From Munich I proceeded to Ulm, the frontier town of Würtemberg, on the
opposite bank of the Danube from Bavaria. The Gothic cathedral there is
the most curious object for a stranger, and is now a Protestant church.
The body of this church is the largest in Germany, and is a second St.
Peter’s in size, being four hundred and sixteen feet long, one hundred
and sixty-six feet wide, and one hundred and forty-four feet high,
with five aisles; the terrace is unfinished, and is three hundred and
thirty-seven feet high. There are some fine old stained glass windows,
and some remarkable carved work in the building.
I had once tasted of snail soup in Naples, which, during the season of
Lent, is considered a great delicacy, but I did not know, until I came
to Ulm, that there was a snail market. They say they export millions
of them yearly into Austria, and other parts of the country. They are
produced in the vicinity, and put up in casks for exportation.
From Ulm I went to Stuttgart, by diligence. It is the royal residence
of the king of Würtemberg, who is so celebrated for his love of horses.
I saw him driving a fine pair, of the Hungarian Esterhazy breed,
through the park, with apparent satisfaction. The manager of the
stables of the Prince is an Englishman. The prince married a Russian
princess, the daughter of the Emperor Nicholas, and had some Russian
carriages and droskys with a Russian driver in costume--the first I had
seen.
This Englishman accompanied me through the Crown Prince and King’s
stables, and showed the horses belonging to government for the
improvement of stock. I counted in all two hundred and ten belonging
to the king and his son, and one hundred and eighty for the account of
the crown. Arabian, Russian, Hungarian, English, and Persian horses
are to be found here. The stables, the harness rooms, and carriage
repositories were on a grand scale; but the sovereign people will say
when the time comes, “The expenses are too great; we cannot submit any
longer to these extravagances.”
Stuttgart is a well-built and interesting city, surrounded by hills
covered with the grape, with fine palace-gardens and a park, traversed
by carriage roads and promenades for some miles.
I went to Kannstadt, some four or five miles from the city, to the
mineral springs, which are much frequented by the inhabitants. The
railroad passes through the place, and there are agreeable walks to
return, for pedestrians, along the valley of the river Neckar, and
through the palace park to the city.
From Stuttgart I made my way by diligence to Carlsruhe, and here struck
the railroad for Baden Baden. Carlsruhe has not much of interest for
the traveller. It is the capital of the Grand Duchy of Baden, is dull,
with sandy soil, but being a royal residence, has a very fine park. It
is curiously built, and is described by a writer as being in the form
of a fan, or rather a wheel--the main streets, like the spokes, all
radiate from the Palace, which terminates the vista in every street, so
that the citizens who wish to know which way the wind blows need only
look to the palace weather-cock.
Everybody has heard of Baden Baden, so famous as a fashionable
watering-place, and all who have visited it can speak of the beauty of
its locality, surrounded by hills and mountains, and its narrow valley
with its delightful shady walks; but this year they are quite deserted.
The princes have enough to do to take care of their subjects; citizens
remain at home to look after their interests; the blacklegs find their
avocation almost gone. There is not one-third the usual number of
arrivals, consequently the balls, concerts, and gaming tables are less
frequented.
Baden Baden is certainly a lovely spot for the invalid, or the man
of pleasure; combining the advantages of public life, or solitude in
the dark woods, which can be reached in a few minutes. As I before
observed, all have heard of Baden Baden, so all have heard of the
Castle of Heidelberg, which is a magnificent ruin, and formerly the
palace and fortress of the Elector Palatine. It is situated upon a high
hill, and approached by a winding footpath on the side of the city.
It was one of the strongholds of the middle ages, and is of different
styles of architecture by different founders, and has been burnt at
different times and rebuilt. It was last burnt by lightning, and
remains a ruin, although parts are quite perfect.
One guide takes you through all the castle, and shows the relics and
implements of war yet preserved, mounts the bastions and towers, from
which the view is unsurpassed; another conducts you into the cellar of
the castle, to see the famous Wine Tun, which is the largest in the
world, and contained eight hundred hogsheads, or nearly three hundred
thousand bottles, and, it is said, in former times, when filled with
the fruit of the vintage, they danced on the platform. This tun will
not compare with a vat I once saw in the immense brewing establishment
of Barclay, Perkins & Co., of London, which contained four thousand
hogsheads of porter.
Mannheim is only a short distance from Heidelberg, and is a city of
some twenty thousand inhabitants, but possesses nothing of sufficient
interest to the traveller to detain him long. The gardens behind the
palaces, and terraces along the banks of the Rhine, are quite pretty.
It was once a walled city, but was besieged by the French and reduced
to ashes, and now has no protection, which, as experience has proved,
saves a city from the horrors of a siege.
The city next on my route to Frankfort was Darmstadt, the capital of
the Grand Duke. The gardens of the palace are beautifully laid out, and
all through this section of country vegetation is very luxuriant. The
rides through the country with the villages and towns prettily located
at the foot of the mountains, overhung with clusters of grapes, and
surrounded with orchards, make it very interesting for the traveller.
This free city of Frankfort, which I visited some years ago, has more
the air of life and bustle, I find, than many other German cities,
which may in part be attributed to the fact that there are now many
strangers from all parts of Germany, as members of the Confederation,
and for the reception of the new Vicar General of the German Union, the
Archduke John, of Austria, who has just been received with great honors
by the military, succeeded by an illumination of the whole city--a
very splendid affair. The immense circular church--now converted
into an Assembly for the representatives of the whole German Empire,
comprising six hundred, and which with the galleries extending all
around, will hold perhaps more persons than the Tabernacle in New
York--was filled to overflowing on the presentation of the Prince to
the Assembly. I could with difficulty procure a seat by going early,
and immense numbers were obliged to withdraw for want of room. Numerous
addresses were delivered, to which the Archduke responded. He was
dressed in uniform, and accompanied by the whole force of the National
Guard to the National Assembly. He looked calm and dignified, with a
good expression of face, and is sixty-six years old. His task will be
arduous, as well as that of the assembly, to amalgamate the different
races and sects of the German and Austrian Empire, and will not be
accomplished until more blood flows.
I assure you I was greatly rejoiced to arrive at Frankfort, which is
an interesting city, and has many sights to interest a stranger. I was
pleased to arrive in a city where I could so agreeably repose myself.
The gardens and pleasure grounds which encircle Frankfort, occupy the
place of former fortifications, and make a delightful retreat for the
inhabitants during the warm weather. The principal garden among the
number was beautifully illuminated the night following the reception
of Prince John, and as the German bands always afford good music, all
the élite were found sipping coffee and partaking of ices, and other
refreshments.
This is the residence of many bankers, and here the Rothschilds were
born, in the Judenstrasse or Jews’ street, and when I was last here
I went to see the house where the mother still resided, and refused
to give up the old confined quarters for the palace of her son. The
condition of the Jews has been much ameliorated here as well as in all
parts of Europe.
When I first saw the Jews’ quarters in Rome, under Pope Gregory XVI.,
they were confined within small limits, in narrow, dark, dirty lanes
and streets, where the sun’s rays scarcely reached them; a population
of about six thousand huddled together in filth, by daylight, when the
gates were open, carrying on their trade in old clothes, second-hand
articles of all kinds, readymade clothing, &c. But thanks to the
liberal mind of Pope Pius IX., the gates have been beaten down and the
Jews may now be seen locating themselves in other parts of the city,
although the mass prefer to keep together.
My health not being yet established, I have consulted a celebrated
physician, of the race I have just spoken of, who advises me to
drink the waters of Ems, recommended highly for all pulmonary and
bronchial diseases, and I shall go via Wiesbaden and Schwalbach to the
above-named place, and make trial of them.