rasort. There are a number of mountaiii lakes,
among which the Konigssee is the best known.
Owing to the roc-i^y soil of the district, the inhabitants are engaged in other than agricultural pur-
suits. The district is rich in salt, marble, and
wood, and the exploitation of these natural •re-
sources and wood-carving and cattle-raising con-
stitute the chief occupations. The district of
Berchtesgaden had a population of 18.748 in
1895. The chief settlement is the viUage of
Berchtesgaden, situated a short distance from
the Konigssee. It has two churches of interest-
ing architecture and a royal castle. Berchtes-
gaden constituted an ecclesiastical principality
of the old German Empire, which was secuhirized
in 1803.
BEBCK, bark. A summer bathing resort of the Department of Pas-de-C'alais, li'rance, on the English Channel, 28 miles south of Boulogne (Map: France, HI). It is the terminus of a railway line, has a good harbor, fine sandy beach, a kursaal, and two hospitals for children. Popu- lation, in 1896, 7039.
BERCKHEYDE, berk'hi-de, Gerrit (1638- 98). A Dutch painter, born in Haarlem. He was probably a pupil of Frans Hals and of his elder brother, Job ( q.v. ) , whom he accompanied on a tour to Cologne and Heidelberg, where they both found employment at the Court of the Elector Palatine. His principal works are the following: "View of Amsterdam" (Antwerp Museum) ; "Old City Hall (1677) ; "Landscape with Castle Egmond" (Amsterdam Museum) ; "View of Cologne" (Rotterdam JIuseum) ; "View of Heidelberg Castle" (Copenhagen Gallery); "View at The Hague" (Berlin Museum) ; "View in Amsterdam" (Hermitage, Saint Petersburg).
BERCKHEYDE, .Job (1630-93). A Dutch painter of landscape, architectural, and genre pictures. He was born in Haarlem, and at the age of fourteen entered the studio of .Jacob de "et, where lie studied drawing. Afterwards he became a pupil of Frans Hal.s, and in 1654 was accepted as master in the Haarlem Guild. In his pictures he displays more talent and greater variety in the selection of his motifs than his brother Gerrit (q.v.). The following are some of his most celebrated works: ".Joseph's Brethren in Egypt" (1669); "Interior of Old Exchange at Amsterdam" (1678; Brussels OJallery) ; "Courtesan's Room" (Rotterdam Museum) ; "Winter Landscape" (Berlin iluseum) ; "In- terior of Haarlem Cathedral" (1665; Dresden Gallery); "Artist's Portrait" (1675; Uffizi Gal- lery, Florence).
BEBDIANSK, ber-dy;insk' (from the river Berdyanka, near the mouth of which it is situat- ed). A seaport in the Russian Government of Taurida, situated on the northern shore of the Sea of Azov ("Map: Russia, E 5). It has a good harbor, and a considerable trade in grain, wool, hides, and salt. Thei'e are three chui-ches. a g>'m- nasium, and a seminary for teachers. Popula- tion, in 1897, 27,247.
BERDITCHEV, ber-de'chef. The capital of a district in the Government of Kiev, Russia, about 180 miles southwest of Kiev (Map: Rus- sia, C. 5). It is famous for its four annual fairs. At these, cattle, com, country produce, carriages, and harness are sold in large quantities. Popu- lation, in 1897, 53.700, almost exclusively Jew- ish. 'The town is the private property of Count Tishkevitcli, which fact is proclaimed by an in- scription on a shingle over the city gate. The ground is leased to the owners of the buildings. It was in 1320 that the CJrand Prince of Lithu- ania, •Gedimin, made a gift of Berditchev, then an insignificant settlement, to the Tishkevitches, and it has remained the patrimony of the counts till the present day. At the close of the Six- teentli Century, Yanush Tishkevitch, the way- wodc of Kiev, built a castle here, to which lie added a monastei-y in 1627. This was surround- ed soon with strong walls and a moat as a pro- tection against the frequent invasions of the Tartars and Cossacks. In 1647 Khmielnitsky successfully stoniied Berditchev and rolibed the monasterv. The town figures prominently in subsequent conflicts between the Poles, the Cos- sacks and the Russians.
BERE'A or BERCEA (Gk. Bipoia, Beroia) . (1) A place in Palestine, west of Jerusalem, where Judas Maceabieus fought his last battle and lost his life, B.C. 161 (1. Maccabees 9; IS). (2) A city of Greece, the modern Verria. in Macedonia, mentioned in Acts xvii. as visited by Paul after he left Thessalonica. It contained a Jewish s,-nagogue. Here Paul and Silas found- ed a Christian community.
BEREA. A town in Madison County, Ky., 40 miles south b,y east of Lexington ; on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. It is the seat of Berea College ( non-sectarian*) , a co-edu- cational institution with a lai'ge preparatory department, first opened in 1853. Population, in 1900, 762.
BEREA. A village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, situated 12 miles southwest of Cleveland; on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and Saint Louis, and the Cleveland, Lorain and Wheeling (Balti- more and Ohio s.vstem) r.iilroads (Map: Ohio, G 3 ) . It is the seat of Baldwin University (Methodist Episcopal), opened in 184G, and of German Wallace College (Methodist Episcopal) established in 1864 ; and contains the German Orphan Asylum (Metliodist Episcopal). The village is engaged principally in stone-quarrying and the manufacture of grindstones. The govern- ment is administered by a mayor, biennially elected, and a village council, chosen on a general ticket. The water-works and electric-light plant are owned and operated bv the village. Popula- tion, in 1890, 2533: in 1900, 2510.
BEREA COL'LEGE, situated at Berea, Ky. It was organized as a .school in 1855. The build- ings and grounds are valued at $150,000 and the endowment at about $450,000. The College has a library of 20.000 volumes, a faculty of 30, and the students, in 1900, numbered 825. all but 50 of whom were in the Normal and Industrial Departments and in the elementary fitting schools. The most unique and important work of the College is in adapting education to the peculiar conditions found in the great mountain I'cgion of the South : to this end 'extension work,' including traveling libraries, lectures, and social settlements, has been instituted.
BEREA GRIT. See S.xnsTONE.
BERE'ANS. An almost extinct sect of Christians, who originated in Scotland in the Eighteenth Century. Their name is derived from the circumstance that the inhabitants of Berea "received the Word with all readiness of mind, and
