For all history and art lovers, today has been a dark day. The fire burnt and now, with both towers safe (thankgod) and people singing hymns outside (literal chills), is going cold. But now what?
Tomorrow will be the moment when we all (not only the people of Paris, or France or Europe, but all the world) get a little calm, see the real damage and then be grateful that we live in 2019, because nowadays we can rebuild stuff, restore stuff and make awesome stuff. Here some examples as a little ray of sunshine:
CyArk. If you don’t know them, they have a GREAT project with Google, where they scan in 3D to digitally record, archive and share the world’s cultural heritage, and be sure that it is not lost. Their Google project is centered in places that are in danger of being lost or destroyed: from ancient ruins in the Middle East, to Mexican pyramids in the middle of the jungle, and Myanmar temples that have suffered from earthquakes. Of that very project, the temples of Bagan, they registered the place before the 2016 earthquake, which makes the info for future reconstruction and preservation, available. So yeah, what a time to be alive.
York Minster. The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York, was built between 1230 and 1472, and it is the second largest Gothic cathedral of Northern Europe. And it burnt. At least 3 times before the 1984 fire that may or may not have been caused by a lighting bolt. The fire was certainly smaller than Notre Dame’s but it was destructive. And then it was finished again in 1988.
Wars and terrorism. Wars have destroyed unmeasurable amounts of works of art all around the world, and have left iconic buildings and monuments in ruins: Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, St Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, the Stari Most in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Famen Temple in China (destroyed several times), the Palace of Versailles in Paris (it was restored and open again in 4 years time), the Dresden Frauenkirche, Berlin Cathedral, Postdam City Palace, and others in Germany, the Parliament Building in Hungary, the Monastery of Monte Cassino in Italy, the Kinkakuji in Japan.... And you know what? All of these examples were rebuilt.
And you know something? Quoting Dan Snow “what we built, we can rebuilt.”
North rose window, Notre Dame.
Eim ya kyaung Temple 3D scan, CyArk, 2017.
Restored Kinkakuji, Kyoto.