Anecdotal Recollections of the Congress of Vienna

by Comte de Auguste Louis Charles La Garde-Chambonas

The Castle of Laxemburg—Heron-Hawking—The Empress of Austria—A Royal Hunt—Fête at the Ritterburg—A Recollection of Christina of Sweden—Constance and Theodore, or the Blind Husband—Poland—Scheme for her Independence—The Comte Arthur Potocki—The Prince de Ligne and Isabey—The Prince de Ligne’s House on the Kalemberg—Confidential Chats and Recollections—The Empress Catherine II.—Queen Marie-Antoinette—Mme. de Staël—Casanova.

‘These sovereigns on their holidays,’ as the Prince de Ligne called them, had to be constantly amused, or at any rate prevented at all cost from being bored. The committee appointed by the emperor, and composed of the most eminent personages of the Austrian Court, cudgelled their brains to devise a new diversion for each day. They were, above all, very busy with the preparations for the great imperial tournament which, it was intended, should constitute a never-to-be-forgotten feature of the brilliant functions of the Congress. The cut, the shape, and the colour of the dresses were matters of incessant study; the horses were drilled every day; the champions spent many hours rehearsing the various movements and passes which were to remind all of us of the ancient days of chivalry; the ladies tried on the magnificent gowns and ornaments, the historical accuracy of which was to carry the suffrages of everybody by pleasing the eye. But pending the termination of those busy preparations, a big hunt had been organised in the woods and park of the imperial residence, Laxemburg, and numerous invitations issued.

Laxemburg is about six miles from Schönbrunn. The park is laid out on English models. There are densely-wooded plantations at irregular intervals, further on vast lawns leading to thick and sombre forests; swelling tracts of ground ingeniously arranged, and masses of rocks; everywhere the most varied and unexpected vistas. In one word, art has combined in a restricted space the different beauties of nature. The most conspicuous feature, though, is a magnificent piece of water, one might call it a lake, the aspect of which reminds one of the landscapes of Switzerland. On its limpid surface there lay at that period a miniature frigate with its cannon, masts and rigging, and other small craft, the brilliant bunting of which imparted life and colour to the rippling, dancing wavelets.

Schönbrunn had been the object of Maria-Theresa’s predilection, consequently Laxemburg had suffered as a residence at the cost of its neighbour. Emperor Francis made up for the undeserved neglect. On a slope some short distance from the lake, he erected the ‘Ritterburg,’ which has become one of the principal sights of Austria. It is an exact imitation of one of the sombre castles or forbidding manors of mediæval feudalism. The massive walls, flanked by crenellated towers, are surrounded by a deep moat filled with water. The inner court, with its pavilions, its barriers, the whole arranged for single combats and tournaments, forms the lists. The halls are in keeping with the court; they are filled with stands of arms, coats of mail, breastplates, lances, etc. From its Gothic pillars hang panoplies; from its ogival arches are suspended banners, their staffs adjusted amidst turbans, richly embroidered, Oriental vestments, the spoil wrested from the infidels; in short, the relics of the victories that saved Christianity.

In another hall are preserved weapons, dresses, and other venerable remains of the heroes whose prowess founded the German Empire, of Rudolph of Hapsburg, of Maximilian I., and of Charles V. Still further on, there is a hall hung with the cloaks of the first Knights of the Golden Fleece. In a hall leading out of that one stand the white marble effigies of the emperors sprung from the House of Austria. These are succeeded by a series of vast reception rooms, several of which are most admirable in virtue of their decoration. There is no longer an attempt at imitating the Gothic style; they are filled with the marvels of art of the period itself—that is, the masterpieces spared by the hand of time, most exquisite specimens of sculpture, delicately-worked panels, whole ceilings. All these precious relics were collected from the convents suppressed at the period of the building of the ‘Ritterburg.’ Everything calculated to heighten the illusion was conveyed to the ‘Ritterburg.’ In one spot there is a narrow winding stair, leading to a dungeon, or rather a torture-chamber, with its massive doors, its irons and chains, and even its instruments of torture. Crouching against the further wall, there is the figure of an ill-fated prisoner, dressed as a Knight Templar and bending beneath the weight of his fetters. By some ingenious mechanism, he slowly and painfully drags himself with an effort from his sitting posture to hold out his arms to the spectator. The gruesome imitation is so perfect as to produce a shudder in the beholder.

The topmost story of that tower is a spacious room called the Hall of Judgment. Narrow ogival windows admit only a sparse light. Twelve stone seats are ranged in a circle along the walls. In the centre there is a round table with a circular hole in it, big enough to admit a human head and no more. On the day of his trial the accused man was bound to a chair; by means of a contrivance consisting of ropes and pulleys, he was quickly raised to the summit of the tower, and suddenly his head emerged from the hole in the board. Before the interrogatory, he was asked the whole truth; he replied, knowing that at the slightest sign from his judges the rope attached to his chair could be cut and he himself be flung from a height of two hundred feet on to the stones of his dungeon. Nothing could give a more striking idea of the terrible ‘proceedings’ of feudal justice in the Middle Ages than this mechanism.

The committee entrusted with the programme of the fêtes had, it was said, entertained the idea of giving a representation of a judiciary ascension as described; the scene had even been cast. The Empress of Austria was, however, of opinion that such a picture of anguish and torture would only mar the brightness of the fête she was preparing for her guests.

The chapel of the ‘Ritterburg’ is not the least of its curiosities. It is the same which was constructed by St. Leopold in the twelfth century at Kloster-Neuburg. The materials were transferred piecemeal to its present site, and the monument is in perfect keeping with all those relics of past days.

Among the many works of art in the Castle of Laxemburg itself, there are several paintings by Canaletto; amongst others views of Schönbrunn, of the Graben, and the Church of the Capuchins.

Maria-Theresa came now and again to Laxemburg to exchange the cares of state for the relaxations of hawking. The ‘Ritterburg’ had not been built then.