1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
3.
States of Germany
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Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen federal states. Since todays Germany was formed from a collection of several states, it has a federal constitution. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was through the unification of the western states created in the aftermath of World War II. West Berlin, while not part of the Federal Republic, was largely integrated and considered as a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, in 1957, the Saar Protectorate rejoined the Federal Republic as the Saarland. Federalism is one of the constitutional principles of Germany. After 1945, new states were constituted in all four zones of occupation, in 1949, the states in the three western zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to the development in Austria, where the Bund was constituted first. The use of the term Länder dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, before this time, the constituent states of the German Empire were called Staaten. Today, it is common to use the term Bundesland. However, this term is not used officially, neither by the constitution of 1919 nor by the Basic Law of 1949, three Länder call themselves Freistaaten, Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. He summarizes the arguments for boundary reform in Germany. The German system of dual federalism requires strong Länder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation, too many Länder also make coordination among them and with the federation more complicated. But several proposals have failed so far, territorial reform remains a topic in German politics. Federalism has a tradition in German history. The Holy Roman Empire comprised many petty states numbering more than 300 around 1796, the number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Congress of Vienna,39 states formed the German Confederation, the new German Empire included 25 states and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia, which controlled 65% of the territory, after the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles, the remaining states continued as republics of a new German federation
4.
Regierungsbezirk
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Regierungsbezirk is an administrative region at federal state level in Germany. The regional authority is called a Regierungspräsidium or Bezirksregierung and is headed by a Regierungspräsident, the Regierungsbezirke do not pass any legislation. Within the federal authority, they act as a mid-level agency. Regierungsbezirk is variously translated as district, administrative district or province. By German unification in 1871, the concept of Regierungsbezirke had been adopted by most States of the German Empire, the Regierungsbezirke of North Rhine-Westphalia are in direct continuation of those created in the Prussian Rhine and Westphalia provinces in 1816. Similar entities in other states were initially named Kreishauptmannschaft or Kreis or province in Hesse, in Nazi Germany the naming was unified to Regierungsbezirk. Currently, only four large-area states out of 16 in total are divided into Regierungsbezirke, on 1 January 2004, Saxony-Anhalt disbanded its three Regierungsbezirke, Dessau, Halle and Magdeburg. The responsibilities are now covered by a Landesverwaltungsamt with three offices at the seats of the Bezirksregierungen. On 1 January 2005, Lower Saxony disbanded its remaining four Regierungsbezirke, Brunswick, Hanover, Lüneburg, on 1 August 2008, Saxony restructured its districts and changed the name of its Regierungsbezirke to Direktionsbezirke. This was necessary because one of the new districts did not fit with the borders of the old Regierungsbezirke, the Direktionsbezirke are still named Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig. As of 1 March 2012, the Direktionsbezirke were merged into one Landesdirektion, four of the new federal states re-established in 1990, Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Thuringia, decided not to implement Regierungsbezirke. In Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Saarland they never existed, stettin, dissolved in 1945, Province of Pomerania Media related to Regierungsbezirk at Wikimedia Commons
5.
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
6.
Heilbronn (district)
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Landkreis Heilbronn is a district in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Neckar-Odenwald, Hohenlohe, Schwäbisch Hall, Rems-Murr, Ludwigsburg, Enz, Karlsruhe, in the centre of it is the free-city of Heilbronn, which is its own separate administrative area. The predecessor to the district is the Oberamt Heilbronn, which was created in 1803 when the previously Free Imperial City of Heilbronn was incorporated into the Electorate of Württemberg, in 1926, about half of the Oberamt of Weinsberg was added. In 1938, it was recognized as a district, and in addition to the previous Oberamt, parts of the dissolved Oberämter Neckarsulm, Brackenheim, Marbach, the city of Heilbronn was not included into the district. In 1973, the Landkreise were reorganized, and part of the districts of Sinsheim, Mosbach, Buchen. Within the following two years 5 municipalities were incorporated into the city and therefore left the district, which got its current borders in 1975, the main river in the district is the Neckar, which flows through the district from the south to the north. The western part of the district belongs to the landscape Kraichgau, the east to the Hohenloher Ebene, Kocher-Jagst-Ebene, and the Löwensteiner Berge
7.
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
8.
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
9.
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
10.
Heilbronn
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Heilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is surrounded by Heilbronn County and, with approximately 123,000 residents, the city on the Neckar is a former Imperial Free City and is the seat of Heilbronn County. Heilbronn is also the center of the Heilbronn-Franken region that includes most of northeast Baden-Württemberg. Heilbronn is known for its industry and is nicknamed Käthchenstadt. Heilbronn is located in the corner of the Neckar basin at the bottom of the Wartberg. It occupies both banks of the Neckar, and the highest spot inside city limits is the Schweinsberg with a height of 372 meters, Heilbronn is adjacent to Swabian-Franconian Forest Nature Park and is surrounded by vineyards. Heilbronn and its surroundings are located in the part of the larger Stuttgart metropolitan area. The city is the center of the Heilbronn-Franken region and is one of fourteen such cities in the Baden-Württemberg master plan of 2002. The city is divided into nine boroughs, The oldest traces of humans in, the fertile Neckar floodplains in the Heilbronn basin aided early settlement by farmers and ranchers. The city limits of present-day Heilbronn contain many sites of Bronze Age finds, later on, but still before AD, the Celts already mined here for salt from brine. Under Roman Emperor Domitian the Romans pushed east away from the Rhine, a castle in todays borough of Böckingen was part of that limes, and nearby numerous Roman villas and plantations were built. Around 260, the Romans surrendered the limes, and the Alamanni became rulers of the Neckar basin, between the 4th and 7th centuries, the area became part of the Frankish Empire, and the first settlement was built in the general vicinity of the present center of town. In 741 Heilbronn is first mentioned in a document of the Diocese of Würzburg as villa Helibrunna. The name Heilbrunna hints to a well that is located not far from the basilica, in 1225 Heilbronn was incorporated into the Hohenstaufen Empire as oppidum Heilecbrunnen. Oppidum signified a city fortified by parapet and trenches, later during the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights obtained ownership of a large area south of Heilbronn which would remain owned by that order until German Mediatisation in 1805. Starting in 1268, the built the Deutschhof there as one of its residences. After the demise of the Staufen dynasty, King Rudolf I returned city status to Heilbronn in 1281, in addition to the advocate he put a council in place that was headed up by a mayor. Around 1300, the first city hall was erected in the market place, the Neckar privilege gave the city the right to modify the flow of the river in 1333, which meant it now had the right to construct dams, harbors and mills
11.
Zaber
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The Zaber is a minor tributary of the River Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is some 22 km in length and joins the Neckar from the west at Lauffen am Neckar and it has given its name to the Zabergäu, the area between the Heuchelberg and Stromberg hills. Course The Zaber rises in the Stromberg to the south of the town of Zaberfeld and it subsequently flows in an easterly direction through Zaberfeld, Pfaffenhofen, Güglingen and Brackenheim before reaching the Neckar at Lauffen. Navigability The river is shallow and therefore not navigable
12.
Vineyard
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A vineyard /ˈvɪnjərd/ is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of production is known as viticulture. The earliest evidence of production dates from between 6000 and 5000 BC. Wine making technology improved considerably with the ancient Greeks but it wasnt until the end of the Roman Empire that cultivation techniques as we know them were common throughout Europe. In medieval Europe the Church was a supporter of wine. They owned and tended the best vineyards in Europe and vinum theologium was considered superior to all others, European vineyards were planted with a wide variety of the Vitis vinifera grape. However, in the late 19th century, the species was nearly destroyed by the plant louse phylloxera accidentally introduced to Europe from North America. Native American grapevines include varieties such as Vitis labrusca, which is resistant to the bug, the quest for vineyard efficiency has produced a bewildering range of systems and techniques in recent years. Due to the much more fertile New World growing conditions. Innovation in palissage and pruning and thinning methods have replaced more general, traditional concepts like yield per unit area in favor of maximizing yield of desired quality. Many of these new techniques have since adopted in place of traditional practice in the more progressive of the so-called Old World vineyards. Other recent practices include spraying water on vines to protect them from sub-zero temperatures, new grafting techniques, soil slotting, such techniques have made possible the development of wine industries in New World countries such as Canada. Today there is increasing interest in developing organic, ecologically sensitive, biodynamics has become increasingly popular in viticulture. The use of irrigation in recent years has expanded vineyards into areas which were previously unplantable. The research includes developing improved grape varieties and investigating pest control, the International Grape Genome Program is a multi-national effort to discover a genetic means to improving quality, increasing yield and providing a natural resistance to pests. The implementation of mechanical harvesting is often stimulated by changes in laws, labor shortages. It can be expensive to hire labor for periods of time. Numbers of New World vineyard plantings have been increasing almost as fast as European vineyards are being uprooted, the size of individual vineyards in the New World is significant
13.
Cleebronn
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Cleebronn is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Cleebronn is in the Zabergäu in the south of the district of Heilbronn, the landscape is characterized by wine-growing. The symbol of the municipality and even the whole Zabergäu is the Michaelsberg with an elevation of 394 metres, neighbouring towns of Cleebronn are, Güglingen, Brackenheim, Bönnigheim and Sachsenheim. Cleebronn has combined with Brackenheim to form a joint association of administrations, Cleebronn includes the villages of Treffentrill and Katharinenplaisir. Cleebronn was first mentioned documentary in 1279 as Kleberen, in the 13th century there were some possessions of the Principality of Mainz around the Michaelsberg being rent to Cleebronns Lords of Magenheim. In the 14th century Württemberg acquired around two thirds of the village as Württembergisch Cleebronn, the other third stayed in possession of the principality as Mainzisch Cleebronn. In 1785 Württemberg acquired this last third but stayed independent and these municipalities staying independent until 1843 had been called Alt-Cleebronn and Neu-Cleebronn until 1811. These two parts were not united until January 1,1844, in Cleebronn there is a Protestant parish. Following the municipal election of 13 June 2004, the council of Cleebronn has 12 seats. The election result is as follows, The mayor is also a member of the district council, the Protestant Raphaelskirche consists of Gothic parts and got redeveloped in 1900–01. Next to the church is the old vicarage, the current town hall was built in 1736 and has been redeveloped several times. The Bürgerhaus got built in 1902 as a school instead of the old town hall, school ended in 1994, after it got moderned until 1997. The wine-press of the village is of 1907 and formerly has been the biggest wine-press of Württemberg, the Backhaus got built in 1930 and redeveloped in 1985, it contains two functional ovens. Above the village on a hill is Magenheim Castle, a building of the Staufers built in 1250, on the Michaelsberg there is a Romanic church and a spital of 1739. The hamlet Katharinenplaisir is a Baroque estate built in 1733 and named after the builders wife, situated at the communal land of Cleebronn with an elevation of 472 metres, there is the highest point of the Stromberg mountain ridge. On top of it a tower was built in 1969. On the Michaelsberg people grow wine for 1200 years, there are growing different varietals like blaufränkisch, trollinger, riesling and Kerner. Most wine-growers belong to the Weingärtnergenossenschaft Weingärtner Cleebronn-Güglingen eG, there are connections to the long-distance network via Lauffen and Kirchheim
14.
Eppingen
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Eppingen is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The town has the second-largest population in the district, Eppingen lies in the Kraichgau, a hilly region in southwestern Germany, close to the confluence of the Elsenz and Hilsbach Rivers. Eppingen was first mentioned in 985 when Otto III gave the settlement to the diocese of Worms, the ending -ingen was common for towns colonised by the Alamanni clan in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Eppingen was owned by Salier in the 11th century, and by the Staufer in the 12th century, in 1188, it became a fortified village and, in 1192, a town, elevated by Heinrich VI. The town was distrained several times in the 14th century, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Eppingen underwent an economic boom during which its Latin school was first mentioned. In a time of the plague a part of the Heidelberg University moved to the Latin school in 1496, during the Palatinate wars of succession, Eppingen functioned as the main storage facility for the German army. From 1695 to 1697, the Eppingen Lines, a string of earthwork fortifications and they served as large defending walls against French raids at that time. One watchtower, called the Chartaque, is still accessible, Eppingen was affiliated to Baden in 1803. It maintained the second oldest school of agriculture in Baden, during 1971 and 1972, Eppingen annexed the six surrounding communities of Adelshofen, Elsenz, Richen, Rohrbach am Gießhübel, Kleingartach and Mühlbach. In 2000, Eppingens population exceeded 20,000, and it attained the status of a town in 2002. See, Dieffenbacher Eppingen can be reached by A6, also, the B293 goes through to town zone, however it acts as a bypass around the main town area. Eppingen station is on the Kraichgau Railway, and is served by line S4 of the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn running to Karlsruhe and it is also connected by the Steinsfurt–Eppingen line to Heidelberg, which is served by line S5 of the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn. The Pfeifferturm, a built in the 13th century, serves as the towns landmark. The Old University was built in 1494 and 1495 in the style of a late medieval store and its name is a reminder of the year 1564, when a part of Heidelberg University was moved to Eppingen because of the plague. The Baumann House is one of the prettiest and most famous timbered houses in the area of northern Baden. There are many beautiful timbered houses in downtown Eppingen, and because of this the city is a part of the German Fachwerkstraße, Eppingen has official partnerships with, Wassy since 1967 Epping since 1981 Szigetvár since 1992 The VfB Eppingen is a local football club
15.
Schwaigern
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Schwaigern is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 12 km west of Heilbronn, the neighbouring towns and municipalities of Schwaigern are, Leingarten, Nordheim, Brackenheim, Eppingen, Gemmingen and Massenbachhausen. Schwaigern consists of Schwaigern itself and its districts Massenbach, Stetten am Heuchelberg, finds of the Neolithic era and during the Roman period show an early settlement of this area. The town was first mentioned in writing in the Lorsch codex of 766, bertilo, Lord of Schwaigern, is first mentioned in 1120. The construction of a church is proved in the 13th century, bertilos descendants took on the name Lords of Neipperg in 1241, after their castle of Neipperg near Brackenheim. In 1407 they also acquired the Lordship of Klingenberg near Heilbronn, in 1702, Schwaigern became the residence of the Lords of Neipperg, who were elevated to the rank of counts in 1726. In 1766, the County of Neipperg became an Imperial State of the Holy Roman Empire, the last ruling count, Adam Albert von Neipperg, married Napoleons widow Marie Louise. The village received the right to hold a market in 1486, after 1630 the Black Death killed a large proportion of the inhabitants. In 1690, during the War of the Grand Alliance, the then Schwaigern Castle was burned down, in 1806, the town came to Württemberg by mediatization and Reichsdeputationshauptschluss. The castle was rebuilt until 1839 and is today owned by the comital family of Neipperg. Several fires destroyed large areas of the town centre in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1971/1972 Massenbach, Stetten am Heuchelberg and Niederhofen were incorporated, the Lords of Neipperg became Protestants around 1530. Therefore, each of Schwaigern, Stetten am Heuchelberg and Niederhofen is a Protestant parish, Massenbach and Massenbachhausen have a common Protestant parish. In 1717, Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg, the first count, the Catholic parish St. Martinus Schwaigern is responsible for Schwaigern, Stetten, Niederhofen and Neipperg. The Catholic parish St. Kilian Massenbachhausen is responsible for Massenbachhausen, also the New Apostolic Church has a parish in Schwaigern. The Young Peoples Society of Christian Endeavour has local groups in Schwaigern, in Massenbach there is a local group of the YMCA. Massenbach, Massenbach was first mentioned in writing in 773, in the Thirty Years War the castle was destroyed and rebuilt in 1760. Stetten am Heuchelberg, Stetten was mentioned in 1140 and came to Württemberg in 1571, Niederhofen, Niederhofen is the youngest district, since it was first mentioned in 1332
16.
Lauffen am Neckar
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Lauffen am Neckar is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Neckar,9 kilometres southwest of Heilbronn, the town is famous as the birthplace of the poet Friedrich Hölderlin and for its quality wines – in particular the “Lauffener Katzenbeißer Schwarzriesling“. Lauffen is located in the part of the district of Heilbronn,9 km south of Heilbronn and 50 km north of the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart. The small river Zaber flows into the Neckar at this point, the old circular riverbed is now dry, apart from one small artificial lake. Along the old riverbed, a hill was formed – its slopes now partially covered by the Kaywald forest. There is a hill on the bank of the Neckar at the centre point of the ancient river bow. This hill became separated from another on the present eastern bank when the river broke through, Lauffen grew up on the western bank, on the ridge which is the site of today’s Regiswindis Church. This hill settlement became known as Lauffen-Dorf, in the middle of the river, between the two hills, is an island with a castle. This castle, originally the seat of the Earls of Lauffen, is now home to the town hall – the island itself is a nature reserve, another settlement, Lauffen-Stadt, later established itself on the hill on the eastern bank. The two districts, Lauffen-Dorf and Lauffen-Stadt, are joined by a bridge, a smaller bridge from Lauffen-Stadt leads to the island and the town hall. Yet another district, the so-called Lauffen-Dörfle, grew up around a convent and is situated on the bank to the north of Lauffen-Dorf. An exclave of Lauffen, the towns forest of Etzlenswenden, is located further east in the Löwenstein Mountains. It is here, in the exclave, that the highest point is situated 452 m above sea level, neighbouring towns and villages of Lauffen are, Brackenheim, Nordheim, Heilbronn, Talheim, Isfeld, Neckarwestheim and Kirchheim am Neckar. The exclave Stadtwald Etzlenswenden is surrounded by Abstatt, Untergruppenbach, Löwenstein and Beilstein, all neighbouring villages as far as Heilbronn and Kircheim come under the Landkreis Heilbronn. Lauffen has combined with Neckarwestheim and Nordheim to form a joint association of administrations, the localities of Lauffen-Stadt and Lauffen-Dorf were combined on 1 April 1914 to create todays Lauffen am Neckar. The outlying farmsteads of the Landturm, an old house on the former Württemberg boundary, are included as part of the town. The defunct hamlets of Osterhofen and Talhofen originally lay within its bounds and it is presumed that the area around Lauffen had already been settled in pre-Christian times, although the only evidence consists of a few bones. The settlement’s high level of frequentation can be attributed to the water between the present old Neckar bridge and the cliffs by the castle and Regiswindis Church
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Ludwigsburg (district)
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Landkreis Ludwigsburg is a district in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Heilbronn, Rems-Murr-Kreis, the district-free city Stuttgart, the district dates back to the Oberamt Ludwigsburg, which was created by the dukedom Württemberg in the beginning of the 19th century. After several small changes during the century, it was converted into a district in 1938, several municipalities of the dissolved Oberämter Besigheim, Marbach and Waiblingen were added to the newly formed district. As a result of the reform of 1973, the district gained about half of the dissolved district Vaihingen. The main river in the districts is the Neckar, which divides the district into a big western part, starting in 1990 the district has a partnership with the district Chemnitzer Land in the Free State of Saxony. Even older is the partnership with the region Upper Galilee in Israel, since 1992 the district has a partnershop with the Hungarian Komitat Pest, however the official signing of the partnership contract did take place in 2002. A friendship exists with the city Yichang in the province Hubei, China
18.
The Left (Germany)
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The Left, also commonly referred to as the Left Party, is a democratic socialist and left-wing populist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism, since mid-2012, its co-chairs have been Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger. Its parliamentary group is the third largest among the four groups in the German Bundestag, the Left is a founding member of the Party of the European Left, and is the largest party in the European United Left–Nordic Green Left group in the European Parliament. According to official party figures, the Left Party had 63,784 registered members as of December 2013, after protests, the party was forced to give up its monopoly of power on 1 December 1989. Honeckers successor, Egon Krenz, resigned two days later, and Gysi was named party chairman, by the end of 1989, the last hardline members of the partys Central Committee had either resigned or been pushed out. In 1990, 95% of SEDs 2.3 million members had left the party, by the time of a special congress in December 1989, the party was no longer a Marxist–Leninist party, though neo-Marxist and communist minority factions continued to be part of the party. At the congress, the party adopted a program of democratic reform, Gysi remained its leader, and soon became one of the most well-known faces within German politics. By the end of February, the PDS had expelled most of the remaining prominent Communist-era leaders from its ranks - including Honecker and Krenz. However, this was not enough to save the party when it faced the voters at the 18 March general election, the first free election in East Germany. The party came in a distant third with only 16. 4% of the vote, behind the East German branches of the West German-based Christian Democratic Union and Social Democratic Party. The two major parties formed a coalition, led by the Alliance for Germany, built around the East German CDU. In the first all-German Bundestag elections in 1990, the PDS won only 2. 4% of the nationwide vote, under normal circumstances, a party must win at least five percent of the vote to qualify for mixed member proportional representation in the Bundestag. However, for the 1990 elections only, an exception allowed eastern-based parties to qualify for list representation if they won at least five percent of the vote in the former East Germany. Also, Gysi was elected from a Berlin-area district, representatives elected directly through the First Vote are always guaranteed a seat regardless of their partys national vote. As a result, the PDS entered the 1990 Bundestag with 17 deputies led by Gysi, in the 1994 federal election the PDS managed to increase its share of the vote to 4.4 percent. e. More importantly, Gysi was reelected from his Berlin-area seat, and this allowed the PDS to qualify for MMP even though it came up just short of the five percent threshold. The PDS thus entered the new Bundestag with a caucus of 30 deputies. In 1998, the party reached its highest result to date, with 37 deputies elected on 5. 1% of the national vote, gysis resignation in 2000 after losing a policy debate with leftist factions brought conflict to the PDS
19.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
20.
Departments of France
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In the administrative divisions of France, the department is one of the three levels of government below the national level, between the administrative regions and the commune. There are 96 departments in metropolitan France and 5 overseas departments, each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council. From 1800 to April 2015, they were called general councils, the departments were created in 1791 as a rational replacement of Ancien Régime provinces with a view to strengthen national unity, the title department is used to mean a part of a larger whole. Almost all of them were named after geographical features rather than after historical or cultural territories which could have their own loyalties. The earliest known suggestion of it is from 1764 in the writings of dArgenson and they have inspired similar divisions in many countries, some of them former French colonies. Most French departments are assigned a number, the Official Geographical Code. Some overseas departments have a three-digit number, the number is used, for example, in the postal code, and was until recently used for all vehicle registration plates. For example, inhabitants of Loiret might refer to their department as the 45 and this reform project has since been abandoned. The first French territorial departments were proposed in 1665 by Marc-René dArgenson to serve as administrative areas purely for the Ponts et Chaussées infrastructure administration, before the French Revolution, France gained territory gradually through the annexation of a mosaic of independent entities. By the close of the Ancien Régime, it was organised into provinces, during the period of the Revolution, these were dissolved, partly in order to weaken old loyalties. Their boundaries served two purposes, Boundaries were chosen to break up Frances historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences, Boundaries were set so that every settlement in the country was within a days ride of the capital of the department. This was a security measure, intended to keep the national territory under close control. This measure was directly inspired by the Great Terror, during which the government had lost control of rural areas far from any centre of government. The old nomenclature was carefully avoided in naming the new departments, most were named after an areas principal river or other physical features. Even Paris was in the department of Seine, the number of departments, initially 83, was increased to 130 by 1809 with the territorial gains of the Republic and of the First French Empire. Following Napoleons defeats in 1814-1815, the Congress of Vienna returned France to its pre-war size, in 1860, France acquired the County of Nice and Savoy, which led to the creation of three new departments. Two were added from the new Savoyard territory, while the department of Alpes-Maritimes was created from Nice, the 89 departments were given numbers based on their alphabetical order. The department of Bas-Rhin and parts of Meurthe, Moselle, Vosges and Haut-Rhin were ceded to the German Empire in 1871, following Frances defeat in the Franco-Prussian War
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Gers
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The Gers is a department in the Occitanie region in the southwest of France named after the Gers River. In the Middle Ages, the Lordship of LIsle-Jourdain was nearby, the Gers is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the provinces of Guyenne. In 1808 it lost Lavit on its side to the newly created department of Tarn-et-Garonne. The culture is largely agricultural, with emphasis on the local gastronomical specialties such as, Armagnac brandy, Côtes de Gascogne, Floc de Gascogne, Foie gras. Also, some prominent cultivated crops are corn, colza, sunflowers, the Gascon language is a dialect of Occitan, but it is not widely spoken. The department is characterised by sleepy bastide villages and rolling hills with the Pyrenees visible to the south, alexandre Dumas, père created the famous Gersois dArtagnan, the fourth musketeer of The Three Musketeers. A museum to dArtagnan is found in the Gersois village of Lupiac, a horse race at the Auteuil Hippodrome has been named after André Boingnères, a notable local race-horse owner and the successful mayor of Termes-dArmagnac between 1951 and 1976. The President of the General Council is Jean-Pierre Pujol of the Socialist Party, located in southwestern France, the Gers is part of the Occitanie region. It is surrounded by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne, Landes, the Gers is often referred to as amongst the least densely populated, or most rural, areas in all of Western Europe. List of the 10 most important cities of the département, The annual rain varies from more than 900 mm in the south-west of the department, to less than 700 mm in the North-East. The winters vary, with only occasional freezing temperatures, but the climate mild and dry. The summers are hot and dry, the temperatures often is exceeding 40°. Auch is together with Toulouse and Millau one of the hottest cities of France, with often more than 300 sunny days in the year
22.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
23.
Asti
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Asti listen is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed to be the capital of Monferrato. People have lived in and around what is now Asti since the Neolithic period, before their defeat in 174 BC by the Romans, tribes of Ligures, the Statielli, dominated the area and the toponym probably derives from Ast which means hill in the ancient Celtic language. In 124 BC the Romans built a castrum, or fortified camp, in 89 BC the city received the status of colonia, and in 49 BC that of municipium. Asti become an important city of the Augustan Regio IX, favoured by its position on the Tanaro river and on the Via Fulvia. Other roads connected the city to the passes for what are today Switzerland. The city was crucial during the stages of the barbarian invasions which stormed Italy during the fall of the Western Roman Empire. In early 402 AD the Visigoths had invaded northern Italy and were advancing on Mediolanum which was the capital at that time. Honorius, the emperor and a resident in that city. However, just after his convoy had left Milan and crossed the River Po his escape route through the Alps was cut off by the Gothic cavalry and this forced him to take emergency refuge in the city of Hasta until more Roman troops could be assembled in Italy. The Goths placed Hasta under siege until March when General Stilicho, bringing reinforcements from the Rhine, fought, in the second half of the 6th century it was chosen as seat for one of the 36 Duchies in which the Lombards divided Italy. The territory of Asti comprised an area, stretching out to Albenga. This remained when northern Italy was conquered by the Franks in 774, in the late Carolingian age Asti was ruled directly by his bishops, who were the main landlords of the area. Most important are Audax and Bruningus, who moved the seat to the Castel Vecchio. The bishopric of Asti remained a powerful entity well into the 11th century, in the second half of the century, Bishop Otto tried to resist the aims of the powerful countess Adelaide of Susa, who damaged the city several times. During Ottos reign, a commune and the magistrates are mentioned for the first time. Asti was one of the first free communes of Italy, after a short siege, Asti was stormed and burnt. Subsequently, Asti adhered to the Lombard League against the German emperor, despite this, after the Peace of Constance, the city gained further privileges
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Poland
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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
25.
Voivodeship
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A voivodeship /ˈvɔɪˌvoʊdˌʃɪp/ is the area administered by a voivode in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times in Poland, Wallachia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, the administrative level of area of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval states, much as the title of voivode was equivalent to that of a duke. Other roughly equivalent titles and areas in medieval Eastern Europe included ban, in a modern context, the word normally refers to one of the provinces of Poland. Poland as of 2015 has 16 voivodeships, a voivod was originally a military commander who stood, in a states structure, next to the ruler. Later the word came to denote an administrative official, some of these words, or variants of them, may also be used in English. Named for the word for voivodeship is the autonomous Serbian province of Vojvodina, depending on context, historic voivodeships may also be referred to as duchies, palatinates, administrative districts or regions. Historical voivodeships in the territory of modern Serbia include the Voivodeship of Salan, Voivodeship of Sermon, a voivodeship called Serbian Vojvodina was established in 1848–1849, this was transformed into the Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat, a land within the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1849 to 1860. This is the origin of the name of the present-day Serbian autonomous province of Vojvodina, historical voivodeships in the territory of modern Romania and Serbia include the Voivodeship of Glad and the Voivodeship of Ahtum. For more information about the divisions of Polish lands in particular periods, see Administrative divisions of Poland
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Upper Silesia
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Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. In 1742 the bulk of Upper Silesia was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, after the Second World War it became part of the Republic of Poland, in 1945. Upper Silesia is situated on the upper Oder River, north of the Eastern Sudetes mountain range and the Moravian Gate, within the adjacent Silesian Beskids to the east, the Vistula River rises and turns eastwards, the Biała and Przemsza tributaries mark the eastern border with Lesser Poland. In the north, Upper Silesia borders on Greater Poland, and it is currently split into a larger Polish and the smaller Czech Silesian part, which is located within the Czech regions of Moravia-Silesia and Olomouc. The Polish Upper Silesian territory covers most of the Opole Voivodeship, except for the Lower Silesian counties of Brzeg and Namysłów, divided Cieszyn Silesia as well as former Austrian Silesia are historical parts of Upper Silesia. According to the 9th century Bavarian Geographer, the West Slavic Opolanie tribe had settled on the upper Oder River since the days of the Migration Period, at the time of Prince Svatopluk I, all Silesia was a part of his Great Moravian realm. By 990 the newly installed Piast duke Mieszko I of the Polans had conquered parts of Silesia. Finally in 1137, the Polish prince Bolesław III Wrymouth came to terms with Duke Soběslav I of Bohemia, however, this arrangement fell apart when upon the death of Bolesław III and his testament the fragmentation of Poland began, which decisively enfeebled its central authority. When in 1202 Mieszko Tanglefoot had annexed the Duchy of Opole of his deceased nephew Jarosław, he ruled over all Upper Silesia as Duke of Opole and Racibórz. In the early 13th century the ties of the Silesian Piasts with the neighbouring Holy Roman Empire grew stronger as several dukes married scions of German nobility. The plans to re-unifiy Silesia shattered upon the Mongol invasion of Poland, Upper Silesia further fragmented upon the death of Duke Władysław Opolski in 1281 into the duchies of Bytom, Opole, Racibórz and Cieszyn. About 1269 the Duchy of Opava was established on adjacent Moravian territory, ruled by the Přemyslid duke Nicholas I, as they ruled both duchies in personal union, Opava grew into the Upper Silesian territory. In 1327 the Upper Silesian dukes, like most of their Lower Silesian cousins, had sworn allegiance to King John of Bohemia, by the mid-14th century, the influx of German settlers into Upper Silesia was stopped by the Black Death pandemic. Unlike in Lower Silesia, the Germanization process was halted, still a majority of the population spoke Polish and Silesian as their native language, in the southernmost areas, also Lach dialects were spoken. While Latin, Czech and German language were used as languages in towns and cities. Upper Silesia was hit by the Hussite Wars and in 1469 was conquered by King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, while the Duchies of Oświęcim, upon the death of the Jagiellonian king Louis II in 1526, the Bohemian crown lands were inherited by the Austrian House of Habsburg. In the 16th century, large parts of Silesia had turned Protestant, after the 1620 Battle of White Mountain, the Catholic Emperors of the Habsburg dynasty forcibly re-introduced Catholicism, led by the Jesuits. Lower Silesia and most of Upper Silesia were occupied by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1742 during the First Silesian War, a small part south of the Opava River remained within the Habsburg-ruled Bohemian Crown as the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, colloquially called Austrian Silesia
27.
Port Talbot
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Port Talbot is a town in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 37,276 in 2011 and it is best known as the home of the Port Talbot Steelworks, one of biggest steelworks in the world, which currently employs an estimated 10% of the towns population. The steelworks has for years been under threat of closure. Modern Port Talbot is a formed from the merging of multiple villages, including Baglan, Margam. The name Port Talbot first appears in 1837 as the name of the new docks built on the south east side of the river Afan by the Talbot family, over time it came to be applied to the whole of the emerging conurbation. The earliest evidence of humans in the Port Talbot area has found on the side of Mynydd Margam where Bronze Age farming ditches can be found from 4,000 BC. There were Iron Age hill forts on Mynydd Dinas, Mynydd Margam, Mynydd Emroch, Mynydd Hawdef contains remains of an ancient Iron Age village. The Margam deer herd was first introduced by the Romans, ffynnon Pedr is a sacred spring or well which flows from the hillside through a stone culvert 0. 4m square in Margam. It is possibly the water supply for Margam Abbey 0.75 km to the East, a historic battle is alleged to have took place in PANT-Y-CAE on MYNYDD BROMBIL. The Site of the battle is marked on the first, second, the Cross of Brancuf an early Christian Sculptured Stone which stands in the church of St Catherine at Baglan. It is an intricately sculptured cross-slab with a Latin cross and an inscription recalling Brancuf, originally it stood in the old St Baglans church but that fell into ruin in the late 19th century and the slab was removed to St Catherines. St Baglan, son of King Ithael Hoel of Brittany, was a 6th-century hermit and he founded the first church at the town that now takes his name. In the vestry of St Catherines church a cross-slab dating from the 8th-10th century CE and it is intricately decorated with a Celtic-style cross formed out of knotwork and interlacing, the ends of each arm are probably of a Latin design. Also there is a Latin inscription, FECIT BRANCUF or perhaps BRANCU which when translated reads was made by Brancuf, however, the person known as Brancuf is unknown. The English antiquarian John Leland made a journey through Wales c. 1536-39 of which he recorded an itinerary. He passed through Aberafan, which he describes as a village surrounded by barren ground, though he also describes the area as heavily wooded. He mentions the use of the mouth as a port. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan became industrialised following the establishment of a copperworks in 1770
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Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
29.
Theodor Heuss
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Theodor Heuss was a liberal German politician who served as the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1959. Beside the stern chancellor Konrad Adenauer, Heusss cordial manners largely contributed to the stabilization of democracy in West Germany during the Wirtschaftswunder years, Heuss was born in Brackenheim, a small town in Württemberg near Heilbronn. This “wine community” lies close to the border of Swabian to the Franconian area and he studied economics, art history and political science at the universities of Munich and Berlin, receiving his doctorate in 1905 in Munich with Lujo Brentano as his thesis adviser. On 11 April 1908, he married Elly Heuss-Knapp, with whom he had a son, the minister at the Lutheran wedding ceremony held in Straßburg was Albert Schweitzer, a close friend of Ellys. After his studies Heuss worked as a political journalist in Berlin, from 1912 to 1918, he was editor in chief of the Neckarzeitung in Heilbronn. In Berlin, he worked as editor for the weekly newsletter Deutsche Politik, with Naumann, Heuss in 1903 he joined the liberal Free-minded Union, which in 1910 merged in the Progressive Peoples Party, in which he was engaged until its dissolution in 1918. After World War I, Heuss between 1923 and 1926 published the magazine Die Deutsche Nation, on 23 March 1933, along with his four fellow DStP parliamentarians, Heuss voted in favour of the Enabling Act, granting Chancellor Adolf Hitler quasi-dictatorial powers. He had set out to abstain, but after Heinrich Brüning indicated that with regard to the Reichskonkordat the Centre Party MPs would assent, alternative views of Hermann Dietrich, Weimar Republic finance minister claim that he was part of the majority in favor of voting for the enabling law. Following the end of his term he returned to private life, during the Third Reich he stayed in contact with a network of liberals, leading to contacts with the German resistance towards the end of the war, though he was not an active resister. In 1936 Heuss faced a ban, nevertheless in 1941 he became an employee of the Frankfurter Zeitung. Heuss wrote under pseudonyms until publishing of the paper was prohibited in 1943. He spent the following years writing a biography of Robert Bosch, Heuss also taught history at the Stuttgart Institute of Technology in 1946 and 1947, receiving the title of an honorary professor in 1948. He advocated uniting all parties in the Western occupation zones. In 1948, he was a member of the Parlamentarischer Rat at Bonn with considerable influence in the drafting of West Germanys constitution, Heuss was a member of the Evangelical Church in Germany. He took the oath required by article 56 of the Basic Law before a joint session of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat on the same date. Heusss plans for a new national anthem were aborted by Adenauer, a widower since 1952, Heuss was re-elected in 1954 with practically no opposition, after the Social Democrats had renounced the nomination of a rival candidate. Not until May 1956, could he make his first state visit and he held office until the end of his term on 12 September 1959, succeeded by Heinrich Lübke. He had declined a third term in office, as this would have necessitated changing the constitution, Heuss shaped the office of president by his non-partisan governing
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Grammar school
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The original purpose of medieval grammar schools was the teaching of Latin. Over time the curriculum was broadened, first to include Ancient Greek, and later English and other European languages, natural sciences, mathematics, history, geography, and other subjects. In the late Victorian era grammar schools were reorganised to provide secondary education throughout England and Wales, Grammar schools of these types were also established in British territories overseas, where they have evolved in different ways. With the move to comprehensive schools in the 1960s and 1970s, some grammar schools became fully independent and charged fees. In both cases, many of these schools kept grammar school in their names, more recently, a number of state grammar schools still retaining their selective intake gained academy status, meaning that they are independent of the Local Education Authority. Some parts of England retain forms of the Tripartite System, some of the remaining grammar schools can trace their histories to before the 16th century. The schools were attached to cathedrals and monasteries, teaching Latin – the language of the church – to future priests, other subjects required for religious work were occasionally added, including music and verse, astronomy and mathematics and law. With the foundation of the ancient universities from the late 12th century, grammar schools became the point to a liberal arts education. Pupils were usually educated in schools up to the age of 14, after which they would look to universities. An example of a grammar school founded by a medieval borough corporation unconnected with church or university is Bridgnorth Grammar School. During the English Reformation in the 16th century, most cathedral schools were closed and replaced by new foundations funded from the dissolution of the monasteries. For example, the oldest extant schools in Wales – Christ College, Brecon, with the increased emphasis on studying the scriptures after the Reformation, many schools added Greek and, in a few cases, Hebrew. The teaching of languages was hampered by a shortage of non-Latin type. Many of these are commemorated in annual Founders Day services and ceremonies at surviving schools. The usual pattern was to create an endowment to pay the wages of a master to instruct boys in Latin. The school day ran from 6 a. m. to 5 p. m. with a two-hour break for lunch, in winter, school started at 7 a. m. Most of the day was spent in the learning of Latin. To encourage fluency, some schoolmasters recommended punishing any pupil who spoke in English, by the end of their studies at age 14, they would be quite familiar with the great Latin authors, and with Latin drama and rhetoric
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Henry Miller (rancher)
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Henry Miller was a German-American rancher known as the Cattle King of California who at one point in the late 19th century was one of the largest land-owners in the United States. Born in Germany as Heinrich Alfred Kreiser, he immigrated to New York City in 1846 and he came out to California in 1850 under the name Henry Miller, a name borrowed from the non-transferable steamer ticket he had purchased from a friend in New York. Miller built up a thriving business in San Francisco, later going into partnership with Charles Lux, also a German immigrant. The Miller and Lux Corporation was headquartered in Los Banos, on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, Miller played a major role in the development of much of the San Joaquin Valley during the late 19th century and early 20th century. His role in maintaining and managing his corporate farming empire illustrates the trend of industrial barons during the Gilded Age. His detailed correspondences with Superintendent Turner reflects his micromanagement business style, Miller persistently corresponded with his subordinates in order to verify that all the cattle met his standards before being sold. The correspondences demonstrate his attention to detail, especially in regards to the weather conditions, at the time of his death, Millers estate was appraised at some US$40 million dollars, somewhat less than during his prime. The Miller and Lux Corporation did not long survive his death, though his grandson George Nickel reorganized the holdings and became a large farmer and land developer. Some of his descendants continue to farm in the area around Los Banos and to operate as farmers and land developers in Bakersfield, monterey County Historical Society, The California Cattle Boom, 1849-1862 Oregon History Project, Henry Miller, cattleman Taper, Bernard. The King of Ranchers American Heritage Magazine, august 1967,18 Article on Miller family history Guide to the Miller & Lux Records at The Bancroft Library Henry Miller letter, NC498. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno, chronicles Of The Builders Of The Commonwealth, Vol III. The Last Of The Cattle Kings, Mr. Henry Miller, the Worlds Work, A History of Our Time. The Cattle King, A Dramatized Biography of Henry Miller, Founder of the Miller, media related to Henry Miller at Wikimedia Commons
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German Democratic Party
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In 1930 the party changed to the Deutsche Staatspartei. The Democrats were a more left-wing or social liberal party, whereas the German Peoples Party was right-wing liberal, many of the leading figures in the party had been supporters of Imperial Germanys aim of Weltpolitik and Mitteleuropa. Along with the Social Democrats and the Centre Party, the Democratic party was most committed to maintaining a democratic and its social basis were middle class entrepreneurs, civil servants, teachers, scientists and craftsmen. The party was the one voted for by most Jews, the party was attacked by some for being a party of Jews and professors. Other well-known politicians of the DDP were Hugo Preuß, the author of the Weimar constitution. Hjalmar Schacht, president of the Reichsbank and one of the founders of the party, left the party in 1926 and became a supporter of Adolf Hitler. Nearly all German governments from 1918 to 1931 included ministers from the DDP, such as Walther Rathenau, Eugen Schiffer, Hugo Preuss, Kurt Riezler, Otto Gessler, Max Weber and Erich Koch-Weser. From their 18% share of the first elections under proportional representation in 1919, the party merged with the more right-leaning Young German Order to form the German State Party in 1930. With Ludwig Quidde and others the party had a pacifist wing which left the Party in 1930 and founded the Radical Democratic Party, after 1945 former politicians of the DDP joined mainly the new Free Democratic Party, as did the liberals from the German Peoples Party. First Federal President Theodor Heuss, a journalist and professor in history, had been a German State Party deputy in 1933, in the Soviet occupation zone the liberal leader was former DDP minister Wilhelm Külz. Other DDP members went to the Christian Democrats, such as Ernst Lemmer, Democratic Party of Germany Liberalism List of liberal parties Liberalism in Germany Weimar Republic Frye, Bruce B
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Free Democratic Party (Germany)
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The Free Democratic Party is a liberal and classical liberal political party in Germany. The FDP is led by Christian Lindner, the FDP was founded in 1948 by members of the former liberal political parties existing in Germany before World War II, the German Democratic Party and the German Peoples Party. For most of the Federal Republics history, it has held the balance of power in the Bundestag and it was a junior coalition partner to either the CDU/CSU or the Social Democratic Party of Germany. However, in the 2013 federal election the FDP failed to win any directly elected seats in the Bundestag, the FDP was therefore left without representation in the Bundestag for the first time in its history. The FDP strongly supports human rights, civil liberties, and internationalism, the party is traditionally considered centre-right, but it has shifted to the centre according to polls in recent years. Since the 1980s, the party has firmly pushed economic liberalism and it is a member of the Liberal International and Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. Currently the FDP is represented in eight state parliaments and in the European Parliament, soon after World War II, the Soviet Union forced the creation of political parties. In September 1945, citizens in Hamburg established the Party of Free Democrats as a bourgeois Left Party, in the first state elections in Hamburg in October 1946 the party won 18.2 percent of the vote. The FDP secured between 7.8 and 29.9 percent of the 1946 vote in Greater Berlin and Saxony, the only states in Soviet-occupied territories that held free parliamentary elections. The FDP won Hesses 1950 state election with 31.8 percent, the Democratic Party of Germany was established in Rothenburg ob der Tauber on 17 March 1947 as a pan-German Party. Its leaders were Theodor Heuss and Wilhelm Külz, however, the project failed as a result of disputes over Külzs political direction. The Free Democratic Party was established on 11–12 December 1948 in Heppenheim, in Hesse, the proposed name, Liberal Democratic Party, was rejected by the delegates, who voted 64 to 25 in favour of the name Free Democratic Party. The partys first chairman was Theodor Heuss, his deputy was Franz Blücher, the place for the partys foundation was chosen deliberately, it was at the Heppenheim Assembly that the moderate liberals had met in October 1847 before the March Revolution. Some regard the Heppenheim Assembly, which was held at the Halber Mond Hotel on 10 October 1847, the FDPs first Chairman, Theodor Heuss, was formerly a member of the DDP and after the war of the Democratic Peoples Party. In the first elections to the Bundestag on 14 August 1949, the FDP won a share of 11.9 percent. In September of the year the FDP chairman Theodor Heuss was elected the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany. In his 1954 re-election, he received the best election result to date of a President with 871 of 1018 votes of the Federal Assembly, Adenauer was also elected on the proposal of the new German President with an extremely narrow majority as the first Chancellor. The FDP participated with the CDU/CSU and the DP in Adenauers coalition cabinet, on the most important economic, social and German national issues, the FDP agreed with their coalition partners, the CDU/CSU
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President of Germany
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The President of Germany, officially the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of state of Germany. Germany has a system of government in which the Chancellor is the nations leading political figure. However, the President has a role which, while not an executive post, is more than ceremonial, Presidents have extensive discretion regarding the way they exercise their official duties. The President gives direction to general political and societal debates and has some important reserve powers in case of political instability. Furthermore, all laws must be signed by the President before they can come into effect. The President, by his or her actions and public appearances, represents the state itself, its existence, its legitimacy, the Presidents office involves an integrative role and the control function of upholding the law and the constitution. In order to exercise power, he/she traditionally acts above party politics. The 12th and current officeholder is Frank-Walter Steinmeier who was elected on 12 February 2017, the convention consists of all Bundestag members as well as an equal number of electors elected by the state legislatures in proportion to their respective population. However it is not required that state electors themselves be members of a legislature, the body is convened and chaired by the President of the German Bundestag. From 1979 to 2009, all these conventions were held on 23 May, in the first two rounds of the election, the Federal Convention attempts to elect a president by an absolute majority of votes cast. If, after two votes, no candidate has received this level of support, in the third. The result of the election is determined by party politics. Usually, the candidate of the majority party or coalition in the Bundestag is considered to be the likely winner, however, if the opposition has turned in a strong showing in state elections, it can potentially have enough support to defeat the governments candidate. For this reason, presidential elections can indicate the result of a general election. According to a long-standing adage in German politics, if you can create a president, you can form a government. The office of president is open to all Germans who are entitled to vote in Bundestag elections and have reached the age of 40, but no one may serve more than two consecutive five-year terms. As yet, only four Presidents have been elected for a second term, the president must not be a member of the federal government or of a legislature at either the federal or state level. On taking office the President must take the oath, stipulated by Article 56 of the Basic Law, in a joint session of the Bundestag
Brackenheim (help·info) is a town in the Landkreis Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is 15 kilometres (9 mi) southwest of Heilbronn. With 826 hectares (2,040 acres) of vineyards, it is the biggest grape-growing municipality of Württemberg.
