Ceremonial reopening: Notre-Dame shines again after five years!

Ceremonial reopening: Notre-Dame shines again after five years!

The reopening of the world-famous Notre-Dame Cathedral took place this evening in Paris with international celebrities. Among those present were German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, US President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The celebration marks an important milestone after the devastating major fire in 2019, which was caused by a short circuit in the roof structure. After extensive renovation work, some of which was accompanied by delays, President Emmanuel Macron has promised to restore the cathedral within five years, which will now be marked with a ceremony WDR reported.

Restoration with international support

Craftsmen from the Cologne Cathedral Construction Works played a central role in the restoration. They restored two important stained glass windows of the cathedral, which was the only restoration to take place outside of France. Ex-cathedral master builder Barbara Schock-Werner and her team helped revitalize the windows as part of a venerable commission. “Glass restoration never takes place on site, but always in workshops,” she explained. The windows were delivered in a total of 44 boxes containing over 300 different pieces of glass, which were carefully prepared and ultimately used in Paris to restore their original splendor, reported Cologne cathedral building works.

In addition, the Cologne filmmaker Marcus Laufenberg accompanied the restoration work with a documentary that impressively captures the cooperation and the many challenges that the craftsmen faced. The windows originally come from the renowned French glass painter Jacques Le Chevallier, who created them in 1965. The return of these windows marks not only a reconstruction, but also a symbolic gesture of the Franco-German friendship that was strengthened by this project.