I should think it even longer and
wider--for the truth is, that the tower of Strasburg Cathedral is as
much too tall, as that of Ulm Cathedral is too short, for its nave and
choir. Not very long ago, they had covered the interior by a whitewash;
and thus the mellow tint of probably about five centuries--in a spot
where there are few immediately surrounding houses--and in a town of
which the manufactories and population are comparatively small--the
latter about 14,000--thus, I say, the mellow tint of these five
centuries (for I suppose the cathedral to have been finished about the
year 1320) has been cruelly changed for the staring and chilling effects
of whiting.[B]
The choir is interesting in a high degree. At the extremity of it is an
altar--indicative of the Lutheran form of worship being carried on
within the church--upon which are oil paintings upon wood, emblazoned
with gilt backgrounds--of the time of Hans Burgmair, and of others at
the revival of the art of painting in Germany. These pictures turn upon
hinges, so as to shut up, or be thrown open; and are in the highest
state of preservation. Their subjects are entirely Scriptural; and
perhaps old John Holbein, the father of the famous Hans Holbein, might
have had a share in some of them.
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