The Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine Part 30

_Xanten_

At a little distance from the Rhine, just before the frontier of Holland is reached, is Xanten, the ancient Ulpia Castra. Near by, in the neighbouring village of Mirten, one sees the remains of an ancient amphitheatre, which denotes a considerable importance for the neighbourhood in Roman times. If more proof were needed, it will be found in the museum at Bonn, where are many Roman antiquities coming from the neighbourhood.

Xanten is celebrated for having given birth to St. Norbert, the founder of the order of Premonstratension monks, and for having been the cradle of Siegfried, the hero of the "Nibelungen Lied."

The city was captured by the French in 1672.

The collegiate church of Xanten is known as St. Victor's, and is truly celebrated for the grace and beauty of its early twelfth-century Gothic.

Without transepts or clerestory, it shows in its one ample chamber, comprising both nave and choir, an exemplification of the art of combining the accessories of the Latin-cross structures of France with the hall-church idea so frequently met with in Germany, and so well recognized as a distinct German type.

This arrangement does not give the church the appearance of being in any way confined or limited; quite the reverse is the case, and the double range of windows in the apse indicates, at least, a loftiness and hardiness of construction which is highly commendable.

There are, moreover, double aisles to both nave and choir which give an ampleness to the interior which even its abundance of furnishings does not overcrowd.

There are few five-aisled churches such as this in Germany, or indeed elsewhere, Cologne being Germany's chief example in this style.

In general, the Gothic of this highly interesting church is of the best, though it dates from various periods. The primitive church, we know, was a Romanesque structure; but, beyond the foundations of the western towers, and possibly other fragmentary works yet hidden, there is nothing but the most acceptable Gothic in evidence.

[Ill.u.s.tration: S. VICTOR'S. XANTEN.]

A distinctly curious feature is the apse-sided termination to the aisles, radiating from the main apse at an angle of forty-five degrees.

It is a distinct innovation in the easterly termination of a church; a sort of a compromise between the French, English, and German styles, and wholly a successful one.

In the chancel is a sort of screen before the high altar, worked in bra.s.s at Maastricht in 1501.

The windows contain a great deal of beautiful old gla.s.s, and some other that is by no means as good.

The clerestory windows are elaborately traceried, and there is much detail of church furnishings, a choir screen, some elaborate stalls, a little tapestry,--which looks well and is certainly old,--and a modern tiled floor which is not offensive.

As is frequently seen in Germany, the pillars and shafts have a series of statues superimposed upon them; always a daring thing to do, but in this case of far better execution and design than is frequently encountered. Before the church is a monument in honour of Cornelius de Pauw, the friend of the great Frederick, a canon of the church and a famous spiritual writer. He was born at Amsterdam in 1739 and died at Xanten in 1799.

x.x.xII

ARNHEIM, UTRECHT, AND LEYDEN

_Arnheim_

The Rhine in Holland is a mighty river. It divides itself into many branches, all of which make their way to the sea through that country which Butler in the "Hudibras" calls:

"A land that draws fifty feet of water, In which men live as in the very hold of nature, And when the sea does in upon them break, And drowns a province, does but spring a leak."

The Rhine proper, the Oud Rijn and the Neder Rijn, enfolds three great ecclesiastical centres of other days, Arnheim, Utrecht, and Leyden.

Arnheim is the chief town of the Guelderland, and seats itself proudly on the banks of the Neder Rijn just above its juncture with the Yssel.

Of its fifty-five thousand inhabitants, twenty-five thousand are Roman Catholics, which fact makes it one of the most strongly Catholic cities, if not the strongest, in the Netherlands.

Formerly the city was known as the Arenac.u.m of the Romans, and served as the residence of the Dukes of the Guelderland up to 1538. In 1579 it gave adherence to the "Union of Utrecht," and in 1672 was taken by the French, when it became one of the princ.i.p.al fortresses of Holland.

To-day the fortifications serve the purpose to which they are so frequently devoted in the cities and towns of Continental Europe, and form a fine series of promenades.

In 1813 the town was taken by the Prussians, but in spite of all this changing of hands, it remains to-day as distinctly Dutch as any of the Low Country cities and towns. Its houses are well built of brick and equally well kept, and its sidewalks are as cleanly and well cared for as the courtyard of a palace.

To-day the aspect of Arnheim is that of a quaint though modern-looking Dutch city. It is a favourite place of residence for "_messieurs du sucre_,"--rich Hollanders and Orientals from the Dutch East Indies.

Altogether the atmosphere of its streets and cafes is decidedly cosmopolitan and most interesting.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GENERAL VIEW _of ARNHEIM_]

The Groote Kerk, built in 1452, rises from the market-place with a considerable purity of Gothic style. The church was formerly dedicated to St. Eusebe. Its tower is a landmark for miles around, and rises to a height approximating three hundred feet. It is built of brick and is square for the first two tiers, flanked with sustaining b.u.t.tresses, then it tapers off into an octagon. It contains a fine set of chimes, so frequently an adjunct to the churches and munic.i.p.al belfries of the Low Countries.

The interior presents a great ogival example of the best of fourteenth and fifteenth century church-building.

To-day, since the church belongs to the Protestants, much that stood for symbolism in the Roman Church is wanting, and the pulpit, which is an admirable work of art in itself, is placed in the middle of the choir surrounded by numerous tribunes, or seats in tiers, in quite a parliamentary and non-churchly fashion.

Behind the choir is a monument to Charles d'Egmont, Duke of Guelderland, who died in 1538, and whose tomb is at Utrecht. As a work of art this monument in the Groote Kerk at Arnheim is much more worthy than such monuments usually are.

The duke is represented clothed in armour and reclining between six lions, which hold aloft his escutcheon.

The pedestal is ornamented with bas-reliefs representing the Holy Family, the twelve apostles, St. Christopher, and two other saints. On a pillar at the left of the tomb is suspended, in a sort of wooden cage, another figure of the same prince. The effigy is of painted wood and is amazingly lifelike, though smacking decidedly of the figures in a waxworks exhibition.

The _chevet_ of this great church is quite worthy of consideration, though by no means as amply endowed as the French variety by which one comes to judge all others.

Altogether, except for the poverty of deeply religious symbolism in the interior, of which it has doubtless been despoiled since the Catholic religion has waned in its power here, the church is a lovely and lovable example of the appealing church edifices which one now and then comes across in Continental cities of the third rank.

The Catholic cult occupy the church of St. Walburge, a Gothic edifice in brick of the fourteenth century. At the portal are two great symmetrical towers which are worthy of a far more important edifice.

The interior is entirely modern as to its furnishings and fitments.

On four pillars of the nave are placed, back to back, statues of the evangelists,--a species of decorative embellishment which, at all times since the fifteenth century, has been greatly favoured throughout Germany and the Low Countries. In France it is a feature but seldom seen, and, among the smaller parish churches, has almost its only examples at Vetheuil on the Seine below Paris, and at Louviers.

The high altar is modern, as are also the black and white marble baptismal fonts.

The pulpit is quite a grand affair, though modern also. Its sounding-board shows a figure of Moses holding aloft the tables of the law. It is admirably conceived and executed, and is of much artistic merit.

Arnheim possesses several other religious edifices; but, as satisfactory expressions of ecclesiastical art or architecture, they are quite unworthy. The only one worthy of remark--and that only for its unseemliness--is a modern Protestant place of worship in the form of a vast rotunda, which in all respects resembles a great building enclosing a panorama.

Behind the _chevet_ of the Groote Kerk, the ancient cathedral, is a fine old-time house of the sixteenth century. It is known, somewhat sacrilegiously one thinks, as the Maison du Diable, and was formerly the residence of a famous brigand or highwayman,--if there be any subtle distinction between the two. This brigand was moreover of the n.o.bility, and was known as Martens van Rosum, Duke of the Guelderland. In front of the house is a miniature terrace, and, on the walls above, to the right, are three monstrous effigies of devils, as well as one of a woman. In the centre, upon a pillar, is a bust of Van Rosum, and an inscription to the effect that the house was restored in 1830. To-day it is occupied by certain munic.i.p.al offices.

_Utrecht_

In many respects Utrecht was, in the past, the most important city in Holland, not commercially, but politically.

To-day it is simply the capital of the province of Utrecht, the seat of a Catholic archbishop, and of a Jansenist archbishop as well.

Of its population of quite a hundred thousand souls, one-third, at least, are of the Catholic profession, which is an astonishing proportion for a city of Holland. For this reason, perhaps, the city remains the metropolis of the Catholic religion in the Netherlands.