BRUNSWICK ( Ger. Bran Izsch weig, ceval Brunswich, Brunes•ik, for Med. Lat. ricus, the village of Bruno, son of Rudolf, Duke of Saxony; cf. Engl. wick, AS. wic, town, wich, Goth. wcihs, village). The capital of the German duchy of the same name. situated on the Oker, about 35 miles southeast of Han over, and in latitude 52' 16' N., and longitude 10° :32' E. (Map: Germany, D 2). The town is irregularly built, and its crooked and narrow streets lend it a mediorval appearance. although its fortifications have given way to parks and promenades. The most noteworthy of the churches arc the cathedral, founded by Henry the Lion in the Twelfth Century. and containing the tombs of henry and his wife; the Church of Saint Catharine. begun by him in the Twelfth Century, and completed in the Fifteenth; and the Church of Saint .Magnus, the original of which was built in the Eleventh Century. Among the secular edifices, the most prominent is the Ducal Palace, erected in 1831-36 on the site of the Graue Hof, and reconstructed after the tire of 1865. It has an imposing facade, sur mounted by a fine quadriga in copper, and is adorned with statues of Mho IV. and Otho the Child. The Altstadt Rathaus (town-hall of the old town) is a fine Gothic building, begun in 1250 and completed in 1468. Its facade, having open arcades and pillars, is adorned with the statues of Saxon princes. Among other interest ing edifices are the old castle, recently rebuilt, and the beautiful Gewandhaus. Brunswick is rich in monuments, including one to Lessing.
The chief industries comprise the manufactur ing of chicory, tobacco, woolens. paint, machines. chemicals, articles of apparel, sugar. liquors, etc. The commerce is considerable, but it has de clined of late, and the annual fairs have lost in importance.
The city administration is carried on by a municipal council of 36 members and an execu tive board of S members. Brunswick owns its water-works, gas plant, a slaughter-house, and markets. A municipal sewage farm has been in operation since 1897. The city is well pro vided with educational institutions, among which are a technical high school established in 1745, and several special schools and teachers' seminaries. The Ducal Musuem contains fine Dutch paintings and etchings. There are also a municipal museum and a theatre. Population, in 1890, 101,047; in 1900, 128,177. Most of the inhabitants are Lutherans.
Brunswick is supposed to have been founded in the second half of the Ninth Century. It ob tained municipal privileges from Henry the Lion, by whom it was also strongly fortified. A mem ber of the Hanseatic League, Brunswick became one of the most important cities of Northern Ger many; hut its prosperity did not outlive that of the League. In the Seventeenth Century began a decline, to which the Thirty Years' War also contributed. During 1806-13 Brunswick belonged to the Kingdom of Westphalia. In 1830 it was the scene of a revolution, which resulted in the flight of the reigning Duke.