1.
Czech Republic
–
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres with mostly temperate continental climate and it is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the territories of Bohemia, Moravia. The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire, after the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1002, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years War. After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, reimposed Roman Catholicism, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections. Following the 1948 coup détat, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence, in 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed, on 6 March 1990, the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and it is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development, the Czech Republic also ranks as the 6th most peaceful country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, the traditional English name Bohemia derives from Latin Boiohaemum, which means home of the Boii. The current name comes from the endonym Čech, spelled Cžech until the reform in 1842. The name comes from the Slavic tribe and, according to legend, their leader Čech, the etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root *čel-, meaning member of the people, kinsman, thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk. The country has traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the southeast, and Czech Silesia in the northeast. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word geographical name in English, the name Czechia /ˈtʃɛkiə/ was recommended by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Czech Republic
–
Přemysl Ottokar II,
King of Bohemia (1253–1278) and
Duke of Austria (1251–1278)
Czech Republic
–
Flag
Czech Republic
–
The
Crown of Saint Wenceslas is the 4th oldest in Europe
Czech Republic
–
The
Defenestration of Prague sparked the
Thirty Years' War
2.
Moravian-Silesian Region
–
The Moravian-Silesian Region, is one of the 14 administrative Regions of the Czech Republic. Before May 2001 it was called the Ostrava Region, the region is located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Moravia and in most of the Czech part of the historical region of Silesia. The region borders the Olomouc Region to the west and the Zlín Region to the south and it also borders two other countries – Poland to the north and Slovakia to the east. Once a highly industrialized region, it was called the Steel Heart of the Country in the communist era, there are, in addition, several mountainous areas where the landscape is relatively preserved. Nowadays, the economy of the benefits from its location in the Czech/Polish/Slovak borderlands. The geography of the region varies considerably, comprising many landforms from lowlands to high mountains whose summits lie above the tree line. In the west lie the Hrubý Jeseník mountains, with the highest mountain of the region, the mountains are heavily forested, with many spectacular places and famous spas such as Karlova Studánka and Jeseník and are therefore very popular with tourists. There are also several ski resorts, including Červenohorské Sedlo and Ovčárna, the Hrubý Jeseník mountains slowly merge into the rolling hills of the Nízký Jeseníks and Oderské Vrchy, rising to 800 m at Slunečná and 680 m at Fidlův Kopec respectively. To the east, the landscape gradually descends into the Moravian Gate valley with the Bečva, the former flows to the south-west, the latter to the north-east, where the terrain spreads into the flat Ostrava and Opava basins, where most of the population lives. The regions heavy industry, which has been in decline for the last decade, is located there too, the confluence of the rivers Odra and Olše is the lowest point of the region, at 195 m. The mountains are forested and serve as a holiday resort for the industrial north. There are three large Landscape Protected Areas and a number of nature reserves in the region. The countryside is mostly man-made, but there are five Natural Parks with preserved natural scenery, the CHKO Jeseníky lies in the mountain range of the same name in the north east of the region. The terrain is diverse, with steep slopes and deep valleys. Eighty percent of the area is forested, mostly by secondary plantations of Norway spruce, due to local weather conditions, the tree line in the area descends to 1, 200–1,300 m. Alpine meadows can be found in low elevations in the Jeseník mountains. There are also a few peat moors, which are otherwise non-existent in Moravia, the CHKO Poodří lies in the Moravian Gate, in close proximity to the regions capital Ostrava, on the banks of the meandering Odra. It is an area of forests, flooded meadows and a lot of shallow ponds
Moravian-Silesian Region
–
Undermined church in
Karviná
Moravian-Silesian Region
–
Štramberk
3.
Districts of the Czech Republic
–
In 1960, Czechoslovakia was re-divided into districts often without regard to traditional division and local relationships. In the area of the Czech Republic, there were 75 districts, a reform in effect since January 2003 replaced the districts with 204 Municipalities with Extended Competence (obce s rozšířenou působností, also obce III. Stupně - third-level municipalities, unofficially also called little districts which took over most of the administration of the district authorities. Some of these are divided between Municipalities with Commissioned Local Authority. The old districts still exist as units and remain as seats of some of the offices, especially courts, police. In 2007 the borders of the districts were slightly adjusted and 119 municipalities are now within different districts, regions of the Czech Republic ISO 3166-2, CZ http, //www. czso. cz/lexikon/mos2003. nsf/index
Districts of the Czech Republic
–
Districts of the Czech Republic
4.
Geographic coordinate system
–
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
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
5.
Central European Summer Time
–
It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
Central European Summer Time
–
light blue
6.
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics
–
The Classification of Territorial Units for Statistics is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard is developed and regulated by the European Union, a NUTS code begins with a two-letter code referencing the country, which is identical to the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code. The subdivision of the country is referred to with one number. A second or third level is referred to with another number each. Each numbering starts with 1, as 0 is used for the upper level, where the subdivision has more than nine entities, capital letters are used to continue the numbering. A similar statistical system is defined for the countries and members of the European Free Trade Association. The current NUTS classification, valid from 1 January 2015, lists 98 regions at NUTS1,276 regions at NUTS2 and 1342 regions at NUTS3 level, there are three levels of NUTS defined, with two levels of local administrative units below. These were called NUTS levels 4 and 5 until July 2003, note that not all countries have every level of division, depending on their size. One of the most extreme cases is Luxembourg, which has only LAUs, NUTS regions are generally based on existing national administrative subdivisions. In countries where one or two regional subdivisions exist, or where the size of existing subdivisions is too small or too large. This may be on the first level, on the second and/or third level, the NUTS system favors existing administrative units, with one or more assigned to each NUTS level
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics
–
NUTS-1 as valid till 2014
7.
German language
–
German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
German language
–
Old Frisian (Alt-Friesisch)
German language
–
The widespread popularity of the
Bible translated into German by
Martin Luther helped establish modern German
German language
–
Examples of German language in
Namibian everyday life
German language
–
German-language newspapers in the U.S. in 1922
8.
Town
–
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size definition for what constitutes a town varies considerably in different parts of the world, the word town shares an origin with the German word Zaun, the Dutch word tuin, and the Old Norse tun. The German word Zaun comes closest to the meaning of the word. An early borrowing from Celtic *dunom, in English and Dutch, the meaning of the word took on the sense of the space which these fences enclosed. In England, a town was a community that could not afford or was not allowed to build walls or other larger fortifications. In the Netherlands, this space was a garden, more specifically those of the wealthy, in Old Norse tun means a place between farmhouses, and is still used in a similar meaning in modern Norwegian. If there was any distinction between toun and burgh as claimed by some, it did not last in practice as burghs, for example, Edina Burgh or Edinburgh was built around a fort and eventually came to have a defensive wall. In some cases, town is a name for city or village. Sometimes, the town is short for township. A places population size is not a determinant of urban character. In many areas of the world, as in India at least until recent times, in the United Kingdom, there are historical cities that are far smaller than the larger towns. Some forms of settlement, such as temporary mining locations, may be clearly non-rural. Towns often exist as governmental units, with legally defined borders. In the United States these are referred to as incorporated towns, in other cases the town lacks its own governance and is said to be unincorporated. Note that the existence of a town may be legally set forth through other means. In the case of planned communities, the town exists legally in the form of covenants on the properties within the town. Australian geographer Thomas Griffith Taylor proposed a classification of towns based on their age, although there is no official use of the term for any settlement. In Albanian qytezë means small city or new city, while in ancient times small residential center within the walls of a castle
Town
–
Çeşme,
Turkey a coastal Turkish town with houses in regional style and an Ottoman Castle.
Town
–
The alpine town of
Davos in the
Swiss Alps.
Town
–
Reading,
England, is a large town which has unsuccessfully tried to
become a city.
Town
–
The historical town of
Skalica in
Slovakia.
9.
Opava
–
Opava is a city in the northern Czech Republic on the river Opava, located to the north-west of Ostrava. Opava is one of the centres of Silesia. It was a capital of Czech Silesia. Opava is now in the Moravian-Silesian Region and has a population of 57,843, Opava is located on the Opava Hilly Land on the Opava River and Moravice River. Opava was first documented in 1195, first mention of Magdeburg city rights came from 1224. It was capital of the Silesian, Bohemian and finally Austrian Duchy of Opava, in 1614 Karl I of Liechtenstein became Duke of Opava. The Congress of Troppau took place there in the period 27 October-17 December 1820, according to the Austrian census of 1910, the town had 30,762 inhabitants,29,587 of whom had permanent residence there. The census asked people for their language, which showed that 27,240 were German-speaking,2,039 were Czech-speaking and 274 were Polish-speaking. Jews were not allowed to declare Yiddish, and most of them thus declared German as their native language, the main religious group was Roman Catholics with 28,379, followed by Protestants with 1,155 and Jews with 1,112. After the defeat of Austria-Hungary in World War I, Troppau became part of Czechoslovakia in 1919 as Opava, from 1938–45 Opava was part of Nazi Germany according to the Munich agreement. Already a day before Germanys annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938, after the end of World War II, the entire German population of Opava was forcibly expelled in 1945–46 under terms included in the Beneš decrees, the city was resettled with Czechs. Many of the population settled in Bamberg, Germany. While the Duchy of Opava has ceased to exist, the title of Duke of Troppau lives on to present day, with Hans-Adam II, Opava is currently an important business and cultural center of Opavian Silesia. Opava is home to the public university in the country not situated in a regional capital. The city is part of an industrial area along with Ostrava. Opava also awards its own Cultural Prize, the Silesian Theatre in Opava was founded in 1805. Plays were performed in German until the end of the Second World War, the first is the white tower, known as Hláska, adorning the Neo-Renaissance Opava Town Hall on Horní náměstí square. cz Old postcards Opava International Organ Competition
Opava
–
Opava
Opava
–
Austrian KK 10 kreuzer stamp issue 1863, cancelled Troppau
Opava
–
Opava in 1900
10.
Ostrava
–
Ostrava is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and is the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It is 15 km from the border with Poland, at the point of four rivers. The population was around 300,000 in 2013, Ostrava grew to prominence thanks to its position at the heart of a major coalfield, becoming an important industrial centre. Industries have been restructured, and the last coal was mined in the city in 1994. Lower Vítkovice has applied for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List, since the 1990s Ostrava has been transformed into a modern cultural city, with numerous theatres, galleries and other cultural facilities. It hosts a range of cultural and sporting events throughout the year. Among the best known are the Colours of Ostrava multi-genre music festival, the Janáček May classical music festival, Ostrava is home to two public universities, the VŠB-Technical University and the University of Ostrava. In 2014 Ostrava was a European City of Sport, the city co-hosted the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in 2004 and 2015. The city’s coat of arms features a shield with a rearing silver horse standing on a green lawn. The horse wears a saddle and a red coverlet. At the top right of the shield there is a rose with green leaves. The horse in the coat-of-arms wears no bridle, the oldest known depiction of this coat-of-arms is on a seal dating from 1426, the first coloured version dates from 1728. This explanation is supported by most modern literature, in 2008, Ostrava’s new marketing logo was unveiled. Designed by Studio Najbrt, the logo “OSTRAVA. ” is used in presentations of the city both in the Czech Republic and abroad. The three exclamation marks are meant to symbolise the dynamism, energy and self-confidence of Ostrava and its people, the light blue colour of the city’s name is based on the heraldic tradition, while the exclamation marks are a contrasting darker blue. The logo is intended to be striking, provocative and above all memorable, the first written mention of Silesian Ostrava dates from 1229, when it was described as a settlement. The first mention of Moravian Ostrava describes it as a township, Ostrava grew up on the banks of the Ostrá River, from which it took its name. This river still divides the city into two parts, Moravian Ostrava and Silesian Ostrava
Ostrava
–
Ostrava
Ostrava
–
Ostrava’s coat-of-arms
Ostrava
–
A sculpture of the city’s horse emblem outside the New City Hall
Ostrava
–
Ostrava in 1728
11.
Amber Road
–
The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber from coastal areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Prehistoric trade routes between Northern and Southern Europe were defined by the amber trade, from at least the sixteenth century BC amber was moved from Northern Europe to the Mediterranean area. The breast ornament of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen contains large Baltic amber beads Heinrich Schliemann found Baltic amber beads at Mycenae, the quantity of amber in the Royal Tomb of Qatna, Syria, is unparalleled for known second millennium BC sites in the Levant and the Ancient Near East. Amber was sent from the North Sea to the temple of Apollo at Delphi as an offering, from the Black Sea, trade could continue to Asia along the Silk Road, another ancient trade route. In Roman times, a main route ran south from the Baltic coast through the land of the Boii to the head of the Adriatic Sea, the Old Prussian towns of Kaup and Truso on the Baltic were the starting points of the route to the south. In Scandinavia the amber road probably gave rise to the thriving Nordic Bronze Age culture, sometimes the Kaliningrad Oblast is called the Янтарный край, which means the amber area. Several roads connected the North Sea and Baltic Sea, especially the city of Hamburg to the Brenner Pass, proceeding southwards to Brindisi and Ambracia. The Swiss region indicates a number of roads, concentrating around the capital city Bern and probably originating from the borders of the Rhône River. A small section, including Baarn, Barneveld, Amersfoort and Amerongen, a small section led southwards from Antwerp and Bruges to the towns Braine-l’Alleud and Braine-le-Comte, both originally named Brennia-Brenna. The route continued by following the Meuse River towards Bern in Switzerland, three routes may be identified leading from an amber finding region or delta at the mouth of the River Openia towards Bresse and Bern, crossing the Alps to Switzerland and Italy. Routes connecting amber finding locations at Ambares, leading to Béarn, Routes connecting the amber finding locations in northern Spain and in the Pyrenees were a trading route to the Mediterranean Sea. There is a tourist route stretching along the Baltic coast from Kaliningrad to Latvia called Amber Road, in Poland a north–south motorway A1 is officially named Amber Highway. OWTRAD-scientific description of the road in Poland Old World Traditional Trade Routes Project Joannes Richter - Die Bernsteinroute bei Backnang
Amber Road
–
The Amber Road (east route), as hypothesized by Polish historian Jerzy Wielowiejski, Główny szlak bursztynowy w czasach Cesarstwa Rzymskiego (Main Route of the Amber Road of the Roman Empire), 1980
Amber Road
–
The route from the Baltic Sea
Amber Road
–
Amber deposits in Europe
12.
Mediterranean Sea
–
The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar. In oceanography, it is called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of 1,500 m. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia and it is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, the seas average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, has an area of approximately 2,510,000 square km. The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade, the history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri, the term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the earth or between land, as it is between the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios, is similarly from μέσο, between + γη, land, earth) and it can be compared with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia, meaning between rivers. The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names, for example, the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum, and occasionally Mare Internum. Another name was the Sea of the Philistines, from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites, the sea is also called the Great Sea in the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, in Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon, the Middle Sea, reflecting the Seas name in ancient Greek, Latin, and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Baḥr al-Mutawassiṭ, in Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz, the White Sea since among Turks the white colour represents the west. Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food for numerous communities throughout the ages, due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history. Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states, later, when Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum
Mediterranean Sea
–
Circa the 6th century BCE: In ancient times the Mediterranean provided sources of food and local commerce and direct routes for trade and communications, colonisation, and war. Numerous cities and colonies were situated at its shores or within the basin: Greek (red) and Phoenician (yellow)
colonies in antiquity; and other cities (grey), including the provincial
"Rom".
Mediterranean Sea
–
Map of the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
–
With its highly indented coastline and large number of islands, Greece has the longest Mediterranean coastline.
Mediterranean Sea
–
The
Battle of Lepanto, 1571, ended in victory for the European
Holy League against the Ottoman Turks.
13.
Baltic Sea
–
The Baltic Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, enclosed by Scandinavia, Finland, the Baltic countries, and the North European Plain. It includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Bay of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga, the sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10°E to 30°E longitude. The Baltic Sea is connected by waterways to the White Sea via the White Sea Canal. Traffic history Historically, the Kingdom of Denmark collected Sound Dues from ships at the border between the ocean and the land-locked Baltic Sea and they were collected in the Øresund at Kronborg castle near Helsingør, in the Great Belt at Nyborg. In the Little Belt, the site of intake was moved to Fredericia, the narrowest part of Little Belt is the Middelfart Sund near Middelfart. Oceanography Geographers widely agree that the physical border of the Baltic is a line drawn through the southern Danish islands, Drogden-Sill. The Drogden Sill is situated north of Køge Bugt and connects Dragør in the south of Copenhagen to Malmö, it is used by the Øresund Bridge, including the Drogden Tunnel. By this definition, the Danish Straits are part of the entrance, but the Bay of Mecklenburg, another usual border is the line between Falsterbo, Sweden and Stevns Klint, Denmark, as this is the southern border of Øresund. Its also the border between the shallow southern Øresund and notably deeper water, hydrography and biology Drogden Sill sets a limit to Øresund and Darss Sill, and a limit to the Belt Sea. The shallow sills are obstacles to the flow of salt water from the Kattegat into the basins around Bornholm. The Kattegat and the southwestern Baltic Sea are well oxygenated and have a rich biology, the remainder of the Sea is brackish, poor in oxygen and in species. While Tacitus called it Mare Suebicum after the Germanic people called the Suebi, the origin of the latter name is speculative. Adam of Bremen himself compared the sea with a belt, stating that it is so named because it stretches through the land as a belt and he might also have been influenced by the name of a legendary island mentioned in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder. Pliny mentions an island named Baltia with reference to accounts of Pytheas and it is possible that Pliny refers to an island named Basilia in On the Ocean by Pytheas. Baltia also might be derived from belt and mean near belt of sea, meanwhile, others have suggested that the name of the island originates from the Proto-Indo-European root *bhel meaning white, fair. This root and its meaning were retained in both Lithuanian and Latvian. On this basis, a related hypothesis holds that the name originated from this Indo-European root via a Baltic language such as Lithuanian, yet another explanation is that the name originally meant enclosed sea, bay as opposed to open sea. Some Swedish historians believe the name derives from the god Balder of Nordic mythology, in the Middle Ages the sea was known by variety of names
Baltic Sea
–
Cape Arkona on the island of
Rügen in Germany, was a sacred site of the
Slavs before Christianization.
Baltic Sea
–
Map of the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
–
The naval
Battle of the Sound took place on 8 November 1658 during the
Dano-Swedish War.
Baltic Sea
–
The burning
Cap Arcona shortly after the attacks, 3 May 1945. Only 350 of the 4,500 prisoners who had been aboard the Cap Arcona survived.
14.
Unity of the Brethren
–
For the Moravian Church, see Unitas Fratrum. Hus was executed, but his preaching and writings were instrumental in the formation of the Hussite movement, the Hussite movement broke into several strands, one of which became known as the Unity of the Brethren. The roots of radical and pacifistic stream within the early Hussite movement go back to Petr Chelčický. The original theological foundation for the future Unity of the Brethren was laid by Petr Chelčický and Brother Řehoř, lukáš Pražský, whose theological ideas strongly shaped the movement after the passing of Chelčický and Řehoř, provided later leadership. Another important leader was Jan Augusta, who spent many years in horrible imprisonment, the last bishop of Unity of the Brethren, Comenius is known for his reforms in education. During the second half of the 16th century, members of the Unity of the Brethren translated the Bible from the languages into the Czech. After 1620, due to a counter-reformation by the Roman Catholic Church and they formed the church which is now known as the Moravian Church, Jednota bratrská and the Unity of Brethren. During the Thirty-Years War, the Unity of Brethren churches were severely persecuted and those who stayed in Bohemia and Moravia practiced their beliefs in secret and privately passed their beliefs from one generation to the next. Even after Emperor Joseph II proclaimed toleration in 1781, only Lutherans, many of the Brethren united with the Lutherans and Calvinists around that time. After the end of World War I and the formation of Czechoslovakia in 1918, Czech Lutherans, after the imperial edict of 1861, which granted legal rights to Reformed churches, Unity of the Brethren missionaries from Germany were able to restore the church to its original Czech homeland. The first congregations was founded in 1870 in Potštejn, and in Dube in 1872, before the First World War, eight other churches had been planted. The Unity of the Brethren in the Czech Republic worked among the Czechs and the Germans, started orphanages in Čermná and Duba, the Czech-originated Unity of the Brethren should not be confused with the Unity of the Brethren Baptists, a Baptist organization in the Czech and Slovak Republics. From about the middle of the 19th century until the outbreak of the First World War, in most of the US they formed Czech churches within the Presbyterian Church. Those who settled as farmers in the state of Texas in the United States decided to form their own denomination, jindřich Juren came to Texas in 1876, and from 1881 through 1888 was the only minister to these Brethren congregations. Representatives of these congregations met in 1903 and formed the Evangelical Unity of the Bohemian-Moravian Brethren in North America, the early churches reflected their origin and worshipped in the Czech language. By the 1940s, most of the churches reflected assimilation into the surrounding culture, in 1959, the name Unity of the Brethren was adopted. This body accepts the Apostles Creed as an expression of their beliefs. The Unity practices two sacraments—water baptism and holy communion, Christian parents present their infant children for baptism
Unity of the Brethren
–
Unity of the Brethren
hymnal, 1561
Unity of the Brethren
–
Brethren
bishop Jan Ámos Komenský (Comenius)
Unity of the Brethren
–
Brethren elder
Daniel Ernest Jablonski
Unity of the Brethren
–
Brethren's house Na sboru in
Kunvald
15.
John Amos Comenius
–
John Amos Comenius was a Czech philosopher, pedagogue and theologian from the Margraviate of Moravia. He is considered the father of modern education, John Amos Comenius originated from Margraviate of Moravia in the Bohemian Crown in Uherský Brod or Nivnice, or Komňa, all of which are located in Uherské Hradiště District of todays Czech Republic. John Comenius was the youngest child and only son of Martin Komenský and his grandfather, whose name was Jan Szeges, was of Hungarian origin. He started to use the surname Komenský after leaving Komňa to live in Uherský Brod, Martin and Anna Komenský belonged to the Moravian Brethren, and Comenius later became one of the leaders of that pre-Reformation Protestant denomination. His parents and two of his four sisters died in 1604 and young John went to live with his aunt in Strážnice, owing to his impoverished circumstances he was unable to begin his formal education until late. He was 16 when he entered the Latin school in Přerov and he continued his studies in the Herborn Academy and the University of Heidelberg. In 1612 he read Fama Fraternitatis, Comenius was greatly influenced by the Irish Jesuit William Bathe as well as his teachers Johann Piscator, Heinrich Gutberleth, and particularly Heinrich Alsted. The Herborn school held the principle that every theory has to be functional in practical use, in the course of his study he also became acquainted with the educational reforms of Ratichius and with the report of these reforms issued by the universities of Jena and Giessen. Comenius book Janua linguarum reserata brought him prominence and fame. However he and the Unity became special targets of the Counter Reformation movement and were forced into exile even as his fame grew across Europe, Comenius became rector of a school in Přerov. In 1616 he was ordained into the ministry of the Moravian Brethren and four later became pastor and rector at Fulnek. Throughout his life this pastoral activity was his most immediate concern, Comenius took refuge in Leszno in Poland, where he led the gymnasium and, furthermore, was given charge of the Bohemian and Moravian churches. In 1628 he corresponded with Johann Valentin Andreae, the same year he moved to Elbląg in Poland and in 1648 went to England with the aid of Samuel Hartlib, who came originally from Elbląg. In 1650 Zsuzsanna Lorántffy, widow of George I Rákóczi prince of Transylvania invited him to Sárospatak, Comenius remained there until 1654 as a professor at the first Hungarian Protestant College, he wrote some of his most important works there. During the Deluge in 1655, he declared his support for the Protestant side, for which Polish partisans burned his house, his manuscripts, from Leszno he took refuge in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, where he died in 1670. For unclear reasons he was buried in Naarden, where visitors can see his grave in the devoted to him. After his religious duties, Comeniuss second great interest was in furthering the Baconian attempt at the organization of all human knowledge. In 1639, Comenius published his Pansophiæ Prodromus, and in the year his English friend Hartlib published, without his consent
John Amos Comenius
–
John Amos Comenius
John Amos Comenius
–
Oldest surviving manuscript by Comenius from 1611; written in Latin and Czech
John Amos Comenius
–
Portrait of an Old Man by
Rembrandt, possibly a depiction of Comenius
John Amos Comenius
–
Latin class from
Orbis Pictus
16.
Bohemian Revolt
–
The Bohemian Revolt was an uprising of the Bohemian estates against the rule of the Habsburg dynasty. It was caused by religious and power disputes, the dispute culminated after several battles in the final Battle of White Mountain, where the estates suffered a decisive defeat. This started re-Catholisation of the Czech lands, but also triggered the Thirty Years War, without heirs, Emperor Matthias sought to assure an orderly transition during his lifetime by having his dynastic heir elected to the separate royal thrones of Bohemia and Hungary. Some of the Protestant leaders of Bohemia feared they would be losing the rights granted to them by Emperor Rudolf II in his Letter of Majesty. They preferred the Protestant Frederick V, elector of the Palatinate, the king-elect then sent two Catholic councillors as his representatives to Hradčany castle in Prague in May 1618. Ferdinand had wanted them to administer the government in his absence, on 23 May 1618, an assembly of Protestants seized them and threw them out of the palace window, which was some 21 metres off the ground. This event, known as the Defenestration of Prague, started the Bohemian Revolt, soon afterward, the Bohemian conflict spread through all of the Bohemian Crown, including Bohemia, Silesia, Upper and Lower Lusatia, and Moravia. Moravia was already embroiled in a conflict between Catholics and Protestants, the religious conflict eventually spread across the whole continent of Europe, involving France, Sweden, and a number of other countries. Had the Bohemian rebellion remained a conflict, the war could have been over in fewer than thirty months. However, the death of Emperor Matthias emboldened the rebellious Protestant leaders, the weaknesses of both Ferdinand and of the Bohemians themselves led to the spread of the war to western Germany. Ferdinand was compelled to call on his cousin, King Philip III of Spain, the Bohemians hinted Frederick would become King of Bohemia if he allowed them to join the Union and come under its protection. However, similar offers were made by members of the Bohemian Estates to the Duke of Savoy, the Elector of Saxony. The Austrians, who seemed to have intercepted every letter leaving Prague and this unraveled much of the support for the Bohemians, particularly in the court of Saxony. In spite of these issues surrounding their support, the rebellion initially favoured the Bohemians and they were joined in the revolt by much of Upper Austria, whose nobility was then chiefly Lutheran and Calvinist. Lower Austria revolted soon after, and in 1619, Count Thurn led an army to the walls of Vienna itself, the Spanish sent an army from Brussels under Ambrosio Spinola to support the Emperor. In addition, the Spanish ambassador to Vienna, Don Íñigo Vélez de Oñate, the Saxons invaded, and the Spanish army in the west prevented the Protestant Unions forces from assisting. Oñate conspired to transfer the title from the Palatinate to the Duke of Bavaria in exchange for his support. The Catholic Leagues army pacified Upper Austria, while Imperial forces under Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly, the two armies united and moved north into Bohemia
Bohemian Revolt
–
Second defenestration of Prague, contemporary copperplate engraving from Theatrum Europaeum
Bohemian Revolt
–
Historical re-enactment of the
Battle of White Mountain
Bohemian Revolt
–
Contemporary painting showing the
Battle of White Mountain (1620), where imperial forces under
Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly won a decisive victory.
17.
Austrian monarchy
–
The Monarchy was a composite state composed of territories within and outside the Holy Roman Empire, united only in the person of the monarch. The dynastic capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, from 1804 to 1867 the Habsburg Monarchy was formally unified as the Austrian Empire, and from 1867 to 1918 as the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The two entities were never coterminous, as the Habsburg Monarchy covered many lands beyond the Holy Roman Empire, the monarchy had no official name. The entity had no official name, Austrian Empire, This was the official name. Note that the German version is Kaisertum Österreich, i. e. the English translation empire refers to a territory ruled by an emperor, Austria-Hungary, This was the official name. An unofficial popular name was the Danubian Monarchy also often used was the term Doppel-Monarchie meaning two states under one crowned ruler, Crownlands or crown lands, This is the name of all the individual parts of the Austrian Empire, and then of Austria-Hungary from 1867 on. The Hungarian parts of the Empire were called Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen or Lands of Holy Stephens Crown, the Bohemian Lands were called Lands of the St. Wenceslaus Crown. Burgenland came to Austria in 1921 from Hungary, Salzburg finally became Austrian in 1816 after the Napoleonic wars. Vienna, Austrias capital became a state January 1,1922, after being residence, Upper and Lower Austria, historically, were split into Austria above the Enns and Austria below the Enns. Upper Austria was enlarged after the Treaty of Teschen following the War of the Bavarian Succession by the so-called Innviertel, formerly part of Bavaria. Hereditary Lands or German Hereditary Lands or Austrian Hereditary Lands, In a narrower sense these were the original Habsburg Austrian territories, i. e. basically the Austrian lands, in a wider sense the Lands of the Bohemian Crown were also included in the Hereditary lands. The term was replaced by the term Crownlands in the 1849 March Constitution, within the Habsburg Monarchy, each province was governed according to its own particular customs. Until the mid 17th century, not all of the provinces were even necessarily ruled by the same members of the family often ruled portions of the Hereditary Lands as private apanages. An even greater attempt at centralization began in 1849 following the suppression of the revolutions of 1848. For the first time, ministers tried to transform the monarchy into a bureaucratic state ruled from Vienna. The Kingdom of Hungary, in particular, ceased to exist as a separate entity, in this system, the Kingdom of Hungary was given sovereignty and a parliament, with only a personal union and a joint foreign and military policy connecting it to the other Habsburg lands. When Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed, it was not incorporated into either half of the monarchy, instead, it was governed by the joint Ministry of Finance. Austria-Hungary collapsed under the weight of the various unsolved ethnic problems that came to a head with its defeat in World War I, to these were added in 1779 the Inn Quarter of Bavaria, and in 1803 the Bishoprics of Trent and Brixen
Austrian monarchy
–
Growth of the Habsburg Monarchy
Austrian monarchy
–
Flag
Austrian monarchy
–
Europa regina, symbolizing a Habsburg-dominated Europe.
Austrian monarchy
–
Soldiers of the
Military Frontier against the incursions of the Ottoman Turks, 1756
18.
Compromise of 1867
–
The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, or Composition of 1867, established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise partially re-established the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hungary, separate from, and no longer subject to, under the Compromise, the lands of the House of Habsburg were reorganized as a real union between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Cisleithanian and Transleithanian regions were governed by separate parliaments and prime ministers, the armed forces were combined with the Emperor-King as commander-in-chief. The names conventionally used for the two realms were derived from the river Leitha, or Lajta, a tributary of the Danube and the traditional border between Austrian and Magyar lands. The Leitha did not, however, form the border, nor was its whole course part of the border. Hungarian political leaders had two main goals, according to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, only three people contributed to the compromise, There were three of us who made the agreement, Deák, Andrássy and myself. In the Middle Ages Austria was a quasi-independent state within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the House of Habsburg, in 1526 at the Battle of Mohács, Hungary was defeated and partially conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The young king Louis II of Hungary, who had no legitimate heir, the crown of Hungary was inherited by the Habsburgs. The Ottomans were subsequently out of Hungary in 1699. From 1526 to 1804, Austria and Hungary were in a union under the Habsburgs. In 1804, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, who was ruler of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, founded the Empire of Austria. In doing so he created a formal overarching structure for the Habsburg Monarchy, until the 1848 revolution, the workings of the overarching structure and the status of its component lands stayed much the same as they had been under the composite monarchy that existed before 1804. Hungarys affairs continued to be administered by its own institutions as they had been previously, thus under the new arrangements no Imperial institutions were involved in its internal government. The Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806, after the Hungarian revolution of 1848-49, the independent customs system of Hungary was abolished, and Hungary became part of the unified imperial customs system on 1 October 1851. In the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Magyars came close to regaining independence, after the restoration of Habsburg power, Hungary was placed under martial law. Prime Minister Félix von Schwarzenberg and his government, operating from November 1848, the centralist March Constitution of Austria introduced the so-called neo-absolutism in Habsburg ruled territories, and it provided absolute power for the monarch. A military dictatorship was created in Hungary, every aspect of Hungarian life was put under close scrutiny and governmental control. German became the language of public administration
Compromise of 1867
–
Coronation of
Francis Joseph I and
Elisabeth Amalie at
Matthias Church,
Budapest, 8 June 1867.
Compromise of 1867
–
Civil ensign of Austria-Hungary
19.
Moravia
–
Moravia is a historical country in the Czech Republic and one of the historical Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. Moravia has an area of over 22,348.87 km2 and about 3 million inhabitants, the statistics from 1921 states, that the whole area of Moravia including the enclaves in Silesia covers 22,623.41 km2. The people are historically named Moravians, a subgroup of Czechs, the land takes its name from the Morava river, which rises in the northern tip of the region and flows southward to the opposite end, being its major stream. Moravias largest city and historical capital is Brno, however before being sacked by the Swedish army during the Thirty Years War, though officially abolished by an administrative reform in 1949, Moravia is still commonly acknowledged as a specific land in the Czech Republic. Moravian people are aware of their Moravian identity and there is some rivalry between them and the Czechs from Bohemia. Moravia occupies most of the part of the Czech Republic. Moravian territory is naturally strongly determined, in fact, as the Morava river basin, with effect of mountains in the west and partly in the east. Moravia occupies a position in Central Europe. All the highlands in the west and east of part of Europe run west-east. Moravia borders Bohemia in the west, Lower Austria in the south, Slovakia in the southeast, Poland very shortly in the north and its natural boundary is formed by the Sudetes mountains in the north, the Carpathians in the east and the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands in the west. The Thaya river meanders along the border with Austria and the tripoint of Moravia, Austria and Slovakia is at the confluence of the Thaya, the northeast border with Silesia runs partly along the Moravice, Oder and Ostravice rivers. Between 1782–1850, Moravia also included a portion of the former province of Silesia – the Austrian Silesia. Geologically, Moravia covers an area between the Bohemian Massif and the Carpathians, and between the Danube basin and the North European Plain. Its core geomorphological features are three wide vales, namely the Dyje-Svratka Vale, the Upper Morava Vale and the Lower Morava Vale, the former two form the westernmost part of the Subcarpathia, the latter one is the northernmost part of the Vienna Basin. The vales surround the low range of Central Moravian Carpathians, the highest mountains of Moravia are situated on its northern border in Hrubý Jeseník, the highest peak is Praděd. Second highest are the Moravian-Silesian Beskids at the very east, with Smrk, the White Carpathians along the southeastern border rise up to 970 m at Velká Javořina. The spacious, but moderate Bohemian-Moravian Highlands on the west reach 837 m at Devět skal. The fluvial system of Moravia is very cohesive, as the border is similar to the watershed of the Morava river
Moravia
–
Mikulov, a town in Moravia
Moravia
Moravia
–
The historical Flag of Moravia
Moravia
–
Šance, part of the
Moravian-Silesian Beskids
20.
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
–
After 1950, some emigrated to the United States, Australia, and other countries from there. The Nazis had made plans—only partially completed before the Nazi defeat—to remove many Slavic and Jewish people from Eastern Europe, between 1944 and 1948 about 31 million people, including ethnic Germans as well as German citizens, were permanently or temporarily moved from Central and Eastern Europe. By 1950, a total of approximately 12 million Germans had fled or been expelled from east-central Europe into Allied-occupied Germany, the West German government put the total at 14 million, including ethnic German migrants to Germany after 1950 and the children born to expelled parents. The largest numbers came from preexisting German territories ceded to Poland and the Soviet Union, during the Cold War, the West German government also counted as expellees 1 million foreign colonists settled in territories conquered by Nazi Germany during World War II. The death toll attributable to the flight and expulsions is disputed, with estimates ranging from 500,000, the German Historical Museum puts the figure at 600,000, maintaining that the figure of 2 million deaths in the previous government studies cannot be supported. The current official position of the German government is that the death resulting from the flight. The second phase was the disorganised fleeing of ethnic Germans immediately following the Wehrmachts defeat, many German civilians were sent to internment and labour camps where they were used as forced labour as part of German reparations to countries in eastern Europe. The major expulsions were complete in 1950, estimates for the total number of people of German ancestry still living in Central and Eastern Europe in 1950 range from 700,000 to 2.7 million. Before World War II, East-Central Europe generally lacked clearly shaped ethnic settlement areas, there were some ethnic majority areas, but there were also vast mixed areas and abundant smaller pockets settled by various ethnicities. With the rise of nationalism in the 19th century, the ethnicity of citizens became an issue in territorial claims, the self-perception/identity of states, the German Empire introduced the idea of ethnicity-based settlement in an attempt to ensure its territorial integrity. None of the new states were ethnically homogeneous, in 1919 ethnic Germans became national minorities in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Romania. In the following years, the Nazi ideology encouraged them to local autonomy. In Germany during the 1930s, Nazi propaganda claimed that Germans elsewhere were subject to persecution, Nazi supporters throughout eastern Europe formed local Nazi political parties sponsored financially by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, e. g. by Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle. The West German figures are the used to estimate losses in the expulsions. The West German figure for Poland is broken out as 939,000 monolingual German and 432,000 bi-lingual Polish/German, the West German figure for Poland includes 60,000 in Zaolzie which was annexed by Poland in 1938. In the 1930 census this region was included in the Czechoslovak population, in addition there were 63,000 Volksdeutsch in the General Government. Martin Broszat cited a document with different Volksliste figures 1,001,000 were identified as Germans and 1,761,000 candidates for Germanisation, the figures for the Deutsche Volksliste exclude ethnic Germans resettled in Poland during the war. The national census figures for Germans include German speaking Jews, Poland Czech territory not including Slovakia Hungary 10,000, Yugoslavia During the Nazi German occupation many citizens of German descent in Poland registered with the Deutsche Volksliste
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
–
Flight and expulsion of Germans during and after World War II
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
–
Dead German civilians in
Nemmersdorf, East Prussia. News of
Soviet atrocities, spread and exaggerated by Nazi propaganda, hastened the flight of ethnic Germans from much of Eastern Europe.
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
–
Refugees' trek,
Danzig, February 1945
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
–
Evacuation from
Pillau, 26 January 1945
21.
Czechs
–
Ethnic Czechs were called Bohemians in English until the early 20th century, referring to the late Iron Age tribe of Celtic Boii and the land Bohemia. The Czech diaspora is found in numbers in the United States, Canada, Israel, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, Italy. The Czech ethnic group is part of the West Slavic subgroup of the larger Slavic ethno-linguistical group, the West Slavs have origin in early Slavic tribes which settled in Central Europe after East Germanic tribes had left this area during the migration period. The West Slavic tribe of Bohemians settled in the area of Bohemia during the migration period and they formed an independent principality in the 9th century, the Duchy of Bohemia, under the Přemyslid dynasty. According to mythology, the father of the Czech people were Forefather Čech. The Czech are closely related to the neighbouring Slovaks, the Czech–Slovak languages form a dialect continuum rather than being two clearly distinct languages. Czech cultural influence in Slovak culture is noted as having much higher than the other way around. Czech people have a history of coexistence with Germanic people. The Czech National Revival took place in the 18th and 19th centuries aiming to revive Czech language, culture, the Czech were the initiators of Pan-Slavism. The Czech ethnonym was the name of a Slavic tribe in central Bohemia that subdued the tribes in the late 9th century. The origin of the name of the tribe itself is unknown, according to legend, it comes from their leader Čech, who brought them to Bohemia. Research regards Čech as a derivative of the root čel-, the Czech ethnonym was adopted by the Moravians in the 19th century. The name Bohemia is Germanic, English used that name until after the establishment of Czechoslovakia, the population of the Czech lands has been influenced by different human migrations that wide-crossed Europe over time. In their Y-DNA haplogroups, which are inherited along the male line,34. 2% of Czech males belong to R1a, which is particularly common in a large region extending from South Asia and Southern Siberia to Central Europe and Scandinavia. The population of the Czech Republic descends from diverse peoples of Slavic, Celtic and Germanic origin, presence of West Slavs in the 6th century during the Migration Period has been documented on the Czech territory. Slavs settled in Bohemia, Moravia and Austria sometime during the 6th or 7th centuries, according to a popular myth, the Slavs came with Forefather Čech who settled at the Říp Mountain. The Duchy of Bohemia emerged in the late 9th century, in 880, Prague Castle was constructed by Prince Bořivoj, founder of the Přemyslid dynasty and the city of Prague was established. Vratislav II was the first Czech king in 1085 and the duchy was raised to a kingdom under Ottokar I in 1198
Czechs
–
Forefather Čech on the
Říp Mountain
Czechs
–
An overview of the Celtic
Hallstatt (yellow), the preceding
La Tène (green) cultures and
Boii
Czechs
–
Statue of
Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, a saint patron of the Czech people at the
Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc
Czechs
–
The brothers Lech and Czech, founders of
West Slavic lands of
Lechia (
Poland) and
Bohemia in " Chronica Polonorum " (1506)
22.
Leopold Ritter von Dittel
–
Leopold Ritter von Dittel was an Austrian urologist born in Fulnek, a community now located in the Czech Republic. Dittel received his doctorate in 1840 from the University of Vienna. From 1853 to 1857, he was an assistant to Johann von Dumreicher, later, he became surgeon-in-chief of the Allgemeines Krankenhaus, and in 1865 attained the title of associate professor. He is credited for developing a number of diagnostic and surgical practices in the field of genitourinary medicine. He is remembered for his pioneer work with the cystoscope. In urology, the cystoscope is used for detection of bladder tumors. With Felix Legueu and Émile Forgue, the Dittel-Forgue-Legueu operation is named, defined as a procedure for closure of vesicovaginal fistulae. A medical instrument used for treatment of stenosis of the known as a Dittel urethral sound is named after him. Ueber Klumpfuss, - treatise on clubfoot, skoliose, - treatise on scoliosis Beiträge zur Pathologie und Therapie der Männlichen Geschlechtstheile, - Contributions to the pathology and treatment of male genitalia. Sekundäre Luxation des Hüftgelenkes, - Secondary dislocation of hip, der Kathederismus, Beitrag zur Lehre der Hypertrophie der Prostata, in Oesterreichischer Medizinischer Jahrbericht, - Contribution to the teaching of hypertrophy of the prostate. Der Steinsauger, in Allgemeine Wiener Medizinische Zeitung, Die Stricturen der HarnrÖhre, zur Behandlung der Hypertrophie der Vorsteherdrüse in Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift, - For treatment of hypertrophy of the prostate gland. Operationen der Blasensteine, - Operations for bladder stones, DITTEL, LEOPOLD RITTER VON - JewishEncyclopedia. com Jewish Encyclopedia
Leopold Ritter von Dittel
–
Leopold Ritter von Dittel.
23.
Franz Konwitschny
–
Franz Konwitschny was a German conductor and violist. He started his career on the viola, playing in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler, in 1925, he moved to Vienna, where he played the viola with the Fitzner Quartet. He also began teaching at the Wiener Volkskonservatorium and he later became a conductor, joining the Stuttgart Opera in 1927. From 1949 until his death he was conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. From 1953 until 1955 he was principal conductor of the Dresden Staatskapelle. Like Furtwängler, Konwitschny used expansive gestures and had a dislike of an exact beat, Konwitschny recorded a complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies. He was given the nickname Kon-whisky because of his drinking habits. His son Peter Konwitschny is an opera director in Germany. More on the history of the Czech Philharmonic between the 1940s and the 1980s, Conductors
Franz Konwitschny
–
Franz Konwitschny
Franz Konwitschny
–
Gravesite of Franz Konwitschny at southern cemetery Leipzig
24.
Anna Nitschmann
–
Anna Caritas Nitschmann was a Moravian Brethren missionary, lyrical poet, and the second wife of Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf. She served as the Chief Eldress of the Renewed Moravian Church for most of her life and her duties as Chief Eldress were to serve as a spiritual mentor and counselor to the female members of the congregations. Most of her life was spent in close connection with the Zinzendorf household and she then returned to Europe to resume her work among the various Moravian congregations. After the death of Zinzendorfs first wife, she was married to the Count and she is buried at Herrnhut, Germany
Anna Nitschmann
–
Anna Nitschmann.
25.
Moravian Church
–
The modern Unitas Fratrum, with about 750,000 members worldwide, continues to draw on traditions established during the eighteenth century. The Moravians continue their tradition of missionary work, for example in the Caribbean. This is reflected in their global distribution. The Church places a value on ecumenism, personal piety, missions. The Church’s emblem is the Lamb of God with the flag of victory, surrounded by the Latin inscription, Vicit agnus noster, eum sequamur. The Hussite movement that was to become the Moravian Church was started by Jan Hus in early 15th century Bohemia, since these actions predate the Protestant Reformation by a century, some historians claim the Moravian Church was the first Protestant church. The movement gained support in the Crown of Bohemia, however, Hus was summoned to attend the Council of Constance, which decided that he was a heretic and had him burned at the stake on 6 July 1415. In 1434, an army of Utraquists and Catholics defeated the Taborites at the Battle of Lipany, the Utraquists signed the Compacts of Basel on 5 July 1436. Within fifty years of Hus death, a contingent of his followers had become independently organised as the Bohemian Brethren or Unity of the Brethren, a brother known as Gregory the Patriarch was very influential in forming the group, as well as the teachings of Peter Chelcicky. This group held to a strict obedience to the Sermon on the Mount, which included non-swearing of oaths, non-resistance, because of this, they considered themselves separate from the majority Hussites that did not hold those teachings. They received episcopal ordination through the Waldensians in 1467 and these were some of the earliest Protestants, rebelling against Rome some fifty years before Martin Luther. By the middle of the 16th century as many as 90 per cent of the inhabitants of the Bohemian Crown were Protestant, the majority of nobility was Protestant, the schools and printing-shops established by the Moravian Church were flourishing. Protestantism had an influence to the education of the population. Even in the middle of the 16th century there was not a town without a Protestant school in the Bohemian crown lands. With the University of Prague also firmly in hands of Protestants, therefore, the Jesuits were invited, with the backing of the Catholic Habsburg rulers, to come to the Bohemian Crown and establish a number of Catholic educational institutions. One of these is the university in the Moravian capital of Olomouc, in 1582 they forced closure of local Protestant schools. The Revolt started by unplanned second Defenestrations of Prague and was defeated in 1620 in the Battle of White Mountain near Prague, as consequence the local Protestant noblemen were either executed or expelled from the country while the Habsburgs placed Catholic nobility in their place. The war, plague, and subsequent disruption led to a decline in the population from over 3 million to some 800,000 people, by 1622 the entire education system was in the hands of Jesuits and all Protestant schools were closed
Moravian Church
–
The
seal of the Moravian Church featuring the
Agnus Dei. Stained glass at the Rights Chapel of Trinity Moravian Church,
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
Moravian Church
–
Jan Hus
Moravian Church
–
Jan Hus Preaching at
Bethlehem Chapel in Prague by
Alfons Mucha (1916)
Moravian Church
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Jan Hus-Council of Constance by Josef Brožík
26.
1st International School of Ostrava
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1st International School of Ostrava is a private, coeducational school located in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Founded in 2005 as a school, it grew into an institution educating children of virtually all ages. 1stISO comprises the following, 1) International kindergarten for children aged 3–6, 2) International primary school for children aged 6–11, the school was founded in 2005 and opened its door for the one and only class. In the third year of its existence, however, the number of students was almost 300 and was expected to grow in the following years, in the year of 2006 ISO moved to a newly reconstructed building in the centre of the city of Ostrava. As of 2008, the 1st ISO dwells in four buildings in the centre of Ostrava located in proximity to each other. The school provides services for both international and Czech students preparing them for later studies at universities. Subjects including Geography, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Social Science, History, English, Czech, there is a variety of nationalities among teachers and students. The school is creating multicultural English environment accepting people of any culture or ethnic group, 1stISO cooperates with Prague British School, International School of Prague, and Sunnerbogymnasiet Ljungby from Sweden. The school participates in international exchange programmes, projects. 1st ISO has taken part in the Copernicus Program in Estonia, Ireland, and Belarus and it also held its own international meeting in Prague in 2007. 1st ISO Model United Nations Club was set up to students the opportunity to become diplomats. It holds regular meetings, organizes its own conferences, and participates at others abroad, sports day is regularly held in December with students and teacher competing in various sports, such as football, floorball, or basketball. 1st ISO Cricket Team started in 2007 and has participated in all tournaments, matches. It won 2nd place at a tournament in Prague and the students of the school also represented the Czech Republic in an international exhibition match. 1st International School of Ostrava Prague British School International School of Prague Sunnerbogymnasiet Ljungby
1st International School of Ostrava
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Let the world come to you
27.
Twin towns and sister cities
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In recent times, town twinning has increasingly been used to form strategic international business links between member cities. In the United Kingdom, the twin towns is most commonly used. In mainland Europe, the most commonly used terms are twin towns, partnership towns, partner towns, the European Commission uses the term twinned towns and refers to the process as town twinning. Spain uses the term ciudades hermanadas that means sister cities, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic use Partnerstadt / Miasto Partnerskie / Partnerské město, which translate as Partner Town or City. France uses Ville Jumelée, and Italy has Gemellaggio and Comune gemellato, in the Netherlands, the term is Stedenband. In Greece, the word αδελφοποίηση has been adopted, in Iceland, the terms vinabæir and vinaborgir are used. In the former Soviet Bloc, twin towns and twin cities are used, the Americas, South Asia, and Australasia use the term sister cities or twin cities. In China, the term is 友好城市, sometimes, other government bodies enter into a twinning relationship, such as the agreement between the provinces of Hainan in China and Jeju-do in South Korea. The Douzelage is a twinning association with one town from each of the member states of the European Union. In recent years, the term city diplomacy has gained increased usage and acceptance, particularly as a strand of paradiplomacy and public diplomacy. It is formally used in the workings of the United Cities and Local Governments, the importance of cities developing their own foreign economic policies on trade, foreign investment, tourism and attracting foreign talent has also been highlighted by the World Economic Forum. The earliest known town twinning in Europe was between Paderborn, Germany, and Le Mans, France, in 836, starting in 1905, Keighley in West Yorkshire, England, had a twinning arrangement with French communities Suresnes and Puteaux. The first recorded modern twinning agreement was between Keighley and Poix-du-Nord in Nord, France, in 1920 following the end of the First World War and this was initially referred to as an adoption of the French town, formal twinning charters were not exchanged until 1986. The practice was continued after the Second World War as a way to promote mutual understanding, for example, Coventry twinned with Stalingrad and later with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, all three cities having been heavily bombed during the war. Similarly, in 1947, Bristol Corporation sent five leading citizens on a mission to Hanover. Reading in 1947 was the first British town to form links with an enemy city – Düsseldorf. Since 9 April 1956 Rome and Paris have been exclusively and reciprocally twinned with other, following the motto, Only Paris is worthy of Rome. Within Europe, town twinning is supported by the European Union, the support scheme was established in 1989
Twin towns and sister cities
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Twin towns sign in
Oskarshamn,
Sweden
Twin towns and sister cities
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An example of a 'gemellaggio' (twinning) agreement between
Castellabate, Italy and
Blieskastel, Germany
Twin towns and sister cities
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Column dedicated to
Paris in
Rome. Since April 9, 1956 Rome and Paris are exclusively and reciprocally twinned with each other, following the motto: "Only Paris is worthy of Rome; only Rome is worthy of Paris."
Twin towns and sister cities
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The painting of Gagny
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