Germany

Germany (from Lat. Germania) is the English name of the country which the natives call Deutschland, and the French L'Allemagne (see ALEMANNI). The word is sometimes used to denote the whole area of the European continent within which the Germanic race and language are dominant. In this broad sense it includes, besides Germany proper, parts of Austria, Switzerland, and perhaps even of the Netherlands; but in the present article the name is to be understood as denoting the existing Germanic empire, of which Prussia is the head. Germany occupies the central portions of Europe, and extends from 5° 52' to 22° 53' E. long., and from 47° 16' to 55° 54' N. lat. It is bounded on the N. by the German Ocean, the Danish peninsula, and the Baltic; on the E. by Russia and Austria; on the S. by Austria and Switzerland; and on the W. by France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The population in 1871 was 41,058,792; in 1880, 45,234,061; in 1895, 52,279,901. Its area is 211,168 sq. m., or about $\backslash frac\{1\}\{14\}$th of that of all Europe—slightly larger than France, but not twice as large as Great Britain and Ireland. The coast-line measures about 950 miles.

Germany is composed of a federation of twenty-five states, with one common imperial province, the names of which, with their areas and populations in 1895, are given in the following list. Heligoland was ceded by Britain to Germany in 1890. The population of the empire in 1890 was 49,428,803.

These several sovereign states vary enormously in area and influence. Thus, while Prussia alone exceeds the British Islands in area, Bavaria is almost as large as Scotland, Württemberg is larger than Wales, and Baden and Saxony are neither of them equal to Yorkshire. Waldeck is about equal to Bedford, and Reuss-Greiz is smaller than Rutland, the smallest English county. The Duke of Sutherland's estates (1838 sq. m.) are larger in area than all Mecklenburg-Strelitz, or than all Brunswick, respectively tenth and ninth in size of the German states. The Duke of Buccleuch's Scottish estates alone (676 sq. m.) exceed in area Saxe-Altenburg or any of the eleven smaller states.

In 1895 Berlin, the capital of the empire, had 1,677,304 inhabitants; Haunburg, 625,552; Breslau, 373,169; Munich, 407,307; Dresden, 336,440; Leipzig, 399,963. There were in all 28 towns with a population of above 100,000; 116 between 20,000 and 100,000; 683 between 5000 and 20,000; and 1951 between 2000 and 5000.

Besides the political divisions above mentioned, there are certain distinctive appellations applied to different parts of Germany, which have been derived either from the names and settlements of the ancient Germanic tribes, or from the circles and other great subdivisions of the old empire. Thus, the name of 'Swabia' is still applied in common parlance to the districts embracing the greater part of Württemberg, southern Baden, south-western Bavaria, and Hohenzollern; 'Franconia,' to the Main districts of Bamberg, Schweinfurt, and Würzburg; 'the Palatinate,' to Rhenish Bavaria and the north of Baden; 'the Rhineland,' to portions of Baden, Rhenish Prussia, Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Nassau; 'Voigtland,' to the high ground between Hof and Plauen; 'Thuringia,' to the districts lying between the Upper Saale and the Werra, as Saxe-Weimar, &c.; 'Lusatia,' to the eastern part of Saxony; 'East Friesland,' to the country between the Lower Weser and Ems; and 'Westphalia,' to the district extending between Lower Saxony, the Netherlands, Thuringia, and Hesse, to the German Ocean. The four Saxon duchies and the four Schwarzburg and Reuss principalities are frequently grouped together as the 'Thuringian States.'

Physical Character.—Germany presents two very distinct physical formations. (1) A range of high tableland, occupying the centre and southern parts of the country, interspersed with numerous ranges and groups of mountains, the most important of which are the Harz and Teutoburgerwald, in the north; the Taunus, Thüringerwald, Erzgebirge, and Riesengebirge, in the middle; and the Black Forest (Schwarzwald), Rauhe Alb, and Bavarian Alps in the south; and containing an area, including Alsace and Lorraine, of 110,000 sq. m. The Brocken is 3740 feet high; the Vosges reach 4700; the Feldberg in the Black Forest is 4903; and the Zugspitz in the Noric Alps of Bavaria, the highest peak in Germany, is 9665 feet in height. (2) A vast sandy plain, which extends from the centre of the empire north to the German Ocean, and including Sleswick-Holstein, contains an area of about 98,000 sq. m. This great plain, stretching from the Russian frontier on the east to the Netherlands on the west, is varied by two terrace-like elevations. The one stretches from the Vistula into Mecklenburg, at no great distance from the coast of the Baltic, and has a mean elevation of 500 to 600 feet, rising in one point near Danzig to 1020 feet; the other line of elevations begins in Silesia and terminates in the moorlands of Lüneburg in Hanover, its course being marked by several summits from 500 to 800 feet in height. A large portion of the plain is occupied by sandy tracts interspersed with deposits of peat; but other parts are moderately fertile, and admit of successful cultivation.

The surface of Germany may be regarded as belonging to three drainage basins. The Danube (q.v.) from its source in the Black Forest to the borders of Austria belongs to Germany; and through its channel the waters of the greater part of Bavaria are poured into the Black Sea. Its chief tributaries are the Iller, Lech, Isar, and Inn on the right; and the Altmühl, Nab, and Regen on the left. By far the greater part of the surface (about 185,000 sq. m.) has a northern slope, and belongs partly to the basin of the North Sea, partly to that of the Baltic. The chief German streams flowing into the North Sea are the Rhine (q.v.), with its tributaries the Neckar, Main, Lahn, Sieg, Wupper, Ruhr, and Lippe on the right, and the Ill and Moselle on the left; the Weser (q.v.), with its tributary the Aller; and the Elbe (q.v.), with its tributaries the Havel, Mulde, and Saale. Into the Baltic flow the Oder (q.v.), with its tributaries the Warthe, Neisse, and Bober; the Vistula (q.v.), or in German Weichsel, with its tributaries the Narew, Drewenz, and Brahe; the Memel; and the Pregel.

The natural and artificial waterways of Germany are extensive, especially in the northern plain. The most important of the numerous canals which connect the great river-systems of Germany are Ludwig's Canal (110 miles long) in Bavaria, which, by uniting the Danube and Main, opens a communication between the Black Sea and the German Ocean; the Finow (40 miles) and Friedrich-Wilhelm's (20 miles) canals in Brandenburg; the Plauen Canal (20 miles), between the Elbe and the Havel; the Kiel and Eider Canal (21 miles), uniting the Baltic and German Ocean; and the canals between the Oder and Vistula, Rhine and Rhone (225 miles), and Rhine, Marne, and Seine (165 miles). The North Sea and Baltic Canal, from Brunsbüttel at the mouth of the Elbe to Kiel, begun in 1887 and finished in 1895, was designed mainly for the use of warships. Numerous lakes occur both in the tableland of southern Germany (Bavaria) and in the low lands of the northern districts, but few of them are of any great size. The so-called 'Haffs' of the north coasts are extensive bays of the sea, but so curiously landlocked as to practically form huge salt-water lagoons or coast-lakes. The chief are the Stettiner Haff, the Frische Haff at Königsberg, and the Kurische Haff at Memel. Germany abounds in swamps and marsh-lands, which are especially numerous in the low northern districts. Its mineral springs occur principally in Nassau, Württemberg, Baden, Bavaria, and Rhenish Prussia. Many of these springs have retained their high reputation from the earliest ages.

Geology.—The great plain of North Germany consists of strata of the same age as the Tertiary strata of the Paris basin, covered with very recent sand and mud. Newer Tertiary beds occupy the river-basin of the Rhine north from Mainz; they consist of fine light-coloured loam, and contain the bones of the mammoth, rhinoceros, and other contemporaneous mammals. Erratics are scattered over the north of Germany. The whole district in the centre of Germany, from the Danube northwards to Hanover, consists of Secondary strata. The rocks of the Trias period are best known in Germany, the typical rocks of Bunter Sandstein, Muschelkalk, and Keuper being developed here so as to justify the name Trias. The Trias is highly fossiliferous, abounding especially in marine shells, and containing several genera of remarkable labyrinthodont saurians. Jurassic rocks occur in central Germany; at Hanover they consist of clays and marl, with beds of sandstone and limestone, containing coal and ironstone of such value that they have been extensively wrought. Intruded igneous rocks have tilted the beds of the Cretaceous strata in some districts to a nearly vertical position, and have metamorphosed them into crystalline marbles and siliceous sandstones.

Of the Palæozoic rocks, the Carboniferous strata are almost entirely absent from Germany. The coal obtained in the country is from rocks of a later age. True coal-beds are found in Rhenish Prussia. The sedimentary rocks of the Harz Mountains are chiefly Devonian; to the south-east, near Harzgerode, they are Upper Silurian. They are all greatly dislocated by granite and other intrusive rocks. The Harz Mountains are surrounded by a zone of Permian rocks. The stratified rocks of the Thüringerwald are also Devonian, resting on Lower Silurian strata, the lower portion of which is highly metamorphosed into quartzose schists; the remainder consists of graywacke, slate, and sandstone, with limestone and alum slates. There are numerous fucoid and annelid impressions in the older beds, and graptolites, orthoceratites, and trilobites in the newer. The basaltic rocks, trachytes, and other volcanic products are largely developed in the Eifel, Siebenengebirge, Westerwald, Vogels, Rhöngebirge, and other mountain-systems of central Germany.

Climate.—The climate of Germany presents less diversity than a first glance at the map might lead one to infer, for the greater heats of the more southern latitudes are considerably modified by the hilly character of the country in those parallels, while the cold of the northern plains is mitigated by their vicinity to the ocean. The average decrease in the mean temperature is, in going from south to north, about 1° F. for every 52 miles; and in going from west to east, about 1° F. for every 72 miles. The line of perpetual snow varies from 7200 to 8000 feet above the level of the sea. The mean annual rainfall is 20 inches. The rainfall is heaviest on the coast and in the mountains; least in Silesia, on the Danube at Sigmaringen, in Rhenish Bavaria, and at Wustrow in Mecklenburg. The rainfall in the Upper Harz reaches 66 inches. The difference between the greatest heat and the greatest cold in Germany is about 130° F. January is the coldest and July the warmest month. The following table shows the mean annual records of the temperature at different points of the continent:

Products.—The mineral products of Germany are very rich and varied, and their exploitation forms a most important industry. The chief mining, and smelting districts are in Silesia, on the Lower Rhine, in the Upper Harz, and in Saxony. Silver is found in the Upper Harz and Saxony. Iron occurs in numerous mountain-ranges, especially in Upper Silesia and in Rhenish Westphalia. Alsace and Lorraine contain a great part of perhaps the largest iron-deposit in Europe, which stretches into France and Luxemburg. The iron of the Thüringerwald is fine, though not abundant. The chief coalfields are in Silesia, Westphalia (on the Ruhr), and Saxony—the first containing the largest coalfield in Europe. Prussia yields nearly one-half of the zinc annually produced in the world. Lead is found in the Harz, in other parts of Prussia, and in Saxony. A little copper is mined at Mansfeld. Tin and tungsten are yielded by the Erzgebirge; manganese at Wiesbaden; quicksilver in Westphalia; antimony in Thuringia. Salt is produced at Halle, Stassfurt, and other parts of Prussia. Germany is rich in clays of all kinds, from the finest to the coarsest; the porcelain of Meissen, the pottery of Thuringia, and the glass of Silesia and Bavaria are celebrated. Building stone is well distributed; marble, alabaster, slates, and lithographic stones also occur; and cobalt, arsenic, sulphur, saltpetre, alum, gypsum, bismuth, pumice-stone, Tripoli slate, kaolin, emery, ochre, and vitriol are all among the exports of Germany. The following table shows the production of the five years 1882–86, with the yearly average, and the produce for 1887 and 1894, of the chief minerals of Germany (including the Duchy of Luxemburg):

In the returns for 1894 there are also 1,643,600 tons of potassic salt and 290,500 tons of ‘other products.’ Silver to the amount of 450 tons was produced in 1893, with 3074 kilograms of gold; and nickel, bismuth, vitriol, and other chemical manufactures of a total weight of 29,098 tons.

Cereals are extensively cultivated in the north, but the value of the wheat, barley, oats, and rye imported exceeds the value of that exported by £2,500,000 a year. The export of potatoes exceeds the imports by £400,000. Hemp and flax, madder, woad, and saffron grow well in the central districts, where the vine, the cultivation of which extends in suitable localities as far north as 51°, is brought to great perfection. The best wine-producing districts are the valleys of the Danube, Rhine, Main, Neckar, and Moselle, which are, moreover, generally noted for the excellence of their fruits and vegetables. The best tobacco is grown on the Upper Rhine, on the Neckar, and in Alsace, but inferior qualities are largely produced elsewhere. The hops of Bavaria have a high reputation, and the chicory grown in that country, and in the district between the Elbe and Weser, is used all over Europe as a substitute for coffee. Magdeburg is the centre of a large beetroot-growing industry. According to the survey of 1883, corrected for 1887, 48.7 per cent. (65,779,920 acres) of the entire area of the empire was given up to arable land, garden-land, and vineyards. Anhalt had the highest proportion of such land; and, excluding the domains of the free towns, Oldenburg had the lowest. About 20.3 per cent. (27,361,428 acres) was occupied by heath, meadow, and pasture, Oldenburg containing the greatest proportion, and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha the lowest. The chief crops in 1887 were meadow-hay, 14,778,650 acres; rye, 14,605,700 acres; oats, 9,525,610 acres; potatoes, 7,295,368 acres; wheat, 4,799,200 acres; barley, 4,327,800 acres; and spelt, 926,790 acres. In 1887–88 tobacco occupied 53,665 acres; in 1881–82, 68,120 acres. Vines covered 300,525 acres in 1887–88, and yielded 52,624,924 gallons of wine. The most extensive forests are found in central Germany, while the deficiency of wood in the north-west parts of the great plain is in some degree met by the abundance of turf. Germany in 1883 had 34,770,995 acres (25.7 per cent. of its area) in woods and forest. Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt had the highest proportion of area devoted to forest; and, excluding the free-towns, Oldenburg had the lowest. The largest forests are of firs and red pines (as in the Black Forest, Upper Harz, Thüringerwald, and Riesengebirge), beech (Lower Harz and Baltic coast), pines (east of Elbe, Bavaria, Franconia, and on the Rhine), and oaks (Lower Rhine, Westphalia, Odenwald, and Upper Silesia).

Germany has long been noted for the good breed of horses raised in the north; Saxony, Silesia, and Brandenburg have an equal reputation for their sheep and the fine quality of the wool which they yield; and the rich alluvial flats of Mecklenburg and Hanover are celebrated for their cattle. The forests of northern and central Germany abound in small game of various kinds; and a few still shelter wild boars. The Bavarian Alps afford shelter to the larger animals, as the chamois, the red deer and wild goat, the fox and marten. Wolves are still found in Bavaria, the eastern provinces of Prussia, and in Lorraine. The bear is now extinct, and the beaver nearly so. In all the plains in the north storks, wild geese, and ducks are abundant. Among the fishes of Germany the most generally distributed are carp, salmon, trout, and eels; the rivers contain also crayfish, pearl-bearing mussels, and leeches. The oyster, herring, and cod fisheries constitute important branches of industry on the German shores of the Baltic and North Sea. Germany stands next to Great Britain in regard to the care and success with which its agricultural, mining, and other natural capabilities have been cultivated. All the German states, and especially Prussia, Saxony, and Bavaria, encourage agriculture, and have endeavoured, by the establishment of agricultural colleges and exhibitions, to diffuse among the people a knowledge of recent scientific appliances. Forestry receives almost as much attention in Germany as agriculture; and, like the latter, is elevated to the rank of a science. The larger woods and forests in most of the states belong to the government, and are under the care of special boards of management, which exercise the right of supervision and control over all forest lands, whether public or private.

Manufactures.—The oldest and most important of the German industrial arts are the manufactures of linen and woollen goods. The chief localities for the cultivation and preparation of flax, and the weaving of linen fabrics, are the mountain-valleys of Silesia, Lusatia, Westphalia, and Saxony (for thread-laces); while cotton fabrics are principally made in Rhenish Prussia and Saxony. The same districts, together with Pomerania, Bavaria, Alsace, Württemberg, and Baden, manufacture the choicest woollen fabrics, including damasks and carpets. The silk industry has its central point in Rhenish Prussia, with a special development in the district of Düsseldorf. Germany rivals France more keenly in the production of satins than in that of heavier all-silk goods. Jute-spinning is carried on in Brunswick, at Meissen, and at Bonn; thread is manufactured in Saxony, Silesia, and the Rhine provinces; and hosiery is most largely produced in Saxony and Thuringia. The making of toys and wooden clocks, and wood-carving, which may be regarded as almost a speciality of German industry, flourish in the hilly districts of Saxony, Bavaria, and the Black Forest. Paper is made chiefly in the districts of Aix-la-Chapelle, Arnswer, and Liegnitz, and in Saxony. Tanning, especially in the south-west, is an ancient German industry. The best iron and steel manufactures belong to Silesia, Hanover, and Saxony; in 1893, 4,986,000 metric tons representing a value of £10,800,000, were handled in the foundries of Germany. Silesia probably possesses the finest glass-manufactories, but those of Bavaria are also important; while Saxony and Prussia stand pre-eminent for the excellence of their china and earthenware. Augsburg and Nuremberg dispute with Munich and Berlin the title to pre-eminence in silver, gold, and jewelry work, and in the manufacture of philosophical and musical instruments; while Leipzig and Munich claim the first rank for typefounding, printing, and lithography. The trading cities of northern Germany nearly monopolise the entire business connected with the preparation of tobacco, snuff, &c., the distillation of spirits from the potato and other roots, and the manufacture of beet-root sugar; while vinegar and oils are pre- pared almost exclusively in central and southern Germany. In 1896-97, 1,352,538,000 gallons of beer were brewed in the German empire, the chief producing states being Prussia (608,966,006 gals.) and Bavaria (356,356,000 gals.). The annual consumption per head of the population is 21 gallons. According to the industrial census of 1882, the number of persons in Germany engaged in manufactures and commerce was 7,966,783. The following figures, showing the distribution of that total, afford a view of the comparative importance of the various industries: Clothing, washing, &c., 1,334,007; building and related industries, 946,583; retail trading, 853,827; textile industries, 850,859; metal-working, carriage and ship building, &c., 813,906; preparation of food and food-materials, 663,226; mining (including founding and salt-winning), 552,020; workers in wood and wicker, 521,660; postal service, transport, &c., 437,040; lodging and refreshment, 279,451; industries in stone, earth, clay, 221,006; paper and leather working, 220,039; chemicals and lighting materials, 88,397; printing, &c., 69,643; art industries, 23,893; miscellaneous, 91,226. Besides these, 8,065,350 were engaged in agriculture, 91,630 in forestry and hunting, 55,168 in horticulture, and 24,348 in fishing.

Commerce and Shipping.—The multiplicity of small states into which the German land was long broken up opposed great obstacles to the development of commerce; but the difficulty was to some extent obviated by the establishment of the Zollverein (q.v.), or Customs and Trade Confederation, and partly also by the absorption of several of the smaller states by Prussia. In 1871 a Zollund Handels-Gebiet (Customs and Trade Territory) was formed in Germany, including Luxemburg (1010 sq. m.; 213,283 inhabitants in 1885) and the Austrian district of Jungholz (212 inhabitants), but excluding Hamburg, Bremen, and parts of Oldenburg, Prussia, and Baden (together 140 sq. m.; 754,705 inhabitants). On October 15, 1888, however, all these districts entered the union, with the exception of the Baden territory (4054 inhabitants), and part of the old free-port of Hamburg (152 inhabitants). The old Zollverein parliament is represented by the Reichstag, and the Zollverein council by the Bundesrath, which appoints three permanent committees—for finance, for excise and customs, and for trade. The revenues of the union are derived from customs duties upon imports, and from excise duties on tobacco, salt, beetroot-sugar, brandy, malt, &c., and are divided among the different states according to the populations.

The following table shows the exports of home produce and the imports for home consumption in 1888, for the customs union as constituted before October of that year:

The total exports for the same year were £243,154,050; imports, £254,710,800. In 1898 the total exports of home produce had increased to £200,582,250, while the imports for home consumption were £271,983,800. In 1881 the exports of home produce from Germany to Britain were £23,650,285, and in 1898 £28,534,159; while the imports of British produce were respectively £17,431,439 and £22,525,937. Including foreign and colonial produce, the imports from Britain in 1898 were £33,331,701. Among the principal articles exported to Britain in 1898 were sugar and glucose, £9,570,784; wood, £1,271,210; wool and woollen manufactures, £974,717; glass, £898,000; iron manufactures, £830,211; hides and leather, £814,169; cotton and yarn, £805,155; eggs, £788,844; butter and margarine (decreasing), £251,374. The principal articles imported from Britain were woollen, cotton, and alpaca goods and yarns, iron, machinery, coal, herrings, and lineu.

The German mercantile fleet is the fourth in the world, being excelled only by those of Great Britain, the United States, and Norway. In 1895 it consisted of 2622 sailing ships of 660,856 tons burden, and 1043 steamers, of 893,046 tons; making a total of 3665 vessels of 1,553,902 tons. The leading ports are Hamburg, Bremerhaven (for Bremen), Stettin, Danzig, Kiel, Lübeck, and Königsberg. In 1893 there entered German ports 66,655 vessels, of 14,621,634 tons, and cleared 67,219 ships, of 14,724,658 tons. Of the shipping entering 3,052,450, tons were British, and 699,000 tons Danish; 5,591,000 tons were German. Besides this maritime shipping trade, Germany carries on a very active commerce between its own internal ports, by means of 20,390 vessels (1153 steamers), plying on the numerous navigable rivers and canals.

In her commercial policy Germany has of late years committed herself more and more to protection; and by a law of July 1879 a protective policy was substituted for the previous free-trading principles of the empire. The chaos of coinages in use before the establishment of the empire has been rectified by the substitution (1873) of a uniform imperial system, the standard being gold (see BIMETALLISM). The silver mark, superseding guildens and thalers, is almost exactly equal to a shilling in value. Since 1872 the metrical system of weights and measures has been in use.

Railways, &c.—The first railway in Germany was the Ludwigsbahn between Nuremberg and Fürth, completed in 1835; but the first of any length was built between Leipzig and Dresden in 1837-39. In 1900 the railways in Germany, completed and open for traffic, amounted to 32,000 English miles. Of these only 3000 miles belonged to private companies, all the remainder being Government lines; about 900 miles had narrow-gauge lines.

The postal and telegraphic systems of all the German states, except Bavaria and Württemberg, are now under a central imperial administration; and since 1872, in accordance with treaties concluded between Austria and Prussia, a German-Austrian postal union has been established. At the end of the century there were 36,000 post-offices in the empire, and 23,000 telegraph offices; while 900 towns had telephonic communication. The total length of telegraph lines was about 80,000 English miles, with 300,000 English miles of wires. The total number of hands employed was 200,000. The total receipts were close on £20,000,000, and the expenditure £18,000,000.

Population, &c.—Four-fifths of the population of this country are of the race called in English Germans, in French Allemands, but by the people themselves Deutsche. The term Deutsch, in

Gothic thindisk, in Old High Ger. diutisc (Latinised into theotiscus), is derived from the Gothic substantive thinda, 'people,' and therefore meant originally the popular language; or, in the mouth of the learned, the vulgar tongue. In the 12th and 13th centuries it became the accepted designation both of this widespread tongue and of the race that speak it.

The German-speaking inhabitants of the empire number upwards of 43,000,000; but a considerable proportion of these are not of the Germanic stock. Among the peoples retaining their own language (about 3½ millions) are Poles (exclusively in eastern and north-eastern Prussia), 2,450,000; Wends (in Silesia, Brandenburg, and Saxony), 140,000; Czechs (in Silesia), 50,000; Lithuanians (in eastern Prussia), 150,000; Danes (in Sleswick), 140,000; French (in Rhenish Prussia, Alsace, and Lorraine) and Walloons (about Aix-la-Chapelle in Rhenish Prussia), 280,000. The Germans are divided into High and Low Germans; the language of the former is the cultivated language of all the German states; that of the latter, known as Platt-Deutsch, is spoken in the north and north-west. As to the colour of the hair, Professor Virchow caused observations to be made on the hair of 1,758,827 school children, four-fifths of the total number. The result showed that 31·80 per cent. belonged to the blonde type; 14·05 to the brunette type; and 54·15 to the intermediate type. The blondes were most numerous in North Germany, the brunettes in South Germany.

It is computed that there are 23,000,000 Germans beyond the boundary of the empire, of whom 9½ millions are in Austria, 7 in the United States, 2 in Switzerland, 400,000 in Poland (besides 800,000 German Jews). There are also many in the Volga country, in middle and south Russia, Roumania, and Turkey.

The average density of the population of Germany is about 222 per sq. m. The most densely populated country of the empire is Saxony, with 513 per sq. m.; the most sparsely populated is Mecklenburg-Strelitz, with 87 per sq. m. The concentration of the population in large towns is not so common in Germany as in some other countries. Although in 1885 there were 137 towns with 20,000 inhabitants and upwards, only one of these reached a million, three others 250,000 (see p. 172), and seventeen others 100,000; twenty-three had between 50,000 and 100,000.

Emigration.—During the last fifty years emigration from Germany has assumed very large proportions; but since 1881, when the highest total (220,798) was reached, the annual number of emigrants has greatly decreased. Between 1830 and 1887 it is calculated that about 4,200,000 emigrants left the country, five-sevenths of whom were bound for the United States of North America. The others went, in varying proportions, to South America, Australia, Canada, Africa, and Asia. In 1851-60 about 1,130,000 emigrants left Germany; in 1860-71, 970,000; in 1871-80, 595,150; and in 1881-88, 1,143,570. In 1886 the number was 83,218; in 1887, 103,055; and in 1888, 98,515, besides about 4000 sailing from French ports. By far the largest proportion of emigrants come from the northern parts of the empire: in 1888 the provinces of Posen and West Prussia each contributed over 12,000 to the Prussian total of 63,000. Bavaria sent 12,200; Württemberg, 6500; Saxony, 2300. In 1894 the total number of emigrants was only 40,964. On the other hand there were in 1890, 508,594 foreigners in Germany, of whom 205,545 were Austrians and 15,534 were born in Great Britain and Ireland.

Colonies.—The steady stream of emigration from Germany renders it natural that Germany should wish to extend her territory, and in 1884-89 these regions (besides Kiao-chow, 'ceded' by China in 1897; the Samoan Islands, Savaii, and Upolu, by treaties with United States and Britain, 1898; and the Caroline, Ladrone, and Pelew Islands, by treaty with Spain, 1899) have become German possessions or come under German protection:

Education.—Education is more generally diffused in Germany than in any other country of Europe, and is cultivated with an earnest and systematic devotion not met with to an equal extent among other nations. Besides the Academy at Münster (founded 1780; 476 students) and the small Lyceum at Braunsberg (1568), which have only the two faculties of Philosophy and Catholic Theology, there are 20 universities: Heidelberg (1386), Würzburg (1402), Leipzig (1409), Rostock (1419), Greifswald (1456), Freiburg (1457), Munich (1472), Tübingen (1477), Marburg (1527), Königsberg (1544), Jena (1557), Giessen (1607), Kiel (1665), Göttingen (1734), Erlangen (1743), Berlin (1809), Breslau (1811), Halle (1817), Bonn (1818), Strasburg (1872). These institutions embrace the four faculties of Theology, Law, Medicine, and Philosophy; in 1889 they had 2260 professors and teachers, and in 1888-89 (winter session) 28,550 students. Berlin (5790 students), Leipzig (3430), and Munich (3602) are the largest universities; Jena (463) and Rostock (346) the smallest. Of the universities, 14 are Protestant—i.e. in the department of theology they teach only Protestant theology; three are Roman Catholic—viz. Freiburg, Munich, and Würzburg; three—viz. Bonn, Breslau, and Tübingen—are mixed, Protestantism prevailing in the first two, and Roman Catholicism in the last. There are also 16 polytechnic institutions; 787 gymnasia, realschulen, &c.; numerous special schools of technology, agriculture, forestry, mining, commerce, military science, &c.; several seminaries for teachers, and for the ministers of different religious denominations; and nearly 60,000 elementary schools. The attendance of children at school, for at least four or five years, is made compulsory in nearly all the German states, and hence the proportion of persons who cannot read and write is exceedingly small. Among the military recruits of 1887-88 only 0.71 per cent. were unable either to read or write. In East Prussia the percentage was 4.16—the highest in the empire. In all the other states, except Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1.27), the number of illiterate recruits was less than 1 per cent. Several of the smaller states had no recruits unable to read and write.

Public libraries, museums, botanical gardens, art-collections, picture-galleries, schools of music and design, and academies of arts and sciences are to be met with in most of the capitals, and in many of the country towns, upwards of 200 of which possess one or more permanently established theatres. In no country is the book and publishing trade more universally patronised than in Germany, where the chief centres are Leipzig and Stuttgart. The press annually sends forth from 8000 to 10,000 works, while about 3000 papers and journals are circulated throughout the empire. Of the current newspapers a comparatively small number only exert any marked influence, but many of the German scientific and literary periodicals enjoy a world-wide reputation (see BOOK-TRADE, Vol. II. page 315). The censorship of the press was abolished by a decree of the diet of 1848, and freedom of the press, under certain restrictions which were promulgated in 1854, has been introduced.

Religion.—In regard to religion, it may be stated generally that Protestantism predominates in the north and middle, and Roman Catholicism in the south, east, and west, although very few states exhibit exclusively either form of faith. The Protestants belong chiefly either to the Lutheran confession, which prevails in Saxony, Thuringia, Hanover, and Bavaria east of the Rhine, or to the Reformed or Calvinistic Church, which prevails in Hesse, Anhalt, and the Palatinate. A union between these two churches has taken place in Prussia. There are six Roman Catholic archbishoprics and eighteen Roman Catholic bishoprics in Germany.

The following is the proportion of the different denominations, according to the census of 1885:

Judicial System.—In terms of the Judicature Acts of 1877 and 1878, a uniform system of law-courts was adopted by the different states in 1879. The appointment of the judges and the arrangement of the courts are left in the hands of the individual federal states, except in the case of the Reichsgericht. The Amstsgerecht, with one judge, is competent for civil cases not involving more than £15 value, and for various minor offences. More important criminal cases are tried by the Schöffen-gericht, in which two Schöffen (assessors), chosen by rotation from among the qualified private citizens, sit with the judge. It deals with crimes whose punishment is not more than three months' imprisonment or a fine of £30, and with theft, fraud, &c., in which the damage is not more than 20s. Above these is the Landgericht, divided into civil and criminal chambers (Kammern), and consisting of a president, directors (who preside over the chambers), and ordinary members. In connection with the Landgericht, jury-courts (Schwurgerichte) are periodically held to try the more serious cases. These consist of three judges and twelve jurors. A concurrent jurisdiction with the Landgericht in commercial matters is possessed by the chambers for commercial cases (Handelssaehen), in which a judge sits as president along with two arbiters (Handelsrichter) appointed for three years from among the qualified citizens. A revising jurisdiction over the courts below is possessed by the Oberlandesgericht, which is divided into civil and criminal senates, each of