The Great Fire Of Notre Dame In Paris

Notre Dame is a fairly old Cathedral in Paris, it is actually a very popular landmark in France. In fact it is the tallest cathedral in the whole of the country; many people visit it every day and every year.

The construction work began in 1163AD, during the reign of King Lewis VII, and was completed in 1345. The Gothic building is more than 850 years and was still standing this year. The cathedral is a very famous landmark, but one day that all changed.

Notre Dame was built on a small island called the Ile de la Cite, in the middle of the Seine, the river that runs through central Paris. Suddenly, on 16th April 2019, part of the building collapsed whilst people were in still inside. The fire began at about 6:30 pm and quickly reached the roof of the cathedral, destroying its stained – glass windows and the wooden interior before toppling the spire.

It took 500 FIRE FIGHTERS to put the fire out and to prevent one of the bells from collapsing.

What caused the fire at Notre Dame?

Investigators are converging around two theories of what caused this fire, it may be a short-circuit near its spire possibly caused by electrified bells, or negligence by workers carrying out renovations, a theory fuelled by the discovery of cigarette butts. Notre Dame has been standing for hundreds of years and even survived two World Wars but it isn’t the first time Notre Dame has been damaged. The Cathedral was damaged and looted during the French revolution, when many people associated the Catholic Church with Frances rulers, who they were protesting again.

By Amelia and Shreya 5J