Prussia

(prūsh'ah,) a kingdom of Europe, and the principal state of the German empire, lies bet. the 49th and 56th parallels of N. Lat., and 6th and 23d deg. of E. Lon., and is b. on the N. by the Baltic Sea and Denmark, E. by Ru ia and Poland, S. by the Austrian dominions and the states of S. Germany, S.W.by France, and W. by Belgium and Holland. Total area, 135,806 Eng. sq. m., exclusive of the newly annexed p. of Alsace-Lorraine. Prior to the war of 1866 P. was divided into 10 pro vs., with an area of 107,183 sq. m., and a pop. of 18,401,220. The geographical form of this kingdom is very irregular and confused; its N. and central parts being intermixed with several quasi-independent states, and in the S. a portion of its outlying territory (Hohenzollern) is entirely surrounded by Wurtemberg. P. has an extensive mediterranean seaboard extending along the Baltic from Ru ia on the E. to Denmark on the W. It has, besides, a tract of coastline washed by the N. Sea, formed by the Schleswig-Holstein and Han over i an pro vs. The length of the kingdom, taken from Ε.Ν.Ε. to W.S.W., is about 775 m.; maximum breadth 404 m. The surface is for the most part flat. The principal mountains are those of the Hartz, Brocken, and Riesengebirge. The Baltic seaboard is low and sandy, and forms a number of bays and inlets such as the Gulf of Dantzig, the bays of Swinemunde, Lübeck, and Kiel, the Frische Haff, and the Curische Haff. P. po e es a large number of navigable rivers in close proximity with each other, viz., the Niemen, Pregel, Vistula, Oder, Elbe, Weser, and the Rhine with its numerous tributaries, such as the Moselle, Lahn, . The forests are extensive, occupying an area of nearly 10,000 sq. m., chiefly consisting of fir. Its minerals consist of iron, copper, lead, alum, nitre, zinc, cobalt, sulphur, nickel, arsenic, baryta, amber, several varieties of precious stones, and, to a small extent, silver. Salt from the brine springs of Pru ian Saxony is plentiful, as is also coal. All metals, salt, amber, and precious stones are Crown property. Agriculture and cattle rearing constitute the chief sources of employment and wealth of the rural pop. of the entire monarchy. The cereals, pease, millet, rapeseed, maize, linseed, flax, hemp, tobacco, and hops, are extensively cultivated and largely exported. The W. division of P. is noted for its excellent fruits and vegetables, and the Rhenish provinces stand preeminent for their wines. In the kingdom there are upwards of 100 mineral springs, as those of Wiesbaden, Ems, Spa, Pyrmont, . The chief cities and towns are Berlin (the cap.), Breslau, Cologne, Königsberg, Dantzig, Strasburg, Frankfort-on-the Main, Magdeburg, Hanover, Aix-la-Chapelle, Muhlhouse, Mentz, Frankfort-on - the-Oder, & c., & c. The seaports (besides Dantzig and Königsberg) include Memel, Swinemunde, Stettin, Lübeck, Altona, and Cuxhaven. That of Kiel is rapidly becoming transformed into the principal naval station and arsenal of the German empire. Pru ian manu fs. consist mainly of silk, woollen, cotton, and linen fabrics; arms, shawls, carpets, leather, pottery, gla , tobacco, and metallic wares. The brewing of beer is a busine carried on extensively. The leading exports comprise linens, woollens, hardware, grain, raw wool, timber, pitch, linseed, tobacco, mineral waters; to these may be added horses, horned cattle, salted and dried meats, ., and from the Rhenish pro vs., wine. The constitution and govt. are elsewhere treated of in the art. GERMANY (q. v.). Education is compulsory, and its higher branches are provided for at the universities of Berlin, Bonn, Breslan, Königsberg, Halle, and Greifswalde. According to the budget estimates for 1871, the revenue was stated at 172,918,937 thalers ($126,230,824); balanced by expenditures. The interest - bearing public debt stood at 425,924,274, and the non-interest-bearing at 20,937,391, total 446,861,665 thalers ($326,209,015). Pru ian finance is at present, owing to her economical manner of going to war, in an abnormal condition. It is probable that all the national debt will be expunged, and a considerable sum reserved for future contingencies. Of the railroads, 6 belong to the state, 7 others are under govt. control, being partly constructed by the state, and the rest, abt. two-thirds of the whole, belong to private companies; the total length of them extends to 3,925 m. of single, and 1,289 m. of double lines, constructed at a cost of $33,471,120. The naval, military, and shipping statistics connected with P. will be found in this work under the head of GERMANY, q. v. The Pru ian monarchy has its cradle in the castle of Zollern, or Hohenzollern, in S.W. Germany, the counts of which place, descending from one Tha ilo, one of the generals of Charlemagne, became princes of the empire in 1273, and electors of Brandenburg in 1417. In 1511, a younger son of the line, Albert, was elected by the Teutonic Knights their Grand-Master, and invested with the govt. of their prov. of Pru ia in N.E. Europe. He, presently, a umed the dignity of hereditary prince, and at his death bequeathed his po e ions to the elder branch of his family, the Brandenburg electors. Frederick I., son of Frederick William, the " Great Elector," crowned himself King of Pru ia, at Königsberg, 1701, and added Pomerania to his dominions. The military genius of his succe or Frederick the Great acquired Silesia during the first half of the 18th cent., and in the latter half, P. shared in the partition of Poland. Later the kingdom became still further enlarged by the annexation of several minor states of Central Germany, and after the peace of 1815, had grown to the status of a second-rate European power. In 1864 P. obtained, by a succe ful war with Denmark, the duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, and, two years later, after a brilliant campaign of three weeks against Austria, became the dominant power in Gerniany, absorbed Hanover, He e, Na au, and the former free city of Frankfort-on-the-Main, and placed Saxony and the other N. German States on terms of va alage to her. The events which, later, have raised P. to the front rank among the states of Europe are briefly treated of under the head of GERMANY, q. v. Pop. (1875) 25,742,404. [s. 738]