Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1891-11-04
THE CATHEDRAL AT ULM.

The CATHEDRAL AL ULM.
Like the Duono Of Florence and the
( Dom of Cologne, the Ulm Minister re-.
than 500 years have elapsed since its
frst stone was laid. Begun In 1877.
though the main building was complet-
ed in 1893, the work was not crowned
and ended until 1890.
The setting in place of the last stone
! of the spire occurred on May 81, and
I the lofty structure was completed at its
height of $50 feet, eighteen feet above
the Cologne towers and the loftiest
cathedral spire in the world. The GER
emonies began on Saturday with an
( open-air choral festival on the Cathe-
dral square. The whole of SwabIa
| land the Swabians are not thin folk
seemed to have crowded into the city.
/ There were the traditional broad,
honest faces, the descendants of the
wise men, grouping round the gayly
dressed stands in their national COS
tunes and thronging the streets from
dawn until midnight. Thousands of
visitors from all parts of Germany had
come. The feature of the day was the
procession, which depicted the life OF
the city from the fourteenth to the
nineteenth century. In this procession
1900 people participated; soldiers,
heralds, and townspeople In the dis
| tinctive Rarb of each period ushered in
the respective centuries. The first
group was interesting as carrying q
model Of the foundation stone and of
the cathedral Itself.
the historical play acted on Monday
and Tuesday may have been less inter
esting to strangers. The performance
| opened with the scene of the laying OF
the corner stone of the cathedral. To
the townspeople all this was spirit
stirring, and the picture given of life
in Ulm in 1704 held their attention en-
raptured. Yet the visitors were TO
be pardoned If these local recolleclions
had less charm than the entertaining
and individual display of the Danube
| fishermen on Tuesday and the fetss,
| organ recitals, concerts and banquets
which continued throughout the holi-
days. On Tuesday night the festivi-
ties came to an end. They were pro
tracted till late, but the merrymaking
was protracted until later still-much
later than the dying out of the last
| beams of the illumination from the
cathedral tower.
The cathedral, the glory of the town.
| stands in a nearly ovaI-shaped open
space among the gray and rather
sombre gsbled houses. This edifice
takes rank among the six finest Gothic
minister's of Germany, and is, after
Cologne, the largest being 4S5 feet
long and 200 broad. Originally three,
now five aisled, 1t is built without tran
septs or side chspels. Though COM
pleted it is still in one sense unfinished,
the brick walls having never yetreceived
| their coating of stone, which gives
the exterior very heavy appearance
and brings II into strong contrast with
the colossal and richly decorated tower.
The whole building however, is now
undergoing careful restoration, and il
is hoped that funds will be procured
to bring 1t to perfection.
The tower, which is flush with the
main wall and commands an extensive
view Of the surrounding plains and OF
the distant Swabian Alps, is of late
Gothic, of elegant and harmonious
though rich desi n. In the tower hang
a large number of bells, including the
''wine bell, once rung nightly at l0
o'clock for the purpose of calling the
| male population home from the taver n.
OF the doors that conduct INTO the
church the richest in point of decora-
ton are those in the chief portal, with
their inches for statues But the
quaIntest and most fancifuI is the
south door, that is decorated with a
most original device, namely a tree
carved in stone, with its branches bent
and Topped to form the arch But all
the doors are equally rich IN symbolic
carving and of great interest in respect
to the light they throw on the costume
and armor of the period. Gothic
grotesque, together with deeper mean
| ing, is blended in that curious mode
possible only to the Gothic mind. This
| is specially notable in the carving that
represents the revolt of the angels, a
fine, dignified conception, in which is
| introduced the involuntary comic ele-
ment-the Almighty sweeping away
the rebellious angels with a school
masters birch rod.
Another door bears in its tympanum
a representation of the Passion; yet
another, of the Last Judgment. Here
Christ is depicted, drawn sword in
hand, sitting upon the rainbow, a con-
ception evidently borrowed from the
defunct northern gods AS in all medi-
eval churches, one door is decorated
with the parable of the wise and foolish
virgins. 1t was used for marriage
parties, and was always known as the
brides door. A little street opposite
the cathedral is still called Bride lane.
The first aspect of the interior is i'm
pressive from itsrhythmic dignity, and,
notwithstanding IFS heavy style OF
building, it produces an effect of light
ness. But the glory OF Ulm is its
cathedral stalls. They display a
wealth of luxuriant figure, flower, and
geometrical decoration that makes
them difficult to describe. While SO
rich, however, no sense of overlooking
is ever for one moment produced. Two
rows of sculptured busts decorate the
wall back of the seats, while one row
adorns the doors of the seats them
selves.
The first row of heads, both the
largest and most prominent, those in
the doorways, are the images of enlight-
ened heathens. Then followed the
men who inspired the elder Scriptures,
then those who bore testimony to the
Christian faith. On the north side are
the men, on the south the women
The sculptures are all IN natural
colors of the dark wood, though there
are remains of blue and gold colors on
Tho canopips ind icatino that fhasa uara