1.
Elba
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Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy,10 kilometres from the coastal town of Piombino, the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. Elba is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, and it is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about 50 kilometres east of the French island of Corsica. The island is part of the province of Livorno and is divided into eight municipalities, with a population of about 30,000 inhabitants. The municipalities are Portoferraio, which is also the principal town, along with Campo nellElba, Capoliveri, Marciana, Marciana Marina, Porto Azzurro, Rio Marina. Elba is the largest remaining stretch of land from the ancient tract that connected the Italian peninsula to Corsica. The island itself is made up of slices of rocks which formed part of the ancient Tethyan seafloor. These rocks have been through at least two orogenies, the Alpine orogeny and the Apennine orogeny, the second of these two events was associated with subduction of the Tethyan oceanic crust underneath Italy and the obduction of parts of the ancient seafloor onto the continents. Later extension within the inner part of the Apennine mountains caused adiabatic melting and the intrusion of the Mount Capanne. These igneous bodies brought with them skarn fluids which dissolved and replaced some of the carbonate units, one of the iron-rich minerals, ilvaite, was first identified on the island and takes its name from the Latin word for Elba. More recently, high-angle faults formed within the pile, allowing for the migration of iron-rich fluids through the crust. The deposits left behind by these formed the islands rich seams of iron ore. The terrain is varied, and is thus divided into several areas based on geomorphology. The mountainous and most recent part of the island can be found to the west, the mountain is home to many animal species including the mouflon and wild boar, two species that flourish despite the continuous influx of tourists. The central part of the island is a flat section with the width being reduced to just four kilometres. It is where the major centres can be found, Portoferraio, to the east is the oldest part of the island, formed over 3 million years ago. In the hilly area, dominated by Monte Calamita, are the deposits of iron that made Elba famous, rivers rarely exceed 3 kilometres in length, and it is common for the shorter ones to dry up during the summer. The climate of the island is predominantly Mediterranean, except for Mount Capanne, precipitation is concentrated in autumn and comprises a normal rainfall. The island lies in the shadow of the large and mountainous island of Corsica
2.
Czech language
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Czech, historically also Bohemian, is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group. It is spoken by over 10 million people and is the language of the Czech Republic. Czech is closely related to Slovak, to the point of being intelligible to a very high degree. In the later 18th to mid-19th century, the written standard was codified in the context of the Czech National Revival. The main vernacular, known as Common Czech, is based on the vernacular of Prague, the Moravian dialects spoken in the eastern part of the country are mostly also counted as Czech, although some of their eastern variants are closer to Slovak. The Czech phoneme inventory is moderate in size, comprising five vowels, words may contain uncommon consonant clusters, including one consonant represented by the grapheme ř, or lack vowels altogether. Czech orthography is simple, and has used as a model by phonologists. Czech is classified as a member of the West Slavic sub-branch of the Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family and this branch includes Polish, Kashubian, Upper and Lower Sorbian and Slovak. Slovak is by far the closest genetic neighbor of Czech, the West Slavic languages are spoken in an area classified as part of Central Europe. Around the 7th century, the Slavic expansion reached Central Europe, the West Slavic polity of Great Moravia formed by the 9th century. The Christianization of Bohemia took place during the 9th and 10th centuries, the Bohemian language is first recorded in writing in glosses and short notes during the 12th to 13th centuries. Literary works written in Czech appear in the early 14th century, the first complete Bible translation also dates to this period. Old Czech texts, including poetry and cookbooks, were produced outside the university as well, literary activity becomes widespread in the early 15th century in the context of the Bohemian Reformation. There was no standardization distinguishing between Czech and Slovak prior to the 15th century, the publication of the Kralice Bible between 1579 and 1593 became very important for standardization of the Czech language in the following centuries. In 1615, the Bohemian diet tried to declare Czech to be the official language of the kingdom. After the Bohemian Revolt which was defeated by the Habsburgs in 1620 and this emigration together with other consequences of the Thirty Years War had a negative impact on the further use of the Czech language. In 1627, Czech and German became official languages of the Kingdom of Bohemia and in the 18th century German became dominant in Bohemia and Moravia, the modern standard Czech language originates in standardization efforts of the 18th century. Changes include the shift of í to ej and é to í and the merging of í
3.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
4.
Low German
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Low German or Low Saxon is a West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is descended from Old Saxon in its earliest form, as an Ingvaeonic language, Low German is quite distinct from the Irminonic languages like Standard German. It is closely related to Anglo-Frisian group of languages and more distantly to Dutch and this difference resulted from the High German consonant shift, with the Uerdingen and Benrath lines being two notable linguistic borders. Dialects of Low German are widely spoken in the area of the Netherlands and are written there with an orthography based on Standard Dutch orthography. Small portions of northern Hesse and northern Thuringia are traditionally Low Saxon-speaking too, historically, Low German was also spoken in formerly German parts of Poland as well as in East Prussia and the Baltic States of Estonia and Latvia. Under the name Low Saxon, there are speakers in the Dutch north-eastern provinces of Groningen, Drenthe, Stellingwerf, Overijssel, German speakers in this area fled the Red Army or were forcibly expelled after the border changes at the end of World War II. Today, there are still speakers outside Germany and the Netherlands to be found in the areas of present-day Poland. In some of these countries, the language is part of the Mennonite religion, there are Mennonite communities in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Minnesota which use Low German in their religious services and communities. The type of Low German spoken in communities and in the Midwest region of the United States has diverged since emigration. The survival of the language is tenuous in many places and has died out in places where assimilation has occurred. Mennonite colonies in Paraguay, Belize, and Chihuahua, Mexico have made Low German a co-official language of the community, in Germany, native speakers of Low German call it Platt, Plattdüütsch or Nedderdüütsch. In the Netherlands, native speakers refer to their language as dialect, plat, nedersaksies, or the name of their village, officially, Low German is called Niederdeutsch by the German authorities and Nedersaksisch by the Dutch authorities. Plattdeutsch/Niederdeutsch and Platduits/Nedersaksisch are seen in texts from the German. In Danish it is called Plattysk, Nedertysk or, rarely, Mennonite Low German is called Plautdietsch. Etymologically Platt meant clear in the sense of a language the people could understand. In Dutch, the word Plat can also mean improper, or rude, the ISO 639-2 language code for Low German has been nds since May 2000. The question of whether Low German should be considered a separate language, linguistics offers no simple, generally accepted criterion to decide this question. Scholarly arguments have been put forward in favour of classifying Low German as a German dialect, as said, these arguments are not linguistic but rather socio-political and build mainly around the fact that Low German has no official standard form or use in sophisticated media
5.
Czech Republic
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The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres with mostly temperate continental climate and it is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the territories of Bohemia, Moravia. The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire, after the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1002, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years War. After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, reimposed Roman Catholicism, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections. Following the 1948 coup détat, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence, in 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed, on 6 March 1990, the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and it is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development, the Czech Republic also ranks as the 6th most peaceful country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, the traditional English name Bohemia derives from Latin Boiohaemum, which means home of the Boii. The current name comes from the endonym Čech, spelled Cžech until the reform in 1842. The name comes from the Slavic tribe and, according to legend, their leader Čech, the etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root *čel-, meaning member of the people, kinsman, thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk. The country has traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the southeast, and Czech Silesia in the northeast. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word geographical name in English, the name Czechia /ˈtʃɛkiə/ was recommended by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
6.
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
7.
Pardubice Region
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Pardubice Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located mainly in the eastern part of its historical region of Bohemia, with a small part in northwestern Moravia. It is named after its capital Pardubice, as an administrative unit, Pardubice Region has in the course of history existed three times. It was established for the first time in 1850, and extended from Český Brod to the Bohemian-Moravian border, in its second existence, it was one of 19 regions as they were set between 1949 and 1960. After 1960, Pardubice became the capital of Pardubice district, which part of the Eastern Bohemian Region. The Pardubice Region as it is now was reestablished in 2000, the Pardubice Region is divided into 4 districts, Chrudim District Pardubice District Svitavy District Ústí nad Orlicí District There are a total of 451 municipalities in the region. Among these are 15 municipalities with extended powers and 26 municipalities with a municipal office. Thirty-two of the municipalities are classified as towns, the regional central offices are in Pardubice. The total population of the Pardubice Region was 516,411 as of 31 December 2011, There are in total 453 municipalities in the Pardubice Region, whereof 17 municipalities have a higher population than 5,000. The largest municipality of the region is Pardubice with a population of almost 90,000, the table below shows the municipalities in Pardubice Region with a population larger than 10,000. Other significant towns in Pardubice Region are Holice, Králíky, Polička, Přelouč, Choceň, with a total size of 4,519 km², Padrubice is the fifth smallest region in the Czech Republic. Králický Sněžník is the highest point in the region, the lowest point is situated on the water surface of the Labe River near Kojice. The southern and southeastern parts of the region are home to the areas of Žďárské vrchy. The central and western parts of the region are formed by the Polabí lowlands, in the northeast, the region reaches the Orlické hory and Hrubý Jeseník Mountains. The European Watershed runs through the region, where it separates the basins of the North Sea, the tripoint of the Danube, Elbe and Oder watersheds is located at the peak of Králický Sněžník. The majority of the region belongs to the basin of the Elbe, consisting of the rivers Chrudimka, Divoká Orlice, Doubrava, Loučná, Tichá Orlice. The rivers in the basin of the Danube are the Morava, Moravská Sázava, Svitava. The Seč Dam and the Pastviny Dam are among the water bodies in the region. The most prevalent soil types in the region are podzol and cambisol, forests cover 29. 6% of the region and are predominantly coniferous
8.
Central Bohemian Region
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Central Bohemia is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative center is placed in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the center of the region, the city is not, however, a part of it and creates a region of its own. The Central Bohemian Region is situated in the center of Bohemia, in terms of area it is the largest region in the Czech Republic. It occupies 11,014 km² which is almost 14% of the area of the country. It surrounds the country’s capital Prague and it borders with Liberec Region, Hradec Králové Region, Pardubice Region, Vysočina Region, South Bohemian Region, Plzeň Region and Ústí nad Labem Region. In 2011, the region counted in total 1,145 municipalities where of 26 were municipalities with a municipal office. 1,044 municipalities had less than 2,000 inhabitants,82 municipalities had a status of town. With an area of 11,014 km², the Central Bohemian Region is the largest region of the Czech Republic, the region has relatively various natural conditions. The highest point of the region is located on Tok hill in Brdy Highlands in the part of the region. The lowest point of the region is situated on the surface of the Elbe River near Dolní Beřkovice. The region is divided into two landscape types, the north-eastern part is formed by Polabí lowlands with a high share of land being used for agricultural purposes and deciduous forests. The south-western part of the region is hilly with coniferous and mixed forests, important rivers in the region are Elbe, Vltava, Berounka, Jizera and Sázava. On Vltava river, a series of nine dams were constructed throughout the 20th century, the agricultural land accounts for 83. 5% of all land in the region, which 11p. p. The highest share of the land can be found in Polabí, especially in Kolín. There are a number of parks located in the region. Křivoklátsko is the largest and most important landscape park in the region, another remarkable area is the Bohemian Karst, the largest karst area in the Czech republic where the Koněprusy Caves are located. Finally, Kokořínsko Landscape park is for a part situated in the Central Bohemian Region. As of December 31,2012 the Central Bohemian Region had 1,291,816 inhabitants and was the most populous region in the country, about 53% of the inhabitants lived in towns or cities
9.
Saxony
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Its capital is Dresden, and its largest city is Leipzig. Saxony is the tenth largest of Germanys sixteen states, with an area of 18,413 square kilometres, located in the middle of a large, formerly all German-speaking part of Europe, the history of the state of Saxony spans more than a millennium. It has been a medieval duchy, an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, a kingdom, the area of the modern state of Saxony should not be confused with Old Saxony, the area inhabited by Saxons. Old Saxony corresponds approximately to the modern German states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony is divided into 10 districts,1. After a reform in 2008, these regions - with some alterations of their respective areas - were called Direktionsbezirke, in 2012, the authorities of these regions were merged into one central authority, the Landesdirektion Sachsen. The Erzgebirgskreis district includes the Ore Mountains, and the Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district includes Saxon Switzerland, the largest cities in Saxony according to the 31 December 2015 estimate. To this can be added that Leipzig forms a metropolitan region with Halle. The latter city is located just across the border to Saxony-Anhalt, Leipzig shares for instance an S-train system and an airport with Halle. Saxony has, after Saxony Anhalt, the most vibrant economy of the states of the former East Germany and its economy grew by 1. 9% in 2010. Nonetheless, unemployment remains above the German average, the eastern part of Germany, excluding Berlin, qualifies as an Objective 1 development-region within the European Union, and is eligible to receive investment subsidies of up to 30% until 2013. FutureSAX, a business competition and entrepreneurial support organisation, has been in operation since 2002. Microchip makers near Dresden have given the region the nickname Silicon Saxony, the publishing and porcelain industries of the region are well known, although their contributions to the regional economy are no longer significant. Today the automobile industry, machinery production and services contribute to the development of the region. Saxony is also one of the most renowned tourist destinations in Germany - especially the cities of Leipzig and Dresden, new tourist destinations are developing, notably in the lake district of Lausitz. Saxony reported an unemployment of 8. 8% in 2014. By comparison the average in the former GDR was 9. 8% and 6. 7% for Germany overall, the unemployment rate reached 8. 2% in May 2015. The Leipzig area, which recently was among the regions with the highest unemployment rate, could benefit greatly from investments by Porsche. With the VW Phaeton factory in Dresden, and many part suppliers, zwickau is another major Volkswagen location
10.
Saxony-Anhalt
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Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked federal state of Germany surrounded by the federal states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia. Its capital is Magdeburg and its largest city is Halle, Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of 20,447.7 square kilometres and has a population of 2.34 million. Saxony-Anhalt should not be confused with Saxony or Lower Saxony, also German states, Saxony-Anhalt is one of 16 Bundesländer of Germany. It is located in the part of eastern Germany. By size, it is the 8th largest state in Germany and it borders four fellow Bundesländer, Lower Saxony to the north-west, Brandenburg to the north-east, Saxony to the south-east, and Thuringia to the south-west. In the north, the Saxony-Anhalt landscape is dominated by plain, the old Hanseatic towns Salzwedel, Gardelegen, Stendal, and Tangermünde are located in the sparsely populated Altmark. The Colbitz-Letzlingen Heath and the Drömling near Wolfsburg mark the transition between the Altmark region and the Elbe-Börde-Heath region with its fertile, sparsely wooded Magdeburg Börde. Notable towns in the Magdeburg Börde are Haldensleben, Oschersleben, Wanzleben, Schönebeck, Aschersleben, the Harz mountains are located in the south-west, comprising the Harz National Park, the Harz Foreland and Mansfeld Land. The highest mountain of the Harz is Brocken, with an elevation of 1,141 meters, in this area, one can find the towns of Halberstadt, Wernigerode, Thale, Eisleben and Quedlinburg. The wine-growing area Saale-Unstrut and the towns of Zeitz, Naumburg, Weißenfels, the metropolitan area of Halle forms an agglomeration with Leipzig in Saxony. This area is known for its highly developed industry, with major production plants at Leuna, Schkopau. Finally, in the east, Dessau-Roßlau and Wittenberg are situated on the Elbe in the Anhalt-Wittenberg region, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt is Magdeburg. It is the second-largest city in the state, closely after Halle, from 1994 to 2003, the state was divided into three regions, Dessau, Halle and Magdeburg, and, below the regional level,21 districts. Since 2004, however, this system has replaced by 11 rural districts. In April 1945 the US Army took control of most of the western and northern area of the future Saxony-Anhalt, group Control Council, Germany appointed the first non-Nazi officials in leading positions in the area. So Erhard Hübener, furloughed by the Nazis, was reappointed Landeshauptmann. By early July the US Army withdrew from the former Prussian Province of Saxony to make way for the Red Army to take it as part of the Soviet occupation zone, the previously Saxon Erfurt governorate had become a part of Thuringia. For the earlier history see the articles of these entities before 1945
11.
Brandenburg
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Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federated states of Germany. It lies in the northeast of the country covering an area of 29,478 square kilometers and has 2.48 million inhabitants, the capital and largest city is Potsdam. Brandenburg surrounds but does not include the capital and city-state Berlin forming a metropolitan area. Brandenburg is one of the states that was re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former East Germany. Governed by the Hohenzollern dynasty from 1415, it contained the future German capital Berlin, after 1618 the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia were combined to form Brandenburg-Prussia, which was ruled by the same branch of the House of Hohenzollern. In 1701 the state was elevated as the Kingdom of Prussia, Brandenburg is situated in territory known in antiquity as Magna Germania, which reached to the Vistula river. By the 7th century, Slavic peoples are believed to have settled in the Brandenburg area, the Slavs expanded from the east, possibly driven from their homelands in present-day Ukraine and perhaps Belarus by the invasions of the Huns and Avars. They relied heavily on river transport, the two principal Slavic groups in the present-day area of Brandenburg were the Hevelli in the west and the Sprevane in the east. Beginning in the early 10th century, Henry the Fowler and his successors conquered territory up to the Oder River, Slavic settlements such as Brenna, Budusin, and Chośebuz came under imperial control through the installation of margraves. Their main function was to defend and protect the eastern marches, in 948 Emperor Otto I established margraves to exert imperial control over the pagan Slavs west of the Oder River. Otto founded the Bishoprics of Brandenburg and Havelberg, the Northern March was founded as a northeastern border territory of the Holy Roman Empire. However, an uprising of Wends drove imperial forces from the territory of present-day Brandenburg in 983. The region returned to the control of Slavic leaders, the Roman Catholic Church brought bishoprics which, with their walled towns, afforded protection from attacks for the townspeople. With the monks and bishops, the history of the town of Brandenburg an der Havel, in 1134, in the wake of a German crusade against the Wends, the German magnate, Albert the Bear, was granted the Northern March by the Emperor Lothar III. He formally inherited the town of Brandenburg and the lands of the Hevelli from their last Wendish ruler, Pribislav, after crushing a force of Sprevane who occupied the town of Brandenburg in the 1150s, Albert proclaimed himself ruler of the new Margraviate of Brandenburg. Albert, and his descendants the Ascanians, then made progress in conquering, colonizing, Christianizing. Within this region, Slavic and German residents intermarried, during the 13th century, the Ascanians began acquiring territory east of the Oder, later known as the Neumark. In 1320, the Brandenburg Ascanian line came to an end, under the Luxembourgs, the Margrave of Brandenburg gained the status of a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire
12.
Lower Saxony
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Lower Saxony is a German state situated in northwestern Germany and is second in area, with 47,624 square kilometres, and fourth in population among the sixteen Länder of Germany. In rural areas Northern Low Saxon, a dialect of Low German, and Saterland Frisian, a variety of Frisian, are still spoken, but the number of speakers is declining. Lower Saxony borders on the North Sea, the states of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, and the Netherlands. Furthermore, the state of Bremen forms two enclaves within Lower Saxony, one being the city of Bremen, the other, its city of Bremerhaven. In fact, Lower Saxony borders more neighbours than any other single Bundesland, the states principal cities include the state capital Hanover, Braunschweig, Lüneburg, Osnabrück, Oldenburg, Hildesheim, Wolfenbüttel, Wolfsburg and Göttingen. The northwestern area of Lower Saxony, which lies on the coast of the North Sea, is called East Frisia, in the extreme west of Lower Saxony is the Emsland, a traditionally poor and sparsely populated area, once dominated by inaccessible swamps. The northern half of Lower Saxony, also known as the North German Plains, is almost invariably flat except for the hills around the Bremen geestland. Towards the south and southwest lie the northern parts of the German Central Uplands, the Weser Uplands, between these two lie the Lower Saxon Hills, a range of low ridges. Thus, Lower Saxony is the only Bundesland that encompasses both maritime and mountainous areas, Lower Saxonys major cities and economic centres are mainly situated in its central and southern parts, namely Hanover, Braunschweig, Osnabrück, Wolfsburg, Salzgitter, Hildesheim and Göttingen. Oldenburg, near the coastline, is another economic centre. To the north, the Elbe river separates Lower Saxony from Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the banks just south of the Elbe are known as Altes Land. Due to its local climate and fertile soil, it is the states largest area of fruit farming. Most of the territory was part of the historic Kingdom of Hanover. It was created by the merger of the State of Hanover with several states in 1946. Lower Saxony has a boundary in the north in the North Sea. The state and city of Bremen is an enclave surrounded by Lower Saxony. The Bremen/Oldenburg Metropolitan Region is a body for the enclave area. To the southeast the state border runs through the Harz, low mountains that are part of the German Central Uplands, in northeast Lower Saxony is Lüneburg Heath
13.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
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Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is a federal state in northern Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the sixth largest German state by area, and the least densely populated, three of Germanys fourteen national parks are in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in addition to several hundred nature conservation areas. Major cities include Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Stralsund, Greifswald, Wismar, the University of Rostock and the University of Greifswald are among the oldest in Europe. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was the site of the 33rd G8 summit in 2007, due to its lengthy name, the state is often abbreviated as MV or shortened to MeckPomm. In English, it is translated as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania or literally Mecklenburg-Cispomerania. Inhabitants are called either Mecklenburger or Pomeranians, the form is never used. The full name in German is pronounced and this is because the digraph <ck> marks a preceding short vowel in High German. Mecklenburg however is within the historical Low German language area, another explanation is that the c comes from a mannerism in High German officialese of writing unnecessary letters, a so-called Letternhäufelung. Human settlement in the area of modern Mecklenburg and Vorpommern began after the Ice Age, about two thousand years ago, Germanic peoples were recorded in the area. Most of them left during the Migration Period, heading towards Spain, Italy, in the 6th century Polabian Slavs populated the area. While Mecklenburg was settled by the Obotrites, Vorpommern was settled by the Veleti, along the coast, Vikings and Slavs established trade posts like Reric, Ralswiek and Menzlin. In the 12th century, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern were conquered by Henry the Lion and incorporated into the Duchy of Saxony, all of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was settled with Germans in the Ostsiedlung process, starting in the 12th century. In the late 12th century, Henry the Lion, Duke of the Saxons, conquered the Obotrites, subjugated its Nikloting dynasty, in the course of time, German monks, nobility, peasants and traders arrived to settle here. After the 12th century, the territory remained stable and relatively independent of its neighbours, Mecklenburg first became a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire in 1348. Though later partitioned and re-partitioned within the dynasty, Mecklenburg always shared a common history. The states of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz became Grand Duchies in 1815, Vorpommern, litererally Fore-Pomerania, is the smaller, western part of the former Prussian Province of Pomerania, the eastern part became part of Poland after the end of World War II. In the Middle Ages, the area was ruled by the Pomeranian dukes as part of the Duchy of Pomerania, Pomerania was under Swedish rule after the Peace of Westphalia from 1648 until 1815 as Swedish Pomerania. Pomerania became a province of Prussia in 1815 and remained so until 1945, wartime In May 1945, the armies of the Soviet Union and the Western allies met east of Schwerin
14.
Hamburg
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Hamburg, officially Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, is the second largest city in Germany and the eighth largest city in the European Union. It is the second smallest German state by area and its population is over 1.7 million people, and the wider Hamburg Metropolitan Region covers more than 5.1 million inhabitants. The city is situated on the river Elbe, the official long name reflects Hamburgs history as a member of the medieval Hanseatic League, a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire, a city-state, and one of the 16 states of Germany. Before the 1871 Unification of Germany, it was a sovereign state. Prior to the changes in 1919, the civic republic was ruled by a class of hereditary grand burghers or Hanseaten. Though repeatedly destroyed by the Great Fire of Hamburg, the floods and military conflicts including WW2 bombing raids, the city managed to recover and emerge wealthier after each catastrophe. On the river Elbe, Hamburg is a port and a global service, media, logistics and industrial hub, with headquarters and facilities of Airbus, Blohm + Voss, Aurubis, Beiersdorf. The radio and television broadcaster NDR, Europes largest printing and publishing firm Gruner + Jahr, Hamburg has been an important financial centre for centuries, and is the seat of Germanys oldest stock exchange and the worlds second oldest bank, Berenberg Bank. The city is a fast expanding tourist destination for domestic and international visitors. It ranked 16th in the world for livability in 2015, the ensemble Speicherstadt and Kontorhausviertel was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2015. Hamburg is a major European science, research and education hub with several universities and institutes and its creative industries and major cultural venues include the renowned Elbphilharmonie and Laeisz concert halls, various art venues, music producers and artists. It is regarded as a haven for artists, gave birth to movements like Hamburger Schule. Hamburg is also known for theatres and a variety of musical shows. St. Paulis Reeperbahn is among the best known European entertainment districts, Hamburg is on the southern point of the Jutland Peninsula, between Continental Europe to the south and Scandinavia to the north, with the North Sea to the west and the Baltic Sea to the north-east. It is on the River Elbe at its confluence with the Alster, the city centre is around the Binnenalster and Außenalster, both formed by damming the River Alster to create lakes. The island of Neuwerk and two neighbouring islands Scharhörn and Nigehörn, in the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park, are also part of Hamburg. The neighbourhoods of Neuenfelde, Cranz, Francop and Finkenwerder are part of the Altes Land region, neugraben-Fischbek has Hamburgs highest elevation, the Hasselbrack at 116.2 metres AMSL. Hamburg has a climate, influenced by its proximity to the coast
15.
Schleswig-Holstein
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Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig. Its capital city is Kiel, other cities are Lübeck. Also known in more dated English as Sleswick-Holsatia, the Danish name is Slesvig-Holsten, the Low German name is Sleswig-Holsteen, historically, the name can also refer to a larger region, containing both present-day Schleswig-Holstein and the former South Jutland County in Denmark. The term Holstein derives from Old Saxon Holseta Land, originally, it referred to the central of the three Saxon tribes north of the River Elbe, Tedmarsgoi, Holstein and Sturmarii. The area of the tribe of the Holsts was between the Stör River and Hamburg, and after Christianization, their church was in Schenefeld. Saxon Holstein became a part of the Holy Roman Empire after Charlemagnes Saxon campaigns in the eighth century. Since 811, the frontier of Holstein was marked by the River Eider. The term Schleswig comes from the city of Schleswig, around 1100, the Duke of Saxony gave Holstein, as it was his own country, to Count Adolf I of Schauenburg. Schleswig and Holstein have at different times belonged in part or completely to either Denmark or Germany, the exception is that Schleswig had never been part of Germany until the Second Schleswig War in 1864. For many centuries, the King of Denmark was both a Danish Duke of Schleswig and a German Duke of Holstein, essentially, Schleswig was either integrated into Denmark or was a Danish fief, and Holstein was a German fief and once a sovereign state long ago. Both were for centuries ruled by the kings of Denmark. In the church, following the reformation, German was used in the part of Schleswig. This would later prove decisive for shaping national sentiments in the population, the administration of both duchies was conducted in German, despite the fact that they were governed from Copenhagen. The German national awakening that followed the Napoleonic Wars gave rise to a popular movement in Holstein. This development was paralleled by an equally strong Danish national awakening in Denmark and this movement called for the complete reintegration of Schleswig into the Kingdom of Denmark and demanded an end to discrimination against Danes in Schleswig. The ensuing conflict is called the Schleswig-Holstein Question. e. Not only in the Kingdom of Denmark, but also to Danes living in Schleswig, furthermore, they demanded protection for the Danish language in Schleswig. A liberal constitution for Holstein was not seriously considered in Copenhagen and these demands were rejected by the Danish government in 1848, and the Germans of Holstein and southern Schleswig rebelled
16.
Vltava
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It is commonly referred to as the Czech national river. The Vltava river is 430 kilometres long and drains an area about 28,090 square kilometres in size, over half of Bohemia, as it runs through Prague, the river is crossed by 18 bridges and covers 31 kilometres within the city. The water from the river was used for drinking until 1912 and it is, however, the source of drinking water in case of failures/repairs to the water supply from the Želivka and Kárané sources. The Podolí water processing plant is on standby for such cases with the section of the river upstream of the Podolí plant under the stricter. Several dams were built on it in the 1950s, the Orlík Dam supports the largest reservoir on the Vltava by volume, while the Lipno Dam in the Bohemian Forest retains the largest reservoir by area. North of Prague the Štěchovice Reservoir has been built over the site of the St Johns Rapids. The river also features numerous locks and weirs that help mitigate its flow from 1,172 metres in elevation at its source near the German border to 155 metres at its mouth in Mělník. The height difference from source to mouth is about 1,016 metres, the Vltava itself originates by a confluence of two streams, the Warm Vltava, which is longer, and the Cold Vltava, sourcing in Bavaria. Along its course, Vltava receives many tributaries, the biggest being Otava and Berounka from the left and Lužnice and its section around Český Krumlov is a very popular destination of water tourism. Both the Czech name Vltava and the German name Moldau are believed to originate from the old Germanic words wilt ahwa, in Annales Fuldenses it is called Fuldaha, from 1113 AD it is attested as Wultha. In Chronica Boemorum it is attested for the first time in its Bohemian form as Wlitaua, on the other side there is a river Ltava in Ukraine with no traces of Germanic origins. The name of a settlement on this river was mentioned in the Hypatian Chronicle in 1174, traditionally connected to the name of the city of Poltava, there are many theories describing etymology of Ltava. The Vltava basin has flooded multiple times throughout recorded history, markers have been created along the banks denoting the water line for notable floods in 1784,1845,1890,1940, and the highest of all in 2002. It left the oldest bridge in Prague, Charles Bridge, seriously weakened, Prague was again flooded in 2013. Nine hydroelectric dams have been built on the Vltava to regulate the water flow, beginning at the headwaters, these are, Lipno, Lipno II, Hněvkovice, Kořensko, Orlík, Kamýk, Slapy, Štěchovice and Vrané. One of the works of classical music by a Czech composer is Bedřich Smetanas Vltava. It is from the Romantic era of music and is a musical depiction of the rivers course through Bohemia. A minor planet 2123 Vltava discovered in 1973 by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh is named after the river, Smetanas symphonic poem also inspired a song of the same name by Bertolt Brecht
17.
Mulde
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The Mulde is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a tributary of the Elbe and is 124 kilometres long. The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde, from here the river runs northwards through Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. The Mulde flows into the Elbe 3 kilometres north of Dessau, in August 2002 a flood caused severe damage, that even endangered the UNESCO World Heritage Site Dessau-Wörlitzer Gartenreich and the city Dessau. Especially the cities of Döbeln and Grimma suffered from the damages of the flood and its name could be derived from Old German Mulda, meaning dust and a cognate of English mould). But more possibly it is related to the German mahlen which means to mill, therefore, Mulde probably means the milling river and corresponds to the great number of water mills driven by the river in former times. Nowadays, there are power stations in use
18.
Saale
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The Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale and Thuringian Saale, is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony. The Saale originates on the slope of the Großer Waldstein mountain near Zell in the Fichtelgebirge in Upper Franconia and it pursues a winding course in a northern direction, and after passing the manufacturing town of Hof, enters Thuringia. It flows amid well-wooded low mountains of the Thuringian Forest until it reaches the valley of Saalfeld, after leaving Saalfeld the Saale reaches Rudolstadt. Here it receives the waters of the Schwarza, in whose valley lies the castle of Schwarzburg. From Saalfeld the Saale enters the hill region north of the Thuringian Forest. It finally joins the Elbe just above Barby, after traversing a distance of 413 kilometres —shortened 14 kilometres by a bypass from its length of 427 kilometres. The Saale is navigable from Naumburg and is also planned connected from Leuna with the White Elster near Leipzig by an unfinished canal, the soil of the lower part of its valley is exceptionally fertile, and produces, amongst other crops, large supplies of sugar beet. Among its tributaries are the White Elster, Regnitz and Orla on the bank. Its valley, down to Merseburg, contains many castles which crown the enclosing heights, saale-Unstrut, a wine-growing region Ernst-Otto Luthardt, Reinhard Feldrapp, An der Saale. Vom Fichtelgebirge durch Thüringen bis zur Elbe, ISBN 3-8035-1335-9 Wolf Thieme, Markus Altmann, Mitten ins Herz. Sie entspringt in Bayern, durchquert Thüringen und fließt in Sachsen-Anhalt in die Elbe – die Saale ist ein Fluss, und jedem Spaß macht, dem Sportler, dem Kulturfreund, dem Faulenzer. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
19.
Ohre
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The Ohre is a river in northern Germany, left tributary to the Elbe. Its total length is 103 kilometres and its source is north of Wolfsburg, in Lower Saxony. It flows generally south-east, at first following the border of Lower Saxony, after Buchhorst it flows completely through Saxony-Anhalt, along the Mittellandkanal. It flows into the Elbe in Rogätz, north of Magdeburg, the towns Brome, Calvörde, Haldensleben and Wolmirstedt lie along the river. The upper course of the Ohre is in the Drömling nature reserve
20.
Ilmenau (river)
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The Ilmenau is a river in the south of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, which is one of the left tributaries of the Elbe. It originates in the Lüneburg Heath, south of Uelzen and it empties into the Elbe near Winsen. The Ilmenau is 107 kilometres long, the largest towns along the Ilmenau are Uelzen and Lüneburg
21.
Schwinge (Elbe)
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The Schwinge is a 27.8 kilometres, left-sided river of the Elbe in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is rising in the Hohes Moor near Mulsum on the Stade Geest in the area with the Oste. From there it flows in a natural, more than 20-kilometre-long upper reach towards Stade. Because of its natural river scenery and its biodiversity the floodplains of the upper reach. 1000-year-old Hansa port lies at the Schwinge, despite the embankment the banks of the lower reach are lined with exceptional rare fresh water mudflats. The Schwinge is a 4. 6-kilometre-long federal waterway from the Elbe to the Salztorschleuse, since the completion of the Schwingesperrwerk, a flood barrier near the mouth of the river, in 1971 all places at the Schwinge are protected better against storm surges. The 16-metre-wide gap is closed with two gates, from the Late Middle Ages until the 1950s the Schwinge was used for the transport of goods with smack-like ships called Ewer. During dredging of the Schwinge and the Hansehafen countless historic artefacts were found, today, however, the leisure and sports boat traffic dominates the shipping on the lower reach, the upper reach beyond Stade isnt navigable. List of rivers of Lower Saxony
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Oste
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The Oste is a river in northern Lower Saxony, Germany with a length of 153 km, left tributary of the Elbe. It flows through the districts of Harburg, Rotenburg, Stade and Cuxhaven and its drainage area is 1.711 km² and the decline between the source and the estuary is 31 m. Tributaries are Ramme, Aue, Twiste, Bade, Bever, the Oste is part of the Deutsche Fährstraße established in May 2004, an institution similar to the American National Scenic Byways. It connects various places between Bremervörde and Kiel with relation to the history of ferries and crossing of rivers, like the historic bridges in Rendsburg. Also at the Oste there are two ferries in Gräpel and Brobergen. The ferry in Gräpel is actually manually operated, although recognized as an official waterway the Oste has not much ship traffic. August Heinrich von Brook, Die Oste, heimatbund der Männer vom Morgenstern, Bremerhaven 2003. ISBN 3-931771-39-3 Willi Klenck, Heimatkunde des ehemaligen Kreises Neuhaus, gisela Tiedemann, Jochen Bölsche, Über die Oste - Geschichten aus 100 Jahren Schwebefähre Osten - Hemmoor. Drochtersen 2009, ISBN 978-3-938097-17-5 Das Ostesperrwerk Arbeitsgemeinschaft Osteland e. V, der stille Strom Die Oste Deutsche Fährstraße Schwebefähre in Osten an der Oste Linkliste zur Oste
23.
Jizera (river)
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The Jizera is a river that begins on the border between Poland and the Czech Republic and ends in Central Bohemia. On its way, it intersects the Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge, for the first 15 kilometers, the river constitute border between Poland and Czech Republic. From Benátky nad Jizerou to its on-flow, it is surrounded by bank infiltration system, and in the district of Sojovice, junction of the Jizera with its tributary Mumlava Horáčková J. Ložek V. & Juřičková L. Malakofauna v nivě Jizery
24.
Black Elster
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The Black Elster or Schwarze Elster is a 179-kilometre long river in eastern Germany, in the states Saxony, Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt, right tributary of the Elbe. Its source is in the Upper Lusatia region, near Elstra, the Black Elster flows through the cities Kamenz, Hoyerswerda, Senftenberg, Lauchhammer, Elsterwerda, Bad Liebenwerda, Herzberg and Jessen. It flows into the river Elbe at Elster, upstream from Wittenberg, the river rises in the Lusatian Highlands about 1.5 kilometres south of the village Kindisch in the borough of Elstra on the eastern flank of the 396-metre high Kuppe, a subpeak of the Hochstein. From here the Black Elster flows initially in a direction through Elstra, Kamenz, Milstrich and Wittichenau. Further downstream, after 63 kilometres, it crosses the Saxon-Brandenburg border and flows though Senftenberg, Ruhland, from here it heads in a northwesterly direction through Bad Liebenwerda, Herzberg and Jessen before emptying into the Elbe in the municipality of Elster. The most important tributaries of the Black Elster are the Hoyerswerdaer Schwarzwasser, the Pulsnitz, the Große Röder, the Kleine Elster, field Marshal Blücher crossed the Elbe River near its confluence with the Black Elster on 3 Oct 1813 on his march to Leipzig. There is also a White Elster river in eastern Germany
25.
Havel
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The Havel is a river in north-eastern Germany, flowing through the German states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a tributary of the Elbe river and 325 kilometres long. However, the distance from its source to its mouth is only 94 kilometres. For much of its length, the Havel is navigable, the source of the Havel is located in the Mecklenburg Lake District, between Lake Müritz and the city of Neubrandenburg. From there the river flows southward, eventually joining the Elbe. Every river north-east of it flows to the Baltic Sea, the river enters Brandenburg near the town of Fürstenberg. In its upper course and between Berlin and Brandenburg an der Havel the river forms several lakes. The Havels main tributary is the Spree river, which joins the Havel in Spandau, a borough of Berlin. The second largest tributary is the Rhin, named in the Middle Ages by settlers from the lower Rhine, the region around and north of the middle Havel is called the Havelland. It consists of hills, often called Ländchen, and low marshes. A few kilometres of the river before its confluence with the Elbe near Havelberg are in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, due to its minimal gradient it is susceptible to high waters in the Elbe. Unless in extreme floods, if the dike of the Elbe is submerged, by this canal, the mouth of the Havel, that naturally would be near Havelberg, is placed 11 km downstream. As the course of the Elbe has a higher gradient than the Havel, towns along the river include, Fürstenberg, Zehdenick, Oranienburg, Berlin, Potsdam, Werder, Ketzin, Brandenburg, Premnitz, Rathenow and Havelberg. In earlier Greek or Latin sources, such as Tacitus Germania, the river name Havel is related to German Haff, habe, hafen, MHG Hafen meaning port, harbor). The Slavic people who moved into the Havel river area were referred to in German sources as Heveller. Among others, there are four important bridges, in Spandau, in Potsdam, in Brandenburg and in a suburb of that town. The River Havel is navigable from the Mecklenburg Lake District to its confluence with the River Elbe, from a navigation perspective, the River Havel can be split into four sections with somewhat different characteristics and different administrative arrangements. The Havel is navigable to canoes and similar small craft from close to its source, motor craft are prohibited above the first lock at Zwenzow, which links the Useriner See to the Großer Labussee
26.
Elde
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The Elde is a river in northern Germany, a right tributary of the Löcknitz. Its total length is 220 kilometres, the Elde originates near Altenhof, south of Malchow. It first flows southeast towards the end of Lake Müritz. It flows out of the Müritz at its end, near Waren. It turns west, and flows through a series of small lakes and it flows out of the Plauer See at Plau am See, and continues west and southwest through Lübz, Parchim, Neustadt-Glewe and Grabow. The Elde flows into the Löcknitz in Eldenburg, part of Lenzen, most of its length,180 kilometres, is navigable
27.
Bille (Elbe)
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The river Bille is a small, slow-flowing river in Stormarn, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, a right tributary of the Elbe. Its source is near Linau, north of the Hahnheide forest and it then flows south of Trittau, representing the border between Stormarn and Lauenburg, continues south of Reinbek and reaches the river Elbe near Billwerder. A lot of old estates and tasteful parks are laid out along its riverbank and its total length is 65 km. The Bille is one of three rivers flow through the city of Hamburg, the other two being the Elbe and the Alster. The upper Bille drains a catchment area with many brooks. Main tributaries are the Corbek feeding the Bille near Witzhave and the Schwarze Au at Aumühle, having drained wide parts of the large Sachsenwald forest
28.
Alster
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The Alster is a right tributary of the Elbe river in Northern Germany. It has its source near Henstedt-Ulzburg, Schleswig-Holstein, flows southwards through much of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The Alster is Hamburgs second most important river, in the city center, the river forms two lakes, both prominent features in Hamburgs cityscape. In total, the Alster is 56 km long and has an incline from 31 m to 4 m above sea level and its drainage basin is about 587 km2. The source of the Alster is a small bog pool in the Timhagen Brook near Henstedt-Ulzburg, the small brook makes a couple of curves before entering Hamburg territory at Duvenstedt und Wohldorf-Ohlstedt. At that point, the Alster has passed a couple of smaller locks and has passed by 15 bridges. From here on, Hamburgers use the river for water sports, especially for canoe and kayak trips on the river, at Wellingsbüttel, the Alster runs past Wellingsbüttel Manor. At Ohlsdorf the Alster reaches a weir, approximately at the height of the former Fuhlsbüttel Lock, from Fuhlsbüttel downstream, the Alsters course, has been straightened on several locations, with old and new river beds occasionally forming parallel canal beds. Between city limits and the citys first lake − the Außenalster − the river is crossed by 42 bridges. For Hamburgs inner city, the river is a geographical feature. Through ponding of the river in the 13th century, two lakes, the Außenalster and the smaller Binnenalster were created in central Hamburg. These two lakes and the surrounding parks serve as important recreational areas in the heart of the city, Binnenalster and the subsequent Kleine Alster form important urban spaces. Alsterfleet is regulated by two locks at Rathaus/Rathausmarkt and Baumwall, the latter protecting it from the Elbe tide, Hamburg was founded at the mouth of the Alster river in the 9th century and used it as a port. The water was used to flood the moats of the fortifications, the Alster has been dammed since 1190, originally to power a watermill. In 1235 a further dam was built for a second mill, in the 15th and 16th century, an Alster canal was built to connect Hamburg with Lübeck. The canal was about 8 km long and built from the Alster to the Beste, because of the difficulties in holding water, especially near marsh areas, the 91 km long waterway from Hamburg to Lübeck was navigable from 1529 to 1550 only. Hamburg expanded along the shores of the Alster, and several locks were constructed to make the river navigable, until the 19th century water transport with barges were used up to the town of Kayhude. The barges—transporting building material, fuel, and foods—were staked or hauled, the Alster is navigatable some 9 km upstream from the mouth
29.
Pardubice
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Pardubice is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the river Elbe,96 kilometres east of Prague. There is an old Tower and a Castle, factories include the Synthesia chemical factory, an oil refinery Paramo, a heavy machinery factory and an electronic equipment plant. The city is known for its sport events, ginger bread, rail. The oldest extant Document regarding Pardubice comes from 1295, the area had a monastery beginning in the early 13th century, and the city was founded c. 1340. In 1491, Pardubice was bought by William II of Pernstein, until 1918, the town was part of the Austrian monarchy, head of the PARDUBITZ district, one of the 94 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Bohemia. In 1845, the first train arrived to Pardubice, the town was connected to other railway lines so Pardubice could thrive even more. New industrial enterprises started to emerge in the town, namely a distillery, since 1874, the Great Pardubice Steeplechase horse race has taken place every autumn. Jan Kašpar made history by flying the first long-haul flight towards Prague, in Pardubice, industrial expansion was on the rise, especially after the First World War. However, during the Second World War the town was damaged by air strikes of the Allies, the Fanto Werke refinery at Pardubice was repeatedly bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II, and forced labor was provided by a concentration camp. Tesla electronics manufacturer operated from 1921–1989, and the Foxconn factory was established in June 2000, after 1989 the town continued to develop and flourish, the Chateau and its surroundings of estates were reconstructed. Pardubice has established contacts with foreign towns, Pardubice is situated on the bank of the second longest river in the Czech Republic, the Labe River, where there is a mouth of another river called Chrudimka. Pardubice is located at approximately 15° east longitude and 50° north longitude, the town is located 100 km east of the capital city of Prague,150 km north-west of Brno. Pardubice is in the area of Labe Lowlands with average elevation of 225m, the area is of lowland character without many hills. One exception is a nearby hill Kunětická hora, Pardubice is an important railway junction. From Pardubice come tracks to Prague, Ostrava, Hradec Králové, railway station Pardubice main station is very busy, all trains of Czech railways, RegioJet and LEO Express are standing there. Paradubice is served by Pardubice Airport, Pardubice is called the city of industry. The dominant industries are chemical industry, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, the chemical industry is mainly represented by a company Paramo and Synthesia, which was founded in Pardubice-Semtín as a stock factory for explosive substances
30.
Dresden
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Dresden is the capital city and, after Leipzig, the second-largest city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the border with the Czech Republic, Dresden has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Electors and Kings of Saxony, who for centuries furnished the city with cultural and artistic splendour. The city was known as the Jewel Box, because of its baroque, the controversial American and British bombing of Dresden in World War II towards the end of the war killed approximately 25,000, many of whom were civilians, and destroyed the entire city centre. After the war restoration work has helped to reconstruct parts of the inner city, including the Katholische Hofkirche, the Zwinger. Since German reunification in 1990 Dresden is again a cultural, educational and political centre of Germany, the Dresden University of Technology is one of the 10 largest universities in Germany and part of the German Universities Excellence Initiative. The economy of Dresden and its agglomeration is one of the most dynamic in Germany and it is dominated by high-tech branches, often called as “Silicon Saxony”. The city is one of the most visited in Germany with 4,3 million overnight stays per year. The royal buildings are among the most impressive buildings in Europe, main sights are also the nearby National Park of Saxon Switzerland, the Ore Mountains and the countryside around Elbe Valley and Moritzburg Castle. The most prominent building in the city of Dresden is the Frauenkirche, built in the 18th century, the church was destroyed during World War II. The remaining ruins were left for 50 years as a war memorial, the church was rebuilt from 1994 to 2005. Although Dresden is a relatively recent city of Germanic origin followed by settlement of Slavic people, Dresdens founding and early growth is associated with the eastward expansion of Germanic peoples, mining in the nearby Ore Mountains, and the establishment of the Margraviate of Meissen. Its name etymologically derives from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the forest, Dresden later evolved into the capital of Saxony. Around the late 12th century, a Slavic settlement called Drežďany had developed on the southern bank, another settlement existed on the northern bank, but its Slavic name is unknown. It was known as Antiqua Dresdin by 1350, and later as Altendresden, dietrich, Margrave of Meissen, chose Dresden as his interim residence in 1206, as documented in a record calling the place Civitas Dresdene. After 1270, Dresden became the capital of the margraviate and it was given to Friedrich Clem after death of Henry the Illustrious in 1288. It was taken by the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1316 and was restored to the Wettin dynasty after the death of Valdemar the Great in 1319, from 1485, it was the seat of the dukes of Saxony, and from 1547 the electors as well. The Elector and ruler of Saxony Frederick Augustus I became King Augustus II the Strong of Poland in personal union and he gathered many of the best musicians, architects and painters from all over Europe to the newly named Royal-Polish Residential City of Dresden. His reign marked the beginning of Dresdens emergence as a leading European city for technology, during the reign of Kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland the Zwinger Royal Palace, the Hofkirche and the Frauenkirche were built
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Meissen
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Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about 25 km northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral, the Große Kreisstadt is the capital of the Meissen district. German, Meißen, Meissen French, Misnie Latin, Misnia, Misena, Misnensium Polish, Miśnia Czech, Míšeň Upper Sorbian, Mišno Lower Sorbian, in 968, the Diocese of Meissen was founded, and Meissen became the episcopal see of a bishop. The Margraviate of Meissen was founded in 968 as well, with the city as the capital of the Margraves of Meissen. A market town by 1000, Meissen passed to the Duchy of Poland in 1002 under Boleslaw I the Brave, afterwards into hands of Henry II a few months later, in 1015 Meissen was besieged by the Poles led by future King Mieszko II. The city was at the forefront of the Ostsiedlung, or intensive German settlement of the rural Slavic lands east of the Elbe, the construction of Meissen Cathedral was begun in 1260 on the same hill as the Albrechtsburg castle. The resulting lack of space led to the cathedral being one of the smallest cathedrals in Europe, the church is also known as being one of the purest examples of Gothic architecture. In 1423 Meissen became capital of the Electorate of Saxony, in 1464 the capital was moved to Dresden. In 1759 the Austrians defeated the Prussians at the Battle of Meissen, during World War II, a subcamp of Flossenbürg concentration camp was located in Meissen. Meissen is famous for the manufacture of porcelain, based on local deposits of china clay. Meissen porcelain was the first high-quality porcelain to be produced outside of the Orient, the first European porcelain was manufactured in Meissen in 1710, when by decree of King Augustus II the Strong the Royal-Polish and Electoral-Saxon Porcelain Factory was opened in the Albrechtsburg. In 1861, it was moved to the Triebisch river valley of Meissen, along with porcelain, other ceramics are also manufactured. The Albrechtsburg, the residence of the House of Wettin, is regarded as being the first castle to be used as a royal residence in the German-speaking world. Built between 1472 and 1525, it is an example of late Gothic style. It was redecorated in the 19th century with a range of murals depicting Saxon history, today the castle is a museum. Nearby is the 13th-century Gothic Meissen Cathedral, whose chapel is one of the most famous places of the Wettin family. The hill on which the castle and the cathedral are built offers a view over the roofs of the old town, meissens historical district is located mostly around the market at the foot of the castle hill. It contains many buildings of Renaissance architecture, also imposing is the view from the 57 metre high tower of the Frauenkirche, situated in the old market-place
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Wittenberg
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Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Situated on the river Elbe, it has a population of about 50,000. Part of the Augustinian monastery in which Luther dwelt, first as a monk and later as owner with his wife, various Luther and Melanchthon memorial sites were added to the UNESCO world heritage list in 1996. Historical documents first mention the settlement in 1180 as a village founded by Flemish colonists under the rule of the House of Ascania. In 1260 this village became the residence of the dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg, Wittenberg developed into an important trade centre during the following several centuries, because of its central location. When the local branch of the Ascanians died out in 1422, several parts of boundaries of the town were extended soon afterward. The second bridge over the Elbe River was built from 1486 through 1490, the Electors palace was rebuilt at the same time. In 1760, during the Seven Years War, the Austrians bombarded the Prussian-occupied town, the French took control in 1806, and Napoleon commanded the refortification of the town in 1813. In 1814 the Prussian Army under Tauentzien stormed Wittenberg, he received the title of von Wittenberg as a reward, in 1815 Wittenberg became part of Prussia, administered within the Province of Saxony. Wittenberg continued to be a fortress of the class until the reorganisation of German defences after the foundation of the new German Empire led to its dismantling in 1873. Unlike many other historic German cities during World War II, Wittenbergs town centre was spared destruction during the conflict. In actuality, the Luther statue was not even present in the square during much of the war, but in storage at Luther Brunnen. Wittenbergs reputation as a town protected from Allied bombing is also not entirely historically accurate, on the outskirts of Wittenberg stood the Arado Flugzeugwerke, which produced components of airplanes for the Luftwaffe. This factory was staffed by Jews, Russians, Poles, political prisoners, despite the prisoner status of its workers, American and British planes bombed the factory near the end of the war, killing one thousand prisoner workers. The 1995 publication of. und morgen war Krieg. by Renate Gruber-Lieblich attempts to document this tragic bombing of Wittenberg, at the end of the war, Soviet forces occupied Wittenberg, it became part of East Germany in 1949. During the East German period, it formed part of Halle District, by means of the peaceful revolution in 1989, the communist régime dissolved and the town has been governed democratically since 1990. The figures are given for the district at the point in time. Up to 1791 the figures are estimated, later figures are from census or local authorities
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Dessau
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Dessau is a city in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the new city of Dessau-Roßlau, Dessau is situated on a floodplain where the Mulde flows into the Elbe. The worst flood took place in the year 2002, when the Waldersee district was completely flooded. The south of Dessau touches a well-wooded area called Mosigkauer Heide, the highest elevation is a 110m high former rubbish dump called Scherbelberg in the southwest of Dessau. Dessau is surrounded by parks and palaces that ranks Dessau as one of the greenest towns in Germany. Dessau was first mentioned in 1213 and it became an important centre in 1570, when the Principality of Anhalt was founded. Dessau became the capital of state within the Holy Roman Empire. Anhalt was dissolved In 1603 it was split into four – later five – Anhalts, in 1863 two of the noble line died out, and became reunited. Dessau is famous for its college of architecture Bauhaus and it moved here in 1925 after it had been forced to close in Weimar. Many famous artists were lecturers in Dessau in the years, among them Walter Gropius, Paul Klee. The Nazis forced the closure of the Bauhaus in 1931, the city was almost completely destroyed by Allied air raids in World War II on March 7,1945, six weeks before American troops occupied the town. Afterwards it was rebuilt with typical GDR concrete slab architecture and became an industrial centre of East Germany. Since German reunification in 1990 many historic buildings have been restored, the composer Kurt Weill was born in Dessau. Since 1993 the city has hosted an annual Kurt Weill Festival, Dessau was also the birthplace of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, and Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, a lauded field marshal for the Kingdom of Prussia. Since January 7,2005, Dessau has gained notoriety for the death of Sierra Leonean convicted drug trafficker. According to local police, Jalloh, who was drunk and had tied to his bed because he was volatile and violent, set his own mattress on fire. A local court acquitted officers in 2008, in 2010, however, a higher federal court declared the ruling null and void, and ordered a new investigation and trial be launched. The Bauhaus College itself was constructed based on designs by Walter Adolph Georg Gropius, Dessau Hauptbahnhof has connections to Magdeburg, Berlin, Leipzig, Halle, Bitterfeld and Lutherstadt Wittenberg
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Magdeburg
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Magdeburg is the capital city and the second largest city of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe, Emperor Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, founder of the archbishopric of Magdeburg, was buried in the towns cathedral after his death. Magdeburgs version of German town law, known as Magdeburg rights, spread throughout Central, the city is also well known for the 1631 Sack of Magdeburg, which hardened Protestant resistance during the Thirty Years War. Prior to it Magdeburg was one of the largest German cities, Magdeburg was destroyed twice in its history. Magdeburg is the site of two universities, the Otto-von-Guericke University and the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, nowadays Magdeburg is a traffic junction as well as an industrial and trading centre. In 2005 Magdeburg celebrated its 1200th anniversary, in June 2013 Magdeburg was hit by record breaking flooding. Founded by Charlemagne in 805 as Magadoburg, the town was fortified in 919 by King Henry I the Fowler against the Magyars and Slavs. Edith loved the town and often lived there, at her death she was buried in the crypt of the Benedictine abbey of Saint Maurice, in 937, Magdeburg was the seat of a royal assembly. Otto I repeatedly visited Magdeburg and was buried in the cathedral. He granted the abbey the right to income from various tithes, the Archbishopric of Magdeburg was founded in 968 at the synod of Ravenna, Adalbert of Magdeburg was consecrated as its first archbishop. The archbishopric under Adalbert included the bishoprics of Havelberg, Brandenburg, Merseburg, Meissen, the archbishops played a prominent role in the German colonisation of the Slavic lands east of the Elbe river. In 1035 Magdeburg received a patent giving the city the right to hold exhibitions and conventions. These laws were adopted and modified throughout Central and Eastern Europe, visitors from many countries began to trade with Magdeburg. In the 13th century, Magdeburg became a member of the Hanseatic League, with more than 20,000 inhabitants Magdeburg was one of the largest cities in the Holy Roman Empire. The town had a maritime commerce on the west, with the countries of the North Sea. The citizens constantly struggled against the archbishop, becoming independent from him by the end of the 15th century. In about Easter 1497, the then twelve-year-old Martin Luther attended school in Magdeburg, in 1524, he was called to Magdeburg, where he preached and caused the citys defection from Catholicism. The Protestant Reformation had quickly found adherents in the city, where Luther had been a schoolboy, Emperor Charles V repeatedly outlawed the unruly town, which had joined the Alliance of Torgau and the Schmalkaldic League
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Stade
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Stade is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. It is the seat of the named after it. The city was first mentioned in a document from 994 and it includes the urban districts of Bützfleth, Hagen, Haddorf and Wiepenkathen which have a district council of their own with some autonomous decision making rights. Stade is located on the lower Elbe river and the German Timber-Frame Road, the first human settlers came to the Stade area in 30,000 BC. Since 1180 Stade belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, in early 1208 King Valdemar II of Denmark and his troops conquered Stade. In August Valdemar IIs cousin being in enmity with the king, in 1209 Emperor Otto IV persuaded his ally Valdemar II to withdraw into the north of the Elbe, and the deposed Prince-Archbishop Valdemar took Stade. On 2 May 1209 Otto IV granted important town privileges to Stade, Otto IV confirmed the burghers to be personally free and recognised them constituting a political entity of their own law, the burgenses and optimi cives of Stade. Property within the boundaries could not be subjected to feudal overlordship and was to be freely inherited without feudal claims to reversion. Fair juridical procedures were constituted and maximal fines fixed, Otto IV obliged himself to prevent burghers from being taken as hostages and to liberate captured burghers. After Otto IV had changed his mind and reinvested Prince-Archbishop Valdemar with the See in 1211, in 1213 Ottos elder brother Count Palatine Henry V of the Rhine, reconquered Stade for the Prince-Archbishop. In 1215 Henry repelled another Danish attack on Stade, in the winter of 1216 Valdemar II and his Danish troops, unable to take the city of Stade, ravaged the County of Stade. From then on Stade remained a part of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, in medieval times, Stade was a prominent member of the Hanseatic League, but was later eclipsed by Hamburg. In 1611 the city signed a contract with Sephardic Jews, allowing the foundation of a community, in 1648, by the Treaty of Westphalia, the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen underwent a constitutional transformation from a prince-bishopric into a monarchy, the Duchy of Bremen. The duchy and the neighboured Principality of Verden, colloquially referred to as Bremen-Verden, were granted by the Treaty of Westphalia as an appanage to the Swedish crown, Stades heyday lasted until the Thirty Years War. In 1628 Tilly conquered the town, shortly thereafter, Sweden took possession of it until 1636. After a period of Danish occupation, Sweden finally recaptured it in 1643 and was officially granted possession of it, together with the Archbishopric of Bremen. Two-thirds of the town were razed in the town fire on 26 May 1659. The town was again to the same plan
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Cuxhaven
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Cuxhaven is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony and it is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has a footprint of 14 kilometres by 7 km and its town quarters Duhnen, Döse and Sahlenburg are especially popular vacation spots on the North Sea and home to about 52,000 residents. Cuxhaven is home to an important fishermans wharf and ship registration point for Hamburg as well as the Kiel Canal until 2008, tourism is also of great importance. The city and its precursor Ritzebüttel belonged to Hamburg from the 13th century until 1937, the island of Neuwerk, a Hamburg dependency, is located just northwest of Cuxhaven in the North Sea. In 1394 the city of Hamburg conquered the fortress of Ritzebüttel and made it its stronghold to protect the estuary of the river Elbe, the Hamburg America Line built a large ocean liner terminal at Cuxhaven in 1900. Connected directly to Hamburg by a railway line and station. The ornate assembly hall and associated buildings survived wartime damage and peacetime demolition to be restored in 1998 for use as a museum, on 15 March 1907 Cuxhaven gained city status within the state of Hamburg. In 1937 Cuxhaven became an district of the Stade Region within the Prussian Province of Hanover by the Greater Hamburg Act. In 1972 some municipalities of the rural district of Land of Hadeln were incorporated into the urban district of Cuxhaven. In 1977 Cuxhaven lost the status as urban district and was integrated into the new rural District of Cuxhaven, during the First World War Nordholz Airbase with its airship hangars, near Nordholz to the south of Cuxhaven, was one of the major German naval airship stations. On Christmas Day 1914 it was attacked by Royal Navy seaplanes in the Cuxhaven Raid, between 1945 and 1964 various experiments in rocketry were performed near Cuxhaven. The origins of tourism go back to the year 1816 when a resort was founded in Cuxhaven. Since 1964 Cuxhaven has been a state-recognized climate seaside resort and centre of the holiday region of Cuxland. The town is served by Cuxhaven station, a few kilometers off the Cuxhaven coast lies the island of Neuwerk. At low tide the water recedes so far from the coast that the island can be reached either by hiking or by horse carriage. A modern landmark of Cuxhaven is the Friedrich-Clemens-Gerke Tower, a tower built of concrete. It is not really a landmark, for all the cities in Germany have a similar tower, the High test peroxide Submarine U1407, was raised from where she had been scuttled in Cuxhaven after WWII and rebuilt by the British, being commissioned as HMS Meteorite
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North Sea
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The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Great Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and it is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres wide, with an area of around 570,000 square kilometres. The North Sea has long been the site of important European shipping lanes as well as a major fishery, the North Sea was the centre of the Vikings rise. Subsequently, the Hanseatic League, the Netherlands, and the British each sought to dominate the North Sea and thus the access to the markets, as Germanys only outlet to the ocean, the North Sea continued to be strategically important through both World Wars. The coast of the North Sea presents a diversity of geological and geographical features, in the north, deep fjords and sheer cliffs mark the Norwegian and Scottish coastlines, whereas in the south it consists primarily of sandy beaches and wide mudflats. Due to the population, heavy industrialization, and intense use of the sea and area surrounding it. In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean, in the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively. In the north it is bordered by the Shetland Islands, and connects with the Norwegian Sea, the North Sea is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres wide, with an area of 570,000 square kilometres and a volume of 54,000 cubic kilometres. Around the edges of the North Sea are sizeable islands and archipelagos, including Shetland, Orkney, the North Sea receives freshwater from a number of European continental watersheds, as well as the British Isles. A large part of the European drainage basin empties into the North Sea including water from the Baltic Sea, the largest and most important rivers flowing into the North Sea are the Elbe and the Rhine – Meuse watershed. Around 185 million people live in the catchment area of the rivers discharging into the North Sea encompassing some highly industrialized areas, for the most part, the sea lies on the European continental shelf with a mean depth of 90 metres. The only exception is the Norwegian trench, which extends parallel to the Norwegian shoreline from Oslo to a north of Bergen. It is between 20 and 30 kilometres wide and has a depth of 725 metres. The Dogger Bank, a vast moraine, or accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris and this feature has produced the finest fishing location of the North Sea. The Long Forties and the Broad Fourteens are large areas with uniform depth in fathoms. These great banks and others make the North Sea particularly hazardous to navigate, the Devils Hole lies 200 miles east of Dundee, Scotland. The feature is a series of trenches between 20 and 30 kilometres long,1 and 2 kilometres wide and up to 230 metres deep. Other areas which are less deep are Cleaver Bank, Fisher Bank, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the North Sea as follows, On the Southwest
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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
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Mouth (river)
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A river mouth is the part of a river where the river flows into a larger river, a lake, a reservoir or an ocean. The water from a river can enter the body in a variety of different ways. The motion of the river mainly depends on the density of the river compared to the receiving water and any ambient motion in the receiving water. If the river water is denser than the surface of the receiving water, the river water will then either form an underflow or an interflow within the lake. Alongside these advective transports, inflowing water will also diffuse, at the mouth of a river, the change in flow condition can cause the river to drop any sediment it is carrying. This sediment deposition can generate a variety of landforms, such as deltas, sand bars, spits, many places in England take their names from their positions at the mouths of rivers, for example Plymouth, Sidmouth and Great Yarmouth. Confluence River delta Estuary Liman Aber and Inver
Labe (help·info) [ˈlabɛ]; German: Elbe [ˈɛlbə]; Low German: Elv) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (Czech Republic), then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km (68 mi) northwest of Hamburg. Its total length is 1,094 kilometres (680 mi).[1]
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Geographic data related to Elbe at OpenStreetMap