Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 8.djvu/586

Rh 564 E S T E S Z 4 32 and 7 26 W. long., being about 180 miles in length from 1ST. to S. by 130 in extreme breadth, and having an area of about 14,280 square miles. It is bounded on the N. by Salamanca and Avila, E. by Toledo and La Mancha, S. by Cordova and Sevilla, and W. by Portugal. The Tagus and the Guadiana cross the province from E. to W., and their respective basins form two natural and nearly equal divisions, that of the Tagus, being the northern, called Alta or Upper Estremadura, and that of the Guadiana, Baja or Lower Estremadura. These two basins are separated from each other by a range of mountains, of which the eastern and higher portion attains an elevation of from 5000 to 6000 feet above the level of the sea. This natural division corresponds to the division into the provinces of Baclajoz and Caceres, the former being Baja Estremadura, and the latter Alta Estremadura. The basin of the Guadiana is bounded on the S. by a continuation of the Sierra Morena, which fills up the southern part of the province with hilly ground, and divides the waters of the Guadiana from those of the Guadalquivir. A branch of this chain proceeds northward from the confines of Cordova to the Guadiana. The basin of the Tagus is bounded on the N. by a range of mountains which proceed westward from Avila along the boundaries between Estremadura and Salamanca, and afterwards enter Portugal. From this northern range a branch proceeds in a S.W. direction between the rivers Alagon and Tietar ; from the eastern part of the central range a branch proceeds in a N.W. direction to the Tagus. The climate in summer is hot, but not unwholesome, except in some swampy places along the Guadiana. There is then but little rain ; dew, however, is abundant, and sufficient to moisten the ground ; and the nights are cool. Although the high mountains are-covered with snow in the end of November, the winters are not severe. The soil is very fertile, and might be rendered highly productive by a proper use of the waters of the many rivers by which it is intersected. Agriculture, however, is wholly neglected, and the noble plains that might yield abundance of all sorts of products are devoted only to pasturage. Vast numbers of merino sheep come annually from other parts to winter in these plains. Immense herds of swine are reared in the province, and constitute a great source of support to the inhabitants, not only supplying them with food, but also forming a great article of export to other provinces, the pork, bacon, and hams being in high esteem. The extensive forests of oak, beech, and chestnuts afford an abundance of food for hogs. Olive, fruit, and cork trees are numerous. Game is abundant, and fish swarm in the rivers and streams. Estremadura has mines of lead, copper, silver, and iron, but these are almost totally neglected ; and the manufac tures are few. The chief products are corn, wine, oil, hemp, and flax. The population of Estremadura in 1870 was 734,377. ESTREMOZ, a town of Portugal, in the province of Alemtejo, 22 miles W. of Elvas on the road to Lisbon. It was once a strongly fortified place with accommodation for a garrison of 20,000 men, but its citadel and forts are now falling into decay. There are marble quarries in the neigh bourhood, and the Estremoz bucaros, a kind of jar with a pleasant odour, are well known throughout Portugal The queen of Portugal, St Elizabeth, died in the town in 1336. Population about 6600. ESZEK, Germ. Easecli or Usser/g, Slav. Oszek, a fortified royal free town of Hungary, province of Croatia-Slavonia, situated on the right bank of the Drave, 13 miles from its confluence with the Danube, in 45 33 N.lat., 1843 E. long. The town is divided by a wide esplanade into four parts, viz., the fortress or town proper, the upper, the lower, and the new town. The most important buildings are the barracks, capable of accommodating 3000 men, the town hall, and the old county hall. It has also Roman Catholic, Greek, and other churches, four silk-weaving factories, a gymnasium, and a normal high school. A wooden bridge crosses the Drave and the swampy ground adjoining. There is steam communication with several places on the Upper Danube, and the trade in raw hides, cattle, and corn is very exten sive. Esze&quot;k stands on the site of the ancient Roman town Mursia ^lia, founded by the emperor Hadrian, 125 A.D., and afterwards became the capital of Lower Pannonia. The town was made the seat of a bishopric by Constantino in 335, which, however, ceased to exist after the de struction of the colony by Attila in 447. The Sla vonians settled there in the 6th century. In 1526 Esze k was occupied by the Turks, who having defeated the Germans there in 1537, remained for about a century and a half in possession of the town, which ultimately came under Austrian rule in 1687. Eszelc surrendered to the Hungarians in October 1848, but was retaken by the Austrianson the 14th February 1849. It has been a royal free town since 1809. Population in 1870, 17,247. ESZTERHAZY, the name of an ancient, influential, and wealthy Hungarian family, which some genealogists derive from a descendant of Attila, a certain Paul Estoraz, who embraced Christianity in 969 A.D. Authentic accounts, however, do not extend beyond 1238, when the family was divided into the two branches of Zerhazy and Illeshazy, the latter of which became extinct in 1838. Francis Zerhazy changed the name, in 1584, to Eszterhazy, and his descend ants separated into the three existing branches : Csesznek, Z61yom or Altsohl, and Frakno or Forchtenstein. PAUL IV., Prince Eszterhazy de Galanta, the head of the third branch, was born at Eisenstadt, September 7, 1635. At an early age he became field-marshal, and distinguished himself in the wars against the Turks. In 1681 he was made Palatine of Hungary. In 1683 he assisted in the deliverance of Vienna, and in 1686 of Oi eii from the hands of the Turks, and thus contributed to establish the power of the house of Austria in Hungary, for which services he was in 1687 created a prince of the Holy Roman Empire. He died 26th March 1713. NICHOLAS JOSEPH, Prince Eszterhazy de Galanta, Count of Forchtenstein, born 18th December 1714, was the grand son of Paul IV. He distinguished himself in Silesia in 1745 at the head of the Hungarian troops, but is chiefly known as a patron of the arts and sciences. He was, moreover, a diplomatist, and served as ambassador at vari ous courts. He died 28th September 1790. NICHOLAS IV., Prince Eszterhazy de Galauta, grandson of the last-named, was born 12th September 1765. In his youth he visited the chief countries of Europe, and served for some time in the Austrian army, where he became field- marshal, but he afterwards entered the diplomatic corps. He was a great patron of the arts and sciences, and founded an important picture gallery in his castle at Vienna. He also transformed his country seat at Eisenstadt into a temple of music and botany, and erected a fine mausoleum there to Haydn. In 1809, when Napoleon wished to weaken the Austrian power by the separation of Hungary, he is said to have offered the Magyar crown to EszterhAzy, who, however, firmly refused it. He died at Como in Italy, 25th November 1833. PAUL ANTHONY, Prince Eszterhazy de Galanta, son of Nicholas IV., was born llth March 1786, and devoted himself to diplomacy. In 1810 he was ambassador at Dresden, in 1 81 4 at Rome, and from 1815 to 18 18, and again from 1830 to 1838, at the court of England, where he gained the reputation of being an able diplomatist. He subse quently directed his energies to the support of the rising Hungarian national movement, and, in 1848, accepted the