Strasbourg Cathedral

About Strasbourg Cathedral

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg stands in the middle of the Grande Île, ringed by the River Ill. It took over four hundred years to build: the first stone was laid in 1015, work restarted in 1190, and it was finished in 1439. So it blends Romanesque parts with graceful Rayonnant Gothic, of which it's considered one of the finest examples.

The façade's chief architect was Erwin von Steinbach, who worked here from 1277, followed by his son and grandson. Two towers were planned, but only the north one was built, 142 metres high. From 1647 to 1874 it was the tallest building in the world, and today it's the tallest structure built entirely in the Middle Ages. Since 1988 the cathedral and historic centre have been on the UNESCO list.

What to see

• The west front — stone lace, portals and a rose window.
• The astronomical clock — apostles and a rooster at noon.
• The Pillar of Angels — a column of Last Judgement statues.
• Stained glass — medieval windows in the nave and transepts.
• The viewing platform — rooftops and the Vosges.
• Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame — the cathedral's original statues.

Façade and tower

The cathedral is built of pinkish-brown sandstone from the Vosges mountains, which gives it its warm, almost red colour at sunset. The west front is covered in fine carving like stone lace: hundreds of statues, pointed arches, a great rose window above the central portal and the twelve apostles above it.

Victor Hugo called it a 'gigantic and delicate marvel', and Goethe a 'sublimely towering tree of God'. The octagonal tower and its openwork spire are visible across the Alsace plain, from the Vosges and even from the Black Forest beyond the Rhine. The cathedral's most famous statues are Ecclesia and Synagoga by the south portal; the originals are in the museum next door.

Inside the cathedral

Inside it's tall and dim, with coloured light falling through the medieval stained glass. In the south transept is the Pillar of Angels, a massive column ringed in tiers with the Evangelists, angels sounding the trumpets of the Last Judgement and Christ the Judge.

Look for the carved 15th-century stone pulpit and the great organ hung high on the nave wall. The cathedral's first clock, from around 1352, is gone, but its gilded mechanical rooster, one of the oldest automata in the world, is displayed in the Palais Rohan museum opposite.

The viewing platform

A spiral staircase in the tower leads to a viewing platform about 66 metres up. From there you see the tiled roofs of the Grande Île, the canals of Petite France and, on a clear day, the Vosges and Black Forest.

It's a climb up narrow steps with no lift. In summer and during the Christmas markets, queues form at the ticket desk, so come at opening.

Tips for your visit

Allow an hour to an hour and a half for the cathedral, about two with the platform and clock. A good plan: the platform at opening before the queues, then Petite France, and back for the astronomical clock at noon.

The cathedral is the centrepiece of a Grande Île walk, with Petite France and its canals and half-timbering nearby and the Palais Rohan museums opposite.

Services take place, so keep quiet and don't use flash. The square is flat, but you can't take a pushchair up to the platform.

How to do it right

• Platform at opening.
• Clock at noon.
• Façade at sunset.
• Quiet: services take place.

Questions