The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-21

/
sitles OF Prague and Vienna, 1t is the old
est institution of learning in Germany.
for awhile 1t was retrograding and could
scarcely pay the salaries of it's professors.
.Aari Friedrich placed 1t upon its feet
again, since which time 1t has been desig-
rated as "Ruperto-Carlo in memory Of
its founder, Ruprecht l. and its restorer.
Probably its most interesting feature
is its career or students prisons. When
students are arrested by the town luthor
ltics for viola ation of municipal ordinances
the fines are collected by those authorities,
but II Imprisonment is imposed the stu
dents are turned over to the university Of
ncials for execution. of the sentence, and
tbs offender is ,ncarcerated in the prisons
of the institution Although the same
! figor and severity that obtains in city
iuil are observed. the student seems to
regard his confinement as a joke, and the
walls of the cells are covered with writ
ten jokes conceits and pleasantries. as
we'll as with drawings of amusing char
acter and no little merit. Here we read
that one occupant WAS incarcerated for
getting drunk at an early matin hour and
sitting down upon a market woman who
was slumbering by her basket as she
waited for the day to break. He states
that he. does not know which to consider
the softer snap, his market seat or his
Incarceration. Hundreds of other legends
of "a similar character are to be read in
the iron-doored cells
The glory of Heidelberg, however. is its
castle, and it Is truly one of tho most pic
lturesque and interesting ruins to be found
in all Europe.
The castles spread along the Loire are
superb. but they are at the same time
ornate chateaux Warwick is an impress
| sive keep, but 1t savors of the modern;
| Windsor is a royal residence; Edinburgh's
castle owes its picturesqueness to its In
comparable location; Kenilworth has dis
| integrated to such an extent that In its
| contemplation we think more of Scott's
| creation than of the structure itself, and
| SO on: but the glory of Heidelberg is i'm
pressive in itself and picturesque in It's
ruins. It's devastation was not the work
of man. for the bolts that wrought its
obstruction came from the heaven; 1t was
struck by lightning, set afire and reduced
| to its present condition in 1854.
For sublimity of effect the castle ap-
pears to many, like Melrose, to be best
| viewed under the days of a silver moon,
the vantage point the summit of hin
teh vantage point the summit of hill
upon the road leading to the Neckar
bridge. From here the entire ruin takes
ON the semblance Of goldren grill, each
contour glowing In FURNISHED beauty and
the outline of mullion and crosbar lmned
in glory athwart the golden disk of the
setting sun. AS viewed the castle at
this hour | repeatedly recalled Stone-
henge, for the magnitude of the ruins
of both is strangely suggestive OF the
work of giants.
To be sure, this moonlight or sunset is
only desirable for scenic effect as whole,
H. al. . TN nVla
requires the bright light of day. The
architectural pride, of the castle is the
Otto-Heinrichsbau, where panels, arch,
spandrel and cartouch richly covered
with palms and wreaths present the best
example extant of the German early re-
naissance, while caryatide, plaster, volute
and half column breathe of the early
classic style 1t is truly wonderful in
both design and execution and holds the
student of architecture in eestatic thral-
dom.
Those who have visited the Certosa Of
Payia will recall the beauties of its IA
cade, the most mastery creation of the
fifteenth century, and yet it is not saying
too much to declare that it is surpassed
by the facade of the o-Heinrichsbau
the highest perfection of German human
ism in its fullest development Here the
architect has avoided the lavish extrava-
gance of Certosa, has united the highest
richness and tender relief of surface or
namentation and tempered the severity of
development by the warm effect of the
Heilbronn sandstones reddish tint. To
once behold it, is to remember and dream
of it for aye.
Every visitor to the castle is pleased
/ with the great fass or wine cask which
/ holds $4,000 gallons of wine and has only
to be filled three times In 160 years. This
huge vessel is 30 feet long and II feet
| wide; 1t lies upon it's side and Is encircled
by is wooden hoops 10 inches in thick
ness. There were also originally IS iron
hoops. but only eight of the metal bands
/ remain. platform has been constructed
upon the side of the cask and here the
cotillion has been danced by 16 couples.
Near the fass is grotesque statue Of
the dwarf Clemens Perkeo, who was the
court fool of Karl Phillip and who, ac-
cording to tradition, drank daily from
| 10 to IS bottles of strong wine. IT is said
that this Jester constructed the clock
which is shown to visitors who upon es-
i saying to open it's door are shocked by
having foxs tail strike them in the
i face.
The castle Is situated at the foot of
| the Konigstuhl, hill nearly 1000 feet
in height and surmounted by a tower
| 30 Ieet IlSif An lHStIiptlol iHloiIlS us
! that the tower was erected For the
enjoyment of beautiful nature. by the
Grand Duke Leopold, the inhabitants
of Heidelberg and friends from far and
| near, 1924. The view from here Is
incompatible and the eye takes in the
| Taunus. the Vosges and the Haardt
mountains upon one side, the Blach
forest and the Suabisn mountains upon
the other. while the pinacles of the
lEtrassburg cathedral may be readily dis
cerned through field glass. The spot
was visited In 1915 ,by the Emperors
Francis of Austria and Alexander Of
/ Russia
The immediate objects of interest are
1.-THE Giants stone, a perfectly balanced
boulder. and the VOLTS WE'LL so named
because Jetta, the wife of a Frankish
prince. was here torn to pieces by a
wolf In punishment for her gift as
sorceress. which reputation she acquired
from having foretold that the Palati-
nate would some day become mighty
i state.
The vicinity of Heidelberg is dotted
with the ruins of ancient castles be-
longing to the nobility OF old Among
them the Swallows Next" hanging to
q perpendicular rock, and the Ravens
Castle are notably unique. Most ro-
mantle. however. are the ruins of Wei
bertrue (fairthfu1ness OF fwomen) cas-
| tie The Grantees and crevasses are sup
piled with aeolian harps and the sad
| tunes drawn from them by the plain-