The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-05-10
EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENCE.
Letter from DR.. $. L. Jepson NJ
Vienna. gaI


That little city reached at 8 o'clock Of q
lovely evening, and before dark, had
seen much to favorably impress me.
There was the Poppelsdorf abbees,
splendid double avenue ofhorse chestnutS,
half mile in length; there was the i'm
mense University buildings extending in
one continuous line more than seven hun.
dred yards, and in front Of them large
grove Of majestic chestnut; there were
clean streets filed with fne, clean houses
and there was my hotel, with everything
in and about ii so clean and inyiting,With
every body in II 90 charmingly agreeable,
and Whit beautiful gardens Immediate
| ly overlooking the majestic Rhine, with
the "seven mountains" in the distance. ]
at once fell quite in love with Bonn, with
the Rhine and with the warm-heatied
people met. Although Bonn has less than
10000 people, its celebrated University,
now approachingits hundreth birth year
attracts to the town nearly thousand,
students. Here Beethoven was born / n
1910, and a statue Of the renowned COM
poser is erected In one OF the public
squares.
Just outside Of Bonn, on the hill side
rising above the town, ia the church Of
Kreutzberg, in which are the Scala Sants,
being what aresupposed by the ignorantto
he the sacred stairs trod by our Saviour on
his way to the Judgment Hall Of PLATE.
The deyotees who accept this fraud as
genuine, ascend the stares only on their
knees, and Of course are made happy
thereby, How blissiul ignorance often il.
! presume the chief attraction about
Bonn Is It's nearness to the siebepgeberg,
ono OF the most beautiful spots on the
Rhine, to which excursions are made from
the town. These are chain Of seven
mountains overlooking the river, ranging
ia height from 100 to 1900 feet. Upon
one OF these stands ruined castle, which
the lines in Childe Harold have rendered
familiar 10 most readers: .rr. D.. d
"Ths castle cras, Of Drachenfe's
FroEns DER the Wide and winding Rhno,
Whose breast Of Yates broadly swells
Between the banks which bear the yire." 4
And here commenced the castles and
ruins which are 60 numerous in this re.
gion, and whose presence on these rocky
hill tops, with their history, and the le.
gends that have become interviewer with
| It, adds 80 much interest 10 the Rhine
scenery which nature made so beautiful.
Scarcely ruin is seen, but some roman.
tic story can be told Of il. There must
have been considerable romance In the
composition Of the men who located
these castles hundreds Of years ago.
Nearly all OF them are placed on the
highest rocky peaks, and some on bare
rocks hitting out from the hill tops In
such positions, that one would think 1t
impossible for any man 10 work there.
On peak not far up the river from
Bonn stands the remains Of the castle OF
Rolandseck and as sample OF the
legends Of the Rhine l condense from
''Baedeker" the story told Of the knight
Roland, who is said to have built this
castle. He was the peer OF France and
paladine OF Charlemagne. While search
ing for adventure In securing the Rhine,
he became the guest Of count Herbert At
the castle OF Drachenfels. Rildegunde,
the hosts daughter, welcomed him with
the usual offering Of bread, wine and fish.
Her beauty captiyated the young knight,
and Hildegunde and Roland were soon
afIianced lovers. But soon Roland was
summond to the crusade by Charlemagne.
And in course OF time, alter anxious
waiting for news by the fair maiden, she
received intelligence Of the death Of the
Knight. The world no longer possess
ing any charm for Hildegunde, she took
refugein the convent on the adjacent
island Of Nennenwerth. The rumors how.
ever OF the death Of Roland were not well
founded, and although wounded, he soon
recovered and returned to claim his bride,
but found thRtshe was lost 10 him forever.
10 despair he built the castle the slender
remains Of which still stand, and there
lived in solitude, catching an occasional
glimpse Of his lost one passing TO and fro
TO her deyotions, in the little chapel on
the island beneath his castle. Soon she
died, and then ae died, and SO endeth the
legend Of Rolandseck.
The most beautiful OF the Rhine seen.
cry commences in the neighborhood OF
Coblence. Here spent night, and had
time TO see the chief objects OF interest,
and to visit "the Gibralter OF the Rhine"
as the well known Notifications OF En-.
renbreitstein are called. These are sit
uated on the precipitous, rocky heights
opposite Coblence, four hundred ieet
above the river. From the top OF this
fort one has view considered by some
to be uIequalled elsewhere on this river.
1t embraces the river Moselle (which here
oins the Rhine) with its two bridges, one
fine new railroad bridge, the other a
stone structure Of the 18th century with
fourteen Orches; long stretch OF the
Rhine with its bridge OF boats and its
splendid new railroad bridge; the town
OF Coblence on an almost level plain be-
tween the two rivers, with its strong
walls, its old church spires, with some fine
buildings, few fine streets and public
squares, and rising above it and beyond,
the beautiful hills crowned with the forts,
Alexander and Constantine. The hill
upon which these ine Notifications are
situated | visited later. Here were en-.
camped during the late Franco. Prussian
war, $4,000 French prisoners. Their lot
was certainly cast in pleasant place, and
! doubt not most OF them preferred here
to remain in captivity, rather than to go
forth to meet again the conquefing arms
Of the Prussians. From the Kuhkopf, a
half hour beyond this spot, can be seen,
from an eminence nearly 1900 feet high,
three navigable rivers, the Rhine, the
Mouse and the Lain, which, with the In
tervening hills and valleys, make up a
landscape that the enthusiastic German
would call EuHdersehon.
Going up the river from Coblence, one
10 at once in region Of the greatest
beauty. The river becomes narrow, the
hills rough and rocky, and old castles and
ruins appear on everySide. Here too
the cultivation Of the vine 10 every availa
BILE spot adds TO the beauty Of the
scenery. The very finest OF the scenery
Ia embraced in the short stretch OF river
between Coblence and Bingen, and the
- Ia ,rLa 10 ~ If.G. 4 iii