Over the cross-section of the cathedral’s transept, located the Notre-Dame Spire. It had two wooden spires, known as fleches. The first was constructed from 1220 to 1230. At last, it was harmed so much that in the late 18th century it was dismantled. The second was founded in 1859 by the French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and was damaged by a massive fire on 15 April 2019.
The First Spire
The Notre-Dame de Paris Spire was originally built between 1220 and 1230. After examining his remains after it was removed, it was helped by the “engineering” and “well-designed” framework structure. The entire mass of the spire balanced on the transept’s four pillars. It worked as a bell tower, too. The church had reached Spire at 78 metres from the level.
The major cross at the peak and the objects inside the spire came because of the wind and corrosion in March 1606. In the mid-1700s the majority of the spiral started to crash because of the period of devastation and from 1786 to 1792 it was diminished.
ALSO READ: World Women’s Day 2021: Let’s all choose to challenge
The 2nd Spire
Over several years the cathedral held steady until Jean-Baptiste Antoine Lassus began his repair work. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc took over the plan after Lassus’ demise in 1857. The architecture of the new spire was based on that of the Cathedral of Orléans (which was in turn modelled on the spire of the Amiens Cathedral). The carpenter Auguste Bellu, who also served on the Cathedral of Orleans, designed the wooden basis of the building and created a lead covering from the workshops Conduit.
The spire of 18th August 1859 was displayed. Her coverage was around 250 tonnes in weight. The wood structure of Champagne’s oak was designed. The latest spiral was 96 metres higher than the first, which is 18 metres above the ground.
ALSO READ: Takeaways from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Oprah Winfrey Interview
Notre-Dame Spire Destruction by Fire
On Monday evening, April 15 2019, the famed Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris engulfed in fire. It was being rebuilt and the baroque roof and spire of the 13th century crashed under a huge fire. The building was being renovated. This Gothic church, built in the Middle Ages on Île de la Cité, a tiny island along the Seine River in Paris, is among the most prestigious buildings in architecture, and a UNESCO World Patrimony.
Through the night firefighters worked to save what was leftover of the structure after the famous steeple was taken down.
In the morning, a fire started racing rapidly through the famous roof of the building and turned it into ash within hours.
In astonished silence, Parisian citizens watched an iconic part of their history turn into dust in their eyes, symbolising its capital.
To dress up an infant, the roof was consumed and the spire of the 800-year-old cathedral was brought down to more than 400 burners. Some 14 hours after it started, they worked through the night to get the fire under control. The fire caused sorrow to spread in social media.
ALSO READ: Aggressive Dogs at the White House
Following are all You Need to Know About Notre-Dame Spire.
14 Million Visitors a Year
The cathedral attracts between 12 and 14 million visitors annually, with a population of over 30,000 a day. Notre Dame is also a haven for visitors, and many couples hope to marry under its famous gothic arches.
Every day there are five worship ceremonies and on Sunday there are seven. A total of over 2,000 are held annually. In 2013, the cathedral substituted nine giant clocks and was being restored with its distance that collapsed by fire.
Legend of St. Genevieve Notre Dame Paris
The Sacristy was completely reconstructed between 1845 and 1850 with two arms to the cathedral in the edifices grouped around a square cloister. This cloister’s arcades are made up of 18 windows depicting Saint Genevieve’s legend. Under each Latin window is a description of the scene.
Kilometre Zero
Claude Gauvard, the Middle Ages expert and author of a book about the Gothic classic dating back to the other side of the 12th century, also said AFP that the cultural significance of the place wasn’t overestimated.
On the heart of the region, Notre-Dame is a sign of Paris, a symbol of tranquilly, union and Concorde.
The distance to some other locations from the French capital is also estimated at kilometre zero.
This is maybe one of the cathedrals that are most peaceful; at the same time it represents the work of the artisans who designed it — but it was much loved and unloved over the years.
ALSO READ: Know it All About Slain Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Rose Windows
Notre Dame’s three rose windows are well known Christian works of art. Masters Jean de Chelles and Pierre de Montreuil crafted the South Rose. The total height of the glazed windows measures nearly 19 metres, such as the skylight on which it stands.
Architecture
The cathedral features monuments that illustrate the stories of the Bible, arcades in rib vault and flying buttresses. It contains sculptures of different supernatural beings and monsters that are a sign of warnings to those that do not obey the Church’s teachings.
Notre-Dame Spire Immortalised by Victor Hugo
The novel “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” (1831, immortalising the cathedral in literary canon), was written by one of France’s leading writer, Victor Hugo.
Hugo codified in his colleagues the importance of Gothic Cathedrals and one of his main goals was to protect and preserve mediaeval beauty in the novel.
1,300 Oak Tree Frames
The cathedral’s wooden frames are made up of 1,300 oak trees, represented successfully over 21 hectares of woods.
Joan of Arc
The Cathedral has undergone many refurbishments and was built over 200 years. In 1431 Heinrich VI was appointed as King inside the Cathedral and in 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte became the Ruler. It was also the location of Joan of Arc’s canonization.
Reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral
The Cathedral was under restoration when, on 15 April of 2019, the fire broke via its wooden ceiling and the roof, which endangered the destruction of one of the greatest design wonders of the Western world.
Fixings must begin with the careful removal at the rear of the building of 50,000 tubes of warped railings, which was said by Jean-Louis Georgelin, the retired general army responsible for the project, to be finished by September last month to enable renovation work to start at the beginning of next year.
