TO Mittelstrine, 15 M., railway in 1 hr. — 3 ½ M. Hermsdorf-Ahlberg.
— 5 ½ M. Braunau (Keibl; Leo; Jarosch), a town of 7600 inhab., has an
imposing Benedictine abbey. — 15 M. Mittelsteine, and thence to Glatz, see
Baedeker's Northern Germany.
Beyond Halbstadt the Prussian frontier is crossed. The line
proceeds viâ (146 M.) Salzbrunn, a frequented bathing-resort with
saline and alkaline springs, and (154 M.) Freiburg (station for the
picturesque Fürstensteiner Grund) to (190 M.) Breslau, see Baedeker's
Northern Germany.
47. From Pardubitz to Zittau.
117 M. RAILWAY in 8 hrs.
Pardubitz, see p. 260. Soon after leaving the station the train
crosses the Elbe, navigable here for rafts only. The country is flat,
monotonous, and thinly peopled. Stations: Rossitz (with the ruin of
Kunětitz on the right, p. 260), Steblowa, Opatowitz.
14 ½ M. Königgrätz (760 ft.; Rail. Restaurant; Grand Hôtel;
Schwarzes Ross; Merkur; pop. 9800), a manufacturing town, 1 ½ M.
to the E. of the station (omn. 40 h.), at the confluence of the Elbe
and the Adler. The Gothic cathedral of the Holy Ghost, founded
in 1302, has a fine ciborium of 1492. The Municipal Museum
contains reminiscences of 1866. — To Prague or Breslau see R. 46a.
Branch-line viâ Sadowa (see below) to Wostroměř (p. 267).
The hilly ground to the N.W. of Königgrätz, between the Bistritz and
the Elbe, is memorable as the scene of the Battle of Königgrätz or Sadowa,
fought on 3rd July, 1866, between the Austrians and Prussians, in which
the former were totally defeated. The Austrian forces commanded by
Benedek occupied a strong defensive position on the ground rising gradually
from the Bistritz, from which it was the object of the Prussians to dis-
lodge them. The highroad from Königgrätz to Hořitz (and Jičin) passes
nearly through the centre of this position, leading viâ Wšestar and Ros-
beritz to (6 M.) Lipa (¼ hr. to the right of which lies Chlum, the highest
point in this region, where Benedek was posted during the battle), and
crossing the Bistritz at Sadowa, 1 ½ M. farther on. The battle began early,
and at midday was still undecided. The Prussians maintained with great
tenacity the small wood of Sadowa and the Swiebwald on the hill to the
N.E., but could not advance farther in the face of the strong and favour-
ably-placed artillery of the Austrians. The fortune of the day was at last
decided by the capture of Chlum by the Prussian guards. The Austrians
were unable to resist the simultaneous advance of the whole Prussian
army, and began a retreat, which at places degenerated into a wild rout.
Numerous Prussian, Austrian, and Saxon monuments have been erected
in different parts of the battlefield.
The country now becomes more fertile. 21 M. Smiřitz. — 25 M.
Josefstadt (840 ft.; Rail. Restaurant; Wesely's Hotel), a town of
6100 inhab. on the left bank of the Elbe, 1 ½ M. from the railway,
was a fortress down to 1890.
From Josefstadt To Liebau, 40 M., railway in 2-3 hrs. This line
passes through several valleys famous since the war of 1866. Stations un-
important. From Starkotsch a branch-line diverges to Wenzelsberg (p. 268)
and from Parschnitz another to Alt-Paka (p. 270). Prussia is entered at
Kövigshain (junction for Schatzlar). From Liebau to Breslau, etc., see
Baedeker's Northern Germany.