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diff --git a/22990.txt b/22990.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1d825d7 --- /dev/null +++ b/22990.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1660 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Historical Sketch of the Cathedral of +Strasburg, by Anonymous + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Historical Sketch of the Cathedral of Strasburg + + +Author: Anonymous + + + +Release Date: October 12, 2007 [eBook #22990] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE CATHEDRAL +OF STRASBURG*** + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Suzan Flanagan, and the Project +Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 22990-h.htm or 22990-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/2/9/9/22990/22990-h/22990-h.htm) + o9 + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/2/9/1/22990/22990-h.zip) + + +Transcriber's notes: + + This booklet appears to end abruptly, but there is no + evidence of any missing pages in the original copy. + + The "oe" and "OE" ligatures are represented as "[oe]" + and "[OE]" respectively. + + Superscripted text is not displayed as such in the text + version. Superscripts are displayed in the HTML version. + + On page 20, a cross symbol, which indicates year of death, + is represented as {+}. + + A list of corrections will be found at the end of the + e-text. + + + + + +The Cathedral of Strasburg + +[Illustration] + +Strasburg +A. Vix & Cie +Publishers + + +[Illustration: Death of the Virgin Maria.] + + +HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE CATHEDRAL OF STRASBURG + +Twenty fourth Edition + + + + + + + +Strasburg +Published by A. Vix & Cie +31, Place de la Cathedrale +1922. + + + + +[Illustration: The interior of the Cathedral.] + + + + +[Illustration] + +I. HISTORY + + +Among the wonderful monuments to which the religious art of the +middle ages has given rise and which will for ever excite the +admiration of men, the church of _Notre-Dame_ or Cathedral of +Strasburg occupies one of the first ranks. By its dimensions, the +richness of the ornaments and figures that adorn its exterior, by +the majesty of its nave, and by its light steeple, which towers +towards Heaven with as much grace as boldness, this house of God +proclaims afar its destination and leaves a deep and indelible +impression on the soul of any one who gazes on it. + +Exhibiting in all its different parts models of every epoch of +christian architecture, this Cathedral is for the artist a +subject of serious study and for the inhabitant of Strasburg a +venerable monument, which recalls to his mind the principal +events of the ancient history of our city. + +According to some old traditions, the Cathedral is built on a +spot, which, from the remotest times, had been devoted to +worship. Originally this spot formed a hill sloping westward into +a cavity, which was filled up many centuries ago. Around it, the +Celts, the first inhabitants of our country, built their huts: +its summit was covered by the sacred wood, in the midst of which +rose the druidical _dolmen_. It was there that those barbarians +offered sacrifices to Esus, their God of war, sacrifices which, +in times of public calamity, were human victims. + +After the conquest of Gaul by the Romans, a regular and fortified +town was very soon founded on the place hitherto occupied by the +scattered habitations of the Celts. The old name of _Argentorat_ +was alone preserved; it signified a town where the river is +crossed over. It was there, according to tradition, that a temple +dedicated to Hercules and Mars succeeded the druidical forest. +There is nothing unlikely in these traditions; the high ground on +which the Cathedral stands speaks as much in their favour as the +pagan statues found in the neighbourhood[1]. + + [1] A brass statue of Hercules, called _Krutzmann_, was found + among the christian statues that decorated the Cathedral; it was + taken down in 1525 and is no longer extant. A Hercules of stone, + found no doubt when digging the foundations, is yet seen in a + niche of the northward tower, where it juts out into the nave. A + small stone figure of Mars, coming also from the Cathedral, was + preserved in the town-library, but it appeared to be modern. + +With respect to the first erection of a christian church in this +place, history is destitute of authentic facts. Some old +chronicles report that about the middle of the fourth century, +saint Amand built a church on the ruins of a Roman temple, but +the existence of this supposed first bishop of Strasburg is even +very doubtful. During the first years of the fifth century, the +invasion of barbarians filled the provinces of Gaul with terror +and devastation; the German tribes that crossed the Rhine +plundered the Roman city of Argentorat and its temples. Nobody +knows whether from that time new inhabitants settled in the midst +of these ruins, or whether they served but as temporary abodes to +the hordes successively coming into Gaul. + +It was only after the conquest of that extensive country by the +Franks that, about 510, Clovis had a church built at Argentorat, +no doubt on the spot where the Cathedral now stands. The +architecture of that church was as coarse and barbarous as the +spirit of those times; it was built of wood and supported by +earthen walls, extending from East to West; on this latter end +was the front-gate and before it a portico; besides the principal +nave it had two aisles; the western side opening into a yard that +served as a passage to the priest's house. + +In proportion as the town, the name of which was by the Franks +changed into Strasburg, increased in importance and population, +the Merovegian kings granted greater favours to the church +founded by one of their predecessors. The valuable donations they +bestowed on the bishopric of Strasburg, enabled the inhabitants +to embellish and enlarge the Cathedral. In 675 Dagobert II +granted to bishop Arbogast the town of Ruffach with the castle of +Isenburg and a vaste domain that he freed from tax and royal +jurisdiction and which on that account was called superior +_Mundat_. A no less important gift was that from Count Rudhart, +who made over to the church of Strasburg, in 748, Ettenheim with +several neighbouring villages on the right bank of the Rhine. +Many other eminent personages of this country increased +successively by their liberality the wealth of the episcopal see. +A great advantage was granted by Charlemain in 775, which was to +exempt the subjects of the bishopric from all tolls and taxes +imposed upon the traders travelling through the empire. At that +time considerable sums had already been employed to adorn the +interior of the Cathedral. In the year 826, the abbot Ermold the +Black, living in exile at Strasburg, speaks with enthusiasm of +the _beautiful temple of the Virgin_ and of the other altars that +decorate it. This ecclesiastic, with great ardour changed the +metal of the antique statues he could yet find into sacred +vases; a bronze Hercules, two cubits high, alone escaped the +pursuit of his pious zeal; after preserving it several centuries +in the Cathedral, it was at last sold, and is now at Issy near +Paris. + +A fire, which in 873 destroyed a portion of the church and all +its archives, occasioned, no doubt, important repairs, and this +event was the cause of a new royal confirmation of all the +possessions of the church. In 1002 it was plundered, profaned and +set on fire by the soldiers of Hermann, duke of Suabia and +Alsacia, who was then contending with Henry of Bavaria for the +imperial crown, Strasburg and its bishop Wernher having declared +for the latter. Subdued by Henry II, Hermann was compelled to +repair the damage caused to the church by placing at bishop +Wernher's disposal the income of the abbey of Saint-Stephen of +which he was the patron. With these funds, which the bishop +increased by means of a new levy of taxes and by indulgences, +he was preparing to restore his Cathedral, when in 1007 a +thunderbolt achieved its destruction. + +He then formed the project of rebuilding the church on a plan of +much larger dimensions and after the style of architecture that +was then making its first appearance. The revenues of the +bishopric, contributions furnished by the clergy of Alsacia and +large sums of money granted by the head of the empire, afforded +Wernher the necessary resources for the execution of his plan. +This was examined and discussed in the presence of several +master-architects whom he had sent for. The plan once fixed upon, +stones were brought from the fine quarries of free-stone in the +Kronthal. The peasants and bondsmen of the country brought them +to the town where they were cut in the square then called +_Frohnhof_, between the Cathedral and the present palace. It was +during these labours that in 1042 the emperor Henry II came to +Strasburg; the dignified and austere deportment of the clergy of +the high chapter, the tranquillity prevailing under the roof of +the episcopal church, made such an impression on this prince, +that he for a moment resolved to resign the crown and solicit his +admittance among the canons of the Cathedral. The bishop appeared +at first to accede to this wish; but it was only to prescribe to +Henry, henceforth his subordinate, to resume the imperial +authority which Providence had bestowed on him; the emperor +acquiesced and perpetuated the remembrance of his pious wish by +the foundation of a royal prebend. + +When, in 1015, a sufficient quantity of materials was collected, +they set to work by digging the ground. At the depth of more than +five fathoms they drove down stakes, filled the space between +them with clay mixed with lime, fragments of bricks and coal; and +on this solid base were laid the foundation stones. + +Tradition gives an account of a hundred and even two hundred +thousand men being employed in the construction of this church, +which work, thanks to the religious enthusiasm of that epoch and +the labours performed by vassals and workmen _for the salvation +of their souls_, advanced very rapidly. + +In the year 1027 bishop Wernher set out for Constantinople, and +never returned to his native land. From that time we have but +imperfect and uncertain accounts touching the progress of the +building. All we know is, that in 1028 they had built up to the +roof. It seems likely from that account that this monument, built +in the byzantine style, at once so elegant and so simple, was +soon after completed by the erection of a tower, and that it +remained in the same state till, owing to sundry circumstances +and, perhaps, to bad construction, it began to need important +repair. It is impossible to determine the time when repairing the +church took place; however, this happened probably not before the +middle of the thirteenth century and in the then new style, +since called the Gothic order. This opinion is confirmed by the +ancient seal of our city, which likely enough and according to +the custom of those times, represents the front of the Cathedral. + +That it had a tower in 1130 is a certain fact; for K[oe]nigscoven +speaks of its destruction by fire in the course of that year; +successive fires, in 1140, 1150, 1176 also materially injured the +beautiful edifice; besides, the continual wars and tumultuous +commotions of the time prevented the bishops from undertaking +essential repairs. It appears that these causes, by degrees, +brought on the complete ruin of bishop Wernher's constructions; +for unquestionably the part included between the nave and the two +towers dates but from the thirteenth century, and cannot have +been begun before the middle of it. What remained of the old +church was pulled down at that time and a new and more spacious +edifice was erected, built in the style then spreading over all +Europe. Considering the immense size of this monument, it is easy +to imagine that the work went on but slowly, and an old chronicle +mentions that on the 7th September 1275 they finished the middle +part of the superior arch-roofs, with the exception of the towers +in front. By whom these labours were directed is altogether +unknown. + +It was bishop Conrad of Lichtenberg who undertook to rebuild the +parts that were still in a state of ruin and thus at last to +accomplish this great work of the Cathedral[1]. + + [1] "... _Ipsa ecclesia in meliorum statuum reedificetur_ ..." + (See a charter of bishop Conrad of Lichtenberg, published by M. + L. SPACE 1841, p. 6). + +In order to execute this design, he published indulgences all +over the country; and after collecting large sums of money in the +town, he applied to the ecclesiastics of his diocese, asking +their own gifts and offerings as well as those of the faithful +under their direction; in a synod held in the diocese, the clergy +agreed to give up, during four years, a fourth part of their +revenues. Conrad entrusted the direction of this work to Master +Erwin of Steinbach, who, according to some old documents, was a +native of Mayence. This great architect began by rebuilding the +nave, the arch-roofs of which were completed in 1275. Then he +commenced the facade of the church and its towers from a plan so +bold and sublime that the conception of it places Erwin for ever +at the head of the architects of the middle age[1]. In 1276 they +laid the foundation of the northern tower; to consecrate the +spot, the bishop walked solemnly round it, then took a trowel in +his hand and thrust it into the ground, as a sign for beginning +the work. They relate that a quarrel having occured between two +workmen who both wished to work with the trowel the bishop had +held in his hand, one of them was killed. This murder was +considered as a very bad omen; Conrad ordered their labour to be +suspended for nine days; they were only resumed after he had +consecrated the place anew. The following year, on saint Urban's +day (25th May), Conrad himself laid the first stone of the tower. +In the midst of his warfares, this bishop always entertained much +affection for his Cathedral, as he beheld the gradual rising of +this _glorious work_, as an old inscription terms it[2]; in his +heartfelt joy he used to compare it to the flowers of May that +bloom in the sun[3]. To the very end of his life Conrad of +Lichtenberg neglected nothing to urge on the progress of his work +of predilection; after his death, in 1299, he received in it a +sepulchre worthy of him; his statue is still to be seen in saint +John's chapel. Yet, during the life of Conrad, the Cathedral was +shaken by several earthquakes in 1279, 1289, 1291; that of 1289 +was so violent that the columns in the interior of the building +threatened for a moment to fall down. But a very favourable +circumstance happened in 1292, which was the surrender of the +_[OE]uvre-Notre-Dame_ to the magistrate of the city, who was +henceforth charged with the management of the revenues allotted +to the keeping in repair of the Church and consequently also to +the completion of it. A few years after, in 1298, a new +misfortune happened to the Cathedral. A fire, caused by the +imprudence of a cavalier of Albert I, during the sojourn of that +prince at Strasburg, consumed all the timberwork and threatened +even the pillars and walls. However the damage was promptly +repaired. In 1302 a bloody conflict between two citizens of the +town, which took place in the very chancel of the church, +required again a new consecration of it. + + [1] They still preserve in the records of the convent of the + _[OE]uvre Notre-Dame_ several old drawings on parchment of the + facade and towers; these curious designs belong to different + epochs; according to the opinion of the _connaisseurs_, the + oldest would most likely be that of Erwin himself. + + [2] _Anno Domini MCCLXXVII in die beati Urbani hoc gloriosum + opus inchoavit magister Erwinus de Steinbach._ This inscription + was formerly placed in the vault of the northern portal. + + [3] In a letter of indulgence. + +After the death of bishop Conrad of Lichtenberg, who in the year +1299 was killed in a battle near Friburg, his brother and +successor, Frederic, showed no less ardour for the continuation +of this building; in 1303 he invited the curates throughout +Alsacia to exhort those of their faithful parishioners who had +horses and carts, to convey stones for the edifice; in 1308 the +magistrate of Strasburg, no doubt at the request of bishop John, +promised freepasses to all those who would bring stones or wood, +and he secured wine and wheat for the workmen. + +Erwin superintended the works until 1318, when he died on the +14th of January. All the children of this grand master were +artists worthy of him: Sabina, his daughter, carved several +statues for the Cathedral; one of his sons, who died in 1330, +built the fine church of Haslach; his other son, John, succeeded +him in directing the works of the Cathedral, and he died in 1339. +In 1331 bishop Berthold of Bucheck built the chapel of saint +Catherine, which also contains his tomb. The disturbances and +calamities that desolated Strasburg during a great part of the +fourteenth century, the revolution of 1332 that altered the form +of the government of the town, the ravage caused by the black +plague in 1349 with the insurrections accompanying it, the +contest of bishop Berthold with his chapter and with the emperor, +all this retarded of course the progress of the construction of +the Cathedral. Nevertheless they terminated in 1365 the northern +tower; K[oe]nigshoven calls it the new tower, perhaps, because +they purposed erecting a pyramid on it, which was quite an +innovation in the architecture of that time. The southern tower, +which the chronicler calls the ancient one, because it was not +intended to be raised higher, was finished at the same time. The +name of the artist who made the plan of the pyramid and spire of +the northern tower is still unknown; nor is it known who built +the steeple which formerly rose above the _grande rosace_, or +rose. + +In 1368 the church was again struck by lightning without +receiving much damage; in 1384 a fire that broke out in the +organ, burnt all the interior with the exception of the chancel. +Ever since that time large vats were set in the different parts +of the building and guardians placed in the interior and in the +towers. In 1429, John Hueltz of Cologne was sent for to complete +this great work; ten years after, he finished the spire; on +Midsummer's day 1439, in the presence of a great multitude, he +laid the last stone, exactly a hundred and sixty two years after +Conrad of Lichtenberg had placed the first stone of this +monument; a statue of the Virgin Mary was also erected on the +knob terminating the spire[1]. + + [1] It was taken down in 1488. + +At the time of the reformation the Cathedral passed over to the +protestants; it is true that on account of their worship, they +caused several chapels to be closed and some altars to be +removed, but they made no material change, nor spoiled any thing; +on the contrary, they watched with care over the magnificent +building and even caused important repairs to be made in it. +Several times it was very much injured by fire and by lightning, +particularly in the years 1540, 1555, 1568, 1624 and 1625. In +1654 the spire was destroyed by lightning; the skilful architect +Heckler was obliged to rebuild it sixty five feet high. By +the capitulation of 1681 the Cathedral was restored to the +catholics, who immediately began to repair it, but unfortunately +in that wretched style then prevailing, and when not the least +intelligence of christian art existed any longer, they pulled +down the lobby made by Erwin, so much admired in the middle age +as a masterpiece of elegance; in 1692 they adorned the interior +of the choir with wainscots of wood painted and gilt; in 1732 +they widened it to the detriment of a portion of the nave, and +ten years later galleries were made for the orchestra. To punish, +as it would seem, those who were thus spoiling this wonderful +monument, an earthquake shook it in 1728; in 1759 it was struck +by lightning and considerably injured; the lead on the roof of +the nave was entirely melted, and the fine cupola or arched roof +that crowned the dome fell into pieces; the roof was then covered +with copper, but the cupola was not rebuilt. New destructions +awaited the Cathedral in 1793; in their fury of levelling, the +men who then ruled the country caused two hundred and thirty four +effigies of saints and kings to be taken down from their niches, +of which very few only were saved; the crazy jacobin Teterel even +proposed pulling down the spire, because, by its height extending +far beyond that of the ordinary houses, it was condemning the +principle of equality; the motion not being carried on. Teterel +obtained the assurance at least, that a large red cap made of tin +should be placed on the top of the Cathedral, and it was to be +seen among other curiosities in the town-library, before its +destruction. + +The year 1870, so full of important events for Strasburg, was +also fatal for the Cathedral, and during the seven weeks' +cannonading of the town the beautiful building was constantly +threatened with ruin. In the first period of the siege of +Strasburg, the Germans tried to force the surrender by the +bombardment and partial destruction of the inner town. In +the night of the 23rd of August began for the frightened +inhabitants the real time of terror; however that night the rising +conflagrations, for instance in St. Thomas' church, were quickly +put out. But in the following night the New-Church, the Library +of the town, the Museum of paintings and many of the finest +houses became a heap of ruins, and under the hail of shells all +efforts to extinguish the fire were useless. For the Cathedral +the night from the 25th to 26th of August was the worst. Towards +midnight the flames broke out from the roof perforated by shells, +and increased by the melting copper, they rose to a fearful +height beside the pyramid of the spire. The sight of this grand +volume of flames, rising above the town, was indescribable and +tinged the whole sky with its glowing reflection. And the guns +went on thundering and shattering parts of the stone ornaments +which adorned the front and sides of the Cathedral. The whole +roof came down and the fire died out only for want of fuel. The +following morning the ground in the interior was covered with +ruins, and through the holes in the vault of the nave one could +see the blue sky. The beautiful Organ built by Silbermann was +pierced by a shell and the magnificent painted windows were in +great part spoiled. Fortunately the celebrated astronomical Clock +had escaped unhurt. + +As the Military Command continued for some time to occupy a post +of observation on the platform, the Cathedral was unfortunately +still longer the aim of German guns which every day surrounded +the building with ruins. On the 4th of September two shells hit +the crown of the Cathedral and hurled the stonemasses to +incredible distances; on the 15th a shot came even into the point +below the Cross, which was bent on one side, and had its +threatened fall only prevented by the iron bars of the lightning +conductor which held it. + +After the entrance of the Germans into the reconquered town, the +difficult and dangerous work of restauration of the point of the +spire was begun at once and happily ended a few months after. +They work also constantly to make the other damages disappear, +and in a short time the magnificent house of God will be restored +to all its ancient splendour. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration: The Crypta.] + +II. DESCRIPTION. + + +The first aspect of the Cathedral produces on the mind a deep +impression. One is seized with admiration and amazed at the first +view of this noble edifice whose steeple towers up so gracefully +and majestically. No doubt that examined in all its particular +parts, one may also be struck with the disproportion that exists +between them; the nave is not in harmony with the dimensions of +the tower, the chancel and transept still less so: but although +this want of uniformity may lessen the symmetry of the monument, +the impression it at first produces is no less extraordinary. And +besides, have not those different styles a particular interest +for those who study the history of architecture? In the Cathedral +are, as it were, brought together all the styles or orders of +architecture of the middle ages, from the byzantine art with its +grave simplicity, down to the last glimmerings of the gothic +art, now declining, and its works lined with an excess of +superfluous ornaments. The byzantine taste prevails in the first +constructions of the chancel and aisles and even somewhat in the +lower part of the nave; higher up, the style in which the ogive +was built extends to the other constructions and finally succeeds +to the former entirely. + +The _facade_ of the church, of an imposing magnitude, cannot +be sufficiently admired; the massive walls are hidden by +_clochetoons_, arcades, small pillars and innumerable statues; +these decorations all wrought to great perfection, give to that +part of the edifice a nicety that makes it resemble a work coming +from the hands of a chaser. But how to describe, in the short +space which the limits of this sketch admit, all the details, all +the particular parts of our Cathedral? There is in it such a +profusion, such a richness, that to be properly explored, it +would require volumes. We must therefore limit ourselves to some +brief indications of the most interesting and essential parts[1]. +Moreover a description of all the allegorical statues and figures +that adorn particularly the inferior parts of the building, would +be here so much the more superfluous, as an intelligent spectator +may easily understand them. All these fine ornaments are meant to +symbolize the mysteries of Redemption, taken from the principal +facts in Scripture and from the fundamental doctrines of the +christian faith. In this respect the lower tier is the most +remarkable; the middle one has neither the same beauty nor the +same religious signification; the third is the least satisfactory +both as regards execution and artistical conception. + + [1] We refer the reader who wishes to study the Cathedral in + all its parts, to the following works: Grandidier, _Essais + historiques et topographiques sur l'eglise Cathedrale de + Strasbourg_, Strasb. 1782, in 8o.--H. Schreiber, _Das Muenster + zu Strassburg_, Freib. 1828, in 8o, avec 11 lithographies gr. + in-fol.--_Vues pittoresques de la Cathedrale de Strasbourg_, + dessins par Chapuy et texte par Schweighaeuser, 3 livr. in-fol. + Strasb. 1827. _La Cathedrale de Strasbourg et ses details_, par + A. Friedrich, 4 liv. gr. in-fol., renfermant 57 planches + accompagnees d'un texte explicatifet historique. We regret to + say that but one number of this fine work has been published + (in 1839).--_Kunst und Alterthum in Elsass-Lothringen_, von + Prot. F. X. Kraus, I. Band. With numerous wood-engravings. 1877. + +[Illustration: Porch of Saint-Lawrence.] + +The whole of the facade is formed of the two fore-parts of the +northern and southern towers and of the large central porch; +these three distinct portions are separated by counterforts or +pillars which divide, as it were, the frontispiece into three +broad vertical bands, each of which has its portico. These +porticos and their frontons are ornamented with a great many +statues and bas-reliefs, some of which pulled down during the +revolution, have since been replaced. The large figures in the +left portico are twelve virgins, wearing diadems and trampling +down human forms representing the seven deadly sins. On both +sides of the right hand portico are seen the ten virgins of the +parable; to the group of the wise virgins on the right is joined +the statue of Jesus-Christ; the foolish virgins composing the +group on the left side, have among them an allegoric figure +expressing the lust of the world: on her head is a wreath, in one +hand she holds an apple, the ancient symbol of lust; her back +bears hideous vipers, to portray the sad fate which must be the +inevitable result of inordinate earthly desires. + +All these statues, now blackened by the centuries that have +passed over them, have all a stern appearance, like those that +deck the magnificent middle porch representing either prophets of +the Old Testament, Apostles or fathers of the Church. In the +arches of these three porticos are figures of a smaller size, +which like the bas-reliefs of the tympans, exhibit either scenes +taken from Scripture, or saints and angels. In the tympan on the +right hand door, Jesus is seen seated on a rain-bow, and over him +is the Resurrection of the dead and the Judgment-day. On the +butting pillar that divides both folds of the middle porch[1], is +placed a blessed Virgin holding an infant Christ in her arms. The +fronton of this portal is formed by two triangles and adorned +with many figures; that on the summit of the interior triangle, +which first strikes the eye, is king Solomon seated under a +canopy; on both sides of him are fourteen lions raised on steps +or benches that draw near towards the top and join near a Virgin +Mary sitting with the infant Christ on one arm and holding a +globe in her other hand; she is the Patroness of the church. +Above her a radiated head, representing God the Father, forms the +point of the triangle that encircles the inside fronton, which is +decked with figures playing on different musical instruments. On +the sides facing the North and South, the two towers have each a +large window with most beautiful _rosaces_. Over the window on +the South side is seen a very old sculpture, the grotesque +figures of which represent the night revelling of sorcerers. The +frontons of the other porticos are also adorned with _rosaces_. + + [1] The beautiful folds of the middle door, mounted with artful + bronze ornaments which were executed in Paris after the designs + of the architect of our cathedral, Mr. Klotz, were hung up in + 1879. + +On the second tier of the middle porch is a large rose-window +that occupies the whole width of it. It is surrounded by a +detached arch, which as much on account of the elegance of its +workmanship, as of the boldness of its construction, is one of +the most admirable parts of the Cathedral. The large painted +windows have been repaired by skilful artists, Mr. Ritter and Mr. +Mueller. Where the second tier begins, at the bottom of the +rose-window, are four equestrian statues, placed in niches in the +counterforts, three of which, those of Clovis, Dagobert and +Rodolphe of Habsburg, were erected in 1291, the fourth, that of +Louis XIV, was placed only in 1828. Clovis and Dagobert were the +benefactors of the church of Strasburg. Rodolphe stands there, +less on account of his liberalities to the Cathedral, than for +having been to the last the valiant friend of the Republic of +Strasburg. King Louis XIV accompanies the three others, rather +from adulation than any other cause. On the upper tier of the +facade are placed the equestrian statues of king Pepin the Short, +of Charlemain, Otho the Great and Henry I the Fowler. On the +south-side are seen in the first tier the emperors Otho II, Otho +III and Henry II; in the upper tier of the same side, the +equestrian statues of Conrad II, Henry III and the statue of +Henry IV. On the north-side of the facade are the equestrian +statues of Charles Martel, the Franconian majordomo; of Louis the +Debonair and Lotharius, the son of Louis the Debonair; at last +in the upper tier, the statues of Charles the Bald, king of the +West-Franconians and the equestrian statues of Lotharius II and +Louis the German ({+}876). + +Over the rose-window, but still in the compartment of the second +tier, is a gallery furnished with the figures of the Apostles, +and above them is placed Jesus-Christ holding in his hands a +cross and banner. In the lateral towers, the same tier is taken +up on each side by a high broad window in the shape of an ogee, +before which rise very slender pillars. Exactly over these +windows, on the third tier and also on each side, are three very +high and narrow windows; the middle part, though wider, has but +two, rather small ones, and surrounded by some statues. This very +massive portion of the building betrays at first sight its later +origin; when Erwin's plan was abandoned, this part was added to +fill up the empty space between the two towers; these were +already completed, and even have on the third tier their windows +looking into the central porch, but which are at present hidden +from the outside. That part of the middle porch is used as a +belfry, four large bells are suspended in it, the largest of +which, cast in 1427, weighs nine thousand kilogrammes, and serves +to announce great festival days; it is also rung at the death of +renowned personages, or in case of fire. + +It was only in the year 1849 that the front was ornamented with +statues representing the day of judgment. This group, consisting +of fifteen gigantic figures, was made after the old drawings +preserved in the archives of the _[OE]uvre-Notre-Dame_. +Jesus-Christ, as judge, is in the middle, with Mary and John the +Baptist on either side; they are surrounded by angels sounding +the trumpet of dooms-day, or bearing the instruments of our +Saviour's passion; beneath are seen the Evangelists, having men's +bodies surmounted by the heads of the four symbols which +generally accompany them. + +Above the middle porch and the southward tower, is the platform, +very spacious and surrounded by a handsome balustrade; on it is +built a small house for the guardians charged to strike the hours +and ring the alarm bell in case of fire. From the top of this +platform one enjoys a magnificent view; the wonderful panorama +that unfolds itself from there, has been drawn with as much taste +as accuracy by Mr. Frederic Piton, a zealous _amateur_ of our +local history. Towards the North, in the direction of the Wacken, +an island near Strasburg, is seen on the horizon the mountain of +the _Pigeonnier_ (_Scherhol_ in German), at the foot of which +lies Wissemburg; to its right rise the peaks crowned by the ruins +of _Gutenberg_ and _Trifels_, and the famous _Geisberg_ taken by +storm in the war of 1870. On the other side of the Rhine, whose +majestic stream the eye can easily trace, the long range of the +mountains of the _Black Forest_ limits the horizon. The first +peak that is seen is that of the _Eichelberg_, at the opening of +the valley of the _Murg_; then comes the _Fremersberg_, the +_Mount-Mercury_, the mountain with the ruins of _Yburg_; all +these names are known to those who have visited Baden. Beyond +these summits is the high level ground of the _Hornisgruende_, on +the other side of which is seen, in the midst of a forest, the +dark lake named _Mummelsee_. Farther on, eastward, beyond the +arsenal of Strasburg and the village of Kehl, you observe the +castle of _Schauenburg_, near Oberkirch, where the valley of the +_Rench_ begins. After gliding over the ruin of _Fuersteneck_ and +_Schauenburg_, the eye rests on the stately buildings of +_Ortenberg_, rebuilt after the middle age architecture, at the +entrance of the valley of the _Kinzig_. Directing your eye more +towards the South, you discover the mountains of _Triberg_, and +close to them those of _Lahr_; then comes the loftiest peak of +the _Black Forest_, the _Feldberg_, 1494 metres high. Farther on +the eye may discover (if tine) the _Ballon_ and the _Blauen_, +behind the hills of the _Kaiserstuhl_; thence this ridge of +mountains is lost sight of. In the plain, between the Rhine and +the Vosges, a double row of poplars points out the _Canal_ (from +the Rhone to the Rhine). The first peak seen in the range of the +Vosges towards the South-East is the _Ballon of Sultz_, 993 +metres high; the eye then discovers in a western direction the +ruins of the three castles of _Egisheim_, _Haut-Hattstatt_ and +_Landsberg_, the top of the _Ballon_ of _Gebwiller_, 1426 +metres high the _Hoheneck_, the ruins of the old castles of +_Kientzheim_, _Rappoltstein, Hoh-_ (High) _K[oe]nigsburg_, +_Ortenburg_, _Bernstein_, _Frankenburg_ and the summits of the +_Bressoir_ and _Ungersberg_. Looking in the direction of +Saint-Thomas' church, at one glance the eye overlooks the country +of the old _Hohenburg_, so picturesque and so rich in monuments +and historical associations: the castle of _Landsberg_, the rock +of the _Maennelstein_, the convent of _Sainte-Odile_, behind which +rises the level ground of the _Champ-du-Feu_; further on to the +right, are the ruins of _Girbaden_, the peaks of the _Donon_ and +_Schneeberg_. Here the mountains are by degrees lost from sight +in the distance; on the horizon one may however distinguish the +towers of the castles of _Geroldseck_ and _Hoh-_ (High) _Barr_, +in the vicinity of Zabern; then nothing more is seen but meadows, +forests, fields, from the centre of which you see now and then +the modest church-steeples of the numerous villages that cover +the fine plain of Alsacia. + +On the North side stands a tower of an octangular form, +supporting the spire. This tower consists, as it were, but of +strong buttresses adorned with small columns and statues, and +having large apertures in which very high windows are set and +take nearly the whole breadth on the four sides, where they are. +Among the statues that face the platform, one must be noticed as +being, according to tradition, that of Erwin of Steinbach. In +the interior of this tower are the bells that strike the hours, +that which is called the gates' bell (_Thorglocke_)[1] and also a +clock made in 1786 by two clockmakers of Strasburg, Maybaum +father and son. An inscription over the door leading to the +platform recalls to mind the earthquake of 1728, so violent that +the water was raised from the reservoirs and thrown to a distance +of eighteen feet[2]. In front of the four principal sides of the +octagon tower are turrets with winding stairs, and consisting but +of a series of windows that rise in a spiral form. These elegant +turrets seem hardly to rest on any thing; besides the gallery +that covers them, they communicate with the principal tower but +by means of flat stones that serve as an entrance into a gallery +of the interior of the arch-roof, and which lie at a height of +almost thirty metres. According to the old drawings, these +turrets should have been surmounted by pyramidal spires. They +terminate in a gallery that surrounds the tower, from whence one +enjoys a most admirable view. It is from that spot that rises +the spire (_fleche_), which is an octangular pyramid of an +extraordinary boldness, offering to the astonished gazer nothing +of a massive construction. Six successive tiers of little turrets +are thus pyramidically placed one above the other[3]. Eight +winding stair-cases, narrow and of rich open carvings, lead the +visitor to a massive spot commonly called _the lantern_; higher +up is _the crown_[4], which is not reached without danger, by +means of steps placed outside, and with no other protection than +the wall to which they are fastened; above another widened place, +called _the rose_, the spire is nothing but a column whence jut +out horizontal branches to give it the aspect of a cross. The +monument terminates in a _knob_ being 0m .460 in diameter and to +which ever since 1835 a lightning-conductor has been adapted; one +may climb there but with the aid of iron bars to which you must +cling with hands and feet. The total height of this stately +building is 142m. + + [1] So called because it was rung morning and night before the + opening and closing of the city gates. + + [2] In the interior of this tower and on the balustrade are seen + a great many names of foreigners who have visited the Cathedral. + Among these names are some of celebrated persons, as G[oe]the, + Herder, etc. + + [3] Above the first tier of the turrets is seen around the spire + (fleche) the following inscription: + + _Christus nos revocat. Christus gratis donat. + Christus semper regnat. Christus imperat. + Christus rex superat. Christus triumphat. + Maria glorificat. Christus coronat._ + + [4] Besides some other inscriptions on the spire, you read round + the first gallery of the crown these words: + + _Jesus Christus verbum caro factum est, + Jesus Christus, et habitavit in nobis, + Jesus Christus, et vidimus gloriam ejus, + Jesus Christus, gloriam quasi unigeniti a Patre._ + + (S. John. 1. 14.) + +[Illustration: The column of angels.] + +The nave, decked with a copper roof, abounds no less in +decoration than the front. It has large ogive windows adorned +with _rosaces_; at the place where the buttresses, equally carved +with _rosaces_, join the counterforts or pillars, they have at +their tops fine clochetoons; a great many statues and grotesque +figures of heads complete the ornaments of this part of the +church. Two galleries, one under the windows, the other below the +clochetoons of the counterforts, lead from the towers to the +cross-aisle. This, as we have already said, is still byzantine +in several parts of it. The southern porch, formed by two +semi-circular doors made evidently at one of the remotest periods +of the Cathedral, is adorned with bas-reliefs and statues; +according to tradition, it is reported that two of these statues +are the work of Sabina of Steinbach. One is a woman in a +triumphal posture holding in her hands a communion cup and a +cross; she is the symbol of the church that vanquished the +synagogue; the other, a symbol of the latter, is a woman looking +down, blindfolded and leaning with pain on a broken spear, whilst +the laws of the twelve tables drop from her left hand. On the +parvis before this porch is erected, on the left, the statue of +Sabina herself, and on the right, the statue of Erwin of +Steinbach, both due to the chisel of Mr. Grass. + +The wall of the upper tier has openings for several windows of +an ogive form, above which a gallery runs all along; two +round-windows take up the third tier. The northern portion of the +cross-aisle has more generally preserved the byzantine manner +than that we have just spoken of; however, this intermixture with +the gothic style denounces latter renovations. The ancient porch, +the remains of very old constructions, is masked by a fore-front +that belongs to the last period of the gothic art, and which was +built in 1494 by James of Landshut; this new porch (_porch of St. +Laurence_), though handsome in its _ensemble_, is wanting in that +noble simplicity and purity of taste that distinguishes the other +parts of the Cathedral; it is overloaded with ornaments, and its +statues have a stiffness that is found nowhere else. + +The octangular dome over the chancel is also of the byzantine +era; however, it has been renewed in several parts. In the place +of the deformed cupola, destroyed by the fire of 1870, a handsome +pyramid has been erected in the year 1878, after the plans of Mr. +Klotz, architect of the Cathedral. + +Up to 1772 the lower part of the lateral fronts of the church was +disfigured by paltry decayed houses; the same year they were +pulled down and in their places the present porticos were built, +which are not wanting in elegance: the shops and stalls that +formerly obstructed in so disgraceful a manner the access to the +nave, have also disappeared; and the porches have been repaired +with a great amount of good taste. + +The view of the _interior_ of the nave leaves a deep impression. +It is mysteriously lighted by magnificent painted windows, and +supported on each side by seven large pillars, composed of round +agglomerated columns. The two first of these pillars, more +gigantic than the rest, support also the towers; the total +elevation of the upper arch is more than 31 metres. The interior +front, over the principal porch, is adorned with a beautiful +sculptured round-window; between this and the grand rose-window +is a glass gallery. Above the arches that unite the pillars on +both sides of the nave and all along is a fine gothic gallery, +serving as a basis to large windows, similar to those of the +lower sides of the church. The lower part of the wall of the +latter is ornamented with a range of small columns, joined +together by og-arches. The magnificent windows of this church +represent subjects and personages of Scripture and Legend. Among +the artists who have painted these windows, the oldest one known, +is master John of Kirchheim; those made after his drawings were +put up in 1348; there is no doubt that many of his works still +adorn the Cathedral. The names of John Markgraf, James Vischer +and the brothers Link were mentioned later. At the latter part of +the eighteenth century John Daniel Danegger painted also some, +which, however, owing to their mediocrity, have since been +removed. For some years past they have undergone considerable +repair under the direction of artists of talent and well +acquainted with the science of antiquities. The painted windows +of the upper galleries of the nave represent the seventy four +ancestors of Jesus Christ; higher up are the images of saints and +martyrs; in the right aisle, over the vestry, is seen the +gigantic figure of saint Christopher: on the South side, of the +six windows that have each sixteen divisions, the four first +contain some scenes from the history of the Bible; the two last, +the day of Judgment and the celestial Jerusalem. On the North +side, in an equal number of windows, you see the birth of Jesus +Christ, the wise men, and the portraits of several German +emperors; the last of these windows represents a series of the +oldest events in Scripture. The effect produced by these +beautiful windows is greatly increased since they had the happy +idea to wash away the daubing with which, about thirty years ago, +they had besmeared the inner walls of the Cathedral; by these +means the bare part of the wall, a fine stone of a rosy tint, +which served for the construction of the church, is rendered +visible; it was a measure that bespoke much good taste and +knowledge of the christian art. + +On the left side of the nave is fixed the organ which extends up +to the superior arch. It is a master-piece of work of Andrew +Silbermann, who was one of the most able organ-builders of his +time and who built it in 1704. Pierced by a shell during the +bombardment of 1870, this organ of Silbermann has been restored +by a distinguished organ builder of our city. + +On the same side, at the fifth pillar, stands the pulpit, erected +in 1486 by John Hammerer, by order of the magistrate, for the +celebrated preacher Geiler of Kaysersberg. This work of +sculpture, remarkably delicate, is adorned with nearly fifty +little statues, the meaning of which is easy to understand. The +canopy is of a modern style, and was made in 1824 to replace a +more ancient one, perhaps the first erected in 1617, which has +been handed down to us as a most simple piece of workmanship, and +made of lime-wood. At the foot of the stairs are two figures, a +man in the posture of rest and a woman praying; we may justly +suppose that they are meant for the maker of the pulpit and his +wife. + +[Illustration] + +The chancel is joined to the nave by two pillars of very large +dimensions and whose tops belong to one of the constructions +anterior to the gothic order. The magnificent lobby built by +Erwin of Steinbach was taken down to make room for the taste +prevailing in the seventeenth century; it was demolished in 1682. +Two high and circular columns support the cupola of the chancel +and separate it from its two aisles; in the centre of each of the +latter stand also columns to sustain the arch-roofs; that of the +northern part is round, whilst the column of the southern aisle +is composed of a collection of very slender pillars, probably of +a later construction; this long, thin and gracious column bears +in its corners some statues, the fineness and gracefulness of +which recall to mind the work of Sabina of Steinbach. Beneath are +the four Evangelists; above four angels holding trumpets, and +uppermost the Saviour and three angels with the implements of the +Saviour's passion in their hands; it is called the angel's column +or Erwin's column. On the large pillar which unites the nave to +the chancel, are two inscriptions in commemoration of the famous +preacher Geiler of Kaysersberg who, for many years, displayed his +eloquence from the pulpit of the Cathedral. In this same aisle is +erected the statue of bishop Wernher, meditating the design of +the church laid before him. Opposite this statue, the work of Mr. +Friderich, is the celebrated. + + +Astronomical Clock. + +As early as 1352 an astronomical clock was begun under bishop +Berthold of Bucheck, and finished two years after by an unknown +artist, in the time of John of Lichtenberg. It was fixed to the +wall facing the present one. The frame-work of that first clock +was all of wood; the stones that formed its basis are to this day +seen projecting from the wall. It was divided into three parts; +the lower part contained a universal calendar; in the middle was +an astrolabe, and in the superior division were seen the three +wise men and the Virgin Mary carved in wood; the wise men bent +every hour before the Virgin, by means of a peculiar mechanism, +which at the same time put in motion a chime of harmonious sounds +and a cock crowing and flapping his wings. + +The exact time at which this clock, which in the fourteenth +century must have been a wonderful piece of workmanship, and was +called the clock of the three sages, ceased going, is not known: +it had been stopped for a long time, when in 1547 the magistrate +of the town decided on having another made and putting it +opposite the old one, in the very place the clock now occupies. +Three distinguished mathematicians furnished the plan and +superintended the execution of it: they were Dr Michel Herr, +Christian Herlin, professor of mathematics at the school of +Strasburg, and Nicholas Prugner, who, after preaching the +reformation at Mulhouse and at Benfeld, occupied himself at +Strasburg with mechanics and astrology. These three learned men +began this work, but did not terminate it; it was resumed in the +year 1570 by a pupil of Herlin, named Conrad Dasypodius of +Strasburg, where he was a professor of mathematics. Dasypodius +drew the design of the clock, but its execution was confided to +two skilful mechanics of Schaffhouse, the brothers Isaac and +Josiah Habrecht; Tobias Stimmer, also of Schaffhouse, had the +charge of the paintings. This master-piece of the mechanical art +of the sixteenth century was completed in 1574; it ceased going +in 1789. As the exterior distribution of the present clock is +nearly the same as that of the old clock, we shall abstain from +describing the latter. In 1836 the corporation of the town of +Strasburg adopted the resolution of causing this curious monument +to be repaired. To Mr. Schwilgue, a distinguished mechanician of +Strasburg, his native place, this remarkable work was entrusted; +he began it the 24th of June 1838 and finished it at the end of +1842. + +It is one of the most beautiful pieces of workmanship of our +age; its mechanism is entirely new and in accordance with the +present state of the science of astronomy, which as is well +known, has attained a very high degree of certainty and +exactness. Mr. Schwilgue has not made use of any of the pieces of +the old clock, which are deposited in the chapel of the +_[OE]uvre-Notre-Dame_; by comparing them with the pieces +composing the new clock, one may judge of the progress of science +and of the talents of the modern artist. M. Schwilgue preserved +of the former clock only its fine case, the paintings and +ornaments of which were carefully repaired. In this he had many +difficulties to overcome, as well for the proper arrangement of +this mechanism and lodging it in a space that was often very +limited, as for making the old signs or indications accord with +the movements of the clockwork. Of these many were marked only in +painting, and must have been renewed after a certain time, as for +instance those for the eclipses, which now by a most ingenious +mechanical combination will henceforth last for ever. The little +statues which hitherto had no articulation, are now moveable; the +twelve Apostles have been added to the former number of them. The +figure of Death, formerly on the same level with that of +Jesus-Christ, is now placed in the centre of figures representing +the four ages of life and striking the quarters of hours; the +idea of assigning this place to the image of death is assuredly a +more rational and finer one than that which prevailed in the old +distribution of the figures. Childhood strikes the first quarter; +Youth the second; Manhood the third, and Old Age the last; the +first stroke of each quarter is struck by one of the two genii +seated above the perpetual calendar; the four ages strike the +second. Whilst death strikes the hours, the second of these genii +turns over the hourglass that he holds in his hand. The image of +the Saviour stands now on a higher ground; at the hour of noon +the twelve Apostles pass bowing before him; he lifts up his hand +to bless them, and during that time, a cock, whose motions and +voice imitate nature, flaps his wings and crows three times. + +Mr. Schwilgue has altered the old calendar into a perpetual one +with the addition of the feasts that vary, according to their +connexion with Easter or Advent Sundays. The dial, nine metres in +circumference, is subject to a revolution of 365 or 366 days, +according as the case may be. Mr. Schwilgue has even indicated +the suppression of the secular bissextile days. He has moreover +enriched his work by adding to it an ecclesiastic compute with +all its indications; an orrery after the Copernican system, +representing the mean tropical revolutions of each of the planets +visible to the naked eye, the phases of the moon, the eclipses of +the sun and moon, calculated for ever; the true time and the +sideral time; a new celestial globe with the procession of the +equinoxes, solar and lunary equations for the reduction of the +mean geocentric ascension and declension of the sun and moon at +true times and places. A dial placed without the church and +showing the hours and days, is put in motion by the same +mechanism of the clockwork. + +The camerated roof of the back part of the chancel was formerly +covered with paintings executed in 1686 representing Dooms-day. A few +paintings only adorned till now the interior of the Cathedral, +among which the most remarkable oil-paintings, executed by +artists of Strasburg, are: the _Shepherd's Adoration_, by Guerin, +the _Laying in the tomb_, by Klein; the _Ascension_, by Heim, and +some others. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the +chancel was several times and in different ways enlarged and +disfigured by ornaments little correspondent with the elegance and +grandeur of the gothic order. Tribunes, stairs and wainscots that +formed a strange contrast with the rest of the edifice were added. +The altar, adorned in 1501, with fine figures carved in wood by +Master Nicholas of Haguenau, was changed in 1685 by order of bishop +William Egon of Fuerstenberg; that new altar, covered with a +baldachin, was destroyed by fire, and in 1765 the present one, +which has nothing in its form worthy of notice, was erected. Great +repairs were begun some years ago under the direction of the city +corporation, struck, as every body was, by the great disproportion +between the chancel and nave. It was resolved to restore the +chancel to its primitive form and arrangement, and thus to +reestablish the due proportions between that part and the rest of +this magnificent church. This great labour is now finished. Their +natural complement, as required by the style of this part of the +pile and its extensive fronts and arch-roofs, is the execution of a +certain number of monumental paintings, intrusted to two +distinguished artists, Prof. Steinle, Director of Staedel's +Institute in Frankfort a/M. and the historical painter Steinheil +in Paris, a native Alsacian. The former is charged with the +execution of the fresco-paintings in the chancel and lateral +naves, whilst the latter undertook the reestablishment of the +paintings that represent the Dooms-day on the upper wall of the +chancel, in front of the great nave. Both works, begun in 1876, +came in sight for the visitors of the Cathedral, at the end of +1878. + +In restoring to this part of the edifice its former appearance, +it has highly augmented the effect produced on the inward aspect +of the Cathedral; now also may be decided the question, hitherto +doubtful, of the exact time at which the chancel was built; with +certainty, it may already be said, that it was not erected, as +was often affirmed, in the time of the emperor Charlemain. + +[Illustration: Astronomical clock.] + +In removing the superfetations that had taken place during these +two last centuries, and in reestablishing the architectural forms +that the wretched style then prevailing had concealed, a +succession of large ogive arches of an admirable and powerful +proportion which form the inferior part of the Apsis, and support +a gallery serving as a basis to the upper story, have come to +light. On this story, which is separated from the _cul-de-four_ +(spherical vault) by a single moulding, are three large ogive +windows, the middle one of which is of colossal dimensions, and +between the columns below are in a symmetrical manner placed, on +each side, the doors of the treasury and chapter-room, and in the +centre lies the bishop's throne, the niched vault of which is +still more richly decorated; between the intermedial arches are +the staircase doors leading to the gallery. + +The _Apsis_ is not very deep and terminates by a segment, cut out +of a masonry work outwardly square; entirely devoted to the +sanctuary, it only contains the high-altar, the twenty four +stalls of the chapter and a necessary room to perform divine +worship. In 1878 an accompanying organ has been erected on the +left side. This beautiful instrument, made by Mr. Merklin, the +skilful organ-builder of Lyons, is a masterpiece of art and taste +that enhances indeed the chancel of the Cathedral. In front and a +few steps lower down lies the chancel, destined to the inferior +clergy and choristers. This chancel surmounted by a large +octagonal cupola, the external part of which was struck by +lightning in 1759, is placed at the intersection of the transepts +and nave; open and lighted on all sides, one can admire the +boldness and majesty of the columns and basis that support the +arched roofs. The cripta or subterranean place, extending under +the whole length of the chancel, is worthy of notice; it has also +been recently restored. It is of an older order than the +constructions of Erwin of Steinbach; it is perhaps the remainder +of the edifice erected by bishop Werner, at the beginning of the +eleventh century; the shape of the pillars, their cubical tops +or chapters, the arches exclusively semi-circular, bring us back +to those times. This crypta, that remained unimpaired during all +the changes which the Cathedral must have undergone in the course +of so many centuries, forms a nave with two arch-vaults and a +round chancel. All along the walls of the nave are stone benches. +Four of the inner pillars have still hinges affixed to them which +prove that this portion of the crypta could be closed by a double +door. At its entrance is what is called the holy tomb, a very +ancient group of figures representing Jesus Christ and his +disciples on the mount of Olives, at the moment when the soldiers +are going to seize the Lord: this group comes from the chapel of +the Augustines, erected in 1378; it was placed in the crypta in +1683. + +The most ancient of the present chapels of the Cathedral is that +of Saint-Andrew, in the South aisle of the chancel; it is +remarkable for the details of its columns and for its ornaments +of a very old style; it contains the tombs of several bishops, +the oldest of which is that of Henry of Hasenburg, who died in +1190. Behind the North aisle of the chancel, is Saint-John the +Baptist's chapel, also very old, and being now lower than the +pavement of the Cathedral. Besides several epitaphs, one here +sees the fine gothic sepulchre of bishop Conrad of Lichtenberg, +who died in 1299. The colossal statue of that prelate lies on a +stone and has still some marks of the colours with which it had +formerly been painted; in one hand he holds a book, in the other +was his crosier of which only the lower part is now left; his +head covered with the mitre rests on a cushion and his feet lie +against a lion[1]. Near the entrance of this chapel, surrounded +by an elegant railing, is the baptismal-font of sculptured stone, +the master-piece of Josse Dotzinger of Worms, who died in 1449. + + [1] The epitaph of Conrad is as follows: + + "_Anno domini MCCLXXXXIX kal. Augusti obiit Conradus + secundus de Lichtenberg natus, Argentinensis episcopus, + hic sepultus. Qui omnibus bonis condicionibus, quae in + homine mundiali debent concurrere, eminebat; nec sibi + visus similis est in illis. Sedit autem annis XXV et + mensibus sex. Orate pro eo._" + +The first chapel built in the Cathedral was Saint-Lawrence's, +next to the North portal of the transept. It was the oldest +parish in the town and diocese of Strasburg; the vicar of +Saint-Lawrence was the first archpriest of the diocese and at the +same time grand-penitentiary of the Cathedral. This chapel, +decayed with time, was rebuilt after the plans of master James of +Landshut, who died in 1495, and was completed in 1505; when in +the course of time it became too small for the parish, it was +transferred in 1698 into the neighbouring chapel of Saint-Martin, +which had been built in 1420 and then assumed the name of +Saint-Lawrence's chapel that it retained ever since. Among the +sepulchral monuments it contains, is seen that of Mr. de la +Batie, in his live time commander of Strasburg. In this chapel is +the entrance to the vaults, where to this day the bishops' mortal +remains are deposited. + +The chapel opposite the latter, on the right side of the church, +is dedicated to saint Catharine; it was erected in the year 1331 +by bishop Berthold of Bucheck who is interred in it. It was newly +arched in 1542 and formerly contained the holy tomb. The +entrances both into this and the chapel of Saint-Lawrence are +decorated with several old statues; in Saint-Catharine's chapel +is the tomb of Conrad Bock, a nobleman of Strasburg, who died in +1480; this work is remarkable for the manner in which the +numerous figures that surround the bed of the dying man, are +grouped together. + +The sepulchral stones that served as flag-stones or pavement in +the interior of this large building, have long ago been removed. +Besides the sepulchral monuments and inscriptions already +mentioned we shall note the epitaphs of Erwin of Steinbach, of +Husa his wife, and of his son John, at the lower part of the +buttress in the little yard behind Saint John's chapel[1]; also +the inscription to the memory of Conrad Guertler, who bequeathed +to the chapter of the Cathedral his house, a large building in +the rue du Dome; this inscription is opposite that of Geiler of +Kaysersberg; finally, in one of the vestries is the epitaph, in +german verses, of the celebrated printer John Mentelin of +Schlestadt. + + [1] _Anno domini MCCCXVI. XII Kal. Augustii obiit Domina + Husa uxor magistri Erwini. Anno domini MCCCXVIII. XVI Kal. + Februarii obiit magister Erwinus gubernator fabrice ecclessie + Argentinensis. Anno domini MCCCXXXVIII. XV Kal. Aprilis obiit + magister Johanni (sic) filius Erwini magistri operi huius + ecclesie._--There was formerly on that spot a burial ground; it + is very likely that Erwin and his family were buried there. When + some years ago, they were digging a waste-well for the lightning + conductor, they discovered an old coffin of stone, broken and + filled with earth and bones. All these remains with the exception + of some fragments taken away by some curious amateurs, were + deposited in a vault. + +We shall add one word more on the _foundations_ of the Cathedral. +Every one knows the old story, according to which this edifice +rests on piles, between each of which it were possible to go in +boats on canals extending even under the place Gutenberg. As far +back as the seventeenth century, they dug to a considerable +depth, and have since several times renewed the experiments, to +ascertain the nature of the foundations, that have been found to +lie very deep and to be very solid, formed of masonry reposing on +clay mixed with gravel; under a portion of the nave this bottom +is reinforced by oaken piles. + +Through a door on the right of saint Catharine's chapel you enter +the area of the workhouse of the stone-cutters of the Cathedral +(_Steinhuette_). These workmen, even to this day form a particular +corporation that seems to have originated in the days of Erwin of +Steinbach; at all events it is a certain fact that the masons of +the Cathedral were from the beginning a body, distinct from the +ordinary masons; that they have not admitted among them every +one who presented himself, and that they had secret signs to know +one another. This (_loge_) society of the masons of the Cathedral +has become the cause of many others in Germany; Dotzinger, the +successor of John Hueltz as architect of this church, united them +all in one body; a general meeting of the masters or chiefs of +the different _loges_, held at Ratisbon in 1459, adopted certain +rules and regulations, and chose as their grand-masters the +architects of the Cathedral of Strasburg, where the principal +loge or lodge (_Haupthuette_) was established. Maximilian I +confirmed the establishment and the rules of this corporation on +the 3d October 1498. At the beginning of the eighteenth century +it was transferred to Mayence. + +It has already been stated that at a very remote period the +Cathedral had received rich and important donations composing the +_[OE]uvre-Notre-Dame_, the revenues of which were originally +under the direction of the bishops; but as they squandered them +away "leaving the building to decay," the chapter assumed their +administration in 1263, after the war between the town and Walter +of Geroldseck; however, the canons did no better and in 1290 the +magistrate of the city was obliged to take back from them the +management of the revenues. The estate and income of the +_[OE]uvre_, employed only for keeping in good order and for +repairing the Cathedral church, are still managed like other +property that belongs to the city; the collector of the revenues +is appointed by the city corporation, who also names the +architect and sculptor of the _[OE]uvre_. The receiver's office +is in a handsome house (_Frauenhaus_), built in 1581, after the +taste of those times, situated opposite the South side of the +Cathedral. In that house, where the old plans of the church and +the pieces of the old clockwork, above mentioned, are carefully +preserved, we have also to admire the light and elegant +construction of the staircase. + + + + * * * * * + + + + +TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES + + +The following changes have been made as needed to facilitate +reading: standardized punctuation and accents, moved +illustrations, and renumbered and moved footnotes. + +Additional changes are listed below: + + Page 7: Changed "enthousiasm" to "enthusiasm" for consistency. + + Page 16: Changed "pittoresqu s" to "pittoresques" and + "counter-forts" to "counterforts." + + Pages 20 and 34: Changed "doomsday" and "dooms-day" to + "Dooms-day" for consistency. + + Page 21: The phrase "if tine" matches the original text. + + Page 22: Changed "Landsburg" to "Landsberg." + + Page 23: Changed "plat-form" to "platform." + + Page 24: The measurement "0m .460" matches the original text. + + Page 26: Changed typo "is" to "it" and changed "bizantine" to + "byzantine" for consistency. + + Page 32: Changed "clock-work" to "clockwork." + + Page 40: Changed typo "eigtheenth" to "eighteenth." + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE CATHEDRAL +OF STRASBURG*** + + +******* This file should be named 22990.txt or 22990.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/2/9/9/22990 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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