[News Location] Notre-Dame Cathedral Reopens After 5 Years Since Fire

The famous Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, which was damaged by a large fire, has been restored. On the 29th of last month, Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, visited the newly renovated Notre-Dame Cathedral and toured the interior for about two hours. This event was broadcast live on TV and made public. President Macron admired, saying, "The cathedral has been restored and recreated," and called it "sublime."

Yonhap News

On April 15, 2019, Notre-Dame Cathedral caught fire during renovation work, causing the spire and parts of the roof to collapse. The cause of the fire has been suggested to be a discarded cigarette butt by a worker or an electrical fault, but the exact cause has not been determined. Subsequently, the French government deployed about 2,000 experts and artisans and invested 700 million euros, approximately 1 trillion Korean won, in a large-scale restoration project. After more than five years of restoration work, Notre-Dame Cathedral will officially reopen on the 7th. Starting next month, masses attended by regular worshippers will also be held. Before the fire, about 12 million people visited annually, and it is expected that the number of visitors will increase after reopening.

Notre-Dame means "Our Lady" in French, referring to the Virgin Mary. As a Catholic country, Notre-Dame Cathedral has been a historical symbol in France and has established itself as a spiritual pillar of the nation. Completed over about 180 years, it is considered the greatest masterpiece of French Gothic architecture.

In 1163, Louis VII decided to demolish the church on the ?le de la Cit? in the Seine River to highlight Paris as the economic and cultural center of France and to build Notre-Dame Cathedral in its place. It was completed in 1345, and in 1804, Napoleon I's coronation was held there.

Above all, the great popularity of Notre-Dame Cathedral owes much to the French literary giant Victor Hugo, who published the novel "Notre-Dame de Paris" in 1831. During the French Revolution in 1793, Notre-Dame Cathedral was perceived as a symbol of the privileged society and suffered severe hardships. Many treasures inside the cathedral were destroyed or looted, and some statues were cut off.

Victor Hugo wrote the novel to attract public attention when Notre-Dame Cathedral was at risk of being demolished after suffering great losses following the French Revolution. After his novel became a huge success, Notre-Dame Cathedral gained even greater value and was able to be restored after being neglected. The cathedral, which was preserved without damage during World Wars I and II, was also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.