Notre-Dame: half a million euros from North Rhine-Westphalia to restore windows of Paris Cathedral

The windows of Notre-Dame will be restored with German donations. Almost half a million euros will contribute to the restoration work of the symbol of France that was ravaged by fire two years ago. The money was collected by Armin Laschet, Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, together with Maria Böhmer, Chairman of the German Commission for UNESCO. “The joint restoration of some windows will be a tangible sign of our Franco-German friendship and European solidarity”, Laschet said in announcing the donation. France does not depend on the help of its neighbouring country, but this is “a symbolic contribution that shows that we are united. We are grateful to our French friends that we are able to contribute to such an important work”. Throughout this time, there has been an intense exchange between experts of the two countries. This has led to a cooperation agreement for the restoration of the four large windows of the nave which were moved to safety after the fire, but now need repair. On the German side, the exchange was coordinated by Barbara Schock-Werner, former master builder at Cologne Cathedral. According to Laschet, these events may give rise to a cooperation project for the vocational training of young artisans in the field of cultural heritage”.
Valentina Bombelli