282 GEEMANY. 



Munster (35,705 inhabitants), the capital of Westphalia, rises in a sandy plain 

 watered by a small tributary of the Ems. It lies about half-way between 

 Cologne and Bremen, and, as implied by its name, sprang up around an ancient 

 monastcrium, or minster. It is a picturesque town, with many mediaeval build- 

 ings. The three cages in which John of Leyden, the Anabaptist, and his two 

 companions, were shut up to be tortured, a-re still suspended upon the tower of tlie 

 Gothic church of St. Lambert, a witness to the cruelty of that age. In the town- 

 hall, a fine edifice of the fourteenth century, was signed the treaty of Westphalia 

 (1648). The old ramparts have been razed and converted into gardens. There 

 is an academy, attended by 300 students of theology and philosophy. Munster has 

 but little industry. The busiest place near it is Ibbenhhren (3,707 inhabitants), 

 where there are coal mines. 



Osnabriick (29,850 inhabitants), one of the episcopal sees founded by Charle- 

 magne, lies to the north-east of Miinster. It was decided by the treaty of West- 

 phalia that the town should be governed alternately by a Catholic and a Protestant 

 bishop, and this curious practice remained in force until 1827, when Osnabriick was 

 ceded to Hanover. Numerous roads and six railways converge upon the town, 

 which increases rapidly in population. 



All the towns on the Lower Ems and the Dollart below Lingen (5,736 inha- 

 bitants) are enabled to carry on commerce by sea, for the tide ascends the rivers 

 and canals. Fapenburg (6,819 inhabitants), which has only recently been founded 

 in the midst of a marsh, owns 300 sea-going vessels and barges. Leer (9,335 

 inhabitants), a small village in 1823, has become a town of importance, with 

 distilleries and factories. Eniden (12,866 inhabitants), on the Dollart, is the 

 commercial centre of the country. Norden (6,130 inhabitants), the northernmost 

 town of East Friesland, has ship-yards and a, coasting trade. The principal ports 

 of the Ems carry on a direct trade with England, Norway, the Netherlands, and the 

 Baltic. They export peat, butter, cheese, cattle, and agricultural produce, sent 

 thither from Aurich (4,819 inhabitants) and other places in the interior, and 

 import timber and manufactured articles. Emden is a very ancient town of 

 Dutch aspect, with gabled red-brick houses, a belfry, and canals. During the 

 Thirty Years' War it enjoyed a high degree of prosperity, for its secluded position 

 protected it from the exactions to which other seaports were subjected. A ship 

 canal, joining Emden and the Dollart with Wilhelmshafen. and the Jade, is being 

 constructed, and another canal connecting the Ehine with the Ems, and passing 

 through the coal basin of Westphalia, is projected. These works will materially 

 contribute towards the prosperity of the Ems ports. 



The Basin of the Jade. — Until quite recently the only towns near the gulf 

 of the Jade were Varel (4,377 inhabitants) and Jever (4,054 inhabitants), but the 

 Prussian Government having acquired a tract of land for the purpose of founding 

 a great naval station, a large city has sprung up there, with floating docks, basins, 

 dockyards, huge barracks, and store-houses. This is WUhehnshafen (10,158 

 inhabitants), a town defended by strong fortifications and by cuirassed batteries 

 floating upon its roadstead. A short distance to the north-west of it lies Knijphamen, 



