THEair of prosperity which is so apparent in Amsterdam and Antwerp is missing in Bruges, once populated by a busy multitude of craftsmen and weavers. Early in the seventh century, the city contained as many as fifty thousand weavers, and this was probably the period of its greatest splendour. For several centuries, however, Bruges held its position as a trading town, and in the fourteenth century, under the rule of the dukes of Burgundy, its market was known throughout Europe, and was visited by the wealthy merchants of Italy and Greece.
If the greatness of the industrial power has long since declined, Bruges can still boast of its ancient monuments, which invite visitors from all parts of the world. The town is much visited by strangers. It is easily reached from England by way of Ostend, and ships of five hundred tons can sail up to Bruges on its wide artificial waterway.
For the causes of the decay of the town, we must refer to the early wars that disturbed thecountry, to the penalty which the natives suffered for rebellion against the Archduke Maximilian in 1488, when the trade was transferred to Antwerp, and finally to the ravages of the Duke of Alva’s army.
Peter Titelmann harried the burghers in the days of religious strife to such an extent that the Catholic burgomasters and senators of the town petitioned the Duchess Regent to protect them. They complained that the Inquisitor of the Faith brought before them men and women, and forced them to confess; and that, without warrant, he dragged his victims from the church itself.
In 1583 the French, under Captain Chamois, having seized Ostend and other towns, came to the gates of Bruges. The burgomaster refused to admit the fifteen hundred troops, and rallying the townsmen, he made a stand against the invading force, compelling Chamois to retire.
The city was famed for its workers in tapestry, an art known early in the Netherlands, and probably borrowed from the Saracens. In 1606 Flemish artists, invited by Henri IV., introduced the working of tapestry into France, and a few years later the industry was established in England.
Philip the Good, of Burgundy, who died in 1467, was scarcely worthy of his title of virtue. He was, however, in spite of his adroitness in deception, an encourager of industry and commerce, and a protector of the arts. He invited the brothers, John and Hubert Van Eyck, to Bruges, and he patronised men of science and scholars. “Lord of so many opulent cities and fruitful provinces, he felt himself equal to the kings of Europe.” Upon his marriage with Isabella of Portugal, he founded at Bruges the celebrated order of the “Golden Fleece.” This Order played a great part in Flemish history. The symbol of the Golden Fleece was both religious and industrial, and the Lamb of God, hung upon the breast of the twenty-five knights, represented not only devotion, but also the woollen trade of the country. Motley gives the number of the knights as twenty-five, but another authority states that it numbered thirty-one, and that the members of the Order wore a distinguishing cloak, lined with ermine, and the cipher of the Duke of Burgundy in the form of a B, with flints striking fire. The motto was:Aute ferit, quam flamma micat.
The memorials of the days of splendour are many in this city of the past. The cathedralis not of the finest Gothic work externally, but it is rich in monuments, and lavishly decorated within. Its earlier portions date from the twelfth century, the fine nave is of a later period. The pictures are not of much importance.
Notre Dame has a lofty spire, and many interesting details will be found in its architecture of the early and the later Gothic periods. One of the chapels contains the tombs of Charles, Duke of Burgundy, and his daughter, Mary. The images are in copper, and recumbent on marble.
Memories of Charles the Bold crowd into the mind as we stand before his effigy. His vast ambition led him into rash adventures, and his career, if brilliant, was also tragic in its failures. Charles would have made Burgundy a kingdom, but he lacked the essentials of a conqueror, in spite of his courage. His rapacity was a drain on the resources of the Netherlands; his love of power made him an oppressor, and caused discontent and rebellion. Through his want of the true kingly qualities he brought disaster upon the country, and destroyed the peace of the small republics.
In his forty-fourth year, in 1477, he died, leaving his people impoverished, and theindustries decaying. His realm was given into the charge of his daughter, Mary, who married the Emperor Maximilian.
The monument of Mary of Burgundy is an example of the work of De Beckere, an eminent sculptor. A painting by Porbus of “The Crucifixion and Last Supper” is in this church. The carved pulpit is a good specimen of this Flemish craft.
The Town Hall and Palace of Justice contain several important pictures, and both buildings are architecturally instinctive; the former is very highly decorated Gothic, with a fine façade, and several statues of the Flemish counts. There is a library in the town hall with a beautiful roof. Here are some missals and manuscripts, and a large collection of books.
The Palace of Justice has been restored, but parts of the older building remain. It has a spacious hall, and an elaborate fireplace, with statues of some of the rulers of Burgundy.
La Chapelle du Saint Sang is finely decorated, and has an ancient crypt, containing early treasures.
We must now visit the academy of painting, and inspect the pictures, though not withoutregret that there are so few works of the illustrious artists of Bruges, the brothers Van Eyck, in the collection. There is, however, one of J. Van Eyck’s greatest pictures in the academy. This is the famous “Portrait of his Wife,” a rarely finished piece of work, with a singular history, for it was found in one of the markets of Bruges, thickly coated with filth. The permanent quality of the colour used by the Flemish artists of this period is instanced in the case of this portrait, which has been most successfully cleaned. The tints are in splendid preservation.
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the art of Flanders flourished, and the brothers Van Eyck were the pioneers of oil painting. Many painters had tried oil as a medium, but none succeeded till Hubert and Jan Van Eyck discovered a suitable oil. Working with this new medium, they produced wonderfully durable pictures. It is supposed that the medium was a mixture of oils and resin, which dried rapidly. The colours of our modern artists cannot compare with those of the old Flemish school in respect to durability, which is seen in some of the works of the Victorian period in England.
The other paintings by Jan Van Eyck are “The Virgin and Child, with St George and St Donatus,” and “A Head of Christ,” dated 1440. Of these two pictures, the former is by far the more representative of the painter’s genius.
J. Van Eyck died, and was buried in Bruges, in a church which the French destroyed. There is a poor statue of the painter on the ground whereon the church stood.
Memling’s altarpiece is in the collection, a much restored painting of “St Christopher and the Infant Jesus.” For other works of this artist, we must visit the Hospital of St John, which stands near to Notre Dame. The pictures are very remarkable and marvellously preserved. “The Adoration of the Magi,” “The Virgin and Child,” “The Head of Zambetha,” “The Virgin,” and other examples are in this collection.
Memling and his school used landscape, as seen through windows, in many of their portrait works, and his architectural backgrounds were painted from the houses in Bruges. We may still see houses that recall his period. Hans Memling was probably born in 1425, and appears to have lived in the town until1495. His statue is in the Place du Vieux Bourg.
Among the old houses of the town is the Prissenhof, though now it is only a ruined memorial of its past grandeur. Here Charles the Bold wedded Margaret of York, and here lived several of the counts of Flanders.
An idea of the fortifications of the town in the Middle Ages is gained by a walk around the ramparts which enclose Bruges. The many canals, that intersect the city, lend beauty to Bruges. Besides the great waterway to Ostend there are a canal to Ghent and other streams.
Lace-making is one of the industries of Bruges, and there is a trade in linen and woollen goods and pottery. The city to-day is not a bustling, commercial place, as in mediæval times, and to some visitors it may savour of sadness.
Mr Harry Quilter is a traveller who finds the Gothic towns “more than ordinarily depressing,” by reason of their monotony. “Perhaps it is the effect of the angular roofs and windows, wearying to the eye as the diagrams in a book of Euclid. Perhaps it is the low-browed shops, the irregularly paved streets, the dull unrelievedbrown and grey of the houses. But for whatever reason, the effect is certainly dreary.”
If we do not find Bruges a town of dull aspect it is due to personal temperament and taste. There may be greyness in these old Gothic towns, there may be a suggestion of decay in Bruges; but there is also a strong fascination, a charm that appeals to those whose eyes have grown weary of modern streets with their regular outlines and monotonous architecture. These tortuous lanes of Belgium and Holland, the gables, and the tall irregular houses, are steeped in an old-world atmosphere, and every corner suggests a subject for the painter’s brush. Certainly, the term “picturesque” may be used in speaking of Bruges.
It is still a large town, with a big population; but the thoroughfares seem rarely thronged, and there is slumber in the by-lanes. There appears to be no demand for new houses, and no indication that Bruges will grow. Its hotels prosper through the number of strangers that visit the city. Few tourists in Belgium neglect to visit this old town.
FROMBruges to Ghent the distance is about twenty-eight miles. The railroad runs by the side of a placid canal, with banks planted with rows of tall trees—such as Hobbema painted—and traverses a fertile country, a verdant district of West Flanders, famous for its gardens and orchards. Though an inland town, Ghent can be approached by large vessels, by way of the Schelde and a big canal draining from the river.
From the top of the belfry tower the eye wanders over the countless spires and towers of the city, and a vague, distant expanse of flat country. There are few city views in Europe to be compared with this. The prospect is vast and impressive; the town below presents a curious scene, partly old-world, and yet bustling and modern in many aspects; for Ghent, with over one hundred and sixty thousand inhabitants, is one of the largest centres of Belgian commerce, and was once the capital of Flanders. In the fourteenth century it was said that over seventythousand of its citizens were trained to arms, while the industrial population was large and thriving.
Prince John, third son of Edward III. of England, was born here, and took the name of John of Ghent. The Emperor Charles V. was also born in Ghent, in the old palace that has disappeared. The history of this city, which was probably founded in the days of the Nervii, is nebulous until the tenth century, but in 1297 the town was strong enough to resist a big English army, and the prosperity of Ghent was envied by the rest of Europe.
Its busy looms gave employment to many thousands of weavers, and most of the wool used was supplied by England. Edward III. invited Flemish weavers to his country, and kept up friendly relations with Flanders. English wool was, however, still the chief supply of Bruges and Ghent, and the trade in one year enriched the coffers of Edward III. with £30,000 in duties.
GHENT, 1832.GHENT, 1832.
Erasmus declared that there was no other town in Christendom that could be compared with Ghent, in “size, power, political constitution, or the culture of its inhabitants.” The city was practically a republic, ruled byrepresentatives, elected yearly by fifty-two guilds of manufacturers and thirty-two corporations of weavers, and by a principal senate selected from all classes. It appears that these legislative authorities were often at strife, for outbreaks of factions within the walls of the town were frequent.
When Charles V. was in need of money to conduct a war against France, he made a very heavy claim upon Ghent. The natives rebelled at the extortion; they even offered to fight with Francis against the emperor. Francis I. was, however, not disposed to ally himself with the people of Ghent, and he communicated with Charles, telling him of the defection of the burghers.
Hurrying from Spain, through the territory of the enemy, Charles V. advanced on Flanders, and on 14th February 1540 he appeared unexpectedly at the walls of Ghent. Surrounded by his great army of lancers, archers, halberd-men and musketeers, and attended by prelates and barons, with many of the knights of the Golden Fleece, the emperor marched into the rebellious city. The inhabitants were awed by this pomp and display. As a punishment, the Duke of Alva proposed to destroy Ghent; butCharles was too cultured and rational to allow such destruction of a noble city. Calling the leaders of the revolt before him, the emperor commanded that they should be executed, and he humiliated the chiefs of the trade guilds by causing them to bend before him, with halters tied around their necks, and to ask his leniency. All the privileges and charters of the city were made null, and the rents and revenues confiscated; while the subsidy demanded for the war was to be rendered in full. A fine was also levied, to be paid annually.
This was how Charles V. punished Ghent for its show of independence, and from that day the city suffered in prosperity. The republican form of government was banished; in its stead the emperor gave the town into the despotic control of the supreme court of Mechlin.
Nine miles of walls encompassed Ghent in this day. It was a well-armed city, protected on all sides, and furnished with drawbridges over the streams that flowed through it. The population in the height of its glory was probably two hundred thousand.
In 1376 a great congress was held in Ghent, to draw up a document of pacification, in order to end the great struggle between theadherents of the old faith and the reformed religion. All the edicts of Alva were withdrawn; all prisoners were to be freed, and compensation paid for confiscated property. Saint Aldegonde, with several commissioners, signed the treaty at Ghent on 8th November. Thus ended the Inquisition in Flanders. The publication of the treaty was received with the utmost joy throughout the land. Hymns of praise were sung, cannons boomed the news, and beacon fires were lighted.
A year later there was trouble in Ghent, through the appointment of the Duke of Aerschot as governor of Flanders. The duke was an ardent Roman Catholic, and the city abounded with converts to Protestantism. A grand ceremony was witnessed when the new ruler, attended by several companies of infantry and three hundred horse soldiers, came to Ghent. Aerschot was regarded as an emissary of Romanism by a large part of the inhabitants, and by the rest he was distrusted.
A young noble named Ryhove vowed that he would deliver Ghent from the duke; so he went to William of Orange with a plan for carrying out the extinction of Aerschot’s power. He stated that he was prepared tolead a cause which would result in the expulsion of “the Duke with his bishops, councillors, lords, and the whole nest of them.” On the day following Ryhove’s interview with the prince, he was visited by Saint Aldegonde, who informed him that the Prince of Orange did not strongly discountenance his plan, nor did he strongly approve of it.
Meanwhile, Imbize, another young aristocrat of the city, had confronted Aerschot, and the governor had threatened the rebellious citizens with a rope for their necks. When Ryhove arrived, he called on the citizens to make a fight for their old charters and rights, and to banish for ever all vestiges of the Spanish Inquisition. Incited by the ardent Ryhove, the burghers arose and rushed through the streets to the house of Aerschot, demanding admission. Refused by the guards, they threatened to burn down the residence. But the duke surrendered in time, and Ryhove protected him from the violence of the crowd, at the same time commanding that he should be taken prisoner. Half naked, the governor was conveyed to the house of Ryhove.
So began an anti-Catholic campaign, which shattered the supremacy of the older form ofreligion. Aerschot was released. The Prince of Orange came to Ghent, and strove to restore peace in the city. He was received with honour, pageants were arranged, a spectacular drama was displayed, and the prince was entertained generously.
In 1579 Imbize again led the inhabitants in revolt, and incited them to attack and plunder the Catholics. William of Orange successfully stemmed the conflict for a time, but Imbize put himself at the head of a regiment, and actually arrested the magistrates of the city and other dignitaries, and established a board of rulers. William the Silent again intervened. He came to Ghent, reprimanded the riotous burghers, and had Imbize brought before him. With his customary clemency, the prince pardoned the young man, after chiding him for his intolerance and folly.
We read again of the fanatical Puritan, Imbize, in 1584, when he allied himself with the Catholic party, and plotted against his country. His scheme was, however, discovered; he was charged with treason, and brought to the gallows.
Ghent was early a stronghold of powerful trade guilds, and one of the meeting-places ofthese unions was in the Market Square. These organisations of craftsmen were probably established first by the Flemish weavers to protect the woollen industry. All over Europe the guilds were instituted by artisans working in walled towns during the Middle Ages. Chaucer mentions them in England in his day. The guilds had their masters or wardens, who exercised an almost despotic sway over the members, and watched their interests zealously. The election of the wardens was made a pompous ceremony, accompanied by a religious service which was attended by the mayor and corporation, and followed by a banquet. No doubt the Market Square of Ghent saw many of these ceremonies in days of old.
The power of the merchants and manufacturers of Ghent was great in the time of the city’s affluence. We gain an idea of their sumptuous houses and their costly apparel from many paintings of the Dutch School. Often the merchant was wealthier than the feudal baron, and kings were known to borrow from them.
Jacques Van Artevelde, “the brewer” of Ghent, was an important burgher in his day, though he was not, strictly speaking, a brewer,but a patrician who joined the Brewer’s Guild, and headed a riotous faction against a rival guild. A fierce fight broke out in the square, and several hundreds of the combatants were slain. Van Artevelde was a staunch friend of Edward III. of England. He was killed by the populace for plotting to make Edward ruler of Flanders.
Such, briefly, are some of the main historical events of this old town of martial and industrial renown. Let us now inspect some of the works of art preserved in the Cathedral of St Bavon. Perhaps the masterpiece here is “The Adoration of the Lamb,” the marvellous altar-picture painted by Jan and Hubert Van Eyck. The colour is glowing, though the picture was painted in 1432. The Lamb is attended by angels, and worshipped by a company of the devout. There are hundreds of heads in the composition, which has several compartments. The landscape is exquisitely rendered, both in the effect of distance and in the flowers of the foreground. Parts of the altarpiece are elsewhere, in Berlin and Brussels, and the whole was carried away by the French, only a portion being restored. Portraits of the brothers Van Eyck are among the Just Judges in the picture.
Among other paintings in the cathedral are works of Roose, Jansen, Porbus, and a Rubens, highly praised by Sir Joshua Reynolds. There are several monuments, notably the statue of St Bavon by Verbruggen, and the effigies of bishops of Ghent. In the crypt is the tomb of Hubert Van Eyck.
In the Academy the pictures chiefly claiming inspection are “St Francis,” by Rubens, some works by Grayer, and Jordaen’s “Woman taken in Adultery.”
St Michael’s Church contains a painting by Vandyk, “The Crucifixion,” which is in poor preservation, and several modern pictures by Flemish artists.
The Hotel de Ville and the University of Ghent are both fine buildings; the first has highly decorated frontages on two sides, that on the north showing the greater wealth of detail and ornament. A more modern, but very noble, structure is the university, containing a museum and library.
THREEcenturies ago the city of Antwerp had in Europe scarcely a rival in commerce and affluence. To-day Antwerp remains one of the most populous commercial cities of Belgium, although the period of its greatest splendour passed with the Spanish persecution under the Duke of Alva. Not only as a busy port and mart is the city on the Schelde famous. It has renown as a centre of the arts, as the home of several of the most illustrious painters of the Flemish school, and as the birthplace of one of the first academies of painting. As a fortified town, it has always been of first importance in the defence of Belgium.
The traveller from England, as the Harwich boat steams up Goldsmith’s “lazy Scheld” at daybreak, in summer-time, sees long grey vistas, on either side of the estuary, of flat pastures and fertile fields of grain, spreading away to Bruges to the south, and across the island of Walcheren, to the north. Flushing comes into sight, its roofs and spires lit by the rising sun,which quickly lends colour to the landscape, and reveals a picturesque town, intersected by canals, lined with vessels. Past islets and sandbanks, upon which sea-birds congregate, the steamer follows the line of buoys and beacons, until the river, though still tidal, becomes narrower, and in sixty odd miles from its mouth, washes the quays of Antwerp.
During this approach to the city by the Schelde an impression is formed in the mind of the voyager of the ingenious methods of dyke-making, canal construction, and damming which have so greatly aided in the prosperity of Holland and Belgium. Antwerp owes its wealth as much to the toil of the engineer and the agriculturist as to the merchant and craftsman. Rural Belgium is well populated, except in some parts of the Ardennes; the farms are tilled with science, the towns and villages of the Schelde-side are bright and clean, and inhabited by industrious, thrifty people.
ANTWERP, 1832. THE CATHEDRAL.ANTWERP, 1832.THE CATHEDRAL.
Antwerp probably derives its name from “an t’ werf,” “on the wharf.” Its position on a deep navigable river was one of the principal causes of the early commercial supremacy of the city. When Venice, Nuremberg, and Bruges were declining, the port on theSchelde was in the height of its repute, and second to Paris in the number of its inhabitants, among whom but few were poor. In education Antwerp excelled in these fortunate days, for the schools were admirable, and every burgher’s child could benefit by the teaching provided by the senate.
Philip II. of Spain, who despised the Flemings and Walloons, and disliked their loquacity, was received joyously in Antwerp, as hereditary sovereign of the seventeen Netherlands. The city was gay with triumphant arches and splendid banners; a gorgeous assemblage of dignitaries and their servants, with a great troop of soldiers, met the Spanish sovereign without the gates. His coldness and reserve disturbed the minds of the citizens. After Philip came the Duke of Alva with his reign of tyranny, the setting up of the Inquisition in Antwerp, the ruin of the silk trade, and the vast emigration of the oppressed workers to other countries, especially to England.
In 1566, William of Orange was in Antwerp, and two years later, as soon as the prince had left the city, the natives bent to the rule of the oppressor. The Spaniards, defeated at Brussels, prepared some years after for anattack upon Antwerp, then the richest city of Belgium. On a grey wintry morning, the enemy encompassed the walls of the city, the besieged having been reinforced by an army of Walloons. The fight was one of the most desperate ever recorded in history. Gaining entrance, the Spaniards swept up the chief thoroughfares; “the confused mob of fugitives and conquerors, Spaniards, Walloons, Germans, burghers,” writes Motley, “struggling, shouting, striking, cursing, dying, swayed hither and thither like a stormy sea.”
A frightful massacre followed upon the conquest of Antwerp, no less than eight thousand men, women, and children were put to death by the ferocious victors.
Merchants were tortured in order to extort from them the hiding-places of their gold; the poor were killed because they had no store for the plunderer; and a young bride was torn from the arms of the bridegroom, and conveyed to a dungeon, where she tried to strangle herself with her long gold chain. She was stripped of her jewels and dress, beaten, and flung into the streets, to meet death at the hands of a rabble of soldiers. Such were the horrors of the capture of Antwerp, to befollowed by the “Spanish Fury,” in which more persons were slain than in the terrible massacre of St Bartholomew.
The siege of 1830, on 27th October, was one of the most sanguinary conflicts in modern warfare. Attacked by the implacable General Chassé, the inhabitants had to face a terrible cannonade. The cathedral was damaged, the arsenal fired, and the townsfolk crouched in terror in vaults and cellars, while many of them fled into the open country.
Again in the revolution of 1830, and in 1832, Antwerp was the scene of battle.
From such records of carnage and cruelty, it is a relief to turn the pages of history till we read of the arts that flourished for so long in Antwerp. Not only were the wealthy classes of the city cultivated beyond the standard of many countries of Europe, but the artisans also shared in the general culture, and cherished respect for art.
Quentin Matsys, whose pictures may be studied in the museum, was one of the early painters of Antwerp. Rubens and Teniers were both associated with the city, and their statues stand in the streets. Vandyk is another famous artist upon the roll of honour ofAntwerp, and his image in marble is in the Rue des Fagots.
Peter Paul Rubens was born in 1577, in Siegen. He was the pupil of Verhaecht and Van Nort, and afterwards of Otto Van Veen, whom he assisted in the decoration of Antwerp at the time of the visit of Albert and Isabella. Rubens travelled in Italy, where he pursued his art studies, afterwards settling in Antwerp at the beginning of the twelve years’ truce. Here he painted most of his chief pictures. The works in the cathedral were finished in 1614.
Under the patronage of Charles I. Rubens visited England, and was commissioned to embellish the banqueting hall in Whitehall. His fame also reached Spain, and his “Metamorphoses of Ovid” was painted for the royal hunting seat of that country.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, though a somewhat prejudiced critic of Dutch and Belgian painting, visited the Low Countries more than once, and brought back art treasures to England. In 1781, he wrote to Burke from Antwerp, where he inspected the pictures in the churches.
The Museum contains some of the masterpieces of Rubens, and notable examples of the work of Vandyk, Teniers, Rembrandt, andVan Eyck. Here is the great work of Quentin Matsys, “The Descent from the Cross.” For the best-known painting by Rubens, “The Descent from the Cross,” we must visit the Cathedral of Notre Dame. It has been said that the painting of the picture was suggested to Rubens by an Italian engraving, for there are traces in it of Italian influence. Parts of the painting have been restored and cleaned. It is seen to good advantage from a short distance, for the painting was planned for a large building. “The Elevation of the Cross” is another of the treasures in the cathedral. This, in the opinion of Sir Joshua Reynolds, is one of the chief pictures by Rubens. “The Assumption of the Virgin” was painted rapidly, and decorates the choir.
The cathedral is Gothic, and one of the finest in Europe. The interior is impressive, with its wide nave and aisles. The choir stalls are beautifully carved, and should be carefully examined as examples of Gothic art. The pulpit is also carved, but the work is indifferent. The steeple, one of the highest in Christendom, is very exquisite, like lace work rather than stone and metal. In the tower are the many tuneful bells that ringout chimes, and one huge bell with a sonorous note.
In the churches of St Paul and St Jacques, and of the Augustines, are paintings of great interest by Rubens, Vandyk, and Teniers.
A ramble around the fortifications will show how strong are the defences of the city, which have been constructed since the last siege in 1832. Walls and citadels, well provided with points of vantage for artillery fire, begirt Antwerp to-day. The forts and barriers cost an enormous sum. Guns and ammunition are made in the city, which is the chief fortress of the country, and an important military centre.
In the Grande Place stands the town hall, a florid building, containing several paintings, though none of remarkable note, except some frescoes by Leys, one of the most eminent of modern Belgian painters.
Our tour of the city must include a visit to the house of Rubens, in the street named after him. The archway is from the designs of the painter, whose studio was in the grounds.
The first Exchange was erected in 1531, and destroyed by fire in 1858. It was from this building that the plan of the London RoyalExchange was taken. The modern Bourse is in the Rue de la Bourse.
Antwerp is architecturally a handsome city, with several fine squares, wide promenades, and well-planned streets. The docks are extensive, and the long quays stretch thence to the old fort on the south side. There is a triangular park with sheets of water, beyond the great Boulevard, and in the zoological garden is a fairly representative collection of animals. In the Rue Leopold is the botanic garden.
The Plantin Museum, containing relics and volumes of one famous printer, is one of the public institutions that must be visited.
Such are the chief monuments and objects of interest in the old city of Antwerp, where the ancient and the modern are both represented side by side in odd contrast.
AHORNof flatland, bounded by the North Sea and the Zuyder Zee, juts northward, with Haarlem and Amsterdam at its base. Sundered by a channel from the point of the horn is Texel, the biggest of the curious line of islands that stretches along the coast to Friesland. This Helder, or “Hell’s Door,” the tidal channel leading to the broad inlet of the Zuyder Zee, runs like a mill-race, and the passage is deep enough to admit large vessels travelling to the port of Amsterdam.
The capital of Holland is built upon logs driven into the firm earth through morass and silt. It is a city of canals and dykes, spanned by hundreds of bridges, a northern Venice, dependent for its safety upon the proper control of sluices. The devouring sea is kept at bay by a mighty dam. Truly, Amsterdam is one of the wonders of men’s ingenuity.
The plan of its streets is remarkable; the thoroughfares are a series of semi-circles with their points to the Zuyder Zee. The flow ofthe canals and waterways that wind about the city is impelled by artificial means. The number of the piles upon which the palace of Amsterdam stands is reckoned at nearly fourteen thousand.
About the thirteenth century, the building of the city began around the castle of Amstel, on a tidal marsh. During the siege of Haarlem by the Spanish, Amsterdam depended upon its waterway for food supplies. The Duke of Alva wrote: “Since I came into the world, I have never been in such anxiety. If they should succeed in cutting off the communications along the dykes, we should have to raise the siege of Haarlem, to surrender, hands crossed, or to starve.”
In 1787 when the King of Prussia brought his troops to Holland, in favour of the stadtholder, Amsterdam surrendered its garrison. And in 1795 the French entered the city without the resistance of the inhabitants.
Sir Thomas Overbury, who wrote in 1609, describes Amsterdam as surpassing “Seville, Lisbon, and any other mart-town in Christendom.” The city maintained a great fleet of vessels trading to the East Indies, the German ports, and the towns of the Baltic Sea.
The historian relates that the people were not “much wicked,” though disposed to drink; they were hard bargainers, but just, thrifty, hardworking, and shrewd in commerce. To-day the natives of Amsterdam are assuredly “inventive in manufactures,” and eminently capable in all affairs of trading and finance.
The fishing industry has declined seriously, but the export trade of Amsterdam is enormous, the products being chiefly butter, cheese, cotton goods, glass manufactures, leather goods, bread, stuffs, and gin. In 1900 the population of the city was 523,558.
Amsterdam is still a metropolis of capitalists, many of whom are of the Jewish race, while it is a principal European centre of the diamond trade. The famous banking system, established under guarantee of the city, in 1609, is described at length by Adam Smith in his “Wealth of Nations.”
“Public utility,” he writes, “and not revenue was the original object of this institution. Its object was to relieve the merchants from the inconvenience of a disadvantageous exchange.” The bank was under the control of four reigning burgomasters, who were changed every year.
The opulence of Amsterdam is apparent tothe stranger who roams its streets to-day. Factories abound, artificers are numerous, and everywhere there are evidences of a prosperity that recalls the day when most of the business of Europe was transacted in these narrow, twisted streets, and a large fleet of vessels traded with the Indies.
Here several renowned printers set up their presses in the seventeenth century, and many famous books were printed in the city. During the following century Amsterdam still remained the great commercial capital of Europe.
The immigration of Spanish and Portuguese Jews into Holland brought to the city a fresh class of artisans, and gave an impulse to several crafts. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries there was a vigorous intellectual development in Amsterdam. Several notable men were natives. Spinoza was born here, in 1632, after the routing of the Spanish forces. His parents were traders, Jewish fugitives from Spain.
Baruch, or Bendictus, Spinoza excelled even his tutors at the age of fourteen, and the Rabbin Saul Levi Morteira was astounded by the boy’s capacity for learning. A troubled, but resplendent life lay before this dark-eyed Hebrew youth. He was of the order of reformers, andshared the griefs and the trials of all who strive to benefit humanity.
Persecution pursued Spinoza from the day when he conflicted with Morteira in the synagogue, uttering opinions which were regarded as dire heresy. We read of attempts upon his life, of excommunication, and of ostracism. The philosopher supported himself by polishing lenses for telescopes and optical instruments, until he was able to leave Amsterdam for the University of Leyden. Later came recognition with the publication of the great “Tractatus.”
When offered a pension by the King of France, the philosopher refused it, fearing that if he became a slave of the State, he might sacrifice his liberty of thought. Spinoza lived in extreme simplicity, it is said that he spent only twopence-farthing a day on his needs. His temper was equable. “Reason is my delight,” he declared. “A virtuous life is not a sad and gloomy one.”
Strange that this noble and tolerant thinker should have been described as an enemy of humanity. “The God-intoxicated man,” as Novalis said of Spinoza, was accused of atheism in a day when philosophic doubt was synonymous with crime. It was only such thinkers asHegel, Lessing, Goethe and Schelling who were able to appraise Spinoza at his true value. For the uncultured he remained for generations an enemy of virtue.
In Amsterdam Spinoza formed at least a measure of toleration among the citizens. He writes: “In the midst of this flourishing republic, this great city, men of all nations and all sects live together in the most perfect harmony.”
A monument to Spinoza was unveiled by Renan at the Hague, in 1877.
Amsterdam abounds in memories of Rembrandt, though many of his paintings are distributed in the galleries of other cities. The rich capital of Holland encouraged painters, poets, and men of science; and in the year when Spinoza was born, Rembrandt settled in Amsterdam, and soon became noted as a painter of portraits. His house is in the Breestraat. In his day, it was beautifully adorned with works of art, and he owned a large collection of engravings. Like many great artists, Rembrandt lived absorbed in his labours, seldom frequenting society. After a spell of reverses he went to live on the Rozengracht, and in this house on the quay he spent his last days.
We think of Rembrandt, in the busyAmsterdam of his day, writing to a friend: “In this great town wherein I am, there being no man, save me, who does not pursue commerce; everyone is so attentive to his own profit that I might remain here all my life unseen of any.” Here, leading a life of strenuous simplicity, content with his labour, a piece of cheese and a crust, Rembrandt painted many memorable pictures. He soon became one of the most respected of Amsterdam’s citizens. His pupils were many, and they paid high fees for their tuition. But Rembrandt remained almost a recluse, and seldom forsook his studio for festive company.
In the Fodor Museum in Amsterdam may be seen the “Tribute Money,” some portrait drawings, and “Mars and Venus in the Net.” Several of Rembrandt’s works are in private collections in the city. The picture gallery also contains some of the painter’s famous pictures.
For a glimpse of the business life of Amsterdam, we must stroll in the Kalver Straat, an interesting thoroughfare, running from the palace to the sea, and then along the harbour and the quay. The great dyke encloses a number of docks, all thronged withships, and the fish market should be seen. Herring-curing, by the way, was the invention of a native of the Low Countries.
Among the public buildings that will repay inspection, are the Town Hall, the Bourse, and two churches, the old church and the new church. The older church dates from about 1300. Its beautiful stained windows were painted at a later date. There are some tombs here of illustrious naval conquerors, and these, and the magnificent organ, in its very ornate gallery, are the chief objects of interest.
The new church is scarcely “new,” for it was built in 1408. This is a fine edifice, with a number of monuments, an interesting carved pulpit, and metal-work screen.
Admiral De Ruyter lived here, the great adversary of Blake, and the gallant commander who held us at bay off the coast of Suffolk, and did such damage to our ships in the Medway.
The pictures in the Museum are representative of the Dutch school, and the collection includes many masterpieces; the chief artists represented are Teniers, Rembrandt, Paul Potter, Gerard Douw, and Vandyk.
The situation of Amsterdam, on a salt marsh, with a stratum of mud below its houses, wouldseem dangerous to the health of the city. It is, however, a very healthy capital, and the inhabitants do not apparently suffer from the specific diseases that are said to flourish in low, wet lands.
Amsterdam leaves a picture in the mind of mediæval lanes and alleys, with curious turrets and gables, shadowing slow canals; of sunlight and vivid colour; of ships coming and going, and bustling quays, and streets with old and new houses quaintly jumbled.
INthe days of Roman dominion, a city called Civitas Ubiorum was built by the Rhine upon the site where now stands the fortified mediæval town of Cologne. Remains of the Roman occupation are still to be traced in the city in the bases of walls, but the amphitheatre was demolished long ago. Agrippina was born here, and Trajan ruled in the fortress.
In the Middle Ages Cologne was a prosperous city, with a wide trading repute, and celebrated for its arts and learning. William Caxton came here to learn printing, an industry which he introduced into England. Militarism and clerical domination appear to have been the chief causes of the long spell of misfortune that fell later upon Cologne. Persecution was one of the principal occupations of a number of the people at this period; and much zeal was expended in expelling heretics, Jews and Protestants from the city.
Cologne also suffered decline through the closing of the Rhine as a navigable waterwayby the Dutch, and it was not until 1837 that the river was re-opened to trading vessels plying to foreign ports. To-day the city is an important commercial and industrial centre.
Perhaps the best general view of Cologne is from the opposite bank of the Rhine. The city is a forest of spires and towers; there were at one time over two thousand clerics within the walls, and religious buildings were more numerous then than to-day.
The wide river is spanned by two bridges; the more important is a wonderful structure, over thirteen hundred feet in length, and made of iron.
The Cathedral was begun in the thirteenth century, but it remained for a considerable time in an unfinished state, and portions fell into decay. Frederick William III. restored the building, and added to it; and since this time the work has been continued in several parts of the edifice. Externally the Cathedral is a stately building with its flying buttresses, host of pinnacles, and splendid south doorway. The architecture is French—rather German—Gothic.
COLOGNE. ST. MARTIN’S CHURCH, 1826.COLOGNE.ST. MARTIN’S CHURCH, 1826.
In the choir are very brilliant stained windows, some mural pictures, and numerous statues ofScriptural characters. The painted windows here, and in the aisles, are extremely gorgeous examples of this art. Among the objects of interest in the chapels are memorials of the archbishops of the city, and an early painting, known as the Dombild, depicting the saints of Cologne.
The Church of St Ursula and of the Eleven Thousand Virgins is remarkable for its treasury of the bones of the adventurous virgins of the famous legend. These relics are embedded in the walls of the choir. There are a few pictures, but none of note, in this church.
St Maria Himmelfahrt, the church of the Jesuits, is highly flamboyant in its embellishments. Amongst its treasures are the rosary of St Ignatius and the crozier of St Francis Xavier. In St Gereon’s Church is a collection of the bones of the martyrs killed during the persecution by the Romans. Architecturally, this church deserves careful attention for it has ancient portions, and presents several styles. The baptistery and sacristy are very ornate in design.
One of the works of Rubens is in St Peter’s Church. This is the well-known altar picture of “The Crucifixion of St Peter.” Sir JoshuaReynolds and Wilkie have both recorded their impressions of this great work. Rubens esteemed this as the best picture that he ever painted; but Reynolds thought the drawing feeble, and surmised that it was finished by one of the pupils of Rubens, after the master’s death.
The Church of Santa Maria is on the site of the Roman capital, and on the same ground stood a palace at a later date. It is interesting for its decorated choir, and the old doorways. There are several other churches in Cologne that should be visited.
In the museum there are many pictures, including one by Durer, “St Francis,” by Rubens, “A Madonna,” by Titian, and a work by Vandyk.
The paintings of the Cologne school are numerous, and demand attention, as they represent the art of the period when painting began to flourish in Germany. Some of the pictures were painted as early as the thirteenth century. There are many modern paintings in the museum. A number of Roman antiquities, statuary, and pottery, are also preserved here.
Among the secular buildings of note are the Rathaus, with varied architectural styles, andthe Kaufhaus, where the Imperial councils were held in former days.
The noble historic stream upon which the city stands, “Father Rhine,” flows through its finest scenery above Cologne, among the Siebengebirge heights.