A year after the terrible Notré Dame fire, French carpenters et al have fought back against "common sense" and are beautifully rebuilding the structure not only with the same ancient oak instead of steel, but doing do with some of the very methods that built the original in the first place:
With precision and boundless energy, a team of carpenters used medieval techniques to raise up — by hand — a three-ton oak truss Saturday in front of Notre Dame Cathedral, a replica of the wooden structures that were consumed in the landmark’s devastating April 2019 fire that also toppled its spire.
The demonstration to mark European Heritage Days gave the hundreds of people a first-hand look at the rustic methods used 800 years ago to build the triangular frames in the nave of Notre Dame de Paris.
It also showed that the decision to replicate the cathedral in its original form was the right one, said Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, who heads the cathedral’s reconstruction.
“It shows … firstly that we made the right choice in choosing to rebuild the carpentry identically, in oak from France,” Georgelin said in an interview. “Secondly, it shows us the ... method by which we will rebuild the framework, truss after truss.”
A debate over whether the new spire should have a futuristic design or whether the trusses should be made of fireproof cement like in the Cathedral of Nantes, which was destroyed in a 1972 fire, ended with the decision in July to respect Notre Dame’s original design and materials.
I consider myself incredibly lucky to have been able to visit the Cathedral a few years before the fire, a few hours I'll never forget. I only have a pic from outside (I know, pretty amazing one, right?), there was a 'no photos" policy. I do remember being shocked to learn they still held church services in it, thinking wow can you imagine going to ND for Sunday mass just because you happen to live nearby and it's no big deal?!?!?!
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