1472, to Replace One Which Had Fallen In. the Pointed *S. Portal, Richly Adorned with Sculpturing, Dates from 1300
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226 Route 41. WORMS. From Strassburg becoming an important commercial place. The Quay, one of the best on the Rhine, is flanked with long rows of warehouses and magazines, and connected by rails with the main line. The two new churches, in the Gothic and Romanesque style respectively, are worthy of notice. Railway-Bridge across the Rhine, see p. 184; passengers to Mannheim, Heidelberg, etc. change carriages here. Stat Oggersheim, with the handsome Loretto Church, where Schiller spent some time in 1782 while engaged with his tragedy ‘Kabale und Liebe'. Then the thriving little town of Frankenthal (Hôtel Kaufmann; Hôtel Otto), with 5600 inhab., which owes its prosperity to Calvinists who were banished from the Netherlands by the Spaniards in 1554, and on account of religious differences emi grated from Frankfort to this place in 1562. Cotton, linen, and iron are the staple commodities. The late Romanesque Abbey Church was founded in 1119 and consecrated in 1224. The town is connected by a canal (constructed in 1777) with the Rhine, 3 M. distant. — Omnibus to Dürkheim (p. 233) in 2/2 hrs. Worms (*Alter Kaiser, near the cathedral; *Hôtel Hartmann; Bellevue, opposite Luther's Monument; Rheinischer Hof, on the river, 3/4 M. from the town; *Railway Restaurant), one of the most ancient towns in Germany, lies in the rich plain of the Wonnegau, 3/4 M. from the Rhine. The Burgundian conquerors of the Rhine land (431), the Franconian kings, and afterwards Charlemagne and his successors, frequently resided at Worms. The war against the Saxons was planned here in 772, and here the great contest con cerning the investiture of the bishops with ring and staff was adjusted by the Concordat between the Emp. Henry W. and Pope Calixtus II. As early as 1255 Worms, which was a free city of the Empire, belonged to the Confederation of Rhenish towns, and in the time of Frederick Barbarossa contained 70,000 inhab.; at the beginning of the Thirty Years' War the number had dwindled to 40,000, and is now 15,000 only (2/3 Prot.). The suburbs were levelled in 1632 by the Swedish Colonel Haubold, and in 1689 the town was treated with savage cruelty by Mélac and the young Due de Créqui. On 31st May the town was set on fire, after having been pillaged, and, with the exception of the cathedral and synagogue, soon became one smouldering heap of ruins. The town retained its independence down to the Peace of Luneville in 1801, and after the º French supremacy was annexed to Hessen-Darmstadt in 1815. The Cathedral, with its four elegant towers, two domes, and double choir, is a remarkably fine Romanesque structure. It was consecrated in 1110 (W. Choir of St. Lawrence in 1181) on the site of a much earlier church. The towers are adorned with quaint figures of animals and masks as gurgoyles. The N. W. tower was erected in 1472, to replace one which had fallen in. The pointed *S. Portal, richly adorned with sculpturing, dates from 1300. The pediment to Mayence. WORMS. 41. Route. 227 contains the figure of a woman with a mural crown, mounted on an animal, whose four heads (angel, lion, ox, eagle) are symbols of the four Evangelists, the whole being emblematical of the victorious Church. The *Interior (119 yds. long, 29 yds. wide, across transepts 39 yds.) has been recently restored. The E. choir was decorated with marble and gilding in the 18th cent., but the rest of the church is remarkable for its dignified simplicity and effective proportions. The Sculptures representing Daniel in the lions' den, in the first S. chapel on the r., and the Tomb stone of the three Franconian Princesses of the 14th cent. , now in the N. aisle, are interesting. The Baptistery, on the 1. side of the S. Portal, contains some large *Sculptures, admirably executed, and in excellent preservation. They were *::::". by noble families of Worms and placed in the old cloisters of 484, but on the demolition of the latter in 1813 were removed to their present position; they represent the Annunciation, Descent from the Cross, Resurrection, Nativity, and Genealogy of Christ. Here, too, is the Tomb stone of the knight Eberhard von Heppenheim (d. ióð), a well-executed kneeling figure in armour. The font is from the ancient chapel of St. John, which was taken down in 1807. The paintings of the two patron saints of the church, St. Peter und St. Paul, with other saints on the back, alone escaped the French conflagration. The chapel is shown by the sacristan (fee 18 kr.) who lives in the large Platz to the S. at the back of the Barracks. It may interest those versed in German lore to know that the space in front of the cathedral was the scene of the quarrel between Brunhilde and Chriemhilde, recorded in the 14th Adventure of the Nibelungenlied. On the N. side of the cathedral is the site of the Bischofshof, or episcopal palace, destroyed by the French in 1689, and again in 1794. On its massive red-sandstone substructure the handsome Heil'sche Haus" has been erected in the rich Renaissance style. In the Bischofshof was held the diet of April 1521, in which Luther defended his doctrines in presence of Charles W., six electors, and a numerous assembly, concluding with the words: ‘Here I stand, I cannot act otherwise, God help me! Amen.” This event is sometimes erroneously said to have taken place in the old Rathhaus, on the site of which the Church of the Trinity in the market-place was erected in 1726. The Luther-Platz, which is reached by the Carmeliter-Strasse direct from the railway-station in 3 min. , is embellished with * Luther's Monument, designed by Rietschel, partially modelled by him, and completed after his death by Kietz and Dondorf of Dresden (erected in 1868). This imposing memorial of the great Reformer of Germany, the execu tion of which occupied nine years, and cost about 17,000l., merits examination. A massive platform of light coloured polished granite bears a pedestal in bronze, adorned with reliefs from Luther's life, on which stands Luther's #Statue in bronze, 11 ft. in height, a commanding figure. In his left hand he holds a Bible, to which he points with his right; while his face, on which faith is admirably pourtrayed, is turned upwards. At his feet, in a sitting posture, are four precursors of the Reformation; in front, r. *Huss, 1. *Savonarola; at the back, r. Wickliffe, 1. Petrus Waldus. On the side pedesiais in front are"Philip the Generous of Hessen on the r., and Frederick the Wise of Saxony on the 1.3 at the back 45* 228 Route 41. - WORMS. Melanchthon on the r., and Reuchlin on the 1. (each 9 ft. in height). Be tween these, on lower pedestals, are allegorical figures of the towns of (r.) *Magdeburg, (1.) Augsburg, and (at the back) Spires, and between . the latter the arms of the º towns of Germany which first embraced the reformed faith. - The Synagogue of the 11th cent. , near the Mainzer Thor, is an object of interest to antiquarians, though externally insignificant. The Jewish community of Worms, is one of the oldest in Germany. The very ancient Jewish Burial-Ground lies on the W. side of the town, 3 min. from the cathedral. Heil's Garden contains interesting hot-houses with beautiful palms and rare plants (adm. 11–5 o'clock). In the Mainzer suburb, which was destroyed by the Swedes and French, the * Liebfrauenkirche (Church of our Lady), 1/2 M. from the cathedral, alone escaped. (It is reached by the first road diverg ing from the Carmeliter-Str. to the 1.). The church replaces an older edifice, and was consecrated in 1468; the keystone of the vaulted roof bears the arms of the different corporations of Worms who caused it to be built. The only object of interest in the interior is a curious old painted sculpture of the Entombment, with life-size figures, to the r. of the principal entrance. The Portal is enriched with statues of the wise and foolish virgins, the death of the Virgin, and her coronation by the Saviour. Service on Saturdays and those days dedicated to the Virgin. - The wine called Liebfrauenmilch (see Introd.) is yielded by vineyards near the church. Those near the old watch-tower of Luginsland, and at the Catterloch on the S. side of the town, yield a wine of equally good quality. The Rhine anciently flowed round a meadow known as the Rosengarten, on the r. bank of the river, opposite Worms (now the terminus of the Darmstadt railway, p. 169). To this spot attach many ancient traditions, preserved in the poetry of Siegfried and the Nibelungen, to appreciate which, however, a thorough acquain tance with the old German language is requisite. Hernsheim, with the white château of the Dalbergs, lies 3 M. to the N.W. of Worms. In the church repose many members of this illustrious family, among others the prince-primate Carl von Dalberg, once Grand Duke of Frankfort (d. 1817), and Emmerich Joseph von Dalberg (d. 1833), ambassador of Baden in Paris, created Duke by Napoleon for his services in promoting the emperor's alliance with Marie Louise. From Worms to Bingen by a branch railway in 23 hrs. (fares 2 ſl. 54, 1 fl. 48, 1 fl. 12 kr.). The country traverséd is uninteresting. Alzey on the Sulzbach , is the principal station. From stat. Monsheim a branch line runs to Griinstadt (p.