Treasures of Our Lady: what was lost, what was damaged and what was saved

The Notre-Dame cathedral of Paris, devastated by a violent fire for more than twelve hours, is standing but wounded.

In addition to the damage to its structure, the architectural, artistic and religious jewels it sheltered are invaluable. It's a balance of treasures that are safe or lost, while making a complete inventory.

Lost

– the arrow of the cathedraliconic symbol of the monument at 93 meters altitude added by the architect Eugene Viollet-Leduc from 1859 to 1860 collapsed Monday shortly before the 20th

– at the end, the copper rooster who decorated it melted. In his interior, he had according to the Church the relics of Santa Genoveva and San Denis, as well as a fragment of the crown of thorns of Christwho supposedly protected the Parisians.

damaged

– Much of the roof armor was destroyed and the interior ceiling damaged

– Part of the vault it has collapsed, according to Gabriel Plus, spokesman for Paris firefighters. But the Minister of Culture, Franck Riester, said Tuesday afternoon that the vault should "stay a priori".

– The great organ of the fifteenth century – five keyboards, 109 keys and nearly 8,000 tubes – is safe, even though its structure has been covered with debris, dust and water. The small organ, which was under the needle turned out heavily damaged by fire, according to one of the three main organists of the cathedral, Philippe Lefèvre, who has been playing for Notre Dame for 35 years.

Sauvé

– The two towers remained standing, sheltering the four bells of the cathedral, which prevented the irremediable fall of tons of bronze, including the famous bell, which alone weighs 13 tons.

– The relics of which the most precious is the Sacred crown of thorns according to Catholic belief, placed on the head of Jesus shortly before his crucifixion. This is made up of a "circle of reeds gathered in clusters and held by gold threads, of a diameter of 21 centimeters, on which are the spines", as well as the "spines". explains the site of the cathedral.

– two other relics, a piece of cross and a nail of pbadion, were saved as well as the San Luis Tunic.

– All works of art preserved in the part "treasure" of the cathedral, including a masterpiece of Jean Jouvenet (1716) of the eighteenth century and remains of the baroque choir of the cathedral.

– Pity monumental sculpture by the sculptor Nicolas Coustou behind the altar: this Virgin in tears who receives on her knees the body of Christ, commanded by Louis XIV according to the wishes of his father, Louis XIII, and realized between 1712 and 1728

– The sixteen statues of the twelve apostles and four monumental evangelists, who adorned the roof: they had just arrived at Périgueux (south-west) to be restored. They were installed during the reconstruction of the needle, by Viollet-le-Duc.

– The three rosettes Notre Dame de Paris, stained glbad representing the flowers of paradise, were built in the 13th century and renovated many times. The rosettes north and south, the largest, are 13 meters in diameter.