Berkshire swine, one of the oldest of the improved breeds of swine, originating in the county of Berkshire in S central England. The breed was imported to the United States in large numbers between 1830 and 1850 and has adapted itself to all parts of the country. Berkshires are of medium size, generally smooth, and somewhat longer in proportion to depth than other breeds. Their ears stand erect, their noses are short, and their color is black with white feet, nose, and tail.

Berkshire Hills, mountainous region of wooded hills with many small lakes and streams, W Mass. The Berkshires are a southern extension of the Green Mts., but the name is generally applied to all highlands in W Massachusetts. Mt. Greylock, 3,491 ft (1,064 m), is the highest point in the hills and in the state. Tourism is a principal industry. The Berkshire Hills have numerous summer and winter resorts, state parks, and forests. The Housatonic, Hoosic, and Westfield rivers drain the region. Pittsfield, North Adams, Great Barrington, and Lenox are the largest towns in the Berkshires.

Berkshire Festival, summer music festival, held since 1937 at "Tanglewood," a former estate in the adjoining towns of Stockbridge and Lenox, Mass. The Berkshire Festivals were begun in 1934 at a farm in Stockbridge. Henry Hadley conducted an orchestra composed largely of members of the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra for two summers. In 1936, Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra took over the festival, which became its summer home. Charles Munch began as musical director of the festival in 1951 and was followed by William Steinberg, who conducted there through the summer of 1969. From 1974 to 2002, Seiji Ozawa was the artistic director. In 1940 a summer school, the Tanglewood Music Center, was begun in combination with the festival. Today it is one of the world's preeminent training grounds for composers, conductors, instrumentalists, and vocalists.

The Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood, designed by Eliel Saarinen, was opened in 1938. Its acoustics were enhanced by the addition of an orchestra canopy in 1959. The Shed seats more than 5,000 people and accommodates about 12,000 additional listeners on its vast lawns. In 1986 the festival grounds were expanded from the original 180 acres (73 hectares) to 300 acres (121 hectares). In 1994 an additional facility, the 1,180-seat Seiji Ozawa Hall, was opened. Intended for chamber concerts, rehearsals, recitals, and recording sessions, it also contains a library, performers' pavilion, and other facilities and accommodates some 2,000 concertgoers on its lawns.

Berkshire or Berks, former county, S central England. Part of the ancient kingdom of Wessex and the birthplace of King Alfred, the county of Berkshire was abolished as an administrative entity in 1998 and divided into the unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, West Berkshire, Reading, Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Wokingham.

Segment of the Appalachian Mtns., western Massachusetts. Many of its summits exceed 2,000 ft (600 m), including Mount Greylock (3,491 ft, or 1,064 m), the highest point in the state. The wooded hills are a continuation of the Green Mtns. of Vermont; they include the Hoosac and Taconic ranges. Crossed by the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, the Berkshires contain state parks and forests and are the home of the Tanglewood summer music festival (in Lenox).

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Geographic county, southern England. It occupies the river valleys of the middle Thames and its tributary, the Kennet, immediately west of London. Settlement of the area dates from the Iron Age, and the Belgic site at Silchester later became a Roman route centre. With the Norman Conquest the Thames valley's strategic importance was recognized, and the first Windsor Castle was built. Windsor and Eton, on Berkshire's eastern boundary, contain the county's most noted structures. With its seat at Reading, it was an administrative county from 1974 to 1998.

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