In the aftermath, President Emmanuel Macron vowed the cathedral would be rebuilt within five years, and more than €850 million ($1.3 billion) in donations poured in within days.

Loading

Hundreds of people – architects, engineers, masons, metalworkers, carpenters and more – have laboured at the construction site to meet the five-year target. The work has included rebuilding the collapsed spire, making a new wooden attic and cleaning more than 450,000 square feet (4645 square metres) of stone surfaces that had been darkened by soot, dust and lead particles.

The cathedral, an example of medieval Gothic architecture, had become synonymous with the history of France itself. It was where Henry VI of England in 1431 was made king of France, where Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804 was crowned emperor, and where Charles de Gaulle led a thanksgiving ceremony in 1944 after the liberation of Paris during World War II.

The dulcet peals of Notre-Dame’s bells accompanied some of that history, marking daily time for generations of Parisians. Many of the bells, given their own names, have been recast and remade over the years.

The largest of the bells, located in the south tower, dates to the 17th century and has been rung at some of the most important events in French history, including both world wars.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.