Strasbourg Cathedral loses its famous “green ray”, to the chagrin of fans
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Strasbourg (France) (AFP) – The stained glass window of a cathedral in eastern France will no longer produce a distinctive green ray seen only twice a year, at the spring and autumn equinoxes, after the precise pane was replaced during a recent renovation.
Admirers learned of his loss when they hoped to see the phenomenon at exactly 4:33 p.m. Sunday, when the Earth’s axis was directly perpendicular to the sun – marking the first day of spring.
But the website of Strasbourg’s Gothic cathedral warned visitors that from March 16 the replacement of the pane meant there would no longer be a ‘green ray’ illuminating a stone carving of a Christ crucified.
The light had fueled speculation of a divine blessing on the cathedral completed in 1439, with hundreds turning out to watch the bi-annual event, although church officials insisted it was from a pure coincidence of celestial geometry.
The stained glass window in question was installed in 1876, and the sun would pass through the left foot of Judah, son of Jacob, to produce the famous ray.
But according to the cathedral’s website, the phenomenon likely started after a previous renovation in 1972, when the pane showing Judah’s foot was replaced with more transparent glass.
That year, it was observed for the first time by Maurice Rosart, engineer and surveyor, who denounced its disappearance as a “scandal”.
“It’s a blow for the people of Strasbourg, for culture, for secularism and the Enlightenment,” he said in a statement to AFP.
© 2022 AFP