Online Encyclopedia
Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.
POLAND, RUSSIAN
Online EncyclopediaEncyclopedia Home :: PIG-POL
del.icio.us it!
|
See also:POLAND, See also:RUSSIAN , a territory consisting of ten governments which formerly constituted the See also:kingdom of Poland (see' above), but now are officially described as the " governments on the it POLAND See also:English See also:Miles Y so so a 40 55 too Capitals of Governments Boundaries of Governments- Railways_-__T++ Canals Fortifications &astYmnter .c. See also:soil--such are the See also:general characters of the See also:northern border-region of the See also:great See also:plain of central Poland. The See also:rivers flow across the plain in broad, level valleys, only a few See also:hundred or even only a few dozen feet See also:lower than the watersheds; they See also:separate into many branches, enclosing islands, forming creeks, and drowning wide tracts of See also:land during inundations. Their basins, especially in the See also:west, interpenetrate one another in the most intricate way, the whole bearing unmistakable evidences of having been in See also:recent See also:geological, and partly in See also:historical times the bottom of extensive lakes, whose alluvial deposits now yield heavy crops. The fertility of the soil and the facility of communication by land and by See also:water have made this plain the See also:cradle of the See also:Polish See also:nationality. The very name of Poland is derived from it—Wielkopolska and Wielkopolane being the Slav terms for the great plain and its inhabitants. Rivers and Canals.—Russian Poland belongs mostly, though not entirely, to the See also:basin of the See also:Vistula—its western parts extending into the upper basin of the Warta, a tributary of the See also:Oder, and its See also:north-See also:east See also:spur (See also:Suwalki) penetrating into the basin of the See also:Memel, of which it occupies the See also:left See also:bank. For many centuries, however, the Poles have been driven back from the mouths of their rivers by the See also:German See also:race, maintaining only the See also:middle parts of their basins. About Jozefow (51° N.) the Vistula enters the great central plain and flows north and west-north-west between See also:low See also:banks, with a breadth of moo yds. Its inundations, dangerous even at See also:Cracow, become still more so in the plain, when the accumulations of See also:ice in its lower course obstruct the outflow, or the heavy rains in the Carpathians raise its level. Embankments 20 to 24 ft. high are maintained for 6o m., but they do not always prevent the See also:river from inundating the plains of Opole in See also:Lublin and Kozienice in See also:Radom, the See also:waters sometimes extending for 150 M. to the east. Thousands of rafts and boats of all descriptions descend the stream every See also:year with cargoes of See also:corn. See also:wool, See also:timber and wooden wares, giving occupation to a large number of men. Steamers ply as far as See also:Sandomir. The Wieprz (18o m.), a right-See also:hand tributary of the Vistula, is the See also:chief artery of the Lublin See also:government; it is navigable for small boats and rafts for 105 M. from Krasnystaw. The See also:Bug, another right-hand tributary of the Vistula, describes a wide See also:curve concentric with those of the middle Vistula and the Narew, and separates the Polish governments of Lublin and See also:Siedlce from the Russian governments of See also:Volhynia and See also:Grodno. Only See also:light boats (galary) are floated down this broad, shallow stream, whose See also:flat and open valley is often inundated. Its tributary, the Narew (250 m.), brings the See also:forest-lands of Byelovyezh in Grodno into communication with Poland, timber being floated down from Surazh and light boats from Tykocin in See also:Lomza. The Pilica, which joins the Vistula from the left 30 M. above See also:Warsaw, rises in the See also:south-western corner of Poland, and flows for zoo m. north and east in a broad, flat, sandy and marshy valley, of evil repute for its unhealthiness. The Warta (450 m.) rises in the Czcnstochowa hills, 900 ft. above the See also:sea, and flows north and west past See also:Sieradz and Kolo. Below Czgnstochowa it traverses a flat See also:lowland, whose See also:surface rises only 2 to 5 ft. above the level of the river, and the inhabitants have a See also:constant struggle to keep it to its See also:bed; every See also:spring an immense See also:lake is formed by the river at the mouth of the Ner, a little above Kolo. The Memel flows along the north-east frontier of Poland, from Grodno to Yurburg, separating it from Lithuania. The yellowish sandy plains on its left will grow nothing except oats, See also:buckwheat and some See also:rye. The river often changes its bed, and, notwithstanding repeated attempts to regulate it, offers great difficulties to See also:navigation. Still, large amounts of corn, wool and timber are floated down, especially after its confluence with the See also:Black Hancza. Though navigable for a few months only, the rivers of Poland have always been of considerable importance for the See also:traffic of the See also:country, and their importance is further increased by several canals connecting them with the Russian and German rivers. The Memel is connected with the See also:Dnieper by the Oginsky See also:canal, situated in the Russian government of See also:Minsk. The Dnieper and Bug canal in Grodno connects the Mukhavets, a tributary of the Bug, with the See also:Pina in the basin of the Pripet, that is, the Dnieper with the Vistula. The Vistula is connected also with the Oder by the See also:Bromberg canal in See also:Prussia, which links the See also:Brahe, in the basin of the Vistula, with the See also:Netze, a tributary of the Warta. All these canals are, however, beyond Russian Poland. In Poland proper, the See also:Augustowo canal connects the Vistula with the Memel, by means of the rivers Black Hancza, Netta, Biebrz and Narew. Another canal, co the west of Leczyca, connects the Bzura, a tributary of the Vistula, with the Ner and the Warta; and the bed of the former has been altered so as to obtain See also:regular See also:irrigation of the meadows along its banks. Lakes.—Lakes are numerous in the government of Suwalki, but are all small and mostly hidden in thick coniferous or See also:birch forests, and their waters penetrate with undefined banks amidst marshes, sandy tracts and accumulations of See also:moss-grown boulders. Another RUSSIAN See also:group of small lakes is situated in the basin of the Warta (north See also:part of See also:Kalisz), the largest being Goplo, 18 m. See also:long and See also:ioo ft. deep. See also:Climate.—With the exception of the Lysa G6ra hilly tracts (See also:Kielce and south Radom), which See also:lie within the isotherms of 41 ° and 42°, Poland is situated between the isotherms of 42° and 46°. The isotheres and isocheims (i.e. lines of equal mean summer and See also:winter temperature respectively) See also:crossing one another at right angles, and the former See also:running east-north-east, Poland is included between the isotheres of 64° and 61° and the isocheims of 35.7° and 39.2° The prevailing winds are See also:westerly, with north-north-east and south winds in autumn and winter, and east winds in spring. There is an See also:average of 21.7 to 23.6 in. of rainfall in central Poland, and the quantity increases slowly towards the south on See also:account of the proximity of the Carpathians, where it is 30.3 in. Owing to this See also:distribution the See also:snow-See also:sheet in Poland is not very thick, and spring sets in See also:early. Still, frosts of -4° to -22° Fahr. are not uncommon, and the rivers are generally icebound for two and a See also:half to three months—the Warta being under ice for 70 to 8o days, the Vistula at Warsaw for 8o days and (exceptionally) even for 116, and the Memel for 50o (exceptionally for 140).
The following averages will serve to illustrate the climate of Poland
Warsaw. See also:Vilna
(in See also:Russia).
Earliest See also:frost Oct. 18 Oct. 17
Latest frost . . . . See also: See also:Flora.—The flora of Poland is more akin to that of See also:Germany than to that of Russia, several middle See also:European See also:species finding their north-east limits in the basin of the Memel or in the marshes of Lithuania. Coniferous forests, consisting mostly of See also:pine (Pinus sylvestris) and birch, See also:cover large tracts in Mazovia in the north, extend across the Baltic lake-See also:ridge southwards as far as the confluence of the Bug with the Narew, and join in the south-east the Polysie of the Pripet. The pine covers the Lysa G6ra hills and the hills in the extreme south-west. The See also:larch, which three centuries ago covered large tracts, has almost entirely disappeared. Pinus cembra is only remembered, as also Taxus baccata. Picea obovata is cultivated.
Of See also:deciduous trees, the See also:common See also:beech is the most typical; it extends from the Carpathians to 52° N. and reaches three degrees farther north in small See also:groups or isolated specimens; the confluence of the Bug and the Narew may be regarded as its eastern limit. The See also: The See also:willow and See also:orchard trees—See also:apple, See also:pear, See also:plum and See also:cherry—are cultivated everywhere.
See also:Fauna.—The fauna of Poland belongs to the middle European zoological group; within the historical See also:period it has lost such species as formerly gave it a subarctic See also:character. The See also:reindeer now occurs only as a fossil; the See also:sable, mentioned in the See also:annals, has migrated eastwards; the See also:wild See also:horse, described by the annals as intermediate between the horse and the See also:ass—probably similar to the Equus przewalskii of central See also:Asia—is reputed to have been met with in the 13th See also:century in the basin of the Warta, and two centuries later in the forests of Lithuania. The wild See also:goat, bison and See also:elk have migrated to the Lithuanian forests. The See also:lynx and See also:beaver have disappeared. The See also: The estimated population in 1906 was 10,747,300. Details for 1897 are shown in the subjoined table. Governments. See also:Area,, Domiciled See also:Urban See also:Density Population, Per sq. . 1897. Population. sq. m. Kalisz . . . 4,390 844,358 113,609 193 Kielce . . . . 3,896 765,212 57,814 196 Lomza . . . • 4,666 585,033 69,834 125 Lublin . . . 6,500 1,165,122 148,196 179 See also:Piotrkow . . 4,728 1,406,427 509,699 297 See also:Plock . . . 4,199 557,229 89,821 133 Radom . . . 4,768 818,044 94,318 171 Siedlce . 5,533 775,326 110,995 140 Suwalki . . . 4,845 610,154 73,308 126 Warsaw . . . 5,605 1,929,200 791,746 344 Total . 49,130 9,456,105 2,059,340 193 The non-domiciled population numbered about 1,000,000, and by 1904 the total was estimated to have increased to 12,000,000, the See also:rate of increase between 1889 and 1904 having been 46.6. Poland, with 193 (domiciled) inhabitants or 213 inhabitants in all to the square mile in 1897, and 240 to the square mile in 1904, has a denser population than any other region in the Russian See also:empire, the next to it being the governments of See also:Moscow, with 189 inhabitants to the square mile, See also:Podolia with 186, and See also:Kiev with 181. The See also:drift See also:town-wards of the rural population began in 1890, when the urban population amounted to only 18 % of the whole, whereas in 1904 it reached 24 %, as compared with 13 % for the urban population of Russia as a whole. Of the towns of Poland 32 have a population each exceeding 10,000, the largest being Warsaw the See also:capital, with 638,208 inhabitants in 1897 and 756,426 in 1901; See also:Lodz, with 315,209 in 1897 and 351,570 in 19o0; See also:Czenstochowa, with 45,130 in 1897 and 53,650 in 1900; and Lublin, with 50,152 in 1897. According to nationalities, the population was made up as follows in 1897: 6,755,503 Poles, equal to 64.6% of the total; 1,267,194 See also:Jews, equal to 12•I %; 631,844 Russians (6%); 391,440 Germans (4%); 310,386 See also:Lithuanians and Letts (3 %) ; with a few thousands each of See also:Tatars, Bohemians, Rumanians, and Esthonians, and a few Gypsies and Hungarians. During prehistoric times the basin of the Vistula seems to have been inhabited by a See also:dolichocephalic race, different from the See also:brachycephalic Poles of the See also:present See also:day; but from the See also:dawn of See also:history Slays (Poles), intermingled to some extent with Lithuanians, have to be found on the plains of the Vistula and the Warta. The purest Polish type exists in the basin of the middle Vistula and in See also:Posen. The Poles extend but little beyond the limits of Russian Poland. In East Prussia they occupy the See also:southern slope of the Baltic swelling (the Mazurs), and extend down the left bank of the lower Vistula to its mouth (the Kaszubes or Kassubians). Westward they stretch down the Warta as far as Birnbaum (100 m. east of See also:Berlin); and in the south they extend along the right bank of the Vistula to the river See also:San in western See also:Galicia. In Russia they constitute, with Jews, Lithuanians, Ruthenians and White Russians, the town population, as also the landed See also:nobility and the country gentry, in several governments west of the See also:Dvina and the Dnieper. RUSSIAN 931 but in the villages they are almost exclusively engaged as See also:shop-keepers, second-hand traders, dealers on See also:commission, innkeepers and usurers. In the country, both See also:commerce and See also:agriculture arc in the hands of their intimately connected trading associations. Their relations with Poles and Ruthenians are anything but cordial, and " See also:Jew-baiting " is of frequent occurrence. They are increasing mucli more rapidly than the Slays. Agriculture.—From remote antiquity Poland has been celebrated for the See also:production and export of See also:grain. Both, however, greatly declined in the 18th century ; and towards the beginning of the 19th, the peasants, ruined by their proprietors, or abandoned to the ,Jews, were in a more wretched See also:condition than even their Russian neighbours. See also:Serfdom was abolished in 1807; but the liberated peasants received no allotments of land, and the old patrimonial jurisdictions were retained. Compelled to accept the conditions imposed by the landlords, the peasants had to pay See also:rack-rents and to give compulsory labour in various forms for the use of their land. Only a limited number were considered as permanent farmers, while nearly one-half of them became See also:mere proletaires. Pursuing a policy intended to reconcile the peasantry to Russian See also:rule and to break the See also:power of the Polish nobility, the Russian government promulgated, during the outbreak in 1864, a See also:law by which those peasants who were holders of land on estates belonging to private persons, institutions (such as monasteries and the like), or the See also:Crown were recognized as proprietors of the soil—the See also:state paying See also:compensation to the landlords in bonds, and the peasants having to pay a yearly See also:annuity to the state until the See also:debt thus contracted had been cleared off. The valuation of these allotments was made at a rate much more advantageous than in Russia, and the average See also:size of holding amounted to 15 acres per See also:family. Of those who held no land a number received grants out of the confiscated estates of the nobility and monasteries. At the same See also:time the self-government of the peasants was organized on democratic principles. The so-called " servitudes," however—that is, the right to pasture on and take See also:wood from the landlord's estates—were maintained for See also:political reasons. These reforms resulted in a temporary increase of prosperity, or at any rate an alleviation of the previous misery of the peasants. But whereas between 1864 and 1873 the peasantry as a whole See also:purchased, in addition to the land granted to them by the government, 297,000 acres, in the .period 1873–1893, they bought 540,000 acres and between 1893 and 1905 as much as 1,620,000 acres. Thus the See also:process of breaking up the larger estates is proceeding rapidly and at an accelerated rate. In ten years (1864–1873) the area of cultivated soil increased by 1,350,000 acres, while during the fourteen years 1845–1859 its increase See also:hart been only 540,000 acres. But the See also:maintenance of the " servitudes," the want of pasture-land, the lack of See also:money for improvements, and the very rapid increase in the See also:price of land, all helped to counteract the benefits of the agrarian See also:measures of 1864. In 1904 the See also:village communities (peasantry) owned 43.8 % of the total area; private owners, mostly nobles, 40.6%; the Crown and imperial family, 6 %; and public bodies, such as towns and monasteries, 2.6 %; while 3 % was in the hands of the Jews. The holdings of the See also:peasant families vary generally from 8 to 13 acres, the minimum in Russia being 16 to 22 acres. By a law of 1891 further subdivision below 8.3 acres is prohibited. But out of a total of some 7,000,000 peasants no fewer than 3,000,000 possess no land. In consequence of this every summer no fewer than 800,00o emigrate temporarily to Germany in quest of See also:work. Forests cover over 21.3 % of the s}irface, of which nearly one-third belong to the Crown, and only 515,000 acres (7.7 %) to the peasantry. Agriculture in Poland is on the whole carried on according to more advanced methods than in Russia. The extensive cultivation of beetroot, of potatoes for distilleries, and of See also:fodder crops has led to the introduction of a rotation of several years instead of the former " three-See also:fields " See also:system ; and agricultural machinery is in more general use, especially on the larger estates of the west. Winter See also:wheat is extensively cultivated, especially in the south, the Sandomir (Sedomierz) wheat having a wide repute. Of the land in the See also:possession of the peasants no less than 7o% is under crops, and of the land in the larger estates 52 %; of the former See also:category 11%, and of the latter 8%, is meadow. Altogether nearly 16 million acres of Russian Poland, or almost one-half Of the total area, are under crops, principally rye, oats, wheat, See also:barley, potatoes and See also:hay, with some See also:flax, See also:hemp, peas, buckwheat and hops. After See also:local wants are supplied, there remains every year a surplus of about 31 million quarters of cereals for export. Beetroot is largely grown for the manufacture of See also:sugar. Potatoes are extensively grown for use in the distilleries. The cultivation of See also:tobacco is successfully carried on, especially in the governments of Warsaw, Plock and Lublin. The breeding of livestock (See also:cattle, See also:sheep and horses), is an important source of income. See also:Fine breeds of horses and cattle are kept on the larger estates of the nobility, and cattle are exported to See also:Austria. See also:Bee-keeping is widely followed, especially in the south-east. Fishing is carried on remuneratively, more particularly on the Vistula and its tributaries. Manufactures and Mines.—Since 1864, and more especially since 1875, there has been a remarkable development of manufacturing According to the localities which they inhabit, the Poles take different names. They are called Wielkopolanie on the plains of middle Poland, while the name of Malopolanie is reserved for those on the Warta. The name of Lgczycanie is given to the inhabitants of the marshes of the Ner, that of Kurpie to those of the Podlasie; Kujawi4cy, Sz14cy in the See also:Silesia, and Gdrale in the Carpathians. The Kaszubes, and especially the Mazurs, may be considered as separate See also:stocks of the Polish family. The Mazurs are distinguished from the Poles by their lower stature, broad shoulders and massive See also:frame, and still more by their See also:national See also:dress, which has nothing of the smartness of that of the southern Poles, and by their See also:ancient customs; they have also a See also:dialect of their own, containing many words now obsolete in Poland, and several grammatical forms bearing See also:witness to Lithuanian See also:influence. They submit without difficulty to German culture, and in Prussia are See also:Lutherans. The See also:language of the Kaszubes can also be considered as a separate dialect. The Poles proper are on the whole of See also:medium stature (5 ft. 4.6 in.), finely built, dark in the south and See also:fair in the north, richly endowed by nature, inclined to deeds of heroism, but perhaps deficient in that See also:energy which characterizes the northern races of Europe, and in that sense of unity which has been the strength of their present rulers. The German See also:element is annually increasing both in number and in influence. The Lodz manufacturing See also:district, the Polish See also:Birmingham, is becoming more German than Polish; and throughout the governments west of the Vistula German See also:immigration is going on at a steadily increasing rate, especially in the governments of Plock, Kalisz, Piotrkow and Warsaw. The Jews, who arc found everywhere throughout Poland, are nowhere agricultural ; in the larger towns many of them are artisans, enterprise in Poland, the See also:branch of See also:industry which has shown the greatest progress being the textile. Whereas in 7864 the annual production of all factories in Poland was valued at not more than 5: millions See also:sterling, in 7875, when the workers numbered 27,000, the output was estimated at even less; but in 1905 the value of the See also:industrial production reached 53 millions sterling. The See also:principal industrial centres are Lodz (textiles), Warsaw (sugar, See also:leather and See also:miscellaneous) and Bendzin—Sosnowice--Dombrowa, in Piotrkow (See also:mining). The sugar factories and refineries, situated chiefly in the governments of Warsaw, Lublin and Plock, turn out approximately one million tons of sugar in the year, the Polish sugar industry being exceeded in Russia only by that of Kiev. See also:Cotton is the principal product of the See also:mills at Lodz and Lask, both in Piotrkow; though woollen See also:cloth, See also:silk and See also:linen are also produced. Tanning is centred in Warsaw and Radom; Polish (i.e. Warsaw) boots and shoes have a great reputation throughout the Russian empire. Other notable branches of manufacturing industry, besides those already named, are See also:flour-mills, jute, See also:hosiery, See also:lace, See also:paper, See also:cement, hats, haberdashery, machinery, tobacco, See also:soap and See also:candle factories, See also:iron and See also:steel See also:works, distilleries, breweries, See also:potteries, See also:vinegar, See also:chocolate, See also:varnish, See also:furniture, clothing and brickworks. The cottage See also:industries, such as pottery and See also:basket-making, formerly of considerable importance, are gradually being replaced by the factory system of working. Southern Poland possesses abundant minerals, especially in the, Kielce mountains and the region adjacent to Prussian Silesia. The Devonian sandstones contain See also:malachite ores near Kielce, and See also:copper has been worked there since the 75th century, though the mines are now neglected. The brown iron ores of Kielce contain no less than 40°,/o of iron. The See also:zinc ores of the Olkusz district, more than 5o ft. thick, contain 8 to 74 %, sometimes 25%, of zinc. The See also:tin ores of Olkusz are still more' important, and were extensively wrought as early as the 16th century. Brown iron ores, appearing in the neighbourhood of Bendzin as lenticular masses 55 ft. thick, and containing 25 to 33 % of iron, accompany the zinc ores. Spherosiderites and brown iron ores are plentiful also in the " See also:Keuper formation." See also:Sulphur is wrought in the district of Piriczow; the deposits, which contain 25% of sulphur, reach a thickness of 7 to 70 ft. See also:Coal occurs in south-west Poland over an area of 200 sq. m. in the districts of Bendzin and Olkusz. Brown coal, or See also:lignite, which appears in the Olkusz district in beds 3 to 7 ft. thick, has been worked out. The output of coal is 4,000,000 to 6,000,000 tons in the year, the number of hands employed being 18,000 to 20,000. The yield of lignite is less than 7oo,000 tons annually; of zinc 70,000 to 12,000 tons; of copper and See also:lead small. The production of iron and steel increased from 13,000 tons in 7862 to about 500,000 tons in 1905. Of other See also:mineral produce, See also:chalk, exported from Lublin, a few quarries of See also:marble and many of See also:building stones, are worthy of See also:notice. Mineral waters are used medicinally at Ciechocinek in Plock and Nalgezow in Lublin. Communications.—The See also:railways of Poland have an aggregate length of 1300 m. A See also:line of great importance, connecting See also:Vienna with St See also:Petersburg, crosses the country from south-west to north-east, passing through the mining district and through Warsaw, and sending a See also:short branch to Lodz. Another important line, connecting See also:Danzig with See also:Odessa, crosses Poland from north-west to south-east. A branch line, parallel to this last, connects See also:Skierniewice with See also:Thorn and Bromberg; while a military railway connects the fortresses of Warsaw and See also:Ivangorod with See also:Brest-Litovsk, via Siedlce and Lukow. The line from Berlin to St Petersburg traverses the north of Suwalki for 54 M. between Eydtkunen and See also:Kovno. Commerce.—The general See also:trade of Poland is merged in that of Russia, under which heading it is treated. With the See also:extension of the railways the fairs have lost much of their importance, but their aggregate yearly returns are still estimated at £3,000,000. The principal fairs are held at Warsaw (wool, hemp, hops), Lgczyca rn Kalisz, Skaryszew in Radom, Ciechanoviec in Lomza, and Lowicz in Warsaw. See also:Administration.—The entire administration of Poland is under the See also:governor-general residing at Warsaw. He is at the same time the See also:commander of the military forces of the " Warsaw military district." See also:Justice is represented by the gmina tribunals, which correspond to those of the mir in Russia; the justices of the See also:peace (nominated by government) ; the syezd, or " See also:court " of the justices of the peace; the district tribunals (assizes) in each government; and the Warsaw courts of See also:appeal and cassation. Poland has had no separate See also:budget since 1867; its income and See also:expenditure are included in those of the empire. Af ter the insurrection of 1863 all towns with less than woo inhabitants were deprived of their municipal rights, and were included, under the designation of posads, in the gminas. Viewed with suspicion by the Russian government, the Polish towns received no self-government like the villages. The elective municipal See also:councils, which enjoyed de jure very large rights, including that of maintaining their own See also:police, although in reality they were under the rule of the nobility, were practically abolished, and Russian officials were nominated in their placeand entrusted with all their rights. The municipal councils were, however, maintained to carry out the orders of the military chiefs. The new municipal law of 187o, first introduced at Warsaw, reduced the functions of the municipal See also:council almost to nothing. The burgomaster is entirely dependent upon the police and the chief of the district, and has to See also:discharge all sorts of functions (See also:bailiff, policeman, &c.) which have nothing to do with municipal affairs. In all See also:official communications the Russian language is obligatory, and a See also:gradual elimination of Poles from the administration has been effected. See also:Defence.—Poland contains the first line of defence of the Russian empire on its western frontier. The marshy lowlands, covered with forests on the western bank of the Vistula, are a natural defence against an See also:army advancing from the west, and they are strengthened by the fortresses on that river. The centre of these latter is Warsaw, with See also:Novogeorgievsk, formerly Modlin, in the north, at the mouth of the Bug, and Ivangorod, formerly Demblin, in the south, at the mouth of the Wieprz. Novogeorgievsk is a strongly fortified See also:camp which requires a See also:garrison of 72,000 men, and may shelter an army of 50,000 men. The town of Sierock, at the confluence of the Bug and the Narew, is fortified to protect the See also:rear of Novogeorgievsk. The Vistula line of fortresses labours, however, under the great disadvantage of being easily turned from the rear by armies advancing from East Prussia or Galicia. Brest-Litovsk, at the western issue from the marshes of the Pripet, the towns of Dubno; See also:Lutsk and See also:Bobruisk constitute the second line of defence.
See also:Religion and See also:Education.—The prevalent religion is the See also:Roman See also:Catholic, to which over 75 % of the total population belong. Protestants (mostly Lutherans) amount to 6%, while about 5 % are members of the Orthodox See also:Greek See also: The proportion of primary schools has in fact been steadily decreasing, and the applications for See also:admission to the secondary schools and colleges are on the average twice as great as the number of vacancies. All the same, Poland compares very favourably with Russia in the general level of education, for whereas those able to read and write in 1897 amounted in Poland to 30.5 % of the population (only 9.3 % in 1862), in Russia it was 19.8 % (P. A. K.; J. T. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML. Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide. |
|
|
[back] POLAND (Polish Polska, Ger. Polen), (see POLAND, RU... |
[next] POLAR REGIONS |