Cross restored to Notre Dame cathedral more than 5 years after fire
Source: CBS News/AP
May 25, 2024 / 7:54 PM EDT
The cross at the apse of Notre-Dame de Paris, which survived the devastating 2019 fire, was reinstalled atop the cathedral's framework Friday after a meticulous restoration by artistic ironworkers from Normandy. The imposing cross, spanning 40 feet and weighing about 3,300 pounds, is the only element of the choir roof that resisted the flames.
"The cross fell really early in the fire," Vincent Combe, project manager for Metal Roofing Renovation, told CBS News. "So we were really lucky because the cross didn't burn a lot, she just fell just…it's a miracle."
The cross was taken to an ironworks in Normandy for complex and delicate repairs. Architect Axelle Ponsonnet was involved in checking it could be repaired to the original 19th century design by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
"We were really happy to discover that we would be able to use it, and forge it again, and work with the metal that was here, because the cross was designed by Viollet-le-Duc, so it's a very important piece of Notre Dame," Ponsonnet told CBS News.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/notre-dame-cathedral-cross-restored-5-years-after-fire/
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Without modern engineering it wouldn't have been possible to restore this historic and beautiful structure.
