James Fullarton Muirhead

“ The business of Leipsic is chiefly concentrated in the inner city; but the headquarters of the book trade lie in the east suburb. The streets of the suburbs are mostly broad and well built. The most notable modern buildings are the new theatre, an imposing Renaissance structure designed by Langhans, and the museum, which stand facing each other at opposite ends of the spacious Augustus-Platz. Most of the west side of the same square is occupied by the Augusteum, or main building of the university, which, however, also possesses several special institutes in another part of the town. ”

“ The great manufacturing staples, such as iron and the textile fabrics, are scarcely represented at all, but in certain specialities, such as etheric oils, artificial flowers, and perfumes, it ranks before any other town in Germany. In absolute value the most important articles of manufacture are pianos and other musical instruments, tobacco and cigars, spirits, chemicals, scientific instruments, and waxcloth. Wool-combing has also of late years been extensively carried on. Upwards of fifty thousand workpeople are employed in the factories in and around Leipsic. ”

“ The annual death-rate is 23 to 24 per 1000, in which Leipsic, thanks in part to its excellent system of drainage, compares favourably with other large German towns. It is remarkable that the proportion of suicides to population is larger in Leipsic than in any other European town, in the five years 1876-80 no fewer than 332 persons voluntarily put an end to their lives, being at the rate of 62 per annum, or 1 suicide to every 30 deaths of adults. ”

“ On the north it is separated from Austrian and Prussian Silesia by the Sudetes, which attain a height of 4775 feet in the Altvater or Schneeberg, and sink gradually towards the west, where the valley of the Oder forms a break between the German mountains and the Carpathians. The latter are the dividing range between Moravia and Hungary, having here an average height of 3000 to 4000 feet. On the west are the so-called Bohemian-Moravian mountains, forming the elevated east margin of Bohemia and descending in terraces, but without clearly-defined ridges, to the river March. ”

“ Wares that can be safely purchased by sample appear at the fairs in steadily diminishing quantities, while others, such as hides, furs, and leather, which require to be actually examined, show as marked an increase. It is impossible to give accurate statistics of the business done at the fair, but the value of the sales considerably exceeds £10,000,000 sterling per annum. ”

“ About 2500 books, or one-sixth of the total production of Germany, are published in Leipsic annually. Several hundred booksellers assemble in Leipsic every year at Jubilate, and settle their accounts at their own exchange (Buchhändler-Börse) . Leipsic also contains seventy printing-works, some of great extent, and a corresponding number of type-foundries, binding-shops, and other kindred industries. The so-called “polygraphic” industries give employment to nearly ten thousand hands.
As a manufacturing town Leipsic is important rather for the variety than for the magnitude of its industries. ”

“ In point of industry Moravia belongs to the foremost provinces of the empire. The principal manufactures are woollen, cotton, linen, and cast-iron goods, beet-sugar, leather, and brandy. Its woollen cloths and flannels, the manufacture of which centres in Brünn, have long been celebrated. The linen manufacture is decreasing in importance as cotton manufactures develop. The quantity of sugar made from beetroot is steadily increasing ”

“ The population of Leipsic has been quintupled within the present century, rising from 31,887 in 1801 to 153,988 in 1881, and has of late increased at the rate of between 3 and 4 per cent. per annum. With the suburban villages the population amounts to 220,000. While the dwelling-houses in the suburbs have been multiplied six-fold in the last two hundred years, the number in the inner town has remained almost stationary for the same period, the business part of Leipsic thus exhibiting the same phenomenon as in other large cities. The vast majority of the population (upwards of 90 per cent.) ”

“ The lack of navigable rivers or canals is compensated by good roads and an extensive railway system. The most important commercial towns are Brünn for manufactures and Olmütz for live-stock.
In educational matters Moravia compares favourably with most of the Austrian states. It contains 10 gymnasia, 10 real-gymnasia, 13 real-schools, numerous schools for special purposes, and nearly 2000 lower schools. The old university of Brünn is now represented by a technical academy and a theological seminary. Of children of school-going age 79 per cent. attend school regularly. ”

“ The Germans form about 26 per cent. of the population, and are found mostly in the towns and in the border districts. The Jews are the best educated of the inhabitants, and in a few small towns form a full half of the population. ”

“ Since then, owing to the greater facilities of communication and consequent alterations in the mode of conducting business, the transactions at the fairs may be said to have diminished in relative though they have increased in actual value. ”

“ Owing to this configuration of the soil the climate varies more than might be expected in so small an area, so that, while the vine and maize are cultivated successfully in the southern plains, the weather in the mountainous districts is somewhat rigorous. ”

“ In 1881 the produce included 392,625 tons of anthracite coal, 50,665 tons of lignite, 5700 tons of iron-ore, 1713 tons of graphite, and smaller quantities of alum, potter's clay, and roofing-slate. The mines give employment to 4500 persons, and the annual value of the raw minerals produced is about £370,000. ”