Notre-Dame Cathedral rises from the ashes 5 years after the devastating fire, looking better than ever
- The cathedral, which was destroyed by fire in April 2019, has been painstakingly rebuilt and restored, and will reopen to the public in December
- The spire and the great cross have been replaced, the nave and organ have been restored, and bids are being tendered for new stained glass windows
Five years after being ravaged by fire, Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral has returned to splendour months ahead of its planned reopening, participants in a recent visit to the monument said.
The April 15, 2019 fire at the Unesco-listed cathedral, which used to see 12 million visitors a year, shocked the world. But now, the inside of Notre-Dame is at its most luminous in living memory, visitors said.
“It is wonderful to see these colours that had completely disappeared,” said Guillaume Normand, vice-rector of Notre-Dame, as he inspected the completely restored chapel. “Stunning,” he said.
When the public returns to Notre-Dame in December they will get an “unequalled perception of its dimension”, added the cathedral’s rector, Olivier Ribadeau Dumas. He said he was “humbled” in the face of “those who created, preserved or saved it, and those who are now restoring it”.
Restoration is on track to meet the December deadline for reopening, the head of the reconstruction said in March.