Five years after a fire destroyed it, Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral has given the world a glimpse of its rebuilt interior.
French president Emmanuel Macron toured the recently restored cathedral in Paris, which was televised, signalling the church's impending reopening.
A week before the landmark's ceremonial opening, its renovated stained-glass windows, creamy stonework, timber-framed roof, and lofty ceilings were shown.
Mr Macron had set the lofty ambition to reconstruct the 12th-century Gothic masterpiece within five years, and make it “even more beautiful” than before, after the 2019 fire destroyed the spire and reduced much of it to ashes.
Two-thirds of the cathedral's roof was destroyed by the fire, which also extended to one of the two rectangular towers that made up its renowned façade.
The Paris Fire Service confirmed they managed to save Notre Dame's primary artwork and structure.
The source of the incident is still being investigated, and preliminary results support an unintentional cause like a cigarette, a short circuit, or a welder's torch.
The fire, which took staff 23 minutes to discover, devastated people around the world, especially in Europe.
After the news surfaced, Spanish daily El Pais called the cathedral a “symbol of European culture”, while La Croix, a daily Catholic paper in France, said: “A country such as ours, profoundly secular, de-Christianised and which suddenly felt its heart shake to see a church aflame.”
In order to avoid history repeating itself again, the cathedral has installed a covert network of pipes that will release millions of water droplets in the event of another fire.
When is Notre Dame reopening?
The cathedral will officially open up again to the public on December 7.
Approximately 12 million people visited Notre Dame annually before the fire but, upon the reopening, attendance is predicted to skyrocket.
The cathedral will still be free to enter, but guests will need to reserve a specific time window via an online ticketing system that will go live in early December.
What does Notre Dome look like now?
Here are some pictures of the interior and exterior after its renovation.
