930 WITTENBURG.

Wittenburg. A city of Prussian Saxony, in thegovernment of Mersberg. It stands on the banks ofthe Elbe, on a sandy level soil, and is strongly fortifiedboth by nature and art. Wittenburg is a place ofconsiderable antiquity, and it was here that the greatreformer Luther, from his academical chair, firstexposed the corruptions of the catholic church. InOctober, 1821, a monumental colossal statue of Lutherwas erected in Wittenburg, with great solemnity.After it ceased to be the residence of a court, it wasfound inadequate to the support of the university, andthe latter was annexed to that of Halle, and its placesupplied by a gymnasium or classical school. Since1815 this town has been ceded to Prussia. Thepopulation amounts to 5000 persons. It is sixtv-ninemiles N. N.W. of Dresden, and forty N.N.E. ofLeipsic.

Woburn. A considerable town in Bedfordshire,which is a place of some antiquity, and has twice beendestroyed by fire ; once in 1595, and again in 1724.It is now regularly built, and has a market-house intire Doric style of architecture.

Woburn abbey of the Cistercian order was foundedin 1145, by Hugh de Bolebec, and was dissolved in1537, when the revenues amounted to 39U. perannum; this, with a variety of church property indifferent parts of the kingdom, forming at present amagnificent income, was bestowed on lord Russel,ancestor of the duke of Bedford, whose seat occupiesthe site of the abbey, about one mile from the townof Woburn. It is a modern quadrangular building,handsome but heavy ; the west front has four Ioniccolumns, and the east four fluted Doric ones ; theinterior contains a large gallery of portraits, and acollection of Italian and Dutch paintings ; and in thepleasure ground is a sculpture gallery formed by thepresent duke, which contains a group of the gracesby Canova, which cost 3000/. The park is twelve milesin circuit, and contains a large herd of deer.

Woburn contains 1827 inhabitants, and is forty-two miles N.N.W. of London.

WOLFENBUTTEL, Or BrUNSW'ICK WOLFENBUTTEL.An independent duchy of Germany, composed ofseveral scattered territories in the circles of Upperand Lower Saxony and Westphalia. It contains1615 square miles, and 210,000 inhabitants. Thewhole is divided, for the purpose of local government,into six districts, of which the principality of Wolfen-buttel retains four.

Wolfenbuttel. The capital of the above duchy.It stands on the banks of the river Oker, and itsenvirons are fertile ; but they contain some marshes,which render the air somewhat unhealthy. Thepublic buildings are the castle, formerly the residenceof the dukes of Brunswick, three principal churches,the chancery, ami arsenal. The public library islarge, but the books are in general old. Wolfenbuttelhas a ducal high school, also other schools, and aLutheran convent. It is also the seat of a court ofjustice, and of a consistory. The manufactures, thoughon a small scale, comprise linen, leather, soap, and silk.Wolfenbuttel contains 7000 inhabitants, and is thirty-seven miles E.S.E. of Hanover.

Wolga. A river of Russia, which has the longestcourse, and, with the exception of the Danube, thelargest volume of any river in Europe. It risesamong the Valdai mountains, in lat. 57° N.,and takesa direction in general eastward, but with many wind-ings, until reaching the city of Kazan. Below Kazan

-WOOLWICH.

it receives the Kama, which brings to it the tributeof a great extent of country. It then flows southward,and forms the boundary between Europe and Asiaduring several hundred miles, till reaching Tzarystyn,when, turning to the east, it approaches the Caspian]and, after separating into a great number of branchesdischarges itself into that sea near Astrachan.

Wolverhampton. A borough-town in the countyof Stafford. It stands on a rising ground, aboutfourteen miles from Birmingham, and "has increasedin political importance with such rapidity within thelast century, that, at the passing of the reform act in1831, it was created a borough-town, and now sendstwo members to the British parliament. Wolver-hampton is celebrated for its manufacturing industrv,and especially for the excellence of its iron and tingoods. The population amounts to nearly 70,000persons, and it is 123 miles north-west of London.

Woodbridge. A market-town in the county ofSuffolk, which is believed to have derived its namefrom a wooden bridge built over a hollow way, tomake a communication between two parks, separatedby the road which leads by the market-place towardsIpswich. The streets, though narrow, are paved,and the longest is nearly a mile in extent. The mar-ket-place isi clean and well built. The riverD eben,on which this town is situated, discharges itself intothe sea about ten miles below it, and is navigable upto the town. Here are two quays. This place isgenerally admired by travellers for its healthy andsalubrious air. A considerable trade is carried onhere in corn, flour, malt, cheese, coals, timber, deals;wine, foreign spirits, porter, drapery, and ironmongerygoods. Woodbridge contains nearly 5000 inhabi-tants, and is seventy-seven miles north-east of London.

Woodstock. A borough-town in the county ofOxford, standing on the banks of a rivulet whichflows into the Isis. The inhabitants, who amount toabout 7000 persons, are employed in the manufac-ture of gloves, for which they have long been cele-brated. In the vicinity of Woodstock is Blenheim-house, the magnificent seat of the duke of Marlbo-rough. This edifice has a very extensive park andpleasure ground annexed to it, which was bestowedon the ancestor of the present noble proprietor byqueen Anne, as a reward for his bravery in the conti-nental wars which were carried on with great activityat that period. Woodstock sends one member tothe British parliament, and is sixty-two miles W.N.W.of London, and eight N.N.W. of the city of Oxford.

Woolwich. A market-town in the county ofKent, which stands on the banks of the Thames. Itwas originally but an obscure fishing village, but inthe reign of Henry VIII. it was raised to importanceby the erection of a royal dock-yard. During theeighteenth century it enjoyed a much greater share ofprosperity than it had previously, in consequence ofthe erection of the arsenal, and its becoming the headquarters of the royal artillery, whose numbers weremuch augmented during the late war. As its inhabi-tants depended almost entirely on the governmentestablishments for employment, the return of peace,and the consequent reduction of those establishments,have given a fatal blow to the prosperity of Woolwich,whose streets now appear comparatively deserted.The Thames, opposite to Woolwich, is very wide athigh-water, and is brackish on the flood ; a small partof the parish is on the Essex side of the river, but itis included in the county of Kent. As the channel