462 



1 



ince 1 vvt. tlie l.ugi-st gains being made after the 



victorious war of 1866. The l'rn-.-i:i of Frederick 

 the (treat embraced only 47,800 H<|. in. when he 

 uli'il tin' thrum-, mill 7'). (KM) when In- died. In 

 1SKI tin- |Hi|iiil;iti<iti was lii.'.M.'.i.'il : in 1804, 

 l!l.i>4,tM!l; in 1-s I. Jl.oS'.i. :.>.-,_>; in 1 sti:,. :tl.s.V.. l-.':i. 



I'IIYSICAL FKATITRES. Munntuins, The i greater 

 part of Prussia, more than two thirds of its total 

 area, belong!* to the north Kunipcan plain, while 

 less than a third, cliielly in the south-west, can be 

 ilr-rrilxNl as hilly or mountainous. Tin- division 

 line between the two districts is ninthly indicated 

 by an irregular series of heights Imginning with 

 the Teutobiirgerwald, to the east of tin- upper 

 Ems, an<l the Weser Hills, on both sides of the 

 upper Weser, and thence running towards the 

 smith-east in the Har/. Mountains (q.v. ), with the 

 Hrocken (3740 feet), and in the northern outliers 

 of the Thuringerwald ( Kinsterberg, 3100 feet; 

 Inselsberg, 3000 feet). Farther to the south-east 

 this line of heights is continued by the Kiesen- 

 gebirge (q.v.), separating Prussian Silesia from 

 Bohemia, and forming the northern ranges of the 

 Smletic system. None of these ranges rise aliove 

 about 5000 feet; the Schneekop|>e i.v.Viti feet) in 

 the Riesengebirge is the loftiest summit on Prussian 

 territory. The western and south western parts of 

 the country, comprising Khenish Prussia, West- 

 phalia, and Hesse- Nassau, thus cut off from the 

 sandy and heathy wastes of the north, are quite 

 distinct in their physical character from the rest of 

 Prussia. They are divided by the Rhine into two 

 portions. On the west side of the river, lietweeu 

 Aix-la-Chapelle and the Moselle, is the elevated 

 plain known a-s the Hohe Veen and the Eifel, 

 whirl] has a mean elevation of 1600 feet, with a 

 few higher hills ( Hohe Acht, 2490 feet). South of 

 the Moselle, and parallel with that river, stretrhes 

 the Hiinsrnck, with an average height of 1-200 to 

 1500 feet, and farther south is tin- Ilanlt. the 

 name here given to the northern extremity of the 

 Vosges. On the east side of the Khine the Saner- 

 land, between the Kiihr and the Sieg, with the 

 Rolhaar or Kotlagergehirge, is succeeded farther 

 south by the Westerwald ( Fuchskauten, 21.V 

 feet), between the Sieg and the Lahn, and by the 

 Taunus (Feldtorg, 2885 feet), between the Lahn 

 and the Main. To the south of the Taunus, 

 famous for its mineral springs, lies the fertile 

 valley of the Main, while to tlie east the Vogels- 

 herg. chiefly, however, in Hesse, forms a link with 

 the Hohe Rhim ( Wasserkiinpe, 3115 feet), which 

 may be regarded as an outlier of the Thuringer 

 waid. The soil is generally poor in these districts, 

 though they possess special sources of wealth in 

 their iron and coal mines. The level country 

 between the Rhone and the Maas, bordering tin- 

 Eifel, is, however, extremely fertile; and ll< 

 'assel is ]iarti<-ularly fruitful, cereals of all kinds 

 growing abundantly. The great northern plain, 

 which occupies the rest of the kingdom, is varied 

 by two terrace-like elevations already described 

 under CKKMANV (Vol. V. p. 172). The surface i- 

 diversilicd with numerous lakes, especially in tin- 

 east, on what are known as the Pomeranian and 

 Kast Prussian Lake-platenus, hut none of them is 

 more than 20 sc|. m. in area, though altogether 

 they are estimated to cover more than 3(H) sq. m. 

 The soil, consisting cliielly of loose sand intcr.spcr-rd 

 with a large number of erratic blocks of granite, is 

 ntciile, covered in many places with heaths and 

 belt* of stunted pines. On the northern slope, 

 terminating on the shores nf the lialtic, there arn 

 several fertile districts, more especially along those 

 rivers which have been carefully embanked, ns the 

 Ni'-iiien and the Vistula. The southern elevation 

 of the Prussian plain, ninning lietween the I'oli-h 

 iii'iiintains of Sandomir in the sonth-east and the 



Ellie iM-tween Magilebiirg and Hurg in the north- 

 west, attains a height of about 1000 feet near 

 l>ielaii on the Oder, where it is known as the 

 Trebniti Heights. Its general character is mote 

 fertile than the northern elevation ; while the 

 country Ix-tween the two is, for the most part, 

 extremely sierile. It includes the sandy waste in 

 which Iterlin. the capital, i> situated. " South of 

 this tract, and in Silesia and Prussian Saxony, the 

 country is fertile, including some of the most pro- 

 ductive grain growing districts of Prussia, Han- 

 oM-r lias much the same character, (neat maishe* 

 or peat-moors cover tlie north and north west dis- 

 tricts; but the valleys that lie among the liar/ Moun- 

 tains in the south lire often fertile, and well adapted 

 for agriculture. The coasts are low, and require to 

 be protected from the overflow ing of the sea by em- 

 bankments Mild dykes. Slesw ick HoKtein. to the 

 north of the I'.llie. is in part sandy and heathy, 

 like the plain of Hanover, but it has also num. 

 marshes. 



Hirers. The northern plain is watered by live 

 large rivers the Niemen, Vistula, Oder, Kiln-, and 

 \\ eser all of which rise Mypad the liorders of the 

 kingdom, and the Pregel, Kider, and Kins, which 

 are exclusively Prussian. In the west the chief 

 river is the Rhine, which enters Prussia at Mainz, 

 and thence flows north through a narrow valley 

 noted as one of the most picturesque part* of tier 

 many. The Rhine, which is navigable throughout 

 its entire course in 1'nissian territory, receives 

 numerous tributaries as the Lahn, \Vied. Sieg, 

 \Yupper, Ruhr. Lippe. Uerkel, and Vechte, on t In- 

 right, and on the left the Ahr and the Moselle or 

 Mosel, the latter of which is navigable for more 

 than 150 miles within the Prussian dominions. 

 The Weser, KII>e, Oder, and Vistula, as also the 

 Spree and Havel, affluents of the Elbe, are of high 

 Importance for the inland navigation of Prussia, 

 and are each diseiis-ed in special articles. Alto- 

 gether Prussia is said to possess 119 navigable 

 rivers, besides nearly fifty others that may be used 

 by rafts, and ninety canals. Of the Iwt named, 

 which form a network connecting the chief rivers 

 of north (ermany, the most important are the 

 Bromberger, the Finow, the Friedru-h-Wilhelins, 

 the Kidcr, and the Kaiser- Wilhelm canals. 



Climate. The climate of Prussia presents great 

 differences in the eastern ami western provinces, 

 the former being exiiosed to heavy snowstorms in 

 winter and great drought in summer, while tin- 

 latter have milder winters and a greater rainfall. 

 At Berlin the annual mean temperature is Is !'. ; 

 on the Rhine it is 111 ( summer, <i.V; winter, 34 l| 

 in the east provinces and among the mountains 

 it is below 43 (summer, (i! ": winter, 25). 



Productions. Agriculture and the rearing of 

 cat tie constitute the principal son ices of employment 

 and wealth of the rural population of the entire 

 monarchy, and the state has hitherto directed its 

 unremitting attention to the furtherance of the one 

 and the improvement of the other : abrogating oner 

 oils land taxes, advancing money to landowner-, 

 encouraging agricultural institutions, introducing 

 approved breeds of animals and improved farm 

 instruments. i\-c. Rather less than one-half, or 

 1-.!. 000,000, of the imputation of the kingdom are 

 engaged ill agriculture as their sole or chief occupa- 

 tion. Of the total area 50 per cent, is occupied by 

 arable land, flj percent, by meadows, and 1 1 percent. 

 by pasturage. Large estates, as a rule, are only 

 to be found in the eastern and least populated i>ro- 

 \incesof the monarchy, live, wheat, oats, bailey, 

 peas, millet, rape-seed, maize, linseed, beet root, 

 potatoes, tobacco, flax, hemp, hops, chicory are ex 

 tensively cultivated. The finest grain districts are 

 the Borde, near Magdeburg, the low lands on the 

 Wartlia and Netze, and on the Plmie ami Madi'.c 



