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 EILENBURG EISENBERG 483 boring country that these hills were originally one mountain, which was divided into three separate summits by a demon under the wiz- ard Michael Scott. EILENBURG, a town of Prussia, in the prov- ince of Saxony, 14 m. N. E. of Leipsic, on an island formed by the Mulde ; pop. in 1871, 10,- 135. It has many flourishing manufactures, chiefly of cotton and linen goods, chemicals, and tobacco. It received its name from the ancient castle near it, which is mentioned in the 10th century as a seat of the counts of Ilburg, and as an important frontier fortress against the Wends and Sorbs. EIMBECK, or Einbeck, a town of Prussia, in the province of Hanover, on the lime, 21 m. N. N. W. of Gottingen; pop. in 1871, 6,189. It has manufactories of woollens and linens, several bleacheries and tanneries, and a gym- nasium founded by Luther. It was formerly the capital of the county of Mansfeld, and was once prominent among the military towns of the empire, but the French destroyed its walls in 1761. EINSIEDELN, or Einsiedlen, a village of Switz- erland, in the canton of Schwytz, on the Sihl, 20 m. S. E. of Zurich ; pop. in 1870, 7,633. It is about 3,000 ft. above the sea. Adjoining the village is a famous Benedictine abbey whence it derives its name, founded about 900, at the spot where St. Meinrad was murdered, but several times rebuilt. The present edifice, which dates from 1719, is in the modern Ital- ian style, and contains a museum, a library of 30,000 volumes, and a marble chapel wherein is an image of the Virgin that attracts multi- tudes of Roman Catholics from many parts of Europe. The average number of communi- cants, chiefly from Switzerland, Germany, and Italy, annually exceeds 150,000. The yearly festival is held on Sept. 14 ; and in 1861 the thousandth anniversary of the death of St. Meinrad was celebrated with great pomp. Connected with the abbey are an ecclesiastical seminary, a gymnasium, and a lyceum. EISENACH, a town of Germany, in the grand duchy of Saxe- Weimar, formerly capital of the principality of Saxe-Eisenach, 45 m. W. of Wei- mar ; pop. in 1871, 13,967. It is situated on the border of the Thuringian forest, at the conflu- ence of the Horsel with the Nesse, 712 ft. above the sea, and is the chief station on the Thurin- gian-Saxon railway. The town is enclosed by a wall, has broad streets generally paved with The Wartburg, Eisenach. basalt, and several remarkable public buildings, among which is the castle, formerly the resi- dence of the princes of Eisenach. Its manu- factures are chiefly woollen and cotton fabrics, white lead, and pipe heads of soap stone. In its environs on a lofty height is the ancient cas- tle of Wartburg, once the residence of the land- graves of Thuringia, celebrated as the place where the minnesingers contended for the palm of poetry, and as the asylum where Luther com- posed his translation of the Bible. The " Evan- gelical church conferences," consisting of repre- sentatives of all the governments of Germany and of Austria, for the regulation of the Prot- estant church affairs of these states, have been held here biennially since 1852. The ancient principality of Eisenach was in 1440 united with Saxony. Three times, in 1596, 1640, and 1672, a special line of Saxe-Eisenach was founded, but each of them was of short duration ; the last became extinct in 1741, when the country was united permanently with Saxe- Weimar. EISENBERG, a town of Germany, in the duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, on an affluent of the