KÖNIGSBERG. 
275 
municipalities, that of Königsberg owns little or no land. There are, it is true, 
some small and well laid out public parks, but these are not readily accessible 
from the chief working class quarters, except at the cost of the return fare 
(2d.) on the Municipal electric tramway. The one really note-worthy intra 
mural open space is an ornamental lake about three-quarters of a mile in length, and 
varying from 50 to 150 yards in width, which runs north-east and south-west, 
and practically bisects the northern half of the town. But only a small 
proportion of the borders of this lake is open to the public, the greater part 
being occupied by the gardens belonging to hospitals, schools, clubs, and the 
offices of the military staff. 
Quick and cheap communication between all parts of the town and with a 
number of outlying pleasure resorts is maintained by the electric tramways, of 
which all but a single line are owned by the Municipality. Throughout the 
summer, pleasure steamers ply daily up and down the Pregel. The Town 
contributes £G00 per annum to the company which owns the theatre, on 
condition that any dividend in excess of 4 per cent, shall accrue to the 
municipality, which may use the money for the gradual acquisition of all the 
shares. 
The following Table shows the increase in the population of Königsberg 
since 1871 :— 
Year. 
Population. 
Increase. 
Increase per cent. 
1871 
1875 
1880 
1885 
1890 
1895 
1900 
1905 
112,152 
122,636 
140,909 
151,151 
161,666 
172,796 
189,483 
223,770 
10,484 
18,273 
10,242 
10,515 
11,130 
16,687 
34,287 
9-4 
14-9 
7-3 
7-0 
6-9 
9-7 
18-1 
It will be seen that the population has increased fairly rapidly, considering 
the restriction of available building space, having doubled itself since 1871. In 
this increase the arrival of new settlers has, it would appear, been a stronger 
factor than the natural growth of the population ; for, during the period 
1888-1905, the mean annual excess of immigrants over emigrants per 1,000 of 
the population was 7*7, while the rate of excess of births over deaths was only 
6T per 1,000. 
The following table shows the birth, death, and infantile mortality rates 
at Königsberg for the years 1901-05 :— 
Year. 
Birth-rate per 
1,000 of Population. 
Death-rate per 
1,000 of Population. 
Infant Mortality Rate 
per 1 000 Births. 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1905 
31-2 
306 
29-0 
29-8 
28-8 
23-4 
22 5 
22 7 
22-1 
231 
246 
171 
233 
198 
247 
Formerly, the town was noted among the larger German cities for its low 
birth-rate, and the fact that it is no longer prominent in this respect is due to the 
birth-rate having since declined more rapidly in the other large towns than in 
Königsberg. Among every 100 children born in 1905, some 15 were illegiti 
mate. a proportion that compares favourably with that of other German 
university towns, g.y., Munich, .Dresden, Leipzig, Breslau, Halle, and Strassourg, 
where the illegitimate births represented 2i 2, 18 6, lo 8, 18 3, lb 1, and 
18'b per cent, respectively of all births in 1905. Few German cities have 
so high a death - rate as Königsberg, although the figure has greatly 
declined in recent years, more especially since the substitution, in the 
year 1900, of modern drainage for the old cesspool system. The mean of 
the rates for the five years 1901-05 was 22’8, a proportion exceeded by only 
2 M 2 
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