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.
Denmark
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The term Danish Realm refers to the relationship between Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland—three countries constituting the Kingdom of Denmark. The legal nature of the Kingdom of Denmark is fundamentally one of a sovereign state. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been part of the Crown of Denmark since 1397 when the Kalmar Union was ratified, legal matters in The Danish Realm are subject to the Danish Constitution. Beginning in 1953, state law issues within The Danish Realm has been governed by The Unity of the Realm, a less formal name for The Unity of the Realm is the Commonwealth of the Realm. In 1978, The Unity of The Realm was for the first time referred to as rigsfællesskabet. The name caught on and since the 1990s, both The Unity of The Realm and The Danish Realm itself has increasingly been referred to as simply rigsfællesskabet in daily parlance. The Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Danish Realm are the responsibility of the Danish government, the Faroes received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in 1979. In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received self rule, the Danish Realms unique state of internal affairs is acted out in the principle of The Unity of the Realm. This principle is derived from Article 1 of the Danish Constitution which specifies that constitutional law applies equally to all areas of the Danish Realm, the Constitutional Act specifies that sovereignty is to continue to be exclusively with the authorities of the Realm. The language of Denmark is Danish, and the Danish state authorities are based in Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmarks parliament, with its 179 members, is located in the capital, Copenhagen. Two of the members are elected in each of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Government ministries are located in Copenhagen, as is the highest court, in principle, the Danish Realm constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese, the Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have the economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides a grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands sets out the terms of Faroese home rule, the Act states. the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark. It establishes the government of the Faroe Islands and the Faroese parliament. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as a Danish county, the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand and these powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an equal partner with the Danish government
3.
Copenhagen
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Copenhagen, Danish, København, Latin, Hafnia) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. Copenhagen has an population of 1,280,371. The Copenhagen metropolitan area has just over 2 million inhabitants, the city is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand, another small portion of the city is located on Amager, and is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road, originally a Viking fishing village founded in the 10th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th century. Beginning in the 17th century it consolidated its position as a centre of power with its institutions, defences. After suffering from the effects of plague and fire in the 18th century and this included construction of the prestigious district of Frederiksstaden and founding of such cultural institutions as the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Later, following the Second World War, the Finger Plan fostered the development of housing, since the turn of the 21st century, Copenhagen has seen strong urban and cultural development, facilitated by investment in its institutions and infrastructure. The city is the cultural, economic and governmental centre of Denmark, Copenhagens economy has seen rapid developments in the service sector, especially through initiatives in information technology, pharmaceuticals and clean technology. Since the completion of the Øresund Bridge, Copenhagen has become integrated with the Swedish province of Scania and its largest city, Malmö. With a number of connecting the various districts, the cityscape is characterized by parks, promenades. Copenhagen is home to the University of Copenhagen, the Technical University of Denmark, the University of Copenhagen, founded in 1479, is the oldest university in Denmark. Copenhagen is home to the FC København and Brøndby football clubs, the annual Copenhagen Marathon was established in 1980. Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, the Copenhagen Metro serves central Copenhagen while the Copenhagen S-train network connects central Copenhagen to its outlying boroughs. Serving roughly 2 million passengers a month, Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, is the largest airport in the Nordic countries, the name of the city reflects its origin as a harbour and a place of commerce. The original designation, from which the contemporary Danish name derives, was Køpmannæhafn, meaning merchants harbour, the literal English translation would be Chapmans haven. The English name for the city was adapted from its Low German name, the abbreviations Kbh. or Kbhvn are often used in Danish for København, and kbh. for københavnsk. The chemical element hafnium is named for Copenhagen, where it was discovered, the bacterium Hafnia is also named after Copenhagen, Vagn Møller of the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen named it in 1954. Excavations in Pilestræde have also led to the discovery of a well from the late 12th century, the remains of an ancient church, with graves dating to the 11th century, have been unearthed near where Strøget meets Rådhuspladsen
4.
Copenhagen City Hall
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Copenhagen City Hall is the headquarters of the municipal council as well as the Lord mayor of the Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. The building is situated on The City Hall Square in central Copenhagen, the current building was inaugurated in 1905. It was designed by the architect Martin Nyrop in the National Romantic style and it is dominated by its richly ornamented front, the gilded statue of Absalon just above the balcony and the tall, slim clock tower. The latter is at 105.6 metres one of the tallest buildings in the low city of Copenhagen. In addition to the clock, the City Hall also houses Jens Olsens World Clock. The current city hall was designed by architect Martin Nyrop and the design for the building was inspired by the city hall of Siena, construction began in 1892 and the hall was opened on September 12,1905. Before the city moved to its present location, it was situated at Gammeltorv/Nytorv. The first city hall was in use from about 1479 until it burned down in the great Copenhagen fire of 1728, the second city hall was built in 1728 and was designed by J. C. Ernst and J. C. Krieger. It burned down in the Copenhagen fire of 1795 and it was not until 1815 that a new city hall, designed by C. F. Hansen, was erected on Nytorv. It was intended to both the city hall and a court. Today it is still in use as the city court of Copenhagen, in 2007, the National Bank of Denmark issued a 20 DKK commemorative coin of the tower
5.
Indre By
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Indre By, also known as Copenhagen Center or K or Downtown Copenhagen, is an administrative district in central Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. It covers an area of 4.65 square kilometres, has a population of 26,223, and its boundaries pretty much reflect the entire city’s extent during the reign of King Christian IV. At the time it was a city and its borders were made of defensive walls with moats. To ensure water for the moats there was a series of dams, the gates were dismantled in 1856. The locations are now commemorated with milestones erected on the spot, additionally artificial lakes were constructed as part of Christian IVs large building project. These still exist to this day, and are simply referred to as the lakes. The area beyond the lakes, now heavily populated city districts, was used primarily for grazing. It was prohibited to build beyond these original city limits so that the cannons could have clear shot. The fortification system was sold to Copenhagen municipality in 1869 and largely dismantled the year after, evidence of the walls can be found in the street names outlining the central part of the city. From Kastellet at the northeast point of the district runs Øster Voldgade to the southwest, the street changes names near Nørreport Train Station and continues as Nørre Voldgade. Vester Voldgade starts at Ørsteds Park and runs southeast until it reaches the water of Copenhagen Harbour, the fortification system continues on the other side of the water in the Christianshavn city district. Copenhagen was founded around year 1000 by Sweyn I Forkbeard and his son Canute the Great and it was only a fishing village until the middle of the 12th century when Havn, as the town was then called, assumed increasing importance in the Danish kingdom. Around 1160 King Waldemar the Great gave control of Copenhagen to Absalon, whereas other cities in the Danish realm were under the governance of the king, Havn or Købmannehavn as it comes to be known, was given to the Bishop of Roskilde. Bishop Absalon built his fortified Castle at Havn in 1167 on an island outside the harbour itself. In the years that follow, the town grew tenfold in size, the excellent harbour encouraged Copenhagens growth until it became an important centre of commerce. Købmannehavns economy blossomed due to the income from an enormous herring fishery trade, in 1254, it received its charter as a city under Bishop Jakob Erlandsen. It was repeatedly attacked by Wend pirates and the Hanseatic League, time and again the town was besieged and laid waste by the Hanseatic League. In 1369 they tore down the castle, but a new castle—Copenhagen Castle was built in its place, at the same time the Danish king was also attempting to take Copenhagen back from the bishop. The crown succeeded in 1416, when King Erik of Pomerania took control of the town, thenceforth Copenhagen belonged to the Danish Crown
6.
Christianshavn
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Christianshavn is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of the city centre by the Inner Harbour. It was founded in the early 17th century by Christian IV as part of his extension of the fortifications of Copenhagen, originally, it was laid out as an independent privileged merchants town with inspiration from Dutch cities but it was soon incorporated into Copenhagen proper. Dominated by canals, it is the part of Copenhagen with the most nautical atmosphere, businessmen, students, artists, hippies and traditional families with children live side-by-side. Administratively, Christianshavn has been part of Indre By since 2007, Christianshavn covers an area of 3.43 km², and includes three minor islands to the north, jointly referred to as Holmen. It has a population of 10,140 and a density of 2,960 per km². To the south and east Christianshavn is defined by its old ramparts, to the west Christianshavn borders on the Inner Harbour that separates it from Slotsholmen and the rest of Copenhagens city centre. In 1612, Christian IV initiated a programme to fortify Copenhagen. During the period 1618-1623, he erected earthen embarkments with five bastions in the area between Copenhagen and the island of Amager. At the same time the idea was hatched of creating a new merchant town in the area, in 1639 the little merchant and fortress town of Christianshavn was established. However, competition from Copenhagen soon proved too strong for the little town, the fortifications were further developed with six more bastions in the 1660s, and seven more bastions between 1682-1692. Additional reinforcements occurred between 1779–1791, and again in 1810-1813, even though the fortifications around the Inner City were being dismantled in the late 19th century, Christianshavns fortifications continued in use into the 20th century. Some areas were opened up in the late 1910s-1920s, and the areas were made public space in 1961. The fortifications are a part of the fortification system around the old part of Copenhagen. Today the area around the fortifications is a park area, Christianshavn is a lively, primarily residential area. Where the canal and the street intersects, at the centre of Christianshavn. Along the eastern shoreline of the island runs Christianshavns Vold which now serves as the principal greenspace of the neighbourhood, on the other—Rampar Sidet—side of the canal, the area is dominated by historic residential buildings and institutions. Cultural institutions include Danish Architecture Centre and the North Atlantic House and it is in this area that the Church of Our Saviour and Christiania are found
7.
Bispebjerg
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Bispebjerg, more commonly referred to as Nordvest, is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Located on the border of the municipality, it covers an area of 5.39 km². More specifically, Bispebjerg refers to a neighbourhood within the district. Bispebjerg covers an area of 5.39 km² and has a population of 40,033, the name Bispebjerg is known from 1681 as Biszebierg. A windmill was built in the area in 1808, Bispebjerg was together with the rest of Brønshøj merged with Copenhagen in 1901. Bispebjerg Cemetery opened in 1903 and Bispebjerg Hospital was built between 1908 and 1913, the district was generally built over with a combination of residential neighbourhoods and industry in the 1920s and 1930s. Bispebjerg station Bispebjerg Hospital City of Copenhagen’s statistical office Map of so-called ghetto areas in central Copenhagen
8.
Kongens Enghave
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Kongens Enghave, also known as Sydhavnen, is a district in southern Copenhagen. Since the turn of the millennium, this picture is starting to change, a significant cluster of IT and telecommunications companies have also emerged in the area. Kongens Enghave covers an area of 4.46 km², has a population of 15,414 and it used to be one of 15 administrative districts of Copenhagen, but since an administrative reform in 2006-08, it has been part of the official district of Vesterbro/Kongens Enghave. Kongens Enghave is bounded by the Carlsberg area to the north, Vesterbro to the north-east and Valby to the west, while Copenhagen Harbour to the east, Kongens Enghave is first mentioned in 1632. The area was used for harvesting of hay for the stables at Copenhagen Castle. In 1776, a plague hospital was built on Kalvebod Beach. The name Frederiksholm is first seen in 1667–68 when large areas on the coast were reclaimed and drained, the land was divided into 22 estates at the same event. Frederiksholm, the only of houses that still exist today, was built by king Frederick VI. The estate covered about 50 hectares, about half of which was gardens, in 1834, it kept about 40 cows and 10 horses. From the 1870s, it served as residence for the manager of Frederiksholm Brickyard, copenhagens city walls were decommissioned in 1857, leading to new development in the area. Vestre Cemetery was established in 1870, in 1871, two brothers, Køhler, purchased the Frederiksholm estate and established a brickyard in the grounds. The storm surge in November 1872 led to widespread floodings in the area, the brick yard produced many of the bricks used in the construction of Vesterbro prior to its closure in 1918. Karens Minde, an institution, was opened by Johan Keller in 1876. In the beginning of the 20th century, Port of Copenhagen was expanded with extensive docklands with many enterprises in the area. Otto Mønsted opened a factory in 1911. It was joined by Lemvig Møller & Munch amd Sømderværftet, a subsidiary of Københavns Flydeværft & Skibsdok, burmeister & Wain established in the a foundry in the area in 1920 and took over Sønderværftet in 1926. In 1924 Ford Motor Company moved its assembly plant from Nørrebro to the Southern Docklands, the factory was designed by Albert Kahn and opened on 15 November 1924. The Kongens Enghave district developed around the industry of the Southern Docklands
9.
Valby
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Valby is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is in the corner of Copenhagen Municipality, and has a mixture of different types of housing. Valby Hill marks the boundary between Valby and the — more central and more urban — neighbouring Vesterbro district, the expression west of Valby Hill is in Danish often used as a metonym for the provinces or outside Copenhagen. With the progressing redevelopment of the Carlsberg area into a new lively, high-density neighbourhood, other former industrial sites are also under redevelopment and Valby is today one of the districts in Copenhagen with the fastest growing population. Valby covers an area of 9.23 km² and has a population of 46,161, the most distinctive geographical features of the district are Valby Hill in its north-eastern corner and Harrestrup Å which marks its western boundary. Valby also borders on Damhus Lake in its extreme north-western corner, the Danshøj tumulus, along with many other archeological finds in the area, provides evidence that the Valby area has been inhabited since ancient times. Modern Valby has developed around the two villages of Valby and Vigerslev, the first recorded mention of the name Valby is from 1186, as Walbu, but the history of both settlements probably goes back considerably longer. Valby means village/house on the plain, in the early Middle Ages both villages came under Utterslev, a Crown estate which included most of the area around Havn, the small market town which later became Copenhagen. In 1682, Valby had 13 farms and 25 houses with no more land than a modest garden, at the time, the Valby community did not have its own church but instead, since 1628, belonged to Hvidovre Parish. In 1675, Hvidovre Church was extended with a Valby nave, in the 17th century, the road to Roskilde was taken through Valby and an inn opened. The first holder of the license was Hans Pedersen Bladt, a merchant who was elected mayor of Copenhagen in 1675. Valby also profited from the proximity of Frederiksberg Palace which was constructed from 1699 to 1703 atop Valby Hill as a new residence for King Frederick IV. The royal presence in the area brought along more activity in the village and it is said that Queen Marie Sophie, consort of King Frederick VI, often rode through Valby, handing out candy to the children. In 1721, the granted the community new trading privileges and a Rytterskole. Valby became particularly associated with raising poultry which the Valby women sold beside the Caritas Well on Gammeltorv in Copenhagen, the trade took place on Wednesdays and Saturdays, which were market days, until 1857. Instead Valby began to develop into an area where members of the bourgeoisie took up summer residency, one of the first to arrive in Valby proper was the actor James Price who spent his first summer there in 1795, shortly after his arrival in Denmark. He was followed by members of the bourgeoisie. When the first railway out of Copenhagen opened in 1847, a 30 km rail line to Roskilde, it had an intermediate station slightly east of where Valby station lies today
10.
City council
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A city council, town council, town board, or board of aldermen is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area. Because of the differences in legislation between the states, the definition of a City Council varies. However, it is only those local government areas which have been specifically granted city status that are entitled to refer to themselves as cities. The official title is Corporation of the City of ------ or similar, some of the larger urban areas of Australia are governed mostly by a single entity, while others may be controlled by a multitude of much smaller city councils. Also some significant urban areas can be under the jurisdiction of rural local governments. Periodic re-alignments of boundaries attempt to rationalize these situations and adjust the deployment of assets, the 2001 Local Government Act restyled the five county boroughs of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Waterford, and Limerick as city councils, with the same status in law as county councils. For many decades until the government reforms of 1989, a borough with more than 20,000 people could be proclaimed a city. The boundaries of councils tended to follow the edge of the built-up area, as a result, the term city began to take on two meanings. The word city came to be used in a formal sense to describe major urban areas independent of local body boundaries. This informal usage is jealously guarded, gisborne, for example, adamantly described itself as the first city in the world to see the new millennium. Gisborne is administered by a council, but its status as a city is not generally disputed. Under the current law the minimum population for a new city is 50,000, in the Republic of China, a city council represents a provincial city. Members of the councils are elected through local elections for provincial cities which are held every 4–5 years, Councils for the provincial cities in Taiwan are Chiayi City Council, Hsinchu City Council and Keelung City Council. In the UK, a city council is, In England, a parish council that has been granted city status. The council of a London borough that has been granted city status, in Wales, The council of a principal area that has been granted city status. A community council that has been granted city status, in Scotland, The council of one of four council areas designated a City by the Local Government etc. City councils and town boards generally consist of elected aldermen or councillors. In the United States, members of city councils are typically called council member or council man/woman, while in Canada they are typically called councillor
11.
Frank Jensen
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Frank Jensen is a Danish politician, member of the Danish Social Democrats, and has been Lord Mayor of Copenhagen since 1 January 2010. When Mogens Lykketoft resigned as leader of the Social Democrats after losing the 2005 Danish parliamentary election, Frank Jensen, the party members voted on 12 April 2005, electing Helle Thorning-Schmidt as leader with 24,261 votes against 21,348 votes for Frank Jensen. Frank Jensen is an educated economist and holds a degree in economics from Aalborg University which he received in 1986. In May 2015, he banned all 45,000 city employees from flying with budget airline Ryanair for official business
12.
Social Democrats (Denmark)
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The Social Democrats is a social-democratic political party in Denmark. It was the coalition partner in government from the 2011 parliamentary election. After the 2015 parliamentary election, the party is no longer in government, though it is still the largest party in the Danish parliament, founded by Louis Pio in 1871, the party first entered the Folketing in 1884. By the early 20th century it had become the party with the largest representation in the Folketing and it first formed a government in 1924 under Thorvald Stauning, the longest-serving Danish Prime Minister of the 20th century. During Staunings government, the Social Democrats exerted an influence on Danish society. From 2002 to 2016 the party used the name Socialdemokraterne in some contexts, a member of the Party of European Socialists, the Social Democrats have three MEPs in the European Parliament. Since its foundation the lemma of the party has been Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood, the leader of the party is Mette Frederiksen. She succeeded Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who stepped down after the left blocs defeat in the 2015 General Election, deputy leaders are Frank Jensen, Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, and Mogens Jensen. The secretary general is Henrik Dam Kristensen, the party secretary is Lars Midtiby, in the Cabinet of Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the party had ten ministers including the Prime Minister. The party was founded in 1871 by Louis Pio, Harald Brix og Paul Geleff, the goal was to organize the emerging working class on a democratic and socialist basis. The industrialization of Denmark had begun in the mid 19th century, the social democratic movement emerged from the desire to give this group political rights and representation in parliament. In 1876 the Party held a conference, adopting the first party manifesto. In the 1924 parliamentary elections the Social democratic party won the majority with 36.6 percent of the vote, the same year he appointed the worlds first female minister Nina Bang, nine years after womens suffrage had been given in Denmark. Stauning stayed in power until his death in 1942, his party laying the foundations for the Danish welfare state, in January 1933 Staunings government entered into what was then the most extensive settlement yet in Danish politics — the Kanslergade settlement — with the liberal party Venstre. In 1935, Stauning was reelected with the famous slogan Stauning or Chaos, through the 1940s and until 1972 Denmark was governed by the following Social Democratic prime ministers. 1939 –1955, Hans Hedtoft 1955 –1960, H. C, the Cabinets of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen maintained a parliamentary majority during the period from 1993 to 2001 by virtue of their support from the Socialist Peoples Party and the Red-Green Alliance. Towards the end of the 1990s, a surplus of 30 billion kroner turned into a deficit. To combat this, the government increased taxes, limiting private consumption, after being defeated by the Liberal Party in the 2001 election, the party chairmanship went to former finance and foreign minister Mogens Lykketoft
13.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
14.
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
15.
Danish language
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There are also minor Danish-speaking communities in Norway, Sweden, Spain, the United States, Canada, Brazil and Argentina. Due to immigration and language shift in urban areas, around 15–20% of the population of Greenland speak Danish as their home language. Along with the other North Germanic languages, Danish is a descendant of Old Norse, until the 16th century, Danish was a continuum of dialects spoken from Schleswig to Scania with no standard variety or spelling conventions. With the Protestant Reformation and the introduction of printing, a language was developed which was based on the educated Copenhagen dialect. It spread through use in the system and administration though German. Today, traditional Danish dialects have all but disappeared, though there are variants of the standard language. The main differences in language are between generations, with youth language being particularly innovative, Danish has a very large vowel inventory comprising 27 phonemically distinctive vowels, and its prosody is characterized by the distinctive phenomenon stød, a kind of laryngeal phonation type. The grammar is moderately inflective with strong and weak conjugations and inflections, nouns and demonstrative pronouns distinguish common and neutral gender. As in English, Danish only has remnants of a case system, particularly in the pronouns. Its syntax is V2, with the verb always occupying the second slot in the sentence. Danish is a Germanic language of the North Germanic branch, other names for this group are the Nordic or Scandinavian languages. Along with Swedish, Danish descends from the Eastern dialects of the Old Norse language, Scandinavian languages are often considered a dialect continuum, where there are no sharp dividing lines between the different vernacular languages. Like Norwegian and Swedish, Danish was significantly influenced by Low German in the Middle Ages, Danish itself can be divided into three main dialect areas, West Danish, Insular Danish, and East Danish. Danish is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Swedish, both Swedes and Danes also understand Norwegian better than they understand each others languages. By the 8th century, the common Germanic language of Scandinavia, Proto-Norse, had some changes. This language was called the Danish tongue, or Norse language. Norse was written in the alphabet, first with the elder futhark. From the 7th century the common Norse language began to undergo changes that did not spread to all of Scandinavia, most of the changes separating East Norse from West Norse started as innovations in Denmark, that spread through Scania into Sweden and by maritime contact to southern Norway
16.
Capital Region of Denmark
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At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the number of municipalities from 271 before 1 January 2006, when Ærø Municipality was created, to 98. The reform was implemented on January 1,2007, the main task for the Danish regions are hospitals and healthcare. So its not to be confused with Copenhagen Metropolitan Area nor with the Øresund Region, the Capital Region of Denmark consists of the municipalities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg, the former counties of Copenhagen and Frederiksborg, and the regional municipality of Bornholm. In Danish the name is Region Hovedstaden, which is one of five regions in Denmark, before 2007, a Danish Capital Region, did exist, but it did not cover exactly the same area and did not have the same legal function. The primary function of Capital Region of Denmark, as all the regions of Denmark, is to own. Note that the region is not a district in the US or Australian meaning of the term. The region does not include the Ertholmene archipelago which are situated to the northeast of Bornholm, the following hospitals sort under Capital Region of Denmark. Hans Hospital in Roskilde There are 29 municipalities in the Capital Region of Denmark, Regions of Denmark North Zealand Media related to Region Hovedstaden at Wikimedia Commons
17.
Frederiksberg Municipality
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Frederiksberg Kommune is a municipality on the island of Zealand in Denmark. Part of Copenhagen, it is surrounded by Copenhagen Municipality and its mayor is Jørgen Glenthøj from the Conservative Peoples Party. The city of Frederiksberg is the town in the municipality. Frederiksberg is located as an enclave within the municipality of Copenhagen, the municipality was originally situated west of Copenhagen, but after a number of smaller municipalities were merged with Copenhagen in 1901, it became completely surrounded by Copenhagen. Frederiksberg was one of the three last Danish municipalities not belonging to a County—the others being Copenhagen and Bornholm, on 1 January 2007, the municipality lost its county privileges and became part of Region Hovedstaden. Frederiksberg municipality was not merged with other municipalities as the result of nationwide Kommunalreformen
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City centre
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A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart of a city. The term city centre is not usually used in American English, rather, in North America, the city centre is the area of a city where commerce, entertainment, shopping and political power are concentrated. The term is used in many English-speaking countries and has direct equivalents in many other languages. However, noticeably, in the United States, the downtown is commonly used to denote a city centre. In Australia, the term Central Business District is widely used to refer to the city centre, in many cities, the Central Business District is within the city centre, but the concept city centre differs from the CBD. The concept of the CBD revolves solely around economic and financial power, a clear example is Paris, La Défense is the central business district of Paris, but it is not the city centre. In most larger and/or older cities, the CBD and the city centre will only partially overlap, a city centre is often the first settled part of a city, which can make it the most historical part of a city. However, in some Australian cities, the city centre and the CBD are geographically separately identified, in Sydney and Brisbane, for example, the term CBD is the preferred term for the city centre. In Adelaide, by contrast, the city centre is preferred. The term CBD is not often used in Canberra, its city centre is usually identified as the district called City or Civic, in Dutch, the terms binnenstad, centrum, stadscentrum or stadskern are used to describe the city centre. Amsterdam is an example of the city centre and the central business district not being the same area. The city centre of Amsterdam is Centrum, the heart of the city. Because of the bombardment of Rotterdam during World War II, with the loss of its core, the city centre. In Chinese, the centre of a city is called the city centre or urban core. In many cities, it is the city centre and the cultural and commercial centre. Historically, the CBD often occupied one portion of the city centre, in recent years, larger cities have often developed CBDs or financial districts that occupy a part of the city centre or are outside the historical city centre completely
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Municipalities of Denmark
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Denmark is divided into five regions, which contain 98 municipalities. This structure was established per an administrative reform, effective Monday 1 January 2007 which replaced the counties with five regions, the 270 municipalities were consolidated into 98 larger units, most of which have at least 20,000 inhabitants. The reason was to give the new municipalities greater financial and professional sustainability, many of the responsibilities of the former counties were taken over by the enlarged municipalities. Presented in a report put forward as a proposal by the government in April 2004, the report on the structural reform of the public sector was first presented 9 January 2004 by the commission which was set up by the government 1 October 2002. The archipelago of Ertholmene is not part of any municipality, but is administered by the Ministry of Defence, the existing coat of arms of the municipalities. The average land area of a Danish municipality is 432.59 km2,167.08 square miles, the Constitution of Denmark states, Article 82. The right of municipalities to manage their own affairs independently, under State supervision,2,522 municipal councillors were elected on Tuesday 15 November 2005 being the first councils elected since the new reform. The number of councillors was reduced to 2,468 in the 2009 elections, in 1997 there were 4,685 municipal and 374 county councillors in the then 275 municipalities and 14 counties. As an example of the reduction in the number of councillors, Bornholm then had a total of 122 councillors in five municipalities, after the merger on 1 January 2003, of the five municipalities and the county, there was one single municipal council with 27 municipal councillors. These guidelines replaced the old guidelines with the elections in 2005 after the laws initiating the structural reform were passed in parliament. Council elections are held on the third Tuesday of November every four years, the previous were held on 19 November 2013 and the next are due to be held on 21 November 2017. 32 municipalities including those of the recently formed Ærø Municipality and Bornholm Regional Municipality remained unchanged and were not merged with other municipalities, copenhagen County was not included in the municipal reform of 1 April 1970. This is probably because the municipality was extremely populous. Thus the number of municipalities was 277 from 1 April 1970 to 1 April 1974, still, the reform is called The municipal reform of 1970, because the decisive changes happened 1 April 1970, when 1098 municipalities were reduced to 277. Also on 1 April 1974, Avedøre, which was part of Glostrup Municipality, was conjoined with Hvidovre Municipality and this combination was logical, as Avedøre bordered Hvidovre, but was separated from Glostrup. This brought the number of municipalities down to 271 from 1 January 2003, the final agreement from 2005 included more parties. Until 1978 the fiscal year from 1 April to 31 March was in use in the sector since a law was passed in 1849. As a consequence of a law passed by the Folketing in 1976, many reforms and laws passed prior to 1979 therefore have effect from 1 April
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Zealand
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Zealand is the largest and most populated island in Denmark with a population of 2,267,659. It is the 96th-largest island in the world by area and the 35th most populous and it is connected to Funen by the Great Belt Fixed Link, to Lolland, Falster by the Storstrøm Bridge and the Farø Bridges. Zealand is also linked to Amager by five bridges, Zealand is linked indirectly, through intervening islands by a series of bridges and tunnels, to southern Sweden. Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is located partly on the shore of Zealand. Other cities on Zealand include Roskilde, Hillerød, Næstved and Helsingør, the island is not connected historically to the Pacific nation of New Zealand, which is named after the Dutch province of Zeeland. In Norse mythology as told in the story of Gylfaginning, the island was created by the goddess Gefjun after she tricked Gylfi and she removed a piece of land and transported it to Denmark, which became Zealand. The vacant area was filled with water and became Mälaren, however, since modern maps show a similarity between Zealand and the Swedish lake Vänern, it is sometimes identified as the hole left by Gefjun. Zealand is the most populous Danish island and it is irregularly shaped, and is north of the islands of Lolland, Falster, and Møn. The small island of Amager lies immediately east, Copenhagen is mostly on Zealand but extends across northern Amager. A number of bridges and the Copenhagen Metro connect Zealand to Amager, Zealand is joined in the west to Funen, by the Great Belt Fixed Link, and Funen is connected by bridges to the countrys mainland, Jutland. Gyldenløveshøj, south of the city Roskilde, has a height of 126 metres, Zealand gives its name to the Selandian era of the Paleocene. Urban areas with 10, 000+ inhabitants, North Zealand Media related to Zealand at Wikimedia Commons Zealand travel guide from Wikivoyage
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Amager
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Amager is a Danish island in the Øresund. The Danish capital, Copenhagen, is situated on Amager. Amager also has a connection across the Øresund to Sweden, the Øresund Bridge and its western part begins with a tunnel from Amager to another Danish island, Peberholm. Copenhagen Airport is located on the island, around 7 km from Copenhagen city centre, Amager is the largest island in the Øresund, and the only one with a large population. As of 2016,192,709 people live on the island, including its northern tip, the northern part is included in the Copenhagen municipality. The middle part comprises Tårnby municipality, and Dragør municipality is located on the southeast part of the island, most of the western part is land that was reclaimed from the sea from the 1930s-1950s. This enlargement, from the sound towards Zealand, is known as Kalveboderne. The enlargement has never been built-up and its soil isnt suitable for agricultural use, however the area between Dragør town and the airport is cultivated land of high quality. Amager has in the past been referred to as the kitchen of Copenhagen, at the border of the enlargement there is an old beech forest, Kongelunden. Amager has long been populated, and well used, thanks to its rich soil, in 1521, Christian II invited some Dutch farmers to move to Amager and grow vegetables to supply the Danish Court and Copenhagen. It was only in the late 19th century that Copenhagen began to expand onto the island, the area houses such major facilities as the Bella Center, a convention and exposition center, and Fields, the second-largest shopping center in Scandinavia. This project was initiated by the Danish government, the beach area to the east of the island, known as Amager Strandpark, which had fallen into disrepair since its inception in the 1930s, was extensively redeveloped between May 2004 and August 2005. A 2-km-long artificial island, was constructed just off the mainland from which it is separated by a small lagoon, until the 1970s, Amager was used as a place to dump litter, this led to a slang term for the island Lorteøen. Large parts of Kalvebod Fælled are rich in nature and have many grazing cows and this area allows the citizens of Copenhagen to experience nature, without travelling far from the city. Amager is also home to the Amager Bio, a cinema, concert, top bands from the last 40 years have played there, both those of international origin and from Denmark. Various communities are located on Amager, including Islands Brygge, and the towns of Dragør, Kastrup, the Øresund Bridge connects Sweden to Denmark at Amager. The construction of the bridge has had a significant impact on the geography of the island. The Copenhagen Metro connects Amager to central Copenhagen, the metro line from Vanløse to Amager divides into M1 and M2 lines at Christianshavn and then continue to Vestamager and Lufthavnen
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Strait
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A strait is a naturally formed, narrow, typically navigable waterway that connects two larger bodies of water. Most commonly it is a channel of water that lies between two land masses, some straits are not navigable, for example because they are too shallow, or because of an unnavigable reef or archipelago. The terms channel, pass or passage, can be synonymous and used interchangeably with strait, in Scotland firth or kyle are also sometimes used as synonyms for strait. Straits can be important shipping routes, and wars have been fought for control of them, numerous artificial channels, called canals, have been constructed to connect two bodies of water over land, such as the Suez Canal. Although rivers and canals often provide passage between two large lakes or a lake and a sea, and these seem to suit the formal definition of strait, the term strait is typically reserved for much larger, wider features of the marine environment. There are exceptions, with straits being called canals, Pearse Canal, Straits are the converse of isthmuses. That is, while a strait lies between two masses and connects two larger bodies of water, an isthmus lies between two bodies of water and connects two larger land masses. Some straits have the potential to generate significant tidal power using tidal stream turbines, tides are more predictable than wave power or wind power. The Pentland Firth may be capable of generating 10 GW, cook Strait in New Zealand may be capable of generating 5. There may be no suspension of innocent passage through such straits, list of straits Media related to Straits at Wikimedia Commons
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Enclave and exclave
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An enclave is a territory, or a part of a territory, that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state. Territorial waters have the same attributes as land, and enclaves may therefore exist within territorial waters. An exclave is a portion of a state or territory geographically separated from the part by surrounding alien territory. Enclave is sometimes used improperly to denote a territory that is partly surrounded by another state. Vatican City and San Marino, enclaved by Italy, and Lesotho, unlike an enclave, an exclave can be surrounded by several states. The Azeri exclave of Naxçıvan is an example of an exclave. Semi-enclaves and semi-exclaves are areas that, except for possessing an unsurrounded sea border, Enclaves and semi-enclaves can exist as independent states, while exclaves always constitute just a part of a sovereign state. A pene-enclave is a part of the territory of one country that can be approached conveniently — in particular by wheeled traffic — only through the territory of another country, pene-enclaves are also called functional enclaves or practical enclaves. Many pene-exclaves partially border their own territorial waters, a pene-enclave can also exist entirely on land, such as when intervening mountains render a territory inaccessible from other parts of a country except through alien territory. A commonly cited example is the Kleinwalsertal, a part of Vorarlberg, Austria. The word enclave is French and first appeared in the century as a derivative of the verb enclaver. In law, this created a servitude of passage for the benefit of the owner of the surrounded land, the first diplomatic document to contain the word enclave was the Treaty of Madrid, signed in 1526. Later, the term began to be used also to refer to parcels of countries, counties, fiefs, communes, towns, parishes. This French word eventually entered the English and other languages to denote the same concept although local terms have continued to be used, in India, the word pocket is often used as a synonym for enclave. In British administrative history, subnational enclaves were usually called detachments or detached parts, in English ecclesiastic history, subnational enclaves were known as peculiars. The word exclave, modeled on enclave, is a extension of the concept of enclave. Enclaves exist for a variety of historical, political and geographical reasons, in particular, this state of affairs persisted into the 19th century in the Holy Roman Empire, and these domains exhibited many of the characteristics of sovereign states. Prior to 1866 Prussia alone consisted of more than 270 discontiguous pieces of territory, thus, over time enclaves have tended to be eliminated. This exchange thus effectively de-enclaved another two dozen second-order enclaves and one third-order enclave, eliminating 197 of the Indo-Bangladesh enclaves in all, the residents in these enclaves had complained of being effectively stateless
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Administrative unit
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Administrative divisions are granted a certain degree of autonomy and are usually required to manage themselves through their own local governments. Countries are divided up into smaller units to make managing their land. For example, a country may be divided into provinces, which, in turn, are divided into counties, which, in turn, may be divided in whole or in part into municipalities, and so on. Administrative divisions are separate from dependent territories, with the former being an integral part of the state. However, the administrative division can include dependent territories as well as accepted administrative divisions. For clarity and convenience the standard reference for the largest administrative subdivision of a country is called the first-level administrative division or first administrative level. Next smaller is called second-level administrative division or second administrative level, there is no fixed rule, for all politics is local as is perhaps well demonstrated by their relative lack of systemic order. In the realm of self-government, any of these can and does occur along a stretch of road—which for the most part is passing through rural unsettled countryside. In British cultural legacy, most territorial entities begin with fairly expansive counties which encompass a large area. Within those entities are the large and small cities or towns, many sister cities share a water boundary which quite often serves as a border of both cities and counties. For example, Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts appear to the traveler as one large city, while locally they each are quite culturally different. Sovereign state, a national or supra-national division, country, a national or sub-national division. Administrative division codes of the Peoples Republic of China GADM, a database of country administrative areas. ISO 3166-2, specifically Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 2
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City of London
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The City of London is a city and county within London. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages, the City is now only a tiny part of the metropolis of London, though it remains a notable part of central London. Administratively, it one of the 33 local authority districts of Greater London, however, the City of London is not a London borough. The City of London is widely referred to simply as the City and is colloquially known as the Square Mile. Both of these terms are often used as metonyms for the United Kingdoms trading and financial services industries. The name London is now used for a far wider area than just the City. London most often denotes the sprawling London metropolis, or the 32 London boroughs and this wider usage of London is documented as far back as 1888, when the County of London was created. The local authority for the City, namely the City of London Corporation, is unique in the UK and has some unusual responsibilities for a local council and it is also unusual in having responsibilities and ownerships beyond its boundaries. The Corporation is headed by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, the current Lord Mayor, as of November 2016, is Andrew Parmley. The City is a business and financial centre. Throughout the 19th century, the City was the primary business centre. London came top in the Worldwide Centres of Commerce Index, published in 2008, the insurance industry is focused around the eastern side of the City, around Lloyds building. A secondary financial district exists outside of the City, at Canary Wharf,2.5 miles to the east, the City has a resident population of about 7,000 but over 300,000 people commute to and work there, mainly in the financial services sector. It used to be held that Londinium was first established by merchants as a trading port on the tidal Thames in around 47 AD. However, this date is only supposition, many historians now believe London was founded some time before the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD. They base this notion on evidence provided by both archaeology and Welsh literary legend, archaeologists have claimed that as much as half of the best British Iron Age art and metalwork discovered in Britain has been found in the London area. One of the most prominent examples is the famously horned Waterloo Helmet dredged from the Thames in the early 1860s and now exhibited at the British Museum. Also, according to an ancient Welsh legend, a king named Lud son of Heli substantially enlarged and improved a pre-existing settlement at London which afterwards came to be renamed after him, the same tradition relates how this Lud son of Heli was later buried at Ludgate
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City of Brussels
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The City of Brussels is the largest municipality of the Brussels-Capital Region, and the de jure capital of Belgium. The City of Brussels covers most of the Regions centre, as well as northern outskirts where it borders municipalities in Flanders and it is the administrative centre of the European Union. On 1 January 2016, the City of Brussels had a population of 178,552. The total area is 32.61 km2 which gives a density of 5,475 inhabitants per square kilometre. As of 2007, there were approximately 50,000 registered non-Belgians in the City of Brussels, at first, the City of Brussels was simply defined, being the area within the second walls of Brussels, the modern-day small ring. As the city grew, the villages grew as well, eventually growing into a contiguous city. The construction of Avenue Louise was commissioned in 1847 as an avenue bordered by chestnut trees that would allow easy access to the popular recreational area of the Bois de la Cambre. However, fierce resistance to the project was put up by the town of Ixelles through whose land the avenue was supposed to run. After years of negotiations, Brussels finally annexed the narrow band of land needed for the avenue plus the Bois de la Cambre itself in 1864. That decision accounts for the unusual southeastern protrusion of the City of Brussels, the Université Libre de Bruxelles Solbosch campus is also part of the City of Brussels, partially accounting for the bulge in the southeast end. Unlike most of the municipalities in Belgium, the ones located in the Brussels-Capital Region were not merged with others during mergers occurring in 1964,1970, however, a few neighbouring municipalities have been merged into the City of Brussels, including Haren, Laken and Neder-Over-Heembeek in 1921. These comprise the northern bulge in the municipality, to the south-east is also a strip of land along Avenue Louise that was annexed from the Ixelles municipality
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Middle Ages
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In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
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City walls
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A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements, beyond their defensive utility, many walls also had important symbolic functions – representing the status and independence of the communities they embraced. Existing ancient walls are almost always masonry structures, although brick, depending on the topography of the area surrounding the city or the settlement the wall is intended to protect, elements of the terrain may be incorporated in order to make the wall more effective. Walls may only be crossed by entering the city gate and are often supplemented with towers. Simpler defensive walls of earth or stone, thrown up around hillforts, ringworks, early castles, from very early history to modern times, walls have been a near necessity for every city. Uruk in ancient Sumer is one of the worlds oldest known walled cities, before that, the city of Jericho in what is now the West Bank had a wall surrounding it as early as the 8th millennium BC. The Assyrians deployed large labour forces to build new palaces, temples, some settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization were also fortified. By about 3500 B. C. hundreds of small farming villages dotted the Indus floodplain, many of these settlements had fortifications and planned streets. Mundigak in present-day south-east Afghanistan has defensive walls and square bastions of sun dried bricks, babylon was one of the most famous cities of the ancient world, especially as a result of the building program of Nebuchadnezzar, who expanded the walls and built the Ishtar Gate. Exceptions were few — notably, ancient Sparta and ancient Rome did not have walls for a long time, initially, these fortifications were simple constructions of wood and earth, which were later replaced by mixed constructions of stones piled on top of each other without mortar. In Central Europe, the Celts built large fortified settlements which the Romans called oppida, the fortifications were continuously expanded and improved. In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, in classical era Greece, the city of Athens built a long set of parallel stone walls called the Long Walls that reached their guarded seaport at Piraeus. Large tempered earth walls were built in ancient China since the Shang Dynasty, although stone walls were built in China during the Warring States, mass conversion to stone architecture did not begin in earnest until the Tang Dynasty. The large walls of Pingyao serve as one example, likewise, the famous walls of the Forbidden City in Beijing were established in the early 15th century by the Yongle Emperor. The Romans fortified their cities with massive, mortar-bound stone walls, the most famous of these are the largely extant Aurelian Walls of Rome and the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople, together with partial remains elsewhere. These are mostly city gates, like the Porta Nigra in Trier or Newport Arch in Lincoln, apart from these, the early Middle Ages also saw the creation of some towns built around castles. These cities were only protected by simple stone walls and more usually by a combination of both walls and ditches. From the 12th century AD hundreds of settlements of all sizes were founded all across Europe and these cities are easy to recognise due to their regular layout and large market spaces
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Rampart (fortification)
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In fortification architecture, a rampart is a length of bank or wall forming part of the defensive boundary of a castle, hillfort, settlement or other fortified site. It is usually broad-topped and made of excavated earth or masonry or a combination of the two, hillforts, ringforts or raths and ringworks all made use of ditch and rampart defences, and of course they are the characteristic feature of circular ramparts. The ramparts could be reinforced and raised in height by the use of palisades and this type of arrangement was a feature of the motte and bailey castle of northern Europe in the early medieval period. The composition and design of ramparts varied from the mounds of earth and stone, known as dump ramparts, to more complex earth and timber defences. One particular type, common in Central Europe, used earth, stone, vitrified ramparts were composed of stone that was subsequently fired, possibly to increase its strength. Well known examples of classical stone ramparts include Hadrians Wall and the Walls of Constantinople. After the fall of the Roman Empire in Europe, there was a return to the use of earthwork ramparts which lasted well into the 11th century. As castle technology evolved during the Middle Ages and Early Modern times, ramparts continued to part of the defences. Fieldworks, however, continued to use of earth ramparts due to their relatively temporary nature. Parapet, a low wall on top of the rampart to shelter the defenders, crenellation, rectangular gaps or indentations at intervals in the parapet, the gaps being called embrasures or crenels, and the intervening high parts being called merlons. Loophole or arrowslit, an opening in a parapet or in the main body of the rampart. Chemin de ronde or wallwalk, a pathway along the top of the rampart but behind the parapet, which served as a fighting platform and a means of communication with other parts of the fortification. Machicolation, an overhanging projection supported by corbels, the floor of which was pierced with openings so that missiles, brattice, a timber gallery built on top of the rampart and projecting forward from the parapet, to give the defenders a better field of fire. At the same time, the plan or trace of these began to be formed into angular projections called bastions which allowed the guns mounted on them to create zones of interlocking fire. Exterior slope, the front face of the rampart, often faced with stone or brick, interior slope, the back of the rampart on the inside of the fortification, sometimes retained with a masonry wall but usually a grassy slope. Parapet which protected and concealed the defending soldiers, banquette, a continuous step built onto the interior of the parapet, enabling the defenders to shoot over the top with small arms. Barbette, a platform for one or more guns enabling them to fire over the parapet. Embrasure, an opening in the parapet for guns to fire through, terreplein, the top surface or fighting platform of the rampart, behind the parapet
Denmark
