Karlskirche

The weather was very changeable, alternating between showers and sunshine. I had walked the entire way from the Südbahnhof, a distance of many miles, but as the sun was shining brilliantly when I exited chez Liechtenstein I abandoned my intention to take the tram back into the center and walked along the Donaukanal instead. This is not actually the Danube itself, but a canal that runs parallel to the river. The center was still crawling with tourists but that did not deter me from taking a seat at an outdoor café to watch the world go by. And there was a lot of world to watch, believe me. On the walk back to the rail station I made a detour to view the Karlskirche with its curious columns modeled after the column of Trajan in Rome. I was actually looking for the apartment house where Brahms lived for many years. He had a view of the church from his window. Much to my disappointment I couldn't locate it, but my photo shows the view that Brahms would have seen. A few blocks from the Karlsplatz is the home of the Wiener Musikverien, one of the most famous concert halls in the world, home of the Vienna Philharmonic and site of many important events in music history. (It was already late evening, so the lighting in the photo was not the best.) We arrived back in Graz before midnight, on the last direct train of the day.
Having seen so much material splendour in the way of royal accoutrements and palaces, I couldn't help reflecting on where all that wealth came from. The Liechtensteins won territory the usual way, through inter-marriage, wars or gifts from generous rulers. But in the end that wealth was acquired from the back-breaking work of peasants who were heavily taxed, frequently brutally treated without any recourse to justice, and who often starved to death. So that one family could wallow in luxury countless thousands suffered a miserable existence. Looking at European history is enough to turn one into a raving Marxist. It is no wonder there were frequent revolutions in Europe and it is no wonder that heads rolled. Marie Antoinette, it should be remembered, was the daughter of the Empress of Austria, Maria Theresa.