the Mal itted brow ng grab bad for the f uns rear t adt to hel for its bea mountain r 1). because a range Its chief Zwingenberg Stat. close under the woody Melibocus. you may distinguish the tower of Strasburg cathedral, at a distance of above 100 Eng. m. Towards the North, the view reaches the mountains in the neighbourhood of Giessen, in Hesse, 60 m. distant. To the East lies the Odenwald, over the chaotic wooded hills of which the prospect stretches as far as the vicinity of Würtzburg—a distance of 60 or 70 m.; while on the West, across the Rhine, the eye ranges over the smooth plain, till it is bounded by the blue broken tops of the Mont Tonnerre and the Vosges mountains, at a nearly equal distance."-Autumn near the Rhine. Those who wish to ascend the Melibocus, should leave the railroad here (Inn, Löwe). Take refreshments with you -none are to be had above, and ask for the key of the tower. The visit, including ascent and descent by Schloss Auerbach, the best way to return to the road, occupies 3 hours' walking. The tower alone commands the view on the side of the Odenwald, over its forest-clad hills; the keys are kept at Auerbach, and at Alsbach. The whole excursion to the Melibocus, Felsberg, Felsenmeer, and through the valley of Schönberg back to Auerbach and Zwingenberg occupies about 6 hours. [Those who intend to extend their walk through the ODENWALD continue by a convenient path to another mountain, the Felsberg, S m. off, surmounted by a hunting-loage (Jägerhaus), which also commands a fine view. The valley which separates it from the Melibōcus is one of the wildest in the Odenwald. The Melibōcus, or Malchen, is a A little way from the Jägerhaus, on conical hill of granite, 1632 Paris feet the declivity of the hill, by the side of above the sea: it is the highest of the path leading to Reichenbach, lies the Odenwald chain of hills, and is the Riesensaule (Giant's Column), a giconspicuous far and wide, on account gantic column of hard syenite, similar of the white tower on its top, erected to the rock of which the mountain is 1772, as a Belvedere. The view from composed, and without doubt quarboundary it is most extensive, owing to the vast ex- ried on the spot; it is about 30 feet panse of flat in the valley of the Rhine long, nearly 4 in diameter, and taper"The more distant objects are, ing towards one end. Its origin and Spires, and Mannheim with its slated use are unknown, but it must be of dome to the left; Worms and its Go- great antiquity. Not far off lies a vast block of the same stone, called Riesenaltar, bearing on it incisions and The appearance of these vestiges of human power and art in the depths of a sequestered forest is peculiarly striking, and not easily accounted for. Some have supposed that they are of German origin, and were lity and below. t it overloss tation of by the glimps thic cathedral, opposite; and the dark vine-coree h their al towers of Mayence, lower down. The ains a tower is built on the very edge of the marks of the saw. darr of th with the r $ bounde ont Tonser declivity. The smoking villages, the at, through bright sun, and appeared little removed intended to form part of a temple of or 60 m towns are ne-covered rchards, the from the base of the mountain, from Odin. It is more probable that they are the work of Roman artificers, during the time they were established in this part of Germany, which was boot of the of the Rheingau mountains, which included in the Agri Decumates. her bound the view on that side. The es along to Junction with the Rhine are very visi- monument of that victory Bergstrase denwald, ble, as also that of the Main. By the It was at one time proposed to erect the more easily started than executed. singular accumulation of fragments of syenite, some of vast size, heaped upon one another, and extending from near the top of the Felsberg almost to Reichenbach. They are of the same kind of rock as the mountain itself, so cannot have been transported from a distance. They appear like an avalanche of stones, hurled by some convulsion of nature from the summit. From this point again the traveller has the choice either of returning to Zwingenberg Station, by way of Reichenbach and Auerbach, or of proceeding on to Erbach. About 18 m. from Auerbach, along a tolerable road, passing through Schoenberg, Reichenbach, the hill of Winterkasten, and Reichelsheim, lies Erbach (Inn, Post). This small town is situated in a narrow valley overlooked by high rocks, composed of the new red sandstone (Bunter Sandstein) and muschelkalk of geologists. The Castle of the Counts of Erbach, a modern building, erected on the site of an ancient baronial residence, the greater part of which, except the donjon tower, was removed in the last century, contains a very interesting Armoury, highly deserving of a visit. There are many suits, arranged, some on horseback, in the attitude of the tournament, others on foot. The history of every one is known; many have belonged to ancestors of the family, others have been worn by robber knights (Raubritter), not a few of whom expiated their crimes on the wheel or scaffold. Those which have a more general historical interest are, the suits of Philip the_Good of Burgundy, the Emp. Frederick III., Maximilian I. of Austria, Gian Gia. como Medici, Markgrave Albert of Brandenburg, Gustavus Adolphus and Wallenstein. The two last, with many other suits in the collection, were brought from the arsenal at Nuremberg. Here is besides the panoply of Franz of Sickingen, and his friend Goetz of Berlichingen, with the iron hand, brought from Heilbronn, and a small suit made for Thomele, the dwarf of the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, and worn by him on some festive occasion when he was presented in a pie to the company seated at table. There are other curiosities in the castle, such as fire-arms of various periods, painted glass, antiques, vases, &c. ; in short, it is highly worthy of a visit from strangers. In the chapel are the coffins in which Eginhard, secretary and sonin-law of Charlemagne, and the faithful Emma his wife, were buried; they were removed from the church in Seligenstadt in 1810. Eginhard was an ancestor of the Erbach family. Erbach is connected by a post road, not very good, with Darmstadt; the distance is 5 Germ. m. There is also a way from Erbach to Heidelberg by Beerfelden and Eberbach on the Nec kar, from whence the descent of that river may be made in a boat, or the road along the banks may be followed. About 9 m. N. W. from Erbach, between Reichelsheim and Bilstein, and near the former place, in a wild and secluded mountain district, surrounded by forests, lies the Castle of Rodenstein, the seat of the singular superstition of the wild Jäger, the Knight of Roden. stein, who, issuing from out the ruined walls of the neighbouring castle of Schnellert, his usual abode, announces the approach of war by traversing the air with a noisy cavalcade, to the castle of Rodenstein, situated on a solitary mountain opposite. "The strange noises heard on the eve of battles are authenticated by affidavits preserved in the village of Reichelshein; some are of so recent a date as 1743 and 1796, and there are persons who profess to have been convinced by their eyes as well as their ears. In this manner the people assert that they were fore warned of the victories of Leipzic and Waterloo. If the spectral host return at once to Schnellert, nothing mate rial occurs; but if the huntsman tarry with his train, then some momentous event, threatening evil and calamity to Germany, is expected by the people to occur. The flying army of Rodenstein may probably be owing to a simple cause. The power of the wind is very great, and its roar singularly solemn | by man; one of its tall slender towers and sonorous in these vast districts of fell in 1821, and the other threatens to forest. In the pine forests it some- follow it. The hill on which it stands times tears up thousands of trees in a is composed of granite and gneiss. A night."- Autumn near the Rhine. shady and easy path conducts from the ruins to the Melibōcus; guides and mules are to be hired by those who require them, and carriages can safely ascend. A little S. of Auerbach, is a hillock in the middle of a field, called Landberg, upon which, in ancient times the Burggraves of Starkenburg held, in the open air, their tribunal called Gaugericht. The legend of the Wild Huntsman has been attributed, with some probability, to another cause-the passage at night of vast flocks of the larger birds of passage, as cranes, storks, &c., through the air in their annual migra2 tions. The rustling of so many wings, and the wild cries of the fowl, heard in the darkness of night, and in the solitude of the forest, may easily have furnished the superstitious peasant with the idea of the aërial huntsman and his pack. Since the dissolution of the German empire, the spectre, it is said, has given up his nocturnal chase; at least, the inhabitants of the farm-house standing directly under the Rodenstein have not, for many years, been disturbed by noise or sight that can be traced to a ghostly origin. There is a road from Reichelsheim by Fürth to Weinheim Stat. on the Bergstrasse.] The Railroad runs nearly parallel with the Bergstrasse from Darmstadt to Weinheim, where it diverges to cross the Neckar at Ladenburg, beyond which it joins the railroad between Mannheim and Heidelberg half way between those towns. On the 1. not far beyond the Zwingenberg Station lies Auerbach (Inns: Krone (Crown), good; — Rose), one of the prettiest villages on the Bergstrasse. It is sometimes resorted to as a watering-place, on account of a min. eral spring in the neighbourhood. In the village itself there is nothing remarkable; but it is worth while to explore the beauties of its neighbourhood. A gradual ascent, practicable for a light char, leads past the Brunnen to the ruins of the Castle of Auerberg, one of the most picturesque in the Odenwald, 2 m. from the village. It was dismantled by the French under Turenne, 1674, and time is fast completing the work of destruction begun A Bensheim Stat. Inn, Sonne. town of 4000 inhab., with a new church in the round style, built by Moller. Lorsch is now About 3 m. W. of Bensheim, off the road, is the ruined Abbey of Lorsch, the oldest Gothic edifice in this part of Germany. A fragment of a portico, which served as an entrance into the original church, consecrated in 774, in the presence of Charlemagne, his queen, and two sons, still exists. The rest of the building is of the 11th cent., and exhibits a specimen of the debased Roman style. A part of the building, at present used as a storehouse for fruit, dates from 1090. only interesting to the antiquarian and architect. The holy monks who founded the abbey not only spread civilisation and religion through the surrounding country, but redeemed it from the state of a wilderness, like the back-woods of America, and brought it under cultivation. In process of time, the priory surpassed in wealth and extent of possession many bishoprics and principalities. Duke Thassilo of Bavaria, deposed by Charlemagne, for treason, ended his days here as a monk. Heppenheim Stat. Inn, Halbe Mond (Half Moon), good, capital trout, and wine of the country. This small town of 3700 inhab., like most others on the Bergstrasse, has an ancient and decayed appearance, but is prettily situated, The church was built by Charlemagne. manding height behind rise the towers of Starkenburg Castle, built 1064 by the abbots of Lorsch as a defence against On a com the attacks of the German Emperors. It afterwards belonged to the Archbishops of Mayence, who considered it their strongest fortress, and maintained a garrison in it down to the time of the Seven Years' War. It was taken by the Spaniards under Cordova (1621), by the Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus (1631), and was twice fruitlessly besieged by Turenne (1645 and 1674). The ascent-half an hour's drive by a rough road—from Heppenheim is not very difficult, and is well repaid by the beautiful view. The ground round these picturesque ruins is tastefully laid out in a garden. A post road runs from Heppenheim through Lorsch and Bürstadt to Worms, 2 Germ m. A little way out of Heppenheim the railroad crosses the frontier of Darmstadt into Baden. Heinsbach Stat. Near here, is the country seat of M. Rothschild of Frankfurt, surmounted by 2 towers. He has large estates here. Weinheim Stat. (Inns: Der Karlsberg, near the Post; Pfälzer Hof, near the bridge on the Weschnitz) is an ancient town, surrounded by towers and a ditch; it lies on the Weschnitz, and has 4900 inhab., whose wealth consists in the orchards and vineyards around. The best wine of the Bergstrasse is the Hubberger, which grows near Weinheim. Above the town is the castle of Windeck, remarkable for its cylindrical donjon tower. The Railroad beyond Weinheim takes a bend to the S. W. away from the Bergstrasse, and makes direct for the Neckar. Gross Sachsen Stat. Beyond this Ladenburg Stat., a town with walls and towers, and a handsome church (St. Gallus) on the rt. bank of the Neckar, which the Railway here crosses by a fine bridge. Friedrichsfeld Stat.-Junction here with the Railway from Mannheim to Heidelberg, from which places this station is nearly equally distant. Schwetzingen Gardens are 1 m. off (p. 529.); the ruined castle of Strahlenberg, above the town of Schriessheim, may be discerned on the left. HEIDELBERG STAT.-Inns: P. Karl, to the in the market-place nearest castle, good, table-d'hôte good;— Badischer Hof; - Hotel Schrieder, near the railway terminus, comfortable;H. de Hollande, near the bridge, good; - Adler, near the P. Karl, clean and moderate. If pressed for time, you may walk in hour from the railway to the Klingelthor, thence along the inside of the town wall in hour to the Castle; returning by the footpath into the Carlsplatz, and through the town back to the Railway. From the great Ch. a street leads N. in 5 minutes to the Bridge, which is a fine point of view. The beauty of the Bergstrasse has been perhaps exaggerated; that of Heidelberg cannot be too much extolled; it is charmingly situated on the left bank of the Neckar, on a narrow ledge between the river and the castle rock. It is almost limited to a single street, nearly 3 m. long, from the Railway Stat. to the Heilbronngate. It Few has 13,500 inhab. towns in Europe have experienced to a greater extent, or more frequently, the horrors of war, than the ill-starred Heidelberg. Previous to the Thirty Years' War, it displayed in its buildings all the splendour arising from flourishing commerce and the residence of the court of the Electors Palatine of the Rhine. It has been five times bombarded, twice laid in ashes, and thrice taken by assault and delivered over to pillage. In 1622 (the fatal period of the Thirty Years' War), the ferocious Tilly took the town by storm after a cruel siege and bombardment of nearly a month, and gave it up to be sacked for 3 days together. The garrison retreated into the castle, headed by an Englishman named Herbert; but the death of their commander, who was shot, compelled them to surrender in a few days. The imperial troops retained possession of the place for 11 years; after which it was retaken by the Swedes, who were hardly to be preferred as friends to the Imperialists as foes. But Heidelberg was destined to suffer far worse evils from the French. In 1674, the Elector, J 3 Charles Louis, incurred the displeasure of Louis XIV.; and a French army, under Turenne, was in consequence let loose upon the Palatinate, carrying slaughter, fire, and desolation before it. The Elector beheld with distress, from the castle in which he had shut himself up, the inroads of foreign troops, and flame and smoke rising up along the plain from burning towns and villages. Unable to oppose the French with equal force at the head of an army, but anxious to avenge the wrongs of his country, he resolved, in a spirit which some may deem Quixotic, others chivalrous, to endeavour to end the contest with his own sword. Accordingly he sent a cartel to Marshal Turenne, challenging him to single combat. The French general returned a civil answer, but did not accept it. The ambition of Louis XIV. led him, on the death of the Elector, to lay claim to the Palatinate on behalf of the Duke of Orleans; and another French army, more wicked than the first, was marched across the Rhine. Heidelberg was taken and burnt, 1688, by Melac, a general whose brutality and cruelty surpassed that of Tilly. But it was at the following siege under Chamilly, in 1693, that it was reserved for the French to display the most merciless tyranny, and practise excesses worthy of fiends rather than man, upon the town and its inhabitants, paralleled only in the French Revolution, and which will ever render the name of Frenchman odious in the Palatinate. The castle was betrayed through the cowardice or treachery of the governor, with the garrison, and many of the townspeople who had fled to it for refuge. The cruelty of the treatment they met with was, in this instance, heightened by religious intolerance, and no mercy was shown to the Protestants. On this occasion the castle was entirely ruined. The University, founded 1386, is one of the oldest in Germany: the number of students is about 700. It is as a school of law and medicine that Heidelberg is most distinguished. Many of the professors at the present time are men of great reputation: Gmelin, distinguished in natural history and chemistry; Tiedemann, in anatomy; Paulus, in theology; Mittermeyer, in criminal law. Gervinus and Schlosser reside here in retirement. As an edifice the University is not remarkable. It is a plain and not very large house in the small square (Ludwigs Platz) near the middle of the town. The Library, in a building by itself, consists of 120,000 volumes, besides MSS. A portion of the famous Palatine Library, which was carried off by the Bavarians in the Thirty Years' War, and sent to the Vatican as a present to the Pope, and as a trophy of the success of the Catholic cause, was restored to Heidelberg, by Pope Pius VII. in 1815. The volumes sent back, 890 in number, relate principally to German history. It is related, that Tilly, being in want of straw after taking the castle, littered his cavalry with books and MSS. from the library of the Elector, at that time one of the most valuable in Europe. The cu riosities of this collection as it at present stands are, a Codex of the Greek Anthology, 11th century; MSS. of Thucydides and Plutarch, of the 10th and 11th, and many autographs of remarkable persons; Luther's MS. translation of Isaiah; his Exhortation to Prayer against the Turks; and a copy of the Heidelberg Catechism, annotated by him; the Prayer-book of the Electress Elizabeth (James I.'s daughter); a Mass-book, ornamented with miniatures, by John Dentzel of Ulm, 1499. The library is freely open to all persons for 2 hours daily, except on Sundays. The Anatomical and Zoological Museums are placed in a building in the suburb, formerly a Dominican convent. Several professors have good Private Collections; the best are Creuzers' cabinet of antiquities; Leonhard's fossils and minerals, particularly rich in specimens illustrative of the geology of this part of Germany; and Professor Bronn's fossils of the neighbourhood There is also a dealer of Heidelberg. in minerals, the produce of the neigh |