Damn! I feel fortunate that I was just there lasy year, staying right across the river. Hell I almost met up with Papa.
I saw it in 1982 when I went to Europe with my parents. I'm not religious by any stretch, but it was impressive to see the building, and to realize the size, scope and breadth of it, constructed when it was constructed is something I can barely fathom today, much less my 12 year old self then. I hope they are able to save/preserve the rest of the structure. RIP, tower.
Not necessarily. The roof is lead and wood but this covers the vaulted stone ceilings. If the vaults remain intact it will be rebuildable. Many other cathedrals were hit by far worse (i.e. napalm and high explosives) during ww2 and were later repaired.
I can't see any possible way it could be rebuilt with the same craftsmanship. It took something like 200 years to build it the first time. There are probably very few people qualified to do that kind of restoration work on that massive scale. Not to mention the loss of historically significant and irreplaceable stuff. Hopefully they were able to save the bells. God..... Just replacing the organ.....
It will be difficult, but not impossible. With the sheer number of old historic structures in Europe, there are craftsmen/women that work to restore/repair/maintain these buildings. It will be costly and will take years, but it is not impossible. They can recreate the irreplaceable and most won't be able to tell the difference.
Very, very sad, but cmon, almost all of Europe was destroyed and rebuilt in recent history. Most of the ancient structures on the planet have been burned, pillaged and razed, only to be rebuilt again. She will live again. The French are determined people and will see to it.
I know a few high end conservators. Bennett street people. No question the talent is out there.. But when you look at the repitition of motifs etc. I can't say I've ever seen something of that scale undertaken. Sure if you want to 3d print things etc... But if you want those details recreated properly in the traditional way....I would think it could possibly take generations again. Just the windows. I can't imagine historically correct glass is even possible anymore. I'm sure most of that stuff has been documented over the years. But just replacing the floor. Massive undertakings. Then who knows what sort of retrofitting will be required. But the salvage work would be incredible.
I don't know. Masonry is susceptible to damage from heat too. We use it in certain building situations where we need more time to evacuate occupants than we'd get from metal or timber assemblies. It's not fireproof though. Notre Dame had its achilles heels before any fires were present. Structurally some details of the construction were on borrowed time and engineers have been studying remedies for years now. This may be a good opportunity to remedy these faults but I doubt we'll ever see the cathedral stand as it has/had. The part that makes me want to punch a dick is when news anchors say the remaining building is okay. No F'n way that can be determined without letting that hulk of masonry cool down and then getting in there with eyes and ears. Intuitively I don't think there are enough collection plates in the world to make it a feasible rebuild but feasibility probably doesn't play a role in this case.
I agree with motions sentiment. But really, when was the last time modern civilization watched an 800 year old cathedral burn completely to the ground? I can't even imagine the lumber it will take to rebuild it. I bet some of that stuff was up near 1000 years old. Crazy.
Crazy thing is...this is going to come down to one guy that ignited a spark or left his fire watch early. One dude that torched history. He best leave quick.
Obvious insurance job. The God business ain’t what it used to be so the owners decided to cut their losses.
Watching the news tonight after work, they are saying they will rebuild. They say they saved the towers and the outerwall. So just hope they are correct.