Stavanger

Stavanger (Stah'vang-er), the chief town of SW. Norway, on the S. side of Bukken Fjord, 100 miles S. of Bergen. It has two harbours, and derives its importance from the fisheries of the adjacent coast. Dating back to the 9th c. at least, it has been often destroyed by fire and is now quite a modem place. The Gothic cathedral was founded by an English bishop (Reinald) in the 11th century. Of late years Stavanger has become a favourite tourists' rendezvous, 3500 stopping here in 1890. Pop. (1900) 30,620.

Staveley

Staveley, a Derbyshire township, 4 miles NE. of Chesterfield. Pop. 9363.

Stavropol

Stavro'pol, a town on the northern slopes of the Caucasus. Pop. 41.621. - Area of government, 26,492 sq. m.; pop. 912,650.

Stawell

Stawell, a town of Victoria, Western Australia, 125 miles WNW. of Melbourne, with goldmines. Pop. 5500.

Steelton

Steelton, a borough of Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna, 4 miles SE. of Harrisburg, with steel-works. Pop. (1880) 2447; (1900) 12,086.

Steinkerk

Steinkerk, or Steenkerke (Stine-kerk or Stayn-ker-kch), a Belgian village (pop. 860), 5 miles N. of Soignies. William III. was defeated here by the French on 3d August 1692.

Stellaland

Stellaland, a short-lived South African republic, formed in 1882 by Boer adventurers. In 1885 the British government incorporated it in Bechuanaland (q.v.).

Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch, a South African town (pop. 6000), in a fertile vine-clad valley, 25 miles E. of Capetown by rail, with an important college affiliated to Capetown University.

Stelvio

Stelvio, Pass of the (Ger. Stilfserjoch), the highest carriage-road across the Alps (9042 feet), in the Austrian Tyrol, forming part of the great road (1825) between Milan and Innsbruck.

Stendal

Stendal, a town of Prussian Saxony, 36 miles NNE. of Magdeburg, has a Gothic cathedral (1420-24), a statue of Winckelmann (a native), railway workshops, etc. Pop. 22,100.

Stenhousemuir

Stenhousemuir, a town of Stirlingshire, 3 miles NNW. of Falkirk. Pop. 5436.

Stennis

Stennis, a parish in Orkney, 4 miles NE. of Stromness, with a sea-loch of that name, and two celebrated stone circles, the larger 340 feet in diameter, with stones 3 to 14 1/2 feet high.

Stepney

Stepney, a London metropolitan borough; pop. (1901) 298,600. It is also one of the parliamentary divisions of Tower Hamlets.

Sterling

Sterling, a city of Illinois, on Rock River, 109 miles W. of Chicago. It has factories, which produce iron, farm implements, barbed wire, pumps, windmills, wagons, paper, etc. Pop. 6310.

Sternberg

Sternberg, a town of Austria, 12 miles by rail N. of Olmiitz. Pop. 15,200.

Stettin

Stettin (Stet-teen'), capital of the Prussian province of Pomerania, and a busy port, stands on the Oder, 30 miles from the Baltic and 60 by rail (120 by river and canal) NE. of Berlin. Among its buildings are the Gothic church of St Peter (founded 1124), the large church of St James (14th century), the royal palace (1575), two ornamental arches, a hospital, town-house, theatre, etc. The strong fortifications were removed in 1874; since then the ground on which they stood has been rapidly built over, so that Stettin now forms virtually one large town with Bredow, Grabow, and Zullchow. The population rose from 17,154 in 1871 to 116,139 in 1890, and - with the suburbs - to 215,000 in 1905. Its industries include shipbuilding, oil-refining, and the manufacture of cement, sugar, paper, spirits, soap and candles, matches, chemicals, flour, sewing-machines, etc. Stettin was the seat of a princely dynasty, 1107-1637; was occupied by Sweden, 1648-1720; by the French, 1806-13.