rose window

For years, nobody has been allowed to peek behind the ornate stone walls and intricate rose window of the Catholic Apostolic Church in Albury.

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.

Rowan LeCompte, a Baltimore-born artisan, created more than three dozen windows for the cathedral, including the west rose window, which depicts the creation of Earth as an explosive abstraction of color and light.

The medieval rose windows have been left in place, but much of the rest of the stained glass was removed and is now being cleaned by specialists in workshops around the country.

As a boy he had stood in awe of the High Gothic cathedral, its massive rose window, its imposing gallery of kings.