250 GERMANY. 



of Hesse by tlieir regularity. Like the Jura, which they resemble in their 

 geological formation, they constitute distinct chains, running from the south-east 

 towards the north-west ; that is, in the same direction as the Bohemian and 

 Thuringian Forests. The Teutoburger Wald is the most famous of these ridges, 

 for it was there the legions of Varus were destroyed by the Germans. It 

 stretches away into the plain of Hanover, and its last promontories look down 

 upon the valley of the Ems. This was the first mountain range which the 

 Romans encountered after they had crossed the Rhine and traversed Westphalia, 

 and it was there they suffered their first serious defeat, avenged soon after by 

 Germanicus. Many battles have since then been fought for the possession of 

 this rampart of Thuringia and Lower Saxony. As in the days of the Romans, 

 these hills are still covered with forests ; but along their western base the trees 

 have almost disappeared, and the greyish tint of the plain contrasts curiously 

 with the wooded heights rising above it. A veritable steppe, known as the 

 Senne and famous for a small breed of horses, extends along the foot of the 

 mountains of Teutoburg, to the north of Paderborn, whilst a stony, waterless 

 tract, the Sintfeld, stretches away to the south of that town. The Teutoburg 

 Forest, like the Jura, is cut up by breaches, locally known as " doors " (Boren), 

 into sections, and the principal towns have been founded close to these doors, 

 or passages. The railway from Cologne to Berlin passes through one of these 

 doors at Bielefeld, and farther on, near Minden, it utilises a similar gap in a ridge 

 running parallel with the Teutoburg Forest. The "Weser at that place has scooped 

 out a practicable road for the use of man. This is the famous Porta Westphalica, 

 whose majestic entrance is seen from afar. Many battles have been fought for 

 this great highway of nations. On the promontory which commands it on the 

 west are still visible ancient entrenchments, which tradition attributes to Witti- 

 kind, the Saxon Duke. 



The Harz, which rises to the east of the Weser, is one of the most remarkable 

 mountain groups of Germany. Its isolation in the midst of a vast plain, its steep 

 scarps, relative height, and frequent mists, give it an importance much greater than 

 that enjoyed by other mountains of far superior height. For a long time the 

 Brocken, or Blocksberg (3,743 feet), its principal summit, was looked upon as the 

 highest mountain in all Germany. The ancient rocks composing the Harz have 

 been pierced by granite and other eruptive rocks, but the disposition of the 

 mountain group is nevertheless most regular. It consists of a succession of 

 elongated ridges extending towards the north-west, and of lateral chains following 

 the same direction. In its entirety it occupies an oval. The boldest slopes and 

 most elevated summits rise in the north-east, immediately above the low plain at 

 their foot. The valley of the Unstrutt bounds the Harz on the south. It is an 

 old lake basin, and the fertility of its alluvial soil has won it the epithet of 

 Goldne An, or " Golden Meadow" (470 to 660 feet). 



The Harz, or Hart, as it was called in the Middle Ages, perpetuates the name 

 of Hercynian Forest which the Greeks applied to the mountains of the whole of 

 Central Germany. It is still wooded for the greater part, especially on the lower 



