Five years after a massive fire engulfed the centuries-old Notre-Dame de Paris and toppled its iconic spire, leaving a gaping hole in the heart of Paris while the world watched helplessly, the Catholic cathedral has been restored to its former glory and is set to reopen next month amid grand celebrations.
X boss Elon Musk, in a post on the micro-blogging site, provided a glimpse into the gothic monument that, several reports claimed, has been rebuilt with the help of hundreds of specialist artisans and millions of donations.
"Notre-Dame has been restored," Musk said on X, as he shared a 94-minute clip of the renovated cathedral that is set to reopen on December 7.
A report by the National Geographic said everything has been spruced up - the frescoes, checked floor and the bells - which have been removed from the belfry, cleaned of lead dust, and restored at the Norman foundry where they were first cast - among others. A high-tech new lighting system will also contribute to the effect.
According to Forbes, the renovation was carried out at a cost of around 500 million euros.
"A surplus of about 140 million euros will be used for future preservation work on the 861-year-old building," Philippe Jost, who has overseen the project, told Forbes.
An AFP report said before the fire, Notre-Dame was among the most visited buildings in Europe, with 14 to 15 million a year expected to visit once the cathedral reopens next month.
On April 15, 2019, a fire broke out in the attic, beneath the cathedral's roof, causing severe damages to the wooden spire, which had collapsed, and the wooden roof, besides the cathedral's upper walls.
Several works of art and religious relics were moved to safety but others suffered smoke damage. Some of the exterior art was also damaged or destroyed in the blaze. At least two police officers and one firefighter were injured as around 400 firefighters worked through the night, taking roughly around nine hours to extinguish the blaze.
According to the European Commission (a politically independent executive arm of the European Union), a large part of the cathedral roof and spire were made of lead, and some studies suggested that 150 kg of lead was spread during the fire. Others hinted that one tonne of lead must have fallen within one kilometre of the cathedral.
The exact cause of the fire could not be determined but French authorities claimed an electrical fault or a cigarette may have been responsible for the fire, according to Reuters.
Notre-Dame did not hold a Christmas mass in 2019, for the first time since 1803. French President Emmanuel Macron had announced a five-year plan to rebuild what was lost.
