The Notre Dame Cathedral fire is only a temporary loss

Brothers, both Catholic and non-Catholic; Christian, and non-Christian,

I'm not Catholic myself, but I feel this loss. Both as a religious man and a Historian. The loss experienced today is a saddening experience to all who appreciate the History of Humanity. The Notre Dame Cathedral is representative of a beautiful past and men who mastered the operative masonry so often spoken about in our craft. Likewise it is a testament to the ability of craftsmenship employed in 1163 A.D./5163 A.L.

Fear not however, as the fire today was not strong enough to destroy the stone which those men so back breakingly put in place. That said there is hope. Eric Fischer, the director of Notre Dame Foundation believes there is hope to rebuild. In an article on Le Monde (https://translate.google.com/transl...hedrale-notre-dame-de-paris_5450550_3224.html) he said he has a network of artisans who will be able to reconstruct the building. What that means for the near future is beyond me, but in the long term it looks like Notre Dame will once again stand tall.

 

Technology today never ceases to amaze me. The video game, "Assassin's Creed Unity", which was set in Paris during the French Revolution, features a (very) realistic 3D model of Notre Dame cathedral. The artists for the game spent nearly two years perfecting the model of this cathedral and studied multiple aspects, brick by brick, down to exact paintings, spires and so on. These 3D renderings and models are being discussed to help reconstruction. The fire was devastating, but I look forward to the rebuild, as well as to one-day pay visit to this sacred place.

 

It would be truly awesome if replacement pieces were fabricated completely off site by artisans from around the world and to exact specification, shipped to the cathedral receivers for approval and then put into place.

 

Sad.

That would be fantastic!

 

During the French Revolution Notre Dame was a little different, an especially after it: it was used as "temple of reason" for a while and some artefacts were removed by the public. The now burned central tower was in bad shape and it was taken down to avoid accidents. Some city officials considered demolishing Notre Dame at that point.

The coronation of Napoleon I in 1804 and the story by Victor Hugo, popular by the name "the Hunchback of Notre Dame" little later increased the popularity of Notre Dame and renovation got started.

The gargoils were only added at this time - they are not genuine gothic but neo-gothic. The central tower now lost in fire was built during this renovation - it's only from the mid-nineteenth century.