The Notre Dame Fire Tragedy
By LYNN YUAN ‘21
On Monday, April 15th, the international community was shocked and horrified to see the famed Cathedral of Notre Dame go up in flames. Nearly 500 firefighters were enlisted to save the historical structure, and thousands of Parisians and tourists gathered to watch the destruction. Fortunately, after the twenty-four hour global scare, the Cathedral still stands and most of its main structure remains intact.
The fire broke out at 6:20 p.m. (local Parisian time) during mass. Worshippers and visitors were ushered out of the building, but those who were attending mass did not move until additional prompting by the Parisian police. Roughly 20 minutes later, the fire became visible to the outside. At around 8 p.m., the world watched in horror as the cathedral’s famous spire burned and toppled. By 11 p.m., Emmanuel Macron announced, “The worst has been avoided. The façade and two main towers did not collapse.” At 9:30 a.m. of the following morning, the fire was finally extinguished after hours of hard work; at that time, French firefighters announced on twitter that the Notre Dame Cathedral was safe once more. Although most of the main structure survived the fire, much of the 13th century roof, called “The Forest,” was destroyed along with the iconic 19th century central spire. Bertrand de Feydeau, vice president of the French Heritage Foundation, also explained that “The Forest” and spire will be difficult to replace because France no longer has trees large enough to replace the original ancient beechwood beams. Fortunately, many of the priceless artifacts were rescued and are now in the Louvre for safekeeping. The cause of the fire remains a mystery to both authorities and the public, but most believe that the fire was started by a construction error because the cathedral was going under renovations at the time.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame has always been an important religious, architectural and historical site; the recent fire and destruction created a great loss for the art and religious world. Originally built in 1163 and completed in 1345 under the command of King Louis VII, the impressive cathedral is considered a pinnacle of medieval Gothic architecture. The name means “Our Lady,” which refers to the Virgin Mary, the Christian figure who is said to have given birth to Jesus Christ. The cathedral is famous for being the site of royal weddings, the consecration of Napoleon Bonaparte, the coronation spot of King Henry VI of England, and many more historically significant events. Our Lady of Paris has survived the wear and tear of over eight hundred years, including the damage sustained during French Revolution. To this day, Notre Dame remains the heart of the Roman Catholic church in Paris and remains immortalized in pop culture through Victor Hugo’s popular novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which was later adapted into a Disney film.
Undoubtedly, the destruction of the Notre Dame devastated many worshippers around the world and future tourists who missed the chance to admire the iconic architecture.