RATISBON, BAVARIA, _June 8, 1855_.
From Saltzburg, near the Austrian frontier, I proceeded by mail coach
eighty-five miles, through an interesting country, to Munich, formerly
described, the Bavarian Capital, deservedly renowned among the lovers
of the fine arts, as the modern Athens of Europe, and celebrated
throughout the Fatherland for its Bayerisch beer, being to Germany what
London is to England, for its extensive manufacture of that beverage.
The museum and studio of Schwanthaler, the celebrated German sculptor,
is a source of great interest, and reminded me of Thorwaldsen’s
collection at Copenhagen.
Munich is celebrated for its _Erzgiesserei_, or Bronze Foundry,
and for its glass paintings; the latter work is finely executed, and
the new church windows which display it are strikingly beautiful. The
colossal bronze statue of Bavaria, a female figure of victory, with a
huge lion reposing by its side, was not complete when I saw it in 1848,
but is now upon an eminence commanding the Theresien Meadows, standing
upon a pedestal of thirty feet, which gives it a height of eighty-four
feet. It weighs one hundred and fifteen tons. A staircase of sixty-six
stone and sixty-five iron steps leads one into the head, where two
benches of cast metal accommodate twelve persons; it is a rather warm
berth at this season of the year. I found the great equestrian statue
of Washington, for the capitol at Richmond, Virginia, in process of
construction at the foundry; it will probably require considerable time
for its execution.
A few miles from the city one relieves the eyes, and escapes picture
galleries, in the shady avenues of the royal summer residence at
Nymphenburg, with its fountains ninety feet in height, and its
beautiful sheets of water, winding through this vast inclosure, which
occupies two hours’ walk in the circuit. The Botanical gardens are not
devoid of interest. The supply of water is more copious than in any
royal site I recollect having seen in Europe, except the Neapolitan
Caserta, and La Granja, in Spain. The deer park, in the vicinity,
is also a pleasant drive for the ladies and children, who occupy
themselves in embroidery, drinking their beer, and feeding the young
animals out of their hands.
In less than two hours, one rides from Munich to Augsburg, by railroad.
The old town has considerable of interest in its churches,
architecture, monuments, &c. It being my second visit, one day at
Augsburg sufficed, as I was _en route_ to Ratisbon, and had to make
the circuit by railroad to Donauworth, in order to descend the
Danube. A little iron steamer, eighty feet in length, and narrow in
proportion, with a tiny cabin, came to the place named as the head
of steam navigation, with a small party of first-class passengers.
We darted down the rapid stream at a lively rate, at times walled in
by precipitous limestone rocks; the scenery was highly romantic and
picturesque, with much to interest, but compared unfavorably with the
views described in my last, from Vienna to Linz. We landed passengers
at Menburg and Ingoldstadt, important towns, and in eight hours’ sail
found ourselves at this place.
As I have formerly remarked, most of the German governments have
different weights, coin, measure, and regulations. One day one has
fifty pounds luggage free, and paper money in use; cross the boundary,
as is the case here, no baggage is allowed; it must be paid, for
even moderate distances, at one cent per pound. If you happen not to
have changed your money, you submit to a heavy discount. My Russian
friend had a large sum of Austrian paper florins over, and lost forty
guldens or sixteen dollars, by not exchanging as I advised him, and
was consoled by the money changer, saying: _Mann muss lehr geld
zahlen_. One must pay for experience.
Regensburg, or Ratisbon, whence I write, is beautifully situated
upon the south bank of the Danube. It was formerly the seat of the
Imperial Diet; it has a population of only twenty-four thousand, but
is an interesting old city, with enchanting shady walks surrounding
the city, giving the occupants breathing room. Sunday being
_Frohnleichnamstag_, or Corpus Christi, the service in the old
cathedral was fully attended. This vast Gothic edifice, built in the
year 1400, was crammed with furniture, offerings, pictures, and relics,
which destroyed its beautiful proportions, until King Ludwig, with the
eye of an artist, in 1838, saw its deformity, and ordered a general
sweeping out, and renovated its magnificent illuminated glass windows,
representing the life of Christ and historical Bible scenes.
Strolling from one church to another, I found the current setting
across the river to the _Dreifaltigheitsberge_, upon the summit
of which is a pilgrimage church with fourteen stations and monuments
on the ascent indicating the bearing of the Cross, and sufferings of
Christ, up to the Crucifixion. So I fell in with the train, and passed
over the old stone bridge, one thousand and ninety-one feet long and
twenty-three feet wide, placed upon thirty arches of thirty feet in
width, and well worth remarking, for the early period of 1140. Once
on the top, I found the ground occupied mostly by Bauern, in their
novel costume. The girls in short frocks of fancy colors, with balloon
sleeves, and silver chain across the corsage; the men in red vests and
short-waisted coats, with two dozen silver and gilt buttons thereon,
about the size of a half dollar.
Tents and booths contained the eatables and drinkables. Service was
going on, and the temple jammed full. A thunderstorm came up, and I
took refuge in the house of the church guardian, in a small room ten
feet square, with a bed in one corner, thirty small prints of saints
hanging around the walls, a table covered with mugs, ham, and sausages,
eight persons, and cigar smoke in clouds.
The weather soon cleared up, and after dinner I found the town
deserted. Protestants and Catholics escape the city, and the society
gardens, as well as the public grounds, are crowded. The musicians are
playing, and the adjacent environs are planted with trees, among which
stand large buildings, over deep cold beer cellars, for summer use.
The former Abbey of St. Emmeran, now the residence of the Prince von
Taxis, one of the wealthiest nobles of the country, is one of the
lions to be seen. His picture gallery is not large but select; his
stable of sixty horses is a choice pattern of neatness and convenience;
his riding house is adorned with many equestrian groups of ancient
combatants by Schwanthaler, and is a gem in its way. The family chapel
and vault will compare favorably with those of the kings of Prussia
and Hanover; add to which, he has a large brewery in connexion, in
active operation, which was erected and worked by this order of monks.
Under the roof of the same previous ecclesiastical establishment, are
the refreshment rooms for the sale of the article manufactured. What
strikes the stranger here is the universal use without the abuse,
and it redounds to the honor of the German character, for the rarest
spectacle is an inebriated person. In the deep and dark recesses of the
Rath House here are seen the whole apparatus of the inquisition; parts
of it I had seen in Italy and Spain, but here it is completed. I saw
the latticed screen of the judge, with his desk, and the bored holes
for candles; the penitential benches for culprits, while listening
to the groans of comrades inducing confession; the chair of pointed
spikes, resembling a flax hetchel, upon which the victim sat, with the
stone weights suspended from his ankles; the platform upon which the
naked body lay during the scraping of the skin from the back from head
to foot; bolts in the floor to fasten the feet, and heavy fifty pound
weights, attached to the arms, while the shoulders were strained by the
windlass; with a variety of other tortures too horrible to describe.
The seat of the doctor is also shown, whose business was to decide how
much the sufferers could endure, without expiring under the treatment.
Also cells with small openings through which the prisoners received
their food; they were chained in such a manner that they were obliged
to sleep with the blood flowing towards the head and heart, inducing,
as was believed, contrition; there were dungeons, too, in which they
were let down, with no opening except from above, cutting off all hope
of escape. In witnessing such an exhibition it is consoling to reflect
that civilization has made much progress since the last century, when
these hellish instruments were in use.