■iiglu by G. K. \',d 



IvANGKOFEl. FROM SEISER ALP: TYROL 



THE WONDERLAND OF LJROPF 



The dual monarchy, and particularly 

 Austria, could derive a considerable reve- 

 nue from the tourist traffic. The charm 

 of some of the old towns, as, for exam- 

 ple, Prague, is very great, the mineral 

 springs of which are numerous and valu- 

 able, but two only — Carlsbad and Ma- 

 rienbad — are well known. The Dalma- 

 tian coast rivals the Riviera both in cli- 

 mate and beauty, and the mountains alone 

 could form a very considerable attraction. 



That Austria is, after Switzerland, the 

 most mountainous region in Europe, and 

 that more than four-fifths of her vast ter- 

 ritory is over 600 feet above the level of 

 the sea, is no doubt news to the majority 

 of people. 



To the popular mind, that vast range 

 of mountains which overruns a large 

 portion of southwestern Europe and to 

 which the name Alps has been given, sug- 

 gests Switzerland, little Switzerland, and 

 nothing more. And yet there are Italian, 

 Erench, German, and Austrian Alps as 

 well, so great is the extent of the range. 



The reason for this general misappre- 

 hension seems to be that Switzerland has 

 for years advertised, if we may use the 

 word, her mountains for the pleasure of 

 outsiders and has made a great resort of 

 them, whereas Austria, for instance, has 

 used her mountains for the enjoyment of 

 her own people — and the Austrians cer- 

 tainly do enjoy them. 



Mountain-climbing is their great na- 

 tional game, like baseball among us. Old, 

 young, middle-aged, all take a keen inter- 

 est in it. And even Emperor Erancis 

 Joseph himself is an enthusiastic moun- 

 taineer at more than 80 years of age. In 

 his time it is said he has scaled most of 

 the great peaks of his country. 



THF DOLOMITES 



There are five central points in the 

 Austrian Alps from which the several 

 sections of that vast mountain region are 

 accessible. Innsbruck for the Tyrol and 

 Vorarlberg, Salzburg for the Salzburger 

 Alps and the Salzkammergut, Bozen for 

 the Dolomites and South Tyrol, Villach 



1191 



