Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/613

 ANTRIM ANTWERP 577 ANTRIM. I. A county forming the N. E. extremity of Ireland, in the province of Ulster, bounded N. by the Atlantic ocean, E. by the North channel, S. by Belfast Lough and county Down, and W. by Lough Neagh and county Lon- donderry; area, 1,191 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 419,782. The surface is hilly, and near the E. and N. E. coasts there are several consid- erable elevations, from which the country slopes gradually inland to the level of Lough Neagh. There are no considerable rivers except the Bann, which flows between this county and Londonderry. The seacoast is bold and rugged, formed of lofty basaltic cliffs, and presenting, between Bengore Head and the mouth of the Bann, the singular formation known as the Giant's Causeway. (See GIANT'S CAUSEWAY.) In the N. E. part of the county, called "the Glens," are picturesque and fertile valleys, and the scenery is varied and pleas- ing. Besides agriculture, the linen manufacture is the chief employment of the people; and along the coasts an extensive fishery is carried on. The principal towns are Belfast, the county town (a part of which, however, be- longs to county Down), Antrim, Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Larne, and Lisburn. II. A mar- ket town of the preceding county, situated on the right bank of the Six-Mile Water, less than a mile from its embouchure into Lough Neagh, and 13 m. N. W. of Belfast; pop. in 1871, 2,131. It is a principal seat of the linen man- ufacture. The town is well built, and consists of little more than one long street, with its short cross streets. Near it are Antrim castle and Shane's castle, one of the celebrated round towers of Ireland. On June 7, 1798, a battle was fought here between the English troops and the United Irishmen, resulting in a victory for the former. ANTRIM, a county of Michigan, in the N. W. of the main peninsula, bordering on Grand Traverse bay, Lake Michigan ; area, 700 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 1,985. There are several small lakes in the county. The productions ia 1870 were 8,596 bushels of wheat, 10,605 of Indian corn, 4,270 of oats, 45,098 of potatoes, 22,920 Ibs. of butter, and 16,268 of maple sugar. There were 12 school houses and 399 children attending school. ANTWERP (Fr. Anvers ; Span. Amber es ; Ger. and Flem. Antwerperi). I. A province of Bel- gium, bounded N. by Holland, and E., S., and W. by the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Bra- bant, and East Flanders; area, 1,094 sq. m. ; pop. in 1869, 485,883, nearly all Roman Cath- olics. The province is almost an uninterrupted flat, but chiefly composed of fertile soil, ex- cepting some barren districts in the N. and N. W. The district called the "polders," extend- ing along the Scheldt from Antwerp to Zand- vliet, originally a swamp, has been drained and converted into rich pasture and arable land. The principal rivers are the Scheldt, which borders it on the west, and its navigable tribu- taries, the Rupel, the Dyle, and the Great and 38 VOL. i. 38 Little Nethe. The province is rich in wheat, rye, barley, flax, hemp, fruit, cattle, horses, fish, honey, and tobacco, and in manufactures of cotton, lace, woollens, linens, silks, soap, spirits, refined sugar, salt, leather, and oil. j The principal towns are Antwerp, Mechlin, Lierre, Turnhout, Boom, Gheel, and Zandvliet. II. A city, capital of the preceding province, and the principal seaport of Belgium, situated on the right bank of the Scheldt, 45 m. from its mouth, and 29 m. by railway N. of Brussels, in lat. 51 13' N., Ion. 4 24' E. ; pop. in 1869, 126,668. The recent removal of the old forti- fications has vastly extended the area of the city. The old citadel, long regarded as a model fortress, has been razed, and the greater part of its site was sold in 1870 to the Prussian railway contractor Strousberg for 14,000,000 francs, under the condition that about half of the space should be reserved for the construc- tion of basins, docks, and wharfs. The rest of the ground is to serve as a site for a new rail- way station. A new city, with fine boule- vards, squares, and promenades, has sprung up on the site of the old ramparts and bastions. The new fortifications, constructed in 1862-'5, extend over an area of nearly 20 m. The new citadel (citadelle du nord) commands the river and is connected with the principal old fort by a new curved line of walls. The outer circle of detached forts, each provided with about 135 guns, are linked together by a military road beyond the reach of shells from an enemy outside. About one half of the enceinte is de- fensible by inundations produced by cutting the dikes. The whole enceinte is expected to afford room for about 30,000 men in bomb- proof barracks. The cost of the new work is estimated at about 12,000,000 francs. Gun carriages and artillery appendages are made in the arsenal, and ammunition for ordnance and small arms in the pyrotechnic school. The magnificent dockyards constructed under the direction of Napoleon I. were demolished in 1814 in accordance with the treaty of Paris, but the two great basins were preserved and have been converted into docks, which are lined with warehouses. New dock basins (Kattendyk) were opened in 1860. An exten- sive system of canals affords facilities for inland traffic. The old part of the city retains its quaint Flemish characteristics. The Flemish language is spoken by the mass of the peo- ple and French by the cultivated classes. On the Place Verte is a conspicuous statue of Rubens, who lived and died here. Vandyke's is near the museum, and one of Teniers was erected in 1867. The cathedral of Antwerp, one of the most celebrated Gothic edifices of Europe, contains master works of Rubens and other celebrities. The churches of the Augus- tines, St. James, St. Anthony of Padua, and others, contain also remarkable paintings of the great masters. In the church of St. George, opened in 1853, are frescoes by Guffens and Sweerts. The works of Rubens