Part 23 (1/2)
The starting-place for the ascent of the Schlern is usually Waidbruck, already referred to, and from thence a carriage-road leads by way of Kastelruth and the charmingly situated summer resort Seis, 3285 feet, to Bad Ratzes, 3950 feet, situated in the wild but well-wooded gorge of the Frotschbach. Between Seis and Bad Ratzes, set in the forest, are the ruins of the ancient home of the Minnesinger Oswald von Wolkenstein. From Bad Ratzes the peaks of the Schlern can be easily reached by a mule track, although serious climbers generally take up their residence at either the Schlern House or the Schlern Inn whilst ascending the various peaks which can be most easily reached from that point.
BLUMAU--TIERSER THAL--ROSENGARTEN.
From the Schlern and Rosengarten district one proceeds from the railway station to Blumau, 1020 feet, near Bozen, into the renowned and picturesque Tierser Thal. The carriage-road from Blumau takes one through pretty scenery in about two and a half hours to the little village of Tiers, and then on to Weisslahn-Bad, 3818 feet, from whence tourists' paths have been made leading up the Schlern to the Grasleiten hut, and over the Niger to the Kolner hut, from which one can then either ascend the Rosengarten, or proceed through beautiful flower-bedecked Alpine meadows to the charming Karer See.
KARER SEE--BOZEN.
From Karer See the road, which, though a fair one, is not practicable for motors, winds, gradually descending, through beautiful woods to Welschnofen, 3865 feet, a favourite summer resort, situated in a fine open valley with splendid views of the towering serrated ridge of the Latemar on the right, and on the left the beautiful Rosengarten. From Welschnofen there is a good road to Birchabruck, 2895 feet, a pretty place where the Welschnofen Thal branches to the left, and the wildly romantic Eggen Thal, leading to Bozen--which is the princ.i.p.al town in southern Tyrol--to the right.
Fa.s.sA THAL--PANEVEGGIO--SAN MARTINO--TRENT.
At Predazzo there branches off from the high road another good road which leads over the Rolle Pa.s.s, 6510 feet, into the Pala Dolomites, and then over Primero, 2350 feet, on one side towards Venice, and the other towards Trent. This fine high road threads its way through a splendid forest to Paneveggio, 5055 feet, a pleasantly situated village--set amid pine woods--from which one can return over the Lusia Pa.s.s, 6745 feet, to Moena, and ultimately to Karer See, with magnificent views of the Colbricon, the Cimon della Pala, and the Oetz Thal Alps in the background. From Paneveggio, too, the road climbs up the Rolle Pa.s.s, which forms the watershed between the Adige and Brenta, and then descends to San Martino, 4740 feet, which is charmingly situated in a beautiful wooded dell at the foot of the Dolomites. The road from the head of the pa.s.s to San Martino, once a monastery, is by stupendous zig-zags cut through a splendid forest.
Yearly the little village is becoming more and more popular, owing to its beautiful situation, the equableness of its climate, and the many charming excursions which can be made on every hand suitable either for the pedestrian or the climber.
The Imperial road from here descends rapidly to Primiero, and then traverses a wildly romantic ravine full of boulders, and with tree-clad mountain slopes to Primolano, on the Italian frontier, and thence to Tezze, 740 feet, which is the present terminus of the railway, and is the princ.i.p.al point on the Val Sugana road uniting Tezze with Trent, 640 feet, the chief town of the Italian Tyrol, with 25,000 inhabitants.
These, then, are a few briefly sketched tours in the Dolomite region which will, as we ourselves know, well repay the seeker after magnificent scenery, pure air, and solitude, or society, as the case may be.
Quite recently a most excellent and original type of relief map of the Dolomites has been published, which on account of its clearness and comprehensive character makes it a very valuable, if not positively indispensable, companion for all who wish to travel in this most interesting, though somewhat complicated district. Fortunately the map, which is published at a remarkably moderate price, is to be obtained at all the princ.i.p.al railway stations of the south Austrian railways, and one cannot do better than obtain a copy ere setting out for a Dolomite tour, whether it be an extended one or not.
We would call particular attention to the fact that the Dolomites being, many of them, on the frontier between Austria and Italy, there are numerous fortresses dotted about in quite unsuspected corners, the sketching and photographing of which, or even of their immediate surroundings, is very strictly prohibited. Warnings on signboards are erected at all the points of danger, and the instructions placed thereon should on no account be disregarded. The consequences of so doing are likely to be extremely unpleasant, and possibly lead to the at least temporary incarceration of the offender.
FOOTNOTE:
[20] The heights given are those appearing in the latest edition of Baedeker's ”Eastern Alps” and the publications of the Vienna and Austrian Alpine Clubs.
CHAPTER XI
THROUGH THE UNTER-INNTHAL: KUFSTEIN--KUNDL--RATTENBERG, AND THE STORY OF WILHELM BIENER--BRIXLEGG, AND ITS PEASANT DRAMAS--THE FAMOUS CASTLE OF MATZEN--ST. GEORGENBERG, AND ITS PILGRIMAGE CHURCH--CASTLE TRATZBERG--SCHWAZ
The first view one has of Kufstein from the railway, or rather of its ancient fortress of Geroldseck, which dominates the prettily situated little town, is almost bound to evoke the remark that it is a Salzburg in miniature. Indeed, the parallel is not an inapt one, for the partially tree-clad and rocky eminence on which the last stronghold held by the Bavarians at the end of the invasion of 1809 stands bears considerable resemblance to the greater Monchsberg with the town spread out at its feet.
The river Inn has narrowed ere it reaches Kufstein, which may be called the border town of north-eastern Tyrol, and now flows rapidly onward to meet the Danube. The place is pleasantly situated; but it is rather on account of the interest and beauty of its surroundings than to the town itself that its growing popularity as a holiday resort must be chiefly ascribed. And yet, with that ancient and grim old castle above one, with its huge round tower dominating the rock on which it stands, and the charming valley and pine-clad slopes of the environing hills spread out on either hand, one is tempted to linger in the town.
The Castle, which in all probability occupies the site of Roman _Albianum_, marks the position of one of the oldest settlements in Tyrol. Even in the times of Charlemagne there is at least one record of the place ”Caofstein,” accompanied by some interesting details.
From its position near the borderland of an antagonistic race Kufstein's history is romantic, stirring, and chequered. As a well-known writer upon Tyrol aptly says, ”For centuries it was turned into a political shuttlec.o.c.k, now taken by force of arms, then by stealthy surprise, now mortgaged, then redeemed or exchanged for some other possessions by its whilom owners.”[21] And its general fate and varying fortunes were similar to those of other frontier fortresses, such as Kitzbuhel during the Middle Ages.
The grim fortress upon the rock, somehow or other, when seen in the fading light of evening, seems to bear its story of cruelty, rapine and harshness on its face. Many a gallant heart in the old days, which people are so p.r.o.ne to label ”good,” pined or fretted to death within its walls; and, unless tradition is entirely at fault, many a n.o.ble maiden and dame also were incarcerated and died tragic deaths within its thick, grim walls, and in its sunless dungeons.
The history of the fortress, so far as it concerns us, may commence with its cession to Bavaria in or about 1363 by the d.u.c.h.ess Margaret, the last of Count Albert's successors as rulers of Tyrol, when she found herself unable to govern the country. She had acquired the estates of Kufstein, Rattenberg, and Kitzbuhel on her marriage with Louis of Brandenburg; and when she ceded Tyrol to Austria it was stipulated that these properties should revert to Bavaria.
[Sidenote: SIEGE OF KUFSTEIN]
These possessions remained Bavarian until the reign of the Emperor Maximilian I., when the two latter gave allegiance to him. Kufstein, however, refused to yield, and so in 1504 Maximilian appeared before it, and commenced a siege. This event is particularly interesting, as some authorities state it const.i.tuted the first occasion on which proof was given that the introduction of artillery meant the death-knell of mediaeval fortresses, however strong and hitherto regarded as inaccessible they might be. We are told, however, that the guns brought to bear upon the Castle by the Emperor in the first instance were quite ineffective, so much so, indeed, that the Governor, named Pienzenau, whose sympathies were strongly Bavarian, aroused the Emperor's anger by causing some of the garrison to sweep up with brooms the dust, which had been the only damage done by the besiegers' guns to the Castle walls, which were of great thickness, and also to dust the latter themselves with the same articles in full sight of the besiegers. The guns were either too small, or had been placed at too great a distance from the Castle to do more than graze it with their shot.
Finding his culverins and ”serpents” of no avail, the Emperor dispatched some one to Innsbruck for two monster guns, known as _Weckauf_ and _Purlepaus_, which the Governor of that town, Philip von Recenau, had recently cast at the foundry. These weapons, of which drawings are extant, although the chroniclers of the time do not mention their calibre or dimensions, were of considerably larger size than ”Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol” at Dover, and threw b.a.l.l.s of about 300 pounds in weight, it is said, for a distance of nearly two thousand yards. The arrival of the great guns put a very different complexion upon the siege; and after they had been brought to bear upon the castle, and had been fired,[22] it was found that their shot not only penetrated the fourteen-feet-thick walls with ease, but even the rock itself was pierced, according to some historians, to a depth of eighteen inches. Pienzenau now wished to surrender to the Emperor, provided his life was spared. But Maximilian did not forget the incident of the brooms, which bears some slight a.n.a.logy to the historic ”broom” incident connected with the Dutch Admiral Van Tromp, who hoisted one at his masthead in derision of the English, whom he claimed to have swept off the seas. ”So he is anxious to throw away his brooms, is he?” the Emperor is said to have remarked. ”He should have taken this course before. He has caused by his obstinacy the walls of this fine fortress to be so shattered, so he can do no less than give his own carcase up to a similar fate.”
And although great efforts were made to obtain pardon for Pienzenau and some of his more important supporters they were unsuccessful, the Emperor remaining quite obdurate. It is this execution of a brave man (whose courage and fidelity to his nation should have aroused nothing but admiration) which is a stain upon the Emperor's record. No less than five and twenty of the princ.i.p.al defenders were condemned to be executed. The survivors of the garrison attempted to escape secretly before the general a.s.sault, which had been arranged, took place, but they were captured. The first to be beheaded was Pienzenau; but when seventeen (some authorities say eleven) of his companions had shared the same fate, Eric, Duke of Brunswick, interceded with Maximilian so earnestly that the lives of the rest were spared. This same Eric had formerly saved the Emperor's life in battle, and possibly this fact influenced the latter towards clemency. Over the grave in which the victims of Maximilian were buried by the people of Kufstein was erected a little chapel at Ainliff on the opposite bank of the river.