692 SCHWERIN SOILLY ISLANDS Neu-, Vor-, and Paulstadt, the last three being of modern origin and the most attractive. The grand ducal palace is an imposing building on an isla'nd in the lake, on the same spot where there was a castle in the 12th century, which was restored by Wallenstein. The new palace was begun in 1846 and finished in 1858, and is surrounded by beautiful pleasure grounds. The Dom or cathedral, recently restored, is a fine Gothic structure. Tobacco manufacture is the principal industry. It is a place of great anti- quity, and is mainly indebted for its embellish- ments to the grand duke Paul Frederick (1837- '42), whose statue by Kauch stands in front of the theatre. SCHWERIN, knrt ( hristoph TOD, count, a Ger- man field marshal, born in Swedish Pome- rania, Oct. 16, 1684, killed at the battle of Prague, May 6, 1757. He was an ensign in the Dutch army at the age of 16, fought un- der Marlborotigh and Eugene, and entered the service of Prussia in 1720, with the rank 'of major general. On the accession of Frederick the Great (1740) he was made field marshal with the title of count, and in 1741 gained the decisive battle of Mollwitz, by which the Prus- sians secured possession of Silesia. In 1744 he took Prague, and in the seven years' war fell in the great battle before that city. SCHWIND, Morltz Ton, a German painter, born in Vienna in 1804, died in Munich, Feb. 8, 1871. He studied under Cornelius, and in 1839 designed frescoes for the art hall at Carlsruhe. In 1847 he became professor at the academy of Munich. His best known productions are the designs for St. Michael's church, London, and for the Vienna opera house. He excelled in fairy and fanciful sub- jects. His best and last work waa " The .beautiful Melusina." SCHWYTZ, a N. E. canton of Switzerland, bordering on the cantons of Zurich, St. Gall, Glarus, Uri, Unterwalden, Lucerne, and Zug ; area, 850 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 47,705, nearly all Germans and Roman Catholics. It is trav- ersed by chains of mountains with offsets in every direction. The Rossberg, which is part- ly in this canton and partly in Zag, is 5,188 ft. above the sea; in 1806 a portion of it fell with most destructive effect. The other points of greatest elevation are the Drusberg, in the east, 7,480 ft. ; the Mythen, near the centre, 6,250 ft. ; and the Rigi, in the west, 5,902 ft. The whole canton belongs to the basin of the Rhine, and the drainage flows into the Limmat and the lakes of Zurich on the north and Lucerne on the west, mainly by the rivers Sihl and Muotta. The minerals are not valuable ; there is some iron, and formerly the sands were washed for gold. The climate is milder than in many other parts of Switz- erland, as none of the mountains rise above the limit of perpetual snow. Very little of the soil is arable ; the country is almost whol- ly pastoral, and the finest cattle in Switzer- land are reared here. Schwytz is one of the three original cantons that resisted Austria and formed the primitive confederation ; and it gave a name to the whole country. The inhabitants made spirited efforts to resist the French in 1798, and suffered severely in 1799, when the war was carried into their country. SOHWTTZ, the capital, is built at the foot of the rocky eminences Kaken and Mythen, 55 m. E. by N. of Bern; pop. in 1870, 6,154. In the council house are portraits of 43 grand bailiffs of the canton, dating from 1534. Oth- er places of historical interest are Ktissnacht, Brunnen, and Einsiedeln. SCIACCA, a town of Sicily, on the 8. "W. coast, in the province and 80 m. N". W. of Girgenti ; pop. about 14,000. It is on the verge of a lofty cliff, is surrounded by walls with towers, and has a cathedral with a fa- mous echo, and numerous other churches. Pottery is manufactured. It was anciently called Thermte Selinuntias, from the hot sul- phur and saline springs at the foot and on the summit of Mt. San Calogero, outside the present walls, and from its vicinity to Selinus. SCIATICA. See NEURALGIA. SCIGUO, or Sdlla (anc. Scyllceum, or Scylld). I. A promontory of S. Italy, in Calabria Ulte- rioro, on the strait of Messina, in lat. 38 14' 30" N., Ion. 15 45' E. It is a bold headland, 200 ft. high, the rocks at the base being deeply scooped out by the action of the waves, and is crowned by an ancient castle. It is in the narrowest part of the strait, opposite the rocks and shoals of Charybdis, and was the terror of ancient mariners. (See CHARYBDIS AND SOYLLA.) II. A town on the promontory, 9 m. N. by E. of Reggio ; pop. about 6,700. It has extensive silk manufactures, an active com- merce, and considerable fisheries, and its wine is celebrated. It is said to have been found- ed by Anaxilus, tyrant of Rhegium. It was nearly destroyed and half its inhabitants were lost by an earthquake, Feb. 6, 1783. SULLY ISLANDS, a group at the W. entrance of the English channel, belonging to the county of Cornwall, about 30 m. W. 8. W. of Land's End ; lat. of the lighthouse on St. Agnes, 49 53' N., Ion. 6 20' W. ; pop. in 1871, 2,090. The group is circular, about 30 m. in circum- ference, and contains about 140 islands and islets, besides numerous rocks. St. Mary's, Tresco, St. Martin's, St. Agnes, and Bryher are the only ones with more than 100 inhab- itants. They have steep and bold shores, on which many ships have been wrecked ; but between the islands the water is shallow, and some of them are connected by strips of land at low water. The inhabited islands have an aggregate area of about 3,500 acres, but the soil is generally barren, and trees grow only in sheltered spots. Some oats and potatoes are raised on St. Mary's, and there is a little pas- ture land on the others. The inhabitants are mostly fishermen, pilots, and sailors. The local government consists of a court of 12 principal inhabitants presided over by a mill-
Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/716
This page needs to be proofread.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/The_American_Cyclop%C3%A6dia_%281879%29_Volume_XIV.djvu/page716-1024px-The_American_Cyclop%C3%A6dia_%281879%29_Volume_XIV.djvu.jpg)