The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-10-08
The srasboutg Cathedral and Clock

VI One of ,ue m4t,iamentable results Of the
sic.e &c o,rasb5drg, leaving out Of view the
loss Cf human Life, j. The injury which the
lumbarlmcnt has inflicted upon the noble
cathedral: and we may add, upon its won
derfal astronomical clock The vast cathe-
dral, which, perhaps more than any ether
one thip-, has made the name Of Stras-
trra-= 4Ai-ls~t-a, .s Sy54-ifiv.ul unv Vt thU
finest Gcthic buildings in Europe. Ii was
founded A. ,. SOL The choir was built by
Charlemaene. probably about A. j. 500
Though it was not completed until 1886.
The material Of which the cathedral is built
y brown stone. very much resembling our
C0nnecticu. Portland freestone, 50 exten-
sively used flr binding purposes in Hart
ford, and in the Fifth avenue Of New Yolk.
1t was obtained, We 6nd upon inquiry, from
quarry at Wassebonne, in the valley Of
Couro7n7 few miles from Strasbourg.
Ia. .. 'hs existing edi6ee was
Erwin Won 6relnbaoh, Of Baden. Que John
I Huelis, Of Cologne, was the architect of the
peerless tower. We state these facts berause
they have never before been seen in print.
+ It's spire is the lefiest in the world Its
y height, $50 feet, surpasses st Peters, and
il about equal to that of the Great Pyramid.
The greater part Of the entire structure was
I destroyed By lightning in 1907 and the
restored cdi6ce was begun in 1916, and
completed in 1436. The cathedral is in
every part richly decorated with scul ptures
and the western front, rising to height Of
230 feet, is, Or was, particularly fine with
its wealth q statutes, ornamental carvings,
and bas-reliefs 1t has circular window
45 feet in diameter. The Prussan heavy
artillery has made, il is said, a ruin Of part
of the vast building.
The astronomical clock, the product Of a
German clockmaker, in about the year
1850 is marvel Of ingenuity and meehani-
cal skill, and has no counterpart. Ii per-
forms not only the ordinary service Of o
clock, but exhibits the days and the months
and the years the process Of the season
the signs Of the zodiac AMI the names and
movements Of the heavenly bodies. AT each
quarter hour an angel comes out and strike:
one stroke on bell +; at every hour another
al-El CO leS anu SlIlhSS lNlcc anu dl L.
meridian, a figure Of Christ appears, accom-
panied by the twelve apostles, all, of whom
move around central point and pass in
out Of sight, by another door, the stroke o
twelve being given, and a cock flaps BIZ
! wings and crows. The clock is enormou.
in size, Ike everything else connected witt
the vast cathedral, and is invisible from th,
outside street, the spectator passing through
the nave of the cathedral to see It.
} 1t has suffered from FIRE and violenc
before the present year, having been out q
repair aud motionless since the revolution
OF 1893, until the year 1912, when it wa
{ repaired BY a matchmaker Of Bas- Rhen, an
has been ia operation since. Il is to b
{ hoped that this ingenious piece Of mechan
ism has not been irreparably injured by th
!. present bombardment.
The loss Of the Strasbourg library-a vas
!, collection Of 500, 200 volumes, includin
many collections Of rare and curious monk
e ish parchments-is total and irreparabl,
o II can never bc replaced by any cOllectlo
hereafter made. |. was tie slow result
!, a thousand years; and its destruction b
e fire, caused by the Prussian hot shot is lik
d the burning Of the Alexaadran library
e this, that 81 great number Of the worl
'r destroyed no duplicates can ever be Oh
tanned