JUST A CHURCH

Since the moment we have started walking the streets of Strasbourg, we have looked down interesting narrow laneways & often seen an old looking church at the end of it.

There was this...

...and this...

...and this also.


Each time we have spotted a church, we have had variations of the following conversation;

(Us/usually me) "Wow!  Look at that old church down there.  Should we go and take a look?"
(Her)                  " Nah, it's just a church"
(Us, usually me) "What do you mean 'it's just a church', it looks gorgeous & old'"
(Her)                   "Nah, just a church."
(Us/definitely me) "Hurumph."
(Her, with a shrug of the shoulders) "Well...it's not the Cathedral!"

Right, so given that the Cathedral is at the top of the Strasbourg 'must see' list, every other church suffers an inferiority complex & doesn't get the admiration they deserve.

Not today!

Today we went to see this 'just a church';

It is charmingly entitled the Protestant Church of New St Peter's!  It began life in the 7th century as a chapel dedicated to St Columba, it then became a Romanesque Church called New St Peter's (because they already had an older one!) & the present church was built in 1250, & retains some of it's earlier renditions.  I chose this 'just a church' first, because of this sight;

We walked past these ladies a few days ago & the beauty of the moss growing on the statues grabbed my attention.  There is a LOT of work created by various types of artisan throughout this church, so I was in heaven.  The outside sculptures were rich in characters.

Each had their own personality.  Then there was this poor lady, who was clearly being laughed at by some of the above...

Seriously, she was the only one in the whole archway for whom the term "shit happens" might actually mean something.

My favourite gargoyle was this cheerful chap;

And how could I walk past this little family without whipping out the camera?

That was just the outside.  I walked through the heavy wooden doors to this;

It took my breath away!  On one wall was a procession of European Kings marching towards the cross, this being a small part;

The dim interior was lit by these wonderful wrought iron Angels.

And some of the ceilings were decorated too.

Through a heavy side door were neatly proportioned cloisters...

 ...lined with tombs laid into the walkway.  Up above the ceiling was also decorated with angels & stars.

What an absolute treat this church was.  We were so glad that we had made the time to spend in & with it.  To us it is so much more than 'just a church'!