ON PLAIN AND PEAK 



appears blocked at its northern end by a vast wall 

 of mountain. One has but to raise one's eyes, as 

 one walks along its thronged pavement, to roam in 

 spirit on the snowy steeps, to hear the whistle of 

 the startled chamois, to pluck the star-like edelweiss 

 from its stem. 



The town, with its many relics of mediaeval times, 

 is a happy hunting-ground for the antiquary and 

 the disciple of Art. Among its numerous interest- 

 ing features, none surpasses the old Franciscan 

 church, or Hofkirche built between the years 

 1553-63, by the then Romischer Konig (who was 

 afterwards the Emperor Ferdinand I.), in memory 

 of his grandfather, the Emperor Maximilian I. 

 The world-famed tomb of Maximilian, with a statue 

 of the Emperor and the figures of the four cardinal 

 virtues on its summit, and the beautiful marble 

 panels that adorn its sides, stands in the centre of 

 the church. On each side of the nave is a row of 

 colossal bronze statues, twenty-eight in all, origin- 

 ally designed as torch-bearers. These all represent 

 historical characters the heroes of the world of 

 Knighthood a fitting tribute to the memory of 

 "the last Knight," as the great Emperor Maximilian 

 was called. Among the statues, two Arthur of 

 England and Theoderic of Goth stand out pro- 

 minently for their beauty of design and delicacy of 

 finish. 



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