BREISACH 164 Anglo-Norman invasion, Ireland was gov- erned by these laws. BREISACH (bri'sach), ALT, a town of Baden, on an isolated basalt hill (804 feet) on the right side of the Rhine, 14 miles W. of Freiburg. The Mons Brisi- acus of Caesar, it was taken by Ariovistus when he invaded Gaul; being regarded as the key to western Germany, it fig- ured prominently in the wars of the 17th and 18th centuries. The minster is a 13th century structure. Neu Breisach, on the other side of the Rhine, in Alsace, was built by Louis XIV., in 1697, when Alt Breisach was given back to the Empire. BREISGAXT (bris'gou), one of the most fertile and picturesque districts of Germany, in the S. of Baden, in the Rhine valley, containing part of the Black Forest. Chief town, Freiburg. BREITENFELD (brl'ten-feld), a vil- lage of Saxony, 5 miles N. of Leipsic, remarkable for three battles fought in its neighborhood. In the first, fought on Sept. 17 (old style, 7th), 1631, Gustavus Adolphus inflicted a decisive defeat upon the imperialists under Tilly, who, as well as his generals, Pappenheim and Fiir- stenberg, was wounded. The second bat- tle was also a victory of the Swedes un- der Torstenson over the imperial forces under the Archduke Leopold and Ficco- lomini, Nov. 2 (old style, Oct. 23), 1642. The third battle was one act of the great "Battle of the Nations" at Leipsic, Oct. 16, 1813. BREMEN (bra'men), a city of Ger- many, formerly an independent member of the Empire, one of the three Hanse towns, on the Weser, about 50 miles from its mouth, in its own small territory of 99 square miles, besides which it posses- ses the port of Bremerhaven, at the mouth of the river. The city is partly on the right, partly on the left, bank of the Weser, the larger portion being on the former. It contains the cathedral, founded about 1050, the old Gothic Coun- cil house, with the famous wine cellar below it, the Town Hall, the Merchants' House, and the Old and the New Ex- change. The Vorstadt, or suburbs, lying on the right bank, outside the ramparts
- )t the old town, are extensive. The
manufacturing establishments consist of tobacco and cigar factories, sugar re- fineries, rice mills, iron foundries, ma- chine works, rope and sail works, and shipbuilding yards. Its situation ren- ders Bremen the emporium for Hanover, Brunswick, Hesse, and other countries traversed by the Weser, and next to Hamburg it is the principal seat of the BREMERHAVEN export and import and emigration trade of Germany. Only small vessels can pass up to the city itself; the great bulk of the shipping trade centers in Bremer- haven and Geestemiinde. Bremerhaven has docks capable of receiving the largest vessels, and is connected by railway with Bremen. The chief imports are tobacco, raw cotton and cotton goods, wool and woolen goods, rice, coffee, grain, petro- leum, etc. Pop. with Bremerhaven, about 248,000. Bremen was made a bishopric by Charlemagne about 788, was afterward made an archbishopric, and by the end of the 14th century had become virtually a free imperial city. The present consti- tution is in most respects republican and was adopted in 1854. The legislative authority is shared by a Senate of 18 citizens, elected for life, and an as- sembly of 150 citizens, elected for 6 years. The executive lies with the Sen- ate and Senatorial committees. BREMER, FREDRIKA (bra'mer), a Swedish novelist, was born at Tuorla, Finland, Aug. 17, 1801; was brought up at Arsta, about 20 miles from Stockholm. In 1828 appeared the first volume of her "Sketches of Everyday Life," but the second volume, "The H. Family" (1833; English translation, 1844), first revealed her power. From this time she devoted herself to writing stories and varied her literary labor by long journeys in Italy, England, the United States, Greece, Palestine, which supplied the materials for her "Homes of the New World" (1853), and "Life in the Old World" (1862). On her return to Sweden she gave herself up to philanthropy, but more particularly to the education and emancipation of women, and the conse- quent propagandist character of her later novels, "Bertha," and "Father and Daughter" (1859), was detrimental in no small degree to their literary value. She has been called the Jane Austen of Sweden. Of her stories perhaps the most perfect is "The Neighbors" (1837). "The Diary," "The President's Daugh- ters," "Brothers and Sisters," and "Strife and Peace," are only less popular. She died in Arsta, Dec. 31, 1865. BREMERHAVEN (bra'mer-haf-en), the port of Bremen, Germany, on the E. shore of the Weser estuary, nearly 10 miles from the open sea, and 39 N. N. W. of Bremen, It was founded by Bremen, in 1827, on ground acquired from Hanover, and rapidly became a thriving place. It has an excellent sys- tem of docks. The (Jeeste separates Bremerhaven from Geestemiinde. Pop. about 30.000.
