Hanau

Hanau, a town in the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, is situated at the confluence of the Kinzig and the Main, 13 miles E. by N. of Frankfurt by rail. It is divided into the Old and the New Town; the latter was founded in 1597 by Protestant refugees from Holland and Belgium, who introduced the manufacture of woollen and silk goods, which still flourishes. The town of Hanau stands pre-eminent in Germany for its jewelry and gold and silver wares. Besides these it carries on manufactures of carpets, chocolate, leather, cards, paper, hats, tobacco, and gunpowder, and has breweries and an iron-foundry. Here the brothers Grimm were born. In the neighbourhood is the watering-place of Wilhelmsbad. Hanau dates as a town from 1393. It had a very chequered history during the Thirty Years' War. Near the town was fought one of Napoleon's last battles in Germany, October 30 and 31, 1813, when he defeated the allied Austrians and Bavarians under Wrede. Pop. (1875) 22,269; (1890) 25,029.