In Notre-Dame's footsteps, Saint-Denis basilica rebuilds spire after 180 years

Record ID: 1983700

  • Title: In Notre-Dame's footsteps, Saint-Denis basilica rebuilds spire after 180 years
  • Date: 14th March 2025
  • Summary: SAINT DENIS, FRANCE (MARCH 14, 2025) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FIRST STONE LAID FOR CONSTRUCTION OF SPIRE (SOUNDBITE) (French) SAINT DENIS MAYOR MATHIEU HANOTIN SAYING: "We have put the final touches to the foundation stone and it has been installed. So the reconstruction project to restore the spire has officially begun." MODEL OF BASILICA AND FUTURE SPIRE VARIOUS OF DATI VISI
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Notre-Dame history new spire reconstruction
  • Location: SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE
  • City: SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe
  • Reuters ID: LVA002888414032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Construction kicked off on Friday (March 14) to restore the spire of the Saint-Denis Basilica, north of Paris, building on the momentum of the Notre-Dame cathedral’s reconstruction.
    The stone spire of the 12th century basilica, where several of France’s kings and queens are buried, was damaged by storms in the mid 1800s.
    A project to rebuild the spire after it was taken down in 1845, led by the Notre-Dame’s chief restoration architect Eugene Viollet-Le-Duc, had not come to fruition, leaving the basilica without a spire for 180 years.
    France’s Culture Minister Rachida Dati joined Saint-Denis Mayor Mathieu Hanotin on Friday in a ceremonial laying of the foundation stone, after the city secured 90% of the 37 million-euro ($40.25 million) funding needed for the spire’s restoration.
    The project, aiming to finish the spire in six years, involves 130 craftsmen including stone masons like Helene Zurita, who also worked in the Notre-Dame restoration.
    “We try to redo the strokes on the stonework as they were done in medieval times,” Zurita said.
    The 90-metre (295-foot) spire will be built with 15,228 stone pieces, taken from a quarry in the Oise department, north of Paris.
    The public is invited to contribute to funding the project, which was initiated in 2020, by sponsoring a stone piece of the spire starting at 15 euros (16.30 euros).
    Saint-Denis, a working class city with a big immigrant population, will open a gallery and multimedia space around the basilica where the public, especially children, can learn about reconstruction techniques and craftsmanship.
    "What I find very moving today is that what was true in the Middle Ages is true today - we will be filled with wonder," Saint-Denis Bishop Etienne Guillet said.
    (Production: Ardee Napolitano, Michaela Cabrera)
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