All posts tagged: cathedrals

Five years after fire, Notre-Dame Cathedral’s restoration is nearly complete

Five years after fire, Notre-Dame Cathedral’s restoration is nearly complete

Published by skeptic

Five years after the fire that ravaged Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral on April 15, 2019, the main challenges of its restoration have been successfully met. The cathedral’s reopening remains scheduled for December 8, 2024, according to Philippe Jost, president of the public establishment overseeing its reconstruction. “We will rebuild the cathedral to be even more beautiful, and I want it to be completed within five years,” French President Emmanuel Macron declared the day after the fire. Since then, some 250 companies and hundreds of tradespeople, architects and other professionals have been working on the site. From the fall onwards, the square and access roads surrounding the cathedral will be cleared and redeveloped with the City of Paris, responsible for restructuring the area around the cathedral by 2028. Le Monde’s video desk Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version. Source link

Scientists Searching Roofs of Ancient Cathedrals for Strange Cosmic Dust

Scientists Searching Roofs of Ancient Cathedrals for Strange Cosmic Dust

Published by skeptic

There’s cosmic treasure to be found in the unlikeliest of places. Amber Spyglass Think finding a needle in a haystack sounds hard? Try finding tiny rocks from space — as small as a grain of sand — inside piles of dust and debris strewn across the roofs of cathedrals. That’s the daunting task some planetary scientists are taking on in the United Kingdom, The Guardian reports, with the goal of studying this cosmic dust — basically micrometeorites — in an effort to better understand the chemical composition of meteors, asteroids and comets, and perhaps unlock clues to the early history of Earth and the Solar System. An estimated 5,200 tons of extraterrestrial cosmic dust, micrometeorites, survive their fiery entry into Earth each year, according to the news outlet. They are more easily found in pristine wildernesses like Antarctica, but an expedition to the South Pole is very expensive. Instead, scientists have been turning to the roofs of old churches like Canterbury Cathedral, because they have large roof areas and are mostly undisturbed from human activity, making …

Notre Dame Cathedral’s restoration has been a 5-year journey of dedication and recovery

Notre Dame Cathedral’s restoration has been a 5-year journey of dedication and recovery

Published by Sam

PARIS (AP) — The restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris following a tragic blaze in April 2019 is a story of dedication and recovery. The iconic medieval monument immortalized in history, film and literature has been gradually rebuilt over the past five years, through challenges that have included delays during the pandemic and the loss of the project’s leader. It’s slated for completion by the end of 2024. Here is a timeline of events in the restoration: April 2019 — A fire ravages Notre Dame, collapsing its roof and spire and destroying its interior, unleashing a global wave of solidarity. A monumental effort to restore the cathedral’s grandeur is launched, and French President Emmanuel Macron pledges to complete it within five years. June 2020 — The pandemic delays work at the cathedral, but removing charred scaffolding that had encased the spire amid previous restoration works marked a significant step. August 2020 — Efforts begin to restore the organ that once thundered through the cathedral — France’s largest musical instrument. The 8,000-pipe organ survived the …

How Notre-Dame Cathedral’s wooden framework was rebuilt identically

How Notre-Dame Cathedral’s wooden framework was rebuilt identically

Published by skeptic

Less than five years after the fire that devastated the wooden framework of Notre-Dame de Paris, the cathedral is gradually recovering its “forest,” as it was known. On January 12, following the rebuilding of the two arms of the transept and the spire, carpenters installed a bouquet at the top of the new choir frame, symbolizing the end of this stage of the project. The reconstruction of the nave is also expected to be completed shortly. Measurements taken on an orthographic projection of several 3D point clouds: that of the remains of the framework on the extrados of the choir vaults of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, after the fire on April 15, 2019. VIOLETTE ABERGEL/MAP/CHANTIER SCIENTIFIQUE NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS/MINISTèRE DE LA CULTURE/CNRS These milestones mark the end of a marathon to restore the cathedral’s framework exactly as it was before the fire. To achieve this feat in record time, many trades were involved: carpenters, architects, foresters… and researchers from all disciplines. After the fire, the architects were faced with several options. Should the structure be …

Celebration or desecration? England’s cathedrals open doors to silent discos | Anglicanism

Celebration or desecration? England’s cathedrals open doors to silent discos | Anglicanism

Published by skeptic

It was a night of old favourites and modern anthems. More than 400 people paid about £25 a head to dance beneath Winchester Cathedral’s magnificent medieval arches on Saturday evening. Drinks were served at a bar; music was fed through individual headphones. “If you had told me this time last year that I would be in the cathedral, with a beer in my hand while belting out the chorus of Rolling in the Deep by Adele, then I would have thought you were mad,” wrote Matt Rooks-Taylor, a local reporter. “Everywhere I looked, there were happy faces.” But not everyone is pleased at the growing trend for England’s glorious cathedrals to host silent discos. As the number signing up to host such events in the coming months reached at least 14, a petition opposing the “desecration of our historic holy places” amassed more than 2,400 signatures. In Canterbury, a prayer vigil was held outside the ancient cathedral during a silent disco earlier this month. At the heart of the controversy is how the eye-watering cost …

‘Vandalism’: Outcry over plans to replace Notre Dame Cathedral’s stained-glass windows | Notre Dame

‘Vandalism’: Outcry over plans to replace Notre Dame Cathedral’s stained-glass windows | Notre Dame

Published by Sam

A plan backed by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to replace stained-glass windows in Notre Dame Cathedral’s side chapels with contemporary creations has been criticised as “vandalism”. A petition has been signed by more than 120,000 people to retain the original windows. Critics say the change would destroy the architectural harmony of the historical building that was ravaged by fire in April 2019. During a visit to the 13th-century cathedral this month, Macron announced the windows in six of the seven chapels in the south aisle would be removed and replaced by contemporary stained-glass windows that would be chosen in a competition. The idea is reported to have originated from the archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, who wrote to the Élysée saying he would like to see the state commission a series of six new windows. Macron responded that the idea had his full approval. The windows identified for replacement, designed by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, who also added the spire in the mid-19th century, were not touched by the fire and would be put …

Notre Dame spire to be crowned with new rooster, symbolizing cathedral’s resurgence

Notre Dame spire to be crowned with new rooster, symbolizing cathedral’s resurgence

Published by Sam

PARIS (AP) — A pivotal moment in the restoration of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral is set for Saturday, with the installation of a golden rooster atop its spire. It marks a key step in the monument’s revival after the devastating April 2019 fire. Designed by chief architect Philippe Villeneuve, this new rooster will replace the original that was damaged beyond repair in the blaze. The rooster, a French emblem of vigilance and Christ’s resurrection, will house sacred relics inside it. These include fragments of Christ’s Crown of Thorns and remains of St. Denis and St. Genevieve, infusing the sculpture with religious importance. The Crown of Thorns, regarded as Notre Dame’s most sacred relic, was among the treasures quickly removed after the fire broke out. Brought to Paris by King Louis IX in the 13th century, it is purported to have been pressed onto Christ’s head during the crucifixion. Before ascending to its perch, the rooster will be blessed by Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich. A sealed tube within the sculpture will list the names of nearly …