The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1870-10-13
The Stgashuurac Cathedral Clock and
Library.
From the Hartford Times

|
| One of the most iameutablo results OF
the siege OF Strasbourg leaving out of view
the loss OF human ife is the injury which
| the bombardment has inflicted upon the
noble cathedral and its wonderful astron-
omlcal clock. The vast cathedral, which,
pehaps, moro than any other one thug,
has made the name of Strasbourg ceio-
| brated, is one Of the finest Gothic build
| lngs in Europe. IL was founded A. d.
504. The choir was built by Charlemaguo,
probably about A. ID. SOC. though it was
not completed until 1889. The material of
which the cathedral is built is q brown
stone, very much resembling our Conuec-
tlcut Portland ireestone, SO extensively used
II Fifth avenue 1t was taken from quarry
| at Was6ebonne, III the valley of Couronue,
| few miles from StraShoure. The arcbI-
Sect OF the existing eoiice was Erwin Won
stein bach, OF Baden. One John HuelIs, of
| Cologne, was the architect of Tho peerless
tower. It's spire Is the Hottest IN the world
its height, 466 feet, surpasses st. Peter S,
and Is about equal TO that of the Great Pyra.
mid. The greater part Of the entire struc-
ture was destroyed by lightning in 1907,
aud the restored editice was begun in 1915
and completed in 1889. The cathedral il
III every part richly decorated with scuIp-
lures; and the western front, rising to a
| height OF 230 fec, Is, or Was, particularly
| fac with it's wealth of statues, ornamental
| carvings and bias reIiefs. cit has d circular
window IS feet i'll diameter. The Prussian
heavy artillery has made, it Is said, IA ruin
| of part OF the vast building.
The astronomical clock, tho product of
| German clock maker, in about the year
| 1850, IL u model of ingenuity and mechan-
Ira1 oil. a hn Il
| forms not only tho ordinary ssr~i,e OF q
clock, but exhibits the days, and the
months of the years; the process OF the
seasons; the signs of the zodiac, and the
| names and movements of the heavenly
bodies. AT each quarter-h hour an angel
comes out and strikes one stroke on a
bell; Mt every hour another angel comes
| and strikes twice; and at IL meridian, n
| figure OF Christ appears, accompanied by
the twelve apostles, all of whom move
| around n central point and pass in,
out of sight, by another door, the
stroke of twelve being given, aud u
| cock flaps his wings and crows.-
| The clock is enormous in size, like every
| thing else connected with the vast cathe-
| dral, and is Invisible from the outside
street the spectator passing through the
| nave of the cathedral to see it, 1t has suf.
| fered from fire and violence before the
present year. having been out of repair
| and motiOnles since the revolution OF
1893, until the year 1912, when it was re-
| paired by matchmaker of Bas- Rim, and
| has been In operation since. 1t is to be
hoped that this lDgenius piece of mechan-
ism has not been irreparably injured by
| the present bombardment.
The loss of Strasbourg library "a vast
collection of 500 900 yOlUmea includino
many collections of rare and curious monk
| ish parchments -i3 total and irreparable.
1t can never be replaced by any collection
hereafter made. 1t was the slow result of
thousand years; aud It's destruction by
fire. caused by the Prussian hot shot, Is
like the burning of the Alexandrian library
III thus, that of great number of the
works destroyed no duplicates can ever be
obtained