New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-08-21
A DUCAL HOTEL.
TIE BEAUTIFUL CHARITY OF CHAhi-h'
THEODORE OF BAVARIA.
II. w. l..

ono of the most accomplished and successful ocu
lists Of Europe, bat there are few VINO are aware
that this same brother. Duke Charles lhc'dore oi
| Bavaria combines his medical practice WIFI "'e
manifold duties involved by the personal nahhSc
mcnt of n great summer hotel. 1t is hotel con-
ductel on peculiar principles. During the tnree
summer months it is thronged by fashionable
and wealthy crowd of visitors, belonging to the
great world of Vienna, Munich, Berlin, etc, and
the prices charged for accommodation are ABOUT
on par with those at other summer hotels. The
money thus earned is used by the Duke to board
and lodge in the hotel during the three months OF
the spring and the three months of autumn, poor
artists officers. professors and literary mcn-
persons of education and breeding who stand IN
need of O holiday, but who have rot whcrcwith
10 pay for it-all without the expense to them
selves of q single cent.
This ducal hotel thus conducted principles
that may be described as ducal in the very nohleSt
sense is nothing more less than an old E"nc-
dictine monastery, and is situated ut kreuth' On
the slopes of Iohlenstcin, one Of the BavarIan
Alps overlooking the lovely Tcgcrnsee. Early III
the eighth century, the BencCctine monks, VINO
had their headquarters at Tcgcrnscc, obtained
possession Of all the land in that neighborhood
lhc fathers. skilful doctors in their way, were
not long in discovering the curative 1uail'lcs
! Of thn lttlc sulphur SpTliSS Oh i'""i'"S' ~
rlatcan. They built by the side Of it hos
initial. 10 which the delicate members of the
order used to retire from time TO time TO recruit
As Years passed this hospital wos replaced by
one larger: and right up to 1903. when the order
WINS dissolved Kreuth was the regular health-re-
sort of the Renedicincs The hospital was then
| turned into farmhouse. In 1873. however, IL
was purchased by King Max Of Bavaria, who re-
stored the old Badhaus and erected a second. so
long rs he lived the plac, was used as conva-
descent home for the poor; and Wien at his death
IT, patsnl into the hands Of hS widow. IL was WIN
the condition attached that Il certain number Of
poor should every year be Hospitality entertained
there n was his wish that Kreuth should remain
| charitable institution but, IA usual, funds were
| low In the Bavarian eychequer, and the poor can
| not he entertained without money. After much
hcart-searchng, TO doubt, for they are consci-
entious race, King Mox's widow and son resolved 10
Try an experiment They set 10 work to see whether
the natural advantages of Krcuth could not De
turned TO account as a means OF raising funds Tor
! charity The old buildings were furnished up
and new ones erected until accommodation for
nearly three hundred persons was provided. An
excellent cook was engaged, and the place was
turned into O regular hotel
For three months in the year Kreuth Is throngcd
with visitors South Germans as a rule. who come
and 90 and pay their bills as at any other health
| resort Every effort il made TO render their visit
as pleasant as possible. Hardly day passcs but
Duke Charles Theodore King Max's grandson and
the present owner Of Kreuth, drives over from leg
ern.ce to sec that they are being properly taken
| care Of while his brother, Prince Ludwig, scner-
ally lives in the hotel and plays the host in a
quaint informal fashion, lavshing upon his guests
all sorts Of courteous little attentions Moreover,
all sorts Of high and mighty pcrsonagcs arc 10 be
met with there at every turn. Until the last
few years the Empress of Austria. who is sister
| Of Duke Charles Theodore, was q constant visitor
at Kreuth the cX-Quecn of Naples still goes there,
and GO do the King of Wurtcmberg, the Orleanist
| Princes the Princess Fredrica Of Hanover, and
the Duke Ct Cumberland; while az for the mem
bers of the Bavarian Royal family, there is always
some one or other Of them there. There are, in
fact. so many royalties at Kreuth that il is one
of the few places the earth where they arc
treated Just as ordinary mortals. Perhaps that
is why they like going there much.
During June July and August the place is
conducted upon strictly business principles the
charges for the rooms, etc, being precisely the
ZANE as those charged In other hotels Of equal
! standing in the nelghborhoOd. The Duke who
| has wholesome horror Of middlemcn has made
| lis hotel almost Independent Of outside supplies
| lie rcars his own cattle grnds his own n,and
| las even turned one WING Of his palace into a
brewery tnlt he may brew lis own beer. BY
this arrangement the working expenses of the
establishment are considerably lessencd and at
the end OF tie sason the Duke has always Il
handsome balance in hand. the profits Of his three
months bookkeeping This he strait htway
! proceeds 10 spend In truly characteristic fashion
| On the 30th Of August the ordinary visitors are
| requested TO depart; the Duke requires their
| looms, they are told.
| No sooner are they gone than a curious-loolimg
company begins 10 arrive. The great majority
| cf the ncw-conicrs aIe thin and carnt many Of
them, have An old, pinched look about their
mouths: they all belong 10 class known the
shabby gentccl. There are poor professors officers
with nothing but their pay to depend upon, artists
whoc pictures don't soil. and literary men who
| cannot make both ends mcct-the very people in
| fact. who stand most in need Of holiday. but
who have not whcfewith 10 pay for IT, During
the whole summer the Duke and his agents have
been hunting these people out and praying them
with cctcInonious courtesy 20 honor Krcuth with
n visit in the autumn. Once there, they are well
housed we'll fed, and well tended and all without
| the expense to themselves OF a single penny.
Nothing can exceed the kindly hospitality the
delicate consideration, with which these guests are
treated the whole establishment seems 10 he
at one in It's desire 10 make them feel welcome
At the end Of three weeks they leavevery different
beings, as q rule from what they were when
they arrived and their places arc taken by other
visitors Of the same kind. Until the snow begins
To fall there is a continuous stream Of corners
and goers Then the hotel is closed until the
early spring. when the Duke again dispenses his
kindly hospitality TO the needy for some weeks
before he opens his doors t. the. rich
Whenever Duke Charles Theodore comes across
the visitors at Kreuth he always casts a KEEN
scrutinizing glance at their eyes, and IL he
detects there any sign Of weakness. he promptly
invites the sufferers to pay him visit at
in Europe and ne Is always on the lookout for
PEOPLE whom he can help. lie performs operations
for oil classes. and expects 10 be paid according
he disnisscs with hearty shake Of the hand :
from the rich however. he requires fee equal
joices when wealthy patients come in his way, for
his private is limited in the extreme. and
he needs all the money he can get 10 keep up
cernSee and ct Meren.