took over one hundred years to build finally being completed in the thirteenth century we'll be looking at the historical significance of this building since then . victor goes famous book the hunchback of notre dame influenced its restoration in the nineteenth century and more recently the movies and a musical made of that story and how of course it has brought millions of tourists to visit this landmark in paris every year also we'll talk about the hopes for its restoration. for all this on joined by my colleague david levitz who's been following the story and indeed you visited. many times well as have you robyn and if like like you and frankly hundreds of millions of people who probably have visited it today there's this this very mixed feeling on the one hand the sense of devastation at what has been lost but on the other hand an almost euphoric relief

at how much of you know it's what was saved from the fire the iconic bell towers survived the fire for instance although. the cathedral central spire which was actually in one thousand nine. hundred not sadly many of the vaults in the cathedral ceiling were destroyed but not all of them thankfully and the three rows windows made out of this amazing stained glass from the thirteenth century have also been saved as has the cross at the center of the building along with many priceless relics including the crown of thorns that catholics believe to have been worn by jesus himself. of course now we're still all over the bit shell shocked but this entire building which seems to us so internal turned out to be actually pretty fragile now we all know vick to goes famous book the hunchback of notre dame actually this. fictional book had

a huge impact on the real cathedrals and well it's not just about its reputation of course that every child almost on the planet knows kweisi moto. this fictional hunchback bellringer that hugo created but victor hugo what many people don't know is that he actually played a part in the cathedral survival to this day when he came out with his novel the hunchback of notre dame in eight hundred thirty one this was a rallying cry to save the cathedral the cathedral at the time was in horrible shape it had been desecrated in the french revolution and it had lost its popularity and victor hugo feared that it would actually be torn down he wrote about in the book he said this cathedral may not exist for much longer what his book did though is it recreated the cathedral popularity the french fell in love with not saddam once again and soon thereafter the king had it run of eight if he had that spire which is now lost to us added on so in some sense this cathedral

really owes its life to victor hugo well as they've been said a mere book has changed the destiny of this gothic masterpiece and we have a lot to thank the fictional back not to die which has been a popular topic for filmmakers since the very early days of the media. an iconic early adaptation is in one nine hundred twenty three silent production featuring lavish sets recreating not and a legendary performance by lon chaney is causing. the film transformed cheney from a character actor to a full blown hollywood star and it set the standard for many later horror films. with the advent of sound recording victor hugo's tale was right for filmmakers retelling big budget nine hundred thirty nine film starring charles laughton as quasi modo and maureen o'hara as his beloved as morale. with production taking

place on the eve of the second world war the story was adapted to reflect the times with the treatment of gypsies in paris an obvious parallel to nazi germany's persecution of jews. nine hundred fifty six saw the release of the first ever color film adaptation of the story with anthony quinn and gina lollobrigida in the main roles and shot partially on location at the real noto town. in this version cause images disfigurements are played down and quinn's portrayal gives the character unless her mystic appearance. it was inevitable that the hunchback of notre dame should get the disney treatment and in one thousand nine hundred six that studio released its animated musical drama which changed the original tragic ending to a happy one that outraged some fans of the original book but it didn't stop it from being a box office hit. the

following year saw yet another live action adaptation this time a made for t.v. movie starring mandy patinkin as kasi moto and son the high as as neuralgia. each version puts its own spin on the plot but a common thread is always a message of tolerance acceptance and lots. of. david. of course the wife of the billionaire. who was i think the first to sort of come forward with a log donation for the rest in the restoration of a threat we've actually thin sort of a bidding war between these french billionaires who is going to promise more surveyed build. and here's one of them that includes pino whose family owns the caring group here he is with sound his wife. the caring group owns brands like

gucci and eve some go on huge art collectors as well they pledged one hundred million euros well just a few minutes after that there are two rivals the other no family that owns do if utah and the champagne company moet and chandon also huge are collectors they pledged two hundred million euros and of course not to be outdone the bets on cool family and their company cosmetics they also pledged two hundred million euros so if the french novelist vito go with his quasi modo saves notes with them in the nineteenth century in this century it is really make up and perfume and fashion dynasty is the complete opposite of causing the ok let's let's return to the first savior of the cathedral cause about as we've seen the popularity of the movies but the story is also being turned into a disney musical which had its european premiere here in berlin in one thousand nine hundred ninety meanwhile has become the longest ever running musical here first of all though a look at

a ballet about the hunchback from one thousand nine hundred ninety six production of the paris opera. david it is extraordinary how. has played such an important role in the popularity

of cathedral i mean we live in times when church congregations declining worldwide but not. has over a million visitors a month over a million visitors a month i mean it is an architectural treasure this isn't just a house of worship it is a tourist magnet this is the most visited site in paris more than the eiffel tower paris of course being one of the most visited cities in the world as well moles in the eiffel tower and also it's quite clear from what we've seen on the television french people it means so much to the french psyche doesn't it that's right well it's no other building stands for french culture. and french history as much as not saddam does this is consider the very foundations of french civilization that we saw under threat in that fire it is at the center of paris actually this is considered point zero that this is where all the road distances in france are

calculated from cathedral it's on this island in the center of the city but you did as you take considered the birthplace of french civilization it's no coincidence that that is where the monarchy decided to place. in the twelfth century when it was construction was started to solidify paris as the unquestionable capital of france ok david thanks for again. is the epicenter of the french as david said all distances within from stem from that let's just look back at some of the historic significance in its nearly nine hundred year history. first century snow touchdown cathedral has been the site of significant advance in fifteen fifty eight a lavish wedding ceremony was performed here when fifteen year old mary queen of scots married the heir to the french throne from. this the second.

napoleon bonaparte also used not done for an ostentatious ceremony here he crowned himself emperor of france in eighteen zero for taking the crown from the pope's hands and placing it on his own head. because the drill has withstood revolutions and wars its grand bell rang out the end of the second world war. not a done has also played host to important memorials over the decades in one nine hundred seventy or requiem mass was held here for the late general do go on the service was broadcast to some five hundred million households worldwide four years later heads of state and royal representatives gathered to mourn former president george pompidou. and in one thousand nine hundred six some sixty heads of state and government attended the funeral mass for late french president francois mitterrand

paying tribute to his friend and colleague german chancellor helmut kohl was moved to tears. in twenty thirteen no to dumb it self was the focus of attention when paris celebrated the eight hundred fiftieth anniversary of its landmark. for the occasion the cathedral was fitted with nine new bells during the french revolution nearly all the previous bells had been melted down and the church ransacked. in recent years the bells of notre dame have rung out in memory of victims of terrorism after the paris attacks of november twenty fifth in mourners waited in long lines to honor those killed. after the attack in neeson twenty sixteen not to dominate paris again became a place of mourning. and now this david briefly what's the next step well on wednesday afternoon the bells of notre dame will ring out for the. first time since this tragedy and we also can't forget this sunday is easter

sunday a celebration of redemption of rebirth and certainly many christians around the world will see the saving of nurtured as an easter miracle i'm sure david as always thank you for your excellent knowledge about soul food today much more of course on our website at www dot com slash culture and off a book page the dominant culture so you no doubt will be following the face of this magnificent cathedral which will be restored about how i have no doubt we both have no doubt thanks for watching and go.

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