First glimpses of restored Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris five years after fire

French President Emmanuel Macron provided a glimpse Friday of Paris' rescued and refurbished gothic masterpiece cathedral Notre-Dame, five years after it nearly succumbed to a massive fire.

The 12th-century cathedral is one the world’s most famous tourist attractions. It was undergoing major restoration in 2019 when flames, thought to be the result of an accident, engulfed the medieval structure.

Notre-Dame does not open to the public before the weekend of Dec. 7-8, and the exact details of its re-vamp have been a closely-guarded secret, but Macron hosted a televised tour to mark the cathedral's imminent reopening.

Here are some things to know about the cathedral.

Notre-Dame: What's the backstory?

Construction on the cathedral began in 1163. A bishop of Paris named Maurice de Sully wanted to reconstruct a site where there had once been a Roman church and pagan temple. It took over 100 years to complete. At the time, Paris was a burgeoning political, economic and intellectual center in Europe. De Sully wanted Notre-Dame to reflect that.

Why is Notre-Dame so well-known?

The cathedral itself ? before the fire ? was regarded as an architectural feat. It is filled with symbolic decorations, colorful glass, artworks and gargoyles. Its towers are more than 220 feet tall and the building is more than 400 feet long. It's almost 52,000 square feet. It is home to a number of important relics including the Crown of Thorns, a wreath of thorns believed by the faithful to have been placed on the head of Jesus Christ at his crucifixion.

Notre-Dame was arguably immortalized by Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." That book centers on Quasimodo, the cathedral's bell-ringer, and Esmeralda, a kind and beautiful street dancer. The novel has also been adapted into a number of films, including a much-watched animated Disney version in 1996. The cathedral's gothic form has been depicted in paintings, etchings and photographs.

What caused the fire?

Investigators after a lengthy probe ruled out arson and determined the fire was probably caused by an accident, either an electrical fault or sparked by a smoldering cigarette left by a workman.

What happened during the fire?

Hundreds of firefighters battled for more than 15 hours to save the cathedral. The blaze collapsed the cathedral’s spire and spread to one of its rectangular towers. Firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to the church's northern belfry. Many precious sculptures and relics were saved, though some sustained water damage.

'Raining fire': Firsthand accounts from the Notre Dame Cathedral blaze

What do we know about the restoration project?

According to Rebuilding Notre-Dame de Paris, an estimated 2,000 stonemasons, carpenters, sculptors, gilders roofers, foundry-workers, art experts and various types of engineers worked on the project at an estimated cost of almost $800 million. Organ builders restored 8,000 pipes belonging to Notre-Dame’s great organ.

"We will rebuild Notre-Dame because that’s what the French people are expecting," Macron told reporters at the site of the fire in 2019. "Because that’s what our history is worthy of. Because that’s our deep destiny."

Video and photos appeared to show that the cathedral's cream-colored limestone walls, long obscured by grime and dust even before the fire, had been restored, giving the interior a much lighter feel and atmosphere. In a speech on Friday, Macron said that when Notre-Dame fully opens it will be a "shock of hope."

Contributing: Ryan W. Miller

This article was updated to include video.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Notre-Dame cathedral to reopen five years after fire