Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[the Earl of Whirl]

I just heard about this but I do not know any of the details.  It sounds terrible!

[jim in paris]

Quel malheur !
on TV last night , It looked like a bad horror movie :
the gargoyles spitting melted lead !!
most of the roof has burned (....and a lot of other things)
nobody knows at this time if the organs have suffered much
at least the building has been saved

if i remember well there is a fire in the novel "notre dame de paris" (1841) by Victor Hugo
how fantasy winks an eye to the real world

jim(in corsica)

[the Earl of Whirl]

I did not know about Victor Hugo's description of fire in his book about Notre Dame.  I went looking around and found this:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.euronews.com/amp/2019/04/15/victor-hugo-already-described-a-blaze-at-notre-dame-cathedral-in-his-1831-novel

From my searching I learned many new things about Notre Dame.  I had no idea more people visit it than the Eiffel Tower.  I knew, of course from other discussions, about Napoleon and his coronation in that building.  But there was also Henry VI of England crowned king of France in 1431 and Joan of Arc declared a saint by the pope and special services held for Charles DeGaulle.  The age of the building still stuns me at over 800 years old.  The crown of thorns supposedly worn by Jesus is there.  And the pipe organs are famous with only the best organists playing them.  Electric blowers for the organs were not installed until 1924 which means that for over 500 years the instruments were pumped by hand.  I read where there was once a competition to be the organist and over a hundred tried out.  The winner was Louis Vierne and he played there for many years and finally got his wish, to die at that organ.  Several other people have died there including people who shot themselves in front of the altar.  Obviously, ghost stories abound with some sighted on the roof where it is believed people jumped to their deaths.  The history is fantastic and so is the structure.  No wonder Parisians see Notre Dame as the heart of their city.

[paxl13]

My wife spoke to me about it last night, this is indeed an horror movie

[ta0]

Domage! 
I now regret not having taken the tour of the upper floors in order to save a few euros 


by Cristina Correa Freile of Ecuador