The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1878-10-12
Correspondence baltimore County Union.
LETTER FROM GERMANY.
The German Watering Places--Wiesba-
den and its Attractions Frank
fort-on- the Main-Baden-
Baden &c 81


| more than 40,0 900 permanent residents, and some
| so 900 visitors and invaids here annually
It is pleasantly situated on high ground a few
miles back from the Rhine, and surrounded by
| well cultivated rolling land. view from any
elevation in the city shows country which re-
| minds an American of the better parts OF New
| England The city consists of an old and new
| part-the old with narrow, crooked streets and
all the peculiarities of venerable continental Cities
the new which is built around the old, has wide,
| straight streets and fine shops and residences.
The most important boiling spring of the several
within the city is connected with one of the main
| avenues by long curved walk.
The water of this spring, of which chloride OF
| sodium, common salt, is the chief ingredient
comes to the surface with temperature of 1867
Fair, and is carried to various bathing houses in
| the vicinity. The waters are particularly beneh-
cial in cases of rheumatism and govt and the great
number of invalids being wheeled around in roll
ing chairs is sad contrast to the otherwise pleas
ure seeking appearance Of the visitors. If you
| wish a drink Of good Wiesbaden mineral water
YOU can have it at home by taking glass filled
with hot water, and putting in it teaspoonful of
salt and piece of kitchen soap about the size of
| a pea After it is thoroughly mixed sit underline
shade and struggle with it until you get it down,
| if YOU can, and YOU will have good idea OF the
| taste of the water
| The chief attraction however, of q German wa
tering place is the Cursaal which, in general, is
| fine large building containing a concert hall, a
! ball room, a reading room refreshment rooms and
other apartments for the convenience of visitors.
| In the Cursaals were the great gambling estab-
| lishments in the times when gambling was carried
| on publicly and on grand scale.
| During the season at a continental watering
place music is always furnished from once to four
| times per day. These bands which are the finest
| in Europe are engaged by the season, and paid
/ A. ;rno fay iS
| one who passes through the place. as at lnteraken,
| but generally small admittance fee is required.
| Those who remain for any length of time pur-
1 chase at very reasonable price the privileges OF
| the place, including the use of hot spring water
| and admittance to all the concerts. These con-
certs are in the open air when the weather is IA
| vorable at other times in the concert hall of the
/ Cursaal.
In front of the Cursaal in Wiesbaden is beau
| tiful garden lying between two long colonades in
| which are large number Of small shops for the
| sale of iewelry and mementoes. Back of the Cur
i saal is small open space nearly covered with
! chairs, which is favorite lounging place, and
| where the open air concerts are given. This is
along one side of little lake, beyond which is a
park beautifully laid out in walks and drives The
| reader can scarcely conceive anything more de-
lightful than these open air concerts in pleasant
| summer evenings. He must be utterly without
romance who cannot enjoy an hour in the moon
light in the seat under the great tree on the island
| listening to the soft strains of exquisite music
| from the opposite side of the lake.
| Life at Wiesbaden consists in drinking the wa
| ter at from five to eight o'clock in the morning,
lounging and smoking until dinner, driving until
| dusk, and attending the concert in the evening.
| There are many pleasant excursions in the neigh
borhood, by walking or riding for those who are
more actively disposed. There are few of those
| immense hotels which are the peculiar misfortune
1 az hut hara
are the apartments" in which one can live with
! all the comfort and quiet of home While I'M
| doubtedly society has claims on people here it
does not seem if these were as exacting as with
us. In brief it seems as if people go to Wiesba-
den more for good solid comfort than for display.
| Americans are beginning to realize that the less
ostentatious way of spending the summer is the
better, and our smaller places among the noun
! tains and by the seaside are rapidly filling up
with a class of people who appreciate comfort and
| will have it.
Wiesbaden counts among its attractions small
army of the nobility, headed by the Emperor
| William and the royal family, and grading down
| to the innumerable minor mobiles of the countless
| small provinces which are now amalgamated into
the German empire. These are here in such num-
! bers that you can hardly draw bow at venture
without hitting one. Amusements of all kinds
are kept up on the Sabbath the same as on week
| DAYS, and one Sabbath we noticed a large circus
| in full blast near our hotel.
On the route to Baden Baden we pass through
| Frankfort on the Main, which we give only a
| brief visit. 1t is an interesting city, presenting
entirely different phases in the old and new parts
| The new part is particularly fine, and the Jews
| quarter of the old part is a great curiosity. We
| pass the Hotel de Swan where Bismarck and
| Thers signed the treaty at the conclusion Of the
| Franco German war, the house with projecting
stories on the corner of the street in which Martin
Luther lived for n short time, the small plain
! house in which Goethe was born in 1749, the jew
ish Synagogue said to be the richest Jewish con-
gregation in the world, two open squares one con-
| tanning fine monument Of Gutenberg, the father
| of printing, the other of Goethe the poet, the
| Borse or money market, and numerous cathedrals
and public buildings. One of the most interesting
parts of Frankfort is the old Jewish Quarter,
which has curious wood houses many stories high.
| One of the most dilapidated Of these is pointed
out as the residence of the father of the distin-
guished Rothschild family.
Until 1906 this Jews street was closed and lock-
ed every night and during holidays, and no jew
was permitted to appear in the city under penalty
| of heavy fine
Baden-Baden, which dates to as early an origin
as Wiesbaden, is one of the most popular water
ing places in Europe, and has no rival in Gerina-
| ny except Wiesbaden. 1t is most delightfully."- sit
uated on the little river Oos Just in the edge of
4
hills which only short distance from the city rise
| into mountains. The general characteristics of
| the city are the same those of Wiesbaden.
| The chemical ingredients of the boiling springs,
| and the complaints for which the water is consd-
cred beneficial, nearly the same as have already
| been mentioned. Baden has its beautiful parks,
| its music, its Bazaar and its Conversationshaus or
| Cursaal, which is much finer than the one at
| Wiesbaden. This was built and fitted up by the
lessee of the gambling privilege, and in this build
| ing were the gaming tables which were once so
| famous all over Europe In 1872 public gam
| bling was prohibited throughout Germany, and
| since then this beautiful building with its great
| rooms so gorgeOusly fitted up is used as music
hall and place for public entertainments. Baden
also has fine theatre the Cursaal, and on
the other side of it Trinkhall where the water
| from all the springs is collected. This has a
broad, open portico, with large Corinthian pillars,
and on large panels over the windows back of the
pillars are fourteen fine paintings of large size,
picturing some of those local legends with which
nearly every German village abounds. Baden
| from its proximity to the Black Forest which was
supposed to be inhabited by all kinds of enchant-
and spirits, is particularly rich in such legends.
| For long distance through the city the Dos flows
/ in artiically made stone covered channel, the
| centre, where the water is confined most of the
4 time, being gutter less than two feet wide and
| not more than six inches deep.
| Inc PARK Yhlcn extends Tor long way up the
stream, is kept in perfect order. but some how our
enjoyment of it received chill when one morn
ing while taking an early walk we found as many
as thirty old and middle aged women, bareheaded,
sweeping the carriage ways and wheeling the dirt
| away in large barrows. Baden is certainly a
beautiful place. and must be delightful summer
| residence for wealthy German. For few days
at least during the season, in common with three
| or four other summer resorts, Baden basks in the
1 nlobf of iuopa rioI fau md nharc fho I'm
| peror William among her honored guests. The
round of amugements is much the same as at
| Wiesbaden and other resorts. Much of the glory
of Baden departed with the closing of the gam
bling establishment, and the citizens think with
| yearnings unutterable of the good times gone
when the gold so recklessly poured out at the gam
| ing table flowed in a rich stream through the
shops and boarding houses of the city.
| A drive of an hour all the way up hill brings
! us to the ruins of the old castle, thousand feet
above the city. The castle was built many hun
dred years ago, and is made of large rough stone,
| Oft nj vii