page_title: Strasbourg Cathedral
section_title: Furnishing
hierarchical_section_title: Strasbourg Cathedral / Furnishing
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Alsace, Bas-Rhin, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg (PA00085015). Bas-côté nord, Verrières (1210-1270) "Empereurs Saint-Empire": Philippe de Souabe, Henri IV, Henri V, Frederic II
context_page_description: Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg, also known as Strasbourg Minster, is a Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Although considerable parts of it are still in Romanesque architecture, it is widely considered to be among the finest examples of Rayonnant Gothic architecture. Erwin von Steinbach is credited for major contributions from 1277 to his death in 1318.
  At 142 metres, it was the world's tallest building from 1647 to 1874, when it was surpassed by St. Nikolai's Church, Hamburg. Today it is the sixth-tallest church in the world and the highest extant structure built entirely in the Middle Ages.
  Described by Victor Hugo as a "gigantic and delicate marvel", and by Goethe as a "sublimely towering, wide-spreading tree of God", the cathedral is visible far across the plains of Alsace and can be seen from as far off as the Vosges Mountains or the Black Forest on the other side of the Rhine. Sandstone from the Vosges Mountains used in construction gives the cathedral its characteristic pink hue.
  The construction, and later maintenance, of the cathedral is supervised by the "Foundation of Our Lady" since 1224.
context_section_description: Protestant and Revolutionary iconoclasm, the war periods of 1681, 1870 and 1940–1944 as well as changes in taste and liturgy have taken a toll on some of Strasbourg Cathedral's most outstanding features such as the choir screen of 1252 and the successive high altars (ca. 1500 and 1682), but many treasures remain inside the building; others, or fragments of them, being displayed in the Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame.
  The outstanding elements are:
  Stained glass windows, mostly 14th century, some late 12th century (northern transept) and 13th century (see also below, Emperor Windows), some 20th century (southern transept, choir). Stained glass windows from the former Dominican Church, destroyed in 1870, in the Chapelle Saint-Laurent and Chapelle Saint-André.
  Tombstone of Conrad de Lichtenberg in the Chapelle Saint-Jean-Baptiste, ca. 1300. Facing it, monument to a canon by Nikolaus Gerhaert (1464).
  Richly ornate baptismal font by Jost Dotzinger in the northern transept, 1443
  Richly ornate pulpit by Hans Hammer, north-east of the central nave, 1486
  Life-sized group of sculptures "Christ on the Mount of Olives" in the northern transept, facing the baptismal font (previously in the Église Saint-Thomas), 1498; the cross towering above it is from 1825
  Suspended pipe organ on the north side of the central nave (Organ case of 1385, 1491; mechanism and registers by Alfred Kern, 1981)
  Choir pipe organ, north side of the choir, Joseph Merklin, 1878
  Crypt pipe organ, 1998
  Busts of Apostles from the high altar of 1682 along the semi-circular wall closing the choir, wood, 17th century
  Tapestries "Life of Mary", Paris, 17th century, acquired by the cathedral's chapter in the 18th century
  Altars in the chapels (15th–19th centuries);  large Baroque altar of 1698 (structure) and 1776 (paintings) in the Chapelle Saint-Laurent
caption: Emperor Windows (Kaiserfenster), dated circa 1210–1270: Philip of Swabia, two figures named Henry, and Frederick I
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