eubreisach on the left bank
of the Rhine. Again in 1703 it fell into the hands of the French, owing
to treachery, but was ceded to Austria by the peace of Rastatt
(1714)--Yet again, in the War of the Austrian Succession, it was
captured (1744) by the French, who dismantled the fortifications. They
refortified it in 1796, and after passing, by the peace of Luneville
(1801), together with the Breisgau to the duke of Modena, Breisach was
by the peace of Pressburg (1805) finally incorporated with Baden, when
the fortifications were razed. During the Franco-German War (1870)
Breisach suffered severely from bombardment directed against it from
Neubreisach.

BREISGAU, a district of Germany, in the grand duchy of Baden. It extends
along the right bank of the Rhine from Basel to Kehl, and includes the
principal peaks of the southern Black Forest and the Freiburg valley.
The Breisgau, originally a _pagus_ or _gau_ of the Frankish empire, was
ruled during the middle ages by hereditary counts. Of these the earliest
recorded is Birtilo (962-995), ancestor of the counts and dukes of
Zahringen. On the death of Berchthold V. of Zahringen in 1218, his
coheiresses brought parts of the Breisgau to the counts of Urach and
Kyburg, while part went to the margraves of Baden. At the close of the
13th century the Kyburg part of the Breisgau passed to the Habsburgs,
who in 1368 acquired also the town and countship of Freiburg, which had
been sold by the counts of Urach to the Freiburgers and given in pledge
by them to the house of Austria in exchange for a loan of the purchase
price, which they were unable to repay. The male Urach line becoming
extinct in 1457, an heiress carried what remained of their possessions
in the Breisgau to the house of Baden. In the struggle between France
and Austria from the 17th century onwards the Breisgau frequently
changed masters. In 1801 Austria was forced to cede it to Ercole III.,
duke of Modena, in compensation for the duchy of which Napoleon had
deprived him. His successor Ferdinand took the title of duke of
Modena-Breisgau, but on his death in 1805 the Breisgau was divided
between Baden and Wurttemberg. The latter ceded its portion to Baden in
1810.

See Stokvis, _Manuel d'histoire, &c._ (Leiden, 1890-1893).

BREISLAK, SCIPIONE (1748-1826), Italian geologist of German parentage,
was born at Rome in 1748. He early distinguished himself as professor of
mathematical and mechanical philosophy