Dorpat

Dorpat, or DERPT (Russian Yurieff, superseding Dorpat), a town of Russia, in Livonia, on the Embach, here crossed by a fine granite bridge, 165 miles (247 by rail) SW. of St Petersburg. It consists of a town proper, with two suburbs. The Domberg Hill, on the right bank of the river, was during the middle ages occupied by the citadel, cathedral, and bishop's palace, on whose site now rise an observatory, the university library, schools of anatomy, &c., with tasteful gardens and promenades; and close by are the other university buildings and the town-house. The university, founded in 1632 by Gustavus Adolphus, was re- established by Alexander I. in 1802, and since May 1887 has been thoroughly Russianised, the final reorganisation of the law faculty taking effect in 1889. It has five faculties, above 70 professors and lecturers, and about 2000 students. There is a notable botanical garden. Dorpat was a Hanse town in the 14th and 15th centuries, and was alternately captured by Swedes, Poles, and Russians until 1704, since when it has remained in Russia's possession. Thrice was a great part of the town levelled to the ground; on the last occasion, in 1708, it was practically destroyed. But both from these calamities and from the great fires of 1763 and 1775 it has recovered, and it is now, after Riga, the handsomest and best-built town in the province. It possesses large printing establishments, breweries, manufactories of cigars, tiles, and pianofortes, and has a considerable trade in wood, corn, and flax. Dorpat has long been a centre and hearth of Germanism in the Baltic provinces, in spite of official measures of Russification. Pop. (1891) 40,884, 80 per cent. German.