The first cathedral built on the present site was erected by the bishop Saint Arbogast in about 550–575. A paleochristian church or cathedral is believed to have been founded by an edict of Clovis I, but its exact location and appearance is unknown. The first recorded bishop, Amand, participated in the Councils of Cologne and Sardique in 346 and 347. Christianity was first imposed in 313 by the Edict of Constantine. It became a major trading center for wine, grain, and later for textiles and luxury products. Previous buildings on the site Ī Roman settlement called Argentoratum, twenty hectares in size, existed on the site since about 12 B.C., at a strategic point where bridges crossed the Rhine and two of its tributaries.

Archaeological excavations below and around the cathedral have been conducted in 1896–1897, 1907, 1923–1924, 1947–1948, between 19, and finally between 20. The history of Strasbourg's cathedral is well documented thanks to the archives of the Notre-Dame Foundation, the city of Strasbourg, and of the diocese. In 1988, the Strasbourg Cathedral was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with the historic centre of the city (called the ' Grande Île') because of its outstanding Gothic architecture. The Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame, a municipal museum located in the Foundation's buildings, displays original works of art from the cathedral, such as sculptures and stained-glass, but also the surviving original medieval buildings plans. The construction, and later maintenance, of the cathedral is supervised by the Fondation de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame ('Foundation of Our Lady') since at least 1224. The reddish-brown sandstone from the Vosges mountains gives the cathedral its distinctive colour. Today it is the sixth- tallest church in the world and the tallest extant structure built entirely in the Middle Ages.ĭescribed by Victor Hugo as a 'gigantic and delicate marvel', and by Goethe as a 'sublimely towering, wide-spreading tree of God', the cathedral is visible far across the plains of Alsace and can be seen from as far off as the Vosges Mountains or the Black Forest on the other side of the Rhine.

Standing in the centre of Place de la Cathédrale, at 142 metres (466 feet), Strasbourg Cathedral was the world's tallest building from 1647 to 1874 (227 years), when it was surpassed by St. The construction of the cathedral, which had started in the year 1015 and had been relaunched in 1190, was finished in 1439. The Steinbachs's plans for the completion of the cathedral were not followed through by the chief architects who took over after them, and instead of the originally envisioned two spires, a single, octagonal tower with an elongated, octagonal crowning was built on the northern side of the west facade by master Ulrich von Ensingen and his successor, Johannes Hültz. Architect Erwin von Steinbach is credited for major contributions from 1277 to his death in 1318, and beyond through his son Johannes von Steinbach, and his grandson Gerlach von Steinbach, who succeeded him as chief architects. Although considerable parts of it are still in Romanesque architecture, it is widely considered to be among the finest examples of Rayonnant Gothic architecture. Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg ( French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, or Cathédrale de Strasbourg, German: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg or Straßburger Münster), also known as Strasbourg Minster, is a Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France.

Oculus dom tower