vifions For the cattle on each fide, and two rooms at the fur-
therendforthefamily. Eachfamily is fuppliedwith ploughs,
carts, and other necefiary implements o f agriculture, two
horfes, and a penfion during three years.
About twenty miles from Slefwick w'e quitted that dutchy,
and at Rendiburgh crofled the Eyder into Holftein; w'hich
river is confidered as forming on this fide the limits o f Germany
; and is fuppofed to have been the boundary o f the
Roman empire : a tradition recorded in the following verfe,
hewn over the gate o f the old town,
'Ey dor a Romani terminus imperii. ,
Rendiburgh is efteemed the ftrongeil fortrefs in the Daniih
territories. The town, which contains about 3600 inhabitants,
carries on but little trade, fcarcely poflefiing three vef-
fels. It muft foon, however, become a place o f importance,
as the canal o f Kiel will neceflarily introduce a confiderable
degree o f commerce. The laft fluice is to be conftrudled at
Rendiburgh. The river Eyder is navigable for large veflels to
within a fhort diitance o f the town, while thofe of inferior
burden land their goods on the quays. The tide, which
rifes near four feet, brings fand into its channel; and floating
machines are continually employed to deepen its bed.
The environs are chiefly a flat barren heath ; but as we
approached Kiel, the coaits gradually became hilly and more
fertile. We paffed between the Wetter and Flemhuder Lakes;
and again crofled the Eyder, there only a fmall rivulet, which
flows from the former into the latter, and arrived in the evening
at Kiel. The diftridt o f Kiel is that portion of the dutchy
o f Holftein, which defcended to the line o f Holftein-Gottorp,
and belonged to Peter III. as part o f his hereditary dominions.
In 17 7 3 the prefent emprefs of Ruflia ceded it to the king
o f Denmark, in exchange, for the counties of Oldenburgh
and Delmenhorft,which fhe gave to the prince biihop o f Lu-
1 beck.
beck. This exchange was very favourable to Denmark, as c
the king now poflèfles the whole dutchy of Holftein; andu.
the intended junction o f the Ealtick and the North Sea will
be formed entirely through the Daniih territories.
Kiel poflèfles an univerfity for the German fubjedts o f
Denmark, which was founded in 1660 by Chriftian Albert
duke o f Holftein-Gottorp, and has lately been confiderably
enlarged by his prefent majefty. It contains 24 profeflors,
and about 300 ftudents.
The town ftands upon a fmall iflancf in a bay o f the Bal-
tick, and has a very commodious harbour for ihips o f the
largeft fize. It is already one o f the moft commercial places
o f Holftein ; and its trade will be flail further augmented
when the inland navigation acrofs the peninfula is finiihed;
o f which I am enabled, partly from my own infpedtion, and
partly from information obtained on the fpot, to give the
following defcription.
Thé inland navigation for the junction o f the two feas is-
to be formed acrofs the dutchy o f Holftein, by the canal of
Kiel and the river Eyder, which pafles by Rendiburgh, and
falls into the German ocean at Tonningen.
The canal begins about three miles North of Kiel, at the
mouth o f the rivulet Lewenfaue which heretofore feparated
Holftein from Slefwick, and will form a new boundary between
thofe two dutchies. The diftance from its beginning
to the laft fluice at Rendiburgh is 27 Englifh miles ; but as
the Eyder is navigable about 6 miles and f above Rendiburgh,
and only requires to be deepened in fome places; the
cut which is necefiary for the completion o f the water-communication
between the two feas is only 20 miles and
The canal was begun in July, 1 7 7 7 ; and in April, 17 79 ,
when I examined it, had been carried about fix miles as -far
v o l . i i . 4 G as