Notre-Dame cathedral burning in Paris

[Oexmelin]

Yes. By the minister of culture. http://www.leparisien.fr/societe/incendie-de-notre-dame-quelles-oeuvres-d-art-ont-elles-pu-etre-sauvees-16-04-2019-8054457.php

[Duque de Bragança]

According to the spokesman of the Paris firemen brigade, all artworks in the treasure part were saved, along with the bellfries.

«L'ensemble des œuvres d'art dans la partie "trésor" ont été sorties»
Le lieutenant-colonel Gabriel Plus, porte-parole des pompiers de Paris, s'est exprimé auprès de l'AFP, au lendemain de l'incendie. «La priorité que l'on s'était donné, c'était de sauver les deux beffrois (partie qui supporte les tours), et les deux beffrois ont été sauvés. Imaginez : la charpente des beffrois fragilisée, les cloches qui s'effondrent, c'était vraiment notre crainte !», explique-t-il.

Il ajoute : «L'ensemble des œuvres d'art qui étaient dans la partie "trésor" ont été sorties. La plupart du temps, les pompiers de Paris s'engagent pour préserver les personnes, là, il s'agissait vraiment de sauvegarder des biens, de préserver ce qui pouvait l'être encore, donc de faire des choix.»

Désormais, les pompiers se concentrent sur la surveillance, afin d'être sûr qu'«aucun foyer résiduel ne se renflamme (...) et que la structure est stabilisée».

http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2019/04/16/01016-20190416LIVWWW00001-en-direct-cathedrale-notre-dame-paris-incendie-maitrise-macron-pompiers.php

[Maladict]

Looks like at least one rose window survived 

[Monoriu]

I am actually quite impressed by the medieval construction methods.  The building is what, 800 years old?  A fire of this scale will probably destroy many buildings built to modern standards.  An 800 year old wooden and stone building still stands after enduring a such a fire isn't doing too badly. 

[Maladict]

Looks like at least one rose window survived 

Reports now saying all three survived 

[The Brain]

Many churches have survived fires with walls intact, I understand that this is the case here too. Since they got the fancy objects out and the wooden construction itself was 19th century I refuse to consider this a major cultural disaster.

[Duque de Bragança]

Not that simple unfortunately, Brain.

The greatest loss, according to experts, was the destruction of the extraordinary labyrinth of timber, dating from the 13th century and known as "the forest", that underpinned the roof.

France no longer has trees big enough to replace the ancient beams, which came from primal forests, said Bertrand de Feydeau, deputy head of Fondation du Patrimoine, a heritage preservation group.

"We don't, at the moment, have trees on our territory of the size that were cut in the 13th century."

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/notre-dame-cathedral-in-paris-engulfed-in-flames-w7z3mw0sr

[Valmy]

Even if trees of that size still exist somewhere in the world they are probably illegal to cut.

[The Brain]

Not that simple unfortunately, Brain.

The greatest loss, according to experts, was the destruction of the extraordinary labyrinth of timber, dating from the 13th century and known as "the forest", that underpinned the roof.

France no longer has trees big enough to replace the ancient beams, which came from primal forests, said Bertrand de Feydeau, deputy head of Fondation du Patrimoine, a heritage preservation group.

"We don't, at the moment, have trees on our territory of the size that were cut in the 13th century."

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/notre-dame-cathedral-in-paris-engulfed-in-flames-w7z3mw0sr

I understood that only a small part was still medieval, but apparently not. But it's just "under the hood" damage. Sad, still not a major disaster I think.

[Josephus]

yeah, agree with Brain. Could have been a lot worse.  Shame about the roof damage, but the windows and all the valuables have been saved.
Interesting that that they don't have trees big enough anymore.

[Caliga]

They can use laminate.  That high up nobody will be able to tell the difference.  Beter than cutting down a coast redwood or whatever.

[The Larch]

They can use laminate.  That high up nobody will be able to tell the difference.  Beter than cutting down a coast redwood or whatever.

Redwood timber is not really suitable for construction anyway.

[Maladict]

I understood that only a small part was still medieval, but apparently not. But it's just "under the hood" damage. Sad, still not a major disaster I think.

Not a major disaster just because it wasn't on display? What difference does that make?

[The Brain]

I understood that only a small part was still medieval, but apparently not. But it's just "under the hood" damage. Sad, still not a major disaster I think.

Not a major disaster just because it wasn't on display? What difference does that make?

AFAIK the typical visitor won't notice it, so I think it makes a difference. And even if the beams were visible I still don't think having to replace them qualifies as a major cultural disaster.

If this is a major cultural disaster then what words will you use for stuff like the Louvre with collections going up in smoke? When the old castle in Stockholm burned in 1697 losses included among many other things most of the royal archives. It has been said (not unreasonably) that the Swedish middle ages were lost that day. That was a cultural disaster on a whole different level than the Notre Dame fire.

In a few years Notre Dame will have been repaired. It will have somewhat fewer original parts, but it won't look significantly different. Wear and tear, revolution, and heavy handed restoration had already made it less than all-medieval before this fire. Notre Dame will be fine and keep being a part of Paris for many years to come. As cultural disasters go this is not a major one AFAICT.

[fromtia]

I'm interested to see how they go about re building the roof. In many respects I feel as though using more modern construction methods would be entirely appropriate - they stuck a spire in the middle of the building on a whim about 150 years ago after all. It's been modified several times since it's initial construction I'm pretty certain. Giving it a more modern roof, and a different spire would be entirely appropriate. Perhaps not as bold as the pyramid at the Louvre, but certainly not a painstaking reconstruction attempt. There's an opportunity here.

I was horrified by the fire of course, and a little bit heartbroken. I have wandered around the streets around the Cathedral many times.