Notre Dame Cathedral reopens after 5 years

The historic Notre Dame Cathedral will reopen on December 8 after five years.

The historic Gothic cathedral, which dates back to the 12th century and was severely damaged in a fire five years ago while under renovation, is set to reopen on December 8th of this year (2024). The church suffered a fire disaster on April 15th, 2019 that shocked the world.

 Five years ago, the cathedral was severely damaged in a fire, which reduced the church's wooden beams and lead roof to ashes and caused its iconic spire to collapse. Notre Dame Cathedral was considered the world's greatest architectural treasure, and around 250 companies and hundreds of craftsmen, architects and specialists from across France began working on the restoration of the church, a massive project to restore the architectural masterpiece to its former glory.

The head of the general board overseeing the restoration of the historic Notre Dame Cathedral announced the completion of the first phase of the restoration, and that it is scheduled to reopen on December 8 of this year. Before the fire, the church welcomed 12 million visitors annually.

Philippe Joost, head of the public body overseeing the renovation, said: "One of the greatest technical achievements of this project was the reconstruction of the nave and choir stalls, which was completed in March using more than a thousand 200-year-old trees hand-picked from French forests."

The French Heritage Society, an American non-profit organization, played a key role in the restoration of the cathedral. Its mission is to preserve French architectural and cultural heritage in France and the United States. The society was able to raise significant funds through its support of the Notre Dame Emergency Reconstruction Fund, which was established in 2019 after the fire.

With the support of 3,400 donors from 40 different countries, the fund was able to raise nearly $3 million in donations, the bulk of which came from American donors. It is worth noting that in December of last year, in addition to Notre Dame regaining its large cross, a new golden rooster was also installed to replace the one that was destroyed in the fire.