Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1907-07-04

essary 10 clear out an army Of arc'.i
tects, m0deiers, sculptoGs. stone MT
sons and builders, for the cathedral
has for many years past been under
going such reconstruction as I'm reg 4
to some OF its portions. amounts to re-
building. 1t will probably he su Ii
restoration as will satisfy even these
to whom almost all restoration Is
abominable The work done 50 far
has been carried out i'm a spirit of h &,
reverence for the past, under the su
perintendence OF Herr Christie. the
most eminent of Norwegian architects
who is devoting his life to what Pr
lessor Dietrichson of Christiania uni
vers;ty calls 'Norway's noblest monu-
ment, the country's sacred treasure.
the crown and glory of its arctitec-
ture.' 1t was in 1869 that the pre- 'ent
restoration was begun. 1t has been
continuously proceeding since that
year. and is expected to reach con-
pletion by 1914, when Norway VII
celebrate the hundredth annive sary
OF its restored Independence. The
amount of money expended will reach
Mt least 6.0OO,0OO kroner (e333, 600.
Trondhjem, with it's 10000 inhab.
itants. not far from the outer rim OF
the Arctic circle. is a strange place
to find one OF the mist remarkable Of
the cathedrals of Europe. BY the
year 1900 the church was completh
and was the wonder Of Norway. l.
was 324 feet long. with great cen
trail tower. three other towers of small
Ter dimensions. and many turrets and
pinnacleS. There were 316 windows
1850 pillars and thirty-fve affairs. all
richly decorated ane adorned. On
the capitals OF the columns weird and
exquisite architectural fancies were
layished. The general effect was. PER-
haps. one of overdecoration. The or
namentation of the capitals is very
deeply cut Quaint heads are mingled
with floral designs, and the spirit OF
the maker OF comic gargpyles assert
itself here and there The present
restorati Is one of many. for the
cathedral has had exceeding bad for.
tune. 1t was three times on fire be-
tween 1923 and 1881. 1t was pun cred
being carried off to Copenhagen. When
the Swedes captured Trondhjem. In
1864. they stabbed their horses in the
cathedral and buried Olaf's body In n
far-away country church. There w r.
fires again in 170S and 1719. and the
repairing was then done In a slipsho
and irreverent fashion, capitals. col
umns. tracery, being used as or
binary building material. arches be
ing obscured by new stOnewoTk. the
nave left In ruins. the aisles shut off
from the chancel, the walls disfigure1
by tiers Of wooden boxes used "a
pews This was the condit on OF
Trondhjem cathedral when the restora-
ton was begun In 1869 The work
has now been carried very far. PIac-
tically everything Is completed, but
the nave. which has been carried up
TO something like two-thirds of what
will be its final height. Everything
hns been exactly restored. Nothing
has been changed, so far as can be
ulSCOVereU. OF VIII De. lie Duilu NJ
Is to he In 1914 Just as II was in 1900.
To this end, not only the best archi-
tectural. but the best workmanly skill
has been employed. Every fragment
Of the old building has been used
where that was possible. and In the
case of what was ruined beyond re
pair careful casts have been made. AMI
the whole restored from those and
from suggestions In the uninjured
work. The material employed is
curious blue soapstone found in the
locality. When broken in one direc.
tion II has dullish sparkle, like some
Iron Tres. suggesting great hardness.
but in reality ii is soft stone, verv
pliable TO the sculptor's hands, and al
most capable of being cut by knife
1t has. however thoroughly proved its
enduring qualities. In some OF tAe
oldest parts OF the church the mason's
marks are not far from being as cloar
and as sharp as when they were
placed there eight or nine hundred
years ago.