_All one side of the Place d'Armes_ is occupied by the CATHEDRAL
SAINT-ÉTIENNE, a masterpiece of the pointed style. The fabric recalls
Amiens and Beauvais. If from the outside it may seem curtailed, the
interior (121 m. long, 22 wide and 43 high), with its resplendent
stained windows, is vast and altogether beautiful.
The most ancient parts of the cathedral do not date back beyond the
13th century.
The nave has eight bays--it was completed in the 14th century; at the
top of the fourth bay it is flanked by two square towers.
The north tower is the tower of the Mutte, so called from the
municipal bell hung there. It is topped with a beautiful spire which
forms an excellent observation post over the surrounding country.
Here was the post of the look-out man who had to report fires. On
the other side of the nave rises the tower of the Chapter which was
finished in 1839. A monumental door opens at the base of each of
these towers.
Another tower, polygonal and smaller, called the Tour de l'Horloge,
is added to the south aisle. On each side of the choir, where
the branches of the transept meet, rise the two small towers of
Charlemagne, so called in memory of those which stood in the Roman
building. They lead by spiral staircases to the outside terraces
which run along the cathedral.
While the nave is 13th century, the transept dates from the 15th, and
the choir, built over a huge sepulchral crypt, is contemporaneous
with the last period of Gothic art.
[Illustration: THE INTERIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL. (Cliché LL.)]
Although completed in 1546, the Cathedral had still to undergo
numerous modifications. Fires caused repairs to be made and then in
1753, by the Governor's orders, Marshal de Belle-Isle, the making of
a "Place" in front of the cathedral necessitated the demolition of
the Bishop's quarters and the construction of a west door.
The ground level was lowered from 8 to 9 feet and the architect J. B.
Blondel was instructed to make out elaborate plans.
They were worked out from 1761 to 1764 and were at once put into
execution and continued with till 1771. While endeavouring to have
regard to the ancient structure, Blondel strove not to make a west
door to the Cathedral but rather to create in front of the cathedral
an independent door, the classic lines of which would blend happily
with the buildings of the "Place" but would contrast with the style
of the edifice (_See page 174_).
In 1791 other alterations were made: following the plans of
Gardeur-Lebrun the rood-loft was done away with, and likewise the
ancient altars and the vaults. Finally the roof which was burnt on
the night of May 6-7th 1877--the day of the entry of William I into
Metz--was replaced in 1880-1882 by a copper roof, raised several
metres.
The Doric fore-part of Blondel's design was pulled down in 1903 by
the Germans, to make way for a west door conceived in the style of
the rest of the church. It was not, however, a very happy effort.
At the corners were sculptured statues of the prophets. One of these
statues, that of Daniel, had the face of William II. The inhabitants
of Metz, who had always resented the presence of this effigy at the
entrance to their Cathedral, before the arrival of the French troops,
fastened to its hands a chain from which hung a small board bearing
the words: SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI.
[Illustration: _William II as the prophet Daniel over the porch
erected by the Germans with The board in his hands commemorating his
downfall:_
"SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI".]
It will be replaced by a work of Hanaux, a sculptor of Metz, who was
responsible for the French monument of Noisseville.
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL.--_Western façade._ (Cliché LL.)]
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL.--THE MODERN DOOR AND THE SOUTH FAÇADE.
(Cliché LL.)]
There is no church which has so much space open to the light. In the
transept and choir it has been calculated that there are 4,071 square
metres of window and it is no exaggeration to say that the whole
structure is like a huge stained-glass window.
Some of these windows date back to the 13th century. The large
rose-window, at the bottom of the nave, which dates from the 16th
century, is the work of the master glass worker Hermann. The windows
of the north transept date from the 15th century. Those of the south
transept, of the choir and the apse, are 16th century.
The bell named "=La Mutte=", which is in the tower of the same name,
did not belong to the church but to the town. The existing bell,
which is rung on all great occasions, was cast in 1505. It weighs
13,000 kilos, so that when it is put in motion, a perceptible swaying
can be fell in the large spire and in the small spires. It bears the
following inscription:
Dame Mutte suis baptisée,
De par la Cité ci-posée
Pour servir à la Cité
Aux jours de grandes solennités;
Et aussi pour crier justice,
Prendre ban de bonne police;
Les contredire quand bon me semble
Et pour convoquer gens ensemble.
From the top of the Cathedral tower the best general view is
obtainable of Metz and the country round. One can realise the
importance of its forts round which the Moselle seems to be an
immense moat. On the left bank, the hills fall sheer and are a
natural defence: on the right, the hills are not so high but
are strengthened by a line of forts. Likewise, by seeing them
glistening in the distance, a better idea is gained of the many
streams which encompass or pass through Metz: _the Seille and the
stream of Saint-Pierre, the stream of Noisseville, the stream of
Châtel-Saint-Germain--the Moselle_ which the canal doubles and
which is itself divided, forming in front of Metz the large island
_Saint-Symphorien_, then, near the dam called Wadrineau, the smaller
island of _Saulcy_. At the foot of old Metz flows yet another branch
of the Moselle which divides in two to isolate on an island the
PRÉFECTURE and the THEATRE. Beyond is the large island CHAMBIÈRE,
recognisable by its drill ground and its cemeteries.
=The Hôtel de Ville.=
_After leaving the Cathedral_, THE HÔTEL DE VILLE _is also to be
found in the Place d'Armes._ It was started in 1766 and finished
in 1771. Its style is simple, the façade being ornamented with two
pediments and fine grilles. A porch leads to a beautiful staircase.
Opposite the stairs is to be seen a bas-relief in white marble on
which are engraved the famous line of Ausonius:
_"Salve magna parens frugumque virumque Mosella" ..._
_Hail, Moselle, illustrious mother of crops and men!_
Inside there are vast banqueting halls where the public sessions of
the Academy are held. The Academy of Metz was founded in 1760 by
Marshal de Belle-Isle under the title of Royal Society of Letters,
Sciences and Arts and endowed with a sum of £60,000.
It was suppressed at the Revolution and re-formed on March 14th, 1819
with the motto "l'Utile" and obtained from Charles X, on September
5th 1828, the title of Royal Academy. It consists of 36 titular
members and 18 resident members, in addition to 4 honorary members,
correspondents and associates.
The Academy has been largely instrumental in maintaining French
culture in Lorraine during the years of annexation.
On the grand staircase are to be seen three stained-glass windows
put up in 1582: the middle one is the Duc de Guise after the siege
of Metz; the right, the Metz bishop Bertram; the left, the sheriff
Pierre Baudoche.
[Illustration: THE PLACE D'ARMES AND THE HÔTEL DE VILLE. (Cliché LL.)]
The flag which floats on its façade is the one previously used in
1870. Carefully preserved in the Carnavalet Museum at Paris, it was
returned to the Mayor by the vice-president of the Paris municipal
council on December 25th, 1918.
[Illustration: STATUE OF THE VIRGIN.