There is something profoundly depressing about this. The revelation that something that was once thought of as an institution revealed to be vulnerable and impermanent. It's difficult not to draw a connection to our current times.
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Fire breaks out at Notre Dame cathedral, developing situation [Update: major structural collapse - Art and other Assets Saved] (See Staff Post)
- Thread starter Smokeymicpot
- Start date
That's shocking to me since I can't see a single flame coming from it. Must be really bad inside it then.
Firefighter spokesman: 'We're not sure we can prevent the fire from propagating to the north bell tower. If it collapses I'll let you imagine the damage'
Finally some good news. Would love to hear how they did the recovery while the roof was on fire. Hopefully most were stored underground?
I mean you can rebuild pretty much anything. It's a matter of how much of the original structure will remain
That bell tower statement is not good....
It's not that easy honestly. Even the most humble piece of construction material in the cathedral has an historical value in itself.
Fuck! I was here only a few months ago. I guess I'm glad I got to see it before it went up in flames.
Is the whole thing burning down or is it isolated to a section or 2?
Is the whole thing burning down or is it isolated to a section or 2?
Sucks this happened but at the end of the day it's just a building. Seems like this is nature's way of saying it's time for an update.
Are you? It's been rebuilt, remodeled and maintained before.
I'm curious. Are there any depictions of what the cathedral's state was like in the time preceding Victor Hugo's book when the cathedral was, by most accounts, dilapidated? It's certainly not the first time they've done a mass renovation of the cathedral, and by the standards of some of the posters in the thread the building might well be thought of as only a couple hundred years old, not pushing on a millenium.
(incidentally you'll never guess what caused the cathedral to be in such a pitiful state at the start of the 19th century /s)
(incidentally you'll never guess what caused the cathedral to be in such a pitiful state at the start of the 19th century /s)
This is crushing news. I never thought I'd see the day Notre Dame would burn down.
At least they saved the artifacts, but... damn. I just can't believe this is happening.
At least they saved the artifacts, but... damn. I just can't believe this is happening.
Some good perspective on the importance of this site and what this building has witnessed over the years including the time of Napoleon and the French Revolution, as well as two world wars.
Southern bell tower seems to be last thing that isn't on fire.
It's not just a building. It's a part of the cultural and emotional heart of France. Human lives have passed through that place for 856 years.
Damn. If the firefighters are warning like that about the north tower, then it must be really bad inside.
I hope they start evacuating anyone from the perimeter of the cathedral, as a precaution in face of an eventual collapse.
I hope they start evacuating anyone from the perimeter of the cathedral, as a precaution in face of an eventual collapse.
I saw somewhere on Twitter people asking about. A historian who work on restoring old buildings wasn't sure. Some techniques that were used are just not know anymore. Lost to time. You might be able to make a building look like it, but there is a genuine risk that they might not be able to do it.
The Parthenon and the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China and Petra are all "just buildings". That's not the point, and not everything needs "updated".
We probably won't be able to see the completely rebuilt cathedral in our lifetime though.
Yeah they can. It's not the whole of Notre Dame that is destroyed as the stonework won't catch fire. The frame has been the primary concern since that could spread further into the interior where there are (was) flammable artwork.
Oh my God, this is so saddening.
I don't want to be pessimistic, but how is that even possible? Much of the art in churches is actually built into the structure. There is no way they could've have brought all that to safety. They literally would have to break things out of the walls or cut paintings out of altars. Well, maybe that's what they did in some cases, but I doubt they had the time to do that to the hundreds of pieces of art in the entire church.
I don't want to be pessimistic, but how is that even possible? Much of the art in churches is actually built into the structure. There is no way they could've have brought all that to safety. They literally would have to break things out of the walls or cut paintings out of altars. Well, maybe that's what they did in some cases, but I doubt they had the time to do that to the hundreds of pieces of art in the entire church.
It will take decades. Rebuilding the Dresden Frauenkirche took over ten years:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden_Frauenkirche
It's kinda crazy to think it's so old. We usually think of "Romans/Greek/Celts/Germanic Tribes" when we start mentioning "milleniums" in Europe.
If the tower collapses it'll be such a massive loss.. fuck...
Because entropy wins in the end, right? All things die.
It wasn't nature, it was likely a construction accident/oversight.
I was thinking the same thing and just saw a zoomed in camera shot and you could see some flames in there. They don't look very big on the TV but its just one bad angle and they have had at least one hose on it for awhile now.
A lot of it was apparently off site or in the vault due to cleaning/repairs/restoration.
That's crazy. A lot of work must go into restoring it to its original look
They probably mean the paintings, mobile statues, etc. Everything that's NOT built into the structure.
I think they've been gradually moving people back over the evening so hopefully most people are out of the way. Firefighters are most at risk. Saw a shot of licks of flame in what I assume is the north tower, I really hope it doesn't engulf it.
Some smartass americans being like "duh duh it's just a building", like that "building" hasn't been a part of people's lives for twice as long as their country has even existed.
Not at all about being catholic either for french people, most of us are not.
Not at all about being catholic either for french people, most of us are not.
Yes but it will be a monumental (heh) effort and it won't be the same thing 100%
User Banned (1 Month): Trolling; long history of prior infractions
was anyone hurt or has died? I hope not. shame to see this go but as long as everyone is safe from such a fire we can be thankful to have witnessed nature take such a beautiful building.
They will all be gone one day. Some just faster than others. That's human existence. Destruction is an inevitable consequence in a finite universe and a massive fire is just one of those signals to rebuild or make something different but maybe better.
If the fire burned long and hot enough, couldn't there be a risk of the mortar weakening?