COBLENTZ (German, Coblenz), the capital of Rhenish Prussia, is pleasantly situated at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle. From this circumstance it derived its ancient name of Confluentes, of which Coblentz is a corruption. This city is still of consequence from a military point of view, since it commands the junction of two great rivers. Its fortifications, which are very extensive, not only protect the town, but connect the works on the left bank of the Rhhιe with the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein on the other side of the river. The city is almost triangular in shape; two sides are bounded by the Rhine and Moselle, the third by strong fortifications. These are pierced by two massive gates, the Lohr and Mayence gates, with drawbridges over the fosse. The military works, which were constructed on the combined systems of Carnot and Montalembert, include no fewer than 26 forts, and form a fortified camp capable of containing 100,000 men. The Rhine is crossed here by a bridge of boats 485 yards long, and by the Iron Bridge, built for railway purposes in 1866 The Moselle is spanned by a Gothic freestone bridge of 14 arches, 1100 feet in length, erected in 1344, and also by a railway bridge. In the more ancient part of Coblentz are several buildings which possess an historical interest. Prominent among th ∙se, at the point of confluence of the rivers, is the church of St Castor, built in the early Lombard style of architecture, and surmounted by four towers. The church was originally founded in 836 by Lewis the Pious, but the present edifice is considerably less ancient. It was here that the sons of Charlemagne met in 843, when they divided the empire into France, Germany, and Italy. In front of the church of St Castor stands a fountain, erected by the French in 1812, ...