The fright and
excitement of the scene gave the burgermeister a shock which caused
his instant death, but the man who was in danger was brought safely
out of the water.
The water was 9 ft. in Marienbaderstrasse, the Marktplatz,
Muhlbadgasse, the Sprudelgasse, Kreuzgasse, Kaiserstrasse, and
Egerstrasse, and flooded the quay, causing great destruction. All
places of business were flooded, the doors and iron shutters were
pushed in by the force of the water and the goods were carried away or
ruined.
The house called "Zum Kaffeebaum" was undermined and part of it fell
to the ground; the same fate was feared for other buildings. The
Sophien and Curhaus bridges were carried away. Other bridges were
greatly damaged, and the masonry along the banks of the river was
partially destroyed. The Sprudelgasse was completely washed out, and
the condition of the Muhlbadgasse was almost as bad. The fire
department with its apparatus had great difficulty in saving the
inhabitants and guests, as there were very few boats or pontoons at
their command, and the soldiers (Pionniere) from Prague and the
firemen from the neighboring towns did not arrive until evening.
Fortunately the water began to fall in the night, and the next day it
had gone down so that it left its terrible work visible.
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