Experts from Belgium help resurrect Notre-Dame in Paris
Following the devastating fire in 2019, more than 1,000 specialist craftsmen will join forces to make the world-famous Notre-Dame in Paris shine more than ever. Three of them hail from Belgium: a restoration firm from West Flanders, a landscape architecture consultancy from Brussels and a chest organ builder from the Flemish Brabant region.
On Monday 15 April 2019, the French awoke to the scenes of a national disaster: one of their Parisian icons, Notre-Dame, was in flames. Despondency was soon replaced by a determination to raise the centuries-old place of worship from its ashes like a phoenix, within five years. The fire had barely been put out when the restoration plans were drawn up. The edifice was stabilised against collapse and tidied up, and rubble was collected. But then more spanners were thrown into the works. The restoration had to be suspended due to the toxic lead that had escaped, and then the coronavirus crisis came. The exterior was soon reconstructed in its classic style, using authentic materials. These works are still ongoing. The interior will see contemporary art displayed alongside classical religious masterpieces.
In addition to chest organ builder Johan Deblieck (see FOB 11.01.2024), the French commissioned two other Belgians. Group Monument from Ingelmunster, which specialises in restoring heritage buildings at home and abroad, was given responsibility for the transept. Hasselt-native Bas Smets and his company BBS, based in Brussels, will redesign the cathedral's surrounding environment, taking into account nature, the Seine and global warming in the process.