Tyrol and Its People

Till the middle of the last century the city occupied a comparatively restricted area within the old walls. And as a direct consequence of the numerous churches, convents, and other ecclesiastical buildings occupying a great deal of the space available the townsfolk were compelled to crowd their dwellings together, and to build the many storied houses which one finds in the older portion of the town in the neighbourhood of the Herrngasse, Sigmund-Haffnergasse, and Getreidegasse. It is in these narrow and gloomy—though undoubtedly picturesque—streets, in the architecture of which one can in many instances trace Italian influence, that the great part of the population dwelt, and much of the trade of the town was done.

With more modern ideas the distaste for such confinement among the more ambitious and well-to-do of the commercial and artisan classes became manifest, and when at length the old walls were in places pulled down a new suburb arose on the other side of the river—as it did at Innsbruck—in the neighbourhood of the railway station, possessing wide modern streets, finer shops, and palatial villa residences, and also smaller houses for the occupation of the working-class community.

In this portion of the town one finds not only some of the best hotels, but the Kurhaus with its pleasant gardens (closely adjoining the Mirabell Garden), the fine Theatre, and the imposing church of St. Andreas in the Gothic style. Opposite the railway station, set in a recess of foliage in the garden adjoining the Hôtel de l'Europe, is the famous statue of the Kaiserin Elizabeth, a pilgrimage shrine for most visitors to the town. The statue itself has been described as "simple but beautiful." To us it has always seemed by no means an adequate or even very skilful representation of a beautiful and queenly personality. The pose is not particularly happy, and the whole has to our mind a "doll-like" effect.

As time went by Salzburg reclaimed much ground from the rocky bed of the swiftly flowing river by confining the stream within more restricted limits. In former times, when the town was enclosed with walls, there was no such necessity, and the Salzach took its own course, encroaching much upon the lower-lying land along its banks. But nowadays on this reclaimed ground shady avenues of trees have been planted, which give a charming and distinctive character to this part of the city. Here, too, are some fine villas, where not so very many years ago was waste or wooded land, set amid trees and made pleasant by beautiful gardens, in which there seems to bloom a profusion of flowers all the year round.

The position and future prosperity of the town as a tourist resort was assured when Salzburg became the starting-point of a second main line of railway leading to Innsbruck via Kitzbühel, and the picturesque Unter-Inn Thal, and the centre of a number of branch lines.

It is through these modern developments that the life of Salzburg has so materially changed even within the memory of those who first visited it but, comparatively speaking, a few years ago. From a town of ecclesiastical and almost mediæval aloofness from the outside world, and from one which had for a considerable period seen its growth arrested and its life stagnant, it has sprung into being as a favourite summer and winter resort not merely for tourists, but also for those to whom the older portion of the town, its many historic buildings, castle, and fine churches, proves attractive.

SALZBURG'S ANCIENT FORTRESS

The most prominent of all buildings in Salzburg, and the one which has for most visitors the greatest attraction, is the fine old fortress of Hohen-Salzburg set high above the older town upon a tree-enshrouded and rocky spur of the Mönchsberg.

The ancient fortress, which has witnessed so many stirring events within its walls, and from which past generations of inhabitants have looked down upon almost equally dramatic and stirring doings in the town below, that throughout the ages defied capture, and at last came to be looked upon as impregnable, was founded nearly eight and a half centuries ago by Archbishop Gebhard.

As the centuries went by many additions were made to the original buildings, and the present castle dates in its chief portions from the last few years of the fifteenth and the first few years of the sixteenth centuries. These additions were principally the work of Leonard von Keutschach, Archbishop of Salzburg at the close of the Middle Ages. He was one of the great "building" archbishops to whose energies and enterprise the town at various periods owed so much. Of peasant origin he was not ashamed of his humble birth, and, being gifted with a sense of humour, chose a turnip as his armorial bearings. So frequently, indeed, are representations of this vegetable met with on escutcheons in various parts of the town, that the remark of one traveller who observed that "the Salzburgers appear to have sprung out of the earth" may be held excused.

Severe looking as is the fine old fortress (now given over to the uses of barracks), in whose courtyards princes, archbishops, nobles, and many famous men of the past centuries have walked, it was, however, not merely a strong bulwark of defence, truly "ein feste burg" dominating the town and plain, but also a palace. Although the castle has been stripped of much of its magnificence there happily still remain traces of it in the so-called Fürstenzimmer (state apartments), which formerly occupied by the rulers of the Province were furnished and decorated with all the splendour which marked the most lavish period of Renaissance influence. Chief amongst the relics of the latter are the beautiful and delicately carved panelling, the gilt work, and the richly carved and moulded ceilings of the principal apartments. In wandering through these now almost deserted rooms one is tempted to conjure up the scenes of magnificence they must have witnessed. Tragedy, comedy, chivalry, hate, joy, sorrow, success, and failure, all, the often lurid though magnificent gamut of life in the Middle Ages, must have been welded into the very fabric and atmosphere of this impressive and deeply interesting building. Among the chief relics of bygone splendour and pomp of circumstance there remains the beautiful and it is said unique Majolica stove, a truly wonderful example of Gothic ceramic art.

There are many interesting and quaint corners within the triple line of walls, which shut off access to the castle and proved so useful on many an occasion in former times, united with the fortifications of the Mönchsberg known as the Burgerwehr; but few excel in picturesqueness the old courtyard with its shady and famous Linden tree, ancient well, and time-worn walls. Here, as one lingers, towards sundown one sometimes hears the sweet-toned though halting notes of the organ within the tower playing some familiar hymn tune. The trembling notes, like those of an old singer whose voice has become feeble but has retained much of its sweetness, float out upon the still evening air with a mystic appeal which few that have heard them can, we think, have failed to have felt. For ourselves it is one of the lasting and unforgettable memories of Salzburg as well as of its castle.

Nowadays the cable railway takes one to the summit in a few minutes, and one is spared the fatigue of the long climb up by the Nonnberg. The old Reckturm, in the dungeons of which unlucky prisoners were confined, and in the tower itself the terrible instruments of torture were kept and the torture chamber was situated, nowadays has a much more pleasant office to fulfil as an excellent "look out" place from which to view the widely extended prospect of the town and Salzach valley towards the north.

HOHEN-SALZBURG'S SIEGES

Many an assault was made during the Middle Ages and succeeding eras upon the old grey fortress, seldom resulting in anything save disaster or disappointment for the attacking force. Even the peasants, who, during the terrible rebellion of 1525, made repeated attacks upon the castle with the utmost fury and determination, failed to accomplish their object of capturing the stronghold, Matthew Land, the then Archbishop, and the high ecclesiastics who had taken refuge within its unscalable walls, to whom short shrift would have been given by the peasant leaders. For ages the Church had trodden the peasantry under foot, and in the Peasants' Rebellion there were terrible reprisals. But although the insurgents came near capturing Hohen-Salzburg they did not succeed. Their appliances were too primitive for successful assault, and their shots did little or no damage to the strong thick walls or buildings. On a marble column in the castle are to be seen the marks left by a cannon ball, which was one of the few that succeeded in entering the castle, and in this case it was through a window! A century later, during the Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648 which devastated the whole of the then German Empire, waged between the Evangelic Union under the Elector Palatine and the Catholics led by Maximilian the Great Duke of Bavaria, Salzburg, doubtless on account of the fact that its fortress was esteemed impregnable, was one of the few places left at peace and unmolested. We have already mentioned the fact that the Archbishops were not only exceedingly powerful ecclesiastics but also great diplomatists, and there is little doubt but that to their clever policy must also be attributed the town's immunity from attack during that troublous and universally disturbed period.

Of the many distinguished ecclesiastics who have occupied the See of Salzburg as its Archbishops, the most interesting and perhaps the most important were two, separated one from the other by but a few years. One was Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau (1587-1611?) and the other Paris von Lodron.

BUILDERS OF RENOWN

Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, from having received his education in Rome, then the centre of Art and culture, came to Salzburg steeped not alone in the traditions of Italian Art but anxious to impress upon the town his knowledge and taste. He found an old Roman and neither handsome nor picturesque Cathedral, dating from the eighth century, in place of churches such as he had been accustomed to in Italy, ornate and beautiful. He is reputed to have been at no pains to conceal his distaste for the building, and when a few years before his death it was destroyed during one of the destructive fires, there were those who even accused the Archbishop of having himself set the church on fire, or at least of having instigated others to do so. But there is little truth in this story, though the Archbishop's satisfaction at the destruction of the ancient, inconvenient, and unornamental structure seems beyond question. That he fully intended to erect upon the site one of the finest churches north of the Italian frontier there is little doubt, but, alas! for human aims, he was not destined even to see the foundations laid.

To him, notwithstanding his despotic character, his restless disposition, his shameful intrigue with the beautiful Salome Alt, the city of Salzburg owes a great deal, for he did much to transform an unpicturesque and dirty town with narrow mediæval streets into one of the finest cities of Germany. Many of the beautiful buildings, including the Gabriel Chapel, the Chapter House, the Neubau, and the arcades of the Sebastian Cemetery, owed their existence to his artistic taste and desire for improvement.

It was to Paris von Lodron, the founder of the University which was dissolved in 1810 during the Bavarian occupation, his second successor, fell the task as well as the honour of giving to Salzburg a Cathedral worthy of it and of its long line of famous Archbishops and many historical memories. The original plan, which historians tell us would have resulted in a church of such magnificence that it would have been almost unrivalled by that of any in Europe, had to be considerably modified for several reasons, chief amongst which were considerations of cost and space. The former was rendered obligatory from the heavy expense entailed in keeping up the fortifications of the city during the time (the Thirty Years' War) the Cathedral was in course of construction. However, notwithstanding these circumstances, Paris von Lodron's work, which occupies a splendid position in the midst of three large squares, was designed chiefly by an Italian architect named Santino Solari (possibly from plans by Scamozzi of Florence), assisted by others in the late Renaissance style, is one of the most magnificent churches in Austria, although the stucco ornamentation is of a rather florid character. From the exterior, which is rather plain and severe, although it possesses a fine façade built of Unterberg marble, it is impossible to gain any conception of the charm and even splendour of the building. But immediately upon entering it, one is impressed with its beautiful proportions, and the resemblance to a marked degree in the general plan to that of St. Peter's, Rome. Indeed, there is little doubt as to the source from which Solari drew much of his inspiration, although due credit must be given to him for original details, the proportions, and general beauty of effect.

The treasury of the church is worth seeing, as it is rich in relics of bygone ages, including an exquisite seventeenth-century monstrance encrusted with 1800 precious stones, rich vestments, and a fine crozier set with gems; and none should miss the interesting fourteenth-century bronze Romanesque font which stands in one of the side chapels to the left of the entrance.

In its Cathedral Salzburg possesses a gem of architectural beauty which has been the admiration of generations of architects and students, and (as one authority says) "has probably provided more inspiration for the artist and the student of architecture than any other church north of the Italian Alps."

On the Residenz-Platz, the centre of which is adorned by a beautiful fountain nearly fifty feet in height dating from the latter part of the seventeenth century, consisting of a colossal figure of Atlas surrounded by equally colossal hippopotami, the work of Anton Dario, is situated the ancient palace of the Archbishops, formerly known as the Residenz, now the Imperial Residence. This fine palace which was erected at various dates from the end of the sixteenth down to the first two decades of the eighteenth century contains many traces of the splendour which characterized the larger buildings which were erected by ecclesiastics at the time the influence of the Renaissance was at its height. The ceilings and wall of the principal salons and halls are especially notable, and in some cases are most elaborately decorated. The Government Offices which are opposite the Residenz although known as the Neugebäude (possibly because they included the Post and Telegraph office), in reality date, at any rate in part, from the reign of Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, although they have been modernized, altered, and added to from time to time. In the octagonal tower was placed, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, a beautiful carillon, the work of a watchmaker named Sauter at the commencement of the seventeenth century, known as the Glockenspiel, which chimes thrice daily at 7 a.m., 11 a.m., and 6 p.m.

The Archbishops of Salzburg were not only in past ages ecclesiastics and diplomatists but also sportsmen. Most, indeed, seem to have been great lovers of horses. Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, Salzburg, built some magnificent stables adorned with marble on the slopes of the Mönchsberg; attached to them were a covered riding school for use in winter, and another open-air one for summer use. Though the stables themselves are now barracks, the open-air school is still one of the sights of the town. In the side of the Mönchsberg were hewn in 1693 three great galleries for the accommodation of spectators of the sports in the summer riding school; they have long ago been overgrown with ivy and creepers which add greatly to their picturesqueness, but are still occasionally used for the purpose for which they were originally constructed.

In the winter riding school there is an interesting ceiling fresco depicting a joust or tournament dating from the last decade of the seventeenth century.

Several of the Archbishops of Salzburg appear to have had a liking for rock excavations, and the Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach was one of the number. In the latter half of the eighteenth century, in 1767 to be precise, he constructed the Neuthor, a tunnel through the solid rock some four hundred and fifty feet in length, which it took two years to make. It pierced through the Mönchsberg and thus united the suburb of Riedenberg with the rest of the town. At the Riedenberg end is a statue to St. Sigismund in commemoration of the Archbishop, who placed his own medallion at the town end of the tunnel with the Latin inscription "Te saxa loquntur" (The very stones praise thee) above it.

THE SCHLOSS MIRABELL

To the Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, or rather to his passion for the beautiful daughter of a Salzburg merchant whose name was perhaps not inappropriately Salome, the charming Schloss Mirabell chiefly owes its existence. Here (so the story goes) the beautiful Salome Alt was installed as mistress, amid splendour and lavish expenditure befitting a King's favourite. For her were constructed and laid out delightful gardens, with fine terraces, shady walks, wide lawns of exquisitely "velvety" turf, the like of which we have seldom seen even in the "grass" counties of England; quaintly shaped flower-beds, fountains and ponds, mazes and avenues of fine trees. For her, too, were numerous groups of statuary, and single figures of a mythological and artistic character installed. Some of these are of considerable merit; and few are without distinctive decorative value in the surroundings amid which they have been placed.

In the gardens themselves there is a constant succession of delightful flowers all the year round. On the occasion of our last visit the sweetly scented linden avenue was in full bloom, whilst roses were in profusion—we were told they bloom almost all the year round in this favoured and beautiful spot—and the jasmine, orange trees, and many other beautiful and homely flowers perfumed the summer air, and spread out in a riot of colour on every hand. Aloes, palms, Portugal laurels, daphne, and other shrubs afford relief to the eye, and in the background, towering high above the quietude of this old-fashioned garden, looms the vast and commanding Hohen-Salzburg, with its roofs and pinnacles shimmering and glancing in the sunshine of the upper air.

In the gardens are also the interesting aviary of the Salzburg Society for the Protection of Birds, and the former Summer Theatre near the French Garden with the grassy stage and wings formed of "trimly" clipped hedges.

The mansion itself suffered severely from a fire in 1818, but the Marble Hall and staircase which escaped are well worth seeing, as are also the decorations of several of the older rooms.

CHAPTER VII

THE ENVIRONS OF SALZBURG—HELLBRUNN, ITS UNIQUE FOUNTAINS AND GARDENS—THE CASTLE OF ANIF—THE GAISBERG—THE KAPUZINGERBERG—THE MOZART-HÄUSCHEN—THE MÖNCHSBERG—SALZBURG CHURCHES

In the neighbourhood of Salzburg there are several beautiful castles erected by various holders of the See. Amongst them the charmingly situated Leopoldskron, lying to the south of the Mönchsberg, overlooking a lake covered in early summer with a profusion of water lilies and other water plants, and embracing a magnificent prospect of the environing mountains. The drive to Leopoldskron is one not to be missed. As one passes along the magnificent avenue, or allée, of trees, through flower-bedecked fields, and with the fresh air from off the river and mountains perfumed by the carpet of blossoms which lies stretched on either side of the road, one is able to realize to the full the rural charm which surrounds the historic and busy town just left behind.

HELLBRUNN AND ITS FOUNTAINS

But a little distance further, on the other side of the Salzach, is Hellbrunn, once an Archiepiscopal and now an Imperial possession. It is surrounded by a large deer park, and owes its origin to the Archbishop Marcus Sittich in 1613. It is pleasantly situated, and was, according to tradition, the retreat and pleasure palace of its founder, who was of a far more social and lively disposition than Archbishops, even in that somewhat lax age, were supposed to be, and here he installed his favourites. In the chateau itself there are some fine state apartments, in one of which are some interesting frescoes by Mascagni, Franz von Sienna, and Solari the younger.

But the gardens and unique fountains and "waterworks," which are laid out and planned in the style so popular during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, are the great attractions of Hellbrunn, not only to the foreign visitors, but on Sundays especially to the Salzburg folk, and those of the neighbouring villages who flock in thousands to the chateau. In the gardens of Hellbrunn one finds the same velvety turf that so generally distinguishes those of other castles in this fertile valley of the Salzach; whilst in the ponds, lakes, fountains, and "trick" waterworks—invented by the Archbishop, so it is said, to amuse his favourites during his enforced absences upon his ecclesiastical duties and affairs of State—one has something quite out of the ordinary.

Indeed, probably in no other garden in the world do unsuspecting visitors run such risks of a soaking or impromptu shower baths as at Hellbrunn. Jets start suddenly (at the turn of secret taps by the custodian, who seems to take a cynical delight, bred of many experiences, in the visitor's discomfiture) from rockeries, from the corners of plaster columns, from the mouths, finger-tips and eyes of statues, from the foliage of trees, from roofs of grottoes, from the edges of the very paths along which one is unsuspectingly walking, from, it appears, the very ground beneath one's feet. One is lured into a grotto to admire a statue or to "see something" which may or may not actually exist, only a moment later to find one's exit blocked by a curtain of water, which pours down from the outside rocks above the entrance. This lifts and one makes a dash for liberty, only to be assailed by jets of water converging or spurting across the path one has to follow. Visitors seat themselves upon a marble bench a few moments later, and a whole battery of jets plays upon the unfortunate sitters, or are so arranged that, whilst not actually playing upon them, to escape without "running the gauntlet," for the amusement of the more discreet or knowing onlookers, is impossible. On fine Sundays when there is usually a great crowd of visitors at this favourite out-of-town resort, which boasts of an excellent restaurant, there is, of course, plenty of fun when the jets begin to play for the lucky folk who have "been there before."

Along one path leading from the chateau to the lawns and fish-ponds, the latter of which are crowded with huge carp and other fish, some of which are reputed to be as old as Hellbrunn itself, there are set in niches a number of figures, blacksmiths, armourers, millers, and the like with their anvils, forges, and mills worked by a tiny runlet of water. And not far from these is the famous mechanical Theatre, also worked by water power, with its organ, and some hundred and fifty figures in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century costumes, which give quaint performances, depicting a busy town, dancers (these latter very amusing with their pirouettes and posturings), soldiers, fighting, jousts, etc. Of the water grottoes that known as the Neptune—with, it is said, five thousand jets—is the largest, and there are also the Rainbow, Fairy, and Orpheus grottoes, each one bringing into play some fresh piece of mechanical or other ingenuity.

In the deer park is situated the famous Monatsschlösschen upon a wooded knoll, from which a fine view is obtainable. This building was erected (some say for a bet) within a month's time by Archbishop Marcus Sittich. There was at the time a popular belief that he was assisted in the accomplishment of what was, at all events in those days, a wonderful feat by Satan himself.

The Stone Theatre near by is also worth seeing. It has a naturally formed stage and auditorium, upon the former of which in ancient times pastoral and other plays were performed for the amusement of the Archbishops and their friends.

ANIF AND THE GAISBERG

The Castle of Anif, which is reached by a pleasant road from Hellbrunn in about twenty minutes, is well worth a visit. It is a most charming chateau dating originally from the second decade of the thirteenth century, of late years restored in Gothic style by the owner, one of the Counts Arco-Steppberg. It is built in the centre of a lake, and is surrounded by a well-wooded and beautiful park, and is of great interest as a well-preserved survival of the fortified domestic architecture of other days. It is beautifully furnished, and contains many finely decorated rooms, and a valuable art collection.

The return to Salzburg through the fields at sunset is a delightful experience. To the back and to the left of one are the towering mountain summits tinged with the Alpine glow which turns their rocky peaks almost blood red, and their snow-fields a deep rose pink. And right ahead stands up, mystic-looking as some fairy fortress in the waning light, Hohen-Salzburg, its roofs and walls reddened and given the tints of nacre, and its windows shining like the open doors of furnaces. A never-to-be-forgotten picture.

Both the Gaisberg, up which there is now a funicular railway, and at whose foot Aigen, with its interesting Church and Castle acquired by the family of Prince Schwarzenberg in 1804, lies, and the Kapuzingerberg should be visited by all who have the time, and for whom a wide and pleasant prospect of mountain ranges, valleys, and the Salzach, threading its silvery way dividing the city and flowing northward and southward through the valley, has attractions.

The Gaisberg is ascended from the little village of Parsch, reached by tram from the city. The railway takes one through beautiful scenery in about an hour to the summit of the mountain, which is so favourite an excursion with the well-to-do Salzburgers, and from which such a beautiful prospect is spread out at one's feet. To the north one can catch glimpses of the undulating foreground of the Alps and shining lakes; whilst Salzburg now more than 4000 feet below looks almost insignificant, and like a toy town set in the midst of a green plain through which winds a thin, silver line, the Salzach. In the far distance is the magnificent range of the Alps, in which stand the Watzmann, 9050 feet; the Dachstein, 9990 feet, with its rocky pinnacles catching the sunshine, and its glaciers and snow-fields gleaming white, whilst in the further distance through the deep-cut gap formed by the Lueg Pass one sees the fields of eternal snow on the Hohen Tauern glinting at one, and on a quite clear day one can catch glimpses of the white peaks of the Grossglockner, 12,660 feet and the Wiesbachhorn, 11,900 feet, across the desolate-looking Steinerne Meer. The prospect has been compared, but somewhat loosely we think, to that from the Rigi. But, whether we think it finer or less fine, we can agree that in one respect the view and interest of the scene is not exceeded by its Swiss rival—the wonderful changes of light and shade which come and go over the landscape between the hours of sunrise and sunset, during which Nature seems to work with a brush full of the most delicate colours and uses them as no human artist could hope to do.

From the Kapuzingerberg, which is only half the height of the Gaisberg, the view is not so extensive, but it is well worth climbing to see. On the way up one obtains most beautiful peeps of the city from two distinct points; whilst from the summit one gets a panorama which will satisfy all save those who have made the Gaisberg ascent first. The way up is, after a long flight of steps about two hundred in number, through a most delightful beech wood, where one is tempted often to stop to rest or to admire some vista of the valley or town seen through a framework of feathery, green branches. There are, too, on the Kapuzingerberg several interesting buildings. The first to be reached is the Church of the Capuchin Monastery built in the last year of the sixteenth century by Archbishop Wolf Dietrich. A beautiful old garden is attached to the Monastery, from which one has a fine prospect of the town and surroundings. Alas! it is only open to men, and thus by monkish custom women are shut out of one more "earthly paradise."

THE MOZART MEMORIAL

But to music lovers and many others who ascend the Kapuzingerberg the Mozart-Häuschen, situated in a charming little garden near the Monastery, will be the chief object of interest. This memorial to the master was presented to the city by Prince Camillo zu Starhemberg, and was completed in June, 1877, being thrown open to the public six weeks later, on July 18th, on the occasion of the first musical festival. This cottage, which formerly stood in the courtyard of the so-called old "Freihaus" in Vienna, has an added interest from the fact that in it was composed the opera "Die Zauberflöte."

The furniture, it should be noted, is not the original but a clever and exact copy of the articles comprising it. The former is in the collection of Prince Starhemberg. The top step of the cottage is, however, said to be "veritable." In the cottage are kept a great number of wreaths with ribbon streamers, embroideries, etc., which have been sent by admirers of Mozart's genius. Also some beautiful tablets of embossed metal commemorating the first musical festival held in 1877. There is also hung in the cottage the picture "Mozart at the Spinet" by the Italian artist Romaco, a photograph of the only portrait of the composer painted from life which is known to exist, which was the work of Doris Stock of Dresden in 1787; and the pictures of the various performers in the operas given at Cassel. The bust, which stands outside the cottage, is the work of the well-known sculptor Edmund Hellmer, of Vienna, and was the gift of Baron Schwarz.

As one stands in the garden, with its pleasant prospect, quietude, and beautiful flowers, one cannot but feel that few more suitable spots could have been selected for a memorial to a musical genius of Mozart's nature. Far better is it, indeed, than some more pretentious place nearer the haunts of men.

ON THE MÖNCHSBERG

The Mönchsberg and a walk along its ridge should not be missed by any one who has a little time to spare whilst at Salzburg. The explorer will be well rewarded for his toil. One is apt to estimate the Mönchsberg by its Hohen-Salzburg end, which so dominates the city. It is difficult, indeed, from down below in the narrow streets to believe that some 300 feet above one lie not only woods and tree-shaded walks, but even green, flower-bedecked fields. The most direct and interesting way up the Mönchsberg is by the Sigmund Haffnergasse and Hofstallgasse bearing to the left of the Fischbrunnen, and thence over the Mönchsbergstiege. On reaching the top of the flight of steps the way lies in the direction of Hohen-Salzburg as far as the passage leading into the Nonnthal and to Leopoldskron, then one climbs to the left, and after a little distance reaches the beautiful view point known as Konig Ludwig-Fernsicht, or King Ludvig's Lookout.

The prospect from here is wonderfully wide and beautiful, embracing as it does the villas on the other side of the town, and the villages and farms of the valley with their picturesque background of mountain ranges, including nearer in the Göll and Untersberg.

To the left and on the way along the ridge to the fortress is situated the beautiful villa of the famous singer Bianca Bianchi, and from the projecting bastion in the same direction one obtains a fine view of the town below, and valley of the Salzach. Both in the direction of Mülln to the right, and of Hohen-Salzburg to the left, there are many fine views as one takes one's way either by shaded paths or through the fields which lead to the Bürgerwehrsöller, where there is an ancient watch-tower on the slope of the hill from whence one has a wonderful panoramic view of the city and its environs. From the opposite end of the rampart one obtains a widely extended prospect towards Reichenhall, Marzoll, Maxglan, and the Bavarian plain, which is not easily surpassed from the neighbourhood of any other town of the size in western Austria.

One can then either descend to the Marketenderschlössl through the beautiful woods by one of the well-kept paths, and thence reach Mülln, or retrace one's steps, and walk right along to the Hohen-Salzburg end of the Mönchsberg, from whence by entering the fortress and descending by way of the Nonnberg one obtains a fine view of the other portion of the Salzach valley in the direction of the Gaisberg, Hellbrunn, and Anif.

On the Nonnberg, so called from the Benedictine Convent built upon it, stands the fine Gothic Chapel founded in the first year of the eleventh century and beautifully restored in the fifteenth. In it is much fine stained glass, a winged altar piece of great interest; and there are also some interesting frescoes in the old tower. Unfortunately the cloisters are seldom if ever shown to visitors; they are the oldest now existent in the principality, and it is said even in the Austrian empire, dating as they do from the commencement of the eleventh century. They are charming and picturesque, and well worth the trouble which it is generally necessary to take in order to obtain permission to see them.

In Salzburg there is such a wealth of interesting buildings and places that to describe all one has seen or can see there is no space. Perhaps of those remaining to which reference has not yet been made, most people visit the house in which Mozart was born, situated in the narrow, picturesque old Getreidegasse; the Franciscan, formerly the Parish Church; the Church of St. Peter, with its ancient and picturesque burial-ground beneath the shadow of the towering fern- and flower-clothed Mönchsberg, and the Caroline Augustus Museum. There are, of course, also the Dreifaltigkeits Kirche, with fine frescoes and carvings, and the University Church, both worth a visit.

To Mozart's birthplace, along the quaint and narrow Getreidegasse with its beautiful old signs of wrought-iron work projecting from the shop fronts on either hand, come hundreds of English and American visitors annually. Now the house is also a Mozart Museum, with much of interest for admirers of the composer, antiquarians and students. In the birth-chamber itself one finds a most valuable series of family portraits, including some of Mozart's wife, Constance Weber; also those of his landlord and his wife, Lorenz Johann and Maria Theresa Hagenauer. There are also the "scores" of many of his operas, and other compositions, records of the Mozart family; and perhaps most interesting of all the small clavichord or spinet, and the grand piano or reiseclavier, which was a present from his brother Karl, on which he used to play.

In the family sitting-room there are many interesting relics of the composer's father, mother, and other relatives, including Mozart's own pocket-book-diary, a large number of fragments of compositions, which from one cause or another were destined never to be completed, many letters of the family, copies of Mozart's three first published pieces printed in Paris, and several pictures of the house in the Rauhensteingasse, Vienna, where the composer for some years lived and ultimately, on January 5, 1791, died. Salzburg has well-honoured her famous son's memory by the several memorials of him within her gates, including the fine though simply conceived bronze statue in the Mozart-Platz which cost nearly £2000, and was erected by voluntary subscriptions in 1842. By the foundation of the Mozarteum or "Society for the Cultivation of Mozart," not only is the memory of the great composer kept green, but the support of the School of Music of the same name is ensured. Thus the city of his birth, which did him (as is so frequently the case) but little honour during his lifetime, has nowadays become the centre of enthusiasm for his works. Festivals of his music take place during the summer months, at which not only the famous and beautiful Viennese Philharmonic Orchestra takes part, but also the most celebrated conductors and artistes.

Although Salzburg had been the residence of other famous musicians and composers, it is Mozart and his genius which dominates the ancient city's musical life, and proves so attractive an element to musicians and music lovers who visit it.

SALZBURG MUSICIANS

Michael Haydn, too, composer of much fine church music, was a resident in Salzburg and has a rather commonplace monument erected to his memory in St. Peter's Church. The latter is in the Romanesque style, founded in the middle of the twelfth century, and badly restored in the middle of the eighteenth, and is of great interest to the antiquarian and student of architecture. The portal consists of seven arches which gradually diminish in size, and are inlaid with strips of white and red marble. The very remarkable archings which strike one directly one has entered the building are portions of the original church. On a small altar near the vestry is a well-carved statue of the Virgin, said to be the work of one of the Archbishops, of about the end of the twelfth century, although there appears little real evidence in support of the suggestion.

The frescoes in the nave, representing scenes from the Crucifixion, painted in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, are worth study. In Salzburg considerable store is set upon the monuments in the church, but few rank high as works of art, although marking the graves or being memorials of distinguished and historic persons connected with the city's life in the past.

The beautiful though ruinous cemetery of St. Peter, which, with its crumbling tombs of the great dead, interesting and quaint mural tablets, and arcaded vaults belonging to some of the most important and famous Salzburg families, lies at the foot of the Mönchsberg, is, as well as the most picturesque, the oldest cemetery in Salzburg. It is difficult to exaggerate the interest and charm of the spot; always still, although set in the midst of a city, and within a few hundred yards of the principal and busiest thoroughfares. That it possesses a wonderful and mysterious attraction for tourists we can testify; and, indeed, we would almost go as far as to say that one meets more English and American visitors in this peaceful corner of the city than in any other spot on the southern side of the Salzach.

The celebrated Monastery of St. Peter, founded by St. Rupertus in (about) 582, was, until the first decade of the twelfth century, the residence of the bishops and archbishops of the diocese. The present building was erected during the reign of Archbishop Max Gandolph during the period covered by the years 1661-1674. It can be visited, and the library is full of the most interesting and valuable MSS., early copper plate engravings, and consists of about 45,000 volumes and some 250 illuminated and other MSS., chiefly upon parchment. Several of the latter and some of the early printed books are practically priceless. The Librarian is always delighted to exhibit the treasures under his charge, and in him we found (as doubtless will all intelligent bibliophiles) a kindred spirit, and a most interesting cicerone.

THE MUSEUM

It is almost impossible in Salzburg, especially if one would really know something of the past life of the principality, and the city, to follow that excellent rule of avoiding museums. In the Salzburg Carolino-Augusteum Museum one finds so much that brings vividly before one other times and other customs. Although started but three-quarters of a century ago the Museum has already become a repository of the deepest interest, much frequented by students of all types, the antiquarian and the man of science. It was due to the initiative of Vicenza Maria Süss, one of the leading town officials at the period of its foundation in 1834. The work which he began was well continued and supplemented by that of Jost Schiffmann, the well-known Swiss painter, and an enthusiastic committee, largely to whose credit must be placed the excellent arrangement of the art and other sections of the collection.

One of the most interesting and unique features of the Museum is the suite of rooms furnished accurately and entirely in the style of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; of these one of the most charming is the "Hunting Room" with its fine oak presses, pretty recessed window, and trophies of the chase. In the Hall of Antiquities are many interesting relics of the Roman occupation of the country, and also in the Lapidarium. A most excellent idea took shape in the Hall of Industry, where are collected together many excellent specimens of various "masterworks" of iron, woodcarving, etc.

The Music Room contains some of the most valuable musical instruments of the last three centuries, including spinets, violins, and others, some of these priceless. In the Armoury are relics of deep interest of the terrible Peasants' War, including wooden cannon, crude swords beaten from scythes, executioners' swords, curious and cumbersome firearms, and some of the lances used by the Landsknechte.

The Costume Room has many attractions for lady visitors, who linger not only to admire the fashions of the past, but to inspect the embroideries which came from the industrious and skilful fingers of past generations of women, "old" with the dignity, grace, and charm which the "new" woman so sadly lacks.

On the same floor are the interesting Mediæval Kitchen, with its ancient and carefully kept copper and other utensils glinting at one from their hooks in the half-gloom of the recesses; the Ladies' Chamber, with its charming oriel, stained-glass window, colour of life of the period, and air of repose; the study, to show one the environment old-time students loved; a fine state-room; and a beautiful Renaissance Hall.

After these vivid reconstructions of the past one passes somewhat regretfully to the higher floor and prehistoric things. The priceless Celtic helmet, found in the Pass of Lueg, interesting though it is, seems "lifeless" in comparison with what one has just seen; as do somehow Roman statues and arms, and similar objects. And one needs the beautiful and richly ornamented panelling, oriels, and similar objects of the final room to bring back colour into things.

To visit and study this deeply interesting collection leaves one with a very good idea of the evolution of culture, science, and art during the last five centuries of the principality's history, one's knowledge of native art being easily further extended by a visit to the Kunstlerhaus near the Karolinenbrucke. Salzburg has produced at least one great artist in Hans Makart, who by common consent is esteemed one of the most vivid and brilliant colourists of his day.

In some of the villages near Salzburg, as also during "fair" times and festival times in the city itself, one is able to witness some of the quaint, picturesque, and dramatic peasant dances for which the valley of the Salzach has some reputation.

A PEASANTS' BALL

We were especially fortunate whilst recently there in witnessing not only peasant dances such as we have referred to, but also a peasant ball.

Amongst the dances specially notable was a variety of "Gaillarde," and "Allemande," a type of the dance known as "Siebensprung," where the male performers make a series of seven different movements with hands, elbows, knees, feet; and then almost touch the floor with their foreheads whilst their female companions pirouette around them. The "Allemande," with its graceful twirling and twisting, and interlacing of the arms, and graceful bending of the bodies of the dancers, showing off the lines of the women's figures, is especially picturesque.

Then came types of other and more local dances, in one of which the women pirouetted round and round the room until scarcely able to stand, their short skirts gradually seeming to become inflated like balloons, and ascending inch by inch until knee high, when suddenly the dancers paused, their skirts fell, and with a sharp twirl and swish the latter were wound around their lower limbs in plastic folds.

Then there was a pretty dance commencing with a figure of the "Allemande," and proceeding to a courtship in pantomime, in which the women peered shyly at their partners between the circle formed by the interlaced arms, and ending by the men stooping, and whilst continuing a waltz step, suddenly seizing their companions round the knees and lifting them breast high, all the while continuing to circle the room in a "springy" rather than a gliding waltz.

Then followed a still more dramatic dance-play, in which the whole story of a peasant courtship from early days until the wedding was depicted in pantomime, with half a dozen characters beside the happy pair. Most of the performers were not only graceful and finished dancers, but were possessed of distinct dramatic gifts. The folk songs, accompanied upon rather weird instruments consisting of shepherds' pipes, guitars, fiddles, horns, and what, until it was put together, appeared to be a collection of short pieces of gas pipe of various lengths or strips of metal, were intensely interesting and musical.

What struck us perhaps more than anything else, save the actual dancing and singing, was the charming manners of the women, and the perfect manners of the men. Peasants though they were, there was a complete absence of coarseness or roughness in general behaviour, in place of which one had perhaps a rather grave courtesy. And when at last it occurred to some of the men that perhaps the "foreigners" might like to dance, they approached the ladies of the party with a striking grace and courtesy of manner. The Salzburg girls, too, in their pretty costumes were just as gracious and charming as English girls of the upper middle class, when asked to favour some of the English men of the party with a dance. The scene was made even more kaleidoscopic in effect when at last the sombre evening dress of the latter mingled with and formed a foil to gay kerchiefs, snowy white bodices worn under a type of bolero jacket of the women, and the green and bright brown waistcoats and short knee breeches of the men. Across some of the waistcoats, which were many of them fastened with silver buttons, jangled quite a collection of coins, exhibiting (so we were told) the financial position of the wearer, so that any girl might know what a suitor or possible suitor was worth! We hope that no young man ever puts upon his waistcoat a single silver krone piece more than he is entitled to. But if very much in love to what deception of this kind might he not stoop? And mercenary indeed must be the maiden who would not in the end pardon his offence, which was so warm a tribute to the power of her charms.