A brief story about the Cathedral...
The Cathedral was built on foundations from 1015, because the chapel located where the Cathedral stands today burnt three times, that’s why they decided to destroy it and to build a new and impressive Cathedral. Its construction lasted more than three centuries, and it wasinitially adapted on the model of Notre Dame de Paris, but the project of the second tower has never succeeded. Many reasons were given, for example the lack of financial resources, foundations which weren’t enough stable or also an outmoded gothic style.Catholic since 1681, the cathedral has been a protestant place of worship for 150 years, starting from 1527. The funding of the Cathedral came mainly from the wine industry, and today the renovation is still financed with the Crémant or the Pinot Gris for example, because each sold bottle brings one euro to the Foundation for the Cathedral.The astronomical clock is an important part of the cathedral, which attracts 3 Million visitors each year.
It indicates the hour, astronomical data, and the religious and civil calendars. The legend says that its main creator has had his eyes burst to keep him to reproduce it somewhere else, butthis is just a legend. Twice a year, late March and late July, a mysterious event occurs inside the cathedral. A green radius appears above the head of the statue of Christ. It is due to the sun, which crosses a stained green glass of the cathedral, but we don’t know if it was intentional or not. However, this mystery led to many speculations. The stained glasses are original, except two of them. However, the American bombing of 1945 destroyed the stained glass in the background of the cathedral. Their replacement has been financed by the Council of Europe in 1956. The wind on the Place de la Cathédrale is explained by an old legend. The grandmother of the devil was Alsatian, so he regularly came in Strasbourg to visit the region and to see if his business were doing well. But he decided to make a trip across Europe to see if his banks were doing better, and he needed a solid and reliable carrier to travel.
After a lot of thought, he decided to use the wind as a horse, and the wind accepted his offer. As he arrived in Copenhagen to drink a beer, he heard to merchants talking about the construction of a cathedral in Strasbourg. He got really mad about it, and immediately decided to go to Strasbourg to see it. As he arrived in front of it, he tied up the wind to a post, and entered the Cathedral. Unfortunately for him, a mass was beginning and he couldn’t get out of it for many centuries, but as he escaped he forgot the wind in front of the Cathedral, which is still running and desperately searching for the devil. A legend says that an underground lake is located under the Cathedral. According to this legend, the entrance is situated in a house in front of the Cathedral. On this lake, it is said that an empty boat is goes around, and that the sound of the paddles can be heard.
