it has happened before. it will happen again. it has been lost before. it will be lost again. and again. and again. and again. art and architecture are transient, and temporary, and 850 years may seem like a lot to the individual, who will live maybe 100 if they are very lucky and very healthy, but even the pyramids at saqqara have only existed for about 6000 years and that’s still not all that much, if you consider the grand scheme of things.
yes, this is terrible. as someone who is deeply religious and literally a professional historian with a focus on art and architecture, this is terrible. im mourning. im gutted. im horrified and upset and miserable. but.
it’s not over.
victor hugo wrote hunchback because notre dame du paris was in the process of collapsing and falling apart, and revitalized the entire world’s focus and love for this church, and that was not even 200 years ago. it led to it being renovated.
the roof has fallen in. the scars of fires are on its buttresses. the rose window has fallen out. the beams and piers have collapsed. the spire has toppled. the stones have suffered, and will suffer again, but it is not gone.
renovation work is essential. sometimes things collapse and burn and break and have to come back. it’s not a terrorist attack, it’s renovation, an accident, but we have so much evidence, history, carefully documented everything on one of the most studied places in the world.
it’s not the end.
Hey so, French person here. And also an ex History student. I’m here to say: Please listen to o.p. above.
Obviously everyone is shocked but here’s a few important key facts:
The roof is completely gone. Part of it dated back from the 13th century but the rest was from the 19th. The stone arch roof under the top roof is fine.
One of the three main stained glass rose windows has fallen out. Most of the other stained glass windows are okay.
The spire has fallen down and that’s the saddest part. BUT! It was in the process of being restored and the 16 statues that were there were removed just four days ago! So they’re fine.
The main structure is still here and nothing has “burned down” unlike what some people have been saying.
The “treasure” (sacred objects) is safe.
Notre Dame is still there. It’s just damaged. Almost nothing was lost today, and nobody was wounded either. It’s scary, but it’s gonna be okay.
To the people that keep calling me stupid in the comments:
Yes, I know, the fire is still not completely out and the damage still needs to be fully evaluated. This comment is based on the live coverages I’ve been watching all evening.
However the worst is behind us even if the firemen have been saying it’s a “difficult fire” (”un feu difficile”).
On the topic of works of art that were inside:
UPDATE (10:20 pm):
Apparently the fire is still going in the north tower.
The firemen seem worried there’s possible structural damage there.
The fire is also still going at the back of the roof.
It currently looks like this:
UPDATE (10:44 pm):
Firemen at the entrance (source:
REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer). We can see inside the cathedral. The stone arch roof has apparently been damaged in some places but as you can see the inside of the main structure isn’t on fire so far.
The firemen are doing all they can. One of them has apparently been wounded.
UPDATE (11:05 pm):
“Le feu a baissé en intensité. On peut penser que la structure de
Notre-Dame est sauvée, notamment le beffroi nord”, a déclaré le
secrétaire d’Etat auprès du ministre de l’Intérieur Laurent Nunez.
La
structure de Notre-Dame de
Paris “est sauvée et préservée dans sa globalité” a précisé le
responsable des pompiers. Mais les deux-tiers de la toiture seraient en
revanche partis en fumée.
“The fire’s intensity has decreased. We think the general structure of Notre-Dame is saved, including the north tower,” declared the Secretary of State to the interior minister Laurent Nunez.
The structure of Notre-Dame de Paris “has been saved and preserved in general” added the chief fireman. But two-thirds of the roof have gone up in flames.”
LAST (I hope) UPDATE (00:40 am):
The fire is contained. The wounded firefighter is apparently out of danger.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a disaster, but it could have gone so much worse.
Here’s what the inside of the main building looks like after the fireon the roof.
[Image: photo of the inside of Notre Dame, with a firefighter in the foreground. Water is covering the checkered tiled floor. The stone roof has collapsed in two distinct areas each situated between two keystones, but seems otherwise mostly intact. Apart from these two areas, what we can see of the interior structure seems untouched. There’s smoke in the distance. The altar and the golden cross in the background seem untouched too, as well as most of the pews and chairs.]
FINAL UPDATE (next morning, 09:45 am), please reblog this version and not the outdated info:
One firefighter was injured, and two policemen were
slightly injured.
The structural damage is being evaluated but the main structure is
still there; a (relatively small) part of the stone roof has collapsed,
though.
The wooden part of the roof has been almost entirely destroyed because
that’s where the fire (accidentally) started.
The “treasure” (the most sacred relics and items) was confirmed saved
very early on.
The spire that was added during the 19th century restoration has
fallen down (however as stated before the 16 statues that were there had been removed 4 days ago). It contained some relics, which are lost.
According to the fire fighters, the main organ is damaged, but the
bells are still in place, and (according to them) most of the paintings that were still inside
were only damaged by water and soot, so they will be restored. Some of the large paintings (”les grands formats”) were partly damaged by fire.
The sources about the stained glass windows contradict each other but
it’s certain that at least one of the small rose ones has fallen down (one
that was at the back of the building). Some sources say every stained glass window is
gone (unlikely, see photo below), some other sources say most of them are still there. Wait & see.
Do you want to see something really cool, though?
That rose stained glass window seems mostly intact, which seemed very unlikely at first considering how close it was to one of the collapsed parts of the stone ceiling. It literally collapsed right in front of it. Honestly I’m a bit stunned by this photo so I mainly made this last update to share it with you guys.
