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.
Cantons of Switzerland
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The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the Waldstätte, with the Napoleonic period of the Helvetic Republic the term canton/cantone/Kanton was fully established. From 1833, there were 25 cantons, which became 26 after the secession of the canton of Jura from Bern in 1979. The term canton, now used as English term for administrative subdivisions of other countries, originates in French usage in the late 15th century, from a word for edge. After 1490, canton was increasingly used in French and Italian documents to refer to the members of the Swiss Confederacy, English use of canton in reference to the Swiss Confederacy dates to the early 17th century. It was increasingly replaced by Stand after 1550, the French term canton was not adopted into German usage prior to 1648, and after that only in occasional use. The prominent usage of Ort and Stand only gradually disappeared in German-speaking Switzerland with the Helvetic Republic, only with the Act of Mediation of 1803 did German Kanton become an official designation, retained in the Swiss Constitution of 1848. The term Stand remains in usage and is reflected in the name of the upper chamber of the Swiss Parliament. Republic Some cantonal constitutions provide for a formal name of the state. Most of Romandys cantons and Ticino call themselves république/Repubblica officially, at least within their constitutions, for example, the canton of Geneva refers to itself formally as the République et canton de Genève. Though they were part of the Holy Roman Empire, they had become de facto independent when the Swiss defeated Emperor Maximillian in 1499 in Dornach. The old system was abandoned with the formation of the Helvetic Republic following the French invasion of Switzerland in 1798, the cantons of the Helvetic Republic had merely the status of an administrative subdivision with no sovereignty. The Helvetic Republic collapsed within five years, and cantonal sovereignty was restored with the Act of Mediation of 1803, the status of Switzerland as a federation of states was restored, at the time including 19 cantons. Three additional western cantons, Valais, Neuchâtel and Geneva, acceded in 1815, the process of Restoration, completed by 1830, returned most of the former feudal rights to the cantonal patriciates, leading to rebellions among the rural population. The Liberal Radical Party embodied these democratic forces calling for a new federal constitution and this tension, paired with religious issues escalated into armed conflict in the 1840s, with the brief Sonderbund War. The victory of the party resulted in the formation of Switzerland as a federal state in 1848. The cantons retained far-reaching sovereignty, but were no longer allowed to maintain standing armies or international relations. Each canton has its own constitution, legislature, government and courts, most of the cantons legislatures are unicameral parliaments, their size varying between 58 and 200 seats
3.
Canton of Thurgau
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The Canton of Thurgau is a northeast canton of Switzerland. It is named for the Thur River, and the name Thurgovia was historically used for a larger area, the area of what is now Thurgau was acquired as subject territories by the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy from the mid 15th century. Thurgau was first declared a canton in its own right at the formation of the Helvetic Republic in 1798, the population, as of December 2015, is 267,429. In 2007, there were a total of 47,390 who were resident foreigners, in prehistoric times the lands of the canton were inhabited by people of the Pfyn culture along Lake Constance. During Roman times the canton was part of the province Raetia until in 450 the lands were settled by the Alamanni, in the 6th century Thurgovia became a Gau of the Frankish Empire as part of Alemannia, passing to the Duchy of Swabia in the early 10th century. The most important cities of Thurgovia in the medieval period were Constance as the seat of the bishop. The dukes of Zähringen and the counts of Kyburg took over much of the land in the High Middle Ages, the town of Zürich was part of the Thurgau until it became reichsunmittelbar in 1218. When the Kyburg dynasty became extinct in 1264 the Habsburgs took over that land, during the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland, both the Catholic and emerging Reformed parties sought to swing the subject territories, such as the Thurgau, to their side. Between 1526 and 1531, most of the Thurgaus population adopted the new Reformed faith spreading from Zurich, religious tensions over the Thurgau were an important background to the First War of Villmergen, during which Zurich briefly occupied the Thurgau. In 1798 the land became a canton for the first time as part of the Helvetic Republic, in 1803, as part of the Act of Mediation, the canton of Thurgau became a member of the Swiss confederation. The current cantonal constitution of Thurgau dates from 1987, to the north the canton is bound by the Lake Constance across which lies Germany and Austria. The river Rhine creates the border in the northwest, to the south lies the canton of St. Gallen, to the west lie the cantons of Zürich and Schaffhausen. The area of the canton is 991 km2 and commonly divided into three hill masses, one of these stretches along Lake Constance in the north. Another is further inland between the river Thur and the river Murg, the third one forms the southern border of the canton and merges with the Hörnli mountain in the pre-Alps. The population of the canton is 267,429, the canton is mostly German speaking. The population is split between Protestants and Roman Catholics, since January 2011, Thurgau is divided into five districts which are named after their capitals. Before this date, there were eight districts, the ten largest municipalities by population are, ^a FDP before 2009, FDP. The Liberals after 2009 ^b * indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton. The canton of Thurgau is known for its agricultural produce
4.
Districts of Switzerland
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In contrast to centrally organised states, in the federally constituted Switzerland each canton is completely free to decide its own internal organisation. Therefore, there exists a variety of structures and terminology for the subnational entities between canton and municipality, loosely termed districts, most cantons are divided into Bezirke. They are also termed Ämter, Amtsbezirke, district or distretto, the Bezirke generally provide only administration and court organization. However, for historical reasons districts in cantons Graubünden and Schwyz are their own legal entities with jurisdiction over tax, seven of the 26 cantons – Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus, Zug, Basel-City and Geneva – have always existed without the district level of government. An eighth one, Appenzell Innerrhoden, uses no intermediate level either, bern in 2006 decided a reduction of its 26 districts to five administrative regions. Vaud decided a reduction from 19 to 10 districts, valais is planning a similar reduction and in Thurgau, a reduction of eight to four districts is under discussion. From 2005, districts only have a statistical meaning, the districts are functionally equivalent to municipalities elsewhere in Switzerland, and are generally shown as municipalities on maps etc. The Canton is divided into 6 districts, Appenzell Gonten Oberegg Rüte Schlatt-Haslen Schwende Municipalities of Switzerland
5.
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
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The Free Democratic Party or Radical Democratic Party was a liberal political party in Switzerland. Formerly one of the parties in Switzerland, on 1 January 2009 it merged with the Liberal Party of Switzerland to form FDP. The Liberals. The FDP remained dominant until the introduction of proportional representation in 1919, from 1945 to 1987, it alternated with the Social Democratic Party to be the largest party. In 1959, the party two seats in the magic formula. The party declined in the 1990s and 2000s, as it was put under pressure by the Swiss Peoples Party, in response, the party formed closer relations with the smaller Liberal Party, leading to their formal merger in 2009. The elements liberal, radical and freisinnig in the name originate from the conflicts during the period of Swiss Restoration between the Catholic-conservative cantons and the liberal cantons. From 1848 until 1891, the Federal Council was composed entirely of Radicals, the radical movement of the restoration was anti-clerical, and stood in opposition to the Catholic Conservative Party. They were otherwise heterogeneous, including and classical liberal Liberals, federalist Radicals and it was not until the rise of the Social Democratic Party in the early 20th century that the FDP found itself on the centre-right. The FDP was the dominant party until the 1919 election, when the introduction of proportional representation led to a leap in the representation of the Social Democrats. In 1959, the Free Democrats joined the major parties in agreeing the magic formula to divide up the seats of the Federal Council. After the 2003 elections, lawmakers of FDP and Liberal Party formed a parliamentary group in the Federal Assembly. In June 2005, they strengthened their cooperation by founding the Radical and Liberal Union They merged on 1 January 2009 to form FDP. The Liberals. In 2003, it held 36 mandates in the Swiss National Council,14 in the chamber and 2 out of 7 mandates in the Swiss Federal Council. By 2005, it held 27, 2% of the seats in the Swiss Cantonal governments and 19, at the last legislative elections,22 October 2007, the party won 15. 6% of the popular vote and 31 out of 200 seats. Liberalism and radicalism in Switzerland fdp. ch in German prd. ch in French plrt. ch in Italian Young Liberals Switzerland official site of the youth branch, called jungfreisinnige schweiz
6.
Aadorf
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Aadorf is a municipality in the district of Münchwilen in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. In 1996 Ettenhausen, Guntershausen bei Aadorf and Wittenwil merged into Aadorf, Aadorf is first mentioned in 886 as Ahadorf. The oldest record of Tänikon, now part of Ettenhausen, dates to 789 as Tanninchova, Tänikon is also the site of the Tänikon monastery, founded in the 13th century. Aawangen is first mentioned in 844 as Oninwanc, Ettenhausen is first mentioned in 1278 as Oetenhuse. Guntershausen bei Aadorf is first mentioned in 1282 as Gundolthuser tal, on 6 April 1358 the brothers Herman and Beringer von Landenberg and Hermann von Landenberg donated the church of Aadorf to the Rüti Abbey. The territory of the municipality was enlarged in 1996, when it absorbed the neighboring municipalities of Aawangen, Ettenhausen, Guntershausen bei Aadorf, as of 2008, it was the cantons seventh largest municipality. Graves from the Hallstatt period were discovered near Elgg and west of Bruggwingert, the Bachwiesen archeological site has yielded scattered finds from the Bronze and Roman eras. The Church was founded in 840 by the Emperor, and in 886 it was mentioned as the church of the Counts of Linzgau. The nearby older cemetery at Sonnhalde dates from the 7th and 8th Centuries, in 890, Count Udalrich IV established a clerical community that was affiliated with the church, for the care of his burial place. But by 894/895 this community had already transferred to the Abbey of St. Gall, the right to appoint the priest, was acquired by the Lords of Bernegg before 1304. In 1318, these transferred to Hermann of Hohenlandenberg-Greifensee, in 1349-50 they went to Rüti monastery. After 1427, the line between the territorial boundary of the counties of Kyburg and Thurgau ran through the parish of Aadorf. During the Late Middle Ages the dominant landlord in Aadorf was the Abbey of St. Gallen, in 1413 the Abbey had to sell all their rights, except for the low justice rights in Tänikon Monastery, to other landholders. In 1528-29, the Protestant Reformation was introduced in Aadorf, as part of the Counter-Reformation Tänikon Monastery expanded. During the wave of secularization that followed the Helvetic Republic, much of the land was nationalized. After 1804, they were forbidden to accept any new novitiates. The Thurgau Cantonal Constitution of 1831 placed all the assets under state control. In 1836, the canton appointed a trustee and sold the monastery lands, in 1848 the Grand Council of Thurgau dissolved the monastery and took over the buildings
7.
Bertschikon bei Attikon
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Bertschikon bei Attikon is a former municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipality of Bertschikon merged into the municipality of Wiesendangen, Bertschikon is first mentioned in 1255 as Bersinkon. The village of Gündlikon is first mentioned in 774 as Cundilinchova though the identification is debated and it is mentioned in 1162 as Gundilinchova. The municipality was created during the Helvetic Republic though it wasnt fully established until 1882 and it consists of seven old municipalities, Bertschikon, Gundetswil, Kefikon, Liebensberg, Stegen, Gündlikon and Zünikon. Before the merger, Bertschikon had an area of 9.6 km2. Of this area,68. 8% is used for agricultural purposes, of the rest of the land,10. 8% is settled and the remainder is non-productive. In 1996 housing and buildings made up 4. 3% of the total area, of the total unproductive area, water made up 0. 1% of the area. As of 20073. 9% of the municipal area was undergoing some type of construction. The municipality consists of over 30 villages, hamlets and individual houses along the border with the Canton of Thurgau, the Mayor is Brigitte Boller Schürch. Bertschikon had a population of 1,049, as of 2007,5. 5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. As of 2008 the gender distribution of the population was 51. 3% male and 48. 7% female, over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 2. 6%. Most of the population speaks German, with Italian being second most common, in the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 65. 8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CSP, the SPS and the Green Party, the age distribution of the population is children and teenagers make up 27. 1% of the population, while adults make up 61. 2% and seniors make up 11. 7%. The entire Swiss population is well educated. In Bertschikon about 81% of the population have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education, there are 340 households in Bertschikon. Bertschikon has an unemployment rate of 0. 81%, as of 2005, there were 109 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 44 businesses involved in this sector. 38 people are employed in the sector and there are 14 businesses in this sector. 99 people are employed in the sector, with 23 businesses in this sector
8.
Ellikon an der Thur
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Ellikon an der Thur is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Ellikon an der Thur is first mentioned in 1257 as Ellinkon, Ellikon an der Thur has an area of 5 km2. Of this area,69. 7% is used for agricultural purposes, of the rest of the land,10. 4% is settled and the remainder is non-productive. In 1996 housing and buildings made up 5. 9% of the total area, of the total unproductive area, water made up 0. 4% of the area. As of 20076. 7% of the municipal area was undergoing some type of construction. Ellikon an der Thur has a population of 885, as of 2007,8. 4% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. As of 2008 the gender distribution of the population was 50. 6% male and 49. 4% female, over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 13. 9%. Most of the population speaks German, with Serbo-Croatian being second most common, in the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 53. 1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS, the CSP and the FDP, the age distribution of the population is children and teenagers make up 29. 9% of the population, while adults make up 58. 6% and seniors make up 11. 5%. The entire Swiss population is well educated. In Ellikon an der Thur about 83. 2% of the population have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education, there are 286 households in Ellikon an der Thur. Ellikon an der Thur has an unemployment rate of 0. 87%, as of 2005, there were 185 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 21 businesses involved in this sector. 113 people are employed in the sector and there are 11 businesses in this sector. 132 people are employed in the sector, with 19 businesses in this sector. As of 200739. 3% of the population were employed full-time. As of 2008 there were 129 Catholics and 533 Protestants in Ellikon an der Thur, in the 2000 census, religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the census,71. 6% were some type of Protestant,13. 2% of the population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 0% were Muslim, 5% belonged to another religion,1. 9% did not give a religion, and 8. 4% were atheist or agnostic
9.
Felben-Wellhausen
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Felben-Wellhausen is a municipality in the district of Frauenfeld in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. The municipality was created in 1983 by a merger of Felben and Wellhausen, Roman era coins have been found in the municipality. The modern village of Felben is first mentioned in 1178 as Veluen, in 1433 it was mentioned as Felwan. In 1178 Alt St. Johann monastery in the Toggenburg region became the landlord of the village, from the Late Middle Ages until 1798, the courts for the village were held in the city of Frauenfeld. Prior to the Protestant Reformation Felben, which probably had a chapel starting in the 9th Century, by no later than 1569, Felben and Wellhausen formed a Reformed parish. The priest of the parish was appointed by the Herrschaft of Wellenberg, the Catholics in Felben were part of the Catholic parish of Frauenfeld. Until the 19th Century most of the fields were planted with grain in a three-field system. After 1860, this was replaced by livestock and dairy farming. Several drainage and amelioration projects opened up land for agriculture. After 1940 sugar beets were planted in many of the new fields, by 1900, several other industries had moved into Felben, including embroidery, a brick factory and sand pit work. Felben-Wellhausen has an area, as of 2009, of 7.38 square kilometers, of this area,4.2 km2 or 56. 9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.89 km2 or 25. 6% is forested. Of the rest of the land,1.01 km2 or 13. 7% is settled,0.2 km2 or 2. 7% is either rivers or lakes and 0.04 km2 or 0. 5% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5. 3% of the area while housing and buildings made up 1. 9%. While parks, green belts and sports made up 5. 7%. Out of the land,24. 5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1. 1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land,55. 0% is used for growing crops, of the water in the municipality,0. 4% is in lakes and 2. 3% is in rivers and streams. The municipality is located in the Frauenfeld district, along the Thur River, until the Thur Correction project of 1880, the town was routinely flooded by the river. It consists of the villages of Felben and Wellhausen which merged in 1983 to form Felben-Wellhausen, Felben-Wellhausen has a population of 2,691 As of 2008,16. 4% of the population are foreign nationals
10.
Gachnang
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For the Swiss race driver see Natacha Gachnang. Gachnang is a municipality in the district of Frauenfeld in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland, Gachnang is first mentioned in 889 as Kachanang. In the local dialect it has traditionally been known as Gochlingen, in the Egelsee area a number of significant artifacts from the Pfyn culture have been discovered. In 889 King Arnulf gave his follower Diethelm a manor house in Gachnang with ten dependent huts, from the 11th Century, Gachnang was a possession of the monastery of Reichenau. The Lords of Gachnang administered the village as a Ministerialis for first the Kyburg and they ruled from the, now ruined, Alt-Gachnang Castle or from the Meierhof Meiersberg. During 1336 a family took on the von Gachnang name were given the Gachnang Castle. In 1417, the Lords of Schinen began to rule over the village, before 1500, they built Neu-Gachnang Castle. In 1562, the village was acquired by Kaspar Ludwig von Heidenheim, the Abbey retained the low justice rights until 1798. The parish of Gachnang existed well before 1000 and included a number of villages in the Thurgau and Zurich area, including the church at Ellikon an der Thur. The construction of the current church took place before the 13th Century, the border between the counties of Kyburg and Thurgau ran through the middle of the parish, starting in 1427. In 1528 the entire municipality converted to the Protestant Reformation, in the wake of Gachnangerhandels of 1610 the parish was divided, and the Catholic chapel became a parish church. The right to appoint a priest was held by Reichenau and the Bishop of Constance, the farming village has not grown far from the medieval settlement centers of the church and castle. Only since the mid-20th Century has the village expanded into a residential community. In 1998 the villages of Kefikon, Islikon, Gerlikon, Niederwil and Oberwil merged with Gachnang, Gachnang has an area, as of 2009, of 9.72 square kilometers. Of this area,6.32 km2 or 65. 0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.62 km2 or 16. 7% is forested. Of the rest of the land,1.74 km2 or 17. 9% is settled,0.04 km2 or 0. 4% is either rivers or lakes and 0.06 km2 or 0. 6% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 8. 2% of the area while housing and buildings made up 1. 6%. While parks, green belts and sports made up 6. 5%
11.
Hagenbuch
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Hagenbuch is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Hagenbuch is first mentioned in 856 as Haganbuah and at the time the neighboring hamlet of Schneitberg was known as Sneita. Until the 19th Century it was known as Hagenbuch-Schneit, Hagenbuch has an area of 8.2 km2. Of this area,61. 6% is used for agricultural purposes, of the rest of the land,9. 7% is settled and the remainder is non-productive. In 1996 housing and buildings made up 5. 8% of the total area, of the total unproductive area, water made up 0. 4% of the area. As of 20073. 5% of the municipal area was undergoing some type of construction. The municipality is located on the border with the Canton of Thurgau and it consists of the village of Hagenbuch and the hamlets of Hagenstall, Egghof, Schneitberg, Kappel, Ober-, Mittel- and Unterschneit. Hagenbuch has a population of 1,107, as of 2007,7. 9% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. As of 2008 the gender distribution of the population was 51. 2% male and 48. 8% female, over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 4. 3%. Most of the population speaks German, with Italian being second most common, in the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 59. 4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS, the CSP and the FDP, the age distribution of the population is children and teenagers make up 28. 8% of the population, while adults make up 62. 1% and seniors make up 9%. The entire Swiss population is well educated. In Hagenbuch about 80. 4% of the population have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education, there are 425 households in Hagenbuch. Hagenbuch has an unemployment rate of 1. 44%, as of 2005, there were 74 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 30 businesses involved in this sector. 48 people are employed in the sector and there are 8 businesses in this sector. 125 people are employed in the sector, with 28 businesses in this sector. As of 200743. 9% of the population were employed full-time. As of 2008 there were 266 Catholics and 589 Protestants in Hagenbuch, in the 2000 census, religion was broken down into several smaller categories
12.
Matzingen
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Matzingen is a municipality in the district of Frauenfeld in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Matzingen is first mentioned in 779 as Mazcingas, during the High Middle Ages, the Freiherr of Matzingen had the low court rights. Sonnenberg began to rule over the village in 1402 and remained over the village until 1798, in 894 Matzingen had a church, which belonged to Wängi. The right to appoint the priest was first held by the Abbey of St. Gall, until 1401, Matzingen became a separate parish in 1508 and converted to the new Reformed faith in 1529. For centuries farming, fruit production and viticulture dominated the local economy, after 1850, livestock production and dairy farming were added to traditional agriculture. Between 1150 and 1996, Matzingen owned a mill, in 1863 a pottery plant opened. Followed, in 1866, by a mill, which transformed in 1878 into a weaving factory. The connection to the Frauenfeld-Wil railroad in 1887 promoted the creation of new companies, in 1919, the cider mill of Matzingen opened, which produced in 1950 the drink Halb-halb. A workshop founded in 1948 for agricultural machinery, developed into Gehring Cut AG, the A1 Motorway section through Matzingen was finished in 1970. The new road allowed companies in the metal and packaging industry to settle in Matzingen, from 1965 to 2000, the population doubled. Matzingen has an area, as of 2009, of 7.71 square kilometers, of this area,4.43 km2 or 57. 5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.94 km2 or 25. 2% is forested. Of the rest of the land,1.23 km2 or 16. 0% is settled,0.1 km2 or 1. 3% is either rivers or lakes and 0.01 km2 or 0. 1% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 6. 5% of the area while housing and buildings made up 1. 0%. While parks, green belts and sports made up 6. 5%. Out of the land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land,55. 3% is used for growing crops, of the water in the municipality,0. 3% is in lakes and 1. 0% is in rivers and streams. The municipality is located in the Frauenfeld district and it is located 5 km south-east of Frauenfeld at the confluence of the Lauche and Lützelmurg rivers in the Murg river. It consists of the village of Matzingen and the communities of Stettfurt, Dingenhart, Halingen, Matzingen has a population of 2,631 As of 2008,20. 2% of the population are foreign nationals
13.
Thundorf, Switzerland
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Thundorf is a municipality in the district of district of Frauenfeld in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. The village of Thundorf lies on a plateau above Frauenfeld, in 1995, the communal territory was enlarged to the east, when Wetzikon and Lustdorf, the latter of which until then was autonomous, were joined to it. Blazon, Gules, a fess argent between three mullets of six points argent, the earliest mention of Thundorf dates back to the year 888. This place name is composed by the OHG anthroponym Duomo/*Tuomo and the noun substantive dorf ‚hamlet, farm, village, estate, the village is mainly residential and has a large school with over 500 pupils. Despite having a population of over a thousand, Thundorf only has a shop named Volg on the main street which serves the local population selling groceries. Transport to the village is provided by a bus service that operates between Frauenfeld and Weinfeld. Thundorf has an area, as of 2009, of 15.61 square kilometers, of this area,8.91 km2 or 57. 1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 5.82 km2 or 37. 3% is forested. Of the rest of the land,0.88 km2 or 5. 6% is settled,0.02 km2 or 0. 1% is either rivers or lakes and 0.01 km2 or 0. 1% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2. 4% of the area while housing and buildings made up 0. 1%. While parks, green belts and sports made up 2. 8%. Out of the land,35. 3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2. 0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land,54. 3% is used for growing crops, all the water in the municipality is flowing water. In 1995 Wetzikon merged into Thundorf, Thundorf has a population of 1,424 As of 2008,7. 1% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has changed at a rate of 9. 2%, most of the population speaks German, with Spanish being second most common and Romansh being third. As of 2008, the distribution of the population was 51. 0% male and 49. 0% female. The population was made up of 613 Swiss men, and 49 non-Swiss men, there were 593 Swiss women, and 43 non-Swiss women. In 2008 there were 12 live births to Swiss citizens and 1 birth to non-Swiss citizens, ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 3 while the foreign population remained the same. There was 1 non-Swiss man who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 1 non-Swiss woman who immigrated from another country to Switzerland, the total Swiss population change in 2008 was an increase of 14 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 7 people
14.
Uesslingen-Buch
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Uesslingen-Buch is a municipality in the district of Frauenfeld in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. It was formed in 1995 from the union of the municipalities of Uesslingen, Uesslingen-Buch has an area, as of 2009, of 14.01 square kilometers. Of this area,10.58 km2 or 75. 5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.93 km2 or 13. 8% is forested. Of the rest of the land,1.09 km2 or 7. 8% is settled,0.36 km2 or 2. 6% is either rivers or lakes and 0.04 km2 or 0. 3% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3. 2% of the area while housing and buildings made up 0. 0%. While parks, green belts and sports made up 4. 2%. Out of the land,11. 9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1. 9% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land,70. 0% is used for growing crops, of the water in the municipality,1. 0% is in lakes and 1. 6% is in rivers and streams. In 1995 the municipality was created when Buch bei Frauenfeld and Uesslingen merged, Uesslingen-Buch has a population of 1,086 As of 2008,4. 8% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has changed at a rate of 1. 3%, most of the population speaks German, with Italian being second most common and English being third. As of 2008, the distribution of the population was 50. 9% male and 49. 1% female. The population was made up of 502 Swiss men, and 30 non-Swiss men, there were 493 Swiss women, and 20 non-Swiss women. In 2008 there were 6 live births to Swiss citizens and births to non-Swiss citizens, ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 2 while the foreign population remained the same. The total Swiss population change in 2008 was a decrease of 6 and this represents a population growth rate of -0. 7%. The age distribution, as of 2009, in Uesslingen-Buch is,104 children or 9. 9% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 160 teenagers or 15. 2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population,110 people or 10. 5% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 110 people or 10. 5% are between 30 and 39,223 people or 21. 2% are between 40 and 49, and 141 people or 13. 4% are between 50 and 59. As of 2000, there were 369 private households in the municipality, in 2000 there were 155 single family homes out of a total of 192 inhabited buildings
15.
Warth-Weiningen
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Warth-Weiningen is a municipality in the district of Frauenfeld in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Warth-Weiningen has an area, as of 2009, of 8.2 square kilometers, of this area,4.35 km2 or 53. 0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.35 km2 or 28. 7% is forested. Of the rest of the land,1.1 km2 or 13. 4% is settled,0.27 km2 or 3. 3% is either rivers or lakes and 0.17 km2 or 2. 1% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3. 9% of the area while housing and buildings made up 0. 2%. While parks, green belts and sports made up 4. 6%. Out of the land,26. 5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2. 2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land,47. 0% is used for growing crops, of the water in the municipality,0. 2% is in lakes and 3. 0% is in rivers and streams. In 1995 the municipality was formed through the merger of Warth, Warth-Weiningen has a population of 1,242 As of 2008,5. 9% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has changed at a rate of 5. 7%, most of the population speaks German, with English being second most common and Portuguese being third. As of 2008, the distribution of the population was 50. 0% male and 50. 0% female. The population was made up of 560 Swiss men, and 34 non-Swiss men, there were 558 Swiss women, and 36 non-Swiss women. In 2008 there were 8 live births to Swiss citizens and births to non-Swiss citizens, ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 4 while the foreign population remained the same. The total Swiss population change in 2008 was an increase of 10 and this represents a population growth rate of 0. 8%. The age distribution, as of 2009, in Warth-Weiningen is,110 children or 9. 2% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 139 teenagers or 11. 6% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population,142 people or 11. 8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 118 people or 9. 8% are between 30 and 39,220 people or 18. 3% are between 40 and 49, and 213 people or 17. 7% are between 50 and 59. As of 2000, there were 412 private households in the municipality, in 2000 there were 249 single family homes out of a total of 279 inhabited buildings. There were 22 two family buildings,3 three family buildings and 5 multi-family buildings, there were 280 persons who were part of a couple without children, and 638 who were part of a couple with children
16.
Kufstein
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Kufstein is a town in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the administrative seat of Kufstein District. With a population of about 18,400, it is the second largest Tyrolean town after the state capital Innsbruck, the greatest landmark is Kufstein Fortress, first mentioned in the 13th century. It is located in the Tyrolean Unterland region on the river Inn, at the confluence with its Weißache and Kaiserbach tributaries, near the border to Bavaria, Germany. The municipal area stretches along the Lower Inn Valley between the Brandenberg Alps in the northwest and the Kaiser Mountains in the southeast. The remote Kaisertal until recently was the last settled valley in Austria without transport connections, north of the town, the Inn river leaves the Northern Limestone Alps and enters the Bavarian Alpine Foreland. The town area comprises several lakes, such as Pfrillsee, Längsee. The municipal arrangement comprises the communities of Kufstein, Mosbach and Thierberg. Glass manufacturer Riedel, gunmaker Voere, and ski and tennis racket manufacturer Kneissl are based in Kufstein, Kufstein is also home to the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein which specializes in providing business education and is a center for international exchange. Kufstein has two exits along the A12 motorway from Innsbruck to Rosenheim, Kufstein railway station, opened in 1876, forms part of the Lower Inn Valley railway section of the Brenner-axis from Munich to Verona. The Festungsbahn is a funicular that links the city centre with the Kufstein Fortress, archaeological findings in the Tischofer Cave in Kaisertal denote a settlement of the area more than 30,000 years ago, the oldest traces of human habitation in Tyrol. Incorporated into the Roman Empire in 15 BC, the Inn river formed the border between the Roman provinces of Raetia and Noricum, a church at Caofstein was first mentioned in a 788 deed issued by Bishop Arno of Salzburg. At that time, the Lower Inn Valley was part of the Bavarian realm under the Agilolfing duke Tassilo III, the Fortress is first documented in 1205 as a possession of the Bishop of Regensburg and the Duke of Bavaria. In the early 14th century, the Wittelsbach emperor Louis IV, also Bavarian duke, Kufstein passed to the County of Tyrol in 1342, when it was a wedding gift to Countess Margaret from her husband, Emperor Louiss son Louis the Brandenburger. However, it fell back to Bavaria upon Margarets death in 1369, Duke Stephen III of Bavaria granted Kufstein city status in 1393, due to its prominence as a trading and docking point on the Inn River. From 1415 onwards, his son and successor Duke Louis VII had the Fortress largely rebuilt, the possession of the strategically important Kufstein border fortress remained disputed. Maximilian had the prominent Kaiserturm tower of the fortress erected, which was finished in 1522, finally in 1813/14 it passed to the Austrian Empire. The towns economic development was promoted by the opening of the Lower Inn Valley Railway line in 1858. In the late days of World War II the historic town centre suffered from Allied bombing, after the war, Kufstein was occupied by French and US forces, it was the site of a French sector United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration Displaced Persons camp
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Thurgau
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The Canton of Thurgau is a northeast canton of Switzerland. It is named for the Thur River, and the name Thurgovia was historically used for a larger area, the area of what is now Thurgau was acquired as subject territories by the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy from the mid 15th century. Thurgau was first declared a canton in its own right at the formation of the Helvetic Republic in 1798, the population, as of December 2015, is 267,429. In 2007, there were a total of 47,390 who were resident foreigners, in prehistoric times the lands of the canton were inhabited by people of the Pfyn culture along Lake Constance. During Roman times the canton was part of the province Raetia until in 450 the lands were settled by the Alamanni, in the 6th century Thurgovia became a Gau of the Frankish Empire as part of Alemannia, passing to the Duchy of Swabia in the early 10th century. The most important cities of Thurgovia in the medieval period were Constance as the seat of the bishop. The dukes of Zähringen and the counts of Kyburg took over much of the land in the High Middle Ages, the town of Zürich was part of the Thurgau until it became reichsunmittelbar in 1218. When the Kyburg dynasty became extinct in 1264 the Habsburgs took over that land, during the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland, both the Catholic and emerging Reformed parties sought to swing the subject territories, such as the Thurgau, to their side. Between 1526 and 1531, most of the Thurgaus population adopted the new Reformed faith spreading from Zurich, religious tensions over the Thurgau were an important background to the First War of Villmergen, during which Zurich briefly occupied the Thurgau. In 1798 the land became a canton for the first time as part of the Helvetic Republic, in 1803, as part of the Act of Mediation, the canton of Thurgau became a member of the Swiss confederation. The current cantonal constitution of Thurgau dates from 1987, to the north the canton is bound by the Lake Constance across which lies Germany and Austria. The river Rhine creates the border in the northwest, to the south lies the canton of St. Gallen, to the west lie the cantons of Zürich and Schaffhausen. The area of the canton is 991 km2 and commonly divided into three hill masses, one of these stretches along Lake Constance in the north. Another is further inland between the river Thur and the river Murg, the third one forms the southern border of the canton and merges with the Hörnli mountain in the pre-Alps. The population of the canton is 267,429, the canton is mostly German speaking. The population is split between Protestants and Roman Catholics, since January 2011, Thurgau is divided into five districts which are named after their capitals. Before this date, there were eight districts, the ten largest municipalities by population are, ^a FDP before 2009, FDP. The Liberals after 2009 ^b * indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton. The canton of Thurgau is known for its agricultural produce
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Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
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Alemannic German
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Alemannic is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. The name derives from the ancient Germanic alliance of tribes known as the Alemanni. S, ISO 639-3 distinguishes four languages, gsw, swg, wae and gct. At this level, the distinction between a language and a dialect frequently is considered a cultural and political question, in part because linguists have failed to agree on a clear standard, the following variants comprise Alemannic, Swabian. Unlike most other Alemannic dialects, it does not retain the Middle High German monophthongs û, î, for this reason, Swabian is sometimes used in opposition to Alemannic. Retain German initial /k/ as rather than fricativising to as in High Alemannic, subvariants, Lake Constance Alemannic Upper-Rhine Alemannic in Southwestern Baden and its variant Alsatian Alemán Coloniero Basel German High Alemannic. Complete the High German consonant shift by fricativising initial /k/ to, subvariants, Bernese German Zürich German Vorarlbergisch Liechtensteinisch Highest Alemannic does not have the hiatus diphthongisation of other dialects of German. For example, instead of, instead of, subvariants, Walliser German Walser German Note that the Alemannic dialects of Switzerland are often called Swiss German or Schwiizertüütsch. The oldest known texts in Alemannic are brief Elder Futhark inscriptions dating to the sixth century, in the Old High German period, the first coherent texts are recorded in the St. Gall and Reichenau Island, a considerable part of the Old High German corpus has Alemannic traits. Alemannic Middle High German is less prominent, in spite of the Codex Manesse compiled by Johannes Hadlaub of Zürich, the rise of the Old Swiss Confederacy from the fourteenth century leads to the creation of Alemannic Swiss chronicles. Huldrych Zwinglis bible translation of the 1520s was in an Alemannic variant of Early Modern High German, the 1665 revision of the Froschauer Bible removed the Alemannic elements, approaching the language used by Luther. Johann Peter Hebel published his Allemannische Gedichte in 1803, Swiss authors often consciously employ Helvetisms within Standard German, notably Jeremias Gotthelf in his novels set in the Emmental, and more recently Tim Krohn in his Quatemberkinder. The diminutive is used frequently in all Alemannic dialects, northern and eastern dialects use the suffix -le, southern dialects use the suffix -li. Depending on dialect, thus, little house could be Heisle, Hüüsle, a significant difference between the high and low variants is the pronunciation of ch after the front vowels and consonants. In Standard German and the variants, this is a palatal, whereas in the higher variants
20.
Swiss German
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Swiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy bordering Switzerland. Linguistically, Swiss German forms no unity, the linguistic division of Alemannic is rather into Low, High and Highest Alemannic, varieties of all of which are spoken both inside and outside of Switzerland. The only exception within German-speaking Switzerland is the municipality of Samnaun where a Bavarian dialect is spoken, the dialects of Swiss German must not be confused with Swiss Standard German, the variety of Standard German used in Switzerland. Most people in Germany do not understand Swiss German, therefore, when an interview with a Swiss German speaker is shown on German television, subtitles are required. Unlike most regional languages in modern Europe, Swiss German is the everyday language of all social levels in industrial cities. Using the dialect conveys neither social nor educational inferiority and is done with pride. There are a few settings where speaking Standard German is demanded or polite, e. g. in education, in multilingual parliaments and this situation has been called a medial diglossia, since the spoken language is mainly the dialect, whereas the written language is mainly Standard German. Swiss German speakers on TV or in films are usually dubbed or subtitled if shown in Germany. Dialect rock is a music genre using the language, many Swiss rock bands, however, the Swiss Amish of Adams County, Indiana and their daughter settlements also use Swiss German. Swiss German is a regional or political umbrella term, not a linguistic unity, for all dialects, there are idioms spoken outside Switzerland that are more closely related to them than some Swiss German dialects. Low Alemannic is only spoken in the northernmost parts of Switzerland, in Basel, High Alemannic is spoken in most of the Swiss Plateau, and is divided in an eastern and a western group. Highest Alemannic is spoken in the Alps, each dialect is separable into numerous local subdialects, sometimes down to a resolution of individual villages. Speaking the dialect is an important part of regional, cantonal and national identities, in the more urban areas of the Swiss plateau, regional differences are fading due to increasing mobility, and a growing population of non-Alemannic descent. Despite the varied dialects, the Swiss can still understand one another, but may particularly have trouble understanding Walliser dialects. Most Swiss German dialects, being High German dialects, have completed the High German consonant shift, that is, they have not only changed t to or and p to or, There are, however, exceptions, namely the idioms of Chur and Basel. Basel German is a Low Alemannic dialect, and Chur German is basically High Alemannic without initial or, North of the Benrath line up to the North Sea, this consonant shift did not happen. The Walser migration, going on between the 12th and 13th centuries, spread upper Wallis varieties towards the east and south, into Grisons and even further to western Austria and northern Italy. Informally, a distinction is made between the German-speaking people living in the canton of Valais, the Walliser, and the migrated ones, so, the Walser were pioneers of the liberalisation from serfdom and feudalism
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Arnulf of Carinthia
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After Arnulfs birth, Carloman married, before 861, a daughter of that same Count Ernst, who died after 8 August 879. Arnulf kept his seat here and from later events it may be inferred that the Carantanians, from an early time, treated him as their own Duke. Later, after he had been crowned King of East Francia, Arnulf turned his old territory of Carinthia into the March of Carinthia, however, Bavaria was more or less ruled by Arnulf. The division of the realm was confirmed in 880 after Carloman’s death, whenEngelschalk II of Pannonia in 882 rebelled against Aribo, Margrave of Pannonia and ignited the Wilhelminer War, Arnulf supported him and accepted his and his brothers homage. This ruined Arnulfs relationship with his uncle the Emperor and put him at war with Svatopluk of Moravia, Pannonia was invaded, but Arnulf refused to give up the young Wilhelminers. Arnulf did not make peace with Svatopluk until late 885, by which time Moravian ruler was loyal to the emperor, some scholars see this war as destroying Arnulfs hopes at succeeding Charles the Fat. Arnulf took the role in the deposition of his uncle. With the support of the Frankish nobles, Arnulf called a Diet at Tribur and deposed Charles in November 887, Arnulf, having distinguished himself in the war against the Slavs, was then elected king by the nobles of East Francia. West Francia, the Kingdom of Burgundy and the Kingdom of Italy at this point elected their own kings from the Carolingian family, like all early Germanic rulers, he was heavily involved in ecclesiastical disputes. Arnulf was fighter, not a negotiator, in 890 he was successfully battling Slavs in Pannonia. In 891 Danes invaded Lotharingia, and crushed an East Frankish army at Maastricht, at the decisive Battle of Leuven in September 891 in Lotharingia, Arnulf repelled an invasion by the Normans, essentially ending their invasions on that front. The Annales Fuldenses report that the bodies of dead Northmen blocked the run of the river, after this victory Arnulf built a new castle on an island in the Dijle river. Arnulf took advantage of the problems in West Francia after the death of Charles the Fat to secure the territory of Lotharingia, which he converted into a kingdom for his son Zwentibold. In 889 Arnulf supported the claim of Louis the Blind to the kingdom of Provence, after receiving an appeal from Louis’ mother, Ermengard. Recognising the superiority of Arnulf’s position, in 888 king Odo of France formally accepted the suzerainty of Arnulf, in 893 Arnulf switched his support from Odo to Charles the Simple after being persuaded by Fulk, Archbishop of Reims, that it was in his best interests. Arnulf then took advantage of the fighting between Odo and Charles in 894, taking more territory from West Francia. At one point, Charles the Simple was forced to flee to Arnulf and his intervention soon forced Pope Formosus to get involved, as he was worried that a divided and war weary West Francia would be easy prey for the Vikings. In 895 Arnulf summoned both Charles and Odo to his residence at Worms, charles’s advisers convinced him not to go, and he sent a representative in his place
22.
Reichenau Island
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Reichenau Island is an island in Lake Constance in southern Germany. It lies almost due west of the city of Konstanz, between the Gnadensee and the Untersee, two parts of Lake Constance. With a total surface of 4.3 square kilometres and a circumference of 11 kilometres. The highest point, the Hochwart, stands some 43 metres above the surface and 438.7 metres above mean sea level. A low road bridge allows the passage of boats but not of sailing-boats. The island was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000 because of its monastery, the abbeys Münster is dedicated to the Virgin and Saint Mark. Two further churches were built on the island consecrated to Saint George and to Saints Peter, the famous artworks of Reichenau include the Ottonian murals of miracles of Christ, unique survivals from the 10th century. The abbeys bailiff was housed in a stone building to which two more storeys of timber framing were added in the 14th century, one of the oldest timber-frame buildings in south Germany. Among the Abbeys far-flung landholdings was Reichenau, a village on the upper Rhine in the municipality of Tamins in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, today the island is also famous for its vegetable farms. The Wollmatinger Ried next to the island is a nature preserve. The Alemannic name of the island was Sindleozesauua, but it was known as simply Ow, Auua – Latinized as Augia, later also Augia felix or Augia dives, hence Richenow. Pirmins conflict with Santfrid resulted in his leaving Reichenau in 727, under his successor Haito the monastery began to flourish. It gained influence in the Carolingian dynasty, under Abbot Waldo of Reichenau, Abbot Reginbert of Reichenau built up the important book collection. Abbot Walahfrid Strabo, who was educated at Reichenau, was renowned as a poet, the Abbey stood along a main north–south highway between Germany and Italy, where the lake passage eased the arduous route. An example of the production is the Pericopes of Henry II, made for the Emperor. Reichenau has preserved its precious relics, which include the pitcher from the wedding at Cana, the Abbey reached its apex under Abbot Berno of Reichenau. During his time, important scholars, such as Hermannus Contractus, when the abbey lands were secularized and the monks disbanded under Napoleon, part of Reichenaus famed library was preserved in the state library at Karlsruhe. The Geographus Bavarus and several important documents may be found in the Bavarian State Library in Munich
23.
Switzerland in the Roman era
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Roman control weakened after 401 AD, but did not entirely disappear until the mid-5th century after which the area began to be occupied by Germanic peoples. South of the Swiss plateau were the Nantuates, Seduni and Veragri in the Valais, the first part of what is now Switzerland to fall to Rome was the southern Ticino, annexed after the Roman victory over the Insubres in 222 BC. The territory of the Allobroges around Geneva came under Roman sway by 121 BC and was incorporated into the province of Gallia Narbonensis prior to the Gallic Wars. In around 110 BC, two Helvetic tribes under Divico – the Tigurini and the Tougeni, sometimes identified with the Teutons – joined the wandering Germanic Cimbri on a march to the West. In 61 BC, the Helvetii, led by Orgetorix, decided to leave their lands and move to the West, burning their settlements behind them – twelve oppida, according to Caesar and they were decisively beaten by Caesar in the Battle of Bibracte in 58 BC. After their surrender, Caesar sent the Helvetii home, according them the status of foederati or Roman allies, caesars policy aimed at controlling the territory west of the Jura and Rhine, as well as at blocking the potential incursion routes from the East along the Jura. The Raetians, described as warriors by Strabo, continued to launch incursions into the Swiss Plateau. Caesars attempt to open the Great St Bernard Pass for Roman traffic failed in 57 BC due to opposition by the local Veragri. In 25 BC, an army under Aulus Terentius Varro Murena wiped out the Salassi in the Aosta Valley and that conquest was a consequence of the Augustan imperative of securing the Imperial borders. To effectively control the Alps as the shield of northern Italy, thus it had to extend its power to the Rhine and Danube, thereby also opening a direct route to Germania and all of Central Europe. The last obstacle in this path were the Raetians, the tropaeum alpium, built by Augustus in 7 BC to celebrate his conquest of the Alps, lists among the defeated peoples the tribes of Raetia and of the Valais, but not the Helvetii. It appears that they were absorbed peacefully into the Empire during the first century AD, except for their part in the conflicts of the Year of the Four Emperors, AD69. The history of Switzerland under Roman rule was, from the Augustan period up until 260 AD, the Pax Romana was made possible by the protection of well-defended and distant Imperial borders and a peaceful and smooth Romanization of the local population. The Romans urbanized the territory with numerous settlements and built a network of high-quality Roman roads connecting them, allowing for the integration of Helvetia into the imperial economy. While the Roman presence was strong in the Alps, where the crucial North-South connection had to be kept open. The principal Roman settlements in Switzerland were the cities of Iulia Equestris, Aventicum, Augusta Raurica, the colonies of Nyon and Augusta Raurica at first had little cultural influence beyond their immediate surroundings. Aventicum was likely the capital of the Helvetii since its founding at the beginning of the 1st century. In the 40s, it benefited from the traffic brought over the St Bernard pass over a street expanded by Claudius, the Alps were first administered by a legatus pro praetore in Augusta Vindelicorum, then by the procurator of the new province of Raetia
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Oberwinterthur
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Oberwinterthur is a district in the Swiss city of Winterthur. The district comprises the quarters Talacker, Guggenbühl, Zinzikon, Reutlingen, Stadel, Grüze, Hegmatten, oberwinterthur was formerly a municipality of its own, but was incorporated into Winterthur in 1922, and the location of the Roman Vicus Vitudurum. Oberwinterthur railway station is a stop of the Zürich S-Bahn on the lines S8, S12, S29 and S30
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Vitudurum
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Vitudurum is the name of a Roman Vicus, those remains are located in Oberwinterthur, a locality of the municipality of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Vitudurum was established nearby productive resources and a route from Lake Geneva to Lake Constance in the late first century BC or early first century AD. The Roman timber buildings were dated around 4 BC. In 7 AD the Romans rebuilt the passageway in the Oberwinterthur area into a road, starting from the villages center on the church hill at the beginning of the 1st century AD, a street village stretched at a length of about 500 metres having several insulae. The open settlement had its time in the 1st and 2nd centuries. During the Alamanii invasion, the vicus was replaced respectively fortified by a castrum on the present St. Arbogast church hill, the date of the construction of the fortification around 294 AD is documented by its inscription stone. At the same place the building of the St. Arbogast church was erected in the 6th/7th century. To the south east, a residential and commercial district were situated at Unterer Bühl, there were found organic materials in a very good condition, besides basket fragments, scrap leather and wooden objects, also a threshold beam and other parts of the house structures. About a wooden spring capture and wooden fresh water pipes were conducted in different houses, elaborately constructed and parcarefully covered wooden channels were used for sanitation. Comparable with the area, two rows of houses stretched towards the north-east. Individual staves of six vats, embedded in the floor of the date back in the 1st century. The numerous single finds, mostly from the 1st century, include wooden writing tablets with inscriptions, pottery fragments and a pair of shoe bars. After the first excavations in 1841 and 1853, soundings at the location of the castrum at the St. Arbogast church, on occasion of the rebuilding of the parish house Oberwinterthur, a rescue excavation was carried out from 1949 to 1951. In 1957/59 followed excavations and research and in 1960 further excavations, in the area of the Vicus settlement remains of the European Neolithic, the early and late Bronze Age and grave remains of the Middle Bronze Age and the early Iron Age were uncovered. Rescue excavations were executed in late summer 2015, discovering the foundation holes of seven pit-houses from the 6th century in Hegmatten, individual finds include glass beads and knife blades, but also various Roman coins, two Roman finger rings and parts of several Roman fibulae. The excavations of 2015 were continued in spring 2016, the inscription stone is exhibited in the old city of Winterthur at the Rathaus Winterthur. The area of the remains of the Vicus Vitudurm ist listed in the Swiss inventory of property of national and regional significance as Class A object of national importance. Hence, the area is provided as a site under federal protection, within the meaning of the Swiss Federal Act on the nature
26.
Pfyn
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Pfyn is a municipality in Frauenfeld District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Pfyn gives its name to the ancient Pfyn culture, one of several Neolithic cultures in Switzerland which centered on intensive pig farming and trading, dating from c.3900 BC to c.3500 BC. Pfyn was also the site of a Roman era frontier outpost, located in a depression carved by a lateral moraine of the Thur glacier, it dates from the Neolithic era. The settlement site was discovered during peat cutting in the late 19th Century, during the war years 1940-41 an attempt to drain the bog to increase arable production land, led to its rediscovery. Drainage work on production was raised again. In the autumn of 1944, an area of approximately 1,000 square metres was excavated by interned Polish soldiers led by Charles Keller-Tarnuzzer. Due to the conditions, and an exploratory drilling project in 2002. Keller-Tarnuzzer noted that there was the relationship of the ceramics with the Michelsberg culture of southern Germany. Around 1960 research determined that the Pfyn ceramics were represented a culture that was related to the Michelsberg culture. Since that time, the Pfyn-Breitenloo site has been regarded as the center of the Pfyn culture, further explorations in 2002 and 2004 led to a somewhat more nuanced picture of the settlement. This enabled the site to be dated via dendrochronology, the timbers that were used were cut in 3706-3704 BC. and confirm a single development phase. Another Neolithic settlement must have existed some 400 m northwest of Breitenloo, however, the few ceramics discovered at that site are also part of the Pfyn culture. That settlement has never been studied and it is believed that the industrial peat extraction during the second World War may have largely destroyed it. Because of Pfyns importance as the home of the Pfyn culture and also as the site of a Roman era fort, for example, a number of Bronze Age artifacts and scattered grave sites were known to exist, but havent been studied until recently. Recent excavations have discovered a Bronze Age village and traces of a previously unknown Iron Age settlement, the identification of Ad Fines, which is first mentioned in 280 AD, with Pfyn is undisputed. It is also clear that the place-name refers to the border between the provinces of Raetia, Gallia Belgica and Germania Superior. The course of the Roman road from Oberwinterthur to Frauenfeld through Pfyn, what remains uncertain, however, is the course of a road to Eschenz, as well the road towards Gotthard Pass via Irgenhausen Castrum, Centum Prata, Obersee–Linth–Walensee. The traces of an imperial settlement almost entirely missing, in addition to references to a farm in the records, some Roman items and parts of a large stone building have been found
27.
Early Middle Ages
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The Early Middle Ages marked the start of the Middle Ages of European history, lasting from the 6th to the 10th century CE. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire, the Early Middle Ages largely overlap with Late Antiquity. The term Late Antiquity is used to emphasize elements of continuity with the Roman Empire, the period saw a continuation of trends begun during late classical antiquity, including population decline, especially in urban centres, a decline of trade, and increased immigration. The period has been labelled the Dark Ages, a characterization highlighting the relative scarcity of literary and cultural output from this time, especially in Northwestern Europe. However, the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire, continued to survive, many of these trends were reversed later in the period. In 800 the title of emperor was revived in Western Europe by Charlemagne, whose Carolingian Empire greatly affected later European social structure, Europe experienced a return to systematic agriculture in the form of the feudal system, which introduced such innovations as three-field planting and the heavy plow. Barbarian migration stabilized in much of Europe, although Northern Europe was greatly affected by the Viking expansion, starting in the 2nd century, various indicators of Roman civilization began to decline, including urbanization, seaborne commerce, and population. Archaeologists have identified only 40 percent as many Mediterranean shipwrecks from the 3rd century as from the first, estimates of the population of the Roman Empire during the period from 150 to 400 suggest a fall from 65 million to 50 million, a decline of more than 20 percent. Some scholars have connected this de-population to the Dark Ages Cold Period, Early in the 3rd century Germanic peoples migrated south from Scandinavia and reached the Black Sea, creating formidable confederations which opposed the local Sarmatians. In Dacia and on the north of the Black Sea the Goths. The arrival of the Huns in 372–375 ended the history of these kingdoms, the Huns, a confederation of central Asian tribes, founded an empire with a Turkic-speaking aristocracy. They had mastered the art of shooting composite recurve bows from horseback. The Goths sought refuge in Roman territory, agreeing to enter the Empire as unarmed settlers, however many bribed the Danube border-guards into allowing them to bring their weapons. The discipline and organization of a Roman legion made it a fighting unit. The Romans preferred infantry to cavalry because infantry could be trained to retain the formation in combat, while cavalry tended to scatter when faced with opposition. While a barbarian army could be raised and inspired by the promise of plunder, the legions required a government and taxation to pay for salaries, constant training, equipment. The decline in agricultural and economic activity reduced the empires taxable income, in the Gothic War, the Goths revolted and confronted the main Roman army in the Battle of Adrianople. The general decline in discipline also led to the use of smaller shields, not wanting to share the glory, Eastern Emperor Valens ordered an attack on the Therving infantry under Fritigern without waiting for Western Emperor Gratian, who was on the way with reinforcements
28.
Manor house
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A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The term is loosely applied to various country houses, frequently dating from the late medieval era. They were sometimes fortified, but this was intended more for show than for defence. Manor houses existed in most European countries where feudalism existed, where they were known as castles, palaces. Many buildings, such as schools, are named Manor, the reason behind this is because the building was or is close to a manor house. The lord of the manor may have several properties within a county or, for example in the case of a feudal baron, spread across a kingdom. A large and suitable building was required within the manor for such purpose, generally in the form of a hall. This also gave the opportunity for the manor house to be cleaned, especially important in the days of the cess-pit. Thus such non-resident lords needed to appoint a steward or seneschal to act as their deputy in such matters, the day-to-day administration was carried out by a resident official in authority at each manor, who in England was called a bailiff, or reeve. Although not typically built with strong fortifications as were castles, many manor-houses were fortified and they were often enclosed within walls or ditches which often also included agricultural buildings. The primary feature of the house was its great hall. A late 16th-century transformation produced many of the smaller Renaissance châteaux of France, the Tudor period of stability in England saw the building of the first of the unfortified great houses, for example Sutton Place in Surrey, circa 1521. During the second half of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and under her successor King James I the first mansions designed by architects not by mere masons or builders, began to make their appearance. Such houses as Burghley House, Longleat House, and Hatfield House are among the best known of this period, nearly every large mediaeval manor house had its own deer-park adjoining, emparked by royal licence, which served primarily as a store of food in the form of venison. Within these licensed parks deer could not be hunted by royalty and this gave them more privacy and space. Court was a suffix which came into use in the 16th century, the obvious origin of the suffix would appear to be that the building was the location where the manorial courts were held. True castles, when not royal castles, were generally the residences of feudal barons, the manor on which the castle was situated was termed the caput of the barony, thus every true ancient defensive castle was also the manor house of its own manor. The suffix -Park came into use in the 18th and 19th centuries, the usage is often a modern catch-all suffix for an old house on an estate, true manor or not
29.
House of Habsburg
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The House of Habsburg, also called House of Hapsburg, or House of Austria, was one of the most influential royal houses of Europe. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs between 1438 and 1740, from the sixteenth century, following the reign of Charles V, the dynasty was split between its Austrian and Spanish branches. Although they ruled distinct territories, they maintained close relations. The House takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland, in the canton of Aargau, by Count Radbot of Klettgau. His grandson Otto II was the first to take the name as his own. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th, by 1276, Count Radbots seventh generation descendant Rudolph of Habsburg had moved the familys power base from Habsburg Castle to the Duchy of Austria. Rudolph had become King of Germany in 1273, and the dynasty of the House of Habsburg was truly entrenched in 1276 when Rudolph became ruler of Austria, which the Habsburgs ruled until 1918. A series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to expand its domains to include Burgundy, Spain and its colonial empire, Bohemia, Hungary. In the 16th century, the separated into the senior Habsburg Spain and the junior Habsburg Monarchy branches. The House of Habsburg became extinct in the 18th century, the senior Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and was replaced by the House of Bourbon. It was succeeded by the Vaudemont branch of the House of Lorraine, the new successor house styled itself formally as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, although it was often referred to as simply the House of Habsburg. His grandson Radbot, Count of Habsburg founded the Habsburg Castle, the origins of the castles name, located in what is now the Swiss canton of Aargau, are uncertain. There is disagreement on whether the name is derived from the High German Habichtsburg, or from the Middle High German word hab/hap meaning ford, the first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108. The Habsburg Castle was the seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, in the 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families in Upper Alsace and Swabia. They were also able to high positions in the church hierarchy for their members. Territorially, they often profited from the extinction of other families such as the House of Kyburg. By the second half of the 13th century, count Rudolph IV had become one of the most influential territorial lords in the area between the Vosges Mountains and Lake Constance
30.
Vogt
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The territory or area of responsibility of a Vogt is called a Vogtei. The term also denotes a mayor of a village, the range of social status and degrees of responsibility of persons so titled varied greatly, from the humble—the equivalents of the English reeve or bailiff—to the very elevated. The concept of the Vogt was related to the Old German idea of the Munt, or guardian, such representatives had been assigned to the church since late antiquity, as it was not supposed to act for itself in worldly affairs. Beyond that, he administered the high justice instead of the count from the Vogt court, in the German-ruled Holy Roman Empire, the term Vogt can refer to two different offices, church vogt or imperial vogt. Imperial vogts are further subdivided into land vogts and city vogts, in addition, the term vogt was used for administrative officers of territorial rulers, such as bailiffs. In private and family monasteries the proprietor himself often also held the office of Vogt, in Austria, the teaching of the Church that, according to canon law individuals were prohibited from exercising authority over Church property, was only with reluctance accepted by the nobles. An imperial Vogt was an officer of the king, who served as administrator and judge of a subdivision of royal property, the seat of an imperial Vogt was often at an imperial city. When the imperial cities gained more independence, the office was split into city Vogt for the cities, the offices of city volts were usually bought by the imperial cities by the late Middle Ages, which led to the independence of the cities. Most land Vogt offices became meaningless as the amount of property was reduced more and more in favor of territorial rulers. The land Vogt office of the Alsace, consisting of the ten cities of the Décapole, was ceded to the king of France in 1648. However, the cities were soon annexed by France. Several small land votes continued to exist until the end of the Empire in 1806, the title of Landvogt appears in the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1415. A Landvogt ruled a Landvogtei, either representing a sovereign canton, or acting on behalf of the Confederacy, or a subset thereof, in the case of condominiums, the cantons took turns in appointing a Landvogt for a period of two years. In exceptional cases, the population of the Landvogtei was allowed to elect their own Landvogt and this concerned Oberhasli in particular, which was nominally a subject territory of Berne, but enjoyed a special status as a military ally. The office of Landvogt was abolished in 1798, with the foundation of the Helvetic Republic, the monarchs reigning in Madrid and Vienna controlled these through governors known variously as landvoogd or gouverneur-generaal. The status of protective lordship, however, in relation to ecclesiastical estates as held, there is no single equivalent in English history. The office of reeve was much the same at a village or peasant level, in France, the office of vidame, the temporal administrator for certain bishoprics, showed some connection. The most frequent translations in that connection are either advocate or lord protector, in medieval Poland the title of Wójt was used to denote hereditary heads of towns
31.
Kyburg family
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Kyburg was a noble family of grafen in the Duchy of Swabia, a cadet line of the counts of Dillingen, who in the late 12th and early 13th century ruled much of what is now Northeastern Switzerland. The family was one of the four most powerful families in the Swiss plateau beside the House of Habsburg, House of Zähringen. The first line of counts of Kyburg were influential in politics during the 1020s. Kyburg castle, southeast of Winterthur, passed on to the Swabian counts of Dillingen, through the marriage of Hartmann von Dillingen with a certain Adelheid, the House of Dillingen acquired the old Kyburg possessions as well as territorial claims in the Thurgau. The exact origin of Adelheid is unclear and she is either the granddaughter of the Count of Grüningen-Winterthur or from a cadet branch of the Winterthur family, the Counts of Nellenburg. She might also be the daughter of Adalbert II von Winterthur, the last knight from Winterthur, the Kyburg land continued to be part of the possessions of the House of Dillingen until the grandson of Hartmann von Dillingen, Hartmann III, split the Dillingen lands. Adalbert received the Swabian territories, while Hartmann III von Dillingen got the Swiss lands, the House of Kyburg were vassals of the Duke of Swabia, who was of the House of Hohenstaufen and would become the Kings of Germany from 1138-1254. When the House of Lenzburg died out in 1172/73, the Kyburgs together with the Hohenstaufen and Zähringen split the Lenzburg possessions between them, the Kyburg family acquired the allodial title to the Vogtei of Windegg or Gaster and land around Baden. Later additional Lenzburg territories, the Schänis Abbey and Beromünster, were acquired by the House of Kyburg. In 1180 the family began to consolidate their power and they founded the cities of Diessenhofen and Winterthur to help spread their power. They also appointed many of the Lenzburg, and later Zähringen, when the Zähringen family died out in 1218, the Kyburgs grabbed another chance to expand. Anna von Zähringen, the sister of the last Duke of Zähringen, from the Zähringen line the Kyburgs acquired land west of the Rhine and in Burgundy including the cities of Fribourg, Thun and Burgdorf as well as estates in the canton of Zurich. However, the House of Hohenstaufen, the family of the Holy Roman Emperors, refused to support the Kyburg claims on the city of Zurich and in 1226 on the Abbey of St. Gall. As a result, they turned away from the Hohenstaufens and in 1243 and were one of the mainstays of the pro-Pope. Around 1220 they started to make claims on property and rights that had unclear ownership and was property that they already owned. Both sites were endowed with property that they had taken from the Weisslingen and these two properties served to define the borders between the Kyburg and Rapperswil families. At the same time the Kyburg family attempted to strengthen themselves through marriage, Hartmann V, a grandson of Ulrich III was engaged to Anna of Rapperswil in 1227. In 1230 they founded Zug and Baden, then Frauenfeld, Aarau, Lenzburg, in 1250 they founded Sursee, Weesen and the fortified towns of Kyburg and Laupen
32.
Toggenburg
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Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the valley of the river Thur and that of its main tributary. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency of the canton of St. Gallen and it is a fertile valley of about 45 kilometres in length from the source of the river to Wil on the railway line between Winterthur and St. Gallen. The upper half is traversed by an excellent road, while from Nesslau there is a railway to Wil, at Wildhaus, the highest village, the house wherein Huldrych Zwingli, the Swiss Reformer, was born in 1484, is still shown. Other villages are Lichtensteig, Kirchberg and Wattwil, there are traces of the paleolithic Mousterian Industry throughout the Appenzell Alps, in the Toggenburg notably in Wildenmannlisloch cave. The upper Thur valley was part of the province of Raetia in the Roman era and this is evidenced by a substantial substrate of Romance toponyms in the upper Toggenburg. The extinction of the line of the counts of Toggenburg led to the Old Zürich War ultimately resulting in the temporary expulsion of Zürich from the Swiss confederacy. Eventually, the Toggenburg passed to the lord of Raron, who sold it in 1468 to the abbot of St. Gall. Part of the Toggenburg followed the Swiss Reformation led by Zwingli, and the valley declared itself independent in 1530, the ensuing Toggenburg war of 1712 resulted in a balance of power between Catholic and Protestant cantons, ultimately leading to the formation of Switzerland as a federal state. In the Helvetic Republic, the Toggenburg was divided between the cantons of Säntis and Linth, the parts were re-united as part of the canton of St. Gallen in 1803. Schüblig, a type of sausage is a tradition in the area, the Toggenburg Wahlkreis has a population of 45,912. Of the foreign population,584 are from Germany,952 are from Italy,3,124 are from ex-Yugoslavia,167 are from Austria,1,137 are from Turkey, and 1,123 are from another country. Of the Swiss national languages,41,718 speak German,107 people speak French,673 people speak Italian, and 47 people speak Romansh. The age distribution, as of 2000, is,6,296 children or 13. 7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 7,444 teenagers or 16. 2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population,5,046 people or 11. 0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 6,784 people or 14. 8% are between 30 and 39,6,390 people or 13. 9% are between 40 and 49, and 4,926 people or 10. 7% are between 50 and 59. In 2000 there were 4,967 persons who were living alone in a private dwelling, there were 8,910 persons who were part of a couple without children, and 27,097 who were part of a couple with children. The remainder did not answer this question, as of October 2009 the average unemployment rate was 2. 9%
33.
Amt (country subdivision)
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Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is equivalent to a US township or county or English shire district. The Amt is unique to the German Bundesländer of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, other German states had this subdivision in the past. Some states have similar units called Samtgemeinde, Verbandsgemeinde or Verwaltungsgemeinschaft. An Amt, as well as the other above-mentioned units, is subordinate to a Kreis and is a collection of municipalities, the amt is lower than district-level government but higher than municipal government, and may be described as a supra-municipality or municipal confederation. Normally, it consists of small municipalities. e. The Ortsteil itself may also be translated as a municipality. The amt was a unit of Denmark. The counties were established by decree in 1662 as replacements for the former Len. The amter were composed of independent towns and parishes. During the 20th century, they were granted responsibility for the service for the non-urban population. A1970 administrative reform reduced the number of counties to fourteen, from then on, the amter were composed of a number of municipalities. The reform granted the counties wider areas of responsibility, most notably running the national health service, the Danish Municipal Reform of January 1,2007 abolished the amter and replaced them with five administrative regions, now solely charged with running the national health service. In contrast to the amter the regions hold no authority to levy taxes, the reform re-delegated all other areas of responsibility to either the municipalities or the state. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, see Counties of Denmark for more information about the Danish usage of the term. In Germany an Amt was an administrative district covering a manorial estate or the land owned by a castle or village. It was headed by an Amtmann, usually a lesser nobleman or cleric, appointed by a lord to administer. Ambacht can be seen as the Dutch equivalent to amt, ambachten existed in Holland, Zeeland and Flanders up to about 1800
34.
St. Gallen
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St. Gallen or traditionally St Gall, in German sometimes Sankt Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century, today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. Its economy consists mainly of the service sector, the main tourist attraction is the Abbey of Saint Gall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Abbeys renowned library contains books from the 9th century, the official language of St. Gallen is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. The city has good links to the rest of the country and to neighbouring Germany. It also functions as the gate to the Appenzell Alps, St. Gallen is situated in the northeastern part of Switzerland in a valley about 700 meters above sea level. It is one of the highest cities in Switzerland and thus receives abundant winter snow, the city lies between Lake Constance and the mountains of the Appenzell Alps. It therefore offers excellent recreation areas nearby, as the city center is built on an unstable turf ground, all buildings on the valley floor must be built on piles. For example, the foundation of the train station and its plaza are based on hundreds of piles. St. Gallen has an area, as of 2006, of 39.3 km2, of this area,31. 1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 28. 9% is forested. Of the rest of the land,38. 4% is settled, the founding of St. Gallen is attributed to the Irish monk Gallus, who built a hermitage by the river Steinach in 612 AD. Around 720, one hundred years after Galluss death, the Alemannian priest Othmar built a monastery, in 719, its first abbot Otmar extended it to an abbey. In 926 Hungarian raiders attacked the abbey and surrounding town, Saint Wiborada, the first woman formally canonized by the Vatican, reportedly saw a vision of the impending attack and warned the monks and citizens to flee. While the monks and the abbey treasure escaped, Wiborada chose to stay behind and was killed by the raiders, between 924 and 933 the Magyars threatened the abbey, and its books were removed for safekeeping to Reichenau. Not all the books were returned, on 26 April 937 a fire consumed much of the abbey, spreading to the adjoining settlement. About 954 a protective wall was raised around the abbey, by 975 abbot Notker finished the wall, in 1207, Abbot Ulrich von Sax was granted the rank of Imperial Prince by Philip of Swabia, King of the Germans. As an ecclesiastical principality, the Abbey of St. Gallen was to constitute an important territorial state, however, in 1803 it lost its independence and was incorporated into the new Canton of St. Gallen. The city of St. Gallen proper progressively freed itself from the rule of the abbot, acquiring Imperial immediacy, by about 1353 the guilds, headed by the cloth-weavers guild, had gained control of the civic government
35.
Gentry
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Gentry are well-born, genteel and well-bred people of high social class, especially in the past. In the United Kingdom, the term refers to the social class of the landed aristocracy or to the minor aristocracy whose income derives from their large landholdings. The idea of gentry in the sense of noblesse is extinct in common parlance in modern day Britain. Though the untitled nobility in modern day Britain are normally termed gentry, the older sense of nobility is that of a quality identical to gentry. The fundamental social division in most parts of Europe in the Middle Ages was between the nobiles, i. e. the tenants in chivalry, and the ignobles, i. e. the villeins, citizens and burgesses. The division into nobles and ignobles in smaller regions of Europe in the Middle Ages was less due to a more rudimentary feudal order. After the Reformation, intermingling between the class and the often hereditary clerical upper class became a distinctive feature in several Nordic countries. Besides the gentry there have been other analogous traditional elites, the Indo-Europeans who settled Europe, Western Asia and the Indian subcontinent conceived their societies to be ordered in a tripartite fashion, the three parts being castes. Castes came to be divided, perhaps as a result of greater specialisation. The classic formulation of the system as largely described by Georges Dumézil was that of a priestly or religiously occupied caste, a warrior caste. Dumézil divided the Proto-Indo-Europeans into three categories, sovereignty, military, and productivity and he further subdivided sovereignty into two distinct and complementary sub-parts. One part was formal, juridical, and priestly, but rooted in this world, the other was powerful, unpredictable, and also priestly, but rooted in the other, the supernatural and spiritual world. The second main division was connected with the use of force, the military, finally, there was a third group, ruled by the other two, whose role was productivity, herding, farming, and crafts. This system of roles can be seen in the castes which flourished on the Indian subcontinent. Emperor Constantine convoked the First Council of Nicaea in 325 whose Nicene Creed included belief in one holy catholic and apostolic Church, emperor Theodosius I made Nicene Christianity the state church of the Roman Empire with the Edict of Thessalonica of 380. In this power vacuum, the Church rose to become the dominant power in the West, the classical heritage flourished throughout the Middle Ages in both the Byzantine Greek East and Latin West. During the Middle Ages it was customary to classify the population of Christendom into laboratores, bellatores, the last group, though small in number, monopolized the instruments and opportunities of culture, and ruled with almost unlimited sway half of the most powerful continent on the globe. The clergy, like Platos guardians, were placed in authority, in the latter half of the period in which they ruled, the clergy were as free from family cares as even Plato could desire
36.
Old Swiss Confederacy
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The Old Swiss Confederacy was a precursor of the modern state of Switzerland. It was a confederation of independent small states which formed during the 14th century. From a nucleus in what is now Central Switzerland, the confederacy expanded to include the cities of Zurich and this formed a rare union of rural and urban communes, all of which enjoyed imperial immediacy in the Holy Roman Empire. Its success resulted in the addition of more confederates, increasing the number of cantons to thirteen by 1513, the confederacy pledged neutrality in 1515 and 1647, although many Swiss served privately as mercenaries in the Italian Wars and during the Early Modern period. After the Swabian War of 1499 the confederacy was a de facto independent state throughout the modern period. The Swiss Confederacy fell to invasion by the French Revolutionary Army in 1798, the adjective “old” was introduced after the Napoleonic era with Ancien Régime, retronyms distinguishing the pre-Napoleonic from the restored confederation. During its existence the confederacy was known as Eidgenossenschaft or Eydtgnoschafft, in reference to treaties among cantons, territories of the confederacy came to be known collectively as Schweiz or Schweizerland, with the English Switzerland beginning during the mid-16th century. From that time the Confederacy was seen as a single state, the foundation of the Confederacy is marked by the Rütlischwur or the 1315 Pact of Brunnen. Since 1889, the Federal Charter of 1291 among the communes of Uri, Schwyz. The initial pact was augmented by pacts with the cities of Lucerne, Zürich, in several battles with Habsburg armies, the Swiss were victorious, they conquered the rural areas of Glarus and Zug, which became members of the confederacy. From 1353 to 1481, the federation of eight cantons—known in German as the Acht Orte —consolidated its position, the members enlarged their territory at the expense of local counts—primarily by buying judicial rights, but sometimes by force. The Eidgenossenschaft, as a whole, expanded through military conquest, the Aargau was conquered in 1415, in both cases, the Swiss profited from weakness in the Habsburg dukes. In the south, Uri led a military territorial expansion that would by 1515 lead to the conquest of the Ticino, none of these territories became members of the confederacy, they had the status of condominiums. At this time, the eight cantons gradually increased their influence on neighbouring cities, individual cantons concluded pacts with Fribourg, Appenzell, Schaffhausen, the abbot and the city of St. Gallen, Biel, Rottweil, Mulhouse and others. These allies became closely associated with the confederacy, but were not accepted as full members, the Burgundy Wars prompted a further enlargement of the confederacy, Fribourg and Solothurn were accepted in 1481. In the Swabian War against Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, the Swiss were victorious, the associated cities of Basel and Schaffhausen joined the confederacy as a result of that conflict, and Appenzell followed suit in 1513 as the thirteenth member. The federation of thirteen cantons constituted the Old Swiss Confederacy until its demise in 1798, the expansion of the confederacy was stopped by the Swiss defeat in the 1515 Battle of Marignano. Only Berne and Fribourg were still able to conquer the Vaud in 1536, the Reformation in Switzerland led to doctrinal division amongst the cantons
37.
Tagsatzung
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The Diet was a meeting of delegates from the individual cantons. Though it was the most wide-reaching political institution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, its power was very limited, organised as a Diet since 1500, the seat of the Swiss legislature was called the Federal Diet. This was not the source of authority in the loosely joined country. Though a representative body, it differed from modern constitutional assemblies as its member were drawn almost exclusively from the picked interest of the landed, the presiding canton of the Federal Diet was known as the Vorort and was usually the canton which had called the Diet. The Diet was held in varying locations, with Zurich becoming increasingly important following the 16th century, the last three presiding cantons before the French invasion were Bern, Lucerne, and Zürich. Following the invasion and victory of the French Republican forces, the Old Swiss Confederation was disbanded and replaced by the Helvetic Republic and this was a more centralized form of government than the previous and it was widely opposed as revoking the traditional liberties of local powers. Opposition was particularly fierce among the Catholic population, for whom the French imposed government was associated with the radical anti-clericalism of the French Revolution and this opposition eventually lead to the Stecklikrieg, which pitted a Swiss rebellion against the forces of the Helvetic Republic. The opposition was successful in forcing the Helvetic Republic to accepting the French negotiated Acts of Mediation in 1803 and these acts secured the federal, decentralized nature of Switzerland. Switzerland was organized according to the terms of the Acts of Mediation under the defeat of the French Empire in 1815. The Long Diet had been in session for over a year until 1815, the Swiss government maintained it federal structure, though no longer under the forms of the Acts of Mediation and coordinated by a re-named Federal Assembly. This is the system which would govern the Swiss for over three decades, seeing the addition of new, French-speaking cantons, the system showed its weaknesses in 1845, when a league of Catholic cantons joined together in opposition to Federal authority and formed the Sonderbund League in 1845. This was the beginnings of a war, which lasted through 1848. Following their victory, a new constitution was adopted and the Federal Assembly of Switzerland was created in its modern form, Bern was chosen as the federal city, or Bundesstadt, in a deliberate avoidance of the term capital city, or Hauptstadt. In its modern form, the Federal Assembly is a representative body which elects its members according to the votes of the citizens of each canton. List of Presidents of the Swiss Diet Landammann Landsgemeinde Tagsatzung in German, French, Vorort in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
38.
Reformation
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The period is usually considered to have begun with the publication of the Ninety-five Theses by Luther in 1517 to the Thirty Years War and ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The Protestant position, however, would come to incorporate doctrinal changes such as sola scriptura, the initial movement within Germany diversified, and other reform impulses arose independently of Luther. The spread of Gutenbergs printing press provided the means for the dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular. The largest groups were the Lutherans and Calvinists, Lutheran churches were founded mostly in Germany, the Baltics and Scandinavia, while the Reformed ones were founded in Switzerland, Hungary, France, the Netherlands and Scotland. The new movement influenced the Church of England decisively after 1547 under Edward VI and Elizabeth I, there were also reformation movements throughout continental Europe known as the Radical Reformation, which gave rise to the Anabaptist, Moravian and other Pietistic movements. The Roman Catholic Church responded with a Counter-Reformation initiated by the Council of Trent, much work in battling Protestantism was done by the well-organised new order of the Jesuits. In general, Northern Europe, with the exception of most of Ireland, southern Europe remained Roman Catholic, while Central Europe was a site of a fierce conflict, culminating in the Thirty Years War, which left it devastated. The oldest Protestant churches, such as the Unitas Fratrum and Moravian Church, the later Protestant Churches generally date their doctrinal separation from the Roman Catholic Church to the 16th century. The Reformation began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church, by priests who opposed what they perceived as false doctrines and ecclesiastic malpractice. They especially objected to the teaching and the sale of indulgences, and the abuses thereof, and to simony, the reformers saw these practices as evidence of the systemic corruption of the Churchs hierarchy, which included the pope. Unrest due to the Great Schism of Western Christianity excited wars between princes, uprisings among the peasants, and widespread concern over corruption in the Church, New perspectives came from John Wycliffe at Oxford University and from Jan Hus at the Charles University in Prague. Hus rejected indulgences and adopted a doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone, the Roman Catholic Church officially concluded this debate at the Council of Constance by condemning Hus, who was executed by burning despite a promise of safe-conduct. Wycliffe was posthumously condemned as a heretic and his corpse exhumed and burned in 1428, the Council of Constance confirmed and strengthened the traditional medieval conception of church and empire. The council did not address the national tensions or the theological tensions stirred up during the century and could not prevent schism. Pope Sixtus IV established the practice of selling indulgences to be applied to the dead, Pope Alexander VI was one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes. He was the father of seven children, including Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia, in response to papal corruption, particularly the sale of indulgences, Luther wrote The Ninety-Five Theses. The Reformation was born of Luthers dual declaration – first, the discovering of Jesus and salvation by faith alone, the Protestant reformers were unanimous in agreement and this understanding of prophecy furnished importance to their deeds. It was the point and the battle cry that made the Reformation nearly unassailable
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Simultaneum
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Such churches became common in the German-speaking lands of Europe in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. The different Christian denominations, share the church building, although they worship at different times. It is thus a form of religious toleration, Simultaneum as a policy was particularly attractive to rulers who ruled over populations which contained considerable numbers of both Catholics and Protestants. At the end of the war the region returned to Protestant control, although intended to apply only to the Palatinate, the simultaneum was subsequently also applied in portions of Protestant Alsace. Peters Cathedral, oldest Catholic-Lutheran simultaneum since 1524 Bechtolsheim, Ss, the regulatory work is known as the Status quo, a type of church-sharing which is in no way related to the West European Protestant-Catholic sharing system described here. HighBeam Research, dictionary definition, simultaneum Wiki-Protestants. org, Simultaneum Musée virtuel du Protestantisme, Le Simultaneum, il sagit dun édifice cultuel utilisé simultanément par les deux confessions catholique et protestante. Rhein and Laeng of Herrliesheim, Brief History of Alsace-Lorraine Bernhard Brockmann, Simultaneum in Goldenstedt
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Baroque
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The style began around 1600 in Rome and Italy, and spread to most of Europe. The aristocracy viewed the dramatic style of Baroque art and architecture as a means of impressing visitors by projecting triumph, power, Baroque palaces are built around an entrance of courts, grand staircases, and reception rooms of sequentially increasing opulence. However, baroque has a resonance and application that extend beyond a reduction to either a style or period. It is also yields the Italian barocco and modern Spanish barroco, German Barock, Dutch Barok, others derive it from the mnemonic term Baroco, a supposedly laboured form of syllogism in logical Scholastica. The Latin root can be found in bis-roca, in informal usage, the word baroque can simply mean that something is elaborate, with many details, without reference to the Baroque styles of the 17th and 18th centuries. The word Baroque, like most periodic or stylistic designations, was invented by later critics rather than practitioners of the arts in the 17th, the term Baroque was initially used in a derogatory sense, to underline the excesses of its emphasis. In particular, the term was used to describe its eccentric redundancy and noisy abundance of details, although it was long thought that the word as a critical term was first applied to architecture, in fact it appears earlier in reference to music. Another hypothesis says that the word comes from precursors of the style, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola and he did not make the distinctions between Mannerism and Baroque that modern writers do, and he ignored the later phase, the academic Baroque that lasted into the 18th century. Long despised, Baroque art and architecture became fashionable between the two World Wars, and has remained in critical favour. In painting the gradual rise in popular esteem of Caravaggio has been the best barometer of modern taste, William Watson describes a late phase of Shang-dynasty Chinese ritual bronzes of the 11th century BC as baroque. The term Baroque may still be used, usually pejoratively, describing works of art, craft, the appeal of Baroque style turned consciously from the witty, intellectual qualities of 16th-century Mannerist art to a visceral appeal aimed at the senses. It employed an iconography that was direct, simple, obvious, germinal ideas of the Baroque can also be found in the work of Michelangelo. Even more generalised parallels perceived by some experts in philosophy, prose style, see the Neapolitan palace of Caserta, a Baroque palace whose construction began in 1752. In paintings Baroque gestures are broader than Mannerist gestures, less ambiguous, less arcane and mysterious, more like the stage gestures of opera, Baroque poses depend on contrapposto, the tension within the figures that move the planes of shoulders and hips in counterdirections. Baroque is a style of unity imposed upon rich, heavy detail, Baroque style featured exaggerated lighting, intense emotions, release from restraint, and even a kind of artistic sensationalism. There were highly diverse strands of Italian baroque painting, from Caravaggio to Cortona, the most prominent Spanish painter of the Baroque was Diego Velázquez. The later Baroque style gradually gave way to a more decorative Rococo, while the Baroque nature of Rembrandts art is clear, the label is less often used for Vermeer and many other Dutch artists. Flemish Baroque painting shared a part in this trend, while continuing to produce the traditional categories
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