French bell foundry Cornille Havard in Villedieu-les-Poeles in Normandy was chosen to design and cast eight replacement bronze bells for the north tower of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, set to be finished in time to ring for the 850th anniversary of the cathedral next year.
The new bells will have the same weight and diameter as the ones from the 18th-century that were melted down and turned into cannons during the French Revolution. They will be designed to recreate the centuries old sound by using the same medieval forging methods.
