9th. We quitted Schörfling at nine o'clock and went to Frankenmarkt, a long drive chiefly over bad and cross roads. Before arriving at this little town, we beheld on our left a fine and magnificent view of the Schneeberg, and the Alps of Hallstadt and Aussee, and on quitting it we caught the first glimpse of the Salzburg chain, which we continued to behold increasing in grandeur and beauty the nearer we approached it. The next poste from Frankenmarkt is Neumarkt, and from hence we drove through many villages and hamlets, the road being now and then rather hilly, till, at about half-past one, we saw Salzburg lying before us in the broad valley of the Salza, backed by a gigantic rampart of Alps. On the right side of the road we passed by a small lake of no great beauty or extent. The situation of Salzburg is strikingly grand and beautiful, and probably no town in Europe can boast of a finer. Lying as it were close at the foot of the lofty pyramid of the Watzmann, a mountain more than ten thousand feet in height, the town extends along the right and left bank of the Salza or Salzache, which separates it into two parts, the old and new town, which are united by a strong wooden bridge. On a hill on the right bank of the river, considerably elevated above the town, stands the fortress or mountain castle, a very strong and imposing fortification. Both parts of the town are strongly fortified, and that on the right bank of the river is provided by nature with a lofty wall of rock, superior to any means of defence that could be formed by art.
10th. The first thing I did this morning was to call upon Count W—— for Sir Humphry, in order to obtain permission for him to shoot in the neighbourhood. The Count was not in Salzburg, but I easily obtained leave from the person who acted for him during his absence. Sir Humphry accordingly immediately started for the neighbouring marshes, and I occupied the morning in seeing the town. The most remarkable object is the Neu Thor, the New Gate, a stupendous undertaking, which may stand comparison with any of the works of the ancient Romans. It is formed of one long arch, or rather tunnel, some hundred feet in length, between twenty to thirty in breadth, and thirty to forty feet in height, cut through the wall of rock, which surrounds the town on the Bavarian side. On the outside the rock is handsomely sculptured, and forms a very elegant entrance into this long passage. This work was commenced at the beginning of the last century, and forty years elapsed ere it was completed. Another work of a similar kind is the summer riding school, a large amphitheatre, the galleries of which are cut out of the solid rock. From hence I crossed over the Salzache into the new town, to visit the church of St. Sebastian, which contains the monument of the celebrated Theophrastus Paracelsus. It is very simple, and formed of the red brown marble of the country. It bears his head in relief, and the following inscription, which is a proof of the great esteem in which the memory of this famous quack was held even till the middle of the eighteenth century.
"Philippi Theophrasti Paracelsi qui tantam orbis famam ex auro chymico adeptus est effigia et ossa donec rursus circumdabuntur pelle sua sub reparatione ecclesiæ MDCCLII. ex sepulchrali tabe eruta heic locata sunt.
"Conditur hic Philippus Theophrastus insignis medicinæ doctor, qui dira illa vulnera, lepram, podagram, hydropsin, aliaque insanabilia corporis contagia mirifica arte sustulit, ac bona sua in pauperes distribuenda collocandaque honoravit.
"Anno MDXXI. die XXIII Septembris vitam cum morte mutavit."
On my return I passed by the house in which he died, and on the outside of it there is still a painting of him, and a nearly obliterated inscription. From hence I went to the church of St. Peter, in the old town, to see the tomb of Haydn; but unfortunately found the church closed, and could not see the monument.
The cathedral church of St. Rupert is a fine building in the Italian style of architecture. It is built partly of free-stone and partly of marble. The streets of Salzburg, with the exception of the chief street, are narrow and generally ill paved, but the houses are clean and neat, and of a great height. The palace of the former archbishop is a spacious and magnificent building, and before it is a beautiful fountain. Besides its public buildings, Salzburg has many large and elegant private houses.
On my return to the inn I found Sir Humphry already there, and that he had dined; and he asked me to accompany him to Aigen, a beautiful villa, about two miles from Salzburg, the seat of Prince Schwarzenberg. From the gardens of this villa the view of Salzburg and the whole chain of Alps is most magnificent, but we could not enjoy it completely, as the summits of the mountains were mostly veiled in cloud, thus mingling as it were with the heavens, and only here and there a dark brown peak was seen piercing through the white shroud, which every now and then passed over it like the foaming wave over a rock, leaving it for some moments invisible. We strolled for some time through the gardens, Sir Humphry on his pony, and then returned to the city.
From nature by J. J. Tobin - FALLS of the SCHWARTZBACH