Show many respects the austrian tyrol is the most picturesque comer IN of europe says thomas 0 hagan in the detroit free press it has too a beauty all its own its chief city innsbruck Inns bruck which was known by the name of Inns pons in the days of caesar has a most charming situa lion the snow capped bavarian alps stand as sentinels at its very gates this gives it a royal setting they are god s watch towers royal watch tow ers on the earth to many travelers austria makes greater appeal than germany in the first place there Is more variety and individuality in its people then the proud hapsburg line reaches eo far back and lights up the pages of his tory with so much splendor and vl of fortune that you turn from the new realms of the earth to i the history cowered dowered castles of aus arla which was great when guelph and contended on the streets of fair florence there Is probably not a prouder people in europe than the lans but of course in the austrian empire are many races many tongues the hungarian the bohemian the alan the dalmatian the pole the ga inclan the tyrolean all these differ one from the other in the tyrolean the and the latin meet and it la an excellent blending when you lake for instance the of the north of germany his character and temperament are too hard and cold and material to attract indeed you cannot find in the of the north that warmth and radiation which nark the men and women of the tyrolean valley the climate too in the tyrol seems to be a blending of italy and norway without the extreme ten dencler of either the strength of the north and the tenderness of the south meet at innsbruck Inns bruck and unite in a pleasing harmony known to ancients as the tyrol as an ancient realm reaches very far in history together with a portion of eastern switzerland the tyrol was known to greek and roman writers as Rha etla horace flings of the alpine long unmatched in fight the romans who were a most practical people built road through the tyrol as a thor ough tare between italy and germany perhaps the most dramatic episode or chapter in the history of the tyrol Is that which centers around the name of andreas boter this chapter of tyrolean history Is known as the pa war of 1809 andreas boter Is to the tyrolese what william tell Is to the swiss and bruce and wallace to every scotchman it Is the time of the great napoleon when ma conquering sward gleams in triumph on every battlefield in europe in 1805 the austrians Aust rians were defeated at ulm and a french army under mar ahal ney occupied innsbruck Inns bruck then came the battle of austerlitz which the power of austria and the treaty of by which tyrol and were given up to ba varla in 1806 the bavarians Bava rians took tor inal possession of this new territory the tyrol people rose against theli new masters and the figure that stands out in bold relief in this na rising Is andreas hofer an innkeeper of sandiland sandyland San dyland in the passer valley he forthwith went to vienna interviewed the archduke john and returned to his home invested with full power as commander in chief of the national forces this was la the beginning of april 1809 and BO well dad hofer lead his countrymen who flocked to his standard that before the end of april the tyrol was again tree except the fortress of still occupied by the bavarians Bava rians but at this moment austria gave the command of the troops to chasteler who in a few days lost all thai hofer and his peasant army had won on july 6 1809 austria vanquished at bagram wagram was forced to sign the armistice of and in this con bention the tyrol was ignored andreas hofer however refused to abide by this convention and bidden away in an impenetrable gorge he cent from valley to valley his call to arms A price was placed on the heid he id of the rebel and as Is algava the case a wretch was found to bai tray hofer s retreat four french boffl j cera and a battalion of infantry escort ed him as a prisoner to mantua whore he was tried by court martial and condemned to death A platoon of BOI adlers carried out the death sentence hofer refusing either to have his ayea bandaged or to kneel down center of art and literature innsbruck Inns bruck la a great intellectual center its university founded by the emperor leopold I 1 in 1677 is recognized as very strong in the departments of medicine and philosophy the jesuits have charge of the theological and philosophical departments here it was that the great historian of the popes professor pastor lectured tor many years before he was invited to take a position in the vatican library by pope leo XIII professor pastor still resides in rome innsbruck Inns bruck has been a shrine too for artists and literary men through the centuries because of the wealth of art especially bronze statues in its churches its monuments and triumphal arches greet the eye at every corner the people of innsbruck Inns bruck too are very fond of the drama and a local stock company puts on during the theatrical season many of shakespeare s plays translated into german As you saunter through the narrow streets of the city you are shown many historic buildings the hot karche with its many monuments la regarded as the tyrolean westminster abbey the 28 colossal bronze statues once torch bearers surrounding the tomb of the emperor maximilian I 1 all have some real or fanciful connection with the house of hapsburg they differ in style and merit two of them arthur of england and theodoric the goth being of unusual beauty and ascribed by many critics to peter alscher Vl in duke frederick street there Is an inn the goldener adler golden eagle the oldest in the city around which centers a good deal of history tor in years agone this house was pat by all the potentates and celebrities who passed through inns bruck am angst its inmates have been the emperor joseph II 11 louis I 1 king of bavaria andreas hofer heln rich heine and goethe I 1 remember well that in company with several stu dents I 1 once strolled into the golden eagle thinking that perhaps through a stein of good tyrolean beer I 1 might catch something of the infection of the genius of goethe did some of his glorious spirit etall abide there but alas my trial was in vain tor I 1 came away bearing along with me not even the sorrows of werther let me here bid farewell to the glo arloua tyrol and its kindly genial and really good people in their vales I 1 still hear their yodels and see their children romping in picturesque cos tume in the churches and before the wayside crosses I 1 see beautiful testimony that they are people of god |