Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-02-03
BERLIN LETTER.
What a Fort Worth Citizen Says OF the
German Capital.
An Interesting Letter From DR.. ". s. Duringer
of This City New in EuFOpe-COl-
uinn Of Victory

me IeLIef - udL6u bSIIiu JtHudTy 10.
The first historical mention of Berlin is
made A. D. 1914, when AIIrecht the
Bear, most warlike and powerful land
grave, drove the Wendes and the Dutch
of Berlin and s"Coln'' (as the old part
OF The city was called) III the year of
1850 shows it to be little more than fish
ing village, although the towers of two
Old churches, the cid wall and the custom
house rise out of a lot Of small buildings,
none of which seemed to have
attained a height OF more than two
stories. Compare TO this an illustration
OF bird 's-eye view Of the city as it ap-
pears to-day. 4 city harboring no less
than 200 900 inhabitants. Berlin being
in size the third city OF Europe, and the
residence OF the reigning house
of HohenzolIern, the head of which
now is the Emperor William II.
situated in the very center of the city =,
separating the old part from the new,
stands the royal castle, FFdas kOnigliche
schloss, Extending one of its fronts across
the length of Schlossplatz, the other fac
ing the Lust garden. From the laying
the foundation of this magnificent edifice
to the time OF its completion as it now
stands, more than three centuries have
elapsed 1t was commenced as a
Fburg, - a sort of fortified residence, by
the Elector Frederick of iron in 1912 i,
and has since then been rebuilt, enlarged i,
repaired and renovated until the grand
electOr engaged the celebrated architect,
Schluter, who gave the castle its present
imposing shape The interior contains 700
rooms and salons, used partially as apart
ments for the royal princes and the higher
officials at the court ana the retinue at
court festivals. On the ground floor the
offices OF the royal steward, the house
archives, the silver closet and the coffee
kitchen, as well as the rooms OF Prince
Leopold are located.
In the upper story are to be found the
rooms of Friedrich the Great, Friedrich
William the ", and the late Dowager
Queen Elizabeth, and in the second
stonFwopened daily to visitors, the hall
of the former Swiss body guards, the
chamber OF the golden cloth, the picture
gallery and the famed white hall. Rare
treasures are to be found here and in the
nights hall, the great bumper and the
immense bearing OF the great smoker
Friedrich William the I. and the magnif-
cient chandelier under which stood
Luther at the conclGYe in Worms. The
white hall is not less regal in
in splendor, and when lit up By 2G00 can
dies presents al appearance of great
brilliancy, as does also the chapel with
It's gilt dome. Leaving the palace and
traversing the so-called ''SchIOss
brucke with its eight aIlegorical
groups, depicting scenes from the life of
a warrior, the sight seeing visitor enters
the Linden, the grand boulevard of Ber-
lin, where fashion, gayety, trade and
pleasure intermingle, forming a most
charming picture. Directly on the left
is the residence OF the military com
mander OF the city, while on the right is
the massive ana imposing pile of build
ilgs known as the Zanghause (armory)
with the hall of Fame, containing all the
trophies of war Of the victorious Germans
And here is certainly a collection of
historical interest. lis interior has
bat recently been transformed for the
purpose OF doing it complete justice
The building itself is Of massive great
ness, being compact and almost solid in
its grandeur were it not for the emble-
matte trophies and armorial groups,
which crown the entablature with its
attica. The Importance of the building
as an arsenal gradually diminished after
room for the flags, arms and troph es
brought home from the wars Of 1913 and
1876 from French arsenals and the
Franco-German war of lS70-7I, brought
an important increase from the armOries
of Metz and other fortTesses.
In 1875 n plan was designed, by order
of the emperor, to convert the building
into a hall of fame, a sort of initia-
tory Wdlhallaa In 1877 parliament
voted the money, and Hitzig, Berlin s
greatest architect, (nOw dead was en-
trusted with the work OF reconstruction.
He brought many of the beauties of the
building into bold relief. The main hall
is directly accessible from the street, be-
hind this is the most unique and in
structive collection of firearms, giving
a complete history of each; from the
crude iron-bored gun with stone pro-
jeCtiles to the glIttering smooth-bore
Armstrong and Crupps of to-day. On
the left of the hall is devoted to war en-
cheering. The great models of fort
Tesses and celebrated battlefelds are
most interesting to The beholder, and the
collection of flags show relics of wonder
full celebrity. In the rear we have the
hfe-size pictures of giant grenadiers
painted by King Frederick William I.
The collection of arms, flags and accou-
tTements presents most complete history
Of armaments from the earliest middle
ages down to the present day. OF course
the institution is immensely popular
among the citizens of Berlin, and there
is sometimes q regular migration of en-
tire families, who freely Intermingle with
the crowd of strangers who also flock to
see the collection in the ''hall of
fame.' While on the Linden the Wis
itOr can stand in front of what is Justly
termed the most eminent seat of learning
in all Europe-the Berlin University.
This building was formerly the palace of
Prince Henry of Prussia, the brother of
Frederick the Great, but given by Fred
erick William the III Tor the'purpose Of a
university, on the 18th Of October, 1909,
the great reception han Of Prince Henry
being converted into the aula aud his ball
room serving as the anatomical museum.
Here is the place where the philosophers
Fichte, Hegel and Schleiermacher; the
great jurist, Savigyn; the pious ScheIling;
both brothers Grimm; the discoverer of
the infusories, Ehrenberg; the geo
grapher, Carl Ritter, and Others too
numerous TO mention have developed to
so beautiful a harvest in the German
nation. And even to-day looking back
upon the corryphees of science who have
gone before the university of Berlin may
point with greatest pride to the illustrious
men now occupying its chairs of tuition.