The Strasburg Cathedral

THE STRASBURG CATHEDRAL. BY M. R. PORTER, GERMAN MISSIONARY. For the student of literature and of history, both medieval and modern, Germany furnishes a very productive and interesting field of study. With the recollection of what he has read at school concerning the crusades, the reformation and the wars between various peoples, he may walk over the roads traveled by pilgrims to the Holy land, and visit the churches in which their leaders worshiped in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. He may view the quaint old buildings which suffered so many changes during the controversies of early Protestantism, and may stroll among the ruins of castles, once scenes of royal splendor, but now in many cases collections of bare stone T walls and towers, through the ruined, irregular windows of which the moon sends her beams at night. He looks at them in their present condition and tries to reconstruct them as they were in former times. The material for such contemplation and mental reconstruction is well nigh inexhaustible, as every city contains its share of riches, and almost every village has its traditional old church and court house. The missionary is not at liberty to see as many of these sights as the tourist, yet in the three years of his experience, he visits some of the largest cities, and many places of historic interest, while most elders who labor in Wurttemberg, Baden or Alsace, Lorraine, have the opportunity of seeing many ruins. Europe can boast today of few cathedrals older or higher than the one at Strasburg. The height, which is four hundred and sixty-five feet, brings it very near in rank to the domes of Cologne and Ulm. Its very early origin, remarkable history and

THE STRASBURG CATHEDRAL. 113 intimate connection with such events as the Reformation and the war of 1870, make this building a monument in the development of religious history in the German kingdoms. Tourists come from afar to see the minster and the astronomical clock therein contained. Since the antiquity of the cathedral has been referred to, it may be of interest to relate briefly its history and some of the changes it has undergone. Much of the data given below may be found in any reliable guide-book, and the writer's only excuse for inserting it in this paper is that many readers of the Era may not have access to such books. We are told by good authority that the minster stands upon an elevation that has been held as sacred from the remotest time of which we have any record. The place was at one time a hill of some prominence upon which the Celts offered sacrifices to their war-god Eusus. At the time of the Teutonic invasion, the Celts were driven westward, and the Frankish and Gaulic tribes took their places. The newcomers, so tradition says, found signs of religious worship, and built a temple to Hercules. The statement is given some credence from the fact that a stone Hercules has been found, and is now in the north tower of the cathedral. The Herculean temple was succeeded, in the sixth century, by a church of wood and stone, erected by Clovis, a Frank. By the seventh century, great interest was being taken in the preservation of the structures on this sacred mound, so that as soon as one was destroyed another of greater cost was built. Large gifts were made to the bishop of Strasburg, and tolls were collected from travelers as means of support. The cathedral suffered partial destruction by fire in 1002, as a result of a war between Herman, Duke of Swabia, and Henry of Bavaria, and in 1007 was totally demolished by a thunder clap. Work upon a new building was at once begun, on a very extensive scale. "Salvation for the soul" was promised to all who would aid in the undertaking; the result of this, as has been estimated, was that more than one hundred thousand worked and had their sins absolved. The new edifice was completed in 1028, in the Byzantian style of architecture. When, in the thirteenth century, the Gothic became the prevailing style in Europe, it nearly

114 IMPROVEMENT ERA. replaced the old in the cathedral. Other fires, of the years 1140, 1150 and 1176, did great damage, but the necessary repairs were readily made. Conrad Lichtenberg made important additions with money collected from the sale of indigencies; his body rests in the part known as St. John's Chapel. In 1365, the north tower was completed, and in 1439, the spire was put on by John Hultz. Then came the trying struggles of the Reformation, at which time the minster was transferred from the Catholics to the Lutherans. It remained Protestant until the close of the eighteenth century, when it was bought by the Catholics who still own it. A period of comparative peace and tranquility was enjoyed, until Strasburg was besieged, in 1870, when fire again consumed the roof and interior decorations, and blackened the walls. In the Strasburg Cathedral as it stands today, we have a strange but interesting collection of architectral features and religious relics of all ages from the seventh century to the present time. Aside from the consideration due it as a present place of worship it commands a certain degree of reverence from its age, and from the struggle it has had to maintain itself from fire and sword. The city of Strasburg is situated in a broad valley through which the Rhine takes its winding course. It would be visible for a considerable distance, were it not for the trees and orchards upon the outskirts. The cathedral, however, rises far above all surrounding objects, and is conspicuous even ten kilometers distant. It is the first indication to the traveler that he is in the vicinity of Strasburg/ In fifteen minutes, he rumbles over the long, double iron bridge that spans the Rhine, and is, so to speak, almost at the walls of the minster. The building, placed in sharp contrast with those around it, impresses one with its extraordinary height, age, and magnificence in detail of exterior ornamentation. It is a very large edifice, and yet no impression of heaviness is given; for in a very pleasing manner, the rich supply of painted windows, arches, minarets and curiously carved statuettes that adorn every point and corner, take away the massiveness of the walls, and lend them an air of grace and beauty. About the only irregular feature is that the

THE STRASBURG CATHEDRAL. 115 tower on the northwest corner, stands alone without anything upon the south-west corner to complete the symmetry. From a position in front of the west end, the real ground plan of the cathedral is apparent. The type of early churches is faithfully preserved in the form of the cross, with the head of the same toward the east. The arms project to the right and to the left, forming the transepts, and the west portion makes up the standard of the cross, or the nave. In the west end are also the elaborate portal and the most beautiful, painted-glass rosette. The portal, in this case, is a wonderful piece of workmanship. It consists, in brief, of seven pointed arches, one set within the other; the intervals between them are thickly studded with stone statues of the early apostles, and with statuettes so arranged as to suggest some scene of Biblical history. Here and there, on the exterior, are groups representing incidents in the life of the Savior. Conspicuously placed upon the corners of the cathedral, and in double tiers, are equestrian statues of such church dignitaries and kings as Clovis, Dagobert, Pepin, Charlemagne and Conrad II. An outer wall extending on each side, from the transepts, parallel to the nave, is also characteristic of the former cloister, in which the clergy walked for exercise. With this general idea of the outside of the minster, let us go through the portal, and view the interior, where the painted "windows richly dight, let in the pure, celestial light," the only light to be seen, except that given out by flickering wax candles. The first thing that attracts the attention is the plaintive chanting of the worshipers as the mass is being performed. Little groups of people kneel before the candle-lighted shrines of Christ and the Virgin Mary, and silently, reverentl7 "tell their beads." Members of the Catholic church, passing in to pay their morning devotions, bow before the cross, dip the fingers into the font of holy water, and make the sign of the cross upon the forehead and breast. Well-to-do-people may be seen, far up near the main altar, but the very poor penitents, whose sins may not be as burdensome as is their poverty, are contented to kneel upon a chair back in the darkness. As soon as the novelty wears off, one looks about and observes

116 IMPROVEMENT ERA. that the conventional style is found here, also. The nave is long and unprovided with seats; it is separated from the aisles, on each side, only by the tall clustered pillars which support the exceedingly lofty, vaulted ceiling. The choir occupies a position between the trancepts, and is raised upon a platform. In the east end stands the splendid altar at which the clergy perform the religious rites. The chapel of St. Thomas is in the left transept, and the astronomical clock in the right one. The pulpit, so interesting in its construction, is reached by a flight of stairs winding around the fourth pillar. Here and there are little booths, into which the supplicants go to have their sins absolved. The whole interior is quaint, and very interesting to the visitor. Before leaving the minster, we must hear the clock strike, and get a little idea of its wonderful mechanism. Upon inquiry, we are told that the first clock of all was a wooden one, made by Berthold of Bucheck, in 1352. It consisted of four parts, a universal calendar, an astrolobe, Mary and the three wise men, and the cock that crowed every hour. When the clock struck, the wise men passed before Mary, at the same time putting in motion a series of melodious bells, and causing the cock to flap his wings and crow three times. In the year 1547, a second clock was made, in 1570-74, a third one, by Conrad Dasypodius; and in 1836, the present one was begun by three of the most eminent mathematicians in the land. The various parts are as follows: A new celestial globe which gives the exact equations of the equinoxes, a dial which revolves once in three hundred and sixty-five days, indicates the day of the month and of the week and the true and siderael times; a calendar of all church holidays, an orrery, giving the mean tropical revolutions of all planets in sight and the eclipses of the sun and moon calculated forever; a series of seven revolving chariots, each requiring twenty-four hours to appear and disappear; a globe showing the phases of the moon; two galleries upon which are placed movable figures; and lastly the cock which crows once a day. Upon the first gallery is the Angel of Death with a bell at each side and a little mallet in each hand. The first quarter of every hour is struck by a child who passes the skeleton and taps one of the bells; a youth strikes the second quarter; a man, the

THE STRASBURG CATHEDRAL. 117 third; and a very aged person, the fourth. Then the Angel of Death sounds the number of the hour upon the right hand bell, and a little child below turns the hour-glass. So also in reality do childhood, youth and manhood claim their share of our probation here on earth, and each counts off before God and the Angel of Death its quarter of the hour of life. Old age then closes the period of our existence, turns the hour-glass, surrenders us up to Death, and ushers us into a new sphere of action. What a beautiful thought worked out in this piece of machinery ! Above this, upon the second gallery stands the Savior. At twelve o'clock, noon, the twelve apostles pass in turn before him, strike a bell and bow. He recognizes them by raising his hand above their heads. This done, the cock flaps his wings and crows three times. The whole clock, in all its parts and complications, is in continual motion, exactly as in nature, but so slow that the human eye can not discern it. One looks upon it, and marvels at the intelligence and genius required to construct such a contrivance. The savage, unable to look behind the face of the dial and recognize there the superior intelligence of man who made those wheels move in harmony with mathematical laws and calculations, would gaze in wonder, and think there was no maker. Could he realize that all the parts are in motion, he would think they move because they can not stop. Young men and women of Zion, let us be certain that we do not play the part of the savage, as we look out upon the great orrery of God, and say there is no builder. How many in the world tell us that things in nature work according to law and order, because they always have worked so ! Though we may not be able to comprehend all the laws that govern the universe, let us not forget that a mind stronger than ours was at work upon that machine, and that an intelligence, superior to what we possess, set it in motion. That intelligence is God.