situated at the extremity of the branch of the Lake of Constance, called Unter See, with a fine church, in the true German Gothic style. "In the broad part of the Rhine, where it is still rather a lake than a river, is the Isle of Reichenau, anciently famed for a Monastery founded by one of the successors of Charlemagne, of which the Church (partly Romanesque) and Treasury remain. In the Treasury are to be seen the shrine of St. Fortunata, an ivory ciborium, a cope, a crozier, and a missal of the x. century."-F.S. The sweet scenery throughout the whole of this road is exceedingly agreeable, often striking. The woods abound in most splendid butterflies. Collections of these insects may be bought at Singen, and also at Radolfszell. Petershausen, on the rt. bank of the Rhine opposite Constance, was originally a free abbey of the empire. The Rhine here, suddenly contracted from a lake to a river, is crossed by a wooden bridge, in order to reach 2 CONSTANCE. Inns: Post; (Golden Adler; Aigle d'Or) good; Brochet (Hecht), very good, looking over the lake, partly new, and very attentive landlord. Constance, a decayed city, of 7200 inhab., instead of 40,000, which it once possessed, is remarkable for its antiquity, since its streets and many of its buildings remain unaltered since the 15th century. Although situated on the 1. or Swiss bank of the Rhine, it belongs to Baden. It is connected with the opposite shore by a long wooden covered bridge, and occupies a projecting angle of ground at the W. extremity of the Bodensee, or lake of Constance; its agreeable position and interesting historical associations make amends for the want of life perceptible within its venerable walls. It has of late, however, revived considerably; the government have formed, at a large expense, a Port on the lake, which facilitates the navigation, while it is an ornament to the town. Ro The Minster is a handsome Gothic structure, begun 1052, with fine openwork turrets in the W. end; the doors of the main portal between the two towers are of oak, curiously carved with a representation of the Passion of our Lord, executed in 1470 by one Simon Bainder. The nave is supported by sixteen pillars, each of a single block, and dates from the 13th century. The spot where the "Arch-heretic Huss" stood, as sentence of death by burning was pronounced on him by his unrighteous judges, is still pointed out. bert Hallam, Bishop of Salisbury, who presided over the English deputation to the council, is buried here, in front of the high altar, "under a tomb, which is very remarkable, as being of English brass; which is fully proved by the workmanship. It was probably sent over from England by his executors. He wears the Order of the Garter. Two sides of the ancient cloisters, whose arches are filled in with exquisitely beautiful tracery, are yet standing. The other sides were not long since destroyed by fire. By the side of the cathedral is a curious circular chapel, perhaps a baptistery, in the centre of which is a Gothic model of the Holy Sepulchre." There are some curious relics in the Sacristy, also a beautiful Gothic fire-place and piscina, superior to those at Courtray. In the Vestry room above are a range of singular cupboards or presses of carved oak, none of a later date than the xv. century. There is a beautiful view from the tower of the cathedral, W. over the lake, and mountains of Tyrol, and E. over the valley of the Rhine. "The Dominican Convent, now a cotton-printing establishment, is very interesting. The place is still shown where Huss was confined, though the stone chamber itself has been removed (at least all that remained of it) to the Kaufhaus. The church forms a picturesque ruin, in the early style of German Gothic. The chapter-house is even older. The cloisters are perfect. The little island upon which this building stands was fortified by the Romans, and a portion of the wall, towards the lake, can yet be discerned."-P. In the Hall of the Kaufhaus (built 1388), looking towards the lake, the Great Council of Constance held its sittings, 1414-18, in a large room supported by wooden pillars. That famous assembly, composed, not of bishops alone, like the ancient councils, but of deputies, civil. and ecclesiastical, from the whole of Christendom, including princes, cardinals (30), patriarchs (4), archbishops (20), bishops (150), professors of universities and doctors of theology (200), besides a host of ambassadors, inferior prelates, abbots, priors, &c., was convened for the purpose of remedying the abuses of the church; and as those abuses began with its head, the proceedings were prefaced by a declaration that a council of the church has received, by Divine right, an authority in religious matters, even over that of the pope. It exerted its influence in curbing the Papal power, by deposing the infamous John XXIII. and Benedict XIII., and by electing in their place Martin V. But there is one act of this council which fixes lasting and odious celebrity on it-the treacherous seizure and cruel murder of John Huss and Jerome of Prague, in spite of the safe conduct granted to the former by the Emperor Sigismund, the president of the assembly. The chairs occupied by the emperor and pope, the Bible of Huss, a model of the dungeon, now destroyed, in which he was confined, of the same size as the original, and in which the actual door and other fragments have been incorporated; the car on which he was drawn to execution; the figure of Abraham which supported the pulpit from the Minster, and which the people mistook for Huss, and defaced accordingly, and some other relics of the council, still remain in the hall, besides a collection of Roman and German antiquities, dug up in the neighbourhood. 1 F. fr. is charged for admission. The house in which Huss lodged, bearing a rude likeness of him, is pointed out in the Paul's Strasse, near the Schnetzthor. He was thrown into prison soon after his arrival in the Franciscan Convent, now a ruin, whence he was removed to a more irksome dungeon, affording scarcely room to move, in the before-mentioned Dominican Convent. The field-outside of the town, in the suburb of Brühl, in which he suffered martyrdom, with a fortitude which moved even his judges and executioners to admiration-nay, even the place where the stake was planted, are still pointed out; and rude images of Huss and Jerome, formed of clay taken from the spot, are offered for sale to the stranger. In 1474 a perpetual treaty of peace was concluded at Constance, between Sigismund of Austria and the Swiss Confederation, which put an end to the contests which had endured for more than a century and a half, beginning with the fights of Morgarten and Sempach. Constance belonged to the crown of Austria from 1549 to 1805, when, by the treaty of Presburg, it was transferred to Baden. Since 1802 it has ceased to be a bishopric. The spirit of industry is reviving, and several manufactories of cotton, two of muslin, and one of silk, have recently sprung up. Petershausen, on the opposite bank of the Rhine, was until 1803 a Benedictine monastery; it is now a château of the Grand Duke. It is still surrounded by its ancient fosse and ramparts. 3 interesting Excursions may be made hence; to Reichenau (p. 561), Meinau, and Heiligenberg. The island of Meinau, about 4 m. N. of Constance, is one of the prettiest private residences in Germany. It is well cultivated, yet with no want of trees, forming a nice little estate. The palace is very large; it was once a commandery of the Knights of the Teutonic Order, and retains a series of their portraits, and some good pictures of Miss Ellenried. From the balcony or from the terrace of the garden there is a magnificent view over the lake, of the mountains of the Vorarlberg and Appenzell, among which the Sentis is pre-eminent. Nearer at hand the cultivated German shores, with the towns of Mörsberg, Friedrichshaven, &c., complete the picture. Meinau now belongs to the Countess Langenstein: it is approached by a wooden footbridge m. long, connecting it with the shore; there is an inn on the island. Diligences daily to Zurich, Schaffhausen, Coire, St. Gall, Strasburg, and Frankfurt. 8 or 10 steamers daily between Constance and the different ports of the lake. They correspond with the diligences to Milan, at Rorschach; with the Eilwagen for Stuttgard at Friedrichshafen, and with that to Augsburg and Munich at Lindau :thus maintaining a daily communication between Constance and these cities. A steamer also to Schaffhausen in 3 hours, returning in 6, every day from April to October. The Lake of Constance is described in the Handbook for Switzerland. pages except the time spent in changing horses. The valley of the Treisam, commonly known as the Höllenthal, or Valley of Hell, is at its commencement near Freyburg a level and fertile plain of considerable width, bounded by gently sloping wooded hills. As you ascend, it gradually contracts, and, about 9 m. from Freyburg, assumes a character of romantic beauty and grandeur. Its charm lies in the rich foliage of the woods covering its steep sides, out of which project buttresses and pinnacles of bare rock, at the foot of which runs the Treisam, bordered with turf and studded with frequent water-mills. Even here, its scenery, though wild, exhibits none of those horrors which its name would seem to imply. It extends to Steig. Perhaps the most remarkable spot is that called the Hirschsprung. 1 Burg. Through this valley Moreau executed his famous retreat of the Black Forest, with an army, in 1796, and gained by it as high a reputation for military talent, as he would have acquired by a victory. The French Marshal Villars declined attempting this pass in 1702, saying he was "not devil enough." 1 Steig. Inn, Post or Stern (Star); clean accommodation and good fare, including capital trout, at a cheap rate. Immediately beyond the Star, the road begins to ascend a steep slope, which carries it out of the Höllenthal, leaving behind it the finest scenery. 1 f. 12 kr. is paid for an extra horse up the Höllensteig. The country which opens out beyond is called (Himmelreich) Kingdom of Heaven; but has no claim to the name except its elevation in contradistinction to the Höllenthal below. At the top the road divides into 2 branches; that on the left goes to Donaueschingen: we continue to follow the shortest and most direct. A small lake, called Titi See (Inn, Rössle) is passed on the right, and another equally steep hill succeeds, which must be surmounted before reaching 13 Lenzkirch. Inns.-Post, decent; Cheval Blanc, good. Here the wooden clocks for which the Black Forest is famed are made: one may be bought for 4 fl. 2 Bondorf. This village was burnt down in 1827. [About 18 m. from this, and the same distance from Stuhlingen, lies the magnificent Benedictine abbey of St. Blaize, now sequestrated, and turned into a factory, where spinning-jennies and fire-arms are made. The church, a modern edifice, was built 1768, after the plan of the Pantheon at Rome. On the dissolution of the monastery, the monks removed into Carinthia, taking with them the bones of some noble ancestors of the house of Habsburg, who had been buried in their abbey.] At the summit of the ascent which the road makes in this stage, the Lake of Constance may be descried in clear weather. Near the end of this stage is the castle of Hohen Lupfen, belonging to Prince Fürstenberg, but inhabited only by a peasant. It occupies a most commanding position on the brow of a hill, at whose foot lies 2 Stuhlingen. Inns: Post and Hirsch. A little further on a small stream is crossed, which forms the boundary of Switzerland. 2 Schaffhausen.-Inn, Couronne, (In the Handbook for SWITZERLAND.) The left-hand road, leading out of the Höllenthal, conducts from Steig to 1 post. Neustadt. (Inn, Post; good.) A town of 1500 inhab., on the Wutach. Here and in the neighbourhood are manufactured the wooden clocks for which the Black Forest is famous. The inhabitants, an industrious race, employ themselves also in polishing garnets and crystals: as well as in rearing singing birds. A very excellent cheese, sold as Swiss, is produced in this district. 1 post.-Löppingen ;-thence by 1 Donaueschingen (Route 108.) to Schaffhausen. 66 66 ROUTE 110. 66 HEIDELBERG TO WÜRZBURG. 18 Germ. miles = 83 Eng. miles. Eilwagen daily, in 17 or 18 hours. The road is very well kept, but hilly and badly engineered. It may be posted in a day and a half. A Lohnkutscher requires nearly two days, and charges (at Würzburg) 20 to 22 guilders, besides trinkgeld. Unfortunately there is no good sleepingplace half way. Mosbach is the best, but the distance thence to Würzburg is too great for a single day's journey with the same horses, except in the height of summer. There is nothing of particular interest on the way except the scenery within a few stages of Heidelberg. It is a charming drive along the Neckar to Neckar Gemund, where the road crosses the river and ascends to INDEX. In order to facilitate reference to the Routes, most of them are inserted in the Index Bacharach, 284. Bacon, Lord, on Travel, ix. *to Carlsruhe, 546. Ban de la Roche, 558. Barmen, 364. BASTEI, THE, 465. Bastogne, 188. BATHS: Aix-la-Chapelle, 239. Alexisbad, 401. Baden Baden, 547. Bertrich, 304. Brückenau, 431. Dobberan, 334. Ems, 486. Hof-Geismar, 388. |