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BERLIN (1,888), the capital of Prussia and the largest city of Germany, is on the River Spree, which joins the Havel (an affluent of the Elbe). Berlin is in all respects a flourishing city, one of the finest of European capitals in point of external aspect, and is noted for its iron, porcelain, and other manufactures. Potsdam (60), to the south-west of Berlin, forms the headquarters of the Prussian army. Charlottenburg (189) lies to the west of Berlin.

BRESLAU (423), in Silesia, on the River Oder, is the second city of Prussia in point of population, and is the centre of extensive trade. Magdeburg (230), in Prussian Saxony, is on the River Elbe. Stettin (210), near the mouth of the Oder, is one of the principal seaports. Danzig, or Dantzic (141), is also a great seat of the foreign commerce of Prussia; it lies near the Baltic, upon one of the channels through which the Vistula reaches the sea. Königsberg (188), the capital of Prussia Proper, is farther to the eastward, near the outlet of the River Pregel; here Kant the philosopher was born in 1724. Memel, another important seaport, lies at the entrance of the River Niemen into the Kurische Haffe- an inland extension of the Baltic. At Tilsit, a treaty of peace was signed, in 1807, between Napoleon I. of France and Alexander I. of Russia.

The RHINE PROVINCE contains a greater number of large towns than any other part of the Prussian territory.

Cologne or Köln (372), the most considerable town in this province, is on the left bank of the Rhine: its cathedral, and its well-known" Eau de Cologne," give it celebrity. Elberfeld (157), with the adjoining town of Barmen (142), is the chief seat of the cotton manufacture. Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) (135) is a populous manufacturing city, to the westward of Cologne, and lies near the Belgian frontier. Essen (119), has large coal and iron mines, and also contains the celebrated "Krupp" works. Treves is on the banks of the Moselle; Coblenz is at the junction of that river with the Rhine.

The city of HANOVER (236), the capital of the former kingdom of that name, stands in the midst of the plain of northern Germany, on the little River Leine, an affluent of the Weser.

Göttingen, to the southward of Hanover, is the seat of a celebrated university. Emden, the chief port of Hanover, is at the outlet of the River Ems into the Dollart, a gulf of the North Sea. Cassel (106), the former capital of electoral Hesse, stands on the River Fulda, one of the two main affluents of the Weser. Wiesbaden (86), the capital of the former Duchy of Nassau, lies at a short distance from the bank of the Rhine, below the junction of the Main. Frankfort-on-the-Main (288), formerly a "free city," is situated, as the name implies, on the River Main, which joins the Rhine about twenty miles below. It was the former seat of the Germanic Diet. Homburg is a few miles to the north of Frankfort,

SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN consists of two extensive tracts of country (divided by the course of the little River Eyder, which flows into the North Sea), which, prior to 1864, had been attached during several centuries to the crown of Denmark, but was then annexed by Prussia.

Altona (162), the largest city of this territory, lies on the Elbe, immediately below Hamburg, of which it forms indeed a suburb, and to which it is a formidable rival in trade. Kiel (122), in a more northwardly part of Holstein, lies at the head of an inlet of the Baltic, and is a naval station. The Bay of

Kiel is now connected with the mouth of the Elbe by a ship-canal, 61 miles in length and 28 feet in depth. This canal saves the long and dangerous passage round Jutland, and through it the largest vessels can steam from the Baltic to the North Sea in about 8 hours. Tonning is a port on the North Sea, at the mouth of the Eyder. Lauenburg is on the right bank of the Elbe, above Hamburg.

THE SMALLER STATES OF NORTH GERMANY.1
The smaller States of North Germany, included within the German
Empire, comprise the Kingdom of Saxony; the Grand-Duchies
of Mecklenburg - Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg,
Saxe-Weimar; the Duchies of Brunswick, Anhalt, Saxe-Meiningen,
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Altenburg; the Principalities of Lippe-
Detmold, Waldeck, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Son-
dershausen, Reuss, Schaumburg-Lippe, together with the Hanse
Towns-Hamburg, Lübeck, Bremen, and the Reichsland of Alsace-
Lorraine, acquired from France in 1871.

SAXONY, the third in importance and population of the German States, is
intermediate in position between Prussia and the Austrian province of Bohemia,
and is traversed by the River Elbe.
the Erz Gebirge and the Riesen Gebirge. Its chief towns are Dresden (the
It is bordered, on the side of Bohemia, by
capital), Leipzig, Meissen, Chemnitz, and Freiberg.

Dresden (395) stands beside the River Elbe, and is distinguished by its general beauty of aspect, and its fine collections of works of art. Meissen, also on the Elbe, a few miles below Dresden, is celebrated for its porcelain. Leipzig (455) is situated near the river Elster, in the plain which lies to the west of the Elbe; it is distinguished for its university and its book trade, as well as for the great victory gained by the German over the French arms in 1813. Chemnitz (207), the "Manchester of Saxony," is the principal manufacturing town; and Freiberg is the centre of an important mining district. MECKLENBURG, divided into two distinct Grand Duchies (of which the western one is Mecklenburg-Schwerin), is in the north of Germany, bordering on the Baltic Sea. Its chief towns are Schwerin and Neu Strelitz, the respective capitals of its two divisions. Rostock, with its outport Warnemunde, is the most important port.

OLDENBURG is in the north-west of Germany. It borders on the North Sea, and is enclosed on the land side by the territory of Prussia. Its chief town is Oldenburg (27), on the River Hunte, a tributary of the Weser. Wilhelmshaven (23) is a naval port.

SAXE WEIMAR, the most considerable of the smaller Saxon States, lies in the very centre of Germany, within and adjoining the tract known as the Thuringian Forest. Its chief towns are Weimar (the grand-ducal capital) and Jena BRUNSWICK is a small inland territory, completely enclosed by the Prussian dominions. Its chief town, Brunswick (128), lies on the River Ocker, a tributary 1. The area (square miles) and population of the North German States are:

Saxony

Meck enburg-Schwerin

Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Oldenburg.. Saxe-Wennar

Brunswick

Auhalt

Saxe-Meiningen

Pop.

4,200,000 Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
6c8,000 Saxe-Altenburg

Area. 5.856

Area.

Pop.

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5.197

765

230,000

I, 144 2,508

103.000 Lippe..

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1,441

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464,000 Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

917

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316,000 Reuss..

964

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251,000 Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

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399,000 Schaumburg-Lippe

Wolfenbüttel has a famous public

of the Aller, which flows into the Weser.
library, which contains some of Luther's manuscripts.

ANHALT comprehends a small, but for the most part a level, tract of counuy crossed by the River Elbe, and enclosed by the Prussian territory. It coniams the towns of Dessau (the capital), on the Mulde, near its junction with the Elbe, and Bernburg, on the Saale, an affluent of the Elbe.

SAXE-MEININGEN, SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA, and SAXE-ALTEN. BURG, all lie within the same central hill-region as Saxe-Weimar, and are traversed by the heights of the Thuringian Forest. The chief towns are, respectively, Meiningen, on the Werra, an affluent of the Weser; Coburg, on the Itz, an affluent of the Main; Gotha, on the Leine; and Altenburg, on the Pleisse, a tributary of the Elster.

LIPPE and SCHAUMBURG-LIPPE are two adjoining territories within the basin of the Weser, in the north-west of Germany, and completely enclosed by Prussia. The towns of Detmold and Buckeburg are their respective capitals. WALDECK is a small territory to the south of Lippe, and also enclosed by Prussia. Arolsen (the capital) lies 25 miles north-west of Cassel.

SCHWARZBURG-RUDOLSTADT and SCHWARZBURG-SONDERSHAUSEN are small (and partly detached) territories in the central part of Germany, enclosed between Prussia and the lesser Saxon States. The former embraces part of the Thuringian Forest. Rudolstadt and Sondershausen are their respective capitals.

REUSS embraces some small tracts of country between Prussia and the various Saxon States, and is watered by the Elster and the Saale, and divided into the Elder and Younger branches; the town of Greitz is the capital of the former; Schleitz, of the latter.

Eight of the above States, namely, the Grand-Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, the Duchies of Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Saxe-Altenburg; and the Principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Reuss-Greits, and Reuss-Schleitz, are situated close together in that part of Central Germany known as Thuringia, and are, therefore, frequently grouped together as the Thuringian States. Their total area is only about 5,000 square miles, and the population is less than 1 millions, but scarcely any part of the empire is more prosperous, or the people better educated.

THE HANSE TOWNS.-For several centuries the cities of Hamburg, Lübeck, and Bremen enjoyed the privileges of distinct States, but in 1888 they ceased to be Free Ports," and joined the Zollverein or German Customs Union.

Hamburg, Lübeck, and Bremen were the principal cities in the famous HANSEATIC LEAGUE, which, during the Middle Ages, controlled the commerce of north-western Europe, and at the present day they are still the most important commercial centres in the empire.

HAMBURG (706) is the great emporium of the foreign commerce of Germany, and the seat of an immense trade with all nations. More than half the trade of Germany with other countries passes through Hamburg, and the commerce between it and the United Kingdom is very large; the imports from the United Kingdom alone amounting to more than 20 millions sterling. But, while the general trade of the port is increasing, the trade with England has actually

declined. This great port is situated on the north bank of the Elbe, 70 miles from the sea. Cuxhaven, at the mouth of the Elbe, also belongs to Hamburg.

LÜBECK (82) stands near the banks of the Trave, which enters the Baltic adjacent to the east coast of Schleswig-Holstein. It is less important now than at a former period, but its trade with Russia, Sweden, and Norway is still very large-the imports amounting to about 10 millions sterling a year. Travemünde, at the mouth of the Trave, is its outport.

BREMEN (163), situated on the Weser, 40 miles above its mouth, is only second to Hamburg in commercial importance. The river has now, however, become so shallow that only the smallest craft can come up to the town; the larger vessels load and unload at Bremerhaven, at the mouth of the river. Notwithstanding this, the foreign trade of Bremen is larger than that of any other German port except Hamburg. Bremen is the headquarters of the North German Lloyd steamers, which maintain regular communication between Germany and North and South America, Eastern Asia, and Australia. These vessels call at Southampton for passengers and goods.

ALSACE-LORRAINE, the territory transferred from France to Germany on the conclusion of the war of 1870-1, has a total area of 5,670 square miles, and a population of nearly 134 millions, of whom only about 200,000 speak French.

The "Reichsland," or Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine (Elsass-Lothringen) embraces a tract lying along the left bank of the Rhine, between that river and the chain of the Vosges (Vogesen) Mountains, and stretching thence along the former Prussian border, in the direction of Luxemburg. Part of the Moselle valley, as well as the left bank of the Rhine, from the Swiss border downward to the parallel of 49°, is within its limits. Alsace-Lorraine is a great manufacturing and mining, as well as an agricultural country. There are a very large number of separate farms (one to every 7 persons), and much wheat, rye, and other cereals are grown, and the vine is also extensively cultivated. The mineral produce of the province is larger than that of all the other German States, except Prussia and Saxony, and its cotton manufacture is the most important in the empire.

ALSACE includes STRASSBURG (150), the capital, a large and ancient city, seated near the left bank of the Rhine, beside its affluent, the Ill; Mühlhausen (89), a great centre of cotton and other manufacturing industry, lies between 50 and 60 miles further south; and Colmar lies 40 miles south-west of Strassburg. At Weissenburg and Worth were fought two great battles in the Franco-German War of 1870-1. Strassburg was taken by the French under Louis XIV. in 1681, and was besieged and taken by the Germans in 1870.

The principal place within the portion of LORRAINE transferred to Germany is METZ (58), a strongly fortified town on the Moselle, and of much note in former as well as in recent history. It was besieged by the Germans in the autumn of 1870, and surrendered by Marshal Bazaine, with an army of 170,000 men. Gravelotte was the scene of a sanguinary battle in the Franco-German War of 1870-1.

THE STATES OF SOUTH GERMANY.

The following States of South Germany are included within the German Empire1:-The Kingdoms of Bavaria and Würtemberg and the Grand-Duchies of Baden and Hesse.

The southern half of Germany is more elevated and mountainous than North Germany. It consists of plateaux of moderate elevation, crossed by detached mountain chains and groups, and rising gradually to the southward into the high region of the Alps.

The Danube (German, Donau) is the great river of South Germany, which it crosses from west to east, passing below Vienna into Hungary. Among the numerous affluents of the Danube, within the German portion of its course, are the Lech, Isar, and Inn, on its right or southern bank; the Altmühl, Nab, Regen, and March, on its left or northern bank.

BAVARIA has an area of nearly 30,000 square miles, and a population of over 6 millions, and thus, in point of size and population, ranks next to Prussia among the German States.

Bavaria forms an upland plain or tableland about sixteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. In the south, it includes some of the outlying branches of the Alps; in the east, it is divided from Bohemia by the chain of the Böhmer Wald. Besides the main territory, the kingdom includes a smaller and detached piece of territory to the west of the Rhine, known as the Palatinate or Rheinpfalz. The chief towns are Munich (the capital), Nuremberg, Augsburg, Ratisbon, Bamberg, Würzburg, and Speyer.

MUNICH, or München (500), stands on the River Isar, a considerable affluent of the Danube, in the midst of the plateau-land of South Germany, at an elevation of 1,700 feet above the sea-level; it is noted for its fine collections of painting and sculpture. Augsburg (89) is on the Lech, which also joins the Danube, to the north-west of the Bavarian capital. Nuremberg, or Nürnberg (261), lies in the plain to the North of the Danube, on a small affluent of the Main, Würzburg (75), is on the right bank of the Main. Ratisbon, or Regensburg (36), is on the Danube, opposite the junction of the Regen. Speyer, or Spires, is within the detached portion of Bavarian territory to the west of the Rhine, and on the left bank of that river. Ober-Ammergau, near the southern boundary, is celebrated for its decennial performances of the Passion Play. WÜRTEMBURG is immediately to the west of Bavaria. Its northern portion is traversed by the Neckar, an affluent of the Rhine, but its southern districts belong to the basin of the Danube.

The capital, Stuttgart (177), lies near the left bank of the Neckar. Ulm is an ancient city on the Danube, close to the Bavarian border, and is strongly fortified. Tübingen, on the Neckar, has a famous university.

BADEN is a long and narrow tract of country, lying on the east bank of the Rhine, and traversed by the range of the Schwarzwald or Black Forest.

Its capital, Carlsruhe (97), lies a few miles east of the Rhine. Mannheim (140) is at the junction of the Neckar and Rhine. Heidelberg (40), on the Neckar, is a famous university town,

1. The area (in square miles) and population (according to the last Census) of the South German

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