File:Luxembourg; the grand duchy and its people (1913) (14586193750).jpg

Identifier: luxembourggrandd00renw (find matches)
Title: Luxembourg; the grand duchy and its people
Year: 1913 (1910s)
Authors: Renwick, George
Subjects:
Publisher: New York, C. Scribner's Sons
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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y. Echternachs quiet, narrow old streets radiate froma spacious market-place, and there is to be seen oneof the most curious buildings in the Ducihy. It isthe Dingstuhl, perhaps the most interesting and dis-tinctive relic of the Middle Ages that exists. Thestyle is Gothic, and the date of construction must beplaced somewhere about the middle of the fifteenthcentury. It has recently been very admirablyrestored. The ground floor consists of an open hallor arcade, above which are two stories, the roofhaving two large and half a dozen small turrets.The face of the building, which protrudes consider-ably in front of those beside it, is decked with sixstatues, of nobody in particular, I believe, and thedelightfully fine sculpture at the tops of the windowsmust attract attention. In common speech, theDingstuhl is the Denzelt. The name Dingstuhl,of course, is derived from dingen, to deliberate,and Stuhl, seat. It was, therefore, the place forthe meeting of the local council, where justice was
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•//./// M i\ WAKVI THE DINCSTIHI,, KCHTKKNACH. DOWN THE MOSEL TO ECHTERNACH 131 administered by the City Fathers, over whom pre-sided the mayor, or Schultheiss. Yearly a curiousgathering took place in the hall. It was theJahrgeding. All the freemen of the city were boundto attend, and the local by-laws were read over tothem. These fixed the rights of the burghers andthe various punishments to be inflicted for wrong-doing. The city magistrates in olden days were theservants of the Abbey. In the Basilica they wererequired to take solemn oath of allegiance to theAbbot. At that time the Dingstuhl contained theprison and, for a long period, the chamber of torture.The local council still holds its meetings in thebuilding. Opposite the Dingstuhl is the old Hotel de Ville,which in Echternach, and in Trier as well, hasthe popular description of Unter den Steilen — Under the Pillars —on account of the fact thatits ground floor is in the form of an arcade or openhall, very similar to that

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