Notre-Dame Cathedral, Strasbourg

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The main portal has an impressive look and the carvings on top make almost a strip cartoon!

On the second photo, I have enlarged the tympanum which has three levels of carvings dating from the XIIIth. The fourth, on top is more recent.

The lowest levels shows from left to right the entrance of Jesus in Jerusalem, Lord's Supper, Judas' kiss, Saint Peter cutting the ear of Malchus, Jesus in front of Pilatus and the scourging.

The medium levels shows Jesus crowned with spines, Jesus holding the cross, Jesus on the cross, Jesus going down from the cross and the Resurrection.

The third level shows the hanging of Judas, Monsters going out of Hell, Adam and Eve delivered by Christ, Madeleine kneeled in front of Jesus and the Apostles with Thomas that touches Christ's wounds.

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To get progressively the best view on the Cathedral, you have to come from Place Gutenberg and walk through Rue Mercière (Haberdasher Street). You will arrive right in front of the Cathedral.

The first photo shows the sight from the corner of Place Gutenberg, taken with wide-angle lens.

The second photo was taken from the same place but with regular lens and show better Rue Mercière in the morning.

The third photo was taken closer to the Cathedral at 3:00 PM and shows that the street begins to be crowdy!

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In the left transept stands a strange group, carved in stone. It represents the Olive trees mountain with Jesus on the Cross. It had been ordered in 1498 for the cemetery of Église Saint Thomas but was finally deposited in the Cathedral. You have to drop a one Euro coin in a slot to allow it to be lit for a few minutes.

In the right transept, the Pillar of the Angels or Pillar of the Last judgment is a masterpiece of the purest Gothic art. Angels are represented on three levels on each of the three sides of the pillar. Each row is separated from the next by a column.

The first Strasbourg Cathedral was lost during a fire made by armies of duke of Swedish. In 1015 bishop Verner Gabsburgsky begun construction of a new impressive temple, in Romance style. The sizes of the temple completed to the middle of XI century, for that epoch were truly grandiose: the configuration of its base corresponds modern. Strasbourg the first in the Rhine grounds apprehended the advanced gothic style on those times.

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The interior of the cathedral is so moving that it definitely deserved its own individual tip. The first thing you will notice when you enter the cathedral are the beautiful stain glass windows, which provide a wonderful amount of light into the main seating area of the cathedral. The windows date back as early as the 13th Century. The oldest of these windows include depictions of Holy Roman Emperors, which gives you an idea of the date they were created. Immediately upon entering, you will also notice a very large pipe organ, unusually placed in a swallow’s nest type placement on the northern wall of the cathedral, where it has remained since the 14th century. One of the most striking features of the cathedral however is in the far right corner, where a large Astronomical Clock featuring the 12 apostles and Christ move and parade when the clock strikes the hour. In particular, there is a unique show at 12:30pm, which we did not stay for, but hear it is a great show. We both wondered why a clock would have its largest show at 12:30 rather than noontime, but we did not ask.

Notre-Dame is worth seeing both inside and out. Inside you have paintings above the altar area, an ornately decorated organ (I love fancy organs!), the "pillar of angels", and an astronomical clock. I was quite surprised to read the nasty legend surrounding the making of this clock, because it's almost the same as the legend about the astronomical clock in Prague - both say the local ruler had the clockmaker blinded so he couldn't make another one like it anywhere else! (photo by Brenda)

Bring coins to light up the different areas of the church.

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The following photos are close ups on the six pannels carved in the entrance.
The first photo shows a man laying under a wild beast (huge wolf or monster ?) that bites his face.
The second photo shows a man that fights a dragon with a fish tail.
The third photo shows a peasant with a hunting spear fighting successfully a bear.
Other photos in the next tip