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The first oaks to be used in the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris have been selected from a forest west of the French capital.
A total of 1,000 oak trees are to be harvested by the end of March, and then they will be used to rebuild the spire and roof of the cathedral, which was devastated by fire in April 2019.
Oak trees from all regions of France are being used to rebuild the precious national monument, about half from state land and the rest from private donations.
The Ministers of Agriculture and Culture attended a ceremony to select the first official tree, a 20-meter oak in the Bercé forest near Le Mans, about 200 kilometers from Paris.
“The restoration of Notre-Dame begins today,” Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot said on social media on Friday.
A project for the next ten centuries
“This is a project that concerns the whole of France,” said Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, who chairs the body charged with restoring Notre-Dame.
“It will guarantee the safety of the cathedral for eight centuries, ten centuries.”
The trees will be cut down and stored for 12 to 18 months to prepare them for use in the reconstruction phase that will begin in the fall of 2022, allowing for a planned reopening of the cathedral in April 2024.
