DEUX PONTS (German Zweibrücken), a town in the Bavarian circle of the Palatinate, on the Erbach, near its confluence with the Serre, 50 miles W. of Spire. It was formerly the capital of a duchy of the same name, originally governed by its own dukes, and which afterwards passed successively into the power of Sweden and of Bavaria. During the wars of the revolution this duchy was taken possession of by France, and confirmed to it by the peace of Luneville; but it was restored to Bavaria by the peace of Paris in 1814. The town is pleasantly situated and well built. The old palace of the dukes of Deux Ponts, formerly one of the finest in Germany, was in a great measure destroyed by the French, and part of it has been converted into a Roman Catholic church. It has a cathedral and two Lutheran churches; a gymnasium, lyceum, orphan asylum, hospital, and 7300 inhabitants. The principal manufactures are woollen, linen, and cotton stuffs; besides leather and tobacco. The town derives its name from two bridges, which here cross the Erbach. The well-known Bipontine edition of the classics was published here.