B RE 



456 



B R E 



Brestau. peror Charles IV. ; but the new town is of a still 

 -v -' more recent date, and was not inclosed within the 

 Jbrti locations till the year 1529. The whole town 

 and suburbs occupy an extent of two German miles ; 

 and among the towns of Prussia it hold the third 

 place, ranking next to Berlin and Konigsberg. Ac- 

 cording to Kuttner, it is a " dirty old and dull town," 

 but contains many spacious streets, the houses of 

 which are three, four, and five stories high, exclusive 

 of the ground floor, several large squares, and a va- 

 riety of magnificent public edilices, which are much 

 obscured with smoke and dirt. The chief of these 

 are, the church of the Augustines, of which the great 

 altar is a remarkable piece of workmanship ; the Lu- 

 theran church of St Elizabeth, the clock of which 

 is accounted one of the finest in Europe ; the Hotel 

 d*e Ville, from the front of which one of the finest 

 prospects may be seen ; the Calvinists church of St 

 Mary Magdalen ; the College of the Jesuits ; the 

 buildings of the Academy ; the Exchange ; the 

 Custom-house ; the Bishop's Palace ; and a monu- 

 ment, erected by his own family, to General Count 

 Tauenzien, who was governor of Bresiau, and com- 

 manded during the siege of 1760. There is also in 

 this town a college of physicians, a botanical garden, 

 an anatomical theatre, two armouries, a mint, and 

 several public libraries. In the chamber of war and 

 domains is a wooden model of the Giant Mountains, 

 executed by Kahl, who received for it 600 rix-dollars. 

 Among the beauties of the place may also be men- 

 tioned the walks to certain gardens in the vicinity, 

 (specially to the English garden of Prince Hohenlohe 

 at Scheitin. The inhabitants of Bresiau embraced 

 the Protestant faith at an early period ; and both 

 the magistracy and consistory are of the Lutheran 

 persuasion. 



Bresiau is the centre of the trade of Silesia ; has 

 an easy communication with Hamburgh by means 

 of the canal which joins the Oder with the Elbe ; 

 carries on an extensive commerce with the north of 

 Germany and the Baltic ; and supports various im- 

 portant manufactures, for the encouragement of which 

 many useful establishments have been made. Its 

 merchants instituted, in 1784*, a large manufactory 

 for iron wares, which was immediately invested with 

 great privileges by his Prussian majesty ; permitted 

 to send its goods to every part of his dominions ; to 

 import its raw materials duty free ; and to protect its 

 workmen from military service. The other principal 

 productions of the place, are broad cloths, a mixed 

 stuff made of wool and silk, paper, powder, needles, 

 hats, woollen stockings, leather, calicoes, serge, and 

 various figurers. It is filled with tanners, dyers, 

 and furriers, to whose different operations the waters 

 of the Ohlau, which passes through the town, af- 

 ford the greatest facilities. Its chief exports are, 

 the linens of Silesia, which are so well known in Eu- 

 rope, and which are purchased at the fair of Bresiau 

 chiefly by the Dutch traders ; flax, thread, and wool, 

 of which last, however, foreign dealers are permitted 

 to purchase only the surplus of the market ; fine 

 cloths, some of which are sent as far as Persia; and 

 madder, which is produced in great abundance in 

 the neighbourhood of the town. On the other hand, 

 t impwts, from Bohemia and Moravia, hops, the 



sale of which is monopolized by the magistrates, 

 who fix the pric.e, and of whom the brewers are obli- 

 ged to purchase ; from Hungary, antimony, orpiment, 

 prunes, honey, saffron, sulphur, tartar, wine, &c. ; 

 from Vienna, saffron, quicksilver, ochre, wine, ;xc. ; 

 from Poland, indigo-plant, wax, honey, cotton, cof- 

 fee, rhubarb, tea, leather, and peltry ; from Stettin, 

 and the other ports of the Baltic, French, German, 

 and Spanish wines, spices, herrings, iron, train-oil, 

 lintseed, &c. ; from Holland, all kinds of spices, 

 drugs, cloths, sugars, dyeing materials, &c ; from 

 Italy, silks, drugs, spices, dried fruits, and other ar- 

 ticles of the Levant trade. 



At Bresiau there are two great public fairs every 

 year, each of which continues eight days. There 

 are three large market-places ; called the great mar- 

 ket ; the salt market, where glass, leather, wax, ho- 

 ney, &c. are also sold ; and the new Market, where 

 the wood merchants chiefly transact business. The 

 population exceeds 60,000, of which a great propor- 

 tion are French, Bohemians, and other foreigners ; 

 and immense numbers of Jews had their residence in 

 the city till the year 1744, when the king of Prussia 

 banished them all from the place, except a few of the 

 best known families, and such as were employed in the 

 mint. The lands round Bresiau are extremely level ; 

 and those parts which are nearest the rivers are of a 

 sandy and swampy nature. It is, however, an ex- 

 cellent corn country, yielding rich pasturage, abound- 

 ing in sheep and cattle, and remarkable for the large 

 size of its cows. The roads in the immediate vici- 

 nity of the town are in a wretched state, but the ca- 

 nals and dykes are kept in good repair. Bresiau is 

 35 German miles from Berlin, 44 from Leipsic, 74> 

 from Hamburgh, 40 from Prague, and 54 from 

 Vienna. E. Long. 17 3', N. Lat. 51 6'. See Kutt- 

 ner's Travels through Denmark, Sweden, Austria, 

 and Italy, in 1798 and 1799, letter xvi. Guibert, 

 Journal d'vn Voyage en Allemagne en 1773, torn. ii. 

 p. 123, Paris, 1803 ; and Tyuna's Almanack du Com- 

 merce pour 1811, p. 961. (q) 



BREST, a sea- port town of France, and formerly 

 capital of the province of Britanny, is now the prin- 

 cipal place of a district in the department of Finis- 

 terre. It is the Gesobrivate, or Brivates Portits of 

 the Romans. One of the most remarkable events in 

 its history is an attempt, which was made against 

 it in 1694, by Lord Berkely with a fleet of 29 ships 

 of war, and a number .of other armed vessels, having 

 on board 12 regiments of infantry and two of marines, 

 under the command of General Talmache ; but the 

 fortifications of the place had been so thoroughly re- 

 paired by Marshal Vauban, and the French so com- 

 pletely prepared to oppose the expedition of the Bri- 

 tish, that the latter were repulsed, after a desperate 

 conflict, with the loss of 400 seamen, 900 soldiers, 

 and their leader, Talmache, who died of a wound in 

 his thigh. 



Brest is situated on the declivity of a hill, at the 

 northern extremity of the bay of Brest ; and, when 

 seen from the entrance of the bay, opens in a pleasing 

 manner to the view of the observer, and appears 

 much larger to the eye than it is in reality. The 

 works of the fortifications, mingled with gardens and 

 summer houses, present a very interesting spectacle ; 



6 



