Counts of Stolberg. The Schlosskirche here probably dates from 960. Gernrode. See the Church, a very curious and ancient Romanesque one, with choirs at both E. and W. ends, and crypts; that under the E. choir dates from 960. A curious side chapel is covered with bas-reliefs of the 12th century. About 5 m. from this place is the Rosstrappe, one of the most interesting points in the Hartz. (p. 403.) A detour from the road of 2 days would suffice to enable a traveller to see it, and to ascend the Brocken. The latter part of the excursion is only advisable when the weather is settled. 2 Quedlinburg. - Inns: Deutsches Haus; Schwarzer Bär. A dull country town, formerly belonging to Saxony, now Prussian, of 12,200 inhab., on the Bode. It was originally a free Imperial city of much consequence. Many German Emperors of the Saxon line resided here, in the 13th century, and several councils of the church were held in the town. It is still surrounded by turreted walls. The Castle, on an eminence above the town, was the residence of the Abbesses of Quedlinburg, who were Princesses of the Empire, independent of all spiritual sovereigns save the Pope, having a vote in the Diet and a seat on the bench of Rhenish bishops. They were generally members of royal er noble families. The town itself, many convents and nunneries, and very extensive domains belonged to the Abbess, and she numbered among her vassals many nobles of high rank. At the Reformation the Abbesses adopted the Lutheran faith, lost their feudal sovereignty, and the greatest part of their estates, while the number of nuns was reduced to 5. The right of presentation belonged to the King of Prussia down to 1802, when the con vent was sequestrated. It is now falling to decay, stripped of its splendour, and in part converted into a school. The Schlosskirche is a very curious Luilding of the 10th or 11th century. The arabesques on the outside are considered the oldest works of sculpture in N. Germany. The once beautiful Aurora Maria, Countess of Königsmark, who was prioress of the nunnery, although mistress of Augustus the Strong, King of Saxony, and mother of Marshal Saxe, is buried in a vault beneath. The sexton does not scruple to open her coffin at the demand of the curious, and to display a body now reduced to the condition of a brown mummy. The Emperor Henry the Fowler, his Empress Matilda, the founder of the nunnery, and many abbesses of the monastery, were also buried here, in front of the high altar. In the Sacristy are 2 reliquaries, ornamented with rude ivory carvings of the 9th or 10th cent., bequests of Henry I.; the beard-comb of Henry the Fowler. Here also are some curious tapestries of the 12th century. The crypt of St. Wiperti is probably of the 10th cent. In The poet Klopstock was born here, in a small house at the foot of the castle hill, in the Schlossplatz recognisable by the 2 pillars which support its porch. A monument has been erected to him in the garden called Bruhl. the Rathhaus is preserved, among other musty curiosities, the oaken cage in which the citizens of Quedlinburg imprisoned a Count of Reinstein in 1336, for nearly 2 years, on account of numerous acts of tyranny and oppressive exactions which he had committed against them. Not satisfied with this barbarous punishment, they were on the point of executing him, when the emperor demanded that his life should be spared, on condition of his paying a fine of 3000 dollars, and adding seven new towers to the town walls. 2 Halberstadt.-Inns: Hotel von Preussen; good. Prinz Eugen. A very ancient city of 18,000 inhabs., on an arm of the Holzemme. The Cathedral, Dom, is a very remarkable Gothic edifice, chiefly in the pointed style, erected between 1235 and 1491, except the lower part of the west front, which is older. throne, rich in pointed ornaments, a The bishop's fine window over the altar, a roodloft (1510); the monument of the Margrave Frederick of Brandenburg, the carved work of the Bishop's Throne, and an altar-piece by John Raphon von Einbach, all deserve notice. The Church of Unsere Liebe Frau (our Lady), in the Byzantine style (date 1005-1147), recently restored, has a series of bas-reliefs, of that age, and some wall paintings which are curious. Mansion-house, and a Theatre. There are some curiously ornamented old timber framed houses here on the Markt. Rathskeller and Schuh-hof. Near the Rathhaus is a statue of Roland (see p. 384.), and opposite is the Bischofshof, now turned to other uses. The best view of the town is from the Spiegelschen-berg. An excursion may be conveniently made from hence to the Rosstrappe, in the Hartz. (Route 73.) Railway from Halberstadt to Magdeburg, 73 Germ. m. 14 Nienhagen Stat. 1 Gr. Oschersleben Stat. Descending the Weser from Münden, by steamer, rt. The wooded hills of the Bramwald. 1. Reinhardswald. 1. Veckerhagen. 1800 inhab. Here was formerly a castle of the Electors of Hesse, now Chemical Works: in the neighbourhood are iron mines. The Weser makes a great bend round the ruins of the castle of Bamburg, rt., which remain long in sight. rt. Bursfelde, here was a Benedictine abbey of the 13th cent., now an estate of the King of Hanover. The church is the best preserved monument of Byzantine architecture in Germany. rt. Lippoldsberge. 650 inhab. fierce engagement took place here between the Saxons and the Francs under the Archbp. of Mayence. A rt. Bodenfelde, both these are picturesque villages. The banks of the river are here covered with a thick forest, part of the romantic scenery of the Solnick: the river forces its way among For the rest of the line to Magde- high rocks. burg see Route 66. ROUTE 74 A. DESCENT OF THE WESER. BREMEN. CASSEL TO Steamers of a company called the Weser Steam Navigation Co. have since 1844 navigated the Weser between Hannoverisch Münden, and Bremen. The navigation is sometimes interrupted in summer by want of water. The distance by the river from Münden to Hameln is 18 Germ. m.; from thence to Minden 9 Germ. m. Steamers start daily, descending in 2 days: ascending in 3, halting for the night at Minden and Hameln. Fare 6 Thalers. 2d class 3 Thl. The scenery down to Minden is pleasing, with many points of interest; below Minden the banks of the river are flat and uninteresting. The Weser has a course of 62 Germ. m. 300 Engl. m., with a fall of 397 ft. to the North Sea. A 1. Karlshafen. Inn: Schwan. 1600 inhab. at the junction of the Diemel with the Weser, in a picturesque situation, with cliffs of red sandstone. railway was opened this year (1849) between Cassel and this town, which is intended to form a great commercial place. There are large magazines built by the Landgrave Charles in 1700; and the French Huguenots were hospitably received by him in 1699 and settled here. (Rte. 71.) In the neighbourhood, higher up the river, are two settlements, named by them in the style of the Puritans, Gottestreue, and Gewissenruhe, (Truth of God and Rest of Conscience). The inhabitants still preserve their French features. A little below Karlshafen, the Prussian territory begins on the 1. bank. 1. Heerstelle. A stronghold of Charlemagne, where in 797, during his campaign against the Saxons, he received the ambassadors of the Avars, and of Arragon and Castile. It is named after the cradle of his family, Cassel to Münden 23 Germ. m. by -Héristal, on the Meuse. No trace of the original castle remains. the post-road. (See Rte. 72.) Its site was of the Teufelsmühle (the Devil's mill), mentioned in legends of the 13th cent. rt. Bodenwerder. A small Hanoverian town on an island with a boat bridge. The red sandstone displays itself in a peculiar manner on the rt. bank. 1. Kemnade, with a flying bridge. It was the site of a nunnery founded in 1025. The old ch. contains the tombs of many noble families. 1. Hehlen. The stately château, surmounted by 4 towers, was built in 1560, by Count Schulenberg, in whose family it still remains. It was one of this family, who as Field Marshal in the service of the republic of Venice, so bravely defended Corfu in 1716 against the Turks. Turkish arms and horse-tail standards, his trophies, are still preserved here. rt. Hagenossen, with a mansion, formerly belonging to the Counts of Eberstein. 1. Grohnde has a monument of a battle between Duke Wm. of Brunswick, and the Bp. of Hildesheim, 9. April, 1422. 1. Ohr, has a new church, inscribed "Der Geist ist frey, und ohne Zwang die Glaube." From the top of the Ohrberg, above the village, there is a beautiful view towards the high land about Pyrmont. rt. Hameln. Rte. 71. Coaches hence to Pyrmont (3 Germ. m.), and to Hanover. rt. Fischbeck, in a fertile country: here is an ancient church and nunnery, founded 954, now a school for young ladies of noble families. rt. Oldendorf. Inns: Stadt Cassel, Rathskeller. 1400 inhab., a town of the Elector of Hesse. 1 m. E. rises the Hohenstein, a table rock 1075 ft. high, 1. Heinsen, below this the Weser with precipitous sides. N.W. from makes a great bend to 1. Polle: here are the ruins of a castle destroyed in the 30 Years' War. It had been the principal castle of the counts of Eberstein. rt. Dolme. A singular cliff goes by the name of the Pastor von Dolme. Opposite l., in a narrow gorge, a small stream descends and turns the wheel Oldendorf is the castle of Schaumburg, built 1030, the family seat of the Counts of that name. In one part of the castle is a gate called "the gate of Heaven," so called from the beautiful view suddenly opened to the visitor. A cliff, called Paschenburg, 1200 ft. high, hangs over the castle. An hotel, much resorted to, is found on this elevated spot, the residence of the ranger of the surrounding forests. 1. Rinteln. Inns: Stadt Bremen, Rathskeller. 4000 inhab., capital of the Hessian county of Schauenburg, with a stone bridge over the Weser. Until 1809 there was an university here. A beautiful road leads hence to the watering place of Eilsen; to the Ludnerclippe, 3 m. off, a cliff, from which there is a fine view; and to the Arensburg, a castle belonging to the Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, with a collection of antiquities, a picture gallery, and furnished in the style of the middle ages. It is shown to strangers. 1. Möllenbeck, formerly a convent, containing a gothic church. 1. Varenholz, with a castle, dating from 1595, picturesquely situated on the slope of a hill. 1. Vlotho, a Prussian town of 2200 inhab., with considerable trade. 1. Rheme, containing salt works belonging to the Prussian government. The brine is raised from an Artesian well 2000 feet deep, and at its natural heat possesses medicinal properties. Here the Minden and Cologne railroad crosses the Weser. On 1. Wedigenstein, with a ruined Saxon castle, the residence of the Saxon Duke Wittekind, the successful opponent of Charlemagne. rt. the range of the Süntel; and 1. that of the Wedenberg, approach and form Weserscharte the Porta Westphalica, through which the Weser enters the plain of N. Germany. The hills immediately above the pass are called, 1. Wittekindsberg, on the rt. Jacobsberg. the former, 780 ft. high, is a tower 60 ft., dedicated 1830, "to the admirers of nature," and not far off from it is St. Margaret's chapel, built in the 14th century. Jacobsberg was formerly called Mt. Anthony, but the present name was given by Frederic the Great, from one of his old soldiers who settled here as a vintager, and supplied the king with excellent grapes. At the foot of the Jacobsberg is rt. Hausberge. 1. Minden. See Rte. 66. Below Minden down to Bremen, the shores of the river are flat. 1. Todtenhausen, scene of the battle of Minden, 9 Aug. 1759. Rte. 66. 1. Petershagen: the former residence of the Bp. of Minden. 1. Schlüsselburg, with an ancient house, containing public offices, formerly an episcopal stronghold. 1. Stolzenau: Inn, D. of York. First Hanoverian place on the lower Weser, a pretty village, with an old castle, formerly the residence of the Counts of Hoya: afterwards an occasional resort of George II. of England. 1. Liebenau, also a castle of the Counts Hoya. rt. Nienburg, a station on the Bremen and Hanover railroad. Rte. 72a. rt. Drackenburg, here the Smalkaldic League defeated the Imperialists, 23 May, 1547. 1. Hoya. Inn, Stadt Hanover. 2000 inhab. An iron bridge here crosses the Weser. In the neighbourhood is the Holy Mount, covered with trees, where, from time immemorial, vast numbers of herons have built nests. rt. At a distance above the junction of the Aller with the Weser, is seen the town of Verden, with its cathedral. Rte. 72 a. rt. Arbergen is the birthplace of Olbers the astronomer, and Heeren the historian, |