Brandenburg

Brandenburg, a central province of Prussia, formed the nucleus of the present monarchy, though the modern province does not quite correspond with the old Mark of Brandenburg, which included also parts of the province of Saxony and of Pomerania. Almost the whole province is a plain, so low that at Potsdam the surface of the river Havel is only about 15 English feet above the level of the sea. The ground becomes slightly hilly towards Silesia. In general, the soil is sandy and naturally unfruitful. Without its numerous rivers and canals, Brandenburg would be one of the most barren tracts on the Continent. The inhabitants are mostly Germans, mixed with French and Dutch colonists, who, however, are almost completely Germanised; and in the south of the province, with people of Wend extraction. Shipping, agriculture, and the rearing of cattle afford occupation for a considerable number. The chief manufactures are cotton, wool, linen, sugar, glass, tiles, and machinery. There are also numerous distilleries. The province is divided into the governments of Potsdam and Frankfurt—Berlin, which is the capital, forming a separate jurisdiction. Area, 15,410 sq. m.; pop. (exclusive of Berlin) in 1880, 2,266,651; in 1890, 2,544,783, of whom all but 89,951 Roman Catholics and 13,755 Jews belonged to the Protestant Church. In the beginning of the Christian era, Brandenburg was inhabited by the Semnones, and afterwards by Slavonic tribes. In 927 Henry I. defeated the latter at the Elbe, and plundered their capital of Brennibor, afterwards raising the district into a Mark (q.v.). Albert the Bear (q.v.) became the first Markgraf in 1134, and Frederick of Nuremberg the first Elector in 1415. The Mark or Electorate became united with the duchy of Prussia in 1611, which, under the Great Elector, Frederick-William I., shook off the suzerainty of Poland in 1657, to become, under the Great Elector's son Frederick, in 1701, the kingdom of Prussia. See PRUSSIA.