Chapter 450 Capping Ceremony
On the spring equinox of 135, the sun just came out and the clouds in the sky suddenly disappeared. The long-lost blue sky made people feel particularly comfortable.
The most spectacular thing in Weissenburg today is the 170-meter-high "Emperor's Marvel" in front of Germaine's Cathedral. Nobles from all over the world will be shocked when they see it. Come to the Holy City The priests were also shocked and speechless.
The so-called "Emperor's exclamation" is the scaffolding on the 168-meter-high spire of the German Cathedral. It was originally called "Wood Mountain". Later, Emperor Fatih of the Ghazi Empire was shocked when he saw it for the first time. I was speechless for almost half an hour and changed my name.
Frederick did not intervene in the scaffolding construction process, allowing the architects to accumulate experience, and then they built such a behemoth.
The church is 130 meters long and 50 meters wide. The central hall is 45 meters high and the side halls on both sides are 22 meters high. The most shocking thing is the 168-meter-high spire at the gate that pierces the sky.
After nine years of construction and countless bumps and bruises, the church's spire is finally ready to install lightning rods and pour the last bucket of concrete.
The topping out marks the completion of an important node. In the past, it was the installation of the last tile or stone, which required a very formal ceremony.
According to Frederick's plan, this ceremony happened to be completed on the morning of his canonization ceremony. However, William died suddenly and the canonization ceremony was advanced.
Frederick could only make adjustments. It was a happy ending in the morning and the signing ceremony of the Elbe Treaty Organization was held in the afternoon.
There were many guests attending the ceremony today, including King Rudolf and Queen Antonia of the Rhine League, the Archduke of Mainz who worked hard on the construction of the church, Duke Hegel, who was convinced that Friedrich was possessed by the angel, and Archduke Bain. , the Grand Duke of Nassau, the Grand Duke of the Palatinate, the Earl of Rank, the Earl of Shakespeare, the Earl of Delden and other prestigious nobles, as well as several small nobles of baron and below.
The person who presided over the ceremony of the Church of Light was Eliud, the dean of the Holy City Seminary. Frederick met him once when he was digging fossils on Cyclops Island. Only this time did he know his identity. I broke out in cold sweat.
Priests generally live longer. The only person older than him in this land is probably Psyche, who is almost one hundred and twenty years old.
Accompanying him were Victor, Cardinal and President of Oak City Theological Seminary, Clement, Bishop of Weissenburg and Director of the Project, and many priests from surrounding and local areas.
Foreign guests include Queen Anna of the Osmaga Empire, who has the highest status. In addition, there are Baron Carterfield and other nobles from the forest, ocean and areas east of the Elbe River, as well as foreign nobles who believe in the Church of Light who coincidentally attend the meeting. .
Before the ceremony began, Frederick and Maria prepared to help Alfred up to the top of the tower, one on the left and the other on the right.
Alius could walk up on his own, and Frederick wanted to help him just to show respect.
He took the red helmet handed over by Frederick, knocked it, and said: "Can I not wear it? I think my head is harder than it."
Here The helmet is very thick, the inner layer is made of tough rattan, and the outer layer is made of slime hard glue, which is strong and elastic.
But it was a bit uncomfortable when I first started wearing it.
Frederick himself was wearing a red safety helmet, shook his head and said: "This is the rule on the construction site. You must wear a safety helmet when entering the construction site."
Bishop Clement has been working as a supervisor on the construction site, and his head Wearing a blue safety helmet, he also said: "Principal, we should set an example."
"Since the construction of the church, 123 people have been injured on the head due to falling objects from high altitude. Eighteen people were seriously injured. If it were not for the safety helmets, it is estimated that more than 30 people would have died."
Elud finally put on the safety helmet and walked into the safe passage under the scaffolding with help.
This huge scaffolding is almost made of stacked materials, and the bottom is made of the strongest wood imported from the north, which is enough for building ships.
This cost a lot of money, and Frederick had already made plans. All the wood used in the construction site would be used to make church-related souvenirs for sale, ranging from boxes for the Holy Scriptures to wooden rosary beads, all of which were numbered. and certificates, you are sure to make a lot of money.
The tower adopts a core tube design. The reinforced concrete square tube supports the internal and external structures. The top platform is a glass room, which is rainproof. When you look up on the first floor, you can see the light in the darkness. Outside It will look reflective.
However, it is still under construction. There is an anti-fall net every 20 meters in the middle, and the light above the head is blocked.
There is a circle of stairs inside the core tube that surrounds a platform that reaches a height of 160 meters. On one side is a wall, and on the other side is a 1.6-meter-high steel fence, which is coated with a layer of anti-rust slime glue, exactly 1024 Grade, indicating that Frederick began planning and building the church in 1024.
Elud had just walked up two stairs when he noticed that the recessed areas on the ceramic tiles on the wall next to the stairs were filled with words. He couldn't help but reach out and touch them.
Frederick explained on the side: "The source of funds for this church is the sale of a special batch of "Sacred Scriptures". Churches in various places will record the names of the purchasers, send them here, and then engrav them on the wall to commemorate them."
Alius nodded and said slowly: "I am determined."
It is a traditional practice for the church to pay tribute to the people who paid for the carving of names. No one expected that Frederick would carve everyone's name on it. .
The main guests following behind were amazed. Anna curiously asked Frederick: "Where is my name engraved?"
Frederick said a little embarrassed: "The name is It is sent to the ceramics factory for processing according to time and region. "Only a small part has been installed now, and there are still many that have not been installed."
The ceramic industry in the Principality of Wesson has just started. This batch of ceramic tiles took more than a year to develop. The name on the front was printed using movable type printing. Bone meal was added to the raw materials, and the color was milky white.
The group of people walked to about 140 meters. Here is a relatively wide platform that can overlook all directions, but it is now blocked by heavy wooden scaffolding.
The core becomes smaller from here, with the stairs outside and many downward-sloping vents on the wall. There are four concrete pillars at the four corners of the core on the next floor that form upwards to form the spire.
Everyone climbed up the stairs to the platform at the top of the core tube. The platform was surrounded by three-meter-high glass houses.
The skeleton of the glass house is a steel cage, with half-meter-square extra-thick glass inlaid on top. The top one meter is glass louvers, which together with the vents on the wall below can allow the updraft in the core to be discharged.
There is a door here that leads to the outside platform. There are small stairs and a place to hang a safety rope on the concrete structure. You can walk to the top of the tower for inspection and maintenance in the future.
Now you can walk from the scaffolding to the top platform, and your eyes will suddenly become clear.
Some people’s legs felt a little weak when they saw the surrounding scene, and they had to be helped.
There is a hole in the middle of the platform. There are still a few buckets of concrete left at the top of the tower. The steel bars have been tied up. Each of the four pillars protrudes two steel bars with a diameter of 20 mm. When they are gathered together in the middle, they look like a flower. It spreads out like a flower, holding up an octagonal steel plate.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Eliud took the "Sacred Scripture" presented by Victor, suddenly turned to the page about building a church, and read the scriptures carefully.
Next, Frederick carried the long lightning rod and placed the base on the iron plate at the top of the steel bar. The Grand Duke of Mainz personally fixed the lightning rod with eight bolts.
Then a worker stretched out four steel bars from under the platform. A magician who played with fire held a thin steel bar in one hand and cast a spell with the other to weld the windproof frame. After knocking off the welding slag, it was The steel plates and bolts underneath are coated with a layer of molten zinc to prevent rust.
This lightning rod is three meters long and 32 mm in diameter. It is made of elemental steel that will not rust.
What is different from ordinary lightning rods is that there is a round ball made of strips with a diameter of half a meter about 1 meter below the tip of the needle. There are thin thorns like cactus on the ball, which represents the sun.
This lightning rod was designed by Frederick according to the cactus-shaped lightning rod. It is said that it has the advantages of large electrified coverage area, wide protection range, strong ability to discharge lightning, multi-tip lightning receiving function, and certain defensive effect against side lightning strikes. Anyway, it has This is what the manufacturer said to Party A’s father in his previous life.
When pouring concrete according to the design, fixing bolts should be poured inside to avoid rust and corrosion.
Then a few of the most skilled carpenters came on board, and it didn’t take long to nail the template in place, and finally seal it on the outside.
Bishop Clement first checked the installation of the lightning rod. The welding length between the steel bar and the steel plate was greater than six times the diameter of the steel bar. The weld was full and there was no welding slag. He signed a concealed acceptance record on the spot.
Then he checked the installation of the lightning rod. The lightning rod was firmly installed, so he signed the order.
He finally checked the template and signed the order after confirming that there was no problem.
These construction quality documents are in quadruplicate. One copy is kept by the construction department of the Principality of Wesson, one copy each by Party A and the supervisor. The other copy is sealed in a lead cabinet and placed in a special room in the basement.
The workers brought buckets of concrete, starting with Eliud, then the specially invited Baron and Mrs. Carterfield, and then to the workers, managers and technicians who had made outstanding contributions, each of them poured a bucket of concrete. into the template.
Finally, an earth magician cast an earthquake spell on a thick wooden stick more than one meter long and began to vibrate the concrete.
“Nine years.” The Grand Duke of Mainz said with emotion, “The first stage has finally been completed.”
Rudolf sighed: "This church will be a miracle on the earth."
Anna looked at the Edelweiss Library not far away, which was about to be topped off, with a complex expression. Her expression changed slightly, and she didn't know what she was thinking in her heart. .
Antonia asked Frederick: "When will the church be built? I want the prince or princess to receive a birth ceremony here."
Frederick replied: "The interior decoration needs a lot. The time is estimated to be two years."
Elud said to him and Maria: "I remember that your wedding will be held when the church is shining. At that time, I asked the Pope to come and celebrate. You have a ceremony.”
Frederick and Maria immediately thanked Alfred.
(End of this chapter)