Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/867

* ODENSE. 737 ODESSA. being made, and the town is the chief railroad and commercial centre of Funen, exporting but- ter, clieese, hides, and bacon in considerable quan- tities. The population has increased sevenfold during the past century. In 1890 it was 30,277, and in 11)01, 40,138. Odense dates from the legendary period of Danish history. It became a bishop's see early in the eleventh century, and several councils of archbishops were held here. In the sixteenth century the city was the meeting place of several parliaments. It suffered severely during the Swedish occupation in 1G58-00. Odense is the birtliplace of Hans Christian Andersen. ODENWALD, O'lk'n-viilt. A mountain region in Southern Germany, covering parts of Hesse and Northern Baden. It lies east of the Rhine, between the Main and the Neckar, the latter separating it from the northern extension of the Black Forest, and the former from the Taunus Range (Map: Germany. C 4). The eastern part, which consists mainly of sandstones, is the more level, and slopes gradually toward the plain. The western part consists of granite, gneiss, and crystalline slate, and falls abruptly toward the Ehine Valley. There are many beautiful valleys, and several peaks reaching a height of about 2000 feet. Large portions are covered with mag- nificent beech and oak as well as pine forests, and the region is dotted with castles and ruins possessing historical and legendary associations. ODEON, 6'da'Ox'. A theatre in Paris, oppo- site the gardens of the Luxembourg Palace, rank- ing next to the ThMtre Franc;ais, and receiving an annual Government subvention of 100,000 francs. It is given over chiefly to classical dramas. The theatre was erected in 1782 and has been several times destroyed by fire and restored under various names. ODEK, o'der. One of the principal rivers of Germany (Map: Germany, F 2). It rises on a southern extension of the Sudetic Mountains, near Olmiitz, in Moravia, and flows in a generally nortliwest direction through Prussian Silesia, Brandenburg, and Pomerania. It empties into the Stettiner Haft', from which its waters flow into the Baltic Sea through three arms which form the islands of Usedom and Wollin. Its length is 562 miles. Only in its extreme upper course does it flow through a hilly and forested country; for the greater part of its length its banks are low and flat, often marshy, and in some places diversi- fied with sand dunes. In its lower course it divides repeatedly into parallel arms, which in the last twenty miles form a long, narrow delta. The river is in general shallow, and the current is very swift and there ai'e sudden and great variations in volume. Extensive and costly engineering works have been necessary to con- fine it to its bed and render it navigable, but in dry summers navigation is still uncertain. The total navigable length for small vessels is 445 miles, ending at Ratibor, in Southern Silesia. Sea-goin<r vessels can ascend as far as Stettin, at the head of the Stettiner Haff. but the chief port used by ocean commerce is Swinemiiiidc. on the central outlet into the Baltic. The principal tributary of the Oder is the Warthe, which rises in Poland and nearly equals the main river in size. The chief cities on the Oder are Stettin, Frankfort (Brandenburg), Breslau, and Oppeln. Consult: Der Oderstrom, sein Stromgebiet und seine icichtigsten Aeicd/fi/sse (Berlin, 1896) ; Briimer, "Die Oder und ihr Gebiet," in Zritschrifl des honiqliclicn prcussischen t:itutislisch(.'H liu- leaus (Berlin, 1899). ODES'SA. The most important city and sea- port of Southern Russia and the fourth city of the Kmpire in population, situated in the Gov- ernment of Kherson, on an elevaticm sloping to- ward an inlet of the Black Sea (Jlap: Russia, D 5). It lies about 32 miles northeast of the mouth of the Dniester and 938 miles by rail southwest of Moscow. The general appearance and atmosphere of Odessa are rather European than Russian. The climate is temperate, the annual temperature being about 50° F., ranging from 70° in .July to about 26° in .January. The city was built up during the nineteenth cen- tury, and is therefore one of the youngest among the" large cities of Russia. It is regularly laid out around the bay and has a number of fine streets and squares, from which a magnificent view of the sea is obtained. The most popular boulevard is the Xikolayevsky Boulevard, fi'om ^^ hich a grand stairway leads to the bay. At the head of the stairway is the bronze statue of the Due de Richelieu, the first Governor of the dis- trict, to whom Odessa owes much of its progress and architectural beauty. There are many fine buildings, both ecclesias- tical and secular. The chief among them are the cathedral, the exchange, the theatre, the Govern- or's palace, the city hall, the municipal library, containing 80,000 volumes, and the univer- sity building. Monuments to Alexander II., Catharine It., and Pushkin adorn various sections of the town. There are about twenty- five orthodox churches, a number of monasteries, sj'nagogues, and a few reformed churches. In the southern and eastern parts of the city are situated a number of parks, among which the chief are the Alexandrovsk Park and the Botanical Garden. At the head of the educational institu- tions is the university ("Xovo-Rossisky Univer- sitet'), founded in 1864, and having faculties of medicine, philosophy, law, history and philology, physics and mathematics. The number of its students is about 700. It has a library of over 130,000 volumes, a museum, and an observatory. There are a number of g'mnasia and preparatory, commercial, art, and industrial schools. Odessa has various learned societies, four theatres, and a number of philanthropic institutions. The city is lighted by gas. and the port mainly by electricity. Water is conducted from the Dniester, a distance of over 20 miles. The liarbor is modern and very extensive. It is of suflicient depth for the admission of deep-draught vessels. It is divided by large moles into several ports. While Odessa is primarily a commercial place, it is also of considerable industrial importance. In 1899 it had over 500 large industrial estab- lishments, employing about 21,000 persons, and with an output of over .$30,000,000. The chief establishments are flour mills, sugar refineries, match factories, breweries, tanneries, soap fac- tories, iron works, etc. Situated on the coast of one of the largest grain-producing areas of Russia and in close proximity to the estuaries of the Dnieper and the Dniester, the city is natu- rally well equipped for its position as the chief grain-exporting centre of Russia, and the first