and Gowns with great Capes In Holland I observed no distinction But the Jews there most of them having come out of Portugal there may be some suspicion of them from their Complexion Lastly when I consider the old strength of Vienna consisting in an old wall and a deep ditch I cannot much wonder that Matthias Corvinus King of Hungary took this City And I must ascribe it under God unto the singular valour and resolution of the Defendants that Solyman the Magnificent with two hundred thousand men was not able to take it and though he made large breaches could never enter it but lost some thousands at an Assault and departed at last with the loss of a great part of his Army But this place is now in a far better condition strongly fortified and able to resist the greatest Forces of Turky The houses are cleared from the wall and yet for better security when I was there Count Souches advised the Emperour to pull down part of the Suburbs upon the other side of the nearest branch of the Danube lest the Turks might take advantage to play upon the two Bastions on that side It would be a sad loss for Christendome if this place were in the hands of the Turk and no man knows where he would rest If he should begin with this place and take it the strong holds of Rab Komara and Leopoldstadt would want their support and soon fall into his possession and if he were Lord of Austria a great part of Germany would lye bare unto him and probably it would not be long before he visited Italy into which Country he would then find other ways than by Palma nova A JOURNEY FROM VIENNA IN AUSTRIA TO HAMBURG TAking a farewel of the Imperial City of Vienna I ordered my Journey for Prague in Bohemia which is usually six days Journey by Coach in the Summer and eight in the Winter I went over the great Bridge of Vienna upon the large Stream of the Danube passing by the Chappel of St. Bridget of an eight-square Figure This Bridge is a very great and massy work supported by many high Trees and Timber and hath between two and three thousand Trees laid upon it cross or side by side from one side of the Bridge to the other for the passage over it after the German manner of making Bridges At Ratisbone there is a handsome Stone-bridge over the Danube and between that place and Vienna divers of Wood but from Vienna to Belgrade I observed none but what were made with Boats Having passed the River I entred into the Trans-Danubian Austria or that part of Austria which lieth between the Danube and the River Theya and came unto Corneuburg a pretty Town about which place the Emperour often hunteth it is near the Hill Bisneberg which is opposite unto Kalenberg The Swedes advanced far when they took this place in the last wars and held it so well that they were not easily forced out of it From thence I came to Stockerau near the mouth of the River Mida where it runneth into the Danube A place much noted for the death of St. Colman a Scotch Saint highly honoured in these parts From thence to Guntersdorff so to Colnedorff or Koldorff which although it be on the South of the River Theya is accounted the first Village of Moravia and then came unto Znaim In all this part of Austria which extendeth a great length on the North-side of the Danube conceived to have been anciently inhabited by the Marcomanni and Quadi there are few or no Towns of antiquity largeness or note for the Romans made their Stations and Colonies upon the South-side of the Danube but the Country is full of Villages and populous One of the chiefest Towns is Crembs which some call Cremona Austriae which I saw as I came down the Danube A great part of this Country was notably harrassed and plundered by the Swedes The Soyl is light and easie to be ploughed Znaim is a handsome place with many painted Houses in it and accounted the fourth chief Town in Mahren or Moravia Olmütz Brün and Iglaw being the other three famous for the death of the Emperour Sigismund It is seated by the River Theya which divideth Moravia from Austria and running at last into the River Mark affordeth accommodation of passage into the Danube From thence we passed by Ulverskirken Paulitz and Moravian Budweisse to Zimmaw and by Byrnitz came to Igla or Iglau upon the River Igla which at last runneth into the great River Marck a very pleasant place seated upon a Hill on the Frontiers of Bohemia It is well fortified à la moderna upon one side and hath one of the largest Piazza's that I have seen Moravia is a pleasant and fruitful Country affording plenty of necessaries for life the people are plain-dealing stout and make good Souldiers It is commodiously furnished with Rivers the greatest whereof is the Mora or Marck which arising in the Northern part thereof runneth quite through the Country and entreth the Donaw not far from Presburg The other considerable Streams are the Theya or Thaisa the Swarta the Schwitta which run into the Marck In the last Turkish wars the Tartars having passed the Wag in Hungaria made incursions into Moravia and carried away some thousands of the Inhabitants Leaving Igla we soon came into Bohemia first coming into Stecken then to Teutchin Broda by the River Saczua formerly a strong place taken by Zisca the famous Bohemian General who then forced the Emperour Sigismund to fly out of Bohemia by the way of Igla From thence we came to Heberne and so to Janikaw At this place upon the 24th of February 1643. was fought that memorable Battel between the Swedes commanded by Leonard Torstenson and the Imperialists under Count Hatzfield Goetz and other Commanders The Imperialists had the better at first but falling upon the Enemies Baggage and being too greedy of Booty they were defeated three thousand slain four thousand taken prisonners with their General Hatzfield and six or seven Colonels The success hereof gave the Swedes advantage to proceed further and into Silesia and Austria In this Town meeting with a Gentleman who came from Schaclitz which is not far from the Risgeburg or Mountain of Gyants about the Head of the River Elbe I enquired of him concerning the spirit Ribensal which is said to infest that Country but he could say nothing therein of his own knowledge and though he was confident that there was such a Spirit yet he confessed that for twelve years it had done no hurt In Hills Mountains and places of Mines such reports are ordinary It is reported that a Spirit haunts the Silver Mines of Brunswick And another to be in the Tinn Mine of Slackenwalde in this Country of Bohemia and to walk in the shape of a Monk who strikes the Miners sings and plays on the Bag-pipes and doth many such Tricks And Agricola in the latter end of his Sixth Book Dere
room and took a collation in the same house in a high turret overlooking the Town and Country Our seats Moving round about the Table continually so as the diversity of the prospect made it more delightful The great Vessels round-bellied which trade between Coln and this City seemed strange as also the long Luyck or Liege-boats and the number of People that continually live in them At my going away from hence I embarked in a Vessel bound for the Island of Walcheren sayling by most of the Islands of Zealand and in sight of divers good Towns as Willemstadt Zirickze Tergoes observing in some places where the Sea had overflow'd the Land and in others where the Industry of the Inhabitants still keep it out by keeping up their banks and thatching the Shoars of the Sea We Landed at Ter-Vere where there is a good Haven and Harbour for Ships the Walls were built in the year 1357 towards the Sea are round towers The Piazza is long The Scotch have had a Factory here for above two hundred years and the Marquiss of this Place did formerly make one of the three States by which Zealand was Governed The Abbot of St Nicholas in Middleburg representing the Ecclesiastical jurisdiction and the Towns of Middleburg Zirickzee Ter-Veer Flussing Tolen Martins-dike Romerswal and Tergoes supplying the Third over against this place where a Town had formerly sunk into the Sea the Steeple only remaineth to be seen From hence to Middleburg the way is Paved with Brick as it is also from Town to Town in most places of Holland Middleburg is the chief Town in the Island Walachria seated almost in the middle of it being well built large rich and Populous it is the fourth Port for the East-India trade hath a large broad Water within the Town and a streight cut through the Land to carry Vessels out to Sea the whole is very well Fortified the Officers here are chosen by Strangers or Foreigners the Churches are many and remarkable the new Church is of an eight-square figure with a Cupola the Tower of the old great Church very high the Stadthuise with the old statuas about it the round Piazza and many private buildings are Considerable and the whole Country about it is fruitful either divided into Gardens and Orchards or Planted with Madder Pompions or Grain and Fruits The Zealanders are generally addicted to the interest of the Prince of Orange and great Lovers of his Person I found them not a little delighted that the Prince had been with them some days before and was made Premier Noble or chief of the States of Zealand which was chiefly brought about as I was informed by Pensioner Hubert Le Sage Duvelaer and Vriebergen formerly no great friends to the Prince especially Vriebergen who was the most earnest of any to bring him in in despite to the Hollanders for General Worts his sake who being set over the Zealand forces by those of Amsterdam lately affronted Vriebergens Son who was a Colonel at the head of his Regiment I was entertained at Middleburg very courteously by Mr. Hill the Minister who also sent his Kinsman with me to Flussing Flissinga or Vlussing hath Stone-Wals towards the Sea and Mudworks towards the Land a very good Port and a strong Town the waves of the Sea washing its walls it was one of the first Towns which the Low Country men took from the Spaniards in the year 1572 and was made Cautionary to Queen Elizabeth together with Rammakins and the Briel 1585. The renowned Sr. Philip Sidney being the first Governour of it and surrendred by King James to the United states 1616. The Sea shoar here abouts is not only faced with rushes flaggs and reeds staked down as high as the Tide usually ariseth but it is also strongly bound over with Osiers and hurdles and great Posts driven in to break the force of the Water and secure the Piles which make the Harbour or Havens mouth The Town-house is handsomely built standing in the Piazza having three rowes of Pillars in the Front one above another the Lower Dorick the second Ionick and the highest Corinthian and on the top there is a Gallery or Balcony to Discover ships at Sea This is the third Port for the East India trade Amsterdam and Rotterdam being the first and second here lay many great ships in the middle of the Town and considerable men of War as the St. Patrick and the Admiral of Zealand we saw them also building of divers ships and when the Prince was here they Lanched one to divertise him to which he gave the name of William Frederick they also presented him with a Golden Bottle that being the Arms of the Town the Prince Landed at Armuyden and went from thence to Tergoes and thence to Breda they reported his entertainment in Walcheren amounted to fifty thousand Guldens The Women in this Island wear most of them red Cloth and straw-Hats if a Man dies a great bundle of Straw is layd at the Door if a Boy a little one if a Woman the straw lies on the left side of the Door when any Woman is brought to bed they fasten a piece of Lawne to the ring and rapper of the Door and make it up into a little baby or puppet finely pleated and in such manner as to distinguish of what sex the young Child is Returning to Middleburg by Land I observed there was a row of Trees round the Town between the moat and rampart where ordinarily there is only a breast-worke or a hedge and embarked at Middleburg again and passed down the River by the fort Rammakins and so for the Schelde Sayling up that noble River till we had passed the Fort Frederick Henrick and came to Lillo where we stayd till the Vessell was searched Over against Lillo lyeth another Fortification called Lifgens hock the Fort de la croix is the last that belongeth to the Hollanders and lieth on the North side of the River the Banks are cut nigh to it and the Country drowned for its greater security The Spanish Forts hereabouts to defend the Frontiers are the Philip the Pearl and the Maria. The River Scaldis or Scheld mentioned by Caesar is a gallant River affording plenty of fish and convenience for Navigation and passage unto several noted places It ariseth in the Country of Vermandois passing to Cambray Valencienne so to Tournay or Dornick Oudenard Gaunt Rupelmond and Antwerp and pursuing its course is afterwards divided into two streams whereof the Southern is called the Hont the other runs by Bergen ap Zome and so into the Sea between the Isles of Zealand The next day morning we went on our Voyage still up the Scaldis or Schelde and arrived at Antwerp Where I had the good fortune to see Mr. Hartop one very well known in all those parts and of high esteem for his personal strength and valour A Gentleman also so courteous that he makes it his business to oblige strangers he shew'd me many
before by the Electors of Triers and Colen it belonging at that time to the Duke of Lorrain On the 16th early in the Morning we came to Andernach where the plague was very much at that time and they kept a great many of their sick in Boats upon the Rhine Andernach of old Antenacum was one of the Roman Fortresses Upon this River some think that Caligula was born and that Valentinian was buried hereabouts Near unto this place are also Mineral Springs well frequented and much made use of The Town is encompassed with an old Wall and the Gates were shut up by reason of the Plague Notwithstanding there being divers Friers in our company several of the Towns-men sent out dishes of Meat to them which we eat in the Field upon Trees which were laid along near the Town This day the passage by water seeming tedious to us Mr. Mulstroth a worthy German Gentleman with whom I travelled as far as Spire was willing we should hire a Coach together which we did and invited the Friers with whom we had breakfasted to go along with us in it to Coblentz We passed through a very pleasant Country between rows of Walnut-trees in sight of two of the Elector of Triers Houses and near to a House belonging to the Count de Wert We passed the Mosella over a hand some Stone-bridge of thirteen Arches built by Archbishop Baldus or Balduinus in the year 1344. and coming into the Town we went to the Dominican Convent which is pleasantly seated near the Banks of the River Mosella but the Prior of the Convent whom we had brought with us was so obliging that he would not part with us that night and we were very civilly entertained by him in his Lodgings He invited also some of the Convent to bear us company and after a handsome Supper with plenty of excellent Moselle wine we went to bed between two Feather-beds Coblentz or Confluentia is a Town of a Triangular Figure seated at the meeting of two great Rivers the Rhine and the Mosella which make two sides thereof and the third is made by a Line drawn from one River to the other which is now well fortified after the most regular Modern way The Wall within these Works had many old high Towers and formerly there was another still nearer to the uniting of the Rivers and consequently containing a less space of ground This Town is under the Elector and Archbishop of Triers Carolus Caspar of the Noble Family of the Leyen Arch-Chancellour for the Empire in Gallia Belgica and the Kingdom of Arles It was given to the Church of Triers when Medoaldus was Archbishop above a thousand years since in the time of King Dagobert The Situation is pleasant and convenient and lieth over against the Castle of Hermanstein or Ehrenbreitstein that is The Stone of far extended Honour at the foot of which Castle upon the shoar of the Rhine under a great Rock stands a very Noble Palace of the Electors two large Wings and the Front with five Pavilions standing towards the River and from it a long Bridge of Boats over the Rhine to Coblentz when any great Vessel passeth by they let slip three Boats whereby the passage lieth open and make them fast again afterwards In the German wars the Spaniards thrust in a Garrison into this Town which was afterwards beaten out by the Rhinegrave for the King of Sweden and the strong Castle of Ethrenbrietstein being put into the hands of the French the Emperours Forces seized upon the Archbishop of Triers who then was Philippus Christophorus and carried him away to Vienna In places where the Rhine runneth through a low Country and a fat Soyl it washeth away the Banks to secure which in divers places they have made great Works of Wood and also to secure Vessels from the danger of the Ice And I remember riding near the Banks of the River Loire in France I observed them in some places to be handsomly defended for a long way together with Free-stone Near unto Coblentz upon a Hill is a Convent of Carthusians October the 17th we went up the Rhine to Boppart a walled Town upon the western bank where Van Trump was at that time It is a very old Town one of the Roman Fortresses against the Germans called anciently Bodobriga some would have it called Bopport from Beauport Fair-haven or Bonport a good convenient place for Vessels to retire into or to ride in On the 18th we dined at St. Guer a pleasant Town belonging to the Landtgrave of Hesse who hath a Castle here Coming on shoar we met with an odd custome for upon the Wall side there is fastned a Collar of Brass at present but was formerly of Lead and given by Charles the Fifth into this most Strangers that come put their Necks at which time they ask them Whether they will be sprinkled with water or drink wine and if they choose the latter they give an entertainment of wine to the Company The Queen of Sweden passing by this place gave a great Silver Cup out of which they now drink at this Ceremony We lodged this night at Wesel a Town situated between a high Hill and the River belonging to the Archbishop of Triers Here in the Market-place they shew us the print of St. Huberts Horses foot in a Free-stone On the 19th we came to Baccharach or ad Bacchi aras belonging to the Elector Palatine a place famous for Excellent Wines We passed by an old Castle seated upon a Rock in the middle of the Rhine being of an irregular figure called Pfalts where formerly the Prince Palatines of the Rhine were born the Princesses being sent hither to be brought to Bed We came this night to Dreickshausen the next day we went by a dangerous Passage there being many Rocks under water which cause the River to run very rapid and unequally A little above this we came to a round Tower on a Rock in the Rhine called the Mouse-tower built by Hatto Archbishop of Mentz in the year 900. who as the Story goeth in a time of great Scarcity pretending to relieve the poor who wanted bread invited them together into a Barn where he burnt them all saying They were like the Rats and Mice which would devour the Corn. After which he was so persecuted with Rats and Mice that to avoid them he caused this Tower to be built in the middle of the Rhine which did not avail him for they followed him thither also and at last devoured him A little above this lieth Bing upon the Western shoar a considerable Town belonging to the Elector of Mentz here our Boat stayed to pay Custome as it had done also at Bonna Liutz Hammerstein Andernach Coblentz Lodesheim Bopport St. Gower Cub and Baccharach For the trade of the Rhine being great Princes and Lords who have Towns upon it make use of that advantage which though it abateth the gains of the Merchant brings considerable profit to themselves Bing
then to the King of Spain afterwards by Vichet in the half way and then by Navagne a strong Fort in the Maes which commands the River and at that time did the Spaniard service then by pleasant Rocks on our left hand wherein many Cuts and Passages have been digged till we came in sight of Maestreicht This Town having been a little before taken from the United States by a sharp Siege was full of French and had a Garrison in it of about Ten thousand men and in the Market-place stood about Two hundred large Field-pieces We saw the places where they had their Batteries and their Mines and the Half-moon which the Duke of Monmouth took the Out-works were very numerous and many of them undermined Colonel Storff shew'd us a handsome Draught of all the Works Approaches and Manner of taking of the Town About a quarter of a Mile out of the Town we went into the great Quarry of Stone which is one of the noblest sure in the World Between Padoa and Vicenza I had formerly seen the famous Cave of Custoza or Cubola said to be above Five hundred Fathoms in breadth and Seven hundred in length but this doth far surpass it the Roof is very high and stately in most places the Pillars not to be numbred all very large we passed two miles under ground amongst them No Labyrinth can be contrived more intricate and yet all parts are uniform The Floor all in a level and the Roof in most places of the same height and so much hath that uniform rule which I suppose was set to those who first digged and so hath successively been observed added to the beauty of this place that there is scarce any thing more noble It put me in mind of the hundred Chambers of Nero which he caused to be made under Ground in the Rocks at Baiae And the Water which we met with in one place made me think of Nero's admirable Fish-pond built in the like manner within the Earth We came out again near to a Convent upon the Banks of the River and returned by water to Maestreicht The next day we parted Company Mr. Newton Mr. Ettrick Mr. Grove Mr. Carlton and Mr. Newcomb went for Aken and Colen Mr. Bates and Mr. Daston went up the River again to Liege at which place staying a day or two to find a convenience to pass to Brussels we were nobly entertained at a Dinner with Venison Wild-boar and other Dishes by that worthy Person and Learned Mathematician Franciscus Slusius one of the great Canons of Liege who also continued his high Civilities to us to the last Minute we stayed in Town Leaving Liege we soon came in sight of Tongres or Tungrorum oppidum the most ancient place in all these Countries Ortelius would have it to be called of old Atuatuca It was a strong hold before the coming of Julius Caesar into Gaul and was afterwards made a Roman Station and in process of time became so great that Attila the Hun destroyed an hundred Churches in it it being at that time a Bishops See which in the year 498 St. Servatius removed unto Maestreicht Many old Coins and Antiquities are still found here and part of an old Chappel said to be built by St. Maternus Disciple to St. Peter is still remaining When the King of France made his great inroad into the Low Countries 1672. he borrowed this Town of the Elector of Cologne and then passed on to Maseick where crossing the Country to the Rhine by the sides of these great Rivers Rhine and Maes he made that notable Incursion and quitted not Tongres till he had taken Maestreicht the year following We dined this day at Borchloe and lodged at St. Trurn or St. Truden a handsome little Town so called from a Church and Abby herein dedicated to that Saint The next day we dined at Tienen or Tilmont on the little River Geet once one of the chief Towns in Brabant but long since decayed In these Plain Countries in many places we saw small Hills or Sepulchral Eminences of the Ground And near unto the Walls of Yienen are three very remarkable ones said to be the Tombs of great Commanders In the Evening we came to Lovain Lovain is the chief City of that quarter of Brabant which comprehendeth Arschot Halen and Judoigne an ancient and large City pleasantly seated upon the River Dele it is of great Circuit and the compass of the wall accounted above four miles about but there are many void Spaces Hills Fields and Gardens within it which makes it very pleasant and delightful There are herein divers good Buildings Convents and Churches the chief whereof is the stately Church of St. Peter the Convent of the Carthusians the Hospital The publick Palace or Senate-house are also Noble It is the great University of these parts said to have had its beginning about 926. but endowed by John the Fourth Duke of Brabant and confirmed by Pope Martin the Fifth 1425. There are Forty three Colledges in it whereof the four chief are Lilium Falco Castrum Porcus Goropius Becanus a Learned Man and Native of Brussels affirmeth That no University in Italy France Germany or Spain is to be compared unto it for its elegant and pleasant Situation The University is under the Government of Rector who is in great esteem and honour among them This University hath produced many Learned Men But neither the Buildings of the Colledges nor their Endowments do equal those of our Universities and the Situation thereof seems not to exceed that of Oxford We travelled from hence to Brussels being most part of the way in the sight of the very high Tower of the Church of St. Rombald at Machlin Count Monterei was then Governour of the Low-Countries and resided at Brussels the ordinary Seat of the Governours of the Spanish Netherlands which City he had taken care to fortifie and to make it more tenable if it should be attempted by the French From Brussels we passed to Antwerp where we were handsomely treated by Mr. Wauters and Mr. Hartop and having visited some of our Friends the next day we passed the River Schelde and took Coach in the morning travelling through a fruitful plain flat Country set with rows of Trees in most places and arrived in the evening at Ghent Gaunt Gandavum or Ghent is esteemed to be the greatest City not only of Flanders but of all the Law-Countries and challengeth a pace amongst the greatest in Europe but at present it decreaseth and decays rather than encreaseth And if Charles the Fifth were now alive he could not put Paris into his Gant a greater Glove would not fit that City which is so much increased since his time In Ghent are many noble Convents among which the Jesuites is one of the fairest There is a Cloister also of English Nuns The Cathedral is stately and the Tower belonging to it being very high gives a prospect of a pleasant and fruitful Country round about it
and Design were continued it would be very handsome Before the Court stand five brass Statues The Park is pleasant with Trees set in order and adorned with Grotto's Fountains and Water-works which come very near the Italian one piece somewhat imitating Frascati in which all Musical Instruments are imitated and a perpetual motion attempted and on the Front of the Buildings stand the Caesars head But the Eccho is most remarkable which may perfectly be distinguished to ten or twelve Replies The greatest Church is that of St. Gudula in which is her Statua the Devil striving to blow out the Light of her Lanthorn Two Chappels therein are remarkable the one built by Leopoldus very fair on the outside the other towards the North hath been visited by five Kings in which is the Host which bled being stabbed by the Jews In the Dominican Church is the Monument of the Duke of Cleve and his Dutchess in Gorinthian brass But for a New Church that of the Begennes or Pious Maids is very considerable there being Eight hundred of them in this City who have a particular place allotted to them where they have built this milk white Church The Plague was much in this place at that time three hundred Houses being shut up and a Garland placed on the doors in the middle of which †was written IHS I saw the English Nunnery and other considerable Buildings And after I had refreshed my self at the Fish-Tavern which is worth the seeing especially for two Rooms in it furnished from top to bottom with very good Pictures I returned to Antwerp Octob. 4. I travelled through an open Country and lodged at Molin bruslè The Spanish Souldiers met us upon the Road this day some of them well mounted and armed and begged of us and were well satisfied with a small Benevolence The next day we entred the Country of Liege and passed great Heaths and on the Sixth in the morning arrived at Maestreicht Trajectum ad Mosam or Maestreicht is a strong Town seated upon the Maes four Leagues below Liege The Out-works are very considerable the Wall is old Towards the South-east lyeth a Hill which ariseth gently and overlooks part of the Town Under this Hill is one of the noblest Quarries of Stone in the World To secure the Town from the disadvantage it might receive from this Hill there was formerly a Fort built upon it but it hath been long since slighted and they have made out an Horn-work within Musket-shot of it and the Bastion answering to it is made very high to cover the Town On the other side of the River standeth Wicke very well fortified also and rather stronger than Maestreicht into which they might retire if the Town should be taken by Storm it being united to Maestreicht by a handsome Bridge over the Maes consisting of Nine Arches All about Wicke the Country is flat there are many Inhabitants in it and a handsome Glass house The private Houses of Maestreicht are generally covered with a black Slat or Ardoise otherwise not very beautiful The Town house is fair seated in one of the Piazza's built of white Stone it hath Nine large Windowes in a row on each side and within is very well painted by Theodorus van der Schuer who was Painter to the Queen of Sweden In another Piazza is a Fountain rows of Trees and the great Church This Town was besieged and taken from the King of Spain by the Confederate States in the year 1632. October the Seventh I dined at Gallop a small place and came that night to Aken Aix la Chapelle or Aquisgrane an ancient noble City the Inhabitants Courteous and much frequented by reason of its hot Baths of which I shall speak more particularly in my Journey from Colen to London Leaving Aken I travelled towards Juliers or Gulick but it being late before we arrived the Gates were shut up so as we went only under the Walls leaving it on our right hand Near unto Gulick runneth a shallow swift River called the Roer At the Mouth of it where it falleth into the Maes is seated a considerable Town called Roermonde through which I passed in the year 1673. when Sir Lionel Jenkins and Sir Joseph Williamson were sent Plenipotentiaries to Cologne in our Journey from Antwerp to that City We then passed the Country of Brabant by the way of Thornhaut Weert Roermonde and the next Night passing by Erkelens lodged at Castro or Caster in Gulickland where there are still the remains of an old Castle formerly built for the Defence of that part of the Country Roermonde is seated upon a rising Hill near the River Roer hath a Colledge of Jesuits in it a handsome Piazza and an old Abby with divers Monuments very ancient founded by Gerard Earl of Guelderland From this Town their Excellencies were saluted with the Guns from their Walls charged with Bullets The Spaniards in most places striving to express the highest of their respects From Gulick I travelled to Cologne where I arrived October the 10th 1668. A JOURNEY FROM COLEN TO VIENNA COlen Coln or Colonia Agrippina was anciently the Capital City of the Ubii a people who were at first possessed of the Countries now called Berg and March but being over run by the Germans next to them Agrippa Lieutenant of Gallia received them into protection and placed them upon this side of the Roman shoar of the Rhine where they built this place and called it Oppidum Ubiorum and the Romans seating themselves here for the defence of the Country in Honour of Agrippina daughter to Germanicus and wife to Claudius whose Birth-place it was gave it afterwards the Name of Colonia Agrippina It is at present one of the largest if not the greatest of any City in Germany secured towards the Land by a high Wall and two deep Trenches and towards the Water by a Wall of Stone The Rhine renders it delightful upon one side and divers rows of Trees enclose the Town towards the Land They have some Out-works as Half-moons and Ravelins but their best security is in the great number of men which they are able to raise within themselves Many of the Streets are broad and paved with broad stones It received the Christian Faith very early and Maternus was their Bishop above 1350 years since who subscribed amongst others to the Council of Arles They have a great number of Churches and well endowed which take up a great part of the Town The Prebends and Canons Houses having in many places Vineyards and large Gardens adjoyning Towards the North end of the Town the Church of St. Kunibald is considerable The Convent of the Dominicans is fair and newly built with a Garden in the Court and all the Chambers uniform The Jesuites Church is well built and stored with rich Copes Altar-pieces and other Ornaments In the Church of St. Gereon a Saint of great name here martyred about Colen in the time of Maximianus are about a thousand Saints heads
this may well be reckoned as one of the ten considerable Cities which are upon the Danube accounting from Ulme unto Belgrade as Ulme Ingolstadt Ratisbone Passaw Lintz Vienna Presburg Strigonium Buda Belgrade all which from Ratisbone I had the opportunity to see before the end of my Journey Near to a Wall over against the great Church at Passaw which was then repairing I saw a vast Head cut in stone the Mouth whereof was two spans wide and the rest proportionable The River Iltz which runneth in here from the North is considerable for the Pearls which are found in it and the noble River Inne or Oenus from the South is the greatest River which hath yet entred the Danube having passed by Insbrug and taken in the River Saltz upon which stands Saltzburg and arising in the Alpes in such a high Country as Tirolis it runneth in here with a great force and addeth much unto the swiftness of the Danube Upon the Sixteenth we came to Lintz the chief City in the higher Austria not very great but as neat and handsome a City as most in Germany There is in it a very great Market-place with never a bad House in it the whole Town built of a very white Free-stone and the Castle upon the Hill is of Modern Building and very large There is also a Bridge over the Danube The Imperial Forces rendezvoused here when Solyman came to Vienna This was also besieged by the Peasants of Austria in the time of Ferdinand the Second they having got a Body together of Forty thousand men and many pieces of Ordnance but were stoutly repulsed after many Assaults and at last overcome by Papenheim Not far below Lintz the River Draun enters the Danube this cometh from the Gemundner Sea or Lacus Felicis passing by Lampack Weltz and other Towns and hath a noted Cataract or Fall of Waters The Whirle-poole in the Danvbe I. Olivor Fe THE DESCRIPTION OF VIENNA VIENNA or Wien which the Turks call Berch is the chief City of Austria in the Latitude of forty eight Degrees twenty Minutes not much differing from the Latitude of Paris The old Seat of the Dukes of Austria and for a long time of the Emperours of Germany According to ancient account it standeth in Pannonia superior the Bounds of Pannonia extending unto Kalemburg or Mons Cetius five or six miles Westward of Vienna beyond which still Westward all that lieth between that Hill and the great River Oenus or Inne which runneth into the Danube at Passaw or Castra Batava was anciently called Noricum It was an ancient place of Habitation in the time of the Romans and called Vindobona as the Learned Petrus Lambecius hath at large declared where the Classis Istrica sometimes lay and the tenth German Legion had its station all this shoar or side of the Danube being famous for the actions of Roman Emperours against the Marcomanni and Quadi who possessed the Country on the other side of the River and especially for the wars of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Philosophus who notably defeated those Nations and who as Aurelius Victor who was Governour of Sirmium in Pannonia inferior in the time of Constantius affirmeth fell sick at Carnuntum now Petronel and died at Vindobona now Vienna And to confirm the Antiquity hereof besides what Wolfgangus Lazius hath delivered not many years since some Antiquities were found For in the year 1662. when a wall was digged up near the old Palace the workmen digging still on below the Foundation found a Stone Trough or Coffin containing hard Earth and Bones with a small Gold Coyn a Glass Urn enclosed in a Brass one an Iron Knife like a Sicespita or Knife used about Sacrifices a little Roll or Scroll of pure Gold shut up with a Golden cover at both ends wherein was an Inscription in strange Characters Not far from the Sepulchral Monument were found a Head in Brass a Brazen Patera Lamps Lachrymatories and other Vessels and a Copper Coyn of Antoninus Caracalla The writing in the Golden Scroll which no man could read was conceived by the Learned Lambecius to be the old Pannonian Character and that this might be the Monument of some Pannonian Priest in the days of Caracalla who as good Authors deliver spent some time about these parts It is seated on the South-side of the Danube on the ripa Romana that side nearest to Rome and many Roman Colonies according to the usual position of Roman Stations both upon this River and the Rhine as may be exemplified in Colen Bonna Andarnach Coblentz Ments Wormes Spier and Strasburg And in like manner in the old Roman Stations on the South or Roman side of the Danube which were in no small number in or near the Austrian shoar as Carnuntum or Petronel Vischmund or Aquinoctium Ebersdorff or Ala Nova Melck or Nomale Arlape or Pechlarne Lentia or Lintz for hereby they better secured their Conquests and hindred the incursions of the Barbarians before them It is not seated upon the main stream of the Danube but by a branch thereof for the River running through a low Country it is divided into several Streams and maketh many Islands A small River named Wien runneth by the East part of this City and entreth the Danube below it which upon floods doth often much hurt yet sometimes low and very shallow so as I have stepped over it some will have it to give the Name unto this City it divideth part of the Suburbs from it and hath divers Bridges over it For that we may have a distinct apprehension of Vienna we must consider the City and Suburbs thereof the Suburbs are very great and not without fair Houses Gardens Walks and all Accommodations at large The City it self is that walled and fortified part designed not only for convenience of Habitation but also to sustain a Siege or any Attack from the Turk and is now separated from the Suburbs by a fair Esplanade or open Ground above a Musket shot over The Houses near the wall were pulled down since the last Fortification in the Turkish war when they were in some fear that the Turkish Forces about Gran and New-heusel would move towards them It is fortified a la moderna with ten Bastions towards the Land and a very deep Ditch into which they can let the Danube and with two other Bastions towards the water on that part of the River which lieth on the North-side of the Town The Bastions are large upon one of them I saw Count Souches muster a good part of the Militia of the City The Ditch is large and very deep into which although they can let in the River yet it is commonly kept dry lest they might incommode their deep Cellars There are two walls the one old and inward little considerable at present built at first with the ransome of our King Richard the First who in his return from the Holy War was detained Prisoner by the Duke of Austria upon the 20th of December
Bishop of Triers The Picture of St. Katherine of Sienna drawn by Sigismund King of Poland A Picture of the Emperour as he giveth Audience to be looked upon through a little round hole A neat Table of Inlay'd Stone made by the present Empress Dowager Eleonora A Nail of our Saviour's Cross almost a foot long our Saviour's Blood and two Thorns of his Crown the one whiter than the other Priests Garments covered all over with large Pearl The great and high esteemed Agate Dish between three and four spans Diameter with XRISOS naturally in it Unto which one applied that of St. Luke Dico vobis quia si hi tacuerint lapides clamabunt Unto which magnificent Rarities there is one more added the noble Chain of Pearl of eight yards long taken from the Graff Tokoly in the late Hungarian war as I understand since my Return I went unto divers noted Places about Vienna I walked unto the Hill of Vienna two English miles distant from the Town going up all the way by an easie Ascent from whence I had a prospect of the City and the Campagnia about it together with the high Mountains in Steirmark covered with Snow and in my return saw the Palace of the Empress Dowager without the Town called la Favorita and passed by the Convent of the Paulini About two English miles Eastward from Vienna there is a very noble Garden-place belonging to the Emperour built by Rodolphus the Second which hath been formerly well furnished and provided with Plants but now seems to be neglected and somewhat ruinous It consisteth of an inward and an outward square Garden The inward is two hundred ordinary paces square about the same bigness with the Place Royal at Paris It hath a Portico or Cloyster supported by Forty Pillars of white Stone on each side and is covered with Copper as are also the Pavilions which the common people think to be Gold Besides this there is an handsome row of Buildings well seated called Néw-gabaú in which at present are many wild Beasts kept Lions and Tigres breed here and have young ones Some say this was the place of Solyman the Magnificents Tent when he besieged Vienna There is also about two or three miles from Vienna a noted place of Devotion called Arnols much frequented especially in Lent divers carrying Crosses very heavy all the way upon their shoulders There is here a little House built exactly after that of the Sepulchre at Jerusalem and also a handsome Copy of the Picture of our Saviour and the Virgin Mary with their exact heights That of our Saviour is about two yards high that of the blessed Virgin three or four singers breadth lower These are taken from the Original in St. John de Lateran at Rome Hither the Empress desired to go one morning from her own Palace on foot out of Devotion which she performed though with a great deal of difficulty she being not used to walk and the way was dusty The Emperour accompanied her and all the Court followed on foot which made a handsome shew Nearer unto Vienna there is also a remarkable place for Devotion called Itzing and in the way from Vienna unto it the twelve Stations of the Cross are marked out in imitation of what is observed near Jerusalem in the Via Crucis or Dolorosa in our Saviours proceeding from the City unto Mount Calvary the Figures thereof are printed and the several paces between every Station set down The Emperour hath a handsome Park near Vienna called the Brater wherein I beheld the effects of the great Lightning and Thunder which happened three days before upon many great Trees which were torn split or twisted There is a House of Pleasure in it where among other things I could not but take notice of a Musical Instrument which I had not seen before a Seat or Chest-drum it hath a Cord like that of a Sea-trumpet but soundeth like a Kettle-drum I went also unto Laxambourg whither the Emperour often retireth he hath a House in this place but it is old and not large There is also a House of Pleasure in the Mote into which there is no other passage but through a high Gorridore The Castle is commodiously seated for the Emperours recreation and there is an eight-square House in the Marsh from which the Nobility and the Empress Dowager sometimes used to shoot she being very expert therein Over the Gate of the Emperours House hangs a great Rib and Jaw-bone whereof I could get no better account then they were the Rib and Jaw-bone of a heathen-maid They seemed to me to be Bones of an Elephant But many things that are old or obscure they call in this Country Heathen as Roman Coyns they call Heathen mony And the Peasants brought me in a place which had been formerly an old Roman Station part of the bit of a Bridle digged up which they concluded to be a Heathen Key From hence I went unto Mannersdorff seated not far from the River Leyta where there is a natural hot Bath called the Wildebath it ariseth under a Church the Church being built over the Spring-head The water of it is but Lukewarm and therefore when they desire it hotter they boyl it and so bathe in Tubs in a large room From that Substance which sticketh to the sides of the Coppers in the boyling of it they judge it to be impregnated with Sulphur Salt-peter and Chalk The water colours the stones and makes them look when wet like fine Turquoises And the vapour of the Bath hanging upon the Moss on the sides gives it an Amber or Gold colour The Physicians of Vienna have given a good account concerning the use of these Baths in High-dutch Not far from hence is a noted Quarry of Stone out of which a great part of Vienna is built The Stones being large they cut and square them at the Quarry From hence I proceeded to the Newsidler-sea or Lake so called from Newsidle which is a Town seated upon the Northern part of it consisting of one street and some back-houses and a small square old Castle upon a Hill from whence I had a good prospect over the Lake It is about three German miles broad and seven miles long The fairest Lake in these parts affording plenty of Fish encompassed and thickly set about with small Towns and Villages and hath no River at least not considerable running into or out of it A little way from the Gate of Newsidle they dig out a black earth out of which they make Salt peter In this Journey not far from Himburg we passed by a place called Rauckward which though it seems not high looks over a great part of Austria and as far as Brin the second City of Moravia a part also of the Kingdom of Bohemia and a part of the Kingdom of Hungaria I went afterwards four English miles up the Stream of the Danube to see a noted Quarry of Stone in a Hill called Altenburg The beds rows or
him who was employed by King Charles the First to endeavour a reconciliation between the Lutherans and Calvinists in Germany and to unite them if possible We were now in the Territory of the Elector of Brandenburg Fridericus Wilhelmus Great Chamberlain of the Empire who is in effect possessed of Magdeburg and next unto the Austrian Family is the most potent Prince in Germany being able to raise great Armies and his Dominions so large that they are reckoned to extend two hundred German miles in length from the further part of Prussia unto Cleve but they lay not together but interspersed with many other Princes Countries Howsoever a Horse-man may so order his Journey as to lye every night in one of the Electour's Towns in travelling from one end of his Territories to another I had now left the pure German Language behind me for at Magdeburg comes in another kind of German called Plat-Deutch Broad-Dutch Nidersachsische or the Language of lower Saxony a great Language spoken in the North part of Germany They speak it at Hamburg Lubeck and many great Cities But they can converse with the other High-dutch and with some difficulty also with the Netherlanders the one speaking in his Language and the other replying in his At this City of Magdeburg was performed the first Turnament that was in Germany which was opened in the year 635. by the Emperour Henry Surnamed the Fowler who coming from the war of Hungary exceedingly satisfied with the Nobility would oblige them to exercise themselves in handling their Arms and managing their Horses and therefore instituted these Sports whereby the Nobility was powerfully attracted to Valour and Gallantry and induced to perfect and accomplish themselves in all kind of Chevalry No new Nobility no Bastard no Usurper none guilty of High Treason no Oppressor of Widows and Orphans none born of Parents whereof one was of base Extraction and Ignoble no Heretique Murderer Traytor no Coward that had run away from the Battel nor indiscreet Person that had given offence to Ladies by word or deed were admitted to this Honour nor above One of the same Family at a time Princes came into the Lists with four Squires a piece Counts and Barons with three a Knight with two and a Gentleman with one The hour and place for the Turnament being appointed he that had a desire to break a Lance there came to the Presidents Lodgings to have his Name written down which was done in the presence of three Heralds to whom the Champion delivered his Helmet and Sword and after he had been at Confession presented himself in the Lists with one or more Squires according to his quality The Horses of the Combatants were to be without fault or exception the Caparisons and Furniture such as gave no offence their Saddles without any extraordinary rising before and behind and all things equal After which they performed all kind of Exercises on Horse-back and after the Jousts were ended every man repaired to the President of his Nation to wait for the Sentence of the Judges and he that best deserved the Prize received it either from the hand of some Lady or from the Prince that gave it These Pastimes were afterwards disused upon the Emulation it caused between the Princes and Nobility who strove to outvie one another or upon wars in which there was no leisure for such Exercises or perhaps upon consideration that divers brave men lost their lives in these Encounters And no less a Prince than Henry the Second King of France neglecting to wear his Beaver down was slain in a Turnament And at Darmstadt also in the year 1403. at the Three and twentieth Turnament which was held in Germany the Gentlemen of Franconia and those of Hesse drew so much blood upon one another that there remained dead upon the place seventeen of the former and nine of the latter The Winter growing on called me to make haste to Hamburg from whence I intended to pass by Sea into England and therefore I took the advantage of the Stage-Coaches at Magdeburg and in four days came to Hamburg I travelled through a Country for the most part barren of little accommodation or scarce any thing very remarkable through part of the Electour of Brandenburg and then through the Duke of Lunenburg's Country passing by the City of Lunenburg a handsome walled City beautified with divers fair Churches with high Spires The Church of St. Lambert the Town-house and the Duke's Palace are fair Here are Salt-springs in the Town very beneficial to the place and supplying the neighbour Countries The Town is commanded by a Hill near to it called Kalkberg which lieth on the North-side In this Road through lower Saxony I could not but take notice of many Barrows or Mounts of Earth the burial Monuments of great and famous Men to be often observed also in open Countries in England and sometimes rows of great Stones like those in Wormius his Danish Antiquities And in one place I took more particular notice of them where three massy Stones in the middle were encompassed in a large square by other large Stones set up an end Hamburg is a fair City and one of the great ones in Germany it is seated in a Plain being populous rich and remarkably strong It is fortified a la Moderne much after the way of Holland with works of earth but in no place yet Revestues or faced with brick or stone The Territory belonging to it is but small it is divided into the new and the old Town There are five Gates The Stone gate leading towards Lubeck the Dome-gate the Alten-gate or which leadeth unto Altenaw a place near the Town belonging to the King of Denmark where the Romanists and Calvinists have their Churches the Bridge-gate and the Dike-gate The Buildings of this City are handsome and commonly have a fair entrance into them The Senate-house is noble adorned with carved Statua's of the Nine Worthies The Exchange or place of meeting for Merchants was then enlarging it being too small to receive those Numbers which frequented it Many of their Churches are very fair with high Steeples covered with Copper The Front of St. Katherines is beautiful The Steeple of St. Nicholas is supported with great gilded Globes The other great Churches are the Dome-Church St. Peters St. Jacob. The greater and less St. Michael the New-Church in the New town The lesser Churches are St. Gertrude St. Mary Magdalen and the Holy Ghost They have a Sermon every day as in other Lutheran Cities The River Alster runs through it into the Elbe and turneth many Mills and the Tide comes up into divers Streets through Chanels although it be distant eighteen German miles from the Sea or Mouth of the Elbe This place aboundeth with shipping and many of good Burden and is well seated for Trade as having an open passage into the Ocean and being but a days Journey from the Lubeck on the Baltick Sea and being seated upon the long
River Elbe the third great River of Germany whereby it may have Commerce with a great part of that Country and as far as Bohemia Hamburg is full of Strangers and Merchants of several Countries The English Company have good Priviledges and a rich Trade and Ships come laden thither with Cloath to the value of an hundred thousand pounds sterling and they live here in good Reputation and to the honour of their Country they are Persons of worth courtesie and civility and I heartily wish them all success in their Affairs I must not omit the acknowledgment of my particular Obligation to that learned and worthy Person Mr. Griffin Preacher unto the Company Mr. Free the Treasurer Mr. Banks who hath been in many places of Natolia and the Holy Land Mr. Jenkinson and my very obliging Friends Mr. Catelin and Mr. Townly This place hath the happiness to be quiet when the great Princes of Europe are at war for it desires to hold a strict Amity with Princes and declines all Dissention with them I found a Ship at Hamburg bound for London and while it was fitting for Sail I made a short excursion into part of the King of Denmarks Country and returning to Hamburg again I ordered my affairs for England upon the first wind and hoped the next Tide to get over the Altenaw sand and to pass the Blanckness but a cross wind prevented so that I left not Hamburg till the tenth of December and then I had the good Company of Mr. Hoyle who came from Narva and set Sail in a new Ship but the days being at the shortest and the nights dark in the New Moon the Tide falling also in the day time we were able to get no further the first day than Stadt or Stoade upon the River Zwingh a strong Town belonging to the King of Sweden where the Ships that come up the River pay Custome and where the English Merchants had formerly their Residence when they left Hamburg upon a Discontent December the 11th we came by Gluckstadt belonging to the King of Denmark where the Castle the King's Palace and the Church are handsome and Anchored that night before the Mouth of the River Oast which ariseth in Bremerland and falleth into the Elbe a mile from Brunsbüttel on the other Holsatian shoar December the 12th we lost sight of the Northern shoar and passed Cook 's Haven in full hopes to put out to Sea that night but about Three in the Afternoon we were becalmed a League and a half below it where we were forced to come to an Anchor again lest the strong Ebbe should set us on ground among the Sands So we lay that night between Thicksand on the North and Newark on the South right over against a Light-house December the 13th the wind turning Westernly and blowing hard we returned to Cook 's Haven and came to Anchor Here I came a shoar and went up the Land to the Fort in this place belonging to the City of Hamburg It is a high square Work with a double Ditch and some Vessels come up to the Fort but the Ditch or Chanel which comes thither out of the Elbe is dry at low water The Town is called Reutsbüttel not far from the Lands end Two or three days after with a cold North-East-wind we set Sail for England Coming out of the Elbe we were all the Afternoon in sight of an Island called Heilige-landt or Holy-land belonging to the Duke of Holstein which being very high Land is to be seen at a good distance and is of excellent use to direct and guide Ships into the Mouth of the Elbe without which they would be at a great loss the Country about that Rivers Mouth being all very low Land Heiligeland is a small Island having about two thousand Inhabitants and six or seven small Vessels belonging to it which are imployed a great part of the year in bringing Lobsters and other Fish to London or Quinborough the Inhabitants living most upon Fish We bore out to Sea all night and the next day made towards the Land again and sailed in sight of Schiemoniekeoghe Amelandt and Schelling in the Evening we saw the Lights at the Vly and Texel when we were near the Land we were much troubled with the Frost and cold Weather and less when we were off at Sea The next day we had a fair wind and made such way that in the Evening we took down our Sails and let the Vessel drive not being willing to deal with the shoar in the night The next morning we soon discovered the Northforeland covered with Snow and came to an Anchor in Margarite-Road where the wind growing very high we rode it out for two days and two nights and came safe on shoar praised be God upon Christmas-day morning Now having made so long a walk in Germany I must confess I returned with a better opinion of the Country than I had before of it and cannot but think it very considerable in many things The Rivers thereof are noble and seem to exceed those of France and Italy Of the Rivers of Italy the Padus or Po is the most considerable which notwithstanding hath no very long course before it runneth into the Adriatick Sea And Italy being divided by the Appennine-hills running from West to East the Rivers which arise from either side cannot be long neither on the South-side before they run into the Mediterranean as the Arno Garigliano and others Nor on the North side before they run into the Adriatick or the Po. The chief Rivers of France as the Loyre the Seine the Rhosne and the Garonne I cannot but highly commend having passed upon them for divers days There are also four great Rivers in Germany the Danube the Rhine the Elbe and the Oder but none of France seem comparable unto the Rhine and Danube France having the Sea upon the North the West and the two large Provinces of Languedoc and Province upon the Mediterranean Sea hath the opportunity of Noble Cities and Sea-ports But some doubt may be made Whether any thereof do exceed Hamburg Lubeck and Dantzick The great number of populous large and handsome Cities doth afford great content unto a Traveller in Germany for besides about Sixty six free Imperial Cities are many more of good note belonging to particular Princes and divers highly priviledged And surely a true Estimation of the Cities and Towns of these days cannot be duly made from the Accounts and Descriptions thereof left an hundred years since or more for since those times Buildings have been better modelled and ordered Fortifications and Out-works more regularly contrived Convents and Publick Houses more neatly and commodiously built and the fair Colledges and Churches of the Jesuites which are now to be seen in most do much set off the Beauty of great Places Every where we meet with great and populous Towns Villages Castles Seats of the Nobility Plains Forests and pleasant Woods And besides the satisfaction we may have