1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
3.
States of Germany
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Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen federal states. Since todays Germany was formed from a collection of several states, it has a federal constitution. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was through the unification of the western states created in the aftermath of World War II. West Berlin, while not part of the Federal Republic, was largely integrated and considered as a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, in 1957, the Saar Protectorate rejoined the Federal Republic as the Saarland. Federalism is one of the constitutional principles of Germany. After 1945, new states were constituted in all four zones of occupation, in 1949, the states in the three western zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to the development in Austria, where the Bund was constituted first. The use of the term Länder dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, before this time, the constituent states of the German Empire were called Staaten. Today, it is common to use the term Bundesland. However, this term is not used officially, neither by the constitution of 1919 nor by the Basic Law of 1949, three Länder call themselves Freistaaten, Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. He summarizes the arguments for boundary reform in Germany. The German system of dual federalism requires strong Länder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation, too many Länder also make coordination among them and with the federation more complicated. But several proposals have failed so far, territorial reform remains a topic in German politics. Federalism has a tradition in German history. The Holy Roman Empire comprised many petty states numbering more than 300 around 1796, the number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Congress of Vienna,39 states formed the German Confederation, the new German Empire included 25 states and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia, which controlled 65% of the territory, after the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles, the remaining states continued as republics of a new German federation
4.
Bavaria
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Bavaria is a free state and one of 16 federal states of Germany. Located in the German southeast with an area of 70,548 square kilometres and its territory comprises roughly a fifth of the total land area of Germany, and, with 12.9 million inhabitants, it is Germanys second most populous state. Munich, Bavarias capital and largest city, is the third largest city in Germany, the Duchy of Bavaria dates back to the year 555. In the 17th century CE, the Duke of Bavaria became a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Bavaria existed from 1806 to 1918, when Bavaria became a republic. In 1946, the Free State of Bavaria re-organised itself on democratic lines after the Second World War, Bavaria has a unique culture, largely because of the states Catholic majority and conservative traditions. Bavarians have traditionally been proud of their culture, which includes such as Oktoberfest. The state also has the second largest economy among the German states by GDP figures, modern Bavaria also includes parts of the historical regions of Franconia, Upper Palatinate and Swabia. The Bavarians emerged in a north of the Alps, previously inhabited by Celts. The Bavarians spoke Old High German but, unlike other Germanic groups, rather, they seem to have coalesced out of other groups left behind by Roman withdrawal late in the 5th century. These peoples may have included the Celtic Boii, some remaining Romans, Marcomanni, Allemanni, Quadi, Thuringians, Goths, Scirians, Rugians, the name Bavarian means Men of Baia which may indicate Bohemia, the homeland of the Celtic Boii and later of the Marcomanni. They first appear in written sources circa 520, a 17th century Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the diocese was named after an ancient Bohemian king, Boiia, in the 14th century BCE. From about 554 to 788, the house of Agilolfing ruled the Duchy of Bavaria and their daughter, Theodelinde, became Queen of the Lombards in northern Italy and Garibald was forced to flee to her when he fell out with his Frankish overlords. Garibalds successor, Tassilo I, tried unsuccessfully to hold the frontier against the expansion of Slavs. Tassilos son Garibald II seems to have achieved a balance of power between 610 and 616, after Garibald II little is known of the Bavarians until Duke Theodo I, whose reign may have begun as early as 680. From 696 onwards he invited churchmen from the west to organize churches and his son, Theudebert, led a decisive Bavarian campaign to intervene in a succession dispute in the Lombard Kingdom in 714, and married his sister Guntrud to the Lombard King Liutprand. At Theodos death the duchy was divided among his sons, at Hugberts death the duchy passed to a distant relative named Odilo, from neighbouring Alemannia. He was defeated near Augsburg in 743 but continued to rule until his death in 748, saint Boniface completed the peoples conversion to Christianity in the early 8th century. Bavaria was in ways affected by the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century
5.
Regierungsbezirk
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Regierungsbezirk is an administrative region at federal state level in Germany. The regional authority is called a Regierungspräsidium or Bezirksregierung and is headed by a Regierungspräsident, the Regierungsbezirke do not pass any legislation. Within the federal authority, they act as a mid-level agency. Regierungsbezirk is variously translated as district, administrative district or province. By German unification in 1871, the concept of Regierungsbezirke had been adopted by most States of the German Empire, the Regierungsbezirke of North Rhine-Westphalia are in direct continuation of those created in the Prussian Rhine and Westphalia provinces in 1816. Similar entities in other states were initially named Kreishauptmannschaft or Kreis or province in Hesse, in Nazi Germany the naming was unified to Regierungsbezirk. Currently, only four large-area states out of 16 in total are divided into Regierungsbezirke, on 1 January 2004, Saxony-Anhalt disbanded its three Regierungsbezirke, Dessau, Halle and Magdeburg. The responsibilities are now covered by a Landesverwaltungsamt with three offices at the seats of the Bezirksregierungen. On 1 January 2005, Lower Saxony disbanded its remaining four Regierungsbezirke, Brunswick, Hanover, Lüneburg, on 1 August 2008, Saxony restructured its districts and changed the name of its Regierungsbezirke to Direktionsbezirke. This was necessary because one of the new districts did not fit with the borders of the old Regierungsbezirke, the Direktionsbezirke are still named Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig. As of 1 March 2012, the Direktionsbezirke were merged into one Landesdirektion, four of the new federal states re-established in 1990, Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Thuringia, decided not to implement Regierungsbezirke. In Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Saarland they never existed, stettin, dissolved in 1945, Province of Pomerania Media related to Regierungsbezirk at Wikimedia Commons
6.
Swabia (Bavaria)
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Swabia is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany. The district of Swabia is located in southwest Bavaria and it was annexed by Bavaria in 1803, is part of the historic region of Swabia and was formerly ruled by dukes of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. During the Nazi period, the area was separated from the rest of Bavaria to become the Gau Swabia and it was re-incorporated into Bavaria after the war. The Regierungsbezirk is subdivided into 3 regions, Allgäu, Augsburg, Donau-Iller also includes two districts and one city of Baden-Württemberg. After the execution of the Swabian duke Conradin in Naples in 1268, his uncle, in 1803, with the German Mediatisation, Bavaria acquired the further East Swabian territories, which were merged with Palatinate-Neuburg. After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria, the state was reorganised and, in 1808, divided into 15 administrative districts. They were created in the fashion of the French departements, quite even in size and population, in the following years, due to territorial changes, the number of districts was reduced to 8. The Swabian territories were merged with Palatinate-Neuburg and the new district was called Oberdonaukreis, in 1837, king Ludwig I of Bavaria renamed all the districts after historical territorial names and tribes of the area. This also involved some border changes or territorial swaps, thus the name Oberdonaukreis changed to Swabia. In 1945, the town of Lindau was divested by France, in 1972, the former Swabian city Neuburg an der Donau was reunited with the district of Upper Bavaria. With the district of Lindau, Bavarian Swabia has access to Lake Constance
7.
Districts of Germany
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A German district is an administrative subdivision known as Landkreis, except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where it is known simply as Kreis. Most major cities in Germany are not part of a rural district, in this context, those cities are referred to as Kreisfreie Stadt or Stadtkreis. Rural districts are at a level of administration between the German states and the municipal governments. They correspond to level 3 administrative units of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, previously, the similar title Reichskreis was given to groups of states in the Holy Roman Empire. The related term Landeskommissariat was used for administrative divisions in some German territories until the 19th century. The majority of German districts are rural districts of which there are 295, cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants do not usually belong to a district, but take over district responsibilities themselves, similar to the concept of independent cities. These are known as urban districts —cities which constitute a district in their own there are currently 107 of them. As of 2011, approximately 25 million people live in these 107 urban districts, in North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Neuss and Moers. Nevertheless, these cities take over many district responsibilities themselves, although they are part of a larger rural district. Midsize towns can perform particular administrative functions of the district as well, the classification as midsize town is usually based on a towns registered population, but varies from state to state. Aachen, Hanover and Göttingen retain certain rights of an urban district, urban districts have these responsibilities and also those of the municipalities. The district council is the highest institution of a district and is responsible for all fundamental guidelines of regional self-administration. This council is elected every five years, except in Bavaria where it is elected every six years. Usually the administrative seat of a district is located in one of its largest towns. However, district council and administrative seat of rural districts are not situated within the district proper. Most of those districts are named after this central city as well. Moers is the biggest city in Germany that is neither an urban district, in parts of northern Germany, Landrat is also the name of the entire district administration, which in southern Germany is known as Kreisverwaltung or Landratsamt. In urban districts similar administrative functions are performed by a mayor, rural districts in some German states have an additional administrative commission called Kreisausschuss
8.
Lord Mayor
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The lord mayor is the title of the mayor of a major city in the United Kingdom or Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. In Australia, Lord Mayor is a status granted by the monarch to mayors of major cities. Australian cities with lord mayors, Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, see list of cities in Australia. In Canada, the town with a lord mayor in the traditional sense is Niagara-on-the-Lake. Unusually, the council of Brantford, Ontario has taken upon itself to appoint an honorary Lord Mayor Walter Gretzky in addition to the elected mayor. This is the example of a council granting the cachet itself, rather than the cachet being granted by a higher authority. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland it is a ceremonial post conferred by letters patent. See List of lord mayoralties and lord provostships in the United Kingdom, most famously referring to the Lord Mayor of London, who only has jurisdiction over the City of London, as opposed to the modern title of Mayor of London governing Greater London. In Uganda, the jurisdiction with a lord mayor is Kampala. In the Republic of Ireland, the posts of Lord Mayor of Dublin and Lord Mayor of Cork still exist, in Denmark, as the translation of Danish Overborgmester, it is the title of the highest mayor of Denmarks capital city, Copenhagen. In Germany, it is used to translate German Oberbürgermeister. As in Austria, Germanys mayors serve as the executive leaders of their cities and are elected officials. In Romania and Moldova, the mayors of the capitals are named Primar General which means General Mayor, the name is ceremonial and it has no higher powers than mayors of other cities. In Hungary, the mayor of the capital Budapest is called főpolgármester which means chief mayor or grand mayor, only the capital has a főpolgármester. Between 1873 and 1945, the Lord Mayor of Budapest was representative of the Hungarian government at the municipal authority. In ancient China, jīng zhào yĭn was the given to the mayor of capital city. In Estonia, the mayor of the capital, was named Lord Mayor from 1938 to 1940, in Czech Republic, the mayor of the capital Prague and so-called statutory cities is called Primátor. In Sweden, the titles of mayor and lord mayor have no direct equivalent since the 1970s, the executive leader of Swedish municipalities is one of sometimes several Kommunalråd in the function of Chair of the Municipal Board
9.
Christian Social Union of Bavaria
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The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. The CSU operates only in Bavaria, while its larger counterpart, the CSU has 56 seats in the Bundestag making it the smallest of the five parties represented. The CSU was founded in some ways as a continuation of the Weimar-era Catholic Bavarian Peoples Party, at the federal level, the CSU forms a common CDU/CSU faction in the Bundestag with the CDU, which is frequently referred to as the Union Faction. Until the 2013 federal election, the CDU/CSU formed federal government in coalition with the Free Democratic Party. In the state of Bavaria, the CSU has governed alone with a majority since 1966 until 2008-2013. The CSU differs from their partners, the CDU, by being more conservative in social matters while the CSU is economically a bit more pro-interventionist. The CSU is a member of the European Peoples Party and the International Democrat Union, franz Josef Strauß had left behind the strongest legacy as a leader of the party, having led the party from 1961 until his death in 1988. His political career in the cabinet was unique in that he had served four ministerial posts in the years between 1953 and 1969. From 1978 until his death in 1988, Strauß served as the Minister-president of Bavaria, Strauß was the first leader of the CSU to be a candidate for the German chancellery, in 1980. Before the 2008 elections in Bavaria, the CSU perennially achieved absolute majorities at the level by itself. This level of dominance is unique among Germanys 16 states, edmund Stoiber took over the CSU leadership in 1999. He ran for Chancellor of Germany in 2002, but his preferred CDU/CSU–FDP coalition lost against the SPD candidate Gerhard Schröders SPD-Green alliance, in the 2003 Bavarian state election, the CSU won 60. 7% of the vote and 124 of 180 seats in the state parliament. This was the first time any party had won a 2/3 majority in a German state parliament, the Economist later suggested that this exceptional result was due to a backlash against Schröders government in Berlin. The CSUs popularity declined in subsequent years, Stoiber stepped down from the posts of Minister-President and CSU chairman in September 2007. A year later, the CSU lost its majority in the 2008 Bavarian state election, the CSU remained in power by forming a coalition with the Free Democratic Party. In the 2009 general election, the CSU received only 42. 5% of the vote in Bavaria in the 2009 election, the CSU made gains in the 2013 Bavarian state election and the 2013 federal election, which were held a week apart in September 2013. The CSU regained their majority in the Bavarian Landtag and remained in government in Berlin and they have three ministers in Angela Merkels current cabinet, Christian Schmidt, Alexander Dobrindt and Gerd Müller. The CSU is the party of the Christian Democratic Union
10.
Central European Summer Time
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It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
11.
List of postal codes in Germany
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Postal codes in Germany, Postleitzahl, since 1 July 1993 consist of five digits. The first two digits indicate the area, the last three digits the postal district. Before reunification, both the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic used four-digit codes. Under a transitional arrangement following reunification, between 1989 and 1993 postal codes in the west were prefixed with W, e. g. W-100030 and those in the east with O, e. g. O-1xxx Berlin. City administrations and postal customers with high volumes, or Großkunden have their own postal codes. Postal regions do not necessarily follow state boundaries, so sorting by state is not practical, the postal regions and some postal codes are, The 5-digit postal codes were established on July 1,1993. All mail from, to and within this region is handled by the distribution center in Elmshorn
12.
List of dialling codes in Germany
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Country Code, +49International Call Prefix, 00Trunk Prefix,0 Area codes in Germany have two to five digits, not counting the leading trunk access code 0. The leading 0 must be dialed when calling from within Germany, when calling via fixed networks within the same area, the area code is not required. In general, shorter area codes are assigned to larger cities, private telephone numbers are usually inversely long, those in larger cities have seven or eight digits, while those in smaller towns may have as few as three or four digits. 1 are special numbers such as phones, shared cost service. The former codes 0130 for free phone numbers and 0190 for premium-rate numbers are now moved to 0800 and 0900 to meet international standards,0700 is used for personal national phone numbers. Prefix 01 is used for numbers, and is not tied to a geographic area. After reunification, East Germany was merged into the existing German numbering plan, neugersdorf 03587035872 Neusalza-Spremberg 035873 Herrnhut 035874 Bernstadt a. d.037296 Stollberg/Erzgeb. 037297 Thum 037298 Oelsnitz 03731 Freiberg 03732037320 Mulda/Sa,037433 Gutenfürst 037434 Bobenneukirchen 037435 Reuth 037436 Weischlitz 037437 Bad Elster 037438 Bad Brambach 037439 Jocketa 03744 Auerbach/Vogtl. 03745 Falkenstein 03746037462 Rothenkirchen 037463 Bergen, Vogtlandkreis 037464 Schöneck/Vogtl,037465 Tannenbergsthal 037467 Klingenthal 037468 Treuen 0375 Zwickau 037603760037600 Neumark 037601 Mülsen St.04443 Dinklage 04444 Goldenstedt 04445 Visbek Kr. Vechta 04446 Bakum Kr. 08553 Spiegelau 08554 Schönberg 08555 Perlesreut 08556 Haidmühle 08557 Mauth 08558 Hohenau 085608561 Pfarrkirchen Niederbay,08562 Triftern 08563 Bad Birnbach Rottal 08564 Johanniskirchen 08565 Dietersburg-Baumgarten 085708571 Simbach am Inn 08572 Tann Niederbay. 08573 Ering 08574 Wittibreut 085808581 Waldkirchen Niederbay,08582 Röhrnbach 08583 Neureichenau 08584 Breitenberg 08585 Grainet 08586 Hauzenberg 085908591 Obernzell 08592 Wegscheid Niederbay. 09549 Lisberg 095509551 Burgwindheim 09552 Burghaslach 09553 Ebrach Oberfr,09704 Euerdorf 09708 Bad Bocklet 0971 Bad Kissingen 097209720 Üchtelhausen 09721 Schweinfurt 09722 Werneck 09723 Röthlein 09724 Stadtlauringen 09725 Poppenhausen Unterfr. 09726 Euerbach 09727 Schonungen-Marktsteinach 09728 Wülfershausen Unterfr,097609761 Bad Königshofen 09762 Saal a. d. Saale 09763 Sulzdorf a. d. d. Heide 09823 Leutershausen 09824 Dietenhofen 09825 Herrieden 09826 Weidenbach Mittelfr,09828 Rügland 09829 Flachslanden 098309831 Gunzenhausen 09832 Wassertrüdingen 09833 Heidenheim Mittelfr. 098609861 Rothenburg ob der Tauber 09865 Adelshofen 09867 Geslau 09868 Schillingsfürst 09869 Wettringen Mittelfr,098709871 Windsbach 09872 Heilsbronn 09873 Abenberg-Wassermungenau 09874 Neuendettelsau 09875 Wolframs-Eschenbach 09876 Rohr Mittelfr
13.
Vehicle registration plate
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A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
14.
Bavarian language
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Bavarian, is a major group of Upper German varieties spoken in the southeast of the German language area, largely covered by Bavaria and Austria. It forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants, the Bavarians as a group formed in the early medieval period, as the population of the Duchy of Bavaria, forming the south-eastern part of the kingdom of Germany. The Old High German documents from the area of Bavaria are identified as Altbairisch, the dialectal separation of Upper German into East Upper German and West Upper German becomes more tangible in the Middle High German period, from about the 12th century. Three main dialect groups in Bavarian are, Northern Bavarian, mainly spoken in Upper Palatinate, southern Bavarian in Tyrol, South Tyrol, Carinthia, Styria, and the southern parts of Salzburg and Burgenland. Differences are clearly noticeable within those three subgroups, which in Austria often coincide with the borders of the particular states, for example, each of the accents of Carinthia, Styria, and Tyrol can be easily recognised. Also, there is a difference between eastern and western central Bavarian, roughly coinciding with the border between Austria and Bavaria. In addition, the Viennese dialect has some characteristics distinguishing it from all other dialects, in Vienna, minor, but recognizable, variations are characteristic for distinct districts of the city. In contrast to other varieties of German, Bavarian differs sufficiently from Standard German to make it difficult for native speakers to adopt standard pronunciation. All educated Bavarians and Austrians, however, can read, write and understand Standard German, in those regions, Standard German is restricted to use as the language of writing and the media. It is therefore referred to as Schriftdeutsch rather than the usual term Hochdeutsch. Bavaria and Austria officially use Standard German as the medium of education. This accent usually only exists in families where Bavarian is spoken regularly, families that do not use Bavarian at home usually use Standard German instead. In Austria, some parts of grammar and spelling are taught in Standard German lessons, as reading and writing in Bavarian is generally not taught at schools, almost all literate speakers of the language prefer to use Standard German for writing. Regional authors and literature may play a role in education as well, although there exist grammars, vocabularies, and a translation of the Bible in Bavarian, there is no common orthographic standard. Poetry is written in various Bavarian dialects, and many pop songs use the language as well, although Bavarian as a spoken language is in daily use in its region, Standard German, often with strong regional influence, is preferred in the mass media. On the use of Bavarian and standard German in Austria see Austrian German, ludwig Thoma is a noted author who wrote works such as Lausbubengeschichten in Bavarian. There is a Bavarian Wikipedia, completely in Bavarian, notes, The phoneme /h/ is frequently realised as or word-internally, while it is realised as word-initially. Intervocalic /s/ can be voiced to, Bavarian has an extensive vowel inventory, as is common for Germanic languages
15.
Free Imperial City
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The evolution of some German cities into self-ruling constitutional entities of the Empire was slower than that of the secular and ecclesiastical princes. In the course of the 13th and 14th centuries, some cities were promoted by the emperor to the status of Imperial Cities, essentially for fiscal reasons. The Free Cities were those, such as Basel, Augsburg, Cologne or Strasbourg, like the other Imperial Estates, they could wage war, make peace, and control their own trade, and they permitted little interference from outside. In the later Middle Ages, a number of Free Cities formed City Leagues, such as the Hanseatic League or the Alsatian Décapole, to promote and defend their interests. In the course of the Middle Ages, cities gained, and sometimes — if rarely — lost, some favored cities gained a charter by gift. Others purchased one from a prince in need of funds, some won it by force of arms during the troubled 13th and 14th centuries and other lost their privileges during the same period by the same way. Some cities became free through the created by the extinction of dominant families. Some voluntarily placed themselves under the protection of a territorial ruler, a few, like Protestant Donauwörth, which in 1607 was annexed to the Catholic Duchy of Bavaria, were stripped by the Emperor of their status as a Free City — for genuine or trumped-up reasons. There were approximately four thousand towns and cities in the Empire, during the late Middle Ages, fewer than two hundred of these places ever enjoyed the status of Free Imperial Cities, and some of those did so only for a few decades. The military tax register of 1521 listed eighty-five such cities, from the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 to 1803, their number oscillated at around fifty. These cities were located in small territories where the ruler was weak. They were nevertheless the exception among the multitude of territorial towns, Cities of both latter categories normally had representation in territorial diets, but not in the Imperial Diet. The cities divided themselves into two groups, or benches, in the Imperial Diet, the Rhenish and the Swabian Bench. To avoid the possibility that they would have the vote in case of a tie between the Electors and the Princes, it was decided that these should decide first and consult the cities afterward. Constitutionally, if in no way, the diminutive Free Imperial City of Isny was the equal of the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Instead, many found it more profitable to maintain agents at the Aulic Council in Vienna. At the opposite end, the authority of Cologne, Aachen, Worms, Goslar, Wetzlar and they were the most economically significant burgher families who had asserted themselves politically over time. The burgher status was usually a privilege renewed pro-forma in each generation of the family concerned
16.
Augsburg Confession
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The Augsburg Confession was written in both German and Latin and was presented by a number of German rulers and free-cities at the Diet of Augsburg on 25 June 1530. It is the document contained in the Lutheran Book of Concord. On 21 January 1530, Emperor Charles V issued letters from Bologna, although the writ of invitation was couched in very peaceful language, it was received with suspicion by some of the Protestants. This summary has received the name of the Torgau Articles, on 3 April, the elector and reformers started from Torgau, and reached Coburg on 23 April. There, Luther was left behind because he was an outlaw according to the Diet of Worms, the rest reached Augsburg on 2 May. On the journey, Melanchthon worked on an apology, using the Torgau articles, and sent his draft to Luther at Coburg on 11 May, during the diet, the cities of Weißenburg in Bayern, Heilbronn, Kempten, and Windesheim also expressed their concurrence with the confession. The Protestant princes, however, declared that they would not part with the confession until its reading should be allowed, the 25th was then fixed for the day of its presentation. In order to exclude the people, the chapel of the episcopal palace was appointed in place of the spacious city hall. The reading of the German version of the text by Christian Beyer lasted two hours and was so distinct that every word could be heard outside, the reading being over, the copies were handed to the emperor. The German he gave to the chancellor, the Elector of Mainz. Neither of the copies is now extant, the first official publication was edited by Philipp Melanchthon, a professor at the University of Wittenberg and a close colleague and friend of Martin Luther. That in doctrine and ceremonies nothing has been received on our part against Scripture or the Church Catholic, signatures of several secular leaders in Saxony. The Augsburg Confession became the confessional document for the Lutheran movement. Following the public reading of the Augsburg Confession in June 1530, the response by Charles V. However, in September, Charles V declared the response to be sufficient and gave the Lutheran princes until 15 April 1531, in response, Phillipp Melancthon wrote a lengthy and sustained argument both supporting the Augsburg Confession and refuting the arguments made in the Confutation. This document became known as the Apology of the Augsburg Confession and was translated into German and was widely distributed. The Lutheran princes at the diet concurrently agreed to an alliance in the event of action by Charles V known as the Schmalkaldic League. By 1535, the League admitted any city or state to the alliance that gave official assent to the Augsburg Confession and the Apology
17.
Swabia (administrative region)
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Swabia is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany. The district of Swabia is located in southwest Bavaria and it was annexed by Bavaria in 1803, is part of the historic region of Swabia and was formerly ruled by dukes of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. During the Nazi period, the area was separated from the rest of Bavaria to become the Gau Swabia and it was re-incorporated into Bavaria after the war. The Regierungsbezirk is subdivided into 3 regions, Allgäu, Augsburg, Donau-Iller also includes two districts and one city of Baden-Württemberg. After the execution of the Swabian duke Conradin in Naples in 1268, his uncle, in 1803, with the German Mediatisation, Bavaria acquired the further East Swabian territories, which were merged with Palatinate-Neuburg. After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria, the state was reorganised and, in 1808, divided into 15 administrative districts. They were created in the fashion of the French departements, quite even in size and population, in the following years, due to territorial changes, the number of districts was reduced to 8. The Swabian territories were merged with Palatinate-Neuburg and the new district was called Oberdonaukreis, in 1837, king Ludwig I of Bavaria renamed all the districts after historical territorial names and tribes of the area. This also involved some border changes or territorial swaps, thus the name Oberdonaukreis changed to Swabia. In 1945, the town of Lindau was divested by France, in 1972, the former Swabian city Neuburg an der Donau was reunited with the district of Upper Bavaria. With the district of Lindau, Bavarian Swabia has access to Lake Constance
18.
Augsburg (district)
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Augsburg is a district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the city of Augsburg and the districts of Aichach-Friedberg, Landsberg, Ostallgäu, Unterallgäu, Günzburg, Dillingen, the city of Augsburg is not part of the district, but nonetheless is its administrative seat. In Roman times the Via Claudia connected the city of Augsburg, in 233 the Alamanni broke through the Limes, and the Roman rule over Swabia was ended. During the time of the Holy Roman Empire Augsburg was a bishopric principality, the city and the adjoining regions became subordinate to Bavaria after the Napoleonic Wars. The district of Augsburg was established in 1972 by merging the districts of Augsburg and Schwabmünchen. More than twice as old as Nuremberg or Munich, Augsburg was founded in 15 B. C. by the Roman commanders Drusus and Tiberius. Under the orders of their stepfather Emperor Augustus, they enslaved the Celts and Alp-dwellers, the camp soon became the capital of the Roman province Raetia. Augsburg’s early development was molded by its 400-year affiliation with the Roman Empire, consequently, Augsburg was situated at the intersection of many important European east-west and north-south connections. Out of these Roman roads emerged the trade routes of the Middle Ages, in the 13th century, Augsburg became a Free Imperial City and remained so for the next 500 years. Augsburg has been a bishopric for over 1250 years, the peak years of growth were reached in the 15th and 16th centuries through the bank and metal businesses of the merchant families Fugger and Welser. The financial power of these families fostered Augsburg’s position as a city, as a city of emperors. It was a center for famous painters, sculptors and musicians. Augsburg is the birthplace of the Holbein family of artists and print-makers, notably and Holbein, as well as composer Leopold Mozart, rococo became so prevalent in the city that it became known as “Augsburg style”. After the Thirty Years War, the arts came to the fore. Gold- and silversmiths as well as engraving and lithography flourished. The crafters guilds were very strong and their work was known internationally, at the end of the 18th century, the textile industry began its rise to prominence, followed by machine manufacturing. Groundbreaking innovations in industry lent Augsburg international standing, rudolf Diesel constructed the first internal combustion engine here, Linde built the first refrigerator, and Messerschmitt created the first mass-produced jet airplane. Today, with its heritage, Augsburg and the region are centers for industry, science, art
19.
Munich
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Munich is the capital and largest city of the German state of Bavaria, on the banks of River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg, the Munich Metropolitan Region is home to 5.8 million people. According to the Globalization and World Rankings Research Institute Munich is considered an alpha-world city, the name of the city is derived from the Old/Middle High German term Munichen, meaning by the monks. It derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who ran a monastery at the place that was later to become the Old Town of Munich, Munich was first mentioned in 1158. From 1255 the city was seat of the Bavarian Dukes, black and gold—the colours of the Holy Roman Empire—have been the citys official colours since the time of Ludwig the Bavarian, when it was an imperial residence. Following a final reunification of the Wittelsbachian Duchy of Bavaria, previously divided and sub-divided for more than 200 years, like wide parts of the Holy Roman Empire, the area recovered slowly economically. In 1918, during the German Revolution, the house of Wittelsbach, which governed Bavaria since 1180, was forced to abdicate in Munich. In the 1920s, Munich became home to political factions, among them the NSDAP. During World War II, Munich was heavily bombed and more than 50% of the entire city, the postwar period was characterised by American occupation until 1949 and a strong increase of population and economic power during the years of the Wirtschaftswunder after 1949. The city is home to corporations like BMW, Siemens, MAN, Linde, Allianz and MunichRE as well as many small. Munich is home to national and international authorities, major universities, major museums. Its numerous architectural attractions, international events, exhibitions and conferences. Munich is one of the most prosperous and fastest growing cities in Germany and it is a top-ranked destination for migration and expatriate location, despite being the municipality with the highest density of population in Germany. Munich nowadays hosts more than 530,000 people of foreign background, the year 1158 is assumed to be the foundation date, which is the earliest date the city is mentioned in a document. The document was signed in Augsburg, by that time the Guelph Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, had built a bridge over the river Isar next to a settlement of Benedictine monks—this was on the Old Salt Route and a toll bridge. In 1175, Munich was officially granted city status and received fortification, in 1180, with the trial of Henry the Lion, Otto I Wittelsbach became Duke of Bavaria and Munich was handed over to the Bishop of Freising. In 1240, Munich was transferred to Otto II Wittelsbach and in 1255, Duke Louis IV, a native of Munich, was elected German king in 1314 and crowned as Holy Roman Emperor in 1328. He strengthened the position by granting it the salt monopoly
20.
Nuremberg
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Nuremberg is a city on the river Pegnitz and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia, about 170 kilometres north of Munich. It is the second-largest city in Bavaria, and the largest in Franconia, the population as of February 2015, is 517,498, which makes it Germanys fourteenth-largest city. The urban area also includes Fürth, Erlangen and Schwabach with a population of 763,854. The European Metropolitan Area Nuremberg has ca.3.5 million inhabitants, Nuremberg was, according to the first documentary mention of the city in 1050, the location of an Imperial castle between the East Franks and the Bavarian March of the Nordgau. From 1050 to 1571, the city expanded and rose dramatically in importance due to its location on key trade routes, Nuremberg is often referred to as having been the unofficial capital of the Holy Roman Empire, particularly because Imperial Diet and courts met at Nuremberg Castle. The Diets of Nuremberg were an important part of the structure of the empire. The increasing demand of the court and the increasing importance of the city attracted increased trade. Nuremberg soon became, with Augsburg, one of the two great trade centers on the route from Italy to Northern Europe. In 1298, the Jews of the town were accused of having desecrated the host, behind the massacre of 1298 was also the desire to combine the northern and southern parts of the city, which were divided by the Pegnitz. The Jews of the German lands suffered many massacres during the plague years, in 1349, Nurembergs Jews were subjected to a pogrom. They were burned at the stake or expelled, and a marketplace was built over the former Jewish quarter, the plague returned to the city in 1405,1435,1437,1482,1494,1520 and 1534. Charles was the patron of the Frauenkirche, built between 1352 and 1362, where the Imperial court worshipped during its stays in Nuremberg. Charles IV conferred upon the city the right to conclude alliances independently, frequent fights took place with the burgraves without, however, inflicting lasting damage upon the city. Through these and other acquisitions the city accumulated considerable territory, the Hussite Wars, recurrence of the Black Death in 1437, and the First Margrave War led to a severe fall in population in the mid-15th century. During the Middle Ages, Nurembergs literary culture was rich, varied, the cultural flowering of Nuremberg, in the 15th and 16th centuries, made it the centre of the German Renaissance. In 1525, Nuremberg accepted the Protestant Reformation, and in 1532, during the 1552 revolution against Charles V, Nuremberg tried to purchase its neutrality, but the city was attacked without a declaration of war and was forced into a disadvantageous peace. The state of affairs in the early 16th century, increased trade routes elsewhere, frequent quartering of Imperial, Swedish and League soldiers, the financial costs of the war and the cessation of trade caused irreparable damage to the city and a near-halving of the population. In 1632, the city, occupied by the forces of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, was besieged by the army of Imperial general Albrecht von Wallenstein, the city declined after the war and recovered its importance only in the 19th century, when it grew as an industrial centre
21.
Trier
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Trier, formerly known in English as Treves, is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. Trier lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the west of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the border with Luxembourg and within the important Moselle wine region. Founded by the Celts in the late-4th century BC as Treuorum, it was conquered by the Romans in the late-1st century BC. Trier may be the oldest city in Germany and it is also the oldest seat of a bishop north of the Alps. In the Middle Ages, the Archbishop-Elector of Trier was an important prince of the church, the Archbishop-Elector also had great significance as one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Empire. With an approximate population of 105,000, Trier is the fourth-largest city in its state, after Mainz, Ludwigshafen, the nearest major cities are Luxembourg, Saarbrücken, and Koblenz. It is one of the five places of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. A medieval inscription on the façade of the Red House in Trier market stated, trebetas parents were said to have been Ninus, a legendary King of Assyria invented by the ancient Greeks, and an unknown mother who was Ninuss wife before Semiramis. Semiramis took control of the kingdom upon his fathers death and Trebeta was forced into exile and his body was said to have been cremated on Petrisberg. The historical record describes the Roman Empire subduing the Treveri in the 1st century BC, the name distinguished it from the empires many other cities honoring the first emperor Augustus. The city later became the capital of the province of Belgic Gaul, after the Diocletian Reforms, it became the capital of the prefecture of the Gauls, overseeing much of the Western Roman Empire. In the 4th century, Trier was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire with a population around 75,000, the Porta Nigra dates from this era. A residence of the Western Roman Emperor, Roman Trier was the birthplace of Saint Ambrose, sometime between 395 and 418, probably in 407 the Roman administration moved the staff of the Praetorian Prefecture about 2000 from the city to Arles. The city continued to be inhabited but was not as prosperous as before, northern Gaul was held by the Romans along a line from north of Cologne to the coast at Boulogne through what is today southern Belgium until 460. South of this line, Roman control was firm, as evidenced by the operation of the imperial arms factory at Amiens. The Franks seized Trier from Roman administration in 459, in 870, it became part of Eastern Francia, which developed into the Holy Roman Empire. Relics of Saint Matthias brought to the city initiated widespread pilgrimages, the bishops of the city grew increasingly powerful and the Archbishopric of Trier was recognized as an electorate of the empire, one of the most powerful states of Germany. The University of Trier was founded in the city in 1473, in the 17th century, the Archbishops and Prince-Electors of Trier relocated their residences to Philippsburg Castle in Ehrenbreitstein, near Koblenz
22.
Augsburg
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Augsburg is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It was a Free Imperial City for over 500 years and it is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is a district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is the third-largest city in Bavaria with a population of 286,000 citizens, after Neuss and Trier, Augsburg is Germanys third oldest city, being founded by the Romans as Augusta Vindelicorum, named after the Roman emperor Augustus. Augsburg is the only German city with its own legal holiday and this gives Augsburg more legal holidays than any other region or city in Germany. Augsburg was the home of two families that rose to great prominence internationally, replacing the Medicis as Europes leading bankers, the Fugger. Augsburg lies at the convergence of the Alpine rivers Lech and Wertach, in the south extends the Lechfeld, an Outwash plain of the post ice age between the rivers Lech and Wertach, where rare primeval landscapes were preserved. The Augsburg city forest and the Lech valley heaths today rank among the most species-rich middle European habitats, on Augsburg borders the nature park Augsburg Western Woods - a large forestland. The city itself is also heavily greened, as a result, in 1997 Augsburg was the first German city to win the Europe-wide contest Entente Florale for Europes greenest and most livable city. Augsburg is surrounded by the counties Landkreis Augsburg in the west, the neighboring towns and cities are Friedberg, Königsbrunn, Stadtbergen, Neusäß, Gersthofen, Rehling, Affing, Kissing, Mering, Merching, Bobingen, Gessertshausen und Diedorf. Augsburg has a continental climate. The city was founded in 15 BC by Drusus and Tiberius as Augusta Vindelicorum, the name means Augusta of the Vindelici. This garrison camp soon became the capital of the Roman province of Raetia, thus, Augsburg was the intersection of many important European east-west and north-south connections, which later evolved as major trade routes of the Middle Ages. Around 120 AD Augsburg became the capital of the Roman province Raetia, Augsburg was sacked by the Huns in the 5th century AD, by Charlemagne in the 8th century, and by Welf of Bavaria in the 11th century, but arose each time to greater prosperity. Augsburg was granted the status of a Free Imperial City on March 9,1276 and from then until 1803, it was independent of its former overlord, the Prince-Bishop of Augsburg. Frictions between the city-state and the prince-bishops were to remain frequent however, particularly after Augsburg became Protestant and curtailed the rights, with a strategic location as intersection of trade routes to Italy, the Free Imperial City became a major trading center. Augsburg produced large quantities of goods, cloth and textiles. Augsburg became the base of two banking families that rose to prominence, the Fuggers and the Welsers
23.
Roman emperor
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The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period. The emperors used a variety of different titles throughout history, often when a given Roman is described as becoming emperor in English, it reflects his taking of the title Augustus or Caesar. Another title often used was imperator, originally a military honorific, early Emperors also used the title princeps. Emperors frequently amassed republican titles, notably Princeps Senatus, Consul, the first emperors reigned alone, later emperors would sometimes rule with co-Emperors and divide administration of the Empire between them. The Romans considered the office of emperor to be distinct from that of a king, the first emperor, Augustus, resolutely refused recognition as a monarch. Although Augustus could claim that his power was authentically republican, his successor, Tiberius, nonetheless, for the first three hundred years of Roman Emperors, from Augustus until Diocletian, a great effort was made to emphasize that the Emperors were the leaders of a Republic. Elements of the Republican institutional framework were preserved until the end of the Western Empire. The Eastern emperors ultimately adopted the title of Basileus, which had meant king in Greek, but became a title reserved solely for the Roman emperor, other kings were then referred to as rēgas. In addition to their office, some emperors were given divine status after death. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the late 5th century, Romulus Augustulus is often considered to be the last emperor of the west after his forced abdication in 476, although Julius Nepos maintained a claim to the title until his death in 480. Constantine XI was the last Byzantine Roman emperor in Constantinople, dying in the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, a Byzantine group of claimant Roman Emperors existed in the Empire of Trebizond until its conquest by the Ottomans in 1461. In western Europe the title of Roman Emperor was revived by Germanic rulers, the Holy Roman Emperors, in 800, at the end of the Roman Republic no new, and certainly no single, title indicated the individual who held supreme power. Insofar as emperor could be seen as the English translation of imperator, then Julius Caesar had been an emperor, however, Julius Caesar, unlike those after him, did so without the Senates vote and approval. Julius Caesar held the Republican offices of four times and dictator five times, was appointed dictator in perpetuity in 45 BC and had been pontifex maximus for a long period. He gained these positions by senatorial consent, by the time of his assassination, he was the most powerful man in the Roman world. In his will, Caesar appointed his adopted son Octavian as his heir, a decade after Caesars death, Octavians victory over his erstwhile ally Mark Antony at Actium put an end to any effective opposition and confirmed Octavians supremacy. His restoration of powers to the Senate and the people of Rome was a demonstration of his auctoritas, some later historians such as Tacitus would say that even at Augustus death, the true restoration of the Republic might have been possible. Instead, Augustus actively prepared his adopted son Tiberius to be his successor, the Senate disputed the issue but eventually confirmed Tiberius as princeps
24.
Augustus
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Augustus was the founder of the Roman Principate and considered the first Roman emperor, controlling the Roman Empire from 27 BC until his death in AD14. He was born Gaius Octavius into an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian gens Octavia and his maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, and Octavius was named in Caesars will as his adopted son and heir, then known as Octavianus. He, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar, following their victory at the Battle of Philippi, the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as military dictators. The Triumvate was eventually torn apart by the ambitions of its members. Lepidus was driven into exile and stripped of his position, in reality, however, he retained his autocratic power over the Republic as a military dictator. By law, Augustus held a collection of powers granted to him for life by the Senate, including supreme military command, and it took several years for Augustus to develop the framework within which a formally republican state could be led under his sole rule. He rejected monarchical titles, and instead called himself Princeps Civitatis, the resulting constitutional framework became known as the Principate, the first phase of the Roman Empire. The reign of Augustus initiated an era of peace known as the Pax Romana. Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanding possessions in Africa, expanding into Germania, beyond the frontiers, he secured the Empire with a buffer region of client states and made peace with the Parthian Empire through diplomacy. Augustus died in AD14 at the age of 75 and he probably died from natural causes, although there were unconfirmed rumors that his wife Livia poisoned him. He was succeeded as Emperor by his adopted son Tiberius, Augustus was known by many names throughout his life, At birth, he was named Gaius Octavius after his biological father. Historians typically refer to him simply as Octavius between his birth in 63 until his adoption by Julius Caesar in 44 BC, upon his adoption, he took Caesars name and became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus in accordance with Roman adoption naming standards. He quickly dropped Octavianus from his name, and his contemporaries referred to him as Caesar during this period, historians. In 27 BC, following his defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra and it is the events of 27 BC from which he obtained his traditional name of Augustus, which historians use in reference to him from 27 BC until his death in AD14. While his paternal family was from the town of Velletri, approximately 40 kilometres from Rome and he was born at Ox Head, a small property on the Palatine Hill, very close to the Roman Forum. He was given the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus, his cognomen possibly commemorating his fathers victory at Thurii over a band of slaves. Due to the nature of Rome at the time, Octavius was taken to his fathers home village at Velletri to be raised. Octavius only mentions his fathers equestrian family briefly in his memoirs and his paternal great-grandfather Gaius Octavius was a military tribune in Sicily during the Second Punic War
25.
Patrician (post-Roman Europe)
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In the rise of European towns in the 10th and 11th centuries, the patriciate, a limited group of families with a special constitutional position, in Henri Pirennes view, was the motive force. In 19th century central Europe, the term had become synonymous with the upper Bourgeoisie, except for the republics of Italy. As in Ancient Rome, patrician status could only be inherited. However, membership in the patriciate could be passed on through the female line, accession to a patriciate through this mechanism was referred to as erweibern. In any case, only patricians could hold, or participate in elections for. Often, as in Venice, non-patricians had almost no political rights, lists were maintained of who had the status, of which the most famous is the Libro dOro of the Venetian Republic. For instance in Scandinavia, the term synonymous with the rich mercantile class. The allegiance of the Principality of Salerno was bought in 887 by investing Prince Guaimar I, in 909 the Prince of Benevento, Landulf I, personally sought and received the title in Constantinople for both himself and his brother, Atenulf II. Amalfi was ruled by a series of Patricians, the last of whom was elected Duke, in the late Middle Ages and early modern period patricians also acquired noble titles, sometimes simply by acquiring domains in the surrounding contado that carried a heritable fief. The Republic of Genoa had a class, much smaller, of nobility. Some cities, such as Naples and Rome, which had never been republics in post-Classical times, also had patrician classes, though most holders also had noble titles. The Republic of Ragusa was ruled by a strict patriciate that was established in 1332. Subsequently, patrician became a term used for aristocrats and elite bourgeoisie in many countries. Florence, in 1244, came late in the peak period of these transformations. However Florence was to have other upheavals, reducing the power of the class, in the movement leading to the Ordinances of Justice in 1293. Of the major republics, only Venice managed to retain an exclusively patrician government, venetians with a disputed claim to the patriciate were required to present to the avogadori di commun established to adjudicate such claims a genealogy called a prova di nobiltà, a test of nobility. Beginning in the 11th century, a class which much later came to be called Patrizier formed in the German-speaking free imperial cities. Besides wealthy merchant Grand Burghers, they were recruited from the ranks of knights, administrators and ministeriales
26.
Medici
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The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside, gradually rising until they were able to fund the Medici Bank. The bank was the largest in Europe during the 15th century, the Medici produced three Popes of the Catholic Church—Pope Leo X, Pope Clement VII, and Pope Leo XI, two regent queens of France—Catherine de Medici and Marie de Medici. In 1531, the family became hereditary Dukes of Florence, in 1569, the duchy was elevated to a grand duchy after territorial expansion. They ruled the Grand Duchy of Tuscany from its inception until 1737, the grand duchy witnessed degrees of economic growth under the earlier grand dukes, but by the time of Cosimo III de Medici, Tuscany was fiscally bankrupt. Their wealth and influence initially derived from the textile trade guided by the guild of the Arte della Lana. They, along with families of Italy—such as the Visconti and Sforza of Milan, the Este of Ferrara. The Medici Bank was one of the most prosperous and most respected institutions in Europe, there are some estimates that the Medici family were the wealthiest family in Europe for a time. From this base, they acquired political power initially in Florence and later in wider Italy, a notable contribution to the profession of accounting was the improvement of the general ledger system through the development of the double-entry bookkeeping system for tracking credits and debits. The Medici family were among the earliest businesses to use the system, the Medici family came from the agricultural Mugello region, north of Florence, being mentioned for the first time in a document of 1230. The origin of the name is uncertain, Medici is the plural of medico, also written del medico or delmedigo, meaning, medical doctor. It has been suggested that the derived from one Medico di Potrone, a castellan of Potrone in the late 11th century. The dynasty began with the founding of the Medici Bank, until the late 14th century, prior to the Medici, the leading family of Florence was the House of Albizzi. In 1293 the Ordinances of Justice were enacted, which became the constitution of the republic of Florence throughout the Italian Renaissance. The citys numerous luxurious palazzi were becoming surrounded by townhouses, built by the ever prospering merchant class. In 1298, one of the leading banking families of Europe, the main challengers to the Albizzi family were the Medicis, first under Giovanni de Medici, later under his son Cosimo di Giovanni de Medici and great-grandson, Lorenzo de Medici. The Medici controlled the Medici bank—then Europes largest bank—and an array of other enterprises in Florence, in 1433, the Albizzi managed to have Cosimo exiled. The next year, however, a pro-Medici Signoria was elected, the Medici became the citys leading family, a position they would hold for the next three centuries. Cosimo and Lorenzo rarely held official posts but were the unquestioned leaders, some examples of these families include the Bardi, Salviati, Cavalcanti, and the Tornabuoni
27.
Fugger
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Alongside the Welser family, the family controlled much of the European economy in the sixteenth century and accumulated enormous wealth. This banking family replaced the de Medici family, who influenced all of Europe during the Renaissance, the Fuggers took over many of the Medicis assets and their political power and influence. They were closely affiliated with the House of Habsburg whose rise to power they financed. Unlike the citizenry of their hometown, they never converted to the Augsburg Confession, Jakob Fugger „the Rich“ was elevated to the nobility of the Holy Roman Empire in May 1511 and created Imperial Count of Kirchberg and Weissenhorn in 1514. The company was dissolved in 1657, however the Fuggers remained wealthy landowners and ruled the County of Kirchberg, the Babenhausen branch became Princes of the Holy Roman Empire in 1803, the Glött branch princes in the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1914. The founder of the family was Johann Fugger, a weaver at Graben and his son, also called Johann, settled in Augsburg, and the first reference to the Fugger family there is his arrival, recorded in the tax register of 1367. He married Klara Widolf and became an Augsburg citizen, after Klaras death, he married Elizabeth Gattermann. He joined the guild, and by 1396 he was ranked high in the list of taxpayers. He added the business of a merchant to that of a weaver and his eldest son, Andreas Fugger, was a merchant in the weaving trade, and was nicknamed Fugger the Rich after buying land and other properties. The Fugger family itemized and inventoried a large number of Asian rugs, andreass son, Lukas Fugger, was granted arms by the Emperor Frederick III, a golden deer on a blue background, and he was soon nicknamed the Fugger of the Deer. He was too ambitious, however, and went bankrupt and his descendants served their cousins of the famous younger branch and later went to Silesia. Contemporary members of the Fugger of the Deer are descendants of Matthäus Fugger, the current patriarch is Markus Fugger von dem Rech. Hans Fuggers younger son, Jakob the Elder, founded another branch of the family and this branch progressed more steadily and they became known as the Fuggers of the Lily after their chosen arms of a flowering lily on a gold and blue background. Jakob was a weaver, a merchant, and an alderman. He married Barbara Basinger, the daughter of a goldsmith and his fortune progressed, and by 1461, he was the twelfth richest man in Augsburg. Thus began a profitable relationship between the Fugger family and the Habsburgs. With the help of their brother in Rome, Markus, Ulrich and his brother George handled remittances to the court of monies for the sale of indulgences. From 1508 to 1515 they leased the Roman mint, when the Fuggers made their first loan to the Archduke Sigismund in 1487, they took as security an interest in silver and copper mines in the Tirol
28.
Welser
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Along with the Fugger family, the Welser family controlled large sectors of the European economy, and accumulated enormous wealth through trade and the German colonization of the Americas. Philippine Welser, famed for both her learning and her beauty, was married to Archduke Ferdinand, Emperor Ferdinand Is son, claiming descent from the Byzantine general Belisarius, the family is known since the 13th century. By the early Age of Discovery, the Welser family had established trading posts in Antwerp, Lyon, Madrid, Nuremberg, Sevilla, Lisbon, Venice, Rome, the Welsers financed not only the Emperor, but also other European monarchs. The history of the family can be traced back to the 13th century, later its members became widely known as prominent merchants. In the 15th and 16th centuries, branches of the family settled at Nuremberg and in Austria, Welser, explored Venezuela and was executed by local Spanish Governor Juan de Carvajal in 1546. Bartholomäuss niece, Philippine, daughter of Franz Welser, renowned for her learning and beauty and she was given the titles Baroness of Zinnenburg, Margravine of Burgau, Landgravine of Nellenburg and Countess of Oberhohenberg and Niederhohenberg. Their children were debarred from inheriting their fathers rank as Archdukes of Austria, their son Margrave Andrew of Burgau became a cardinal and Charles, another member of the Welser family, Markus Welser, became famous for his learning. He was a humanist, historian, publisher and from 1611 Bürgermeister of Augsburg, carl Wilhelm Welser von Neunhof was a mayor of Nuremberg. Bartholomeus V. Welser was ennobled by the Emperor in 1532, the Augsburg main line became extinct in 1797, the Nuremberg branch in 1878. The Ulm branch, which became Imperial Barons in 1713, still exists, the Welsersche Familienstiftung, founded on 1 April 1539, still exists and has owned numerous castles in Germany. Following the extinction of the senior lines of the family. In Augsburg, a museum of Welser and Fugger history is planned, fernhandel, Familienbeziehungen und sozialer Status an der Wende vom Mittelalter zur Neuzeit, in, Wolfgang Jahn u. a. Katalog zur Ausstellung im Antonierhaus, Memmingen 12, oktober 1998, Veröffentlichungen zur Bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur 37/98, München 1998, S. 17–37 Jörg Denzer, Die Konquista der Augsburger Welser-Gesellschaft in Südamerika. Nuremberg City Lexicon, pp.1171 f, 262–371, auch online Johann Michael Frhr. v. Welser, Die Welser, Nürnberg 1917, Selbstverlag der Welserschen Familienstiftung, Venezuela
29.
Alps
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The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc, Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at 4,810 m is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains about a hundred peaks higher than 4000 metres, the altitude and size of the range affects the climate in Europe, in the mountains precipitation levels vary greatly and climatic conditions consist of distinct zones. Wildlife such as live in the higher peaks to elevations of 3,400 m. Evidence of human habitation in the Alps goes back to the Palaeolithic era, a mummified man, determined to be 5,000 years old, was discovered on a glacier at the Austrian–Italian border in 1991. By the 6th century BC, the Celtic La Tène culture was well established, Hannibal famously crossed the Alps with a herd of elephants, and the Romans had settlements in the region. In 1800 Napoleon crossed one of the passes with an army of 40,000. The 18th and 19th centuries saw an influx of naturalists, writers, in World War II, Adolf Hitler kept a base of operation in the Bavarian Alps throughout the war. The Alpine region has a cultural identity. The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted in the Swiss, French, at present, the region is home to 14 million people and has 120 million annual visitors. The English word Alps derives from the Latin Alpes, maurus Servius Honoratus, an ancient commentator of Virgil, says in his commentary that all high mountains are called Alpes by Celts. The term may be common to Italo-Celtic, because the Celtic languages have terms for high mountains derived from alp and this may be consistent with the theory that in Greek Alpes is a name of non-Indo-European origin. According to the Old English Dictionary, the Latin Alpes might possibly derive from a pre-Indo-European word *alb hill, Albania, a name not native to the region known as the country of Albania, has been used as a name for a number of mountainous areas across Europe. In Roman times, Albania was a name for the eastern Caucasus, in modern languages the term alp, alm, albe or alpe refers to a grazing pastures in the alpine regions below the glaciers, not the peaks. An alp refers to a mountain pasture where cows are taken to be grazed during the summer months and where hay barns can be found. The Alps are a crescent shaped geographic feature of central Europe that ranges in a 800 km arc from east to west and is 200 km in width, the mean height of the mountain peaks is 2.5 km. The range stretches from the Mediterranean Sea north above the Po basin, extending through France from Grenoble, the range continues onward toward Vienna, Austria, and east to the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia. To the south it dips into northern Italy and to the north extends to the border of Bavaria in Germany
30.
Lech (river)
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The Lech is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a tributary of the Danube 264 kilometres in length with a drainage basin of 6,600 square kilometres. Its source is located in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, where the river rises from lake Formarinsee in the Alps at an altitude of 1,870 metres. It flows in a direction and crosses the German border, forming the Lechfall. Leaving the Alps, it enters the plains of the Allgäu at Füssen at an elevation of 790 metres in the German state of Bavaria, the river runs through the city of Füssen and through the Forggensee, a man-made lake which is drained in winter. Here, it forms rapids and a waterfall and it is not navigable, owing to its torrential character and the gravel beds which choke its channel. There is a magnificent view of the Lech valley from Neuschwanstein Castle. On more than one occasion, historic events have been decided on the banks of this river, in 278 Roman emperor Probus vanquished a larger invasion force of Burgundians and Vandals, which had been raiding the Roman province of Rhaetia. At Lechfeld, a plain between the Lech and the Wertach near Augsburg, Otto I defeated the Magyars in August 955. In the Battle of Rain in April 1632, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden defeated and mortally wounded Johan Tzerclaes, Verlag – J. Eberl KG, Immenstadt 2001. Dr. Bernhard Raster, Nutzung und anthropogene Veränderung des Lechs in historischer Zeit, bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Altbayerische Flusslandschaften an Donau, Lech, Isar und Inn. = Ausstellungskatalog, Anton H. Konrad, Verlag Weißenhorn 1998, holdenrieds Druck- und Verlags GmbH, o. J. Norbert Müller, Augsburger Ökologische Schriften, Heft 2, stadt Augsburg 1991, ISSN 0941-2123 Lech, Fluss. The Lech in Füssen Hochwassernachrichtendienst Bayern Alle möglichen Daten über die bayerischen Flüsse, aktuelle Pegelstände, langjährige Abflussdaten, Einzugsgebiet, life-Naturschutzprojekt Tiroler Lech Lebensraum Lechtal Bericht über eine Kajaktour
31.
Outwash plain
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An outwash plain, also called a sandur, sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glacial sediments deposited by meltwater outwash at the terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the rock surface. Sandurs are common in Iceland where geothermal activity accelerates the melting of ice flows, sandurs derive their name from Skeiðarársandur in Iceland, the largest outwash plain in the world with an area of 1,300 km2. Sandurs are found in glaciated areas, such as Svalbard, Kerguelen Islands, an outwash plain might contain surficial braided stream complexes that rework the original deposits. They may also contain kettle lakes, locations where blocks of ice have melted, sandurs are most common in Iceland, where geothermal activity beneath ice caps speeds up the deposition of sediment by meltwater. As well as regular geothermal activity, volcanic activity gives rise to large glacial bursts several times a century, the Gaspé Peninsula that makes up the essential part of southern Quebec also contains several example of paleo-sandar, dating from the Pleistocene ice melt. The original sandur from which the name is derived is Skeiðarársandur. Skeiðarársandur is the largest sandur in the world, covering an area of 1,300 km2, volcanic eruptions under the icecap have given rise to many large glacial bursts, most recently in 1996, when the Ring Road was washed away. This road, which encircles Iceland and was completed in 1974, has since been repaired. The 1996 jökulhlaup was caused by the eruption of the Grímsvötn volcano, net deposition of sediment was estimated to be 12,800,000 m3. The main braided channels of Skeiðarársandur are the Gígjukvísl and Skeiðará rivers, in the Gígjukvísl there was massive sediment deposition of up to 12 m, which occurred closest to the terminus of the glacier. The erosional patterns of Skeiðarársandur can be seen by looking at the elevation differences measured with repeat-pass laser altimetry flown in 1996,1997. Of the overall deposition during the 1996 jökulhlaup, nearly half of the net gain had been eroded 4 years after the flood and these two rivers on the sandur display drastically different erosional patterns. The Gígjukvísl river is some of the highest level of sediment deposit occurred. This indicates that these massive jökulhlaup deposits may have a large impact in the short term. However, in order to have sustained active accretion across the entire sandur there needs to be a diffuse, kankakee Outwash Plain Terminal moraine Church, Michael A. Baffin Island sandurs, a study of arctic fluvial processes. Garvin J. B. Topographic Dynamics of Kerguelen Island, A Preliminary SRTM Analysis, American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2001 Gomez B. Russell A. J. Knudsen O. Sediment Distribution on Skeidararsandur, Southeast Iceland, American Geophysical Union, glacial Outburst Floods in Iceland, EGS - AGU - EUG Joint Assembly, Abstracts from the meeting held in Nice, France, 6–11 April 2003 Magilligan F. J. Gomez B
32.
Ice age
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An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the temperature of Earths surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Within a long-term ice age, individual pulses of cold climate are termed glacial periods, in the terminology of glaciology, ice age implies the presence of extensive ice sheets in both northern and southern hemispheres. In 1742 Pierre Martel, an engineer and geographer living in Geneva, two years later he published an account of his journey. He reported that the inhabitants of that valley attributed the dispersal of erratic boulders to the glaciers, later similar explanations were reported from other regions of the Alps. In 1815 the carpenter and chamois hunter Jean-Pierre Perraudin explained erratic boulders in the Val de Bagnes in the Swiss canton of Valais as being due to glaciers previously extending further. An unknown woodcutter from Meiringen in the Bernese Oberland advocated a similar idea in a discussion with the Swiss-German geologist Jean de Charpentier in 1834, comparable explanations are also known from the Val de Ferret in the Valais and the Seeland in western Switzerland and in Goethes scientific work. Such explanations could also be found in parts of the world. When the Bavarian naturalist Ernst von Bibra visited the Chilean Andes in 1849–1850, meanwhile, European scholars had begun to wonder what had caused the dispersal of erratic material. From the middle of the 18th century, some discussed ice as a means of transport, the Swedish mining expert Daniel Tilas was, in 1742, the first person to suggest drifting sea ice in order to explain the presence of erratic boulders in the Scandinavian and Baltic regions. In 1795, the Scottish philosopher and gentleman naturalist, James Hutton, two decades later, in 1818, the Swedish botanist Göran Wahlenberg published his theory of a glaciation of the Scandinavian peninsula. He regarded glaciation as a regional phenomenon, only a few years later, the Danish-Norwegian geologist Jens Esmark argued a sequence of worldwide ice ages. In a paper published in 1824, Esmark proposed changes in climate as the cause of those glaciations and he attempted to show that they originated from changes in Earths orbit. During the following years, Esmarks ideas were discussed and taken over in parts by Swedish, Scottish, at the University of Edinburgh Robert Jameson seemed to be relatively open to Esmarks ideas, as reviewed by Norwegian professor of glaciology Bjørn G. Andersen. Jamesons remarks about ancient glaciers in Scotland were most probably prompted by Esmark, in Germany, Albrecht Reinhard Bernhardi, a geologist and professor of forestry at an academy in Dreissigacker, since incorporated in the southern Thuringian city of Meiningen, adopted Esmarks theory. In a paper published in 1832, Bernhardi speculated about former polar ice caps reaching as far as the zones of the globe. When he read his paper before the Schweizerische Naturforschende Gesellschaft, most scientists remained sceptical, finally, Venetz convinced his friend Jean de Charpentier. De Charpentier transformed Venetzs idea into a theory with a limited to the Alps. In fact, both men shared the same volcanistic, or in de Charpentiers case rather plutonistic assumptions, about the Earths history, in 1834, de Charpentier presented his paper before the Schweizerische Naturforschende Gesellschaft
33.
Nature park
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A nature park or natural park is a landscape protected by means of long-term planning, use and agriculture. These valuable landscapes are preserved in their present state and promoted for tourism purposes, in most countries nature parks are subject to legally regulated protection, which is part of their conservation laws. Nor is it the same as a reserve which may fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of legal protection afforded. However some nature parks have later turned into national parks. The first international nature park in Europe, the present-day Pieniny National Park was founded jointly by Poland, european Nature Parks, Cross-border plans and projects are carried out under the Europarc umbrella. They are host to nearly 20 million visitors annually, the designation of nature park is awarded by the respective state governments. To achieve this award, the 4 pillars of a nature park have to be met, conservation, recreation, education, in 1995 all the Austrian nature parks agreed to be represented by the Association of Austrian Nature Parks or VNÖ. Currently there are parks in the following states, In Belgium. In Flanders, their name is Regionale Landschappen and in Wallonia, there are 17 Regionale Landschappen in Flanders and 9 Natural Parks in Wallonia. Fédération des Parcs naturels de Wallonie Regionale Landschappen In Croatia there is a total of eight national parks and they can be established by any State Environment Protection body. The Nature park is one of the options for area-based nature conservation provided for under the Federal Nature Conservation Act, on 6 June 1956 in the former capital city of Bonn at the annual meeting of the Nature Reserve Association. Five percent of the area of the old Federal Republic of Germany was to be spared from major damage as a result. The definition of the category of park is laid down in federal law. Details, especially regard to the identification, investigation or recognition as a nature park vary in each state depending on the provisions of local conservation law. The underlying idea is a protection through usage, so the acceptance and participation of the population in the protection of the cultural landscape and nature is very important. In doing so the conservation and the needs of recreation users should be linked so that both sides benefit, sustainable tourism with respect for the value of nature and landscape is paramount. Basically all actions, interventions and projects that would be contrary to the purpose of conservation are prohibited, Nature parks are to be considered in zoning and must be represented and considered in local development plans. This is called an acquisition memorandum and they are binding and cannot be waived because of a higher common good
34.
Augsburg Western Woods Nature Park
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The Augsburg-Western Woods Nature Park is one of the two nature parks in Bavarian Swabia. The 1988 founded park has a size of 1,175 km2, the nature park is bordered by the rivers Danube, Wertach, Schmutter, Flossach and Mindel. The biggest part of it is located in Augsburg and extends to the edge of the districts Unterallgäu, Günzburg, the gentle, hilly landscape is divided by the streams Schmutter, Neufnach and Zusam into gently undulating plateaus and flat interfluves. It is part of the hills between the Danube and the Bavarian Alpine Foreland. Nearly half of the region are forested and the proportion of grassland are high, the northern part around Welden is named Holzwinkel, the middle part around Dinkelscherben, Reischenau and the south part are the Stauden. The Nature-Park-House, which was opened in the year 1992, is located in a building of Oberschönenfeld Abbey south of Gessertshausen. In the rooms of the Nature-Park-House the exhibition Nature and Men in the Nature-Park is shown, furthermore there is near the Nature-Park-House the last thatched Staudenhaus, a little farm house in the type of construction which was typical in the Stauden. This house was rebuilt at this place between the years 1974 and 1980, in the stables, unused since 1972, the Bezirk Schwaben established the Swabian Folklore and Crafts Museum in 1984. The hall has a ceiling with timber of Cedar from the Lebanon and 14 native kinds of wood. Pilgrimage church of St. Thekla in Welden many little baroque- and rococo-churches in the Swabian Pfaffenwinkel List of nature parks in Germany Nature park website
35.
Entente Florale
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The Entente Florale Europe is an international horticultural competition established to recognise municipalities and villages in Europe for excellence in horticultural displays. Trophies are presented annually by tourist boards and horticultural societies of European countries, there are three categories, Cities Town Village. Entente Florale Europe is a competition for Towns and Villages, the competition name puns on the Entente Cordiale. Each participating country puts forward a representative Town and Village, the Town and Village are visited by the Jury and an assessment is made. The competition was founded about 41 years ago, initially between Great Britain and France, at present there are twelve member countries and further applications are being processed. The AEFP is incorporated under the Belgian Law of 8 September 1997, the amended articles, by Law of May 2,2002 were published in the Belgian Monitor on April 28,2006. The competition has enjoyed the support of the International Association of Horticulture producers since its inception, in individual countries the competition is supported and organised by Ministries/Department of Agriculture, Tourism, as well as horticultural bodies and associations. The President represents the association and is acting for 2 years, each successive President shall be from a different country per alphabetic order. The competition is open to all countries in the EU and in the EFTA subject to approval by the board of AEFP, there are three categories, every member country can put forward 2 entries from two different categories. Cities/Towns Towns Villages How & When to Enter, applications are made by the national organisation in charge of the competition. New members are elected by the Board of Directors of the AEFP, by simple majority, notification of entrants from existing members should reach the Secretariat before December 31 of the year prior to adjudication. Overall organisations is by the Association Européenne du Fleurissement et du Paysage, AEFP is a non-profit organization, incorporated under Belgian Law. Each participant country has its own organisation and is entitled to membership on the Board of Directors of the AEFP, the competition has enjoyed the support of the International Association of Horticultural Producers since its inception. In individual countries the competition is supported and organised by Ministries/Departments of Agriculture, Environment, Tourism as well as horticultural bodies, the Aim of the Competition The overall aim of the competition is the improvement of the quality of life for local urban and village communities. Note 2 - Luxembourg competed between years 1980 -1988, note 3 - Switzerland competed between years 1984 -1986. Note 4 - Portugal competed in year 1991 and between years 1994 -2000, note 5 - Canada competed between years 1992 -1993
36.
Aichach-Friedberg
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Aichach-Friedberg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Augsburg, Donau-Ries, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Pfaffenhofen, Dachau, Fürstenfeldbruck and Landsberg, Aichach-Friedberg was settled by Bavarian tribes from the seventh century on. The region is called the cradle of Bavaria, since the castle of Wittelsbach was located close to the present city of Aichach. It was the castle of the Wittelsbach family, who were rulers of Bavaria for thousand years. The castle was razed to the ground in 1208, and today there is nothing else left than a stone at the place. The town of Friedberg was founded in the 13th century in order to collect a toll from people using the bridge across the Lech River, Aichach became a town about hundred years later. In 1862 the two districts of Aichach and Friedberg were founded and they were merged in 1972 and became part of the administrative region of Swabia. Anyhow, historically Aichach-Friedberg does not belong to Swabia, but to Old Bavaria, the name of the new district was originally Augsburg-Ost, but it was changed to Aichach-Friedberg in 1973. The district is located to the east of the city of Augsburg, the Lech River forms the western border of the district. Another river, the Paar, enters the district in the southwest, runs through Aichach, the territory is also known as Wittelsbacher Land, due to the castle of Wittelsbach near Aichach
37.
Free imperial city
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The evolution of some German cities into self-ruling constitutional entities of the Empire was slower than that of the secular and ecclesiastical princes. In the course of the 13th and 14th centuries, some cities were promoted by the emperor to the status of Imperial Cities, essentially for fiscal reasons. The Free Cities were those, such as Basel, Augsburg, Cologne or Strasbourg, like the other Imperial Estates, they could wage war, make peace, and control their own trade, and they permitted little interference from outside. In the later Middle Ages, a number of Free Cities formed City Leagues, such as the Hanseatic League or the Alsatian Décapole, to promote and defend their interests. In the course of the Middle Ages, cities gained, and sometimes — if rarely — lost, some favored cities gained a charter by gift. Others purchased one from a prince in need of funds, some won it by force of arms during the troubled 13th and 14th centuries and other lost their privileges during the same period by the same way. Some cities became free through the created by the extinction of dominant families. Some voluntarily placed themselves under the protection of a territorial ruler, a few, like Protestant Donauwörth, which in 1607 was annexed to the Catholic Duchy of Bavaria, were stripped by the Emperor of their status as a Free City — for genuine or trumped-up reasons. There were approximately four thousand towns and cities in the Empire, during the late Middle Ages, fewer than two hundred of these places ever enjoyed the status of Free Imperial Cities, and some of those did so only for a few decades. The military tax register of 1521 listed eighty-five such cities, from the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 to 1803, their number oscillated at around fifty. These cities were located in small territories where the ruler was weak. They were nevertheless the exception among the multitude of territorial towns, Cities of both latter categories normally had representation in territorial diets, but not in the Imperial Diet. The cities divided themselves into two groups, or benches, in the Imperial Diet, the Rhenish and the Swabian Bench. To avoid the possibility that they would have the vote in case of a tie between the Electors and the Princes, it was decided that these should decide first and consult the cities afterward. Constitutionally, if in no way, the diminutive Free Imperial City of Isny was the equal of the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Instead, many found it more profitable to maintain agents at the Aulic Council in Vienna. At the opposite end, the authority of Cologne, Aachen, Worms, Goslar, Wetzlar and they were the most economically significant burgher families who had asserted themselves politically over time. The burgher status was usually a privilege renewed pro-forma in each generation of the family concerned
listen); Bavarian: Augschburg) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It was a Free Imperial City for over 500 years, and is notable for the Augsburg Confession.
Turkey
Romania
Italy
Croatia
Serbia and Montenegro
Poland
Greece
Iraq
Russia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Austria
Inverness, Scotland, since 1956
Amagasaki, Japan, since 1959
Bourges, France, since 1963
Dayton, Ohio, United States, since 1964
Liberec, Czech Republic, since 2001
Jinan, Shandong, People's Republic of China, since 2004
Augsburg
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