S A'X 



552 



Saxony. 



S C A 



Kivers. 



Agricul- 

 ture. 



minerals. 



1. Circle -of Mi'is 



2. Circle of LcipML- 



''>. Circle of Eu-;ebirge 



4. Circle of Vo^tland 



5. Circle of Lusatia 



Extent in No. of inhabitants, 

 square Miles. in 1S17- 



Jfc'OO 



2175 



700 



1180 



300.000 

 207,000 

 460,000 

 90,000 

 170,000 



Capitals. 



J)resden. 



Lcipsic. 



Freiberg. 



Plauen. 



Bautzen. 



JManufac- 

 Hires. 



7115 1,227,000 



The general form of the kingdom of Saxony is tri- 

 angular, the longest side of which is on the frontiers of 

 Bohemia, from which it is separated by a long range of 

 mountains stretching in a south-westerly direction. 



The surface of the northern part of Saxony is in ge- 

 neral of a level or gentle undulating character; but in 

 the south it rises into three successive ridges of moun- 

 tains, called the Vorgeberg, the Mithelgeberg, and the 

 Hochgeberg. The following are the elevations of their 

 most lofty summits : 



The Fichtelberge 3730 feet. Lausche . 2400 feet. 

 Auersberg . . 2931 Hochweld . 2299 



A portion of the mountainous region which lies be- 

 tween Dresden and Bohemia, has received the appellation 

 of Saxon Switzerland, from the similarity of its scenery 

 to that of the Helvetian Alps. It is about 28 miles long 

 and 23 broad. The Elbe forces its way through this 

 elevated region, at the base of precipices 1000 feet high. 

 'The almost impregnable fortresses of Koenigstein, Li- 

 therstein, and Lillienstein, situated on elevated rocks, 

 display all the resources of modern fortification. 



The kingdom is about 140 miles long, its maximum 

 'breadth about 75 miles, and its extent in English acres 

 is about 2,620,000. 



The principal rivers in Saxony are the Elbe, the 

 Black and White Elster, the two Muldas, and the Pleisse, 

 all of which, except the Elbe, (see ELBE, Vol. VIII. 

 p. 407,) have their sources in the south of the kingdom, 

 but are not navigable within its limits. 



The principal agricultural districts in Saxony are the 

 circles of Meissen and Leipsic, where the land is well 

 cultivated, and produces wheat, barley, oats, and other 

 grains in abundanc?. Tobacco, hops, flax, anise seed, 

 woad, &c. are also raised ; and in Meissen some wine 

 is made in favourable situations. In the southern moun- 

 tainous districts there are extensive forests, which yield 

 good timber and pitch, but which are maintained prin- 

 cipally for the purpose of supplying the miners with 

 fuel. Coals, which are found in several places of the 

 country, and turf, are used by the people in various 

 parts for domestic fuel. 



Wool has long been one of the staple commodities of 

 Saxony, great attention having been for a Jong time be- 

 stowed on the breed of sheep, and Merino lambs hav- 

 ing been introduced about the year 1768. 



Saxony has long been celebrated for its mineral wa- 

 ters, which have been found principally in the lofty 

 range of the Erzegebirge. The basis of this range is 

 granite, upon winch rest gneiss, mica and clay slate. 

 Basalt in regular columns occur in various parts. 

 There are a few silver mines here. Iron is found in 

 the primitive mountains, and copper and lead in the 

 secondary ones. Arsenic, cobalt, tin, cinnabar, mer- 

 cury, bismuth, antimony, &c. are also found. Among 

 the valuable stones, are topazes, amethysts, chryso- 

 lites, garnets, tourmalines, and all the varieties of the 

 quartz family, such as agates, cornelians, &c. The 

 porcelain earth found in the neighbourhood of Meissen 

 gave rise to the celebrated porcelain manufactory of 

 Meissen, which we have already described in our article 

 PORCELAIN, in p. 102 of this volume. 



Saxony has long possessed -extensive manufactories 

 .of woollen goods ; and the weaving of linen is carried 



on to a great extent. At Chenrinitz, Plauen, &c. cot!o-i 

 spinning is extensively carried on. Leipsic contains 

 some silk manufactures. In our articles CHEMNITZ;, 

 DRESDEN, and LEIPSIC, will be found an account of 

 various other Saxon manufactures. 



Freiberg is a town highly interesting for its insti- 

 tutions and manufactures connected with the rivers of 

 the district. There is here a mining academy, of 

 which M. Mohs is now professor, having succeeded 

 to Werner. Connected with that institution, there is 

 a cabinet of minerals and of natural history. There 

 is here a manufacture of false lace, carried on by M. 

 Thiele, and occupying 1000 persons. The 103 mines 

 wrought in the canton of Freiberg yielded in 1749, 

 49,714 marcs of coined silver, and in 1800, 45.949. 



The net produce of all the Saxon Erzegebirge from 

 1761 to 1801, amounted to 22,447,738 rix-dollars. 

 The house of Amalgamation is about a league from 

 Freiberg. About 60,000 quintals of ore yield here 

 from 28,000 to 30,000 marcs of silver, and there are 

 laid up annually for the use of that establishment 

 10,000 voies of wood. See La Description de tons ks 

 Travaux tant d 'amalgamation que defonderie qui sont 

 en usage dans les atteliers de Halsbruck pres de Frei- 

 berg, par M. Fragoso de Sigueiro. Dresden, 1800. 



The want of inland communication is unfavourable 

 to the trade of the kingdom, the ordinary method of 

 transport being by waggon, and the roads being in 

 general not good. The principal articles of export are 

 wool, linen, and woollen goods, yarn, tar, and minerals. 

 The chief articles imported are silk, flax, cotton, coffee, 

 sugar, wine, and corn in plentiful seasons. 



Although the royal family of Saxony are Catholics, 

 having abjured the doctrines of the Reformation in 

 1697, in order to obtain the crown of Poland, yet 

 there is a great majority of Lutherans in the popula- 

 tion. The Catholics indeed amount only to 40,000. 

 Leipsic is now the only university seat in Saxony. 

 The establishments for education are numerous, and 

 under good regulations, and the lower classes are in 

 general taught reading and writing. There are en- 

 dowed classical schools atMeissen,Wurzen,Grimma,&c. 

 In Saxony the sovereign shares the legislative power 

 with the states. The states consist of two houses, the 

 one being formed of the bishops and nobility, and the 

 other of landholders and deputies from towns. There 

 is here a cabinet council, a board of finance, a military 

 court of appeal, and an upper ecclesiastical court. 



The revenue of Saxony has been estimated at one 

 million and a quarter sterling. The public debt is 

 .^3,700,000 sterling, and the military force on the peace 

 establishment 10,000. 



The following are the principal towns in Saxony, 

 -with their present population, 



Dresden, - - 50,000 Schneeberg . 4,500 



Leipsic, - - 33,000 Annaberg, - - 4,300 



Chemnitz, 11,000 Hennersdorf, - 4,300 



Bautzen, - - 11,000 Eylau, - - 4,300 



Freiberg, 10,500 Zwickau, - - 4,000 



-Zittau, - 7,200 Dobeln, - - 4,000 



Plauen, - - 6,000 Tschopa, - ' - 3,800 



Meissen, 6,000 Perna, - 3,800 



Ebersbach, - 5>000 Grimma, - - 3,000 



Mittweyda, - 5,000 



The history of Saxony has been so much interwoven 

 with that of the other nations of Europe, that we must 

 refer our readers for a farther account of it to our 

 articles ANGLO-SAXONS, AUSTRIA, BRITAIN, ECCLESI- 

 ASTICAL History, FRANCE, &c. 



SAYPAN. See LADRONES, Vol. XII. p. 599. 



SCALES. See ARITHMETIC, Vol. II. p. 409. 

 5 



