Brunswick also possesses in Prussian Silesia the principality of Oels, which from 1647 to 1792 belonged to Wurtemberg. A portion of the Hartz Mountains is common to Brunswick and Hanover, and is consequently known as the Communion-Hartz. Various minor arrangements have been made with Prussia for the more convenient organization of this district since the formation of the new German empire. The highest point of the mountains in the Brunswick territory is the Wormberg, 3230 feet in height. The principal rivers by which the duchy is watered are the Ocker, the Weser, the Aller, and the Leine. The lower parts of the country are generally fertile and well cultivated; the higher are mostly covered with forests of fir, oak, and beech. A very extensive improvement has been effected in the circle of Helmstedt by the draining of the Drömling swamp, and the rectification of the courses of the Aller and the Ohre. Of the whole duchy 32 ’ 7 per cent, is arable, 27’3 consists of meadow and pasture, and 31’8 is under wood. Agricultural and pastoral pursuits constitute the principal employment of the inhabitants; and the peasant class are usually well to do. The principal articles of cultivation are grain, potatoes, beetroot, flax, hops, and fruits. The growing of tobacco, which was formerly of great importance, is now very limited. In 1870 there were in the duchy 25,344 horses, 83,558 head of cattle, 386,757 sheep, 75,616 swine, 39,167 goats, 55,829 geese, and 8385 bee stocks. The mineral wealth of the country, which is chiefly derived from the Hartz Mountains, consists of copper, lead, iron, gold, silver, sulphur, coal, salt, and alum. In 1867 the total yield of coal was 219,400 tons, of iron ore 58,400, of pig-iron 143,000, of cast-iron 1584; the copper amounted to 383 tons; the lead to 710, and the vitriol to 1339. The manufactures, which are comparatively small, comprise (besides the preparation of the ores) spinning, weaving, and brewing. The principal iron-works are at Rübeland, Wieda, Delligsen, and Oker; and the chief centres of general industry are Brunswick and Schöningen. An active trade is carried on by means of the extensive railway communication with the rest of Germany.

The educational institutions comprise two ecclesiastical seminaries, an anatomical and surgical college, an architectural school at Holzminden, an agricultural school at Schöppenstedt, 5 gymnasiums, 25 burgher schools, and upwards of 400 village schools, besides several important establishments in the capital (see below). There is an extensive lunatic asylum at Königslutter, opened in 1865.

According to the constitution of 1832, which has been frequently modified, the Government is an hereditary monarchy, with a legislative assembly of representatives. These are chosen, by the law of 1851, twenty-one by those citizens who pay the largest amount of taxes, ten by the towns, three by the clergy, and a certain number by the communes. They hold office for six years, one-half going out triennially; and when they are not in session, they are represented by a standing committee of seven members. In the federal council the duchy has two votes, and it sends three deputies to the imperial diet. The ducal contingent, which still wears its famous black uniform, forms part of the 10th federal army corps. The state is the proprietor not only of a large proportion of the mines and forests in the duchy, but also of its railways. From these sources it derives a considerable part of its revenue, which in recent years has been augmented by the farming out of lotteries. By the budget for the period 1873-5, the annual receipts were fixed at 7,429,400 marks, or £371,470. The total debt, which had been mainly incurred for the formation of the railways, amounted to 65,400,000 marks, or £3,270,000.

The people of Brunswick are, with comparatively few exceptions, of Saxon race. The country people speak dialects of Low German, while High German is employed by the educated classes in the cities.

The more immediate ancestor of the house of Brunswick was Henry the Lion, who, in the 12th century, held the united duchies of Bavaria and Saxony; but having refused to aid the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in his wars with the Pope, he was, by decree of the diet in 1180, deprived of both duchies, and only left the possession of his allodial domains of Brunswick and Lüneburg. His grandson, Otho, was invested in 1235 with these domains as a fief of the empire, and thus became the first duke of Brunswick. The two principalities which had been severed were united by Ernest the Confessor, but on his death in 1546, they were again divided between his two sons; the elder (or rather his son Augustus) receiving Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, or Brunswick, and the younger Brunswick-Lüneburg, or Hanover. The ducal residence, which had before been at Wolfenbüttel, was in 1754 removed to Brunswick by Duke Charles. His successor, Duke Charles William Ferdinand, married Augusta, daughter of George III. of England ^e commanded the Prussian troops at Auerstädt in 1806, and soon after died of the wounds he had received in the battle. His possessions were immediately seized by Napoleon, and formed part of the kingdom of Westphalia till after the battle of Leipsic, when the duchy was restored to its rightful possessor, Frederick William, youngest son of the preceding duke. This prince fell at the head of his troops at Quatre Bras, and was succeeded by Charles Frederick, the elder of his two sons,who, being at that time a minor, was placed under the tutelage of George IV. of England, then prince-regent. The duke entered on the exercise of his authority in October 1823, but in consequence of a revolution in 1830 was obliged to abdicate in 1831 in favour of his brother William, the present duke. During the long reign of duke William many important changes have taken place in the internal organization of the duchy, and most of them have been in the direction of greater civil liberty. Of great moment was the establishment of a new criminal code in 1840; and publicity of parliamentary discussion, the freedom of the press, the introduction of jury-trials in criminal cases, and the legitimation of Christian-Je wish marriages were secured in 1849. In 1851 military service was recognized as binding on all, and the election of members of parliament was placed more directly in the hands of the people. In 1864 the Stolgebühren, or taxes paid to the established clergy on the occasion of a baptism, a marriage, or a burial, were made no longer leviable on Jews, Roman Catholics, or other dissenters. The introduction of the German commercial code was effected in 1864, and freedom of trade was introduced in the same year. Treaties of mutual inheritance exist between the houses of Hanover and Brunswick; and should the present duke, who is still unmarried, die without issue, the duchy will pass to the house of Hanover. The ex-duke, to whose sons the right would first have descended, died childless at Geneva in August 1873. He had spent his life in pitiable devotion to certain hobbies, the most remarkable of which was the collection of valuable diamonds. His various treasures were bequeathed to the city of Geneva, but the will is disputed by the present duke.

Brunswick, the capital of the above duchy, is situated on the Ocker, 37 miles E.S.E. of Hanover by rail, and 52 W.N.W. of Magdeburg, in 52° 16'N. lat. and 10° 32 z E. long. In spite of the numerous alterations effected during the present century, the city is still of an antiquated appearance, and is for the most part contained within the limits of its old fortifications. These, which were dismantled in 1797, have given place to a regular circle of gardens and promenades, which rank among the finest in Germany.

The ducal palace is a handsome modern structure, erected since 1865, when the most of the previous building, which only dated from 1831, was destroyed by fire. The famous Quadriga of Rietschel, which perished at the same time, has been replaced by a copy by Howald. Among the ten or twelve churches in the town the most important are the cathedral of St Blaise, built by Henry the Lion in 1173; St Magnus’s, which is the oldest, dating from 1031; St Andreas, with a spire 318 feet high; and St Catherine’s, a building of the 13th century. The educational and charitable institutions of Brunswick are numerous and important. Of the former may be mentioned the Collegium, Carolinum, founded in 1745, the great United Gymnasiums (which include the former commercial gymnasium, the Martineum, and the Catherineum), the Medico-Chirurgical College, and the Academy of Forestry; while among the latter are a deaf and dumb institution, a blind asylum, an orphanage, and various hospitals and infirmaries. There are also two public libraries, a museum, a theatre, and several scientific societies. A monument, 60 feet high, to Duke Frederick William, who was slain at Quatre Bras, gives its name to Monuments-Platz, and another to the S.E. of the town perpetuates the memory of Schill and his companions. The trade of Brunswick, formerly restricted by obsolete legislation, is gradually increasing. The principal articles of manufacture are coarse cloth and leather; and, to a smaller extent, gloves, papier-maché, and paper wares. The town has long been famous for a special kind of beer, called Mumme, from the name of the Brunswick brewer who invented it in 1492. In 1867 the population amounted to 50,369, inhabiting 3487 houses, and divided into 10,850 families. In 1871 it had increased to 57,883.

Brunswick is said to have been founded about 861 by Bruno, duke of Saxony, from whom it was named Bτunonis Vicus. Afterwards enlarged and fortified by Henry thé Lion, it became one of the most important cities of Northern Germany. For a long time its constitution was rather peculiar, as it consisted of five separate townlets, each with its own walls and gates, its own council and Rathhaus,—a condition of which traces are still evident. In the 13th century it ranked among the first cities of the Hanseatic league, but it never succeeded in obtaining imperial freedom. After this, however, it declined, in consequence of the many divisions of territory among the branches of the reigning house, the jealousy of the neighbouring states, the Thirty Years’ War, and more recently the French occupation. In 1830 it was the scene of a violent revolution, which led to the removal of the reigning duke.

BRUNSWICK, a town of the United States of America, in Cumberland County, Maine, 27 miles N.N.E. of Portland, on the right bank of the Androscoggin River, which, with a fall of about 50 feet in half-a-mile, supplies a large amount of water-power. Numerous industrial establishments have been erected, the most important being a cotton factory, flour-mills, and bleach-works. The lumber-trade, which was formerly of great extent, has been in great measure replaced by the building and owning of ships. Besides possessing an excellent system of graduated schools, Brunswick is the seat of Bowdoin College, founded in 1802, and of the Maine Medical School, which dates from 1820. The river is crossed by two bridges, one of which unites the town with Topsham, and the other belongs to the Kennebec and Portland railway. Population in 1850, 4927; in 1870, 4687, or including the neighbouring village, 6136.