The Bells Are Back – Notre Dame Rises From The Ashes

Notre Dame de Paris, the medieval cathedral situated on the scenic Île de la Cité in The Seine River has witnessed almost 900 years of history. Along with the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame epitomizes the City of Light for tourists and French citizens alike. It’s withstood everything from Viking invaders to Nazi occupation. Rome may be known as the Eternal City but Notre Dame is the eternal cathedral, inviolate, a landmark for the ages, something that also seems to have been there and always will be.

Until April 15, 2019, when the unthinkable happened. A fire broke out and the cathedral spire and roof went up in flames. Firefighters saved the outer structure but fire and water damage was extensive. People around the world mourned.

The Bells of Notre Dame rang out together on Friday, November 8, for the first time since a 2019 fire that devastated the historic cathedral, partially destroying the cathedral’s two belfries. 

Repairs were extensive, time-consuming, and didn’t come cheap. Five years and 865 million dollars were required for the painstaking restoration work in the wake of the blaze.

The cathedral is scheduled to officially open its doors to the faithful and the curious on the 7th and 8th of December 2024 in a weekend of ceremonies. Come hear the real voices of the bells of Notre Dame – a World Heritage Landmark.

The bells of Notre Dame rang when Armistice Day was declared on November 11, 1918, marking the end of the First World War. They rang when Allied troops showed up to liberate the city from Hitler’s soldiers. They rang on September 12, 2001, the day after the terrorist attacks on the United States. 

With any luck the bells of Notre Dame will ring out for another 900 years, celebrating what is good and mourning what’s been lost.