Construction was resumed in 1571 by Conrad Dasypodius and the Habrecht brothers, and this clock was given a more ambitious program of mechanical figures. The genuinely Romanesque chevet can only be seen from the courtyard of the adjacent complex of 18th-century buildings. Other articles where Cathedral of Notre-Dame is discussed: Strasbourg: The contemporary city: Strasbourg's 11th-15th-century Cathedral of Notre-Dame, damaged in 1870 and again in World War II, has been carefully restored. The upper windows at Strasbourg fill the entire space between the triforium and the vaults. Strasbourg Cathedral is over one thousand years old. One of the most fascinating facts about Strasbourg Cathedral is that it took hundreds of years to complete. It is the third clock on that spot and dates from th. [85], The bourdon, the largest and deepest-sounding bell, In 1519 Strasbourg Cathedral commissioned Jerg von Speyer to create what was said to be the largest bell in Europe; 2.74 meters in diameter and weighing twenty tons. [17], The Romanesque chevet of the cathedral, seen in 1671, Romanesque pillars, vaults and squinches of the transept, In 1002, following the death of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, a battle broke out between his potential successors. The central vessel was higher than the two collaterals. [54][55] It presents a virtual theater of late Gothic flamboyant architecture and decoration, including three interlocking arches over the doors, containing a statue of the Saint during his martyrdom. [51], The rose window and gallery of the Apostles, The west front or faade, the main entrance of the cathedral, is a relatively late addition, constructed between 1277 and 1490. Strasbourg's 11th-15th-century Cathedral of Notre-Dame, damaged in 1870 and again in World War II, has been carefully restored. The Chapel of John the Baptist preserves its thick Romanesque walls and two Romanesque windows. Other scenes are painted onto the reverse of the bas-reliefs. The same was about to happen to the spire of Strasbourg Cathedral as the agitators who ruled the city during the revolution, referred to as the Enrags, planned to demolish it in April of 1794. Most of the stained-glass windows date back to the Middle Ages, 14. [48] The bishopric of Strasbourg had been elevated to the rank of archbishopric a few months before, in June 1988. One of the coolest facts about Strasbourg Cathedral is that you can get the best view of all on top of the cathedral itself! A door opens from the chapel to an adjoining cloister behind the cathedral. Most of the sculptures decorating this portal are copies and the originals are on display in a museum in Strasbourg called the Muse de luvre Notre-Dame.. When Bishop Werner I supported the winning candidate, Henry II of Germany, one of his Henry's rivals, Hermann of Germany, raided Strasbourg and burned down the cathedral. The four bells in the octagon tower are rung on the hour. The face is flanked by two cylindrical towers with narrow lancet windows and pointed roofs. The windows are devoted to nine Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. [17] The first recorded bishop, Amand, participated in the Councils of Cologne and Sardique in 346 and 347. The next major step toward Gothic took place with the raising of the vaults of the south transept, creating thinner walls and more space for high windows. All the parts of the clock together are 18m (59ft) high. [83], Animated characters launch into movement at different hours of the day. Its therefore considered to be one of the 4 capitals of Europe along with Brussels, Luxembourg City, and Frankfurt. The Strasbourg astronomical clock is located in the Cathdrale Notre-Dame of Strasbourg, Alsace, France. The choir was given its multicolour painted decoration, by douard Steinl and Charles Auguste Steinheil, finished in 1879. Even though the cathedral was eventually surpassed in height by the St. Nikolai Church in Hamburg, Germany, it still holds the record of being the tallest church in the world that was completely constructed during the Middle Ages. [10], The history of Strasbourg's cathedral is well documented thanks to the archives of the Notre-Dame Foundation, the city of Strasbourg, and of the diocese. While the spire is the most prominent feature, the western faade is the most impressive element of the cathedrals design. It was built over a period of 424 years, 3. The cupola itself rests upon four squinches, a base made of rounded arches, which make the connection between the Gothic and Romanesque elements. It was rebuilt 1298, in 13241327, in 1384, 1430, and 1489 and finally in 1716 by Andr Silbermann. Strasbourg Cathedral (official French: Notre-Dame de Strasbourg ,German: Liebfrauenmnster zu Straburg, Our Lady of Strasbourg) is the Cathedral in Strasbourg. The central decoration is sculptural work dedicated to the Virgin Mary donated by the de Barby brothers in 1521. [83], In 1547 a new clock was begun by Christian Herlin and others, but the construction was interrupted when the cathedral was handed over to the Roman Catholic Church. The original construction of the church on its current location started in the year 1015. [67], The Klotz designed crossing dome over the transept, The crossing dome being built, 1878 or 1879, Romanesque vaults beneath the Klotz crossing dome. It is in a Neo-Byzantine style, with Christ in a red frame in the center. History. Christianity was first imposed in 313 by the Edict of Constantine. Other objects and works from the cathedral, including the mechanism of the original astronomical clock, are found in the Muse des arts dcoratifs de Strasbourg. The reverse of the central doors of the portal has a column statue of Saint Peter holding the keys of the kingdom and above it a blind rose, without glass, a miniature version of the large rose window above it. As with the other portals of the cathedral, most of the statues now to be seen in situ are copies, the originals having been moved to the Muse de luvre Notre-Dame.[32]. The very beautiful stained glass windows date from the fourteenth century and is mostly a work by John Kircheim. The architects of the rebuilding began to include Gothic elements, following the style that had appeared in northern France in the 12th century, while still preserving the existing Romanesque features. The vaults are supported by a circular pillar with modest decorative stone rings. The first version of the church was starting to be built during 1015 by proposal of Bishop Werner von Habsburg, but fire destroyed most of . Construction History of the Strasbourg Cathedral in Alsace. The arched tympanum over the doors of the central portal is crowded with sculpture, as are the voussures, the stone arches around the door. The nave and choir were composed of three vessels, each with two traverses. The painted figures on the wall represent fathers of the church and founders of religious orders, depicted in Byzantine style. [8], The nave is dominated by the two rows of massive pillars. The larger crypt has three naves, of equal size, divided by slender columns. At Strasbourg it is 61.5 metres (202ft) long and 16 metres (52ft) wide, not counting the two collateral aisles, which are each 10.41 metres (34.2ft) wide. One of the most amazing facts about Strasbourg Cathedral is that an addition was made in the early 16th century in the post-Gothic, early-Renaissance style, as well. Each pillar bundles sixteen smaller columns, of which five reach upward to support the vaults overhead. Ad vertisement from shop HayleesSilver. While Strasbourg, today, is a symbol of unity in Europe, for centuries, it was at the center of conflict. They were manufactured between 1638 and 1657 in Paris by Pierre Damour. It was the highest building in the world from 1647 to 1874. Strasbourg Cathedral is the oldest Gothic cathedral in the world and one of the must-sees when visiting Strasbourg. On the south side of the nave, the upper walls have windows depicting female saints, including local saints from Alsace or Strasbourg. With its spire soaring 142m above the city, Our Lady of Strasbourg Cathedral was the highest building in the West until the nineteenth century. It rises in three levels; the portals on the ground level; the level of the rose window above them, and the top level, with a balustrade. The Strasbourg Cathedral is impossible to miss as it towers above the surrounding buildings and is located in the center of the city. The length of the cathedral is about 100 metres, with the main aisle of 38 metres. The sculpture over the central tympanum and over the south portal of the transept was saved because it was covered with wooden planks with the revolutionary motto "Libert-Egalit-Fraternit,"[36], In April 1794, the Enrags started planning to tear the spire down, on the grounds that it hurt the principle of equality. The portal of the infancy of Christ (left) depicts angels, bishops and saints in the voussures, and figures representing the virtues, carrying spears, prod the figures representing the vices. [21] From 1341 until 1372 (or according to other sources: 13391371), the post of chief architect was held by a Master Gerlach (not to be confused with Erwin's other son, Gerlach von Steinbach, architect of the Niederhaslach Church),[22] who has been identified as Erwin's grandson Johannes Gerlach von Steinbach. Adolf Hitler, who visited it on 28 June 1940, intended to transform the church into a "national sanctuary of the German people",[43] or into a monument to the Unknown German Soldier. The Gothic pillars of the new section were copied exactly from those of the Basilica of Saint Denis. [41][42], During World War II, the cathedral was seen as a symbol for both warring parties. [71], Two chapels, devoted to Saint Andrew and Saint John the Baptist, were attached to the two sides of the apse. The octagonal vault is covered with arches and lacelike interlaced sculpture in the late Gothic Flamboyant style. The roof was set afire and the cross at the top of the spire was bent by a German artillery shell. 300 years actually, give or take a few decade! "It is our history," French president Emmanuel Macron said after the fire. The belltower is 142 m high. In 1015, bishop Werner laid the first stone of a new cathedral on the foundations of the Carolingian church. [83], The apse, with the Virgin of Alsace window (1956), Crowning of Mary, by Eduard Steinle in the vault of the apse, The apse of the cathedral, the hemispherical vault behind the altar on the northeast end, features Romanesque and Gothic architecture overlaid with 19th-century Neo-Romanesque decoration, The paintings on the half-dome and walls were made by douard Steinl in 187779, in the style of a Byzantine mosaic. In 1524, the city council assigned the cathedral to the Protestant faith, while the building suffered some damage from iconoclastic assaults. Strasbourg Cathedral is over 1,000 years old Officially named "Notre-Dame de Strasbourg" ("Our Lady of Strasbourg"), the Cathedral was built in a Gothic style, and is still to this day a "light and delicate marvel", as Victor Hugo called it. [34] The main or high altar, a major work of early Renaissance sculpture, was also demolished that year. Cathedral facts for kids. Lets take a closer look at some of the most interesting facts about Strasbourg Cathedral. Originally the lantern was topped by a statue of the Virgin Mary, the patron saint of the cathedral, but in 1488 it was replaced by a fleuron, or flower-shaped ornament. The outgoing 15th century was marked by the sermons of Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg and by the emerging Protestant Reformation, represented in Strasbourg by figures such as John Calvin, Martin Bucer and Jacob Sturm von Sturmeck. The South Transept contains the Pillar of Angels, a massive supporting pillar for the ceiling. It is one of the oldest parts of the cathedral, constructed in about 1170 and then rebuilt in Gothic style in 1230, with the same height as the adjoining nave. The first traverses were made in what was known as the Lorraine style, with two levels of quadripartite windows, traversed by a narrow passageway. He in 1284 and developed a western facade, with a thousand sculptures and an elegant rosette window. This magnificent cathedral is located in the city of Strasbourg in the eastern part of the country. By car Served by the A4 and the A35. [84], The main altar, in the form of a tomb, is a recreation of an earlier altar in the rocaille or late baroque style, which had been damaged in a fire in 1759 and then ruined during the French Revolution. Today, about 275,000 people live there (with around 780,000 in the metropolitan area ). In October 1988, when the city celebrated its 2,000th anniversary (as the first official mention of Argentoratum dates from 12 BC), pope John Paul II visited and celebrated mass in the cathedral. On the bottom, figures of the Four Seasons surround a mechanical astrolabe, which indicates the location of the planets according to Copernicus, and is surrounded by the signs of the zodiac. He reconstructed the dome over the transept in a grander, Romanesque Revival style. It weighs 7.5 tons and 2.2 meters in diameter, and was cast in 1447 by Hans Gremp. Firstly the cathedral, the second most visited French cathedral after Notre Dame de Paris; secondly the picture-book historic quarter of Petite France, with its half-timbered medieval houses and its quays overlooking branches of the river Ill (that is the river " ill "); and thirdly . These windows date to about 1345. . The octagon tower was begun in 1399 by Ulrich von Ensingen (chief architect until 1419), and crowned with a spire by his successor Johannes Hltz. The tracery and decoration of the interior are very much like of that exterior, with blind galleries and delicate parallel vertical lines, like the strings of a harp. [85], The cathedral has two Romanesque crypts, the oldest parts of the cathedral. The original Romanesque cathedral burned down in the year 1176 and the construction of the modern-day cathedral started shortly after this disaster. [86], Original wimperg of the faade in the Muse de l'uvre Notre-Dame, Original statues of the Tempter, the foolish Virgins and the wise Virgins from the right faade portal, Bust (ca. The capitals of the columns are decorated with dragons and other mythical creatures. LMENTS POUR UNE RPONSE", Les grandes dates de lhistoire de la Cathdrale de Strasbourg, "1439 1527: Strasbourg, loge suprme du Saint-Empire romain germanique", "Strasbourg Cathedral and the French Revolution (17891802)", "1906-1926: Consolidation des fondations du pilier de la tou", "CLBRATION DANS LA CATHDRALE DE NOTRE-DAME STRASBOURG HOMLIE DU PAPE JEAN-PAUL II Samedi, 8 octobre 1988", "Sculpture - Muse de l'uvre Notre-Dame", "L'histoire de la sculpture de saint Arbogast", "1399 1419: Construction de la haute tour", "Jubil du demi-millnaire de la flche de la cathdrale de Strasbourg. The transept of the cathedral was 55 meters long, the same length as the nave and choir. It is separated from the nave by two massive pillars, 8.5 by 5 meters, which support the tower above. Select from premium Strasbourg Strasbourg Cathedral of the highest quality. The Muse de l'uvre Notre-Dame, or Museum of the Work of Notre-Dame, is located in a medieval and Renaissance building not far from the cathedral, and displays a collection of some of the most delicate original works of sculpture and art from Cathedral, moved there to protect them from environmental damage. [57] Following their destruction during the French Revolution, several of the sculptures have been replaced in the 19th century by works by Philippe Grass,[58] Jean-tienne Malade,[59] and Jean Vallastre. [9] The Muse de l'uvre Notre-Dame, a municipal museum located in the Foundation's buildings, displays original works of art from the cathedral, such as sculptures and stained-glass, but also the surviving original medieval buildings plans. Several of the original Romanesque structures were torn down to make way for this revolutionary new architectural style. This is a real masterpiece of high Gothic. Strasbourg Cathedral in France is famous for its western facade. 10. The pilasters between the stairways are older, from 1015. The design is composed of a series of unfolded arches which rest on a submerged "Latin Cross" floor plan. On the last level are the Apostles, passing in front of Christ. [82] Other parts of the vaults are upheld by Atlantes, supports in the form of human figures. Walk up 66 meters to marvel at the view of Strasbourg from the top of the clock. Strasbourg Cathedral (1015-1439) is an absolute masterpiece of Gothic art. One can see 30 kilometers from the observation level, which provides a view of the Rhine banks from the Vosges all the way to the Black Forest. It was electrified after 1807, and was restored and modified several times, most recently in 193435 and in 197581, giving it the current forty-seven jeux.[76]. It is the seat of a Bishop. Thanks to the installation of rib vaults, the nave was raised in height to 27 meters, and the upper walls were filled with stained glass windows. [75], The dog of the preacher Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg, on the steps, mourning his master, The pulpit, attached to the fourth pillar of the north side of the nave, was sculpted in 1485 following a design by Hans Hammer. "[36], The cathedral was not returned to church control until July 15, 1801, along with confiscated property that had not been destroyed. Construction of the new cathedral began on the foundations of the preceding structures. The cathedral has a length of 112 meters (367 feet) and a width of 16 meters (52 feet). The sculpture largely dates to the late 13th century and is similar in theme and style to that of the sculpture of Reims Cathedral made between 1250 and 1260, though the Strasbourg sculpture shows greater realism.[53]. [18], The next major step was the reconstruction of the nave into the Gothic style, which took place between 1240 and 1274. 5 out of 5 stars (7,356) $ 17.50. With a height of 18 meters (59 feet), its one of the largest astrological clocks of its kind in the world! Architect Jakob von Landshut and sculptor Hans von Aachen rebuilt the portal of the northern portal, now referred to as the Saint-Lawrence portal or Portail Saint-Laurent, starting in 1505, which was the height of the Renaissance period. Its considered to be the epitome of French Gothic architecture, 5. Strasbourg Cathedral de Notre-Dame is known as one of the most beautiful gothic cathedrals in Europe. It was called the Dreiknigsuhr ("three-king clock"), and was located at the opposite wall from where today's clock is. Homepage Strasbourg. Apart from that, he is also standing just outside of the Cathedral near the southern transept of the church. The construction of the cathedral, which had started in the year 1015 and had been relaunched in 1190, was finished in 1439.[6]. During the French Revolution nine bells were taken out and melted down to make cannon, but the "Totonglock" and a second bell, the "Zehrnerglock" (1.58 meters, 2.225 tons), made in Mathieu Edel in 1786, were preserved to ring the hours and serve as alarm bells for the city. It was constructed beginning in about 1330, following the rebuilding of the transept. Strasbourg cathedral is an excellent example of gothic art, though the building also has Romanesque features dating back to before 1225 when there was a change of craftsmen. A sculpture of a head, wearing the hat of an architect or magistrate, gazes from the balustrade at the pillar of angels. When the nave was rebuilt in Gothic style in the 13th century, the old windows were reinstalled in random locations. Strasbourg Cathedral is a beautiful Gothic cathedral in the city of Strasbourg, France. There are two altars fixed to west pillars of the crossing, both from the 16th century; one devoted to Saint Pancras of Rome and the other to Saint Maurice. Decrees of the Emperor rendering justice were traditionally read out in front of this doorway. A gallery of statues of the Apostles, each in his own arch, is placed above the rose window. Dreamstime is the world`s largest stock photography community. At the same time, the planned two spires on either side of the facade would reach an extraordinary height of 122 meters. (New York, NY) April 21, 2011 - Axis Mundi was invited to submit a proposal for a new cathedral for the city of Strasbourg, France. Construction finished in 1439 with the erection of the emblematic North tower. [18], The new church was exceptionally large, just ten meters shorter than the present cathedral, and just ten meters narrower on its west front. He was followed by a Michael von Freiburg (also known as Michael von Gmnd, or Michael Parler, from the Parler family of architects), recorded as magister operis in 13831387,[24] who was then succeeded by Claus von Lohre (13881399). Download Strasbourg Cathedral stock photos. [85], Statue of Virgin and a processional banner, in the Chapel of St. Andrew, The Chapel of Saint Andrew is on the southeast side, to the right of the apse. [80], The north transept connects with the Chapel of Saint John, entered through a pointed Gothic arch containing a rounded Romanesque arch. A professor of the University of Iowa even wrote a paper concluding that the faade indeed had a well-planned design as it was designed using a series of rotated octagons. The history of Strasbourg's cathedral is well documented thanks to the archives of the Notre-Dame Foundation, the city of Strasbourg, and of the diocese. In 2015, the city has celebrated the millennial anniversary of its cathedral. The cathedral can be seen from over 30 kilometers (20 miles) away from all sides on a clear day. jimtown football roster, motogp commentators 2020 simon,