The reconstructed spire of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris has been unveiled, almost five years after the fire that destroyed the historic monument located on Île de la Cité in the Seine river. The 96-metre-tall spire, made of oak, is crowned with a golden rooster and a cross.
In an Instagram post (7 March), the official Notre-Dame reconstruction account says that the “oak frame has been revealed… the spire, under its leaded ‘skin’, is a masterpiece of carpentry, [made] entirely of oak wood.”
Last December, President Emmanuel Macron unveiled part of the spire which is a copy of the structure created by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century (the Viollet-le-Duc spire was the second created for the cathedral after the original 13th century spire was removed in the late 18th century due to damage). Engineers at the site subsequently started to remove the scaffolding around the spire last month.
The rebuilt spire is topped with a recreation of the original cross, as well as a golden rooster designed by architect Philippe Villeneuve who is leading the renovation works. Last December, the new rooster was blessed by the Archbishop of Paris before being hoisted into place by a crane. A number of relics, including fragments of what is believed to be Christ's crown of thorns, were also placed inside the rooster, according to the BBC.
The date for a partial reopening of Notre Dame has been confirmed as 8 December 2024 (officials say that a range of fire protection devices have been installed in the cathedral). The complete restoration of the building, accompanied by a revamp of the surrounding area including the front square, is due to continue until 2028.
After the blaze, on 15 April 2019, Macron promised to rebuild the Gothic landmark “within five years”. Then, in 2020, General Georgelin, the French general in charge of reconstructing the cathedral, claimed it would reopen in April 2024, just in time for the Summer Olympic Games, for which more than ten million tourists are expected to travel to France. Georgelin died in a fall last August while trekking in the Pyrenees mountains.
