If you’ve ever wanted to own a piece of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, now is your chance!
In an effort to raise funds to support France’s endangered religious landmarks and heritage sites, the medieval Catholic cathedral is raffling off around 50 stones from the iconic building. The stones, which were too badly damaged in the fire to reuse, weigh roughly 800 grams each and have been engraved with the silhouette of the iconic structure’s main façade.
To enter, you must be over the age of 18 and donate at least €40 ($43) by April 4 through a website set up by the Fondation du Patrimoine (Heritage Foundation). Winners will be selected by April 15—the day the fire tore through the cathedral in 2019—and are prohibited from selling, gifting, or trading the stones.
The Fondation du Patrimoine has already raised €228 million ($247 million) from nearly 236,000 donors out of the total €840 million ($912 million) raised to help restore Notre Dame. Established in 1996, the foundation supports the preservation of France’s religious heritage. Around 5,000 religious sites out of 50,000 identified across the country are in need of critical repair.
Though Notre Dame was ravaged by fire in 2019, it reopened last December. The restoration was a tremendous project: more than 2,000 artisans were involved; building materials included a felled oak tree that once stood 88 feet tall. 14,000 square feet of stone was replaced, 8,000 organ pipes were cleaned, and 1,500 solid oak pews were hewed and installed. The cathedral was also rigorously cleaned as part of the restoration.
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