RON 



481 



K O N 



No fewer than 40,000 colonists are employed in the 

 mines and foundries of Koliva. The silver melted in 

 the foundries, is carried twice a year to St Petersburgh 

 on large sledges. East Long. S 1 "''20', North Lat 54" 20 7 . 

 See Coxe's Trawl* in Russia, vol. iii. p. 360; and AL- 

 TAI Mot XT' 



KOLYMA, or KOVIMA, a great river of Siberia, 

 which rues in the Virchayan-ky chain of mountains, 

 and falls into the Frozen Ocean after a course exceed- 

 ing 120O mile*. 



The Kolyma is frozen over about the 20th of Sep- 

 tember, and the ice breaks up about the 2 1 th of May, 

 when it deluges all the lower country ; nor do its wa- 

 ters retreat within their proper boundaries before the 

 end of June. . The cold is then excessive, the thermo- 

 meter falls to from (j(f to 70* below zero : Mercury 

 itself freezes. It becomes almost impossible to fell 

 timber, for the hatchets break like glass. The ice on 

 the river, and the timber of the houses, crack with a 

 report resembling that of a musket. On the approach 

 of thaw, the river, in little more than a week, rises 

 si 7 teet of perpendicular height. The face of the coun. 

 try is like an immense lake, and only the tops of some 

 of the trees are visible above the water: The river now 

 becomes navigable. 



Near the source of the Kolyma there are three huts, 

 and a storehouse for preserving provisions belonging to 

 government ; and bark* are constructed there for con- 

 veying them down the stream. Several Russian sta- 

 tion* also stand along it* banks. Virchni, or the up- 

 per Ostrng, about the middle of this river, is situated 

 on the Yaiathnot, a mile from its discharge into the 

 Kolyma. The mot northern station is called Nischney 

 Kolymtk, situated on an Uland in I .at. 68* 17' N. null 

 LoBg. II: It conmu 01 a church, 70 houses, 



anil a fort, enclosed hi a square of pali*ade* 8 feet high. 

 Aru.tlK-r station, called Seredni Kolyma, of 15 lnni- 

 e* uf Hoatians, and a church, ttands in Lat 67' : 

 and Lone .: |i. R. About 40 mi let below the former, 

 the river divules into two channels, and falls into the 

 ocean in Lat. 69 Iff \V., and Long. 168" \V E., its 

 course bein^ N. K. in general from the source. Between 

 Seredni Kolyma, and Nichney Kolyma, a distance of 306 

 miles, the eastern bank* are uniformly mountainous, af- 

 fording porphyry, agatrs, janper.and crystals. The west- 

 em banks are low. The moat remarkable fossils found 

 here are the tu>ki of the mammoth, which lie at a consi- 

 derable depth in the high sandy shores of the river, and 

 . the margin of the Frozen Ocean. They are exposed by 

 the washing of the spring floods ; and it does not appear 

 singular that they are buried o deep, as the flood eve- 

 ry Hiring leaves immense quantities of earth and and, 

 which perhaps accumulates to the depth of two or three 

 inches among the bushes. The tusk, are equal in 

 whitenea. and beauty to those of the elephant, but of a 

 different figure. 



Tli Mtainf considerable variety of fish, few 



of which ascend higher than about half way to the 

 aource. Great shoals of salmon ascend in September, 

 and depart shortly after the river closes. Some of the 

 others are common in the European river*. Numlwrs 

 are caught with the tine in summer, and by means 

 of other expedients in winter. 



KOMi>Hl.|{<;, or (oNihBEHo, is a town of Nor- 

 way, which is traversed by the river Ix>we. It is chief- 

 ly celebrated for its silver mines, which are about two 

 mile* di.unt from the town. No fewer than 36 mines 

 were working when Mr. Coxe viaitcd them. The deep. 



vol.'. in. FAUI u. 



est, called Segen-Gottes in der Nord, is 652 feet per- 

 pendicular. In 1769, these mines produced 79,000 ^ 

 but when Mr. Coxe visited them, thev produced from 

 50,000 to 54,000. About 2500 men were then em- 

 ployed. Kongsberg contains 1000 houses, and 6000 

 inhabitants. See Coxe's Travels in Nonvay, ffc. vol. v. 

 p. 33, 34. See also NORWAY. 



KONIGSBERG, or KROLEWIECZ in the Polish lan- 

 guage, is a city and seaport town of Prussia, situated 

 on the river Pregel, which flows into the Frische-Haf, 

 and is crossed with seven bridges. It was founded in, 

 the year 1255, and was rebuilt on another site in 1264. 

 Konigsberg is composed of 4 towns, and 16 suburbs, 

 and is surrounded by a rampartabout seven Englishmiles 

 in circumference. Aldstadt, or the Old Town, con- 

 tains 16 streets, and 550 houses, of which about 100 

 are breweries and malthouses. It has six gates, four 

 bridges, and two well built towers. Newstaclt, or Lo- 

 benicht, was built in the year 1300, and Kneiphof was 

 founded in 1324. This last part of Konigsberg is situ- 

 ated on an island formed by the Pregel, and the houses 

 stand on piles made of the alder tree, which has become 

 as hard as iron from remaining long in the earth It 

 contains 13 streets, and 5 large gates. The principal 

 public buildings, and curiosities at Konigsberg are the 

 chateau ; the arsenal, (containing the Muscovite saloon, 

 and the octagonal table, valued at 40,000 rix-dollars) ; 

 the gardens, stables, and mint, belonging to the arse- 

 nal ; the parish church of St. Nicholas ; the hotel de 

 ville, where the magistrates of ihe three towns, who 

 were incorporated in 1724, hold their meetings; the 

 Junkerhof, the church of Kossgarte ; the widows' and 

 and orphans' hospital ; the cathedral, containing the 

 tombs of the margraves and the grand- masters, and also 

 an organ, which has more than 5000 pipes, and which was 

 completed in \~r>{ ; the Albertine college ; the church 

 of Haberberg, which is the finest in Konigsberg; the 

 exchange; the hotel de ville of Kneiphof; the citadel ; 

 the palace of Kayer)ing ; and the anatomical theatre. 

 The university of this place was founded liy the Mar- 

 grave Albert, in 1544. It has 38 professors, exclusive 

 of tutors, and in 1 802 it contained 300 students. There 

 is also the lyceum of Frederic William, and the Ger- 

 man Society. The citadel, which is called Fredericks- 

 burg, was erected in 1657, at the conflux of the two 

 branches of the Pregel. It is a regular square, sur- 

 rounded with broad ditches and the river Pregel. The 

 principal collection of cabinets in the town are, the 

 royal library ; the collection of antiquities and yellow 

 amber at the chateau ; the library of Wallenroth ; the 

 university library ; and the town library. 



The chief manufactures of Konigsberg are woollen 

 stuffs, flannel*, stockings, ribbons, Danish gloves, sail- 

 cloth, wax, soap, English pottery, and works of yellow 

 amber, which amounted, in 1776, to 977,6.39 crowns. 

 There are here no fewer than 224 breweries of beer, 

 135 distillers of brandy, and 80 turners of yellow amber. 



Konigsberg, which was formerly one of the Hanse 

 towns, has always carried on a thriving commerce. Ves- 

 sels, which draw more than eight feet of water, can- 

 not ascend the Pregel, and remain at Pillau, which, 

 is the port of Kimi^-berg. On the other side, this 

 town communicates with Poland by the Niemen, by 

 means of a canal. Large Polish barks, called ifiltinurt, 

 carry to Konigsberg grain, hides, skins, oak, and fir 

 timber. About 600 or 700 ships arrive here annu- 

 ally from the Baltic, and almost as many set out. 



The following was the state of the imports in 1800: 

 S f 



