1081 



BEROF.xurrs. 



r.KRKELEV. 



figure i lowered from the roof in front of the altar. Bergen ha* one 

 Latin school; one burgher school; several other school 

 public libraries ; a national mumum ; hospital ; poor-house ; a house 



roction ; a prison for greater criminals ; a public treasury ; 

 a national bonk ; a savings bonk ; and other public institution*. 



are also in the town several tobacco manufactories, distilleries, 

 and rope-yards. Outside the entrance-gate, on the north side of the 

 port, i* a public garden, much resorted to in summer. Bergen is 

 fortified, but the fortifications are not of great strength. 



The Mtiintion, viewed from the sea, is strikingly picturesque ; the 

 town extends itself in the form of an amphitheatre round the 

 harbour, which is constantly animated with boats and vessels. The 

 houses are mostly constructed of timber, and painted white. A 

 water-cask is usually placed at the door, in case of fire. Considerable 

 improvement has taken place in the town of late years; the streets 

 have been enlarged and many good houses erected. The streets are 

 generally well paved. The market-place is a handsome square, 

 planted with trees and surrounded by fine buildings. 



Bergen being up till a very recent period, if not still, the most 



rable commercial town in Norway, is consequently possessed 

 of n-at wealth. Since Christiania has become the seat of govern- 

 ment nnd of the university, that city has rapidly risen in commercial 

 f.'id general importance, while Bergen has on the whole remained 

 stationary, although its trade is still equal to that of Christiania. 

 The population of Bergen in 1847 was about 25,000. The inhabitants 

 in general direct their attention to trading pursuits. 



The climate is usually humid and rainy, but not unwholesome ; 

 the winter is seldom so severe as to freeze the harbour. Much 

 attention is paid to orchards in Bergen and the surrounding districts, 

 and there is a greater abundance of fruit here than in any other port 

 of Norway. 



imunicotion from Norway.) 



HITS, Diocese of, comprehends the western part of 

 Norway, including the mainland and islands along the coast, of 

 which some are inhabited, others not, with a population of about 

 200,000. It is bounded N. by Trondhjem, E. by Christiania, S. by 

 Cliristinnsand, and \V. by the ocean. The mainland is almost every- 



intersected by deep gulfs confined between high mountain.?, 

 DTI which there in in general little wood but good pasturage. The 

 habitations are situated in the valleys between the mountains or on 



ides, and sometimes near their summits. Along the gulfs and 

 valleys there is in many places level ground and good corn-fields. In 

 general agriculture is very backward, and although some progress has 

 been made in recent times by the peasants adopting a better system, 

 yet there are few parishes which are not annually necessitated 



corn. Copper and iron ores are found in many places, 



nation and the want of wood prevent in some measure 



inivle use of. Mnrblc is found in several places. The 



principal branches of industry are fishing on the const, especially 



for herrings, and breeding cattle on the shores of the gulf*. Tho 



largest gulfs are Hardangerfjdrd, or Bommelfj<5rd, 83 miles in length, 



."Itffj.'.nl, the entrance to the city of Beix 



Sognefjord. Tho principal river, called Leerdala Elv, has its source 

 in the mountains of Fille Fjeld, and empties itself into a branch of 

 the K-' Tin- dioce*e is divided into three amts, or provinces, 



which, with their area and population arc as follows : 



Amts. Area In q. milcn. Pop. In 1843. 



I'.rnjcnhnm, R 5780 116,989 



Bercrahuni, N 67IS 77,978 



8001 M,.11I 



Total . . . 18,4ai 378,981 



It must be remarked however that only the Sondmocr district of 

 Romsdals belonged to Ilergenhuus ; more than half of this aint 

 belonged to the stift, or diocese, of Trondhjem. The only barony in 

 Norway, Rnsendahl, is situated in this diocese. There is no other 

 city than Bergen. 



(Communication from Norway.) 



. OP-ZOOM, a town and strong forti in North Ilrabant, 

 on th.. little river Zoom, and Dear the right bank of the eastern 

 branch ..( tin- Srh.-ld-'. It in situated |n.rtly ..n a riini( 51 

 urround<>d in great measure by marshes and sands, which are over- 

 flowed at high water and add to the strength of its defences. It 

 once formed part of the barony of Breda, but was created into a 

 separate marquisate by Charles V. It was one of the strong- 

 hold* of the statea-general of the united provinces in their war against 

 the Hpaniords. The Prince of Parma besieged it in vain In 1688, and 

 tho Marquis of SpinoU likewise failed before it in 1622, after us- 

 Uining great loss. Afterwards the famous engineer Coehorn increased 

 iticatinns, and it acquired the reputation of an impregnable 

 fortress. I n 1747 however the French, commanded by the Count of 

 'lol, took it by storm. When the French under Oeneral 

 'iohagru invaded Holland in 1TH5 Bergon-op Zoom surrendered to 

 Jbem. The English general. Sir Thomas Graham, attempted to carry 

 t by snrpriw, in the night of the 8th of March 1814, but was npulsed 

 with great lost. 



The town stands in 61* W N. Ut, 4' 17' K long. It is well built, 

 and has a BM invket-pUo. and other squares : the population is 



alnt 7300. Earthenware is manufactured, and there is a consider- 

 able trade in anchovies. There are two arsenals, a town-hall, and a 

 school of architecture in the town. Besides the for round 



the town there are several outer forts connected with it. Ilergvn-op- 

 Zoom is 17 miles N.N.\V. from Antwerp, and 21 miloe W.S.W. from 

 Bn ! ,. 



HKIK.rKS. 



KKKKKI.KY, Gloucestershire, a market-town and borough by 

 prescription, in the parish and hundred of Berkeley, is eituatcd on a 

 small stream called the Avon, which falls into the Severn a in l 

 a half from the town, in 51 42' N. la- A. loii K ., 1'. 



S.S.W. from (JliiucesU-T, 113 mile* W. by N. from ].. ' in. I 

 Rood station of the Bristol and Birmingham railway, which in about 

 3 miles K. from the town, is 110 mil'-' from London. Tin 

 of the borough in 1851 was 949; of the entire parish 41144. Tim 

 living is a vicarage in the archdeaconry of Gloucester and diocese of 

 Gloucester and Bristol. 



This place, according to the Domesday Survey, must have 1" 

 great extent, population, and opulence, the town itself being a royal 

 demesne and free borough held of the crown ; and iti that survey 

 this town is one of the only two places in the county of Gloucester 

 which arc stated to havo a market, Tewkesbury being the 

 Here also in early times was a wealthy nunnery. 



Formerly there was carried on a considerable trade in coals, 

 brought from the Forest of Dean in small vessels, wlii 

 can conie up to the town ; but this trade has considerably de. 

 The surrounding country consists almost entirely of rich meadow- 

 lands, and the Vale of Berkeley has Ion 



for its excellent cheese. There is some trade in timber and malt. 

 The parish church dedicated to St. Mary is a very large and han< 

 structure partly of the early English style. Tim wc.it window i 

 nnd vc'.y beautiful. A simple tablet in the chancel marks the burial- 

 place of Jenncr, the discoverer of vaccination, who was o native 

 of this town. The tower, which is square and modern, h 

 bells, and is situated at some distance from the i-lmrcli. There 

 are in the town chapels belonging to Dissenter*, and an endowed 

 school. 



Tuesday is the market day ; and cattle-markets are held on the 

 first Tuesday in April and the first Tuesday in November. The fairs 

 are on the 14th of May and the 1st of December. The market 

 was erected in 1825. 



Two miles and a half from the town, at Sharpness Point (a long, 

 low, projecting rock on the eastern bank of the Severn), is the 

 entrance into the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal. This c:i- 

 18 feet deep and 60 feet in width, and is navigable for vessels of 000 

 tons burdrn. 



Berkeley Castle is situated at the ninth-cast side of the 

 About the year 1150 this buildin 'ite.l by Henry II. to 



Robert Fitzhardinge, govern 1 (who was descended from 



the kings of Denmark), with power to rgc it. 



Maurice, the son of Robert, was the first of 

 dwelt at Berkeley. He assumed the name of 



the castle. Berkeley Castle stand* mi .m .m;, town, 



and commands an . iew of the Severn and tlio neighl 



country. It is a tolerably perfect specimen of a castellated building; 

 Iwing in complete repair and not ruinous in any part. It 

 irregular pile, consisting of a keep and various embattled building*, 

 -urround a court of about 140 yards in cir< Thu 



chief ornament of thin court is the fine exterior of the baronial hall, 

 which is a noble room in excellent preservation ; adjoining it is the 

 chapel. 



The keep is nearly circular ; it has one square tower and thn > 

 semicircular ones. In one of the towers of the keep is a dungeon 

 chamber 28 feet deep, without light or aperture of any kind except 

 at the top : in shape it resembles the letter D, and the entrance to it 

 is through a trap door in the floor of the room over it. The great 

 staircase loading to the keep i >:n -. and on th,. 



right of it, approached l,y :i kind of gallery, U the room in which 

 from its great strength audits isolate* I'.nly 



d that Kdward II. Wan lnlinlel.il, on th" '_'! *t. of Septcliilicr 



l:'._7. It is stated by Holinshed that the shrieks of the !,nr,- were 

 heard in the town ; but from the situation of the castle anil tin: 

 great thickness of its walls, that is quite impossible, 



Tho then Lord Berkeley was acquitted of any active ; 

 in the measures which caused the death of th<> king ; Imi shortly 

 afterwards he entertained Queen Isabella and 1 r Mortimer 



at the castle. This Lord Berkeley kept twelve knights to was 

 his person, each of whom was attended by two set i page. 



He had twenty-four esquires, each having an under servant 

 horse. In this castle royal visitors have been several times enter- 

 tained. In the civil wars of Charles I. the castle was garrisoned on 

 the side of the king, and kept all the surrounding country in awe ; 

 but it was afterwards besieged by the army of the Commonwealth 

 and Kill-rendered after a defence of nine days. On the north of the 

 castle is a very perfect vestige of the ancient fosse, which is now quite 

 dry, and has some very fine elms and other trees growing in it. A 

 terrace goes nearly round the castle. 



