1.
Glaspaleis
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The Glaspaleis is a modernist building in Heerlen, Netherlands, built in 1935. Formerly a fashion house and department store, Schunck, it is now the centre of the city. The original name was Modehuis Schunck, but it was soon nicknamed Glaspaleis, the architectural style is largely according to what is in the Netherlands known as het Nieuwe Bouwen, which corresponds roughly to Modernism, Bauhaus and International style. In 2004, it won the first Bouwfonds Award in the category Vital Monuments, in 2005, it won the Nederlandse Bouwprijs in the Projects category. In 2005, it won the Nationale Renovatieprijs in the Utiliteitsbouw category. They were especially inspired by the architecture of a department store in Nantes, France, Les Grands Magasins Decré, another source of inspiration for Peutz was the 1930 Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam, a classical example of this style at the time. But the City council gave the go ahead, apart from a few minor points, the job was given to Maastrichtse Betonijzerbouw P. Knols, who had made the lowest bid at 184,500 guilders. The market used to be at the Church Square, but when it moved to the new Market Square, the shop lost its strategic location, which was one reason for the move. Vroom en Dreesman never made use of the house, which was located in between the old shop and the new Glaspaleis, leaving it to decay and it remained an eyesore until well after World War II. Schunck only managed to buy it in 1960, for the exorbitant price of 2.000.000 guilders, the buildings to the South have since been torn down, creating the much larger Pancratius Square. The section to the West was given to the City and cleared, as a result, the Glaspaleis is now completely free-standing. The building to the East has been replaced by the music school annex, the result was a structure of stacked and covered hanging markets, protected against the elements by the freestanding glass encasing on three sides. The Glaspaleis is an example of early modern architecture, made of glass, steel. Each floor has about 30 mushroom-shaped pillars, ever narrower as one goes up the floors, there is no front as such - this is only defined by the fact that one side faces the market square. At the moment the building is completely free-standing, almost surrounded by three squares, at seven floors and a height of 26.5 m, it was at the time the tallest building in Heerlen. It has been called a palace for the people, especially for the miners, the pillars are mushroom-shaped for two reasons. The first is utilitarian, the floors were constructed beamless for better daylighting and, thus and this has the additional advantage of simplifying the placing and moving of cables and lighting fixtures. And the mushroom shapes give an impression of greater height, the second, constructional, advantage is that the steel bundle reinforcement in two directions makes the structure equally rigid in all directions
2.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
3.
Limburgian
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Limburgish, also called Limburgian or Limburgic, is a group of East Low Franconian varieties spoken in the Limburg and Rhineland regions, along the Dutch–Belgian–German border. The area in which it is spoken roughly fits within a circle from Venlo to Düsseldorf to Aachen to Maastricht to Tienen. In some parts of area it is generally used as the colloquial language in daily speech. It shares many characteristics both with German and Dutch and is considered as a variant of one of these languages. The name Limburgish derives only indirectly from the now Belgian town of Limbourg, more directly it is derived from the more modern name of the Province of Limburg in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which has been split today into a Belgian Limburg and a Dutch Limburg. In the area around the old Duchy of Limburg the main language today is French, people from Limburg usually call their language Plat, the same as Low German speakers do. The word can also be associated with platteland, the general Dutch term for the language of ordinary people in former ages was Dietsch or Duutsch, as it still exists in the term Low Dietsch. This term is derived from Proto-Germanic þiudiskaz, meaning of the people. In Dutch the word plat means flat, but also refers to the way a language is spoken, Limburgish has partially overlapping definition areas, depending on the criteria used, All dialects spoken within the political boundary of the two Limburg provinces. Limburgish according to Jo Daan, the associative arrow method of Meertens Institute, South Lower Franconian, isogloss definition between the Uerdingen and Benrath lines by Wenker, Schrijnen and Goossens. Western limit of Limburgish pitch accent Southeast Limburgish dialect, this includes a part of the Ripuarian language in Germany, under the influence of the Merovingian and especially the Carolingian dynasty, Eastern Low Franconian underwent much influence from the neighbouring High German languages. It is especially this trait which distinguishes Limburgish from Western Low Franconian, in the past, all Limburgish dialects were therefore sometimes seen as West Central German, part of High German. It is nevertheless most common in linguistics to consider Limburgish as Low Franconian, from the 13th century on, however, the Duchy of Brabant extended its power. As a consequence, at first the western and then also the variants of Limburgish underwent great influence of Brabantian. As a result, Limburgish – although being essentially a variety of Low Franconian – still has a distance from Standard Dutch with regards to phonology, morphology. In German sources, the dialects linguistically counting as Limburgish spoken to the east of the river Rhine are called Bergish, West of the river Rhine they are called Low Rhenish, which is considered a transitional zone between Low Franconian and Ripuarian. Thus, formerly German linguists tended to call these dialects Low German, Limburgish is spoken in a considerable part of the German Lower Rhine area, in what linguistically could be called German Limburg. This area extends from the regions of Cleves, Aachen, Viersen and Heinsberg
4.
Architecture
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Architecture is both the process and the product of planning, designing, and constructing buildings and other physical structures. Architectural works, in the form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements, Architecture can mean, A general term to describe buildings and other physical structures. The art and science of designing buildings and nonbuilding structures, the style of design and method of construction of buildings and other physical structures. A unifying or coherent form or structure Knowledge of art, science, technology, the design activity of the architect, from the macro-level to the micro-level. The practice of the architect, where architecture means offering or rendering services in connection with the design and construction of buildings. The earliest surviving work on the subject of architecture is De architectura. According to Vitruvius, a building should satisfy the three principles of firmitas, utilitas, venustas, commonly known by the original translation – firmness, commodity. An equivalent in modern English would be, Durability – a building should stand up robustly, utility – it should be suitable for the purposes for which it is used. Beauty – it should be aesthetically pleasing, according to Vitruvius, the architect should strive to fulfill each of these three attributes as well as possible. Leon Battista Alberti, who elaborates on the ideas of Vitruvius in his treatise, De Re Aedificatoria, saw beauty primarily as a matter of proportion, for Alberti, the rules of proportion were those that governed the idealised human figure, the Golden mean. The most important aspect of beauty was, therefore, an inherent part of an object, rather than something applied superficially, Gothic architecture, Pugin believed, was the only true Christian form of architecture. The 19th-century English art critic, John Ruskin, in his Seven Lamps of Architecture, Architecture was the art which so disposes and adorns the edifices raised by men. That the sight of them contributes to his health, power. For Ruskin, the aesthetic was of overriding significance and his work goes on to state that a building is not truly a work of architecture unless it is in some way adorned. For Ruskin, a well-constructed, well-proportioned, functional building needed string courses or rustication, but suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say, This is beautiful, le Corbusiers contemporary Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. The notable 19th-century architect of skyscrapers, Louis Sullivan, promoted an overriding precept to architectural design, function came to be seen as encompassing all criteria of the use, perception and enjoyment of a building, not only practical but also aesthetic, psychological and cultural
5.
Uithuizen
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Uithuizen is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Eemsmond, Uithuizen was a separate municipality until 1979, when it became part of Hefshuizen. May 172008, Cardinal Simonis opened the Trail of St James, connecting Uithuizen to Hasselt, Le Puy en Velay, in the village is a borg called the Menkemaborg. Menkemaborg at Uithuizen is a 14th-century, brick-built country house, which was altered around 1700. The Alberda family, the 18th-century occupants, commissioned artists to decorate the interior with impressive chimney-pieces carved with baroque ornaments, the Menkemaborg and its gardens are open to the public. Seth Gaaikema, cabaret artist and writer Uithuizen hosted the finish of stage 4 at the 2013 Energiewacht Tour, J. Kuyper, Gemeente Atlas van Nederland, 1865-1870, Uithuizen. Map of the municipality, around 1868. Site of Windmill De liefde Menkemaborg
6.
Groningen (province)
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Groningen is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. It borders on Friesland to the west, Drenthe to the south, the German state of Niedersachsen to the east, in 2014, it had a population of 582,640 and a total area of 2,960 km2. The area was part of Frisia, the Frankish Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Dutch Republic. In the 14th century, the city of Groningen became a member of the Hanseatic League, the capital of the province and the seat of the provincial government is the city of Groningen. Since 2016, René Paas has been the Kings Commissioner in the province, a coalition of the Labour Party, Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, Democrats 66, and ChristianUnion forms the executive branch. The province is divided into 23 municipalities, the land is mainly used for agriculture. There are sea ports in Delfzijl and Eemshaven, the Groningen gas field was discovered in 1959. The province is home to the University of Groningen and Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen was originally a part of Frisia. It became a part of the Frankish Empire around 785, charlemagne assigned the Christianization of this new possession to Ludger. In the 11th century, the city of Groningen was a village in Drenthe that belonged to the Bishopric of Utrecht, during the Middle Ages, central control was remote, and the city of Groningen acted as a city-state, exerting a dominating influence on the surrounding Ommelanden. In the 14th century, Groningen became one of the towns within the Hanseatic League, in the years after, Groningen expanded its influence. At its peak almost all of the current province Friesland was under the influence, shortly before 1498, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor gave Groningen and Friesland to Albert III, Duke of Saxony, who could however not establish permanent control. In 1514/15 Groningen came to the Duchy of Guelders, and in 1536 as the Lordship of Groningen to the Habsburg Netherlands, in 1594, Groningen was conquered by the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, precursor state of the Netherlands, to which it belonged henceforth. During World War II, the Netherlands were occupied by Nazi Germany, in May 1945, another 3,000 German soldiers were captured in the Battle of Delfzijl by the 5th Canadian Division, after which all of the northern provinces were liberated. East Groningen was the scene of a particularly fierce class struggle in the 19th and 20th centuries, perhaps not coincidentally, Groningen boasts the only municipality where the Communist Party of the Netherlands has ever had a mayor. The northernmost point of the Netherlands is on Rottumerplaat at 53°33′18″N 6°28′41″E, Groningen is the 7th largest province of the Netherlands. It has an area of 2,960 km2, with 2,325 km2 of land and 635 km2 of water. About 80% of the land or 1,876 km2 is used for agriculture
7.
Rolduc
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Rolduc is the name of a medieval abbey in Kerkrade, the Netherlands, which is now a Roman Catholic seminary and an affiliated conferencing center. It is part of the Top 100 Dutch heritage sites, established in 1990 by the Department for Conservation, in 1104, a young priest by the name of Ailbertus of Antoing founded an Augustinian abbey in the Land of Rode, near the river Wurm. The abbey was called Kloosterrade, which later became s-Hertogenrade, after the castle that was built across the Wurm. Ailbertus died in 1111 and his bones were interred in the crypt. In 1136 the land of Rode, including the abbey, fell into the hands of the Duchy of Limburg, Kloosterrade was considered to be their family church. Several dukes of Limburg are buried at Rolduc, such as Walram III, during the 12th century and 13th century the abbey flourished. Several other communities were founded by Kloosterrade, in 1250 the abbey owned more than 3,000 hectares of land. During the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries times were harder for the abbey in both spiritual and material terms, the buildings were heavily damaged during the Eighty Years War. Materialistically, the abbey began to again in the late 17th century when revenue was generated from the exploitation of coal mines. In around 1775, Rolduc employed 350 mineworkers, the abbey was dissolved by the French in 1796 and the buildings stood empty for 35 years. In 1815, when the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed, the eastern part became Prussian Herzogenrath and the western part became part of the Dutch municipality of Kerkrade. In the 19th century Rolduc became a boarding school run by Jesuits. Many influential Dutch Roman Catholics were educated at Rolduc, the former abbey is now a secondary school, a Roman Catholic seminary, and the Rolduc Congress Center. The 12th century abbey church is an example of Mosan art, the crypt and the choir and chancel above have a cloverleaf pattern. The interior of both the church and the crypt contains richly carved capitals, remarkable is the fact that the columns in the crypt all have a different design. In 1853, the young architect Pierre Cuypers was commissioned to restore the crypt, the cloisters are largely 18th century. The abbey has a richly decorated Rococo library with an important collection of books, during the Middle Ages, the Rolduc library was one of the most famous libraries in the Meuse region. The history of the abbey was recorded in the so-called Annales Rodenses, the interior painting above the altar is by the Nazarene movement painter Matthias Goebbels
8.
Kerkrade
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Kerkrade is a town and a municipality in the southeast of Limburg, the southernmost province of the Netherlands. Kerkrade is the half of a divided city, it was part of the German town of Herzogenrath until the Congress of Vienna in 1815 drew the current Dutch-German border. The two towns, including outlying suburban settlements, have a population approaching 100,000, of which nearly 47,000 in Kerkrade, the history of Kerkrade is closely linked with that of the adjacent town of Herzogenrath, just across the German border. Herzogenrath began as a settlement, called Rode, near the river Worm in the 11th century, in 1104 Augustinian monks founded an abbey, called Kloosterrade, to the west of this settlement. It was called s-Hertogenrode or s-Hertogenrade after the duchy of Brabant took control over the region, as is the case for many parts of the Southern Netherlands, the place changed hands several times in the last few centuries. It was under Spanish control from 1661, Austrian between 1713 and 1785 and French between 1795 and 1813, in 1815, when the kingdom of the Netherlands was formed, the border was drawn through Herzogenrath, the western part being Kerkrade. In the 18th century the monks of Rolduc began small-scale coal mines, when the Willem Sophia mine was opened around 1900, the town grew even more rapidly, absorbing old villages like Chèvremont. In the decades following 1960, all the mines in Limburg were closed, one of the oldest buildings in the municipality is Erenstein, a castle the origins of which lie in the 14th century. One part of the border between the Netherlands and Germany runs along the middle of the street Nieuwstraat/Neustraße, there was a separate 2-way road on each side, and cars had to pass through the official crossing points, but pedestrians could readily step over the wall. In 1995, the wall was removed completely as part of the new Schengen Area agreement, Nieuwstraat/Neustraße is now a single two-way road, with the extra space now occupied with trees and bicycle lanes. The border is unmarked, and is crossed even when going round a roundabout or overtaking a vehicle, the two towns now share some of their public services, and promote themselves as a binational City of Eurode for economic development purposes. Kerkrades outlying neighborhoods and housing developments include, Every fourth year the World Music Contest, a competition for amateur, professional, also, for the last three years, the Drum Corps Europe championships have been held here. The building of a dam in the Anstel, a brook flowing west of Kerkrade, has led to the formation of a reservoir with an area of about 20 ha and this and its surroundings are very rich in flora and fauna. It is the reservoir in the Netherlands
9.
Civil engineering
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Civil engineering is traditionally broken into a number of sub-disciplines. It is the second-oldest engineering discipline after military engineering, and it is defined to distinguish non-military engineering from military engineering, Civil engineering takes place in the public sector from municipal through to national governments, and in the private sector from individual homeowners through to international companies. Engineering has been an aspect of life since the beginnings of human existence, during this time, transportation became increasingly important leading to the development of the wheel and sailing. The construction of pyramids in Egypt were some of the first instances of large structure constructions, the Romans developed civil structures throughout their empire, including especially aqueducts, insulae, harbors, bridges, dams and roads. In the 18th century, the civil engineering was coined to incorporate all things civilian as opposed to military engineering. The first self-proclaimed civil engineer was John Smeaton, who constructed the Eddystone Lighthouse, in 1771 Smeaton and some of his colleagues formed the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers, a group of leaders of the profession who met informally over dinner. Though there was evidence of some meetings, it was little more than a social society. In 1818 the Institution of Civil Engineers was founded in London, the institution received a Royal Charter in 1828, formally recognising civil engineering as a profession. The first private college to teach engineering in the United States was Norwich University. The first degree in engineering in the United States was awarded by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1835. The first such degree to be awarded to a woman was granted by Cornell University to Nora Stanton Blatch in 1905, throughout ancient and medieval history most architectural design and construction was carried out by artisans, such as stonemasons and carpenters, rising to the role of master builder. Knowledge was retained in guilds and seldom supplanted by advances, structures, roads and infrastructure that existed were repetitive, and increases in scale were incremental. Brahmagupta, an Indian mathematician, used arithmetic in the 7th century AD, based on Hindu-Arabic numerals, Civil engineers typically possess an academic degree in civil engineering. The length of study is three to five years, and the degree is designated as a bachelor of engineering. The curriculum generally includes classes in physics, mathematics, project management, design, after taking basic courses in most sub-disciplines of civil engineering, they move onto specialize in one or more sub-disciplines at advanced levels. In most countries, a degree in engineering represents the first step towards professional certification. After completing a degree program, the engineer must satisfy a range of requirements before being certified. Once certified, the engineer is designated as a engineer, a chartered engineer
