Austria as It Is or Sketches of Continental Courts, by an Eye-Witness, London 1828 / Österreich Wie Es Ist Oder Skizzen Von Fürstenhöfen Des ... Geschichte in Der Literatur)

by Charles Sealsfield

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 56 PRAGUE. CHAPTER III. Prague.?Sitting of the Diet of Bohemia.?Nobility of Bohemia.?Private Theatre of Count Claru Gallas?Musical Conservatorium.?Technical Institution.?Museum. ?University.?The System of Education in the Austrian .Empire?its consequence.?Secret Police. The view of Prague, from the road of Toplitz, is imposing; you descend into a valley extending for five miles, and amphitheatrically rising towards the west: it terminates in a ridge, which runs obliquely the breadth of the whole city. On this ridge stands the imperial castle, an immense front of colossal buildings, seen at the distance of ten miles. You pass through an indifferent suburb, a half-ruined gate, and enter a street scented by numerous kitchens in the front of the houses. It terminates in a Gothic tower, which separates the city from the new town, Neustadt, laid out by Charles IV. Before this tower two streets diverge, from 150 to 200 feet wide. This part of the town is by far the most regular; it consists almost entirely of noblemen's palaces, and some excellent hotels, among which the Schwarze Ross (black horse) holds the first rank. You thence pass, in the company of your cicerone, a hanger- on at the said hotel, (and, by-the-by, your spy, ) through the gate of the before-mentioned tower, a relic of Charles IV. and a street whose buildings bespeak the sixteenth, and its irregular dimensions the twelfth century: it runs out into the great market-place of the ancient city. The city-house, a venerable-looking building of the thirteenth century, before whose portal many a noble head has fallen a victim to ill-planned revolutions against the House of Austria; the stately and ancient architecture of the houses in general, and especially the Gothic church of the Tein, deserve attention. It has t...

413 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published January 1, 1994