Welcome to the Cathedral
Cathedral of Strasbourg is one of the finest of the great Gothic cathedrals, it stands on the site of a roman temple, built on a mound above the marshy land surrounding the camp of Argentoratum, and an early church commissioned by King Clovis of the Franks.
History of the Cathedral
The first version was begun in 1015, but fire destroyed most of the original Romanesque building, and by the time work started on rebuilding it at the end of the twelth century, the Gothic style had reached Alsace, and stonemasons and master builders who had worked at Chartres were soon bringing their skills to this new project.
After the defeat of their prince bishop, the bourgeoisie took charge of the work themselves, calling on the citizens to contribute to the building fund.
Construction of the cathedral
The construction began with the quire and the north transept in a Romanesque style, reminiscent of and actually inspired by the Imperial Cathedrals in its monumentality and height. But in 1225, a team coming from Chartres revolutionized the construction by suggesting a Gothic architecture style. The parts of the nave that had already been begun in Romanesque style were torn down and in order to find money to finish the nave, the Chapter resorted to Indulgences in 1253. The money was kept by the Notre-Dame, which also hired architects and stone workers. The influence of the Chartres masters was also felt in the sculptures and statues: the celebrated "Pillar of Angels" (Pilier des anges), a representation of the Last Judgment on a pillar in the southern transept, facing the Astronomical clock, owes to their expressive style.
Late History
In the late Middle Ages, the city of Strasbourg had succeeded to liberate itself from the domination of the bishop and to rise to the status of Free Imperial City. 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. In 1524, the City Council assigned the Cathedral to the Protestant faith, while the building suffered some damage from iconoclastic assaults. After the occupation of the city by Louis XIV of France, on 30 September 1681, and a mass celebrated in the Cathedral on 23 October 1681 in presence of the king and prince-bishop Franz Egon of Furstenberg, the Cathedral was returned to the Catholics and its inside redesigned according to the Catholic liturgy of the Counter-Reformation. In 1682, the choir screen (built in 1252) was broken out to expand the quire towards the nave. Remains of the choir screen are displayed in the Musee de louvre Notre-Dame and in The Cloisters. The main or high altar, a major work of early Renaissance sculpture, was also demolished that year. Fragments can be seen in the Musee de l Notre-Dame.