By Bettina Göcmener
Four years ago, Notre-Dame caught fire. The images of it shook the world. The Maison de France shows the history and reconstruction of the cathedral in Paris in an interactive exhibition.
The interactive exhibition “Notre-Dame de Paris – A Cathedral Around the World” in the Maison de France on Kurfürstendamm begins with the fire in the building on April 15, 2019.
With 16 stations, the tour takes you back to the year 1163, from the laying of the foundation stone of the cathedral, to the restoration of the present day. Thanks to the interactive tablet guides (HistoPads), which every visitor is given, you are right in the middle of it all, and with 360° views and 3D reconstructions you can experience how stonemasons work on huge blocks and horses transport wood. At another station the construction of the vault is explained.
Visitors can use a tablet to see what Empress Josephine had in her toilet box: jars, ointments and a picture of her husband Photo: Charles Yunck
Or you can witness the 1241 market and processions in front of the cathedral in the Middle Ages. A slight twist and pan of the tablet gives an insight into what is happening on the forecourt today. There are construction trailers and lie materials for the restoration after the big fire.
Napoleon’s coronation in 1804 in the Gothic cathedral is also interesting. Anyone who zoomed on his wife Kasierin Josephine learns that she was wearing flat satin shoes. Or what was in her well -filled toilet case: Among other things, a portrait of her husband.
In front of the picture of the coronation of Napoleon’s Empress Josephine, visitors can have details explained to them on a tablet Photo: Charles Yunck
The content of the HistoPad, which enables a journey through the 850-year history of the World Heritage Site, was developed by teams of scientific experts, including archaeologists, architects and, very importantly, the fire brigade and studies of historical sources.
“We want to create a bridge between then and now and also reach young people,” says Bruno de Sa Moreira from Histovery in Paris. The development of the tablet took two years. The exhibition will tour the world until the reopening in December 2024. Before Berlin she was already seen in Paris, Dubai, New Orleans, Dresden, Washington and Shanghai.
In 2019, the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris caught fire, renovation costs: 150 million euros Photo: dpa image radio
By the way, in one corner of the tour there is also a sculpture of Victor Hugo’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame”. If you take a selfie, you can see on a tablet scan what the hunchbacked Quasimodo would look like with your own face.
Until July 15, 2023, Kurfürstendamm 211, Tue for groups by prior arrangement, Wed-Sat 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., 6/4 euros, [email protected], ☎885 90 20