BER 



463 



BER 



Berenice 



II 

 Bergen. 



prehending the towns of Berdoa, Fobabe, Arna, and 

 Burgou, and situated to the south of the desert of 

 Barca. ( /) 



BERENICE'S Hair, the name of one of the 

 constellations in the northern hemisphere, containing 

 in the Berlin catalogue 48 stars ; in that of Flamstead 

 43 ; in that of Hevelius 21 ; and in that of Tycho 

 14. See Astronomy, p. 750. (to) 



BERESOF, or Beresow, a district of Russia, in 

 the province of Tobolsk, situated between the Ural 

 Mountains and the Straits of Waygats. For an ac- 

 count of the gold mines of this district, see Tooke's 

 View of Russia, vol. iii. p. 296. ; and Ural Moun- 

 tains, (j) 



BERG, the name of a grand duchy, formerly in 

 the circle of Westphalia, but now a separate princi- 

 pality attached to the confederation of the Rhine. It 

 is a mountainous though fertile district, and is water- 

 ed by the VV'ipper, the Sieg, and the Ruhr. The 

 vallies produce corn in abundance, and excellent pas- 

 turage ; while the mountains, covered with extensive 

 forests, inclose valuable mines of lead, iron, and coal. 

 The grand duchy of Berg, as it is constituted at pre- 

 sent, (1811,) contains a superficies of 201 square 

 miles, and a population of 610,000. Its military 

 force is 8000 men, and its annual revenue 2,300,000 

 florins. See Apercu-de I'Etat actuel de I' Alhmagne, 

 parM. Ockham, 1809. (o) 



BERGAMO, the Bergomum of the ancients, is a 

 city of Italy, formerly the capital of the district of 

 Bergamasco, but now of the department of Serio, 

 well fortified, and situated on several hills between 

 the Brembo and the Serio. Bergamo contains thir- 

 teen parish churches, and twenty-two convents. It 

 carries on a considerable commerce in woollen and 

 silken stuffs : and its serges and tapestry have been 

 held in high estimation. A communication below, 

 ground connects the city with the castle upon the 

 hill. The cathedral is a large building. A well fre- 

 quented fair is held here on St Bartholomew's day, 

 and the building used on this occasion is the most 

 remarkable thing in Bergamo. The gates of this 

 town are regularly shut at a fixed hour, as if the 

 country were the seat of war. The population is ge- 

 nerally reckoned at 30,000 ; but Chantreaux makes 

 it only 20,000. East Long. 9 45', and North Lat. 

 45=18'. (j) 



BE RGEN, or Berghen, the largest town in Nor- 

 way, and the capital of the province of Bergenhuys, 

 is a seaport town built in the form of a crescent 

 round a gulf of the sea, which forms one of the finest 

 harbours in Europe, defended by seven lofty moun- 

 tains, and by several fortifications ; but particularly 

 that of Fredericksburg. Though all the public build- 

 ings and several private houses be built of stone, yet 

 the greater part of the buildings are of wood. The 

 castle, the cathedral, school, and some parish churches, 

 are its principal public edifices. The imports of 

 Bergen are chiefly corn and foreign goods, and its 

 exports are hides, timber, fish, fish oil, and tallow. 

 The merchants of the Hanseatic league attempted to 

 monopolise the trade of Bergen, and to exclude even 

 its own inhabitants ; but in consequence of the vigo- 

 rous opposition made by Walkeudorf, this monopoly 



was destroyed, and the the merchants expelled from 

 the place. Bergen suffered dreadful losses by fire in 

 the years 1428, 1623, 1640, 1702, 1756, and 1771, 

 in the last of which, the reflected light of the confla- 

 gration is said to have been seen in the Shetland isles. 

 Population in 1769, 13,735, and in 1799, 16,000, 

 according to Catteau. In 1768, the exports of Ber- 

 gen were 695,760 risdales, and 75 schellings, and its 

 imports 421,754 risdales and 64 schellings. In 1790, 

 it exported 958,000 risdales worth of fish. In 1799, 

 Bergen had 53 vessels above ten lasts. East Long. 

 5 33', North Lat. 60 23'. See Busching's Geog. 

 vol. i. p. 369 ; and Catteau's Tableau des Etats 

 Danois, vol. ii. (q) 



BERGEN, the capital of the isle of Rugen, be- 

 longing to Sweden, is situated on a rising ground 

 nearly in the middle of the island. It contains only 

 six stone buildings j the streets are sloping and bad, 

 the lanes dirty, and the houses mean. The town, 

 which is divided into four quarters, and inhabited 

 chiefly by tradesmen and husbandmen, is governed 

 by two burgomasters, two chamberlains, four coun- 

 cilmen, and a secretary, from whom there is an ap- 

 peal to the court at Griefswald. There are here 

 three fairs annually, at which a considerable quantity 

 of linen and cattle is disposed of. The surrounding 

 soil is high and sandy ; but the low grounds are well- 

 adapted for the cultivation of corn. Number, of 

 houses 3000; population 15,740. (h) 



BERGEN ov Zoom, a small but beautiful mari- 

 time town of Dutch Brabant. It stands on a rising- 

 ground in the middle of a morass, on the river Zoom, 

 where it joins the Scheldt, and was defended by re- 

 gular fortifications in the year 1629, under the direc- 

 tion of the celebrated Cohorn. The church, the 

 market-place, and squares, are large and well built. 

 The subterraneous gallery by which the French enter- 

 ed by surprise, in. 1746, and the ravelines of Cohorn, 

 where the breach was made, are still to be seen. 

 East Long. 6 8', North Lat. 51 32'. (j \ 



BERGERA, a genus of plants of the class De- 

 candria, and order Monogynia. See Botany, (to) 



BERGERAC, the largest though not the chief 

 town of the department of Dordogne, in France, di- 

 vided into two parts by the river Dordogne. In the 

 arrondissement of this town, there are manufac- 

 tures of paper, besides forges and founderies of 

 cannon. Population 8540. East Long. 37', North 

 Lat. 44 51'. (j) 



BERGIA, a genus of plants, of the class Decan- 

 dria, and order Pentagynia. See Botany, (k) 



BERGMAN, Torbekn, Sir, a celebrated Swe- 

 dish chemist, was born at Catharineberg, in the pro- 

 vince of West Gothland, on the 20th March 1735. 

 His father, who was receiver of finances in the dis- 

 trict, destined young Bergman for his successor in 

 office ; but the disposition which he began to dis- 

 play, seemed to be hostile to the intentions of his fa- 

 mily. His friends, and the whole neighbourhood, 

 were annoyed by his extreme petulance and forward- 

 ness. He seized all things that came in his way, and 

 amused himself by throwing them into the fire, and 

 observing the manner in which they were consumed. 

 Neither threats nor punishment could overcome this 



