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Fire ravages Notre Dame cathedral in Paris; spire collapses

45 Comments
By Clare Byrne and Joseph Schmid

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It is not just a Catholic loss, it a civilizational loss. It is one of the most visited tourist sites in the world. It represents a distinct period in history: religious, architectural, philosophical, and cultural. Hundreds of years before explorers set out to discover the Americas, the Notre Dame Cathedral stood. Hundreds of years to create, a few hours to destroy.

18 ( +18 / -0 )

That's a terrible picture. I'm not from Paris, but as a French guy, it's heartbreaking to see such a landmark of my country like this. The building can be rebuilt, but the artwork inside is irreplaceable.

U.S. President Donald Trump in a tweet said: "So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!"

And of course, Einstein over there has to give his expert opinion on putting out fires. Can't act like a real human being for even one tweet.

16 ( +16 / -0 )

U.S. President Donald Trump in a tweet said: "So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!"

France’s civil security agency answered :

Hundreds of firemen of the Paris Fire Brigade are doing everything they can to bring the terrible #NotreDame fire under control. All means are being used, except for water-bombing aircrafts which, if used, could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral.

16 ( +16 / -0 )

Such a monument belongs not just to France, but to the entire world. This is a horrible cultural loss.

14 ( +18 / -4 )

Its just a building! It can alway be rebuilt, just like the castles in Osaka and Nagoya...

More than just a building and it means far more to the French than Osaka and Nagoya castles mean to the Japanese. Japanese buildings burnt down frequently and get rebuilt. This one has stood in its current form for 850 years (actually the two towers were extended more recently). This one building means more to the french than any other.

14 ( +16 / -2 )

OMG, what a loss to the world!

13 ( +16 / -3 )

From a purely historical and cultural perspective, this is heartbreaking and tragic.

13 ( +13 / -0 )

I have a hard time believing that anyone who posts here would be so crass as to iterate that it's no big deal.

12 ( +13 / -1 )

It took hundreds of years to build, generations of skilled craftsmen. It pioneered many new skills. It's much more than a church, and in fact had become more of an icon. To rebuild will take 100 years if not more, as the cathedral in Spain has shown us the beauty is in the detail and craftsmanship, the resolve of a population to creat something unique and beautiful, on a scale that was truly awesome. It is a loss that will scare the landscape of Paris well after I'm gone.

water bombers would have flattened everything and surrounding structures. Water bombers ain't laser guided El Presedento.

12 ( +12 / -0 )

Truly tragic!

11 ( +11 / -0 )

It is not just a Catholic loss, it a civilizational loss. It is one of the most visited tourist sites in the world

I saw it on my first trip abroad when I was 11. This beautiful building has stood for over 800 years.

This is really sad.

11 ( +11 / -0 )

This is a real tragedy. Really should be the lead story today - there are few buildings like it in the world.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Awwwwww. Crap.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

You might not be interested or even like Notre Dame but you can't deny that we lost a huge piece of history . If its due to the renovation heads will roll, if it's arson I hope they catch the perp.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

A very sad day. I've visited Paris three times and was planning to return this fall. Attending mass at Notre Dame cathedral is a memorable experience. I probably will still stop at the church and shed a tear.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

It would be a horrible irony if the fire were something to do with the renovation work.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

What a heartbreaking tragedy!!

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Such a shame. A link to the past damaged.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Years ago, I stood in front of the splendid landmark very early on a quiet morning without any tourists and it was as if I had traveled back in time-so sad...

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Hundreds of firemen of the Paris Fire Brigade are doing everything they can to bring the terrible #NotreDame fire under control. All means are being used, except for water-bombing aircrafts which, if used, could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral.

Thank goodness the French have left it up to the pro's who know their work and not some idiot across the ocean, who once again, like a child, feels the need to throw his unwanted and ignorant advice into the it!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Its pretty insane how a building that took 182 years to build was burnt down in a day centuries later...They can rebuild it, they've done it before. The problem is, it will never be the same.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

A dark day for not just the Western and Catholic worlds, but the whole world.

Let us pray that it was not arson.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I have been twice. Of course, the front of Notre Dame is where most of the tourists gather to take pictures then move on. Going inside and walking around to the back where they have a small park is where it is really interesting. I swear the front of the church was sunny but the back of the church was dark and cloudy with crows cawing mixed with gargoyles looking straight at me. It was really really creepy but unforgettable.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Fortunately, the structure is saved and It can be rebuilt. Don't worry, European Countries have the know how to do these things. The Teatro La Fenice in Venice was destroyed by a fire in 1996, and it was rebuilt exactly like it was.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Do we still poses the skills needed on such a scale? Can any economy afford such a commitment of cash, manpower? It just goes to show how humbling the loss of such an icon is. As its rebuilding will take with all modern technology 100, 200 years. Spain has endured wars, financial hardship yet have never lost focus on Sagrada Familia. As Zichi said its expected to take 200 years with technology. Hats off to Spain. And it's mind blowingly beautiful inside, if you have never been there or Notre Dame put one the other now on your bucket list. Notre Dame was built with out modern technology. It's an amazing structure. It was human will that created it, human will that will rebuild it. I hope. Or replace it with a huge concrete box, with mirrored Windows and elevator music on a loop. I feel privileged to have been there.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

The technological advance that this building ushered in as it was built over a 200 year span were ground breaking. Truly hope the north rose window has survived, it is the only one left that is original, finished in 1260!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

This is the ending of a gothic novel.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

As a Catholic, I am at such a loss over the fire. Somethings can just not be replaced.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Two centuries to rebuild? More like a decade or less.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

I was reading an article that a lot of the building materials are no longer available. The big Oak forests are long gone. Then the stone structure could of been damaged beyond repair by the heat of the fire and by the water used to put it out. Then there are the artifacts including the windows and paintings.

The "replacement" is going to be more modern than history. Does anyone really know how it was constructed in the first place?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Shocking hope they will rebuild again, to keep all that memories

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The facade is still there, and France needs something to reunite the nation, so I am confident it will be rebuilt.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Notre Dame is a historic and cultural icon, a beautiful building, a treasure trove of irreplaceable artwork, an architectural masterpiece. Its loss (or even partial loss - it appears that the stone structure will survive) is certainly a great loss and a tragedy.

I get that.

And I agree with every word.

But I also to some extent agree with Vernon Watts - it's just a building.

There have so far been no reports of lives being lost; a very bright silver lining to an admittedly very dark and heartbreaking cloud.

It would be laughable to call (for example) the Grenville Tower block of flats that burned down two years ago any kind of cultural or historic icon (except as a symbol of Britain's colonial legacy and social inequality), yet it was surely a much greater loss, involving as it did 72 deaths and many more injuries, some of them life-changing.

I'm sure that's what Vernon means when he says 'It's just a building'.

I hope the workers who are scrambling "to save all the artworks that can be saved" are not putting their own health and lives at risk for the sake of a few paintings and tapestries, however 'fine' and 'historic' those artworks might be.

Let's not lose perspective.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Awful news. Sounds like arson as well.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Twelve churches have been vandalized in France in the past week.

-4 ( +8 / -12 )

News reports are now coming out, saying that despite the size and intensity of the fire, the main interior of the building has largely withstood it.

So I guess the medieval Catholics who built the cathedral 800 years ago really weren't so "backward" or "anti-science" after all!

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

I’m actually watching the Hunchback of Notre Dame as I type.

Its a tragerty. I carved my initials on the roof about 30 years ago and was planning to see if they are still there next time I’m in Paris.

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

Its just a building! It can alway be rebuilt, just like the castles in Osaka and Nagoya...

-21 ( +5 / -26 )

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