NORD, the most northern of the departments of France, formed out of Flanders, French Hainault, and the district of Cambrais (Cambrésis), lies between 50° and 51° 6' N. lat., and between 2° 5' and 4° 15' E. long., but in such a way that, while it has a length from south-east to north-west of 112 miles, its breadth is nowhere more than 40 miles, and contracts to 4 at the point where it is crossed by the Lys. Bounded N.W. and N. for 21 miles by the North Sea, it has the Belgian provinces of West Flanders and Hainault on the N.E. and E., the departments of Aisne and Somme on the S., and that of Pas-de-Calais on the W. The Flanders portion to the west of the Scheldt is very flat, the hill at Cassel, only 575 feet high, rising like a mountain, and looking north towards Dunkirk over a stretch of 155 square miles of richly fertile lowlands, which about a thousand years ago were still covered by the sea. To the south-east of the Scheldt the country has the character of the neighbouring district of Ardennes, is better wooded, and contains the highest point in the department (875 feet). The greater part of Nord is in the Scheldt basin, but certain portions belong to those of the Sambre (Meuse), the Oise (Seine), and the little coast-streams the Aa and the Yser. The Scheldt, flowing by Cambrai, Bouchain, Valenciennes, and Condé, receives the Scarpe, which touches Douai, Marchiennes, and St Amand. The Lys, which does not join the Scheldt till it has entered Belgium, passes Armentières, and receives the Deule, on which Lille is situated. The Sambre passes Landrecies and Maubeuge. The Aa falls into the port at Gravelines. The climate of Nord is colder than that of France in general, the mean temperature being 49° or 50° Fahr. The rainfall is 12 inches at Dunkirk and a little ...

NORDERNEY(i.e., northern island), the most important of the fringe of sand-islands along the coast of East Friesland, belongs to the Prussian province of Hanover. It is 8 miles long and about 1 mile broad, and supports a seafaring and fishing population of (1880) 2114 souls, of genuine old Frisian stock. The village at the south-west end of the island is one of the most popular sea-bathing places in Germany, and is visited annually by 9000 visitors, for whose accommodation numerous hotels and lodging-houses have been built. On the south side rises a lighthouse 175 feet high. At low tide Norderney may be reached from the mainland by driving or walking.

NORDHAUSEN, a flourishing town in Prussian Saxony, in the district of Erfurt, is situated on the Zorge, at the south base of the Harz mountains, and at the west end of the Goldene Aue (Golden Plain), a fruitful valley watered by the Helme. It is built partly on the slope of the mountains and partly on the plain, and the upper and lower parts of the town are connected by flights of steps. Among the churches the most noteworthy are the cathedral, a late Gothic edifice with a Romanesque crypt, and the church of St Blasius, containing two pictures by Lucas Cranach. Near the mediaeval town-house stands a Roland’s column, the ancient symbol of free commercial intercourse and civic liberty. The chief importance of the place arises from its distilleries, which yearly produce about 8,000,000 gallons of brandy. The breweries are also important, and there are manufactures of leather, tobacco, cotton and linen goods, carpets, chicory, and chemicals. Nordhausen is sometimes called the Cincinnati of Germany on account of its extensive export trade in pork, corned beef, ham, and sausages. In 1880 it contained 26,198 inhabitants, of whom 23,943 were Protestants, 1255 Roman Catholics, and 494 Jews.

Nordhausen, one of the oldest towns in North Germany, was surrounded with walls in the 10th century, and is spoken of as a free imperial town in 1220. Several diets, tournaments, and assemblies of princes were held here during the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries. It appears to have usually placed itself under the protection of a prince of the empire, and in 1697 we find the elector of Brandenburg selected for this purpose. It was annexed to Prussia in 1803 and again finally in 1815, having in the interim belonged to the kingdom of Westphalia.

NÖRDLINGEN, a town of West Bavaria in the district of Schwaben und Neuburg, is situated on the Eger, 40 miles to the north of Augsburg. It was formerly an imperial town, with an independent territory of 35 square miles in extent, and is still surrounded with walls and towers. The most interesting buildings are the Gothic Hauptkirche and the late Gothic town-house, both of which contain paintings by Schäufelein, who was a native of Nördlingen. There are here manufactures of carpets (sold as Tyrolese carpets), linen and woollen goods, and agricultural implements; and a brisk trade is carried on in geese, goose feathers, cattle, and grain. In 1880 the population was 7837, including 6990 Protestants.

From 898, when we first find it mentioned, down to 1215 Nordlingen was subject to the bishop of Ratisbon; but soon after the latter date it acquired the freedom of the empire. It was annexed to Bavaria in 1803. Two battles were fought near Nordlingen during the Thirty Years’ War, in the former of which (1634) the Swedes sustained their first defeat on German soil, losing 12,000 men. A full account of these battles is given by Colonel Malleson in the Army and Navy Magazine, November 1883.