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The recent fire in Notre Dame Cathedral has become a real tragedy not only for the French in general and the residents of the capital in particular, but for the whole world.
This monument of culture and architecture is the same attraction as the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre.
Unfortunately, this case is far from the only one when the fire completely or partially destroyed historical monuments.
10 San Cristobal Palace
The palace in Rio de Janeiro, built in the style of late classicism, was founded in 1803 and belonged to the Portuguese merchant Elias António Lopes.
When, 5 years later, the royal court of Portugal moved to Brazil, he presented this estate to them as a gift, which they liked and the royal people remained in it for a long time until 1822. Then Brazil gained independence, and the palace became the residence of local rulers.
On September 2, 2018, in San Crissen, which by that time had been the National Museum for many years, there was a fire that destroyed almost the entire collection (there were about 20 million exhibits dedicated to different cultures) and the building itself.
9. “Shelter of Eleven”
The hotel on Mount Elbrus was built in 1929 and was originally a spacious hut for about 40 people.
Later, after modernization and complete completion, it could be compared with a first-class hotel in terms of comfort.
Being at an altitude of over 4 km above sea level, for 60 years it was the “highest” in the USSR and one of the highest in Europe.
During the war years, the Germans occupied it, hoisting a Nazi flag on the top of the mountain, and after the Second World War, it became a museum and a place from where climbers climbed to the top of the mountain.
By 1998, the building was practically abandoned and ownerless, and only rare tourist groups visited it. Presumably, it was their fault (violation of fire safety rules) that a fire broke out, completely destroying the building, which was never restored.
8. National Museum of Natural History (New Delhi)
The construction of the museum began in 1972 and was timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of India’s independence. The grand opening took place 6 years later, and since then this place has become one of the most popular among tourists in the Indian capital.
Unfortunately, the museum did not last long: on April 26, 2016, a fire broke out, which, in theory, was supposed to be neutralized by the internal fire extinguishing system, but it turned out to be faulty.
7. Plasko (shopping complex)
The building with a height of 17 floors was located in the Iranian capital, the city of Tehran. Built in the early 60s of the last century, for some time it was the highest in the country.
It contained residential and commercial real estate, and on the ground floor there was a large shopping center, which was visited by all tourists.
The fire started on January 19, 2017 on the 9th floor, when there were people in the building. Fortunately, it was only 8 am, so there were relatively few people, but the flames that spread, which led to the collapse, still claimed human lives. So, 16 firefighters died during the extinguishing.
6. Yekateringof Palace
The project of the Italian architect Domenico Trezzini, founded in 1711 by Peter I, belonged to the imperial family.
Having an original exterior and interior, it was used very little, so it began to fall into disrepair as early as 1779.
It was given a second life in 1825, when a museum of the era of Peter the Great was opened there (by the way, the first museum-palace in Russia), but the palace did not last long in this capacity: already in 1848, exhibits began to be gradually taken out of it.
The first fire happened in 1923 and was not catastrophic, but after that the fire returned twice more: in 1925 and 1926. After the last fire, the remains of the palace were dismantled for firewood.
5. Library of Celsus
The oldest architectural monument on our list, built in 135. According to various estimates, about 12 scrolls were stored in the library building, which made it the second largest in antiquity: it was second only to the Library of Alexandria.
In the middle of the XNUMXrd century, on the territory of modern Turkey, where the building was located, there were clashes with the Goths, and during their next raid a fire broke out.
Despite the fact that the facade survived, everything inside was completely burned down, thereby destroying the unique records.
The attraction was completely reconstructed only in the 70s of the last century, making it a rather visited place.
4. Glass Palace (Munich)
The palace, made of glass and cast iron, was built in 1854 on the territory of the Old Botanical Garden, and the Crystal Palace in the English capital was taken as a model.
During the fire that broke out on June 6, 1931, the object was completely burned down, but some of the exhibits were saved.
Nevertheless, about 3 art objects were destroyed, and thousands more were seriously damaged.
It is noteworthy that the Crystal Palace in London, which served as the basis for Munich, also burned down after 5 years.
3. Cypress Senator
In Longwood Park, Florida, there was a huge cypress tree named after Overstreet, a state senator. The tree had a height of 38 m and a diameter of 5.5 m, and due to its age of 3 years, it was one of the 500 oldest trees on the planet.
The living relic was visited by thousands of tourists every year, until on January 16, 2012, a local resident lit a fire that burned it to the ground in a few hours.
At the moment, a commemorative plaque has been installed on the site of the cypress, and park workers are working on growing a new tree, which has already received the symbolic name Phoenix.
2. Namdaemun
The monument was built in 1398 and was officially one of the national treasures of the Republic of Korea.
The oldest building in Seoul, the gate has survived many disasters, including the Korean War in the 50s, but even then it escaped with only damage.
Only a fire could destroy them on the night of February 11, 2008, when a local resident, embittered at the authorities, set fire to the wooden structure.
1. Notre Dame de Paris
Let’s finish where we started, namely the Notre Dame Cathedral, the fire in which occurred on April 15, 2019.
Fortunately, the well-coordinated work of firefighters was able to save the building from complete destruction, but the damage is still significant: for example, because of the fire, the spire and part of the roof collapsed.
Now there is a campaign to raise funds for the restoration, there are more than enough willing to help: for example, the businessman and husband of actress Salma Hayek agreed to donate 100 million euros from his fund.