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HBSSB-HOMBURa. 



HEXHAV. 



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CmmI, which jiiMM through Qiewen. The Maio-Neekar lioe, from 

 Frankfurt to Uaidelbsi^ tnTarMa the province of SUirkenburg, in 

 which it panes through Darmitadt, Beniheim, and Heppenheim. 

 The Main-Neckar line run* nearly parallel to anil nt a little distance weit 

 nf the famous Roman road oailed Bergstraiae, which extends from 

 near Darmstadt to Heidelberg, and traTersea the district that lies at 

 the wastam baas of the Odenwald, the most beautiful region in 

 Germany — so beautiful that it is popularly called the 'German 

 Paradise.' The region itself is sometimes called the Bergstrasse. The 

 lirorince of Uhein-Hessen is traversed by the railway from Mayence to 

 Paria, which passes through Worms. 



Fact of tke Cotmtry, Soil, Climate. — A large part of the surface of 

 the country is mountainous. The banks of the Rbiue, and the 

 Wetterau (valley of the Wetter in Oberhessen), which contain about 

 400 square miles, are pretty level and very fertile ; the remainder of 

 the country is traversed by branches of the Vogelsgebirge, the Oden- 

 wald, Taunna, and the Westerwald ; but of the two latter only small 

 portions extend into the grand-duchy. The Vogelsgebirge, in Upper 

 Ueaae, is a volcanic mass, which with its branches occupies 400 square 

 miles : it consists chietly of basalt, and of various compact and 

 porous lava& The Odenwald, in Starkenburg, presents a pleasing 

 and picturesque rather than a wild mountain character. Hoxt of its 

 summits are clothed with forests of oak, beech, and fir, while the 

 broad well-watered valleys and middlo declivities are covered with 

 numerous habitations and carefully cultivated. Hesse-Darmstadt is 

 on the whole an agricultural country, and one of the most fertile and 

 best cultivated in Qermany. The chief productions are com of all 

 kinds, maize, and spelt; wheat and' rye chicHy in Rhenish Hesse and 

 the Wetterau ; flax, hemp, hops, tobacco, pulse, potatoes, wines, both 

 white and red, g^irden vegetables and fruit, and timber. Rhein-Hessca 

 is nearly destitute of timber, but famous for its vineyards, which 

 yield some of the finest Rhenish wines. The valleys of the Odenwald 

 and Vogel^birge are well adapted to the breeding of cattle and 

 ■heep. Swine are kept chiefly in Upper Hesse and Starkenburg. The 

 breeding of horses is much neglected. Domestic poultry is abundant 

 Mining is confined to copper, iron, coal, and salt. The iron mines are 

 chiefly in Oberhessen and the Odenwald Cobalt, basalt, lime, sand- 

 atone, marble, and slate, are found in different parts of the grand- 

 duchy. The chief rivers are the Rhine (2500 feet broad at Mainz), 

 and the Main, and next to these the Lahn, the Schwalm, the Nidda, 

 the Ohm, and the Itter. 



Manu/acturu, Trade, <tc. — The chief manufactures are of woollens, 

 cottons, and linen (of which manufacture the principal centre is the 

 little town of Schlitz, situated on a feeder of the Fulda at the eastern 

 base of the Vogelberg in Ober-Heasen), leather, and hardware. Wine 

 is produced chiefly in the province of Rhein-Hessen, which lies entirely 

 on the left bank of the Rhine. The most cousider.^ble manufacturing 

 and trading town is Offenbach, which has two annual fairs. Mainz is 

 the principal place for the transit-trade. The exports consist of the 

 natural productions of the country and of some manufactures. 

 Hease-Darmstadt is a member of the Oerman Customs Union, and 

 derives a considerable annual revenue from the transit trade. 



The revenue, according to the budget for the financitd period 1851- 

 185S, amounts annually to 8,206,873 florins, and the expenditure to 

 an equal sum, including the interest of the debt The public debt, 

 properly so called, amounted at the end of 1849 to 4,346,267 florins ; 

 but besides this the state is accountable for 2 millions of florins in 

 paper money, and 11,848,607 florins bearing interest and borrowed 

 for the construction of railways. 



The military establishment is fixed at 10,514 men, namely, 1446 

 cavalry, artillery 853, infantry 8041, a company of sappers and miners 

 126, general staff 48. 



Mi/ion, Eduealion.—0[ the 854,314 inhabitants, 409,658 are 

 Lutherans, 36,520 Calvinists, 157,405 United or Evangelical, 217,798 

 Catholics (who an under the bishop of Mainz), 28,784 Jews, and 

 4199 belonging to small Christian sects. There is a univereity at 

 OiesMu lOinssif], an episcopal seminary at Mainz, gymnasia in 

 Darmstadt, Oiaasen, Mainz, Bensheim, Biidingen, and Worms, and at 

 laaat one elamentaij school in every commune. 



HESSE-UOMBURO was formerly a part of Hesse-Darmstadt, till 

 it came, in 1696, into the possession of Frederidc L, youngest son of 

 Oeorge L, who was the founder of the line of Hesse-Homburg. The 

 Congreas of Vienna in 1815 restored the Lsndgrave to the sovereignty 

 of his prinoipalito of Hesse-Homburg (of which he had been deprived 

 in 1806), and added to it the lordship of Meisenheim, on the other 

 •ids of the Rhine. The Undgrave was received in 1817 as a member 

 of the Oerman Confederation, and as such has one vote in the full 

 oounei]. The area of Hesse-Homburg, exclusive of the private estates 

 of the landgrave, is only 106 square miles; the population in 1852 

 was 24,921, more than half of whom are Calvmists : the rest are 

 Llitheraos and Catholics with about 150 Jews. 



Dinnoiu. — 1. The lordship of Hamburg, which contains 32 square 

 nilsa with 11,166 inhabitanta. The chief town, Ilotidnra-vor-der- 

 Hlkt, with 4500 inhabitants, ia situated 9 miles N. from Frunkfurt«m- 

 Main, at the foot of an eminence on which the palace of the landgrave 

 is built, commanding an extensive prospect of extraordinary beauty. 

 Hombnrg is divided into the old and the new towns, the latter of 

 which is open, and regularly built Besides the paUoe Uie chief 



buildings are the Catholic cathedral, an orphan asylum, a synagiogue, 

 and the governmeut officea. 



2. The lordship of MtiinMrn, which contains 74 square miles and 

 13,755 inhabitants. It lias between the Prussian province of Um 

 Lower Rhine, the Bavarian Palatinate, and the principalitiea of Lidi- 

 tenberg and Birkenfeld. The chief town is Meisenheim, with 17S0 

 inhabitants. 



The territory of Hesse-Homburg contains a considerable propor- 

 tion of arable land. Meisenheim, which is occupied by the onsets 

 of the Hundsriick, has mines of coal, iron, stone-quarries, and con- 

 siderable forests. The landgrave possesses also the bailiwicks of 

 Winningen, Hotensleben, and Oebisfelde, in the Prussian province 

 of Saxony, and some other private estates. This petty state has 

 a constitutional government The landgrave is assisted by a privy 

 council and a chamber of deputies, one of whom is returned for every 

 1500 inhabitants. The revenue for 1853 was 374,803 Rhenish 

 florins, the expenditure 877,869 florins. About 26,000 florins a year 

 are derived from the gambling eatablishuicut iu the town of Hombutg, 

 which was opened iu 1841. The Frankfurt National Assembly pasMd 

 a law to put an end to this system in 1849, and sent a battalion of 

 infantry to put the law in execution, in which they succeeded, but as 

 soon as the troops were withdrawn gambling commenced afresh. The 

 public debt on the let of February 1853 amounted to 1,245,980 

 florins. The military consists of 333 men, which force forma its 

 contingent to the army of the Qermanic Confederation. 



HESSE^, an extensive country of Qermany, which in ancient 

 times was inhabited by the Catti, or Chatti, part of whom however 

 emigprated before the Christian era to Qaul, where they were called 

 BatavL The territory inhabited by the Catti seems to have extended 

 from the Wcatoi^wald to the Saale, and from the Main to the sources 

 of the Weser, thus coinciding with the modem country of Hessen, 

 which derives its name (Hessen or Hassen) from its ancient inhabit- 

 ants. The Catti are mentioned under the emperors Augtutus and 

 Tiberius. Germanicus burnt their chief seat, Mattium (probably 

 Marburg), a.d. 15. Iu the sequel they belonged to the great empire 

 of the Frauks, losing their name iu the 3rd or 4th century. The 

 Christian religion was introduced among them even before Charle- 

 magne's reign by Boniface, the apostle of the Germans, arohbishop of 

 Mainz ; and Cluistiau churches and convents flourished in the 7th 

 century at Hersfeld, Fulda, Frizlar, Amonebeig, &c. Till about the 

 middle of the 13th century the history of Hessen was blended with 

 that of Thiiringen ; but Henry Raspe, landgrave of Thiiringen, dying 

 without children, in 1247, a war for the succession took pliwe, which 

 was terminated in 1263 by a compact, by which Hessen was separated 

 from Thiiringen, and asuigned to Henry, son of Sophia, duchess of 

 Brabant, daughter of the late landgrave's brother, who vras the 

 common ancestor of all the succeeding landgraves of Hessen. Philip I., 

 surnamixl the Generous, who succeeded his father William IL in the 

 sovereignty of the whole country in 1509, and who introduced the 

 Reformation, divided his dominions among his four sons : William IV., 

 the eldest, obtained one-half, with Caasel, the capital ; Louis IV. a 

 fourth part, with Marburg; Philip II. an eighth, with Rheinfels; 

 and George I. an eighth, with Damistudt But Philip 11. dying in 1583, 

 and Louis IV. in 1604, without issue, there remained only the two still 

 flourishing main branches of Hesse-Caaael and Hesse-Darmstadt 



HETTON. [DuBHAM.] 



HEUSDEN. [BuABANT, NoBia] 



HEVER. [Kent.] 



HEWORTH. [Durham.] 



HEXHAM, Northumberland, a market-town, and the seat of a 

 Poor-Law Union iu the parinh of Hexham, is situated in 54" 59' N. lat, 

 2° 5' W. long., distant 20 miles W. from KewoasUe, 279 miles N.N.W. 

 from London by road, and 298 i miles by the Great Northem and 

 Newcastle and Carlisle railways. The population of the township of 

 Hexham was 5231 in 1851. The township is under the management 

 of a Local Board of Health. The living is a perpetual curacy in the 

 arehdeaconry of Northumberland and diocese of Durham. Hexham 

 Poor-Law Union contains 70 parishes and townships, with an area of 

 202,638 acres, and a population in 1851 of 30,397. 



Roman remains have been discovered at Hexham, and it ia believed 

 to have been a Roman statioa In the 7th century (A.n. 674) a 

 monastery was founded here by St Wilfrid, who erected the monastic ., 

 buildings in a style of magnificence little known at tliat day. About 

 678, on the division of the Northumbrian diocese into three parts, a 

 bishop's see was established at Hexham. The diocese was afterwards 

 united to Lindisfame. The abbey and town of Hexham were sacked 

 by the Danes early in the 9th century ; and in 875 it was again attacked, 

 the church burned, and the inhabitants massacred. In 1112 the arch- 

 bishop of York established here a priory of regular canons of St 

 Augustine, and bestowed on them tne former cathedral, and many 

 other gifts. In the Scottish wars of Edward I. the town was burned, 

 and part of the ohuroh was destroyed. 



Hexham is pleasantly situated on the right bank of the Tyne River 

 a little below the junction of the North and South Tyne. The princi- 

 pal streets are of good width, and the town is lighted with gas, and 

 partially paved. The market-place is a spacious square, surrounded 

 with good houses; there is a neat and commodious market-house, 

 furnished with piacsai^ The bridge over the Tyne at Hexham has 



