Renovation work in 2019 sparked a massive fire that significantly damaged the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. Most religious artifacts, including the Crown of Thorns, were rescued. The group behind the rebuilding of the cathedral estimates restoration costs will run over $700 million.
PARIS – The historic Notre Dame Cathedral, located in the heart of Paris, has reopened, defying the odds after a devastating 2019 fire left the iconic structure on the verge of collapse.
A five-year, $700 million restoration project rebuilt the roof, replaced iconic stained-glass windows and culminated with the installation of a weather vane renowned for its symbolic significance.
In 2023, the golden copper rooster was lifted by a crane and placed atop a spire where it watches over the City of Light.
Although Notre Dame Cathedral was constructed in the 12th century, a weather vane was not added until several hundred years later during one of the Gothic structure’s renovations.
According to the group Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris, the renowned architect placed a small piece of the Crown of Thorns, a relic of St. Denis and a relic of St. Geneviève inside the rooster in 1860, where they remained until the fire of April 15, 2019.
PARIS, FRANCE – FEBRUARY 13: The new golden rooster is seen atop the spire between the two towers of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral on February 13, 2024 in Paris, France. The famous Viollet-le-Duc structure of the spire, which collapsed in the fire of April 2019, was rebuilt identically. For the first time since the fire, the spire, topped with a new rooster, appeared at the top of the cathedral in the Paris sky. The new rooster was designed by the chief architect of historic monuments, Philippe Villeneuve.
(Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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‘Symbol of Resilience and Hope’
Thought to be lost in the charred remains was the weather vane with its three historical relics, but it was later found.
“This remarkable find provided a glimmer of hope amid the destruction, and it has since become a symbol of resilience and hope for the people of Paris and the world,” the group stated.
In addition to indicating wind direction and its religious significance, the rooster also holds deep cultural importance for the Parisian people.
The bird is widely considered to be the unofficial national symbol of France and has a long history of being used for insignias and other emblems.
“The rooster is considered a symbol of the French people because of the play on words in Latin, where ‘gallus’ means both ‘Gaul’ and ‘rooster,’” the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris stated.
The rooster is said to stand apart from the many gargoyles and grotesques, which too were damaged by flames and have been either been replaced or repaired.
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PARIS, FRANCE – FEBRUARY 13: The new golden rooster is seen atop of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral on February 13, 2024 in Paris, France. The famous Viollet-le-Duc structure of the spire, which collapsed in the fire of April 2019, was rebuilt identically. For the first time since the fire, the spire, topped with a new rooster, appeared at the top of the cathedral in the Paris sky. The new rooster was designed by the chief architect of historic monuments, Philippe Villeneuve. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images) ( )
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PARIS, FRANCE – FEBRUARY 13: The new golden rooster is seen atop the spire between the two towers of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral on February 13, 2024 in Paris, France. The famous Viollet-le-Duc structure of the spire, which collapsed in the fire of April 2019, was rebuilt identically. For the first time since the fire, the spire, topped with a new rooster, appeared at the top of the cathedral in the Paris sky. The new rooster was designed by the chief architect of historic monuments, Philippe Villeneuve. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
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A man stands in front of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral a few days before its reopening, in Paris on December 2, 2024. The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to re-open early December 2024, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on December 7 and 8, 2024, five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. (Photo by BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty Images)
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PARIS, FRANCE – 2024/11/21: View of the main façade of Notre Dame Cathedral during the snowfall of Storm Caetano. Storm Caetano arrived in the Paris region with snowfall which has not been seen in November for 56 years, with 4 centimetres of snow on the streets of the French capital. Météo-France has placed 38 departments in France under orange alert. (Photo by Telmo Pinto/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
THE HISTORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON’S WEATHERVANE
Chief architect Philippe Villeneuve, one of nearly 2,000 individuals who worked on the project, is credited for designing the new weather vane.
Similar to the original fixture, the rooster contains relics as well as a list of the names of people who worked on the cathedral’s reconstruction project.
“Achieving the impossible together. This is France,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement upon visiting the reconstructed cathedral.
The original weather vane was last said to be on display in the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine museum in Paris.
Millions of visitors are expected to flock to Notre Dame in the months following its reopening, and reservations are strongly recommended.
How to plan ahead and visit the landmark: https://www.notredamedeparis.fr/en/