off to the side but right there in the middle near one end. Ghastly products, trinkets for the most part, in a circular desk design so once you entered it was hard to get out. I didn't bother and I think Jesus might not have been happy with tacky commerce in the middle of the cathedral. Oh well!

One thing I hadn't paid much attention to in the past was the massive door(s) which were opened flat so I could marvel at the beautifully intricate carving on them. And that's all worth noting because everywhere you look you can see surprising details, so much painting, sculpture and ironwork.

Through the centuries there have been a number of historic happenings at the cathedral, Here are some...

1239: Relics

Louis IV delivered what is perported to be the crown of thorns to the cathedral 

1431: Coronation of Henry VI:

Henry VI of England was crowned King of France here, a significant event during the Hundred Years War. 

 

1558 & 1572:

Several royal weddings took place at Notre Dame, including those of Mary, Queen of Scots to the Dauphin Francis, and Henry of Navarre to Margaret of Valois

 

1789: Revolution

The cathedral became state property during the French Revolution and was later transformed into a Temple of Reason. A lot of its bronze and iron was melted down.

 

1804: Napoleon's Coronation:

Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France within Notre Dame, a symbolic act that demonstrated his power and authority. The pope was present.

 

1853: 

Eugénie de Montijo and Emperor Napoleon III were married there. 

 

1871 – In final days of the Paris Commune revolution the Communards prepared to burn the cathedral, but abandoned their plan since it would end up burning the crowded neighboring hospital for the elderly. They went on to burn down the Tuileries Palace.

 

1944:

The bells of Notre Dame rang out to celebrate the liberation of Paris from the Nazis near the end of World War II.

 

New precautions have been taken to protect Notre Dame from future fires. There are detecting systems and misting valves. Suction systems analyse the air and detect smoke and thermal cameras detect changes in temperature. Modernity has required advanced water, heating, electrical and communications systems be installed, discretely.

 

Accessing the cathedral is easier than I expected. One is supposed to book a slot online but I could never get through so I just turned up and hoped for the best. The zigzagging queues moved along quite well in the heat of the morning.

 

As I emerged from my visit I noticed public toilets (a rarity in
Paris) just next to the square in front of Notre Dame so I made use of that for 2 euros. There's a woman on duty making sure things stay clean and tidy for toilet cusotmers. I did NOT see trinket-sellers, that was good and everyone was well-behaved.

 

The metro station to get out for the cathedral is Cite. 

 

 

 

Look at all those lovely colours in the chapels. I did notice that only eight months after reopening there is wear and tear visible on some of the painted columns accessible to the public. Those protected by grills are fine. There is still a lot of work to be done on the exterior of the cathedral, including the gardens. These works are expected to be completed some time in 2027.  

 

Do check out the video links below; they are well worth watching. 

Tour through the new cathedral https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N-e7PUIrxE

Explanations  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8p2hKnu-C0

Sources:

National Geographic 12.24 vol 246. pp 90-111

Attribution of fire photo By GodefroyParis - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78090147