New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-07-05
LETTER FROM ABROAD-NO. 2.
BERLIN, June 4, 1874.

i'm are the streets eXteuOihR AoU 'h0
Brandenturg gate to the Royal Palace;
these are the Linden, Opernhaus and PIatz
am Zeughaus, which terminate into the
Schlossbrucke, or palace-bridge. The LIN
den is a street ffty.five yards in width, de-
irving its name from the double avenue OF
lime trees in the middle; it resembles the
boulevards of Paris, although not 80 long,
and is lined with handsome palaces, spa
cious hotels and attractive stores, between
which the long vistas Of number OF eide
streets are visible at intervals. The most
striking part of the street, and indeed the
finest point in the entire city, ls by the
monument of Frederick the Great.
view is here disclosed of the Opernpiatz
and it's environs. the palace of the Emperor,
the Library, the Cathedral, the Opera
House, the palace of the Crown Prince,
the University, Arsenal, and beyond the
bridge the Royal Palace and museums,
which have already described to you. These
important baldings may be viewed almost
at the same time from this point, While the
extensive and beautifully arranged Schiller
pla,z, with it's two churches surmounted
with domes, is in the immediate vicinity.
The statue of Frederick the Great is an
impressive and mastery work by Rauch'
and probably the grandest monument IN
all Europe. 1t ie in bronze, and torty-two
feet in height. The great king is repre-
sented on horseback, with his coronation
robes and his walking stick. The pedestal
is divided into three sections. The upper
section contains allegorlcal figures and
scenes from Frederick's education and do
mestic life, and his apotheosis, with figures
of Moderation, Justice, Wisdom and
Strength at the corners. At the corners OF
the central section are four equestrian fg-
ures, Prince Henry of Prussia, Duke Fred
erick of Brunswick, and Generals Zelten
and Seydlitz. Between these are placed
groups of other contemporaries and officers
| of the King, Prince Aug gustus William,
Keith, Kleist, Winterfeld, Lessing, Kant
and others, all life size. The lower section
contains names of other distinguished men,
| chiefly soldiers of the time of Frederick,
with the dates Of their birth and death.
I The basement is Of polished granite. The
| foundation stone was laid on the thirty-trst
of May, 1870, the hundredth anniversary OF
the accession OF Frederick TO the throne OF
| Prussia, and the monument was completed
and inaugurated in 1851.
The Brandenburg gate, at the beginning
of the Linden, forms the entrance to the
| city. 1t is most interesting in structure
1t is seventy feet in height, and 200 feet in
width, with FIVE different passages separ.
ated by DorIc columns-the central is re-
| served for royal carriages-.on the outside
are handsome open colonnades for the use
| of foot passengers. The gate is in imira
ton of the Propylara at Athens; some parts
| Of it were taken to Paris, by the French, in
1906, but restored in 1914. The length OF
the Linden street, from this gate to the
| palace, lie a German mile.
The University, formerly the palace o.
| Prince Henry of Prussia, is well worthy o.
note. 1t contains the lecture rooms anc
scientific collections. The mineral cabine'
| is one of the most extensive Of the kind OF
| the continent Among the curiosities may bt
mentioned piece of amber weighing four
| teen pounds, found 100 miles from the Bal
| tic, and numerous me:eOrolites, besides
many curious objects brought by Humboldt
| from South and Central America. Tht
library is also very valuable; it contain:
| 100000 volumes, and $4,000 manuscripts
among which may be men toned the manu-
script of Luther's translation of the Bible
| Gutenberg's Bible on parchment, of 1850
the first book printed with movable types
the Codes Witteklndi, manu- script OF the
| gospels of the eighth century, said to have
been presented by Charlem agne to the
! Saxon duke, Wittekind, mi natures, por
traits and autographs of celebr ated charac
tiers, Chinese books, French, Italian, Eng
| lish Spanish, besides all important Greek
and Latin classics, a small octagonal Koran
| and many classic musical works.
| Opposite the University is the Opera
House, the largest in Europe. The tym
panum contains an admirable group in zinc
| designed by Rietschel; in the centre is rep
resented the muse of music, on the rlgh
| the tragic and comic muses., with the bant
| ering satvr, the dramatic poet, with the
arts of painting and sculpture, and on the
left dancing group with the Three Graces
| The house will accommodate 1000 specta-
tors This fine building, which, OF course
has been much altered and embelllshet
since, together with the Roman Catholic
| Cathedral, are memorials of the reign o
49, fofh "a
| imitation of the Pantheon at Rome, will
| a spacious dome and portal borne by sil
| Cor;nthian' columns: the interior contains
some of the finest paintings of the classic
| masters.
tan not speak in praise of the cemeteries
| of Berlin. They are in general arranged
| with little regard to taste and beauty, ant
| often without respect. This is the case II
| most parts of Germany, believe. Outside
the gate lie the old and the new Jerusalem
Cemeteries, where many dis tinguished Ger
mans are inferred. Adjoining these is the
| old Trinity Cemetery, in which the body OF
the immortal Mendelsohn is buried; it is {
simple tomb but the name tells US more
than sculptors or poets are able to describe
The Kreuzb berg is not far from the ceme-
teries. 1t is a hill 2l3 feet above the sea
level, rising over a hundred feet above the
city, OF which it affords a fine view. Or
the top rises Gothic ODE lisk, in iron, sixty
two feet high, dedicated by Frederick Viii.
liam Ill, to his people. In the "Tempelho
fer Feld,' an open piece of ground com
mencing near the Kreuzberg the grand re
| yiexs of the Berlin garrison take nlacf