Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 21.djvu/140

Rh 122 S A A S A A SAALFELD, a busy little town of Germany,in the eastern horn of the crescent-shaped duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, is picturesquely situated on the left bank of the Saale (here spanned by a bridge), 24 miles south of Weimar and 77 miles south-west of Leipsic. One of the most ancient towns in Thuringia, Saalfeld was the capital of the now extinct duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld, and contains some interest- ing old buildings. Among these are the former residential palace, built in 1679 on the site of the Benedictine monas- tery of St Peter, destroyed during the Peasants' War ; the Gothic church of St John, dating from the 13th century; the quaint town-house, built in 1533-37 ; and the Kitzer- stein, a shooting-lodge said to have been originally erected by the emperor Henry I., though the present building is not older than the 16th century. But perhaps the most interesting relic of the past in Saalfeld is the striking ruin of the Sorbenburg or Hoher Schwarm, a strong castle said to have been built by Charlemagne to protect his borders from the Slavonic hordes. Its destruction took place in 1290, under Rudolf of Hapsburg. Saalfeld is situated in one of the busiest parts of Meiningen, and carries on a number of brisk industries, including the manufacture of sewing-machines, colours, wax-cloth and wire-cloth, brewing, and iron-founding. It has an active trade in iron, slate, wood, and wooden goods, and there are ochre and iron mines in the neighbourhood. The population in 1880 was 7458. Springing up under the wing of the Sorbenburg, Saalfeld early became an imperial demesne, and received various benefits at the hands of successive emperors. After a somewhat chequered career, the town became the capital of the duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld, founded in 1680 by the youngest son of the duke of Gotha ; but in 1735, when the succession to the duchy of Coburg was assigned to the dukes of Saalfeld, their residence was removed to Coburg. In 1826 the united duchies merged by inheritance in the duchy of Saxe-Meiningcn. SAARBRUCKEN, an important industrial and com- mercial town in Prussia, on the left bank of the Saar, a navigable tributary of the Moselle, is situated 49 miles east of Metz, at the south end of one of the most extensive coal- fields in Europe, to which it has given its name. With the town of St Johann, immediately opposite on the right bank of the river, here spanned by two bridges, Saarbrucken forms in reality a single community, with a united popu- lation of nearly 22,000. St Johann, though now the larger, is the more recent town, being in fact the creation of the important railways whose junction is fixed there. Saar- brucken itself is not directly on any main line. The industries of St Jphann-Saarbriicken include wool-spinning, brewing, and the manufacture of tobacco, chemicals, tin, and stoneware. The trade is chiefly connected with the produce of the neighbouring coal-mines and that of the numerous important iron and glass works of the district. The Saarbrucken coal-field extends over 70 square miles ; and its annual output is about 6 million tons. Of this total the Prussian state mines yield about 5,200,000 tons, Prussian private mines 100,000 tons, the mines in Lorraine 500,000 tons, and mines in Rhenish Bavaria 200,000 tons. In 1880 the population of Saarbrucken alone was 9514, and of St Johann 12,346. Till 1233 Saarbriicken was in the possession of the old counts of Ardennes ; from 1381 till 1793 it was the residence of the princes of Nassau-Saarbriicken ; from 1793 till 181 5 it was in the possession of the French ; and since 1815 it has been Prussian. St Johann is said to have been founded as an outwork to Saarbrucken in 1046, and to have received town-rights in 1321. In the Franco- Prussian War of 1870-71 Saarbriicken was seized by the French on 2d August 1870, but the first German victory, on the heights of Spicheren, 3 miles to the south, relieved it four days later. SAARDAM,. See ZAANDAM. SAARGEMUND (Fr. Sarreguemines), an industrial town and railway junction of Germany, in the imperial province of Alsace-Lorraine, is situated at the confluence of the Blies and the Saar, 40 miles east of Metz. It carries on considerable manufactures of silk, plush, porcelain, and earthenware, and is a chief depot for the papier-mach6 boxes (mostly snuff-boxes) which are made in great quan- tity in the neighbourhood. To the south lies the district lunatic asylum of Steinbacherhof. The town, which is garrisoned by four squadrons of cavalry, in 1880 had a population of 9573, chiefly Roman Catholics. SAAVEDRA, ANGEL DE, DUKE OF RIVAS (1791-1865), Spanish poet and politician, was born at Cordova in 1791, and fought with bravery in the Spanish War of Independ- ence. From 1813 to 1820 he lived in retirement in An- dalucia, but in the latter year he sided actively with the revolutionary party, and in consequence had to go into exile in 1823. He lived successively in England, Malta, and France until 1834, when he received permission to return to Spain, shortly afterwards succeeding his brother as duke of Rivas. In 1836 he became minister of the interior under Isturiz, and along with his chief had again to leave the country. Having returned with Maria Chris- tina in 1844, he again held a portfolio for a short time in 1854 ; and during the last two decades of his life he was ambassador at Naples, Paris, and Florence for consider- able periods. He died in 1865. In 1813 he published Ensayos poeticos, and between that date and his first exile several tragedies of his composition (Aliatar, 1814 ; El Duque d'Aquitania, 1814 ; Lanuza, 1822) were put upon the stage. Tanto vales quanta ticncs, a comedy, appeared in 1834, Don Alvaro, a tragedy, in 1835, and two other dramatic composi- tions in 1842. Saavedra was also the author of El More Exposito, a narrative poem in ballad metre (two volumes), and f^orinda, an epic romance. SAAVEDRA, MIGUEL DE CERVANTES. See CER- VANTES. SAAVEDRA FAXARDO, DIEGO DE (1584-1648), diplomatist and man of letters, was born of a noble family at Algezares in the Spanish province of Murcia in 1584. Having been educated for the church at Salamanca, and admitted to the priesthood, he accompanied Cardinal Borgia, the Spanish ambassador, to Rome in the capacity of secretary. Ultimately he rose to high rank in the diplo- matic service, and was Spanish plenipotentiary at Ratisbon in 1636 and at Munster in 1645. He was nominated to the supreme council of the Indies in 1646, but not long afterwards retired to a monastery, where he died in 1648. In 1640 he published a treatise entitled Empresas politicas, 6 idea de un principe politico cristiano representado en den emprcsas, a hundred short essays, in which he discusses the education of a prince, his relation and duties to those around him, and so forth, primarily intended for and dedicated to the son of Philip IV. It is sententious in style and characterized by the curious learning of the time, and is still read and admired in Spain. It passed through a number of editions and was translated into several languages, the English version being by Astry (2 vols., 8vo, London, 1700). An unfinished historical work entitled Corona Gotica, Castcllana, y Austriaca politicamente ilustrada, appeared in 1646. Anotlier work by Saavedra, only second in popularity to the Empresas, his Sepublica Literaria, was published posthumously in 1670 ; it dis- cusses in a somewhat mocking tone some of the leading characters in the ancient and modern world of letters. Collected editions of his works appeared at Antwerp in 1677-78, and again at Madrid in 1789-90 ; see also voL xxv^of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. (1853). SAAZ (Bohemian Zatec a manufacturing and com- mercial town in the north of Bohemia, is situated on the right bank of the Eger, 42 miles north-west of Prague. The suspension bridge, 210 feet long, which here spans the river was constructed in 1826 and is one of the oldest of the kind in Bohemia. Saaz, which claims to have ex- isted as early as the 8th century, contains a number of ancient churches, of which one is said to date from 1206, and five others from before the close of the 14th century. The town-house was built in 1559. A technical school was added in 1878 to the already fairly numerous educa- tional institutions. Nails, leather, beetroot -sugar, and pasteboard are among the chief manufactures of Saaz,