The secret spring

by Pierre Benoît

6. THE STATE OF LAUTENBUBG-DETMOLD

The Grand Duchy of Lautenburg-Detmold, one of the twenty-seven States of the German Confederation, is about sixty miles long from north to south. Its breadth varies between twelve and twenty-five miles. It has a population of two hundred and eighty thousand. The Schwarzhugel, a last buttress of the Harz, is the only orographical system which breaks the monotony of the Hanoverian plain.

As regards its river system, the Grand Duchy is bounded by the Weser, and crossed by the Aller. The Melna is the most important river, judging by the length of its course in Lautenburg territory.

The Herrenwald, a forest of beech and fir, which starts to the north of Lautenburg, covers a good third of its area. The rest consists of a sandy tract, very difficult for agriculture, but particularly suited to brick-making, the principal resource of the State.

There are two towns: Sandau, exclusively industrial, in the northern plain, with twenty thousand inhabitants; Lautenburg, the capital, forty thousand inhabitants, seat of a bishopric and the central assizes. A cavalry brigade formed of the 11th Dragoons and the 7th Hussars, a regiment of infantry, the 182nd, a half-regiment of artillery, and a detachment of the 3rd Engineers are stationed there.

The constitution is monarchical, the Grand Dukes succeeding each other in order of primogeniture, and women are not excluded. The Grand Duchess Charlotte-Augusta reigned alone at the end of the eighteenth century, and today the Grand Duke Frederick-Augustus owes his title to his marriage with the Grand Duchess Aurora.

The Grand Duke of Lautenburg is the immediate vassal of the King of Würtemberg, and mediate vassal of the German Emperor.

The State of Lautenburg sends three deputies to the Reichstag. Two of them are agrarians; the third, representing Sandau, is a Socialist. All three sit of right in the Ducal Diet, which meets twice a year at the Castle of Lautenburg. The President of the Municipal Council of Lautenburg and two councillors elected by their colleagues are also ex-officio members of the Diet. The other members are elected, on a narrow franchise, by the general population of the Grand Duchy. The Grand Duke is President. A permanent committee of six members, somewhat similar to our departmental commissions, dispatches current business when the Diet is not in session.