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.
Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis
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Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis is a district in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Main-Tauber-Kreis, Hohenlohe-Kreis, Heilbronn, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Odenwaldkreis and Landkreis Miltenberg, the Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis is part of to the Rhine Neckar Area. The district was created in 1973 by merging the previous districts Buchen, at first it was named Odenwaldkreis, however to avoid confusion with the neighboring district in Hesse with the same name it was renamed in 1974 to be Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis. As the name suggests the district is located in the Odenwald mountains. The main river of the district is the Neckar
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.
Christian Democratic Union of Germany
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The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Germany. It is the major party of the centre-right in German politics. The CDU forms the CDU/CSU grouping, also known as the Union, the leader of the CDU, Angela Merkel, is the current Chancellor of Germany. The CDU is a member of the Centrist Democrat International, International Democrat Union, immediately following the collapse of the Nazi dictatorship at the end of World War II, the need for a new political order in Germany was paramount. Simultaneous yet unrelated meetings began occurring throughout Germany, each with the intention of planning a Christian-democratic party, the Christlich-Demokratische Union was established in Berlin on 26 June 1945, and in Rheinland and Westfalen in September of the same year. The founding members of the CDU consisted primarily of members of the Centre Party, German Democratic Party, German National Peoples Party. In the Cold War years, after World War II up to the 1960s, a prominent anti-Nazi member was theologian Eugen Gerstenmaier who became Acting Chairman of the Foreign Board. One of the lessons learned from the failure of the Weimar Republic was that disunity among the parties ultimately allowed for the rise of the Nazi Party. It was therefore crucial to create a party of Christian Democrats – a Christian Democratic Union. The result of meetings was the establishment of an inter-confessional party influenced heavily by the political tradition of liberal conservatism. The latter was more nationalist and sought German reunification, even at the expense of concessions to the Soviet Union, the Western powers appreciated the CDUs moderation, its economic flexibility and its value as an oppositional force to the Communists, which appealed to European voters at the time. Also, Adenauer was trusted by the British, the party was split over issues of rearmament within the Western alliance and German unification as a neutral state. Adenauer staunchly defended his position and outmanoeuvred some of his opponents. He also refused to consider the SPD as a party of the coalition until he felt sure that they shared his anti-Communist position, the CDU was the dominant party for the first two decades following the establishment of West Germany in 1949. Konrad Adenauer remained the leader until 1963, at which point the former minister of economics Ludwig Erhard replaced him. As the Free Democratic Party withdrew from the coalition in 1966 due to disagreements over fiscal and economic policy. Consequently, a coalition with the SPD took over government under CDU Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger. The CDU continued its role as opposition until 1982, when the FDP’s withdrawal from the coalition with the SPD allowed the CDU to regain power, CDU Chairman Helmut Kohl became the new Chancellor of West Germany and his CDU-FDP coalition was confirmed in the 1983 federal election
9.
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
10.
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
11.
Neckar-Odenwald
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Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis is a district in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Main-Tauber-Kreis, Hohenlohe-Kreis, Heilbronn, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Odenwaldkreis and Landkreis Miltenberg, the Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis is part of to the Rhine Neckar Area. The district was created in 1973 by merging the previous districts Buchen, at first it was named Odenwaldkreis, however to avoid confusion with the neighboring district in Hesse with the same name it was renamed in 1974 to be Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis. As the name suggests the district is located in the Odenwald mountains. The main river of the district is the Neckar
12.
Odenwald
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The Odenwald is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The part south of the Neckar valley is called the Kleiner Odenwald. The northern and western Odenwald belong to southern Hesse, with the south stretching into Baden, in the northeast, a small part lies in Lower Franconia in Bavaria. The Odenwald, along other parts of the Central German Uplands, belongs to the Variscan. The cause of this orogeny was the collision of Africa’s and Europe’s forerunner continents, in the Triassic, about 200,000,000 years ago, the land sank again, forming the Germanic Basin in which the metre-thick layers of red sandstone could build up. These were later covered over with layers of muschelkalk from an inland sea. The South German Cuesta Land thus formed, the bedrock here is made out of a remarkably great number of different minerals, among them gneiss, granite, diorite, gabbro in the Frankenstein pluton, and so on. In the eastern Odenwald, the red sandstone is all that is left of the sedimentary mixture, farther east in the Bauland, the muschelkalk deposits still overlie the Early Triassic layers. Furthermore, in the south near Heidelberg, there is still zechstein under the Early Triassic deposits, roughly 50 to 60 million years ago, volcanoes formed along the great geological faults. Still bearing witness to this time are the Otzberg, the Daumberg, furthermore, vulcanism with acidic minerals has left a legacy of rhyolites near Dossenheim. At roughly the time, the Central European plate began to tear apart so that the Upper Rhine Rift developed. Even as the Upper Rhine Rift valley still sinks today by just under a millimetre each year, along the faults, the small rivers Gersprenz and Weschnitz have, in part, carved their courses. The Upper Rhine Rift is part of a fracture zone reaching from the Mediterranean Sea to Norway, about 2500 BC, there is evidence that the Linear Pottery culture settled along the northern and southern edges of the Odenwald. About 400 BC, Celts settled throughout southern Germany, almost all of the Odenwald was covered then with virgin forest, and the outer edges were not settled. Germanic peoples drove the Celts westwards across the Rhine to what is now France, about AD100, the older Odenwald line of the Neckar-Odenwald Limes was built under Roman Emperor Trajan. Parts of the Odenwald now lay in Roman-ruled Germania Superior, about 159, the Limes was shifted about 30 kilometres eastwards to the Miltenberg–Walldürn–Buchen-Osterburken line. The Alamanni were also thrusting into the Odenwald and settling the land between the Main and Neckar, after came the Franks. In the 5th century, the Franks, under Clovis I, in the 7th and 8th centuries came Christianization by Irish-Scottish and Anglo-Saxon monks
13.
Mosbach
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Mosbach is the capital of the Neckar-Odenwald district in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 58 km east of Heidelberg. Its geographical position is 49. 21N9. 9E and it has a population of approximately 25,000 people distributed in six boroughs, Mosbach Town, Lohrbach, Neckarelz, Diedesheim, Sattelbach and Reichenbuch. Mosbach is situated south of the Odenwald mountains at a height of 134-354m at the confluence of the Neckar, the town is part of the conservation area Naturpark Neckartal-Odenwald and the UNESCO Geopark Bergstraße-Odenwald. The settlement of Mosbach developed around the Benedictine monastery of Mosbach Abbey, in 1241 rights and privileges had been granted to Mosbach as an Imperial free city. These rights were lost in 1362 when Mosbach became part of the Electorate of the Palatinate, with the division of the lands of King Rupert in 1410, Mosbach became the capital of a small principality known as Palatinate-Mosbach as the inheritance for his son Otto I. This principality was dissolved with the death of Count Palatine Otto II in 1499, the city and adjoining territory reverted to the Electorate of the Palatinate, and Mosbach became the capital of the administrative district of Oberamt Mosbach. In 1806 the city was part of the Grand Duchy of Baden. In World War II, the Mosbach area was the location of a Daimler-Benz underground airplane engine factory, Mosbach lies on two heritage routes, the Burgenstraße, linking many historic castles the Deutsche Fachwerkstraße, joining the locations of many of the best German half-timbered buildings
14.
Limes Germanicus
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At its height, the limes stretched from the North Sea outlet of the Rhine to near Regensburg on the Danube. Those two major rivers afforded natural protection from mass incursions into imperial territory, with the exception of a gap stretching roughly from Mogontiacum on the Rhine to Castra Regina, the total length was 568 km. It included at least 60 forts and 900 watchtowers, Roman border defences have become much better known through systematic excavations financed by Germany and through other research connected to them. The Saalburg is a fortification and museum of the Limes near Frankfurt. The first emperor who began to build fortifications along the border was Augustus, originally there were numerous Limes walls, which were then connected to form the Upper Germanic Limes along the Rhine and the Rhaetian Limes along the Danube. Later these two walls were linked to form a common borderline, from the death of Augustus until after 70 AD, Rome accepted as her Germanic frontier the water-boundary of the Rhine and upper Danube. Beyond these rivers she held only the plain of Frankfurt, opposite the Roman border fortress of Moguntiacum, the southernmost slopes of the Black Forest. The northern section of this frontier, where the Rhine is deep and broad, the upper Rhine and upper Danube are easily crossed. The frontier which they form is inconveniently long, enclosing an acute-angled wedge of foreign territory between the modern Baden and Württemberg, the Germanic populations of these lands seem in Roman times to have been scanty, and Roman subjects from the modern Alsace-Lorraine had drifted across the river eastwards. The first advance came about 74 AD, when what is now Baden was invaded and in part annexed, the point of the angle was broken off. The second advance was made by Domitian about 83 AD, among the blockhouses was one which by various enlargements and refoundations grew into the well-known Saalburg fort on the Taunus near Bad Homburg. This advance necessitated a third movement, the construction of a frontier connecting the annexations of AD74 and we know the line of this frontier which ran from the Main across the upland Odenwald to the upper waters of the Neckar and was defended by a chain of forts. The angle between the rivers was now almost full, but there remained further advance and further fortification. This is the frontier which is now visible and visited by the curious, the southern part of the Pfahlgraben is remarkably straight, for over 50 km it points almost absolutely true for Polaris. This frontier remained for about 100 years, and no doubt in that long period much was done to it to which precise dates are difficult to fix and it cannot even be absolutely certain when the frontier laid out by Pius was equipped with the manpitts and other special fortifications. Germanic invasions in the late 3rd century led to the abandonment of the so-called Upper Raetian Limes in favour of a Roman defence line along the rivers Rhine, Iller and Danube. Support was provided to some degree by fast river boats, the navis lusoria being the standard type, watch towers were in sight contact and heavily fortified castra placed at important passes and in the hinterland of the frontier. The limes itself is a simple construction
15.
Mannheim
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Mannheim is a city in the southwestern part of Germany, the third-largest in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart and Karlsruhe. Mannheim is among the twenty largest cities in Germany, with a 2015 population of approximately 305,000 inhabitants, the city is at the centre of the larger densely populated Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region which has a population of 2,400,000 and is Germanys eighth-largest metropolitan region. Mannheim is located at the confluence of the Rhine and the Neckar in the corner of Baden-Württemberg. The Rhine separates Mannheim from the city of Ludwigshafen, just to the west of it in Rhineland-Palatinate, Mannheim is downstream along the Neckar from the city of Heidelberg. Mannheim is unusual among German cities in that its streets and avenues are laid out in a grid pattern, the eighteenth century Mannheim Palace, former home of the Prince-elector of the Palatinate, now houses the University of Mannheim. In addition, Mannheims SAP Arena is not only the home of the German ice hockey record champions the Adler Mannheim, but also the well-known handball team, the Rhein-Neckar Löwen. According to the Forbes magazine, Mannheim is known for its exceptional power and was ranked 11th among the Top 15 of the most inventive cities worldwide. The New Economy Magazine elected Mannheim under the 20 cities that best represent the world of tomorrow emphasizing Mannheims positive economic, since 2014, Mannheim has been a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and holds the title of UNESCO City of Music. Mannheim is a Smart City the citys electrical grid is installed with a Power-line communication network, the citys tourism slogan is Leben. The civic symbol of Mannheim is der Wasserturm, a Romanesque water tower completed in 1886 that rises to 60 metres above the highest point of the art nouveau area Friedrichsplatz, Mannheim is the starting and finishing point of the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. The name of the city was first recorded as Mannenheim in a transaction in 766. The name is interpreted as the home of Manno, a form of a Germanic name such as Hartmann or Hermann. Mannheim remained a mere village throughout the Middle Ages, in 1606, Frederick IV, Elector Palatine started building the fortress of Friedrichsburg and the adjacent city centre with its grid of streets and avenues. On January 24,1607, Frederick IV gave Mannheim the status of a city, Mannheim was mostly levelled during the Thirty Years War around 1622 by the forces of Johan Tillys troops. After being rebuilt, it was severely damaged by the French Army in 1689 during the Nine Years War. During the eighteenth century, Mannheim was the home of the Mannheim School of classical music composers, Mannheim was said to have one of the best court orchestras in Europe under the leadership of the conductor Carlo Grua. The royal court of the Palatinate left Mannheim in 1778, two decades later, in 1802, Mannheim was removed from the Palatinate and given to the Grand Duchy of Baden. In 1819, Norwich Duff wrote of Mannheim, In 1819, the climate crisis of 1816-17 caused famine and the death of many horses in Mannheim
16.
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
17.
Neckar
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The Neckar is a 367-kilometre-long river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a right tributary of the Rhine. From Plochingen to Stuttgart the Neckar valley is populated and industrialised, with several well-known companies, e. g. Daimler AG. Between Stuttgart and Lauffen the Neckar cuts a scenic, meandering, after passing Heidelberg, the Neckar discharges on average 145 m3/s of water into the Rhine, making the Neckar its 4th largest tributary, and the 10th largest river in Germany. The name Neckar was derived from Nicarus and Neccarus from Celtic Nikros, from about 1100 Black Forest timber was rafted downstream as far as Holland, for use in shipyards. During the 19th century, traditional horse-drawn boats were replaced by steam-powered chain boats that used a 155 km long chain in the river to haul themselves upstream towing barges. After 1899 a railway made it possible to transport timber to the port of Heilbronn, due to the construction of 11 locks, ships up to 1500 t could travel to Heilbronn in 1935. Other important ports include Stuttgart and Heilbronn, the rivers course provides a popular route for cyclists, especially during the summer months. Its steep valley sides are used for vineyards, mainly for the cultivation of Trollinger, Lemberger, Kerner, old Bridge, in Heidelberg The Neckar is mentioned prominently in Gustav Mahlers Rheinlegendchen, composed in August 1893
18.
Ancient Rome
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In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
19.
Carolingian dynasty
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The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name Carolingian derives from the Latinised name of Charles Martel, the Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of Romans in over three centuries. His death in 814 began a period of fragmentation of the Carolingian empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France. This picture, however, is not commonly accepted today, the greatest Carolingian monarch was Charlemagne, who was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III at Rome in 800. His empire, ostensibly a continuation of the Western Roman Empire, is referred to historiographically as the Carolingian Empire, the Carolingian rulers did not give up the traditional Frankish practice of dividing inheritances among heirs, though the concept of the indivisibility of the Empire was also accepted. The Carolingians had the practice of making their sons kings in the various regions of the Empire. The Carolingians were displaced in most of the regna of the Empire by 888 and they ruled in East Francia until 911 and held the throne of West Francia intermittently until 987. One chronicler of Sens dates the end of Carolingian rule with the coronation of Robert II of France as junior co-ruler with his father, Hugh Capet, the dynasty became extinct in the male line with the death of Eudes, Count of Vermandois. His sister Adelaide, the last Carolingian, died in 1122, the Carolingian dynasty has five distinct branches, The Lombard branch, or Vermandois branch, or Herbertians, descended from Pepin of Italy, son of Charlemagne. Though he did not outlive his father, his son Bernard was allowed to retain Italy, Bernard rebelled against his uncle Louis the Pious, and lost both his kingdom and his life. Deprived of the title, the members of this branch settled in France. The counts of Vermandois perpetuated the Carolingian line until the 12th century, the Counts of Chiny and the lords of Mellier, Neufchâteau and Falkenstein are branches of the Herbertians. With the descendants of the counts of Chiny, there would have been Herbertian Carolingians to the early 14th century, the Lotharingian branch, descended from Emperor Lothair, eldest son of Louis the Pious. At his death Middle Francia was divided equally between his three surviving sons, into Italy, Lotharingia and Lower Burgundy, the sons of Emperor Lothair did not have sons of their own, so Middle Francia was divided between the western and eastern branches of the family in 875. The Aquitainian branch, descended from Pepin of Aquitaine, son of Louis the Pious, since he did not outlive his father, his sons were deprived of Aquitaine in favor of his younger brother Charles the Bald. The German branch, descended from Louis the German, King of East Francia, since he had three sons, his lands were divided into Duchy of Bavaria, Duchy of Saxony and Duchy of Swabia. His youngest son Charles the Fat briefly reunited both East and West Francia — the entirety of the Carolingian empire — but it again after his death. With the failure of the lines of the German branch, Arnulf of Carinthia
20.
Vogt
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The territory or area of responsibility of a Vogt is called a Vogtei. The term also denotes a mayor of a village, the range of social status and degrees of responsibility of persons so titled varied greatly, from the humble—the equivalents of the English reeve or bailiff—to the very elevated. The concept of the Vogt was related to the Old German idea of the Munt, or guardian, such representatives had been assigned to the church since late antiquity, as it was not supposed to act for itself in worldly affairs. Beyond that, he administered the high justice instead of the count from the Vogt court, in the German-ruled Holy Roman Empire, the term Vogt can refer to two different offices, church vogt or imperial vogt. Imperial vogts are further subdivided into land vogts and city vogts, in addition, the term vogt was used for administrative officers of territorial rulers, such as bailiffs. In private and family monasteries the proprietor himself often also held the office of Vogt, in Austria, the teaching of the Church that, according to canon law individuals were prohibited from exercising authority over Church property, was only with reluctance accepted by the nobles. An imperial Vogt was an officer of the king, who served as administrator and judge of a subdivision of royal property, the seat of an imperial Vogt was often at an imperial city. When the imperial cities gained more independence, the office was split into city Vogt for the cities, the offices of city volts were usually bought by the imperial cities by the late Middle Ages, which led to the independence of the cities. Most land Vogt offices became meaningless as the amount of property was reduced more and more in favor of territorial rulers. The land Vogt office of the Alsace, consisting of the ten cities of the Décapole, was ceded to the king of France in 1648. However, the cities were soon annexed by France. Several small land votes continued to exist until the end of the Empire in 1806, the title of Landvogt appears in the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1415. A Landvogt ruled a Landvogtei, either representing a sovereign canton, or acting on behalf of the Confederacy, or a subset thereof, in the case of condominiums, the cantons took turns in appointing a Landvogt for a period of two years. In exceptional cases, the population of the Landvogtei was allowed to elect their own Landvogt and this concerned Oberhasli in particular, which was nominally a subject territory of Berne, but enjoyed a special status as a military ally. The office of Landvogt was abolished in 1798, with the foundation of the Helvetic Republic, the monarchs reigning in Madrid and Vienna controlled these through governors known variously as landvoogd or gouverneur-generaal. The status of protective lordship, however, in relation to ecclesiastical estates as held, there is no single equivalent in English history. The office of reeve was much the same at a village or peasant level, in France, the office of vidame, the temporal administrator for certain bishoprics, showed some connection. The most frequent translations in that connection are either advocate or lord protector, in medieval Poland the title of Wójt was used to denote hereditary heads of towns
21.
Electorate of Mainz
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In the Roman Catholic hierarchy, the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz was the Primate of Germany, a purely honorary dignity that was unsuccessfully claimed from time to time by other Archbishops. There were only two other ecclesiastical Prince-electors in the Empire, the Electorate of Cologne and the Electorate of Trier. The Archbishop-Elector of Mainz was also archchancellor of Germany and, as such, ranked first among all ecclesiastical and secular princes of the Empire and his political role, particularly as an intermediary between the Estates of the Empire and the Emperor, was considerable. The episcopal see was established in ancient Roman times in the city of Mainz, the first bishops before the 4th century have legendary names, beginning with Crescens. The first verifiable Bishop of Mainz was Martinus in 343, the ecclesiastical and secular importance of Mainz dates from the accession of St. Boniface to the see in 747. Boniface was previously an archbishop, but the honor did not immediately devolve upon the see itself until his successor Lullus, another early bishop of Mainz was Aureus of Mainz. However, the office came to prominence upon its elevation to an archdiocese in 780-782. During the early age, the archdiocese of Mainz was the largest ecclesiastical province of Germany. In 1802, Mainz lost its archiepiscopal character, Dalberg retained the Aschaffenburg area as the Principality of Aschaffenburg. In 1810 Dalberg merged Aschaffenburg, Frankfurt, Wetzlar, Hanau, the modern Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz was founded in 1802 when Mainz lost its archdiocese status and became a mere diocese within the territory of France. In 1814 its jurisdiction was extended over the territory of Hesse-Darmstadt, since then it has had two cardinals and via various concordats was allowed to retain the medieval tradition of the cathedral chapter electing a successor to the bishop. Elector of Mainz Mainz Cathedral Primas Germaniae Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz Official website of the modern Diocese Map of the Archbishopric of Mainz in 1789
22.
Shrove Tuesday
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Shrove Tuesday is the day in February or March immediately preceding Ash Wednesday, which is celebrated in some countries by consuming pancakes. In others, especially those where it is called Mardi Gras or some translation thereof, this is a carnival day and this moveable feast is determined by Easter. The expression Shrove Tuesday comes from the word shrive, meaning absolve, the term Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday. The tradition of marking the start of Lent has been documented for centuries, the association between pancakes and Shrove Tuesday may have arisen as it permits foods which are discouraged from being eaten during the Lenten season, such as butter, eggs, and fat to be used up. Christians use these ingredients during Shrovetide to make pancakes or other foods, such as fasnachts. Before the Reformation, the celebration of Shrovetide lasted a week or more before the start of Lent, the specific custom of Christians eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday dates to the 16th century. Along with its emphasis on feasting, another theme of Shrove Tuesday involves Christians repenting of their sins in preparation to begin the season of Lent in the Christian kalendar. The word shrove is a form of the English word shrive, thus Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the custom for Christians to be shriven before the start of Lent. In the United Kingdom, Ireland and parts of the Commonwealth, elsewhere, the day has also been called Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. In Germany, the day is known as Fastnachtsdienstag, Faschingsdienstag, Karnevalsdienstag or Veilchendienstag, similarly, in German American areas such as Pennsylvania Dutch Country, it is known as Fastnacht Day. In the Netherlands, it is known as vastenavond, or in Limburgish dialect vastelaovond, in some parts of Switzerland, the day is called Güdisdienstag, preceded by Güdismontag. According to the Duden dictionary, the term derives from Güdel, in Portuguese-, Spanish- and Italian-speaking countries, among others, it is known as Carnival. This derives from Medieval Latin carnelevamen and thus to another aspect of the Lenten fast and it is often celebrated with street processions or fancy dress. The most famous of these events is the Brazilian Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, the use of the term carnival in other contexts derives from here. In Spain, the Carnival Tuesday is named día de la tortilla, on the Portuguese island of Madeira, they eat malasadas on Terça-feira Gorda which is also the last day of the Carnival of Madeira. Malasadas were cooked in order to use up all the lard and sugar in the house, in Denmark and Norway, the day is known as Fastelavn and is marked by eating fastelavnsboller. Fastelavn is the name for Carnival in Denmark which is either the Sunday or Monday before Ash Wednesday, Fastelavn developed from the Roman Catholic tradition of celebrating in the days before Lent, but after Denmark became a Protestant nation, the holiday became less specifically religious. This holiday occurs seven weeks before Easter Sunday, with dressing up in costumes
23.
Peasants' Revolt
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The Peasants Revolt, also called Wat Tylers Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The final trigger for the revolt was the intervention of an official, John Bampton. His attempts to collect unpaid taxes in Brentwood ended in a violent confrontation. A wide spectrum of society, including many local artisans and village officials, rose up in protest, burning court records. The rebels sought a reduction in taxation, an end to the system of unfree labour known as serfdom, inspired by the sermons of the radical cleric John Ball, and led by Wat Tyler, a contingent of Kentish rebels advanced on London. They were met at Blackheath by representatives of the royal government, King Richard II, then aged 14, retreated to the safety of the Tower of London, but most of the royal forces were abroad or in northern England. The following day, Richard met the rebels at Mile End and acceded to most of their demands, meanwhile, rebels entered the Tower of London, killing the Lord Chancellor and the Lord High Treasurer, whom they found inside. On 15 June, Richard left the city to meet with Tyler, violence broke out, and Richards party killed Tyler. Richard defused the situation long enough for Londons mayor, William Walworth, to gather a militia from the city. Richard immediately began to order in London and rescinded his previous grants to the rebels. The revolt had spread into East Anglia, where the University of Cambridge was attacked. Unrest continued until the intervention of Henry le Despenser, who defeated an army at the Battle of North Walsham on 25 or 26 June. Troubles extended north to York, Beverley and Scarborough, and as far west as Bridgwater in Somerset, Richard mobilised 4,000 soldiers to restore order. Most of the leaders were tracked down and executed, by November. The Peasants Revolt has been studied by academics. Interpretations of the revolt have shifted over the years and it was once seen as a defining moment in English history, but modern academics are less certain of its impact on subsequent social and economic history. The revolt heavily influenced the course of the Hundred Years War, the Peasants Revolt was fed by the economic and social upheaval of the 14th century. Across much of England, production was organised around manors, controlled by local lords – including the gentry, population growth led to pressure on the available agricultural land, increasing the power of local landowners
24.
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
25.
Principality of Leiningen
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The Principality of Leiningen was a short-lived principality, which emerged in 1803 in the course of secularization and was created especially for a line of the nobility of the House of Leiningen. It lay for the most part in todays Baden-Wuerttemberg and for the part in todays Bavaria. Laurenz Hannibal Fischer, Die Verwaltungsverhältnisse des fürstlichen Hauses Leiningen, Amorbach 1828, umbruchserfahrungen einer Adelsherrschaft zur Zeit der Französischen Revolution. Sandra Schwab, Die Entschädigung des Hauses Leiningen durch den Reichsdeputationshauptschluß von 1803, GRIN Verlag für akademische Texte, BoD. Ingo Toussaint, Die Grafen von Leiningen, Studien zur leiningischen Genealogie und Territorialgeschichte bis zur Teilung von 1317/18, fürstenhaus zu Leiningen Das Fürstentum Leiningen in einer Geschichte Baden-Württembergs
26.
Napoleon
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Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, one of the greatest commanders in history, his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. Napoleons political and cultural legacy has ensured his status as one of the most celebrated and he was born Napoleone di Buonaparte in Corsica to a relatively modest family from the minor nobility. When the Revolution broke out in 1789, Napoleon was serving as an officer in the French army. Seizing the new opportunities presented by the Revolution, he rose through the ranks of the military. The Directory eventually gave him command of the Army of Italy after he suppressed a revolt against the government from royalist insurgents, in 1798, he led a military expedition to Egypt that served as a springboard to political power. He engineered a coup in November 1799 and became First Consul of the Republic and his ambition and public approval inspired him to go further, and in 1804 he became the first Emperor of the French. Intractable differences with the British meant that the French were facing a Third Coalition by 1805, in 1806, the Fourth Coalition took up arms against him because Prussia became worried about growing French influence on the continent. Napoleon quickly defeated Prussia at the battles of Jena and Auerstedt, then marched the Grand Army deep into Eastern Europe, France then forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July 1807, bringing an uneasy peace to the continent. Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia and declared his brother Joseph the King of Spain in 1808. The Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support, the Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, and ended in victory for the Allies. The Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia, unwilling to bear the economic consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System and enticed Napoleon into another war. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse of the Grand Army, the destruction of Russian cities, in 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France. A lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, the Allies then invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April. He was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power, however, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again. The Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June, the British exiled him to the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died six years later at the age of 51
27.
Baden
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Baden is a historical German territory. Together with Württemberg and the former Prussian province of Hohenzollern, two other territories, it currently forms the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg. Finally, the state of Baden-Württemberg was formed a few years later, history of Baden List of states in the Holy Roman Empire Baden-Württemberg Province of Hohenzollern Württemberg Baden in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
28.
Revolutions of 1848
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It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history. The revolutions were essentially democratic in nature, with the aim of removing the old feudal structures, the revolutionary wave began in France in February, and immediately spread to most of Europe. Over 50 countries were affected, but with no coordination or cooperation between their respective revolutionaries, the uprisings were led by shaky ad hoc coalitions of reformers, the middle classes and workers, which did not hold together for long. Tens of thousands of people were killed, and many forced into exile. Significant lasting reforms included the abolition of serfdom in Austria and Hungary, the end of monarchy in Denmark. The revolutions were most important in France, the Netherlands, the states that would make up the German Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century, Italy, and the Austrian Empire. The revolutions arose from such a variety of causes that it is difficult to view them as resulting from a coherent movement or set of social phenomena. Numerous changes had been taking place in European society throughout the first half of the 19th century, both liberal reformers and radical politicians were reshaping national governments. Technological change was revolutionizing the life of the working classes, a popular press extended political awareness, and new values and ideas such as popular liberalism, nationalism and socialism began to emerge. Some historians emphasize the serious crop failures, particularly those of 1846, that produced hardship among peasants, large swaths of the nobility were discontented with royal absolutism or near-absolutism. In 1846, there had been an uprising of Polish nobility in Austrian Galicia, additionally, an uprising by democratic forces against Prussia, planned but not actually carried out, occurred in Greater Poland. Next, the middle classes began to agitate, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, working in Brussels, had written Manifesto of the Communist Party at the request of the Communist League. Following the March insurrection in Berlin, they began agitating in Germany, the middle and working classes thus shared a desire for reform, and agreed on many of the specific aims. Their participations in the revolutions, however, differed, while much of the impetus came from the middle classes, much of the cannon fodder came from the lower. The revolts first erupted in the cities, the population in French rural areas had risen rapidly, causing many peasants to seek a living in the cities. Many in the feared and distanced themselves from the working poor. Many unskilled laborers toiled from 12 to 15 hours per day when they had work, living in squalid, traditional artisans felt the pressure of industrialization, having lost their guilds. Revolutionaries such as Karl Marx built up a following, the situation in the German states was similar
29.
Kristallnacht
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German authorities looked on without intervening. The name Kristallnacht comes from the shards of glass that littered the streets after the windows of Jewish-owned stores, buildings. Estimates of the number of fatalities caused by the pogrom have varied, early reporting estimated that 91 Jewish people were murdered during the attacks. Modern analysis of German scholarly sources by historians such as Richard J. Evans puts the number much higher, when deaths from post-arrest maltreatment and subsequent suicides are included, the death toll climbs into the hundreds. Additionally,30,000 Jewish men were arrested and incarcerated in Nazi concentration camps, Jewish homes, hospitals, and schools were ransacked, as the attackers demolished buildings with sledgehammers. Over 1,000 synagogues were burned and over 7,000 Jewish businesses were destroyed or damaged. The event which caused the attacks was the assassination of the Nazi German diplomat Ernst vom Rath by Herschel Grynszpan, in the 1920s, most German Jews were fully integrated into German society as German citizens. They served in the German army and navy and contributed to every field of German business, science, from its inception, Hitlers régime moved quickly to introduce anti-Jewish policies. Nazi propaganda singled out the 500,000 Jews in Germany, the subsequent 1935 Nuremberg Laws stripped German Jews of their citizenship and forbade Jews to marry non-Jewish Germans. These laws resulted in the exclusion of Jews from German social and political life, the international Évian Conference on 6 July 1938 addressed the issue of Jewish and Gypsy immigration to other countries. As the number of Jews and Gypsies wanting to leave increased, by 1938, Germany had entered a new radical phase in anti-Semitic activity. In a 1997 interview, the German historian Hans Mommsen claimed that a motive for the pogrom was the desire of the Gauleiters of the NSDAP to seize Jewish property. In the fall of 1938, the pressure on Jewish property nourished the partys ambition. This, however, was one aspect of the origin of the November 1938 pogrom. The Polish government threatened to extradite all Jews who were Polish citizens, the immediate reaction by the Gestapo was to push the Polish Jews—16,000 persons—over the borderline, but this measure failed due to the stubbornness of the Polish customs officers. The loss of prestige as a result of this abortive operation called for some sort of compensation, thus, the overreaction to Herschel Grynszpans attempt against the diplomat Ernst vom Rath came into being and led to the November pogrom. The background of the pogrom was signified by a sharp cleavage of interests between the different agencies of party and state, Heydrich and Himmler were interested in fostering Jewish emigration. In August 1938 the German authorities announced that permits for foreigners were being cancelled
30.
Social Democratic Party of Germany
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The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany. The party, led by Chairman Martin Schulz since 2017, has one of the two major contemporary political parties in Germany, along with the Christian Democratic Union. The SPD has governed at the level in Germany as part of a grand coalition with the CDU. The SPD participates in 14 state governments, nine of them governed by SPD Minister-Presidents, the SPD is a member of the Party of European Socialists and of the Socialist International, and became a founding member of the Progressive Alliance on 22 May 2013. Established in 1863, the SPD is the oldest extant political party represented in the German Parliament and was one of the first Marxist-influenced parties in the world. The General German Workers Association, founded in 1863, and the Social Democratic Workers Party, founded in 1869, merged in 1875, under the name Socialist Workers Party of Germany. From 1878 to 1890, any grouping or meeting that aimed at spreading socialist principles was banned under the Anti-Socialist Laws, in 1890, when the ban was lifted and it could again present electoral lists, the party adopted its current name. In the years leading up to World War I, the party remained ideologically radical in official principle, by 1912, the party claimed the most votes of any German party. Despite the agreement of the Second International to oppose the First World War, after 1918 the SPD played an important role in the political system of the Weimar Republic, although it took part in coalition governments only in few years. Adolf Hitler prohibited the party in 1933 under the Enabling Act – party officials were imprisoned, killed or went into exile, in exile, the party used the name Sopade. In the Soviet Zone of Occupation, the Soviets forced the Social Democrats to form a party with the Communists. In the Western zones, the Communist Party was later banned by West Germanys Federal Constitutional Court, since 1949, in the Federal Republic of Germany, the SPD has been one of the two major parties, with the other being the Christian Democratic Union. From 1969 to 1982 and 1998 to 2005 the Chancellors of Germany were Social Democrats whereas the other years the Chancellors were Christian Democrats, the SPD was established as a Marxist party in 1875. After World War II, under the leadership of Kurt Schumacher, the SPD re-established itself as a socialist party, representing the interests of the working class and the trade unions. With the Godesberg Program of 1959, however, the party evolved from a socialist working-class party to a modern social-democratic party working within capitalism. The current party platform of the SPD espouses the goal of social democracy, according to the party platform, freedom, justice, and social solidarity, form the basis of social democracy. The coordinated social market economy should be strengthened, and its output should be distributed fairly, the party sees that economic system as necessary in order to ensure the affluence of the entire population. The SPD also tries to protect the poor with a welfare state
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Blazon
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In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb to blazon means to such a description. Blazon also refers to the language in which a blazon is written. This language has its own vocabulary, grammar and syntax, or rules governing word order, other objects — such as badges, banners, and seals — may also be described in blazon. The word blazon is not to be confused with the verb to emblazon, or the noun emblazonment, the word blazon is derived from French blason, shield. It was found in English by the end of the 14th century, formerly, experts in heraldry assumed that the word was related to the German verb blasen, to blow. Present-day lexicographers reject this theory as conjectural and disproved, the blazon of armorials follows a rigid formula, designed to eliminate ambiguity of interpretation, to be as concise as possible and to avoid repetition and extraneous punctuation. The nomenclature is equally significant, and its aim is to combine definitive exactness with a brevity that is indeed laconic. The rules of blazonry are as follows, Every blazon of a coat of arms begins by describing the field, with first letter as a capital, in a majority of cases this is a single tincture, e. g. Azure. If the field is complex, the variation is described, followed by the used, e. g. Chequy gules. The most common names are historically abbreviated. A Tincture is named only once in a given blazon, the principal charge are then named, with their tincture, e. g. a bend or. The principal charge is followed by any other charges placed around or on it, if a charge be a bird or beast, its attitude is described, followed by the animals tincture, followed by anything that may be differently coloured, e. g. An eagle displayed gules armed and wings charged with trefoils or, any accessories present — such as crown/coronet, helmet, torse, mantling, crest, motto, supporters and compartment — are then described in turn, using the same terminology and syntax. According to Boutell, It appears desirable always to print all heraldic blazon in italic, heraldry has its own vocabulary, word-order and punctuation, and showing it in italics thus indicates to the reader the presence of a quasi-foreign language. A quartered shield is blazoned one quarter at a time, proceeding by rows from chief to base, a divided shield is blazoned party per or parted per, though the word party or parted is almost always omitted. A tincture is sometimes replaced by of the first, of the second etc. to avoid repetition of tincture names, counterchanged means that a charge which straddles a line of division is tinctured of the same tinctures as the divided field, reversed. But as to the formulae of blazoning, John Brooke-Little, Norroy and Ulster King of Arms, wrote in 1985
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Coat of arms
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A coat of arms is an heraldic visual design on an escutcheon, surcoat, or tabard. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the heraldic achievement which in its whole consists of shield, supporters, crest. A coat of arms is traditionally unique to a person, family, state. The ancient Romans used similar insignia on their shields, but these identified military units rather than individuals, the first evidence of medieval coats of arms has been attributed to the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry in which some of the combatants carry shields painted with crosses. However, that heraldic interpretation remains controversial, coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in battle in the 12th century. By the 13th century, arms had spread beyond their initial battlefield use to become a flag or emblem for families in the social classes of Europe. Exactly who had a right to use arms, by law or social convention, in the German-speaking regions both the aristocracy and burghers used arms, while in most of the rest of Europe they were limited to the aristocracy. The use of spread to the clergy, to towns as civic identifiers. Flags developed from coats of arms, and the arts of vexillology, the coats of arms granted to commercial companies are a major source of the modern logo. Despite no widespread regulation, heraldry has remained consistent across Europe, some nations, like England and Scotland, still maintain the same heraldic authorities which have traditionally granted and regulated arms for centuries and continue to do so in the present day. In England, for example, the granting of arms is and has controlled by the College of Arms. Unlike seals and other emblems, heraldic achievements have a formal description called a blazon. Many societies exist that also aid in the design and registration of personal arms, in the heraldic traditions of England and Scotland, an individual, rather than a family, had a coat of arms. In those traditions coats of arms are legal property transmitted from father to son, wives, undifferenced arms are used only by one person at any given time. Other descendants of the bearer could bear the ancestral arms only with some difference. One such charge is the label, which in British usage is now always the mark of an apparent or an heir presumptive. Because of their importance in identification, particularly in seals on legal documents and this has been carried out by heralds and the study of coats of arms is therefore called heraldry. In time, the use of arms spread from military entities to educational institutes, the author Helen Stuart argues that some coats of arms were a form of corporate logo
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Wheel of Mainz
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The Wheel of Mainz or Mainzer Rad, in German, was the coat of arms of the Archbishopric of Mainz and thus also of the Electorate of Mainz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It consists of a wheel with six spokes on a red background. The wheel can also be found in carvings and similar objects. Currently, the City of Mainz uses a wheel connected by a silver cross. The origins of the wheel are not known, one theory traces it back to Bishop Willigis, who was elected Archbishop of Mainz in 975. According to a tale delivered by the Brothers Grimm, his ancestors had been wheelwrights and they drew wheels on the walls and doors of his residence, Willigis though made it his personal ensign with the motto Willigis, remember where you came from. However, this is not proven, and in any case coats of arms appeared in the 12th century. Most of the archbishops of Mainz used the wheel for the first and third field of their coat of arms, using their familys coat of arms for the second. It is more likely that the wheel refers to Saint Martin, insignia dating from 1300 depict the saint with both wheels. Moreover, the Archbishops of Mainz were sometimes referred to as the currum dei aurigantes, donnersbergkreis, The two wheels come from the earlier arms of Kirchheimbolanden and Rockenhausen. The red wheel represented the line of Bolanden, the blue represented the line of Hohenfels, osnabrück, this citys arms have a black, or sometimes red, wheel of six spokes on a silver field. The flag is white with black border stripes, later the red colour was re-adopted, but the black tincture has won out. In the 13th century Saint Peter was portrayed next to the wheel, the coat of arms of Störmede includes two red five-spoked cartwheels and two red five-petalled roses in the quarters of the black cross of the Archbishops and Electors of Cologne. The rose represents the family which had its ancestral home in Störmede since 1233. After Albert von Störmede bequeathed his fief to his son-in-law Friedrich von Hörde, Geseke, the current coat of arms was adopted on 17 August 1977, replacing the silver cross which had been adopted on 16 November 1902. The silver cross had appeared on seals as early as the late Middle Ages and it is related to the arms of the Archbishopric of Cologne, a black cross on silver. The cross was first used as a coat of arms officially around 1700, the wheel of Störmede was added to the coat of arms after a reform of districts united Störmede with Geseke
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Stuttgart Airport
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Stuttgart Airport is the international airport of Stuttgart, the capital of the German state Baden-Württemberg. It is christened after Stuttgarts former mayor, Manfred Rommel and is the sixth busiest airport in Germany with 10.5 million passengers having passed through its doors in 2015. The airport is an important hub for Eurowings and features flights to several European cities, the airport is located approximately 13 km south of Stuttgart and lies on the boundary between the nearby town of Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Filderstadt and Stuttgart itself. In 2007, the Stuttgart Trade Fair – the ninth biggest exhibition centre in Germany – moved to grounds directly next to the airport, additionally, the global headquarters for car parking company APCOA Parking are located here. The airport was built in 1939 to replace Böblingen Airport, in 1945, the United States Army took over the airport until returning it to German authorities in 1948. Some of the units operating at Echterdingen were headquartered at nearby Nellingen Kaserne- now closed and redeveloped, in 1984-5, the 223rd Aviation Battalion of the 11th Aviation Group was headquartered at Echterdingen, with three aviation companies assigned. The U. S. Army still maintains a helicopter base - Stuttgart Army Airfield - on the southern side of the airport. The police helicopter wing falls under the control of Stuttgart Police Department and has six modern helicopters based at Stuttgart, the airport was expanded after World War II. The runway was extended to 1,800 m in 1948, then to 2,250 m in 1961, the original 1938 terminal was finally replaced in 2004 and there are now four terminals with a maximum capacity of approximately 12 million passengers. Politicians, town planners and nearby residents have been arguing for years about the construction of a second runway. However, on 25 June 2008 Minister-President Günther Oettinger announced that for the next 8–12 years no second runway will be built, after the death of former mayor Manfred Rommel in November 2013 local politicians proposed to rename the airport after him. This proposal caused public disputes as he was the son of Erwin Rommel, in July 2014 it has been announced that the airport will be named Flughafen Stuttgart - Manfred Rommel Flughafen from now on. However, Air Berlin announced the start of a new second long-haul service with flights to Abu Dhabi from December 2014, in October 2014, easyJet announced to serve Stuttgart as their seventh German destination by March 2015. In December 2014, Ryanair also announced Stuttgart as a new destination of their network serving six weekly flights between Stuttgart and Manchester from April 2015, on 31 May 2016, Stuttgart Airport lost one of its two long-haul routes when Air Berlin ceased its flights to Abu Dhabi. In September 2016, the airport announced a new branding and corporate design changing its name from Flughafen Stuttgart to Stuttgart Airport. In October 2016, Air Berlin announced to close its facilities at the airport due to cost cutting and restructuring measures. Terminal 1 is the first of two main halls and features together with its addition Terminal 1-West 50 check-in counters. It shares the roof with Terminals 2 and 3 and is used by Germanwings
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Frankfurt Airport
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Frankfurt Airport is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the worlds leading financial centres. It is operated by Fraport and serves as the hub for Lufthansa including Lufthansa CityLine and Lufthansa Cargo as well as Condor. The airport is also the 12th busiest worldwide by number of passengers in 2015, with 61.032 million passengers using the airport in 2015. It also had a throughput of 2.076 million metric tonnes in 2015 and is the busiest airport in Europe by cargo traffic. As of summer 2017, Frankfurt Airport serves 293 destinations, making it the airport with the most direct routes in the world, in 2016 passengers at the airport fell 0. 4% to 60,792,308 down from 61.032 million in 2015. Frankfurt Airport lies 12 km southwest of central Frankfurt, near the Autobahn intersection Frankfurter Kreuz, the airport grounds, which form a city district of Frankfurt named Frankfurt-Flughafen, are surrounded by the Frankfurt City Forest. The southern portion of the airport grounds extend partially into the cities of Rüsselsheim am Main and Mörfelden-Walldorf, and a western portion of the grounds lie within the city of Kelsterbach. Thereby, along with a rail and motorway connection, the airport serves as a major transport for the greater region. That section of Rhein-Main later became the base for the Graf Zeppelin, its sister ship LZ-130, the airships were dismantled and their huge hangars demolished on 6 May 1940 during conversion of the base to military use. Luftwaffe engineers subsequently extended the runway and erected hangars and other facilities for German military aircraft. During World War II the Luftwaffe used the field sporadically as a fighter base, on 16 November 1909, the worlds first airline was founded in Frankfurt am Main, The Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft. DELAG then built the first airport in Frankfurt, called Airship Base at Rebstock and it opened in 1912 and was extended after World War I, but in 1924 an experts report already questioned the possibility of further expansions at this location. With the foundation of Deutsche Luft Hansa in 1926 a rapid boom of civilian air travel started, plans for a new and larger airport located in the Frankfurt City Forest south-west of Schwanheim were approved in 1930, but were not realised due to the Great Depression. After the Machtergreifung in 1933 the government revived the plans and started the construction of the new airport, on the northern part of the airport originated in 1935 a two-storey station building with a six-storey tower, and other operating and outbuildings for maintenance and storage of aircraft. The approximately 100 hectares runway received a grass cover, the official opening of the new Flug- und Luftschiffhafen Rhein-Main took place on July 8,1936. The first plane that landed was a Ju 52/3m, Six days later,1936800 tons of cargo and 58,000 passengers were transported, in 193770,000 passengers and 966 tons of cargo. In the coming years, the new airport was base of the two largest German airships LZ127 Graf Zeppelin and LZ129 Hindenburg. In 1938 Frankfurt was a distribution point for the transport of airmail to North America
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Wertheim am Main
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Wertheim is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg with a population of around 23,400. It is located on the confluence of the rivers Tauber and Main, Wertheim is best known for its landmark castle and medieval town centre. Wertheim is the most northerly town in the state of Baden-Württemberg and it is situated at the confluence of the rivers Tauber and Main, on the Mains left bank. It borders on the Odenwald hills and the Spessart range to the north across the river Main, Wertheim is located in the Main-Tauber district. Wertheim was founded between the 7th and 8th century, however the first settlement was a town called Kreuzwertheim on the bank of the river Main. From the early 12th century onwards, a branch of the family of the Reginbodons called themselves after the town. After the family of the Counts of Wertheim had built a castle on the bank of the river Main. It was mentioned for the first time in 779, in 1192, it was referred to as Suburbium castri Wertheim and in 1200 the town was called oppidium and in 1244 civitas. Count Eberhard of Wertheim reigned from the year 1355 to 1373, in 1363 Emperor Karl IV granted him by degree the right to mint coins. The last Count of Wertheim was Michael III and he married Katharina, the oldest daughter of Ludwig of Stolberg. Michael died without producing an heir and consequently the county passed to Ludwig of Stolberg. In 1574, after the death of Ludwig, the county passed on to his son-in-law Count Ludwig of Löwenstein, the town Wertheim developed into the center of the County of Wertheim. The county was governed by the House of Löwenstein-Wertheim, the area left of the Main river was given to the Grand Duchy of Baden, while the territories right of the Main were given to the Kingdom of Bavaria. Established in 1406, the cemetery of the former Jewish community is one of the oldest in Germany, in use up until the 20th century, it is the oldest existing Jewish cemetery in Baden-Württemberg. For many years Wertheim was home to Peden Barracks, a US Army installation, the US Army left Peden Barracks in the early 1990s as part of the post Cold War reorganization of US armed forces in Germany. In 1938, Wertheim was merged with Tauberbischofsheim into the newly created district Landkreis Tauberbischofsheim, from 1972 onwards,15 communities were incorporated with Wertheim. These 15 communities are, Bettingen, Dertingen, Dietenhan, Dörlesberg, Grünenwört, Höhefeld, Kembach, Lindelbach, Mondfeld, Nassig, Reicholzheim, Sachsenhausen, Sonderriet, Urphar, as of 1 January 1973 the Landkreis Tauberbischofsheim was merged into the new Main-Tauber-Kreis. Due to the incorporation of surrounding communities, Wertheim reached the 20,000 population mark in 1975, Wertheim became a Große Kreisstadt on 1 January 1976
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Amtsgericht
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Amtsgericht is German for Local Court. These courts form the lowest level of the ordinary jurisdiction of the German judiciary. The German Amtsgericht may be compared with the courts in England. Court of first instance for cases where a fine or a prison term of no more than four years can be imposed. Administration of several public register such as the companies, the associations, the cooperatives, there are 640 Amtsgerichte in Germany, whose jurisdictional area typically comprises a small number of towns or municipalities. The next higher level of jurisdiction is called Landgericht
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Archbishopric
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The word diocese is derived from the Greek term διοίκησις meaning administration. When now used in a sense, it refers to a territorial unit of administration. This structure of governance is known as episcopal polity. The word diocesan means relating or pertaining to a diocese and it can also be used as a noun meaning the bishop who has the principal supervision of a diocese. An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese, an archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or have had importance due to size or historical significance. The archbishop may have authority over any other suffragan bishops. In the Latter Day Saint movement, the bishopric is used to describe the bishop himself. Especially in the Middle Ages, some bishops held political as well as religious authority within their dioceses, in the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated in a larger unit, the diocese. With the adoption of Christianity as the Empires official religion in the 4th century, a formal church hierarchy was set up, parallel to the civil administration, whose areas of responsibility often coincided. With the collapse of the Western Empire in the 5th century, a similar, though less pronounced, development occurred in the East, where the Roman administrative apparatus was largely retained by the Byzantine Empire. In modern times, many dioceses, though later subdivided, have preserved the boundaries of a long-vanished Roman administrative division, modern usage of diocese tends to refer to the sphere of a bishops jurisdiction. As of January 2015, in the Catholic Church there are 2,851 regular dioceses,1 papal see,641 archdioceses and 2,209 dioceses in the world, in the Eastern rites in communion with the Pope, the equivalent unit is called an eparchy. Eastern Orthodoxy calls dioceses metropoleis in the Greek tradition or eparchies in the Slavic tradition, after the Reformation, the Church of England retained the existing diocesan structure which remains throughout the Anglican Communion. The one change is that the areas administered under the Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop of York are properly referred to as provinces and this usage is relatively common in the Anglican Communion. Certain Lutheran denominations such as the Church of Sweden do have individual dioceses similar to Roman Catholics and these dioceses and archdioceses are under the government of a bishop. Other Lutheran bodies and synods that have dioceses and bishops include the Church of Denmark, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the Evangelical Church in Germany, rather, it is divided into a middle judicatory. The Lutheran Church-International, based in Springfield, Illinois, presently uses a traditional diocesan structure and its current president is Archbishop Robert W. Hotes. The Church of God in Christ has dioceses throughout the United States, in the COGIC, each state is divided up into at least three dioceses that are all led by a bishop, but some states as many as seven dioceses
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Freiburg im Breisgau
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Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany with a population of about 220,000. In the south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain. The city is known for its medieval minster and Renaissance university, as well as for its standard of living. The city is situated in the heart of the major Baden wine-growing region, according to meteorological statistics, the city is the sunniest and warmest in Germany and held the all-time German temperature record of 40.2 °C from 2003 to 2015. Freiburg was founded by Konrad and Duke Berthold III of Zähringen in 1120 as a market town, hence its name. Frei means free, and Burg, like the modern English word borough, was used in those days for a city or town. The German word Burg also means a town, as in Hamburg. Thus, it is likely that the name of place means a fortified town of free citizens. This town was located at a junction of trade routes between the Mediterranean Sea and the North Sea regions, and the Rhine and Danube rivers. In 1200, Freiburgs population numbered approximately 6,000 people, at about that time, under the rule of Bertold V, the last duke of Zähringen, the city began construction of its Freiburg Münster cathedral on the site of an older parish church. Begun in the Romanesque style, it was continued and completed 1513 for the most part as a Gothic edifice, in 1218, when Bertold V died, then Egino V von Urach, the count of Urach assumed the title of Freiburgs count as Egino I von Freiburg. The city council did not trust the new nobles and wrote down its established rights in a document, at the end of the thirteenth century there was a feud between the citizens of Freiburg and their lord, Count Egino II of Freiburg. Egino II raised taxes and sought to limit the freedom, after which the Freiburgers used catapults to destroy the counts castle atop the Schloßberg. The furious count called on his brother-in-law the Bishop of Strasbourg, Konradius von Lichtenberg, the bishop responded by marching with his army to Freiburg. According to an old Freiburg legend, a butcher named Hauri stabbed the Bishop of Strasbourg to death on 29 July 1299. It was a Pyrrhic victory, since henceforth the citizens of Freiburg had to pay an annual expiation of 300 marks in silver to the count of Freiburg until 1368, in 1366 the counts of Freiburg made another failed attempt to occupy the city during a night raid. Eventually the citizens were fed up with their lords, and in 1368 Freiburg purchased its independence from them, the city turned itself over to the protection of the Habsburgs, who allowed the city to retain a large measure of freedom. Most of the nobles of the city died in the battle of Sempach, the patrician family Schnewlin took control of the city until the guildsmen revolted
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