Strasbourg part 1: In front of, on top of, around and inside the cathedral
15 June 2026
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I arrive at Strasbourg in the evening after having spent the day at Metz and am content to move into my hotel room, take a shower and go to bed. Next day I head via Place Kléber to the cathedral.
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Place Kléber is dedicated to Jean-Baptiste Kléber, a general of Napoleon who participated in the Egyptian campaign and was assassinated at Kairo in 1800.
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In view of the very impressive western facade of the cathedral. On the left is Maison Kammerzell, a house richly decorated with wooden carvings.
The western facade of the cathedral is truly awe-inspiring. It has a height of 66 meters, and the tower has a height of 142 meters, which made Strasbourg cathedral the highest building in the world until the 19th century. It is an interesting contrast to the cathedral of Metz: The former is dominated by its western facade and points to heaven, the latter impresses with its high nave and shines from the inside. I take some time to look at the portals and walk around the building.
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A frontal view of the western facade of Strasbourg cathedral, showing its three richly decorated portals and the rose window.
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The statues flanking the northern (left) portal of the western facade depict virtues who stand on crushed vices.
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The central portal has a statue of the Madonna flanked by prophets. The reliefs depict the passion of Christ.
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The southern (right) portal of the western facade is my favorite one: The statues depict three virtuous virgins who follow Christ on the right side, and three misguided virgins on the left side who follow a worldly seducer (the statue to the very left of the group). The snakes and frogs which are visible on the back of the seducer indicate his sinister nature.
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Southern facade of Strasbourg cathedral.
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Two gargoyles.
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This portal on the southern transept of Strasbourg cathedral dates back to the early 13th century and is the oldest one, still in Romanesque style. The statues depict the victorious church (Ecclesia) on the left and the defeated synagogue on the right, with king Solomon as judge between them.
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The left group of statues on the Saint Lawrence portal on the northern transept of Strasbourg cathedral depicts the adoration of the Magi. The 16th century sculptures seem almost baroque.
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The Magi look pretty good, but the real star in this picture is the gargoyle.
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The tower of Strasbourg cathedral viewed from Saint Lawrence portal.
It is now around noon and the inside of the church is closed for the demonstration of the astronomic clock. I didn't manage to get a ticket, but I use the time to ascend the platform of the western facade.
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View across the nave while ascending Strasbourg cathedral.
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The tower of Strasbourg cathedral viewed from the platform of the western facade. The tower itself cannot be climbed.
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In view of Strasbourg from the platform of the cathedral.
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Looking down from Strasbourg cathedral at Palais Rohan (center) and the Maison de l'Oevre Notre-Dame (right). Both buildings contain museums today.
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View across Strasbourg cathedral during the descent from the platform.
After descending, I have a look at the inside of the cathedral.
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Inside the nave of Strasbourg cathedral.
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This stained glass window from the 12th/13th century depicts Ottonian emperors of the Holy Roman empire.
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In view of the western rose window. The wooden parts of the swallow's nest organ to the right are from the 14th century.
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A better view of the swallow's nest organ.
For me, the highlight inside the cathedral is the astronomic clock from the 16th century.
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Angels pillar depicting evangelists on the bottom, angels on the middle and Christ on the top tier, and astronomic clock.
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The astronomic clock.
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Luna and Sol (Moon and Sun), detail of the Astronomic clock.
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The clock also shows the current day of the week (important for people like me!) with a different god representing each day. Here we see the Roman god Saturnus who represents Saturday (notice the similarity). The practice of having a god, which also corresponds to a celestial body, for each day of the week goes back to antiquity. Diana (who is closely associated with the moon) stands for Monday (the moon-day, this association is also apparent in the Italian and French Lunedi/Lundi). Mars represents Tuesday (compare the Italian/French Martedi/Mardi), Mercury Wednesday (Mercoledi/Mercredi in Italian/French), Jupiter Thursday (Giovedi/Jeudi in Italian/French), Venus Friday (Venerdi/Vendredi in Italian/French), and we already talked about Saturnus. Sunday is represented by Apollo, who stands for the sun.
The cathedral square itself features many interesting and impressive buildings too. The most famous one is probably Maison Kammerzell from the 16th century which is covered with wooden carvings.
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In view of Maison Kammerzell. During the day the square is packed with people.
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Maison Kammerzell features beautiful wooden carvings.
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More wooden carvings, with the cathedral tower in the background.
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This so called "Büchmesser" ("belly-meter") from 1567 consists of a column placed 35 centimeters apart from the edge of the house. Who couldn't walk sideways through the gap knew it was time to loose weight.
After the cathedral, the rest of my stay is dedicated to visiting some museums and exploring the historical center of the city. This will be the subject of the next (and final) blog post about my vacation.
On my first day at Metz I walk along the river Mosel, explore the western part of the historical city center and encounter three very different churches.
During our two-day visit in Colmar we walk through the historical center, make a boat tour, and visit several museums, including the Musée Unterlinden which contains the famous Isenheim Altar.
