An ancient relic that many Christians revere as Jesus Christ’s “Crown of Thorns” is returning to Notre Dame, nearly five years after it was saved from the flames of the cathedral’s devastating 2019 fire.

The crown was acquired by King Louis IX of France in Constantinople in 1239 for 135,000 livres - nearly half France's annual expenditure at the time. Initially kept at the Sainte-Chapelle, it was moved to Notre-Dame's treasury in 1806 where it remained until the fire which ripped through the 850-year-old building.

After a fire shuttered the beloved Gothic landmark for five years, visitor demand is expected to be high now that the doors have reopened; here’s how to plan your visit and what to expect.

Dame cathedral will reopen, five years after a fire the storied medieval landmark will reopen its doors once again.

The crown — a circular band of branches encased in a gilded golden tube — was brought back to its historic home in a ceremony presided over by the archbishop of Paris and attended by knights and dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher.

The doors of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris have reopened to the public after a fire engulfed the beloved structure five years ago. The damage required painstaking restoration and rebuilding. But eight restored bells in the northern belfry have begun ringing in preparation for Notre Dame’s grand return,