Oskaloosa

Oskaloosa, capital of Mahaska county, Iowa, 104 miles WNW. of Burlington. It mines bituminous coal, and manufactures flour, woollens, boilers, electric appliances, etc. Here are Penn College (Quaker) and two others. Pop. 9558.

Osmington

Osmington, a Dorset parish, 4 miles NE. of Weymouth. Here is a mounted figure of George III. cut out in the turf.

Osnabruck

Osnabruck, a town in the Prussian province of Hanover, in the fertile valley of the Hase, 75 miles by rail SSW. of Bremen and 70 WSW. of Hanover. Its great Catholic cathedral, whose Bee was founded by Charlemagne about 810, and re-established in 1857, is in the Transition style of the first half of the 13th century, and rich in relics and monuments; the town-hall (1486-1512) contains portraits of all the plenipotentiaries who here on 24th October 1648 signed the peace of Westphalia. Osnabruck has important iron and steel works, and manufactures of railway plant, agricultural machinery, gas-meters, paper, tobacco, etc. Dating from 772, it suffered much in the Thirty Years' War, but recovered, thanks to its linen industry, during the 18th century. The name Osnaburgs given to coarse linens in England is derived hence. Pop. (1852) 13,718; (1900) 51,573, of whom one-third were Catholics.

Osrhoene

Osrhoene (Oz-ree'nee), a district in the northwest of Mesopotamia, containing Edessa (q.v.).

Ossa

Ossa, the ancient name of a mountain on the east side of Thessaly, near Pelion (q.v.), and separated from Olympus by the vale of Tempe.

Ossett

Ossett, a town in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 3 miles W. of Wakefield. Pop. (1901) 12,903.

Ossining

Ossining, the name of what used to be called Sing-Sing (q.v.).

Ostashkoff

Ostashkoff, a town of Russia, 107 miles W. by N. of Tver. Pop. 9905.

Osterode

Ostero'de, a town of Hanover, at the western base of the Harz Mountains, on the Sose, an affluent of the Leine, 30 miles by rail NW. of Nordhausen. Its church of St Giles (724; rebuilt 1578) contains the graves of the Dukes of Grubenhagen, and there is also a fine town-hall. Pop. 6435. - Osterode, in East Prussia, on the Drewenz, 77 miles NE. of Thorn, has a castle of the Teutonic knights (1270). Pop. 13,170.

Ostia

Ostia, a city of Latium, at the mouth of the Tiber, 14 miles SW. of Rome. It was a mere ruin in 830, when Gregory IV. founded a village - the modern Ostia - near the ancient one, whose ruins extend for a mile and a half along the Tiber.

Ostrau

Ostrau, the name of two neighbouring towns in Austrian Silesia, SO miles W. by S. from Cracow. Moravian Ostrau has extensive iron-works and other manufactures. Pop. 30,120. Polish Ostrau is the centre of a rich coalfield. Pop. 1S,760.

Ostrog

Ostrog, a town of Russia, in Volhynia, 176 miles W. of Kieff. Pop. 16,522, mostly Jews.

Ostuni

Ostu'ni, a city of south Italy, 22 miles NW. of Brindisi by rail. Pop. 18,199.

Osuna

Osu'na, a town of Spain, 66 miles by rail ESE. of Seville, stands on a triangular hill crowned by the castle of the Girons, Dukes of Osuna, and by a collegiate church (1534). Pop. 18,126.