The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume IV / Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts.

by Freiherr von Karl Ludwig Pöllnitz

Nepomucene, who was beatify’d in 1721 with very great Pomp, in Presence of the Empress, who was at the Charge of the Ceremony: The City of Prague, in order to do Honour to the Memory of this Saint, has caus’d his Statue in Brass, as big as the Life, to be erected upon the Bridge, from whence the Emperor Wenceslaus, surnam’d the Nero and Caligula of Germany, threw him into the Moldaw, because that Friar, who was his Empress’s Confessor, refus’d to reveal her Confession to him.

The Palace of the Kings of Bohemia, which joins to the Metropolitan Church, is a Heap of several Pavilions without any Regularity, and without much Ornament: The Inside is as ordinary as the Outside, yet for a little Expence it might easily be made a tolerable Structure: The only thing I observ’d here that could be call’d magnificent, was the Situation of it, for from their Majesties Apartments there’s the finest View that can be imagin’d.

As one goes from the Palace upon the same Hill, one sees the great Houses of Schwartzenbourg, Martinitz, and Tschermin, which are noble Buildings, and most richly furnish’d: The last especially has more the Air of a Sovereign’s Palace than of the House of a Subject; and he that inhabits it is one of the richest in the Emperor’s Hereditary Dominions: I heard say, that he lent the Emperor 1500,000 Florins, which makes Three Millions of French Livres, when the Exchange is at Par.

I went down the Hill Ratschin to go farther into the City: And on the Descent of it I saw at the Right Hand the Palace of Kinski, which belongs to the Great Chancellor of Bohemia; and at the Left Hand the Palace of the Count de

Collobradt, surnam’d the Bulky, and very justly so, for I don’t think he has his Fellow in the World; and yet it may be expected, that he will be bigger still, for he is as yet but 24 Years old. These Two Houses are very beautiful, but yet they are somewhat eclipsed by the Palaces of Colloredo, Wallenstein, and the Count Francis-Charles de Collobradt: The Palace of this latter excells the others in Contrivance and Magnificence, and is adorn’d throughout with very fine Gildings and Paintings, done by the best Masters: The Apartments are richly furnish’d, and neither Gold has been spar’d, nor Pier-Glasses, of which there’s a great Number, and yet not so many as to confound the Sight: To this House belongs a very fine Garden, which is kept in good Order, and at the End of it is a Hill, the Declivity whereof is soften’d by several Terraces cut out on it, which form very pleasant Walks, especially when ’tis consider’d, that all this is in the middle of a City.

I went afterwards to see the Old Town, to which one must pass over a noble Stone-Bridge, and the only one at Prague: The Piles of this Bridge are adorn’d with the Statues of several Saints; and some that compose noble Groupes: Among these Statues is that of St. John Nepomucene, at the Foot of which are People always at Prayers. On the same Side, but nearer the old City, is a great Crucifix of Copper gilt, which the Jews were compell’d to set up in this Place, as a Punishment for some Crimes they had committed.

At the End of the Bridge stands the Gate of the Old Town: The first thing one observes there, is the Great Convent and College of the Jesuits: ’Tis a prodigious Building, and worthy of a Society

so considerable: Beyond that I saw a magnificent Palace, which they told me belongs to the Count de Gallasch, Son to the Count of the same Name, who died Viceroy of Naples: ’Tis one of the finest Buildings in Prague, setting aside its Situation, which is not the best: There are many other Palaces and magnificent Houses, the particular Description of which might be tedious: All that I shall say to you of this Part of the Town, is, that the Streets are very narrow, and withal darksome: The New Town is by far superior; the Streets are spacious and beautiful, and the whole Quarter is much better built than the other Two.

The City of Prague and the Kingdom of Bohemia in general have formerly been subject to great Revolutions: The Hussites committed sad Disorders there, and had like to have ruin’d the whole Country by their Cabals; so that there was a Necessity of drawing the Sword against them, and when they were totally extirpated, the Protestants of Luther’s Communion became so powerful there, that they presum’d, under Pretence of Religion, to revolt from the Emperor Ferdinand their Sovereign: They ran tumultuously to the Castle, and having made themselves Masters of it, they threw the Emperor’s Commissioners, who then held their Assembly there, out of the Windows of the Hall: Those on the Spot were the Barons de Slavata and de Martinitz; and the Secretary Fabricius had the same Fate; but happily for all Three, there was not one of them wounded: After this Coup d’Eclat the Rebels rais’d Troops, solemnly protested against the Election of Ferdinand II. to the Empire, and offer’d the Crown of Bohemia to Frederic V. Elector and Count Palatine of the Rhine: This

Prince could not easily determine himself to receive a Crown, which he could not so soon expect to possess in Quiet; but his Wife, who was the Daughter of James I. King of England, did not amuse herself with any such Reflections and probably upon the Principle, That to reign is glorious, tho’ it were only for a Moment: This Princess so wrought upon the Elector, that the said Prince, for Want of knowing his own Interest better, consented at length to put himself at the Head of the Rebels, who had the Assurance to crown him with Solemnity in the Metropolitan Church of Prague: The Emperor, justly provok’d at the Behaviour of his Subject, sent Troops to reduce them to Reason: Frederic, on his Part, put himself at the Head of a considerable Army; but ’twas impossible for him to stand before the Emperor’s Troops; which being commanded by the famous Tilly, beat him to such a Degree, that he thought himself very happy, that he could retire with the Queen his Wife, and abandon the Throne to his lawful Sovereign: This Rebellion involv’d Germany in that unhappy War call’d, The War of Thirty Years; because in Fact it lasted so long, till a Period was put to it by the Peace of Westphalia.