Beyond All Belief, Much Of Notre Dame Actually Survived The Blaze

Apr 24, 2019 by apost team

As people watched in disbelief, the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral was set ablaze, and people were horrified that this precious landmark might die. After firefighters were done combating the fire and the smoke cleared, Parisians discovered with tears in their eyes that the cathedral was, for the most part, completely intact. The tall spire at the top of the famous cathedral was under renovation on Monday when the fire broke out.

Notre Dame Cathedral is similar to a house in that it has an attic space that is supported by trusses. On top of the wooden structure is the roof. When you are inside the cathedral, what you notice when you peer upwards toward the lofty ceiling is an ornate stone structure that is wondrous to behold.

This iconic feature of the famous cathedral managed to remain intact, in spite of the fire that raged above it.

Above the ceiling is a support structure made of wood. It was built from timber that was 800 years old. The trees from which the timber was derived first began to grow in the 9th Century. Sadly, the ancient wooden structure was mostly lost in the fire along with most of the roof and the tall spire.

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Of all the famous French great cathedrals, Notre Dame was the only one that still had its original wooden roof support structure still intact before this fire took its toll. The other cathedrals lost their timbers during world wars and revolutionary wars.

A large gaping hole can be seen in the roof of Notre Dame where the great spire, also called a flèche, once was. During the fire, the flèche collapsed through the roof. Another treasure of the cathedral is its priceless 18th-Century pipe organ that consists of 8,000 pipes. Amazingly, despite the blaze and the battle to put it out, the organ was not destroyed.

Paris officials remarked that the organ was protected by a large stone slab that connects two towers on either side of it. The collapsing roof and the water from the fire hoses were diverted by the stone slab. The cathedral has another organ for the choir that was not destroyed, but it did sustain some water damage. Paris officials estimate that it will take years to repair the choir organ.

The cathedral has two bell towers that also were not destroyed, even though there were concerns that they could collapse from prolonged exposure to high heat. Unfortunately, most of the windows melted in the fire, but the famous, ornate Rose Window is still intact.

This enormous stained-glass window is situated over the three front entrance doors, and it was placed there in the 13th Century.

Emmanuel Macron, the French President has promised to rebuild the great cathedral back to its former glory. Over 300 million Euros have already been donated for the project.

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