Fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

I realize that it’s almost certainly the most popular version these days (I had to specify the actor to easily find a non-Disney Hunchback GIF), but in a topic about the potential loss of a major piece of cultural heritage bringing up the Disney version rubbed me the wrong way.

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One does not just simply shove a fire suppression system into a building that’s over 800 years old.

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And both of them are actually accidents. Some kids screwing around accidentally started the Al-Aqsa fire

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Fodder for conspiracy theorists. Probably just coincidence.

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Understood, that was basically a tangent in response to a comment about how crazy the sight of molten lead spouting from gargoyles must have been.

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seriously, but no?!? the catholic church is shitting money, their wealth is so fucking big, it isnt even measurable, but it sureley goes into hundreds of billions. they dont even pay taxes, they get taxes, so, no. nonononono!

religion is the worlds largest business. and, the roman catholic church dominates the industry. this is BS.

sorry, but I am getting really confused, how people seriously grief over this, like it was a massacre to humans. (catholic) churches are no representations of “faith”, “glory” or “truth”, in my book, they are representing oppression, regardless of whether they are aesthetic or not.

this whole thread here gives me the fucking creeps!

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The Jules Verne museum is in Nantes; Jules Verne house is in Amiens. Also WTF does your inability to travel, to Fresno or otherwise, have to do with the loss of one of the world’s most treasured buildings?

You have a point about the Catholic Church not needing donations.

You lose the thread of why people are upset, though. The architecture and the art of Notre Dame (regardless of how it was funded or what the building was used for) is a celebration of human capability. It is by the art of their minds and the skill of their hands that such a magnificent building exists. Humanity is enriched by its existence and harmed by its loss.

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Some (like me) are just sad about loss of really cool architecture - not everything has to be ideological. For example if one of more important european castles (that I’ve recently seen) have burnt down, I’d be a bit upset too. This doesn’t make me a monarchist. And castles were definitely symbols of opression.

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exactly, a bit upset; not it was like the end of the world. this news is dominating the media right now in a way that creeps the fuck outta me. I mean, look at this

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someone said you can buy scratch cards in paris that were going towards the restoration

Historical landmark of such significance definitely has it’s place in people’s hearts. I won’t judge their reactions, and I have to admit that I had tears in my eyes when I seen the photos. It was part of a very positive memory of week-long Paris tour I did with my brother.
As for the media, it tends to make a spectacle of every major event like this, and it can definitely be creepy.

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The wooden structure below the roof is (was :frowning: ) actually called “the great forest” because of the century year old trees used to built it. It was somehow mysterious and magical, but unfortunately a huge fire hazard that was protected from anyhting flammable. Only the police and firemen work will help us understand how the fire has been able to start, probably a lack of security during the work phase…

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We feel fortunate to have visited Notre Dame several times; the structure was truly awe-inspiring, particularly if you showed up right when it opened and it had yet to be overloaded with tourists. It was quiet and peaceful and the early morning sun shining through the stained glass was lovely.

Although seeing Notre Dame like this is heartbreaking and gutwrenching, the building has been in bad shape before. Let’s be optimistic that some good will come of the reconstruction process and that it will bring people together. People tend to forget that as recently as the 1800s it was half ruined and it was badly damaged by pollution as recently as the 1990s.

Although each renovation never will be exactly like the last, it has been restored before and it can be restored again.

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Having got over the natural “Oh, Nooooo!” reaction, it occurred to me that the only reason Notre Dame is around is because Victor Hugo wrote “Notre-Dame de Paris” (aka “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame”). At the time, the building was a wreck and in danger of getting torn down. That was less than 200 years ago; so it isn’t like the building hasn’t bounced back before.

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Well said. Great architecture can inspire emotion by itself, but Notre Dame is literally the heart of Paris. Even for those who haven’t been, Notre Dame is part of the collective identity of Paris, and it is common to feel pain when that is damaged.

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I can definitely imagine the French right trying to pin this on “immigrants” somehow.

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The wealth of the Catholic Church is mostly bound up in land, buildings and historical art treasure. All of which is stuff that can’t be easily liquidated, and doing so would be contrary to the Church’s functioning as a, well, church.

And while I note your opinion on what the churches represent, do keep in mind that a) not everyone here or elsewhere is an atheist, and b) not all atheists agree with you. It shouldn’t really be surprising that people are horrified and saddened by this.

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The Glasgow School of Art fires definitely were tragic. Mackintosh is such an underappreciated architect, as well. Love his East-West inspired work.

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Not just the French right.

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