The restoration of Notre-Dame is nearing completion. This week, sixteen large statues of saints are being returned to the spire of the Parisian cathedral. It is the final phase of the large-scale restoration project that followed the fire of April 2019.
The statues are over 3 meters high and weigh almost 150 kilos each. They are covered in copper and represent the twelve apostles and four evangelists. They survived the fire because they had been removed for restoration four days earlier.
The first statue will be hoisted onto the renewed spire on Monday evening, after the Parisian Archbishop Laurent Ulrich has blessed the statue. The remaining statues will follow in the coming days.
During the restoration of the statues, the damaged parts were replaced, corrosion was removed, and the original dark brown color was restored. Bullet holes from the Second World War were discovered on the statue of Saint Mark during the restoration. The statues have also been weatherproofed with a special Teflon coating.
Notre-Dame was largely destroyed by a major fire in April 2019. Donors from home and abroad have raised hundreds of millions of euros for the restoration, which is now almost complete. Notre-Dame will officially reopen on December 7.