Anhalt

“ ANHALT, a duchy of Germany, and a constituent state of the German empire, formed, in 1863, by the amalgamation of the two duchies Anhalt-Dessau-Cöthen and Anhalt-Bernburg, and comprising all the various Anhalt territories which were sundered apart in 1603. The country now known as Anhalt consists of two larger portions—Eastern and Western Anhalt, separated by the interposition of a part of Prussian Saxony—and of five enclaves surrounded by Prussian territory, viz. ”

“ In the third Duchy of Anhalt, that of Anhalt-Bernburg, the reigning Duke was for a time almost out of his mind, but no one had the power to restrain or to remove him. The ministers did all they could to prevent any public scandal, but it was not easy to prevent, if not a revolution—that would have been difficult on so small a scale—at least a complaint to the German Diet, and that might have become serious. Many were the stories told of the poor Duke and believed by the people. Like all court stories they went on growing and growing, and they were repeated “on the highest authority.” ”

“ Anhalt was at last obliged to offer the Bohemian crown to the Duke of Savoy, suggesting that his master should content himself with the districts in the neighbourhood of the Rhine which belonged to the house of Habsburg; [45] since these lands, situated nearer to the Palatinate than Bohemia, would be even more valuable to the Elector. The duke, however, still received Anhalt's proposals coldly. He made his support of the German Protestants conditional on the approval of the Elector's father-in-law, King James of England. That sovereign had little real sympathy with the Protestant cause. ”

“ Anhalt begs leave——
BARON.
Tell him to come in.—I shall be ready in a moment. [Exit Servant.
COUNT.
Who is Mr. Anhalt?
AMELIA.
Oh, a very good man. [With warmth.]
COUNT.
“A good man.” In Italy, that means a religious man; in France, it means a cheerful man; in Spain, it means a wise man; and in England, it means a rich man.—Which good of all these is Mr. Anhalt?
AMELIA.
A good man in every country, except England. ”

“ The Reformation in Anhalt and Pomerania, A.D. 1532-1534.―Wolfgang of Anhalt had at an early date introduced the Reformation on the banks of the Saale and into Zerbst. Another prince of Anhalt, George, at first an opponent of Luther, but converted by means of his writings, began in A.D. 1532 the Reformation of the country east of the Elbe. And when the Bishop of Brandenburg refused to ordain his married priests, he sent them to be ordained by Luther in Wittenberg. Much more violent was the Reformation of Pomerania. Nobles and clergy sought to rouse the people against Lutheranism. ”

“ The younger Count Thurn, who alone of the Bohemian officers had fought not ingloriously during the battle, spoke in the same sense as Tschernembl. Christian of Anhalt, the originator of the intrigues and negotiations which had raised Frederick to his precarious throne, now spoke in favour of immediate flight; he had been in constant conflict with the Bohemian generals, and wished to leave the country as soon as possible. The principal argument of Anhalt was that the mutinous condition of the troops rendered it impossible to induce them to face the enemy again. ”

“ Under Louis’s successor Ferdinand, who was a Roman Catholic and brought the Jesuits into Anhalt, the state of the finances grew worse and led to the interference of the king of Prussia and to the appointment of a Prussian official. When the succeeding prince, Henry, died in 1847, this family became extinct, and according to an arrangement between the lines of Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Bernburg, Cöthen was added to Dessau. ”

“ The country is rich in lignite, and salt works are abundant. Of the manufactures of Anhalt, the chief are its sugar factories, distilleries, breweries and chemical works. Commerce is brisk, especially in raw products—corn, cattle, timber or wool. Coal (lignite) , guano, oil and bricks are also articles of export. The trade of the country is furthered by its excellent roads, its navigable rivers and its railways (165 m.) , which are worked in connexion with the Prussian system. There is a chamber of commerce in Dessau. ”

“ The inhabitants are mostly engaged in agriculture and there is practically no other industry. The palace of the dukes of Anhalt, standing on an eminence, contains a library and collections of various kinds, including a good picture gallery. ”

“ I like the children of love: look at the Marechal de Saxe, and my own Anhalt [severe Adjutant von Anhalt, a bastard of Prinz Gustav, the Old Dessauer's Heir-Apparent, who begot a good many bastards, but died before inheriting: bastards were brought up, all of them to soldiering, by their Uncles,—-this one by Uncle Moritz; was thrown from his horse eight years HENCE, to the great joy of many] ”

“ Gold and silver articles, silk, plush, cloth, leather, soap, starch, chemicals and carriages are among the chief manufactures. Iron-founding is carried on; and several breweries are engaged in the preparation of Zerbster bitter beer, which enjoys considerable repute.
Zerbst is an ancient town, mentioned in 949. In 1307 it came into the possession of the Anhalt family, and from 1603 till 1793 was the capital of the collateral branch of Anhalt-Zerbst. In 1793 it passed to Anhalt-Dessau. ”

“ This Albrecht the Bear is the ancestor of the reigning Dukes of Anhalt, the present duke being his nineteenth successor. It was the same Mark Brandenburg which was afterwards to become the cradle of Prussia and indirectly of the German Empire. Albrecht’s influence was so great at the time that, after the death of the Emperor Lothar, he succeeded in carrying the election of the Emperor Konrad III., the Hohenstaufen, against the Welfic party, who wished to raise the Duke of Bavaria, Henry the Proud, to the Imperial throne of Germany. ”

“ Most of the plain, which is watered by the Elbe and its tributaries, the Mulde and the Saale, is very fertile, producing large quantities of grain, tobacco, flax, hops, and fruits, especially grapes ; cattle and sheep are reared in considerable numbers on the rich pasture lands; game and fish are abundant; while the mines in the Hartz mountains yield iron, lead, silver, and other minerals. The chief manufactures of Anhalt are linen, cotton, and woollen goods, metallic and earthen wares, beer, brandy, and sugar ”

“ His Serene Highness the Duke of Anhalt-Dessau, on his own part, and in the capacity of guardian to the Duke of Anhalt-Köthen, a minor, and his Serene Highness the Duke of Anhalt-Bernbourg, Jointly, the Sieur Wolf Charles Augustus de Wolfframsdorff, President of the government of Dessau. ”

“ The provinces of Saxony and Hanover, with Thuringia and Anhalt, produce half the whole amount. A large salt-work is found at Strzalkowo (Posen) , and smaller ones near Dortmund, Lippstadt and Minden (Westphalia) . ”

“ Briefe Goethes an F.A. Wolf (1868) ; Zur Enstehungsgeschichte des Schlegelschen Shakespeare (1872) ; an introduction to Hirzel’s collection entitled Der junge Goethe (1875) ; and he edited a revised edition of Voss’s translation of the Odyssey. From his literary remains were published Schriften zur Kritik und Litteraturgeschichte (1895-1899) .
BERNBURG, a town in the duchy of Anhalt, Germany, on the Saale, 29 m. N. by W. from Halle by rail, formerly the capital of the new incorporated duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg. Pop. ”

“ All these Alsatian souls were touched. Three hundred villages of their own country lay below them scattered about amidst the young green of the cornfields. They were sleeping to the sound of the bells. Each was only a rose-red spot. The river, near the horizon, showed like a bar of dusky silver. And beyond rose stretches of country, whose shape was vanishing rapidly in the fogs which still hung above the Rhine. Quite near by, following the slope of the fir plantations, one saw, on the contrary, the smallest details of the forest of Sainte Odile. ”

“ There it was that all the pilgrims to Sainte Odile met to see Alsace when the weather was clear. A wall, high enough to lean on, runs along the top of an enormous block of rock, advancing like a spur above the forest. It overlooks the pines which cover the slopes everywhere. From the extreme point shut in, like the lantern of a lighthouse, one can see to the right quite a group of mountains, and in front and to the left the plain of Alsace. At this moment the fog was divided into two parts, for the sun was shining on the peaks of the Vosges. ”

“ He saw the entire sky unveiled, and below him, in front, to the left and to the right, something of a softer, more misty blue, the land of Alsace. The smell of the fields and of plants wet with the dew, rose from the soil like a harvest of the night. The wind wafted it, the cold wind, the familiar passer-by on this plain, the vagabond companion of the Rhine. One could distinguish no detail in the shadow where Alsace slept, except at a distance of a few hundred yards, where lines of roofs clustered about a round grey belfry ending in a steeple. That was the village of Alsheim. ”

“ The same terraced vineyards, the same limestone crags, each with its feudal tower, the same fertility and richness everywhere. Our road winds for miles amid avenues of fruit-trees, laden with pear and plum, whilst on every side are stretches of flax and corn, tobacco and hemp. What plenty and fruitfulness are suggested at every turn! Well might Goethe extol "this magnificent Alsace." We soon reach Andlau, a picturesque, but, it must be confessed, somewhat dirty village, lying amid vineyards and chestnut woods, with mediaeval gables, archways, wells, dormers. ”

“ It can fly across the mountains—and look over them.
"The black bow of the daughters of Alsace is a cross of mourning which we carry in memory of all those—whose soul was like our own soul."
The voice had been recognised. When it had finished singing, the hop-pickers, men and women, began to talk to M. Ulrich, who, barely tolerated in Alsace, had nevertheless more freedom of language than the Alsatians who were German subjects. The noise of laughter and words exchanged grew louder and louder in the hop-field, so the master withdrew. ”

“ These morning excursions allowed me to explore a great deal of the neighbourhood, which I should otherwise have been unable to see. All this district of Holstein is rather flat, but beautifully wooded, with many lakes which add a wistful calm beauty to the sleepy landscape. There is something reminiscent of England in the farm-houses and the hedgerows, which are never seen in Brandenburg, where the fields are unfenced.
At one o’clock I was at the Schloss for luncheon, where I had to talk English with the Prince and his cadets—charming boys, some of whom I had met in Potsdam, where they lived. ”

“ On this eminence also is repeated to the eye the majestic Alsace, always the same, and always new. Just as in an amphitheatre, let one take one's place where one will, one surveys the whole people, but sees one's neighbours the plainest, so it is here with bushes, rocks, hills, woods, fields, meadows, and districts near and in the distance. ”

“ A rush of blood suffused the German's cheeks.
"Explain yourself quickly!" he went on. "My family is of the nobility; do you recognise that?"
"Yes."
"Do you recognise that it is an honour for a woman to be sought by a German officer?"
"For any except an Alsatian woman. But although you do not understand that feeling, we are not like other people—we are the people of Alsace. I esteem you very much, Farnow, but your marriage with my sister will cruelly affect three persons among us—myself first of all." ”

“ By race also the Alsatian represents a distinct group in which the basal Alpine strain has been permeated by strong admixtures of Nordic blood. The confusion of dark and fair types represent the two elements in the population. In a broader sense the Alsatians are identical with the Swiss population to the south and the Lorrains and Walloons to the north—in fact, they are related to the peoples of all the districts which once constituted the Middle Kingdom of Burgundy.
Although sharply defined by nature, Alsace never acquired independence. ”

“ How many poor devils, beer barrels or schnaps drinkers, who had been whipping the devil around the stump for years and years in all the little cities of Pomerania, of Brandenburg, and further still, who never would have become anything at home, and who did not know from whom to ask for credit at home for rye bread and potatoes—how many such men fell then upon rich Alsace, that terrestrial paradise, promised to the Germans by their kings, their professors, and their schoolmasters! ”

“ The City of Altenbourg is the Capital of a County of that Name, of which the Duke of Saxe-Gotha is the Sovereign. This Prince has a Palace there which makes a handsome appearance, but I shall say nothing more of it because I neglected to go and see it. The Peasants of the County of Altenbourg are the richest in Germany, and may almost vye with those of Holland. I have been assur'd that some of them have given 20 or 30000 Crowns in Marriage with their Daughters; and like the Dutch Peasants, they take care to match them to none but the Sons of substantial Farmers. ”

“ No one who has not stayed in Alsace among Alsatians can realize the intense clinging to France among the people, nor the sacrifices made to retain their nationality. And it is well the true state of feeling throughout the annexed territory should be known outside its limits. With a considerable knowledge of French life and character, I confess I went to Mulhouse little prepared to find there a ferment of feeling which years have not sufficed to calm down. ”