Part 28

KIDWELLY (_Cydweli_), a decayed market-town and municipal borough of Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated (as its name implies) near the junction of two streams, the Gwendraeth Fawr and the Gwendraeth Fach, a short distance from the shores of Carmarthen Bay. Pop. (1901), 2285. It has a station on the Great Western railway. The chief attraction of Kidwelly is its magnificent and well-preserved castle, one of the finest in South Wales, dating chiefly from the 13th century and admirably situated on a knoll above the Gwendraeth Fach. The parish church of St Mary, of the 14th century, possesses a lofty tower with a spire. The quiet little town has had a stirring history. It was a place of some importance when William de Londres, a companion of Fitz Hamon and his conquering knights, first erected a castle here. In 1135 Kidwelly was furiously attacked by Gwenllian, wife of Griffith ap Rhys, prince of South Wales, and a battle, fought close to the town at a place still known as Maes Gwenllian, ended in the total defeat and subsequent execution of the Welsh princess. Later, the extensive lordship of Kidwelly became the property through marriage of Henry, earl of Lancaster, and to this circumstance is due the exclusive jurisdiction of the town. Kidwelly received its first charter of incorporation from Henry VI.; its present charter dating from 1618. The decline of Kidwelly is due to the accumulation of sand at the mouth of the river, and to the consequent prosperity of the neighbouring Llanelly.

KIEF, KEF or KEIF (a colloquial form of the Arabic _kaif_, pleasure or enjoyment), the state of drowsy contentment produced by the use of narcotics. To "do kef," or to "make kef," is to pass the time in such a state. The word is used in northern Africa, especially in Morocco, for the drug used for the purpose.

KIEL, the chief naval port of Germany on the Baltic, a town of the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein. Pop. (1900), 107,938; (1905), 163,710, including the incorporated suburbs. It is beautifully situated at the southern end on the Kieler Busen (bay or harbour of Kiel), 70 m. by rail N. from Hamburg. It consists of a somewhat cramped old town, lying between the harbour and a sheet of water called Kleiner Kiel, and a better built and more spacious new town, which has been increased by the incorporation of the garden suburbs of Brunswick and Düsternbrook. In the old town stands the palace, built in the 13th century, enlarged in the 18th and restored after a fire in 1838. It was once the seat of the dukes of Holstein-Gottorp, who resided here from 1721 to 1773, and became the residence of Prince Henry of Prussia. Other buildings are the church of St Nicholas (restored in 1877-1884), dating from 1240, with a lofty steeple; the old town-hall on the market square; the church of the Holy Ghost; three fine modern churches, those of St James, and St Jürgen and of St Ansgar; and the theatre. Further to the north and facing the bay is the university, founded in 1665 by Christian Albert, duke of Schleswig, and named after him "Christian Albertina." The new buildings were erected in 1876, and connected with them are a library of 240,000 volumes, a zoological museum, a hospital, a botanical garden and a school of forestry. The university, which is celebrated as a medical school, is attended by nearly 1000 students, and has a teaching staff of over 100 professors and docents. Among other scientific and educational institutions are the Schleswig-Holstein museum of national antiquities in the old university buildings, the Thaulow museum (rich in Schleswig-Holstein wood-carving of the 16th and 17th centuries), the naval academy, the naval school and the school for engineers.

The pride of Kiel is its magnificent harbour, which has a comparatively uniform depth of water, averaging 40 ft., and close to the shores 20 ft. Its length is 11 m. and its breadth varies from ¼ m. at the southern end to 4½ m. at the mouth. Its defences, which include two forts on the west and four on the east side, all situated about 5 m. from the head of the harbour at the place (Friedrichsort) where its shores approach one another, make it a place of great strategic strength. The imperial docks (five in all) and ship-building yards are on the east side facing the town, between Gaarden and Ellerbeck, and comprise basins capable of containing the largest war-ships afloat. The imperial yard employs 7000 hands, and another 7000 are employed in two large private ship-building works, the Germania (Krupp's) and Howalds'. The Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, commonly called the Kiel Canal, connecting the Baltic with the North Sea at Brunsbüttel, has its eastern entrance at Wik, 1½ m. N. of Kiel (see GERMANY: _Waterways_). The town and adjacent villages, e.g. Wik, Heikendorf and Laboe, are resorted to for sea-bathing, and in June of each year a regatta, attended by yachts from all countries, is held. The _Kieler Woche_ is one of the principal social events in Germany, and corresponds to the "Cowes week" in England. Kiel is connected by day and night services with Korsör in Denmark by express passenger boats. The harbour yields sprats which are in great repute. The principal industries are those connected with the imperial navy and ship-building, but embrace also flour-mills, oil-works, iron-foundries, printing-works, saw-mills, breweries, brick-works, soap-making and fish-curing. There is an important trade in coal, timber, cereals, fish, butter and cheese.

The name of Kiel appears as early as the 10th century in the form Kyl (probably from the Anglo-Saxon _Kille_ = a safe place for ships). Kiel is mentioned as a city in the next century; in 1242 it received the Lübeck rights; in the 14th century it acquired various trading privileges, having in 1284 entered the Hanseatic League. In recent times Kiel has been associated with the peace concluded in January 1814 between Great Britain, Denmark and Sweden, by which Norway was ceded to Sweden. In 1773 Kiel became part of Denmark, and in 1866 it passed with the rest of Schleswig-Holstein to Prussia. Since being made a great naval arsenal, Kiel has rapidly developed in prosperity and population.

See Prahl, _Chronika der Stadt Kiel_ (Kiel, 1856); Erichsen, _Topographie des Landkreises Kiel_ (Kiel, 1898); H. Eckardt, _Alt-Kiel in Wort und Bild_ (Kiel, 1899); P. Hasse, _Das Kieler Stadtbuch, 1264-1289_ (Kiel, 1875); _Das älteste Kieler Rentebuch 1300, 1487_, edited by C. Reuter (Kiel, 1893); _Das zweite Kieler Rentebuch 1487, 1586_, edited by W. Stern (Kiel, 1904); and the _Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Kieler Stadtgeschichte_ (Kiel, 1877, 1904).

KIELCE, a government in the south-west of Russian Poland, surrounded by the governments of Piotrkow and Radom and by Austrian Galicia. Area, 3896 sq. m. Its surface is an elevated plateau 800 to 1000 ft. in altitude, intersected in the north-east by a range of hills reaching 1350 ft. and deeply trenched in the south. It is drained by the Vistula on its south-east border, and by its tributaries, the Nida and the Pilica, which have a very rapid fall and give rise to inundations. Silurian and Devonian quartzites, dolomite, limestones and sandstones prevail in the north, and contain rich iron ores, lead and copper ores. Carboniferous deposits containing rich coal seams occur chiefly in the south, and extend into the government of Piotrkow. Permian limestones and sandstones exist in the south. The Triassic deposits contain very rich zinc ores of considerable thickness and lead. The Jurassic deposits consist of iron-clays and limestones, containing large caves. The Cretaceous deposits yield gypsum, chalk and sulphur. White and black marble are also extracted. The soil is of great variety and fertile in parts, but owing to the proximity of the Carpathians, the climate is more severe than might be expected. Rye, wheat, oats, barley and buckwheat are grown; modern intensive culture is spreading, and land fetches high prices, the more so as the peasants' allotments were small at the outset and are steadily decreasing. Out of a total of 2,193,300 acres suitable for cultivation 53.4% are actually cultivated. Grain is exported. Gardening is a thriving industry in the south; beet is grown for sugar in the south-east. Industries are considerably developed: zinc ores are extracted, as well as some iron and a little sulphur. Tiles, metallic goods, leather, timber goods and flour are the chief products of the manufactures. Pop. (1897), 765,212, for the most part Poles, with 11% Jews; (1906, estimated), 910,900. By religion 88% of the people are Roman Catholics. Kielce is divided into seven districts, the chief towns of which, with populations in 1897, are Kielce (q.v.), Jedrzejow (Russ. Andreyev, 5010), Miechow (4156), Olkusz (3491), Pinczów (8095), Stopnica (4659) and Wloszczowa (23,065).

KIELCE, a town of Russian Poland, capital of the above government, 152 m. by rail S. of Warsaw, situated in a picturesque hilly country. Pop. (1890), 12,775; (1897), 23,189. It has a castle, built in 1638 and for some time inhabited by Charles XII.; it was renowned for its portrait gallery and the library of Zaluski, which was taken to St Petersburg. The squares and boulevards are lined with handsome modern buildings. The principal factories are hemp-spinning, cotton-printing and cement works. The town was founded in 1173 by a bishop of Cracow. In the 16th century it was famous for its copper mines, but they are no longer worked.

KIEPERT, HEINRICH (1818-1899), German geographer, was born at Berlin on the 31st of July 1818. He was educated at the university there, studying especially history, philology and geography. In 1840-1846, in collaboration with Karl Ritter, he issued his first work, _Atlas von Hellas und den hellenischen Kolonien_, which brought him at once into eminence in the sphere of ancient historical cartography. In 1848 his _Historisch-geographischer Atlas der alten Welt_ appeared, and in 1854 the first edition of the _Atlas antiquus_, which has obtained very wide recognition, being issued in English, French, Russian, Dutch and Italian. In 1894 Kiepert produced the first part of a larger atlas of the ancient world under the title _Formae orbis antiqui_; his valuable maps in _Corpus inscriptionum latinarum_ must also be mentioned. In 1877-1878 his _Lehrbuch der alten Geographie_ was published, and in 1879 _Leitfaden der alten Geographie_, which was translated into English (_A Manual of Ancient Geography_, 1881) and into French. Among Kiepert's general works one of the most important was the excellent _Neuer Handatlas über alle Teile der Erde_ (1855 et seq.), and he also compiled a large number of special and educational maps. Asia Minor was an area in which he took particular interest. He visited it four times in 1841-1888; and his first map (1843-1846), together with his _Karte des osmanischen Reiches in Asien_ (1844 and 1869), formed the highest authority for the geography of the region. Kiepert was professor of geography in the university of Berlin from 1854. He died at Berlin on the 21st of April 1899. He left unpublished considerable material in various departments of his work, and with the assistance of this his son Richard (b. 1846), who followed his father's career, was enabled to issue a map of Asia Minor in 24 sheets, on a scale of 1 : 400,000 (1902 et seq.), and to carry on the issue of _Formae orbis antiqui_.

KIERKEGAARD, SÖREN AABY (1813-1855), Danish philosopher, the seventh child of a Jutland hosier, was born in Copenhagen on the 5th of May 1813. As a boy he was delicate, precocious and morbid in temperament. He studied theology at the university of Copenhagen, where he graduated in 1840 with a treatise _On Irony_. For two years he travelled in Germany, and in 1842 settled finally in Copenhagen, where he died on the 11th of November 1855. He had lived in studious retirement, subject to physical suffering and mental depression. His first volume, _Papers of a Still Living Man_ (1838), a characterization of Hans Andersen, was a failure, and he was for some time unnoticed. In 1843 he published _Euten--Eller_ (_Either--or_) (4th ed., 1878), the work on which his reputation mainly rests; it is a discussion of the ethical and aesthetic ideas of life. In his last years he carried on a feverish agitation against the theology and practice of the state church, on the ground that religion is for the individual soul, and is to be separated absolutely from the state and the world. In general his philosophy was a reaction against the speculative thinkers--Steffens (q.v.), Niels Treschow (1751-1833) and Frederik Christian Sibbern (1785-1872); it was based on the absolute dualism of Faith and Knowledge. His chief follower was Rasmus Nielsen (1809-1884) and he was opposed by Georg Brandes, who wrote a brilliant account of his life and works. As a dialectician he has been described as little inferior to Plato, and his influence on the literature of Denmark is considerable both in style and in matter. To him Ibsen owed his character Brand in the drama of that name.

See his posthumous autobiographical sketch, _Syns punktetfor min Forfattervirksomhed_ ("Standpoint of my Literary Work"); Georg Brandes, _Sören Kierkegaard_ (Copenhagen, 1877); A. Bärthold, _Noten zu K.'s Lebensgeschichte_ (Halle, 1876), _Die Bedeutung der ästhetischen Schriften S. Kierkegaarde_ (Halle, 1879) and _S. K.'s Persönlichkeit in ihrer Verwirklichung der Ideale_ (Gütersloh, 1886); F. Petersen, _S. K.'s Christendomsforkyndelae_ (Christiania, 1877). For Kierkegaard's relation to recent Danish thought, see Höffding's _Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie_ (1888), vol. ii.

KIEV, KIEFF, or KIYEFF, a government of south-western Russia, conterminous with those of Minsk, Poltava, Chernigov, Podolia, Kherson and Volhynia; area 19,686 sq. m. It represents a deeply trenched plateau, 600 to 800 ft. in altitude, reaching 950 to 1050 ft. in the west, assuming a steep character in the middle, and sloping gently northwards to the marshy regions of the Pripet, while on the east it falls abruptly to the valley of the Dnieper, which lies only 250 to 300 ft. above the sea. General A. Tillo has shown that neither geologically nor tectonically can "spurs of the Carpathians" penetrate into Kiev. Many useful minerals are extracted, such as granites, gabbro, labradorites of a rare beauty, syenites and gneiss, marble, grinding stones, pottery clay, phosphorites, iron ore and mineral colours. Towards the southern and central parts the surface is covered by deep rich "black earth." Nearly the whole of the government belongs to the basin of the Dnieper, that river forming part of its eastern boundary. In the south-west are a few small tributaries of the Bug. Besides the Dnieper the only navigable stream is its confluent the Pripet. The climate is more moderate than in middle Russia, the average temperatures at the city of Kiev being--year, 44.5°; January, 21°; July, 68°; yearly rainfall, 22 inches. The lowlands of the north are covered with woods; they have the flora of the Polyesie, or marshy woodlands of Minsk, and are peopled with animals belonging to higher latitudes.[1] The population, which was 2,017,262 in 1863, reached 3,575,457 in 1897, of whom 1,791,503 were women, and 147,878 lived in towns; and in 1904 it reached 4,042,526, of whom 2,030,744 were women. The estimated population in 1906 was 4,206,100. In 1897 there were 2,738,977 Orthodox Greeks, 14,888 Nonconformists, 91,821 Roman Catholics, 423,875 Jews, and 6820 Protestants.

No less than 41 % of the land is in large holdings, and 45 % belongs to the peasants. Out of an area of 12,600,000 acres, 11,100,000 acres are available for cultivation, 4,758,000 acres are under crops, 650,000 acres under meadows, and 1,880,000 acres under woods. About 290,000 acres are under beetroot, for sugar. The crops principally grown are wheat, rye, oats, millet, barley and buckwheat, with, in smaller quantities, hemp, flax, vegetables, fruit and tobacco. Camels have been used for agricultural work. Bee-keeping and gardening are general. The chief factories are sugar works and distilleries. The former produce 850,000 to 1,150,000 tons of sugar and over 50,000 tons of molasses annually. The factories include machinery works and iron foundries, tanneries, steam flour-mills, petroleum refineries and tobacco factories. Two main railways, starting from Kiev and Cherkasy respectively, cross the government from N.E. to S.W., and two lines traverse its southern part from N.W. to S.E., parallel to the Dnieper. Steamers ply on the Dnieper and some of its tributaries. Wheat, rye, oats, barley and flour are exported. There are two great fairs, at Kiev and Berdichev respectively, and many of minor importance. Trade is very brisk, the river traffic alone being valued at over one million sterling annually. The government is divided into twelve districts. The chief town is Kiev (q.v.)and the district towns, with their populations in 1897, Berdichev (53,728), Cherkasy (29,619), Chigirin (9870), Kanev (8892), Lipovets (6068), Radomysl (11,154), Skvira (16,265), Tarashcha (11,452), Umañ (28,628), Vasilkov (17,824) and Zvenigorodka (16,972).

The plains on the Dnieper have been inhabited since probably the Palaeolithic period, and the burial-grounds used since the Stone Age. The burial mounds (_kurgans_) of both the Scythians and the Slavs, traces of old forts (_gorodishche_), stone statues, and more recent caves offer abundant material for anthropological and ethnographical study.

FOOTNOTE:

[1] Schmahlhausen's _Flora of South-West Russia_ (Kiev, 1886) contains a good description of the flora of the province.

KIEV, a city of Russia, capital of the above government, on the right or west bank of the Dnieper, in 50° 27´ 12´´ N. and 30° 30´ 18´´ E., 628 m. by rail S.W. of Moscow and 406 m. by rail N.N.E. of Odessa. The site of the greater part of the town consists of hills or bluffs separated by ravines and hollows, the elevation of the central portions being about 300 ft. above the ordinary level of the Dnieper. On the opposite side of the river the country spreads out low and level like a sea. Having received all its important tributaries, the Dnieper is here a broad (400 to 580 yds.) and navigable stream; but as it approaches the town it divides into two arms and forms a low grassy island of considerable extent called Tukhanov. During the spring floods there is a rise of 16 or even 20 ft., and not only the island but the country along the left bank and the lower grounds on the right bank are laid under water. The bed of the river is sandy and shifting, and it is only by costly engineering works that the main stream has been kept from returning to the more eastern channel, along which it formerly flowed. Opposite the southern part of the town, where the currents have again united, the river is crossed by a suspension bridge, which at the time of its erection (1848-1853) was the largest enterprise of the kind in Europe. It is about half a mile in length and 52½ ft. in breadth, and the four principal spans are each 440 ft. The bridge was designed by Vignoles, and cost about £400,000. Steamers ply in summer to Kremenchug, Ekaterinoslav, Mogilev, Pinsk and Chernigov. Altogether Kiev is one of the most beautiful cities in Russia, and the vicinity too is picturesque.

Until 1837 the town proper consisted of the Old Town, Pechersk and Podoli; but in that year three districts were added, and in 1879 the limits were extended to include Kurenevka, Lukyanovka, Shulyavka and Solomenka. The administrative area of the town is 13,500 acres.

The Old Town, or Old Kiev quarter (Starokievskaya Chast), occupies the highest of the range of hills. Here the houses are most closely built, and stone structures most abundant. In some of the principal streets are buildings of three to five storeys, a comparatively rare thing in Russia, indeed in the main street (Kreshchatik) fine structures have been erected since 1896. In the 11th century the area was enclosed by earthen ramparts, with bastions and gateways; but of these the only surviving remnant is the Golden Gate. In the centre of the Old Town stands the cathedral of St Sophia, the oldest cathedral in the Russian empire. Its external walls are of a pale green and white colour, and it has ten cupolas, four spangled with stars and six surmounted each with a cross. The golden cupola of the four-storeyed campanile is visible for many miles across the steppes. The statement frequently made that the church was a copy of St Sophia's in Constantinople has been shown to be a mistake. The building measures in length 177 ft., while its breadth is 118 ft. But though the plan shows no imitation of the great Byzantine church, the decorations of the interior (mosaics, frescoes, &c.) do indicate direct Byzantine influence. During the occupation of the church by the Uniats or United Greek Church in the 17th century these were covered with whitewash, and were only discovered in 1842, after which the cathedral was internally restored; but the chapel of the Three Pontiffs has been left untouched to show how carefully the old style has been preserved or copied. Among the mosaics is a colossal representation of the Virgin, 15 ft. in height, which, like the so-called "indestructible wall" in which it is inlaid, dates from the time (1019-1054) of Prince Yaroslav. This prince founded the church in 1037 in gratitude for his victory over the Petchenegs, a Turkish race then settled in the Dnieper valley. His sarcophagus, curiously sculptured with palms, fishes, &c., is preserved. The church of St Andrew the Apostle occupies the spot where, according to Russian tradition, that apostle stood when as yet Kiev was not, and declared that the hill would become the site of a great city. The present building, in florid rococo style, dates from 1744-1767. The church of the Tithes, rebuilt in 1828-1842, was founded in the close of the 10th century by Prince Vladimir in honour of two martyrs whom he had put to death; and the monastery of St Michael (or of the Golden Heads--so called from the fifteen gilded cupolas of the original church) claims to have been built in 1108 by Svyatopolk II., and was restored in 1655 by the Cossack chieftain Bogdan Chmielnicki. On a plateau above the river, the favourite promenade of the citizens, stands the Vladimir monument (1853) in bronze. In this quarter, some distance back from the river, is the new and richly decorated Vladimir cathedral (1862-1896), in the Byzantine style, distinguished for the beauty and richness of its paintings.