The world mourns a magnificent creation
The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris survived the French Revolution and two World Wars — but much of it collapsed into flames on a Monday evening entering Holy Week.
Five hundred Parisian firefighters seemed to have saved the north and south bell towers, but the roof, spire, interior and many of the artworks within were destroyed. Firefighters moved ahead of the fire for hours, keeping it from spreading into the main stone structure — so the walls are still standing. But so much more was lost.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame, over 800 years old, has been a cherished symbol throughout the world, a gorgeous structure of art, faith, engineering and history. Even if you never visited, you knew about it, read about it, hoped someday to enter its soaring French Gothic chapels.
The first image of Sir Kenneth Clark’s famed series Civilization was Notre Dame. « I’m not sure how to define civilization, » he said. « But I know I’m looking at it. »
You could see Notre Dame from almost anywhere near the center of Paris, a spiritual citadel towering above the Seine. If the Eiffel Tower is France’s spirit, Notre Dame has been France’s soul.
Tourists visited the cathedral more than any other of the many other masterpieces of Paris. Kids skated around it, old folks strolled through the gardens, lovers put locks on the nearby bridge and then took selfies with the flying buttresses in the background.
When I first came to Paris many years ago Notre Dame was where I headed first. I came here on two honeymoons, and on each made time to visit the gigantic Rose window on a sunny day when colors streamed into the cathedral like multiple rainbows. When I brought my granddaughter to Paris, she asked to see the gargoyles.
On recent visits I’ve stayed on the Left Bank where I could easily walk to Notre Dame in a few minutes, gray and grand by day, awash in luminous white light at night.
I remember an extraordinary Christmas concert under Notre Dame’s glowing stained glass, with voices soaring high into the Gothic arches. On my last visit, on a rainy night I brought a friend who had never been to Paris, with the light-washed stone facade reflected in the puddles.
From rain to fire. From forever to almost gone. Built in three-hundred years, mostly destroyed in three hours.
A eulogy for a building usually centers around the history and architecture.
