POSEN, a province of Prussia, lying between N. Lat. 51. 10. and 53. 32., E. Long. 15. 7. and 18. 30.; and bounded on the N. by the province of West Prussia, W. by that of Brandenburg, S. by that of Silesia, and E. by the Russian empire; area 11,348 square miles. The surface is almost entirely level, and large portions of it are occupied by lakes and marshes. The principal rivers are the Warthe and the Netze, both taking their rise in Poland, and flowing westwards,—the former through the middle and south of the province into the Oder, and the latter through the north, and falling into the Warthe. The principal affluents of the Warthe that join it in this province are the Prosna and the Obra, both from the left. The Oder just touches the province at one point on the extreme S.W., and the Vistula washes it for a short distance on the N.E. frontier, and receives here the Brahe, which is connected by the Bromberg Canal with the Netze. The Warthe is navigable all through the province, and the Netze as far as Nackel, where the Bromberg Canal meets it. Of the lakes in Posen, the largest is that of Goplo, on the Polish frontier, which is 10 square miles in extent. The most important marsh is that from which the Obra takes its rise. The soil is in general very fertile, especially on the banks of the Warthe; in other places it is of a sandy nature, and not so good. The minerals found here, consisting of iron, building-stone, saltpetre, &c., are of no great importance. All the ordinary kinds of agricultural produce may be raised; and this is one of the provinces in Prussia most productive of corn. Posen contained, in 1852, 3,649,807 acres of arable land, 515,516 of meadows, 1,348,389 of forests, and 1,144,932 of waste land. Besides corn there are raised here potatoes, pulse, hops, tobacco, hemp, flax, &c. Timber is obtained in large quantities from the forests, and forms an article of export of some importance. The province contained, in 1855, 153,442 horses, 868 asses, 481,418 horned cattle, 2,199,977 sheep, 13,749 goats, and 163,258 pigs. Poultry and bees are also kept, and fish are obtained from the rivers. Manufactures are not carried on here to any great extent. The most important establishments are 303 breweries, 257 distilleries, 13 tanneries, besides manufactures of woolen cloth, cotton, and linen. A considerable trade is carried on in the export of manufactured articles, as well as of corn, timber, cattle, wool, hides, tallow, honey, wax, &c. Education is not in such a
good state in Posen as in other parts of the monarchy. It contains, however, 14 gymnasia, with 188 teachers and 4207 scholars; 3 normal seminaries, with 175 pupils; 36 middle schools, attended by 2702, and 1984 public elementary schools, by 212,152 scholars. This province at one time formed part of the kingdom of Poland; but at the first partition in 1772 Prussia obtained all the country north of the Netze, and at the second partition in 1793 all the rest of the present province. An insurrection of the Poles against Prussia took place in this province in 1848; but after suffering several defeats, the insurgents were dispersed, and their leaders apprehended. In the same year, certain portions of Posen, inhabited chiefly by Germans, were incorporated with the German Confederacy; but in October 1851 these were again separated by a treaty. Besides Germans, Posen is inhabited by Poles and Jews, both of which races are more numerous here than in any other part of the kingdom,—the former amounting to about 930,000, and the latter to 74,031 in 1851. In that year there were 447,986 Protestants and 870,574 Roman Catholics in the province. It is divided into the governments of Posen and Bromberg. Pop. (1855) 1,392,636.