The Grand-Duchy of HESSE comprehends two detached portions of territory. The more southwardly is crossed by the Rhine, above the junction of the Main; the northwardly division is to the north of the Main. The chief cities are Darmstadt (the capital) and Mayence. Darmstadt (72) lies 11 miles east of the Rhine; Mayence, or Mainz (84), is on the west bank of the Rhine, opposite the junction of the Main, and is strongly fortified. Worms is memorable because of its association with Luther and Protestantism. Geissen is a University town. LUXEMBURG, LUXEMBURG, which has an area of 1,000 square miles, and a population of 237,000, lies between the Rhenish province of Prussia and Belgium. The Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg, to which the Duke of Nassau succeeded the late King of Holland as Grand Duke in 1890, was declared neutral territory by the Treaty of London, in 1867, when the fortifications of its capital, Luxemburg (21), were dismantled. The administration of the territory (which for commercial purposes only is included in the German Zollverein) is personally controlled by the Grand Duke, and its neutrality is guaranteed by the Great Powers. LIECHTENSTEIN. LIECHTENSTEIN, the smallest of the German States, adjoins the eastern border of Switzerland, and practically belongs to the Austrian Empire, but has never been formally annexed. The principality has an area of 60 square miles, and a population of about 9,000, who are in the enviable position of not being liable to conscription, and of having no taxes to pay, Vaduz, its capital, is merely a castle. AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, the great Dual Monarchy of Central Europe, is, next to Russia, the largest State on the Continent, and is surpassed in point of population only by Russia and Germany." The two great divisions of the empire are supposed to be divided from one another by the River Leitha, a tributary of the Danube, which it joins a few miles east of Vienna; the Austrian provinces are, therefore, frequently called the Cis-Leithan, and the Hungarian, the Trans-Leithan provinces. BOUNDARIES: Austria-Hungary is bounded on the north by Germany and Russia; on the east by Russia and Roumania; on the south by Roumania, Servia, the Adriatic Sea, and Italy; on the west by Switzerland and Germany. The frontier-line of the empire is about 4,500 miles long, and is for the most part formed by strongly-marked natural features, but its natural compactness 1. Austria, Ger. Oesterreich, eastern kingdom, so called because it formed the eastern portion of the dominions of Charlemagne. and Herzegovina should be occupied and adminis. By Article 23 of the Treaty of Berlin (July 13. 1878) it was decided that the provinces of Bosnia | Hungary. is politically neutralised by the heterogeneous character of its population, which consists of Slavs, Germans, Magyars, and other races. EXTENT: The greatest length of the empire from east to west is about 800 miles. The greatest breadth, fron. north to south, is nearly 500 miles. Including Bosnia and Herzegovina, AustriaHungary has a total area of about 260,000 square miles, or four and a half times the area of England and Wales. Hungary and the countries attached to the Hungarian crown are somewhat larger in area, but not nearly so populous as the Austrian division of the Empire. The area of Austria proper is nearly 116,000 square miles, and of Hungary, 124,000 square miles. COASTS: The only sea-coast which belongs to AustriaHungary is at the head and on the eastern side of the Adriatic Sea, and is about 500 miles in length, .e., I mile of coast to every 500 square miles of area. Capes: Punta de Promontore, the most southerly point of the peninsula of Istria; and Punta della Planca, in Dalmatia. Inlets: Gulfs of Trieste, Quarnero, and Cattaro; the last of which forms by far the best harbour in the Adriatic. Islands: Numerous small islands along the Adriatic coast, of which the principal are Cherso and Veglia, in the Gulf of Quarnero; Pago, Grossa, Brazza, and Lissa, off the coast of Dalmatia. MOUNTAINS: Austria-Hungary includes the Bohemian Mountains in the north-west, the eastern portions of the Alps, and the whole of the Carpathian Mountains, besides several minor ranges. The Alps belong to the Austrian provinces of the empire; the Car pathians to the Hungarian countries. The Bohemian Mountains enclose Bohemia, and include the Sudeten Gebirge, Riesen Gebirge, Erz Gebirge, and the Böhmer Wald. The highest point is Schneekoppe (5,274 feet), in the Riesen Gebirge. The Austrian Alps include the Rhætian Alps, with Ortler-Spitz, 12,852 feet; the Noric Alps, with Gross Glockner, 12,766 feet; the Carnic Alps, with Kellerund, 9,500 feet; and the Julian Alps, with Terglou, 10,866 feet. The principal passes over the Austrian Alps are the Stelvio Pass (9,177 feet), crossed by the loftiest carriage-road in Europe; and the Brenner Pass (4,660 feet), traversed by a carriage-road and railway. The Carpathians extend for 900 miles in a semicircle from the Danube, near Pressburg, co Orsova on the same river. The culminating point is Mount Pietra, 8,c90 feet above the level of the sea. Besides the Carpathians proper, there are the Little Carpathians, between the March and Waag; the Tatra Mountains, with Lomnits Peak, 8,799 feet; the Transylvanian Alps, with Mount Negoi, 8,346 feet; and the Dinaric Alps, with Mount Kom, 9,000 feet, and Mount Dinara, 7,458 feet. PLAINS: Between the Carpathians and the eastern spurs of the Alps is the large Plain of Hungary. The less extensive Plain of Bohemia is in the north west part of the empire. RIVERS: The principal rivers of Austria-Hungary are the Danube and its tributaries, and the Dniester, flowing into the Black Sea; the Etsch, or Adige, and the Sdobba, flowing into the Adriatic Sea; the Oder and the Vistula, flowing into the Baltic; and the Elbe, flowing into the North Sea. The upper courses only of these rivers are within the limits of the empire, the greater part of which lies in the basin of the Danube. The Danube is the great river of Austria-Hungary. It flows through the heart of the empire, from west to east; and, with its numerous tributaries, waters more than two-thirds of its whole extent. Of these tributaries the Inn, March, Drave, Save, and Theiss are the most considerable. The Danube, although rapid, is navigable throughout its entire course in Austria and in Hungary for steamers and rafts. The Elbe and the Dniester have their upper portions within Austria-the former in the province of Bohemia, the latter in Galicia. Only a small portion of the upper courses of the Oder and Vistula is within the empire. The latter forms part of the boundary between the Russian and Austrian territories. The largest of the strictly Austro-Hungarian rivers is the Theiss, which rises in Mount Galatz, in the Carpathians, and, after a navigable course of 843 niles, joins the Danube near Peterwardein. LAKES: Austria-Hungary has few important lakes. Flungary contains the considerable Lake Balaton, or the Platten See (area 250 square miles), the water of which is slightly salt. A highly esteemed fish, the "fogas," is only found in this lake. The Led of the Neusiedler See is sometimes dry in summer, and is actually cultivated. Lake Zirknits, the waters of which occasionally disappear, is in the Julian Alps. Lakes Garda and Como are on the south-west frontier, and are Italian rather than Austrian lakes. CLIMATE: So extensive and varied a range of country as that which falls within Austria-Hungary, naturally exhibits many differences of climate, soil, and vegetation. The warmest portions of the empire are those lying south of the Alps, towards the coast of the Adriatic. The plain of Hungary is distinguished by extremes of heat and cold at the opposite seasons of the year. Upon the whole, the climate of the country is dry, healthy, and temperate. PRODUCTIONS: The natural productions of the empire are extremely varied. Every plant indigenous to Europe is found in Hungary alone, and the mineral wealth of the two countries is equal to that of any other European country, but is not so much developed as that of England and Germany. The vine thrives in Hungary, and throughout the southern provinces in general, and the empire ranks next to France, Italy and Spain, as a wineproducing country, yielding annually about five hundred million gallons. The fig, olive, and mulberry are found on the shores of the Adriatic. Austria-Hungary is rich in metals and minerals. Both gold and silver are obtained in Hungary and Transylvania. In the Austrian provinces there are rich mines of lead and iron, "brown" coal and common coal, besides the quicksilver mines of Idria (in the province of Carniola, above the head of the Adriatic). Enormous quantities of salt are produced in the Coast-lands and in Galicia and Upper Austria. INHABITANTS: The Austro-Hungarian Empire has nearly 451⁄2 million inhabitants-a greater population than any other European State, except Russia and Germany-equal to an average of 184 to the square mile, or less than a third of the density in England. Of these, 26 millions inhabit the Austrian division of the Empire, but less than 10 millions of them are Germans, the remainder consisting of Czechs (who form the bulk of the Bohemian population) and other Slavonic peoples Fiveand-a-half million Austrian subjects are Poles, and nearly half a million speak the Italian language. These latter inhabit the southern valleys of the Tyrol. The remaining 19 millions include the people of Hungary and the adjacent territories, known under the general name of the Hungarian countries. In Hungary itself, the Magyars, who now number 8 millions, form the domin ant race; intermixed with them are Slavs, Germans, and Romanians. Oneand-a-half million Jews are dispersed throughout the empire. The Hungarian population has risen from 15% millions in 1880, to 19% millions in 1900, and the Magyar nationality from 6,170,000 to 8,200,000. The Hungarians amount, therefore, to nearly 50 per cent. of the entire population, while of the other races settled in Hungary, the most numerous one represents only 15%. The provinces of Bosnia and the Herzegovina, occupied by Austria-Hungary in accordance with the Treaty of Berlin, contain about 11⁄2 million inhabitants, EDUCATION: Public education throughout the empire was rather backward until recently, and, notwithstanding the efforts of the Government, the great bulk of the agricultural population of the purely Slavonic provinces is as yet almost entirely illiterate. In both Austria and Hungary the law enforces the education of every child, but very few of the Elementary Schools are sup ported by the State, the cost of all grades of Primary Schools falling on the local communes or on the land. There are numerous Higher Schools and II Universities-of the latter, that of Vienna has over 5,000 students, and that of Budapest, 3,600. The Universities are maintained by the State. RELIGION: The Roman Catholic religion is followed by seven-tenths of the population. Protestants are most numerous in Hungary and Transylvania. Many of the people of both the Hungarian and Austrian provinces are members of the Greek Church, while there are over 11⁄2 million Jews and half a million Mohammedans. INDUSTRIES: The industrial produce of Austria-Hungary is considerable. There are considerable manufactures in the Austrian provinces, but agriculture is the principal, and in many parts the only industry in Hungary. Agriculture occupies by much the larger proportion of the people, especially in Hungary and Galicia, which are the principal corngrowing countries. Oats and rye are the staple crop, and form the principal article of food, but large quantities of barley, wheat, maize, and other cereals are also grown. Much wine is produced, that of Tokay being specially famed. The beetroot is extensively cultivated for the manufacture of sugar, of which over 11⁄2 million pounds are annually produced. Sugar, indeed, forms the chief manufacture of the empire, 228 raw sugar factories being now at work in Austria, 10 of which are in Bohemia. Vast numbers of sheep and cattle are reared in various parts of the empire, and both in Austria and Hungary the export of horses, cattle, and sheep far exceed the import. Manufactures: Austria-Hungary is not, on the whole, a manufacturing country, and manufactured goods are therefore largely imported. Manufactures are mostly pursued in the Austrian division of the Monarchy, where linen, cotton, woollen, and other fabrics are made. Bohemia is cele brated for its glassware. There are about 2,cco breweries and nearly 150,000 distilleries, and the exports of beer and brandy greatly exceed the imports. COMMERCE : The commerce of Austria-Hungary is checked by its limited extent of sea-coast, and by the mountain-chains which have to be crossed in order to reach the coast from the interior. The commerce of the empire is carried on mainly by land with the surround. ing countries-Germany, Italy, Romania, and Russia; but a considerable proportion is carried on by sea, through the free ports of Trieste and FiumeTrieste being the outlet for the Austrian provinces, and Fiume for the Hungarian countries. About a third of the trade is carried on with Turkey, Russia, Italy, France, and Great Britain; the rest being almost entirely with Germany. The Special Commerce, exclusive of bullion, of Austria-Hungary amounts to about 180 millions sterling a year. Imports, 8934 millions; exports, 90 millions. Of these amounts, about 55 millions were for Hungarian imports, and 561⁄2 millions for Hungarian exports. The chief imports are raw cotton, wool, and silk; cotton and woollen yarn, and silk and woollen goods; coffee, tobacco, coal, machinery, and hardware. The chief exports are grain and flour, timber, sugar, hardware, coal, wine, woollen goods, cattle, glass and glassware, wooden wares, iron, paper, leather wares and gloves. The direct trade of Austria-Hungary with the United Kingdom amounts to about 34 millions sterling a year (imports 1 millions, exports 1 millions). Our staple impo, ts from Austria-Hungary are wheaten flour, eggs, glass, and timber, and our chief exports thereto are cotton and woollen manufactures and yarn, machinery and hardware. PORTS: The ports of Trieste and Fiume are the chief seats of the foreign trade of the empire-Trieste for the Austrian provinces, and Fiume for the Hungarian countries. |