{12}
The Reason Of This Unusual Activity In The Harbour Lay In The
Severity Of The Past Winter.
Such a winter had not been experienced
for seventy years:
The Elbe and the Baltic lay for months in icy
chains, and not a ship could traverse the frozen river, not an
anchor could be weighed or lowered. It was only a short time before
my arrival that the passage had once more become free.
In the neighbourhood of the harbour are situated the greater number
of the so-called "yards." I had read concerning them that, viewed
from the exterior, they look like common houses; but that they
constitute separate communities, and contain alleys and streets,
serving as the domicile of innumerable families. I visited several
of these places, and can assure the reader that I saw nothing
extraordinary in them. Houses with two large wings, forming an
alley of from eighty to a hundred paces in length, are to be met
with in every large town; and that a number of families should
inhabit such a house is not remarkable, considering that they are
all poor, and that each only possesses a single small apartment.
The favourite walk in the town is the "Jungfernstieg" (Maiden's
Walk), a broad alley, extending round a spacious and beautiful basin
of the Alster. On one side are splendid hotels, with which Hamburgh
is richly provided; on the other, a number of private residences of
equal pretensions. Other walks are, the "Wall," surrounding the
town, and the "Botanical Garden," which resembles a fine park. The
noblest building, distinguished alike as regards luxury, skill,
tastefulness of design, and stability, is the Bazaar. It is truly a
gigantic undertaking, and the more to be admired from the fact that
it is not built upon shares, but at the expense of a single
individual, Herr Carl Sillem; the architect's name is Overdick. The
building itself is constructed entirely of stone, and the walls of
the great room and of the hall are inlaid with marble. A lofty
cupola and an immense glazed dome cover both the great room and the
hall; the upper staircases are ornamented with beautiful statues.
When in the evening it is brilliantly lighted with gas, and further
ornamented by a tasteful display of the richest wares, the spectator
can almost fancy himself transported to a fairy palace.
Altogether the shops in Hamburgh are very luxurious. The wares lie
displayed in the most tasteful manner behind huge windows of plate-
glass, which are often from five to six feet broad, and eight or ten
feet high; a single sheet frequently costs 600 florins. This plate-
glass luxury is not confined to shops, but extends to windows
generally, not only in Hamburgh, but also in Altona, and is also
seen in the handsomest country-houses of the Hamburghers. Many a
pane costs eight or ten florins; and the glass is insured in case of
breakage, like houses in case of fire.
This display of glass is equalled by the costliness of the
furniture, which is almost universally of mahogany; a wood which is
here in such common use, that in some of the most elegant houses the
very stair-banisters are constructed of it.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 13 of 170
Words from 6246 to 6783
of 87606
