Day Eleven: Part One 18th

It was a ‘William Free’ sleep in for all despite the world’s most uncomfortable cushions (definitely German!)  The kids had high hopes for a McDonald’s breakfast having yesterday spotted an outlet in the shopping arcade beneath the hotel.  Alas, it was closed when we had a look this morning and they had to settle for pastries eaten in Place Kleber, those poor unfortunate souls!!

 The day was already setting up to be a real scorcher even this early as we finished breakfast and took a look at the market stalls we had watched being set up in the Place nearby.  We ended up purchasing two ‘old worldly’ French prints and Abbey selected a French “princess book” which will no doubt fall to me to attempt to translate.  Whilst Nathan ducked our prizes back to the hotel the kids had fun playing around the central statue in the Place of J.B Kleber who was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars.

 On Nathan’s return we made our way towards the Cathedral Notre Dame de Strasbourg whose spire we could see rising above the buildings just past Place Kleber.  Sure enough, as we rounded a corner, there is was in all its glory, and it was something to behold.

 Strasbourg Cathedral, built on the foundations of an Early Romanesque church begun in 1015, has long been famed as one of the noblest achievements of Western architecture, which reflects the whole range of styles from Romanesque to Late Gothic (12^th-15^th Centuries).  In fact it is widely considered to be among the finest examples of high, or late, Gothic architecture making it a winner with me before we even laid eyes on it!  At 142 metres (466 feet), it was the world's tallest building from 1647 to 1874, when it was surpassed by St. Nikolai's Church, Hamburg.  Today it is the sixth-tallest church in the world.  Described by Victor Hugo as a "gigantic and delicate marvel” the cathedral is visible far across the plains of Alsace and can be seen from as far off as the Vosges Mountains or the Black Forest on the other side of the Rhine. Sandstone from the Vosges used in construction gives the cathedral its characteristic pink hue.

Under the Reformation, in 1521, the cathedral became a Protestant church.  After the incorporation of Strasbourg into France in 1681, the cathedral was returned to the Catholics and dedicated to the Virgin (the double doorway of the south transept depicts in the tympana two scenes commonly used to honour her death and her coronation in Heaven).  In 1793, 235 statues and countless ornaments fell victim to the fanaticism of the French Revolution. There was even a proposal to demolish the beautiful openwork spire, since it towered above other buildings and thus offended against the principle of equality; but saner counsels prevailed, and the spire suffered nothing worse than having a lead Jacobin cap set on its tip.  The cathedral itself became a "Temple of Reason".

 Views of the magnificent western façade

 The Passion of Christ

 Future fans of the Gothic!

 On the Northern Gate crowned virgins armed with spears crush underfoot various distraught characters that symbolize mortal sins

 Inside the Cathedral it continued to impress.  Here are some of the highlights.

 The nave extends over 7 spans and rises up over three storeys (large arcades, triforium and high windows). At 32 metres high and 36 metres wide (including collaterals), it is built in radiant gothic style. It is in this nave that the marriage of King Louis XV with Marie Leszcynska was celebrated on 4 September, 1725.

 The Organ:

The presence of an organ in the cathedral is attested as early as year 1260 though the oldest sections of the actual organ case are now not older than 1385

The figure on the left, in doublet and shoes of the town’s colours, is playing the trumpet and is reminiscent of the City of Strasbourg herald.  In the middle, Samson is opening the closing the mouth of his roaring lion.  To the right, the mobile character depicting a pretzel dealer was the famous Rohraffe (crying or howler monkey) who, with his arm and head, punctuated the insults shouted by a cathedral's servant hidden in the loft during the procession on Pentecost Sunday.  The city herald's right arm (on the left) and the lion's mouth are also mobile.

 Sections of the pulpit built in 1485, which is a testimony to flamboyant Gothic

 St Roch, St Maurice & St Nicolas

 The Mount of Olives, sculpted in 1498

 St Nicolas, St Pancrace and St Catherine

 The Choir was painted in 1877 in neo-Byzantine style

 The Angel’s Pillar (also known as the last Judgment Pillar) in the south transept was conceived around 1230

 The Astronomical clock

A principal work of the Renaissance, this mechanical astronomical clock was an invention put together by various artists, mathematicians and technicians.

The first Strasbourg astronomical clock, L'horloge de Trois Rois, was being built from 1352 till 1354, but it stopped working in the beginning of 16th century. The present mechanism dates from 1842.

According to a legend, the local authorities of Strasbourg ordered that the constructor of the very first Astronomic Clock should be blinded so that he could not try to build something like it ever again. This first clock was equipped with various mechanical details that were very rare in that time, such as calendar and astrolabe, as well as very interesting miniature statues. The main statue of the clock represented the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus in her arms. In front of her, every hour, the three Kings would step out of their chambers and the music announces the time (this is now shown in the Strasbourg museum of Decorative Arts).

The latter astronomical clock offers a view of different stages of life, which are personified by a child, a teenager, an adult and an old man, who pass before Death.  Above this are the apostles who walk before Christ.  Their passage is punctuated by the beatings of wings and the song of a large rooster.

 We spent some time taking in the sights of the Cathedral before exiting and turning our sights to climbing to the panoramic terrace for a better view of the city and the famous single spire of the cathedral.  As we climbed, we saw up close some of the more typical signs of Gothic architecture, many pointing upwards towards the sky. This was seen as a way of trying to reach up and connect with heaven.

The first platform, at 66 metres high, was reached after climbing 330 narrow, winding steps.  I was very pleased to be able to get closer to some of the more colourful characters decorating the façade. 

 Pointing upwards to the heavens atop the flying buttresses

 The second platform is that of the large tower, at a height of 100 metres.  It marks the end of the tower and the start of the spire.  We had fantastic views of the city as well as being able to see the detailed stonework of the spire at closer range. 

When viewed from a distance, the single spire set to one side of the Cathedral makes it appear somewhat off balance.  This north spire was completed in 1439, but the planned south spire was never built.  Why the south spire never got built is still under debate.  What is known however is that the single spire of the Strasbourg Cathedral quickly became a landmark of the region, which is probably one of the reasons they keep it in its asymmetrical form.  On several occasion, the plan of a second twin spire was addressed in the 15^th century.  The fact that no spire eventuated was perhaps a sign that gothic art had gone out of fashion (the Renaissance was already flourishing in Italy) or, more rationally, that the townsfolk were too poor to undertake such a task.  Other specialists believe instead that the construction of a second tower on a renowned unstable ground could destabilise the building and cause serious damage.  Later in the 19th century, German architects entertained the idea of a twin spire, without success as the symbol of the single-spire cathedral was already fixed in the hearts of the Strasbourgeois.

 Looking up at the Spire

 Taking in the views of Strasbourg

 Graffiti by some of the Cathedral workers in the 1700s

 I had as much fun on our descent as I had on the climb stopping time and again to take in the detail.  Eventually Nathan and the kids went on ahead and waited patiently (!) for me at the bottom.