The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1872-02-09
Correspondence.
LETTER FROM GERMANY.
BERLIN. November %, III.
N O. "

| oE1hLANg ANONCAlO OCi <Os . l.
1 took the road over the noun
tains-having continually before me
an ever changing panorama OF
mountains and forest, valleys and
dashing brooks, meadows, rich in
their deep green coloring, and close
Ily nesting villages surrounded by
fields which often extended to the
summit of the mountains. Every
where we found people at work in
their felds-the working people
mostly consisting of women, who are
here in this country not only slaves
of destiny, but of man. The latter
are considered the lords of creation
in the real sense of the word. How
those poor women could ever carry
sufficient manure on their backs to
Ifertilize their fields, which are so
steep in many places as to make it
impossible to use horse or wagon,
was surprising to me, nevertheless
I saw it often, while the lazy lord
was contendetly smoking his pipe
at some lighter work. Toll on, poor
down-trodden creature, patiently and
/
uncomplainingly do your hard and
cbeerless work a little while longer,
hope will bring the future and with
it its unresisting changes of progress,
which will cast the sunshine on your
dreary overworked life. In less
than two hours time the old and
magnificent
RUIN GREIFENSTEIN
Came in sight. We leave the steep
descent of the village Blankenburg
to the left, and ascend through some
magnificent beech groves the noun
Itains, around which an old castle
road leads gradually up to the en-
trance of the castle, where the traces
are still visible from which were
formerly suspended the POrticullis
lit was with some emotion that ]
lentered this ruin. Twenty-Five years
ago had as little boy visited thi:
old castle and had in my youthful
ambition cut my name high up intc
1.-The bark Of venerable beech. But
time had dealth with my name
as with my boyish feelings and as
Ipirations. The name was efaced
Whether time will be equally sue
Icessful in dislodging that stone
which 1 Ilabored so hard to toss int
a certain nook of another old beech
is vet to be seen. 1t was an insertion
skillfully made by a mans hand
This castle was first known in th,
year 1137 by the name of Greifen
stein and later by Blankenburg, anC
belonged to the Earls of Schwarz
burg, from which sprang in the fol
lowing century the Blankenbur!
f, family branch. Emperor Guentha
sprang from this illustriOus family
and was born in this castle in 1904
In 14O7 this family still remained il
possession, but the castle fallin!
some time after into neglect and de
Icay, Prince Albrecht built the pres
Ient Shloss in RudOlstadt and remov
ed there, leaving the Greifenstein il
possession of his officers, who uset
it partly as prison, partly inhabited
lit. until it was found unsafe, and il
1860 entirely deserted. In Nov. 1SOl
the castle was robbed Of it's creates
/ ornament, its tower, by a sever,
e storm. In 1880 Prince Friedrich O
Rudolstadt ordered a number OF re
pairs to be made in order to save i
from further destruction. Some olC
paintings are still shown in the pro
,tected part, in which, during tn,
summer months some refreshment
are kept for the tourist. The viey
from this castle is magnificent
Leaving this interesting spot witt
its interesting associations we pas
down the steep mountain in the olC
castle road to Blankenburg on tn
J., river Schwarza, and enter Ger
man Switzerland, to enjoy and reve
lin the wild and wondrous beautie
of the dark and narrow
sCHWARzA DALE.
A fine road passes along the nois,