BAVAEIA. 



243 



The Naab, wliicli flows into the Danube a short distance above the town, leads up 

 to the pass between the Fichtelgebirge and the Bohemian Forest. The Altmiihl, 

 higher up, affords an easy road into the vallej^s of the Neckar and the Lower Main, 

 whilst the plain stretching to the southward presents no difficulties to a traveller 

 proposing to penetrate the Alpine valleys of the Isar or Inn, Add to this that 

 the Danube at Ratisbon is navigable throughout the year for vessels of considerable 

 burden, and it must be conceded that that town enjoys peculiar facilities of 

 communication. This advantage has been recognised from the most remote time, 



Fie:. 140. — The Walhalla. 



and numerous grave-hills have been discovered along the great natural high-road 

 which extends towards the north-west, in the direction of the Regnitz. This high- 

 way has been known since the days of Charlemagne as the " Road of Iron.'^ 



The Romans called Ratisbon Castra Regina, and made it their head-quarters 

 on the Upper Danube. Charlemagne converted it into a bulwark of his empire, 

 and the town was always a favourite place of residence of the German emperors. 

 Ever since 887 Ratisbon has been a " meeting-place of traders, a staple of gold 

 and silver, linen and scarlet cloth, and a busy port." In the time of the Crusades 



