Historian Showcases Wooden Framework Supporting Notre Dame Cathedral (File)

A day after a fire tore through Notre Dame Cathedral on April 15, the City of Paris shared video from 2014 showing the cathedral’s historian, Jean-Pierre Cartier, showcasing the building’s famous flying buttress and supportive wooden framework.

While providing a tour of the cathedral, Cartier explains some of the renovations and changes made to the structure over the centuries.

The wooden framework, known as the “forest,” was constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries, according to Cartier. The same framework was “devoured by flames” in Monday’s fire, Agence France Presse reported. The cathedral’s main spire collapsed on April 15 as flames destroyed the majority of the roof. Credit: City of Paris via Storyful