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Berlin (110-160 ft. above the sea-level; 13° 23' 54" E. long.,
52° 30' 17" N. lat.), the capital of Prussia, the residence of the
German Emperor, and the seat of the imperial government as well
as of the highest Prussian authorities, contains upwards of 3,000,000
inhab.f, and thus occupies the third place among the cities of
Europe. Lying in a sandy plain about halfway between the S.W. and
N.E. extremities of the Empire (465 M. from Mulhausen in Alsace, and
405 M. from Memel), equidistant from the mid-German mountains
and the sea, and connected with N.E. Germany and Poland by the
navigable Spree, it is at the same time an important centre of the
railway-system of Germany, one of the foremost seats of commerce
in the country, and perhaps the greatest manufacturing town in con¬
tinental Europe. The staple commodities of its trade are grain,
spirits, and wool; the principal branches of its industry are iron-
founding, the construction of machinery, locomotives, and railway-
carriages, and the manufacture of arms, chemicals and textiles, fur¬
niture, china, carpets, linoleum, linen, household and fancy goods,
and articles of clothing, the cheaper qualities of which last find
their way to all parts of the world. The money-market of Berlin
is also of great importance, and the city has of late taken a leading
place in the utilization of electric power and the improvement of
lighting facilities.
The boundaries of the city now enclose an area of about 25 sq. M.
The oldest quarters are Alt-Berlin (on the right bank of the Spree,
bounded by the Ringbahn), Alt-Kolln (on an island in the river),
t The census of Berlin proper for Dec. 1905 gave its population as
2,035,815, of whom about 83 per cent were Protestants, 11 per cent Roman
Catholics, and 5 per cent Jews, and this number had increased to upwards
of 2,100,000 in Dec, 1907. To this total must, however, he added about
1,000,000 inhabitants of suburbs which, though not yet incorporated, really
form an integral part of the city. There are 80,000 Poles in Berlin, of
whom 10,000 are not German subjects. Of other foreigners there are
ca. 21,000 from Austria-Hungary (4000 Hungarians), ca. 15,000 Italians,
8000 English and Americans, 3200 Russians, 3000 Scandinavians, 1300
Swiss, 600 Dutch, 580 Roumanians, 500 French, etc. — The Garrison of
23,000 men consists of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th regiments of Foot Guards,
the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Grenadier Guards, the Fusilier and Cuirassier Guards,
the 1st and 2nd Dragoon Guards, the 2nd Lancer Guards (Uhlans), the 1st
and a part of the 3rd Field Artillery Guards, the battalions of Pioneer
and Train Guards, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Railway Regiments, the 1st Tele¬
graph Battalion, etc. Berlin is the seat not only of the Commander-in-
Chief of the Mark of Brandenburg, but also of the 1st Army Inspector,
the Chief Commander of the Guards, and the Commander of the 3rd Army
Corps. — The 3rd Grenadier Guards are quartered in Charlottenburg, and
a battalion of Riflemen of the Guards in Gross-Lichterfelde.