The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1919-06-07

w ANZlG, when by the peuCe
treaty becomes an interna-
" tiOnalized city and the outlet
for Poland to the Baltic, Is
thus described in a bulletin issued by
the National Geographic society:
Picture a far north Venice, cut
through with streams and canals,
equipped also with a sort Of irrigation
system to flood the country for miles
about, not for cultivation but for de-
Tense; a city Of typical Philadelphia
streets, only with those long rows of
stoOps made Of stone and highly deco
rated and jutting into the roadway in
stead of on the sidewalks, and you
catch but a glimpse Of the composite
Danzlg.
AS q city of churches Danzig vies
with Brooklyn; its crooked, winding
streets suggest those Boston thorough
fares of cowpath derivation; and were
its grain warehouses more modern
the visitor might believe himself
in Minneapolis-that Is he might
until he heard their names-such as
Golden Pelican, Little Ship, Gray
Goose and Milk Maid-then he might
look about for some popular resorts
of New York's Greenwich village.
In no other German city is medic
val architecture to be found in such
variety and preservation as In Danzig.
Conspicuous both in Polish and Ger
man history, Danzig was one of the
four principal centers Of the Han
seattle league, while not far up the Wis
tula Is Marienburg, capital Of the Teu-
tonic Order Of Knights, which -four
ished In Danzig.
Ancient Art Works Intact.
Physically, Danzig escaped many eff
fects of the reformation. Even in her
famous st. Mary's church, one Of the
largest Protestant edifices in the world,
covering an area as great as the
Cathedral Of Notre Dame in Paris,
are to be found reliquaries and
manuscripts, embroideries of Roman,
Byzantine and Gothic designs, treas
ures in precious metals, stones and
worries, and a noted collection of vest
ments. Among Its art works Is the ia
nous "Last Judgment" of Hans Meal
ing, In appearance almost as much
like a fortress as church, bringing
to mind Luther's militant hymn "a
Mighty Fortress Is Our Cod" the
church has been called zone Of the
most German things in Germany" In
many ways it suggests the Prussian
militarist spirit. From the vaulting,
for example, projects one of Napoleon's
cannon balls.
But the Danzig visitor needs no In
direct intimation Of mflitarism. The
city was one Of the most strongly for
tilted places In the now shattered Ger
man empire. To the east and south
of the city older defenses were sup
plemented in recent years by score
of bastions. Along the Vistula, on
which the city lies, to its mouth at
Neufahrwasser, four miles away,
stretches q line of forts In addition
three sides of the town could be In.
undated by the garrison.
Quaint House Architecture.
|, Streets are lined with ornate old
houses Of the Hanseatic period, crown
ed with high gables, often profuse-
" ornamented. Balconies overhang
the streets and in spite Of the impedi-
ment they offer to traffic, many of
the elevated stone porches still re-
main. GargoyIes grin from ancient
walls. vistas abound. There are
many old water gates. One of these,
the Hobe Tor, is fashioned after Ro-
man arch. Another, the Kran Thor,
with each successive story projecting
| farther than the one below, looks like
the leaning tower of Pisa.
Danzig's beginnings are not known.
Poland, Denmark, Pomeranfa and
Brandenburg held it at various early
times. In the fourteenth century II
came under the sway Of the Teutonic
knights. Not long afterward it be-