The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1907-07-04

eSsdrV 70 clear out an army Of archi-
tects, modelers, sculptors, stone ma
sons and builders, for the cathedral
mas for many yeaSs past been under
going such reconstruction as. in regard
TO some Of its portions, amounts to re-
building. 1t will probably be. such a
restoration as will satisfy even those
to Whom almost all restoration is
abominable. The work done so far
has been carried out in a spirit of high
reverence for the past, under the ST.
perlntendence of Herr Christie, the
most eminent Of Norwegian architects,
VINO is devoting his life to what Pro-
lessor Dietrichson of Christiania uni
vers!ty calls 'Norway's noblest monu-
ment, the country's sacred treasure
the crown and glory Of it's arc,:itec-
ture' 1t was in 1869 that the present
restoration was begun. It has been
continuously proceeding since that
year. and is expected to reach CON-
pletion by 1914. when Norway VIII
celebrate the hundredth anniversary
OF It's restored independence. The
amount Of money expended will reach
at least 100000 kroner $685. OO).
Irondhjem, with it's 10000 inhab,
1tants, not far from the outer rim Of
the Arctic circle, is a strange place
10 md one Of the mist remarkable Of
the cathedrals Of Europe. By the
year 1900 the church was complete
and was the wonder of Norway. It
was 324 feet long, with a great cen
tral tower, three other towers of small
Ter dimensions, and many turrets and
p1nnacles. There were 316 windows.
$3.50 pillars and thirty-five affairs, all
richly decorated and adorned. On
the capitals Of the columns weird and
exquisite architectural fancies were
lavlshed. The general effect was. per-
maps. one Of overdecoration. The Or
nanlentation of the capitals is very
deeply cut. Quaint heads are mingled
with floral designs, and the spirit of
the maker of comic gargoyles asserts
itself here and there. The present
restoration is one Of many, for the
cathedral has had exceeding bad for
tune. It was three times on fire be-
tween 1923 and 1881. 1t was plundered
IN 1877, the silver shrine of St. Olof
being carried off to Copenhagen. When
the Swedes captured Trondhjem, in
1854, they stabbed their horses in the
cathedral and buried Olaf's body in a
far-away country church. There were
fires again in 1908 and 1719, and the
repairing was then done in a slipshod
and irreverent fashion, capitals, col
umns. tracery, being used as or
binary building material, arches be-
ing obscured by new stonework, the
nave left in ruins, the aisles shut off
from the chancel, the walls disfgurea
by tiers Of wooden boxes used as
pews. This was the condition Of
Trondhjem cathedral when the restora-
ton was begun in 1860. The work
has now been carried very far Prac-
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
has been exactly restored. Nothing
pas DcSll CllullSe(l. 50 lar us CdH De
discovered. or will be. The building
is to be in 1914 just as 1t 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 ard
the whole restored from those and
from suggestions in the uninjured
work. The material employed is a
curious blue soapstone found in the
locality. When broken in one direc
ton it has a dullish sparkle, like some
iron Tres. suggesting great hardness.
but in reality it is a soft stone, very
pliable to the sculptor's hands, and al
most capable of being cut by a knife
It has, however. thoroughly proved it's
enduring qualities. In some Of the
oldest parts of the church the mason's
marks are not far from being as clear
and as sharp as when they were
placed there eight or nine hundre d
years ago"