Notre Dame de Paris: The Pertinence of a Nation and Symbol of Humanity

On the 15th of April just before 18:20 CEST (Central European Summer Time), La Notre Dame de Paris (meaning “Our Lady of Paris”)’s roof caught on fire and burned for around 15 hours.

By the time the fire was extinguished, the fire had already destroyed the cathedral’s 850-year-old spire, done severe damage to the upper walls, and destroyed most of its roof. Firefighters managed to save the facade, towers, walls, buttresses, and stained glass windows. Although some works of art and religious relics were removed to safety prior to the fire, many were still damaged. Thankfully, its precious pipe organs and the rose windows suffered little to no damage.

The cathedral, consecrated to the Virgin Mary, was built in the 12th century. No doubt, with its beautiful architecture of the rib vault and its gigantic and colourful rose window, along with its realistic and abundant sculptural decoration, it is considered a fine example of medieval French Gothic architecture. Some of the features that make this cathedral stand out include one of the largest organs in the world and its immense church bells. It even contains religious relics such as the Crown of Thorns that was said to be the one Jesus wore before his crucifixion and a piece of the cross on which he was crucified, but those relics were thankfully moved to safety before the fire. It is definitely a hotspot for tourists, beating the Eiffel Tower and making it the most visited monument in Paris. As well, it serves as a place of worship for locals with approximately 13 million people visiting it per year.

A Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter once stood on the site of Notre-Dame. The cathedral’s construction began in 1160 under Bishop Maurice de Sully, who decided to demolish the Romanesque cathedral and build a newer and larger church in the Gothic style. Notre-Dame’s construction was mostly complete 100 years later in 1260.

Even though this fire definitely caused destruction to this important historical architecture, the Notre-Dame is no stranger to change and havoc.

In the 1790s, Notre Dame suffered desecration during the French Revolution, so much of its religious statues and treasures were damaged or destroyed and was used instead for food storage and non-religious purposes. In 1801, Napoleon I restored Notre Dame to the Catholic Church, and it was also the site for the coronation of Napoleon I. Then, in 1831, people developed an interest in the cathedral after the publication of Hugo Victor’s novel Notre-Dame de Paris, or more commonly known as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame in English, which inspired a major restoration project between 1844 and 1864. The liberation of Paris was celebrated in 1944 in Notre-Dame as well, and beginning in 1963 the cathedral’s facade was cleaned from the centuries of grime and soot. Yet another restoration and cleaning project was carried out between 1991 and 2000.

After the fire, the biggest question asked was: what was the cause of the fire? It seems that the cathedral’s stonework had severely eroded from years of weather and pollution, and the spire has extensively rotted because of water leakage. At the time of the fire, the spire was undergoing renovation. Then, a deeper question arose. Why would billionaires donate around $1 billion just for the restoration of an old cathedral? More importantly, why should we, as Havergal students in a completely different continent, care?

Notre-Dame is one of France’s most famous landmark. It is not only a UNESCO world heritage site, but also a symbol. It is not only a symbol of France but also a symbol of European architecture. The cathedral connects the past with the present, having stood for 860 years, seeing history unfold before it. The destruction it suffered in a simple fire was even more shocking considering that the last damage it endured was during the French Revolution and survived two world wars unscathed.

What was more important about this medieval cathedral is that it brought people all around the world together. Thousands of people gathered in the streets around the cathedral in Paris, watching the flames in silence. Several churches in Paris rang their bells in response to this tragedy. I know that many people around the world brought the news of the tragedy of Notre-Dame into their country, sharing videos and pictures on social media and the Internet. At that moment, people from all around the world shared the same grief for the destruction of this historical icon no matter their differences. Historical architecture like la Notre-Dame holds important significance in the world’s culture and a celebration of humans’ history, struggles, and triumphs.

Macron said “We’ll rebuild Notre-Dame together”, and I sincerely hope we can preserve this universal symbol that has the unique power to brings us all together.