THE Notre Dame cathedral in Paris is on track to reopen to worshipers and the public in 2024, French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak said on Thursday, more than three years after its roof was destroyed in a massive fire.
The minister said the clean-up phase of the restoration project has ended, allowing reconstruction work to begin at the end of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
Notre-Dame has been closed for restoration since a 2019 fire destroyed its roof and toppled its spire, much to the horror of onlookers and people watching everything from France and around the world, via television and social media.
“We are confident that 2024 will be the year that much of this work will be completed, the year of the reopening of the cathedral to the faithful and the public,” said Abdul Malak upon visiting the site.
Shortly after the April 2019 fire, French President Emmanuel Macron said the cathedral – which dates back to the 12th century – would be rebuilt and later promised to reopen it by 2024, when France will host the Olympics.
The cathedral will be restored to its previous design, including the 96-meter spire designed by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in the mid-1800s and for which a new beam was selected.
After the completion of the security phase in 2021 and the cleaning work of the interior of the cathedral, the project mainly involves the reconstruction of the wooden structure of the roof, the vaults and the spire.
Source: CNN Brasil
