Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1855-07-18
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TIE HUN aAAiA N GIRL.

There was time ,whenl the countries now
so unnaturally congIomeraled in the grasp of
the doubled.headed Anstrian eagle, each
formed an independent and happy realm,
under its own native PRINCE; when the dukes
of Austria, although empsfors of Germany,
possessed but small stERof land on either
bank of the Danube, bounded by Passau and
Presburg: when unable,so defend themsel.
yes against their neighb6rs they lost even
their hereditary possessions, and were living
as fugitives on the sbountfof one or other of
their vassals in Germanya
The latter was particularly the case du.
ring the second moiety of the fifteenth cen.
tury, when the Emperor Frederick w.,
Duke Of Austria, by hisFepeated inyasions
of the border. counrriesaaf Hungary, whilst
their sovereign, Matthiaa Corvinus, was en-.
gagged in severe contesEwith Turkey, pro.
voked the Just resentmelf3of that renowned
king, Matthias not only routed the Austri.
an forces, but in q few months conquered
Stermark and Upper:Alstria, with all their
fortresses, extending thesboundaries of his
realm to Tyrol and CavSria, and taking up
his residence at Vienna, Whose inhabitants,
dissatisfied with their duke for continually
imposing new taxes on them, gladly submit.
ted to the liberal and sjusssway of the Hun.
garian prince.
In order effectually tofprotect the borders
against any future inroads of the Austrians,
Matthias gave the adjacent countries mill.
tary organization, distributing the woodlands
along the frontiers among the most deserv.
ing veterans of his inviHsible Black Legion
and bestowing on themAe rights and privi.
leges of noblemen, for which they, in time
of emergency, were olsad the borderers Of
their district against theinvadng enemy.
The portion of the@Western frontier Of
Hungary, where Matthias put this salutary
measure into effect is >intersected by several
low ranges Of the Syrian Alps, abounding
in gigantic as well as inSgentle scenery, and
their higher points covered with primitive
forests. Besides the charming views, that
vary at every step in feature and beauty,
that traveller is struck by the many ruins Of
castles and towers which crown the isolated
mountain peaks. Mostof these fortresses
played an important rozssduring the endless
wars of the middIesageS; each Of them, as if
rejecting portion Of Aose barbarian times,
possessing its trad .aa@orszor or. less
melancholy nature. :
There is, for example, the castle Of Lock.
euhaus, in the lovely Ginez Valley, once the
property of the mighty knights Templars,
who, in the beginning Of the fourteenth cen.
tury, at the order Of King Charles Robert,
were extirpateJ in Hungary as well as in
other countries. 10 the visitor Of that an.
cient, but still habitable building, and the
great hall, commony y called the Hall Of
| Blood" where the assembled brethren Of the
Temple were surprised and massacreed by
the troops of the king. The large dark
spots on the stone pavement are said to be
the innocent blood Of the chevaliers, which,
in spite of every effort to efface them, retain
their reddish hue, as if to bear eternal wit
ness of the cruelty perpetrated on them.
Higher up in the mountains the castle OF
Landsee rises above the surrounding country.
One of its earliest possessors, in consequence
of a fit of jealousy, caused his young and
beautiful wife to be immured there. A few
DAYS afterwards, on being convinced of her
innocence, he broke down the walls of her
prison. But his repentance came too late.
Overwhelmed by incessant remorse for his
foul deed, the husband made a vow to pass
the remainder of his days as a hermit, in
the very cell in which his wife had endured
all the horrors of death by starvation. In
the vicinity of Landsee, upon steep rocky
summit, is the fortress of Forchtenstein, still
in good preservation, wherein the vast fami.
ly treasures of the princes Of Eszterhazy are
guarded by grenadiers kept in their pay.
The most picturesque of all castles in that
neighborhood are stately ruins of Kirchsch.
lag, encircling the brow of conical noun:
tain projection, and overlooking magnifi.
cent valley and borough of the same name.
About half an hour distant from that
place, in an easterly direction, stands an in
solated tower of granite block, its massy
walls partly hidden by lofty fretrees. ltwas
in former times one Of the Notifications cree.
ted at the command of Matthias for the pro.
lection Of the borders, and is situated on the
left bank of mountain rivulet, which at that
point, for several miles, forms the boundary
between Hungary and Austrian. This Sc.
cluded spot is known as the "Grave of the
Hungarian Girl" name we'll adapted to its
loneliness and solemn stiffness. But the
melancholy the place inspires is changed
into painful sympathy, when recalling the
tradition attached to it, the touching as WELL
as soul stirring episodes of which invest
that otherwise unmportant ruin with an un.
fading interest, and at the same time con.
meets its fate with that of the castle OF
Kirchschlag.
The facts, as they were narrated to us,
ran thus When Matthias established his
line of defence, the land in the vicinity Of
the " Grave of the Hungarian Girl" fell to
the share of Karol, gallant officer in the
Black Legion, who, after building his strong
hold, settled with his family and dozen
men. alarms, clearing from the woodland as
such ground for agricultural purposes as was
necessary for their subsistence.
At that period, the castle of Kirchschlag
belonged to powerful and wealthy Austri.
an magnate. the Count of Puchheim, who
besides possessed several other castles and
seigniories throughout the land. He was
one Of the favorites of Frederick w., hating
the Hungarians, most heartily, and ravaging
= The Black Legion was corps of six thousand
; regular foot soldiers. Matthias organised them
himself and kept them on his pay also in time Of
peace, US the eiit of his army. This legion muster
Al. uJbo ypifh ba;r