Devastating.

[JimHow]

I have tears in my eyes.

[Comte Flaneur]

Yes devastating, a terrible tragedy

[Blanquito]

How horrible. Just terrible. I sincerely hope it was accidental.

[Sdayton]

Heartbreaking.

[AlexR]

Macron was to make a major speech tonight.
He has cancelled it.

All the regularly scheduled television programs have also been cancelled.

The ***degree of damage*** is heartbreaking.

Have you heard of the Compagnons du Devoir?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compagnons_du_Devoir
Going back to the Middle Ages, they perpetuate the skills that led to construction of the great European cathedrals.
Fortunately, many of those skills have been perpetuated and reconstruction can be envisaged.

It will take years and cost many millions.

I have lived in Reims, the capital of Champagne. The cathedral there was very heavily bombed in the First World War. But it was renovated.
I'm sure the same will be done for Notre Dame de Paris.

Yours truly,
Alex R.

[Bordhead2000]

It's horrible to watch. I am so sorry for this loss. I wish I could have seen it in person.

[DavidG]

Horrible to see and to contemplate. I hope no one is seriously injured.

I have faith that the people of France will rise to the challenge of rebuilding and restoring. Alex, your comment about retaining the skills to do so is at least a small comfort in the face of such a tragedy.

[jckba]

I agree it’s quite heartbreaking but I am sure they must have all types of insurance and especially when there was active restoration being done. So hopefully, the time and the money spent in order to restore the Notre Dame de Paris to its original beauty will just be a blip in its incredible, storied history.

[marcs]

I have seen Notre Dame myself many times, but now I will never be able to show it to my son

[Nicklasss]

A sad day indeed. A tragedy. Monument like that are so meaningful. I hope the French will pass this terrible time with courage. Rebuilding seems a possibility, but it will be long. I have been once to Notre-Dame de Paris, in 2004. A serene and grasping place.

Nic

[robert goulet]

Made it to mass there back in 2012...so sad...u would think they would have better safeguards in place...just glad no one was hurt

[jal]

We were maybe fifteen minutes from there when it happened, our friend was watching it as the spire came down and told us about it at dinner.
It will be rebuilt just like it was in the 19th century. Luckily no casualties.

Here's a picture taken this morning by Jill without the spire

https://photos.app.goo.gl/MjrJ5rbGg8D7KJso8

[Bordhead2000]

Here’s a link to a news article with the latest updates. A couple billionaires have pledged hundreds of millions towards restoration.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/caused-notre ... 58368.html

[Michael-P]

Nalan and I were both shedding tears on hearing and watching the news. This is not just French, it is a world treasure. Hopefully craftsmen, architects and historians, and a lot of cash, can rebuild it faithfully.
Michael-P

[DavidG]

Assuming the knowledge, skills, and money are available for an exact restoration, should Notre Dame be rebuilt just as the original? Or should some wood and lead structures be replaced with different materials, maintaining appearances, to reduce the risk of a similar occurrence?

[JimHow]

Good question, David.
I've visited Notre Dame and been amazed as much as anyone.
I know the basics of its history, but not great detail.
How much of the existing structure is 800 years old.
If it is rebuilt, is it really Notre Dame?
This past weekend Gio brought out empty bottles of '89 Haut Brion, '96 DRC Grands Echezeaux, and '82 Branaire Ducru.
But these weren't just any bottles, they were the actual bottles touched by BWEers back in 2003 at the BWE convention.
And I designated Gio as the "Keeper of the Relics."
Now, those bottles could be destroyed in a fire at his restaurant and replaced with empty bottles of the same wines from the same vintages, but they wouldn't be THE relics from the early days of BWE.

[DavidG]

Well, there were additions, like the spire.
And it wasn’t completely destroyed. The stone walls remain.
But the wood frame that burned was apparently old growth oak.
Trees that were a hundred years old or more when they were harvested for the cathedral.
Assuming there are similar trees available now, should they be used?
Or should more modern, more ecologically friendly, and more fire resistant materials be used?

Notre Dame is more than a physical entity.
It is a spirit, a feeling, an emotion, a force, part of a collective conscience.
This fire and rebuilding will be another step in its evolution.
Using modern materials will not destroy the essence of Notre Dame de Paris.
It would make it stronger, safer, better prepared to face the next 8 centuries.

I say rebuild it better.
Respect the past, the architecture, the craftsmanship, the spirit.
But rebuild it better.

[Tom In DC]

Do we have any materials available today that would last 800 years?

I'm also concerned about hidden heat damage in the surviving stone structures. These were made with tolerances that are unimaginable in stone work today - can you hear a foreman saying "Keep sanding away at it until it fits perfectly" these days? The expansion from a single heat-induced crack in a stone could destabilize the whole thing.

[DavidG]

Important questions, I’m sure there are folks much smarter than me who will be thinking about the answers to them.

[JeanFred]

I was there!

I ran Paris on sunday...

The Monday, in the afternoon, I was there to contemplate the Notre-Dame, I even had a coffee in front of the cathedral.

And the monday night, I was there again, unfortunatly

Sadness, dismay, desolation!

JeanFred