176 



GERMANY 



quisitionof Angra-Pequena, Africa. Since that time, 

 up to 1899, the following regions ( besides Kiao- 

 chow, leased by China in 1898 ) have become Ger- 

 man possessions or come under German protection : 



Education. Education is more generally diffused 

 in Germany than in any other country of Europe, 

 and is cultivated witli an earnest and systematic 

 devotion not met with to an equal extent among 

 other nations. Besides the Academy at Miinster 

 (founded 1780; 476 students) and the small Lyceum 

 at Braunsberg (1568), which have only the two 

 faculties of Philosophy and Catholic Theology, 

 there are 20 universities : Heidelberg ( 1386*), 

 Wiirzburg (1402), Leipzig (1409), Rostock (1419), 

 Greifswald (1456), Freiburg ( 1457 ), Munich (1472), 

 Tubingen (1477), Marburg (1527), Konigsberg 

 (1544), Jena (1557), Giessen (1607), Kiel (1665), 

 Gottingen (1734), Erlangen (1743), Berlin (1809), 

 Breslau (1811), Halle (1817), Bonn (1818), Stras- 

 burg (1872). These institutions embrace the four 

 faculties of Theology, Law, Medicine, and Philo- 

 sophy ; in 1889 they had 2260 professors and teachers, 

 and in 1888-89 (winter session) 28,550 students. 

 Berlin (5790 students), Leipzig (3430), and Munich 

 (3602) are the largest universities ; Jena (463) and 

 Rostock (346) the smallest. Of the universities, 14 

 are Protestant i. e. in the department of theology 

 they teach only Protestant theology ; three are 

 Roman Catholic viz. Freiburg, Munich, and Wiirz- 

 burg ; three viz. Bonn, Breslau, and Tubingen 

 are mixed, Protestantism prevailing in the first 

 two, and Roman Catholicism in the last. There 

 are also 16 polytechnic institutions ; 787 gymnasia, 

 realschulen, &c. ; numerous special schools of 

 technology, agriculture, forestry, mining, com- 

 merce, military science, &c. ; several seminaries 

 for teachers, and for the ministers of different reli- 

 gious denominations ; and nearly 60,000 elementary 

 schools. The attendance of children at school, for 

 at least four or five years, is made compulsory in 

 nearly all the German states, and hence the pro- 

 portion of persons who cannot read and write is 

 exceedingly small. Among the military recruits 

 of 1887-88 only 0'71 per cent, were unable either to 

 read or write. In East Prussia the percentage was 

 4'16 the highest in the empire. In all the other 

 states, except Mecklenburg-Schwerin ( 1 '27 ), the 

 number of illiterate recruits was less than 1 per 

 cent. Several of the smaller states had no recruits 

 unable to read and write. 



Public libraries, museums, botanical gardens, art- 

 collections, picture-galleries, schools of music and 

 design, and academies of arts and sciences are 

 to be met with in most of the capitals, and in 

 many of the country towns, upwards of 200 of 

 which possess one or more permanently established 



theatres. In no country is the book and publishing 

 trade more universally patronised than in Germany, 

 where the chief centres are Leipzig and Stuttgart. 

 The press annually sends forth from 8000 to 10,000 

 works, while about 3000 papers and journals are 

 circulated throughout the empire. Of the current 

 newspapers a comparatively small number only 

 exert any marked influence, but many of the 

 German scientific and literary periodicals enjoy a 

 world-wide reputation (see BOOK-TRADE, Vol. II. 

 page 315). The censorship of the press was 

 abolished by a decree of the diet of 1848, and 

 freedom of the press, under certain restrictions 

 which were promulgated in 1854, has been intro- 

 duced. 



Religion. In regard to religion, it may be stated 

 generally that Protestantism predominates in the 

 north and middle, and Roman Catholicism in the 

 south, east, and west, although very few states 

 exhibit exclusively either form of faith. The Pro- 

 testants belong chiefly either to the Lutheran con- 

 fession, which prevails in Saxony, Thuringia, 

 Hanover, and Bavaria east of the Rhine, or to 

 the Reformed or Calvinistic Church, which pre- 

 vails in Hesse, Anhalt, and the Palatinate. A 

 union between these two churches has taken place 

 in Prussia. There are six Roman Catholic arch- 

 bishoprics and eighteen Roman Catholic bishoprics 

 in Germany. 



The following is the proportion of the- different 

 denominations, according to the census of 1885 : 



Judicial System. In terms of the Judicature 

 Acts of 1877 and 1878, a uniform system of law- 

 courts was adopted by the different states in 1879. 

 The appointment of the judges and the arrange- 

 ment of the courts are left in the hands of the in- 

 dividual federal states, except in the case of the 

 Beichsgericht. The Amstsgericht, with one judge, 

 is competent for civil cases not involving more than 

 15 value, and for various minor offences. More 

 important criminal cases are tried by the Schoffen- 

 gericht, in which two Schoffen (assessors), chosen by 

 rotation from among the qualified private citizens, 

 sit with the judge. It deals with crimes whose 

 punishment is not more than three months' im- 

 prisonment or a fine of 30, and with theft, fraud, 

 &c. , in which the damage is not more than 25s. 

 Above these is the Landgericht, divided into civil 

 and criminal chambers (Kammern), and consisting 

 of a president, directors (who preside over the 

 chambers), and ordinary members. In connec- 

 tion with the Landgericht, jury-courts (Schwur- 

 gerichte) are periodically held to try the more 

 serious cases. These consist of three judges and 

 twelve jurymen. A concurrent jurisdiction with 

 the Landgericht in commercial matters is pos- 

 sessed by the chambers for commercial cases 

 ( Handelssachen ), in which a judge sits as presi- 

 dent along with two arbiters (Handelsrichter) 

 appointed for three years from among the qualified 

 citizens. A revising jurisdiction over the courts 

 below is possessed by the Oberlandesgericht, which 

 is divided into civil and criminal senates, each of 



