STRASBOURG, a town in Frauce, capital of the department of Bas-Ithin, is situated on the Ill at a distanco of about 2 miles from the left bank of the Rhine, 321 miles by railway E. from Paris, iu 48` 31' 57" N. let., 7* 44' 16' E. long., 473 feet above the level of the sea, and had 61,242 inhabitants in the commune in 1851, exclusive of the garrison and other ecotions of the floating population. A rail road 89 miles in length runs up the left bank of the Ilbine from Strasbourg through Colmar and Mulhausen to Basle.
Strasbourg occupies the eite of the Roman Argentoratam, which was in the territory of the Tribocci. It was near this town that Julian defeated the Allemaye (A.D. 357). At. a subsequent period it appears to have fallen into the hands of the Allemans, from whom it was taken by Millie and the Franke. The Geographer of Ravenna calls it Stralieburgium, which was subsequently modified into &raiz burg and Strasaburg. The Reformation was Introduced in 1523, and thc,Protcatants obtained possession of several of the churches. In 1631 Strasbourg was ceded with the rest of Alsace by Austria to Louie XI V., who so improved the defences as to render it one of the strongest fortresses in Europe.
The town stands In a flat situation, in form irregular ; in circuit 5 or 6 miles. It is surrounded by a wall strengthened by bastions, ditches, and outworks, and has at its eastern extremity a citadel, with five bastions, constructed by Vauban, the outworks of which extend as far as the Rhine. This river is crossed by a bridge of boats to Kehl, a fortress in Baden, on the right bank, which is connected by a short branch with the railway from Basle to Frankfurt-am-Mayn. Strasbourg is entered by seven Tho river Ill flows through the town in a north-north-cast direction. After it enters the city it divides into several branches, which reunite before it quits tho place. The principal arm, which bears the name of the Bruche, is navigable, and receives on its right bank the Canal of the Rhine. The river can be made to inundate the neighbourhood, by means of a sluice at the point where it enters the town. There are about 50 bridges, some of stone, others of wood. Some of the branches of the Ill seem to have been ditches dug to encircle and defend the town before it had attained its present extent.
The city is irregularly built. The principal streets are wide enough and well laid out, and several of the squares are spacious and regular ; but the greater number of the streets are narrow and crooked. The
houses are all solidly built of stone, high, and, in many instances, surmounted by lofty roofs furnished with two or three tiers of windows. These picturesque high-roofed houses are gradually disappearing before modern improvements.
The principal public building is the cathedral of Notre-Dame, a Gothic edifice of singular beauty, which was founded in 1015 and not com pleted till 1439. The interior, consisting of a nave and aisles, tran septs and choir, is 357 feet long and 79 feet high. The nave is 35 feet wide, and is separated from the aisles by nine massive pillars on each aide. The choir has no aisles: it is 67 feet wide and lower than the nave. The interior is lighted through fine stained glass windows, one of which, over the great western door, is a magnificent rose window 48 feet in diameter. The atone pulpit, unequalled for the richness, variety, and elaborateness of its sculptured ornaments; an organ of admirable power and softness; and a remarkable astronomical clock ; in the south transept are remarkable objects of the interior. The clock, which was made in 1571, after going for about 200 years went out of order and remained useless for nearly 50 years ; it was repaired a few years ago by a watch-maker of the town, and still maintains its character as a most elaborately-finished, complicated and surprising piece of machinery. The most striking part of the cathedral is its western front, a masterpiece of enriched architecture. It is divided into three compartments by ornamented buttresses ; and each compartment again into three portions by horizontal bands. Tho lower portions are occupied by three doorways, that in the centre being the most ornamented and tho loftiest. In the second story the most striking feature is the enormous marygold window above mentioned; and three equestrian statues of Clovis, Dagobert, and Rudolph of Hapsburgh, in canopied openings in tho buttresses. A fourth canopied opening is unoccupied. The third or upper portion has some beautiful windows. The northernmost of the three com partments is surmounted by a tower andSpire. At each of the four corners of the tower is a spiral staireasa inolosed in open work. The spire rises to the height of 466 feet above the pavemeut. It was originally designed to erect a similar spire over the south portal. The building was much injured during the first French revolution, but it has beeu since restored.