Oh no. I hope he/she will be ok.The Crown of Thorns is supposed to have been one of the things that firefighters went into the building to save. One firefighter was seriously injured but it isn't life threatening.
Oh no. I hope he/she will be ok.The Crown of Thorns is supposed to have been one of the things that firefighters went into the building to save. One firefighter was seriously injured but it isn't life threatening.
Saw this morning, at least 3 of the windows are ok. Nearly all of the art work was saved. Much of it was already in storage due to the construction. Huge relief.Those famous rose stained glass windows are gone. There were also large wooden statues that still had paint from the middle ages on them, I know they are gone. They couldn't be carried out and nothing wooden could possibly have survived.
Bernard ArnaultSaw this morning, at least 3 of the windows are ok. Nearly all of the art work was saved. Much of it was already in storage due to the construction. Huge relief.
So devastating to see. I work in architecture - my entire office practically has been to Notre Dame - except one or two of us me included. My husband and I had been planning to go to Paris this year, but unfortunately life prevented us from planning it far enough in advance. It was incredibly painful to watch yesterday, however, somewhat of a small relief this morning to see the facade is standing and that it can and will be rebuilt. I saw that France's most wealthy citizen that owns Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and one of the big Champagne houses (forget his name off hand, and the Champagne shame on me) is donating over 200 million to the effort. I'm sure many more will lend their support as well including those around the world - St. Patrick's in NYC has already said they will fund raise to help as well.
I'm not religious at all either and it really is heart breaking. It's such an iconic place.It broke my heart. I'm not a religious person by any stretch, but the history, the architecture. It is heart-breaking.
Same and Jewish no less. Being religious certainly is not a prerequisite to appreciating architecture be it religious or not. It's a remarkable feat of engineering and a huge loss. Some of the most memorable places I've been are Christian sites. Truly awe inspiring.It broke my heart. I'm not a religious person by any stretch, but the history, the architecture. It is heart-breaking.
Regardless of the cause, the similarity is that we feel grief for the loss of another country.I suspect that on 9/11 they felt more like how we felt when the offices of Charlie Hebdo were shot up. This is a great tragedy, and we all feel the loss, but no one thinks it was deliberate. There's a qualitative difference between an accident and murder. In some ways it's easier to deal with an act of terrorism; we get angry, the anger has a specific focus, and then we can take it out on someone appropriate, say, Osama Bin Laden. The problem, of course, arises when we decide to take it out on someone who had nothing to do with it, all Muslims for example. With an accidental fire all we can do is mourn what we've lost and rebuild to the best of our ability. There's no good place to direct the anger, so we may turn it inward, which is a bad answer.
I wonder how long it will be until we know for sure how much was saved, and how strong the stones of the Cathedral are now that they've been damaged by fire.
Margret
I wouldn't be posting this without the permission of the author. Please note that, while I'm including her copyright notice, the reason she gave me permission to post it here is that she hopes someone here can send it to someone in France, who may be comforted by it.THE SEINE: APRIL 15, 2019
by Lee Gold, Copyright Lee Gold, 4-15-2019
to the tune of "The Seine"
For the tune, see:
The first time I saw Paris, the city lights were bright.
The Quasimodo Gift Shop was shining in the night.
I walked along the river, and I saw it gently flow.
And looked at all the wonders that I'd read about so long ago.
The Seine! The Seine!
If I should come againWill I see her there? Will she greet me there
On the gentle banks of the Seine?
I walked beside the river, while the sun shone in the sky,
The stained glass windows sparkled like rainbows up on high.
Their light drowned out the clatter — and everything was calm
As I stood there silently inside Cathedral Notre Dame.
The Seine! The Seine!
If I should come againWill I see her there? Will she greet me there
On the gentle banks of the Seine?
Now I've seen the fires burning, and my eyes are full of tears.
I've heard that they'll rebuild her, but I know it will take years.
I may not see her rise again, but years cannot erase
The memories I treasure of beauty, glory and of grace.
The Seine! The Seine!
If I should come againShe will meet me there. She will greet me there
On the gentle banks of the Seine.
Yes, the BBC reported this morning that sixteen statues needing repair had been removed previous to the fire, thankfully. Those windows though So gorgeous and total one-offs. It broke my heart to see this as it was happening [on television; I wasn't there]. I can't imagine how broken hearted were the Parisians and holiday-makers were to be there as it went up. And here before Easter! Mind, I am pagan, but I love the the things of all religions and respect them.... and this was something you can never truly replace. My heart is in Paris for all and as someone said above, although I'm not quoting exactly, Notre Dame is a world treasure indeed. Workmanship, love, and dedication doesn't get much finer than this. Blessings to the the lovely men and women of the fire brigades who worked tirelessly to put out the flames as soon as possible to salvage what they could.Flames cause 'colossal damages' to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Macron says 'we will rebuild'
Additionally, I've been told that so far the rose window above the altar is intact. (Note: this is hearsay.) Also, many of the statues and other removable pieces of artwork had already been taken out to protect them during the spire restoration, and firefighters did what they could to protect the rest of the building, to give people time to remove more of the artwork. It appears that the destruction isn't as total as it appeared at first glance.
Margret
I love anything by him. Thanks!The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet is a fascinating novel about the building of a great cathedral. I read it some time ago, but the details shed some light about what happened to Notre Dame, if anyone is interested.
It's amazing that the gold cross and the glass windows didn't melt.
I heard on TV this morning that someone, not too long ago, took 3-D pictures of everything in the cathedral, millimeter by millimeter. So the information is there for reconstruction.
You're correct that the lack of old oaks is deeply disturbing, but even if they were available I believe that they'd do better to use more modern (read "fireproof") materials in the reconstruction. Also, I'd hate to see all those old trees cut down.They say there is only minor structural damage to the stone parts, but of course the wooden beams are totally destroyed. And they won't be able to replace them because there aren't enough 400-year-old oaks on the planet (which is upsetting on a few different levels), so they'll have to use more modern materials to rebuild.
Didn't Kipling write something about this, as well? One of the people the children met in either, um, Puck of Pook's Hill or Rewards and Fairies, available for free here: Puck of Pook's Hill by Rudyard Kipling and here: Rewards and Fairies by Rudyard Kipling.The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet is a fascinating novel about the building of a great cathedral. I read it some time ago, but the details shed some light about what happened to Notre Dame, if anyone is interested.
The fire wasn't really down in that area. It was all up in the roof with the big wooden beams. The wooden church pews weren't burned either.It's amazing that the gold cross and the glass windows didn't melt.