https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...arisian-landmark/ar-BBVXK4e?OCID=ansmsnnews11
This is terribly sad.
My thoughts are with all our French posters.
This is terribly sad.
My thoughts are with all our French posters.
Such heartbreaking news! :sad21: Thank goodness there were no fatalities. May the injured firefighters recover completely.
I'm not a religious person, but I do have an immense love of history. So, seeing Notre Dame engulfed in flames was truly heartbreaking.
During the coverage last night, some expert that Sky News had got on was commenting about how common it is for things like this to happen during restoration work. And thinking about it, she was right. Using a local example, the exact same thing happened to the Bank Buildings in Belfast during repair work only a few months ago. It is now a burnt out shell, but the owners have committed to restoring it to it's former glory.
Apart from the roof and the spire, the bulk of the external structure of Notre Dame has survived the fire. It is not known yet how bad the damage is to the interior, though. Or how the stained glass windows have fared from the extremes of temperature.
Nevertheless, by no means is all lost. So, although it will take a long number of years, we WILL see Notre Dame rising like a phoenix from the ashes.
This is one thing I love (and envy) about Europeans in general, and European culture, the commitment to rebuild, repair, restore and maintain the structures that give everyone, including visitors, such a sense of the value of history and endurance.
I'm very glad that the bulk of the external structure has survived the fire, and that those in charge of making the decisions about how to fight the fire paid attention to that.
I think Notre Dame is a symbol of hope ... through 8 or more centuries ... and this commitment to rebuild creates more hope.