Page:EB1911 - Volume 04.djvu/135

 Sudetes, has a general direction from S.E. to N.W., is divided by the pass of Neumark into two parts. The northern part (Czech Cesky Les) attains in the massif of Czerkov an altitude of 3300 ft., but the southern part (Czech Šumava) is at the same time the highest and the most picturesque part of the range, including on the Bohemian side the Osser (4053 ft.) and the Plöckenstein (4513 ft.), although the highest peak, the Arber (4872), is in Bavaria. The beauty of this range of mountains consists in its pure crystalline torrents, in the numerous blue lakes of its valleys, and above all in the magnificent forests of oak and pine with which its sides are covered. The pass of Neumark, called also the pass of Neugedein, has always been the principal approach to Bohemia from Germany. It stretches towards the east, above the small town of Taus (Czech Domažlice, once called Tuhošt, i.e. the Fortress), and is the place where some of the bloodiest battles in the history of Bohemia were fought. Here in the first half of the 7th century Samo repulsed the invading hordes of the Avars, which threatened the independence of the newly-settled Slavonic inhabitants; here also Wratislas II. defeated the German emperor Henry III. in a two-days’ battle (August 22 and 23, 1040). It was in the same place that the Hussites gained in 1431 one of their greatest victories against a German army of crusaders, and another similar German army was vanquished here by George of Poděbrad.

The Erzgebirge (Czech Rudo Horí), which form the north-west frontier, have an average altitude of 2600 ft., and as their highest point, the Keilberg (4080 ft.). The numerous mining villages, the great number of cultivated areas and the easy passes, traversed by good roads, give those mountains in many places the aspect of a hilly undulating plain. Several of the villages are built very near the summit of the mountains, and one of them, Gottesgab (pop. about 1500), lies at an altitude of 3345 ft., the highest place in Bohemia and central Germany. To the west the Erzgebirge combine through the Elstergebirge with the Fichtelgebirge, which in their turn are united with the Böhmerwald through the plateau of Waldsassen. To the east the Erzgebirge are separated from the Elbsandsteingebirge by the Nollendorf pass, traversed by the ancient military route to Saxony; it was the route followed by Napoleon I. after the battle of Dresden (1813). To the south stretches the “Thermopylae of Bohemia,” the scene of the battle of Kulm and Arbesau. A little farther to the east the Elbe escapes into Saxony at the lowest point in Bohemia (alt. 367 ft.). The north-east frontier is formed by the Sudetes, which comprise the Lausitzergebirge (2500 ft.), the Isergebirge (with the highest peak, the Tafelfichte, 3683 ft.), the Jeschkengebirge (3322 ft.), and the Riesengebirge. The Riesengebirge (Czech Kroknosě) are, after the Alps, among the highest mountains of central Europe, and attain in the Schneekoppe an altitude of 5264 ft. The last groups of the Sudetes in Bohemia are the Heuscheuergebirge (2532 ft.) and the Adlergebirge (3664 ft.). The fourth side of the rhomb is formed by the so-called Bohemian-Moravian Hills, a plateau or broad series of low hills, composed of primitive rocks, and attaining in some places an altitude of 2500 ft.

The interior of Bohemia has sometimes been compared to a deep basin; but for the most part it is an undulating plateau, over 1000 ft. high, formed by a succession of terraces, which gradually slope down from south to north. Its lowest-lying points are not in the middle but in the north, in the valley of the Elbe, and the country can be divided into two parts by a line passing through Hohenmauth-Prague-Komotau. The part lying to the south of this line can be designated as highland, and only the part north of it as lowland. The mountain-ranges of the interior of Bohemia are the Brdywald (2798 ft.) in the middle; the Tepler Gebirge (2657 ft.), the Karsbader Gebirge (3057 ft.) and the Kaiserwald (3238 ft.), in the north-west part; while the northern corner is occupied by the Mittelgebirge (2739 ft.), a volcanic massif, stretching on both sides of the Elbe.

Bohemia belongs to the watershed of the Elbe, which rises within the territory and receives on the right the Iser and the Polzen, and on the left the Adler; the Eger with its affluent the Tepl; the Biela and the Moldau. But the principal river of Bohemia, from every point of view, is the Moldau (Czech Vltava), not the Elbe. A glance at the hydrographic structure of Bohemia, which is of such a striking regularity, shows us that the Moldau is the main stem, while the Elbe and the other rivers are only lateral branches; moreover, the Elbe below Melnik, the point of its confluence with the Moldau, follows the general direction of the Moldau. Besides, the Moldau is the principal commercial artery of the country, being navigable below Budweis, while the Upper-Elbe is not navigable; its basin (11,890 sq. m.) is twice as great as that of the Elbe, and its width and depth are also greater. It has a length of 270 m., 47 m. longer than the Upper-Elbe, but it runs through a deep and narrow valley, in which there is neither road nor railway, extending from above Budweis to about 15 m. south of Prague. The Moldau receives on the right the Lužniza and the Sazawa and on the left the Wottawa and the Beraun. The Beraun is formed by the union of the Mies with the Radbusa, Angel and Uslawa, and is the third most important river of the country. There are only a few lakes, which are mostly found at high altitudes.

Climate.—Bohemia has a continental, generally healthy climate, which varies much in different parts of the country. It is mildest in the centre, where, e.g. at Prague, the mean annual temperature is 48.5° F. The rainfall varies also according to the districts, the rainy season being the summer. Thus the mean annual rainfall in the interior of Bohemia is 18 in., in the Riesengebirge 40 in., while in the Böhmerwald it reaches 60 to 70 in.

Agriculture.—Favoured with a suitable climate and inhabited by a thriving rural population, Bohemia is very highly developed in the matter of agriculture. Over 50% of the whole area is under cultivation and the soil is in many parts very fertile, the best-known regions being the “Golden Road” round Königgrätz, the “Paradise” round Teplitz, and the “Garden of Bohemia” round Leitmeritz. The principal products are oats, rye, barley and wheat, but since the competition of Hungarian wheat large tracts of land have been converted to the cultivation of beetroot. The potato crop, which forms the staple food of the people, is great; the Saaz district is celebrated for hops, and the flax is also of a good quality. Fruit, especially plums, is very abundant and constitutes a great article of export. The forests cover 29.01% of the total area; meadows, 10.05, pastures 5.05, and gardens 1.35%. Cattle-rearing is not so well developed as agriculture, but great flocks of geese are reared, especially in the south, and bee-cultivation constitutes another important industry. Pisciculture has been for centuries successfully pursued by the Bohemian peasants, and the attempts recently made for the rearing of silkworms have met with fair success.

Minerals.—Except salt, which is entirely absent, almost every useful metal and mineral is to be found. First in importance, both in quantity and in value, come lignite and coal. Some of the richest lignite fields in Europe are found in the north-east corner of Bohemia round Brüx, Dux, Falkenau, Ossegg and Teplitz. Coal is mined round Kladno, Buschtěhrad, Pilsen, Schlan, Rakonitz, Nürschan and Radnitz, the last-named place containing the oldest coal mines of Bohemia (17th century). Iron ores are found at Krušnahora and Nučic, and the principal foundries are round Kladno and Königshof. Owing to the improvements in refining, Bohemia has become an important centre of the iron industry. Silver is extracted at Přibram and Joachimsthal, but the silver mines near Kuttenberg, famous in the middle ages, are now abandoned. Lead is extracted at Přibram, tin at Graupen in the Erzgebirge, the only place in Austria where this metal is found. Antimony is extracted at Milleschau near Tabor; uranium and radium near Joachimsthal; graphite near Krumau and Budweis; porcelain-earth near Carlsbad. Other minerals found in various places of Bohemia are copper, sulphur, cobalt, alum, nickel, arsenic and various sorts of precious stone, like the Bohemian garnet (pyrope), and building stone. A large amount of peat is collected, especially in the south-west of Bohemia, as well as a great quantity of asphalt.

Bohemia possesses over two hundred mineral springs, but only a few are used for medicinal purposes. Among them are