1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
3.
Provinces of the Netherlands
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The most populous province is South Holland, with over 3.5 million inhabitants in 2009. With approximately 381,000 inhabitants, Zeeland has the smallest population, in terms of area, Friesland is the largest province with a total area of 5,749 km2. If water is excluded, Gelderland is the largest province in terms of area at 4,972 km2, Utrecht is the smallest at 1,449 km2. In total about 13,000 people were employed by the administrations in 2009. The provinces of the Netherlands are joined in the Association of Provinces of the Netherlands and this organisation promotes the common interests of the provinces in the national government of the Netherlands in The Hague and within the EU in Brussels. The government of each province consists of three parts, The States-Provincial is the provincial parliament elected every four years. The number of members varies between 39 and 55, depending on the number of inhabitants of the province, being a member is a part-time job. The main task of the States-Provincial is to scrutinise the work of the provincial government, the Provincial Executive is a college elected from among the members of the States-Provincial and charged with most executive tasks. Each province has three and seven deputies, each having their own portfolio. The task of the Provincial Executive is the management of the province. The Kings Commissioner is a person appointed by the Crown who presides over the States-Provincial as well as over the Provincial Executive. The Commissioner is appointed for a term of six years, after which reappointment for another term is possible, the members of the States-Provincial are elected every four years in direct elections. To a large extent, the political parties are enlisted in these elections in the national elections. The chosen provincial legislators elect the members of the national Senate within three months after the provincial elections, the elections for the water boards take place on the same date as the provincial elections. The last three elections were held in 2007,2011 and in 2015. The provinces of the Netherlands have 7 core tasks, Sustainable spatial development, also, provinces have income from a part of the Vehicle Excise Duty. Several provinces have made a profit in the past from privatising utility companies originally owned or partly owned by the provinces. An example is Essent, which was owned by six provinces
4.
North Brabant
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Noord Brabant, also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the west, the northern border follows the Meuse river westward to its mouth in the Hollands Diep strait, part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. The Duchy of Brabant was a state of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183 or 1190. Until the 17th century, the area that now makes up the province of North Brabant was mostly part of the Duchy of Brabant, of which the southern part is now in Belgium. In the 14th and 15th century, the experienced a golden age, especially the cities of Brussel, Mechelen, Leuven, Antwerpen, Breda, Bergen op Zoom. After the Union of Utrecht was signed in 1579, Brabant became a battlefield between the Protestant Dutch Republic and Catholic Spain, which occupied the southern Netherlands, attempts to introduce Protestantism into the region were largely unsuccessful, North Brabant remained strongly Roman Catholic. For over a century, North Brabant served mainly as a buffer zone. In 1796, when confederate Dutch Republic became the unitary Batavian Republic and this status ended with the reorganisation by the French, and the area was divided over several departments. This boundary between the Netherlands and Belgium is special in that it does not form a contiguous line, a few of these irregularities were corrected, Huijbergen became totally Dutch, but some remain, notably Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau. The period from 1900 until the late 1960s is called Het Rijke Roomse Leven, in those days every village in North Brabant had a convent from which the nuns operated. Politically, the province was dominated by Catholic parties, the Roomsch-Katholieke Staatspartij and its successor, the Katholieke Volkspartij. The influence of Het Rijke Roomse Leven remains in the form of education where some schools are still Roman Catholic, a cultural divide is still found between the Catholic south and the Protestant north, but with a total of 1. In the province of North Brabant Catholics are no longer a majority of the population as of 2010, only 1–2% of the total population of Catholic area attend mass, and these churchgoers consist mostly of people over 65 years old. With a population density of 501/km², North-Brabant is above average urbanized, the urbanization is at the center of the province at largest, where the kite is located, the rest of the province has a more rural character. The province has preserved some of its scenic nature well, also, south of Eindhoven named De Kempen is a beautiful area with farmlands and forests. In Heeze, also south of Eindhoven, are the areas the Groote Heide. The Strabrechtse Heide holds also the largest fen of the Netherlands, like most of the Netherlands, North Brabant is mostly flat but nearly every part of North Brabant is above sea level, therefore, there are not as many canals as in the lower parts of The Netherlands. Although most of the lives in urban areas, the province is scattered with villages around which most of the land is cultivated
5.
Municipal council (Netherlands)
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In the Netherlands the municipal council is the elected assembly of the municipality. Its main role is laying down the guidelines for the policy of the council of mayor and aldermen and exercising control over its execution by the council of mayor and aldermen. The municipal councils range in size from nine to 45 seats, depending on the municipalitys population, in many municipalities all major political parties contest in the election in addition to local parties. All citizens and foreigners who live in the Netherlands for at least four years in a municipality have the right to vote, ministers and state secretaries in the national government are barred from standing in elections as well as mayors and civil servants employed by the municipality. After the elections the parties in the elect the aldermen. The municipal council is supported by its own civil service headed by the raadsgriffier, members of the council are not paid as full-time politicians, instead, most of them have day job. As in most legislatures, the members of municipal council work in political groups and policy area related committees. The mayor chairs the meetings of the council, some municipalities allow parties to have dual councillors, politicians who are not elected into the city council but are allowed to speak in committees
6.
Burgemeester
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In the Netherlands and Belgium, the mayor is an appointed government position, whose main responsibility is chairing the executive and legislative councils of a municipality. The title is translated in English as burgomaster. In the Netherlands, mayors chair both the council of mayor and aldermen and the municipal council and they are members of the council of mayor and aldermen and have their own portfolios, always including safety and public order. They also have a role for the municipal government, both to its civilians and to other authorities on the local, regional and national level. A large majority of mayors are members of a political party and this can be the majority party in the municipal council, but there are many exceptions on this. However, the mayors are expected to exercise their office in a non-partisan way, the mayor is appointed by the national government for a renewable six-year term. In the past, mayors for important cities were chosen after negotiations between the national parties. This appointment procedure has been criticised because it was seen by some as undemocratic, especially the party D66 had a direct election of the mayor as one of the main objectives in its platform. In the early 2000s, proposals for change were discussed in the national parliament, however, opponents of the status quo were divided between two alternatives, direct election of the mayor by the people or appointment by the municipal council. A constitutional change to direct election gained a majority in both chambers but failed to pass the vote in the Senate in March 2005. In the meantime, although the law remained the same, the practice changed, nowadays, when a vacancy occurs, a special committee of the municipal council interviews candidates, which are pre-selected by the provincial governor. After advice by the committee, the council express its preferences to the Minister of the Interior, who almost always follows this recommendation
7.
Labour Party (Netherlands)
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The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1946 as a merger of the Social Democratic Workers Party, the Free-thinking Democratic League, Prime Ministers from the Labour Party have been Willem Drees, Joop den Uyl, and Wim Kok. Since 2012, the PvdA is the partner in the Second Rutte cabinet with the Peoples Party for Freedom. Since 2016, Lodewijk Asscher has been Leader of the Labour Party, the party won 9 seats in the House of Representatives in the 2017 general election. The Labour Party is a member of the European Party of European Socialists, in the European Parliament, where the Labour Party has 3 seats, it is part of the parliamentary group Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. They were joined by individuals from Catholic resistance group Christofoor and the Protestant parties Christian Historical Union, the founders of the PvdA wanted to create a broad party, breaking with the historic tradition of Pillarisation. This desire to come to a new system was called the Doorbraak. The party combined socialists with liberal democrats and progressive Christians, however, the party was unable to break Pillarisation. Instead the new party renewed the ties that SDAP had with other socialist organisations. In 1948 some conservative members, led by former VDB leader Pieter Oud, together with the Freedom Party, they formed the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, a conservative-liberal party. Between 1946 and 1958, the PvdA formed coalition governments with the Catholic Peoples Party, the KVP and the PvdA together had a large majority in parliament. Since 1948, these cabinets were led by PvdA Prime Minister Willem Drees, under his leadership the Netherlands recovered from the war, began to build its welfare state and Indonesia became independent. After the cabinet crisis of 1958, the PvdA was replaced by the VVD, the PvdA was in opposition until 1965. The electoral support of PvdA voters began to decline, in 1965 a conflict in the KVP-ARP-CHU-VVD cabinet made continuation of the government impossible. The three confessional, Christian-influenced parties turned towards the PvdA, together they formed the Cals cabinet. This cabinet was also lived and conflict ridden. The conflicts culminated in the fall of the Cals cabinet over economic policy, meanwhile, a younger generation was attempting to gain control of the PvdA. A group of young PvdA members, calling themselves the New Left, prominent New Left members were Jan Nagel, André van der Louw and Bram Peper
8.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
9.
Central European Summer Time
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It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
10.
Municipality
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It is to be distinguished from the county, which may encompass rural territory and/or numerous small communities such as towns, villages and hamlets. The term municipality may also mean the governing or ruling body of a given municipality, a municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district. The term is derived from French municipalité and Latin municipalis, a municipality can be any political jurisdiction from a sovereign state, such as the Principality of Monaco, or a small village, such as West Hampton Dunes, New York. The power of municipalities range from virtual autonomy to complete subordination to the state, municipalities may have the right to tax individuals and corporations with income tax, property tax, and corporate income tax, but may also receive substantial funding from the state. Similar terms include Spanish ayuntamiento, also called municipalidad, Polish gmina, Dutch/Flemish Gemeente, in Australia, the term local government area is used in place of the generic municipality. Here, the LGA Structure covers only incorporated areas of Australia, incorporated areas are legally designated parts of states and territories over which incorporated local governing bodies have responsibility. In Canada, municipalities are local governments established through provincial and territorial legislation, the Province of Ontario has different tiers of municipalities, including lower, upper, and single tiers. Types of upper tier municipalities in Ontario include counties and regional municipalities, nova Scotia also has regional municipalities, which include cities, counties, districts, or towns as municipal units. In India, a Nagar Palika or Municipality is a local body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more. Under the Panchayati Raj system, it directly with the state government. Generally, smaller cities and bigger towns have a Nagar Palika. Nagar Palikas are also a form of local self-government entrusted with duties and responsibilities. Such a corporation in Great Britain consists of a head as a mayor or provost, since local government reorganisation, the unit in England, Northern Ireland and Wales is known as a district, and in Scotland as a council area. A district may be awarded borough or city status, or can retain its district title, in Jersey, a municipality refers to the honorary officials elected to run each of the 12 parishes into which it is subdivided. This is the highest level of government in this jurisdiction. In the United States, municipality is usually understood as a city, town, village, or other local government unit, in the Peoples Republic of China, a direct-controlled municipality is a city with equal status to a province, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing. In Taiwan, a municipality is a city with equal status to a province, Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei. In Portuguese language usage, there are two words to distinguish the territory and the administrative organ, when referring to the territory, the word concelho is used, when referring to the organ of State, the word município is used
11.
Dutch Republic
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It preceded the Batavian Republic, the Kingdom of Holland, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and ultimately the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands. Alternative names include the United Provinces, Seven Provinces, Federated Dutch Provinces, most of the Low Countries had come under the rule of the House of Burgundy and subsequently the House of Habsburg. In 1549 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V issued the Pragmatic Sanction, Charles was succeeded by his son, King Philip II of Spain. This was the start of the Eighty Years War, in 1579 a number of the northern provinces of the Low Countries signed the Union of Utrecht, in which they promised to support each other in their defence against the Spanish army. This was followed in 1581 by the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence of the provinces from Philip II. In 1582 the United Provinces invited Francis, Duke of Anjou to lead them, but after an attempt to take Antwerp in 1583. After the assassination of William of Orange, both Henry III of France and Elizabeth I of England declined the offer of sovereignty, however, the latter agreed to turn the United Provinces into a protectorate of England, and sent the Earl of Leicester as governor-general. This was unsuccessful and in 1588 the provinces became a confederacy, the Union of Utrecht is regarded as the foundation of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, which was not recognized by the Spanish Empire until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. During the Anglo-French war, the territory was divided into groups, the Patriots, who were pro-French and pro-American and the Orangists. The Republic of the United Provinces faced a series of revolutions in 1783–1787. During this period, republican forces occupied several major Dutch cities, initially on the defence, the Orangist forces received aid from Prussian troops and retook the Netherlands in 1787. After the French Republic became the French Empire under Napoleon, the Batavian Republic was replaced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland, the Netherlands regained independence from France in 1813. In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 the names United Provinces of the Netherlands, on 16 March 1815, the son of stadtholder William V crowned himself King William I of the Netherlands. Between 1815 and 1890 the King of the Netherlands was also in a union the Grand Duke of the sovereign Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. After Belgium gained its independence in 1830, the state became known as the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The County of Holland was the wealthiest and most urbanized region in the world, the free trade spirit of the time received a strong augmentation through the development of a modern, effective stock market in the Low Countries. The Netherlands has the oldest stock exchange in the world, founded in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company, while Rotterdam has the oldest bourse in the Netherlands, the worlds first stock exchange, that of the Dutch East-India Company, went public in six different cities. Later, a court ruled that the company had to reside legally in a city so Amsterdam is recognized as the oldest such institution based on modern trading principles
12.
Eighty Years' War
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The Eighty Years War or Dutch War of Independence was a revolt of the Seventeen Provinces against the political and religious hegemony of Philip II of Spain, the sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands. After the initial stages, Philip II deployed his armies and regained control over most of the rebelling provinces, under the leadership of the exiled William the Silent, the northern provinces continued their resistance. They eventually were able to oust the Habsburg armies, and in 1581 they established the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, after a 12-year truce, hostilities broke out again around 1619 which can be said to coincide with the Thirty Years War. An end was reached in 1648 with the Peace of Münster, in the decades preceding the war, the Dutch became increasingly discontented with Habsburg rule. A major cause of discontent was heavy taxation imposed on the population, while support. At that time, the Seventeen Provinces were known in the empire as De landen van herwaarts over, the presence of Spanish troops, under the command of the Duke of Alba, brought in to oversee order, further amplified this unrest. Spain also attempted a policy of religious uniformity for the Catholic Church within its domains. The Reformation meanwhile produced a number of Protestant denominations, which gained followers in the Seventeen Provinces and these included the Lutheran movement of Martin Luther, the Anabaptist movement of the Dutch reformer Menno Simons, and the Reformed teachings of John Calvin. This growth lead to the 1566 Beeldenstorm, the Iconoclastic Fury which saw many churches in northern Europe stripped of their Catholic statuary, in October 1555, Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire began the gradual abdication of his several crowns. The balance of power was heavily weighted toward the local and regional governments, Philip did not govern in person but appointed Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy as governor-general to lead the central government. When Philip left for Spain in 1559 political tension was increased by religious policies, not having the liberal-mindedness of his father Charles V, Philip was a fervent enemy of the Protestant movements of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the Anabaptists. Towards the end of Charles reign enforcement had become lax. Philip, however, insisted on rigorous enforcement, which caused widespread unrest, the new hierarchy was to be headed by Granvelle as archbishop of the new archdiocese of Mechelen. The reform was unpopular with the old church hierarchy, as the new dioceses were to be financed by the transfer of a number of rich abbeys. Granvelle became the focus of the opposition against the new governmental structures, after the recall of Granvelle, Orange persuaded Margaret and the Council to ask for a moderation of the placards against heresy. Philip delayed his response, and in this interval the opposition to his religious policies gained more widespread support, Philip finally rejected the request for moderation in his Letters from the Segovia Woods of October 1565. This Compromise of Nobles was supported by about 400 nobles, both Catholic and Protestant, and was presented to Margaret on 5 April 1566, impressed by the massive support for the compromise, she suspended the placards, awaiting Philips final ruling. The first half of the Eighty Years War between the Spanish Empire and the Dutch Republic was fought between 1566 and 1609, when the Twelve Years Truce was signed in 1609, ending this first phase of war, the northern Netherlands had achieved de facto independence
13.
Peat
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Peat, also called turf, is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter that is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem is the most efficient carbon sink on the planet because peatland plants capture the CO2 which is released from the peat. Sphagnum moss is one of the most common components in peat, soils that contain mostly peat are known as histosols. Peat forms in wetland conditions, where flooding obstructs flows of oxygen from the atmosphere, Peatlands, particularly bogs, are the most important source of peat. That said, other less common types, including fens, pocosins. Landscapes covered in peat are home to specific kinds of plants including Sphagnum moss, ericaceous shrubs, because organic matter accumulates over thousands of years, peat deposits also provide records of past vegetation and climates stored in plant remains like pollen. This allows humans to reconstruct past environments and study changes in land use. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world, by volume, there are about 4 trillion cubic metres of peat in the world, covering a total of around 2% of the global land area, containing about 8 billion terajoules of energy. Over time, the formation of peat is often the first step in the formation of other fossil fuels such as coal. This is also the commonly used in the peat industry. At 106 g CO2/MJ, the carbon dioxide emission intensity of peat is higher than that of coal and natural gas, lastly, peat fires have been responsible for large public health disasters including the 1997 Southeast Asian haze. Peat forms when plant material does not fully decay in acidic and anaerobic conditions and it is composed mainly of wetland vegetation, principally bog plants including mosses, sedges, and shrubs. As it accumulates, the peat holds water and this slowly creates wetter conditions that allow the area of wetland to expand. Peatland features can include ponds, ridges, and raised bogs, most modern peat bogs formed 12,000 years ago in high latitudes after the glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age. Peat usually accumulates slowly at the rate of about a millimetre per year, using Carbon-dating, scientists found that Peat in peatlands started forming 360 million years ago based on it currently containing 550 Gt of carbon. Peat material is either fibric, hemic, or sapric, fibric peats are the least decomposed and consist of intact fiber. Hemic peats are partially decomposed and sapric are the most decomposed, Phragmites peat is one composed of reed grass, Phragmites australis, and other grasses. It is denser than other types of peat
14.
Vincent van Gogh
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Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings and his suicide at 37 followed years of mental illness and poverty. Born into a family, Van Gogh drew as a child and was serious, quiet. As a young man he worked as an art dealer, often travelling and he turned to religion, and spent time as a Protestant missionary in southern Belgium. He drifted in ill health and solitude before taking up painting in 1881 and his younger brother Theo supported him financially, and the two kept up a long correspondence by letter. His early works, mostly still lifes and depictions of peasant labourers, in 1886 he moved to Paris, where he met members of the avant-garde, including Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, who were reacting against the Impressionist sensibility. As his work developed he created a new approach to still lifes and his paintings grew brighter in colour as he developed a style that became fully realised during his stay in Arles in the south of France in 1888. During this period he broadened his subject matter to include trees, cypresses, wheat fields. Van Gogh suffered from episodes and delusions and though he worried about his mental stability, he often neglected his physical health, did not eat properly. His friendship with Gauguin ended after a confrontation with a razor and he spent time in psychiatric hospitals, including a period at Saint-Rémy. After he discharged himself and moved to the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris and his depression continued and on 27 July 1890, Van Gogh shot himself in the chest with a revolver. He died from his injuries two days later, Van Gogh was unsuccessful during his lifetime, and was considered a madman and a failure. He became famous after his suicide, and exists in the imagination as the quintessential misunderstood genius. His reputation began to grow in the early 20th century as elements of his style came to be incorporated by the Fauves. The most comprehensive source on Van Gogh is the correspondence between him and his younger brother, Theo. Their lifelong friendship, and most of what is known of Vincents thoughts, Theo van Gogh was an art dealer and provided his brother with financial and emotional support, and access to influential people on the contemporary art scene. Theo kept all of Vincents letters to him, Vincent kept few of the letters he received, after both had died, Theos widow Johanna arranged for the publication of some of their letters. A few appeared in 1906 and 1913, the majority were published in 1914, Vincents letters are eloquent and expressive and have been described as having a diary-like intimacy, and read in parts like autobiography
15.
104th Infantry Division (United States)
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The 104th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army. Today, it is known as the 104th Division and based at Fort Lewis, Washington, activated in 1921, the division was created as an infantry unit with a focus on nighttime combat operations. This was the combat duty that the 104th Infantry Division has served during its history. At the end of the fighting on 7 May 1945, this division was in central Germany opposite the troops of its allies from the Soviet Army, after World War II, this division was reorganized primarily as a training division for Reserve forces. After several decades, the then expanded its role to conducting entry-level training for soldiers of all branches of the Army in the northwestern United States. The 104th Infantry Division was first constituted on 24 June 1921 as the 104th Division, before being organized and activated in October of that year in Salt Lake City, Utah. Assigned to the division were the 207th and 208th Infantry Brigades, containing the 413th, 414th, 415th, as a unit of the Organized Reserves, the division represented assets from the states of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. In 1924 it received its shoulder sleeve insignia, the division would not see significant duty until World War II. At the outbreak of World War II, the 104th Infantry Division began preparing to participate in the war in Europe. The division was ordered into military service on 15 September 1942 under the command of Major General Gilbert R. Cook. The 207th and 208th Brigades did not reactivate as part of an elimination of brigade commands within its divisions. The division was centered on three infantry regiments, the 413th, the 414th, and 415th Infantry Regiments. From that point it began training as a division in preparation for deployment to Europe, the division trained in the northwestern United States during the next two years, earning its name Timberwolf Division from its time in the area. The division was the first army division to train specifically for fighting in nighttime conditions, after training at Camp Adair, the division participation in the Oregon Maneuver combat exercise in the fall of 1943. The 104th Infantry Division sailed for the Western Front on 27 August 1944 and it landed in France on 7 September 1944. In early October, Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen and he had previously commanded the 1st Infantry Division, The Big Red One, in North Africa and Sicily and would command the 104th during most of its time in combat. The division was assigned to III Corps of the Ninth United States Army, the division then organized and assembled at Manche, France before heading into combat. Joining the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, the moved into defensive positions in the vicinity of Wuustwezel
16.
Statistics Netherlands
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Statistics Netherlands, founded in 1899, is a Dutch governmental institution that gathers statistical information about the Netherlands. In Dutch it is known as the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek and it is a department of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and is located in The Hague and Heerlen. Since 3 January 2004, Statistics Netherlands has been a self-standing organisation and this independent commission must guard the impartiality, independence, quality, relevance, and continuity of the CBS, according to the Law on the CBS of 1996. The CBS has offices in Den Haag and Heerlen, the main office is located in Den Haag. The office in Heerlen was located there by the government in 1973 to compensate the area for the loss of ten of thousands of jobs because of closing the coalmines, the office in The Hague with the name Double U was designed by Branimir Medić and Pero Puljiz. It has a surface of 33,191 m2 and the total cost was €41,000,000, the office in Heerlen was designed by Meyer en Van Schooten Architects in 2009. The office has a surface of 22,000 m2 and parking spaces for 296 cars, glass was used everywhere in the building. The main hall has a roof and the outside walls are fully glass. The several straight staircases in the hall have glass balustrades with a RVS handrail and were manufactured by EeStairs. Queen Beatrix from The Netherlands officially opened the building the 30th of September 2009
17.
Moerdijk
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Moerdijk is a municipality and a town in the South of the Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. The municipality of Moerdijk was founded in 1997 following the merger of the municipalities of Fijnaart en Heijningen, Klundert, Standdaarbuiten, Willemstad, at that time the new municipality was called Zevenbergen. The name changed to Moerdijk in 1999, population as of 2002 is 1,205. This was the last bridge available for the retreat from the vital Scheldt Estuary of the rapidly collapsing German defences near Antwerp in World War II. Moerdijk made headlines on January 5,2011, because of a fire at Chemie-Pack causing a large cloud of toxic smoke to blow over the surrounding area. Above the Moerdijk is used as an expression in Belgium and the parts of the Netherlands to mean in the Netherlands or in Holland. Below the Moerdijk is also a Dutch expression for the Catholic provinces North Brabant and this expression is used particularly around Mardi Gras in relation to the regions traditional carnival culture, which does not exist north of the major rivers. Zevenbergen is the largest town of the municipality and it is located about 10 km northwest of Breda. It received city rights in 1427, Zevenbergen has a train station with connections to Dordrecht and Roosendaal. List of mayors of Moerdijk Media related to Moerdijk at Wikimedia Commons Official website
18.
Breda
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Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark, as a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance. Breda had a population of 180,420 in 2014, the area had a population of 324,812. In the 11th century, Breda was a fief of the Holy Roman Emperor. The city of Breda obtained a charter in 1252. After that Breda had the rights to build fortifications, the city constructed brick walls and Roman-style gates. In 1327 Adelheid of Gaveren Breda sold Breda to Duke Johannes III of Brabant, in 1350, the fief was resold to Johannes II of Wassenaar. In 1403 the heiress of his line, Johanna of Polanen, thus, the baron of Breda was also count of Nassau, Germany, prince of Orange and stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. Breda remained part of the barony Breda until it was taken by French revolutionary forces in 1795, the acquisition of the city by the House of Orange-Nassau marked its emergence as a residentiestad. The presence of the Orange-Nassau family attracted other nobles, who built palatial residences in the old quarters of the city. The most impressive one, built by the Italian architect Thomas Vincidor de Bologna for the first Dutch prince, was the first renaissance-style palace built north of the Alps, in the 15th century the citys physical, economic and strategic importance expanded rapidly. A great church was built in Brabantine Gothic style with a gallant 97-metre-high tower, in 1534 Henry III of Nassau-Breda rebuilt the modest medieval fortifications in impressive style. In 1534 a fire destroyed over 90 percent of the city, close to 1300 houses, churches and chapels, only 150 houses and the main church remained. In July 1581, during the Eighty Years War, Breda was captured by surprise by Spanish troops then under the command of Claudius van Barlaymont, although the city had surrendered upon the condition that it would not be plundered, the troops vented their fury upon the inhabitants. In the resulting mayhem, known as Haultpennes Fury, over 500 citizens were killed, the so-called Spaniards Hole marks the spot where the peat-boat allegedly lay, although this has not been historically proven. After a ten-month siege in 1624–25, the city surrendered to the Spaniards under Spinola, in 1637 Breda was recaptured by Frederick Henry of Orange after a four-month siege, and in 1648 it was finally ceded to the Dutch Republic by the Treaty of Westphalia. The Treaty of Breda was signed in the city, July 31,1667, during World War II the city was under German occupation. It was liberated following a successful outflanking manoeuvre planned and performed by forces of 1st Polish Armoured Division of Gen. Maczek on October 29,1944
19.
Zundert
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Zundert is a municipality and town in the south of the Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant The origin of the town of Zundert is like that of many others, very unclear. The name is first encountered in a certificate dating from 1157, in which the Bishop of Liege and this Sunderda actually relates to the current settlement of Klein-Zundert, one of the first settlements in the area. The local monks, besides their religious labour, were involved in clearing the land. The monks also assisted in improving agricultural methods, Zundert is still surrounded by a rural environment with beautiful nature areas, one of them is the Buissche Heide, a magnificent heath area with unique walking possibilities. The Kalmthoutse Heide, across the border with Belgium, is also in the vicinity, Zundert, Achtmaal, Wernhout and Klein-Zundert were liberated on October 27, Rijsbergen on October 28. At a small distance from the town, an old tavern called In Den Anker can be found and it originally dates from 1635, but was rebuilt in 1913. Zundert is surrounded by the municipalities Etten-Leur and Breda on the north, Hoogstraten on the east, Wuustwezel on the south, Kalmthout on the southwest, Zundert is one of the most agricultural municipalities of the Netherlands. 10% of all production of the Netherlands is around Zundert. Production of strawberries and young field grown trees and hedging plants is important in the area. The Roman Catholic church of Zundert, dedicated to Saint Trudo, was built in 1927 and these treasures consist of marble altar tables, three Alabaster sculptures, several paintings and two carved oaken confessionals. The church itself was designed by Jan Stuyt, a pupil of the famous architect Pierre Cuypers, Stuyt also designed the church of nearby Klein-Zundert in the same municipality. The town hall of Zundert was built in 1830 in neoclassical style and demolished, Zundert is the home of a 17th-century windmill, called De Akkermolen. It is said to have originally built in 1652. It is a mill, and it was built to process grain. The mill had numerous private owners in the past, including stadtholder Willem V, as the Baron of Breda, in the early 1900s the mill was owned by Wilhelmus van der Stappen. The mill was damaged in 1950, and its existence was threatened several occasions after that. The Akkermolen is currently owned by the municipality of Zundert, which bought it in 1959, after the mill was taken over by Zundert, it needed serious restoration, which took place in 1961. Another restoration took place in 1991, but then, the mill needed to be taken apart
20.
Asten, Netherlands
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Asten is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. It is home to the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry and also a carillon museum, the spoken language is Peellands, an East Brabantian dialect. Asten Heusden Ommel Asten has a history going back to the Roman period. In the swamp of the national park De Peel an ancient Roman centurion helmet was found. Silhouets of Hunter-Gatherer and Agricultural societies were also found in the area, the village has a castle dating back to the 12th century, at the south of the current village. It has also given its name to the village, Aa-Stein, a second stone-built fortified building was suspected at the north, at the site of the current Slotweg to be precise. Some stone fragments have been excavated, although no evidence of a fortified building has been produced here. The village was pillaged and burnt twice in the 17th century, by Austrian and Swedish army troops
21.
Baarle-Nassau
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Baarle-Nassau is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, located in North Brabant province. It had a population of 6,626 in 2014, topographic map of the municipality of Baarle-Nassau, June 2015. It is closely linked, with complicated borders, to the Belgian exclaves of Baarle-Hertog, Baarle-Hertog consists of 26 separate pieces of land. Apart from the main piece located north of the Belgian town of Merksplas, there are 22 Belgian exclaves in the Netherlands, there are also six Dutch exclaves located within the largest Belgian exclave, one within the second-largest, and an eighth within Zondereigen. The smallest Belgian parcel, H22, measures 2,632 square metres, the borders complexity results from a number of equally complex medieval treaties, agreements, land-swaps and sales between the Lords of Breda and the Dukes of Brabant. Generally speaking, predominantly agricultural or built environments became constituents of Brabant and these distributions were ratified and clarified as a part of the borderline settlements arrived at during the Treaty of Maastricht in 1843. For clarification and the interest of tourists, the border is made visible on all streets with iron pins and this way it is always clear whether one is in Belgium or in The Netherlands. This is also visible on the numbers, the style of house numbers is different in both countries and often one will find the Dutch or Belgian flag next to the number. Baarle-Nassau Ulicoten Castelré These are all part of Baarle-Nassau Commune and these are all part of Baarle-Hertog Commune, and are surrounded by Baarle-Nassau Commune
22.
Bergeijk
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Bergeijk is a municipality and town in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. It consists of an area of 101.73 km2 and had a population of 18,279 in 2014 and it is one of 21 municipalities, including Eindhoven, that make up the Eindhoven Region Cooperative. Until 1998 it had the spelling of Bergeyk. Bergeijk is traditionally an area, but tourism and recreation are steadily gaining importance. Among the facilities in the municipality of Bergeijk is a park in the village Westerhoven. Bergeijk is known in the Netherlands for a program on radio, Radio Bergeijk. Bergeijk Boscheind Braambosch Hof t Loo Loveren Luyksgestel Riethoven Rijt Sengelsbroek Walik Weebosch Westerhoven Topographic map of the municipality of Bergeijk, media related to Bergeijk at Wikimedia Commons Official website
23.
Bergen op Zoom
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Bergen op Zoom is a municipality and a city located in the south of the Netherlands. The city was built on a place where two types of soil meet, sandy soil and marine clay, the sandy soil pushed against the marine clay, accumulating and forming hills over several centuries. People called those hills the Brabantse Wal, literally meaning wall of Brabant, Zoom refers to the border of this wall and bergen in Dutch means mountains or hills. The name has nothing to do with the channel the ‘Zoom’ which was later built through Bergen op Zoom. Bergen op Zoom was granted city status probably in 1212, in 1287 the city and its surroundings became a lordship as it was separated from the lordship of Breda. The lordship was elevated to a margraviate in 1559, several noble families, including the House of Glymes, ruled Bergen op Zoom in succession until 1795, although the title was only nominal since at least the seventeenth century. During the early period, Bergen op Zoom was a very strong fortress and one of the main armories. It had a natural defensive site, surrounded as it was by marshes. Furthermore, it could receive reinforcements and supplies by sea, if the army did not have a fleet to blockade its port. Due to these features, the city was one of the strategic points held by the Dutch during their revolt in the Eighty Years War and it was at that time besieged by Alessandro Farnese first in 1588, and by Ambrosio Spinola a second time in 1622. Both sieges were unsuccessful and Bergen op Zoom got the nickname La Pucelle or The Virgin as it was never sieged successfully, in 1747, during the War of the Austrian Succession, the French army laid siege to it again. However, it had no line of fortifications, nor any fortress. After seventy days of siege, the city was taken and thoroughly sacked, during the War of the Seventh Coalition, the town was again besieged by the British in 1814 in a failed attempt to dislodge the French garrison. During the reign of Jan II van Glymes, nicknamed Jan metten Lippen, which means Jan with the big lips, probably caused by an infection, large fairs were held twice a year, in spring and fall, that were known both nationally and internationally. Merchants from all over Europe came to Bergen op Zoom to sell their goods, because of this major economic growth, the Sint-Gertrudischurch was enlarged. The enlargement was called the Nieuw Werck but was never finished, because of the recession of the mid 16th century. The economic recession was largely caused by the bad accessibility of the port, due to a number of floods in Zeeland, because of the great reliance on the port, the economic growth received a major blow. In addition, the modernization of trade techniques, like the permanent stock exchange instead of the fairs, nevertheless, these fairs existed until 1910
24.
Bernheze
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Bernheze is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. It was formed in 1994 from the municipalities of Heesch, Heeswijk-Dinther. The municipality was named after an old farm Bernhese, which came into the possession of the Berne Abbey and this abbey was situated in the village of Bern. The meaning of Bernhese is twofold, Bern is the same as the word born. In 1857 the Berne Abbey was founded in Heeswijk, Heesch Heeswijk Dinther Loosbroek Nistelrode Vorstenbosch Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Bernheze, June 2015. Media related to Bernheze at Wikimedia Commons Official website
25.
Best, Netherlands
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Best is a municipality and a village in the southern Netherlands. It is situated northwest of the city Eindhoven, and is part of the agglomeration of this city. The headquarters of Europes largest meat processor Vion NV are located in Best, as are Philips Healthcare, the village used to be a part of Oirschot, a nearby town. But as Best was situated on the road from Amsterdam to Maastricht. Each time the military wanted to quarter troops in Best, they had to request to be stationed in Oirschot,10 km away, because of this difficulty, the government decided to separate Best from Oirschot in 1819. Archaeological excavations around the village suggest settlement in the area dating back to the Roman era, the Armenhoef is a monumental farm on the Oirschotseweg 117 in Best. This stable is the oldest still in use within Western Europe, historical building research in 2009 showed that the wooden frame of the stable dates from 1263. The living part of the farm itself is built in recent times, in 1640 at the earliest, the farm is an official monument. The first written text about Best dates back to 1421, the village itself, however, did not exist until the 19th century. There were three villages, Naastenbest in the west, Wilhelminadorp in the south and Verrenbest where Oranjestraat is located. They grew together, and formed the village with the name Best, Best received a train station on the line Rotterdam - Breda - Boxtel - Helmond - Venlo - Maastricht. The line had one track, but traffic congestion necessitated another track. In the 1980s, congestion once again became a problem so two more tracks were added in 2002 and it is now possible to travel to Best from Utrecht or Eindhoven by train. The spoken language is North Meierijs, one can take a bus from the Eindhoven central station to Best. Or one can take a bus from the Tilburg central station to Best
26.
Boekel
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Boekel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. The name Boekel can be explained bij the word loo the Dutch word for forest from de heeren Boc and fits in the category as places like Boxmeer. The heeren Boc was seen as the first lord of van Boxmeer, in present time is presumed that the name is derived from Beukeloo or Beukenbos. Boekel Huize Padua Venhorst Boekel is founded somewhere in the Middle Ages as a settlement of a number of farms, in the 13th century Boekel was part of de heerlijkheid Uden. In 1233 a separation took place between the Land van Cuijk and the Land van Herpen and Uden, at that time Uden together with Herpen formed a form of government called a heerlijkheid. Until the foundation of the city of Ravenstein, Herpen was the city of this region. Rutger van Herpen sold or leased 1313 of 1314 the community rights to the residents of Boekel and Volkel, when the noble lord wanted to improve its cash position, then he charges the use of any of its soils, beginning with the wasteland in his heerlijkheid. This common land should particularly think of marshy land and barren higher grounds, in 1324 the heerlijkheid of Uden administratively belonged to the Land of Ravenstein under the rule of the House of Valkenburg until 1396. From the aldermen Herpen and Uden the Heikantsgericht was created in 1339 and these shipsbanks stretched across the entire former heerlijkheid of Uden, consisting of Uden, Boekel and Zeeland. Of these aldermen, which in total consisted of seven members, by childless death of Reinoud of Valkenburg grants the Duke of Brabant Adolf van Kleef with Herpen, Ravenstein and Uden so in 1397 the Land of Ravenstein Kleefs territory aids was. Afterwards the area comes under ruling of Neuburg-Palts in 1629, under the Neubergers ruling the area had religious freedom. Because the neighboring provinces of Brabant and Gelderland from 1648 officially fall under the States-General, the religious freedom provided opportunities for Catholics in the States of Brabant. So the Catholics of Erp built their own church on the border with Boekel. Due to the religious freedom several Catholic religious orders settled in the Land of Ravenstein, in 1741 members of the Brothers Penitents, from the Handelse Kluis themselves wanted to settle in Boekel. Led by Daniël de Brouwer the brothers laid the foundations for the Psychiatric Hospital Huize Padua, from the 17th and 18th centuries various conflicts arise between the villages of Boekel, Uden and Gemert around the demarcation lines between the Ravenstein, Cuijk and Gemert areas. In 1663 the boundary dispute with the Vrije Heerlijkheid Gemert was settled, in 1729, a similar problem with Uden settled
27.
Boxtel
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Boxtel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. This is the origin of the Van Boxtel family, which has numerous descendants in North Brabant, the town was the site of the Battle of Boxtel fought in September 1794 during the Flanders campaign. It is often remembered as the first battle of the future Duke of Wellington. Boxtel Lennisheuvel Liempde Dutch Topographic map of Boxtel, March 2014
28.
Cuijk
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Cuijk is a municipality and a town in upper southeastern Netherlands of pre-historic origin. Its existence is recorded on the Roman roadmap Tabula Peutingeriana under the name of Ceuclum, cuijk is twinned with Maldon in Essex, UK. It is a big town with very good public transport services to nearby Nijmegen. The nearest hospital is at Boxmeer and the nearest international airport is situated in the German town of Weeze, cuijk has a railway station on the Nijmegen to Venlo railway
29.
Deurne, Netherlands
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Deurne is a rural municipality and eponymous village in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands. Including the villages of Liessel, Vlierden, Neerkant, and Helenaveen, Deurne had a population of 31,711 in 2014 and cover an area of 118.36 km2. Today only tiny pieces of former peat moor remain, some reflooded as mini wetlands. Deurne railway station In 2009 the new Cultural Centre opened its doors and it is the Martien van Doorne Cultuur Centrum and serves as a theatre, concert hall, and movie theatre. Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Deurne, June 2015 Media related to Deurne, Netherlands at Wikimedia Commons Official website
30.
Dongen
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Dongen is a municipality and a village in the southern Netherlands. In the past it was home to a profitable Leather industry, the town is formed near a small river called Donge, the water of which was used extensively for the leather industry. The Aerts Automobile was built here in 1899, Dongen s Gravenmoer Vaart Klein-Dongen Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Dongen, June 2015 The municipal council exists of 21 chairs. You can find the composition of the council since 1998 below, karel Willemen Designer Kelly van Zon table tennis player Media related to Dongen at Wikimedia Commons Official website
31.
Eersel
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Eersel is a municipality and a town in southern Netherlands in the province of North Brabant. Eersel is situated in the Campine area, Eersel is part of the Acht Zaligheden and known for its attractive market. This market, together with the Hint, has declared a protected village on October 19,1967. This has been done to guarantee the survival of its authentic character. Duizel Eersel Knegsel Steensel Vessem Wintelre About 3,500 years ago the first inhabitants of the area of Eersel were builders of sepulchre hillocks or burial mounds of the Tumulus culture. Following them in the bronze age the people of the Urnfield culture continued living there as has been proved by the urn with cremating ashes that has been found in ‘Schadewijk’. Before the Romans occupied this area, which they called Toxandria, from the Roman period there are also archaeological finds. Many shards of Roman pottery are found between the church of Eersel and the hamlet ‘Schadewijk’, the Salian Franks that settled the area in the 4th century became known as Toxandrians. After the Roman time the region has been virtually depopulated, the Franks established themselves round 700 again in the region. They lived where high and lower grounds were laying close to each other, one of those high grounds was Ereslo. As from this there is a form of government authority in this area. The Franks build their farms around a triangular square and this kind of settlement was called a domain which was the property of the high nobility of the Franks. The oldest known written indication of Eersel is found in the manuscript Codex Aureus of Echternach of the Abbey of Echternach. In this document is an included in which a certain Aengilbertus, son of late Gaobertus. In this registration of the year 712 the name of ‘Ereslo’ was transferred wrong to ‘Eresloch’, wilibrord on his behalve gave the heritage to the Abbey of Echternach in Luxembourg. To approximately in the year 1000 Eersel belonged to the county of Taxandria, hereafter it came under the influence of earl of Guelders. The Earl of Leuven extends its area to the north and in 1203 the region became a part of Brabant. Trading started to develop and Eersel became a point for the routes of Leuven and s-Hertogenbosch and of Antwerp
32.
Eindhoven
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Eindhoven is a municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands, originally at the confluence of the Dommel and Gender streams. The Gender was dammed short of the city centre in the 1950s, the city has a population of 223,220 in January 2015, making it the fifth-largest municipality of the Netherlands and the largest in the province of North Brabant. Neighbouring cities and towns include Asten, Son en Breugel, Nuenen, Geldrop-Mierlo, Heeze-Leende, Waalre, Veldhoven, Eersel, Oirschot, the agglomeration has a population of 337,487. The metropolitan area consists of 419,045 inhabitants, the city region has a population of 753,426. Also, Eindhoven is located in the Brabantse Stedenrij, a metropolitan area with about 2 million inhabitants. The name Eindhoven derives from the contraction of the regional words eind, toponymically, eind occurs commonly as a prefix and postfix in local place- and streetnames. A hove comprised a parcel of land which a local lord might lease to private persons, given that a string of such parcels existed around Woensel, the name Eindhoven may have originated with the meaning last hoves on the land of Woensel. The written history of Eindhoven started in 1232, when Duke Hendrik I of Brabant granted city rights to Endehoven, then a small town right on the confluence of the Dommel, at the time of granting of its charter, Eindhoven had approximately 170 houses enclosed by a rampart. Just outside the city stood a small castle. The city was granted the right to organize a weekly market. Another factor in its establishment was its location on the route from Holland to Liège. Around 1388, the fortifications were strengthened further. And between 1413 and 1420, a new castle was built within the city walls, in 1486, Eindhoven was plundered and burned by troops from Guelders. The reconstruction of Eindhoven was finished in 1502, with a stronger rampart, however, in 1543 it fell again, its defense works having been neglected due to poverty. A big fire in 1554 destroyed 75% of the houses but by 1560 these had been rebuilt with the help of William I of Orange, Eindhoven did not become part of the Netherlands until 1629. During the French occupation, Eindhoven suffered again with many of its houses destroyed by the invading forces, Eindhoven remained a minor city after that until the start of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution of the 19th century provided a major growth impulse, canals, roads and railroads were constructed. Industrialization brought population growth to Eindhoven, at the establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, Eindhoven had 2,310 inhabitants
33.
Geertruidenberg
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Geertruidenberg is a city and municipality in the province North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. The city, named after Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, received city rights in 1213 from the count of Holland, the fortified city prospered until the 15th century. Today, the municipality of Geertruidenberg also includes the population centres Raamsdonk, the municipality has a total area of 29.64 km2 and had a population of 21,596 in 2014. The city government consists of the mayor Willemijn van Hees and three aldermen, Geertruidenberg is named after Saint Gertrude of Nivelles. In 1213, Sint Geertruidenberg received city rights from Count William I of Holland, the fortified city became a trade center, where counts and other nobility gathered for negotiations. The Hook and Cod wars in 1420 and the Saint Elizabeths flood in 1421 ended the prosperity of the city, during the Eighty Years War the city was captured by an English, French Huguenot and Fleming force in 1573 - in a surprise attack. In 1589 however the city was betrayed to Parma by its English garrison and it was finally recaptured by an Anglo-Dutch force under the command of Maurice of Nassau in the summer of 1593. Today, Geertruidenberg is part of the province of North Brabant, Geertruidenberg is the oldest city of Holland as it was the first to receive city rights. It is a misconception that Geertruidenberg is the oldest city of the Netherlands, because the names Holland. The total area of the municipality is 29.64 km2, Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Geertruidenberg, June 2015 As of 2014, the total population of Geertruidenberg is 21,596 inhabitants. The population density of the municipality is 811/km2, the mayor of Geertruidenberg is Willemijn van Hees and she was appointed mayor by the Dutch monarch, like all mayors in the Netherlands. The three aldermen of Geertruidenberg are Kevin van Oort, Adriaan de Jongh, and Bert van den Kieboom, together, the mayor and the aldermen form the College van Burgemeester en Wethouders, which is supported by the citys secretary Richard Nagtzaam. The city council is elected every four years during municipal elections, the 19 members of the city council assemble ten times per year for public meetings in the city hall in Raamsdonksveer
34.
Geldrop-Mierlo
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Geldrop-Mierlo is a municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. The municipality was created from the two municipalities of Geldrop and Mierlo on 1 January 2004. Geldrop-Mierlo had a population of 38,809 in 2014 and it covers an area of 31.39 km2. The two villages of Geldrop and Mierlo used to be separate municipalities, but joined together after threats from Helmond to take over Mierlo and its partner city is Dobříš in the Czech Republic. Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Geldrop-Mierlo, June 2015 The exact age of Geldrop isnt known, over the years there have been several archaeological finds relating to prehistoric peoples who lived in or passed through the area. In the area of Geldrop, where over 10,000 years ago reindeerhunters of the so-called Ahrensburg culture placed their tents, on one of them a reindeerhorn have been represented, on the other one a dancing little girl, who is called venus van Mierlo. In the south of Zesgehuchten finds have been done which indicate on small settlements from the New Stone Age, finds from the Roman Time and the early Middle Ages have been found off Genoenhuis and Hoog Geldrop. In the autumn of 1989 nearby t Zand archaeological unearthings has been carried out, four settlements were found from the late Roman Time and the Middle Ages, a period which covers the years between 350 and 1225. Geldrop railway station Dries van Agt, former Dutch prime-minister, born in Geldrop in 1931 Ernest Faber, football defender, born in Geldrop in 1971 A. F. Th
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pronunciation (help·info)) is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. Its name is a combination of the two towns from which the municipality originally arose: Etten and Leur. Nowadays both towns have grown into one.
Media related to Etten-Leur at Wikimedia Commons
Etten-Leur
