The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

126 SCANDINAVIA.the point where the river Dranim, flowing from Lake Tyri, expands into a wideestuary, it consists properly of two long and narrow towns skirting the recedingbanks of the river, and connected by bridges, one of which is over 1,000 feet long.Its laud-locked harbour offers the same advantages as that of Christiauia, which itsurpasses in the amount of its registered shipping, although its trade is considerablyless. This consists mainly of planks, furniture, and other wooden wares,besides the minerals sent down from Kohgsberg, or " Kingsmount," lying to thesouth-west, on the river Laugen. The silver mines discovered in 1625 have beenworked ever since, at present yielding on the average about £20,000 yearly. ButFig. 62. Kpageeo and Jomfiutland.Scale 1 : 370,000.the relative value of the metal has fallen, the mines have become largely exhausted,and the place is now much reduced, its population having fallen from 10,000 to5,000. Here is still maintained the Norwegian mint ; and in a valley 15 milesfarther west stands the famous church of Hitterdal, a massive pyramid of gablesand towers.Along the western shores of Christiania-fiord follow successively the ports ofHolmertrand, Ilorten, Tonsberg, Sandefiord, and at the mouth of the Laugen thetown of Laurvik. Ilorten, till lately a simple hamlet, has become a busy placesince its creek has been chosen as the chief naval station of the kingdom. Accordingto the inediceval chronicles, Tonsberg, formerly one of the four "municipal