Strasbourg - cathédrale Notre Dame |
City: Strasbourg is a city
in the north east of France. The city, with approximately
264,000 inhabitants, presents a long history, going back before
the time of the Roman Empire. Strasbourg today is known as
the seat of the Council of Europe and the European Court for
Human Rights. It is, together with Brussels, also the seat
of the European Parliament.
|
Building: The Notre Dame of
Strasbourg is one of the largest and most famous cathedrals
of France. A church was built under the direction of Clovis
in 510. It was enlarged in 1675. This church burned almost
to the ground in 873. A new cathedral was built and was finished
in the year 1050, but this church also suffered from several
fires during the 12th century. Since those days, several major
alterations have taken place, including the change to the
gothic style. The north tower, 142 meters high, was finished
in 1439.
|
Object: On the North side of
the choir stand is an 18 meters high astronomical clock. The
present clock was made in 1843. It the third clock inside
the cathedral. The first one was made in 1352. The second
one was made in 1574. The present one is made by Jean-Baptiste
Schwilgué. He spent more than a year training his 30
construction workers.
God's name is written on the left side as the tetragrammaton,
above the Greek Théos and the Latin Deus (meaning 'God').
|
- top -
|
