Brehon Laws
designation of the ancient laws of the Irish, from an Irish word signifying judges. It is supposed that some of the written collections of these laws, which still exist, are of great antiquity; as old, perhaps, as the earlier ages of the Christian era. Prior to the BREISACH Anglo-Norman invasion, Ireland was governed by these laws. BREISACH (bri'säch), ALT, T, a town of Baden, on an isolated basalt hill (804 feet) on the right side of the Rhine, 14 miles W. of Freiburg. The Mons Brisiacus of Cæsar, it was taken by Ariovistus when he invaded Gaul; being regarded as the key to western Germany, it figured prominently in the wars of the 17th and 18th centuries. The minster is a 13th century structure. Neu Breisach, on the other side of the Rhine, in Alsace, was built by Louis XIV., in 1697, when Alt Breisach was given back to the Empire.
BREISGAU (bris'gou), one of the most fertile and picturesque districts of Germany, in the S. of Baden, in the Rhine valley, containing part of the Black Forest. Chief town, Freiburg.
BREITENFELD (brī'ten-feld), a village of Saxony, 5 miles N. of Leipsic, remarkable for three battles fought in its neighborhood. In the first, fought on Sept. 17 (old style, 7th), 1631, Gustavus Adolphus inflicted a decisive defeat upon the imperialists under Tilly, who, as well as his generals, Pappenheim and Fürstenberg, was wounded. wounded. The second battle was also a victory of the Swedes under Torstenson over the imperial forces under the Archduke Leopold and Piccolomini, Nov. 2 (old style, Oct. 23), 1642. The third battle was one act of the great "Battle of the Nations" at Leipsic, Oct. 16, 1813.
BREMEN (brā'men), a city of Germany, formerly an independent member of the Empire, one of the three Hanse towns, on the Weser, about 50 miles from its mouth, in its own small territory of 99 square miles, besides which it possesses the port of Bremerhaven, at the mouth of the river. The city is partly on the right, partly on the left, bank of the Weser, the larger portion being on the former. It contains the cathedral, founded about 1050, the old Gothic Council house, with the famous wine cellar below it, the Town Hall, the Merchants' House, and the Old and the New Exchange. The Vorstadt, or suburbs, lying on the right bank, outside the ramparts of the old town, are extensive. The manufacturing establishments consist of tobacco and cigar factories, sugar refineries, rice mills, iron foundries, machine works, rope and sail works, and shipbuilding yards. Its situation renders Bremen the emporium for Hanover, Brunswick, Hesse, and other countries traversed by the Weser, and next to Hamburg it is the principal seat of the BREMERHAVEN export and import and emigration trade of Germany. Only small vessels can pass up to the city itself; the great bulk of the shipping trade centers in Bremerhaven and Geestemünde. Bremerhaven has docks capable of receiving the largest vessels, and is connected by railway with Bremen. The chief imports are tobacco, raw cotton and cotton goods, wool and woolen goods, rice, coffee, grain, petroleum, etc. Pop. with Bremerhaven, about 248,000.
Bremen was made a bishopric by Charlemagne about 788, was afterward made an archbishopric, and by the end of the 14th century had become virtually a free imperial city. The present constitution is in most respects republican and was adopted in 1854. The legislative authority is shared by a Senate of 18 citizens, elected for life, and an assembly of 150 citizens, elected for 6 years. The executive lies with the Senate and Senatorial committees.