Strasbourg Cathedral – a Gothic Jewel.

If only Cathedrale Notre-Dame-de-Strasbourg was the only attraction in the city it was well worth of traveling far and away to Alsace just  to take a glimpse at something incomparably majestic you’ve never seen before. A fantastic, incomprehensible structure holding several titles of the most: how for the most tall building in the world until 1874 (142m). And it remains asymmetrical as the twin tower was never built.

It was started in early 11^th century and completed by mid 15^th. It took merely 400 years to accomplish this out worldly masterpiece of flamboyant Gothic architecture which is actually 1000 years old by now (!!!) and not in pitiful ruins of former grandeur but very much alive and striving and flourishing and breathtaking beautiful, leaving me only two words: surreal and eternal.

 This image I edited a bit as well as the first one to create a Gothic mood.

A delicate lace made of pink stone covers every inch of this enormous beauty, orange at dawn, all shades of pink on a sunny day and all shades of purple in the dusk. The color palette is quite unique. Fantastic giant chameleon in 50 shades of pink. You won’t believe until you see and you won’t forget  either, ever.

Resulting from Protestant Reformation The Cathedral was assigned  to protestant faith in 1524, as soon as it was overtaken by Louis XIV  it was returned to Catholics and redesigned inside once again in 1681. In between in 1539 there was a first Christmas tree set up and decorated inside.

It could have vanish in 1794 when revolutionary radicals les Enrages decided that the tower’s height is offensive to principals of equality and came up with the  idea to demolish it. Miraculously the citizens of Strasbourg spared it of gruesome fate. The proud tower wasn’t guillotined but covered with giant Phrygian cap instead for the world to see. Whatever it took but it was saved until suffered heavily in WWII Allies air raids of 1944. There was a very wise decision to remove unique stained glass windows and hide in a safe place. They were reinstalled soon after the war.

Today the strongest can climb to the observation deck of the Cathedral to take in  the birds view on city's unforgettable steep rooftops . Beautiful as you can see. And a lot of reconstruction is going on daily basis. The flourishing city is very busy to keep itself young and tidy.

My camera isn't sophisticated enough to show all nuances of color changes from orange to pink and purple. Neither can it fit in the whole structure into the frame. This is the video my husband recorded. It brings some perspective into the view.

 And by the way. Today is the 8th of March. The international Women's Day.

Congratulations to all my lovely lady-readers.

See you soon, have a wonderful weekend and a March break full of fun.

All images are © Natalie Rapoport