RHEIN PROVINZ ('Province of the Rhine'), the most .western province of Prussia, lies between 49° 10' and 51° 55' N. lat.,.5° 55' and 8° E. long. It is situated on both sides of the Rhine, and com prises the grand-duchy of the Lower Rhine, and the duchies of Juliers, Cleves, and Berg. It contains the five governments of Cologne, this seldorf, Coblenz, Trevee, and Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle). Except the circle of Wetzlar, which is encompassed by Nassau, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Hesae-Cassel, it is bounded N. by Westphalia, E. by Nassau and Hesse-Darmstadt, S. by France, Bavaria, Saxe-Coburg, Hesse-Hom burg, and W. by Luxemburg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The area and the population of the five governments of the province iu 1847 were as follows :— In the return for 1852 the area and population of the province, with the addition of Hohen-Zollern, are given at 10,759 square miles, and 2,972,130 souls, of whom 2,247,396 were Catholics; 691,777 Pro testants; 31,656 Jews; 1290 Mennonites; and 11 Greeks.
The northern part of the province is generally level, the eastern and southern parts mountainous and hilly. The Hundsrficken, which extends between the Moselle, the Rhine, and the Nahe, forms the west side of the valley of the Rhine and the east side of the valley of the Moselle, and is connected on the south with the Vosges. Its highest point within the province is in the Soonveald, which is 2015 feet above the level of the sea. The Eirzn, which is a wild and partly very sterile region, is a continuation of the Ardennes, and extends between Luxemburg, the 3loselle, and the Rhine. In the eastern part there are numerous extinct volcanoes. The Westerwald is a rude chain, which likewise shows many traces of volcanic action. The most interesting part of it is that called the Siebengebirge near Bonn ; some parts of this chain are from 1200 to 1400 feet above the level of the sea.
The principal rivers are the Rhine, the Moselle, and the Lippe, which are navigable ; the many smaller streams, most of which fall into the Rhine, are either not navigable or navigated by very email vessels. The climate is temperate ; the air on the right bank of the Rhine is pure and healthy ; on the left aide damp fogs are more frequent, especially in the north-west part, where there are many marshes; on the moun tains it is cold. The natural productions of this province are equally
numerous and valuable. The higher parts of the mountains are crowned with noble forests, and the declivities are covered with vine yards. The minerals are silver, iron, copper, lead, calamine, marble, slate, freestone, millstones, basalt, porphyry, alum, manganese, sulphur, coals, and salt. Where the country slopes to the Rhine there are productive corn-fields and rich pastures; between the mountains there ard fertile valleys, where flax, hemp, hops, and tobacco are grown, and fruit and garden produce of every kind are cultivated in great abund ance. Game is plentiful, and all the domestic animals are bred in sufficient number.
But the great source of the prosperity of the province is the Rhine, which, from its junction with the Nahe to the village of Hochheim on its right bank, forms the natural boundary between the duchy of Nassau and the government of Coblenz ; it then traverses the govern ments of Cologne and Dlisseldorf, and leaves the Prussian territory nt Schenkensclusnz, opposite the Dutch village of Lobith, having passed through this province as one undivided stream for 180 miles. On the banks are many vestiges of Roman works and ruins of castles of the middle ages. The small rivers and streams are applied to turn mills and to work manufacturing machinery of every kind; for this, says Has sell, is the most industrial province not only of the Prussian Monarchy but of all Germany. The duchy of Berg has been termed an England in miniature, and the comparison is more appropriate now than when it was first made. Cotton-factories with steam-machinery have been established in the moat important towns of the province. Steam-boats ply on the Rhine and its navigable feeders, and railroads connect its chief towns with each other and with the great industrial and trading centres of Belgium, North Germany, and France. (Panama.] The manufactures comprise woollen, silk, and cotton textures of all descrip tions; steam-engines and steam-machinery; plain and damask linen ; yarn of all descriptions ; lace, buttons, ribands, chemical products, sugar, tobacco, musical instruments, hardware, agricultural and mechanical tools, needles, pins, &a Under the heads Aix-La-Cue