1.
Doberan Minster
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The Doberan Minster is the main Lutheran Church of Bad Doberan in Mecklenburg, Germany. Close to the Baltic Sea and the Hanseatic city of Rostock and it is the remaining part of the Ex-Cistercian Doberan Abbey, dedicated in 1368. The first abbey in Mecklenburg, founded in 1171, which was used as the burial site for the regional rulers. Through the activities of its inhabitants, the abbey contributed to the cultural and economic development of Mecklenburg. No other Cistercian abbey in Europe can lay claim to such an amount of the original interior remaining intact. Among the treasures are the altar which is the oldest winged altar in art history, the monumental cross altar. The furnishings on display are of highest artistic quality, no other church in northern Germany has such complete and historically important liturgical furnishings. The mostly well preserved Cistercian furnishings are unique, the abbey is a unique and precious artistic monument in the coastal region of the Baltic Sea. The Cistercian Order was created in 1098 in France as a reformist movement of the Benedictine Order, the ideas for living together are based on the rules of St. Benedict from the 5th century. The Cistercian order was strongly influenced by Bernard of Clairvaux who joined at the beginning of the 12th century, the basic rules of monastic life were humility, poverty and obedience. Poverty as a rule meant that no monk was allowed to any personal possessions and also that abbey churches were to be kept simple. In the early Romanesque style Cistercian churches, some of which are maintained, it is easy to recognize the simple, smooth forms, sparse decorations. In around 1280, the construction of the abbey church was begun and was consecrated in 1368. The Cistercian reform, which demanded simplicity in design and furnishing, was 200 years in the past and had influence on the second church building. During trips to France, the monks of Doberan were inspired by the churches there. They returned with new ideas and implemented them here, also in the surrounding Hanseatic cities, churches were built in gothic style. The regional dukes influenced construction even further, Duke Pribislav of Mecklenburg was a sponsor of the monastery in Doberan and was later buried in the church. The Doberan Minster became the most important burial site for the Dukes of Mecklenburg, the foundations of the Minster are set into sandy soil with integrated wedges of gravel at the meeting point of 3 creeks
2.
Brick Gothic
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Brick Gothic is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northern Europe, especially in the regions around the Baltic Sea, which do not have natural stone resources. The buildings are built using bricks. Buildings classified as Brick Gothic are found in Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Sweden and Finland. As the use of baked red brick arrived in Northern Europe in the 12th century, in the 16th century, Brick Gothic was superseded by Brick Renaissance architecture. Many of the old town centres dominated by Brick Gothic, as well as individual structures, have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Different from other styles, the definition of Brick Gothic is based on the material, and by a strict definition. In 1158, Henry the Lion founded Lübeck, in 1160 he conquered the Slavic principality of Schwerin and this partially violent colonisation was accompanied by the Christianisation of the Slavs and the foundation of dioceses at Ratzeburg, Schwerin, Cammin, Brandenburg and elsewhere. The newly founded cities soon joined the Hanseatic League and formed the Wendic Circle, with its centre at Lübeck, in rural areas, the monastic architecture of monks orders had a major influence on the development of brick architecture, especially through the Cistercians and Premonstratensians. Between Prussia and Estonia, the Teutonic Knights secured their rule by erecting numerous Ordensburgen, Brick architecture became prevalent in the 12th century, still within the Romanesque architecture period. Wooden architecture had long dominated in northern Germany but was inadequate for the construction of monumental structures, throughout the area of Brick Gothic, half-timbered architecture remained typical for smaller buildings, especially in rural areas, well into modern times. The techniques of building and decorating in bricks were imported from Lombardy, also some decorative forms of Lombard architecture were adopted. In the areas dominated by the Welfs, the use of brick to replace natural stone began with cathedrals and parish churches at Oldenburg, Segeberg, Ratzeburg, Henry the Lion laid the foundation stone of the Cathedral in 1173. In the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the lack of natural stone, Brick architecture here started with the Cathedral of Brandenburg, begun in 1165 under Albert the Bear. Jerichow Monastery, with construction started as early as 1148, plays a key role regarding Brick Gothic in Brandenburg, Romanesque brick architecture remained closely connected with contemporary stone architecture and simply translated the latters style and repertoire into the new material. Nonetheless, they were influenced by the cathedrals of France. Furthermore, special shaped bricks were produced to facilitate the imitation of architectural sculpture, since the bricks used were made of clay, available in copious quantities in the Northern German Plain, they quickly became the normal replacement for building stone. The so-called monastic format became the standard for bricks used in representative buildings and its bricks measure circa 28 x 15 x 9 cm to 30 x 14 x 10 cm, with interstices of about 1.5 cm. In contrast to hewn-stone Gothic, the bricks and shaped bricks were not produced locally by lodges, the use of shaped bricks for tracery and friezes also can be found in some buildings of northwestern Gothic brick architecture
3.
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
4.
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
5.
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
6.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
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Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is a federal state in northern Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the sixth largest German state by area, and the least densely populated, three of Germanys fourteen national parks are in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in addition to several hundred nature conservation areas. Major cities include Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Stralsund, Greifswald, Wismar, the University of Rostock and the University of Greifswald are among the oldest in Europe. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was the site of the 33rd G8 summit in 2007, due to its lengthy name, the state is often abbreviated as MV or shortened to MeckPomm. In English, it is translated as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania or literally Mecklenburg-Cispomerania. Inhabitants are called either Mecklenburger or Pomeranians, the form is never used. The full name in German is pronounced and this is because the digraph <ck> marks a preceding short vowel in High German. Mecklenburg however is within the historical Low German language area, another explanation is that the c comes from a mannerism in High German officialese of writing unnecessary letters, a so-called Letternhäufelung. Human settlement in the area of modern Mecklenburg and Vorpommern began after the Ice Age, about two thousand years ago, Germanic peoples were recorded in the area. Most of them left during the Migration Period, heading towards Spain, Italy, in the 6th century Polabian Slavs populated the area. While Mecklenburg was settled by the Obotrites, Vorpommern was settled by the Veleti, along the coast, Vikings and Slavs established trade posts like Reric, Ralswiek and Menzlin. In the 12th century, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern were conquered by Henry the Lion and incorporated into the Duchy of Saxony, all of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was settled with Germans in the Ostsiedlung process, starting in the 12th century. In the late 12th century, Henry the Lion, Duke of the Saxons, conquered the Obotrites, subjugated its Nikloting dynasty, in the course of time, German monks, nobility, peasants and traders arrived to settle here. After the 12th century, the territory remained stable and relatively independent of its neighbours, Mecklenburg first became a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire in 1348. Though later partitioned and re-partitioned within the dynasty, Mecklenburg always shared a common history. The states of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz became Grand Duchies in 1815, Vorpommern, litererally Fore-Pomerania, is the smaller, western part of the former Prussian Province of Pomerania, the eastern part became part of Poland after the end of World War II. In the Middle Ages, the area was ruled by the Pomeranian dukes as part of the Duchy of Pomerania, Pomerania was under Swedish rule after the Peace of Westphalia from 1648 until 1815 as Swedish Pomerania. Pomerania became a province of Prussia in 1815 and remained so until 1945, wartime In May 1945, the armies of the Soviet Union and the Western allies met east of Schwerin
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.
Rostock (district)
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Rostock is a district in the north of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by the district Nordwestmecklenburg, the Baltic Sea, the district-free city Rostock, the district seat is the town Güstrow. The district was established by merging the districts of Bad Doberan. The name of the district was decided by referendum on 4 September 2011, the project name for the district was Mittleres Mecklenburg
9.
Burgomaster
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The name in English was derived from the Dutch burgemeester. In some cases, Burgomaster was the title of the head of state and head of government of a sovereign city-state, contemporary titles are commonly translated into English as mayor. Bürgermeister, in German, in Germany, Austria, and formerly in Switzerland, in Switzerland, the title was abolished mid-19th century, various current titles for roughly equivalent offices include Gemeindepräsident, Stadtpräsident, Gemeindeamtmann, and Stadtamtmann. Oberbürgermeister is the most common version for a mayor in a big city in Germany, the Ober- prefix is used in many ranking systems for the next level up including military designations. The mayors of cities, which comprise one of Germanys 112 urban districts usually bear this title. Urban districts are comparable to independent cities in the English-speaking world, however, also the mayors of some cities, which do not comprise an urban district, but often used to comprise one until the territorial reforms in the 1970s, bear the title Oberbürgermeister. In the Netherlands nominated by the council but appointed by the crown. In theory above the parties, in practice a high-profile party-political post, bourgmestre in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Democratic Republic of the Congo Bürgermeister Burmistras, derived from German. Burmistrz, a title, derived from German. The German form Oberbürgermeister is often translated as Nadburmistrz, the German-derived terminology reflects the involvement of German settlers in the early history of many Polish towns. Borgmästare, kommunalborgmästare, the title is not used in Sweden in present times, boargemaster Pormestari In history in many free imperial cities the function of burgomaster was usually held simultaneously by three persons, serving as an executive college. One of the three being burgomaster in chief for a year, the second being the prior burgomaster in chief, präsidierender Bürgermeister is now an obsolete formulation sometimes found in historic texts
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.
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
12.
Bad Doberan (district)
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Bad Doberan is a former district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It was named after its largest town, Bad Doberan, the German Bad meaning spa, the district surrounded the City of Rostock, bordering the Baltic Sea in the north as well as the former districts of Nordvorpommern, Güstrow and Nordwestmecklenburg. The district was disbanded at the reform of September 2011. Its territory has been part of the district of Rostock since, before 500 AD East Germanic tribes dominated the area, who later on emigrated to the west. The then very rural region was scarcely populated by Slavic peoples until the 12th century. Remains of a Slavic castle can be found in the town of Rerik, in 1160 Henry the Lion conquered the region, afterwards German monks, peasants and traders arrived to settle here. In the Middle Ages the region profited from the vicinity of the wealthy Hanseatic city of Rostock, the worst time in regional history was the Thirty Years War, which depopulated the area almost completely. In 1793 the bathing resort of Heiligendamm was established, and the became a summer residence for the dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. In 1952 the districts of Bad Doberan and Rostock-Land were established and they were merged in 1994 in order to form the enlarged district of Bad Doberan. This district was merged with the district of Güstrow at the reform of September 2011. The district comprised a 62 km coastline along the Baltic Sea, the Warnow enters the district in the south and leaves to the city of Rostock. Rostock was surrounded by the district, but not part of it, the subdivisions of the district were, Media related to Landkreis Bad Doberan at Wikimedia Commons Official website Regional Tourist Center for Bad Doberan and surrounding Area
13.
Rostock
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Rostock is the largest city in the north German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is on the Warnow river, the district of Warnemünde 12 kilometres north of the city centre is directly on the Baltic Sea coast, Rostock is home to one of the oldest universities in the world, the University of Rostock, founded in 1419. The city territory of Rostock stretches for about 20 km along the Warnow to the Baltic Sea, the largest built-up area of Rostock is on the western side of the river. The eastern part of its territory is dominated by industrial estates, Rostock is considered as the only regiopolis in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc, the Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161. Afterwards the place was settled by German traders, initially there were three separate cities, Altstadt around the Alter Markt with St. Petri, Mittelstadt around the Neuer Markt with St. Marien and Neustadt around the Hopfenmarkt with St. Jakobi. In 1218, Rostock was granted Lübeck law city rights by Heinrich Borwin, during the first partition of Mecklenburg following the death of Henry Borwin II of Mecklenburg in 1226, Rostock became the seat of the Lordship of Rostock, which survived for almost a century. In 1251, the city became a member of the Hanseatic League, in the 14th century it was a powerful seaport town with 12,000 inhabitants and the biggest city of Mecklenburg. Ships for cruising the Baltic Sea were constructed in Rostock, the formerly independent fishing village of Warnemünde at the Baltic Sea became a part of Rostock in 1323, to secure the citys access to the Baltic Sea. In 1419, one of the earliest universities in Europe, the University of Rostock, was founded and they took advantage of a riot known as Domfehde, a failed uprising of the impoverished population. Subsequent quarrels with the dukes and persistent plundering led ultimately to a loss of economic, in 1565 there were further clashes with Schwerin that which had far-reaching consequences. Among other things, was the introduction of a beer excise that favoured the dukes. John Albert I advanced on the city with 500 horsemen, after Rostock had refused to take the oath of allegiance. The citizens slighted the fortress the following spring, from 1575 to 1577 the city walls were rebuilt, as was the Lagebusch tower and the Stein Gate in the Dutch Renaissance style. The inscription sit intra te concordia et publica felicitas, which can still be read on the gate, in 1584 it finally came to the Second Rostock Inheritance Agreement, which resulted in a further loss of former tax privileges. At the same time, these inheritance contracts put paid to Rostocks ambition of achieving imperial immediacy as Lübeck had done in 1226, the strategic location of Rostock provoked the envy of its rivals. Danes and Swedes occupied the city twice, first during the Thirty Years War, later, the French, under Napoleon, occupied the town for about a decade until 1813. In nearby Lübeck-Ratekau, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, who was born in Rostock and this was only after furious street fighting in the Battle of Lübeck, in which he led some of the cavalry charges himself
14.
Baltic Sea
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The Baltic Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, enclosed by Scandinavia, Finland, the Baltic countries, and the North European Plain. It includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Bay of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga, the sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10°E to 30°E longitude. The Baltic Sea is connected by waterways to the White Sea via the White Sea Canal. Traffic history Historically, the Kingdom of Denmark collected Sound Dues from ships at the border between the ocean and the land-locked Baltic Sea and they were collected in the Øresund at Kronborg castle near Helsingør, in the Great Belt at Nyborg. In the Little Belt, the site of intake was moved to Fredericia, the narrowest part of Little Belt is the Middelfart Sund near Middelfart. Oceanography Geographers widely agree that the physical border of the Baltic is a line drawn through the southern Danish islands, Drogden-Sill. The Drogden Sill is situated north of Køge Bugt and connects Dragør in the south of Copenhagen to Malmö, it is used by the Øresund Bridge, including the Drogden Tunnel. By this definition, the Danish Straits are part of the entrance, but the Bay of Mecklenburg, another usual border is the line between Falsterbo, Sweden and Stevns Klint, Denmark, as this is the southern border of Øresund. Its also the border between the shallow southern Øresund and notably deeper water, hydrography and biology Drogden Sill sets a limit to Øresund and Darss Sill, and a limit to the Belt Sea. The shallow sills are obstacles to the flow of salt water from the Kattegat into the basins around Bornholm. The Kattegat and the southwestern Baltic Sea are well oxygenated and have a rich biology, the remainder of the Sea is brackish, poor in oxygen and in species. While Tacitus called it Mare Suebicum after the Germanic people called the Suebi, the origin of the latter name is speculative. Adam of Bremen himself compared the sea with a belt, stating that it is so named because it stretches through the land as a belt and he might also have been influenced by the name of a legendary island mentioned in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder. Pliny mentions an island named Baltia with reference to accounts of Pytheas and it is possible that Pliny refers to an island named Basilia in On the Ocean by Pytheas. Baltia also might be derived from belt and mean near belt of sea, meanwhile, others have suggested that the name of the island originates from the Proto-Indo-European root *bhel meaning white, fair. This root and its meaning were retained in both Lithuanian and Latvian. On this basis, a related hypothesis holds that the name originated from this Indo-European root via a Baltic language such as Lithuanian, yet another explanation is that the name originally meant enclosed sea, bay as opposed to open sea. Some Swedish historians believe the name derives from the god Balder of Nordic mythology, in the Middle Ages the sea was known by variety of names
15.
Heiligendamm
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Heiligendamm is a German seaside resort, founded in 1793. It is the oldest seaside spa in continental Europe, Heiligendamm is part of the town Bad Doberan in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and historically belongs to Mecklenburg. The cluster of resort architecture mansions and spa buildings at the seafront are reminders of the days when this part of the Baltic Sea was one of the playgrounds of Europes aristocracy. Due to the classicist white buildings lining the beach promenade, the town is known as the White Pearl or the White Town by the Sea. Today, the area by the sea is occupied by a five-star hotel, a narrow-gauge steam railway, known as the Molli, links Heiligendamm with Kühlungsborn and Bad Doberan. Heiligendamm was developed as an elegant meeting place for the nobility, among its most prominent guests were the German Emperors. Its founder and first guest in 1793 was the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Friedrich Franz I, between 1793 and 1870, Johann Christoph, Heinrich von Seydwitz, Carl Theodor Severin, and Gustav Adolph Demmler created a veritable Gesamtkunstwerk for bathing and lodging. Heiligendamm was always regarded as the most elegant seaside resort in Germany, nobility from throughout Europe used it as a summer getaway well into the 20th century. After the Second World War, the buildings of Heiligendamm were used as sanatoria, when Mecklenburg became part of the communist GDR, some of Heiligendamms famous buildings were demolished and replaced by more utilitarian structures. After the German reunification in 1989/1990, a group of investors bought most of the buildings, a new company, the Kempinski Grand Hotel, opened in spring of 2003 - it used six historical buildings including the historical Kurhaus at the beach of Heiligendamm. The development has led to conflict with residents, as main streets. Also again a famous building of the ensemble was demolished, the mansion next to the Grand Hotel was reconstructed until 2011, though. Renovations of other mansions are undergoing or planned, on July 13,2006, United States President George W. Bush stayed at Heiligendamm while on a state visit to see German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Stralsund. On June 6 to 8,2007, Heiligendamms Grand Hotel hosted the 33rd summit of G8 leaders, during this time, thousands of anticapitalist activists from around the world blocked the roads to Heiligendamm and an estimated 25,000 anti-globalization protesters demonstrated in nearby Rostock. In July 2013, the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm was bought by Hannover-based accountant Paul Morzynski, the area of the Grand Hotel is partly accessible to visitors, but should be experienced respectfully to not disturb the hotel guests. The narrow gauge railway known as Bäderbahn Molli runs through Heiligendamm from Kühlungsborn to Bad Doberan, the line between Bad Doberan and Heiligendamm was built in 1886. The Protestant Forest Church was renovated after die Wende, the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart is close by, Heiligendamm also has a 200-metre-long pier into the Baltic Sea that allows great views of the White Pearl Mansions at the beach. In English language Charles James Apperley, Nimrods German Tour – a travel through northern Germany, publishing company, Godewind Verlag, Germany 2006
16.
Schwerin
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Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population is 91,583 and 98.000 as of July 2016, Schwerin was first mentioned in 1018 and was granted city rights in 1160, thus it is the oldest city of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is known for its romantic Schwerin Palace, crowning an island in the Lake Schwerin, the city also has a largely intact old town, thanks to only minor damage in World War II. Schwerin is located within the region of Hamburg and close to that of Berlin. The largest of these lakes, the Schweriner See, has an area of 60 km2, in the midst of these lakes there was a settlement of the Slavic Obotrite. The area was called Zuarin, and the name Schwerin is derived from that designation, in 1160, Henry the Lion defeated the Obotrites and captured Schwerin. The town was expanded into a powerful regional centre. A castle was built on site, and expanded to become a ducal palace. It is supposedly haunted by the small, impious ghost, called Petermännchen, in 1358, Schwerin became a part of the Duchy of Mecklenburg, making it the seat of the duchy from then on. About 1500, the construction of the Schwerin Palace began, as a residence for the dukes, after the division of Mecklenburg, Schwerin became the capital of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Between 1765 and 1837, the town of Ludwigslust served as the capital, in the mid-1800s, many residents from Schwerin moved to the United States, many to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Today Milwaukee and Schwerin are sister cities, after 1918, and during the German Revolution, resulting in the fall of all the German monarchies, the Grand Duke abdicated. Schwerin became capital of the Free State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern thereafter, at the end of World War II, on 2 May 1945, Schwerin was taken by U. S. troops. Schwerin was then in the Soviet Occupation Zone which was to become the German Democratic Republic, initially, it was the capital of the State of Mecklenburg which at that time included the western part of Pomerania. After the states were dissolved in the GDR, in 1952, after reunification in 1990, the former state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was recreated as one of the Bundesländer. Rostock was a contender for state capital but the decision went in favour of Schwerin. City buses and trams are run by NVS, Schwerin Hauptbahnhof is connected by rail to Berlin, Hamburg and Rostock. The landmark of the city is the Schwerin Palace, located on an island in the lake of the same name and it was, for centuries, the residence of the Dukes of Mecklenburg and today is the seat of the Landtag
17.
Polabian language
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The Polabian language is an extinct West Slavic language that was spoken by the Polabian Slavs in present-day northeastern Germany around the Elbe river, from which derives its name. In the south it bordered on the Sorbian language area in Lusatia, by the 18th century Lechitic Polabian was in some respects markedly different from other Slavic languages, most notably in having a strong German influence. It was close to Pomeranian and Kashubian, and attested only in a handful of manuscripts, dictionaries, as can be seen in the comparisons of the Lords Prayer below, Polabian contained many German loanwords, such as Wader and Rîk. About 2800 Polabian words are known, the last native speaker of Polabian, a woman, died in 1756, and the last person who spoke limited Polabian died in 1825. The most important monument of the language is the so-called Vocabularium Venedicum by Christian Hennig, the language left many traces to this day in toponymy, for example, Wustrow Place on the island, Lüchow, Sagard, Gartow etc. It is also a likely origin of the name Berlin, from the Polabian stem berl-/birl-, the Hague, Mouton 1967 Wends Polabians
18.
Cistercians
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A Cistercian is a member of the Cistercian Order (/sɪˈstɜːrʃən/, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist, a religious order of monks and nuns. They are variously called the Bernardines, after the highly influential St, the original emphasis of Cistercian life was on manual labour and self-sufficiency, and many abbeys have traditionally supported themselves through activities such as agriculture and brewing ales. Over the centuries, however, education and academic pursuits came to dominate the life of their monasteries, after that the followers of the older pattern of life became known as the Cistercians of the Original Observance. The term Cistercian, derives from Cistercium, the Latin name for the village of Cîteaux and it was in this village that a group of Benedictine monks from the monastery of Molesme founded Cîteaux Abbey in 1098, with the goal of following more closely the Rule of Saint Benedict. The best known of them were Robert of Molesme, Alberic of Cîteaux and the English monk Stephen Harding, Bernard of Clairvaux entered the monastery in the early 1110s with 30 companions and helped the rapid proliferation of the order. By the end of the 12th century, the order had spread throughout France and into England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the keynote of Cistercian life was a return to literal observance of the Rule of St Benedict. The most striking feature in the reform was the return to manual labour, especially field-work, Cistercian architecture is considered one of the most beautiful styles of medieval architecture. Additionally, in relation to such as agriculture, hydraulic engineering and metallurgy. The monastery church of Cluny Abbey, the largest in Europe, had become wealthy from rents, tithes, feudal rights and pilgrims who passed through Cluniac houses on the Way of St. James. On March 21,1098, Roberts small group acquired a plot of marshland just south of Dijon called Cîteaux, during the first year, the monks set about constructing lodging areas and farming the lands of Cîteaux, making use of a nearby chapel for Mass. In Roberts absence from Molesme, however, the abbey had gone into decline, and Pope Urban II, the remaining monks of Cîteaux elected Alberic as their abbot, under whose leadership the abbey would find its grounding. Robert had been the idealist of the order, and Alberic was their builder, upon assuming the role of abbot, Alberic moved the site of the fledgling community near a brook a short distance away from the original site. Alberic discontinued the use of Benedictine black garments in the abbey and he returned the community to the original Benedictine ideal of manual work and prayer, dedicated to the ideal of charity and self sustenance. Alberic also forged an alliance with the Dukes of Burgundy, working out a deal with Duke Odo of Burgundy concerning the donation of a vineyard as well as stones with which they built their church. The church was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary on November 16,1106, on January 26,1108, Alberic died and was soon succeeded by Stephen Harding, the man responsible for carrying the order into its crucial phase. The order was fortunate that Stephen was an abbot of extraordinary gifts, and he framed the original version of the Cistercian Constitution or regulations, the Carta caritatis. Although this was revised on several occasions to meet needs, from the outset it emphasised a simple life of work, love, prayer. Cistercian abbeys also refused to admit children, allowing adults to choose their religious vocation for themselves – a practice later emulated by many of the older Benedictine houses
19.
Amelungsborn Abbey
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It survived the Reformation by becoming Lutheran, and with Loccum Abbey, also previously Cistercian, is one of the only two Lutheran monasteries in Germany with an uninterrupted tradition. The abbey church, St. Marys, is also the church of the abbeys former estate villages Negenborn. The site of the villa Amelungsborn to the west of the present Stadtoldendorf was originally part of the lands of the Counts of Northeim. No foundation charter has survived, although there is a confirmation dated 5 December 1129 by Pope Honorius II, nevertheless an interval of six years between foundation and settlement fits the general timescale of Cistercian foundations. The abbey was dedicated in 1135 by Bernhard I, Bishop of Hildesheim, the first abbot of Amelungsborn, appointed in 1141, was Heinrich I, a half-brother of the founder, Count Siegfried IV. The new monastery prospered and was able to extend the settlements of the order. As early as 1138 a monk of Amelungsborn was appointed abbot of Mariental Abbey near Helmstedt, in 1145 Amelungsborn provided the entire community for the foundation of Riddagshausen Abbey near Braunschweig, of which it was thus the mother house. Amelungsborn became the richest monastery of the Welf sphere of influence, by about 1280 the community numbered 50 monks and 90 lay-brothers. During the first half of the 16th century Amelungsborn fell increasingly into the power of the Welf territorial princes, in 1549 the abbey was forced to cede the lucrative farm at Allersheim to Duke Henry the Younger of Brunswick. In 1568 Duke Julius of Brunswick implemented the Reformation in his realm, the first Lutheran abbot was Andreas Steinhauer, who founded the school for which the abbey was from this point on principally known. In 1760 the abbey school was transferred to Holzminden by Duke Charles I of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and merged with the town school, under the rule of Napoleon in 1806 Amelungsborn Abbey was dissolved, but by an anomaly the position of abbot remained. In 1941 the church was transferred to the Hanover State Church, the church senate assumed the rights of the previous territorial lords and took over responsibility for the abbey. In World War II the buildings were damaged, including the outer ring wall, on 8 April 1945. The church sustained particularly heavy damage, and the side of the nave. Restoration work took place from 1954 to 1959, in 1960 Christhard Mahrenholz was appointed 54th abbot, assembled a community and founded a society of laymen, Familiaritas. The community, as at 2008, consists of the abbot and eight religious, Amelungsborn Abbey official website Youtube. com, Amelungsborn Abbey Choir Photos
20.
Weser Uplands
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The Weser Uplands is a hill region in Germany (Lower Saxony, Hesse, and North Rhine-Westphalia, between Hannoversch Münden and Porta Westfalica near the river Weser. Important cities of this region include Bad Karlshafen, Holzminden, Höxter, Bodenwerder, Hameln, Rinteln, the tales of the Brothers Grimm are set in the Weser Uplands, and it has many renaissance buildings, exhibiting a peculiar regional style, the Weser Renaissance style. The region roughly coincides with the region of the Lower Saxon Hills defined by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation or BfN. In addition to the whole of the Weser Valley between Hann, Münden und Porta Westfalica, several geologically associated, but clearly separate chains of uplands, ridges and individual hills are considered part of the Weser Uplands. In its narrowest sense, the following would be included, The largest contiguous area of forest in the Weser Uplands lies on the Solling in the Solling-Vogler Nature Park. Its woods stretch southwards as far as the Reinardswald and Bramwald, interrupted only by the island-like Uslar Basin and the narrow Weser valley. Even on the far side of the rivers Fulda and Werra -, in addition to the aforementioned core ridges, other ranges and ridges are also sometimes considered part of the Weser Uplands. The Weser Uplands once developed its own style of architecture, between 1520 and 1640 a great number of buildings were built in the so-called Weser Renaissance style. A botanic feature are the rare Dwarf Beech trees, of increasing importance is motorcycle tourism. The Weser Uplands, like the Harz, is a popular destination in northern Germany. In particular, the Köterberg, as the highest elevation from that point to the North Sea, is a motorcycle meeting point with a magnificent panoramic view up to 80 kilometres. Other notable attractions are the Schillat Cave, the Tonenburg in Höxter-Albaxen, the Neuhaus Wildlife Park, Münden and several museums such as the Agricultural Technology Museum in Börry, the hammer mill in Dassel, The German Huguenot Museum in Bad Karlshafen and the Motorcycle Museum in Wickensen. The region is influenced by tourism. Large areas are also utilized by agriculture and forestry and firms involved in processing the products of these industries, a porcelain factory in Fürstenberg has been working since 1747
21.
Romanesque architecture
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Romanesque Architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the late 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style, marked by pointed arches, examples of Romanesque architecture can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman Architecture. The Romanesque style in England is traditionally referred to as Norman architecture, each building has clearly defined forms, frequently of very regular, symmetrical plan, the overall appearance is one of simplicity when compared with the Gothic buildings that were to follow. The style can be identified right across Europe, despite regional characteristics, Many castles were built during this period, but they are greatly outnumbered by churches. The most significant are the great churches, many of which are still standing, more or less complete. The largest groups of Romanesque survivors are in areas that were less prosperous in subsequent periods, including parts of southern France, northern Spain and rural Italy. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word Romanesque means descended from Roman and was first used in English to designate what are now called Romance languages, Romance language is not degenerated Latin language. Latin language is degenerated Romance language, Romanesque architecture is not debased Roman architecture. Roman architecture is debased Romanesque architecture, the first use in a published work is in William Gunns An Inquiry into the Origin and Influence of Gothic Architecture. The term is now used for the more restricted period from the late 10th to 12th centuries, Many castles exist, the foundations of which date from the Romanesque period. Most have been altered, and many are in ruins. By far the greatest number of surviving Romanesque buildings are churches, the scope of Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture was the first distinctive style to spread across Europe since the Roman Empire. In the more northern countries Roman building styles and techniques had never been adopted except for official buildings, although the round arch continued in use, the engineering skills required to vault large spaces and build large domes were lost. There was a loss of continuity, particularly apparent in the decline of the formal vocabulary of the Classical Orders. In Rome several great Constantinian basilicas continued in use as an inspiration to later builders, the largest building is the church, the plan of which is distinctly Germanic, having an apse at both ends, an arrangement not generally seen elsewhere. Another feature of the church is its regular proportion, the plan of the crossing tower providing a module for the rest of the plan. These features can both be seen at the Proto-Romanesque St. Michaels Church, Hildesheim, 1001–1030, the style, sometimes called First Romanesque or Lombard Romanesque, is characterised by thick walls, lack of sculpture and the presence of rhythmic ornamental arches known as a Lombard band
22.
Gothic architecture
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Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished in Europe during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture and its characteristics include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress. Gothic architecture is most familiar as the architecture of many of the cathedrals, abbeys. It is also the architecture of many castles, palaces, town halls, guild halls, universities and to a less prominent extent, private dwellings, for this reason a study of Gothic architecture is largely a study of cathedrals and churches. A series of Gothic revivals began in mid-18th-century England, spread through 19th-century Europe and continued, largely for ecclesiastical and university structures, the term Gothic architecture originated as a pejorative description. Hence, François Rabelais, also of the 16th century, imagines an inscription over the door of his utopian Abbey of Thélème, Here enter no hypocrites, slipping in a slighting reference to Gotz and Ostrogotz. Authorities such as Christopher Wren lent their aid in deprecating the old medieval style, the Company disapproved of several of these new manners, which are defective and which belong for the most part to the Gothic. Gothic architecture is the architecture of the medieval period, characterised by use of the pointed arch. As an architectural style, Gothic developed primarily in ecclesiastical architecture, the greatest number of surviving Gothic buildings are churches. The Gothic style is most particularly associated with the cathedrals of Northern France. At the end of the 12th century, Europe was divided into a multitude of city states, norway came under the influence of England, while the other Scandinavian countries and Poland were influenced by trading contacts with the Hanseatic League. Angevin kings brought the Gothic tradition from France to Southern Italy, throughout Europe at this time there was a rapid growth in trade and an associated growth in towns. Germany and the Lowlands had large flourishing towns that grew in comparative peace, in trade and competition with other, or united for mutual weal. Civic building was of importance to these towns as a sign of wealth. England and France remained largely feudal and produced grand domestic architecture for their kings, dukes and bishops, the Catholic Church prevailed across Europe at this time, influencing not only faith but also wealth and power. Bishops were appointed by the lords and they often ruled as virtual princes over large estates. The early Medieval periods had seen a growth in monasticism, with several different orders being prevalent. Foremost were the Benedictines whose great abbey churches vastly outnumbered any others in France, a part of their influence was that towns developed around them and they became centers of culture, learning and commerce
23.
Doberan Abbey
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Doberan Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Bad Doberan, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The Brick Gothic church continues in use as Doberan Minster, after the conversion to Christianity of the Wendish prince Pribislav, Doberan was the first monastery founded in Mecklenburg, in 1171, as a daughter house of Amelungsborn Abbey. The first community, at Althof, was massacred in 1179 in the unrest following the death of Pribislaw, and it quickly became a political, social and spiritual centre in the region. The abbey church, which continues in use as Doberan Minster, is one of the most important Brick Gothic buildings in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Until the Reformation, during which it was secularised in 1552, the abbey possessed great estates, the premises were badly damaged in 1637 during the Thirty Years War, when the minster was used as a storage depot, and some buildings were destroyed. During the French occupation of Mecklenburg under Napoleon from 1806 to 1813 more damage was sustained, between 1883 and 1896 the church was restored in an inappropriate 19th century Gothic Revival style, which was undone in a further restoration in the 1960s and 1970s. Albert of Sweden Margaret Sambiria Bülow, Ernst von,2006, ISBN 978-3-938347-61-4 Compart, Friedrich,2004, Geschichte des Klosters Doberan. ISBN 3-938347-07-4 Erdmann, Wolfgang,1995, Zisterzienser-Abtei Doberan, ISBN 3-7845-0411-6 Fründt, Edith,1987, Das Kloster Doberan, with photographs by Thomas Helms. ISBN 3-7954-5582-0 Gloede, Günter,1960, Das Doberaner Münster, berlin Minneker, Ilka,2007, Vom Kloster zur Residenz – Dynastische Memoria und Repräsentation im spätmittelalterlichen und frühneuzeitlichen Mecklenburg. Münster, Rhema-Verlag ISBN 978-3-930454-78-5 Doberaner Münster website
24.
Reformation
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The period is usually considered to have begun with the publication of the Ninety-five Theses by Luther in 1517 to the Thirty Years War and ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The Protestant position, however, would come to incorporate doctrinal changes such as sola scriptura, the initial movement within Germany diversified, and other reform impulses arose independently of Luther. The spread of Gutenbergs printing press provided the means for the dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular. The largest groups were the Lutherans and Calvinists, Lutheran churches were founded mostly in Germany, the Baltics and Scandinavia, while the Reformed ones were founded in Switzerland, Hungary, France, the Netherlands and Scotland. The new movement influenced the Church of England decisively after 1547 under Edward VI and Elizabeth I, there were also reformation movements throughout continental Europe known as the Radical Reformation, which gave rise to the Anabaptist, Moravian and other Pietistic movements. The Roman Catholic Church responded with a Counter-Reformation initiated by the Council of Trent, much work in battling Protestantism was done by the well-organised new order of the Jesuits. In general, Northern Europe, with the exception of most of Ireland, southern Europe remained Roman Catholic, while Central Europe was a site of a fierce conflict, culminating in the Thirty Years War, which left it devastated. The oldest Protestant churches, such as the Unitas Fratrum and Moravian Church, the later Protestant Churches generally date their doctrinal separation from the Roman Catholic Church to the 16th century. The Reformation began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church, by priests who opposed what they perceived as false doctrines and ecclesiastic malpractice. They especially objected to the teaching and the sale of indulgences, and the abuses thereof, and to simony, the reformers saw these practices as evidence of the systemic corruption of the Churchs hierarchy, which included the pope. Unrest due to the Great Schism of Western Christianity excited wars between princes, uprisings among the peasants, and widespread concern over corruption in the Church, New perspectives came from John Wycliffe at Oxford University and from Jan Hus at the Charles University in Prague. Hus rejected indulgences and adopted a doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone, the Roman Catholic Church officially concluded this debate at the Council of Constance by condemning Hus, who was executed by burning despite a promise of safe-conduct. Wycliffe was posthumously condemned as a heretic and his corpse exhumed and burned in 1428, the Council of Constance confirmed and strengthened the traditional medieval conception of church and empire. The council did not address the national tensions or the theological tensions stirred up during the century and could not prevent schism. Pope Sixtus IV established the practice of selling indulgences to be applied to the dead, Pope Alexander VI was one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes. He was the father of seven children, including Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia, in response to papal corruption, particularly the sale of indulgences, Luther wrote The Ninety-Five Theses. The Reformation was born of Luthers dual declaration – first, the discovering of Jesus and salvation by faith alone, the Protestant reformers were unanimous in agreement and this understanding of prophecy furnished importance to their deeds. It was the point and the battle cry that made the Reformation nearly unassailable
25.
Cottage
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A cottage is, typically, a small house. It may carry the connotation of being an old or old-fashioned building, in modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cosy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. The word comes from the architecture of England, where it referred to a house with ground floor living space. In British English the term now denotes a small dwelling of traditional build, Cottages may be detached houses, or terraced, such as those built to house workers in mining villages. The tied accommodation provided to workers was usually a cottage. Peasant farmers were known as cotters. The holiday cottage exists in many cultures under different names, in American English, cottage is one term for such holiday homes, although they may also be called a cabin, chalet, or even camp. In certain countries the term cottage has local synonyms, In Finnish mökki, in Estonian suvila, in Swedish stage, in Norwegian hytte, in Slovak chalupa, in Russian дача. There are cottage-style dwellings in American cities that were primarily for the purpose of housing slaves In places such as Canada. Originally in the Middle Ages, cottages housed agricultural workers and their friends, the term cottage denoted the dwelling of a cotter. Thus, cottages were smaller peasant units, in that early period, a documentary reference to a cottage would most often mean, not a small stand-alone dwelling as today, but a complete farmhouse and yard. Thus, in the Middle Ages, the word cottage denoted not just a dwelling, but included at least a dwelling and a barn, as well as, usually, a fenced yard or piece of land enclosed by a gate. The word is probably a blend of Old English cot, cote hut and Old French cot hut, cottage, from Old Norse kot hut, examples of this may be found in 15th century manor court rolls. The house of the cottage bore the Latin name, domus, later on, cottage might also have denoted a smallholding comprising houses, outbuildings, and supporting farmland or woods. A cottage, in sense, would typically include just a few acres of tilled land. Examples of this included the Welsh Tŷ unnos or house in a night. Much later, from around the 18th century onwards, the development of industry led to the development of weavers cottages, in England and Wales the legal definition of a cottage is a small house or habitation without land. However, originally under an Elizabethan statute, the cottage had to be built with at least 4 acres of land, traditionally the owner of the cottage and small holding would be known as a cottager
26.
Thirty Years' War
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The Thirty Years War was a series of wars in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648. It was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, as well as the deadliest European religious war, resulting in eight million casualties. Initially a war between various Protestant and Catholic states in the fragmented Holy Roman Empire, it developed into a more general conflict involving most of the great powers. These states employed relatively large mercenary armies, and the war became less about religion, in the 17th century, religious beliefs and practices were a much larger influence on an average European than they are today. The war began when the newly elected Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II, tried to impose uniformity on his domains. The northern Protestant states, angered by the violation of their rights to choose that had granted in the Peace of Augsburg. Ferdinand II was a devout Roman Catholic and relatively intolerant when compared to his predecessor and his policies were considered strongly pro-Catholic. They ousted the Habsburgs and elected Frederick V, Elector of the Rhenish Palatinate as their monarch, Frederick took the offer without the support of the union. The southern states, mainly Roman Catholic, were angered by this, led by Bavaria, these states formed the Catholic League to expel Frederick in support of the Emperor. The Empire soon crushed this rebellion in the Battle of White Mountain. After the atrocities committed in Bohemia, Saxony finally gave its support to the union, Spain, wishing to finally crush the Dutch rebels in the Netherlands and the Dutch Republic, intervened under the pretext of helping its dynastic Habsburg ally, Austria. No longer able to tolerate the encirclement of two major Habsburg powers on its borders, Catholic France entered the coalition on the side of the Protestants in order to counter the Habsburgs. Both mercenaries and soldiers in fighting armies traditionally looted or extorted tribute to get operating funds, the war also bankrupted most of the combatant powers. The Thirty Years War ended with the treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, the war altered the previous political order of European powers. Lutherans living in a prince-bishopric could continue to practice their faith, Lutherans could keep the territory they had taken from the Catholic Church since the Peace of Passau in 1552. Those prince-bishops who had converted to Lutheranism were required to give up their territories and this added a third major faith to the region, but its position was not recognized in any way by the Augsburg terms, to which only Catholicism and Lutheranism were parties. The Dutch revolted against Spanish domination during the 1560s, leading to a war of independence that led to a truce only in 1609. This dynastic concern overtook religious ones and led to Catholic Frances participation on the otherwise Protestant side of the war, Sweden and Denmark-Norway were interested in gaining control over northern German states bordering the Baltic Sea
27.
Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
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The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Niklots son, Pribislav, submitted himself to Henry, and in 1167 came into his inheritance as the first Prince of Mecklenburg. After they both had received the title, the former lordship of Stargard was recreated as the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Stargard for John in 1352. Albert II retained the western part of Mecklenburg, and after he acquired the former County of Schwerin in 1358. In 1363 Alberts son, Duke Albert III, campaigned in Sweden, in 1436, William, the last Lord of Werle, died without a male heir. Because Williams son-in-law, Ulric II of Mecklenburg-Stargard, had no issue, all possessions fell back to Duke Henry IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who was then the sole ruler over all of Mecklenburg. In 1520 Henrys grandsons, Henry V and Albert VII, again divided the duchy, creating the subdivision of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, in a second partition of 1621, he granted Güstrow to his brother, John Albert II. Both were deposed in 1628 by Albrecht von Wallenstein, as they had supported Christian IV of Denmark in the Thirty Years War, nevertheless, the Swedish Empire forced their restoration three years later. When John Albert IIs son, Duke Gustav Adolph, died without heirs in 1695. In June 1692, when Christian Louis I died in exile and without sons, in 1701, with the endorsement of the Imperial state of the Lower Saxon Circle, the Treaty of Hamburg was signed and the final division of the country was made. Mecklenburg was divided between the two claimants, the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was given to Frederick William, and the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, roughly a recreation of the medieval Stargard lordship, to Adolphus Frederick II. At the same time, the principle of primogeniture was reasserted, continued conflicts and partitions weakened the rule of the dukes and affirmed the reputation of Mecklenburg as one of the most backward territories of the Empire. Mecklenburg-Schwerin began its existence during a series of struggles between the duke and the nobles. His brother, Christian Ludwig II, was appointed administrator of the duchy, under this prince, who became ruler de jure in 1747, the Convention of Rostock, by which a new constitution was framed for the duchy, was signed in April 1755. By this instrument, all power was in the hands of the duke, the nobles, and the classes generally. During the Seven Years War, Frederick II took up an attitude towards Frederick the Great. In other ways his rule was beneficial to the country, in the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars, Frederick Francis I remained neutral, and in 1803 he regained Wismar from Kingdom of Sweden. In 1806 the land was overrun by the First French Empire and he was the first member of the confederation to abandon Napoleon, to whose armies he had sent a contingent, and in 1813–1814 he fought against France
28.
Samuel Gottlieb Vogel
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Samuel Gottlieb von Vogel was a German physician. He is seen as the father of German seaside resorts. Vogel started studying medical science in Göttingen at the age of 14, in 1771 he attained a doctorate and in 1776 he achieved habilitation. He first started working as a physician in Göttingen, later moving to Ratzeburg, in the meantime he published several medicinal science books. 1789 he became professor of medical faculty at the University of Rostock, in 1793 Friedrich Franz I founded the seaside resort Heiligendamm, upon advice by Dr Vogel. Wer war wer in Mecklenburg und Vorpommern
29.
Thaler
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The thaler was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in the many currencies called dollar and, until recently and this original Bohemian thaler carried a lion, from the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bohemia, on its reverse side. Etymologically, Thal is German for valley - a thaler is a person or a thing from the valley, the Czech spelling was tolar, many varieties of the term are used in different languages. In the 1902 spelling reform, the German spelling was changed from Thal and Thaler to Tal and Taler, the roots and development of the thaler-sized silver coin date back to the mid-15th century. In 1474 a 9-gram lira was issued but it was in 1484 that Archduke Sigismund of Tirol issued the first truly revolutionary silver coin and this was a very rare coin, almost a trial piece, but it did circulate so successfully that demand could not be met. Finally, with the silver deposits—being mined at Schwaz—to work with and his mint at Hall, Sigismund issued, in 1486, large numbers of the first true thaler-sized coin, the Guldengroschen, nicknamed the guldiner, was an instant and unqualified success. Soon it was being copied widely by many states who had the necessary silver, by 1518, guldiners were popping up everywhere in central Europe. Joachim, the father of the Virgin Mary, was portrayed on the coin along with the Bohemian lion, similar coins began to be minted in neighbouring valleys rich in silver deposits, each named after the particular thal or valley from which the silver was extracted. There were soon so many of them that these coins began to be known more widely as thaler in German. From these earliest thaler developed the new thaler – the coin that the Holy Roman Empire had been looking to create as a standard for trade between the regions of Europe, the original Joachimsthaler Guldengroschen was one ounce in weight. The Empires Reichstaler was defined as containing 400.99 grains of silver, in the 17th century, some Joachimsthalers were in circulation in the Tsardom of Russia, where they were called yefimok - a distortion of the first half of the name. The zenith of thaler minting occurred in the late 16th and 17th centuries with the so-called multiple thalers, the first were minted in Brunswick, and indeed the majority were struck there. Some of these coins reached colossal size, as much as sixteen normal thalers, the original reason for minting these colossal coins, some of which exceeded a full pound of silver and being over 12 cm in diameter, is uncertain. The name löser most likely was derived from a gold coin minted in Hamburg called the Portugalöser. Some of the silver löser reached this value, but not all, eventually the term was applied to numerous similar coins worth more than a single thaler. These coins are rare, the larger ones often costing tens of thousands of dollars. Few circulated in any real sense so they remain in well-preserved condition. In the Holy Roman Empire, the thaler was used as the standard against which the various states currencies could be valued, one standard also adopted by Prussia was the Reichsthaler, which contained 1⁄14 of a Cologne mark of silver
30.
Casino
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A casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. The industry that deals in casinos is called the gaming industry, casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions. There is much debate whether or not the social and economic consequences of casino gambling outweigh the initial revenue that may be generated. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertainment events, such as comedy, concerts. The term casino is a confusing linguistic false friend for translators, Casino is of Italian origin, the root casa originally meant a small country villa, summerhouse, or social club. In modern-day Italian, the term designates a bordello, while the gambling house is spelled casinò with an accent. Not all casinos were used for gaming, the Copenhagen Casino was a theatre, known for the mass public meetings often held in its hall during the 1848 Revolution, which made Denmark a constitutional monarchy. Until 1937, it was a well-known Danish theatre, the Hanko Casino in Hanko, Finland—one of that towns most conspicuous landmarks—was never used for gambling. Rather, it was a hall for the Russian nobility which frequented this spa resort in the late 19th century and is now used as a restaurant. In military and non-military usage in German and Spanish, a casino or kasino is an officers mess, in Italian—the source-language of the word—a casino is either a brothel, a mess, or a noisy environment, while a gaming house is called a casinò. The precise origin of gambling is unknown and it is generally believed that gambling in some form or another has been seen in almost every society in history. From the Ancient Greeks and Romans to Napoleons France and Elizabethan England and it was closed in 1774 as the city government felt it was impoverishing the local gentry. In American history, early gambling establishments were known as saloons, the creation and importance of saloons was greatly influenced by four major cities, New Orleans, St. Louis, Chicago and San Francisco. It was in the saloons that travelers could find people to talk to, drink with, during the early 20th century in America, gambling became outlawed and banned by state legislation and social reformers of the time. However, in 1931, gambling was legalized throughout the state of Nevada, Americas first legalized casinos were set up in those places. In 1976 New Jersey allowed gambling in Atlantic City, now Americas second largest gambling city, most jurisdictions worldwide have a minimum gambling age. Customers gamble by playing games of chance, in cases with an element of skill, such as craps, roulette, baccarat, blackjack. Most games played have mathematically determined odds that ensure the house has at all times an overall advantage over the players and this can be expressed more precisely by the notion of expected value, which is uniformly negative
31.
Horse racing
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Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys or driven over a set distance for competition. Horse races vary widely in format, often, countries have developed their own particular horse racing traditions. Variations include restricting races to particular breeds, running over obstacles, running over different distances, running on different track surfaces, Horse racing has a long and distinguished history and has been practised in civilisations across the world since ancient times. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in Ancient Greece, Babylon, Syria and it also plays an important part of myth and legend, such as the contest between the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC and were important in the other Panhellenic Games. This was despite the fact that racing was often dangerous to both driver and horse as they frequently suffered serious injury and even death. In the Roman Empire, chariot and mounted horse racing were major industries, fifteen to 20 riderless horses, originally imported from the Barbary Coast of North Africa, ran the length of the Via del Corso, a long, straight city street, in about 2½ minutes. In later times, Thoroughbred racing became, and remains, popular with the aristocrats and royalty of British society, historically, equestrians honed their skills through games and races. Equestrian sports provided entertainment for crowds and honed the excellent horsemanship that was needed in battle, Horse racing of all types evolved from impromptu competitions between riders or drivers. The various forms of competition, requiring demanding and specialized skills from both horse and rider, resulted in the development of specialized breeds and equipment for each sport. The popularity of sports through the centuries has resulted in the preservation of skills that would otherwise have disappeared after horses stopped being used in combat. There are many different types of racing, including, Flat racing. Jump racing, or Jumps racing, also known as Steeplechasing or, in the UK and Ireland, National Hunt racing, Harness racing, where horses trot or pace while pulling a driver in a sulky. Breeds that are used for flat racing include the Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, Arabian, Paint, Jump racing breeds include the Thoroughbred and AQPS. In harness racing, Standardbreds are used in Australia, New Zealand and North America, light cold blood horses, such as Finnhorses and Scandinavian coldblood trotter are also used in harness racing within their respective geographical areas. There also are races for ponies, both flat and jump and harness racing, Flat racing is the most common form of racing seen worldwide. Track surfaces vary, with turf most common in Europe, dirt more common in North America and Asia, individual flat races are run over distances ranging from 440 yards up to two and a half miles, with distances between five and twelve furlongs being most common. Short races are referred to as sprints, while longer races are known as routes in the United States or staying races in Europe
32.
Classics
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Classics or Classical Studies is the study of classical antiquity. It encompasses the study of the Graeco-Roman world, particularly of its languages, and literature but also it encompasses the study of Graeco-Roman philosophy, history, and archaeology. Traditionally in the West, the study of the Greek and Roman classics was considered one of the cornerstones of the humanities and it has been traditionally a cornerstone of a typical elite education. The word Classics is derived from the Latin adjective classicus, meaning belonging to the highest class of citizens, the word was originally used to describe the members of the highest class in ancient Rome. By the 2nd century AD the word was used in literary criticism to describe writers of the highest quality, for example, Aulus Gellius, in his Attic Nights, contrasts classicus and proletarius writers. By the 6th century AD, the word had acquired a meaning, referring to pupils at a school. Thus the two meanings of the word, referring both to literature considered to be of the highest quality, and to the standard texts used as part of a curriculum. In the Middle Ages, classics and education were tightly intertwined, according to Jan Ziolkowski, while Latin was hugely influential, however, Greek was barely studied, and Greek literature survived almost solely in Latin translation. The works of even major Greek authors such as Hesiod, whose names continued to be known by educated Europeans, were unavailable in the Middle Ages. Along with the unavailability of Greek authors, there were differences between the classical canon known today and the works valued in the Middle Ages. Catullus, for instance, was almost entirely unknown in the medieval period, the Renaissance led to the increasing study of both ancient literature and ancient history, as well as a revival of classical styles of Latin. From the 14th century, first in Italy and then increasingly across Europe, Renaissance Humanism, Humanism saw a reform in education in Europe, introducing a wider range of Latin authors as well as bringing back the study of Greek language and literature to Western Europe. This reintroduction was initiated by Petrarch and Boccaccio who commissioned a Calabrian scholar to translate the Homeric poems, the late 17th and 18th centuries are the period in Western European literary history which is most associated with the classical tradition, as writers consciously adapted classical models. Classical models were so prized that the plays of William Shakespeare were rewritten along neoclassical lines. From the beginning of the 18th century, the study of Greek became increasingly important relative to that of Latin, in this period Johann Winckelmanns claims for the superiority of the Greek visual arts influenced a shift in aesthetic judgements, while in the literary sphere, G. E. Lessing returned Homer to the centre of artistic achievement, in the United Kingdom, the study of Greek in schools began in the late 18th century. The poet Walter Savage Landor claimed to have one of the first English schoolboys to write in Greek during his time at Rugby School. The 19th century saw the influence of the world, and the value of a classical education, decline, especially in the US
33.
Carl Gotthard Langhans
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Carl Gotthard Langhans was a Prussian builder and architect. His works are among the earliest buildings in the German classicism movement and his best-known work is the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Langhans was born in Landeshut, Silesia and he was not educated as an architect. Through the intervention of the Count of Hatzfeld, he became known in the royal court in Berlin. As his first work in the service of the family, he built in 1766 the stairwell. His designs were used in the construction of the The Princely Pheasantry in Pszczyna-Poręba in southern Poland and he died at Grüneiche near Breslau. In 1771, Langhans married Anna Elisabeth Jaeckel, the daughter of a jurist in Breslau and she had five children, daughters Louise Amalie and Juliane Wilhelmine, a son, theater architect Carl Ferdinand as well as two other children, who died soon after birth. From 1782 he lived with his family in his in-laws house at Albrechtstraße 18 in Breslau, and in 1788, he moved to Berlin, where he lived at Charlottenstraße 48, at the corner of Behrensstraße. The fulfillment of this dream was not granted only to Goethe and Schinkel, but Langhans, too, was able to afford a trip in 1768 and 1769 thanks to the support of the Count of Hatzfeld. When he was assigned to be the leader of the Breslau war and dominion chamber, he visited the countries of England, Holland, Belgium
34.
Friedrich Gilly
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Friedrich David Gilly was a German architect and the son of the architect David Gilly. Born in Altdamm, Pomerania, Gilly was known as a prodigy, in 1788 he enrolled at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Berlin. His teachers there included Carl Gotthard Langhans and Johann Gottfried Schadow, in 1797 Gilly travelled extensively in France, England, and Austria. The drawings he made in France reveal his interests in architecture, beginning in 1799 Schinkel lived in the Gilly household at Berlin and was taught by Friedrich and Friedrichs architect father David Gilly. Gilly was appointed professor at the Berlin Bauakademie at the age of 26, of his built designs, only one survives, the ruinous Greek Revival mausoleum at Dyhernfurth near Breslau, in the form of a prostyle Greek temple. Gilly died from tuberculosis at the age of 28 in Karlsbad, Friedrich Gillys works Fritz Neumeyer Introduction to Friedrich Gilly, Essays on Architecture 1796-17991994 Bust of Gilly
35.
Empire style
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From France it spread into much of Europe and the United States. The style originated in and takes its name from the rule of Napoleon I in the First French Empire, when it was intended to idealize Napoleons leadership and the French state. The style corresponds in that intent to the Biedermeier style in the German-speaking lands, Federal style in the United States, the previous style in France was called Louis XVI style. Conventionels saw themselves as antique heroes, children were named after Brutus, Solon and Lycurgus. The festivals of the Revolution were staged by David as antique rituals, even the chairs in which the committee of Salut Publique sat were made on antique models devised by David. In fact Neo-classicism became fashionable. The Empire style turned to the opulence of Imperial Rome. The abstemious severity of Doric was replaced by Corinthian richness and splendour, two French architects, Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine, were together the creators of the French Empire style. The two had studied in Rome and in the 1790s became leading furniture designers in Paris, where they received commissions from Napoleon. Architecture of the Empire style was based on elements of the Roman Empire and its archaeological treasures. The preceding Louis XVI and Directoire styles employed straighter, simpler designs compared to the Rococo style of the eighteenth century, Empire designs strongly influenced the contemporary American Federal style, and both were forms of propaganda through architecture. It was a style of the people, not ostentatious but sober, the style was considered to have liberated and enlightened architecture just as Napoleon liberated the peoples of Europe with his Napoleonic Code. The Empire period was popularized by the designs of Percier and Fontaine. The designs drew for inspiration on symbols and ornaments borrowed from the glorious ancient Greek, buildings typically had simple timber frames and box-like constructions, veneered in expensive mahogany imported from the colonies. Biedermeier furniture also used ebony details, originally due to financial constraints, ormolu details displayed a high level of craftsmanship. General Bernadotte, later to become King Karl Johan of Sweden and Norway, introduced the Napoleonic style to Sweden, the Karl Johan style remained popular in Scandinavia even as the Empire style disappeared from other parts of Europe. France paid some of its debts to Sweden in ormolu bronzes instead of money, leading to a vogue for crystal chandeliers with bronze from France, after Napoleon lost power, the Empire style continued to be in favour for many decades, with minor adaptations. There was a revival of the style in the last half of the century in France, again at the beginning of the twentieth century. Stalinist architecture is referred to as Stalins Empire style
36.
Kamp (Bad Doberan)
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The Kamp is a triangular, lime-fringed park, about two hectares in area, which was laid out in 1800 in the centre of the small German town of Bad Doberan. In the 19th century, the Kamp was the hub of the Doberan. As well as being the residence of the Duke and his court, whilst Heiligendamm attracted visitors with its bathing establishments, Doberan drew them mainly with its variety of amusements and social events. But the town need to be further developed, the triangular cow pasture situated in front of the Logierhaus was fenced off with barriers, footpaths were laid and it was turned into a park. Thus, the Kamp became the centre of Doberan, a restaurateur from Milan, Gaetano Medini, offered food in a tent, and concerts by the Dukes orchestra were held here. The Kamp was festively illuminated during the season and there were firework displays. With the engagement of Carl Theodor Severin, an architect, in 1802, several buildings were erected around the Kamp, including a theatre, the Logierhaus, a palace. In spring 1808 the tents and wooden stalls on the Kamp were so dilapidated that the duke ordered the construction of a permanent building in the shape of a funnel, the prototype was supposed to have been a building that Frederick Francis had seen during his Danish exile near Altona. Severin changed the given to him, but kept the basic idea. On 17 May 1808 construction began and was completed in time for the start of the bathing season, the octagonal building represents a link between Classicism and Chinoiserie. The external shape of the building has preserved, by contrast the interior was completely destroyed. Originally the Red or Little Pavilion was used as a bar, today it acts as a modern art gallery sponsored by the Red Pavilion Art Society. The exhibitions mainly contain works by regional artists, in 1810 Severin was supposed to have been contracted for the construction of a large music pavilion and other shopping pavilions, that were to be rented for income. Due to a lack of finance the work was constantly delayed, in 1812 Severin had to complete the shops at the behest of the duke. They were built rather hastily in order to ensure they could be rented during the bathing season and their final completion was carried out in 1813, together with the White Pavilion. The shopping pavilions were demolished in 1860 as they were no longer used, the White Pavilion, also referred to in the literature as the Great Pavilion, was built on the northern side of the Kamp. Above the ground floor, a floor was built as a belvedere with an all-round balcony. The floor plan is an octagon, in which there is an oval room of 14.5 metres by 10.4 metres
37.
Narrow-gauge railway
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A narrow-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge narrower than the 1,435 mm of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm and 1,067 mm, narrow-gauge railways also have specialized use in mines and other environments where a very small structure gauge makes a very small loading gauge necessary. Narrow-gauge railways also have general applications. Many narrow-gauge street tramways are used, particularly in Europe, where 1,000 mm metre gauge tramways are common, the earliest recorded railway is shown in the De re metallica of 1556, which shows a mine in Bohemia with a railway of about 2 ft gauge. During the 16th century, railways were mainly restricted to hand-pushed narrow-gauge lines in mines throughout Europe, during the 17th century, mine railways were extended to provide transportation above ground. These lines were industrial, connecting mines with nearby transportation points and these railways were usually built to the same narrow gauge as the mine railways from which they developed. The worlds first steam locomotive on rails, built in 1802 by Richard Trevithick for the Coalbrookdale Company, during the 1820s and 1830s, a number of industrial narrow-gauge railways in the United Kingdom used steam locomotives. In 1842, the first narrow-gauge steam locomotive outside the UK was built for the 1,100 mm gauge Antwerp-Ghent Railway in Belgium, historically, many narrow-gauge railways were built as part of specific industrial enterprises and were primarily industrial railways rather than general carriers. Some common uses for these industrial narrow-gauge railways were mining, logging, construction, tunnelling, quarrying, extensive narrow-gauge networks were constructed in many parts of the world for these purposes. For example, mountain logging operations in the 19th century often used narrow-gauge railways to transport logs from mill sites to market, significant sugarcane railways still operate in Cuba, Fiji, Java, the Philippines, and Queensland. Narrow-gauge railway equipment remains in use for the construction of tunnels. Extensive narrow-gauge railway systems served the front-line trenches of both sides in World War I and they were a short-lived military application, and after the end of the war, the surplus equipment from these created a small boom in narrow gauge railway building in Europe. Narrow-gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives, as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels. Narrow gauge is often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. It is also used in populated areas where the potential demand is too low for broader gauge railways to be economically viable. This is the case in some of Australia and most of Southern Africa, the use of such railways has almost vanished due to the capabilities of modern trucks. In many countries, narrow gauge railways were built as feeder or branch lines to feed traffic to more important standard gauge lines, the choice was often not between a narrow-gauge railway and a standard gauge one, but between a narrow-gauge railway and none at all. Some bulk commodities, such as coal, ore, and gravel, can be transshipped, but this still incurs time penalties
38.
Molli railway
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The Molli short, is a narrow-gauge steam-powered railway in Mecklenburg, running on 900 mm gauge track. It operates between Bad Doberan, Heiligendamm and Kühlungsborn West over a distance of 15.4 km with a running time of 40 minutes. Within Bad Doberan the line runs through the street, and later along a linden tree-lined avenue, between Heiligendamm and Kühlungsborn the tracks run parallel to the Baltic Sea beach across fields. It was built by the railway construction and operating company of Lenz & Co. from Stettin. On 13 March 1890 the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin nationalized the line and this extension was opened on 12 May 1910, at the same time the Heiligendamm station was moved about 200 metres further south. In the same year, goods services were started, and trains now ran all year round, from 1 April 1920 it became part of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. The transhipment of goods from the Wismar–Rostock standard gauge line to the narrow gauge railway proved to be costly, thus, on 31 May 1969, goods services were withdrawn. The route was worked daily by 13 pairs of trains, in 1976, the then district of Rostock added the train to the districts list of heritage monuments. On 1 October 1995, a company, consisting of Bad Doberan district. Today the public-private company, operating under the name of Mecklenburgische Bäderbahn Molli is based in Bad Doberan, the terminus of Kühlungsborn West is home to the Molli Museum and the depot. Since then, the Molli Railway accepts weekly and monthly passes from the range of services. Tickets from the Deutsche Bahn pricing system, including the state tickets, the Molli received world-wide renown as the official and only means of transport for representatives of the press at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm in 2007. From 30 May 2007 to 9 June 2007 the train service was cancelled owing to the G8-summit at Heiligendamm, the tracks between Heiligendamm and Bad Doberan were damaged during the summit so that the train services were cancelled for two further days. At start-up, two locomotives were available and these engines were later classified as Mecklenburg Class XVIIIs were designed as tram locomotives and were in use until 1915. In 1891 and 1898 the fleet was expanded with triple-coupled locomotives of Class XIX, from 1910, locomotives of Class T7 worked the line. At the same time, the Class XIX locomotives were transferred to the Neubukow Beet Railway, the locomotive fleet was reinforced in 1923 by the DR Class 99.31. These locomotives were all mustered out, in 1932, the Deutsche Reichsbahn had the much larger, faster and more powerful locomotives of DR Class 99.32 built. These three locomotives are still working under the numbers 992321 to 2323, in 1961, three additional locomotives came to the line from the Wismut industrial railways and were classified as DR Class 99.33
39.
Adolf Hitler
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Adolf Hitler was a German politician who was the leader of the Nazi Party, Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and Führer of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. As dictator of the German Reich, he initiated World War II in Europe with the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and was central to the Holocaust, Hitler was born in Austria, then part of Austria-Hungary, and raised near Linz. He moved to Germany in 1913 and was decorated during his service in the German Army in World War I and he joined the German Workers Party, the precursor of the NSDAP, in 1919 and became leader of the NSDAP in 1921. In 1923 he attempted a coup in Munich to seize power, the failed coup resulted in Hitlers imprisonment, during which he dictated the first volume of his autobiography and political manifesto Mein Kampf. Hitler frequently denounced international capitalism and communism as being part of a Jewish conspiracy, by 1933, the Nazi Party was the largest elected party in the German Reichstag, which led to Hitlers appointment as Chancellor on 30 January 1933. Hitler aimed to eliminate Jews from Germany and establish a New Order to counter what he saw as the injustice of the post-World War I international order dominated by Britain, Hitler sought Lebensraum for the German people in Eastern Europe. His aggressive foreign policy is considered to be the cause of the outbreak of World War II in Europe. He directed large-scale rearmament and on 1 September 1939 invaded Poland, resulting in British, in June 1941, Hitler ordered an invasion of the Soviet Union. By the end of 1941 German forces and the European Axis powers occupied most of Europe, failure to defeat the Soviets and the entry of the United States into the war forced Germany onto the defensive and it suffered a series of escalating defeats. In the final days of the war, during the Battle of Berlin in 1945, Hitler married his long-time lover, on 30 April 1945, less than two days later, the two killed themselves to avoid capture by the Red Army, and their corpses were burned. Hitler and the Nazi regime were also responsible for the killing of an estimated 19.3 million civilians, in addition,29 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the European Theatre of World War II. The number of civilians killed during the Second World War was unprecedented in warfare, Hitlers father Alois Hitler Sr. was the illegitimate child of Maria Anna Schicklgruber. The baptismal register did not show the name of his father, in 1842, Johann Georg Hiedler married Aloiss mother Maria Anna. Alois was brought up in the family of Hiedlers brother, Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, in 1876, Alois was legitimated and the baptismal register changed by a priest to register Johann Georg Hiedler as Aloiss father. Alois then assumed the surname Hitler, also spelled Hiedler, Hüttler, the Hitler surname is probably based on one who lives in a hut. Nazi official Hans Frank suggested that Aloiss mother had been employed as a housekeeper by a Jewish family in Graz, and that the familys 19-year-old son Leopold Frankenberger had fathered Alois. No Frankenberger was registered in Graz during that period, and no record has been produced of Leopold Frankenbergers existence, Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in Braunau am Inn, a town in Austria-Hungary, close to the border with the German Empire. He was one of six born to Alois Hitler and Klara Pölzl
40.
Nazi Party
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Its precursor, the German Workers Party, existed from 1919 to 1920. The party emerged from the German nationalist, racist, and populist Freikorps paramilitary culture, the party was created as a means to draw workers away from communism and into völkisch nationalism. Pseudo-scientific racism theories were central to Nazism, the Nazis propagated the idea of a peoples community. Their aim was to unite racially desirable Germans as national comrades, while excluding those deemed either to be political dissidents, to maintain the supposed purity and strength of the Aryan race, the Nazis sought to exterminate Jews, Romani, and the physically and mentally handicapped. They imposed exclusionary segregation on homosexuals, Africans, Jehovahs Witnesses, the partys leader since 1921, Adolf Hitler, was appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. Hitler rapidly established a regime known as the Third Reich. The term Nazi derives from the name given in German to a party member Nationalsozialist and was coined in response to the German term Sozi, members of the party referred to themselves as Nationalsozialisten, rarely as Nazis. The term Parteigenosse was commonly used among Nazis, with the feminine form Parteigenossin used when it was appropriate, the term was in use before the rise of the party as a colloquial and derogatory word for a backward peasant, characterising an awkward and clumsy person. It derived from Ignaz, being a version of Ignatius, a common name in Bavaria. Opponents seized on this and shortened the name in intentional association to the long-time existing Sozi to the dismissive Nazi. In 1933, when Adolf Hitler assumed power of the German government, usage of the designation Nazi diminished in Germany, the use of Nazi Germany, and Nazi regime, was popularised by anti-Nazis and German exiles abroad. Thereafter, the spread into other languages and eventually was brought back to Germany after the Second World War. The party grew out of political groups with a nationalist orientation that formed in the last years of World War I. In 1918, a called the Freien Arbeiterausschuss für einen guten Frieden was created in Bremen. On 7 March 1918, Anton Drexler, an avid German nationalist, Drexler saw the situation of political violence and instability in Germany as the result of the new Weimar Republic being out-of-touch with the masses, especially the lower classes. These were all well-known themes popular with various Weimar paramilitary groups such as the Freikorps, though very small, Drexlers movement did receive attention and support from some influential figures. Supporter Dietrich Eckhart brought military figure Count Felix Graf von Bothmer, later in 1918, Karl Harrer, convinced Drexler and several others to form the Politischer Arbeiterzirkel. The members met periodically for discussions with themes of nationalism and racism directed against the Jews and they became one of many völkisch movements that existed in Germany at the time
41.
Plattenbau
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Plattenbau is a building constructed of large, prefabricated concrete slabs. The word is a compound of Platte and Bau, although Plattenbauten are often considered to be typical of East Germany, the prefabricated construction method was used extensively in West Germany and elsewhere, particularly in public housing. In English the building method is also called large-panel system building or LPS, prefabrication was pioneered in the Netherlands following World War I, based on construction methods developed in the United States. The first German use of construction is what is now known as the Splanemann-Siedlung in Berlins Lichtenberg district. These two- and three-story apartment houses were assembled of locally cast slabs, inspired by the Dutch Betondorp in Watergraafsmeer, in East Germany, Plattenbau areas have been designated as Neubaugebiet. There were several common plattenbau designs, the most common series was the P2, followed by the WBS70, the WHH GT18, and Q3A. The designs were flexible and could be built as towers or rows of apartments of various heights, there have been projects with low rise plattenbauten such as the town of Bernau just north of Berlin. This town had an almost complete historic center of wooden framed buildings within its preserved city walls. Most of these were torn down after 1975 and during the eighties to be replaced by 2–4 story buildings constructed of prefabricated concrete slabs, a similar project was the Nikolaiviertel around the historic Nikolai church in Berlins old center. In the case of the Nikolaiviertel the buildings were made to more historic. Many plattenbau apartments were built in giant settlements, often on the edge of cities and their inconvenient locations were likely also a factor in their rapid deterioration. Eastern Berlin has many Plattenbauten, reminders of Eastern Bloc planned residential areas, with shops, the building method is also associated with problems with bad fire insulation, as well as bad sound insulation between units, which is a direct result of their method of construction
42.
Altstadt
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Altstadt is the German language word for old town, meaning historical city centre within the city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. Neustadt, the logical opposite of Altstadt, mostly stands for a part of the Altstadt in modern sense, sometimes only a few younger than the oldest part. Most German towns have an Altstadt, even though the ravages of war have destroyed many of them, especially during the Thirty Years War. In the War of the Palatinian Succession of 1688, the order to Brûlez le Palatinat. was executed by Mélac, devastating many cities and large parts of South Western Germany, like the Heidelberg castle. Allied Strategic bombing during World War II destroyed nearly all large cities, many smaller towns remained intact, for example Tübingen, Dinkelsbühl, Quedlinburg and Wismar. Some Altstadt parts in Freiburg, Berlin, Münster, Rothenburg ob der Tauber and famously Weimar, but most destroyed bigger German old towns were not reconstructed. Important old towns like those of Hildesheim, Braunschweig, Frankfurt, Kassel, recent efforts of Altstadt reconstructions can be found in Dresden, Potsdam and Frankfurt
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