One more piece to restore its grandeur to the most famous cathedral in France. While the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris is scheduled for December 2024, the major parts of the building are being put back on their feet little by little, five years after the fire which destroyed the monument. On Monday, the public establishment announced the completion of the ironwork on the apse cross, in correlation with the progress of the work on covering the choir.
The restoration of this complex, richly decorated work, with a span of 12 meters in height and a weight of 1.5 tonnes, began last February. Although damaged when it fell during the fire, the apse cross is the only element to have survived the flames. It therefore ended up being restored, after an in-depth diagnosis, by the ironworks Fer Art Forge, located in Calvados.
Relying on a wooden replica of the head of the apse of the frame, the craftsmen straightened and adjusted all the irons which allow the cross to remain stable in the frame. The foliage and bells that make up the head of the cross have also been restored.
The ridge ridges still in the workshop
All that remains at the bedside cross is to find its gilding before being taken to the cathedral. In the coming weeks, it will replace the bouquet installed by the carpenters on January 12. This will put an end to the reconstruction of the choir framework.
In parallel with this work on the cross, the ridge crests of the choir are being produced in a workshop. They will gradually be placed back on the roof of Notre-Dame in a few weeks as well.
“The completion of the restoration of the apse cross, the creation of the new ridge crests of the choir and their upcoming return to the top of the cathedral framework are new technical challenges met with flying colors by the companies and craftsmen of art of the construction site. It is also a new symbolic milestone which brings us even closer to reopening in December 2024,” says Philippe Jost, president of the public establishment Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris.
