Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/81

Bk. IV. Ch. V. STRASBURG CATHEDRAL. 65 Of the other open-work spires of Germany, one of the most beau- tiful is that of Thann in Alsace, in M'hich the octagonal part is so lio-ht that anvthinsf more solid than the tracery that forms the spires would seem to crush it. Besides these, there is a jjleasing example at Esslingen ; another attached to the cathedral at Meissen, in favor of which nothing can be said ; and those adorning the two towers of the facade of the cathedral of Berne, which, because they are so small relatively to the towers they surmount, and are in fact mere ornaments, are pleasing and graceful terminations to the front. Next in rank to Cologne among German cathedrals is that at Strasburo-. It is, however, so much smaller as hardly to admit of a fair comparison, covering, even with its subsidiary ad- juncts, little more than 00,000 square ft. The whole of the eastern part of this church belongs to an older basilica, built in the 11th and 12th centuries, and is by no means remarkable either for its beauty or its size, besides being so over- powered by the nave, which has been added to it, as to render its appearance some- what insignificant. The nave and the western front are the glory and the boast of Alsace, and possess in a remarkable de- gree all the beauties and defects of the German style. It is not known when the nave was commenced, but probably in the early half of the 13th century, and it seems to have been finished about the year 1275, a date which, if authentic, is in itself quite sufficient to settle the controversy as to whe*;her any part of Cologne VOL. II. — 5 514. Plan of Strasburg Cathedral. Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.