238 RUSSIA IN EUEOPE. 



Swedes, besides that of the navigator Krusenstern. About one-half of the people 

 are Ehstes, and nearly one-third Germans by birth or descent. 



In Livonia the two towns of Pernau and Dorpat command the winding valley 

 which connects Lake Peipus with the Gulf of Riga. Pernau, at the mouth of the 

 Pernau, or Pernova, is a watering-place and a busy seaport, exporting flax, 

 cereals, and oil seed, chiefly to England. Dorpat, the Tartulin of the Ehstes, stand- 

 ing partly on an eminence overlooking the river Embach, is known principally 

 as a University town. This high school was founded by Gustavus Adolphus in 

 1632, and after being suppressed by the Russians was reopened in 1802. The 

 courses are conducted in German, and its collections are amongst the richest in 

 Europe, including a library of over 230,000 volumes, valuable scientific treasures 

 of all sorts, and an observatory rendered illustrious by the memorable observa- 

 tions by Struve and Madler. Several learned societies indirectly connected with 

 the University publish important memoirs and records. Standing at the junction 

 of the routes to Riga, Pernau, Revel, Narva, and Pskov, Dorpat is also a com- 

 mercial town, whose trade is chiefly in the hands of the Germans, forming 

 the majority of the population. The Ehstes settled here are mostly labourers, 

 craftsmen, or servants. 



Riga, the capital of the Baltic Provinces, and in population the fifth city in 

 the empire, is also more German than Russian. This "granary" or " factor \^" 

 as the name is variously interpreted, could scarcely have been more favourably 

 placed for trading purj)oses, standing as it does near the head of the gulf, 7 miles 

 from the mouth of the Dvina, a large navigable river formerly followed by all the 

 caravans proceeding inland to Central Russia or the Dniej)er basin. Thanks 

 to the Orol railway, it continues to be the great outlet of the heart of the 

 empire, ranking as a seaport next to St. Petersburg and Odessa, for although its 

 imports are less than those of Revel, its exports far exceed those of that port. 

 Its inconveniences arise from the protracted winters during which navigation is 

 suspended, and from the entrance bar with a mean depth of only about 14 feet, 

 obliging the heavily laden large vessels to stop at the fort of Diinamiinde, on 

 an islet close to the mouth of the river. About half the exchanges are with 

 England, which forwards salt, coal, tobacco, spirits, colonial produce, and manu- 

 factured goods in return for hemp, flax, tallow, cereals, and lumber. The expres- 

 sion, " bois de Riga," applied in France to the pines and other resinous woods 

 imported from Russia, is a proof of the importance of its former timber trade. 

 But the forests skirting the Dvina have been mostly cleared by the place itself, 

 which is now the largest owner of arable lands in Livonia. 



This old Hanseatic town has preserved in its central quarters its mediceval 

 character, aiid here are still some venerable monuments, such as the palace of 

 the old knights and the municipal guilds. Beyond the boulevards stretch the 

 modern quarters, laid out with broad straight streets and low houses. The chief 

 scholastic establishment is a polj'^technic school. A recently built viaduct, 2,445 

 feet long, is carried over the river on eight solid piers, calculated to resist the 

 pressure of ice during the thaw. Outlying forts and other works protect the 



