44 M. Beudant's Travels in Hungary. 



If Vienna, in its interior, presents few attractions, this must 

 be attributed to the height of the houses and the narrowness 

 of the streets, for there are few cities, and especially fortified 

 cities, that contain, in proportion, so great a number of palaces, 

 hotels, and genteel buildings. These are mostly of pretty re- 

 cent construction ; few, or none, however, display any thing 

 remarkable in their architecture. The imperial palace is an 

 immense structure, but having been enlarged at different pe- 

 riods, there is little of symmetry in the exterior, and its 

 general appearance falls below the idea that one would form 

 for the mansion of a great Sovereign. Certain parts of it look 

 beautiful, and others have an air of imposing grandeur, but 

 here, as throughout Vienna, every thing is crowded ; the palace 

 is concealed on one side, by the houses of the town, and by the 

 rampart on the other ; nor is there any other entrance or 

 egress than by arcades that are necessarily public, and of 

 course generally encumbered with carriages and foot passen- 

 gers. Among 'the churches, that of St. Stephen is well de- 

 serving of attention ; its architecture is a beautiful Gothic. 

 The spire, which is not so high as that of Strasburg, but bolder 

 and higher than any in Paris, is 414 feet above the level of the 

 pavement. 



Within the city, the number of places or public squares is 

 pretty considerable, but they are, for the most part, irregular, 

 and thronged with little stalls of hucksters. In their centre 

 appear fountains and monuments, but often overcharged with 

 ornaments, and generally in a bad taste. The place Joseph 

 may be considered as one of the courts of the Chateau ; it has 

 an air of dignity which would be greatly enhanced were it 

 more spacious. The statue of Joseph II., which occupies the 

 centre, is frigid, and not without its imperfections ; it adds, 

 however, to the embellishments of the place. 



The houses of Vienna are mostly of bricks or timber ; build- 

 ings of any consequence are of stone. Some are of a particu- 

 lar free-stone, greyish or yellowish, of which I observed a 

 series of mountains, previous to my reaching Vienna. Others 

 are of calcareous, coquiliferous stones, from the borders of 

 the lake of Neusiedel, in Hungary, and resembling those most 

 in use at Paris. The streets are pretty well paved ; on each 

 side are causeways for foot passengers, consisting of large flags 

 of grey granite, from Saiblingstein, on the banks of the Danube. 

 The middle of the street is of grey-coloured free-stone, partly 

 brought from Burkersdorf, where I had occasion to notice some 

 quarries, and partly from other points of the same mountains. 



In treating of Vienna, I must not omit mentioning their 

 mode of paving under coach gateways. In lieu of stones, they 



