Notre-Dame is in Flames

One of the great landmarks of Western civilization, 800-year-old Notre-Dame Cathedral on the Île de la Cité in Paris, is burning. The roof has collapsed and the spire has fallen. The fire is still raging and the cause is not yet known. There have been no deaths reported.

The Cathedral, built over the course of one hundred years, was begun in AD 1163. It has been modified many times and had been undergoing reconstruction recently. One of the glories of French Gothic architecture and intertwined with French history, in modern times it has been the most-visited site in the most-visited city in the World, drawing more than 12 million visitors annually.

The structure was attacked by rioting Huguenots (French protestants) in 1548, and many of its treasures were destroyed or carried off during the French Revolution. Napoleon I restored it to the church and crowned himself Emperor in it. It had fallen into partial ruin and decrepitude when Victor Hugo's 1831 novel Notre-Dame de Paris (published in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame) revived interest in it, with the result that King Louis Philippe ordered its reconstruction in 1844. It was then that the original 13th-century spire was replaced with the one which fell today.

The building is owned by the government of France and the Catholic Church is is perpetual beneficiary. More than 400 firefighters have been mobilized. It is a cultural and artistic catastrophe rather than a human one, but the fire appears serious enough to cause irreparable harm to the iconic building and many of its priceless contents; the cultural loss is grievous.

Mike

UPDATE the morning after: the fire has been declared extinguished, and there is guarded optimism that much of the cathedral interior was spared—it appears the roof burned on top of the stone vault, but the vault is holding. Damage is extensive, but French President Macron has declared that France will restore the cathedral and already, hundreds of millions of euros have been pledged for the restoration.

Photo taken by a tourist, Brooke Windsor, as the cathedral was closing, just before the fire broke out. She's asking for help in finding the man and little girl in the photo so she can give it to them.

Original contents copyright 2019 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

(Not) everything must fade away

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Manuel: "This is a massive tragedy for humanity, Mike. One of incalculable proportions. The Nôtre-Dame is a symbol of Paris and of France, mostly for the reasons you've mentioned, but there is a cruel element of irony here too. France is a proud nation: they have pride in their past. France conserves its monuments in absolutely pristine condition. If you see, say, the cathedral of Chartres, an imposing Gothic building halfway between Paris and Normandy, only the style betrays its age. The French really excel at preserving their heritage. No wonder, then, that this tragedy, although one not measurable in human lives, causes the French people such grief. And not only the French, of course. Just about everyone with a modicum of knowledge of history is in a state of shock today."

Thomas Paris: "I was standing amongst the crowd of people on the banks of Seine river yesterday evening, all of us stunned by what we were witnessing. I was standing there and yet still can't believe it. Couldn't bring myself to look at the photos I made. I was looking all morning at one I made in December 2017, when it was still intact. Let's just hope the structure is still sound. Last I heard, it was anything but sure."

David Lee: "Was Peter in Paris? I know one of his favorite restaurants is just behind Notre Dame."

Mike replies: He was en route from Paris to New York when the fire broke out, and arrived in New York to the news—so he got right back on a plane and headed back to Paris. Here's a photo he took this morning with his comments:

Peter Turnley, Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, April 16, 2019

"Notre Dame lives! She is injured, but alive. Mme. Martine Hercouet is one of thousands of people from Paris and the entire world that are lining the streets around the Notre Dame Cathedral that has suffered a major fire, but saved from total destruction by very brave French fireman who succeeded in putting out a blaze that has seriously injured the rooftop of this church that has touched the hearts of so many millions of people worldwide. I flew all night from NY to Paris and landed early this morning and made my way immediately to the cathedral. Like many, Martine told me her first vision of the cathedral today brought tears to her eyes."

Comments

[c.d.embrey]

My ancestors were Huguenot ... None the less Notre Dame is a monument to the mason's art. It's only fair that the perpetrator should suffer a grisly 900 year old punishment.

[Graeme Scott]

Very sad to see this happening but pleased that so far no fatalities have been recorded.

My partner & I run a stained glass business & are involved in quite a few church restorations. You wouldn't believe how many churches we encounter which have been fire damaged. The event is extremely upsetting for the congregation & community involved.

But, at the end of the day unless Notre Dame completely collapses it'll be repaired. As Mike stated it's been restored before.

Check this out:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-28112373

At the moment we have some 450 year old fire damaged windows in our workshop from a Tudor mansion which was badly damaged in an arson attack. Restoration work should be completed later this year ( three and a half years after the fire ).

Fingers crossed for Notre Dame.

[Mike Ferron]

Shocking and sad. There are things one thinks will always be. Not so. Not on this crazy planet.

[Antony Shepherd]

Yeah, you don't have to be French or religious to find this a sad event, it's a historical building coming to an end. Apparently the main parts of the structure have been saved, and while it seems rebuilding is doable it'll not be quite the same and some content will be lost forever.

If nothing else, a new generation will have the opportunity to learn skills in masonry, carpentry and stained glass during the restoration, the same way these skills were passed on when York Minister burned.

While I'm not religious at all the clip i saw of the spire falling did bring a tear to the eye.

[Matt Kallio]

Mike, I hope you didn't get in too much trouble for the photo you earlier posted. It was a great photo, and much better than the various others I had seen. I guess if it's happening today it can't be Fair Use? Or something.

[Ramón Acosta]

I was lucky enough to have visited the cathedral years ago, I was surprised that the actual church atea was smaller than St. Patricks in New York. But the details made it much more impressive. I am very saddened about this tragedy. And I can imagine that this will make so many french cry and grieve like it was an actual person.

[Paulo Bizarro]

A tragedy. Another one to add to the recent fire in the Rio de Janeiro Library, where many precious archives have been lost.

[Yoram Nevo]

It is a unique photographic quality of the Notre-Dame that it looks good in any picture.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/r89ffb7DFpfWrVMC9

[Roger Bradbury]

It might not be as bad as was first feared...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6JYLEQdeVo

[D.P. Mackenzie]

I agree with Manuel's sentiment, but Chartres is actually to the southwest of Paris. Normandy is northwest.

[Earl Dunbar]

I am not a “believer”, I am not a religious person. But having been at Notre Dame only days ago, and resting just across the street from the east end at the site of the renovation, yesterday’s events hit me in the gut. It was the second such surreal Paris experience in a matter of days, the other being meeting Peter on the street the same day as I was at Notre Dame.

The video of Parisians singing a hymn as the cathedral burned will forever haunt me, a tragically beautiful union of hearts.

[Omer]

The building is in very bad shape. According to some reports even the stone work needs extensive work. The spear had already been replaced once so the thing is a work in progress, which most old buildings are.

What is interesting is how the French identify with Notre-Dame, culture being what it is, yet very little is said of what this means to Catholics. Yep, I know France was a Catholic state, but that was the past.

[Good point. That is addressed in Ross Douthat's column, linked in the next post. --Mike]

[John Ashbourne]

One of the saddest things about the terrible Notre Dame tragedy is that it followed on a series of similar ones - York Minster, Windsor Castle, Glasgow School of Art twice (famous Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh's masterpiece) all of which were in the process of major repairs and renovations ... and the infernos were in each case credibly attributed to human failings in the course of these works.
I draw no conclusions from that fact but wonder what additional steps could have been taken - in addition to what at the time was deemed sufficient - to safeguard these different and disparate treasures. Personally I would rate Notre Dame as of preeminent significance among these but we can scarce afford to lose any such heritage and whatever it would have taken would have been far less expensive in money and lost originality than what now will follow.

[Ken]

What is photography? The picture by Brooke Windsor of the pre-fire cathedral with the "daddy swinging his little girl" (to borrow a line from a Johnny Cash song) - to me that's photography. An ordinary slice of life that has taken on additional meaning because of what followed. What more do you need? That is my answer to the question in your previous post.

(I am not downplaying or ignoring the awful damage to the magnificent and historic cathedral, but just reacting to the juxtaposition of that picture just a bit above the previous blog post's headline, "What Is Photography?")

[Peter Filtness]

I find it so sad that the world pours its heart out and donates millions to restore an old building (beautiful as it was) but we can't do the same to save out planet and natural world for our children...

pf

[Khürt Louis Williams]

Real people are dying in parts of the world we ignore and yet people are mourning over a stupid OLD building. Ugh! Despicable.

Millions are being pledged to rebuild but the government of France can’t find jobs for it’s people.

Disgusting. Humanity is lost.