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252 IJRESLAU den, cabinets of antiquities and natural history, an agricultural society, several academies (the philharmonic heing one of the oldest in Italy), a casino, a fine theatre, and a large structure outside of the town for the annual fair. A Roman temple of marble was excavated in the vicinity in 1822. The town was originally in- habited by the Cenomani, and under the Ro- mans became a flourishing colony of Trans- padane Gaul. It was -pillaged by Attila, and eventually passed into the hands of the Lom- bards. Otho the Great raised it to the rank of a free imperial city. It joined the Lombard league against Frederick Barbarossa, was be- sieged by Frederick II., was for a long time distracted by the contests between the Guelphs | and the Ghibellines, and many times changed masters. In 1426 it was taken by Oarmagnola ; in 1438 besieged by Picinino ; in 1509 it sur- rendered to the French ; in 1512 it rose against the conquerors, but was recaptured and sacked by Gaston de Foix. Occupied soon after by Venice, it remained in possession of that repub- lic till its downfall in 1797. During the Napo- leonic era it was the capital of the department of Mella, and in 1814 was made over to Aus- tria. In 1849 the Brescians rose against Aus- tria ; the town was bombarded, March 30, by Haynau, and held out until noon of April 2, when it was compelled to surrender, and to pay a ransom of $1,200,000. After the war of 1859 the city and province were incorpo- rated with the kingdom of Italy. BKESL.AI (Polish, Wroclaw), a city of Prussia, capital of an administrative district of the same name in Silesia, at the junction of the Ohlao with the Oder, 180 in. S. E. of Berlin; pop. in 1871, 208,025, of whom about 58 per cent, are Protestants, 33 per cent. Roman Catholics, and 7 per cent. Jews. The Oder is navigable from Breslau for large boats. It is the second city in size and importance in Prussia. Its revenue in 1871 amounted to 30,251,651 thalers. It is connected by railway with Cracow, Warsaw, and Vienna, with Berlin and Leipsic, with Posen and Stettin, and with Schweidnitz and the rich manufacturing and mining districts of the Riesengebirge. It is an important empo- rium, has many mercantile establishments and large annual fairs, and is the most considerable wool market in the world. All the agricultural, manufacturing, and mineral produce of Upper and Middle Silesia comes to its market. Cotton, linen, and woollen goods, metals, coal, spirits, glass, paper, grain, and dyestuffs are among the principal articles of trade. In the city itself there are manufactories of dyed goods, and of leather, needles, liquors, refined sugar, tobacco, oil, cotton, linen, fine iron, gold and silver ware, broadcloths, laces, earthenware, straw hats,, beer, vinegar, <&c. The town is well built, and has a circumference of 11 m. It has many re- markable buildings, among which are St. Eliz- abeth's church, begun about 1250, with a tower 354 ft. high, and a celebrated organ, the church of Mary Magdalen, with two towers, the Re- formed church, the Catholic cathedral, with many monuments of the 13th century, the Sandlcirche, the church of St. Dorothea, and St. Michael's church, recently built by the prince bishop ; the council house, the university building, the royal palace, the new hall of the diet, the Jesuits' college, now belonging to the university, the residence of the prince bishop, the palace of Count Henkel, and the central railway depot. The city theatre was burned