A stream showed the smoke column rising from the roof and then making way for flames reaching many meters high, the fire quite obviously growing in intensity. I'm no expert but I have trouble seeing how this won't leave the cathedral mostly, if not entirely, burned out. What gives me hope is that on the twitter pictures posted the fire is only visible (20:04 CEST) on the roof, especially since the roof is made of stone. edit 2: It seems the fire is over and the cathedral mostly survived it. There is a lot of worry about the stained glass windows, here the North Rose Window (from ~1250), which are generally fragile and held together by lead which melts quickly. The fire is ongoing (21:55), BBC Stream, there is appparently(?) fire in one of bell towers.
This is history burning, its heartbreaking.
...but lets not despair and instead think about how it can be restored, rebuilt if necessary. This was Dresden's Frauenkirche after the bombing, this is it today. The loss will never be entirely undone but that doesn't mean a resurrection is not still a glorious thing to witness in its own right and be opportunity for people to come together. In the case of the Frauenkirche you had groups donating from all over Europe, incuding from Coventry with the new golden cross being a donation by "the British people and the House of Windsor".
As tragic as loss is, renewal will bring opportunity too.
Bekoni on April 15th, 2019 at 17:24 UTC »
A stream showed the smoke column rising from the roof and then making way for flames reaching many meters high, the fire quite obviously growing in intensity. I'm no expert but I have trouble seeing how this won't leave the cathedral mostly, if not entirely, burned out. What gives me hope is that on the twitter pictures posted the fire is only visible (20:04 CEST) on the roof, especially since the roof is made of stone. edit 2: It seems the fire is over and the cathedral mostly survived it. There is a lot of worry about the stained glass windows, here the North Rose Window (from ~1250), which are generally fragile and held together by lead which melts quickly. The fire is ongoing (21:55), BBC Stream, there is appparently(?) fire in one of bell towers.
This is history burning, its heartbreaking.
...but lets not despair and instead think about how it can be restored, rebuilt if necessary. This was Dresden's Frauenkirche after the bombing, this is it today. The loss will never be entirely undone but that doesn't mean a resurrection is not still a glorious thing to witness in its own right and be opportunity for people to come together. In the case of the Frauenkirche you had groups donating from all over Europe, incuding from Coventry with the new golden cross being a donation by "the British people and the House of Windsor".
As tragic as loss is, renewal will bring opportunity too.
Chinuah_ on April 15th, 2019 at 17:33 UTC »
That's so incredibly tragic. One of the finest architechtural monuments in Europe.
SpaghettiNinja_ on April 15th, 2019 at 17:59 UTC »
The main spire has collapsed :'(