In Europe, during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, a widespread impulse towards city planning found expression in all the great towns. This movement was made possible by the fact that since the termination of the Franco-Prussian war, in 1870, there has been peace throughout Europe, and the money which theretofore had been wasted on swords and spears now found productive employment in plowshares and pruning-hooks. From out the turmoil and strife which marked the first two-thirds of the century, Germany arose united, alert, vigorous, ambitious, like a lusty youth, realizing both the opportunities before him and his own strength of body, mind, and will to take advantage of every opening. Austria, unwillingly freed from the incubus of Italy, found in union with Hungary a strength never before possessed; and Vienna and Budapest became centers of intense activity, which developed along lines of commercial progress, and also took on forms of convenience and orderliness which have served as examples the world over. Italy, once again shaking off the foreign yoke, became united under the rule of her own people. France, putting aside for the moment ideas of foreign domination, set herself to the task of leading all nations in the world of art and taste. England, drawing her princely revenues from every hemisphere, watched her commerce develop as her industries grew and her wealth increased. [Illustration: XIX. CITY CENTER. VIENNA. IN 1857, SHOWING THE FORTIFICATIONS.] Moreover, the past thirty-eight years of peace throughout Europe coincides with the period in which the greatest discoveries in the realm of natural forces, as applied to industry, have been made and utilized. So that the capital saved as the result of peace has yielded returns that have been increased in geometrical ratio, until we have reached the days not only of unparalleled wealth, but also of unparalleled opportunities for increasing wealth. Moreover, peace has widened the field of traffic, so that no nation now relies merely on its own people for its commerce, but out of every nation come the finest fruits of its industry to satisfy the world’s demands. And inasmuch as there are no bounds to human wants and satisfactions, the triumphs and the rewards of commerce find no limits. [Illustration: XX. CITY CENTER, VIENNA, AFTER TRANSFORMATIONS MADE BY ORDER OF FRANCIS JOSEPH IN 1857. The Ringstrasse and public buildings replace the fortifications.]