defended by the French in 1813. It is now a Lunatie Asylum. Schwartzer Adler, outside the walls 1. 1 Pirna.-Inns: Weisses Ross; This small and unimportant town of 5500 inhab. lies on the high road from Dresden to Toeplitz, and on the bank of the Elbe. Carriages and boats are kept for hire here. rt. Pillnitz, p. 472. rt. The ferry above Hosterwitz, p 470. spring; and enormous casemates, also excavated, serve as storehouses for provisions. To this fortress Saxony owes the preservation of her priceless collection of works of art, virtù, and antiquity, her picture gallery and green vault. Cases for every article of value in the "Green Vault" are kept ready at hand, to pack them in, and send them to Königstein in case of war. The treasures of the Saxon monarchs have frequently been deposited here, to be out of harm's way; and indeed Frederick Augustus II. himself took refuge here during the Seven Years' War. A ledge projecting over the precipice has the name of the Page's bed, from the circumstance of a drunken page of the Elector John George having been found on it fast asleep. His master, to warn him of the risk he ran, and to frighten him, caused him to be tied down, and then awakened by a pistol fired close to his ear. This fortress served once as a state prison. Strangers are admitted on showing their pass-wagen to Chemnitz daily in 10 hours ports: nothing should prevent the traveller visiting it. Independently of the small river Weisseritz, and follows On leaving Dresden the road crosses the fortress itself, the view from its its course for about two miles to Tolckwitz, and Blasewitz, p. 470, ROUTE 90. DRESDEN TO HOF IN BAVARIA, BY THE CHEMNITZ. 24 Germ. m. = 116 Eng. m. -Eil. walls is most beautiful, being panoramic, and is, perhaps, the most striking water-mills, at the entrance of the Ter Plauen, a village of a few houses and in the Saxon Switzerland, next to that picturesque glen called the Plauensche from the Bastei. Grund, with precipitous rocky sides or of Lilienstein, and follows a tortuous course as far as Pirna, passing rt. The village of Rathen, at the foot of the gigantic precipices of the Bastei, see p. 473. Travellers usually disembark at Rathen to ascend it; 3 or 4 hours may be agreeably spent in The Elbe almost encircles the hill slopes, overgrown with underwood. It Hackfall, in Yorkshire. The road mills. passes through it by the side of in has been compared to the scenery of Weisseritz, a turning the wheels of stream very useful in I which give a lively air to its banks. enjoying the prospect from its summit, green meadow, near the industrious The valley opens out into a and in exploring the singular valleys village of Potschappel, close to which around it. many broad there are coal mines, iron forges, glass rt. Wehlen, a small village. 1. The works, &c. Agates are found high road now quits the Elbe, and runs at a little distance from it. 1. A little above Pirna stands the Castle of Sonnenstein, on an elevated rock, at the back of which the high the road passes, before it descends into the village with 1000 inhab.: its mineral It was obstinately valleys meet, 2 of them sending forth streams which unite and flow through the Plauensche-grund into the Elbe. It takes but 10 minutes to ascend from the inn to the Ruins of the Old Castle, perched on a promontory of rock, from which you look down into the deep and picturesque valley on either side. The ruin is the remains of a hunting-seat of the ancestors of the present King of Saxony. It is worth while to take a guide to explore some of the other pretty walks in this neighbourhood, such as the Forstgarten, from which there is a fine view, and the beech avenue called the Heilige Hallen. The Forstgarten is a nursery forest, containing 1000 species of trees and shrubs attached to the Forst-Academie subsisting here, in which a certain number of students are instructed in the forester's art and in every thing relating to planting trees and rearing timber. them, by digging a tunnel through the mountains to the Elbe at Meissen, is in progress, and is certainly one of the most stupendous undertakings of the kind in Europe, its length being about 24 m. It has been calculated by Breithaupt, that the Freiberg mines have produced in the 640 years during which they have been worked, down to 1825, 82,000 cwt. of silver, or the worth of 240 millions of dollars. The amount of silver gained in 1833 equalled 523,952 dollars. Freiberg was long the residence of the Saxon princes, who bestowed on it many immunities and privileges, and several of whom are interred in the Dom Kirche (Cathedral), a handsome Gothic building, dating from 1484. In the choir behind the altar is the tomb of Maurice of Saxony, a lofty sarcophagus, richly adorned with sculpture, surmounted by his kneeling effigy. Above it, in a niche, is placed the armour worn by him at the battle of Sievershausen, where he was killed, after gaining the victory, by a shot from behind; the hole made by the bullet is still visible. The standards taken in the battle were hung over his grave; they have dropped to pieces with age, and the worm-eaten staves will not long outlast them. In the Lady Chapel adjoining are buried Henry the Pious and his successors down to Christian I., by whom it was At the village of Naundorf the old road by Herzogswald joins that which we follow. On the banks of the river Mulde, which the road crosses on approaching Freiberg, are several silver mines. The traveller's attention is arrested by the ceaseless tinkling of a bell. This is attached to the works of the mine called Himmelfahrt (Ascension), and its use is to give notice to the miners that all is right in the works below. If a rope break, or any other accident befall the machinery, the bell ceases to ring, and attention is thus in-built, 1593. stantly called to it. 2 Freiberg. Inn, Das Schwartze Ross (Black Horse). An ancient and decayed Imperial city, still surrounded by its old walls and ditch. It once contained 40,000 inhab. in the days of its prosperity; it has now only 11,279. It is the capital of the mining district of Saxony, and its rise and fall have kept pace with the productiveness of its silver mines, which were discovered and worked as far back as the 12th century. They have of late much fallen off, owing in a great degree to the richest veins being worked out, or to the shafts being driven so deep that it is impossible to drain off the water from them. A project for clearing It is enriched with Saxon marble and serpentine, and contains some fine bronze gilt statues by P. Boselli; the pavement is inlaid with 29 very fine brasses, not unlike those of England. Ths cloisters are converted into a sort of Museum of Antiquities. Other curiosities of this church are two pulpits of Gothic workmanship, curiously carved in stone; one is supported by figures of the master mason and his apprentice who executed it. The Golden Gate is a richly ornamented round portal, in the Romanesque style, date 1175-89, which belonged to the Frauenkirche, destroyed by fire in 1484; the sculpture shows very good feeling for art: it is well worth notice. Beside it is the tomb of the celebrated geologist Werner, who died here in 1817. Once a quarter a sermon is preached in this church to the miners, who all attend in a body. "The Rathhaus, near the church, is a good specimen of N. German Gothic (built 1410). The old houses are entered by an ornamental arch with a niche and seat on either side, a fashion prevalent in Saxony and Silesia."-F. S. In the market-place, opposite the guard-house, a flat round stone in the pavement marks the spot where Kunz of Kaufungen, the robber-knight, who stole the two young Saxon princes, Ernest and Albert, from their father's palace, was beheaded, 1455. The School of Mines (Berg-Aca démie) is the most renowned in Germany, and students repair hither for instruction in the art of mining from all | quarters of the globe. Humboldt, Werner, Jameson of Edinburgh, Mohs, and many other eminent mineralogists and geologists, were pupils in this institution. Instructions are given by professors both in the practice and theory of the art; in surveying, mining, and the preparation of ores, as well as in geology, mineralogy, &c. The Museum of the School of Mines is very rich in remarkable specimens of all the mineral productions of Saxony, and includes the splendid and useful collection of Werner himself. It is not deficient in the geological department and in fossils. The Collection of Models of the Mines, and the Machinery used in them, will give an uninitiated person a clear idea of the nature of a miner's operations, or at least will prepare one who purposes visiting them for understanding the processes when on the spot. There is an office for the sale of minerals attached to this establishment. There are said to be about 130 Mines of silver, copper, lead, and cobalt, round Freiberg: the prevailing rock in which they are situated is a primary gneiss. To see a mine thoroughly will occupy about 3 hours. A permission must first be obtained from the Bergmeister in Freiberg. Strangers are provided with a miner's dress Most of at the entrance of the mine. the mines are distant a mile or two from the town, and proper guides are appointed to conduct persons thither. The mine most conveniently visited, perhaps, is that called the Kurfürst (Elector), because it is large and dry; it lies near Gross Schirma. The Alt Mord Grube (Old Murder Mine) has very remarkable hydraulic pumps for ex tracting the water. The principal ores of silver are, argentiferous sulphuret of lead, native silver, and red silver. The Amalgamir- Werk at Halsbrück, about 3 miles out of the town, where the pure silver is obtained from the less productive ores by amalgamation with quicksilver, is well worth seeing. The 'process is carried on here upon the most scientific principles. At Halsbrück are also situated many smelting furnaces. What is called the Hebe-haus, a sort of crane (like the staiths on the Tyne), by which boats are raised out of the Mulde into a canal, is a guide-book wonder, not worth the trouble of the walk. Their The Miners of the Saxon Erzgebirge are a somewhat primitive class. form of salutation is by the words "Glück auf." They are enrolled in a sort of semi-military corps, of which the common workmen are the privates, and the superintendents and managers the officers. They are called out several times a year for inspection, or parade, and in addition assemble in a body at certain stated times to attend! miners' prayers in the church, at the funeral of a superior officer, during the visit of a royal personage, and on days of rejoicing for the discovery of a rich vein. On these occasions they appear in uniform, their leather aprons fastened on behind, leather pockets in the place of cartouche-boxes, and a large knif stuck in the girdle. The commot miners march with their pickaxes shouldered, the carpenters with their axes, and the smiths with their hammers borne in the same fashion. These processions have a martial appearance. are headed by a band playing a miners' march, and accompanied by flying colours. The officers have similar uni forms, distinguished according to their rank. All, up to the chief, or BergHauptman, whether in working costume or in full dress, wear the singular hinder-apron, which, from its position, bears a very significant name. Even the sovereign, were he to appear on the spot, as head miner of Saxony, could not dispense with this appendage. To be deprived of it is the greatest disgrace to which the miner can be subjected; he thereby loses his privilege, and the dishonour is equal to that of knocking off the spurs from a knight's heels. The road from Freiberg to Carlsbad by Joachimsthal is described in HANDBOOK FOR SOUTH GERMANY. (Rte. 259.) After quitting Freiberg, our road leaves on the right the hamlet of Gross Schirma, and passes the mines of NeuGottes-Segen (New blessing of God), and farther on of Himmelsfürst (Prince of Heaven), once the richest in the district, and one of the most productive mines in Europe, distant about 2 m. from Freiberg to the south-east. 23 Oederan.-Inns: Post; Hirsch. A manufacturing town of 3130 inhab. The little village Flohe is remarkable as the birthplace of the eminent statesman and lawyer Sam. Puffendorf, whose father was the minister here. On the right of the village of Flohe rises the castle of Augustusburg, built 1572 by the Elector Augustus. It has a well 286 yards deep, cut in the rock; and a lime-tree 400 years old is still growing in its garden. The chapel contains two pictures by I.. Cranach. 2 Chemnitz (Inn: Römischer Kaiser)—is the principal manufacturing town in Saxony (2300 inhab.). The cotton goods, especially stockings, for which it is chiefly celebrated, and to which it owes its present prosperity, rival even the English in quality and cheapness. In the quantity of hosiery produced, Saxony already equals Great Britain. The American market is almost exclusively supplied from hence. The spacious factory of Becker and Schraps, the largest in Saxony, has 18,600 spindles. Stockings for the American market are made here at the low rate of N. Germ. 3s. 4d. a dozen. "The chief inferiority to the British lies in their want of elasticity. The stocking weavers for the most part are not congregated into manufactories, but live in cottages of their own, the fee-simple of which they have purchased by their own earnings. They cultivate in their own gardens the potatoes and other vegetables which form their usual food, and support from the same source the animals which provide them with the small quantity of meat they consume: they live commonly with great frugality on potatoes and coffee. When the demand for manufacture is slack, they employ themselves in the field and garden; when it is active, they devote themselves to their frames and looms. The State provides them with gratuitous instruction, which has the happiest effect both on their industry and frugality."-Bowring. Chemnitz is also famous for the manufacture of spinning machinery, which is sent to all parts of the Continent. It has a population of 23,000 souls, and is situated in a beautiful and well-watered valley. 400 years it was a Free Imperial city, and still displays in its buildings marks of its antiquity. The ancient walls which formerly surrounded it have been pulled down, and their site converted into a pleasant Boulevard connecting the old town with its fine thriving suburbs. On the outskirts of the town is the Schloss, a conventual building of 1125, turned into a ducal residence by the Elector Maurice, now an inn, but retaining some ancient portions. The Church has a richly carved portal on one side, imitating a framework of boughs, carved in stone, 1525. Within, a stone pulpit with bas-reliefs, 1536, and some old paintings, deserve notice. For The Great Church, Stadt kirche, has an altar piece of which the original centre is destroyed, but the wings, painted with 4 saints, are probably by Wohlgemuth. Next to it the chief buildings are the Rathhaus and Gewandhaus (cloth hall). A railway is being constructed to connect Chemnitz with Rièsa, on the Y Leipzig and Dresden line, and the part between Reisa and Döbeln was opened in 1847. 2} Lungwitz. 2 Zwickau (Inn, Post); on the banks of the Zwickauer Mulde; has 5300 inhab. St. Mary's church, the finest Gothic edifice in the Erzgebirge, date 14531536, is distinguished by its tall tower, which Luther often ascended on account of the pleasing view it commands. Within the church is a very fine altar-piece by the old German master Wohlgemuth, representing the Virgin and female saints, surrounded by a richly carved wooden frame-work, executed 1479, with statues of saints sculptured in wood. The Holy Sepulchre, in the sacristy, is a fine work of art. The church of St. Catherine is a fine Gothic building (date 1465). The high altarpiece, the Feet Washing and other subjects, is by an artist of the Nuremberg school. There is a good road from Zwickau to Carlsbad, through Schneeberg and the Erzgebirge. (Route 91.) About 15 m. S. E. of Zwickau, at Aue, there are extensive cobalt mines and smalt works. Near this also is dug the porcelain earth from which the china manufactory of Meissen is supplied. The serpentine stone, which is turned in the lathe and manufactured into various articles, comes from the quarries at Zoblitz. A branch railway, 1 Germ. mile in length, connects Zwickau with the Leipzig and Hof railway, at the Werdau station. See Rte. 91. for the remainder of the way to Hof, There are two classes, as in the railway carriages. The railway will probably be completed by 1851. 2 Kieritzsch Stat. Breitingen Stat. 23 Altenburg Stat. tha, good; Hirsch. Inns: Stadt GoThe capital of the duchy of Saxe Altenburg on the Pleisse has 14,200 inhab. The Palace (Schloss), on an escarped rock, was often the residence of Charlemagne, who here invested Otto of Wittelsbach with the Duchy of Bavaria. Part of it is very old: it is worth visiting, and contains an armoury. Out of one of its apartments the Robber Knights, Kunz of Kaufungen and William Von Mosen, stole the young Saxon princes, Ernest and Albert, in 1445. The ducal family reside in the modern part, built in the 17th century. The Rathaus in the market-place is picturesque. The Gothic Church (Stift St. Georg) 1412, containing exquisitely carved stalls, &c., of that date, deserves notice. The Mantel Thurm and Schloss Gate are very ancient. The Damm is the name of an agree able promenade around a sheet of water on the S. side of the town. The inhabitants of the Duchy of Altenburg, a branch of the Sclavonic family, are distinguished by their very peculiar and old-fashioned costumes handed down to them by their ancestors. The petticoats of the women, like a Highlander's kilt, reach no further than the knee, their bodies are enclosed in a cuirass of basket-work, and their heads are surmounted by a conical cap of por tentous dimensions. The people have lost their language and speak German but retain many old customs as well a their dress. Near Altenburg and Gera the Sax tin mines are situated. For the roads from Altenburg Dresden, see Route 94 a. 2 Gösnitz Stat. 13 Krimmitzschau Stat. 1 Werdau Stat. Beyond this station a branch line, 1 Germ. m. long, tur off to Zwickau. (Route 90.) Neumarkt Stat. |