SAXK-WKIMAR EISENACH. 



SAXONY. 



rifht bank of the river Werra, about 43 miles from Coburg, popula- 

 tion about 6600, U the capital of the duchy, and contain* the palace, 

 ia whioh are eolleotion* of art aud natural history. The town has 

 some fortinoaUons, a house of anembly for the duchy of Saxe-Mein- 

 fawra. sjumasis. and a normal school Woollen- and linen-cloth are 

 maoufkctured. Saal/M, about 40 miles E. from Meiningen. popula- 

 tion 6000, *""< in the midst of the Tburingian Forest Tho town 

 m ml)*], and poaMase* the ruin* of an old castle, erected in the 8th 

 century. A modern residence, formerly occupied by the duke* of tfio 

 Saxe-Saalfeld family, stand* outside the wall*. Jtildburgliatum, 

 about 4300, the former raaidenoe of the dukes of Hild- 

 , poaaaasM a gymnaaium, a burgher school, a Jews' school, 

 asylum, and an asylum for lunatics. Cloth and papier- 

 are manufactured. Ptnuelc, 11 miles E.N.E. from Saalfeld, 

 trufmlattim about 3800, has manufacture* of woollen-cloth, leather, 

 and porcelain. Somwafcry, 12 miles N.E. from Coburg, has a popula- 

 tion of about 4000, who manufacture wooden wares, musical instru- 

 ment*, and toys, which are exported to a large amount In the 

 vicinity is a quarry, from whioh slate-pencils are produced. Eufcld, 

 on the river Worra, 8 mile* E. from Hildburghausen, population 

 about 3000, pouestes an ancient castle. The cotton manufacture is 

 carried on. 



The duchy of Saxe-Meiningen formerly constituted a part ot the 

 domain* of the count* of Henneberg, and having passed by marriage 

 to the house of Saxony, it came, after various territorial divisions, 

 into the possession of Ernest the Pious, duke of Gotha, Ernest's 

 third son, Bernhard, became the founder of the line of Meiningen in 

 1680. On the extinction of the house of Saxe-Gotha- Altenburg, in 

 1826, Meiningen received a considerable accession of territory, includ- 

 ing the principalities of Hildburghausen and Saalfeld. Hildburghausen 

 was founded by Ernest, sixth son of Ernest the Pious, in whose family 

 it continued till 1826, when, by a family compact among the junior 

 ducal houses, the reigning duke Frederick exchanged it for the duchy 

 of Altenburg ; since this period it has merged into the duchy of Mein- 

 ingen, with the exception of a few districts which were ceded to 

 Coburg. 



SAXE- WEIMAR-EISENACH, a grand-duchy on the northern fron- 

 tiara of the Thuringian Forest, consists of the principalities of Weimar 

 and Eisenach, which are separated by Saxe-Gotha, and of the insulated 

 district of Neustadt, besides various detached portions. Weimar lies 

 along the banks of the Saale, and Eisenach on those of the Werra 

 near the Tburingian and Rhb'n mountains. It extends from 50 25' 

 to 51 27' N. lat, 9" 53' to 12 18' E. long., over an area of about 1396 

 square miles (of which Weimar occupies about 690 miles, Eisenach 

 465 miles, and Neustadt 241 miles), and is bounded N. and N.E. by 

 Prussian Saxony, E. and S.E. by Altenburg and Keuss, and S. and W. 

 by portions of Schwarzburg, Coburg-Gotha, Meiningen, Bavaria, and 

 Electoral Hes-e, 



Except in the district of Neustadt the soil is rich and well adapted 

 to agriculture, wherever the gently undulatiug hills do not rise into 

 mountain ridges, but the most elevated point, the Gikkelhahn near 

 Ilmenau, does not attain a height of more than 2700 feet. 



The principal rivers are the Saale, lira, Elster Orla, Unstrut, and 

 Qera, in Weimar, and the Werra, Horsel, Nessa, Ulster, and Felda in 

 Bj**n*fti. which are all tributaries of the Elbe and Weser. There 

 are mineral springs near Berka and Ruhla. 



The chief productions are wool, which is the staple article of com 

 merce, grain of all kinds, vegetables, fruit, flax, hemp, rapeseed, hops, 

 a nnall quantity of wine, pitch, tar, aud lampblack. The mineral 

 productions include manganese, alabaster, porcelain and potters' -clay, 

 sandstone and freestone, iron, and salt. The rearing of cattle forms 

 an important branch of industry ; the horned cattle are mostly reared 

 in Neustadt; and sheep of an improved breed in Weimar. 



The population of Saxe- Weimar-Eisenach in 1853 was 262,524, in 

 the following proportions : Weimar, 132,424; Eisenach, 82,321; 

 Neustadt 47,779. Of the whole population of the duchy about 

 860,000 belong to the established Lutheran and the Reformed Pro- 

 testant churches; about 10,000 are Roman Catholics, and about 1500 

 are Jews. Eisenach principality, with its capital, Eisenach, and its 

 other principal towns, are noticed in the article EISENACH. The uni- 

 versity is described under JENA. Of the other towns in the duchy the 

 following may be named : Weimar, capital of the principality of 

 Weimar, and of the grand-duchy, is situated on the left bank of the 

 river Urn, about 13 miles E. from Erfurt. It stands in a pleasant 

 valley, surrounded by hills, and contains a population of about 12,000. 

 The town of Weimar is illustrious in the annals of German literature 

 by the name* of Gothe, Herder, Schiller, Wieland, Kotzebue, aud 

 others. The palace U finely situated in a beautiful park, and is fitted 

 up with great elegance and taste. The grand-ducal library, founded 

 in 1601, contains about 140,000 volumes, and is open to the public. 

 The principal church contains the sepulchres of the reigning family 

 In this church are several fine paintings by Lucas Kranach. In the 

 town are numerous educational institutions. A private company in 

 Weimar publishes numerous maps, charts, and important geographica 

 works. Besides the palace and the two churches, the chief public 

 buildings are the court theatre, the workhouse, the hospital, th< 

 library, and the new mews. The manufactures carried on are o 

 small extent. The railway from Ootha to Uolle passes Weimar 



Apolda, population 4000, about 9 miles N.E. from Weimar, pos- 

 nsses mineral springs, and manufactories of hosiery, woollen-cloth, ker- 

 seymeres, and linen. There are also bell foundries. Geyta, population 

 about 1800, is situated on the Ulster River, about 24 miles S.S.W. from 

 iiaenach. Neiutadt, 24 miles S.E. from Weimar, population 4250, is 

 ituated on the river Orla, which flows into the Saale. There is here a 

 ducal residence. Woollen-cloth, linen, and leather are manufactured 

 >y the inhabitants. Weida, population about 4000, is situated on the 

 rivers Auma and Weida, about 14 miles E. from Neustadt. In the duchy 

 of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach there are several gymnasia and lyceums, 

 and numerous town and village schools ; training schools for teachers ; 

 asylums for the blind and the deaf and dumb ; a school for forest 

 economy, free schools of industiy, &c., besides many literary and 

 scientific institutions. The court of Weimar has long been celebrated 

 or its liberal encouragement of the fine arts. 



The line of Weimar boasts its descent from the illustrious John 

 Frederick of Saxony, who, on being deprived by Charles V. of his 

 electoral dignity and dominions, had certain territories assigned to 

 lim in Thuringia. The founder of the house of Weimar is John, who 

 was born in 1570, and whose original patrimony has been considerably 

 augmented by purchase and the extinction of some of the collateral 

 tranches. At the Congress, of Vienna Charles Augustus, the then 

 duke, received an accession of territory with 77,000 subjects, and the 

 dignity of grand-duke, which confers the title of royal highness. 

 SAXELBY. [LINCOLNSHIRE.] 

 SAXMUNDHAM. [SUFFOLK.] 



SAXONY, a province in the kingdom of Prussia, situated between 

 50 30' and 53" N. lat., 9 50' and 13 50' E. long., is bounded N. and 

 N.E. by the province of Brandenburg; S.W. by the kingdom of Saxony ; 

 S. by Gotha, Reuss, Weimar, and Hesse Cassel ; and W. by Hanover 

 and Brunswick. It is divided into three governments, which, with 

 iheir area and population, are as follows ; 



In 1852 the total population had increased to 1,828,732. 



The province ia composed of almost the whole of the portion of 

 Saxony ceded to Prussia at the Congress of Vienna, to which the 

 principalities lying to the north of the duchy of Auhalt and to the 

 west of the Elbe and the Havel have been added. The three duchies 

 of Anhalt, a great part of Schwarzburg, the bailiwick of Alstadt 

 belonging to Weimar, and that of Kalvorde belonging to Brunswick, 

 lie entirely within the territory of this province. 



The principal river is the Elbe, which traverses the province from 

 south to north, and is joined in the north at Werben by the Havel, 

 and in the south by the Saale. The greater portion of the province, 

 namely, the whole district of Magdeburg to its extreme south-western 

 border, and the larger (or eastern) part of the district of Merseburg 

 on the other side of the Saale, belong to the plains of Northern Ger- 

 many, and contain gentle eminences, but no mountains. The western 

 or smaller part of the district of Merseburg and that of Erfurt are 

 more mountainous than level, for on the one side branches of the 

 Harz Mountains and on the other side those of the Thiiringer Wald 

 run into it ; yet this part likewise contains extensive and fruitful 

 plains, and the mountains and hills which traverse it are nowhere of 

 considerable elevation, except in the detached circle of Henneberg ; 

 on the south-west border of the province is the highest mountain of 

 Northern Germany, the Brocken, which is 3500 feet above the sea. 



The soil, which is generally fertile, supplies the numerous population 

 with the moat important articles of food. The province is unquestion- 

 ably the most equally and the best cultivated in Prussia. Potatoes are 

 very generally cultivated ; pulse, oleaginous plants, culinary vegetables 

 of all kinds, are amply sufficient for the consumption of the inhabit- 

 ants ; a considerable quantity of wine is made, and with beer and 

 brandy, the usual beverages manufactured in the province, is mostly 

 used for home consumpton. In many parts of the government of 

 Magdeburg wood is scarce, and there is barely sufficient anywhere 

 except in the government of Erfurt. The breed of horned cattle is 

 numerous, and Berlin is in part supplied from this province. Thefino 

 wool of the improved breed of sheep supplies not only the extensive 

 woollen manufactures of the province, but furnishes a large overplus 

 for exportation. Tho mineral products are antimony, cobalt, iron, 

 and copper ; there are also lime, gypsum, alabaster, freestone, alum, 

 and vitriol. The porcelain clay obtained near Halle ia of very superior 

 quality, and the salt from the saline springs furnishes a large supply. 

 The manufactures are woollens, leather, calico, and linen. There 

 are several sugar-refineries in the province, tobacco-factories, and 

 numerous brandy-distilleries. The exports are wool, corn, woollen 

 and cotton manufactures, brandy, copper, iron and steel wares, and 

 salt. The government is traversed by several railways which connect 

 it with Berlin, the Baltic, the Elbe, Belgium, and Central and Southern 

 Germany. The provinces are described in separate articles, which 



