A Millennial Edifice - from Romanesque Origins to Flamboyant Gothic
The history of Strasbourg's Notre-Dame Cathedral begins long before the Gothic we admire today. A first Christian building is documented on this site as early as the 4th century, in Roman times. A Romanesque cathedral was then built from the 11th century under Bishop Werner, of which the crypt and part of the transept survive today. From 1015 onwards one can truly speak of a Strasbourg cathedral, even though the current building is the result of a construction spread over more than four centuries.
The great Gothic transformation began from 1190, when Alsatian master builders began to remodel the cathedral according to the new techniques coming from France - flying buttresses, ribbed vaults, large tracery windows. The building progressed in successive phases throughout the 13th and 14th centuries, with each generation of architects contributing to the edifice. The result is a unique synthesis between French and Germanic influences that makes Strasbourg Cathedral a monument apart in the history of medieval architecture.
The West Façade - the Lace of Pink Sandstone
The west façade, begun around 1277 and completed around 1388, is considered one of the finest achievements of world Gothic architecture. Entirely carved from pink Vosges sandstone, it unfolds over three levels a profusion of sculptures, openwork galleries, pinnacles and gables that give it the appearance of a lace of stone. Goethe, who admired it at length during his stays in Strasbourg, praised it in his essay Von Deutscher Baukunst (1772), contributing to its worldwide fame.
The façade contains more than 500 statues and sculptural representations, many of which are copies - the originals, too fragile, have been preserved at the Musée de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame. The iconographic themes are varied: scenes from the Old and New Testaments, virtues and vices, prophets and apostles, as well as representations of secular figures and scenes of medieval daily life.
The Spire - Long the Tallest in the World
The spire of Strasbourg Cathedral, completed in 1439, rises to 142 metres. For more than two centuries - from 1647 to 1874 - it was the tallest construction in the world, surpassing all other spires and towers of the era. This architectural supremacy made Strasbourg a pilgrimage destination for architects and curious visitors from around the world, who came to admire this extraordinary technical feat for its time.
The spire, carved from the same pink sandstone as the façade, is a feat of medieval engineering. Its octagonal structure, lightened by a network of openwork galleries and buttresses, has allowed it to withstand the frequent winds of the Alsatian plain for more than five centuries. It was never built in duplicate - the original plan called for two identical spires, but for lack of funds the second tower was never raised beyond terrace level, giving the cathedral its characteristic asymmetric silhouette.
The Astronomical Clock - the Mechanical Marvel of the 16th Century
The astronomical clock of Strasbourg Cathedral is one of the most extraordinary mechanical marvels in the world. The current clock - the third of its kind on this site - was built between 1838 and 1843 by mathematician Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué, who spent his entire life studying the mechanisms of the previous medieval clock in order to design a new one worthy of its predecessor.
This monumental clock - 18 metres tall - performs mechanical feats that still inspire the admiration of clockmakers worldwide. It displays solar and civil time, the days of the week with their tutelary deities, months, seasons, years, lunar-solar cycles, solar and lunar eclipses, planetary positions and many other astronomical data. Every day at 12:30 pm, a carillon rings out and a procession of automaton figures comes to life: the four ages of life succeed one another before the figure of Death, while the twelve apostles pass before Christ who blesses them.
The Stained Glass Windows - a History of Light in Alsace
The stained glass windows of Strasbourg Cathedral constitute an exceptional heritage covering nearly nine centuries of glass art. The oldest, dating from the 12th century, are preserved in the transept arms. The most celebrated are undoubtedly the great rose windows of the west façade, the central rose measuring 15 metres in diameter and diffusing a light of incomparable intensity and colour depending on the time of day.
During the Second World War, the windows were carefully dismantled and stored safely to prevent their destruction during bombing - a remarkable operation that made it possible to preserve this priceless heritage. They were reinstalled after the Liberation, returning to their place in the architecture of light that the medieval master glaziers had designed to guide the gaze and spirit of the faithful towards the divine.
The Cathedral and the History of Strasbourg - a Shared Destiny
The history of Strasbourg Cathedral is inseparable from that of the city. During the French Revolution, it almost faced destruction - some revolutionaries wanted to demolish the spire, symbol of religion and feudalism. The spire was saved at the last moment by Strasbourg citizens who crowned it with a giant Phrygian cap, thereby transforming it into a republican symbol. During the German annexation period (1871-1918), the German Empire attempted to symbolically appropriate the cathedral by presenting it as a monument of Germanic culture - something Alsatians always refused to accept.
Today the cathedral is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the historic centre of Strasbourg and receives more than 3 million visitors per year.
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The Cathedral Today - between Faith, Culture and Tourism
Strasbourg's Notre-Dame Cathedral remains above all an active Catholic place of worship, with several masses celebrated each day. But it is also an open-air museum, a venue for sacred music concerts and one of the most visited tourist sites in Alsace and France. Its platform, accessible via 332 steps, offers an incomparable panoramic view over the rooftops of Strasbourg, the Alsatian plain, the Vosges and, on clear days, the German Black Forest.
The Musée de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame, housed in the adjacent medieval buildings, preserves the original sculptures of the cathedral and presents the history of its construction with exceptionally rich collections. A combined visit to both sites is essential for anyone who truly wishes to understand the extraordinary human and artistic adventure that the construction of this Gothic masterpiece represents.
During Advent and the Christmas season, the cathedral takes on an even more magical dimension. The Christmas markets that surround it, the nocturnal illuminations on its façade and the sacred music concerts in its nave make this time of year a unique experience that draws millions of visitors from around the world to Strasbourg every December.
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