Notre Dame Cathedral has far to go to recover from a destructive fire but a hardy copper rooster that once topped the spire is serving as a reminder that all wasn’t lost.
Roosters are a symbol of France. The small bird that adorned Notre Dame plunged to the ground in the April fire that collapsed the spire and consumed the roof.
High heat and the long fall deformed the cathedral-capping rooster, but it survived and is going on public display this weekend.
French Culture Minister Frank Riester says the rooster is a “witness to what happened in this terrible fire.”
Riester said Friday that work to stabilize the cathedral’s structure continues and reconstruction isn’t expected to start for at least a few months.
Notre Dame will be closed to the public for several years.