Notre Dame de Paris, one of the most accomplished examples of French and European Gothic architecture, was ravaged by a sudden fire on 15th April 2019. The fire destroyed the roof and the mediaeval old wood frames, and the 19th century spire of the cathedral. Fortunately, some of the key architectural features were not impacted. The front façade and its bell towers, one of the finest gothic façade in its kind by its proportion, the buttresses, and the stained glass windows of the three large rose windows are still standing.

The concerned comments made by the general public all over the world and in China, and the emotion generated by this bewildering event are a proof of the relevance of the concepts that underpin the 1972 World Heritage Convention and are at the basis of the existence of WHITRAP as a UNESCO World Heritage Category 2 Centre: “that deterioration or disappearance of any item of the cultural or natural heritage constitutes a harmful impoverishment of the heritage of all the nations of the world”.

WHITRAP has hosted many lectures on this monument by Benja-min Mouton, Chief Architect in charge of the conservation of Notre Dame, within the framework of the cooperation with Tongji University CAUP.

The historic cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris is a major French monument and part of the 1991 World Heritage site Paris, Banks of the Seine. (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/600)