The Electors of Cologne for a long time contested with those of Mentz the Right of consecrating the Emperors, tho' the latter pretend this Honor belongs to them, as Primates of Germany. But the Differences between those Princes have been regulated; and they have agreed that either of them, in whose Diocese the Emperor happens to be crown'd, should consecrate him; and that if the Coronation should be perform'd in neither of their Dioceses, then they should take it by turns. Nevertheless after this Accommodation the Elector of Cologne consecrated the Emperor Leopold in 1658, at Francfort a City in the Diocese of Mentz; but it was done with the Consent of the Elector of Mentz, and without making it a Precedent for the future.
I have observ'd, that at Cologne most of the public Buildings are either Churches or Convents. The Metropolitan Church would be one of the most magnificent in all Germany, were it finish'd. Among other stately Tombs here is that of the Three Kings who came to worship the Savior of the World, whose Bodies they say were remov'd from Constantinople to Milan, and from thence brought hither. All the People have a very great Veneration for these Reliques.
Except the Churches and the Monasteries one sees no public Structures, nor any House fine enough to raise a Stranger's Admiration; here is still to be seen the House where Death put an end to the Misfortunes of Mary de Medicis, Queen of France, who came to Cologne for Refuge from the Persecution of Cardinal Richelieu. This Cardinal, tho' he was oblig'd to that Princess for his prodigious Wealth, was not content with having forc'd her to quit the Kingdom of
France, but abridg'd her even of the Necessaries of Life; insomuch that 'twas a hard matter for her to find a Butcher that would undertake to serve the Table of that unfortunate Princess with Meat. She died the 3d of July, 1643.
After I had amused my self with seeing what was to be seen in the City of Cologne, I long'd so much to see that famous City Paris, that I set out thither very soon. I forgot to tell you that the Out-works of Cologne, especially the Ramparts are very agreeable. There are noble Rows of Elms which serve for Walks, and terminate in a Kay that runs along the Rhine, and would be a very fine one, if it was not disfigur'd by a Half-moon, which has been cut out to cover the Gate of the Rhine, and to secure the Passage of the Flying-Bridge.
When I set out from Cologne I went down the Rhine and the Vahal, as far as Dort, and from thence (without once going ashore) to Antwerp, which City I take to be the most beautiful of all the Netherlands. It makes a part of Austrian Brabant, and is the Capital of the Marquisate of the Holy Empire. 'Tis situate in a great Plain on the Right-side of the Schelde, at a Place where that River separates the Duchy of Brabant from the County of Flanders. It contains a number of Churches built in a very good Taste, and a great many very noble public Edifices. The Church of our Lady, which is the Cathedral, is a Work that has nothing like it except it be in Italy. 'Tis above 500 Feet in length, 240 in breadth, and 340 in height. It contains Sixty-six Chapels, adorn'd with Marble Columns, all different, and with fine Paintings. The Tower which serves for the Steeple is very lofty and perfectly beautiful.
The most magnificent of the Churches, next to the Cathedral, was that of the Jesuits, which was consum'd by Lightning the 18th of July, 1718. The Pavement was of Marble, in Compartiments. There were two low Isles, one above the other, which were supported by fifty-six Marble Pillars. The four Arches were clos'd with thirty-eight great Pictures in gilt Frames, and the Walls in which there were forty Windows were lin'd with Marble. The great Roof was of very fine carv'd Work, charg'd with a small Dome, very lightsome and very well made. As to the High Altar it would require an able Connoisseur to give such a Description of it as the Beauty of the Workmanship requires: For my own part all I can say of it is, that 'twas all over Marble, Jasper, Porphyry, and Gold. The Picture represented the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and was a complete Piece. Our Lady's Chapel, which was a part of the same Church, was as rich as the rest of the Building, the Sides and the Roof of it being fac'd with Marble, and adorn'd with six Statues of Alabaster. Besides this Chapel there were fifty others, all of the utmost Magnificence. The Great Gate of the Church, and the Jesuits College adjoining to it, were answerable to the Beauty of the Structure. All this stately Building was entirely destroy'd; and what is most to be pitied, the Pictures of the famous Rubens, of which this Church was full, were destroy'd with it; a Loss the more considerable, because 'tis not to be repair'd; for as to the rest, they are preparing to build a Church as magnificent as the former.
There are several other fine Edifices at Antwerp, of which I don't undertake the Description. I shall only mention a Word or two of
the Town-House and the Exchange. The former stands in a great Square, encompass'd with fine Houses. Tho' the Building is quite in the Gothic Taste, yet 'tis a noble Monument of the Wealth of those who founded it. The Exchange is worth seeing, on account of the Galleries round the Square, in which the Merchants assemble as they do at Amsterdam, from 12 o'clock till half an hour past 1.