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 Furthermore, agriculture is everywhere accompanied on the sand-grounds by the rearing of sheep and cattle, which assist in fertilizing the soil. Owing to the meagreness of their food these animals are usually thin and small, but are quickly restored when placed on richer grounds. The breeding of pigs is also widely practised on the sand-grounds, as well as forest culture. Of the fen-colonies in Drente the best known are those of Frederiksoord and Veenhuizen.

Owing to the general condition of poverty which prevailed after the French evacuation in the second decade of the 19th century, attention was turned to the means of industry offered by the unreclaimed heath-lands in the eastern provinces, and in 1818 the Society of Charity (Maatschappij van Weldadigheid ) was formed with Count van den Bosch at its head. This society began by establishing the free agricultural colony of Frederiksoord, about 10 m. N. of Meppel, named after Prince Frederick, son of William I., king of the Netherlands. An industrious colonist could purchase a small farm on the estate and make himself independent in two years. In addition to this, various industries were set on foot for the benefit of those who were not capable of field work, such as mat and rope making, and jute and cotton weaving. In later times forest culture was added, and the Gerard Adriaan van Swieten schools of forestry, agriculture and horticulture were established by Major van Swieten in memory of his son. A Reformed and a Roman Catholic church are also attached to the colony. To this colony the Society of Charity later added the adjoining colonies of Willemsoord and Kolonie VII. in Overysel, and Wilhelminasoord partly in Friesland. The colony of Veenhuizen lies about 7 m. N.W. of Assen, and was founded by the same society in 1823. In 1859, however, the Veenhuizen estates were sold to the government for the purpose of a penal establishment for drunkards and beggars.

Owing to its geographical isolation, the development of Drente has remained behind that of every other province in the Netherlands, and there are few centres of any importance, either agricultural or industrial. Hence the character and customs of the people have remained peculiarly conservative. Assen is the chief town. In the south Meppel and Koevorden absorb the largest amount of trade. Hoogeveen, situated between these two, owes its origin to the fen reclamation which was begun here in 1625 by Baron van Echten. In the following year it was erected into a barony which lasted till 1795. The original industry has long since moved onwards to other parts, but the town remains a prosperous market centre, and has a considerable industrial activity. Extensive fir woods have been laid out in the neighbourhood. Zuidlaren is a picturesque village at the northern end of the Hondsrug, with an important market. The railway from Amsterdam to Groningen traverses Drente; branch lines connect Meppel with Leeuwarden and Assen with Delfzÿl.

History.—The early history of Drente is obscure. That it was inhabited at a remote date is proved by the prehistoric sepulchral mounds, the Hunebedden already mentioned. In the 5th and 6th centuries the country was overrun by Saxon tribes, and later on was governed by counts under the Frankish and German kings. Of these only three are recorded, Eberhard (943-944), Balderic (1006) and Temmo (1025). In 1046 the emperor Henry III. gave the countship to the bishop and chapter of Utrecht, who governed it through the burgrave, or châtelain, of Koevorden, a dignity which became hereditary after 1143 in the family of Ludolf or Roelof, brother of Heribert of Bierum, bishop of Utrecht (1138–1150). This family became extinct in the male line about 1232, and was succeeded by Henry I. of Borculo (1232–1261), who had married the heiress of Roelof III. of Koevorden. In 1395 Reinald IV. (d. 1410) of Borculo-Koevorden was deposed by Bishop Frederick of Utrecht, and the country was henceforth administered by an episcopal official (amptman), who was, however, generally a native. With its popularly elected assembly of twenty-four Etten (jurati) Drente remained practically independent. This state of things continued till 1522, when it was conquered by Duke Charles of Gelderland, from whom it was taken by the emperor Charles V. in 1536, and became part of the Habsburg dominions.

Drente took part in the revolt of the Netherlands, and being a district covered by waste heath and moor was, on account of its poverty and sparse population, not admitted into the union as a separate province, and it had no voice in the assembly of the states-general. It was subdued by the Spaniards in 1580, but reconquered by Maurice of Nassau in 1594. During the years that followed, Drente, though unrepresented in the states-general, retained its local independence and had its own stadtholder. William Louis of Nassau-Siegen (d. 1620) held that office, and it was held later by Maurice, Frederick Henry, William II. and William III., princes of Orange. At the general assembly of 1651 Drente put forward its claim to admission as a province, but was not admitted. After the deaths of William II. (1650) and of William III. (1702) Drente remained for a term of years without a stadtholder, but in 1722 William Charles Henry of the house of Nassau-Siegen, who, through the extinction of the elder line, had become prince of Orange, was elected stadtholder. His descendants held that office, which was declared hereditary, until the French conquest in 1795. In the following year Drente at length obtained the privilege, which it had long sought, of being reckoned as an eighth province with representation in the states-general. Between 1806 and 1813 Drente, with the rest of the Netherlands, was incorporated in the French empire, and, with part of Groningen, formed the department of Ems Occidental. With the accession of William I. as king of the Netherlands it was restored to its old position as a province of the new kingdom.

 DRESDEN, a city of Germany, capital of the kingdom of Saxony, 71 m. E.S.E. from Leipzig and 111 m. S. from Berlin by railway. It lies at an altitude of 402 ft. above the Baltic, in a broad and pleasant valley on both banks of the Elbe. The prospect of the city with its cupolas, towers, spires and the copper green roofs of its palaces, as seen from the distance, is one of striking beauty. On the left bank of the river are the Altstadt (old town) with four old suburbs and numerous new suburbs, and the Friedrichstadt (separated from the Altstadt by a long railway viaduct); on the right, the Neustadt (new town), Antonstadt, and the modern military suburb Alberstadt. Five fine bridges connect the Altstadt and Neustadt. The beautiful central bridge—the Alte or Augustusbrücke—with 16 arches, built in 1727–1731, and 1420 ft. long, has been demolished (1906) and replaced by a wider structure. Up-stream are the two modern Albert and Königin Carola bridges, and, down-stream, the Marien and the Eisenbahn (railway) bridges. The streets of the Alstadt are mostly narrow and somewhat gloomy, those of the Neustadt more spacious and regular.

On account of its delightful situation and the many objects of interest it contains, Dresden is often called “German Florence,” a name first applied to it by the poet Herder. The richness of its art treasures, the educational advantages it offers, and its attractive surroundings render it a favourite resort of people with private means. There are a large number of foreign residents, notably Austro-Hungarians and Russians, and also a considerable colony of English and Americans, the latter amounting to about 1500. The population of the city on the 1st of December 1905 was 516,996, of whom 358,776 lived on the left bank (Altstadt) and 158,220 on the right (Neustadt). The royal house belongs to the Roman Catholic confession, but the bulk of the inhabitants are Lutheran Protestants.

Dresden is the residence of the king, the seat of government for the kingdom of Saxony, and the headquarters of the XII. (Saxon) Army Corps. Within two decades (1880–1900) the capital almost at a single bound advanced into the front rank of German commercial and industrial towns; but while gaining in prosperity it has lost much of its medieval aspect. Old buildings in the heart of the Altstadt have been swept away, and their place occupied by modern business houses and new streets. Among the public squares in the Altstadt must be mentioned the magnificent Theaterplatz, with a fine equestrian statue of King John, by Schilling; the Altmarkt, with a monument commemorative of the war of 1870–71; the Neumarkt, with a bronze statue of King Frederick Augustus II., by E. J. Hähnel;