PO'SEIN, a province of Prussia, bounded D. by Pomerania and east Prussia, e. by Poland, s. by Silesia, and w. by Brandenburg and Pomerania. Area 11,150 sq.m. Pop. at the close of 1875, 1,608,956. It is divided into the two governmental districts of Posen and Bromberg; and the principal towns are Posen, Bromberg, Lissa, Rawitseh, and Gnesen. The principal river is the Wartha, which traverses Posen from e. to w., and is navigable throughout the greater part of its course, as is also the smaller Nctze. The country is almost everywhere level, and its surface extensively covered with bogs, ponds, and small lakes. The soil is on the whole fruitful, and the numerous swamps and forests which covered the land during its annexation to Poland have of late years been converted into rich meadow and good amble land, where cattle of superior quality are raised, and good crops of wheat, barley, oats, and flax are procured. The forests are extensive and productive, and contribute largely to the exports of the province, of which, however, the most important articles are corn, wool, tallow, hides, wax, and honey. With the excep tion of coal, which is obtained from beds near the town of Wronki, Posen basil° mineral products. Good broad-cloth, linens, and lace are manufactured in many of the small country towns. Since the annexation of Posen to Prussia much has lean done to supply the previous deficiency in regard to popular instruction; and there are now nine gym nasia, several normal and training schools, a seminary for priests, and upward of 2,000 burgher and national schools. The greater part of the population belongs to the Roman
Catholic church, which is under the spiritual jurisdiction of the archbishop of Posen and Gnesen, while 74,000 of the remainder £:"C Jews. The inhabitants may still be said to lie Poles, more than 800,000 persons employing Polish as their mother-tongue. Posen formed an integral part of Poland till 1772. when, at the first partition of the Polish ter ritory, the districts n. of the Netze were given to Prussia. At the second and third par titions, which were made twenty years later, the remainder was incorporated in the Prussian kingdom under the name of South Prussia. In 1807 Posen was included in the duchy of Warsaw; but by the act of the congress of Vienna it was separated in 1815 , from Poland, and reassigned to Prussia under the title of the grand duchy of Posen, In . 1848 the Poles, who had never amalgamated with their new German compatriots, took advantage of the general political excitement of that period to organize an open rebellion, which gave the Prussian government considerable trouble. and was not put down till much blood had been spilt on both sides. On the cessation of disturbances the German citi zens of the province demanded the incorporation of Posen with these Prussian states which were members of the German confederation, and the Berlin chambers gave their approval of the proposed measure in 1850: but on the subsidence of revolutionary senti ment in Germany the subject was dropped. '