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to Rotterdam. NYMWEGEN. 56. Route. 451
above the Waal. Here are the scanty ruins of a large Romanesque
palace, built upon Roman foundations by Charlemagne in 777, and
frequently the seat of the court under the Carlovingian, Saxon,
Frankish, and Hohenstaufen emperors. It was sold to be pulled
down in 1794. Theophano, consort of Otto II. died here in 994;
in 1036 the palace was the scene of the marriage of Henry III. and
the Danish princess (
Gunhild; and here in 1165 was born Henry V1.,
son of Frederick Barbarossa. The only remains are the throne-recess
of the great hall, dating from the time of Barbarossa, and the sixteen-
sided Gothic Castle Chapel, the oldest piece of church-architecture
in Holland, consecrated by Pope Leo IJ. in 799, but rebuilt after a
fire in 1047, again in the 12th cent., and finally in the Gothic
period. The legend of the Knight of the Swan is related of Nym-
wegen as well as of Cleve (comp. p. 448). — At the H. end of the
old town, reached from the Valkhof by an iron bridge, rises the
Belvedere, a lofty building resembling a tower (now a café; 10¢.
charged for the ascent). It was erected by the town in 1646, on the
foundations of one of the towers of the fortifications, and restored
in 1888. The platform commands an extensive prospect, embracing
Cleve, Arnhem, the heights of Elten, the fertile fields and rich
pastures of the Betuwe (p. 444), and the Waal, Rhine, Maas, and
Yssel. — To the S.E. of the Belvedere lies the Huner-Park (PI. 6).
The best view of Nymwegen is obtained from Lent, a village on
the right bank of the Waal, connected with the town by means of
a flying bridge (Gierpont). A bastion, known as the Knodsenburg,
was built here in 1590 by Prince Maurice of Orange.
The well-wooded and undulating district to the E. of Nymwegen
rivals in beauty the neighbouring Arnhem and Cleve. At the finest
point is situated the *Hotel Berg en Dal (p. 449), commanding one
of the loveliest prospects on the lower Rhine. To reach the hotel
we may follow the monotonous direct road (‘Berg en Dal’sche Weg’,
3 M.; one horse carr. there and back Afi.; steam-tramway, see
p. 449), but pedestrians are recommended to follow the route diverg-
ing to the right and passing via the Quakkenberg (view-tower, 10 c.)
and through the Meerwyk (2 hrs.). Another attractive route (steam-
tramway, see p. 449) is by the road via Ubbergen (Hét.-Pens. Ub-
bergen) and Beek (Hot. Spyker; Pens. Rozenberg; Pens. Walburg),
skirting the range of hills with their numerous villas (41/) hr.). The
walk from Beek or from Berg en Dal to the Duivelsberg on the Wyler
Meer is also picturesque.
From NyMwsGENn To AMSTERDAM VIA KesTBREN. The railway
crosses the Waal by means of a three-arched bridge and beyond Lent
(see above) traverses the Betuwe (p. 444), the fertile district between
the Waal and the Lek. We follow the Arnhem line (p. 447) via
Ressen-Bemmel to Vork, where we join the line coming from Arm-
hem via Oosterbeek (p. 444). |