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Post by Basket1lady on Apr 15, 2019 21:24:28 GMT
Good news: all the artworks have been saved. Monseigneur Chauvet and the mayor of Paris are saying the contrary right now in the press conference, alas. Some art has been lost (they're worried about the big paintings). The Trésor, indeed, is safe at the moment, fortunately. Fingers crossed! I'm looking over my photos of the many chapels and the main worship area. I don't see how they got it all out. I'm sure there was a plan in place to save some of the items, but the screens/frescos/ and many large pieces can't possibly have been gotten out. The coffers of the Catholic Church are large. Between the Church and the French people, I'm sure it will be rebuilt. But how long will that take and what will be lost, never to be recovered? My heart is breaking. We were there for Easter Mass in 2014 and it was so moving.
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Post by sleepingbooty on Apr 15, 2019 21:26:28 GMT
Maybe with the Olympics being in Paris like you said, that the Olympics could set up some kind of donation plan going towards the Cathedral? Now that would be wishful thinking on my part.. I don't doubt they will. They'll need to figure out how to settle the bill as the French state is secular but I don't doubt they will. They have in the past for other major historical yet religious buildings or artwork, they will again. This is the pride and joy of Paris with 14 million visitors yearly.
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Post by shevy on Apr 15, 2019 21:28:50 GMT
Has the Vatican made any kind of statement? I've been at work and unable to watch or read a lot of online news.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Apr 15, 2019 21:31:10 GMT
Considering how long it's taken for the La Sagrada Familia to be completed - I can't even imagine how long the rebuilding effort would take. Ah, my SO's specialty (he's from Barcelona)! La Sagrada Familia faced (and still faces to a certain extent) issues Notre-Dame won't: lack of plans (quite a bit had to be improvised), lack of finances, political instability. While smaller, it is in no way comparable to ND de Paris. This doesn't mean it won't take a long time to rebuild ND but it should be nowhere near to the time the Sagrada Familia has taken (and still takes). The cathedral of Reims took less than 20 years to be rebuilt after the end of WWI. I'd guess ND would be around the same time. They would be far more comparable projects than the mad story of the Sagrada Familia. I'm sure you're right - it was just the first basilica that popped in my head when thinking of stone masons and ability to rebuild. It's a crazy project! I didn't realize Reims had been rebuilt in 20 years - I loved the Chagall stained glass when we visited!
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Post by sleepingbooty on Apr 15, 2019 21:33:12 GMT
Has the Vatican made any kind of statement? I've been at work and unable to watch or read a lot of online news. Alessandro Gisotti from the Vatican press office has on social media. Translated from French:
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Post by monklady123 on Apr 15, 2019 21:36:21 GMT
My dd when we were there a few years ago. 😢😢😢
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Post by sleepingbooty on Apr 15, 2019 21:39:41 GMT
Président Macron holding a press conference by Notre-Dame right now. Nothing new re: the damage announced here. It's a solemn thank you to the firefighters and a confirmation that the worst is behind us now. He mentions how ND is the epicentre of our collective French life and history. A lot of talk about how ND is the cathedral of all the French. He finishes by saying that there is hope tonight. Hope because of the firefighters who fought and continue to fight, of the 800 years since this cathedral has been finished and continued to be built over the years with everything that was added to it. He confirms the Notre-Dame will be rebuilt and they'll start working on it tomorrow by asking for donations, finding the people to head the team and seek the talents required through France and the world.
There you go. It will be rebuilt. And they'll start ASAP. I never doubted this.
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Post by andreasmom on Apr 15, 2019 21:45:53 GMT
Président Macron holding a press conference by Notre-Dame right now. Nothing new re: the damage announced here. It's a solemn thank you to the firefighters and a confirmation that the worst is behind us now. He mentions how ND is the epicentre of our collective French life and history. A lot of talk about how ND is the cathedral of all the French. He finishes by saying that there is hope tonight. Hope because of the firefighters who fought and continue to fight, of the 800 years since this cathedral has been finished and continued to be built over the years with everything that was added to it. He confirms the Notre-Dame will be rebuilt and they'll start working on it tomorrow by asking for donations, finding the people to head the team and seek the talents required through France and the world. There you go. It will be rebuilt. And they'll start ASAP. I never doubted this. I’m sure the world will donate. I will. I don’t know, however, if it will be finished in my lifetime.
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Post by SockMonkey on Apr 15, 2019 21:46:31 GMT
I cried. It's so beautiful. So much history lost. I hope they can save as much as possible.
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Post by sleepingbooty on Apr 15, 2019 21:51:13 GMT
A historian explains that there were no (or almost no) original stones left in ND. They've all been replaced since the end of construction in the 13th century. He explains how we like to see historical buildings as static and fixed in time while ignoring all the renovations, rebuilds, previous fires and damage. He goes on to say it's an opportunity, too, for the Catholic Church to invite contemporary artists to express themselves when it comes to replacing some of the artwork that has disappeared like the Church does with other renovations or rebuilds. Resilience is about not giving up and getting your house back up when it crumbles.
Update on the fire: the worse seems to have been avoided for now. Almost 500 firefighters still at work. It will likely take several days to completely extinguish the fire.
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Post by craftedbys on Apr 15, 2019 21:52:16 GMT
So sad to watch such a devastating event. DH and I visited Paris back in 1993 and saw it up close and marveled at all of the beautiful artwork.
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Post by papersilly on Apr 15, 2019 21:54:10 GMT
is is just so sad. it breaks my heart with landmarks get destroyed like this.
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Post by basket1ladyphotos on Apr 15, 2019 21:56:47 GMT
There are so many small chapels like this tucked into the outer edges of the cathedral. How could they have saved something this big? From the bell towers
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Post by hop2 on Apr 15, 2019 22:00:00 GMT
If the façade can be saved, it will likely be rebuilt. That's the only positive right now: the French government would very likely jump in to pay the billions (I'm not exaggerating) it would cost to rebuild it exactly as it was (they've made extensive 3D plans of how the building is for the 20 year renovation plan). The art that goes up in flames, however, is lost forever. 400 firemen currently working on saving it and some are still trying to save some of the art that can be accessed. Not sure what's happening regarding the archeological crypt. It can never be ‘exactly’the way it was. Even dismissing the lack of certain materials & craftsmanship that no longer exist, it would have to comply with the Euro codes interpretation of the International Building Code now. Sure there will be some exceptions for it being a historical building but certainly not everything. Not to mention the energy code & sustainablity regulations which you all take much more seriously than here. I have to say though, they had done a great job of fitting in what safety features that could be installed. It’s going to be an extremely interesting rebuild marrying the historic with the required. It will be documentary material.
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Post by femalebusiness on Apr 15, 2019 22:00:30 GMT
I've been out all day and heard about it on the car radio. I just turned on tv. OMG! It is just horrible!
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Post by MichyM on Apr 15, 2019 22:09:38 GMT
Président Macron holding a press conference by Notre-Dame right now. Nothing new re: the damage announced here. It's a solemn thank you to the firefighters and a confirmation that the worst is behind us now. He mentions how ND is the epicentre of our collective French life and history. A lot of talk about how ND is the cathedral of all the French. He finishes by saying that there is hope tonight. Hope because of the firefighters who fought and continue to fight, of the 800 years since this cathedral has been finished and continued to be built over the years with everything that was added to it. He confirms the Notre-Dame will be rebuilt and they'll start working on it tomorrow by asking for donations, finding the people to head the team and seek the talents required through France and the world. There you go. It will be rebuilt. And they'll start ASAP. I never doubted this. Again, this I just heartbreaking. Thank you so much for staying up so late and posting here. I haven't really needed to go on the web for info, and besides I hate the speculation they usually manage to fill up time with.
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Post by sleepingbooty on Apr 15, 2019 22:18:04 GMT
It can never be ‘exactly’the way it was. Even dismissing the lack of certain materials & craftsmanship that no longer exist, it would have to comply with the Europe ides interpretation of the International Building Code now. Sure there will be some exceptions for it being a historical building but certainly not everything. Not to mention the energy code & sustainablity regulations which you all take much more seriously than here. I have to say though, they had done a great job of fitting in what safety features that could be installed. It’s going to be an extremely interesting rebuild marrying the historic with the required. It will be documentary material. I agree. It will be a very interesting rebuild. There's nothing else to do now than to look forward to that. The positive aspects of the rebuild will be the increased safety measures for future fires (there have been others in ND's past, there'll be more in its future). The French are oddly enough very traditional for certain things (oh, don't get my family started on how to make a proper camembert or champagne). No doubt they will apply this must-look-like-before attitude for the rebuild. The things that will change and be noticeable to the untrained eye will be for a minor percentage of the rebuild and likely focused on some of the lost art. It's just so freakin' typical of the French mindset. They'll circumvent what they need (like the energy regulations) to make it look the most like it once was by lobbying to get it accepted by the UNESCO World Heritage (who have already spoken about preserving the cathedral since the fire started). I am at the stage of feeling calm and collected now. I'm hoping for the best when it comes to saving as much of the building as possible (at least the entire façade, towers and belfry included). Maybe it's the remains of being from a country that has known great devastation through two world wars. Other buildings and even entire cities have been rebuilt over the past century. They look and feel great, authentic even, nowadays. Time to accept our loss. Can't go back in time and undo the fire now.
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Post by marie on Apr 15, 2019 22:27:41 GMT
sleepingbooty thank you for all the updates. So very sad about the loss of this beautiful cathedral. Here are a couple of photos from a trip in 1990.
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Post by bc2ca on Apr 15, 2019 22:28:26 GMT
It was surreal to come out of a meeting to this news.
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Post by sleepingbooty on Apr 15, 2019 22:30:06 GMT
Thank you so much for staying up so late and posting here. I haven't really needed to go on the web for info, and besides I hate the speculation they usually manage to fill up time with. My "pleasure." I try to stick to official press conferences, what I can actually see and stay away from speculation. I'm glad to hear I could help a little bit with understanding what has been going on. It's half past midnight here now. I'm going to go and get ready for bedtime. The fire is still going but you can see it has lessened although the flames are still clearly visible. If there's any news between now and my departure to dreamland, I'll let the Peas know. In honour of this monument and its major pop culture success in the nineties (Disney's Hunchback of Notre-Dame and the extremely popular French musical comedy based on the same Victor Hugo story), here's the most famous song from that musical comedy (every French person knows the lyrics to this by heart, I kid you not #drunkFrenchkaraokealert): As a literature graduate, I can't stress how beautiful Hugo's novel is. If you want to add a classic to your Kindle, this would be a great read (and perhaps delve into the very rich French literature).
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Deleted
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Apr 23, 2024 8:02:45 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2019 22:38:48 GMT
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Post by sleepingbooty on Apr 15, 2019 22:46:08 GMT
A journalist who has seen the inside as part of Président Macron's quick visit (he got to go inside with a small entourage to check the altar) confirms there's debris everywhere BUT that a lot on the ground floor has been preserved. To her, the altar looks almost intact. The walls look in good condition too. Even the chairs inside are fine! There is, however, a big hole where the roof once was. They are still evacuating art right now. She says she was expecting a far more devastating scene inside from the hours of fire she'd witnessed outside.
Alright, now let's hope it doesn't start raining to ruin what's left. Ugh, the dilemma: the water would help extinguish the fire buuut... it would get to the art still hanging on the walls.
The Pinault family just announced they're giving 100 million euros for the rebuild. The Pinault family heads a major luxury group that owns brands like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Alexander McQueen. François-Henri, the son, is married to Salma Hayek.
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Post by sleepingbooty on Apr 15, 2019 23:00:44 GMT
Damages done by the (far smaller) 1944 roof fire: For donations, the only official way to give right now is through the official Fondation Patrimoine here that already existed before the fire. If you're interested in donating, do not follow any other links at the moment. I'm sure the French government will work on an international-friendly donation website/revamp of the current based on the fire and works needed very soon.
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Post by sleepingbooty on Apr 15, 2019 23:07:27 GMT
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Post by Merge on Apr 15, 2019 23:13:31 GMT
It was surreal to come out of a meeting to this news. Seriously. I was on a plane from NYC back to Houston and it popped up in my news alerts as soon as we had cell service again. Crazy. I'm glad to hear that some of the art works may have been spared. We were there in 2014 and it was incredibly beautiful. I read also on line now that the Al-Aqsa Mosque - a very important one in Jerusalem - is also burning. WTAF?
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sueg
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Apr 12, 2016 12:51:01 GMT
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Post by sueg on Apr 15, 2019 23:15:06 GMT
I was in Paris just last November with my sister, and Notre Dame was one of the highlights. As well as the inside of the Cathedral, we also got to see an amazing light and sound show that was projected onto the facade. I am just so sad right now, waking up to hear of this devastating loss. basket1ladyphotos - your third photo was the first artwork I thought of when I heard of the fire. It was just amazing to see it all, and we spent ages walking up and down, trying to decipher it all.
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Post by sleepingbooty on Apr 15, 2019 23:15:33 GMT
First proper photos of the inside about half an hour to an hour ago: I WILL TAKE WHATEVER SILVER LINING I CAN FIND!
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FurryP
Drama Llama
To pea or not to pea...
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Post by FurryP on Apr 15, 2019 23:16:59 GMT
Oh no!!! How devastating. I am heartbroken too.
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Apr 23, 2024 8:02:45 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2019 23:23:25 GMT
sleepingbooty, no idea if this is true, but I thought I'd get your take when you can...
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PrettyInPeank
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,691
Jun 25, 2014 21:31:58 GMT
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Post by PrettyInPeank on Apr 15, 2019 23:24:48 GMT
First proper photos of the inside about half an hour to an hour ago: I WILL TAKE WHATEVER SILVER LINING I CAN FIND! Bless those firefighters. Absolutely amazing considering the fiery red flames and plumes of thick smoke made it look like nothing was left.
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