The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1870-09-22
The NsrasbarE Cathedral Czech and
Library.
Hart .rd 1

From the Hartford Times.
One Of the most lamentable results Of the
siege Of StrasbOurg, leaving out Of view the
loss Of human life, il the injury which the
bor,bar,lmcnt has inflicted upon the noble
cathedral and its wonderful astronomical
clock. The vast cathedral, which, perhaps,
more than any other one thing, has made
the name - Strasbourg celebrated, is one of
the finest Gothic buildings in Europe. 1t
Wa founded 4. d. 50l. The choir was
buih ,sby Cl,arlemagne, probably about A.
D. 800, though it was not completed until
1889. The material of which the cathedral
IL buik il brown stone, very much resem-
bling our Connecticut Portland frccstOne, ~
extensively usel in Fifth avenue. 1t was
obtained from a quarry at Wasseb"nne, in
the valley Of CsrirOnnr, few miles from
SirashOurg. The archit. It If the existing edi
fee was Erwin Won Steinhach, ii Baden. John
Huells, Of Cologne, was the architect Of the
peerless tower. Its spire il the Hottest in the
world. Its height, 466 feet, surpasses St.
Peters, and ia about equal to that Of the
Great Pyramid. The greater part Of the
entire structure was destroyed by lightning
in 1907 and the restored esiiiiCe was iegun in
1918, and completed in l439. The cathc-
dral il in every part richly decorated with
sculptures; and the western front, rising 10 a
height OF 30 feet, is, or was, particularly
fine with its wealth Of statues, ornamental
carvings, anil ls,s-rclicfs. 1t has a circular
window, forty eight feet in diameter. The
Pr,lssian heavy artillery has made, il is sail,
a ruin Of part If the vast building.
The astronomical clock, the product Of n
German clockmaker, in about the year 1850,
IL marvel Of ingenuity and mechanical
skill, and has no counterpart. 1t performs
MT only the ordinary service Of clock,
but II exhibits the days, and the months,
and the years: the process Of the seasons;
the signs Of the zodiac, and the names and
movements Of the heavenly bodies At each
quarter hour an angel c'mes o,h and strikes
one stroke on bell; at every hour another
angel comes and strikes twice; and at IL
medidian, a figure Of Christ appears, H.
cOmpanied by the twelve apostles, all Of
whom move around u central point and pas
in, Out Of sight, by another d'Or, the stroke
If twelve being given, and cock flaps
his wings and crows. The cock is
enormous in size, like everything
else conDected with the vast cathedral, and
is invisible from, the outside street.-The spec
tator passing through the nave Of the cathe
DIAL to zee It. II has suffered from fire and
violence before tie present year, having been
out Of repair and motionless since the revo-
luton Of 1873, until the year 1872, when
il was repaired by watch maker Of BIS
Rhin, and has been in operation since. II
i TO be hoped that this ingenious piece Of
mechanism has not been irreparably injured
by the present hombardment.
The los Of the Strasbourg library-a vast
COLLECTION Of 10000 volumes, including
many collections Of rare and curious monk
ish parchments-is total ard irreIarable.
1t can never he replaced by any collection
hereafter made. II was the slow result If \
thousand yean, and its destruction by fire,
cansed By the Prs~izn hot shot, is like the
burning Of the Alexandrian library in this,
that of great number Of works destroyed no
A,,r,l:s.Aas can oree ba <,b4.;uod