BRENNER PASS, a pass in the main chain of the Alps, on the road between Innsbruck (q.v.) on the n. and Botzen (q.v.) on the s., connecting the s. of Germany with Venice and the n.e. of Italy. The B. P. is the lowest which crosses the main chain of the Alps, the summit being only 4775 feet above the level of the sea. Lofty mountains rise above it to the further height of more than 7500 ft., yet the scenery of the pass is less sublime and interesting than that of any other of the great passes of the Alps. It is open at all seasons of the year. At the summit of the pass is the village of Brenner, a resting-place for travelers, with a pop. of about 400. The climate here is so severe that corn seldom ripens. Here the traveler finds in close contiguity the Eisach, a small stream, which, after growing to be a considerable river, joins the Adige and the Sill, a tributary of the Inn; the one stream flowing to the gulf of Venice, and the other into the Black sea. On 18th Aug., 1867, a railway through the B. P. was opened, and thus a complete line of railway communication was established between Germany and Italy; Botzen having already been connected by a railway through the valley of the Adige with Verona, and so with the whole of Italy—Innsbruck being likewise connected with the railway system of Germany. This work was begun by the Austrian government when Venetia belonged
to the Austrian empire, and with the view not only of facilitating military operations, but of restoring the commercial prosperity of Venice, by making it the port of southern Germany. The prosecution of the works, however, was not arrested by the great politi cal changes which took place. A liberal commercial treaty recently made between Aus tria and Italy, binds the two countries together in community of interests restoring. in fact, the natural state of things with which political animosities had long interfered: and it has been made quite apparent, from the activity with which the roads have been repaired on some of the Alpine passes, and particularly that of the Stelvio, that both Germans and Italians appreciate the importance of an intimate commercial intercourse. The distance from Innsbruck to Botzen in a direct line is only 52 m , but by the wind ings of the road or of the railway, it is much increased.