340 



GERMANY. 



Oder, occupying a similar position with reference to the capital as does Magdeburcr 

 on the Elbe. But whilst the latter is a fortress, the mission of Frankfort is 

 altogether pacific, fine walks having replaced its ancient fortifications. Kustrin 

 (11,227 inhabitants), at the mouth of the "Warthe, is a fortress, covering Berlin 

 towards the east. Several battles have been fought in this district. At Zorndorf 

 Frederick II. triumphed over the Russians in 1758 ; at Kunnersdorf, the year 

 after, he was almost hopelessly crushed. 



The Warthe is nearly as long a river as the Oder, but it flows through a region 



Fig. 196. — Sprottau and Fkeistadt. 

 Scale 1 : 240,000. 



2 Miles. 



far less fertile and populous. On its southern affluent, the Brosna, which divides 

 the province of Posen from Russian Poland, are situated the small towns of Kempen 

 (6,168 inhabitants), Ostroivo (8,339 inhabitants), and Pleschcn (6,348 inhabitants). 

 Passing through Sc/irimm (5,929 inhabitants), on the Warthe, and Kurnik 

 (2,658 inhabitants), which has a castle of the fourteenth century containing a 

 rich library, we reach Posen (65,681 inhabitants), the capital of the province — 

 a town more German now than Polish. The Warthe at Posen is navigable only 

 for small barges. In the seventeenth century the town had 75,000 inhabitants. 



