Notre-Dame rises from the ashes after devastating fire: Fascinating images reveal astonishing restoration work on the cathedral before it reopens to visitors – who will be ‘impressed’

When Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral reopens, visitors will be “stunned and awed by the interior – it will be a shock.”

This statement was made by Philippe Jost, president of the special government agency overseeing the restoration, to National Geographic writer Robert Kunzig, who, together with Paris-based Nat Geo photographer Tomas van Houtryve, got a sneak peek of the interior before the monument threw open its doors on December 8.

A devastating fire engulfed the 800-year-old monument on April 15, 2019.

Since then, more than 250 companies and hundreds of skilled craftsmen have worked hard to rebuild what is undoubtedly one of the most famous – and historically valuable – tourist attractions in the world.

In the December 2024 issue of National Geographic, Kunzig sheds light on why Jost is confident visitors will be enchanted. He explains that “walls, stained glass windows, paintings and sculptures were all cleaned and restored in one go. for the first time since the 19th century’.

Notre-Dame has grotesques, which are decorative, and gargoyles, which double as drainpipes. In the foreground of this image is a grotesque known as Le Stryge. It sits amid damaged gargoyles that have been taken down for repairs and newly sculpted replicas (back) waiting to be lifted into place

LEFT: The nave of Notre Dame, seen here from the organ balcony on the west side, is “cleaner and brighter than anyone has ever seen, thanks to a latex application that has peeled off the soot and lead,” Nat Geo explains. Marie-Hélène Didier, a conservator overseeing the restoration for the Ministry of Culture, told the magazine: “People won’t recognize it.” RIGHT: “At the top of the vaulted ceiling, a gilded angel adorns the oculus, a stone ring,” Nat Geo explains. ‘During the fire, massive damage was caused when the falling spire pierced the ceiling. From the scaffolding shown here, workers closed off the massive opening and rebuilt the oculus’

A craftsman inspects a special mold, made at Cloches Cornille Havard, a foundry in Normandy, to repair one of the damaged bells. Nat Geo adds: ‘The two bell towers of Notre Dame are home to ten brass bells. The largest is called Emmanuel and hangs in the south tower, where it was undamaged by the fire. The 14-ton copper colossus, cast in 1683 under Louis Eight smaller bells in the north tower had to be removed and cleared of soot; two were damaged and had to be repaired.”

The December 2024 issue of National Geographic

A total of 2,000 statues and decorative elements have been renovated or recreated and 2,400 oak trees have been felled to rebuild the spire and skylight.

Van Houtryve’s photos show the transformation – and here we present four of them.

One image shows the nave of Notre Dame – ‘cleaner and brighter than anyone has ever seen’.

Another reveals a rebuilt stone oculus at the top of a vaulted ceiling.

Van Houtryve also trained his lens on damaged gargoyles and newly sculpted replicas waiting to be lifted into place.

A fourth image shows a craftsman inspecting a special mold made to repair one of the damaged bells.

Kunzig adds: ‘No cathedral is more important, for France or for the world.

‘[And] it has been rebuilt exactly as it was before the fire.”

For more information about this story, visit www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/notre-dame-cathedral-restoration-reopening.

A file image – not featured in National Geographic – of Notre-Dame, taken in September 2023