On April 15, 2019, a fire destroyed the wooden structure of Notre Dame Cathedral, one of the most visited tourist attractions in Europe.
The tower collapsed and a large part of the roof was reduced to ash, creating a wave of global sentiment, AFP reports.
The cathedral’s safety and reinforcement work, which began the day after the fire, has been completed according to the established schedule, the public institution responsible for its preservation said in a statement.
“The cathedral is now completely safe” after this phase which included dismantling the scaffolding installed during the fire, “removing the great organ, cleaning the training rooms of two churches, installing wooden hangers under trusses or surveying and examining the remains and ensuring that the crossing was made.”
At the same time, “the restoration phase has been actively prepared and is now firmly underway to launch the first restoration work this winter,” the foundation announced.
French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to rebuild the cathedral within five years, but the project will not be completed during this period.
The monument must be restored to worship by April 16, 2024, when Mass will be celebrated in the nave again, announced in December 2020 by the head of the public institution responsible for rebuilding the cathedral, General Georgelin.
He added that preparations are underway to launch bids for the selection of companies that will participate in the restoration project, and “this month a campaign for a thorough cleaning of the interior walls and floors of the cathedral begins.”
The cathedral was undergoing restoration work from the outside when a violent fire broke out in April of last year, which took about 15 hours to put out.
The accidental origin of the fire, short circuit, is still distinguished, although the cause of the fire is not clear, and the calcined residues must be analyzed in detail to detect the slightest indication.
The Notre Dame business faced many unexpected events, from the need for measures against lead contamination to the novel coronavirus crisis, to bad weather at the end of 2019, but it was resumed in late April.
