PRUSSIA, the largest and most power ful State of the German republic; occu pying a N. central portion of the Euro pean continent; between. lat. 49°and 56° N., and lon. 6° and 23° E.; bounded on the N. by the Baltic and Denmark; on the E. by Russia and Poland; on the S. by Bohemia, Bavaria, Wiirttemberg and Baden; and on the W. by Belgium and the Netherlands. From the extreme E. frontier of Prussia to Aix-la-Chapelle, the distance is about 775 miles, and from the promontory on the Baltic above Stral sund, to the extreme S. frontier, of Sile sia, the distance is 404 miles. The length of the coast line is about 250 miles on the North Sea, and 750 miles on the Baltic. The following islands belong to Prussia: Rtigen, Fehmarn, Alsen, Heligoland and the Frisian Islands. Total area, before the World War, 134, 650 square miles; total population about 40,000,000. As a result of the Peace Treaty of Versailles, Prussia lost certain parts of Posen, Silesia, East and West Prussia, Schleswig, and the Rheinland, amounting to some 31,000 square miles with almost 8,000,000 inhabitants and reducing its area to about 103,000 square miles and its population to about 32,000,000.
Political Divisions.—Prussia before the World War was administratively divided into 14 provinces, which were again subdivided into 35 government dis tricts, with the principality of Hohen zollern, the cradle of the royal family. The provinces were as follows, with pop ulation in 1910: Rhine (Rheinland), 7,120,519; Silesia (Schlesien), 5,226,311; Brandenburg, 4,093,007; Westphalia (Westfalen), 4,125,904; Saxony (Sach sen), 3,088,778; Hanover (Hannover), 2,942,546; East Prussia (Ostpreussen), 2,064,368; Posen, 2,100,044; Hesse-Nas sau, 2,220,956; Berlin, 2,070,695; Pome rania (Pommern), 1,716,481; West Prussia (Westpreussen), 1,703,042; Schleswig-Holstein, 1,619,673; and Ho henzollern, 71,009. The principal cities with population for 1910 are : Berlin, 2, 064,153; Breslau, 519,929; Cologne, 511, 042; Frankfort-on-the-Main, 414,406; Hanover, 299,753; Magdeburg, 279,644; Dusseldorf, 356,733; Stettin, 234,033; Charlottenburg, 304,280; Konigsberg, 248,059.
Topography.—The surface of the kingdom is generally level, sloping in the N. to the sea, and forming part of the great N. plain of Europe. The S. and S. W. parts of the kingdom are hilly, or even mountainous. The principal ranges are the Sudetic, the Thuringian, the Hartz, the Teutoburgerwald, the Weser, the Taunus and the Westerwald.
The province of Hohenzollern is in the Swabian Alps. Prussia is well watered. The Rhenish provinces are traversed by the Rhine, while the E. frontier is partly formed by the Weser. The Elbe inter sects the Saxon provinces; the Oder, which is almost entirely a Prussian river, runs through the whole extent of the monarchy, from the S. frontier of Silesia to the isle of Usedom, where it falls into the Baltic. Polish Prussia (or Posen) is watered by the Wartha; West Prussia by the Vistula; and Ducal or East Prussia by the Pregel and Nie men. Besides the above, there are many other large streams, as the Ems, Moselle, Spree, Havel, Netze, etc. Ow ing to the flatness of the country through which they flow, none of the great rivers are interrupted by cataracts, and they are all navigable—the Rhine, Elbe, and Vistula, throughout their whole course in the Prussian dominions; the Oder for barges as far as Ratibor in southern Silesia, and the Pregel and Niemen to a considerable distance inland. Lakes are exceedingly numerous, particularly in East Prussia and Pomerania. There are also along the coast several large bays, or rather lagoons, communicating with the sea by narrow mouths, and pos sessing more of the character of fresh water lakes than of arms of the sea. They are denominated half s. The cli mate of Prussia is not less varied than the soil. Along the Baltic it is moist, and in East Prussia, especially, the winter is long and severe. It is also harsh in the S. part of Silesia, Branden burg, and in the Saxon and Rhenish provinces it is comparatively mild. The quality of the soil is various. In Bran denburg and Pomerania it is generally poor; in many parts, indeed, it consists of tracts of loose barren sand, diversified with extensive heaths and moors; but, in other parts, particularly along the rivers and lakes, there is a good deal of meadow, marsh, and other comparatively rich land. In Ducal Prussia and Prus sian Poland, including the province of Posen, the soil consists generally of black earth and sand, and is, in many parts, very superior; but Silesia, and the Saxon and Rhenish provinces, are naturally, perhaps, the most productive. The plain of Magdeburg, on the left bank of the Elbe, is also very fertile.