1 year ago – Notre Dame is on fire – World –

Paris – The great fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris celebrates its first anniversary on Wednesday. Work in the Gothic church is currently on hold due to the curfew in France. There have always been delays at the construction site, which has been closed since the coronavirus crisis. These days, construction workers should dismantle an iron scaffold that weighs several tons, that partially melted during the fire, and that weighed on the vault. During the Corona crisis, the risk of collapse could not be avoided as planned.

Due to the April 15, 2019 fire, large parts of the Notre-Dame roof collapsed, as did the pointed tower. Notre-Dame caught fire a year ago, large parts of the cathedral were severely damaged, the crossing tower on the roof collapsed. According to initial knowledge, the fire was probably caused by a failure in the electrical system or by an unspoken cigarette.

The catastrophe of the fire in the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris is quietly commemorated a year later, without an official commemoration. As long as the scaffolding remains around the building, there is a 50 percent risk of additional damage to the cathedral, Notre-Dame Chaplain Brice de Malherbe said. In the devastating fire of April 15, 2019, his apartment next door was evacuated. His worst moment at the time was “when he had the impression that the fire was going to lessen and then suddenly appeared in one of the towers.”

Authorities hope to be able to remove the 250-ton metal frame by the fall. Then the building stones should be checked for damage and possible replacement. According to Kaplan Malherbe, the rubble, rubble and remains of old wooden beams should also be removed from the vault. Finally, a display structure will be built over Notre-Dame to protect the cathedral during reconstruction. The building is currently surrounded by high barricades.

On the first anniversary of the Notre-Dame fire, French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed his ambitious five-year plan to rebuild the cathedral. “We will do everything we can to meet this deadline,” he said in a video message on Wednesday morning. Shortly after the fire, he had promised to rebuild the world-famous monument in central Paris within five years. In his message, the president described the cathedral as “a symbol of the resistance of our people.”

Restoration work has suffered some setbacks, and since the Corona crisis and exit restrictions imposed on March 17, construction work has come to a complete halt.

In the past, experts have questioned a complete reconstruction in five years, and work to secure the sacred building is still ongoing.

Macron emphasized that work on the construction site was, of course, suspended due to the health crisis, but would start again as soon as possible. Today’s times require courage and no attitude of waiting and seeing. “There was a time of trial and excitement, then a time of reflection. But now the time for rebuilding has begun.” He also thanked everyone who saved Notre-Dame and is now rebuilding the century-old cathedral. “We did not forget anything. Neither the heroic wave of courage that saved the cathedral from the flames, nor the tremendous wave of generosity that emerged in the hours and days that followed.”

Helgard Numbers has admired the cathedral for many years. She had given her last tour the Friday before the fire. The now 78-year-old has been leading German tourists on a voluntary basis for the Casa Association through Notre-Dame since 2006. The trained translator has been living in France for decades; On the night of the fire, he had worried about Notre-Dame in front of the television until late at night. “It totally shook me when my tears came.”