The general average of comfort in Tyrol is high, and the cost of living is very moderate. The peasant and his family are clothed in stuffs spun and woven at home, from the wool and flax produced in their own neighbourhood. The people are for the most part somewhat reserved in manner, but courteous and hospitable. The savage fights which used to be a favourite pastime among the younger men are now almost, or quite, a thing of the past. In some valleys there is a good deal of musical talent; and companies of Tyrolese singers, particularly from the Ziller valley, travel about all over Germany. The zither is a favourite instrument, especially in the southern valleys; in the northern the guitar is more frequent. The religion is almost exclusively Roman Catholic; but in Innsbruck there are some hundreds of Protestants. The priests belong chiefly to the peasant class, and receive their education at Brixen and the university of Innsbruck. This contains about 600 students in the various faculties and possesses a library of some 60,000 volumes. There is a diet, or landtag, with its seat at Innsbruck, consisting of thirty-four representatives of the peasants, thirteen of the citizens, four of the prelates, ten of the nobles, three of the chambers of commerce at Innsbruck, Botzen, and Roveredo, and one of the university of Innsbruck. To the imperial reichsrath Tyrol sends eighteen members. Tyrol is garrisoned by troops recruited exclusively in Tyrol and Vorarlberg, and never, except in time of war, employed outside these provinces. Besides this there are the landwehr and the landsturm or militia.

History.— The country corresponding to modern Tyrol first appears in history when the Rhaetians were subdued by Drusus and Tiberius. This nation, by some held to have been cognate with the Etruscans, occupied the valleys from the source of the Rhine to that of the Drave. To the north of them were the Vindelici, and to the east the Norici; the former were apparently separated from them by the ridges north of the Inn, the latter by the watershed between the Etsch and the Drave. Pliny (N . H., iii. 24) gives the names of all the tribes. After their subjection by Rome these races became Romanized and shared the fortunes of the empire. Their position ou and about the roads by which the central Alps are most easily crossed laid them especially open to inroads, and before the end of the 3d century the Alemanni had traversed the country. In the course of the next three centuries this people settled in the north-western valleys. But the peopling of the greater part of the province by Teutons was effected by the Baiu-varii, who were by the year 600 established throughout nearly the entire remainder of German Tyrol, some of the Romanized Rhaetians probably being left, mixed with a few Alemannic stragglers, in the upper Vintschgau, while the Lombards pressed up from the southward and took possession of the district around Trent. The Alemanni and Baiuvarii, governed immediately by their own dukes, owned a kind of allegiance to the kings of the Franks, and ultimately became in the time of Pippin and Charles incorporated in the Frankish monarchy. The country was then divided for administrative purposes into counties (comitatus, Grafschaften), under counts, whose rank, at first merely official, in course of time became, with their office, hereditary. The most powerful among them appear to have been those of the Vintschgau, where a fertile soil and a climate less rigorous than that of the northern valleys allowed more development of wealth. In the 12th century the counts of Tirol begin to be conspicuous. This was a small district near Meran, taking its name from the ancient castle of Tirol, known in the later Roman time as Teriolis. These, in the course of the next century, acquired the lordship over nearly all the territory now contained in the province of Tyrol south of the main chain of the Alps, besides the advocacy (Schirmvogtei) of the wealthy sees of Brixen and Trent. Meantime the valley of the Inn and those adjoining it had come under the dominion of the counts of Andechs, a Bavarian fami. . who were also titular counts of Meran. The last of these died without issue in 1248. His wife’s sister, Adelaide, married to Meinhard, count of Görz, was left in sole possession of nearly the whole of the province. Their son Meinhard II. (1257-1295) was connected with some of the most powerful houses in Germany; and, being a man of great ability and equal unscrupulousness, he succeeded in acquiring the few outlying portions of territory and castles still belonging to the smaller nobles, and thus consolidated Tyrol within the limits by which it has ever since been bounded. Carinthia and Styria also formed part of his domains; but their connexion with Tyrol has never been other than a personal one. Meinhard II. was succeeded in turn by his sons Otho and Henry. The latter (1310-1335), a weak and extravagant prince, seems to have done much towards organizing the government of the country. His elder daughter Margaret, known in Tyrolese history and legend as Die Maultasche, “the Pocket-mouth,” the heiress of his territories, took as her second husband (in 1342) Louis of Brandenburg. Their son Meinhard III., who succeeded to the county on his father’s death in 1361, died in 1363. Margaret thereupon made over all her possessions to the house of Hapsburg, and since that time Tyrol has formed part of the hereditary dominions of the archdukes of Austria (see Austria). The fidelity of the Tyrolese to their counts has for many centuries been proverbial. The Brenner has more than once offered them a secure line of retreat and the mountains a rampart of defence. Maximilian I. (1493-1519) had an especial affection for Tyrol. He conferred on the province its present title of Die gefürstete Grafschaft ; he profited on more than one occasion by the refuge it afforded; he spent much of his time within it; and at his death he directed that a sumptuous monument to himself should be erected in the Franciscans’ church at Innsbruck. Tyrol has more than once been the scene of sharp fighting. In 1499 the men of Graubünden or the Grisons (see Switzerland) invaded the country and defeated the Tyrolese in the neighbourhood of Mals. In 1703 Max Emmanuel, elector of Bavaria, penetrated the upper Inn valley, but was driven back. During the wars of the French Revolution French and Austrian armies met more than once within the limits of the province. By the treaty of Pressburg, 1805, the province was transferred to Bavaria. On the renewal of war between Bonaparte and Austria in 1809 the people rose and expelled the Bavarians, and afterwards, under the leadership of Andrew Hofer, an innkeeper of the Passeir valley, repeatedly defeated the French, Bavarian, and Saxon forces. Innsbruck was more than once taken and retaken; and on 12th August Hofer, after defeating Marshal Lefebvre, was installed in the capital as commandant. But the ill-success of the Austrian arms elsewhere prevented any support from being sent, and by the treaty of Schönbrunn in October the Tyrolese were again given up to their new rulers. Hofer, being captured through treachery, was shot at Mantua, 20th February 1810. On the fall of Bonaparte, Tyrol reverted to the house of Hapsburg.

See A. Jäger, Die Verfassung Tirols, Innsbruck, 1881-85; Egger, Die Tiroler und Vorarlberger, Innsbruck, 1872-79; Steub, Drei Sommer in Tirol, Stuttgart, 1871 (2d ed.).

Agriculture.— The hilly portions of the county are unsuitable for tillage; but in the lower districts the soil is remarkably fertile, and agriculture is generally practised after improved methods, the county in this respect being in advance of most parts of Ireland. The excellent pasturage of the hilly districts affords sustenance to a large number of young cattle. The total number of holdings in 1885 was 27,958, of which 16,469 or nearly two-thirds were each between 5 and 30 acres in extent (8365 between 5 and 15 and 8104 between 15 and 30). Only 43 were above 500 acres; 642 were between 100 and 500 acres, 2373 between 50 and 100, 3937 between 30 and 50, 2573 between 1 and 5, and 1921 did not exceed 1 acre. There were 237,528 acres under crops, including meadow and clover (255,281 acres in 1876), 318,550 acres under grass, 1765 fallow, 9378 woods, 72,071 bog and marsh, 109,539 barren mountain land, and 30,112 water, roads, fences, &c. The area under com crops decreased between 1876 and 1885 from 115,738 acres to 105,343,— oats from 114,223 acres to 104,040, and wheat from 1166 to 1013. The areas under the other corn crops are very small and fluctuate considerably. The area under green crops between 1876 and 1885 decreased from 64,971 to 59,387 acres,—potatoes from 44,001 to 40,649, turnips from 17,157 to 15,581, mangel wurzel from 750 to 487, and other green crops from 3063 to 2670. Flax (23,901 acres in 1876) covered 16,364 acres in 1885. The area under meadow and clover in 1876 was 50,671, and in 1885 56,434, but there has been no increase since 1878. The number of horses decreased between 1876 and 1885 from 25,038 to 23,185, of mules from 71 to 49, of asses from 1124 to 921, of cattle from 176,841 to 168,072, of sheep from 45,274 to 44,434, and of pigs from 49,012 to 39,530. On the other hand, the number of goats increased from 7950 to 8984, and of poultry from 674,826 to 737,859.

According to the latest landowner’s Return (1876), the county was divided among 2787 proprietors owning 775,285 acres at a total annual value of £426,224, the average value per acre being nearly 11s. Of the proprietors 1070 owned less than 1 acre each, the total distributed amongst them being 272 acres. The estimated extent of waste land was 4000 acres. The following possessed over 10,000 acres each—duke of Abercorn 47,615 acres, earl of Castlestuart 32,615, earl of Caledon 29,236, commissioners of church temporalities 28,002, Sir John Μ. Stewart 27,906, Arthur W. Cole Hamilton 16,683, representatives of Sir William M'Mahon 16,326, Sir William Verner 16,043, earl of Belmore 14,359, Thomas Arthur Hope 13,996, Lord Dorchester 12,608, Michael Smith 10,968, Louisa Elizabeth De Bille 10,455, and Thomas R. Browne 10,125.

Communication .—Besides Lough Neagh and the Ulster Canal, Tyrone has the river Foyle, which is navigable for small craft to a point opposite St Johnstone, and thence by artificial cutting to Strabane, and the Blackwater, which is navigable for boats to Moy. The Great Northern Railway intersects the county by Dungannon, Pomeroy, Omagh, Newtown Stewart, and Strabane.

Manufactures.— The manufacture of linens and coarse woollens (including blankets) is carried on. Brown earthenware, chemicals, whisky, soap, and candles are also made. There are a few breweries and distilleries, and several flour and meal mills. But for the lack of enterprise the coal and iron might aid in the development of a considerable manufacturing industry.

Administration and Population.— The county comprises 8 baronies, 46 parishes, and 2164 townlands. Formerly it returned two members to parliament, the borough of Dungannon also returning one; but in 1885 Dungannon was disfranchised and the county arranged in four divisions—east, mid, north, and south—each returning one member. It is in the north-western circuit, and assizes are held at Omagh and quarter-sessions at Clogher, Dungannon, Omagh, and Strabane. There are fourteen petty sessions districts within the county and portions of four others. The county is in the Belfast military district.

From 312,956 in 1841 the population had decreased by 1861 to 238,500, by 1871 to 215,766, and by 1881 to 197,719 (96,466 males and 101,253 females). In 1881 there were 109,793 Roman Catholics (119,937 in 1871), 44,256 Protestant Episcopalians (49,201 in 1871), 38,564 Presbyterians (42,156 in 1871), 3597 Methodists (3115 in 1871), and 1509 of other denominations (1357 in 1871). The number of persons in the county who could read and write in 1881 was 98,764, who could read only 38,783, the remainder (60,172) being wholly illiterate. Twenty-two persons could speak Irish only and 9796 Irish and English. For the seven years ending 1885 the average number of emigrants annually was 3085. The population of the principal towns in 1881 was—Strabane 4196, Omagh (the county town) 4138, Dungannon 4084, and Cookstown 3870.

History and Antiquities.— Anciently Tyrone was included in the portion of Ulster made “sword-land” by the Scots. It became a principality of one of the sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages, and from his name—Eogain—was called Tir Eogain, gradually altered to Tyrone. From Eogain were descended the O’Neals or O’Neills and their numerous septs. The family had their chief seat at Dungannon until the reign of Elizabeth, when it was burned by Hugh O’Neill to prevent it falling into the hands of Lord Mountjoy. The earldom of Tyrone had been conferred on Con Bacagh O’Neill by Henry VIII., but he was driven into the Pale by one of his sons Shan, who with the general consent of the people was then proclaimed chief. From this time he maintained a contest with English authority, but his last remaining forces were completely defeated near the river Foyle in May 1567. During the insurrection of 1641 Charlemont Fort and Dungannon were captured by Sir Phelim O’Neill, and in 1645 the Parliamentary forces under General Munro were signally defeated by Owen Roe O’Neill at Benburb. At the Revolution the county was for a long time in the possession of the forces of James II. Dungannon was the scene of the famous volunteer convention in 1782. Raths are scattered over every district of the county. There is a large cromlech near Newtown Stewart, another at Tarnlaght near Coagh, and another a mile above Castlederg. At Kilmeillie near Dungannon are two circles of stones. The monastic remains are of comparatively little interest. There are still some ruins of the ancient castle of the O’Neills, near Benburb, and among other ruined old castles mention may be made of those of Newtown Stewart, Dungannon, Strabane, and Ballygawley.