Germany. 
Dissolution 
of the Con- 
federation 
+of the 
Rhine, 
.A. D.1814 
“Statistics. 
Boundaries 
of modern 
Germany. 
‘they had existed previously to the Revolution. 
254 
by which they were united to him. as their legal chief ; 
at the same time abdicating the imperial government 
of the Germanic empire, renouncing the title of Em- 
peror of Germany, and assuming that of Emperor of 
Austria, 
The confederation of the Rhine was dissolved by the 
overthrow of Bonaparte, when the Emperor of Austria 
was solicited again to take the title, and exercise the 
privileges of Emperor of Germany; this, however, he 
declined. The internal regulation of the Germanic em- 
pire, and coneeenat every thing that relates to the 
constitution of the smaller states, and their mutual re- 
‘lation to one another, and to the more powerful princes, 
it is understood, has been left, by the Congress of Vi- 
enna, to a congress of German powers alone, to be as- 
sembled for that express purpose. 
‘III. As the most important branches of the statistics 
of Germany naturally belong to the principal. king- 
‘doms which it contains, reference must be had to those 
kingdoms,, under the articles Austria, Bavaria, Ha- 
Nover, Prussia, &c. for more full information on this 
point: here we must confine ourselves to an outline. 
We have already seen, that, in ancient times, the 
Rhine was reckoned_ the boundary between Germany 
and Gaul. During the usurpations of revolutionary 
‘France, that limit was renewed; but, on the resto- 
ration of the Bourbons, the boundaries of Germany, 
with very little exception or difference, were fixed as 
The 
exception principally related to that corner of Germany 
in the vicinity of Liege, which was annexed to the 
new kingdom of the Netherlands. Germany may there- 
fore still be considered as bounded on the west by France 
and the Netherlands. After the Rhine has reached the 
border of the Dutch provinces, an indistinct line be- 
tween them and Germany runs northward to the mouth 
-of the Ems ; from which point the ocean takes up the 
northern boundary, only interrupted by the Danish 
peninsula, which commences beyond the duchy of Hol- 
stein. The German coast of, the Baltic then succeeds, 
terminating with the extreme point of Pomerania. The 
eastern boundary is very indistinct, in consequence of 
the mixture of the Slavonian with, the German tongue 
and manners, and the annexation of part of Poland to 
Prussia and Austria. Brandenburg, Silesia, Moravia, 
the Austrias, and Carniola, down to the Gulf of Ve- 
nice, lie on the eastern boundary, The southern or 
Italian boundary, as far as the country of the Grisons, 
is formed by the Venetian states. The northern limit 
of Switzerland is the southern limit of Germany to the 
borders of France, It lies chiefly between. the 46th 
and 54th degrees of north latitude ; its greatest length 
is about 600 miles; its breadth rather more than 500. 
Its extent is variously reckoned, from 11,124 German 
‘Climate and Square miles, (15 to a degree, ) to.12,796 ; but, in the 
face of the 
country. 
latter measurement, Silesia is included.. The climate 
is in general temperate, though the winter in the north 
‘Is sometimes very long and severe. ‘The air is every- 
where salubrious, except in a few marshy places to- 
wards the North Sea. The northern part is mostly 
low: the first mountains that oceur; on proceeding 
southwards, are the Hartz in Hanover; to the south- 
east of these are the Hesse mountains; towards the 
Rhine and Mayne there are other scattered ridges. That 
corner which lies between the upper part of the Rhine 
and Switzerland, comprising the Black Forest, is through- 
out a mountainous tract. On the east, the whole of 
Bohemia is surrounded with mountains, which branch 
GERMANY. 
on the east to Moravia, and communicate with the Car- .Gern 
pathian mountains. To the south of the Danube are 
the mountains of Carinthia; and to the west of these — 
-d from its ex- a 
the Tyrolese Alps. As might be ex; 
tent, there is great variety of soil in Germany, The 
north-east is covered with sandy plains and heaths; in 
the north-west are swamps and marshes. Some of the 
interior and south-western districts possess a very fer- 
tile soil, In ancient times, Germany was covered with 
forests, of which there are only now detached remains ; 
the most extensive is the Black Forest. Thuringia and 
the Hartz mountains abound in timber: and 
sion for the chase has preserved or created many exten- 
sive woods in the a and south, | t 
Pit hea) 
afi 
Five hundred and twenty rivers are, reckoned in jj 
Germany, sixty of which are navigable to a great 
length, and six, viz. the Danube, the fete the Mayne, 
the Weser, the Elbe, and the Oder, rank am the 
noblest and largest in Europe. The Danube rises in 
the Black Forest ; and receiving continual accessions 
on both banks; soon becomes a éopious and navigable 
stream ; it passes Vienna, and a short distance from 
that city becomes a Hungarian river: it terminates in 
the Black Sea. The Rhine has neither its source’nor 
exit in Germany. , It rises in Switzerland, and after 
passing Basle, flows for a considerable s the boun-~ 
dary between Germany and France, From the west- 
ern side of the former it receives numerous rivers, of 
which the Mayne and the Necker are the panes 3 it 
enters the sea below Rotterdam, aioing * noble and 
highly useful inland navigation from Holland, quite to 
the borders of Switzerland. Of the rivers that enter 
the German ocean, the first on the west side is the Ems ; 
next succeeds the Weser, which unites several streams 
of the north-west, and joins the sea below Bremen, 
The Elbe, rising on the confines of Bohemia and Sile« 
sia, augmented by many rivers from the centre of Ger= 
many, flows by Hamburg, and thence in a broad channel 
enters the sea on the west side of Holstein. ‘The Oder, 
which derives it source from the foot of the thian 
mountains, is the principal river that falls into the Bal- _ 
tic. In the duchy of Mecklenburg, there are several 
lakes. There are also some Fell lakes in Bavaria, 
Austria, Pomerania, and Brandenburg. The Boden 
sea, or lake of Constance, belongs partly to Germany ~ 
and partly to Switzerland. There are upwards of 1000 
mineral springs and baths, of which the most famous 
are Carlsbad in Bohemia; Toplitz in Austria; Seltzer 
in the upper Rhine ; and Pyrmont in Westphalia. See 
the articles Danube and Exse. 
There is a considerable variety in the vegetable Veg 
ductions of Germany ; in general they are those of the 
northern and middle temperate regions. Besides corn 
of all kinds, flax of excellent goats hemp, hops, to- 
baceco, madder, saffron, rape seed, rhubarb, &c. are 
grown ; rice is cultivated in Moravia, The wine coun- 
try begins about the junction of the Necker with the 
Rhine, and accompanies those rivers towards their rise. 
The most celebrated wines of Germany are 
the Rhine, especially about Manheim and Heidelberg, 
and in the district called the Rheinzan ; here the lofty _ 
and-romantic banks of the river are clothed with vine- 
ards.. The wine of Moselle ranks next; and after 
it a red wine called Pleiker, which is made near Mentz. 
Austria also affords wine, some of which is of excellent 
quality: Franconia, and particularly Bamberg, fur- 
nishes a great deal of liquorice ; and the lower palatinate - 
contains immense numbers of chesnut trees, and par- 
ticularly fine walnut trees. The breed of horses, ex- Ho 
those of wines, 
