The bells of the Cathedral of Notre Dame rang for the first time in five years

For the first time since the fire in 2019, all bells rang in Notre Dame Cathedral. The cathedral will be opened on December 7 after a long restoration.

France24 writes about it.

"This is a beautiful, important and symbolic step," said the head of the public organization restoring Notre Dame Philip Yost.

Just yesterday, each bell was tested separately, and already today all eight rang in unison within five minutes. The heaviest bell "Gabriel" weighs more than four tons, and the lightest — "Jean-Marie" — 800 kilograms.

After hearing the bells, cathedral worker Guillaume Norman said: “We all felt strong emotions. Notre Dame tells us: ʼI am here, waiting for you.ʼ"

• The Notre Dame fire broke out on April 15, 2019. Then the fire destroyed the roof and spire of the building, and the walls, icons and organ were covered with soot. Miraculously, the section with the 13-ton bells was saved: if they had fallen, the walls of the cathedral might not have been able to withstand it.
• Donations were made for the restoration of Notre Dame from all over the world, it was possible to collect almost a billion dollars — and now, after five years of reconstruction, it will soon be opened. More than 250 companies and hundreds of experts restored the monument.

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