Yesterday I joined millions of people around the world as we all watched the horror as the famous Cathedral and landmark Notre-Dame went up in flames.  The beautiful Cathedral is a famous part of the Paris skyline and like many others I one day hoped to visit the site and see the beautiful interior for myself.

Construction on the cathedral began in the 12th century and since being built has survived wars, civil unrest and even revolution.  But yesterday the beautiful structure was in flames as a fire began near the roof of the cathedral and proceeded to burn the roof and caused the collapse of the famous spire.  Although most of the main stone structure of the cathedral was saved, the wooden interior which makes up the inner roof with beams has been burned through leaving little behind.  While many relics were also saved, people still don’t know the full extent of damage to any art work that was inside the cathedral.

Future safety of landmarks

It is so sad to see a landmark like this collapse and burn.  In this modern age of technology, it is amazing that we still aren’t able to protect our beautiful heritage from the effects of fire and other disasters.  Many historical structures and relics have faced ruin in recent years, whether from nature, accidents or deliberate vandalism and attacks.  We need to seriously look at not only the security of our famous and old landmarks but also begin to find ways to preserve and tackle potential problems like fire.  If we don’t then many other beautiful parts of our world history could be lost forever.

Though we live in a modern age and some may argue that historical sites aren’t worth preserving, I disagree.  Places like Notre-Dame, which is over 800 years old, should be preserved.  They have a beauty that was created years and often centuries before any of us were born – I mean imagine it, that place is older than probably anything you have ever owned or touched!  How such places were created is amazing, especially as they didn’t use modern technological advancements or modern machinery.  Notre-Dame features the very beautiful Gothic style of architecture which created these beautiful and grade buildings with the beautiful stained glass windows that are famous across a lot of Europe.

If we don’t help to preserve these historic sites the only way we will one day be able to enjoy them is through virtual reality, and while this is a brilliant advancement in our modern age, nothing can compare to seeing a historical site first hand.  I have no doubt that given time and the right funding, that Notre-Dame will be reconstructed to its former glory.  We have photographic and video evidence that means we can now recreate a landmark to resemble its original self very well.  But it is still a sad fact that future generations, and even I, will never be able to see the original cathedral spire and interior woodwork.

Here is a poem that came to me while writing about this sad event:

Poem: Notre-Dame  – Our History

It is so sad, to see the end,
Of something that was on the mend.
Created from the 12th century,
A beautiful site that would come to be.
A place for tourists to flock and see,
The beautiful church, not quite an abbey.

With Notre-Dame filled with flame,
And no idea who to blame.
We must remember, while we mourn,
That not all of, cathedral was torn.
Plans to reconstruct are sworn,
The landmark will one day be reborn.

Much of the structure was now saved,
By people who were very brave.
No-one yet knows true extent,
Of how badly damaged, it’s from event.
If there’s one message, that is meant,
To stop us all from another lament.

We must protect our history,
Or those in future have nothing to see.

-I may be biased, being a big history nerd, but I do believe we need to remember and preserve our history. 

-My thoughts are all the people in Paris and to all those who have been affected by this terrible event ❤

Have you been affected by the Notre-Dame fire?  How do you feel about preserving historical sites?  Let me know what you think in the comments below 🙂

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