The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume IV: Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts.Pöllnitz, Karl Ludwig, Freiherr von
History
The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume IV: Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts.
Pöllnitz, Karl Ludwig, Freiherr von
Europe -- Description and travel; Saxony (Germany) -- Court and courtiers
The Prince has a magnificent Garden in the Suburb of _Vienna_, which has a
Court before it, that is separated from the Street by an Iron Grate of
very curious Workmanship. In this Court is a very large Piece of Water,
with a Row of Chestnut-Trees on each Side, that leads to the House, or
rather the Castle, for ’tis a great and stately Building: They were still
at Work upon it when I saw it. This House fronts the Garden, and takes up
almost the whole Breadth of it. The Garden is shelving, for which Reason
it was thought proper to place a very fine Cascade in the middle of it.
There’s a very neat Structure at the End of it, which, like the House,
takes in the whole Breadth of it. Below Stairs is a great Saloon, all
lin’d with Marble of several Colours, and a Ceiling adorn’d with fine
Paintings: From this Saloon there’s a Passage to a Room on the Left, the
Ceiling and Wainscot of which are very fine; and then we enter into a
large Closet, and next to that is a Bedchamber, with a Gallery and another
large Closet at the End of that; so much for what is on the Left of the
Saloon. On the Right Hand is another large Apartment, and the Chapel. The
Backside of the Building looks into a great Court, where are the Stables
and Coach-houses: ’Tis pity that this Prince, after he had been at so much
Expence in this Building, did not buy the Ground where the Empress has
since built a Convent. The Prince was advis’d to it at that very Time, but
he refus’d, and said, he would not purchase the whole Suburb; to be sure
he repents it by this time; for the Convent, which the Empress has caus’d
to be erected there, is a great Inconvenience to that Prince, who cannot
stir one Step at Home, without being overlook’d by the Nuns.
On the other Side of the City is another Suburb, which is very
considerable, and the Walks there are very fine. The _Prat_, for Instance,
is a Place mightily frequented; ’tis a Wood in an Island, form’d by the
_Danube_, where there is such a surprizing Concourse of People in fine
Weather, that it may well enough be call’d, _The_ Boulogne _Grove of_
Vienna. As one returns out of this Walk we come to another, call’d _The
Emperor’s Garden_: Here was formerly a beautiful Palace, but the _Turks_
having burnt it the last time they besieg’d _Vienna_, there is nothing of
it to be seen now but the Ruins: The Garden is a large Spot of Ground,
and, with a little Expence, might be made very fine, but no body seems to
think about it, which I have been told is owing to the surprizing Swarms
of Insects the _Danube_ brings hither at certain Times of the Year, so
that People who come hither to walk, are forc’d to desert it: When they
can come without this Annoyance, the Gentry usually repair hither in the
Evening; adjoining to this Garden is a very fine Wood, in which are cut
out noble Walks: This, _Madame_, is all that is most remarkable in
_Vienna_ and its Suburbs, as to the Buildings; I will next endeavour to
give you an Idea of this Court.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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