Notre-Dame rises again… in Lego

Arnaud Gaudillat, a history teacher in France, recalled breaking down in tears as he watched television coverage of the flames that devastated Notre-Dame Cathedral in 2019. “We couldn’t do anything but watch it burn,” he said.

Now, five years later, as hundreds of architects, engineers and metalworkers race to finish rebuilding the cathedral’s roof coverings and electrical cables by the end of the year, Gaudillat will not remain on the sidelines. He will build his Notre-Dame. One made up of 4,383 Lego pieces.

Lego, the world’s largest toy company, launched a model of Notre-Dame Cathedral on Saturday, complete with rose windows, bell towers and a central spire surrounded by statues. The set, designed for adults, will be part of the company’s collection of sets based on architectural feats, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater and his Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

“I just want to have this wonderful thing in my house,” Mr. Gaudillat, 25, said of the Notre-Dame set. He started building intricate Lego sets a few years ago and was fascinated by them.