DANTZIC-
g 5 E. of Luneburg and fifty-four N. E. of Zell.Lon.’ 11° 11' E., lat. 53° Y 57" N.
Dantzic. A commercial city and fortress on thewest bank of the Vistula, about five miles from theBaltic, in the government of the same name, in thePrussian province of West Prussia, and 300 milesfrom Berlin. It has a very agreeable situation, inthe midst of a beautiful country. Exclusive of thesuburbs, it is about two miles in circuit, and is nei-ther regularly nor handsomely built. Including thesuburbs, it contains 5172 houses, and 54,756 inhabi-tants, of whom 2148 are Jews. Its fine harbour andadvantageous situation have procured it an extensivecommerce by land and sea. It was an importantmember of the Hanseatic league, and was often calledthe granary of the North. As early as the tenthcentury, it was called Gedance. For a long period,it continued to change masters with the territory inwhich it lies. The Danes, Swedes, Pomeranians andTeutonic knights contended for its possession. In1310, it fell into the hands of the last. The industryof the inhabitants soon restored its importance andprosperity, which had been diminished by the frequentwars, and inspired the citizens with such energy, that,in 1454, Dantzic declared itself independent, and wassoon after recognised as such by the republic ofPoland. The city then struck its own coins, withthe image of the king of Poland, maintained a secre-tary at Warsaw, and voted in the diets of the king-dom, and at the election of king, by a deputy.
In 1772, the city was almost surrounded by thePrussian dominions; its trade, industry and popu-lation continually declined, and the last king ofPoland declared that he must leave Dantzic to itsfate. May 28, 1793, the Prussians took possessionof the outworks: the people immediately flew toarms, and a short struggle ensued, which, after a fewdays, terminated with the surrender of the city. Itsoon after regained its former prosperity, under thePrussian government, and continued to flourish tillthe breaking out of the war between France andPrussia. March 7, 1807, Dantzic was besieged bymarshal Lefevre, and surrendered on the 24th ofMay. The marshal was afterwards rewarded withthe title of duke of Dantzic. A military contributionof 20,000,000 of francs, to be paid by instalments, waslevied on the city. By the peace of Tilsit, however,Dantzic was recognised as a free city, with a juris-diction of two leagues in extent, which was afterwardsenlarged to ten miles by Napoleon, under the pro-tection of France, Prussia, and Saxony; but, beingoccupied by a French garrison, it was not allowed toenjoy its independence. A French governor, generalRapp, continued in the garrison.
In 1808, the Code Napoleon was introduced ; and,by the continental system, its most important branchof support, the commerce with England, was cut off.Under such unfavourable circumstances, the year1812 drew nigh, bringing the heavy burdens of theRussian war. December 31, the city was declaredin a state of blockade. After a very obstinate de-fence of nearly a year’s continuance, a capitulationwas entered into, Jan. 1, 1814. On this day, all thePoles and Germans were dismissed, and, on the 2nd,the French marched out, to be conducted, as prisonersof war, to the interior of Russia. During this block-ade and siege, 309 houses and warehouses wereburnt, 1115 buildings damaged, and ninety men per-ished by hunger. Feb. 3, 1814, Dantzic fell again
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under the dominion of Prussia; and on the 26t.h ofDecember in the following year, great damage wasdone by the explosion of a powder magazine.
There are in this city important manufactures ofgold and silver lace, cloth, woollen stufls and Cor-dovan leather : sugar-refineries, brandy and other dis-tilleries, the vitriol, potash, &c. manufactories, are like-wise considerable. An important article of commercein Dantzic is corn, which is brought down the Vistulafrom Poland, and exported to England, Holland, andthe Hanse towns. Other articles of export are tim-ber, leather, wool, furs, butter, tallow, wax, honey,potash, hemp and flax. The principal edifices worthyof notice are, the high church of St. Mark (in whichis the Judgment Day, by Van Eyck), the synagogue,the academical gymnasium, the marine institute, thebuildings of the society of natural history, includingtheir observatory'. This society celebrated its 84thanniversary, Jan. 2, 1826. It has also published itsmemoirs. On the side of the city between the Vis-tula and Nogat, is the fertile island of Werder, whichsupports numerous herds of cattle ; and at the mouthof the former lies the fort of Miinde, which defendsthe roads of Dantzic, called Neufahrwasser. April 9,1829, the Vistula, swollen by the melting of the snowin the interior, and choked by masses of ice, brokethrough the dyke, which extends twenty-five milesup the river, overwhelming fifty villages in its pro-gress. The lower town of Dantzic was inundated,and the houses filled to the roofs. The torrentswept over the city, carrying away many houses andwhatever they contained. On the 12th, the watersbegan to abate; but, as late as the 14th, many suf-ferers were still remaining on the roofs of the houses,unable to obtain relief, and destitute of food.
Danube. A river, which was called by the Romans,from its sources to Vienna, Uanubis, and lower down,liter. It has three sources, the Brege, Brigacb, anda little fountain in the yard of the castle of princeDonaueschingen, in Baden, 2050 feet above the levelof the sea (Ion. 10° 30' 15" E., lat. 47° 58' N.), nearwhich the united waters receive the name of Danube.After its junction with the Iller, above Ulm, it be-comes navigable, being from eight to twelve feetdeep, runs through the kingdom of Bavaria, thenfrom Engelhartszell to Orsowa (644 miles), throughAustria, and finally through Turkey, until it falls intothe Black Sea, after a course of 1547 miles, and afterhaving received thirty navigable rivers and ninetyother streams. It discharges itself through fivemouths, called Kili, Suline, Kedrillo, Portessa, andIslawa Bogasi. The first is the chief and the deepestoutlet, and is now within the dominions of Russia,since Bessarabia was ceded to this power by theTurks. The fourth and fifth mouths are likewisenavigable. The Danube discharges so much waterinto the Black Sea, that the addition is perceptiblein the latter, at a distance of several miles. Its cur-rent embraces the waters of the Schwarzwald (theBlackForest), the Bohmerwald (the Bohemian Forest),the Alps of Tyrol, Stiria, Carinthia, and Carniola,and the Morlachian, Carpathian, and Bulgarian moun-tains. The whirlpools have been rendered less dan-gerous by the labour of man in Germany and Hun-gary, but the shallows of Orsowa, and the tyrannicalrestrictions of the Turkish government, obstruct thesubsequent navigation. Many species of fish aretaken in the river. The most known is the sturgeon.From the times of the Romans, through the period of