Before and after Notre Dame Cathedral: this is how the reconstruction is going

(CNN Spanish) — Five years ago, in April 2019, much of the Notre Dame Cathedral, an 860-year-old building in Paris, was destroyed in a fire.

In a visit to the construction site in late 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron promised that work would proceed “on schedule” so that Notre Dame would open to the public on December 8, 2024.

“By the time the Olympics start (in July), we hope to have removed the scaffolding from the top of the spire and completed much of the roof, so Parisians and visitors from around the world can see how close we are to reopening.” Are. ”, Philippe Jost, head of the restoration of Notre Dame de Paris (the public body responsible for the conservation and restoration of the cathedral), told the French Parliament on December 13.

According to the reconstruction of Notre Dame de Paris, there are approximately 250 art companies and workshops throughout France that have been tasked with “working on the restoration of the cathedral.” These include carpenters, masons, scaffolders, sculptors, gilders, glaziers and even organ builders who are restoring the 8,000 pipes and 115 registers of the cathedral’s great organ, the largest in France.

Following the 2019 fire, the first two years of work were devoted to securing the building – which dates back to the 12th century – to completing project studies and letting out tenders. The restoration phase officially began in September 2021.

The reconstruction of Notre Dame is expected to cost approximately 700 million euros ($767 million). In total, donations of 846 million euros ($928 million) were raised from 340,000 donors in 150 countries, according to Rebuilding Notre Dame de Paris.

The restoration of the building is already more than 90% complete.

The Notre Dame fire shocked France; Images of crying Parisians and tourists watched in disbelief as the cathedral’s spire collapsed due to the fire.

With information from Claudia Coliva and Richard Quest