![]() ![]() ![]() “There is no part of the building untouched by the irreparable loss of sculptural and decorative elements, let alone the alarming deterioration of structural elements,” the organization says on its website. It hopes to raise €100 million ($114 million) in the next five to 10 years. Finally accepting that the government would not pay to restore the cathedral, the archdiocese launched Friends of Notre Dame in October to appeal for help. ![]() Still, there is plenty of alarm in the church. We need to replace the joints with traditional materials. “Pollution is the biggest culprit,” says Philippe Villeneuve, architect in chief of historic monuments in France. The fumes from decades of gridlock have only worsened the damage. Centuries of weather have worn away at the stone. Some 854 years after construction began, one of Europe’s most visited sites, with about 12 million tourists a year, is in dire need of repairs. It has seen more than its share of epic dramas, including the French Revolution and two world wars. Notre Dame, which looms over the capital from an island in the center of the city, is a constant reminder of Paris’ history. Visitors from dozens of countries gaze up at the spectacular stained-glass windows, tiptoe through its vast choir and nave and whisper in awe at the centuries-old sculptures and paintings that line the walls. On an average summer day in Paris, about 50,000 tourists pass through Notre Dame cathedral, one of the finest buildings of the medieval era still standing. ![]()
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