WIRTEMBURG.

of the upper court are situated the state apartments,and on the south various apartments belonging to theofficers of state. The lower court is chiefly remark-able as containing that beautiful structure St. George’sChapel. Around the castle is a magnificent and trulyroval park, well stocked with timber, and the nearvicinity of the Thames adds much to the scenery ofWindsor and its neighbourhood. We subjoin asketch of the edifice since its late extensive repairs.

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Windsor sends two members to the British parlia-ment, and contains a population of 7071 persons. It istwenty-two miles W. by S. of London.

Wirtemburg. A state of 30uth-west Germany,which, since 1806, has borne the title of a kingdom.The sovereign is member of the Germanic confedera-tion, to which he furnishes a contingent of troops, butthe entire revenues of the kingdom do not exceed700,000/. The towns of Wirtemburg are but thinlyscattered ; the principal one is Stutgard, the capital,which contains 22,000 inhabitants.

The surface of the country is mountainous ; on theeast runs the Suabian Alb, or Alp, and on the westernedge the Black Forest; and from both several branchesrun in all directions into the country. The Alb isnot so high as the Black Forest, but of a rougheraspect; it presents limestone and sandstone. Severalremarkable caves are found in it. None of the moun-tains in Wirtemburg reach the line of snow; thehighest point of that part of the Black Forest lyingin Wirtemburg is the Katzenkopf, or “ Cat’s Head,”3603 feet in height, and the highest point of the Albis the Sternberg, 2776 feet above the level of the sea.There are no plains, but fertile valleys, of which thoseof the Neckar and Danube are the principal. Theprincipal rivers are the Neckar, which receives theKocher, the Jaxt, and the Enz ; the Danube, whichreceives the Iller and the Blau; the Tauber; theSchussen; and the Arzen. The two latter fall intothe Lake of Constance, which is the only large lakein the kingdom. The climate is mild and healthy,though in the higher parts the winters are verysevere.

A few small tracts excepted, Wirtemburg is one ofthe most fertile and well-watered countries in Ger-m any. It generally consists of champaign lands,and pleasant well-watered vales; abounding in everynecessary of life. Its fertility is such, that muchmore grain is raised than suffices for internal con-sumption, and hence considerable quantities areexported. But this grain is chiefly that species de-nominated spelt; rye and wheat being much less

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cultivated here. Of all the other sorts of grain, thereis, however, a sufficiency. Flax and hemp arealso cultivated. The valleys, which are some ofthem eight miles in length, are almost covered withforests of fruit-trees, which are also abundant in otherparts of the country, cider and perry being the liquorsdrunk by the peasants when wine happens to bescarce and dear. Their mountains are rich in mine-rals and covered with vines. In 1826 there were inthis kingdom 597 vineyards, comprising 82,729 acres.The total wine produced was estimated at 184,380kilderkins, value 3,990,831 florins. Their wines arerich, palatable, and wholesome, and are generallydenominated Neckar wines; though each has a pe-culiar name of its own, received from the part whereit is produced. Cherries are grown in great quantityin the districts of the Alb and the Black Forest, andused for making the celebrated strong liquor calledkirschwasser. Game and poultry are abundant, andlarge herds of horned cattle are reared in variousparts of the country.

Wirtemburg is an agricultural and not a manu-facturing country; only in a few towns are establishedmanufactures of any extent. Several branches ofindustry, however, such as spinning, weaving, andlace-making, are carried on in this country, besidesagriculture. Distilleries and oil-mills of great extentare found in several towns. The balance of ex-portation and importation stands in favour of Wir-temburg. The articles of exportation are cattle, fatoxen, corn, wood, tar, potash, oil, and a few articlesof industry; those of importation are colonial goods,silk, and different articles of foreign manufacture.

The inhabitants are, with the exception of about8000 Jews, and some families of Waldenses, and othercolonists, all of German descent, speaking partly theFranconian and partly the Suabian dialect. Therewere, in 1817, about 950,632 Lutherans, 432,616catholics, 2308 of the reformed creed, and 500 or600 of other sects; the proportions of the differentdenominations remain, in all probability, much thesame still, although the gross population has con-siderably increased. There is no established religion.The king himself may profess any Christian creed.

Wirtemburg is one of the most enlightened coun-tries in Germany ; it has produced a great numberof scholars, and two of the most celebrated modernpoets of Germany. Wieland and Schiller werenatives of this country. Perhaps no country in Ger-many, of the same extent, has produced so manydistinguished scholars—an honour for which it isindebted to the excellent establishments for edu-cation which have always existed here. There is oneuniversity, a number of gymnasiums, lyceums, andhigh schools, and several seminaries for protestantand catholic clergymen, and schoolmasters. Almostevery village has its own school, which is carefullyinspected, and provided with well-informed school-masters from the seminary at Eslingen. A speciallaw directs that every child must attend school fromsix to fourteen years of age, so that, in ancient Wir-temburg at least, there is scarcely one individual whocannot read and write.

Wirtemburg extends from Ion. 8° T to 10° 30' E.,lat. 45° 36' to 49° 45' N. The great natural featuresof this country are its broken mountain masses andimmense forests. The two principal rivers are theDanube and the Neckar, and on the whole it com-prises some of the most fertile districts in Germany.N N N