View of Darmstadt - from a sketch by our special artist, 1862. Darmstadt is the capital of the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt and seat of the Government and Chambers. It consists of an old and a new town, inclosed by walls. The former is poorly built; the houses are old, and the streets narrow and gloomy. It is, therefore, properly kept in the background, none of the great thoroughfares passing through it. The new town has a much more agreeable appearance, and is laid out with great regularity. Two principal streets, the Rheinstrasse and the Neckarstrasse, traverse it from east to west and from north to south respectively, and are lined by houses of handsome appearance. Immediately off the Rheinstrasse is the finest public square, the Louisenplatz, which contains the new palace, the residence of the Grand Duke. From "Illustrated London News", 1862.