Sparks fill the air as Paris Fire brigade members spray water to extinguish flames as the Notre Dame Cathedral burns in Paris, France, April 15, 2019.. (photo credit: PHILIPPE WOJAZER/REUTERS)
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The fire that engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral on April 15 has led to incalculable loss to a structure that has seen more than 850 years of history. The destruction caused by the fire, whose cause is still not known, makes the Cathedral one of many historic and important buildings that have been destroyed in recent years.
In September 2018 Brazil’s National Museum was destroyed in a fire, with up to 20 million artifacts and archives ruined. The 200 year old ‘Museo Nacional’ housed a rich array of items from Brazil’s history. It was an “unbearable catastrophe,” said a vice-director of the museum last year. Invaluable collections were destroyed.
In 2017 the Beit Hamedrash HaGadol Synagogue in New York burned down. The building had been a Baptist church build in 1850 in a Gothic Revivaal-style, but was converted to a synagogue in 1885. For a while there were thoughts to tear it down but it was saved until 2010 when it became empty, according to reports. Despite attempts to save it over the years, the fire gutted the building.
The Glasgow School of Art was burned in 2014 and a $50 million restoration began.In June 2018 a new fire destroyed the Mackintosh building, harming the historic structure.
In 1996 Venice’s Opera House was badly damaged by fire. Called La Fenice the building is iconic and a beautiful landmark in the city. Firefighters had to bring hoses from far away because there was an absence of hydrants on the street, despite Venice having many canals. The roof collapsed but the city vowed to rebuild it.
The Shroud of Turin was rescued in 1997 from a fire in the San Giovanni Cathedral in Turin. Firefighters heroically broke through “layers of bulletproof glass” to save it, according to The Guardian.
More than 1 million historic documents were destroyed in a 2015 fire in Russia. A huge loss for Russian history, the 2,000 square mater building had been built in 1918 and held 10 million documents. Not all of them were destroyed.
A fire also harmed India’s National Museum of National History in 2016. Beginning on the sixth floor it burned part of the building. Thousands of exhibits were damaged.
The destruction in Paris has reminded many of other purposeful fires and wars that have destroyed historic buildings. For instance in Paris some commentators mentioned the Second World War and destruction of buildings across Europe. In Iraq many mentioned the destruction of Mosul and the famous Hadba Minaret in the Great Nuri mosque, destroyed in 2017 during the battle for the city. ISIS was thought to have destroyed it in purpose as it had destroyed historic sites in Palmyra and elsewhere. Fighting in Syria and Iraq also damaged many other historic sites. In addition the Taliban in 2001 blew up the Bamiyan Buddhas.
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