Landstuhl (Station), near a small town containing 3,500 inhabitants. The ruined castle of the Counts of Sickingen overhangs the town. It was partly hewn out of the rock, and had walls 18 feet thick. In it the chivalrous Franz von Sickingen lost his life on May 7th, 1523, having been mortally hurt by a falling beam. His bones rest in a vault underneath the high altar of the Roman Catholic Church. His monument has been restored and rebuilt.

From Landstuhl a branch of 17 miles goes off to Kusel, or Cusel.

Quitting Landstuhl, the railway proceeds through an interesting country, passing Haupstuhl (Station), and arrives at

Homburg (Station), a small town in the Palatinate, with a population of 2,850 inhabitants; not to be confounded with the spa near Frankfort. From here a branch line goes to Zweibrücken or Deux Ponts. (See page 145.)

Bexbach and Neunkirchen Stations. At Renderich is the Bavarian frontier. Leaving the Bavarian, we enter the Prussian territory at Saarbrücken (Station). (See page 121.) Hence to Forbach and Metz, through German territory. (See page 175.) The line proceeds over the French border, towards Nancy and Chalons. (See Bradshaw's Handbook to France.)

ROUTE 27.

The Rhine continued.-Mayence to Strassburg, by Worms, Mannheim, and Spires. Steamers twice daily to Mannheim in 6 hours, returning in 4 hours. From Mannheim to Strassburg daily, in 20 hours, calling at Daxlanden, or Leopoldshafen, to drop passengers for Carlsruhe. The steamboats descend from Strassburg to Mannheim in 7 hours. It is much preferable to travel up by railway, though the fares are double those charged in the steamer. From Mannheim in 12 hours to Mayence, and in two days to Cologne, making Mayence and Mannheim resting places for the night.

Eilwagen daily from Mayence to Mannheim, and thence by rail to Heidelberg; or by rail all the way. There is no inducement for travellers to follow in a carriage the direct road by the Rhine from Spires to Strassburg. The following route is given mainly for the accommodation of those who make the tour by water.

The low ground of the valley of the Rhine to Switzerland is exceedingly fertile.

Leaving Mayence we proceed by Laubenheim and Bodenheim, along the bank of the Rhine, which is skirted by a succession of sloping hills, planted with vineyards. To the left we see

Nierstein (Station). A considerable village, celebrated for its wine, having a population of 3,200 inhabitants. It was formerly known to the Komans, under the title of Aqua Neri, because of its celebrated mineral spring. It has a chapel worth seeing. The Treasure of the Nibelungen was

sunk here. Oppenheim (Station)-Hotel zum Rittcr.-A very old town, with a population of 3,250 inhabitants, who are chiefly employed in agricultural pursuits, and in the cultivation of their vineyards. It rose under the Carlovingians, from a village to an imperial town, which joined the German union. On a hill, to the north-west of the town, is a fine old Church, dedicated to St. Catherine, under the ruins of the imperial Castle of Landskron. It was begun in 1262, and finished in 1317. In this church the German ecclesiastical style is seen in its highest beauty. The western part was destroyed in the conflagration of 1689, and since rebuilt. The well-preserved painted windows, the excellent sculptures, and the tombs of many noble personages, especially the family of Dalberg, deserve being viewed. Older than this, though less remarkable, is the late Lutheran Church, formerly the Parish Church of St. Sebastian, built in the form of a cross. Within the yard of this church is a ruined chapel, filled with the skulls and bones of Swedes and Spaniards, who fell here in the religious war of 1631, when the sacred precepts of the Christian code, and the mild doctrines of its first teachers, were made subservient to the vile excesses of the wild fanaticism that, with blasphemous lips and sacrilegious hands, made war in the name of Christianity, staining with crimson gore the snow-white banner of religion, and perverting the first principles of the Gospel to justify a brother's murder.

On the right bank, a little above Oppenheim, at Erfelden, is the monument, not seen from the steamer, commemorative of the passage of the Rhine by Gustavus Adolphus. It consists of a

simple pillar, surrounded by a lion. Tradition informs us that the Swedes crossed the river amid songs and rejoicing, and that their general and king was ferried over on a barn-door.

Conrad, second Duke of Rhenish Franconia, was, in 1024, chosen Emperor of Germany, on the large plain lying between Oppenheim and Guntersblum, a pleasant and rich town, with a population of 3,000 souls. The Septs of nearly all Germany met in this place on that occasion. The Rhenish Franks and the upper and lower Lotharingians encamped on the left; the Saxons, with their neighbours the Sclaves; the East Franks, Bavarians, and Suabians on their right bank, each Sept under the command of their duke. Emperor was proclaimed from the Königstuhl, near Lörzweiler, above Nackenheim.

The

At this spot the road winds very much; and a canal, cut through an Isthmus, saves several hours of rowing to the boatmen. The road now leaves the borders of the river.

Gernsheim (Station). A small place with a population of 3,000 inhabitants, the birth-place of Peter Schöffer, the partner of Fust in the discovery of printing, in whose honour there is a handsome Monument, consisting of a colossal statue of sandstone, 22 feet high, erected on the right bank of the Rhine.

The rail from Oppenheim to Worms is uninteresting; it continues to run at the foot of the hills which bounded it on the right all the way from Mayence, but which become much lower and soon vanish after leaving Worms.

WORMS (Station)-Hotels: Zum Alten Kaiser; Pfälzer Hof; Hotel Hartmann; Europäischer Hof; Rheinischer Hof. Restaurant; Werrels.

The first frontier town of Rhenish Hesse, with a population of about 19,500 souls (2,000 Jews), besides the garrison. It is one of the oldest German towns, was once an imperial free city, contained a population of 40,000, and is eminently distinguished in ancient heroic poetry and history. It was once the site of a Roman settlement, and the castle, erected by Drusus in the country of the vanquished Vangiones, gave rise to the town, which, in the momentous sequel, remained an invaluable Roman station, and when they had been driven out of Germany, it became the seat,

and frequently the long sojourn of the Franconian kings, even of Charles the Great, and the later Carlovingians. After Attila's ravages, the city

rose from its ruins sooner than the other towns. Charlemagne was married there, and held in its vicinity the rude legislative assemblies of the Franks called the Camp de Mai. In the middle and modern history of Germany, the city was the scene and theatre of many great Diets held here by the emperors, to settle the most important concerns of the empire, of which those of 1495 and of 1521 were the most important. By the former, which first abolished private war, order was established in Germany; and in the latter, Luther appeared before the young emperor, Charles V., and the assembled princes, &c., to make his defence and declare his adhesion to the doctrines of the Reformation, which were declared heretical by the Diet.

Within the last two centuries the city has been gradually reduced from importance by various causes, especially by frequent wars and by its entire destruction and demolition in 1689 by the French, under the infamous Mélac, the detestable instrument of Louis XIV. and Louvois, and by the dispersion of its inhabitants. The walls of the Dom, and the Judengasse, are the only parts remaining of the old city. Worms was one of the first towns that embraced the Reformation, to which the continual contests of the bishops (who were also bishops of Mayence), with the town, as well as the arraignment of Luther, who at a later period addressed several letters to the congregation of that city, may have greatly contributed.

The chief resources of the inhabitants arise from agriculture, the cultivation of the vine, manufacture of tobacco, sugar, lead, and a great number of oil mills. Entering the precincts of the town, you behold gardens on the right and left, which occupy the space formerly covered with houses. At some distance to the left, you behold the remains of Marienmünster, formerly a rich nunnery, now a barracks. Just below Worms, beyond the walls, is the Gothic church of Our Lady, dated 1467. It stands within a vineyard producing the wine Liebfrauenmilch Our Lady's milk. Singular carvings, representing the Wise and Foolish Virgins, ornament each side of its entrance.

The principal building is the Cathedral, a plain but venerable building, with two spires, begun in

the year 996, and finished in 1016, in the Byzantine, or round-arched style. In 1018 the eastern end of this church fell, but was reconstructed and consecrated anew 1110, by Archbishop Eppo. The south front has rich pointed portals, in the style of the fifteenth century. Its west end has the appearance of the modern style of architecture. In its interior are two choirs and two high altars. It is 470 feet long, and gaudily ornamented. It has two side chapels. In the chapel of St. Nicholas are some remarkable specimens of medieval sculpture, representing the Annunciation, the Nativity, the genealogical tree of the Virgin, the Descent from the Cross, and the Resurrection. In the baptistery are many curious gravestones. On the site of the Rathhaus now stands the Lutheran Church, containing a fresco painting, by Seekatz, representing Luther standing before the Diet. This painting, which was much decayed, was restored at the Reformation Jubilee of 1817. The fine Luther Denkmal, in the Lutherplatz, deserves notice.

The churches of St. Martin and St. Paul, the west end and Choir of which are worth seeing; and of St. Andrew, in the Andrewsplatz, may be visited.

The Synagogue dates from the eleventh century, but has been modernised.

The Heylesche Haus is erected on the site of the Bishop's Palace where the famous Diet was held in 1521.

The country about Worms is interesting, and was called by the ancient minstrels in their lays, the Wonnegau or "Land of Joy." In its neighbourhood, near the village of Pfiffligheim, you may still see the Elm-tree under which Luther is said to have rested on his journey to Worms, and replied to his friends who would persuade him against entering Worms, that he "would go to Worms even though there were as many devils within its walls as there were tiles on its houses."

The green island in the Rhine near Worms, commonly called the Rose-garden, is celebrated in the romantic tales of ancient times, for here Siegfried, the hero of the Nibelungenlied, a fine old German poem, dating from the close of the 12th century, killed the Dragon. Chriemhilde also lived at Worms, near her lover. The quarrel between Brunhilde and Chriemhilde is said to have occurred in front of the Dom. About one league outside

the town, is Hernsheim, the park, and château of the Dalberg family.

Persons going down the Rhine may diversify their route by abandoning the Rhine at Worms, and proceeding by Alzey, or Alzei, to Kreuznach on Nahe (described in Route 22), where they might ascend to Oberstein, and thence return to the Rhine at Bingen; or go on to Trèves, and from Trèves descend to Coblenz on the Moselle. The line from Worms to Alzey passes Monsheim, from which a line of 24 English miles was opened, 1873 (on the direct line to Strassburg), viâ Albsheim, Grünstadt (branch to Mertesheim and Eisenberg), Dürkheim, Deidesheim, and Neustadt-an-der-Haardt (pop. 7,600), having old and new churches. Durkheim (pop. 7,000), under the Haardt Hills, is a grape-cure, with excellent iodine and saline springs. Hotels: Four Seasons; Häusling. Shooting and fishing. The Heidenmauer Wall

on the Kastanienberg gives name to a novel of Cooper's. The Haardt is a wine district of valleys and hills, 1,600 to 1,800 feet high. For Trifels Castle, see page 145. Near Durkheim is Limburg Abbey (1024-36), a ruin, besieged 1604, when the Abbot buried the rich treasure chest, which was discovered 1881. From Monsheim, also, an extension is open to Marnheim and Langmeil, 16 miles.

A few miles above Worms, the territories of Baden on the right, and of Rhenish-Bavaria on the left bank commence; Darmstadt owns both banks as far as that. The rail passes Frankenthal (Station), an industrious little town, with a population of 9,000 (two Inns). It owed its former rise to a colony of Flemings, refugees from France and the Spanish Netherlands on account of persecutions. These refugees introduced manufactures not previously known in Germany. The Abbey Church was built in 1119. The Frankenthal canal to the Rhine has been made navigable. (At Frankenthal a cross line runs via Eppstein and Freiensheim to Dürkheim.)

Oggersheim (Station) - Inn: Krone. - A small place, with a population of 1,432 souls. The curiosities of this place are the old townhouse, the Roman Catholic chapel, and the Lady chapel, built after the model of the oratory of Loretto. To the right, about one mile at this

side of Mannheim, the Neckar joins the Rhine. Ludwigshafen (Station).-Hotels: Deutsches Haus; Drei Mohren.-On the right, is connected by railway with Spires, Saarbrück, Kaiserslautern, and Homburg. Close to the bondinghouses on the water side, and about one mile below the bridge of boats, the steamer comes to her moorings. Rail over the river to Mannheim.

From Worms the Louis of Hesse rail runs to Rosengarten (branch to Bensheim, page 151), the connection across the river being kept up by steamer, and Lampertheim; whence it is carried north to Gernsheim (page 139), and Gross-Gerau, for Frankfurt; and south through Waldhof and Käferthal to Mannheim.

MANNHEIM (Station).-Hotels:

Hotel du Palatinat (Pfälzer Hof.).-A first-class hotel, in the centre of the town-recommended. Kaiserhof; Deutscher Hof; Lungaloth; Lands

berg.

Mannheim is in the Grand Duchy of Baden, at the influx of the Neckar into the Rhine, and has a population of 58,000. The first stone of the town was laid in 1606, by the elector, Frederick IV., and contiguous to it the same prince built Frederick's Castle, which, with the town, was destroyed in the Thirty Years war. The town was soon rebuilt, but was again burnt by the French in 1689; when the French general intimated to the townspeople the determination of his brutal master, Louis XIV., to reduce the town to ashes, and, at the same time, mockingly informed them that they were privileged, by special favour, to perpetrate this barbarism on their own hearths and altars; for which a period of 20 days was given them. The people declined the offer. The town was again rebuilt, and the present Mannheim is the third town erected since 1606.

Mannheim is now the seat of a considerable trade, containing from 25,000 to 30,000 artizans, and is the residence of a large number of English families. It is an exceedingly cheap place of residence, and the society very agreeable, a pleasure enhanced by its being now the residence of the Ducal court. It was one time strongly fortified, but now, fortunately for its future progress, is utterly defenceless; its fortifications having been turned into gardens and

walks. The modern town consists of 12 parallel streets, intersected at right angles by 10 other streets, which makes the town appear monotonous in its rectangular regularity. The street leading from the palace to the Suspension bridge over the Neckar, divides the town into two parts. The streets are not named, but distinguished by a figure and a letter. The squares are ornamented with fountains, which want only water, which is very scarce here, to make them useful. The principal curiosity of the place is the

Palace, a colossal structure, built of red sandstone, but without any architectural beauty, and only remarkable for its size. It was erected in 1720, by the Elector Palatine, Karl Philip, on the occasion of the removal of his court from Heidelberg to Mannheim. The right wing, used as a theatre, suffered severely from the Austrians in 1795, when they bombarded the city. It has since been repaired. In that bombardment half the palace was burnt, and only fourteen houses remained uninjured. The Austrians threw, on that occasion, into the town, 26,000 cannon balls and 1,780 bombs; it was garrisoned by 4,700 French, who finally surrendered to General Würmser. A large portion of the palace serves as a Museum, in which is a Gallery of Paintings, (Wednesdays, 11 to 4, free), containing many excellent productions of the Dutch School, especially Rembrandt; a collection of plaster casts, and a Cabinet of Natural History, together with a collection of antiquities. Open, Sunday, 11 to 12. In 1779, the flower of all the collection at Mannheim was transferred to Munich.

Near the palace is the Jesuits' Church, an imposing structure, richly decorated.

The Railway Station is a fine work of art, one of the handsomest in Europe.

The Theatre is a good building, in which Schiller's" Robbers" was first dramatised in 1782. The author lived in the house named Zum Karlsburg, on the Parade Platz. Opposite the grand entrance to the Theatre is Kotzebue's house, in which the insane student, Sand, assassinated the owner. The victim and assassin are buried in the churchyard, outside the Lutheran Church.

In front of the theatre are a monument to Schiller, and statutes to Iffland and Von Dalberg.