Baltic Sea

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Baltick, the name of a Sea between Germany, Denmark, Sweedland, and Poland, it's called Oostzee and the Belt by them that live about it. It has a great many Islands, and is the Sinus Codanus of the Ancients: It joyns to the Ocean or German Sea by that famous Channel called the Sund, and then stretching wider, it forms at last two great Gulphs, whereof one is called the Gulph of Boddes, or Botnia, and by them of that Countrey Bothenzee; the other is the Gulph of Finland, which the Germans call Finnichzee; besides the Gulphs of Riga and Dantzic which are less considerable. * It is on the Coasts of the Sea, towards Prussem, that the Amber is found, which is believed to distill, or drop from the Pine and Fir-Trees that grow near the Sea-side, and are cast in Tempestuous weather upon the Shoar. It reaches S E. as far as the Island of Zeland, where the Sound or Belt, whence it takes its name of Baltick, is Commanded by the Castles of Elseneure and Elsembourg, which bring a great Tribute to the K. of Denmark; thence it runs Southward by the Dukedoms of Mecklemburg and Pomerland, as far as Dantzick; thence it turns Northward by Curland and Livonia, as far as Margen, where it forms the two Bays already mention'd; and Northwards of 'em receives the River Severi, into which, fall the two vast Lakes, Ladoga and Onega, which part Megrena and Cornelia, and have some communication with the White Sea; hence the Baltick runs N. as far as Weyburg, turns again, and runs S W. as far as the Isles of Aland, where it forms the Bodenzee which runs N. and S. having Finland and Bodia on the E. and Sweden on the W. at the most Northern Point lies Tornia a Sea-Port.