in the picture. Four years after the fire... Notre Dame is rising from its ruins

Tomorrow, exactly four years ago, a severe fire partially destroyed Notre Dame in Paris. About 1,000 specialists still work each day to restore the world-famous cathedral to its former glory. Since April 15, 2019, more than 846 million euros for the works have already been raised. And this is necessary, because at least 550 million euros are required to clean the interior and restore the masonry, cellars, roofs and tower. The cathedral should reopen to the general public at the end of 2024.

This photo, taken from an 80-meter-high construction crane, shows just how much progress has already been made. Where only destruction, ash and holes could be seen four years ago, the massive roof is gradually taking shape again.

Great Photo. After the scaffolding is in place, archaeologists can begin to carefully excavate and repair the center of the medieval building.

Patrick Zachman / Magnum Pictures — © Patrick Zachman / Magnum Images

From atop the central facade, restorers descend to inspect the cathedral’s magnificent doorways. They are looking for signs of the Middle Ages carved in stone to take an imprint on it.

New oak framework, ocules, should support the vaults of the nave and new tower. This new tower will be rebuilt with the original materials, being identical to its ruined predecessor. At the end of this year, the tower should once again be visible on the Parisian skyline.

Not only were the countless statues cleaned, but also the paintings were completely restored. So nothing was left to chance to restore the cathedral in all its splendor.

It seemed as if this guy wanted to blow off this little angel’s nose. In fact, organ maker Léo Baret tries to remove toxic lead residue from the giant organ as accurately as possible. And yes, it has to be done centimeter by centimeter.