The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris will officially reopen next month — more than five years after a horrifying fire nearly destroyed the treasured Gothic landmark.
The iconic 12th-century monument will have a new $150 million surplus fund to protect its structure when it welcomes back visitors on Dec. 7, French officials said Wednesday.
On April 15, 2019, the world watched in horror as a blaze ripped through the 860-year-old architectural gem — reducing its roof to ashes, causing its central frame to collapse and toppling its soaring spire.
In the aftermath of the fire, donors — including billionaire French tycoons — pledged nearly $1 billion to restore the structure, according to restoration chief Philippe Jost.
The painstaking restoration effort took roughly five years and included repairing the cathedral’s stained glass windows, roof and signature flying buttresses.
A surplus of $148 million is now leftover from those donations and will be used “to carry out needed work campaigns,” including enhancing the monument’s structural integrity and preservation, Jost said.
The billionaire tycoons — including the family behind the L’Oréal cosmetics chain and Kering luxury goods founder François Pinault — “fully fulfilled their financial commitments” and “honored pledges made on the night of the fire or in the hours that followed,” Jost said.
The fire was accidentally sparked under the cathedral’s roof, sending the church’s spire crashing down, as heartbroken Parisians watched and wept.
Firefighters were ultimately able to save the building’s structural integrity and many treasured relics.
Notre Dame’s massive grand opening, which will be streamed worldwide, is set for the night of Dec. 7.
With Post wires
