1.
Baltic Sea
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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
2.
Furillen
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Furillen is an island in Rute on the northeast coast of Gotland, Sweden. For most of the 20th century, there was an industry on the island until it was closed to the public by the Swedish military in the 1970s–90s. The north part of Furillen is a reserve and a Natura 2000 area. The old name Furilden, is said to date to the Middle Ages, another interpretation is that the prefix Fur simply refers to the pines on the island as one of the Swedish words for pine is fura, making the meaning island with the pine forest. Furillen is an island off the northeast coast of Gotland, with an area of 4 km2, it is the third largest island under the jurisdiction of Gotland. A bridge and an isthmus, wide enough for a road. At the beginning of the 21st century, the strait separating Furillen from the main island of Gotland, had become clogged by silt. In 2015, a 1,100 m long canal was cleared, there are two smaller islands between the main island of Gotland and Furillen, the Klaasen and the Fjaugen. North of Furillen is an island, Skenholmen. Limestone quarries were dug on the island in 1908 by the German company Possehl as the basis of a limestone industry, the industry closed down in the 1970s, after which the Swedish military took over the island and it became a military compound off limits to the public. The R130 Katten and R236 Bonsen radar stations were placed on the island, the stations were decommissioned in the late 1990s, but the Swedish military still operate smaller installations on Furillen. He started out using the factory and its surroundings as a backdrop for commercials. In 1999, he bought the complex of 500 hectares and converted it into a minimalistic hotel. Hellström collaborated with Scandinavian designers and architects such as Andreas Forsberg, Mattias Ljunggren, Mats Theselius, a recording studio close to one of the beaches on the island was planned as part of the project to make Furillen into a center for art and design. The studio project was headed by Björn Ulvaeus, in 2008–10, the permit for the studio was being discussed in several administrative instances. Permission to build the studio was finally denied due to a made by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency regarding the preservation of the beaches on Furillen in their natural state. In December 1995, a reserve with an area of 1.3 km2, was established on the north part of Furillen. It was also designated as a Natura 2000 area, two thirds of the reserve is covered with pine forest, this area is also intersected by some marshlands
3.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
4.
Gotland County
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Gotland County is a county or län of Sweden. Gotland is located in the Baltic Sea to the east of Öland, counties are usually sub-divided into municipalities, but Gotland County only consists of one municipality, Gotland Municipality. Gotland County is the county in Sweden that is not governed by a county council. The municipality handles the tasks that are handled by the county council, mainly health care. Like other counties, Gotland has a County Administrative Board that oversees implementation of the Swedish state government, both the County Administrative Board and the municipality have their seat in the largest city Visby, with over 22,000 inhabitants. The counties of Sweden are no longer officially administrative units, but are used when reporting population size, politics, in this case the province, the county and the municipality all have identical borders and cover an area of 3151 km². Gotland is the only Swedish county that is not administered by a county council, instead, the municipality is tasked with the responsibilities of a county, including public health care and public transport. The County Administrative Board is a Government agency headed by a Governor, during a trial period the County Council provisions for Gotland has been evolved to provisions for a Regional Council, meaning that it has assumed certain tasks from the County Administrative Board. Similar provisions are applicable to the counties of Västra Götaland and Skåne during the trial period, the five most populous localities of Gotland County in 2010, Gotland County inherited its coat of arms from the province of Gotland. When it is shown with a royal crown it represents the County Administrative Board, Gotland County Administrative Board Gotland Municipality
5.
Gotland Municipality
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Gotland Municipality is a municipality that covers the entire island of Gotland in Sweden. The city of Visby is the municipalitys seat, twenty years later the situation was totally different. The first of the two local government reforms in Sweden during the 20th century was implemented on January 1,1952. After ten years it was clear that reform had not been radical enough. On January 1,1971 the second and last local government reform was implemented in Sweden, all administrative and judicial differences between rural and urban areas were abolished. Only one type of municipality existed from that date on, in the case of Gotland all the former entities were united into one single unit. As there was one municipality in the county, also the County Council was abolished and merged into the new unitary municipality. There are 16 urban areas in Gotland Municipality, in the table the localities are listed according to the size of the population. The municipal seat is in bold characters, the municipality of Gotland is there for in this respect also a region. It has responsibility for the healthcare system and public transport. The municipality coordinates the annual Almedalen Week, an important meetingplace for everyone involved in Swedish politics, during the week, representatives from the political parties in the Riksdag take turns to hold speeches in the Almedalen park in Visby. Politics of Sweden Elections in Sweden List of Gotland Governors Statistics Sweden Gotland Municipality – Official site Coat of arms
6.
Visby
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Visby is a locality and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County, on the island of Gotland, Sweden with 23,880 inhabitants, as of 2014. Visby is also the see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably the best-preserved medieval city in Scandinavia and since 1995, among the most notable historical remains are the 3.4 km long town wall that encircles the town center, and a number of church ruins. Visby is a vacation destination for Scandinavians during the summer. It is by far the most populated locality outside the Swedish mainland, the University of Gotland is in Visby, and since 1 July 2013, it is a department of Uppsala University under the name Uppsala university–Campus Gotland. Visby is also the county seat in Sweden only accessible by boat. The name Visby comes from the Old Norse Vis, meaning place of sacrifices, in the Gutasagan the place is referred to as just Wi meaning holy place, place of worship. Visby is sometimes called The City of Roses or The City of Ruins, the earliest history of Visby is uncertain, but it is known to have been a centre of merchandise around 900 AD. It was inhabited as early as the Stone Age, probably because of the access to fresh water, in the 12th century, Visby Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Mary, was constructed. It was reshaped in the 13th century to its current appearance, several other churches were also constructed in the ensuing centuries. The city flourished, thanks to the German Hanseatic League, the work on the ring wall was likely begun in the 12th century. Around 1300, it was rebuilt to reach its current height, acquiring the characteristic towers, the ringwall is still largely intact. In 1361, Gotland was conquered by Valdemar IV of Denmark,1,800 Gotlanders were killed in battle in front of the city. Valdemar tore down part of the wall, set up three huge beer barrels and threatened to turn his men loose to pillage the town unless they were filled with silver, the Visby city fathers fulfilled the demand, with churches stripped of their valuables. Valdemar added King of Gotland to his title list, in 1391,1394 and 1398, it was taken and plundered by the Victual Brothers, pirates who sailed the Baltic Sea. An invading army of Teutonic Knights conquered Gotland in 1398, destroyed Visby, as of 1470, the Hanseatic League rescinded Visbys status as a Hanseatic town. In 1525, the blow came. While Norby fought an action in Sweden, the Lübeckers successfully attacked Visby
7.
Ramsar Convention
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The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands and it is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971. The most recent COP12 was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, cOP13 will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2018. The List of Wetlands of International Importance included 2,231 Ramsar Sites in March 2016 covering over 2.1 million square kilometres. The country with the highest number of Sites is the United Kingdom with 170, the Ramsar Sites Information Service is a searchable database which provides information on each Ramsar Site. As of 2016 there are 18 Transboundary Ramsar Sites, as of 2016 there are 15 Ramsar Regional Initiatives covering regions of the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa and South America. The Ramsar Convention works closely with six other known as International Organization Partners. The IOPs also participate regularly as observers in all meetings of the Conference of the Parties and as members of the Scientific. Conference of the Parties Conference of the Parties is the Conventions governing body consisting of all governments that have ratified the treaty and this ultimate authority reviews progress under the Convention, identifies new priorities, and sets work plans for members. The COP can also make amendments to the Convention, create expert advisory bodies, review progress reports by member nations, and collaborate with other international organizations and agreements. The Standing Committee The Standing Committee is the executive body which represents the COP between its triennial meetings, within the framework of the decisions made by the COP. The Contracting Parties that are members of the Standing Committee are elected by each meeting of the COP to serve for the three years until the next one, the Secretariat The Secretariat carries out the day-to-day coordination of the Convention’s activities. It is based at the headquarters of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in Gland, Switzerland, the 2nd of February each year is World Wetlands Day, marking the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971. Established to raise awareness about the value of wetlands for humanity, in 2015 World Wetlands Day was celebrated in 59 countries
8.
Provinces of Sweden
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The provinces of Sweden are historical, geographical and cultural regions. Sweden has 25 provinces and they have no function, but remain historical legacies. Dialects and folklore rather follows the borders than the borders of the counties. Several of them were subdivisions of Sweden until 1634, when they were replaced by the counties of Sweden, some were conquered later on from Denmark–Norway. Others, like the provinces of Finland, were lost, Lapland is the only province acquired through colonization. In some cases, the administrative counties correspond almost exactly to the provinces, as is Blekinge to Blekinge County and Gotland, which is a province, county, while not exactly corresponding with the province, Härjedalen Municipality is beside Gotland the only municipality named after a province. In other cases, they do not, which enhances the cultural importance of the provinces. Since 1884 all the provinces are also ceremonial duchies, but as such have no administrative or political functions, the provinces of Sweden are still used in colloquial speech and cultural references, and can therefore not be regarded as an archaic concept. The main exception is Lapland where the see themselves as a part of Västerbotten or Norrbotten. Two other exceptions are Stockholm and Gothenburg, where the see themselves as living in the city. English and other languages occasionally use Latin names as alternatives to the Swedish names, the name Scania for Skåne predominates in English. Some purely English exonyms, such as the Dales for Dalarna, East Gothland for Östergötland, Swedish Lapland for Lappland, swedes writing in English have long used Swedish-language name forms only. The origins of the provincial divisions lay in the petty kingdoms that became more and more subjected to the rule of the Kings of Sweden during the consolidation of Sweden. Until the country law of Magnus Ericson in 1350, each of these still had its own laws with its own assembly. The historical provinces were considered duchies, but newly conquered provinces added to the kingdom either received the status of a duchy or a county, after the separation from the Kalmar Union in 1523 the Kingdom incorporated only some of its new conquests as provinces. Other foreign territories were ruled as Swedish Dominions under the Swedish monarch, Norway, in personal union with Sweden from 1814 to 1905, never became an integral part of Sweden. The division of Västerbotten that took place with the cession of Finland caused Norrbotten to emerge as a county and it was granted a coat of arms as late as in 1995. Some scholars suggest that Sweden revived the concept in the 19th century
9.
Counties of Sweden
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The counties of Sweden are the top-level geographic subdivisions of Sweden. Sweden is today divided into 21 counties, however, the numbers of counties has varied over time, due to territorial gains/losses, at that time, they were what the translation of län into English literally means, fiefdoms. The county borders often follow the borders, but the Crown often chose to make slight relocations to suit its purposes. In every county except Gotland there is a county administrative board headed by a governor, appointed by the government, the county council is the elected regional political assembly for the municipal affairs of the county, primarily regarding public healthcare, public transport and culture. A number of other government agencies are organised on a county basis, including the main bodies of the police, employment, social insurance. With county codes, which were official until 1974, each county region contains a number of municipalities, the existence of which is partly at the discretion of the central government. Since 2004 their number has been 290, thus an average of 13.8 municipalities per county. Until 1968, the City of Stockholm had its own county code A, which is used interchangeably with AB in some contexts. L was for Kristianstad County and M was for Malmöhus County but since they were merged to form Skåne County, O used to stand for Gothenburg and Bohus County but has been used for Västra Götaland County since it was merged with Skaraborg County and Älvsborg County. Swedens provinces, or landskap, and the lands, or landsdelar, the provinces had their own laws and justice systems and could have large cultural and religious differences. Note that the province of Småland historically was several provinces with its own laws, here burial tradition in the era before the Viking age could differ significantly from province to province. The province of Norrbotten is a recent creation, it was part of Västerbotten which extended all the way to Österbotten into todays Finland before 1809. Finnish and Swedish Lappland was also one province until 1809, historically, the provinces were grouped in three lands, Götaland, being southern and western Sweden, Svealand being eastern and south-eastern, and Norrland being the entire northern half. The names of the first two refer to ancient tribes, and the third is a geographical reference and they are still commonly used as geographical references. The boundaries have changed over time, with the most significant in 1658 and 1812, in 1812 some provinces were moved from Götaland to Svealand. After the Finnish War, Sweden was forced to cede the counties in Finland to Russia following the Treaty of Fredrikshamn in, however, the counties were upheld in Finland until a reform in 1997. They are still in use in Sweden,370 years later, the counties in Finland established in 1634 were, Turku and Pori County, Nyland and Tavastehus County, Viborg and Nyslott County, Ostrobothnia County and Kexholm County. Over time the number of subdivisions in Finland increased to twelve, until a reorganization in 1997 reduced their number to six provinces, the counties in Finland were abolished in 2010
10.
Municipalities of Sweden
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The municipalities of Sweden are its lower-level local government entities. There are 290 municipalities which are responsible for a proportion of local services, including schools, emergency services. The Local Government Act of 1991 specifies several responsibilities for the municipalities and it also regulates a process through which any citizen can appeal the decisions of a local government to a county court. Municipal government in Sweden is similar to city government and cabinet-style council government. The assembly in turn appoints an executive committee from its members. The executive committee is headed by its chairman, the chairman is often referred as Municipal Commissioner. The first local government acts were implemented on January 1,1863, there were two acts, one for the cities and one for the countryside. The total number of municipalities was about 2,500, the rural municipalities were based on the old parishes and the then 89 cities/towns were based on the old chartered cities. There was also a type, köping or market town. The status of these was somewhere between the municipalities and the cities. There were only eight of them in 1863, rising to a peak of 96 in 1959, up until 1930, when the total number of municipalities reached its peak, there were more partitions than amalgamations. After years of preparations the first of the two nationwide municipal reforms of the 20th century was implemented in 1952, the number of rural municipalities was reduced from 2,281 to 816. Rather soon it was established that the reform of 1952 was not radical enough, a new commission,1959 års indelningssakkunniga concluded that the next municipal reform should create new larger mixed rural/urban municipalities. The Riksdag decided in 1962 that the new reform should be implemented on a voluntary basis, the process started in January 1964, when all municipalities were grouped in 282 kommunblock. The co-operation within the blocks should ultimately lead to amalgamations, the amalgamations within the blocks started in 1965 and more were accomplished in 1967 and 1969, when the number of municipalities dropped from 1006 to 848. The Riksdag, however, found the process too slow. In 1971 the unitary municipality was introduced and the number of entities went down to 464, in one case the process was not accomplished until 1977. Most of the municipalities were soon consolidated, but in cases the antagonism within the new unities was so strong that it led to divorces
11.
Church of Sweden
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The Church of Sweden is the largest Christian church in Sweden. A member of the Porvoo Communion, the Church professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity and it is composed of thirteen dioceses, divided into parishes. It is a national church which, working with a democratic organisation and through the ministry of the church. The Primate of the Church of Sweden is the Archbishop of Uppsala — currently Antje Jackelén, today, the Church of Sweden is an Evangelical Lutheran church. 6.2 million people are members of the Church of Sweden and it is liturgically and theologically high church, having retained priests, vestments, and the Mass during the Swedish Reformation. In common with other Evangelical Lutheran churches, the Church of Sweden maintains the historical episcopate, the Church of Sweden is known for its liberal position in theological issues, particularly the question of homosexuality. When Bishop Eva Brunne was consecrated as Bishop of Stockholm in 2009, despite a significant yearly loss of members, its membership of 6,225,091 people accounts for 63. 2% of the Swedish population. Until 2000 it held the position of state church, the high membership numbers are because until 1996 all newborn children were made members, unless their parents had actively cancelled their membership. Approximately 2% of the members regularly attend Sunday services. According to a Gallup poll conducted in 2009, 17% of the Swedish population considered religion as an important part of their daily life, King Gustav I Vasa instigated the Church of Sweden in 1536 during his reign as King of Sweden. This act separated the church from the Roman Catholic Church and its canon law, in 1571, the Swedish Church Ordinance became the first Swedish church order following the Reformation. The Church of Sweden became Lutheran at the Uppsala Synod in 1593 when it adopted the Augsburg Confession to which most Lutherans adhere, at this synod, it was decided that the church would retain the three original Christian creeds, the Apostles, the Athanasian, and the Nicene. In 1686, the Riksdag of the Estates adopted the Book of Concord, although certain parts, labelled Confessio fidei, were considered binding. Confessio dei included the three aforementioned Creeds, the Augsburg Confession and two Uppsala Synod decisions from 1572 and 1593, during the 20th century the Church of Sweden oriented itself strongly towards liberal Christianity and human rights. In 1957, the assembly rejected a proposal for ordination of women. Since 1960, women have been ordained as priests, and since 1994, a proposal to perform same-sex weddings was approved on October 22,2009 by 176 of 249 voting members of the Church of Sweden Synod. The Christian church in Scandinavia was originally governed by the archdiocese of Bremen, in 1104 an archbishop for all Scandinavia was installed in Lund. Uppsala was made Swedens archdiocese in 1164, and remains so today, the papal diplomat William of Modena attended a church meeting in Skänninge in March 1248, where the ties to the Catholic Church were strengthened
12.
Island
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An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, an island in a river or a lake island may be called an eyot or ait, and a small island off the coast may be called a holm. A grouping of geographically or geologically related islands is called an archipelago, an island may be described as such, despite the presence of an artificial land bridge. Example, Singapore and its causeway, or the various Dutch delta islands, there are two main types of islands in the sea, continental and oceanic. The word island derives from Middle English iland, from Old English igland, Old English ieg is actually a cognate of Swedish ö and German Aue, and related to Latin aqua. There is a difference between islands and continents in terms of geology, continents sit on continental lithosphere which is part of tectonic plates floating high on Earths mantle. Oceanic crust is also part of tectonic plates, but it is denser than continental lithosphere, Islands are either extensions of the oceanic crust or geologically they are part of some continent sitting on continental lithosphere. This holds true for Australia, which sits on its own continental lithosphere, continental islands are bodies of land that lie on the continental shelf of a continent. A special type of island is the microcontinental island, which is created when a continent is rifted. Examples are Madagascar and Socotra off Africa, the Kerguelen Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, another subtype is an island or bar formed by deposition of tiny rocks where water current loses some of its carrying capacity. While some are transitory and may disappear if the volume or speed of the current changes, others are stable, oceanic islands are islands that do not sit on continental shelves. The vast majority are volcanic in origin, such as Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, the few oceanic islands that are not volcanic are tectonic in origin and arise where plate movements have lifted up the ocean floor above the surface. Examples are Saint Peter and Paul Rocks in the Atlantic Ocean, one type of volcanic oceanic island is found in a volcanic island arc. These islands arise from volcanoes where the subduction of one plate under another is occurring, examples are the Aleutian Islands, the Mariana Islands, and most of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean. The only examples in the Atlantic Ocean are some of the Lesser Antilles, another type of volcanic oceanic island occurs where an oceanic rift reaches the surface. There are two examples, Iceland, which is the second largest volcanic island, and Jan Mayen. A third type of oceanic island is formed over volcanic hotspots. A hotspot is more or less stationary relative to the tectonic plate above it
13.
Limestone
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Limestone is a sedimentary rock, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, forams and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate, about 10% of sedimentary rocks are limestones. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions leads to karst landscapes, most cave systems are through limestone bedrock. The first geologist to distinguish limestone from dolomite was Belsazar Hacquet in 1778, like most other sedimentary rocks, most limestone is composed of grains. Most grains in limestone are skeletal fragments of organisms such as coral or foraminifera. Other carbonate grains comprising limestones are ooids, peloids, intraclasts and these organisms secrete shells made of aragonite or calcite, and leave these shells behind when they die. Limestone often contains variable amounts of silica in the form of chert or siliceous skeletal fragment, some limestones do not consist of grains at all, and are formed completely by the chemical precipitation of calcite or aragonite, i. e. travertine. Secondary calcite may be deposited by supersaturated meteoric waters and this produces speleothems, such as stalagmites and stalactites. Another form taken by calcite is oolitic limestone, which can be recognized by its granular appearance, the primary source of the calcite in limestone is most commonly marine organisms. Some of these organisms can construct mounds of rock known as reefs, below about 3,000 meters, water pressure and temperature conditions cause the dissolution of calcite to increase nonlinearly, so limestone typically does not form in deeper waters. Limestones may also form in lacustrine and evaporite depositional environments, calcite can be dissolved or precipitated by groundwater, depending on several factors, including the water temperature, pH, and dissolved ion concentrations. Calcite exhibits a characteristic called retrograde solubility, in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases. Impurities will cause limestones to exhibit different colors, especially with weathered surfaces, Limestone may be crystalline, clastic, granular, or massive, depending on the method of formation. Crystals of calcite, quartz, dolomite or barite may line small cavities in the rock, when conditions are right for precipitation, calcite forms mineral coatings that cement the existing rock grains together, or it can fill fractures. Travertine is a banded, compact variety of limestone formed along streams, particularly there are waterfalls. Calcium carbonate is deposited where evaporation of the leaves a solution supersaturated with the chemical constituents of calcite. Tufa, a porous or cellular variety of travertine, is found near waterfalls, coquina is a poorly consolidated limestone composed of pieces of coral or shells. During regional metamorphism that occurs during the building process, limestone recrystallizes into marble
14.
Gotlander
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The Gutes or the Gotlanders are the population of the island of Gotland. The ethnonym is related to that of the Goths, and both names were originally Proto-Germanic *Gutaniz, the oldest history of the Gutes is retold in the Gutasaga. According to legend they descended from a man named Þjelvar who was the first to discover Gotland, Þjelvar had a son named Hafþi who wedded a fair maiden named Hvitastjerna. These two were the first to settle on Gotland, Hafþi and Hvitastjerna later had three children, Guti, Graipr and Gunfjaun. After the death of their parents, the brothers divided Gotland into three parts and each one, but Guti remained the highest chieftain and gave his name to the land. In Modern Swedish language, there are two words for the inhabitants on Gotland, gotlänning and gute, all inhabitants of Gotland, regardless of their ethnicity, are gotlänning but one is called gute if one is of native descent. This is consistent with the spread of peoples from the Middle East at about that time. It is also related that because of one third of the Gutes had to emigrate. Then they draw lots, and every person was picked to leave. They went up the river Dvina, up through Russia and they went so far that they came to the land of the Greeks. They settled there, and live there still, and still have something of our language, the name of the Gutes in Old West Norse is Gotar, which is same as that used for the Goths. Old Norse sources such as the sagas do not distinguish between the Goths and the Gutes, in accordance, the Old East Norse term for both Goths and Gutes seems to have been Gutar. Only the Goths and Gutes bear this name among all the Germanic tribes, the fact that the ethnonym is identical to Goth may be the reason why they are not mentioned as a special group until Jordanes Getica, where they may be those who are called Vagoths. However Ptolemy mentions the Goutai as living in the south of the island of Skandia, certain linguists, as for instance Elias Wessén, point out that there are similarities between Gothic and Gutnish that are not found elsewhere in the Germanic languages. One example is the use of the lamb for both young and adult sheep, which is only seen in Gutnish and Gothic. Before the 7th century, the Gutes made a trade and defence agreement with Swedish kings and this seems to have been due to Swedish military aggression. Although the Gutes were victorious in battles, they eventually found it more beneficial to try to negotiate a peace treaty with the Swedes. Many kings made war on Gotland while it was heathen, but the Gutes always maintained victory, then the Gutes were sending many messengers to Sweden, but none of them succeeded in negotiating a peace, till Awair Strabain from Alva parish
15.
Prehistory
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Prehistory means literally before history, from the Latin word for before, præ, and Greek ιστορία. Neighbouring civilisations were the first to follow, most other civilisations reached the end of prehistory during the Iron Age. The period when a culture is written about by others, but has not developed its own writing is known as the protohistory of the culture. By definition, there are no records from human prehistory. Clear techniques for dating were not well-developed until the 19th century and this article is concerned with human prehistory as defined here above. There are separate articles for the history of the Earth. However, for the race as a whole, prehistory ends when recorded history begins with the accounts of the ancient world around the 4th millennium BC. For example, in Egypt it is accepted that prehistory ended around 3200 BC, whereas in New Guinea the end of the prehistoric era is set much more recently. The three-age system is the periodization of prehistory into three consecutive time periods, named for their respective predominant tool-making technologies, Stone Age Bronze Age Iron Age. The notion of prehistory began to surface during the Enlightenment in the work of antiquarians who used the word primitive to describe societies that existed before written records, the first use of the word prehistory in English, however, occurred in the Foreign Quarterly Review in 1836. The main source for prehistory is archaeology, but some scholars are beginning to more use of evidence from the natural and social sciences. This view has been articulated by advocates of deep history, human population geneticists and historical linguists are also providing valuable insight for these questions. Human prehistory differs from history not only in terms of its chronology, restricted to material processes, remains and artifacts rather than written records, prehistory is anonymous. Because of this, reference terms that use, such as Neanderthal or Iron Age are modern labels with definitions sometimes subject to debate. Palaeolithic means Old Stone Age, and begins with the first use of stone tools, the Paleolithic is the earliest period of the Stone Age. The early part of the Palaeolithic is called the Lower Palaeolithic, evidence of control of fire by early humans during the Lower Palaeolithic Era is uncertain and has at best limited scholarly support. The most widely accepted claim is that H. erectus or H. ergaster made fires between 790,000 and 690,000 BP in a site at Bnot Yaakov Bridge, Israel. The use of fire enabled early humans to cook food, provide warmth, Early Homo sapiens originated some 200,000 years ago, ushering in the Middle Palaeolithic
16.
Gutasaga
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Gutasaga is a saga regarding the history of Gotland before its Christianization. It was recorded in the 13th century and survives in only a single manuscript,1350, kept at the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm together with the Gutalag, the legal code of Gotland. It was written in the Old Gutnish dialect of Old Norse, the saga begins with Gotland being discovered by a man named Þieluar. He was a figure who shows up twice in the Prose Edda. Gotland is under a spell and under water during the day and out of only during the night. Þieluars son Hafþi and his wife Vitastjerna had three sons named Graip, Gute and Gunfjaun, the ancestors of the Gutes, after Havdes and Vitastjernas first night together, she had a dream about three snakes entwined in her bosom. This was interpreted as a symbol that all things are connected in circles, the subject is depicted on some of the picture stones on Gotland. The saga says that after his father died, Gute was appointed to be the chief and they shared Gotland, where Gute held the midsection, Graip the northern and Gunnfjaun the southern part. Then they draw lots, and every person was picked to leave. … they went up the river Dvina, up through Russia and they went so far that they came to the land of the Greeks. … they settled there, and live there still, and still have something of our language, the events would have needed to be transmitted orally for almost a millennium before the text was written down. The mention of the Dvina river is in agreement with the Wielbark culture. It is therefore not only an effort to write down the history of Gotland, Tjelvar and several other name of people from the Gutasaga are used for places, establishments and other Gotland related things like websites. A stone ship in Boge is called Tjelvars Grave, Boge is also the place for the bay Tjäldersvik and the Tjäldersholm island. The Digerrojr cairn in Garde is also known as to as Graips rojr, in 2011, a competition, hosted by the Swedish Astronomical Society, for naming a newly discovered asteroid in the asteroid belt was held in Visby. It was named 137052 Tjelvar after Tjelvar, the mythological first man to bring fire to the island, Norse saga Geats Goths Gotlander Original text English translation by Peter Tunstall Swedish-English facing-text translation
17.
Goths
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The Goths were an East Germanic people, two of whose branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe. In the Gothic language they were called the Gut-þiuda, most commonly translated as Gothic people, gut-þiudai, or Gutans Inferred from gen. pl. gutani in Pietroassa inscription. In Old Norse they were known as the Gutar or Gotar, in Latin as the Gothi, the exact origin of the ancient Goths is unknown. Evidence of them before they interacted with the Romans is limited, Modern academics have generally abandoned this theory. Today, the Wielbark culture is thought to have developed from earlier cultures in the same area, archaeological finds show close contacts between southern Sweden and the Baltic coastal area on the continent, and further towards the south-east, evidenced by pottery, house types and graves. Rather than a migration, similarities in the material cultures may be products of long-term regular contacts. However, the record could indicate that while his work is thought to be unreliable. Sometime around the 1st century AD, Germanic peoples may have migrated from Scandinavia to Gothiscandza, early archaeological evidence in the traditional Swedish province of Östergötland suggests a general depopulation during this period. However, there is no evidence for a substantial emigration from Scandinavia. Upon their arrival on the Pontic Steppe, the Germanic tribes adopted the ways of the Eurasian nomads, the first Greek references to the Goths call them Scythians, since this area along the Black Sea historically had been occupied by an unrelated people of that name. The earliest known material culture associated with the Goths on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea is the Wielbark culture, centered on the modern region of Pomerania in northern Poland. This culture replaced the local Oxhöft or Oksywie culture in the 1st century, the culture of this area was influenced by southern Scandinavian culture beginning as early as the late Nordic Bronze Age and early Pre-Roman Iron Age. In Eastern Europe they formed part of the Chernyakhov culture and it has been suggested that the Goths maintained contact with southern Sweden during their migration. In the first attested incursion in Thrace, the Goths were mentioned as Boranoi by Zosimus, the first incursion of the Roman Empire that can be attributed to Goths is the sack of Histria in 238. Several such raids followed in subsequent decades, in particular the Battle of Abrittus in 251, led by Cniva, at the time, there were at least two groups of Goths, the Thervingi and the Greuthungs. Goths were subsequently recruited into the Roman Army to fight in the Roman-Persian Wars. The Moesogoths settled in Thrace and Moesia, the first seaborne raids took place in three subsequent years, probably 255-257. An unsuccessful attack on Pityus was followed in the year by another
18.
Bornholm
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Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of the westernmost part of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, dairy farming, tourism is important during the summer. There is a large number of Denmarks round churches on the island. The total area according to www. noegletal. dk was 588.36 square kilometres, the island is called solskinsøen because of its weather and klippeøen because of its geology, which consists of granite, except along the southern coast. The heat from the summer is stored in the rock formations, as a result of the climate, a local variety of the common fig, known as Bornholms Diamond, can grow locally on the island. The islands topography consists of rock formations in the north sloping down towards pine and deciduous forests, farmland in the middle. Strategically located in the Baltic Sea, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries and it has usually been ruled by Denmark, but also by Lübeck and Sweden. The ruin of Hammershus, at the tip of the island, is the largest medieval fortress in northern Europe. Bornholm Regional Municipality, established January 2003 by the merger of Bornholm County with 5 municipalities, Bornholm was one of the three last Danish municipalities not belonging to a county — the others were Copenhagen and Frederiksberg. On 1 January 2007, the municipality lost its county status. The island is situated between 54/59/11 and 55/17/30 northern latitude and 14/45 and 15/11 eastern longitude and it typically takes 3 hours for passengers and freight to travel between Rønne and Copenhagen via Ystad in Sweden. There is a ferry departure mostly reserved for freight of goods between Rønne and Køge, if there is capacity on a departure, normal passengers can come aboard. There are also routes to Sassnitz and Świnoujście. Between Bornholm Airport and Copenhagen Airport by airplane it is 25 minutes, the Ertholmene archipelago is located 18 kilometres to the northeast of Bornholm. These islands, which do not belong to a municipality or region, are administered by the Danish Ministry of Defence, many inhabitants speak the Bornholmsk dialect, which is officially a dialect of Danish. Bornholmsk retains three grammatical genders, like Icelandic and most dialects of Norwegian, but unlike standard Danish and its phonology includes archaisms and innovations. This makes the difficult to understand for some Danish speakers. However, Swedish speakers often consider Bornholmian to be easier to understand than standard Danish, the intonation resembles the Scanian dialect spoken in nearby Scania, the southernmost province of Sweden
19.
Blekinge
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Blekinge is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden, situated in the south of the country. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea and it is the countrys second-smallest province by area, and the smallest province located on the mainland. The name Blekinge comes from the adjective bleke, which corresponds to the term for dead calm. The historical provinces of Sweden serve no administrative function, Blekinge is, however, the only province, besides Gotland, which covers exactly the same area as the administrative county, which is Blekinge County. Blekinge was granted its current arms at the funeral of Charles X Gustav of Sweden in 1660, based on a seal from the 15th century. Symbolically the three crowns from the Coat of arms of Sweden had been placed on the trunk of the tree to mark the change in status of the former Danish province, the arms is represented with a ducal coronet. Blazon, Azure, an Oak Tree eradicated Or ensigned with three Crowns palewise of the same, Blekinge has a scenic archipelago and is sometimes called the Garden of Sweden. Blekinge became part of the kingdom of Denmark at some point in the early 11th century – most likely 1026 and its status before then is unknown. It then remained a Danish province for over 600 years, and together with the provinces of Skåne and Halland, as a border province Blekinge was often raided and looted by Swedish troops during Danish–Swedish wars. In 1658 it was ceded to Sweden according to the Treaty of Roskilde and has remained Swedish ever since, during the Danish era, Sölvesborg was the seat of the administration in the western part of the province and Kristianopel in the eastern part. Whereas the Lister Hundred belonged to Skåne, notable castles during this period were Elleholm, Sölvesborg, Lyckeby and Avaskär. Towns in Blekinge with city privileges were, Ronneby, Sölvesborg, Elleholm, after the Swedish takeover two new towns, Karlshamn and Karlskrona, were built, and the populations of Ronneby and Kristianopel were forcibly relocated to them. Karlskrona has for more than 300 years been the naval base in Sweden. Hundreds were the subdivisions of a Swedish province. Blekinges hundreds were Bräkne Hundred, Eastern Hundred, Lister Hundred, in Blekinge two main dialects exist. The dividing line between them has historically been the Mörrumsån, near the site of Elleholm. West of this divide, the dialect was closely related to Danish and eastern Scanian. East of this divide, the dialect has more in common with Småland dialects, today, this divide is not as significant as before, with the exception of Listerlandet with its special language
20.
Swedes (Germanic tribe)
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The Swedes (Swedish, svear, Old Norse, svíar / suar were a North Germanic tribe. The first author who wrote about the tribe is Tacitus, who in his Germania, Jordanes, in the sixth century, mentions Suehans and Sueones. According to early sources such as the sagas, especially Heimskringla, during the Viking Age they constituted the basis of the Varangian subset, the Vikings that travelled eastwards. As the dominions of the Swedish kings grew, the name of the tribe could be applied more generally during the Middle Ages to include also the Geats, later it again meant only the people inhabiting the original tribal lands in Svealand, rather than the Geats. In modern North Germanic languages, the adjectival form svensk and its plural svenskar have replaced the name svear and is, today, used to denote all the citizens of Sweden. Although this distinction is convention in modern Norwegian, Danish and Swedish, Icelandic and their primary dwellings were in eastern Svealand. Their territories also very early included the provinces of Västmanland, Södermanland, the region is still one of the most fertile and densely populated regions of Scandinavia. Their territories were called Svealand - Swede-land, Suithiod - Swede-people, the Æsir-cult centre in Gamla Uppsala, was the religious centre of the Swedes and where the Swedish king served as a priest during the sacrifices. Uppsala was also the centre of the Uppsala öd, the network of estates that financed the Swedish king. The form Suiones appears in the Roman author Tacituss Germania, a closely similar form, Sweon, is found in Old English and in the Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum of Adam of Bremen about the Hamburg-Bremen archbishops who are denoted Sueones. Most scholars agree that Suiones and the attested Germanic forms of the name derive from the same Proto-Indo-European reflexive pronominal root, *se, the word must have meant ones own. In modern Scandinavian, the same appears in words such as svåger. The same root and original meaning is found in the ethnonym of the Germanic tribe Suebi, the details of the phonetic development vary between different proposals. Noréen proposed that Suiones is a Latin rendering of Proto-Germanic *Swihoniz, the form *Swihoniz would in Ulfilas Gothic become *Swaíhans, which later would result in the form Suehans that Jordanes mentioned as the name of the Swedes in Getica. Consequently, the Proto-Norse form would have been *Swehaniz which following the sound-changes in Old Norse resulted in Old West Norse Svíar, *Swe is also the form cited by V. Friesen, who regards the form Sviones as being originally an adjective, Proto-Germanic *Sweoniz, meaning kindred. Then the Gothic form would have been *Swians and the H in Suehans a epenthesis, the Proto-Norse form would then also have been *Sweoniz, which also would have resulted in the historically attested forms. The name became part of a compound, which in Old West Norse was Svíþjóð and he further mentions that the Suiones were much impressed by wealth, and the kings thus was absolute. Further, the Suiones did not normally bear arms, and that the weapons were guarded by a slave, after Tacitus mention of the Suiones, the sources are silent about them until the 6th century as Scandinavia still was in pre-historic times
21.
Vistula
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The Vistula is the longest and largest river in Poland, at 1,047 kilometres in length. The drainage basin area of the Vistula is 194,424 km2, the remainder is in Belarus, Ukraine and Slovakia. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in the south of Poland,1,220 meters above sea level in the Silesian Beskids, where it begins with the White Little Vistula and the Black Little Vistula. It empties into the Vistula Lagoon or directly into the Gdańsk Bay of the Baltic Sea with a delta, the name was first recorded by Pomponius Mela in AD40 and by Pliny in AD77 in his Natural History. Mela names the river Vistula, Pliny uses Vistla, the root of the name Vistula is Indo-European *u̯eis- to ooze, flow slowly and is found in many European rivernames. The diminutive endings -ila, -ula, were used in many Indo-European languages, in writing about the Vistula River and its peoples, Ptolemy uses the Greek spelling Ouistoula. Other ancient sources spell it Istula, ammianus Marcellinus refers to the Bisula, note the absence of the -t-. Jordanes uses Viscla, while the Anglo-Saxon poem Widsith refers to it as the Wistla, the Vistula river basin covers 194,424 square kilometres, its average altitude rising to 270 metres above sea level. In addition, the majority of its basin is located at heights of 100 to 200 m above sea level. The highest point of the basin lies at 2,655 metres. The asymmetry of the basin is 73–27%. The most recent glaciation of the Pleistocene epoch, which ended around 10,000 BC, is called the Vistulian glaciation or Weichselian glaciation in regard to north-central Europe. The river forms a delta called the Żuławy Wiślane around the town of Biała Góra near Sztum, about 50 km from the mouth. In the city of Gdańsk the Head of the Leniwka branch separates again into the Szkarpawa branch, the so-called Dead Wisła divides again into the Przegalinie branch flowing into Gdańsk Bay. Until the 14th century the Vistula was divided into an eastern branch, the Elbląg Vistula, and the smaller western branch. Since 1371 the Vistula of Gdańsk is the main artery. After the flood in 1840 an additional branch formed called the Śmiała Wisła, in 1890 through 1895, additional waterworks were carried out up the Świbna. The history of the River Vistula and her valley spans over 2 million years, the river is connected to the geological period called the Quaternary, in which distinct cooling of the climate took place
22.
Tofta Church, Gotland
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Tofta Church is a medieval Lutheran church in Tofta on the Swedish island of Gotland, in the Diocese of Visby. The earliest church on this location was built during the end of the 12th century. The oldest part of the visible church is the tower. The nave and choir date from the middle of the 14th century. The church walls display fragments of medieval frescos that were found during a restoration in 1958-1959, a few medieval stained glass windows are likewise preserved in the church. Of the furnishings, the font is the oldest, dating from the 12th century. It was probably made for the earliest church, the high altar has a retable from the 14th century, probably made in Lübeck. Two other wooden sculptures from the century are also preserved in the church, one of the Virgin Mary. An unusually well-preserved medieval bench also stands in the church, in the floor of the choir is a gravestone, made for a farmer and his son who were beaten to death in 1340. The pews and the date from the Baroque era. In 2004, an extremely well-preserved mail coif was discovered in a room in the tower during cleaning of the church, reputedly it is one of the most well-preserved mail coif ever found in Europe, second only to a similar one displayed at the National Museum of Scotland. It may be connected to a war that was fought on the island in 1288. The mail coif is now displayed inside Tofta church, media related to Tofta Church at Wikimedia Commons
23.
Churches on Gotland
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Of the churches of the Swedish island of Gotland,93 – the vast majority – are medieval. 92 of these are located on the countryside, with only Visby Cathedral remaining within the city wall of Visby, however, during the Middle Ages, the amount of churches was even larger, with at least 12 churches in Visby and an additional large number in the countryside. Some of these are visible as more or less well-preserved ruins. For further information about these ruined churches, see list of church ruins on Gotland, Gotland began to gradually abandon Norse religion and adopt Christianity during the 11th century. The first churches to be built on Gotland were wooden, built in the manner of stave churches, none of these have survived intact. The most well-preserved remains, today in the Swedish History Museum, are those of Hemse stave church, traces and archaeological evidence of earlier stave churches have been discovered in ten different sites on Gotland. The remains point to an artistic decoration reminiscent of Viking art, stone churches began to replace wooden churches during the 12th century. These churches were Romanesque in style, with influences coming mainly from Denmark and western German architecture, importantly, the construction of Lund Cathedral in Scania established a source of influences in the relative vicinity. Likewise, the 1164 establishment of the Cistercian monastery of Roma Abbey on Gotland led to strong Cistercian influences in the period of church construction. These Romanesque churches were sometimes decorated internally with frescos, here also, the influences came most often from the west and south, but sometimes also from Russia. Similarly, the churches were adorned with sculpture, notably decorated baptismal fonts. Here, too, influences came from both the west and the east, but the sculptors themselves seem to have been native Gotlanders, finally, such churches also occasionally display wooden sculptures, such as triumphal crosses. These display a more markedly uniform western style, with coming from France or western Germany. During the 13th century, reconstruction works were started on several of these earlier churches, Gotland was enjoying a period of prosperity thanks to increasing trade, and, possibly, due to its role as a staging area for crusaders departing for the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The churches were made larger and more elaborate, the style began to shift in favour of the Gothic, although few churches on Gotland display a pronounced Gothic style. The most elaborate parts of these churches are often the portals, the towers of these churches are also taller and more elaborate than earlier towers. Another typical feature is the choir that lacks an apse. Internally, frescos and wooden sculpture continued to enjoy popularity, as well as stained glass windows
24.
Uppland Runic Inscription 614
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The Torsätra runestone was raised in memory of one of the Swedish kings tribute collectors who fell ill and died during a trip to Gotland. The granite stone is 1.45 meters in height and was located near runestone U613 in Torsätra. The stone was moved from its location in 2005 to allow construction on a military training area. It is considered to be an example of runestone style Pr3. This runestone style is characterized by slim and stylized animals that are interwoven into tight patterns, the animal heads are typically seen in profile with slender almond-shaped eyes and upwardly curled appendages on the noses and the necks. The inscription is unsigned but, along with U613, has attributed to the runemaster Visäte. This attribution dates the inscription from about 1060 to 1070, although U613 and U614 have somewhat different designs, with U614 having no cross, Visäte is known to have varied his composition when a second runestone was raised near another of his. The runic text states that the stone was raised by two brothers in memory of their brother, who was named either Húsbjǫrn or Ásbjǫrn, who fell ill and died while abroad in Gotland. The inscription has the runes kialt * toku * a kutlanti * or gjald tóku á Gotlandi carved outside of the serpent, U527, similar to U614, states that the deceased died from an illness while on Gotland. The transliteration of the text for these words, hn us| |siok, shows word divisions. Hann vas siukʀ uti, þa þæiʀ giald toku a Gutlandi, skúli and Folki have raised this stone in memory of their brother Húsbjǫrn/Ásbjǫrn. He was sick abroad when they took payment on Gotland, photograph of stone in 1990 – Swedish National Heritage Board Drawing of U614 published by Richard Dybeck in 1855 – Stockholm Läns Museum
25.
Swedish History Museum
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The Swedish History Museum is a museum located in Stockholm, Sweden, that covers Swedish archaeology and cultural history from the Mesolithic period to present day. Founded in 1866, it operates as a government agency and is tasked with preserving Swedish historical items as well as making knowledge about history available to the public, the origin of the museum is the collections of art and historical objects gathered by Swedish monarchs since the 16th century. It has a number of permanent exhibitions and annually hosts special exhibitions tied to current events, the History Museum is part of a central museum agency called the Statens historiska museer. Other institutions under the aegis of this agency are the Royal Coin Cabinet, the Tumba Papermill Museum, the museum is also one of five so called ansvarsmuseum in Sweden. It is tasked with coordinating activities between museums, assist other museums and develop contacts between museums and other parts of the Swedish community, the foundation for what was to become the History Museum and the Nationalmuseum, was King Gustav Vasas 16th century art collection at Gripsholm Castle. The collection grew through acquisitions, gifts and spoils of war during the time of the Swedish Empire, some of the collections were lost during the fire in the Tre Kronor castle. During the later part of the 18th century, art and antiquities were bought by ambassadors and members of the royal family, after the death of King Gustaf III in 1792, the collections were turned over to the Swedish government. That same year the Royal Museum opened in the palace and it was one of the first public museums in the world. In 1846–47, the museum moved from the palace to the Ridderstolp House at Skeppsbron where it resided until 1865, Swedish archaeologist Stig Welinder argues that the History Museum was in fact founded with its establishment in the Ridderstolp House in 1847. The present-day museum was founded in 1866 by Bror Emil Hildebrand, the collections of the museum were exhibited on the ground floor of the recently built Nationalmuseum. The premises soon became too small for both museums, when plans for the new Nordic Museum building were made in 1876, it was suggested that the building should also include the History Museums collections. The debate about housing for the History Museum continued for decades until Sigurd Curman became Custodian of Ancient Monuments and he moved the issue forward to a more concrete and permanent solution. In 1929, the Swedish government suggested that the military barracks and stables at Storgatan in the city block known as the Krubban. An architectural competition was held in 1930, for the conversion of the block into suitable accommodation for the museum. They developed the design for the new museum in cooperation with Curman, the National Property Board, in 1932, the Swedish government granted funds for construction of official buildings to create jobs during the depression. Some of these were used to build the museum in 1934–39, the plans for the museum were not finalized until 1936. The museum consists of four two- and three-story block-like buildings surrounding an inner courtyard, the façade is austere and decorated with sculptures made by Bror Marklund and reliefs by artist Robert Nilsson. In the courtyard by a pool is a sculpture called Näcken by Carl Frisendahl, most of the decorations of the museum were selected through a series of competitions
26.
Arabs
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Arabs are an ethnic group inhabiting the Arab world. They primarily live in the Arab states in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabs are first mentioned in the mid-ninth century BCE as a tribal people dwelling in the central Arabian Peninsula. The Arabs appear to have been under the vassalage of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, tradition holds that Arabs descend from Ishmael, the son of Abraham. The Arabian Desert is the birthplace of Arab, there are other Arab groups as well that spread in the land and existed for millennia. Before the expansion of the Caliphate, Arab referred to any of the largely nomadic Semitic people from the northern to the central Arabian Peninsula and Syrian Desert. Presently, Arab refers to a number of people whose native regions form the Arab world due to spread of Arabs throughout the region during the early Arab conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries. The Arabs forged the Rashidun, Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates, whose borders reached southern France in the west, China in the east, Anatolia in the north, and this was one of the largest land empires in history. The Great Arab Revolt has had as big an impact on the modern Middle East as the World War I, the war signaled the end of the Ottoman Empire. They are modern states and became significant as distinct political entities after the fall and defeat, following adoption of the Alexandria Protocol in 1944, the Arab League was founded on 22 March 1945. The Charter of the Arab League endorsed the principle of an Arab homeland whilst respecting the sovereignty of its member states. Beyond the boundaries of the League of Arab States, Arabs can also be found in the global diaspora, the ties that bind Arabs are ethnic, linguistic, cultural, historical, identical, nationalist, geographical and political. The Arabs have their own customs, language, architecture, art, literature, music, dance, media, cuisine, dress, society, sports, the total number of Arabs are an estimated 450 million. This makes them the second largest ethnic group after the Han Chinese. Arabs are a group in terms of religious affiliations and practices. In the pre-Islamic era, most Arabs followed polytheistic religions, some tribes had adopted Christianity or Judaism, and a few individuals, the hanifs, apparently observed monotheism. Today, Arabs are mainly adherents of Islam, with sizable Christian minorities, Arab Muslims primarily belong to the Sunni, Shiite, Ibadi, Alawite, Druze and Ismaili denominations. Arab Christians generally follow one of the Eastern Christian Churches, such as the Maronite, Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, or Chaldean churches. Listed among the booty captured by the army of king Shalmaneser III of Assyria in the Battle of Qarqar are 1000 camels of Gi-in-di-buu the ar-ba-a-a or Gindibu belonging to the Arab
27.
Dirham
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Dirham, dirhem or dirhm is a unit of currency in several Arab states and formerly, the related unit of mass in the Ottoman Empire and Persian states. The name derives from the ancient Greek currency the drachma, in the late Ottoman Empire, the standard dirham was 3.207 g,400 dirhem equal one oka. In Egypt in 1895, it was equivalent to 47.661 troy grains, there is currently a movement within the Islamic world to revive the Dirham as a unit of mass for measuring silver, although the exact value is disputed. The word dirham comes from drachma, the Greek coin, the Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire controlled the Levant and traded with Arabia, circulating the coin there in pre-Islamic times and afterward. It was this currency which was adopted as an Arab word, then near the end of the 7th century the coin became an Islamic currency bearing the name of the sovereign
28.
Hoard
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A hoard or wealth deposit is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. Forgetfulness and physical displacement from the location of the hoard may contribute to failing to retrieve it, hoards provide a useful method of providing dates for artifacts through association as they can usually be assumed to be contemporary and therefore used in creating chronologies. Hoards can also be considered an indicator of the degree of unrest in ancient societies. Prudence Harper of the Metropolitan Museum of Art voiced some reservations about hoards at the time of the Soviet exhibition of Scythian gold in New York City in 1975. Hoards may be of precious metals, coinage, tools or less commonly, there are various classifications depending on the nature of the hoard. A founders hoard contains broken or unfit metal objects, ingots, casting waste and these were probably buried with the intention to be recovered at a later time. A merchants hoard is a collection of various functional items which, it is conjectured, were buried by a merchant for safety. A personal hoard is a collection of personal objects buried for safety in times of unrest, a hoard of loot is a buried collection of spoils from raiding and is more in keeping with the popular idea of buried treasure. Furthermore, votive hoards need not be manufactured goods, but can include organic amulets, votive hoards are often distinguished from more functional deposits by the nature of the goods themselves, the places buried, and the treatment of the deposit. However, it should be noted that valuables dedicated to the use of a deity were not always permanently abandoned, valuable objects given to a temple or church become the property of that institution, and may be used to its benefit
29.
Eurasia
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Eurasia /jʊˈreɪʒə/ is a combined continental landmass of Europe and Asia. The term is a portmanteau of its constituent continents, in geology, Eurasia is often considered as a single rigid megablock. However, the rigidity of Eurasia is debated based on the paleomagnet data, Eurasia covers around 55,000,000 square kilometres, or around 36. 2% of the Earths total land area. The landmass contains around 5.0 billion people, equating to approximately 70% of the human population, humans first settled in Eurasia between 60,000 and 125,000 years ago. Physiographically, Eurasia is a single continent, the concepts of Europe and Asia as distinct continents date back to antiquity and their borders are geologically arbitrary. Eurasia is connected to Africa at the Suez Canal, and Eurasia is sometimes combined with Africa as the largest contiguous landmass on Earth called Afro-Eurasia. Eurasia formed 375 to 325 million years ago with the merging of Siberia, Kazakhstania, and Baltica, chinese cratons collided with Siberias southern coast. Eurasia has been the host of ancient civilizations, including those based in Mesopotamia. In the Axial Age, a belt of civilizations stretched through the Eurasian subtropical zone from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This belt became the mainstream of world history for two millennia, originally, “Eurasia” is a geographical notion, in this sense, it is simply the biggest continent, the combined landmass of Europe and Asia. However, geopolitically, the word has different meanings, reflecting the specific geopolitical interests of each nation. “Eurasia” is one of the most important geopolitical concepts, as Zbigniew Brzezinski observed, how America manages Eurasia is critical. A power that dominates “Eurasia” would control two of the three most advanced and economically productive regions. About 75 per cent of the people live in “Eurasia”. “Eurasia” accounts for about three-fourths of the known energy resources. ”At the moment one of the most prominent projects of the European Union is the Russia - EU Four Common Spaces Initiative. A political and economic union of former Soviet states named the Eurasian Economic Union was established in 2015, the Russian concept of “Eurasia” corresponded initially more or less to the land area of Imperial Russia in 1914, including parts of Eastern Europe. One of Russias main geopolitical interests lies in ever closer integration with those countries that it considers part of “Eurasia. ”Every two years since 1996 a meeting of most Asian and European countries is organised as the Asia-Europe Meeting. In ancient times, the Greeks classified Europe and Asia as separate lands, where to draw the dividing line between the two regions is still a matter of discussion
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Muslim
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A Muslim is someone who follows or practices Islam, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion. Muslims consider the Quran, their book, to be the verbatim word of God as revealed to the Islamic prophet. They also follow the teachings and practices of Muhammad as recorded in traditional accounts, Muslim is an Arabic word meaning one who submits. Most Muslims will accept anyone who has publicly pronounced Shahadah as a Muslim, the shahadah states, There is no god but the God and Muhammad is the last messenger of the God. The testimony authorized by God in the Quran that can found in Surah 3,18 states, There is no god except God, which in Arabic, is the exact testimony which God Himself utters, as well as the angels and those who possess knowledge utter. The word muslim is the active participle of the verb of which islām is a verbal noun, based on the triliteral S-L-M to be whole. A female adherent is a muslima, the plural form in Arabic is muslimūn or muslimīn, and its feminine equivalent is muslimāt. The Arabic form muslimun is the stem IV participle of the triliteral S-L-M, the ordinary word in English is Muslim. It is sometimes transliterated as Moslem, which is an older spelling, the word Mosalman is a common equivalent for Muslim used in Central Asia. Until at least the mid-1960s, many English-language writers used the term Mohammedans or Mahometans, although such terms were not necessarily intended to be pejorative, Muslims argue that the terms are offensive because they allegedly imply that Muslims worship Muhammad rather than God. Other obsolete terms include Muslimite and Muslimist, musulmán/Mosalmán is a synonym for Muslim and is modified from Arabic. In English it was sometimes spelled Mussulman and has become archaic in usage, the Muslim philosopher Ibn Arabi said, A Muslim is a person who has dedicated his worship exclusively to God. Islam means making ones religion and faith Gods alone. The Quran states that men were Muslims because they submitted to God, preached His message and upheld His values. Thus, in Surah 3,52 of the Quran, Jesus disciples tell him, We believe in God, and you be our witness that we are Muslims. In Muslim belief, before the Quran, God had given the Tawrat to Moses, the Zabur to David and the Injil to Jesus, who are all considered important Muslim prophets. The most populous Muslim-majority country is Indonesia, home to 12. 7% of the worlds Muslims, followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Egypt. About 20% of the worlds Muslims lives in the Middle East and North Africa, Sizable minorities are found in India, China, Russia, Ethiopia. The country with the highest proportion of self-described Muslims as a proportion of its population is Morocco
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Rus' people
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The Rus were an early medieval group of people who gave their name to the lands of Russia, Ruthenia, and Belarus. Later, Ruriks relative Oleg captured Kiev, founding Rus, academically known as Kievan Rus, the name Rus would then have the same origin as the Finnish and Estonian names for Sweden, Ruotsi and Rootsi. But there was no law among them, and tribe rose against tribe, discord thus ensued among them, and they began to war one against the other. They said to themselves, Let us seek a prince who may rule over us, thus they went overseas to the Varangians, to the Rus. These particular Varangians were known as Rus, just as some are called Swedes, and others Normans and Angles, and still others Gutes, for they were thus named. The Chuds, the Slavs, the Krivichs and the Veps then said to the Rus, Our land is great and rich, come reign as princes, rule over us. Three brothers, with their kinfolk, were selected and they brought with them all the Rus and migrated. Later, the Primary Chronicle tells us, they conquered Kiev, the territory they conquered was named after them as were, eventually, the local people. Ibn Haukal and other early Islamic sources, as well as Muhammad al-Idrisi, mainstream Russian-Soviet historiography, tentatively identified these names with the tribal centres at Kiev, Novgorod and Tmutarakan. Each man has an axe, a sword, and a knife, the swords are broad and grooved, of Frankish sort. Each woman wears on either breast a box of iron, silver, copper, or gold, each box has a ring from which depends a knife. The women wear neck-rings of gold and silver and their most prized ornaments are green glass beads. They string them as necklaces for their women, as for the Rus, they live on an island. That takes three days to round and is covered with thick undergrowth and forests, it is most unhealthy. They harry the Slavs, using ships to reach them, they carry them off as slaves and…sell them and they have no fields but simply live on what they get from the Slavs lands. When a son is born, the father will go up to the baby, sword in hand, throwing it down, he says, I shall not leave you with any property. At least no source says they are part of the Slavic race and his description represents the Rus as a warlike northern tribe. Constantine also enumerates the names of the Dnieper cataracts in both Rhos and in Slavic languages, the Rhos names have distinct Germanic etymology, Essoupi Oulvorsi Gelandri Aeifor Varouforos Leanti Stroukoun
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Abbasid Caliphate
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The Abbasid Caliphate was the third of the Islamic caliphates to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The Abbasid dynasty descended from Muhammads youngest uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib and they ruled as caliphs, for most of their period from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after assuming authority over the Muslim empire from the Umayyads in 750 CE. The Abbasid caliphate first centered its government in Kufa, but in 762 the caliph Al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad, the political power of the caliphs largely ended with the rise of the Buyids and the Seljuq Turks. Although Abbasid leadership over the vast Islamic empire was reduced to a ceremonial religious function. The capital city of Baghdad became a center of science, culture, philosophy and this period of cultural fruition ended in 1258 with the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan. The Abbasid line of rulers, and Muslim culture in general, though lacking in political power, the dynasty continued to claim authority in religious matters until after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt. The Abbasid caliphs were Arabs descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, one of the youngest uncles of Muhammad, the Abbasids claimed to be the true successors of Prophet Muhammad in replacing the Umayyad descendants of Banu Umayya by virtue of their closer bloodline to Muhammad. The Abbasids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking their moral character, according to Ira Lapidus, The Abbasid revolt was supported largely by Arabs, mainly the aggrieved settlers of Marw with the addition of the Yemeni faction and their Mawali. The Abbasids also appealed to non-Arab Muslims, known as mawali, Muhammad ibn Ali, a great-grandson of Abbas, began to campaign for the return of power to the family of Prophet Muhammad, the Hashimites, in Persia during the reign of Umar II. During the reign of Marwan II, this culminated in the rebellion of Ibrahim the Imam. On 9 June 747, Abu Muslim successfully initiated a revolt against Umayyad rule. Close to 10,000 soldiers were under Abu Muslims command when the hostilities began in Merv. General Qahtaba followed the fleeing governor Nasr ibn Sayyar west defeating the Umayyads at the Battle of Nishapur, the Battle of Gorgan, after this loss, Marwan fled to Egypt, where he was subsequently assassinated. The remainder of his family, barring one male, were also eliminated, immediately after their victory, As-Saffah sent his forces to Central Asia, where his forces fought against Tang expansion during the Battle of Talas. Barmakids, who were instrumental in building Baghdad, introduced the worlds first recorded paper mill in Baghdad, As-Saffah focused on putting down numerous rebellions in Syria and Mesopotamia. The Byzantines conducted raids during these early distractions, the first change the Abbasids, under Al-Mansur, made was to move the empires capital from Damascus, in Syria, to Baghdad in Iraq. Baghdad was established on the Tigris River in 762, a new position, that of the vizier, was also established to delegate central authority, and even greater authority was delegated to local emirs. During Al-Mansurs time control of Al-Andalus was lost, and the Shiites revolted and were defeated a year later at the Battle of Bakhamra, the Abbasids had depended heavily on the support of Persians in their overthrow of the Umayyads
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Carolingian Empire
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The Carolingian Empire was a large empire in western and central Europe during the early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lombards of Italy from 774. In 800, the Frankish king Charlemagne was crowned emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III in an effort to revive the Roman Empire in the west during a vacancy in the throne of the eastern Roman Empire. The unity of the empire and the right of the Carolingians continued to be acknowledged. In 884, Charles the Fat reunited all the kingdoms for the last time, but he died in 888 and the empire immediately split up. With the only remaining male of the dynasty a child, the nobility elected regional kings from outside the dynasty or, in the case of the eastern kingdom. The size of the empire at its inception was around 1,112,000 square kilometres, in southern Italy, the Carolingians claims to authority were disputed by the Byzantines and the vestiges of the Lombard kingdom in the Principality of Benevento. Use of the term Carolingian Empire is a modern convention, the language of official acts in the empire was Latin. The empire was referred to variously as universum regnum, Romanorum sive Francorum imperium, Romanum imperium or even imperium christianum. Only the remaining Saxon realms, which he conquered, Lombardy. Further, Martel cemented his place in history with his defense of Christian Europe against a Muslim army at the Battle of Tours in 732, the Iberian Saracens had incorporated Berber lighthorse cavalry with the heavy Arab cavalry to create a formidable army that had almost never been defeated. Christian European forces, meanwhile, lacked the powerful tool of the stirrup, in this victory, Charles earned the surname Martel. Edward Gibbon, the historian of Rome and its aftermath, called Charles Martel the paramount prince of his age, Pepin III accepted the nomination as king by Pope Zachary in about 751. Charlemagnes rule began in 768 at Pepins death and he proceeded to take control over the kingdom following his brother Carlomans death, as the two brothers co-inherited their fathers kingdom. Charlemagne was crowned Roman Emperor in the year 800, the Carolingian Empire during the reign of Charlemagne covered most of Western Europe, as the Roman Empire once had. Prior to the death of Charlemagne, the Empire was divided among members of the Carolingian dynasty. These included King Charles the Younger, son of Charlemagne, who received Neustria, King Louis the Pious, who received Aquitaine, and King Pepin, Pepin died with an illegitimate son, Bernard, in 810, and Charles died without heirs in 811. Although Bernard succeeded Pepin as King of Italy, Louis was made co-Emperor in 813, Louis the Pious often had to struggle to maintain control of the Empire
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Berezan' Runestone
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The Berezan Runestone was discovered in 1905 by Ernst von Stern, professor at Odessa, on Berezan Island where the Dnieper River meets the Black Sea. It is 48 cm wide,47 cm high and 12 cm thick and it was made by a Varangian trader named Grani in memory of his business partner Karl. Berezan is located in the Black Sea not far from the mouth of the Dnieper River and its bays gave shelter to the Scandinavian ships that passed it on the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. Jansson writes on its importance, The runestone was discovered during the excavations of a kurgan from the 6th century BC, after its construction, the kurgan had been used for 48 additional burials of different types and at various depths. On June 9,1905, von Sterns crew discovered a stone coffin in the eastern part of the kurgan containing a skeleton whose skull was resting on the runestone. The runestone was discovered by von Stern just as a worker intended to throw it on a pile of stone, the runestone was probably not discovered in its original location, and it is likely that it was originally located at one of the minor barrows in the vicinity. The inscription is preserved, which is shown by the fact that the first and last letters are marked as the end parts of the inscription. The engravings are c.8 cm long and 0.75 cm deep, latin transliteration, krani, kerþi, alf, þisi, iftir, kal, fi, laka, si Old Norse transcription, Grani gærði hvalf þessi æftiʀ Karl, felaga sinn. English translation, Grani made this vault in memory of Karl and it is difficult to determine from where Grani and Karl came. In runic inscriptions, the Old Norse word hvalf only appears in Gotland, few runic inscriptions have been discovered in Eastern Europe because stone material was scarce. Duczko, W. Viking Rus, Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe, ISBN 90-04-13874-9 Jansson, S. B. F. Runes in Sweden, ISBN 91-7844-067-X Pritsak, O. Distributed by Harvard University Press for the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute
listen),[4] older spellings include Gottland /ˈɡɒtlənd/ or Gothland /ˈɡɒθlənd/,[5]), Gutland in the local dialect,[6] is a province, county, municipality, and diocese of Sweden. It is Sweden's largest island.[7][8][9][10] The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the north, as well as the Karlsö Islands (Lilla and Stora) to the west. The population is 58,003,[2] of which about 23,600 live in Visby, the main town,[1] the island of Gotland and the other areas of the province of Gotland make up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area.
Vassal of Sweden
Denmark
Teutonic Order
Kalmar Union
Sweden
Russian Empire
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Germany
Norway
Finland
United States
"Gotland". Encyclopædia Britannica. 12 (11th ed.). 1911.
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