KOVNO, a north-western province of European Russia, is bounded on the N.E. and S.E. by the provinces of Courland and Vilna, and on the S. and S.W. by Russian Poland and by Prussia, a narrow strip touching the Baltic near Memel. It has an estimated area of 23,680 square miles. The level uniformity of its surface is broken only by two low ridges which nowhere rise above 800 feet. The geological character is varied, the Silurian, the Devonian, the Jurassic, and the Tertiary systems being all represented; the Devonian is that which occurs most frequently, and all are covered with Quaternary boulder-clays. The soil is either a sandy clay or a more fertile kind of b 1 .ack earth. The government is well watered by the Ni emen, the Windau, the Courland Aa, and the Duna, which have navigable tributaries. In the flat depressions covered with boulder-clays there are many lakes and marshes, whilst forests, now greatly reduced, still cover about 18 per cent, of the surface of the government. The climate is comparatively mild, the mean temperature at Kovno being 44° Fahr. The population (1,156,040 in 1870) is very varied, consisting of Lithuanians proper and Zhmuds, Jews, Slavs, and Germans; 82 per cent, are Catholics, 13 Jews, 3 Protestants, and 2 belong to the Greek Church. The Poles number only 3000, and the Russians (White, Little, and Great) 182,000. The chief occupation of the inhabitants is agriculture, 60 per cent, of the whole surface being under crops; both grain and potatoes are exported. The yield of corn (2,270,000 quarters prior to 1857) is now about 2,879,000 quarters per annum. Flax is also cultivated, and the linseed is exported. Stock-breeding is not carried on to any considerable extent; but, owing to the number of lakes, the fishing industry has some importance. ...The manufacturing industries, if distillation be left out of account, are trifling. Trade, especially the transit trade, is brisk, from the situation of the government on the Prussian frontier, the custom houses of Yurburg and Taurogen being among the most important in Russia. Kovno has seven districts :—Kovno, Novoalexandrovsk, Ponevyezh, Rossieny, Shavli, Telshi, and Vilkomir. The principal towns are Kovno (32,050 inhabitants), Shavli (15,400), Vilkomir (11,150), Rossieny (10,700), and Novoalexandrovsk (8250).
The territory which now constitutes the government of Kovno was formerly part of Lithuania. During the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries the Livonian and Teutonic knights continually invaded and plundered it, especially the western part which was peopled with Zhmuds. In 1569 it was annexed, along with the rest of the grand principality of Lithuania, to Poland; and it suffered very much from the wars of Russia with Sweden and Poland, and from the invasion of Charles XII. in 1701. In 1795 the principality of Lithuania was annexed to Russia, and until 1872, when the government of Kovno was constituted, the territory now forming it was a part of the government of Vilna.
Kovno, the Kaune of the Lithuanians, capital of the above government, is situated on the railway between St Petersburg and Berlin, 503 miles south-west from the former. It consists of two parts, the new town, built on the right bank of the Niemen, and an old town, situated on the left bank of the Vilia which here joins the Niemen. By its situation at the confluence of two navigable rivers, some few miles above the mouth of the Nevyaja, and close to a place where the Niemen sharply changes its northern direction into a western one, Kovno, which is supposed to have been built in the 11th century, soon acquired importance both as a fortified place and as a centre for trade. In its early history it often suffered from the attacks of the crusaders, and fell alternately under their dominion and under that of Lithuanians. Its citadel was destroyed in 1400, and from that time it became the centre of an active trade, being visited by German and English merchants. In the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries it was the chief emporium for trade with Lithuania, and rivalled Königsberg. Henry of Valois said it was the best jewel of the kingdom. But continuous wars destroyed this commerce, and, when Kovno became a Russian town, in 1795, it was already a very poor place, which numbered in 1817 but two hundred houses. Owing to its advantageous situation, it has again acquired commercial importance. It has several remarkable old churches, two of which have been transferred to the Greek confession, and a beautiful old guild-hall now transformed into an imperial palace. Its population (33,050) is most varied; one half are Jews engaged in petty trades and commerce. Salt, salted fish, coal, and various manufactured wares are brought here from Prussia on vessels which return with cargoes of corn, linseed, timber, rags, bones, and wool, purchased in the governments of Vilna, Minsk, Grodno, and Tchernigoff.
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