He was French president last summer Emmanuel Macron abandoned the original idea of ​​being the main bell tower of Notre-Dame, about 96 meters high, which he added in 1859 Eugene Violet-le-Duc,, transformed into a contemporary style. They therefore decided on an identical reconstruction of the former shape, which resulted in a monthly long-term search for perfect oaks that would meet the specific requirements. Philippa Villeneuva v Draw Fromonta, two architects to oversee the reconstruction process.

This winter, by finding the first eight trunks to use to support the speakers, we used airplanes. They explored a snowy forest in the west of France, near the towns of Le Mans. With the help of three-dimensional images, they searched for specimens without visible diseases, about 90 centimeters wide and about 18 meters high.

Deep in the former royal forest of Bercé, in French region Loire, one of the eight, about 230-year-old trees fell to the ground with a thud. The selected trees, each worth about 15,000 euros, will be cut down by the end of March and then dried for 12 to 18 months so that the beams will no longer shrink or move when they are installed.

The nearly 20-meter-tall oaks, which were still “children” at the time of the French Revolution, will be joined by 1,000 others who will use it to reconstruct the roof and foundations of the bell tower of the famous Gothic building, which by April 2019 had abandoned the fiery fangs.

Will Notre-Dame be completed by 2024?

“We know it is the end of something, but also the beginning, “she said Pauline Sir, 15. generation forest guardians, who are responsible for forest management and protection. The trees were planted during the reign of the king, according to the military general who led the reconstruction of Notre-Dame. Louis XIV, to make masts for the ships of the French navy from their wood. “We are poor people who live only 60, 70, 80, at most 100 years, and the trees stay here even then,said the general Jean-Louis Georgeline and stressed that they are aware of the magnitude of nature and the universe. In addition to the eight trees from Bercéja, which is so slightly curved and so perfect for the frame of the bell tower, more trees from more than 200 forests across the country were donated.

A petition has appeared calling on the French Minister of Ecology to stop cutting down trees. Forestry groups that made a key contribution to making the tree represent only a small proportion of all oaks.

Because they are also due to a pandemic, among others covida-19 delays occurred, among other things, so that some began to doubt the opening date, which is expected to take place in 2024. General Georgeline however, he still believes that the cathedral will be completed within the announced deadline.