Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was
produced from scanned images of public domain material
from the Google Print project.)
[Illustration: BOOKCOVER]
[Illustration: COLOGNE CATHEDRAL]
[Illustration: MAP of the RHINE VALLEY]
THE CATHEDRALS AND
CHURCHES OF THE RHINE
By FRANCIS MILTOUN
AUTHOR OF "THE CATHEDRALS
OF NORTHERN FRANCE," "THE
CATHEDRALS OF SOUTHERN
FRANCE," "DICKENS' LONDON,"
ETC., WITH NINETY ILLUSTRATIONS,
PLANS, AND DIAGRAMS,
By BLANCHE McMANUS
[Illustration]
BOSTON
L. C. Page and Company
PUBLISHERS
_Copyright, 1905_
BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
(INCORPORATED)
_All rights reserved_
Published September, 1905
Second Impression, May, 1909
_COLONIAL PRESS_
_Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co._
_Boston, U. S. A._
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
Apologia v
I. Introductory 1
II. The Rhine Cities and Towns 13
III. The Church in Germany 29
IV. Some Characteristics of Rhenish Architecture 40
V. The Accessories of German Churches 56
VI. Constance and Schaffhausen 68
VII. Basel and Colmar 83
VIII. Freiburg 93
IX. Strasburg 97
X. Metz 114
XI. Speyer 127
XII. Carlsruhe, Darmstadt, and Wiesbaden 134
XIII. Heidelberg and Mannheim 142
XIV. Worms 149
XV. Frankfort 155
XVI. Mayence 161
XVII. Bacharach, Bingen, and Rudesheim 172
XVIII. Limburg 181
XIX. Coblenz and Boppart 187
XX. Laach and Stolzenfels 194
XXI. Andernach and Sinzig 199
XXII. Trèves 202
XXIII. Bonn 208
XXIV. Godesberg and Rolandseck 226
XXV. Cologne and Its Cathedral 232
XXVI. The Churches of Cologne 264
XXVII. Aix-la-Chapelle 277
XXVIII. Liège 295
XXIX. Düsseldorf, Neuss, and München-Gladbach 304
XXX. Essen and Dortmund 318
XXXI. Emmerich, Clèves, and Xanten 326
XXXII. Arnheim, Utrecht, and Leyden 331
Appendix 347
Index 363
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Cologne Cathedral _Frontispiece_
General View of Leyden facing 8
General View of Düsseldorf facing 24
Worms Cathedral facing 60
Chandelier, Aix-la-Chapelle 64
Font, Limburg 66
Constance Cathedral 70
Coat of Arms, Constance 82
Cathedral Clock, Basel 85
Basel and Its Cathedral facing 86
Coat of Arms, Basel 92
Freiburg Cathedral facing 94
Coat of Arms, Freiburg 96
Ancient Church Foundation, Strasburg (diagram) 101
Strasburg Cathedral facing 102
Coat of Arms, Strasburg 113
Metz 115
Speyer Cathedral 129
Greek Chapel, Wiesbaden facing 140
Coat of Arms, Darmstadt 141
Heidelberg and Its Castle facing 146
Frankfort Cathedral facing 156
Coat of Arms, Frankfort 160
Cenotaph of Drusus, Mayence 162
Mayence Cathedral facing 166
Bacharach 173
Bishop Hatto's Mouse Tower 175
Coat of Arms, Bingen 180
Limburg Cathedral facing 182
Coblenz and Its Bridge facing 190
General View of Boppart facing 192
Coat of Arms, Coblenz 193
Abbey of Laach (restored) 195
Stolzenfels Castle 197
Coat of Arms, Laach 198
General View of Andernach facing 200
Sinzig Church 205
Trèves Cathedral facing 214
Pulpit, Trèves Cathedral 216
Coat of Arms, Trèves 219
General View of Bonn facing 220
Apse, Bonn Cathedral 221
Convent of Nonnenwerth 229
General View of Cologne facing 232
Cologne Cathedral in 1820 254
Stone-masons' Marks, Cologne Cathedral 262
Coat of Arms, Cologne 263
Font, St. Martin's, Cologne 267
Gross St. Martin, Cologne 269
St. Gérêon's, Cologne facing 272
Coat of Arms, Cologne 276
Charlemagne 279
Aix-la-Chapelle Cathedral in IXth Century 283
Aix-la-Chapelle Cathedral facing 290
Coat of Arms, Aix-la-Chapelle 294
General View of Liège facing 296
Coat of Arms, Liège 303
Neuss Cathedral 309
Coat of Arms, Düsseldorf 317
General View of Essen facing 318
Seven-branched Candlestick, Essen 321
Coat of Arms, Essen 325
St. Victor's, Xanten 329
General View of Arnheim facing 332
General View of Utrecht facing 340
Round Church in the IXth Century, Aix-la-Chapelle
(diagram) 347
St. Genevieve, Andernach (diagram) 348
Bonn Cathedral (diagram) 349
St. Castor, Coblenz (diagram) 350
Ancient Cathedral, Cologne (diagram) 351
Present Cathedral, Cologne (diagram) 351
St. Maria in Capitolia, Cologne (diagram) 352
St. Cunibert's, Cologne (diagram) 352
St. Martin's, Cologne (diagram) 353
Church of the Apostles, Cologne (diagram) 353
St. Gérêon's, Cologne (diagram) 353
Crypt, St. Gérêon's, Cologne (diagram) 353
Constance Cathedral (diagram) 354
Freiburg Cathedral (diagram) 355
Abbey of Laach (diagram) 356
Mayence Cathedral (diagram) 358
Gothard Chapel, Mayence (diagram) 358
Abbey Church, München-Gladbach (diagram) 359
St. Quirinus, Neuss (diagram) 359
Schaffhausen Cathedral (diagram) 360
Speyer Cathedral (diagram) 360
Trèves Cathedral (diagram) 361
St. Martin, Worms (diagram) 362
APOLOGIA
_The Rhine provinces stand for all that is best and most characteristic
of the ecclesiastical architecture of Germany, as contrasted with that
very distinct species known as French pointed or Gothic._
_For this reason the present volume of the series, which follows the
Cathedrals of Northern and Southern France, deals with a class of
ecclesiastical architecture entirely different from the light,
flamboyant style which has made so many of the great cathedral churches
of France preëminently famous._
_Save Cologne, there is no great cathedral, either in Germany or the Low
Countries, which in any way rivals the masterpieces of Paris, Reims, or
Amiens, or even Lincoln or York in England._
_Strasburg and Metz are in a way reminiscent of much that is French, but
in the main the cathedrals and churches of the Rhine are of a species
distinct and complete in itself._
_Any consideration of the Rhine cities and towns, and the ecclesiastical
monuments which they contain, must perforce deal largely with the
picturesque and romantic elements of the river's legendary past._
_Not all of these legends deal with mere romance, as the world well
knows. The religious element has ever played a most important part in
the greater number of the Rhine legends. For demonstration, one has only
to recall the legends of "The Architect of Cologne," of "Bishop Hatto
and His Mouse Tower on the Rhine," and of many others relating to the
devout men and women who in times past lived their lives here._
_In the Low Countries also,--at Liège, where we have "The Legend of the
Liègeois," and at Antwerp, where we have "The Legend of the
Blacksmith,"--and indeed throughout the whole Rhine watershed there is
abundant material to draw from with respect to the religious legend
alone._
_As for the purely romantic legends, like "The Trumpeter of Sackingen"
and "The Lorelei," there is manifestly neither room nor occasion for
recounting them in a work such as this, and so, frankly, they are
intentionally omitted._
_In general, this book aims to be an account of the great churches in
the Rhine valley, and of that species of architectural style which is
known as Rhenish._
_There is a fund of interesting detail to be gathered in out-of-the-way
corners in regard to these grand edifices and their pious founders, but
not all of it can be even catalogued here. The most that can be
attempted is to point out certain obvious facts in connection with these
ecclesiastical monuments, not neglecting the pictorial representation as
well._
_Tourists have well worn the roads along both banks of the Rhine, from
Cologne to Mayence, but above and below is a still larger and no less
interesting country, which has been comparatively neglected._
_Not all the interest of the Rhine lies in its castled crags or its
vine-clad slopes, and not all the history of the middle ages emanated
from feudal strongholds. The Church here, as in France, played its part
and played it gloriously._
_In this discussion of the Rhine churches from Constance to Leyden, the
reader will be taken on what might, with considerable license, be called
an "architectural tour" of the Rhine, and will be allowed to ramble
along the banks of the river, looking in and out of the various
religious edifices with which its cities and towns are crowded._
_The valley of the Rhine is no undiscovered land, but it served the
purpose of the author and the artist well, for it presents much variety
of architectural form, and an abounding and appealing interest by reason
of the shadows of the past still lingering over these monuments in
stone._
_The Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine_
I
INTRODUCTORY
There is no topographical division of Europe which more readily defines
itself and its limits than the Rhine valley from Schaffhausen to where
the river empties into the North Sea.
The region has given birth to history and legend of a most fascinating
character, and the manners and customs of the people who dwell along its
banks are varied and picturesque.
Under these circumstances it was but to be expected that architectural
development should have expressed itself in a decided and unmistakable
fashion.
One usually makes the Rhine tour as an interlude while on the way to
Switzerland or the Italian lakes, with little thought of its
geographical and historical importance in connection with the
development of modern Europe.
It was the onward march of civilization, furthered by the Romans,
through this greatest of natural highways to the north, that gave the
first political and historical significance to the country of the Rhine
watershed. And from that day to this the Rhenish provinces and the Low
Countries bordering upon the sea have occupied a prominent place in
history.
There is a distinct and notable architecture, confined almost, one may
say, to the borders of the Rhine, which the expert knows as Rhenish, if
it can be defined at all; and which is distinct from that variety of
pre-Gothic architecture known as Romanesque.
It has been developed mainly in the building of ecclesiastical edifices,
and the churches and cathedrals of the Rhine valley, through Germany and
the Netherlands, are a species which, if they have not the abounding
popular interest of the great Gothic churches of France, are quite as
lordly and imposing as any of their class elsewhere. The great
cathedral at Cologne stands out among its Gothic compeers as the
beau-ideal of our imagination, while the cathedral at Tournai, in
Belgium--which, while not exactly of the Rhine, is contiguous to it--is
the prototype of more than one of the lesser and primitive Gothic
cathedrals of France, and has even lent its quadruple elevation to Notre
Dame at Paris, and was possibly the precursor of the cathedral at
Limburg-on-Lahn.
From this it will be inferred that the builders of the churches of the
Rhine country were no mere tyros or experimenters, but rather that they
were possessed of the best talents of the time.
There is much of interest awaiting the lover of churches who makes even
the conventional Rhine tour, though mostly the tourist in these parts
has heretofore reserved his sentiments and emotions for the admiration
of its theatrical-looking crags and castles, the memory of its legends
of the Lorelei, etc., a nodding acquaintance with the castle of
Heidelberg, and a proper or improper appreciation of the waterside
beer-gardens of Cologne. For the most part the real romance and history
of the Rhine, as it flows from its source in the Grisons to the North
Sea, has been neglected.
There are a large number of persons who are content to admire the
popular attractions of convention; sometimes they evoke an interest
somewhat out of the ordinary, but up to now apparently no one has gone
to the Rhine with the sole object of visiting its magnificent gallery of
ecclesiastical treasures.
No one glows with enthusiasm at the mention of these Rhenish churches as
they do for the Gothic marvels of France. It is, of course, impossible,
in spite of Cologne, Speyer, and Strasburg, that they should supplant
Reims, Amiens, Chartres, or Rouen in the popular fancy, to say nothing
of real excellence; for these four French examples represent nearly all
that is best in mediæval church architecture.
The Reformation in Germany, with its attendant unrest, accounts for a
certain latitude and variety in the types of church fitments, as well
as--in many cases--an unconventional arrangement or disposition of the
fabric itself.
One thing is most apparent with regard to German churches in
general,--the fittings and paraphernalia, as distinct from the
constructive or decorative elements of the fabric, are far more ornate
and numerous than in churches of a similar rank elsewhere. It is true
that the Revolution played its part of destruction along the Rhine, but
in spite of this there is an abundance of sculpture and other ornament
still left.
Thus one almost always finds elaborate choir-stalls, screens, pulpits,
and altar-pieces, of a quantity and excellence that contrast strongly
with the severe outlines of the fabric which shelters them.
In connection with the architectural forms of the ecclesiastical
buildings of a country must invariably be considered such secular and
civic establishments as represent the state in its relation to the
Church, and along the Rhine, as elsewhere on the continent of Europe,
the past forms an inseparable link which still binds the two. Here, not
only the public architecture, but the private, domestic architecture
takes on forms which, varied though they are, belong to no other
regions. They are, moreover, only to be judged at their true value when
considered as a thing of yesterday, rather than of to-day.
That portion of the Rhine which is best worth knowing, according to the
ideas of the conventional tourist, is that which lies between Cologne
and Mayence. This is the region of the travel-agencies, and of the
droves of sightseers who annually sweep down upon the "legendary Rhine,"
as they have learned to call it, on foot, on bicycle, and by train,
steamboat, and automobile.
Above and below these cities is a great world of architectural wealth
which has not the benefit of even a nodding acquaintance with most
new-century travellers.
To them Strasburg is mostly a myth, though even the vague memory of the
part it played in the Franco-Prussian war ought to stamp it as something
more than that, to say nothing of its awkwardly spired, but very
beautiful and most ancient cathedral.
Still farther down the river one comes to Düsseldorf, that most modern
of German cities. At Neuss, a short distance from Düsseldorf, is the
church of St. Quirinus, which will live in the note-books of
architectural students as one of the great buildings of the world.
It is a singularly ample river-bottom that is drained by the Rhine from
its Alpine source to the sea, and one which offers practically an
inexhaustible variety of charming environment; and here, as elsewhere,
architecture plays no small part in reflecting the manners, customs, and
temperaments of the people.
Of the value of the artistic pretensions of the people of Holland we
have mostly obtained our opinions from the pictures of Teniers, or from
the illustrated post-cards, which show clean-looking maidens bedecked in
garments that look as though they had just been laundered. To these
might be added advertisements of chocolate and other articles which show
to some extent the quaint windmills and dwelling-houses of the towns.
Apart from these there is little from which to judge of the wealth of
architectural treasures of this most fascinating of countries, whose
churches, if they are bare and gaunt in many ways, are at least as
sympathetic in their appealing interest as many situated in a less
austere climate. To realize this one has but to recall the
ship-model-hung Kerk at Haarlem; the quaint little minaret which rises
above the roof tops of Leyden; or, the grandest of all, the Groote Kerk
of Rotterdam, which, on a cloud-riven autumn day, composes itself into
varying moods and symphonies which would have made Whistler himself
eager and envious of its beauty and grandeur.
In so far as this book deals only with the churches and cathedrals of
the Rhine, and follows the course of the Neder Rijn and the Oud Rijn
through Holland, there are but three Dutch cities which bring themselves
naturally into line: Arnheim, Utrecht, and Leyden.
So far as Americans are concerned, there is a warm spot in their hearts
for Old Holland, when they remember the brave little band of Pilgrims
who gathered at Leyden and set sail from Delfthaven for their new home
across the seas. This was but three hundred years ago, which, so far as
the antiquity of European civilization goes, counts for but little. It
is something, however, to realize that the mediæval architectural
monuments of these places are the very ones which the Pilgrims
themselves knew. It is true, however, that their outlook upon life was
too austere to have allowed them to absorb any great amount of the
artistic expression of the Dutch, but they must unquestionably have been
impressed with the general appropriateness of the architecture around
them.
[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW _of LEYDEN_]
Below Düsseldorf the topography and architectural features alike change
rapidly, and the true Rhenish architecture of heavy arches, with an
occasional sprinkling of fairy-like Gothic, really begins. Neuss, Essen,
and all the Westphalian group of solidly built münsters speak volumes
for German mediæval church architecture, while up the Rhine, past
Düsseldorf, Cologne, Bonn, Königswater, Remagen, Sinzig, Andernach,
Coblenz, and all the way to Mayence, and on past Schaffhausen to Basel
are at least three score of interesting old churches as far different
from those elsewhere as could possibly be imagined, and yet all so like,
one to another, that they are of a species by themselves; all except the
cathedral at Cologne, which follows the best practice of the French,
except that its nave is absurdly short for its great breadth, and that
its ponderous towers stand quite alone in their class.
In general, then, the cathedrals and churches of the Rhine form a
wonderful collection of masterpieces of architectural art with which
most well-informed folk in the world to-day should have a desire for
acquaintanceship.
These often austere edifices, when seen near by, may not appeal to the
popular fancy as do those of France and England, and they may not even
have the power to so appeal; but, such as they are, they are quite as
worthy of serious consideration and ardent admiration as any structures
of their kind in existence, and they have, in addition, an environment
which should make a journey among them, along the banks of the Rhine
from its source to the sea, one of the most enjoyable experiences of
life.
The Rhine loses none of its charms by intimate acquaintance; its history
and legends stand out with even more prominence; and the quaint
architectural forms of its cities are at least characteristically
convincing.
Remains of every period may be found by the antiquary, from the time
when the Roman eagle was triumphant throughout the dominion of the
Franks to feudal and warlike times nearer our own day.
In addition, there are ever to be found evidences of the frugality and
thrift of the Germans which preserve the best traditions of other days.
The love of the Rhineland in the breast of the Teuton is an
indescribable sentiment; a confusion of the higher and lower emotions.
It is characteristic of the national genius. We have been told, and
rightly: "You cannot paint the Rhine, you cannot even describe it, for
picture or poem would leave out half of the whole delicious confusion.
The Rhine, however, can be set to music," and that apparently is just
what has been done.
Everywhere one hears the music of the fatherland. Whether it is the
songs and madrigals of the Church, or of the German bands in the
Volksgarten, it is always the same, a light, irrepressible emotion which
does much toward elucidating the complex German character.
Nowhere more than at Cologne is this contrast apparent. It is the most
delightful of all Rhine cities. Usually tourists go there, or are sent
there--which is about what it amounts to in most cases--in order to
begin their "Rhine tour."
Before they start up-stream, they stroll about the city, pop in and out
of its glorious cathedral, and perhaps one or another of its
magnificent churches,--if they happen to be on their line of march to or
from some widely separated points,--make the usual purchase of real _eau
de Cologne_,--though doubtless they are deceived into buying a poor
imitation,--and wind up in a river-side concert-garden, with much music
and beer-drinking in the open.
This is all proper enough, but this book does not aim at recounting a
round of these delights. It deals, if not with the Teutonic emotions
themselves, at least with the expression of them in the magnificent and
picturesquely disposed churches of both banks of the Rhine, from its
source to the sea.
II
THE RHINE CITIES AND TOWNS
Cæsar, Charlemagne, and Napoleon all played their great parts in the
history of the Rhine, and, in later days, historians, poets, and
painters of all shades of ability and opinion have done their part to
perpetuate its glories.
The Rhine valley formed a part of three divisions of the ancient Gaul
conquered by the Romans: La Belgica, toward the coast of the North Sea;
Germanica I., with Moguntiacum (Mayence) as its capital; and Germanica
II., with Colonia Agrippina (Cologne) as its chief town. The Rhine was
the great barrier between the Romans and the German tribes, and, in the
time of Tiberius, eight legions guarded the frontier. The political and
economic influences which overflowed from the Rhine valley have been
most momentous.
The Rhine formed one of the great Roman highways to the north, and it
is interesting to note that the first description of it is Cæsar's,
though he himself had little familiarity with it. He wrote of the
rapidity of its flow, and built, or caused to be built, a wooden bridge
over it, between Coblenz and Andernach.
In the history of the Rhine we have a history of Europe. A boundary of
the empire of Cæsar, it afterward gave passage to the barbarian hordes
who overthrew imperial Rome. Charlemagne made it the outpost of his
power, and later the Church gained strength in the cities on its banks,
while monasteries and feudal strongholds rose up quickly one after
another. Orders of chivalry were established at Mayence; and knights of
the Teutonic order, of Rhodes, and of the Temple, appeared upon the
scene. The minnesinger and the troubadour praised its wines, told of its
contests, and celebrated its victories. The hills, the caves, the
forests, the stream, and the solid rocks themselves were tenanted by
superstition, by oreads, mermaids, gnomes, Black Huntsmen, and demons in
all imaginable fantastic shapes.
Meantime the towns were growing under the influence of trade,--the
grimy power that destroyed the feudal system. The Reformed religion
found an advocate at Constance in John Huss even before Luther
fulminated against Rome; printing was accomplished by Gutenberg at
Mayence; and now steam and electricity have awakened a new era.
Cæsar, Attila, Clovis, Charlemagne, Frederick Barbarossa, Rudolph of
Hapsburg, the Palatine Frederick the First, Gustavus Adolphus, and
Napoleon have been victorious upon its banks. What more could fate do to
give the stream an almost immortality of fame?
Little by little there were established on the banks of the river
populous posts and centres of commerce. The military camps of Drusus had
grown into settled communities, until to-day are found along the Rhine
the great cities of Basel, Strasburg, Speyer, Worms, Mayence, Coblenz,
Cologne, and Düsseldorf, and between them are dotted a series of cities
and towns less important only in size, certainly not in the magnitude of
their interest for the traveller or student, nor in their storied past.
Of the more romantic, though perhaps not more picturesque, elements of
vine-clad slopes--where is produced the celebrated _Rheinwein_--the
rapid flow of Rhine water, and the fabled dwelling-places of sprites and
Rhinemaidens, there is quite enough for many an entertaining volume not
yet written.
After traversing several of the cantons, the Rhine leaves Switzerland at
Basel, on its course, through Germany and Holland, to the sea. Its chief
tributaries are the Neckar, Murg, Kinzig, Aar, Main, Nahe, Lahn,
Moselle, Erft, Ruhr, and Lippe. Its waters furnish capital salmon,
which, curiously enough, when taken on their passage up the stream, are
called lachse; but, when caught in autumn on their way down to the sea,
are known as salmon. It affords also sturgeon, pike, carp, and lampreys.
Its enormous rafts of timber have often been described, and should be
seen to be appreciated. They often carried half a village of people, and
were of great value. To-day these great rafts, however, are seldom seen.
In summer, when the tourist visits the river, its course is
comparatively calm and orderly; it is only in spring, when the snows
melt rapidly in Switzerland, that "Father Rhine" is to be beheld in all
his might; for then the waters often rise a dozen feet above their
common level. Its depth from Basel to Strasburg averages ten to twelve
feet; at Mayence, twenty-four feet; at Düsseldorf, fifty feet.
To Basel, through the Lake of Constance from Grisons, the Rhine forms a
boundary between Switzerland and the German States. From Basel to
Mayence it winds its way through the ancient bed of the glaciers; and
from Mayence to Bingen it flows through rocky walls to Bonn, where it
enters the great alluvial plain through which it makes its way to the
ocean.
The valley of the Rhine has been called the artery which gives life to
all Prussia. The reason is obvious to any who have the slightest
acquaintance with the region. The commerce of the Rhine is ceaseless;
day and night, up and down stream, the procession of steamboats,
canal-boats, floats, and barges is almost constant.
From the dawn of history both banks of the Lower Rhine had belonged to
Germany, and they are still inhabited by Germans. Ten centuries or more
have elapsed since the boundaries of the eastern and western kingdom of
the Franks were fixed at Verdun, and, though the French frontier had
frequently advanced toward Germany, and at certain points had actually
reached the Rhine, no claim was advanced to that portion which was yet
German until the cry of "To the Rhine" resounded through the French
provinces in 1870-71.
Of course the obvious argument of the French was, and is, an apparently
justifiable pretension to extend France to its natural frontier, but
this is ill-founded on precedent, and monstrous as well. Against it we
have in history that a _river-bed_ is not a _natural_ delimitation of
territorial domination.
The Cisalpine Gauls extended their powers across the river Po, and the
United States of America first claimed Oregon by virtue of the
interpretation that a boundary at a river should give control of both
banks, though how far beyond the other bank they might claim is
unestablished.
Until the Lake of Constance is reached, with its fine city of the same
name at its westerly end, there are no cities, towns, or villages in
which one would expect to find ecclesiastical monuments of the first
rank; indeed, one may say that there are none.
But the whole Rhine watershed, that great thoroughfare through which
Christianizing and civilizing influences made their way northward from
Italy, is replete with memorials of one sort or another of those
significant events of history which were made doubly impressive and
far-reaching by reason of their religious aspect.
The three tiny sources of the Rhine are born in the canton of Grisons,
and are known as the Vorder-Rhein, the Mittel-Rhein, and the
Hinter-Rhein.
At Disentis was one of the most ancient Benedictine monasteries of the
German Alps. It was founded in 614, and stood high upon the hillside of
Mount Vakaraka, at the confluence of two of the branches of the Rhine.
Its abbots had great political influence and were princes of the Empire.
They were the founders of the "Gray Brotherhood," and were the first
magistrates of the region.
The abbey of Disentis was, in 1799, captured and set on fire by the
French, but later on it was reëstablished, only to suffer again from
fire in 1846, though it was again rebuilt in more modest style.
St. Trons was the former seat of the Parliament of Grisons. Its chief
ecclesiastical monument is a memorial chapel dedicated to St. Anne.
On its porch one may read the following inscription:
"_In libertatem vocati estis
Ubi spiritus domini, ibi libertas
In te speraverunt patres
Speraverunt et liberasti oes._"
Coire was the ancient Curia Rhætiorum. It is the capital of the Canton
of Grisons, and was the seat of a bishop as early as 562. The Emperor
Constantine made the town his winter quarters in the fourth century.
The church of St. Martin, to-day belonging to the Reformed Church, is an
unconvincing and in no way remarkable monument, but in what is known as
the Episcopal Court, behind great walls, tower-flanked and with heavily
barred gateways, one comes upon evidences of the ecclesiastical
importance of the town in other days.
The walls of the ancient "ecclesiastical city" enclose a plat nearly
triangular in form. On one side are the canons' residences and other
domestic establishments, and on the other the cathedral and the
bishop's palace.
In the episcopal palace are a number of fine portraits, which are more a
record of manners and customs in dress than they are of churchly
history.
The small cathedral and all the other edifices date from an
eighth-century foundation, and are in the manifest Romanesque style of a
very early period.
Within the cathedral are a number of funeral monuments of not much
artistic worth and a series of paintings by Holbein and Dürer. As an art
centre Coire would appear to rank higher than it does as a city of
architectural treasures, for it was also the birthplace of Angelica
Kauffmann, who was born here in 1741.
Ragatz is more famous as a "watering-place"--for the baths of Pfeffers
are truly celebrated--than as a treasure-house of religious art, though
in former days the abbey of Pfeffers was of great renown. Its foundation
dates from 720, but the building as it exists to-day was only erected in
1665. The church, in part of marble, contains some good pictures. The
abbey was formerly very wealthy, and its abbot bore the title of
prince. The convent is to-day occupied by the Benedictines, to whom also
the baths belong.
From this point on, as one draws near the Lake of Constance, the Alpine
character of the topography somewhat changes.
The Lake of Constance was known to the Romans as _Brigantinus Lacus_ or
the _Lacus Rheni_. It has not so imposing a setting as many of the Swiss
or Italian lakes, but its eighteen hundred square kilometres give the
city of Constance itself an environment that most inland towns of Europe
lack. The Lake of Constance, like all of the Alpine lakes, is subject at
times to violent tempests. It is very plentifully supplied with fish,
and is famous for its pike, trout, and, above all, its fresh herring.
From Basel the Rhine flows westward under the last heights of the Jura,
and turns then to the north beneath the shelter of the Vosges, and, as
it flows by Strasburg, first begins to take on that majesty which one
usually associates with a great river.
At the confluence of the Main, after passing Speyer, Worms, and
Mannheim, the Rhine first acquires that commercialism which has made it
so important to the latter-day development of Prussia.
At the juncture of the Main and Rhine is Mayence, one of the strongest
military positions in Europe to-day. Here the Rhine hurls itself against
the slopes of the Taunus and turns abruptly again to the west,
aggrandizing itself at the same time, to a width of from five hundred to
seven hundred metres.
Shortly after it has passed the last foot-hills of the Taunus, it enters
that narrow gorge which, for a matter of 150 kilometres, has catalogued
its name and fame so brilliantly among the stock sights of the
globe-trotter.
No consideration of the economic part played by the Rhine should
overlook the two international canals which connect that river with
France through the Rhône and the Marne.
The first enters the Rhine at Strasburg, a small feeder running to
Basel, and the latter, starting at Vitry-le-François, joins the Marne
with the Rhine at the same place, Strasburg.
On the frontier of the former _département_ of the Haut-Rhin, one may
view an immense horizon from the south to the north. From one
particular spot, where the heights of the Vosges begin to level, it is
said that one may see the towers of Strasburg, of Speyer, of Worms, and
of Heidelberg. If so, it is a wonderful panorama, and it must have been
on a similar site that the Château of Trifels (three rocks) was
situated, in which Richard Coeur de Lion was imprisoned when delivered
up to Henry VI. by Leopold of Austria.
To distract himself he sang the songs taught him by his troubadour, to
the accompaniment of the harp, says both history and legend, until one
day the faithful Blondel, who was pursuing his way up and down the
length of Europe in search of his royal master, appeared before his
window.
Some faithful knights, entirely devoted to their prince, had followed in
the wake of the troubadour, and were able to rescue Richard by the aid
of a young girl, Mathilde by name, who had recognized the songs sung by
Blondel as being the same as those of the royal prisoner in the tower of
the château. When the troubadour was led to the door of the prince's
cell, he heard a voice call to him: "_Est-ce toi, mon cher Blondel?_"
"_Oui, c'est moi, mon seigneur_," replied the singer. "_Comptez sur
mon zèle et sur celui de quelques amis fidèles--nous vous deliverons._"
[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW _of DÜSSELDORF_]
The next day the escape was made through an overpowering of the guard;
and Richard, in the midst of his faithful chevaliers, ultimately arrived
in England.
Blondel had meanwhile led the willing Mathilde to the altar, and
received a rich recompense from the king.
As the Rhine enters the plain at Cologne, it comes into its fourth and
last phase.
Flowing past Düsseldorf and Wesel, it quits German soil just beyond
Emmerich, and enters the Low Countries in two branches. The Waal
continues its course toward the west by Nymegen, and through its vast
estuary, by Dordrecht, to the sea.
The Rhine proper takes a more northerly course, and, as the Neder Rijn,
passes Arnheim and Utrecht, and thence, taking the name of Oud Rijn,
fills the canals of Leyden and goes onward to the German Ocean.
Twelve kilometres from Leyden is Katwyck aan Zee, where, between
colossal dikes, the Rhine at last finds its way to the open sea. More
humble yet at its tomb than in the cradle of its birth, it enters the
tempestuous waters of the German Ocean through an uncompromising and
unbeautiful sluice built by the government of Louis Bonaparte.
For more than eleven hundred kilometres it flows between banks redolent
of history and legend to so great an extent that it is but natural that
the art and architecture of its environment should have been some unique
type which, lending its influence to the border countries, left its
impress throughout an area which can hardly be restricted by the river's
banks themselves.
We know how, in Germany, it gave birth to a variety of ecclesiastical
architecture which is recognized by the world as a distinct Rhenish
type. In Holland the architectural forms partook of a much more simple
or primitive character; but they, too, are distinctly Rhenish; at least,
they have not the refulgence of the full-blown Gothic of France.
Taine, in his "Art in the Netherlands," goes into the character of the
land, and the struggle demanded of the people to reclaim it from the
sea, and the energy, the vigilance required to secure it from its
onslaughts so that they, for themselves and their families, might
possess a safe and quiet hearthstone. He draws a picture of the homes
thus safeguarded, and of how this sense of immunity fostered finally a
life of material comfort and enjoyment.
All this had an effect upon local architectural types, and the great
part played by the valley of the Rhine in the development of manners and
customs is not excelled by any other topographical feature in Europe, if
it is even equalled.
Coupled to the wonders of art are the wonders of nature, and the Rhine
is bountifully blessed with the latter as well.
The conventional Rhine tour of our forefathers is taken, even to-day, by
countless thousands to whom its beauties, its legends, and its history
appeal. But whether one goes to study churches, for a mere holiday, or
as a pleasant way of crossing Europe, he will be struck by the
astonishing similarity of tone in the whole colour-scheme of the Rhine.
The key-note is the same whether he follows it up from its juncture with
salt water at Katwyck or through the gateway of the "lazy Scheldt," via
Antwerp, or through Aix-la-Chapelle and Cologne.
Sooner or later the true Rhineland is reached, and the pilgrim, on his
way, whether his shrines be religious ones or worldly, will drink his
fill of sensations which are as new and different from those which will
be met with in France, Italy, and Spain as it is possible to conceive.
From the days of Charlemagne, and even before, down through the fervent
period of the Crusades, to the romantic middle ages, the Rhine rings its
true note in the gamut, and rings it loudly. It has played a great part
in history, and to its geographical and political importance is added
the always potent charm of natural beauty.
The church-builder and his followers, too, were important factors in it
all, for one of the glories of all modern European nations will ever be
their churches and the memories of their churchmen of the past.
III
THE CHURCH IN GERMANY
There have been those who have claimed that the two great blessings
bestowed upon the world by Germany are the invention of printing by
Gutenberg, which emanated from Mayence in 1436, and the Reformation
started by Luther at Wittenberg in 1517. The statement may be open to
criticism, but it is hazarded nevertheless. As to how really religious
the Germans have always been, one has but to recall Schiller's "Song of
the Bell." Certainly a people who lay such stress upon opening the
common every-day life with prayer must always have been devoted to
religion.
The question of the religious tenets of Germany is studiously avoided in
this book, as far as making comparisons between the Catholic and
Protestant religions is concerned.
At the finish of the "Thirty Years' War," North Germany had become
almost entirely Protestant, and many of the former bishops' churches
had become by force of circumstances colder and less attractive than
formerly, even though many of the Lutheran churches to-day keep up some
semblance of high ceremony and altar decorations. It is curious,
however, that many of these churches are quite closed to the public on
any day but Sunday or some of the great holidays.
In the Rhine provinces the Catholic faith has most strongly endured. In
the German Catholic cathedrals the morning service from half-past nine
to ten is usually a service of much impressiveness, and at Cologne,
beloved of all stranger tourists, nones, vespers, and compline are sung
daily with much devotion.
The ecclesiastical foundation in Germany is properly attributable to
monkish influences. Between the Rhine and the Baltic there were no
cities before the time of Charlemagne, although the settlements
established there by the Church for the conversion of the natives were
the origin of the communities from which sprang the great cities of
later years.
The monkish orders were ever a powerful body of church-builders, and
north of the Alps in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, even though
they were the guardians of literature as well as of the arts, the monks
were possessed of an energy which took its most active form in
church-building.
Whatever may have been the origin of the later Romanesque
church-building, whether it was indigenous to Lombard Italy or not, it
was much the same in Spain, France, England, and Germany, though it took
its most hardy form in Germany, perhaps with the cathedral of Speyer
(1165-90), which is one of the latest Romanesque structures,
contemporary with the early Gothic of France. In Italy, and elsewhere
along the Mediterranean, the pure Romanesque was somewhat diluted by the
Byzantine influence; but northward, along the course of the Rhine, the
Romanesque influence had come to its own in a purer form than it had in
Italy itself.
Here it may be well to mention one pertinent fact of German history, in
an attempt to show how, at one time at least, Church and state in
Germany were more firmly bound together than at present.
The Germanic Empire, founded by Charlemagne in the year 800, was
dissolved under Francis II., who, in 1806, exchanged the title of
Emperor of Germany for that of Emperor of Austria, confining himself to
his hereditary dominions.
In the olden times the Germanic Empire was in reality a league of
barons, counts, and dukes, who, through seven of their number, elected
the emperor.
These electors were the Archbishops of Mayence (who was also Primate and
Archchancellor of the Empire), Trèves, and Cologne; the Palatine of the
Rhine, Arch-Steward of the Empire; the Margrave of Brandenburg,
Arch-Chamberlain; the Duke of Saxony, Arch-Marshal; and the King of
Bohemia, Arch-Cupbearer.
In no part of the Christian world did the clergy possess greater
endowments of power and wealth than did those of the Rhine valley.
The Archbishop of Cologne was the Archchancellor of the Empire, the
second in rank of the electoral princes, and ruler of an immense
territory extending from Cologne to Aix-la-Chapelle; while the
Archbishops of Mayence and Trèves played the rôle of patriarchs, and
were frequently more powerful even than the Popes.
All the bishops, indeed, were invested with rights both spiritual and
temporal, those of the churchman and those of the grand seigneur, which
they exercised to the utmost throughout their dioceses.
St. Boniface was sent on his mission to Germany in 715, having
credentials and instructions from Pope Gregory II. He was accompanied by
a large following of monks versed in the art of building, and of lay
brethren who were also architects. This we learn from the letters of
Pope Gregory and the "Life of St. Boniface," so the fact is established
that church-building in Germany, if not actually begun by St. Boniface,
was at least healthily and enthusiastically stimulated by him.
Among the bishoprics founded by Boniface were those of Cologne, Worms,
and Speyer, and it may be remarked that all of these cities have ample
evidences of the round-arched style which came prior to the Gothic,
which followed later. If anything at all is proved with regard to the
distinct type known as Rhenish architecture, it is that the Lombard
builders preceded by a long time the Gothic builders.
Charlemagne's first efforts after subduing the heathen Saxons was to
encourage their conversion to Christianity. For this purpose he created
many bishoprics, one being at Paderborn, in 795, a favourite place of
residence with the emperor.
Great dignity was enjoyed by the Bishop of Paderborn, certain rights of
his extending so far as the Councils of Utrecht, Liège, and Münster. The
abbess of the monastery at Essen, near Düsseldorf, was under his rule;
and the Counts of Oldenberg and the Dukes of Clèves owed to him a
certain allegiance; while certain rights were granted him by the cities
of Cologne, Verdun, Aix-la-Chapelle, and others.
These dignities endured, in part, until the aftermath of the French
Revolution, which was the real cause of the disrupture of many
Charlemagnian traditions.
After the Peace of Lunéville, in 1801, the electorates of Cologne,
Trèves, and Mayence were suppressed, together with the principalities of
Münster, Hildesheim, Paderborn, and Osnabrück, while such abbeys and
monasteries as had come through the Reformation were dissolved.
Besides Charlemagne's bishoprics, others founded by Otho the Great were
suppressed.
Upon the restoration of the Rhenish provinces to Germany in 1814, the
Catholic hierarchy was reëstablished and a rearrangement of dioceses
took place. A treaty with the Prussian state gave Cologne again an
archbishopric, with suffragans at Trèves, Münster, and Paderborn, and
Count Charles Spiegel zum Desenburg was made archbishop. Other provinces
aspired to similar concessions, and certain of the suppressed sees were
reërected.
The Lutherized districts, north and eastward of the Rhine, were very
extensive, but the influence which went forth again from Cologne served
to counteract this to a great extent.
The Catholic hierarchy in Germany is made up as follows:
+---------------------+---------------------------------+
|ARCHBISHOPRICS | SUFFRAGANS |
| | |
|Posen and Gnesen | Kulm and Ermeland |
| | |
|Breslau | |
| | |
|Olmütz | |
| | |
|Prague | |
| | |
|Cologne | Hildesheim, Osnabrück, Münster,|
| | Paderborn, Fulda, |
| | Limburg, Trèves, Mayence. |
| | |
|Freiburg in Breisgau | Würtemberg, Augsburg, |
| | |
|Munich and Freising | Passau and Ratisbon. |
| | |
|Bamberg | Würzburg, Eichstadt, and |
| | Speyer, and the Vicariat of |
| | Dresden. |
| | |
|Strasburg and Metz | |
+---------------------+---------------------------------+
The religious population of Germany to-day is divided approximately
thus: Protestants, 63 per cent; Catholics, 36 per cent; Jews, 1 per
cent.
The reign of the pure Gothic spirit in church-building, as far as it
ever advanced in Germany, was at an end with the wars of the Hussites
and the Reformation of Luther. During these religious and political
convulsions, the Gothic spirit may be said to have died, so far as the
undertaking of any new or great work goes.
Just as we find in Germany a different speech and a different manner of
living from that of either Rome or Gaul, we find also in Germany, or
rather in the Rhenish provinces, a marked difference in ecclesiastical
art from either of the types which were developing contemporaneously in
the neighbouring countries.
The Rhine proved itself a veritable borderland, which neither kept to
the strict classicism of the Romanesque manner of building, nor yet
adopted, without question, the newly arisen Gothic of the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries.
Architecture and sculpture in its earliest and most approved
ecclesiastical forms undoubtedly made its way from Italy to France,
Spain, Germany, and England, along the natural travel routes over which
came the Roman invaders, conquerors, or civilizers--or whatever we
please to think them.
Under each and every environment it developed, as it were, a new style,
the flat roofs and low arches giving way for the most part to more lofty
and steeper-angled gables and openings. This may have been caused by
climatic influences, or it may not; at any rate, church-building--and
other building as well--changed as it went northward, and sharp gables
and steep sloping lines became not only frequent, but almost universal.
The Comacine Masters, who were the great church-builders of the early
days in Italy, went north in the seventh century, still pursuing their
mission; to England with St. Augustine, to Germany with Boniface, and
Charlemagne himself, as we know, brought them to Aix-la-Chapelle for
the work at his church there.
The distinctly Rhenish variety of Romanesque ecclesiastical architecture
came to its greatest development under the Suabian or Hohenstaufen line
of emperors, reaching its zenith during the reign of the great Frederick
Barbarossa (1152-90).
The churches at Neuss, Bonn, Sinzig, and Coblenz all underwent a
necessary reconstruction in the early thirteenth century because of
ravages during the terrific warfare of the rival claimants to the throne
of Barbarossa.