AUSTEIA ON THE DANUBE. 35 



afar. In tbe very centre of the old town the spire of the famous cathedral of 

 St. Stephen rises to a height of 453 feet. The modern Gothic Votive Church forms 

 one of the principal ornaments of the modern quarter of the town, within which 

 have likewise been erected the new university buildings, the Town-hall, and the 

 Exchange. The palatial buildings which line the new boulevards strike the 

 beholder, and a few statues of martial aspect are not wanting. The great 

 rotunda of the Exhibition Palace of 1873 remains. Its cupola is the largest in 

 the world, but size is no beauty. 



As a rule the palaces and public buildings of Vienna are somewhat heavy, 

 but by no means devoid of majesty and beauty. The ground-plan of the city 

 offers many advantages. The old fortifications have been converted into a wide 

 street known as the " Ring." An outer boulevard, known as the Gurtel, or belt, 

 is being laid out on the site of the old " Lines " established in 1704 to prevent an 

 invasion of the plague. There are several parks and public gardens, including 

 the Prater, which is the great place of recreation of the Viennese. The hills in 

 the vicinity are covered with magnificent forests : formerly these forests extended 

 close to the walls of the town. The stump of an old tree is pointed out in the 

 Grahen, or fosse, now one of the finest streets of the city, as being the only 

 remnant of the ancient forest. It is covered wiih nails, for formerly it was 

 the custom for every journeyman smith, on parting from Vienna, to drive a nail 

 into it, and is hence known as the " Stock im Eisen." The wooded slopes of the 

 Thiergarten rise above the fine park of Schonbrunn and the neat Belvedere 

 built by Maria Theresa. The palace of Schonbrunn has almost become a part of 

 the growing city. Farther away towards the w^est we reach the suburb of 

 Hietzing, the " finest village " of Austria, consisting exclusively of villa residences. 

 The palace of Laxenburg, with its fine park, lies farther to the south. 



Vienna has quite recently obtained a supply of pure water from the Alps. 

 The aqueduct is bQ> miles in length, and its discharge varies between 106 and 350 

 cubic feet a second. It is fed from springs rising on the Schneeberg. Amongst 

 these springs that of the Alta is the most curious. Formerly it was intermittent, 

 but its reservoir having been tapped, it has become perennial. This reservoir is 

 fed by the rain which falls upon the " Steinfeld," near Neustadt, which acts as a 

 huge filtering basin. 



Scarcely had the Viennese transformed the old fortifications into one of the 

 finest quarters of the town than they turned their attention towards the 

 " imperial " river, which flows at a distance of more than a mile from the town, 

 and to which they had access only by means of a rivulet rendered navigable in 

 the beginning of last century. The Danube formerly was bounded by swamps 

 and forests, in the midst of which its numerous arms took their erratic course. 

 This is the case no longer. A channel, 980 feet in width, has been excavated 

 to the north of Vienna, through which the river now takes its course, its old bed 

 having been partly filled up. Five bridges span the new bed of the Danube, a 

 railway runs along it, and solid quays line it, but the new quarters of the town, 

 which it was supposed wovild rapidly spring up along it, are still in embryo. 



