Paris Notre Dame Cathedral is to reopen in December 2024, after four years of experiencing a fire outbreak that caused massive damage to the building.
The reconstruction of Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, one of the most notable places in the city, has taken a fast pace in order to allow worshippers entrance by the end of 2024. The Cathedral experienced a ravaging fire accident on 15 April 2019, the fire which began around 6:30 pm local Paris time had engulfed the spire and most of the roof until the next day.
Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, the army general of the reconstruction project made it known that the iconic spire of Paris which had collapsed will soon reappear above the monument this year.
“The return of the spire in Paris’s sky will in my opinion be the symbol that we are winning the battle of Notre Dame,” Jean-Louis Georgelin said.
Sources had it that the construction had commenced last year after two years of planning and seeking artisans to start the rebuilding. Notre Dame Cathedral was a 12th century monument, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. The project is set to rebuild just as the building was before, including the 93-meter-high (315 ft) spire added by architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc during the 19th century.
An exhibition tagged “Notre-Dame de Paris: at the heart of the construction site” is being held today, Tuesday at the site of the reconstruction. The exhibition is open to the public for free in an underground facility in front of the Church. The aim is to show the expertise of the artisan and workers, and also the remains of the fire-engulfed building.
The army general said that according to the goal set by President Emmanuel Macron, the Cathedral will be reopened in December 2024. In his words, he said, “My job is to be ready to open this cathedral in 2024. And we will do it,” Gen. Georgelin said. “We are fighting every day for that and we are on a good path.” This “means that the archbishop of the capital will be in a capacity again to celebrate the Catholic liturgy in his cathedral” and the monument will also “be open for tourists to visit,” he said.
In a statement made by the culture minister, Rima Abdul-Malak , she emphasised that even after the reopening of the Cathedral, some reno vacations will continue till 2025. “There will still be some renovation work going on in 2025,” She said.
