Religion, Education, Fine Arts. 



European Cathedrals. Among the 

 most noted and magnificent cathedrals in Eu- 

 rope are St. Peter's, in Rome ; the cathedral of 

 Cologne, and that of Milan ; St. Mark's, in 

 Venice ; Westminster and Salisbury, in Eng- 

 land ; Rouen and Notre Dame, in France ; 

 Seville and Strasburg, in Spain and Germany, 

 respectively. St. Paul's, in London, though 

 architecturally much inferior to the others, is 

 yet so noted as to deserve a brief description. 

 It is built in the form of a cross, 514 feet long 

 and 287 feet wide. The cost of the whole 

 building, which is of Portland stone, was nearly 

 $4,000,000, being the proceeds of a tax on the 

 coal brought into the port of London during 

 its erection. The edifice was built under the 

 direction of Sir Christopher Wren, was thirty- 

 five years in course of erection, and was com- 

 menced and finished under the same bishop, 

 the same architect, and the same mason. The 

 great bell of this cathedral is only tolled on the 

 occasion of a death in the royal family. St. 

 Peter's, at Rome, was commenced about the 

 year 1503 by Julius II. under the direction of 

 Bramante, but the present form of the basilica 

 is due almost entirely to Michael Angelo. The 

 interior is 613 feet in length, the height of the 

 nave 152 1-2 feet ; the length of the transepts 

 is 446 1-2 feet ; the interior diameter of the 

 dome is 139 feet, the exterior 195 1-2 feet. The 

 colonnades around the piazza inclose a space 

 787 feet in diameter, and are connected with 

 the facade by two galleries 296 feet in length. 

 The fagade is 379 feet long, and 148 1-2 feet 

 high, and contains five doors, which admit to 

 the grand entrance, which occupies the whole 

 width of the church, 468 feet long, 66 feet 

 high, and 50 feet wide. The height from the 

 pavement to the top of the cross is 476 feet. 

 The Cologne cathedral is one of the noblest 

 specimens of Gothic architecture in Europe. 

 It is said to have had its origin in an erection 

 by Archbishop Hildebold, during the reign 

 of Charlemagne, in 814. Frederic the Red- 

 bearded bestowed upon it, in 1162, the bones 

 of the three holy kings, which he took from 

 Milan, and this gift contributed greatly to the 

 increase of its importance. The bones are 

 retained as precious relics to this day, but the 

 old structure was burned in 1248. According 

 to some accounts the present cathedral was 

 began in the same year, but others fix the date 

 of its commencement in 1270-'75. To whom 

 the design of this noble building is to be as- 

 cribed is uncertain. The work was carried 

 on, sometimes more actively, sometimes more 



slowly, till the era of the Reformation, when it 

 was suspended ; and" during the subsequent 

 centuries not only was nothing done to advance 

 it, but what had been already executed, was 

 not kept in repair. In the beginning of the 

 present century, however, attention was di- 

 rected to its unrivaled beauties, and the neces- 

 sary funds to repair and complete it according 

 to the original designs were raised. The bodj- 

 of the church measures 500 feet in length, and 

 230 feet in breadth ; the towers are above 500 

 feet high. Since 1823 $4,500,000 have been 

 expended on the building ; the total cost of the 

 whole is estimated at $10,000,000. The cathe- 

 dral at Milan is also of Gothic architecture, 

 but the facade is marred by classic doors and 

 windows, and the altars within are in the same 

 style. The edifice is nearly 500 feet long, and 

 250 feet wide through the transepts, and the 

 height of the nave is about 150 feet. The cen- 

 tral spire is more than 350 feet high. The 

 throng of statues (some 4,500 in all) and the 

 many pinnacles are marked features of the ex- 

 terior. 



The celebrated church of St. Sophia, at 

 Constantinople, was originally built by the 

 Emperor Constantino in 325-326, and is so 

 called as being dedicated, not, as commonly 

 supposed, to a saint of that name, but to 

 Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) ; that is, to the 

 Eternal Wisdom of God, or the Logos, the 

 second person of the Trinity. The church 

 was twice destroyed and rebuilt, the present 

 edifice having been built by the Emperor 

 Justinian about 532. It may be described as 

 a square of 241 feet, forming interiorly a 

 Greek cross, and surrounded in the interior by 

 a woman's choir or gallery, supported by 

 magnificent pillars, for the most part borrowed 

 from ancient buildings. In the center rises a 

 dome, which is supported by two great semi- 

 domes, the whole presenting a series of unex- 

 ampled beauty. The height of the dome is 

 175 feet. The building is approached by a 

 double porch, which is about 100 feet in depth. 

 The whole of the interior was richly decorated 

 with sculptured marble and mosaics. The 

 building occupied seven years in its erection, 

 and the history of the work and of the details 

 of its material and construction is full of 

 marvels. Ten thousand workmen are said to 

 have been employed upon it. The materials 

 were supplied from every part of the empire, 

 and comprised remains of almost every cele- 

 brated temple of the ancient paganism. The 

 sedilia of the priests and those of the patri- 



