Our Little Austrian CousinMendel, Florence Emma Voigt
General
Our Little Austrian Cousin
Mendel, Florence Emma Voigt
Children -- Austria -- Juvenile literature
"Yes, Teresa," answered Herr Müller. "But it's a long jump from the
Romans to Duke Heinrich. Several hundred years after the expulsion of
the Celts from Vindobona, Charlemagne, the undaunted conqueror of the
age, absorbed it into the German Empire; he distinguished it from the
rest of the German Empire by giving it the name of the Eastmark or
border of the empire (Oesterreich), hence Austria. He placed a lord or
margrave over it; and when Conrad III of Germany became emperor, he
appointed Heinrich Jasomirgott ruler over the Eastmark, giving him,
at the same time, the adjoining territory of Bavaria. But he had no
right to dispose of these Bavarian lands as he chose, just because
he was angry with the Bavarians; and when his son, Frederick Redbeard
(Barbarossa) came to the throne, he gave it back to the Bavarians. But
Frederick Redbeard was a politic ruler; he did not wish to offend any
of his subjects; in order to make up to Henry Jasomirgott for the loss
of Bavaria, he raised him to the rank of duke, and thus Oesterreich
or the Eastmark became a duchy. This was about 1100; then, being such
an important personage, Duke Heinrich determined to make his home in
Vienna. He built himself a strong castle, surrounded it with a high
stone wall and a moat, as was the custom at that time, and included
within it the confines of the city, so that he and his people might not
be molested by neighboring princes.
"Here," continued Herr Müller, as they passed to the end of the Platz,
"is the Graben. To-day it is our most fashionable shopping district;
but in the time of Duke Heinrich it was a moat filled with water; and
here, where these rows of modern houses stand, were the ancient walls
which protected the city."
"Isn't it great!" cried Teresa, who, girl though she was, could
appreciate the ancient struggles of her ancestors for liberty and
defence.
"Oh, father, there is Der Stock im Eisen!" said Ferdinand. "Tell Teresa
about that, please; she doesn't know."
"Der Stock im Eisen?" repeated Teresa. "What is it?"
"That old tree with the iron hoop around it, at the corner of the
Graben," replied her companion.
"We will reserve that tale for the evening," answered Herr Müller; "it
is getting toward coffee hour, and we want to visit many places yet."
As he spoke, they walked slowly along the Graben, which means Moat in
German, and, at the end of several minutes, they reached a large open
square called Platz am Hof.
"Here is what remains of the palace of the House of Babenberg, which
Duke Heinrich built," said Herr Müller; "and here before it you see
the Tiefe-graben, or deep moat, which amply protected the stronghold
from attack. And there," he continued, moving as he spoke toward the
building, "stands the Schottenhof."
"The Schottenhof?" exclaimed Teresa, astonished. "Why is it called a
Scottish palace in Austria?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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