A tour through some parts of France, Switzerland, Savoy, Germany and Belgium, during the summer and autumn of 1814Bernard, Richard Boyle
History
A tour through some parts of France, Switzerland, Savoy, Germany and Belgium, during the summer and autumn of 1814
Bernard, Richard Boyle
Europe -- Description and travel
A few hours drive brought us to Frankfort. The country for the most part
is flat, and abounds with woods, but, except near Frankfort, has little
to interest the traveller. We found that great commercial city fully
answerable to our expectations. Every thing announces the opulence of
its inhabitants. The streets are spacious, and adorned with houses far
surpassing any that either Paris or London can boast of. Some of the
great merchants maybe literally said to inhabit palaces. There are a
vast number of inns; some of them are on a great scale, and worthy to be
ranked among the best in Europe. I observed in the streets here a greater
number of _handsome private carriages_ than I had seen in Paris.
Although the _situation_ of Frankfort is not remarkable, in a
picturesque point of view, when compared with some other cities, yet it
is extremely advantageous for its inhabitants, being placed in the
centre of the richest country in Germany, whilst the Mein and Rhine
afford every facility for commerce. The roads are also in excellent
order. That between Frankfort and Mayence is paved, and is perhaps the
most frequented in Germany. There are various well-known manufactures,
and the shops are supplied with the productions of all countries. I
first noticed here the custom of having small mirrors projecting into
the streets, that the inhabitants may see, by reflection, what passes in
them.
The advantages of Frankfort for commerce have attracted a vast number
of Jews, and reconcile them to many regulations, imposed by the
magistrates, which otherwise they would not submit to. Their numbers are
said to exceed 6,000 in a total population of nearly 50,000. The fame of
Frankfort is not, however, merely of a commercial nature. It can boast
of having produced many of the most eminent _literary_ characters of
Germany.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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