UPDATE TO OUR AUGUST 2020 BLOG POST: RESTORATION OF NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL IN PARIS, FRANCE©

On April 15, 2019, the world watched in disbelief and horror the live global news reports of a massive fire engulfing Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris built in the 12th Century.  The fire caused much of the roof to collapse and the church's 160-year-old Gothic spire to topple.

It has been determined that the likely cause of the fire was an electrical short.

Immediately after the fire, France's President Emmanuel Macron pledged that the Cathedral would be restored and rebuilt within 5 years.  Numerous challenges have hampered the process, however, including lead contamination and physical access to areas of the interior necessary to the repair work.

Now, almost 2-1/2 years later, almost halfway through the overall process, here is an update from the December 26, 2021 news segment on CBS Sunday Morning:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuMa_Aiz1gk

Scaffolding covers much of the interior and the exterior.The "stabilization" part of the process has been completed, and the "restoration" process now will begin.  The goal is to restore the structure by using the exact same materials as were originally used in the Middle Ages, including stone of the same density obtained from local quarries.

  

Wood beams which will provide the "lattice-work" of support for the roof of the church and for a new spire are currently being obtained by cutting down 1,000 oak trees, each at least 100 years old, from nearby forests.  Although many of the original stones can be re-used, burned wood obviously must be replaced.

Interestingly, there have been some surprising discoveries during the process.  By looking at isotopes within the charred wood, much information is being revealed about the climate during the Middle Ages.

While adhering to the past in the materials being used, modern technology is assisting in all aspects of the overall process.  Digital imaging taken before the fire help with understanding how the Cathedral was originally constructed and where stones were placed for support.

To read our August 2020 Snobby Tours® Travelblog article on the Notre Dame Cathedral, and in particular the restoration of its Grand Organ following the 2019 fire, link to: https://snobbytours.blogspot.com/2020/08/notre-dame-cathedral-grand-organ.html

©2021 Snobby Tours^®, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

UPDATE TO OUR SEPTEMBER 2021 BLOG POST: CEREMONY COMMEMORATING JOSEPHINE BAKER BEING HONOURED AT THE PANTHÉON IN PARIS©

 

On September 28, 2021, I published a Snobby Tours® Travelblog article herein about the Panthéon in Paris, France, its history, architecture, and famous French icons buried within its crypts.

I noted in my September Travelblog article that on November 30, 2021, the remains of the multi-talented American-born Jazz-Era performer, Civil Rights activist, French Air Force nurse and courageous member of the French Resistance during World War II, Josephine Baker, who became a French citizen in 1937, would be interred at the Panthéon -- the first Black woman and woman of colour to be honoured in this way by the country of France. 

After Baker's death in 1975 in Paris, she had been buried with full military honours in Monaco where, during her last years, she and her children had lived in a home provided by Princess Grace.  Consequently, rather than move her remains from Monaco to Paris for re-interment at the Panthéon, her family ultimately requested that her presence in the Panthéon be represented by a symbolic coffin containing handfuls of earth from four places where she had lived:  St. Louis, Missouri where she was born and spent her childhood, Paris, Monaco, and Milandes in the Dordogne region of France where she had once owned a castle and lived with her 12 racially and ethnically diverse adopted children.  

The induction ceremony held on November 30, 2021, at which French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with eloquence and relevance, received worldwide coverage by the media. The extraordinarily beautiful induction ceremony and national event was held at night with special lighting on the front of the Panthéon, Paris city lights flickering in the background and illuminating the Eiffel Tower, and people of all ages lining the street leading up to the entrance of the Panthéon, was deeply moving.  

The symbolic coffin was carried into the Panthéon by six pallbearers to be placed in a crypt alongside other national icons of France, including authors, politicians, philosophers and scientists.  

A live-streamed video produced by France24 which also includes historical and in-depth commentary about Josephine Baker and her life in France, can be viewed by linking to:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdLQsVqHiaE.

To read my September 2021 Snobby Tours® Travelblog article about the Panthéon. a National Monument of France open daily to the public for visiting, subject to the currently applicable COVID19 health and safety protocols, link to the following:  https://snobbytours.blogspot.com/2021/09/

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(Photo sources: REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool; Richmond Free Press;  The Gazette: Gazettextra)  

©2021 Snobby Tours^®, Inc. All Rights Reserved.