5Q2 silesia; 



of 60,000 inhabitants ; one third of whom are catholics, and nine-tenths 

 of the other two-thirds Lutherans ; yet the protestants have only nine 

 churches, while the catholics have twenty- six ; many of which are, 

 however, cloisters. Breslau is the see of a catholic bishop, whose 

 ecclesiastical jurisdiction extends over the whole of Silesia. The ca 

 thedral was founded about the year 1150, and contains several mag- 

 nificent chapels, which have been added to the body of the church by 

 different former bishops. The principal of the protestant churches is 

 the Lutheran church of St. Elizabeth. In the library belonging to 

 this church is what may be considered as a curious manuscript : to 

 the naked eye it appears to be a drawing with a pen of the Venus de 

 Medicis, upon a half-sheet of folio paper ; but on examining it with 

 a magpifying-glass, it is found to be a copy of Ovid's Art of Love, 

 perfectly legible, and the whole five books within a compass of ten in- 

 ches in length and three in width. Breslau has a university, which 

 was founded in 1702 by. the emperor Leopold. 



Schweidnitz is a large and handsomely built town, which, since it 

 has become subject to Prussia, has been rendered a very strong place. 

 It contains upwards of 6,000 inhabitants, about one fourth of whom are 

 catholics, and claims the intolerant and disgraceful privilege of suffer- 

 ing no Jews within its walls. Brieg is likewise a large well-built town 

 and nearly as populous as Schweidnitz. 



Trappau, considered as the capital of Austrian or Bohemian Sile- 

 sia, because it is the seat of the Austrian administration of that pro- 

 vince, is situate on the Oppa : it has a castle, and contains about 3,000 

 inhabitants. Teschen, the other principal town in the Austrian part, 

 situate on the Elsa, contains about 5,000 inhabitants. 



The principal manufactures of Silesia are those of thread, twine, 

 linen, flax, and damask : the chief exports are madder, mill-stones, 

 thread, yarn, linen and woollen cloth. Since Silesia has fallen under 

 the dominion of the kings of Prussia, commerce has been considera- 

 bly improved, and many excellent regulations have been made for that 

 purpose. 



The German language is generally spoken in Silesia, and the 

 speaking of French is considered as an affectation. 



Silesia was anciently inhabited by the Suevi, a Teutonic nation. In 

 the seventh century the Slavonians made themselves masters of the 

 country. They embraced Christianity in the ninth century. Silesia 

 was afterwards united with Poland, and acknowledged the Polish 

 dukes and kings as its sovereigns. In the fourteenth century the Si- 

 lesian princes rendered themselves independent of Poland, and the 

 whole of the duchy became subject to the kings of Bohemia. On the 

 *death of the emperor Charles VI, in the year 1740, Frederic II, king 

 of Prussia laid claim to certain principalities of Silesia, and supported 

 his claim so powerfully by his arms, that Lower and the greater part 

 of Upper Silesia, with the county of Glatz, were ceded to him by the 

 treaty of Breslau, and have ever since remained subject to Prussia. 



The county of Glatz is situate between Bohemia, Moravia, and Si- 

 lesia, and is about 40 miles in length and 25 in breadth. It is sur- 

 rounded on all sides by mountains, which contain mines of coal, cop- 

 per, and iron, and quarries of stone and marble. It has excellent pas- 

 tures, which feed great numbers of cattle. Glatz, the principal town, 

 is a strongly fortified place, containing within the walls about 400 

 houses, and as many more in four suburbs. The number of inhabi- 

 tants is about 8,000. The town carries on a considerable trade. 



