KASCHAU, kii'shou (flung. Kassa). A royal free town of Hungary, and capital of the County of Abauj-Torna, situated on the Hermid, 170 miles by rail northeast of Budapest (Slap: Hungary, G 2). Its picturesque position amid vine-clad 'Fountains, and its regular streets, fine buildings, and extended suburbs, make it one of the most sightly cities of Hungary. Its chief attraction is the fine Gothic cathedral, constructed during the fourteenth century from designs by the French architect D'Henneeourt. Its two towers are unfinished. It contains a splendid canopy 65 feet high, a rich late-Gothic high altar pro fusely adorned with paintings on a gold back ground, and portals covered with statuary in pure Gothic. The cathedral was restored during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Other interesting churches are: Saint Michael's. dating from the thirteenth century; the Dominican church, with frescoes; and the new Protestant church, with a lofty dome. Among other note
worthy buildings are the town hall, the ad ministration buildings of the county, the epis copal palace, and the oldest theatre in Hungary. The educational institutions include a royal law school, a Catholic higher gymnasium, a seminary for teachers of both sexes, an Episcopal seminary, and the .district innscum, containing a good col lection of antiquities. Kaschau manufactures paper, spirits, furniture, flour, wooden products, and tobacco, and is a centre in the trade between Galicia and Hungary. It is the seat of a Roman Catholic bishopric. Mineral springs abound in the vicinity. The town was colonized by Ger mans, and obtained municipal rights as early as 1241. It played an important part in the his tory of Eastern Hungary. and was in 1849 the scene of a defeat of the Hungarians by the Aus trians. Population, in 1890, 32,165; in 1900, 40,102; mostly Catholic Magyars.