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LEGO will release a model of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral this summer, the latest in its LEGO Architecture line, multiple LEGO news sites reported.
The set, which will consist of more than 4,300 bricks, will retail for $229.99, and will go on sale June 1, said the website Falcon Bricks, a LEGO news website.
The LEGO Notre Dame Cathedral will be one of the largest sets ever released in the LEGO Architecture line, the same site noted.
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Other entries in the LEGO Architecture line include the White House, the London, Paris, and New York skylines, and the Taj Mahal.
The reported release date of the LEGO Notre Dame Cathedral set is almost exactly six months before the Paris cathedral’s planned reopening on December 8, 2024, and is just after the five-year anniversary of the fire that destroyed a large portion of the cathedral’s roof.
The facade of Notre Dame Cathedral in 2016, before the devastating fire. LEGO is reportedly releasing a Notre Dame Cathedral set this summer. (JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
On April 15, 2019, a fire started on the roof of Notre Dame, damaging the cathedral’s roof and destroying its spire. Since then, rebuilding efforts have continued, and the spire was officially replaced on December 6, 2023, says the website of Paris’ tourism office.
Construction is ongoing and will continue for many years even after the cathedral reopens, said the Paris tourism office.
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Normally, LEGO does not release sets that have a religious connotation, said Falcon Bricks.
“Notre Dame is probably legitimized by the set’s architectural focus on the monument,” they said.
Notre Dame Cathedral has been closed to the public since a fire on April 15, 2019. It is set to reopen on December 8, 2024. (Stefano Guidi/Getty Images / Getty Images)
A similar “exception” was likely made in 2019 with the release of the Taj Mahal set. The Taj Mahal is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of Emperor Shah Jahan, says the LEGO website. A mosque is located in the complex.
Shortly after the fire, LEGO announced that they did not plan on releasing a Notre Dame Cathedral set at that time, a representative from LEGO told Fox Business.
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As a functioning cathedral, Notre Dame is the seat of Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris.
Notre Dame Cathedral in 2014, showcasing the building’s iconic flying buttresses and gothic architecture. (BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Ulrich was installed as archbishop of Paris in May 2022, in a ceremony that was held at the Church of Saint-Sulpice, reported Catholic News Agency at the time.
The Church of Saint-Sulpice is serving as the temporary cathedral for the Archdiocese of Paris while Notre Dame Cathedral is under construction.
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Images of the LEGO Notre Dame Cathedral set are not yet available, said Falcon Bricks. The cathedral is believed to be the only LEGO Architecture set that will be released in 2024.
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Fox Business reached out to LEGO for additional comment.
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