XLI.
Frankfort, Germany, 1848.
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.