Heidelberg that attract the traveller. One does not easily tire of the
view from the hill three hundred feet above the ruins of the castle, nor
of the beauties of the environs, and the banks of the Neckar.
The city is made cheerful by its law and medical students, who drink
their lager beer with gusto, sing their staves, and keep up the old
university traditions and customs. There are bright clean streets, and
many shops that prosper through the college and the host of summer
visitors.
Two fine bridges span the Neckar. The older bridge was constructed in
1788, and the new bridge was built about a hundred years later. It
connects Heidelberg with Neuenheim.
The old town is curiously elongated, stretching along the riverside.
Modern suburbs are extending to-day, to provide for a population
numbering about forty thousand.
Unfortunately, very little of old Heidelberg has survived the
devastation of wars and conflagrations. Even the churches were despoiled
of their monuments by the French soldiery, and scarcely one of the
ancient houses remains as a memorial of the Middle Ages.
Climb the hill of Anlagen, and you will reach the church associated with
Jerome of Prague, the contemporary of Huss. To the door of this church
Jerome affixed his heretical affirmations, and in the graveyard he
preached to a vast crowd.
Olympia Morata is buried here. This beautiful and cultured Italian woman
was a second Hypatia, who, however, escaped the too common fate of
innovating philosophers. She married a German doctor, after a flight
from her native land, and lived in Heidelberg, where her lectures were
attended by the learned of the town.
NUREMBERG
Few towns in Europe have preserved so much of the spirit of the Middle
Ages as Nuremberg. Its history is pregnant with romance, and its annals
of mediæval art are of marked interest. Amsterdam recalls Rembrandt;
Antwerp calls to mind Rubens, and with the town of Nuremberg, the
student of painting associates its illustrious native, Albert Durer.
The craftsmen of this town were among the most skilful of any European
nation during mediæval times. Goldworkers, armourers, clock-makers, and
artists in stained glass worked here in the days of the trade guilds.
Brass was founded in this city at an early date. Nuremberg was famed,
too, for its metalworkers and goldsmiths. It is still a town of
industrious artificers.
The architecture of the churches is of the highest Gothic order; the
façade of the Rathaus is a noble specimen of late Renaissance work; and
the castle and fortifications are feudal structures of much historical
interest. There are few towns that can compare with Nuremberg in the
charm and variety of its memorials of the past.
We cannot be certain concerning the date of the founding of the town,
but probably it was in existence in the tenth century. In the reign of
Henry II., Nuremberg was already a place of some importance, and its
prosperity advanced until it became one of the chief markets of Europe.
The castle was the residence of many rulers of the country, and it was
one of the favourite palaces of Henry IV.
In the thirteenth century, Nuremberg had a large number of Jews among
its population, who enjoyed all the rights of citizens. But under Karl
IV. a policy of oppression was adopted, and at a later period, the
Jewish inhabitants were bitterly persecuted.
[Illustration: NUREMBERG.
1832.]
John Huss was received here by an enthusiastic populace; but when the
reformer's army laid waste the country, the people of Nuremberg
valiantly withstood the enemy. When the wave of the Reformation swept
the land, Nuremberg gave a welcome to Martin Luther, and his revised
ritual of worship was used in the churches. Melanchthon also came to the
town, and established a school there, though the institution was not
successful. A statue of the "gentle" reformer was set up in Nuremberg.
Civil strife disturbed the town in 1552, but a period of peace followed,
and a few years later saw the founding of the university.
The Thirty Years' War brought disaster upon Nuremberg. The army of
Wallenstein attacked the ancient walls, and the outer entrenchments
which had been constructed by the inhabitants upon the rumour of war.
Led by Gustavus, the soldiers and people of the town opposed the vast
forces of Wallenstein that encompassed the fortifications in a series of
camps.
Hunger and plague assailed the besieged within the gates, while without
the foe cut off escape, and barred the entrance of food supplies. For
weeks the siege endured. Thousands died from disease, thousands were
slain by the enemy. In a valiant sally, Gustavus led his troops to the
attack. The battle raged for hours, and both sides suffered terrible
losses. Nuremberg might have fallen had Wallenstein been able to rally
his hungry soldiers, but, as it was, he withdrew his force.
Let us now review the peaceful arts of the city. The record of Albert
Durer's life shows the character of a deeply religious man, devoted to
his faith, and absorbed by his art. He was reared in Nuremberg, and was
the son of a working goldsmith. Born in 1471, Durer was apprenticed at
an early age to his father's craft, in which, however, he did not excel,
for his heart was set upon following the profession of a painter. His
first master in the art was Wolgemut, whose portrait is one of Durer's
finest works. The young artist spent some time in Italy, studying, among
other paintings, the work of Mantegna, and, on returning to his native
town, he applied himself most industriously to his art.
Albert Durer's pictures are scattered among the galleries of the world.
Durer, in painting landscape, showed a singular modern feeling. In his
portraits he was a realist, analytical in the use of his brush, and
especially painstaking in painting fine hair, for which he used ordinary
brushes with extreme dexterity, much to the amazement of Bellini.
In the Germanic Museum at Nuremberg there are five pictures by the
master, and some copies of his works. The bulk of his paintings are in
other galleries at Munich, Berlin, London, and elsewhere.
An interesting memorial of Albert Durer is the old gabled house in which
he lived and worked. Here he toiled with the brush and the graver's
tools, and received as his guests the cultured men of the city. His life
was simple and industrious, and his nature gentle and retiring. Durer
had several pupils at Nuremberg, who carried on his tradition in
painting and copper and wood engraving.
The art treasures of the churches are very numerous. St Sebald's Church
is a splendid Gothic pile, with many architectural triumphs, such as the
highly decorated bride's door, with its finely carved effigies, the high
pillars, Krafft's statuary and reliefs, and the crucifix by Stoss.
The splendid western door of the Frauenkirche must be seen by the
visitor, for it is an instructive example of Gothic work of the richest
design. St Lawrence has two figures, Adam and Eve, on its chief doorway;
and some Scriptural reliefs adorn the entrance. The windows are
beautifully painted.
There is a notable picture of "Christ and Mary" in the Imhoff Gallery.
There are several other churches in Nuremberg containing works of art,
and offering study for the lover of architecture and painting. The work
of the craftsmen of the Middle Ages is seen everywhere in these
buildings, and a detailed description would fill a volume.
The Museum is in an ancient monastery, and in its numerous rooms will be
found Roman antiquities, old metal work, pottery, furniture of the
Middle Ages, weapons, a collection of books, some of them illustrated by
Durer, and an array of paintings of the German school. A full and
excellent catalogue is issued.
The castle, with its stirring chronicle, is a feudal fortress dominating
the plain, and forming the chief rampart of the town's defences. Walls
and towers protect Nuremberg on every side, as in the ancient days of
peril. The view from the towers is very remarkable, and from one of
these points of outlook, one gains a long-remembered impression of the
old town, with its towers and steeples, and the surrounding country,
watered by the Pegnitz and clothed with forests. The fortifications were
finished in the fifteenth century, and provided a strong protection to
the town in time of siege.
Among the buildings of this "quaint old town of art and song," as
Longfellow describes it, the Rathaus must be visited. The west façade is
very handsome Renaissance work by the Brothers Wolf, with three towers,
and three ornate entrances. The fresco paintings within are the work of
Durer and his pupils, but they are in poor preservation. There is a
beautiful ceiling, by Beheim, in the council chamber. A fountain, with a
statue of Apollo, by Peter Vischer, is in one of the courtyards. The god
is splendidly modelled, and graceful, and the pedestal of the statue has
several mythological figures.
The most pleasing quarters of the town for the lover of antiquity are
below the Fleischbrücke, where the ancient houses overhanging the stream
are exceedingly quaint, the narrow alleys surrounding the Rathaus, and
the castle and its environs. The fountain in the fruit market, Albert
Durer's house, the churches, and the Imhoff house should all be
inspected if you wish to gain a comprehensive recollection of old and
new Nuremberg.
Nuremberg was celebrated for its sculpture, an art that awakened here
and in Würzburg at the Renaissance. While Donatello was living, Stoss,
Krafft and Vischer were gaining repute as image-makers in stone, wood,
and bronze. A volume has been published lately in France, "Peter Vischer
et la Sculpture Franconienne," by Louis Réan, which tells the story of
the rise of the Nuremberg craftsmen. Adam Krafft was no doubt an
influence in the work of Albert Durer. The South Kensington Museum
contains several examples of the work of these German artists.
We must not quit Nuremberg without recalling the great poet, Wolfram,
who was born at Eschenbach, a village near the city. It was to Wolfram
that Wagner owed the subjects for his two great works, "Parsifal" and
"Lohengrin."
Nuremberg stands high, on the verge of an ancient forest, long famous
for its hunting. Its river is the Pegnitz, which flows through the town
about its centre, and is crossed by several fine bridges. Besides its
rambling lanes and main thoroughfares, there are several open spaces and
squares; but the houses retain, for the greater part, their mediæval air
and irregularity of structure, with carved balconies, gables, and
turrets. It is the second important town of Bavaria in point of
population.
WITTENBERG
To the south-west of Berlin, between that city and Leipzig, is the old
town of Wittenberg. The rolling Elbe, which rises in the wild range of
the Erz Gebirge, and crosses Germany on its long course to Hamburg and
the sea, flows by the town, and spreads itself into a wide stream.
Saxony, the third in importance of the kingdoms of Germany, is a fertile
land, cultivated from an early date, and famed as a granary and orchard.
It is noted, too, for its minerals--coal, tin, cobalt, iron, lead, and
marble.
The town is still fortified, and bears a somewhat grim aspect. It was
much damaged by the Austrian artillery in 1760, and has suffered the
ravages of war before, and since the Electors of Saxony lived in the
mediæval castle.
Here was founded an important university, afterwards removed to Halle.
It was at the University of Wittenberg that Martin Luther taught as
professor of theology.
The supreme interest of these rambling streets are the associations with
the great Protestant reformer. Wittenberg is a place of pious
pilgrimage for those who revere the memory of Luther and Melanchthon.
The Schloss Kirche contains the ashes of the two preachers of the
reformed faith; and it was on the door of this church that Luther nailed
his bold indictment of papal corruption. The town abounds with memories
of that stupendous battle for religious liberty which spread into all
parts of Christendom.
How vast were the issues in the balance when Martin Luther defied the
power of Rome! Long before the theologian of Wittenberg, several
reformers had uttered protests against the sale of indulgences by the
Church of Rome. Huss, Jerome of Prague, John of Wessel, John of Goch,
all raised their fervent voices upon the evils of the system.
The Bible was now coming into the hands of the laity; Wicliff's versions
were in use in England, and in Germany, Reuchlin and others had made
Hebrew the study of the educated. Erasmus, too, had satirised the
vicious lives of the monks. The way was prepared for a popular reformer,
such as the ardent priest and theologian of Wittenberg.
Archbishop Albert of Mayence and Magdeburg was indebted to Pope Leo X.
for his investiture, and was unable to raise the money. The Pope was in
need of funds. He therefore gave permission to the archbishop to
establish a wide sale of indulgences in Germany. The bulk of the people,
reared in obedience to Rome, made no complaint of the practice, and were
quite ready to purchase absolution for their sins. But Luther contended
that indulgences only brought the remission of penalties, and refused to
offer complete pardon for indulgences alone.
Tetzel, the agent of Leo X., was naturally enraged. He thundered
anathemas upon the presumptuous Luther. The reformer met his
denunciations by affixing his defiant propositions to the door of the
Schloss Kirche.
So began the historic struggle between Catholics and Protestants. Luther
merely impeached the sale of indulgences; he was still loyal to the
papal authority. The Pope was, however, headstrong and tyrannous. He
showed neither tact nor diplomacy, but issued a bill of excommunication
against the unruly priest. The document was burned in contempt by Martin
Luther.
Let us glance at the character of this doughty heretic. The birthplace
of Luther was Eisleben, in Saxony, and he was born in 1483. His first
school was at Magdeburg, and he was educated for the law. But the early
trend of his mind was pietistic; he aspired to become a teacher of
religion. He joined the Augustine Order, and observed devoutly all the
canons of the Catholic creed. We read that Luther was appointed
professor at the University of Wittenberg; that he taught many students,
and discoursed eloquently.
Luther's temperament was hostile to asceticism. He had a capacity for
enjoying life; he delighted in music, and sang daily. He was not opposed
to the custom of drinking wine with company. More than all, he
impeached, by precept and example, the teaching of the virtue of
celibacy. He said that true manhood finds joy in womanhood; and he
married an ex-nun, Catherine de Bora, who bore him children.
This sane indictment of the unnatural practice of celibacy was accounted
one of Martin Luther's most enormous iniquities. His clerical opponents
arose and denounced him. He was described as a man of immoral life; it
was circulated that he drank wine to excess, and wrote hymns praising
drunkenness. He was labelled an atheist, a blasphemer, and a charlatan,
who did not believe in the doctrines that he taught.
But Martin Luther soon gathered about him a band of zealous followers,
and his fame went forth to the farther ends of Europe.
Philip Melanchthon, a man in some respects more admirable than Luther,
joined in the crusade of reform. "The gentle Melanchthon" had studied in
Heidelberg and Tubingen. He was the author of many religious volumes,
and it was he who composed the "Augsburg Confession."
The effect of Luther's teaching was not without its evils. Guided by
their own reading of the Bible, zealots found authority for violence and
persecution. There were risings of peasants, which Luther denounced,
even urging their suppression with the extremity of force. This brave
assailant of Rome was unwisely aggressive in his attitude towards those
sects that differed from him in their beliefs. He was a bitter enemy of
the followers of Zwingli, the reformer of Zurich. The sectaries were
sundered and torn with dissensions and quarrels. Melanchthon died
rejoicing that he was leaving a world made hideous by the hatreds of
the pious disputants.
For the Jews Luther had no toleration. He detested the spirit of
science, which was spreading even among the Catholics; and declared that
the study of Aristotle was "useless." He described the great Athenian as
"a devil, a horrid calumniator, a wicked sycophant, a prince of
darkness, a real Apollyon, a beast, a most horrid impostor on mankind,
and a professed liar." This contempt for the discoveries of science was
a mark of the ignorance that led Luther to prescribe that a "possessed"
child should be thrown into the water to sink or be restored to sanity.
The extortionate demands of the popes were no doubt the chief cause of
that enthusiasm that burst like a flame when Luther withstood the
exactions of Rome. Germany had long been bled to fill the coffers. The
country was prepared for revolt. Leo X. was one of the most extravagant
of the sovereign pontiffs, and it was said that he wasted as much as the
revenue of three popes. He created thousands of new livings, which he
sold. The office of cardinal was purchasable. But none of the wealth of
the Curia found its way to Germany; on the contrary, that nation was
constantly called upon to contribute heavily to the funds of the church.
In Wittenberg, the flame of revolt burst forth, and all Germany soon
rallied to the support of Luther, who showed himself a born leader of
men. The propaganda spread even to Spain, that ancient stronghold of
Catholicism. In 1519 a number of tracts by Luther were sent into that
country from Basle, where they were printed in Latin. These
disquisitions fell into the hands of the learned. Valdes, secretary to
Charles V., sent to Spain an account of Luther's proclamation against
indulgences, together with an acknowledgment that reform was needed in
the Church.
As soon as the discovery was made that Lutheran literature was entering
Spain, the inquisitors diligently sought for those who had copies of the
proscribed tracts. Valdes, the emperor's secretary, though then a
staunch Catholic, was brought before the holy office because he had
discoursed with Melanchthon.
It was well for Luther that he was defended by Frederick, the Elector of
Saxony. We wonder that the rebellious monk, who raised such venomous
hatred, escaped with his life. But even the tribunal of the Diet of
Worms could not daunt Luther. He flatly refused to retract. Nothing was
left but to banish him from the town; and under the protection of the
Elector of Saxony, he was kept in the Wartburg.
In England the Lutheran heresy had been checked by Henry VIII., who
wrote against it, and won the esteem of the Pope for his defence of the
faith. Cardinal Wolsey's efforts were of no avail in stemming the tide
of reformation; and the King, enraged with the Pope for refusing a
divorce from Catherine, suppressed his anti-Lutheran scruples of
conscience without difficulty. The flame kindled in Wittenberg spread
over England. Monasteries were suppressed; the new creed, first the
religion of the poorer educated classes, was soon adopted by all
classes.
The story of the Reformation is of strangely absorbing interest. In
Wittenberg, the annals of the historic conflict are recalled as we stand
before the church door upon which Luther nailed his ninety-five theses,
and read the inscriptions on bronze that his Protestant successors have
set there. Martin Luther was the man for his age, and whatever were his
faults, he served humanity. Little did he anticipate the terrible wars
and the fierce religious persecution that followed upon his challenge to
Leo X., and the burning of the bull of excommunication outside the walls
of Wittenberg.
The memorials of the vast struggle arising from the resistance of Luther
to be seen in the town are first the Schloss Kirche, and then the house
of the reformer in the old buildings of the University. In the house,
which has been little altered since the death of Luther in 1546, are a
few relics, a chair and table, some utensils, and the portraits by
Kranach.
A tree marks the spot where Luther burned the bull of excommunication in
1520. In the market place is the statue in bronze of the founder of
Protestantism.
The house of Melanchthon is also to be seen. His statue was set up about
forty years ago.
The tombs of Luther and Melanchthon in the Schloss Kirche are marked by
tablets. In this church is the grave of the Elector Frederick, the
trusty friend of Luther, adorned with a magnificent monument by Peter
Vischer. This is one of the notable works of that artist. There is also
a relief by Vischer in the church.
In the Stadt Kirche Luther preached. There are some pictures here
ascribed to Kranach. One of them represents Melanchthon performing
baptism, and another, Martin Luther preaching to his converts.
Kranach's works will interest students of painting. Some more of his
portraits of Luther and Melanchthon will be found in the Rathaus. This
artist was court painter to the Elector Frederick. He was one of the
most gifted of Bavarian painters, and his son inherited his talent. The
elder Kranach was born in Kranach, the town after which he is named. He
was a friend of Luther and Melanchthon. His death occurred in 1553.
Such are the chief mementoes of Luther and his colleague in Wittenberg,
"The Protestant Mecca."
PRAGUE
In the valley of the Moldau, a beautiful tributary of the Elbe, in a
setting of hills clothed with pines, lies the old capital of Bohemia.
Great mountain barriers enclose an undulating and wild tract, with
Prague in its centre. In the valleys there is verdure, and the fields
are well tilled. The river flows through the heart of the city, broad
and powerful, yet navigable. Very delightful and inviting are the banks
of the Moldau on a summer's evening when Prague gives itself to music
and idling. Handsome bridges span the stream, and through their arches
glide the great rafts of timber and the fishermen's boats.
Viewed from one of the hills of the environs, the city is a scene of
colour, with spires and mediæval gables, green open spaces, and narrow
lanes. Prague is one of the most historically interesting cities in
Europe, and its aspect to-day still suggests the Middle Ages, though in
spirit its natives are progressive. The atmosphere of olden days
remains. There are many buildings here with romantic histories, and
instructive works of art are stored within them, though Prague is not
rich in pictures.
Let me compress some of the history of the town into a few lines before
we inspect the monuments.
One of the first rulers of Bohemia was a woman, Libussa, who probably
built a city on the Hradcany Hill in the eighth century. Under the pious
King Wenceslas the city became a stronghold of the Christian faith, and
in his time the first cathedral was built. When Charles IV. was made
ruler of Bohemia, the city of Prague was enlarged and strongly
fortified. The university was then instituted, and there were many
guilds of craftsmen within the walls.
The prosperity of Prague at this period seems to have brought about
those conditions which aroused the reforming zeal of Huss, who found the
people addicted to pleasure and demoralised by luxury. Attacks had been
made upon the Roman Catholic creed by Mathew of Cracow, and other
reformers before Huss and Jerome of Prague, who were followers of
Wicliff.
[Illustration: PRAGUE, 1832.
THE CITY AND BRIDGE.]
Huss was an ardent nationalist, and a hater of Germany; and there is
no doubt that his martyrdom was the result of his political sympathies,
as well as of his indictment of the corruption of religion. This great
preacher lived in Prague, and thundered his monitions from the pulpit of
a chapel. His teaching was a defence of Wicliff, and the reform of the
Church, and for this he was excommunicated.
Wicliff's works were thrown into the flames. Huss was forced to fly from
Prague, taking shelter in the house of one of his followers in the
country.
Through a treacherous invitation to Constance, the reformer fell into a
snare prepared for him. He was cast into prison, and before long he was
taken to the stake, and burnt to death for his heresies.