Washington sentinel., 1900-07-07
I'll IL SENTINEL
The Strange Mount OF olives near
Constance.
VIDE UOykd Magazine.

Il AAO ST. a ~ = Y e"-|'A''N -
Constance.
Wfas Woyza Magazine.
I wonder how many people If
asked in which country Constance
lies would be able to answer cor
rectly. / am quite sure that nine
tenths Of them would promptly
reply that it is in Switzerland,
whereas it really forms part of the /
Grand DuchY OF Baden, and is &C |
counted one oi the brightest Jewels I.
Of the Grand Ducal coronet.
Constance is a city that hardly
receives its full share Of attention
from the globe trotter and tourist,
and its beautiful lake is shamefully
neglected tor the Lakes Of Geneva
and Lucerne. Few OF those who
do visit Constance know, too, that
close by there is one Of the most
curious chapels IN all Europe; and
indeed, no one should fail to make
a pilgrimage to the marvellous
Oelberg, or Mount OF Olives, at
KreuZlingen.
Though in Constance you are
in Germany, still you must cross
the bord to get to Kreuzlingen,
and you will not have driven far
out Of the south gate of the town
before a Swiss custom house Off
cial starts up, like a Jack-in-the-
box, out OF a small house by the
wayside and peremptorily stops
your cab to find out whether you
are conveying taxable goods into
his fatherland. However, he is
good enough to dismiss both your
cab aud your camera with the
same airy wave OF the hand, and
you drive on with a light heart
into the land Of Tell. All the way
along the road to Kreuzlingen, on
either side, are pret y villas OF all
sizes, each in its neat title garden.
with its grass plot as green as an
emerald, and the beautiful rose
bushes, trailing clematis. and les
toons OF creepers, for which Con-
stance is so famous. At last the
cabby draws up before a great
church, standing back from the
road behind a handsome wrought
iron railing, and tells you that you
will find there the chapel you have
come to see.
Kreuzlingen is said to derive its
name from the fact that the Bishop
OF Constance OF a thousand years
ago made a pilgrimage to Jerusa-
lem, and there acquired fragment
OF the True Cross. This he be-
queathed to body Of pious souls,
who had given themselves up to
good works, the men to teaching
the faith and the women to tending
the sick. The spot where they
established themselves was then
called Cru celia in honor OF the
Cross, and thence the present form
Kreuzlingen is derived. During
the Swiss war of independence and
the Thirty Years War this trag-
ment is said to have had the most
hairbreadth escapes from the Pro-
testant enemy and destruction, and
its fame pre- portlonally increased.
AS you enter the church a
friendly woman, armed with big
bunch Of iingling keys, comes to
meet you, and offers to open the
great ironwork gates that stretch
across the chapel, cutting it off
from the rest Of the church. At
first the effect is rather bewilder-
ing to the eye. The great cruciix
in the centre dominates the whole
scene, and below it is the socalled
NJ punt of Olives. This consists OF
a kind OF pla ster erection, painted
a pale greenish grey color, to rep
resent a rockery, semicircular hill,
honeyc ombed with many caves,
AMI with here and there what the
artist imagined TO be a Roman
palace or Jewish room let in.
Myuads of little figures about IS
inches high climb up or down the
mountain, or stand about in groups.
There are in all gas figures,
carved in wood Of a redish brown
color. 1t is not considered likely
that they can all be the work of the
same artist, although some do say
that they were carved by Tyro
leSe sculptor, who spent eighteen
B@NA9 CNNA AAA9 ~ AEAAA|AAAOAa kN9Fes
Most people, however, are agreed
that more than one hand was re-
sponsible for these marvellous fig
ures. Connoisseurs even claim to
be able to trace at least four differ
ent styles, besides several figures
that act as connecting links be-
tween the principal groups, and
seem 10 have been added later.
The chapel was commenced by the
Abbot Donderer in 1901, who was
seized with a lively desire to
beautilv the abbey.
The old abbey has now, alasl
been turned into a college for
school teachers, but the chapel,
with ITS precious relic, still acts as
a loadstar to many a pious pill
grim, whilst those OF other faiths
will be drawn to Kreuzlingen to
wonder at the patience and skill OF
the creator Of the Oelberg.