Fortress at the intersection of roads - Strasbourg

Today I want to tell you about an unusual city. The border zone runs along the river Rhine, on the left bank of which is located Strasbourg, and on the right is the German city of Kehl. The province of Alsace, whose capital is Strasbourg, repeatedly passed from Germany to France and back and was the subject of numerous disputes and clashes. But the very name of the city is translated into Russian as "Fortress at the intersection of roads."

sourse

This border location enriched this amazing city. Here you can feel the atmosphere of both countries: hear German speech, see half-timbered houses, and picturesque Alsatian nature. Here we arrived late at night, pouring heavy rain, but in the morning, the city looked like this.

It's very quiet and peaceful here. There are no noisy tourists, huge traffic jams, and there were few cars. And as you already know the first thing I'm going on a fascinating walk through the canals and locks of Strasbourg on the excursion water tram along the river Il. The trip will be unforgettable. You will see many artificial canals, locks and dams. And from the Rhone through the Rhine can also sail to Marne. How beautiful it is here.

Walking through the streets of the city, it seemed to me that time had stopped here. And sometimes, turning around the corner, I wanted to see a Frenchwoman from Balzac's novels, in lush skirts and corsets. Passing past such houses, she feared that a maid would now look out of the window and pour a whole bucket of water on the passer-by. But if you are tired of walking around the city, you can always take a comfortable tram.

sourse

Of course, a great impression was made on me by the majestic cathedral, which attracts all tourists with its splendor, you will not pass by it. It is decorated with almost thousands of sculptures, and what is on it an amazing ornament. On the facade are depicted the Virtues killing the Flaws with spears. You can watch these amazing scenes for hours.

sourse

The cathedral is built in the style of the so-called "radiant" gothic from pink sandstone. From a distance it seems very delicate because of the many architectural elements. But his lone spire Notre - Dame rises by as much as 142 meters, it can be seen from anywhere in the city.

And inside the cathedral everything is very beautiful. Probably, there are several thousand paintings from fragments of glass here, and these scenes are called "The Bible for the poor", they all talk about the stories of the Old and New Testaments. Read more here.

sourse

The main attraction of the Strasbourg Cathedral is the astronomical clock. They show the time (Central European and astronomical, with a difference of half an hour), as well as the time of sunrise and sunset, the lunar phase, the day of the week, and the sign of the Zodiac. The slowest rotating mechanism shows the precession of the earth's axis - one revolution takes 25,800 years.

And if you are a fan of organ music, then you are lucky. Here you will have great pleasure listening to a real organ concert. In good weather it makes sense to ascend to the tower of the Cathedral.

Today, the viewing platform is at an altitude of 66 meters, but 100 years ago, those who could have climbed to the top of the spire, to a height of more than 100 meters. In our time you will need to overcome only 328 steps, but you will be rewarded with a magnificent view of the sights and surroundings of Strasbourg and the Black Forest.

And I advise you to watch a small video: