Notre Dame is a Gothic “pièce de résistance” of French history that famously took 107 years to build and has since stood the test of time for centuries to come. The Notre Dame Cathedral was built in the year 1163. In its 850 years of history, the cathedral has been reshaped many times, and what it will look like next is a mystery world over. The fire at Notre Dame may be taking the limelight from another tragedy you may have heard of.
In a surprising coincidence, the Titanic sunk on the very same date (April 15th, 1912).
French President Emmanuel Macron assured the world that France would rebuild the cathedral “together,” and began a fundraising effort that has already attracted tycoon companies like Ubisoft, Apple, and even Amazon. More than $670,000,000 were donated within the first 24 hours, with Ubisoft alone donating 500 million dollars to the cause! We Set out to examine what exactly happened that fateful night? How much history were we able to recover? You would not believe the miracles that occurred within the blaze!
The Fire of the Century
The steeple and spire engulfed in flames collapses as the roof of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral burns on April 15, 2019, in Paris. – (Photo by Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT / AFP)
At 6:20 pm, Monday of April 15th the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was in the middle of evening mass when an alarm in the building had sounded. The priest hesitated not knowing if it was a heat or smoke alarm and continued the service. The cathedral staff decided swiftly to evacuate the building as a precautionary measured. At 6:43 pm the second alarm had gone off, and a fire was declared.