The assembly of the future spire of Notre-Dame de Paris reached a key stage on Thursday in Lorraine with a dress rehearsal for the assembly of its base, nearly four years after the fire in the cathedral.
The spire, which will be 58 meters high like its 19th century model, is made up of five parts, including “the stool”, its base on four supports made of exceptional oak;
alone, it weighs 80 tons.
“
For four months, we have drawn and validated the plans, then drawn the working drawings on the ground according to the ancestral method of stitching and lineage.
And today, the lifting team nests these pieces of wood, extraordinary in their dimensions, one inside the other
”, explains Patrick Jouenne, head of the carpenters.
"
It's the work of a lifetime
," he continues.
This reconstruction is a masterpiece.
»
The stool, once assembled in Briey (Meurthe-et-Moselle), will be dismantled before being transported to Paris to be assembled on the roof of the building.
"
Soon we will see the arrow and its rooster in the sky of Paris
", welcomes General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who chairs the public establishment for reconstruction.
Delivery of the stool is scheduled for April 15, 2023, four years after the fire.
Read alsoNotre-Dame de Paris, the resurrection: behind the scenes of an extraordinary construction site
Delivery scheduled for April 15
The new spire, reconstructed identically to that designed by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, will culminate at 96 meters above the ground.
It uses the same materials as the original: oak for the structure (500 tons) and lead for the cover and ornaments (250 tons).
To place the spire, it will first be necessary to complete the reconstruction of the four freestone arches of the crossing of the transept, in the heart of the cathedral.
The reopening of the cathedral, at least for worship, is scheduled for the end of 2024, according to the Ministry of Culture.