These are the latest estimates: United States, $188,000,000,000; Great Britain and Ireland $85,000,000,000; Canada, $7,000,000,000; India, $15,000,000,000; total British Empire (including possessions not here stated), $130,000,000,000; Germany, $80,000,000,000; France, $50,000,000,000; Russia, $40,000,000,000; Austria-Hungary, $25,000,000,000; Italy, $20,000,000,000; Belgium, $9,000,000,000; Spain, $5,400,000,000; Netherlands, $5,000,000,000; Switzerland, $4,000,000,000; Portugal, $2,500,000,000.
From its political and historical importance Europe has always been regarded as one of the great divisions of the earth’s surface though it is not a separate and independent mass. It is, rather, a great peninsula of what is sometimes calledEurasia—i.e. the continent of Europe and Asia combined—that extends westward its many arms between the Arctic Ocean on the north, the Atlantic on the west, and the Mediterranean Sea on the south.
Its name seems to have been derived from the Semitic wordereb, meaning “the land of the setting sun,” and came into use among the Greeks and Latins in very early times asEuropa.
Outline and Extent.The most striking feature of its outline is that of its great irregularity, the deep inlets and gulfs of the ocean which penetrate its mass, and the peninsulas which run from it.
The greatest distance between its extreme north and south points—the North Cape of Norway and Cape Matapan in Greece—is about twenty-four hundred miles; and from east to west—from Cape La Roca, or the “Rock of Lisbon,” to Cape Apsheron, the eastern extremity of the Caucasus range, on the Caspian—about three thousand miles.
On the north theWhite Sea, so called from the ice and snow which bind it up for more than half the year, reaches in from the Arctic Ocean. From the Atlantic, the shallowNorth Sea, or German Ocean, and theEnglish Channel(calledLa Manche, or “The Sleeve,” by the French) break in to separate the British Isles from the mainland; and from the former theSkager Rak, “the crooked and boisterous strait,” leads through theKattegat, the “Cat’s Throat,” and the “Belts” of the Danish islands, to theBaltic, or the “East Sea” of the Germans, and its continuations, the Gulfs of Bothnia, Finland, and Riga.
Farther southward, the stormyBay of Biscay, named from the Basque province of Vizcaya, sweeps in along the northern coast of Spain, and beyond the Peninsula the narrowStrait of Gibraltarleads into the greatMediterranean, which stretches eastward for twenty-three hundred miles.
Among the many branches of this great basin are theGallic Sea, running north toward Gaul, between Spain and the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, forming the stormy Gulf of the Lion and that of Genoa; theTyrrhenian Sea, between Sardinia and Italy; theIonian Seaand theAdriaticrunning north from it, between Italy and the Balkan peninsula, towards the ancient seaport of Adria, perhaps the oldest in Europe.
Beyond Greece, the island-studded Ægean leads north to the narrow inlet of theDardanelles, opening into the little Sea of Marmora, named from its marble-yielding islands, and from that by theBosporusor Oxford (the canal of Constantinople), into the second great Mediterranean basin, theBlack Seaor Euxine, with its offshoot the shallowSea of Azof. The Caspian Sea, forms part of the natural frontier between Europe and Asia.
The indented seaboard of Europe measures not less than sixty thousand miles.
Between each of these branches of the sea there run out corresponding promontories and peninsulas of the mainland. These are most numerous on the south side, where we find theCrimea,TurkeyandGreece,ItalyandSpain, bordered by the islands of the Archipelago, by Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, and the Baleares.
The western or Atlantic side presents the greatest peninsula, that ofScandinavia, and the most important island group, that of the British Isles. The Danish peninsula is remarkable as the only one in Europe, and indeed in almost any part of the world, that points northward.
The great lowland of Europe lies toward the east, embracing the vast continental area of Russia, and sending out arms westward round the Gulf of Bothnia and the Swedish side of the Baltic, and through North Germany and Denmark, to form the lowlands of Holland and Belgium and of Western France, along the shores of the Bay of Biscay, as far as the rise of the Pyrenees.
The vast central area of the Russian lowland has almost everywhere the same character,woods and marshesalternating with cultivated land, affording a superfluity of grain, which is sent down by the rivers to the seaports of the Baltic and the Black Sea; but along its northern border, next the icy Arctic Sea, lie the moss-covered swamps called theTundras, the soil of which is never thawed for more than a yard’s depth; all its southern margin toward the Black Sea and the Caspian is a treelesssteppe, over which at some seasons the grasses shoot up above a man’s height, concealing the pasturing herds.
Finland is one of the most remarkable regions of the great European plain; its granite floor, elevated above the sea-level probably in a recent geological period, is worn into thousands of angular lake-basins, which form a perfect network over its surface; to the sailor on the Baltic its margin presents a girdle of steep cliffs guarded by a fringe of rocky islets or skerries. The cliffy Aland Islands are detached fragments of this remarkable formation.
The eastern portions of the North German plain, as far as the Oder, have the same character, the same corn-yielding clay soil, as the adjoining lowlands in Russia; but farther west, round the capital city of Berlin, the plain becomes less fertile, in some parts sandy and bare. Beyond the Elbe, in Hanover, theLüneburg heathcovers a large part of the plain; next it lie the moors, marshes, and fens of Oldenburg and the borders of Holland, where cattle and horses are the wealth of the land; and beyond these the highly cultivated lowlands on each side of the Rhine delta, separated by the heaths and moors of Brabant, which run out toward the lower Scheldt like a dividing wedge between Holland and Belgium.
Passing into France, and across the broad river basins of its lowlands which open to the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay, we come upon the great wine-yielding lands, such asChampagneand the vineyards of the Gironde, with the corn country of Brie northeast of Paris, and of Touraine, on the Loire between these; and lastly, at the extremity of this branch of the European plain, to theLandesalong the coast between the mouth of the Gironde and the Pyrenees, composed of sandy heaths and marshes.
Of these, two of large extent occur in the basin of the river Danube, separated by the gorge of the “Iron Gate,” formed where the Balkan and Carpathian ranges approach most closely. The upper plain, circled about on all sides by mountains, is that ofHungary, over which corn fields interchange with pastoral steppes well stocked with horses and cattle, sheep and swine, merging in some parts into marsh lands or into dusty sand flats. Where the plain begins to rise to the sunny hills, the Hungarian grape ripens to yield its famous wines. The lower plain of the Danube, which might be called a branch of the vast Russian lowland, is that ofRoumania, with its far-stretching treeless heaths and pasture lands supporting great herds of cattle and horses, passing into wide reed swamps which characterize the delta of the Danube.
Corresponding to the Roumanian plain is that ofLombardy, perhaps the most productive region of Europe, in which the irrigated meadows may be six times mowed in the year, and where wheat, maize, and rice, and wine and dairy produce, are yielded in vast quantity.
Europe presents two great mountain regions; a southern, extending along the northern border of the Mediterranean from Turkey to Spain, in continuation of the chief line of the heights of Asia; and a northern, appearing in Scandinavia and Britain, separated from the former by the western branch of the great lowland that we have been noticing.
TheAlpsrise as the central mass of the southern mountain region of Europe. The many groups comprised in this series of heights which curve round the plain of Lombardy arrange themselves into three generally recognized divisions:—The Western Alps, the groups lying between the Gulf of Genoa and the Little St. Bernard Pass; the Central Alps, extending from the St. Bernard to the pass named the Stilfser Joch; and the Eastern Alps beyond this. The central mass is the highest, rising with majestic forms from deep valleys up to sharp riven peaks, high above the line of permanent snow; its wings to east and west decrease in elevation towards the Gallic Sea and the plain of the Danube on either side. All the less jagged heights are mantled in snows, from which glacier streams descend. The largest of these ice streams are the Aletsch glacier from the group of the Finsteraarhorn, and those of the frequented valley of Chamounix, descending from Mont Blanc, the monarch of the Alps.
The passes of the Alps have always had importance as the gates of traffic from North Italy to the rest of Europe; some of them, such as the two St. Bernard Passes, are under the protection of friendly monks; but railroads have now been constructed to pass the great barrier by the tunnels of Mont Cenis in the west, of St. Gothard in the center, and the Simplon farther east (opened 1906), by a line over the Brenner Pass from Innsbruck to Bozen, and by an eastern road over the Semmering from Vienna to Graz.
Southward the Alps fall steeply to the low plain of Lombardy, but a mass of lesser highlands and plateaus extends northward from them over central Europe to the border of the plain of Northern Germany.
The first division is the long limestone range of theJura, with its magnificent pine forests. Beyond, bordering the Rhine valley, rises theSchwarzwald, or Black Forest, then theOdenwaldand theRhönmountains, leading into theVogelsbergandTaunus, and to the outlyingHarz, the farthest north of the central European heights. Turning eastward, we reach theThüringerwald, theFichtel Gebirge, and the metalliferous orErz Gebirge; then across the Elbe, in Saxon Switzerland, come theRiesen Gebirge(the Giant Range), and theSudetic Mountains, extending to the Oder. Turning south again towards the Alps, theMährische Höhen(the Mavorian heights) are reached, and joining with these to close in the high valley of the Upper Elbe, the highBöhmerwald, the forest mountain of Bohemia. Almost all the area of South Germany, including Würtemberg, Bavaria, and Bohemia, enclosed by these heights, which extend northward from the Alpine mass, is high plateau land.
Westward of these central European heights, beyond the Rhone, rises the range of theCevennesin France, extending from near the Pyrenees northward through theForezandCôte d’Orto the plateau ofLangres, to theVosgesandHardt,[446]the undulating plateau ofArdennescovered with beech and oak wood, and the volcanic group of theEifel, skirting the Rhine valley. More centrally in France, contrasting with the adjoining long range of the Cevennes, the volcanic cones and domes ofAuvergnerise from bare lava-covered plateaus.
Shut off from the rest of Europe by thePyreneeswhose high and close barrier admits easy passage only round its flanks, is the Spanish Peninsula, which, excepting in its river valleys, and along some parts of the seaboard, is a continuous highland. A number of mountain ranges, supporting broad plateaus between, traverse it from east to west. Along its northern edge theCantabrianmountains prolong the high line of the Pyrenees; centrally rise theSierras of GuadarramaandEstrella; farther south theSierra Morena, and along the Mediterranean border theSierra Nevadaof Granada. Throughout the summer the table-lands ofCastile, bare and treeless, are burned up by the hot sun, but through the chilly winter they are swept by violent winds. The herdsman who wears a broad-brimmed hat for protection against the excessive heat during the day, a few hours later puts on his thick warm cloak; in the same way, after the almost rainless summer, follows a cold winter with ice and snow.
TheApenninesprolong the Maritime Alps, and run like a backbone through the peninsula of Italy. Cleared of its natural wood, and scorched by the southern sun, this range is generally dreary and barren in aspect, like a long wall, with few peaks or salient points to recall the magnificent forms of the Alps. The volcano ofVesuvius, the only active one in all the continental part of Europe, rises over the coast plain of Campania.
The lines of the eastern wing of the Alps are prolonged north-eastward across the Danube by the grand curve of the woodedCarpathiansandTransylvania Alps, circling round the plain of Hungary. Southeastward they branch into the many ranges which support between them the confused mass of highlands of Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Montenegro, of Servia and Albania. Farther on these heights take more definite shape in the range of theBalkanwhich runs east to the Black Sea, in the mass of theRhodopemountains extending south-eastward to the Ægean Sea, and in thePindusrange, which gives shape to Greece, and runs out into the Mediterranean in the peninsulas of the Morea.
Distinct from all the rest of the southern highlands of Europe stands the huge mass of theCaucasus, the natural frontier of Europe on the southeast, rising like a wall from the flat isthmus between the Black Sea and the Caspian. Its close parallel chains are united by high plateaus cut into by deep narrow transverse gorges of extreme depth. Though attaining far greater heights than the Alps and reaching several thousand feet above the limit of perennial snows, the glaciers and snow-fields of the Caucasus are small and insignificant in comparison with those of the Alps. This is owing to the dryness of the region in which they stand, and the small snowfall over them.
In the north European mountain region the mass of heights which form the Scandinavian peninsula are by far the most important. These present no definite range, but are rather a collection of broad plateaus topped with moor or snow-field, cut into by long steep-walled “fiords” on the Atlantic side, and resembling the Alps in the pine woods of their slopes, in their lakes and extensive glaciers, though they are nowhere of very great altitude.
The mainfield, which is applied to most of the Scandinavian mountain groups, suggests their plateau form; theHardanger Field,Ymes Field, andDovre Field, with theJostedals Brae(or ice-brae—glacier), are the most prominent of the southern heights of Norway; in the north the broken heights which run along the Atlantic and Arctic borders of the peninsula have the general name of theKiölen. The heather-covered hills of Scotland—the Grampians and west coast mountains—as well as those of Cumberland and Wales farther south in Great Britain, belong to the same system as that of the Scandinavian heights.
We have formerly noticed that almost all the European islands are high. In the Mediterranean we find the island of Crete reaching to upwards of eight thousand feet inMount Ida; Sicily, with its volcano ofEtnanine thousand six hundred and fifty-two feet; Sardinia withMount Gennargentu(six thousand two hundred and ninety feet); Corsica, withMonte Rotondo(nine thousand and sixty-five feet); Iceland, on the border of the Arctic seas, recalling Norway in its grand fiords, rises high in its mass of volcanic jökulls (Oræfa, six thousand four hundred and eight feet;Hecla, five thousand one hundred and ten feet), covered in between with accumulated snows and glaciers;Spitzbergen’sblack peaks, which give its name, also rise high from its white glacier fields.
Separate and distinct in character and direction from the mountains of the rest of Europe, is the long chain of theUral, rich in gold, platinum, iron, and copper. It takes its name probably from the Tartar word meaning “belt,” which well expresses the length and continuity of this remarkable line of heights, stretching along the eastern border of the great European plain for more than twelve hundred miles. In height, however, the Ural is insignificant. Another separated height, that of the forest-covered Valdai hills in Western Russia, would scarcely be worthy of mention among the European highlands if it did not form the water-parting of the greatest of European rivers, the Volga.
For the height of the chief mountain peaks and ranges, consult the tables onpage 74and following.
European rivers flow in part to the Atlantic and its Mediterranean branches, partly to the Arctic Sea, and partly to the Caspian, which last belongs to the “continental” system of drainage, or the area from which no rivers escape to the open ocean.
TheVolga, the largest European river, is the principal feeder of the Caspian, and the great highway of commerce of Central and South Russia.
TheDon,Dnieper,Dniester, andDanubeall flow into the Black Sea. The last-named is the second of European rivers, and forms, with its navigable tributaries, the route for traffic between Central Europe and the East.
ThePo, theRhone(the most rapid European river, though of little value for navigation), and theEbroflow into the Mediterranean.
The chief rivers (all of immense importance) draining into the Atlantic, are: theTagus(with its port of Lisbon), theDouro(Oporto), theGironde(Bordeaux), theLoire(Nantes), and theMersey(Liverpool); while of less importance are theGuadalquivir,Guadiana,Tagus, andDouroin Spain; theGaronne,Loire, andSeinein France. Into the North Sea flow theThames(London), theMeuse(Rotterdam), theRhineand theElbe, giving uninterrupted water-way to Switzerland and into the heart of Bohemia; and into the Baltic, the riversOder,Vistula,Niemen, andDwina, more or less important for purposes of transport.
On account of the great historic, political and scenic importance that attaches to the Rhine and the Danube, in addition to the fact that their courses are not confined strictly to any one country, these rivers call for more detailed descriptions. The other European rivers of importance are described in connection with the country to which they either wholly or in great part belong.
THE RHINE(Ger.Rhein), is probably the most famous river in the world, and, except the period between 1697 and 1871, always a purely German possession. It is usually divided into the upper, middle, and lower parts, the first lying within and along part of the boundary line of Switzerland, the second between Basel and Cologne, and the third between Cologne and the sea.
THE UPPER RHINE ANDITS SOURCE
A large number of rivulets, issuing from Swiss glaciers, unite to form the upper Rhine; but two are recognized as the principal sources—the Nearer and the Farther Rhine. The former emerges on the northeast slope of the St. Gotthard pass (seven thousand six hundred and ninety feet above sea-level), the other side of which is the cradle of the Rhone; the Farther Rhine has its origin on the flank of the Rheinwaldhorn, seven thousand two hundred and seventy feet high, not far from the Pass of Bernardino. The two mountain torrents meet at Reichenau, six miles southwest of Coire (Chur), in the Grisons canton, Switzerland, after they have descended the Nearer Rhine five thousand seven hundred and sixty-seven feet in twenty-eight miles, the Farther Rhine five thousand three hundred and forty-seven feet in twenty-seven miles.
LAKE CONSTANCE AND THEFALLS OF SCHAFFHAUSEN
After plowing its way north for forty-five miles between Switzerland and Austrian Vorarlberg, the river enters the Lake of Constance, soon after leaving which, its water a deep transparent green, it plunges down the falls of Schaffhausen, nearly seventy feet, in three leaps, and flows westward to Basel, separating Baden from Switzerland. In this stretch the river (four hundred and ninety feet wide), receives from the left the waters of the Aar. At Basel (seven hundred and forty-two feet), now two hundred and twenty-five yards wide, it wheels round to the north, and traversing an open shallow valley that separates Alsace and the Bavarian Palatinate from Baden, reaches Mainz, split into many side arms and studded with green islands. Navigation begins at Basel.
THE MIDDLE RHINE FROM BASELTO COLOGNE
Of the numerous affluents here the largest are the navigable Neckar and the Main from the right, and the navigable Ill from the left. A little below Mainz, the Rhine (six hundred and eighty-five yards wide) is turned west by the Taunus range; but at Bingen it forces a passage through, and pursues a northwesterly direction across Rhenish Prussia, past Coblenz, Bonn, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Ruhrort, and Wesel as far as the Dutch frontier; here it is one thousand and eighty-five yards wide and thirty-six feet above sea-level.
THE FAMOUS STRETCH FROMBINGEN TO BONN
The first half of this portion of the river from Bingen to Bonn is the Rhine of song and legend, the Rhine of romance, the Rhine of German patriotism. Its banks are clothed with vineyards that yield wine esteemed the world over; the rugged and fantastic crags that hem in its channel are crowned by ruined castles; the treasure of the Nibelungs rests at the bottom of the river (higher up, at Worms); the Bingerloch and the Mouse Tower of Bishop Hatto, the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, the rock of the siren Lorelei, the commanding statue of Germania (the trophy of German victory in 1870), and innumerable other features lend interest to this, the middle course of “Father Rhine.” Between Bingen and Bonn the steep rocky walls that fence in the river approach so close that road and railway have to find their way through tunnels. The Nahe enters the Rhine at Bingen, the Moselle at Coblenz; from the right side the Lahn enters above Coblenz. Gigantic rafts are floated down from the Black Forest to Dordrecht in Holland. Below Bonn the Rhine is joined by the Sieg, Wupper, Ruhr, and Lippe from the right.
PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE RIVER RHINE, THE MOST HISTORIC RIVER IN THE WORLD
Starting from the important city of Cologne and ascending the river. These pages and those immediately following give an almost photographic panorama of the entire Rhine valley as far as Mainz—the course of the river, its confluents, bridges, cities, villages, castles, fortresses, historic ruins and museums, and the general topography of the region through which river flows.
[Top left]Cologne Cathedral, the grandest Gothic church in the world. Begun in 1248, consecrated 1880. It has seven wonderful chapels.[Bottom left] University Bldgs.[Top right]Köln, or Cologne, sixth city in size in the German Empire, was originally an ancient Teutonic town and later an important Roman garrison. Its greatest ornament is the Cathedral. The city is encircled by a boulevard of great beauty. The Hahnentor Museum contains a famous collection of armor and weapon.[Center right] Hahnentor in Cöln[Center right]Bonnis 21 miles from Cologne, has a beautiful location, and is chiefly noted for its University, housed in the Electoral Palace built 1717-1730. It was a great Roman fortress and suffered many sieges. The Cathedral was founded by the mother of Constantine. In its cemetery are buried Niebuhr, the historian, Schlegel, Schumann, Arndt and Bunsen.[Bottom right]Beethoven’s birthplace in Bonn was at 20 Bonngasse. There is a bronze statue of the great composer in Münsterplatz.Large image(567 kB)
[Top left]Cologne Cathedral, the grandest Gothic church in the world. Begun in 1248, consecrated 1880. It has seven wonderful chapels.[Bottom left] University Bldgs.[Top right]Köln, or Cologne, sixth city in size in the German Empire, was originally an ancient Teutonic town and later an important Roman garrison. Its greatest ornament is the Cathedral. The city is encircled by a boulevard of great beauty. The Hahnentor Museum contains a famous collection of armor and weapon.[Center right] Hahnentor in Cöln[Center right]Bonnis 21 miles from Cologne, has a beautiful location, and is chiefly noted for its University, housed in the Electoral Palace built 1717-1730. It was a great Roman fortress and suffered many sieges. The Cathedral was founded by the mother of Constantine. In its cemetery are buried Niebuhr, the historian, Schlegel, Schumann, Arndt and Bunsen.[Bottom right]Beethoven’s birthplace in Bonn was at 20 Bonngasse. There is a bronze statue of the great composer in Münsterplatz.Large image(567 kB)
[Top left]Cologne Cathedral, the grandest Gothic church in the world. Begun in 1248, consecrated 1880. It has seven wonderful chapels.
[Bottom left] University Bldgs.
[Top right]Köln, or Cologne, sixth city in size in the German Empire, was originally an ancient Teutonic town and later an important Roman garrison. Its greatest ornament is the Cathedral. The city is encircled by a boulevard of great beauty. The Hahnentor Museum contains a famous collection of armor and weapon.
[Center right] Hahnentor in Cöln
[Center right]Bonnis 21 miles from Cologne, has a beautiful location, and is chiefly noted for its University, housed in the Electoral Palace built 1717-1730. It was a great Roman fortress and suffered many sieges. The Cathedral was founded by the mother of Constantine. In its cemetery are buried Niebuhr, the historian, Schlegel, Schumann, Arndt and Bunsen.
[Bottom right]Beethoven’s birthplace in Bonn was at 20 Bonngasse. There is a bronze statue of the great composer in Münsterplatz.
Large image(567 kB)
[Top left]Godesburg Castle.A fine mediæval castle on a hill overlooking the Rhine. Splendid view.[Top left]Rolandseckis half an hour’s sail above Königswinter on the right; and high on the hill above is the fragment of the castle said to have been built by Roland, paladin of Charlemagne, and rich in legends. See Bulwer’s “Pilgrims of the Rhine” for the story, which doubtless suggested Schiller’s ballad of “Ritter Toggenburg.”[Center left] Rolandseck[Center left]Remagenis renowned for its beautiful Gothic church on a hill just below the village. It was erected under the direction of Zwirner, the architect of the superb south portal of the Cologne cathedral and is adorned with large frescoes, which are masterpieces of Modern German art.[Top right] Königswinter is beautifully situated at the foot of the Siebengebirge, or Seven Mountains, and nearest the castles crag of Drachenfels (Dragon’s rock). The Siebengebirge form a picturesque volcanic group, 1,000 to 1,500 ft. high, about 5m. square, covered with forests and ruins. The prospect from Drachenfels and from the Petersberg are among the finest on the Rhine. A funicular railway reaches the top of the Drachenfels and the Petersberg. See story of “Nibelungenlied.”[Center right] A massive tower and ruined castle at Andernach memorialized in Longfellow’s “Hyperion.”Hammersteinis a 10th century castle where Henry IV. took refuge. It was held during the Thirty Years’ war by Swedes, Spaniards and Germans.[Bottom right] Andernach, with its ruined castle, ancient walls, and lofty watch tower is one of the most interesting towns on the Rhine. It was one of the 50 forts of Drusus; recaptured from the Alemanni by Julian in 339; a royal Franconian residence in the 6th century; an imperial town later; stormed by Cologne troops in 1496; and burned by the French in 1688. Nearby is the Benedictine Abbey of Laach, founded in 1093, with magnificent Romanesque church, on the vast crater-lake of the Laachser See.Large image(549 kB)
[Top left]Godesburg Castle.A fine mediæval castle on a hill overlooking the Rhine. Splendid view.[Top left]Rolandseckis half an hour’s sail above Königswinter on the right; and high on the hill above is the fragment of the castle said to have been built by Roland, paladin of Charlemagne, and rich in legends. See Bulwer’s “Pilgrims of the Rhine” for the story, which doubtless suggested Schiller’s ballad of “Ritter Toggenburg.”[Center left] Rolandseck[Center left]Remagenis renowned for its beautiful Gothic church on a hill just below the village. It was erected under the direction of Zwirner, the architect of the superb south portal of the Cologne cathedral and is adorned with large frescoes, which are masterpieces of Modern German art.[Top right] Königswinter is beautifully situated at the foot of the Siebengebirge, or Seven Mountains, and nearest the castles crag of Drachenfels (Dragon’s rock). The Siebengebirge form a picturesque volcanic group, 1,000 to 1,500 ft. high, about 5m. square, covered with forests and ruins. The prospect from Drachenfels and from the Petersberg are among the finest on the Rhine. A funicular railway reaches the top of the Drachenfels and the Petersberg. See story of “Nibelungenlied.”[Center right] A massive tower and ruined castle at Andernach memorialized in Longfellow’s “Hyperion.”Hammersteinis a 10th century castle where Henry IV. took refuge. It was held during the Thirty Years’ war by Swedes, Spaniards and Germans.[Bottom right] Andernach, with its ruined castle, ancient walls, and lofty watch tower is one of the most interesting towns on the Rhine. It was one of the 50 forts of Drusus; recaptured from the Alemanni by Julian in 339; a royal Franconian residence in the 6th century; an imperial town later; stormed by Cologne troops in 1496; and burned by the French in 1688. Nearby is the Benedictine Abbey of Laach, founded in 1093, with magnificent Romanesque church, on the vast crater-lake of the Laachser See.Large image(549 kB)
[Top left]Godesburg Castle.A fine mediæval castle on a hill overlooking the Rhine. Splendid view.
[Top left]Rolandseckis half an hour’s sail above Königswinter on the right; and high on the hill above is the fragment of the castle said to have been built by Roland, paladin of Charlemagne, and rich in legends. See Bulwer’s “Pilgrims of the Rhine” for the story, which doubtless suggested Schiller’s ballad of “Ritter Toggenburg.”
[Center left] Rolandseck
[Center left]Remagenis renowned for its beautiful Gothic church on a hill just below the village. It was erected under the direction of Zwirner, the architect of the superb south portal of the Cologne cathedral and is adorned with large frescoes, which are masterpieces of Modern German art.
[Top right] Königswinter is beautifully situated at the foot of the Siebengebirge, or Seven Mountains, and nearest the castles crag of Drachenfels (Dragon’s rock). The Siebengebirge form a picturesque volcanic group, 1,000 to 1,500 ft. high, about 5m. square, covered with forests and ruins. The prospect from Drachenfels and from the Petersberg are among the finest on the Rhine. A funicular railway reaches the top of the Drachenfels and the Petersberg. See story of “Nibelungenlied.”
[Center right] A massive tower and ruined castle at Andernach memorialized in Longfellow’s “Hyperion.”Hammersteinis a 10th century castle where Henry IV. took refuge. It was held during the Thirty Years’ war by Swedes, Spaniards and Germans.
[Bottom right] Andernach, with its ruined castle, ancient walls, and lofty watch tower is one of the most interesting towns on the Rhine. It was one of the 50 forts of Drusus; recaptured from the Alemanni by Julian in 339; a royal Franconian residence in the 6th century; an imperial town later; stormed by Cologne troops in 1496; and burned by the French in 1688. Nearby is the Benedictine Abbey of Laach, founded in 1093, with magnificent Romanesque church, on the vast crater-lake of the Laachser See.
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[Top left] Koblenz, the capital of Rhenish Prussia, is at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle, whence the Romans called it Confluentia. It is a powerful fortress, with heights crossed with enormous fortifications. The Palace contains interesting Electoral Hall and Festival Hall. The Rhine is crossed by a bridge of boats and by a very fine railway bridge. Across the Rhine is Ehrenbreitstein, (“Honor’s Broad Stone”), “The Gibraltar of the Rhine,” a vast fortress on a precipitous rock, 387 ft. above the river, and commanding a wonderful view. It has often been beleaguered but yielded only twice.[Bottom left] STOLZENFELS.[Top right]Stolzenfels(“Proud rock”), a fine castle of the middle ages, on a projecting rock overlooking the Rhine, belongs to the Royal Family of Prussia. It was presented by the city of Koblenz to King William IV. Here they say treasures are buried which Archbishop Werner acquired by his knowledge of alchemy. Fine view of the Lahn Valley and Koblenz.[Center right] Ehrenbreitstein[Bottom right]Braubach, an ancient little town, at the entrance of the valley that winds round the Marksberg, with a fine old Castle, the Marksburg, a fortress of the middle ages, one of the few ancient Rhine castles which escaped destruction.Large image(524 kB)
[Top left] Koblenz, the capital of Rhenish Prussia, is at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle, whence the Romans called it Confluentia. It is a powerful fortress, with heights crossed with enormous fortifications. The Palace contains interesting Electoral Hall and Festival Hall. The Rhine is crossed by a bridge of boats and by a very fine railway bridge. Across the Rhine is Ehrenbreitstein, (“Honor’s Broad Stone”), “The Gibraltar of the Rhine,” a vast fortress on a precipitous rock, 387 ft. above the river, and commanding a wonderful view. It has often been beleaguered but yielded only twice.[Bottom left] STOLZENFELS.[Top right]Stolzenfels(“Proud rock”), a fine castle of the middle ages, on a projecting rock overlooking the Rhine, belongs to the Royal Family of Prussia. It was presented by the city of Koblenz to King William IV. Here they say treasures are buried which Archbishop Werner acquired by his knowledge of alchemy. Fine view of the Lahn Valley and Koblenz.[Center right] Ehrenbreitstein[Bottom right]Braubach, an ancient little town, at the entrance of the valley that winds round the Marksberg, with a fine old Castle, the Marksburg, a fortress of the middle ages, one of the few ancient Rhine castles which escaped destruction.Large image(524 kB)
[Top left] Koblenz, the capital of Rhenish Prussia, is at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle, whence the Romans called it Confluentia. It is a powerful fortress, with heights crossed with enormous fortifications. The Palace contains interesting Electoral Hall and Festival Hall. The Rhine is crossed by a bridge of boats and by a very fine railway bridge. Across the Rhine is Ehrenbreitstein, (“Honor’s Broad Stone”), “The Gibraltar of the Rhine,” a vast fortress on a precipitous rock, 387 ft. above the river, and commanding a wonderful view. It has often been beleaguered but yielded only twice.
[Bottom left] STOLZENFELS.
[Top right]Stolzenfels(“Proud rock”), a fine castle of the middle ages, on a projecting rock overlooking the Rhine, belongs to the Royal Family of Prussia. It was presented by the city of Koblenz to King William IV. Here they say treasures are buried which Archbishop Werner acquired by his knowledge of alchemy. Fine view of the Lahn Valley and Koblenz.
[Center right] Ehrenbreitstein
[Bottom right]Braubach, an ancient little town, at the entrance of the valley that winds round the Marksberg, with a fine old Castle, the Marksburg, a fortress of the middle ages, one of the few ancient Rhine castles which escaped destruction.
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[Top left]St. Goarshausenis under the castle called The Cat, built in 1393, and blown up by the French in 1804. Above is the Lurlei rock, a precipice 433 ft. high, rising over whirlpools in the deepest and narrowest part of the Rhine, and the fabled seat of a siren who lured sailors to a tragic death.[Bottom left] RHEINSTEIN[Top right] St. GoarSt. Goaris overlooked by the grandest ruin on the river, the famous Rheinfels, dating from 1245; besieged often; now royal property.[Center right] Die „Lurlei“Oberweselis charmingly situated in the midst of the finest scenery of the Rhine. The Church of Notre Dame, south of the town, is a fine specimen of 14th century Gothic, with curious old pictures and monuments. The Chapel of St. Werner, erected in the 13th century, commemorates one of the old stories of child-murder by the Jews. Above the town are the ruins of Schönburg, built about the 12th century.Caub(left) is a little town with a big castle, Gutenfels, towering above it, and not far above, in the midst of the river is the Pfalz, built by Louis of Bavaria early in the 14th century.[Bottom right] The Niederwald.Large image(533 kB)
[Top left]St. Goarshausenis under the castle called The Cat, built in 1393, and blown up by the French in 1804. Above is the Lurlei rock, a precipice 433 ft. high, rising over whirlpools in the deepest and narrowest part of the Rhine, and the fabled seat of a siren who lured sailors to a tragic death.[Bottom left] RHEINSTEIN[Top right] St. GoarSt. Goaris overlooked by the grandest ruin on the river, the famous Rheinfels, dating from 1245; besieged often; now royal property.[Center right] Die „Lurlei“Oberweselis charmingly situated in the midst of the finest scenery of the Rhine. The Church of Notre Dame, south of the town, is a fine specimen of 14th century Gothic, with curious old pictures and monuments. The Chapel of St. Werner, erected in the 13th century, commemorates one of the old stories of child-murder by the Jews. Above the town are the ruins of Schönburg, built about the 12th century.Caub(left) is a little town with a big castle, Gutenfels, towering above it, and not far above, in the midst of the river is the Pfalz, built by Louis of Bavaria early in the 14th century.[Bottom right] The Niederwald.Large image(533 kB)
[Top left]St. Goarshausenis under the castle called The Cat, built in 1393, and blown up by the French in 1804. Above is the Lurlei rock, a precipice 433 ft. high, rising over whirlpools in the deepest and narrowest part of the Rhine, and the fabled seat of a siren who lured sailors to a tragic death.
[Bottom left] RHEINSTEIN
[Top right] St. GoarSt. Goaris overlooked by the grandest ruin on the river, the famous Rheinfels, dating from 1245; besieged often; now royal property.
[Center right] Die „Lurlei“Oberweselis charmingly situated in the midst of the finest scenery of the Rhine. The Church of Notre Dame, south of the town, is a fine specimen of 14th century Gothic, with curious old pictures and monuments. The Chapel of St. Werner, erected in the 13th century, commemorates one of the old stories of child-murder by the Jews. Above the town are the ruins of Schönburg, built about the 12th century.Caub(left) is a little town with a big castle, Gutenfels, towering above it, and not far above, in the midst of the river is the Pfalz, built by Louis of Bavaria early in the 14th century.
[Bottom right] The Niederwald.
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[Top left] Mouse Tower.The Mouse Tower(Mäuserturm) is situated on a rock in the middle of the Rhine, near Bingen. It is notable from the legend of Bishop Hatto’s tragic fate.[Top right] The Niederwald, opposite Bingen, is the great National Monument commemorating the restoration of the German Empire in 1870-71. It stands 740 feet above the river, and consists of a colossal statue of Germania, 33 feet high, upon a sculptured pedestal 78 feet high.[Center right] Bingen[Center right]Bingenis at the junction of the Rhine and the Nahe. The river scenery above Bingen is less interesting, though it is here the fertile and beautiful wine region begins. Rüdesheim, just across the river, has rich wines, far-viewing heights, wild legends, and a Roman fortress. On the heights is the Castle of Johannisberg, where Prince Metternich once lived. It is amid the best vineyards on the Rhine and commands a superb view. At Riebrich, opposite Mainz, is the beautiful palace of the Duke of Nassau.[Bottom right] Mainz.Mainz, or Mayence, with its magnificent cathedral, has been both a German and a French town. Thorwaldsen’s statue of Gutenberg, the inventor of printing, stands near the Cathedral. The Electoral Palace is a rich museum of Roman relics and an important picture gallery. The city is a noted wine center and trade emporium.Large image(592 kB)
[Top left] Mouse Tower.The Mouse Tower(Mäuserturm) is situated on a rock in the middle of the Rhine, near Bingen. It is notable from the legend of Bishop Hatto’s tragic fate.[Top right] The Niederwald, opposite Bingen, is the great National Monument commemorating the restoration of the German Empire in 1870-71. It stands 740 feet above the river, and consists of a colossal statue of Germania, 33 feet high, upon a sculptured pedestal 78 feet high.[Center right] Bingen[Center right]Bingenis at the junction of the Rhine and the Nahe. The river scenery above Bingen is less interesting, though it is here the fertile and beautiful wine region begins. Rüdesheim, just across the river, has rich wines, far-viewing heights, wild legends, and a Roman fortress. On the heights is the Castle of Johannisberg, where Prince Metternich once lived. It is amid the best vineyards on the Rhine and commands a superb view. At Riebrich, opposite Mainz, is the beautiful palace of the Duke of Nassau.[Bottom right] Mainz.Mainz, or Mayence, with its magnificent cathedral, has been both a German and a French town. Thorwaldsen’s statue of Gutenberg, the inventor of printing, stands near the Cathedral. The Electoral Palace is a rich museum of Roman relics and an important picture gallery. The city is a noted wine center and trade emporium.Large image(592 kB)
[Top left] Mouse Tower.The Mouse Tower(Mäuserturm) is situated on a rock in the middle of the Rhine, near Bingen. It is notable from the legend of Bishop Hatto’s tragic fate.
[Top right] The Niederwald, opposite Bingen, is the great National Monument commemorating the restoration of the German Empire in 1870-71. It stands 740 feet above the river, and consists of a colossal statue of Germania, 33 feet high, upon a sculptured pedestal 78 feet high.
[Center right] Bingen
[Center right]Bingenis at the junction of the Rhine and the Nahe. The river scenery above Bingen is less interesting, though it is here the fertile and beautiful wine region begins. Rüdesheim, just across the river, has rich wines, far-viewing heights, wild legends, and a Roman fortress. On the heights is the Castle of Johannisberg, where Prince Metternich once lived. It is amid the best vineyards on the Rhine and commands a superb view. At Riebrich, opposite Mainz, is the beautiful palace of the Duke of Nassau.
[Bottom right] Mainz.Mainz, or Mayence, with its magnificent cathedral, has been both a German and a French town. Thorwaldsen’s statue of Gutenberg, the inventor of printing, stands near the Cathedral. The Electoral Palace is a rich museum of Roman relics and an important picture gallery. The city is a noted wine center and trade emporium.
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THE LOWER RHINE FROM COLOGNETO THE SEA
At Bonn the river enters the plains, and almost immediately after passing the Netherlands frontier its delta begins. The principal arm, carrying two-thirds of the volume, flows under the name of the Waal, and later the Mermede, to Dordrecht, picking up the Maas (Meuse) from the left. At Dordrecht the river again divides for a bit, one branch, the old Maas, running out to sea; the other, the Noord, forming a loop by way of Rotterdam. The northern arm sends one branch, the Yssel, due north to the Zuider Zee; the other branch is the Lek, which runs into the Waal-Maas arm above Rotterdam.
A thin stream, called the “Winding Rhine,” leaves the Lek and splits at Utrecht into two channels, of which the Old Rhine, a mere ditch, manages with the help of a canal and locks to struggle into the North Sea at Katwyk, northwest of Leyden, while the Vecht flows due north from Utrecht to the Zuider Zee near Amsterdam. In the delta the streams have to be bordered by dykes.
THE RHINE IN EARLYEUROPEAN HISTORY
The Rhine was the Romans’ bulwark against the Teutonic invaders and was long a boundary between the province of Gaul and the German tribes. Under Charlemagne the Rhine valley became the focus of civilization. Except between 1697 and 1871 the Rhine was always a purely German river; at the peace of Ryswick, Alsace-Lorraine was appropriated by France, and the Rhine became part of the dividing line between France and Germany. In 1801 Napoleon incorporated the whole of the left bank with France; in 1815 the arrangement in force before 1801 was restored; and after 1871 the Rhine became once more wholly German. It has often been crossed by armies; twice by Julius Cæsar; again in the Thirty Years’ war, and in the wars of Louis XIV., the Revolution, and Napoleon. Its navigation was declared free in 1868.
The Rhine is connected by canals with the rivers Danube, Rhone and Marne. There is a railway along both its banks, but a steamboat is greatly preferable for viewing the incomparable course between Cologne (Köln) and Mainz (Fr., Mayence) as shown in panoramic form on preceding page. Its beauties are better displayed, also, at most points, in ascending the river than in descending it.
THE DANUBE(Ger., Donau), one of the most important rivers of Europe, and next to the Volga the largest, originates in two small streams rising in the Schwarzwald, or Black Forest, in Baden, Germany, and uniting at Donaueschingen, two thousand two hundred and sixty-four feet above sea level. The Germans occupy the entire upper basin, and portions of the middle and lower; the Slavs parts of both banks of the middle course; the Magyars the central portion of the valley; and the Roumanians the lower regions.
GENERAL COURSE OF THEGERMAN DANUBE
The river flows first southeast and then northeast to Ulm, one thousand, five hundred and nineteen feet above sea level. At Regensburg it reaches its most northerly point, and from thence its course is generally southeast. Between Regensburg and Vienna the banks of the river are frequently remarkable for their romantic beauty. At Tuttlingen it contracts and the hills crowd close to the banks, while ruins of castles crown almost every possible summit. The scenery is wild and beautiful until the river passes Sigmaringen.
THE AUSTRIAN DANUBE, FAMEDIN HISTORY AND SONG
From Passau the Danube flows through Austria for a distance of two hundred and thirty-three miles. Closed in by mountains it flows past Linz in an unbroken stream; below, it expands and divides into many arms until it reaches the famous whirlpool near Grein, where its waters unite and flow on in one channel for forty miles through mountains and narrow passes. Between Linz and Vienna it is renowned not only for its picturesque beauty, but for the numerous historic buildings and ruins which crown its banks. The splendid Benedictine monastery of Melk, the ruins of Durrenstein, and the prison of Richard the Lion-hearted are among the most interesting.
Vienna, to defend the city against risk of inundation, the course of the Danube skirting it was, in 1868-81, diverted into an artificial channel. Similar works have been undertaken near Budapesth, in Hungary.
FROM VIENNA TOTHE IRON GATE
After passing Vienna and Marchfeld, the river cuts through a defile formed by the lower spurs of the Alps and Carpathians and enters Hungary at the ruined castle of Theben, a little above Pressburg, the old Magyar capital. Here, again, it gives off a number of branches, forming a labyrinth of islands known as Schütten, but on emerging it flows uninterruptedly southward through wide plains interspersed with pools, marshes, and sandy wastes. The principal affluents here are the Save, the Drave, and the Theiss.
Sixty miles before entering Roumania the river passes through a succession of rapids or cataracts which it has made in cutting a passage for itself through the cross chain of hills which connect the Carpathian Mountains with the Alps. The last of these cataracts, at Old Orsova, is called the Iron Gate. Between 1878 and 1898, the Hungarian government carried through, at a cost of seven million five hundred thousand dollars, extensive engineering works at the gorges of the Iron Gates for deepening the channel and cutting a canal.
ITS JOURNEY THROUGH THE BALKANCOUNTRIES
The lower course of the Danube, in Roumania and Bulgaria, is through a flat and marshy tract, fertile but badly cultivated and thinly peopled. It forms the northern boundary of Bulgaria as far as Silistria; and from here it turns northward, skirting the Dobruja, and flows between marshy banks to Galatz, receiving on the way the Jalomitza and the Sereth. From[454]Galatz it flows east, and, after being joined by the Pruth from the north, it continues southeast to the Black Sea.
The delta is a vast wilderness (one thousand square miles) cut up by channels and lagoons; the farthest mouths are sixty miles apart. Two-thirds of the Danube’s volume passes through the Kilia, which, like the southern or St. George branch, forms a double channel near the outlet; and so ships enter by the middle or Sulina mouth, deepened to twenty feet and straightened in 1858-1903. The steel cantilever bridge across the river at Tchernavoda is one of the great railway bridges of the world.
ITS CHIEF TOWNS AND COMMERCIALIMPORTANCE
The principal towns on the Danube are Ratisbon, Vienna, Pressburg, Budapest, Belgrade, and Galatz. The width of the river varies considerably, and at some points the opposite shore is hardly discernible. It is first navigable at Ulm, and, thanks to various improvements, is now navigable continuously from that point to its mouth. Engineering work to this end, undertaken at Vienna, Budapest, and the Iron Gates has already been referred to. The International Danube Navigation Commission, appointed in 1856, controls the lower portion of the river, and has done much to improve navigation at the delta. Sea-going vessels of six hundred tons can now go nearly as far as the Iron Gates, while vessels of twenty-five hundred tons can go above Galatz. By means of canals the Danube is connected with the Rhine and the Elbe.
ITS PART IN HISTORY ANDINTERNATIONAL POLITICS
This mighty river is exceedingly rich in historical and political associations. For a long period it formed the frontier of the Roman Empire, and along its course are still found many notable Roman remains. Traces of the great wall erected by the Emperor Trajan are to be seen on the south side of the Hungarian Danube. At Turn Severin, east of the Carpathians, a tower and several piers of Trajan’s Roman bridge, a splendid piece of ancient engineering, are still standing; while his more marvelous road in the rocky Kazan defile is marked by a Roman tablet still visible.
The struggles of races and peoples in the lands bordering the Danube have been among the fiercest and strongest in all history. Finns, Kelts, Germans, Slavs, Greeks, Italians and Turks have all vied with one another in the race of conquest and possession; and even today the Balkan countries are still in the seething cauldron of new struggles for domination or independence.
The Lake Region of Europe lies round the Baltic.Ladoga, in Russia, is the largest fresh-water lake in Europe, as wide across as the English Channel, between Portsmouth and Cherbourg.Onega, and Peipus (Russia) are also of great size, as well as the lakes of Finland and Sweden, and some of those of the Alps. Chief of these are Wetter and Mœlar in Sweden; the myriad lakes of Finland; the beautiful lakes of the folds of the Alps, Geneva, Neuchatel, and Constance on the north side; and Maggiore, Como, and Garda in the Italian valleys. They will be noticed further under the countries to which they belong.
Of the nations of Europe it may be said that in point of rank Great Britain, Germany, France, Austria, and Russia stand first as the “five great powers.” These include within their limits more than two-thirds of the entire population of Europe, and have for a long time controlled all continental questions. Second come Italy, Spain, and Sweden; in third rank are Turkey, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, and Portugal.
Another grouping on the basis of race stocks is frequently made beginning with the highest in culture, theGermanic; passing thence to theRomanic; concluding with theSlavonic, and the lands under the rule of theTurks, lowest in the scale, which are most closely connected with the Mongols of Asia. The Germanic, or Teutonic nations, include Great Britain; the German Empire; Austria-Hungary; Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark); Holland, or the Netherlands; Switzerland, and Belgium. The Romanic nations include France; Italy; Spain; Portugal; Greece, and Roumania. The Slavonic nations, Russia in Europe; Servia, and Montenegro. The Turkish or Mongol nations, Turkey in Europe; Bulgaria.
For various reasons the first grouping is adopted in the pages following.
The British Empire, Great Britain and England are often erroneously used in the popular mind for one and the same nation. In strict accuracy the British Empire consists of (1) The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; (2) India, and the British Colonies, Protectorates, and Dependencies. Great Britain proper includes only England, Scotland and Wales. What is really meant is the geographical group of the British Isles, including England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the adjacent islands. For here is the source of power and authority that holds together and controls this greatest of modern empires.
Geographical Features.—The British Isles belong distinctly to the mainland of Europe. If we imagine the sea level between England and Holland to fall sixty feet—the height of an ordinary house—the broadDogger Bank, midway between England and Denmark, would begin to show its sands, and if a fall of two hundred feet took place one might walk dry shod across to the continent, to Belgium, Holland, or Denmark. From its shallows and banks, its stormy cross seas and frequent fogs, the navigation of theNorth Seais dangerous; yet the traffic over it is enormous, for it is surrounded by countries, the inhabitants of which have been famous on the seas from the earliest times.
The great highways of commerce from it areDover Strait, leading to the English Channel, in the south, and the stormyPentland Firth, which separates Scotland from the Orkney Islands, in the north. TheEnglish Channel, though deeper than the North Sea, is also shallow; the enclosedIrish Sea, between England and Ireland, withSt. George’s Channeland theNorth Channelleading out from it to the ocean, has been scoured deeper in its central lines; but there is a width of about fifty miles of shallow sea, or “soundings,” all round the islands, in the west, where they face the broad Atlantic.
Chief Islands and Divisions.—The main island of Great Britain, roughly triangular in shape, measures about six hundred miles in a straight line from its southwest corner, where the granite walls ofLand’s Endand the dark serpentine cliffs of theLizardrun out into the Atlantic, to the northern apex, the high red sandstone rocks ofDunnet Head, or its companionDuncansby Head, where John o’Groat’s House stood, on the beach of the Pentland Firth.
The base of the island, forming the north coast of the English Channel, measures only about half this distance, or three hundred and twenty miles; and the eastern side, from the chalk cliffs of theSouth Foreland, on the Strait of Dover, to the Pentland Firth, is about five hundred and forty miles long. No part of the interior of Great Britain is more distant than three or four days’ walk from the sea on one side or other. In the narrower parts of the north of Scotland, indeed, where the Moray Firth runs into the land, it is an easy day’s journey from the head of this inlet of the North Sea to that of one or other of the opposite sea lochs running in from the Atlantic.
The second island,Ireland, more rounded in general outline, measures three hundred miles fromMalin Head, its northernmost point, toMizen Head, its most southerly extremity, and two hundred miles fromCarnsore Point, its southeastern corner nearest England, toErris Head, its northwestern promontory on the Atlantic.
Smaller Islands.—The most extensive of the many island groups and islets are those which lie off the broken west coast of Scotland, the wild and rugged Outer and Inner Hebrides, of whichLewis, separated by the channel called the Minch, andSkye,Mull,IslayandArran, in the inner group, are the largest. TheOrkneygroup, separated from the north of Scotland by the turbulent Pentland Firth, consist of no fewer than fifty-nine rocky islets; and theShetlands, forty miles farther north, comprise upwards of a hundred separate points. The highIsle of Man, in the middle of the Irish Sea;Anglesey, close to the Welsh coast; and now united to it by the famous railway tubes across the Menai Strait; and theIsle of Wight, “the garden of England,” in the English Channel, separated from the mainland by the busy Solent, are the others of importance. The Channel Islands, of whichJerseyandGuernseyare the largest, belong politically to Britain, but are physically parts of France.
Surface: Mountains and Lowlands.—In the island of Great Britain the highest portions lie generally to north and west, the lowlands to south and east.
The heather-covered Highlands, which fill the north of Scotland, are divided by the great natural passage ofGlen More, which runs in a straight line across the island from northeast to southwest into two chief groups, the northern and central.
The northern group consists of irregularly-distributed and often almost isolated masses, separated, it may be, by deep sea-fiords, and presenting every variety of contour, from that of the round mass ofBen Wyvisto the steep, wall-like sides ofSuilveinor the sharp peak ofBen Stack. The Central Highlands or theGrampians, extending from the peninsula of Cantyre northeastward to the precipitous coast of Buchan on the North Sea, are far more massive and continuous.
Ben Nevis, a huge round mass ascending abruptly from the shores of Loch Eil at the mouth of the Great Glen, is the highest mountain of the British Isles.
The Southern Highlands of Scotland are more broken, and separated by river valleys.Mount Merrick, in the southwest, is their highest point; theLowther Hillsform their central group; thePentlands,Moorfoot, andLammermoorhills their more detached portions, on the northeast.
With the Cheviot Hills, the boundary range between Scotland and England, begins the longPennine chain, which reaches due south into the heart of England.Cheviot Hill, in the north,Crossfell, andWhernside, and thePeak of Derby, in the south, mark the summits and direction of the chain. To the west of the Pennine chain rises the compact circular knob of slate mountains of Cumberland, of whichScawfellis the summit of England proper. And corresponding to this mass, near the opposite coast, are the eastern moorlands andwoldsof Yorkshire.
Separated from the Pennine heights by the plain of Cheshire (west of England) rise the highlands of Wales, collectively called theCambrian Mountains.
Across the Bristol Channel we come to the heights of the southwestern peninsula of England, with its three groups ofExmoor,Dartmoor, with its rugged granite tors, and theCornish Heights. These are the more important mountain groups of Great Britain.
Over all the south and east of England the elevations are comparatively insignificant; broad, undulating, grassy uplands, called theSouth Downsand theChiltern Hills, rarely attaining more than eight hundred feet of elevation, follow the chalk formation across Southern England as far as Beachy Head on the Channel and the Foreland Cliffs on the Strait of Dover. The limestoneCotswold Hillsbetween these and the Welsh Highlands rise somewhat higher.
Almost all the lowlands of Great Britain lie to the east and south. Here we find the plain of the “New Forest” in Hampshire and the treelessSalisbury Plain, the broad openValley of the Thames, the “Eastern Plain” of Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, extending with rounded shores towards the North Sea; the low “Fen District” behind the shallow estuary of “The Wash,” from which many tracts have been reclaimed; the long “Plain of York” beyond; the valleys of the Tees and Tweed, the latter including the cultivated “Merse,” the march or border land of Berwickshire; the Scottish “Lowlands” between the Central and Southern Highlands; the “Carse” or alluvial plain of Gowrie, north of the Tay; “Strathmore,” the broad valley which extends between the Grampians and their southern outliers; theplain of Cromartyand the level moors of eastern Caithness farthest north of all. The only extensive lowlands on the western side of the island are the “Vale of Severn,” the “Plain of Cheshire,” between the Pennine chain and the Welsh Highlands, the lowlands round the estuary of the Solway, those of Ayrshire, and theValley of the Clyde.
Crossing over to Ireland, though we find the lines of elevation running generally in the same direction as those of Great Britain, or from northeast to southwest, as shown in the peninsulas of the southwest coast, the mountains appear rather in detached clusters than in definite ranges, with shapes rather rounded than abrupt, forming a fringe round the coasts. The plateau of Antrim, which forms the precipice ofFair Head, the nearest point to the Scottish coast, contains the remarkable basaltic scenery of the Giants’ Causeway.
Giants’ Causeway.—This extensive and extraordinary assemblage of basaltic columns is in the county of Antrim, between Bengore Head and Port Rush. The name is sometimes given to the whole range of basalt cliffs along the coast, some of which reach the height of four or five hundred feet; but it is more properly restricted to a small portion of it where a platform of closely-ranged basalt columns from fifteen to thirty-six feet in height runs down into the sea in three divisions, known as the Little, the Middle, and the Grand Causeway. The last is from twenty to thirty feet wide, and stretches some nine hundred feet into the sea.
The Giants’ Causeway derives its name from the legend that it was built by giants as a road which was to stretch across the sea to Scotland. There are similar formations on the west coast of Scotland, on the island of Staffa.
In the southwest are theMountains of Kerry, containingCam Tual, the summit of all Ireland. The only important groups that lie centrally in the island are the mountains of western Tipperary.
Within the circle of these heights, and branching out between them at many points to the sea-coast, lies theGreat Plain of Ireland, averaging perhaps two hundred feet in elevation above the sea. The highest point between Dublin and Galway, east to west across its center, is only three hundred and twenty feet above the sea-level. Many parts of it, such as that which surrounds Lough Neagh in the north, are scarcely fifty feet in elevation.
Rivers.—England and Ireland are very bountifully watered; Scotland rather less so, as the higher mountains of Great Britain rise in the west of the island, so the water-parting line following the greatest general height lies nearer the west than the east. The longer and gentler slope of the island is to the North Sea; the shorter and steeper to the Atlantic side. Hence most of the larger rivers belong to the North Sea drainage.
The Thames(Temz), the most important river of Great Britain, flows southeast by east across the southern portion of the country. It rises in the Cotswold Hills and follows a course of some one hundred and ninety miles to Gravesend, the head of the estuary, where it has a width of half a mile, gradually increasing then to ten miles at the Nore lightship about thirty miles farther. By the addition of its tributaries the Colne, Leach, and Churn, it becomes navigable for barge traffic at Lechlade, where the canal to the Severn leaves. Above Oxford the stream is frequently called the Isis. At Oxford the navigability improves, and river steamers ply between Oxford and points below it as far as London. Until the Tower Bridge, in London, was built, London Bridge was the lowest in the course, and ocean-going vessels still reach the latter.
Gravesend, twenty miles lower, grew up at the spot where vessels waited the turn of the tide; a little farther the Medway, by virtue of its estuary the most important tributary, enters; just inside this is Chatham, an important naval depot. Opposite Gravesend and on the north bank is Tilbury, the terminus of modern liners. The waters from the Tilbury docks to the Nore lightship are of great strategic importance, hence there is here a station for destroyers, torpedo-boats, and gun-boats. Sheerness and Shoreham as land defenses add to this.
From London Bridge downward the Thames is lined with docks and wharves, the former being now under the Port of London authority. At Woolwich, on the south bank, eight miles below London Bridge, is the arsenal, and a little farther up the river Greenwich Observatory.
Historically, the Thames is unsurpassed by any river of the world. A slight rise surrounded by marsh on the left bank formed the first point suitable for bridging a strategic site for London, the tide giving facilities to it as a port, while yet placed well up the river for defensive purposes. Still farther up, a dominating site in the lower valley was found at Windsor for the mediæval kings. In Anglo-Saxon times the kingdoms were divided by the river, and the break in the Chiltern Hills at Goring was a check in the line of aggression.
Above London the scenery is rich and beautiful, though not romantic, the numerous islands lending a peculiar charm. The Thames is the best beloved of English rivers for those who boat for pleasure. During the summer the Thames is a favorite holiday resort, house-boats being frequently the temporary homes of pleasure-seekers;[457]and regattas are held at Henley, Kingston, and other places. For boat-racing, it divides the honors with the Tyne. The Thames watermen are renowned in song and story. Since Spencer’s days “the silver-streaming Thames” has been sung by England’s poets; Herrick calls it “Silver-footed Thamesis;” Denham’s apostrophe is famous; and Pope has word-painted much of the scenery of its banks.
Other British Rivers.—The next longest river to northward is theGreat Ouse, navigable from the west for ninety miles to Bedford; then we come to the group of rivers which water the long plain of York, and unite in the estuary of the Humber, including theTrentfrom the south, navigable one hundred and five miles to Burton; theYorkshire Ouse, navigable forty-five miles to the city of York, with its main tributary theDerwent. Farther north are theTeesandWear, and the busyTyne. Passing into Scotland, we reach theTweed, valuable for its fisheries, but unnavigable; theForth, winding in links through the fertile lowland, navigable to Stirling; theTay, navigable to Perth; the rapidDeeandSpeyfrom the Grampians, and theNessfrom the lakes of Glenmore.
On the western or Atlantic side of Britain, the largest river, the second in drainage area in the island, is theSevern, drawing its upper tributaries from the Welsh mountains, and its chief lower affluent, the navigableAvon, from England, curving round to the British Channel; it is navigable to Welshpool, one hundred and twenty miles from its mouth. TheMersey, though a short river, forms one of the most important estuaries of the island, the “Liverpool Channel.” Scarcely less valuable in this respect is the lowerClyde, the most important commercial river of Scotland, navigable to Glasgow, and forming in its upper valley the largest falls in the island.
Almost all the river estuaries of Britain are great highways of commerce; the Solway Firth, between England and Scotland on the west coast, is the most important exception, its swift and strong tides, rushing in over the sands so fast that a galloping horseman can scarcely escape from them, being exceedingly dangerous to shipping. Besides these estuaries many natural harbors lie round the coast. Such are the sheltered Solent and Portsmouth harbor behind the Isle of Wight, Plymouth Sound farther west, and Milford Haven on the south coast of Wales, unsurpassed perhaps in the world as a deep and spacious harbor thoroughly sheltered from all winds.
British Lakes.—The lakes of South Britain are comparatively few and small.Bala Lake, only four miles long, is the largest in the Welsh Highlands; in England the only considerable group is that which clusters round the knot of mountains in Cumberland, known through the rare interest that has been added to this district by the group of illustrious poets who made it their home about the beginning of the nineteenth century.
English Lake District.—Within this area are grouped as many as sixteen lakes ormeres, besides innumerable mountaintarnsand streams. The district extends about thirty miles from north to south by about twenty-five from east to west, and contains within its compass the utmost variety and wealth of natural scenery, soft and graceful beauty ever alternating closely with grandeur and sublimity.
Windermere, the largest of the lakes (ten and one-half miles by one mile), lies in the southeast corner of the district and is connected with Rydal Water, Grasmere, Elther Water, and Esthwaite. To the west rises the Scawfell range, terminating in the Old Man of Coniston, which rises above Coniston Water, and to the east of the Scawfell range lies Wastwater (three miles long), the deepest of all the lakes. In the northeast is Ullswater, with the sequestered Hawes Water to the southeast. To the west of Helvellyn is Thirlmere, which is the reservoir for the water supply of Manchester, dammed in 1890-1894. The river Derwent, rising in the Scawfell range, flows north through Borrowdale and forms Bassenthwaite and Derwentwater, the most beautiful of the lakes. Westward from Borrowdale opens a valley in which lie Buttermere and Crummock Water, and between these and the Derwent valley is Ennerdale Water. There are several waterfalls, the chief, perhaps, being Lodore, near Derwentwater. Near Derwentwater lies Keswick, the chief town of the district, while Ambleside and Bowness (Windermere) and Hawkshead (Esthwaite) are other places of importance.
Of the lake school of poets, Wordsworth was the acknowledged head and founder, and his home for sixty years was in the Lake District. Southey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and De Quincey were the chief of the group, and Shelley, Scott, Carlyle, Mrs. Hemans, Matthew Arnold, Edward Fitzgerald, Tennyson, Gray, and Charles Lamb, although not directly associated with the school, were connected with the district.
Scotch Lakes.—Scotland abounds in lakes in all three Highland districts, and their number increases towards the north.Loch Lomond, twenty-four miles long, in the largest in Britain,Loch Awe,Loch Tay,Loch Rannoch, andLoch Ericht, may be mentioned as the largest of those in the Grampian valleys.Loch Ness, twenty-four miles long and eight hundred feet deep, withLoch OichandLoch Lochy, fills the deep trench of the Great Glen between the Grampians and the Northern Highlands;Loch Shin, twenty miles long and only one mile broad, andLoch Maree, are the largest of the Northern Highland region. On the western watershed of the Northern Highlands, however, lakes are so thickly sown that hundreds may be counted from a mountain top, and the Outer Hebrides are covered with a perfect network of them.
Irish Rivers and Lakes.—In Ireland, in contrast to Britain, the watersheds are more evenly divided toward all points of the compass; the greatest drainage, however, is westward to the Atlantic. On this side we find the largest river, theShannon, one hundred and sixty miles long, draining an area second only to that of the Thames in extent, and affording a navigable highway over the central plain almost up to its source. TheErneis another large river of the western drainage of Ireland. Flowing northward we find theFoyle, and theBannpassing through Lough Neagh, and navigable for fifty-five miles. On the eastern watershed theLiffey, from the Wicklow Mountains, is the most important stream; theBarrow, navigable to Athy, seventy miles from its fine estuary of Waterford Harbor, receiving near its mouth the almost equally importantNoreandSuir, is the chief river of the southern drainage; theBlackwater, affording twenty-two miles of navigation, and theLee, flowing to Cork (Queenstown) Harbor, are the other notable rivers of this slope.
The lakes of Ireland, in contrast to those of Britain, belong rather to the plain than to the mountain regions.Lough Neagh, in the basin of the Bann in the north, is the largest of all in the British Islands, one hundred and fifty-four square miles in area, twenty miles in length. The lakes of theErne, upper and lower, stand next in size;Loughs CorribandMaskin Connaught, joined by a subterranean channel, are the largest in the west. The Shannon has three large expansions,Loughs Allen,Ree, andDerg. Most famous for their scenery, however, are the much smaller highlandLakes of Killarney, embosomed[458]in the southwestern mountains of Kerry, and considered the finest in Great Britain.
Climate.—Their maritime situation has a favorable effect on the climate of the British Isles, making it milder and more equable than that of continental countries in the same latitude.
Peoples of the British Isles.—During the four centuries in which the Romans held the lowlands of South Britain, many of the native British tribes became Romanized, but the Celtic peoples of the mountain regions of Wales, the Scottish Highlands, and of the west of Ireland, have retained their language and more or less pure blood to the present day. After the fall of the Roman power the invading Anglo-Saxons and Jutes conquered the island, and to their strong Germanic element followed that of the brilliant Normans, or Northmen who had settled in Normandy, and who had there adopted the religion, language, and manners of the French.
Thus the population of these islands is a mixed Celtic, Germanic, and Romanic one, all its elements being more thoroughly amalgamated in the populous lowlands of Britain, the Celtic remaining purer in the highland regions, which are more difficult of access. In Ireland the Teutonic element prevails along the eastern margin; thence towards the western mountains the transition is gradual to the pure Celtic.
Religion.—In religion, rather more than half the population of England claims membership in the Church of England; the most prominent other bodies being the Wesleyan Methodists, the Independents, and Baptists. About a twentieth part of the population is Roman Catholic.
Cities.—The three largest cities in Wales are Cardiff, Rhondda, and Merthyr Tydfil. The capital of England and of the British Empire is London. The cities next in size (in order of population) are Liverpool, Manchester and Salford, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Bristol, Bradford, Nottingham, and Hull.
The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh. Glasgow is the industrial metropolis, followed by Dundee, and Aberdeen. After these come, in order of population, Paisley, Leith, Greenock, Coatbridge, Kilmarnock, Kirkcaldy, Perth, Hamilton, Motherwell, and Falkirk.
The capital of Ireland is Dublin; the other chief towns are Belfast, Cork, Limerick, and Londonderry.
There are numerous other cities, towns, villages and districts notable for industrial, educational, historical, literary, or other associations.