After emergency security work, the basilica of Reims hopes to reopen in mid-June

Partially closed at the end of April due to the sliding of its roof, the Saint-Remi basilica in Reims, an 800-year-old building classified as a UNESCO world heritage site, must undergo emergency work. She hopes to reopen her doors in mid-June.

A specialized company of rope access technicians began work to secure the roof on Tuesday, after agreement between the municipality and the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC), indicated the mayor of Reims, Arnaud Robinet (Horizons). Once this intervention, scheduled until June 12, is completed, the basilica will be able to reopen from the weekend of June 13-14, he announced at the end of last week in the square in front of this Roman-Gothic jewel.

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Municipal financing

On April 30, the city decided to close the nave area for safety reasons, because the roof had slipped after the “breakage of certain hooks which maintain part of the roof of the building”. Shows have been canceled. Only access to the choir remains authorized to allow the practice of worship and the reception of visitors.

The emergency security work, estimated at several hundred thousand euros, will be taken care of by the city of Reims, owner of the historic monument. “The deadlines should allow the Flâneries Musicales de Reims” (from June 18 to July 10, Editor’s note) to hold on, rejoiced Arnaud Robinet on his social networks. A summer musical event founded in 1990.

A future “construction site of the century”

They intervene while a scientific study is underway, carried out by the community and the State, with a view to the total preservation of this church, where the relics of the bishop Saint Remi, who baptized Clovis, king of the Franks, are notably preserved. This restoration, concerning both the roof, part of the facades and the 13th century stained glass windows^e century, could begin within three years and last a decade, for an amount of more than 60 million euros.

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The mayor of the city of Sacres pleads for a “refresh” of the amount of this planned envelope. “From there, we will be able to determine the share of the State, the share of the city of Reims and the extent of the patronage that we will deploy on a national level”added Arnaud Robinet, who describes the project as “construction site of the century” for Reims.