The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-12-22
A PRINCELY GERMAN HOME.
Luther's Wedding Gift from Cra-
mach i'm q Peerless Castle on the
Main.
fPall Mall Gazette1

Luther's wedding GIFT from Cra-
mach in q Peerless Castle on the
main.
fPall Mall GazetteI
All cultivated travellers who may in
future visit Bavaria will, l feel certain,
thank me for directing their attention to
my great archaeological discovery OF this
year-Schl0ss Mainberg. This castle is
situated within about TWO English miles
of the quaint'and picturesque old city of
Schweinfurt-on-the- Main; but Mainberg
receives from guide-books a partly erro-
neous and wholly insufficient notice. The
great Murray, for instance, devotes only
four lines to this singularly interesting
castle, and in those few lines he tells
travellers that Mainberg is carpet man
uFactory. / hope to show good reason
for visiting the place.
Leaving the comfortable Raven Hotel
and then strolling down as far as the
bridge, you turn to the left Of the river,
and then passing along road which
runs between line of railway and vine
yards you soon see before you, high up
on the left hand, most picturesque old
Schloss which in external appearance ap-
proaches, if it does not quite equal, the
matchless Burg Eltz. Schloss Mainberg
was built in 1899 or 400. Its founders
were the Counts, afterwards Princes Won
Henneberg; and their arms adorn while
their legends vivify the walls. This an
cient family died out and Mainberg
passed into the possession first of the
prince, bishops and then into the hands
of the royal house of Bavaria. Ludwig
|, grandfather of the present King, sold
Mainberg to the Sattler family, and to
the Sattlers the other portion of the
castle belongs to-day. The Sattler family
is one of mark, of opulence and of liberal
culture. One of them-either the pres
ent Herr Sattler or his father-refused
nobility when that honor was offered by
the Crown.
In addition to preserving all the an
tiquities, all the heirlooms, which ex-
isted in Mainbery, Herr Sattler has
made few judicious additions to the
rich and rare collection which long ages
had stored up in the starred castle.
Mainberg still shows clearly how Ger
man knights and princes lived in the
fifteenth century. From the back OF one
great dwelling-room you ascend, by the
old flight of steps, to the raised sleeping
platform; and the castle represents both
spear and spindle sides. In another room,
in deeply recessed window-still splen-
did with old colored glass-are the seats
which the lady of the castle and her
maidens occupied as they sat spinning,
while they cast, perhaps, many wistful
glance across the calm Main, and over
the wild, wooden country which hid from
loving eyes their warriors, then engaged
in fierce and dangerous wars. The cush-
ions on which these women sat us they
worked on through many long and lonely
hours are still in TIE deep recess. while
their spinoles, now stiff from long disuse,
stand where they stood in those far-off
days of yore.
All the curious things-and they are
very many-which Mainberg still con.
tains are seen amid their natural sur
roundings; they retain the magic OF
locality. / have no space to give even
the barest catalogue of the antiquities
stored up in stately Mainberg. Old
weapons, each one of which has been
welded in some Mainberg fight; old
suits of armor. each one of which has
been worn by a man who is now name
in history or in story-these form the
basis of a priceless collection. Old por-
traits hang upon the walls; old furni.
ture stands in its old place in the old
rooms. Again, the castle store-rooms
and closets are full Of the old things Of
ordinary domestic Use, as costumes
knives, forks, spoons, goblets, glass
which extend, in good specimens, over all
the ages between the fifteenth and eigh.
teenth centuries.
The collection of old German "pots'
/ is, / am told, almost unrivaled; ant
above all, there is one possession which
is the special pride of Mainberg. Thi
special relic is the drinking cup which
Lucas Cranach painted for and gav'
to Martin Luther on his wedding day
On the cup are portraits by Cranach o
the great Reformer, of Katharine Bor'
and of Cranach himself. The date o
the wedding fixes the date Of the cul
and of portraits. The painter, Luther
and Katharine all drank out of this cul
on the day Of that memorable bridal
Here ! must stop. To the arch@ologist
to the antiquarian, to the lover Of histor.
and Of its romance, Schloss Mainber
and its contents will we'll repay tn
trouble of visit. ! am, sir, your obedi
ent servant, II. Schultz WILSON.
Arts Club, November 20.
Intellect In Brutes.
Mature