Notre-Dame Rises Again … in Lego

Arnaud Gaudillat, a history teacher in France, recalled bursting into tears as he watched television coverage of flames tearing through the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in 2019. “We couldn’t do anything but just 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 cabling by the end of the year, Mr. Gaudillat will not be sitting on the sidelines. He will be constructing his own Notre-Dame. One made out of 4,383 Lego pieces.

Lego, the biggest toy company in the world, on Saturday released a model of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, 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 beautiful thing in my house,” Mr. Gaudillat, 25, said of the Notre-Dame set. He started building intricate Lego sets a few years ago and became hooked.

The Danish toy company is best known for its colorful play sets for children, including its best-selling animal sets, train sets and Harry Potter-themed sets. But since 2020, when Lego started a new category of toys marketed for people ages 18 and over, the company has doubled the size of its range targeting adults. About 20 percent of the company’s sets for sale are intended for adult fans of Legos, known as AFOLs.

The Notre-Dame set, which sells for $229.99, is gaining attention for its design and because it is the first religious structure that the company has released in 67 years, according to Lego’s official historian.