The 9 cathedrals of the Grand Est
Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral - Troyes (Aube)
Cathedral of Our Lady - Reims (Marne)
Saint-Etienne Cathedral - Châlons-en-Champagne (Marne)
Saint-Mammès Cathedral - Langres, Haute-Marne
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Annunciation - Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle)
Notre-Dame Cathedral - Verdun (Meuse)
Saint-Etienne Cathedral - Metz (Moselle)
Notre-Dame Cathedral - Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin)
Saint-Dié Cathedral and church - Saint-Dié-des-Vosges (Vosges)
Maintaining and restoring cathedrals: 7 cathedrals under construction between 2020 and 2024
Building maintenance and restoration campaigns contribute to building safety and security.
Departmental Units of Architecture and Heritage (UDAP) of each department are responsible for the maintenance of cathedrals. The Architect des Bâtiments de France (ABF), who heads the UDAP, is the building’s curator and the sole security manager (RUS) and safety reference. Services of the Regional Conservation of Historical Monuments coordinate restoration operations.
7 campaigns of work have just been completed on the cathedrals of the Grand Est, late 2022/ early 2023, or are still underway. 4 of these operations benefited from the «Cathedral Plan», as part of the Economic Recovery Plan.
Work in progress or just completed
Restoration of the Tribune organ (2021-2024)
Amount 1,513,566 € State and 850,000 € of patronage provided by individuals and companies
Restoration of the bedside, bays 3N and 4N
- Firm tranche (1st quarter 2022 - February 2023) - Amount: €1.5 million (100% State) as part of the «Cathedral Plan» measure of the Economic Recovery Plan
- Optional tranche (February 2023 - early 2024) - Amount: €1.6 million (100% State)
Restoration of the south tower (end of August 2021 - December 2022)
Amount: €1.04 million (100% State), including €1,005,082 under the «Cathedral Plan» measure of the Economic Recovery Plan
Restoration of the central span and two towers (2020 - 2024)
Amount: €2.57 million (100% State)
Restoration of the gallery organ
Amount (100% State): €1,386,428 as part of the «Cathedral Plan» measure of the Economic Recovery Plan
Restoration of the south arm of the transept (end 2021 - 2022)
Amount: 2, 74 million € (100% State)
Waterproofing of terraces (December 2021 - December 2022)
Amount: €434,742 (100% State) as part of the «Cathedral Plan» measure of the Economic Recovery Plan
Electrical and lighting upgrades (January - December 2022)
644 257 € (100% State)
Restoration of the transept crossing dome (2022-2024)
Amount: €1.7 million (100% State)
The overall security level of the Grand Est cathedrals is raised
Visits/ diagnosis of evaluation
The cathedrals of the Grand Est are all evaluated by the fire safety advisor of the Ministry of Culture, during visits bringing together all the stakeholders: the services of the DRAC (CRMH and UDAP), the prefecture, the firefighters, the diocese, the municipality, associations…
The risks specific to each building are identified in a global security strategy. Each time, it is a case-by-case analysis, according to the needs, the particularities of the cathedral, the security of the property requiring a totally different analysis of the security of persons. Bouquets of works are scheduled over several years, respecting the monuments.
Dry columns
7 cathedrals have a dry column. The two without, Reims and Saint-Dié are those with a concrete frame.
The UDAP regularly conducts, in conjunction with the departmental fire and rescue services (SDIS), dry column testing exercises. They are part of an operational approach to a possible crisis situation (extended fire, hydrants with insufficient flow, material problem...).
Alarm and fire detection systems
All cathedrals are equipped with an alarm system.
Six have a fire detection system. The study is underway for one (Troyes), for the other two (Reims and Saint-Dié), the concrete structure provides global protection against fire (people and property).
Each building is studied according to the risks identified. Thus, the cathedral of Langres was equipped with thermal cameras of surveillance with telereport on telephone. For the cathedrals of Verdun, Metz and Saint-Dié-des-Vosges a security audit was entrusted to a specialized design office. In Troyes, the chief architect was commissioned to set up a Fire Safety System.
Overhaul of electrical installations
The interventions are based on annual controls and five-year visit reports that determine the weaknesses detected on each building and allow the curators to schedule their annual maintenance interventions on the technical parts. Electrical installations are also subject to global upgrades, such as Saint-Dié-des-Vosges Cathedral which has just benefited from a renovation in 2022 and the Toul Cathedral, which is not owned by the state, but which has benefited from the Economic Recovery Plan for the revision of electrical circuits and lighting system.
Safeguarding plans for cultural property
The 9 cathedrals of the Grand Est have a plan for safeguarding cultural property (PSBC) validated or being completed (Châlons-en-Champagne and Langres by the end of 2023).
The PSBC allow, upstream, an identification of the works to be evacuated by the firefighters, in case of disaster. Its framework is that of the first moments of a disaster and consists in establishing the priorities of action on the cultural property buildings (the monument) or furniture (movable objects, works of art present within it) to plan protection operations and/or priority travel in the event of a disaster.
Beyond a simple list, PSBC contributes to the need to create a common culture of safety for all those who are called upon to intervene on cathedrals. It is about learning to work together, on all the challenges: access to the monument, works, detection systems, prioritization of goods to be saved, manipulation of works according to their fragility, evacuation places…
Question to Jean-Pascal Lemeunier, regional curator of historical monuments
How were consulting visits and diagnostics implemented throughout the Grand Est region?
In the Grand Est, the strategy chosen, in consultation with DIRI, was to optimize the five-year visits over a limited period of 18 months.
This work made it possible to streamline the flow of visits and create a single platform of information shared by all DRAC departments.
The visits take place on the same model, over one day: the first part is devoted to the analysis of the documents transmitted beforehand to the security mission manager and the second part is devoted to the visit of the cathedral, from bottom to bottom.
All identified persons directly or indirectly concerned by the security of the building are invited: DIRI, DRAC, prefecture, SDIS, clergy, city, associations. Beyond the production of the five-year report, the objective is to inform and exchange broadly on the subject of security that concerns all users of the cathedral.
This ongoing experiment provides a much clearer understanding of the relative level of security of each building, repetitive questions and specific problems. As a result of this approach, the safeguarding plans for cultural property, some of which had been on standby for several years, will be implemented in each cathedral during 2023.
Learn more about the "Cathedral Security" plan
Partager la page