Miraculously, firefighters stopped the blaze reaching the bell towers whose collapse would have almost certainly brought the facade down - and from destroying the bells, the Grand Organ and the Parisian monument's stained-glass rosette windows.
The bee hives on the roof also survived, along with dozens of treasures including precious artworks, ancient books and relics extracted by a human chain of firefighters, police and city council workers.
In the weeks after, as the damage was assessed, a unique collection of 17th-century religious paintings was removed from the cathedral, damp but mostly undamaged.
The 13 "Mays" - part of a series of 76 large oil works painted by the best artists in France between 1630 and 1707 had hung in the cathedral's chapels, often overlooked by visitors.
They will go on public display, having been restored by experts from Mobilier National, the body charged with conserving France's historical objects, before returning to Notre Dame for its reopening in December.
Emmanuel Pénicaut, director of Mobilier National collections, said: "We were very lucky to be able to get them out with just a little water damage and dust. It was rather miraculous.
Denne historien er fra April 19, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra April 19, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
DNA sheds new light on victim of doomed Arctic trip
For more than a century, the bones of sailors who joined polar explorer Sir John Franklin's ill-fated Northwest Passage expedition lay scattered on the rocky shores of an Arctic island.
Singer's case highlights rising crisis in online gambling
In less than 24 hours, Gusttavo Lima, one of the most famous Brazilian country singers, sang at a rodeo in rural São Paulo state, watched Akon perform at the Rock in Rio festival, jetted to Miami - and became the target of an arrest warrant on suspicion of money laundering.
Repeated risk Targeting of Hezbollah leaders has yet to deal group a fatal blow
In 1992, Israeli media celebrated an assassination.
Be a batch maker: cook-ahead ideas for effortless meals and treats
Cook-once, eat-all-week recipes are a godsend, just so long as they're versatile. \"I would roast a load of tomatoes to make sauce,\" says Jess Elliott Dennison, author of Midweek Recipes. \"You get that fresh flavour.\"
Where reality meets Nintendo
Anew museum in Kyoto takes fans of the Japanese gaming giant’ products on anenchanting trip down virtualmemory lane if only youcan get a ticket...
Silk Roads spin a tale of collective treasures
Amesmerising show at the British Museum follows China’ epic ancient trade routes through fabulous oases, desert palaces and burial mounds
'More people say they've seen an alien than a trans person'
Harper Steele came out as a trans woman in 2022 at the age of 61. Her friend Will Ferrell had questions. So why not take a road trip and make a documentary about it?
Trump v Harris has opened up a gulf between the sexes
I hesitate to give JD Vance any ideas, but if American women were denied the vote, Donald Trump would be restored to the White House in a landslide.
Seeing double
What does it feel like to discover, in adulthood, that you are a twin? Here, five sets of brothers and sisters tell their stories of meeting for the first time and what happened next
The shapeshifter
Giorgia Meloni been called a neo-fascist and a danger to Italy. But she worked hard to achieve a degree of respectability and has won over many heads of Europe, including the new UK prime minister. Should we be worried?
