Four unique stained-glass windows damaged in the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral were brought to Cologne for restoration just over a year ago. Specialists at the workshop of the Cologne Cathedral (Dombauhütte) managed to completely clean and restore them. Before the Easter holidays, as previously planned, all work was completed.
The stained glass windows, disassembled into 320 individual pieces and well packed in 30 wooden boxes, have already been delivered back to Paris by a company specializing in the transportation of works of art. The valuable cargo was monitored by special anti-shock sensors during its movement. Reinstallation of stained glass windows in Notre Dame de Paris is planned in the coming days with the participation of two employees of the Cologne workshop. The official handover of the restored stained-glass windows will take place in Paris at the end of July.
These unique windows were created in 1965 by French glass artist Jacques Le Chevalier. They are dominated by blue and red tones typical of medieval coloring. The restoration of stained-glass windows is perceived as a symbol of German-French cooperation.
Lead dust and new glass
First of all, the stained-glass windows had to be cleaned of harmful lead dust. The staff then cleaned the glass, sealed the cracks in the glass, soldered the damage to the lead partitions, replaced the edge brackets, and re-strengthened the window panels from the outside. In order to meet the allotted time for repairs, the workshop even postponed some of its orders and projects.
Barbara Schock-Werner, coordinator of Germany’s aid to the cathedral’s renovation, told dpa that two major challenges had to be faced during the restoration. The first was to organize the safe and professional removal of lead dust – the restorer had to work in a protective suit and breathing mask in a specially built underpressure chamber.
The second difficulty was not to spoil the painting by cleaning the glass from dirt and soot. In addition, in several places the windows were so badly damaged that new glass of the appropriate color had to be used. But at the end of the work, everyone was satisfied with the result: “Everything went very professionally, and every step was coordinated with Paris,” sums up Schock-Werner.
How stained glass from Paris ended up in Cologne
Footage of the burning Notre Dame Cathedral on April 15, 2019, flew around the world in a matter of minutes. A unique symbol of the French capital and one of the most famous Gothic cathedrals in the world, it was badly damaged by fire. Parts of the vaulted ceiling were destroyed, the spire of the 19th century collapsed, and the interior of the cathedral suffered greatly. On the night of the fire, French President Emmanuel Macron tried to calm the shocked French and promised that Notre Dame Cathedral would be restored within five years and become “more beautiful than ever.”
As it turned out, the source of ignition was located in the upper part of the cathedral – in the attic at the base of the spire. The alleged cause is an electrical problem, possibly a short circuit. A significant part of the wooden structure that caught fire was a frame built in the 12th century using 1,300 oak trees. It was covered with lead sheets – a total weight of about 250 tons – which, under the influence of fire, emitted poisonous soot that covered all the surviving parts. This made the restoration work very difficult.
Campaigns have been launched around the world to raise funds for the restoration of the cathedral. Including in Germany. After the fire, the then Prime Minister of North Rhine – Westphalia Armin Laschet (Armin Laschet) together with the German Commission of UNESCO collected 700 thousand euros in donations. However, the money had to be tied to a specific project. Since a restoration workshop operates in Germany at the Cologne Cathedral, and its specialists have relevant experience, it was decided to give them four stained-glass windows from Notre Dame de Paris for reconstruction. And colleagues from Cologne demonstrated their skills by completing the work on time.
According to the latest media reports, Paris failed to meet the time frame set by the President of France for the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral – its opening was postponed until December 2024.
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