China News Service Client, Beijing, April 16 (Reporter Song Yusheng) On April 15, 2019 local time, Notre Dame de Paris caught fire, which distressed the world. One year later, where are the cultural relics that survived the fire? Under the epidemic, how is the restoration work of Notre Dame de Paris?

A year ago, the fire swallowed "the symbol of European culture"

The Notre Dame fire broke out on the afternoon of April 15, 2019 local time.

On April 15, 2019 local time, Notre Dame de Paris caught fire. Video screenshot

At that time, the Notre Dame was undergoing repair work, and the flame suddenly began to burn. The fire kept rushing to the roof surrounded by construction scaffolding, which quickly engulfed the top of the church.

Due to the wooden structure supporting the roof of the church, the roof of the church was destroyed by fire and suffered a large-scale collapse, and its iconic spire collapsed in the fire.

This building, which was built in the 12th century, is a plot scene of the famous French writer Victor Hugo's classic novel The Bell Tower, and is one of the most visited landmarks in France. German Chancellor Angela Merkel even called it "a symbol of French and European culture".

Data map: On the evening of April 15, 2019 local time, a fire broke out in Notre Dame de Paris, France, which aroused great public attention and many people gathered near the scene. China News Service reporter Li Yangshe

At that time, tens of thousands of Parisians and tourists gathered on the banks of the Seine river, watching with shock as the fire was swallowing this world-famous church. Many people witnessed this scene in tears, some kneeled on the bridge to pray for Notre Dame, and others sang hymns towards Notre Dame.

After burning for nearly 15 hours, the Paris fire department announced that the blaze was all extinguished. Although the main frame and rectangular tower of the cathedral were preserved, the entire building was still seriously damaged.

French President Macron said that Notre Dame ’s fire caught the whole country ’s emotions.

Data map: Notre Dame is caught in flames.

Those relics after the disaster

After the fire, leaders of many countries expressed regret over the impact of the fire. At the same time, the situation of cultural relics in Notre Dame de Paris has also received much attention.

On the day of the fire, the firefighters and the people in charge of the church formed a transportation "human chain" and rushed into the fire to rescue the cultural relics. Most of the cultural relics and valuables in the cathedral were preserved.

Data map: April 17, 2019 local time, overlooking the Notre Dame Cathedral after the fire, the roof was burned through and appeared "big caves".

After the fire was completely extinguished, the French fire department confirmed that the main cultural relics in the Notre Dame, "Jesus Crown of Thorns" and "Saint Louis Ceremonial Costume" were not damaged.

Since then, the French Minister of Culture Franck Riester has revealed that most works of art survived the fire. However, the situation of four of the works is not optimistic. These artworks are expected to be transported to the Louvre, and experts will repair minor damage caused by smoke or water in the paintings before storing them. At the same time, the statue on the top of Notre Dame was also removed.

In September 2019, on the occasion of European Cultural Heritage Day, the top cultural relics surviving the Notre Dame de Paris fire were exhibited at various institutions in Paris.

Data Map: On September 21, 2019 local time, the cock vane on the spire of Notre Dame de Paris displayed at the French Ministry of Culture. China News Service reporter Li Yangshe

The artifacts on display include the cock vane on the spire of Notre Dame Cathedral. It fell into the Notre Dame in a fire, and was later found and handed over to the cultural relics administration.

According to previous reports, the overall structure of the rooster's wind vane is basically intact, but the fractures and deformations in some places, and the traces of the fire have been identifiable.

The 25-meter-long "choir carpet" also survived the fire. This carpet was also soaked in water sprayed to extinguish the fire. The maintenance staff dried the carpet to prevent the growth of fungi and parasites.

Data map: On September 21, 2019 local time, the top cultural relics of Notre Dame de Paris, a 25-meter-long "choir carpet" exhibited at the French Ministry of Culture. China News Service reporter Li Yangshe

Just a few days ago, on April 10, 2020 local time, Notre Dame held a ceremony to welcome the return of the important cultural relic "Crown of Crucifixion".

A priest was wiping the crown of thorns. (Data map)

Affected by the new Coronary Pneumonia epidemic, France has strengthened its control. The Notre Dame Cathedral ’s ceremony was not open to the public on the day, and only a few priests attended and broadcast it live via video.

Repair project suspended again due to epidemic situation

After the fire, French President Emmanuel Macron said he hoped to rebuild Notre Dame in five years. But in fact, the entire reconstruction process was not smooth.

In the month when the fire was extinguished, maintenance personnel had installed rain protection facilities on the top of Notre Dame that was severely damaged by the fire, and installed protective nets and other facilities for some of the more vulnerable structures outside Notre Dame.

Data map: On April 27, 2019 local time, the emergency protection work of Notre Dame Cathedral was intensified. China News Service reporter Li Yangshe

At the end of July of that year, France suffered a heat wave, and the temperature in Paris was as high as 42.6 degrees Celsius, breaking the record since 1947. Some foreign media quoted a French official as saying that the high temperature caused the stone to shatter, and some stones fell from the dome of Notre Dame de Paris. The damage was "not serious", but this 12th-century cathedral There is still a risk of further damage.

In addition, because some building materials of Notre Dame Cathedral contain lead, a large amount of lead dust was released in the fire. In order to protect workers' health, the reconstruction work was temporarily suspended in July.

The Paris municipal government of France uses high-pressure spraying in the area near Notre Dame de Paris to apply decontaminating surfactants and adhesives to the surrounding soil, thereby deeply cleaning up lead pollution. In August, the maintenance project restarted.

Data map: On August 19, 2019 local time, the Notre Dame de Paris maintenance project restarted.

There are reports that the restoration work has been delayed for several months, and there are still a lot of rubble on the vault to be cleared.

It is worth mentioning that in November 2019, China and France signed a cooperation document to cooperate on the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral. Chinese experts will participate in the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral.

According to this document, China and France will determine the theme, model and candidate of Chinese experts for the protection and restoration cooperation of Notre Dame Cathedral in 2020, and select Chinese experts and French teams to participate in the site restoration work as soon as possible.

Data map: On December 22, 2019 local time, the restoration work of Notre Dame de Paris is in progress. China News Service reporter Li Yangshe

By 2020, affected by the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral has been temporarily suspended.

According to media reports, although the epidemic caused delays in the project, Jean-Louis Georgelin, the head of the restoration project, is still confident that he can restore Notre Dame in 5 years. (Finish)