RHINE, Province of

RHINE, Province of (Germ. Rheinprovinz), the most westerly province of the Prussian monarchy, bounded on the N. and N.E. by the province of Westphalia, E. by Nassau, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Rhenish Bavaria, S. by France, and W. by Belgium and Holland. It consists of five governments, whose areas and population are as follows:—

The southern and eastern parts of the province are mountainous, while in the N.W. there is an extent of level ground, forming the plain of the Lower Rhine. Furthest to the south is the rugged and woody Hunsrück, between the Rhine, Moselle, and Nahe. The loftiest point in these mountains, in that part called the Hochwald, has an elevation of 2526 feet. North of these are some branches of the Sauerland Mountains, which extend northwards on the right bank of the Rhine as far as the Ruhr. Part of the Westerwald also lies in this province; the most remarkable portion being the Siebengebirge, a basaltic group near the Rhine above Bonn. Another chain of hills here is the Eifel, a continuation of the Ardennes, extending between the Aho and Moselle, as far as Coblenz. Forests cover the loftier summits of the mountains, and vineyards their lower slopes; the plains are occupied with rich pastures and corn-fields. The chief river is the Rhine, which for 180 miles traverses the province, and receives most of the other rivers that water it. Among its affluents the Moselle is the largest, flowing from France through a deep narrow valley into the left bank of the Rhine. From the same side flow the Nahe and Erft; while the Sieg, Ruhr, and Lippe, which flow in the opposite direction, traverse the province for a part of their course. Agriculture is actively carried on here. The extent of arable land in 1852 was 2,732,558 acres; of gardens and vineyards, 154,903 acres; of meadows and pasture land, 1,256,836 acres; of wood, 2,031,773 acres; and of waste land, 605,252 acres. Live stock are reared in considerable numbers; and the province contained in 1855, 122,511 horses, 889,789 horned cattle, 492,364 sheep, 127,031 goats, and 242,283 pigs. For mineral wealth, this is the most important province of Prussia; more than 35 per cent. of the total value of mineral produce, or upwards of L.4,000,000, being derived from it alone. Silver, iron, copper, lead, marble, porphyry, freestone, basalt, coal, sulphur, alum, &c., are the productions of the country. In manufacturing industry, the province of the Rhine occupies the first rank, not only in the Prussian possessions, but in the whole of Germany. Cotton, woolen, and silken stuffs; lace, paper, hardware, machinery of all kinds, musical instruments, beer, brandy, chemical substances, sugar, and tobacco, are among the articles produced. Trade is also in a flourishing condition here, and is favoured by the Rhine steamers, and by the railways which connect the principal towns with one another, and with the centres of commerce in the adjacent countries. The country now occupied by the province belonged, after the fall of the Roman empire, to the Frankish monarchy, afterwards to that of Lorraine, and finally to Germany. The various officers appointed by Charlemagne, under the title of Gaugrafen, gradually became independent of the imperial power, and rose to be permanent and hereditary possessors of the land; so that in the eleventh century the country was divided among many independent states, including some of the possessions of the courts palatine, and of the archbishops of Mainz, Trèves, and Cologne,—the three spiritual electors of the empire. Prussia had previously to the present century only the principality of Mörs and the duchies of Cleve and Yeldern. At the time of the peace of Luneville in 1801, there were here 100 separate states of the empire; the Rhine was then made the frontier of France; and the Prussian possessions fell to that country. In 1814, not only these lands were restored to Prussia, but the whole of the other states were united in a mass, and added to that kingdom, of which they formed at first the two provinces of Jülich-Cleve-Berg and Lower Rhine, but were subsequently united into one.