PASSAU, the capital of the Bavarian circle of the Lower Danube, is situated at the point where the Danube receives the Ilz and the Inn, in 4S' 36' N. lat., 13' 25' E. long., and has 10,820 inhabitants. It consists of the town itself, and of three suburbs. A handsome bridge, resting on seven piers of granite, crosses the Danube, which is 754 feet wide. On the right bank of the Inn, which is 800 feet wide, is the suburb called the Innstadt, connected with the town by a wooden brides. On the other side of the Danube, and on the left bank of the Ilz, lies the lizatadt. The third suburb is called the Anger. In the angle between the right bank of the Ilz and the Danube there is a rock 400 feet high, upon which stands the fortress; of Oberbaus, which is connected with the castle of Niedcrhaus, situated below. The other defences of the place consist chiefly of eight detached forts. The town of Passau itself is pretty well built : among the public buildings the most remarkable are—the palace, formerly the residence of the bishop; the lyceum ; the cathedral; the church of St. Michael ; a gymnasium;
the ecclesiastical college; and the post-office, in which the treaty of Passau was signed in 1552. In the Domplatz, the handsomest square in the town, stands a colossal bronze statue of king Maximilian Joseph, erected in 1828. The charitable institutions of Passau possess a capital of 2,000,000 florios. There are a great tobacco and snuff manufactory, extensive breweries, tanneries, and paper-mills. Passau is the staple town of Bavaria for salt ; there are great magazines, to which the salt is brought from the works at Ilallein. Steamers ply ou the Danube to Regensburg, Itatisbon, Linz, and Vienna. The bridge over the Itothtluss, near l'aasau, is considered a curiosity, being one arch of 200 feet span, the largest in Germany. Passau was formerly the capital of a bishopric, which was founded in the 7th century, but was secularised in 1803, and in 1809 wholly incorporated with Bavaria.