New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1909-08-11


villages and farms and intersected
with beautiful streams. Don Quixote
described the city as unique both in
beauty and situation" and even in
modern days, when the smoke Of fac
tory chimneys takes away some of the.
former picturesqueness it ranks as
one of the most attractive of Mediter-
ranean towns.
Barcelona has population of
$4,000, counting the old and new
towns together The houses of the
new town are largely built of hewn
stone, which make an imposing APP
pearance, and the streets are laid out
very regularly. The busy life of the
city centers in the Rambla, charm
ing: promenade which. unites the old
town with the new and along which
are the principal theaters, shops and
cafes and where the pretty flower
girls display their wares under the
shade of the plane trees.
City of Two Parts.
The old city was formerly surround
ed by line of ramparts defended by
q citadel on the northeast erected by
Philip w., but as these Notifications
restricted the developments of the town
they were abolished by the local au-
fhorities in 1916 despite the opposition
OF the central government. The wallis
OF the moat were turned into cellars,
and the ground was laid out in gar
dens. The city rapidly spread out to
the northwest, and in 1890 an elabo-
rate plan was made for laying out new
districts. Thus the town is divided
INTO old and new, the old interesting
for its irregular, narrow streets and it's
houses, built In eastern fashion. chief
y of brick, four to five stories in
height, with fiat roofs. $50 IL
Old Barcelona forms a hexagon, on
the southeast side of which lies the
AarborT s On the highest point Of the
town, the Monte Taber, stands the
cathedral, one of the finest specimens
Of Spanish Gothic architecture. 1t is
on site once occupied by a Roman!
temple and 2ater by Moorish mosque!
The building of the cathedral was be-
gun in 1898, and the keystone Of the
yaulting was laid by Andres Escuder
In 1449. The scale is not large, but
the arrangement and lighting are So
1ne that the impression of great size
is given. To the right and left Of the
northeast doorway are two inscriptions
relating to the building of the church.
Magnificent Sunset Effects.
The interior of the cathedral is very
dark, but impressive. The small win
dows contain the finest fifteenth cen
fury stained glass, and the sunset eff
fects upon them are magnificent. One
of the most interesting Of the chapeis
is that of Santo Cristi de Lepanto.
which contains the "Christ of Lepan-
to-" said to have been carried by Don
John of Austria in his flagship at the
famous battle of Oct. 6, 1871. The
image of the Saviour is said to be
bending it's head to escape Turkish
bullet.
A number Of interesting buildings
are grouped near the cathedral The
Canonjia (canonry) dates from the ff.
teenth century, and on the back wall is
q mural painting of 'The Last Supper
The shoemakers' guild house is an ex-
ample of sixteenth century renais.
sance. Not far off stands the palacio
episcopal which dates from 926.
though rebuilt since then. 1t contains
some Romanesque remains, and one of
fits gateways is partly Of Roman work.
manship.
The city's Mythical Founder.
In the Gale del Paradis behind the
cathedral are buried three Corinthian
columns fifty feet in height which are
probably the remains of the portico of
q Roman temple. described by legend
as dedicated to Hercules, the mythical
founder Of Barcelona. The general
archive, erected for Charles ", is an
Interesting Gothic structure containing
about 100000 documents, and the
Provincial museum, too. is worthy of
note.
Barcelona's place in the commercial
history OF Spain is one of pre-emi-
nence. In the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries it was the rival of Venice
and Genoa. The merchants of BARGE
Iona could be found trading with all
the Mediterranean ports, with the
Netherlands and the orient. With the
emancipation of the Spanish-American
colonies a decline set in, but this
proved only temporary, and now its
commercial and industrial status is
quite assured. The town is sometimes
called ssthe Manchester Of Spanish
Lancashire and its cotton. silk and
woolen mills are famous. into its har-
$ Dor, too, come ships from all the colo.
MES, bringing tremendous cargoes Of
imports from all parts of the world.