KONIGSBERG

KONIGSBERG. In the recent division that has been made of those parts of the dominion of Prussia that are out of Germany, East Prussia has been formed into two governments, viz. Königsberg and Gumbinnen. The former of these is composed of the territory formerly called East Prussia, and a small part of Lithuania. It is bounded on the north by Russia, on the east by the province of Gumbinnen, on the south by Poland, and on the west by the Baltic Sea and the province of Dantzic. Its extent is 8910 square miles. It contains forty-eight cities or places formerly walled, thirteen market-towns, 3717 villages, and 76,949 houses. The inhabitants in 1826 were 683,925, of whom about 450,000 were Protestants, 110 Catholics, and the rest consisted of Jews, Moravians, and Menonites. It is generally a level country, presenting few elevations, and these scarcely higher than 200 feet above the level of the sea. It is a district in which are to be seen numerous lakes, some of great extent. The largest of these, the Kurische-Haff, extends over 620 square miles; and the next in size, the Frische-Haff, is upwards of 500 miles. Besides these, there are others of various extent, amounting in number to near five hundred. The soil is generally sandy, but moderately productive, and yields good crops of rye and barley, and a small proportion of wheat. Its breeds of sheep and cows have nothing remarkable, either for their number or their qualities; but this province has been the repository from which the best and most numerous horses have been reared of the whole monarchy.

The country is tolerably fertile; and from some of the districts of Polish Russia much corn is brought down by the navigable rivers. The export of corn is, therefore, one of the chief branches of commerce, and has been as follows:—

Konj. The other exports in one year (1831) were as follow:—
Konj. Bristles, 167,997 pounds; feathers, 13,860 pounds; flax,
Konj. 75,230 stones; hemp, 60,276 stones; hides and skins,
Konj. 53,707 pounds; wax, 31,955 pounds; wool, 118,068
Konj. pounds; linen yarn, 9000 bundles. The remaining
exportable commodities are chiefly the produce of the ex-
tensive forests, consisting of ship-timber, pot-ash, and tar.
These are chiefly shipped at Memel, but some at the cap-
ital. Some portions of flax and of flax-seed are also
exported. The manufactures of the province are merely
of a domestic nature, and very inconsiderable.

Konigsberg, the capital of the province, is a city stand-
ing on the navigable river Pregel, which empties itself
into the Frische-Haff, about five miles below it. With
the exception of Berlin, it is the largest city in the Prus-
sian dominions, and was formerly the capital. It is sur-
rounded with walls defended by thirty-two ravelins, con-
tains a royal palace, eleven Lutheran, two Reformed, one
Catholic, and one Menonite church, amongst which the
domkirch or cathedral is remarkable as containing the
remains of the most distinguished individuals. It has
several establishments for benevolent purposes, especially
the great royal hospital, with nearly 1000 patients. The
houses are 4503, and the inhabitants, including troops,
63,240, of whom more than 1500 are Jews. Königsberg
is the seat of an ancient and celebrated university, con-
taining twenty-two professors, having a botanic garden,
an astronomical observatory, and the other establishments
for the education of students in medicine, law, theology,
and philosophy. It has, besides, institutions for the earlier
stages of education. The trade is considerable, notwith-
standing the shallowness of the river renders it necessary
to load and unload ships by the aid of lighters. The ma-
nufactures are only for the consumption of the province.
Long. 20. 25. 1. E. Lat. 54. 42. 12. N.