﻿graubCndten. 



GRAVESEND. 



uumismatics, and a reading-room; a botanical garden, with three 

 conservatories ; lunatic, orphan, and foundling asylums ; a theatre, 

 an hospital, and a lying-in institution, &c. 



The university was founded by Charles, duke of Styria, in the 

 year 15S8, and entrusted to the management of the Jesuits, who 

 though often expelled have been recently once more placed at the 

 head of the institution. It has faculties of theology, law, medicine, 

 and philosophy, which are taught by 28 professors. The number of 

 students in 1S35 was between 300 and 350, in 1842 it was 912, and in 

 1850 it was 866. The Convict, formerly a college of the Jesuits, is the 

 laif;est building la the town ; it is now used as a school in connec- 

 tion with the university. Griitz has also a gymnasium which is 

 under the Benedictines, and had 24 professors with 644 pupils in 

 1850 ; an episcopal seminary, six hospitals, a gaol, a lunatic asylum, &c. 



Grtitz is the seat of administration and of the supreme tribunal of 

 justice for the crownland of Styria, and the residence of the bishop of 

 Seckau. It has flourishing manufactures of steel and ironware, cottons, 

 printed cottons and linens, woollens and woollen stuffs, silks, ribands, 

 fans, leather, paper, saltpetre, hats, potters'-ware, &,c. 



Ghitz is a first-class station of the railway from Vienna to Trieste, 

 by which it is 118 miles S.S.W. from Vienna. [Styria.] 



GRAUBC'NDTEN (OrUotu in French), a canton of Switzerland, 

 is bounded X. by St. Gall, E. by the Tyrol and Vorarlberg, S. by Italy, 

 and W. by the cantons of Ticino, Cri, and Olarus. It is surrounded 

 on every aide by lofty mountains, except on one point on the north, 

 where the Rhine issues out of it through a narrow valley, along 

 which runs the carriage-road from Coire to St Gall and Zurich. A 

 large offset of the Lepontian Alps detaches itself from the group of 

 the St. Gotbard, and running in a north-eastern direction marks the 

 western boundary of the canton : dividing the waters of the Rhine 

 from those of the Reuss and the Linth, it forms many high summits 

 covered with perpetual snow, such as the Badus and the Crispalt, on 

 the frontiers of Uri ; the Dbdiberg and Piz Rosein, on the borden of 

 Glarus ; and the Scheibe, on those of St. GalL Another lofty range, 

 which under the name of the Rhaetian Alps forms part of the great 

 central chain, runs east from the St Gothard, dividing the waters 

 which flow northward into the Rhine from those which flow south- 

 ward into the Ticino ; the high summits called Piz Val Rhein (above 

 10,800 feet), Moschelhorn, and Adula are in this range, over which 

 the Bemhardin and the Splugen roads lead from the Grisons into 

 Italy. East of the Splugen, at the mountain called Maloya, on the 

 east slope of which are the sources of the Inn, the chain divides into 

 two; one, continuing along the southern boundary of the Grisons, 

 divides the waters that flow into the Adda from those of the Inn ; 

 and the other, running north-east, under the name of Julian Alps, 

 Albula, tc, bounds the valley of the Inn to the north, and divides 

 the waters of that nver from those of the Rhine. 



The inclination of the surface of the canton is therefore threefold : 

 the largest part slopes towards the north along the course of the 

 Rhine ; another part, namely the Engadin, slopes towards the east 

 along the course of the Inn ; and lastly, there are several valleys 

 belonging to the Grisons situated on the south or Italian side of the 

 great central chain, and the waters of which run into the Adda and 

 the Ticino, both ai&uents of the Po. No less than 241 glaciers are 

 reckoned within the limits of the Orisons country, 150 of which send 

 their water to the Rhine, 66 to the Danube by means of the Inn, and 

 26 to the Po, by the Adda and the Ticino. 



The area of the canton is 2962 square miles; its greatest length is 

 about 80 miles from east to west, and 55 miles from north to south. 

 The surface presents numerous valleys, separated by alpine ridges and 

 traversed by numerous rapid streams. Into the principal valleys 

 many smaller transverse valleys open, some of them between 6000 

 and 6000 feet above the sea. 



The population of the canton amounted in March 1850 to 89,840, 

 of whom 38,039 were Catholics. About one-third of the popula- 

 tion speak German, and the rest speak the Romonsch dialect, 

 except those of the valleys south of the Alps, who speak a Lombard 

 dialect of the Italian. The climate is severe in the upper valleys, 

 where the snow lies for seven months in the year. The scenery in 

 many parts is magnificent. The productions of the soil are extremely 

 ▼arittd, according to the elevation of the ground and the aspect of the 

 respective valleys. Some enjoy almost an Italian climate, and the 

 vine,, wheat, maize, the fig, and the almond thrive in them ; whilst 

 others prod uce with diSiculty scanty crops of barley and rye. Hemp 

 and flax are largely cultivated, as well as potatoes, turnips, carrots, 

 and other roots. A considerable part of the canton is occupied by 

 pastures and forests. Cattle, sheep, gnats, and pigs are numerous. 

 Cattle and cheese are exported to the Italian markets. Iron, lead, 

 and zinc are among the mineral products, but few mines are worked. 

 There are some linen and cotton manufactures, but chiefly for domestic 

 use. The transit trade across the passes of the Alps with Italy is 

 considerable. Timber and cattle are the principal exports ; com, salt, 

 oil, woven goods, colonial produce, and iron are imported. The moun- 

 tains are inhabited by a vast quantity of game, besides bears, wolves, 

 lynxes, and wild cats. Trout and salmon are found in the rivers. 



The canton of the Grisons is a confederation of little republics, 

 a Switzerland in miniature. It is divided into 25 jurisdictions ; each 

 iurisdiction appoints its own magistrates, and makes its own laws and 



OIOO. DIV. VOL. III. 



local regulations, by the consent of three-fourths of its citizens, that 

 is to say, of all men above seventeen years of age, and appoints two 

 or more deputies to the Great Council. The Little Council of three 

 members is entrusted with the execution of the laws, and with the 

 measures for general security. There is an upper court for the whole 

 canton, which hears appeals from the local courts. 



The principal town of the canton is Coire. 



The origin of the Confederacy of the Grisons dates from the 

 beginning of the 15th century, when the chief inhabitants of various 

 communes in the valleys of the Upper Rhine, weary of the cruelties 

 and oppressions of their feudal lords, assembled in a forest near the 

 village of Trons, and there entered into a solemn compact to defend 

 each other's property and persons, and to oblige their lords to respect 

 the same. The abbot of Disentis willingly agreed to the compact ; 

 the counts of Werdenberg, Sax, and the baron of Ilhsezuns, 

 followed his example ; and in the month of May 1424 they all 

 repaired to the village of Trons, and there under a large maple- 

 tree swore, in the name of the Holy Trinity, to observe the conditions 

 of the league, which was called Giaubund (Gray League), from their 

 being dressed in gray smock-frocks. The valleys of Lower Rhsetia, 

 near Coire, also formed themselves into another league with tho 

 consent of the Bishop of Coire, and this league was called Caddea 

 {' Casa Dei,' the House of God), because those commuues mostly 

 belonged to the episcopal see. A third league was formed in 1436 in 

 the valleys of the Albula and the Lanquart, and this was called tho 

 League of the Ten Jurisdictions, of which Davos was the chief place. 

 The three leagues entered into a federal compact, and also formed an 

 alliance with the Swiss cantons. They bravely defended their liberties 

 against the emperor MaximiUan I., and afterwards, in the 17th cen- 

 tury, against Ferdinand II. with the a.ssistance of Louis XIII. of 

 France. When, in 1798, the French armies invaded Switzerland, 

 and overturned its ancient confederation, the Grisons kept aluof, and 

 being threatened by the French with an invasion they rose iu a mass, 

 and called in the Austriansfrom the Tyrol to their assistance. In 1799 

 their country .was devastated by the French, who drove away the 

 Austrians, and were themselves driven away again by the Russians 

 under Suwarrow. At length, by the Act of Mediation, under Bona- 

 parte, iu 1803, the Grisons became a canton of the new Helvetic 

 Confederation, which they have continued to be ever since. The 

 canton returns 4 members to the National Council of Switzerland. 



ORAUDENZ. [Makieswerder.] 



GRAVE, or GRAAF. [Brabant, North.] 



GRAVEEN-OYSANS, LA. [Alpes, Hautes.] 



GRAVELINES. [Nord.J 



GRAVESEND, Kent, a market-town, port, and, with Milton, a 

 Poor-Law Union, in the parishes of Gravesend and Milton, is situated 

 on the right bank of the Thames, in 51° 26' N. lat, 0° 21' E. long., 

 distant 32 miles N.W. by VV. from Canterbury, 22 miles E. by S. 

 from London by road, and 24 miles by the North Kent railway. The 

 population of the municipal borough in 1851 was 16,633. The town 

 is governed by 6 aldermen and 18 couucillors, one of whom is mayor. 

 The living is a rectory in the archdeaconry and diocese of Rochester. 

 Gravesend and Milton Poor-Law Union consists of the two parishes, 

 with an area of 1271 acres, and a population in 1851 of 16,210. 



Gravesend occurs in the Domesday Survey as Gravesham ; it was 

 however written Gravesend in the succeeding century. Its early 

 history is unimportant. In the reign of Richard II. the town was 

 attacked by a squadron of French galleys, and burned, and most of 

 the inhabitants were carried into captivity. When Henry VIII. 

 built Tilbury Fort, on the Essex coast, opposite Gravesend, he raised 

 two platforms at Gravesend to protect the town and command the 

 mouth of the river. The Board of Ordnance has replaced these by 

 some modem works. Gravesend forms the limit of the port of 

 London. For centuries past the prosperity of the town has been 

 dependant on its intercourse with the metropolis. For the con- 

 veyance of passengers passage-boats, which with the progressive 

 changes in the habits and manners of the people gradually increased 

 in size and speed, have been maintained on the river, from the 

 passenger barge of the 14th century, charging the legal fare of 

 twopence each, and occupying a day in the voyage, to the swift river 

 steamer of the present day, maklug the pas^inge in two hours, and 

 charging its passengers tenpence a head. The greater pai-t of the 

 present extensive passenger traffic has arisen since the commencement 

 of steam navigation. As a place of residence during the bathing 

 season, and for holiday trips, the town has been much frequented 

 of late years, and the permanent population has been largely 

 increased. The streets in the older part of the town are narrow 

 and inconvenient. The new town, which is chiefly iu the parish of 

 Milton, has some handsome streets, squares, and terraces. Consider- 

 able improvement has been effected in the rebuilding of houses 

 consumed in fires which have on several occasions occurred. The 

 town-hall, in High-street, erected in 1836, has a massive Doric portico. 

 The parish church, a brick edifice, situated near the centre of the 

 town, has been considerably altered in the course of successive repairs : 

 a church at Milton, erected by subscription in 1845, is a handsome 

 structure in the decorated style ; and there is another new church of 

 neat appearance. There are two Independent, one Baptist, and somo 

 other places of worship, a Free Grammar school, National schools, a 



