Notre-Dame de Paris comes to Westminster Abbey

The exhibition is held in the magnificent 13th century octagonal Chapter House, once used by the monks of the Abbey for their daily meetings.

In a multi-sensory experience, which includes the sound of bells and music from the cathedral organ, the visitor travels into the past of Notre-Dame de Paris, whose construction began in the 1804th century, and discovers the sumptuous wedding of King Henri IV, or the dazzling coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte in XNUMX.

He can also admire the 15th century construction of the emblematic spire of Notre-Dame, designed by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. It collapsed during the fire of April 2019, XNUMX, but has since been completely rebuilt in solid oak.

Philippe Jost, who heads the public establishment responsible for the reconstruction project, welcomed Tuesday in London the progress of the project, thanks to the 846 million euros collected from donors, and said he was confident that the cathedral could “reopen in ten months”, as planned, on December 8, 2024.

"We are keeping to our schedule and our budget (...) We have pretty much finished all the cleaning inside the cathedral. Visitors and the faithful will be, I think, amazed when they rediscover it, because it will have changed its appearance, it will have been completely cleaned. So the stones, the painted decorations will appear in all their splendor", he declared to AFP, welcoming "the state of mind of mutual aid, of unity, pride and enthusiasm" of reconstruction.

According to him, the exhibition at Westminster Abbey “allows us to learn many things, firstly about the history of Notre-Dame de Paris, its construction, its transformations throughout its history (...) And on the other hand, it shows how this restoration was carried out.

The exhibition is part of a program of events organized by Westminster Abbey to celebrate the links between France and the United Kingdom. It lasts until June 1st.

She has already traveled to Paris, Washington, Montreal and Dubai, and been seen by 300.000 people, according to the press service of Westminster Abbey.