1.
Geneva
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Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situated where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic, the municipality has a population of 198,072, and the canton has 484,736 residents. In 2014, the compact agglomération du Grand Genève had 946,000 inhabitants in 212 communities in both Switzerland and France, within Swiss territory, the commuter area named Métropole lémanique contains a population of 1.25 million. This area is essentially spread east from Geneva towards the Riviera area and north-east towards Yverdon-les-Bains, Geneva is the city that hosts the highest number of international organizations in the world. It is also the place where the Geneva Conventions were signed, Geneva was ranked as the worlds ninth most important financial centre for competitiveness by the Global Financial Centres Index, ahead of Frankfurt, and third in Europe behind London and Zürich. A2009 survey by Mercer found that Geneva has the third-highest quality of life of any city in the world, the city has been referred to as the worlds most compact metropolis and the Peace Capital. In 2009 and 2011, Geneva was ranked as, respectively, the city was mentioned in Latin texts, by Caesar, with the spelling Genava, probably from a Celtic toponym *genawa- from the stem *genu-, in the sense of a bending river or estuary. The medieval county of Geneva in Middle Latin was known as pagus major Genevensis or Comitatus Genevensis, the name takes various forms in modern languages, Geneva /dʒᵻˈniːvə/ in English, French, Genève, German, Genf, Italian, Ginevra, and Romansh, Genevra. The city in origin shares its name, *genawa estuary, with the Italian port city of Genoa, Geneva was an Allobrogian border town, fortified against the Helvetii tribe, when the Romans took it in 121 BC. It became Christian under the Late Roman Empire, and acquired its first bishop in the 5th century, having been connected to the bishopric of Vienne in the 4th. In the Middle Ages, Geneva was ruled by a count under the Holy Roman Empire until the late 14th century, around this time the House of Savoy came to dominate the city. In the 15th century, a republican government emerged with the creation of the Grand Council. In 1541, with Protestantism in the ascendancy, John Calvin, by the 18th century, however, Geneva had come under the influence of Catholic France, which cultivated the city as its own. France also tended to be at odds with the ordinary townsfolk, in 1798, revolutionary France under the Directory annexed Geneva. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, on 1 June 1814, in 1907, the separation of Church and State was adopted. Geneva flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, becoming the seat of international organizations. Geneva is located at 46°12 North, 6°09 East, at the end of Lake Geneva. It is surrounded by two chains, the Alps and the Jura
2.
Heiden, Switzerland
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Heiden is a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. Its Biedermeier village around the square is listed as a heritage site of national significance. Heiden is first mentioned in 1461 as guot genant Haiden, around 1650 Wolfhalden and Heiden could not agree about the control over the church. This led to the creation of a church in village in 1652. The founder of the Red Cross, Henry Dunant, spent his last years in Heiden, the former president of the ICRC, Jakob Kellenberger, was also born in Heiden. Heiden has an area, as of 2006, of 7.5 km2, of this area,52. 4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30. 6% is forested. Of the rest of the land,16. 8% is settled, the municipality is located in the former District of Vorderland on the Kurzenberg. It consists of the village of Heiden and several hamlets near the village, Heiden has a population of 4,052, of which about 18. 3% are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -4. 2%, most of the population speaks German, with Croatian being second most common and Italian being third. As of 2000, the distribution of the population was 48. 5% male and 51. 5% female. The age distribution, as of 2000, in Heiden is,311 people or 7. 7% of the population are between 0–6 years old,512 people or 12. 6% are 6-15, and 219 people or 5. 4% are 16-19. Of the adult population,168 people or 4. 1% of the population are between 20–24 years old,1,179 people or 29. 0% are 25-44, and 966 people or 23. 8% are 45-64. The senior population distribution is 491 people or 12. 1% of the population are between 65–79 years old, and 217 people or 5. 3% are over 80, in the 2007 federal election the FDP received 65% of the vote. In Heiden about 68. 3% of the population have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education, Heiden has an unemployment rate of 1. 61%. As of 2005, there were 93 people employed in the economic sector. 708 people are employed in the sector and there are 41 businesses in this sector. 1,428 people are employed in the sector, with 189 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the table, A rack railway
3.
Wiedikon
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Wiedikon is a district in the Swiss city of Zurich. The district comprises the quarters Alt-Wiedikon, Sihlfeld and Friesenberg, Wiedikon was formerly a municipality of its own, having been incorporated into Zurich in 1893. The municipality is located on the A3 motorway, Zürich Wiedikon railway station is a stop of the Zürich S-Bahn on the lines S2, S8 and S21. The head office of Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn is located in Wiedikon
4.
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
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The movements parts are, The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier. Its 25-member committee has a unique authority under international law to protect the life. The ICRC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions, on an international level, the Federation leads and organizes, in close cooperation with the National Societies, relief assistance missions responding to large-scale emergencies. The International Federation Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1963, the Federation was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the ICRC. National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in every country in the world. Currently 190 National Societies are recognized by the ICRC and admitted as members of the Federation. Each entity works in its home country according to the principles of humanitarian law. In many countries, they are linked to the respective national health care system by providing emergency medical services. When he arrived in the town of Solferino on the evening of June 24, he toured the field of the Battle of Solferino. In a single day, about 40,000 soldiers on both sides died or were wounded on the field. Jean-Henri Dunant was shocked by the aftermath of the battle, the suffering of the wounded soldiers. He completely abandoned the original intent of his trip and for days he devoted himself to helping with the treatment. He succeeded in organizing an overwhelming level of assistance by motivating the local villagers to aid without discrimination. Back in his home in Geneva, he decided to write a book entitled A Memory of Solferino which he published using his own money in 1862. He sent copies of the book to leading political and military figures throughout Europe, in addition, he called for the development of international treaties to guarantee the protection of neutral medics and field hospitals for soldiers wounded on the battlefield. In 1863, Gustave Moynier, a Geneva lawyer and president of the Geneva Society for Public Welfare, received a copy of Dunants book, eight days later, the five men decided to rename the committee to the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded. In October 1863, the conference organized by the committee was held in Geneva to develop possible measures to improve medical services on the battlefield. Only one year later, the Swiss government invited the governments of all European countries, as well as the United States, Brazil, sixteen countries sent a total of twenty-six delegates to Geneva
5.
Nobel Peace Prize
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Per Alfred Nobels will, the recipient is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, a five-member committee appointed by the Parliament of Norway. Since 1990, the prize is awarded on 10 December in Oslo City Hall each year, the prize was formerly awarded in the Atrium of the University of Oslo Faculty of Law, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, and the Parliament. Due to its nature, the Nobel Peace Prize has, for most of its history. Alfred Nobels will further specified that the prize be awarded by a committee of five chosen by the Norwegian Parliament. Nobel died in 1896 and he did not leave an explanation for choosing peace as a prize category, as he was a trained chemical engineer, the categories for chemistry and physics were obvious choices. The reasoning behind the peace prize is less clear, some Nobel scholars suggest it was Nobels way to compensate for developing destructive forces. His inventions included dynamite and ballistite, both of which were used violently during his lifetime, ballistite was used in war and the Irish Republican Brotherhood, an Irish nationalist organization, carried out dynamite attacks in the 1880s. Nobel was also instrumental in turning Bofors from an iron and steel producer into an armaments company and it is unclear why Nobel wished the Peace Prize to be administered in Norway, which was ruled in union with Sweden at the time of Nobels death. The Norwegian Nobel Committee speculates that Nobel may have considered Norway better suited to awarding the prize, the Norwegian Parliament appoints the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which selects the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Each year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee specifically invites qualified people to submit nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize, the statutes of the Nobel Foundation specify categories of individuals who are eligible to make nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. Nominations by committee members can be submitted up to the date of the first Committee meeting after this deadline. In 2009, a record 205 nominations were received, but the record was again in 2010 with 237 nominations, in 2011. Nominations from 1901 to 1956, however, have released in a database. Nominations are considered by the Nobel Committee at a meeting where a short list of candidates for review is created. Advisers usually have some months to complete reports, which are considered by the Committee to select the laureate. The Committee seeks to achieve a decision, but this is not always possible. The Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee presents the Nobel Peace Prize in the presence of the King of Norway on 10 December each year, the Peace Prize is the only Nobel Prize not presented in Stockholm. The Nobel laureate receives a diploma, a medal, and a document confirming the prize amount, as of 2013, the prize was worth 10 million SEK
6.
Geneva Conventions
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The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment in war. The treaties of 1949 were ratified, in whole or with reservations, the Swiss businessman Henry Dunant went to visit wounded soldiers after the Battle of Solferino in 1859. He was shocked by the lack of facilities, personnel, as a result, he published his book, A Memory of Solferino, in 1862, on the horrors of war. The latter led to the 1864 Geneva Convention, the first codified international treaty that covered the sick, for both of these accomplishments, Henry Dunant became corecipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. The ten articles of this first treaty were initially adopted on 22 August 1864 by twelve nations, on 20 October 1868 the first, unsuccessful, attempt to expand the 1864 treaty was undertaken. With the Additional Articles relating to the Condition of the Wounded in War an attempt was undertaken to clarify some rules of the 1864 convention, the Articles were signed but never ratified by all parties. Only the Netherlands and the United States ratified the Articles, the Netherlands later withdrew their ratification. The protection of the victims of warfare would later be realized by the third Hague Convention of 1899. In 1906 thirty-five states attended a conference convened by the Swiss government and it remained into force until 1970 when Costa Rica acceded to the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The 1929 conference yielded two conventions that were signed on July 27th 1929, one, the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field, was the third version to replace the original convention of 1864. The other was adopted after experiences in World War I had shown the deficiencies in the protection of prisoners of war under the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. The Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was not to replace these earlier conventions signed at The Hague, the Second Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea replaced the Hague Convention of 1907. It was the first Geneva Convention on the protection of the victims of warfare and mimicked the structure. The Third Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War replaced the 1929 Geneva Convention that dealt with prisoners of war. In addition to these three conventions, the conference added a new elaborate Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. It was the first Geneva Convention not to deal with combatants, the 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions had already contained some provisions on the protection of civilians and occupied territory. Article 154 specifically provides that the Fourth Geneva Convention is supplementary to these provisions in the Hague Conventions, despite the length of these documents, they were found over time to be incomplete. In light of developments, two Protocols were adopted in 1977 that extended the terms of the 1949 Conventions with additional protections
7.
Battle of Solferino
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It was the last major battle in world history where all the armies were under the personal command of their monarchs. Perhaps 300,000 soldiers fought in the important battle, the largest since the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, there were about 130,000 Austrian troops and a combined total of 140,000 French and allied Piedmontese troops. After the battle, the Austrian Emperor refrained from further direct command of the army, the battle led the Swiss Jean-Henri Dunant to write his book, A Memory of Solferino. Although he did not witness the battle, he toured the following the battle and was greatly moved by what he saw. Horrified by the suffering of wounded soldiers left on the battlefield, Dunant set about a process led to the Geneva Conventions. The Battle of Solferino was an engagement in the Second Italian War of Independence. The wars geopolitical context was the nationalist struggle to unify Italy, the battle took place near the villages of Solferino and San Martino, Italy, south of Lake Garda between Milan and Verona. The confrontation was between the Austrians, on one side, and the French and Piedmontese forces, who opposed their advance, in the morning of 23 June, after the arrival of emperor Franz Joseph, the Austrian army changed direction to counterattack along the river Chiese. At the same time, Napoleon III ordered his troops to advance, while the Piedmontese fought the Austrian right wing near San Martino, the French battled to the south of them near Solferino against the main Austrian corps. The French army at Solferino, personally led by Napoleon III, was divided in four Corps plus the Imperial Guard, many of its men and generals were veterans of the French conquest of Algeria and the Crimean War, but its commander-in-chief had no military experience of note. The Sardinian army had four divisions on the field, according to the allied battle plan formulated on 24 June, the Franco-Sardinian army moved east to deploy along the right river banks of the Mincio. The French were to occupy the villages of Solferino, Cavriana, Guidizzolo and Medole with, respectively, the 1st Corps, 2nd Corps, 3rd Corps, the four Sardinian divisions were to take Pozzolengo. After marching a few kilometers, the allies came into contact with the Austrian troops, the battle started at Medole around 4 am. Marching towards Guidizzolo, the 4th Corps encountered an Austrian infantry regiment of the Austrian 1st Army, general Niel immediately decided to engage the enemy and deployed his forces east of Medole. This move prevented the three corps of the Austrian 1st Army from aiding their comrades of the 2nd Army near Solferino, the French forces were numerically inferior to the Austrians. The 4th Corps contained three divisions under de Luzy, Vinoy and Failly and a cavalry brigade. Niel, holding a line of 5 kilometres in length, was able to stop the Austrian assaults on his position by ably warding off attacks. After 15 hours of combat the Austrians retreated, both sides having lost in total nearly 15,000 men, around 4,30 am the advance guard of the 1st Corps came into contact with the Austrian V Corps under Stadion near Castiglione delle Stiviere
8.
International Committee of the Red Cross
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The International Committee of the Red Cross is a humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland and a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005 have given the ICRC a mandate to protect victims of international and internal armed conflicts, such victims include war wounded, prisoners, refugees, civilians, and other non-combatants. The ICRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement along with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and 190 National Societies. It is the oldest and most honoured organization within the Movement and one of the most widely recognized organizations in the world, having won three Nobel Peace Prizes in 1917,1944, and 1963. When he arrived in the town of Solferino on the evening of 24 June, he witnessed the Battle of Solferino. In a single day, about 40,000 soldiers on both sides died or were wounded on the field. Henry Dunant was shocked by the aftermath of the battle, the suffering of the wounded soldiers. He completely abandoned the original intent of his trip and for days he devoted himself to helping with the treatment. He succeeded in organizing an overwhelming level of assistance by motivating the local population to aid without discrimination. Back in his home in Geneva, he decided to write a book entitled A Memory of Solferino which he published with his own money in 1862 and he sent copies of the book to leading political and military figures throughout Europe. In addition, he called for the development of international treaties to guarantee the neutrality and protection of wounded on the battlefield as well as medics. On 9 February 1863 in Geneva, Henry Dunant founded the Committee of the Five as a commission of the Geneva Society for Public Welfare. Their aim was to examine the feasibility of Dunants ideas and to organize a conference about their possible implementation. Eight days later, the five men decided to rename the committee to the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, in October 1863, the international conference organized by the committee was held in Geneva to develop possible measures to improve medical services on the battle field. The states and kingdoms represented by delegates were Baden, Bavaria, France, Britain, Hanover, Hesse, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden. Only one year later, the Swiss government invited the governments of all European countries, as well as the United States, Brazil, sixteen countries sent a total of twenty-six delegates to Geneva. On 22 August 1864, the conference adopted the first Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field. Representatives of 12 states and kingdoms signed the convention, Baden, Belgium, Denmark, France, Hesse, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Prussia, Switzerland, Spain, and Württemberg
9.
Calvinism
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Calvinism is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice of John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians. The term Calvinism can be misleading, because the tradition which it denotes has always been diverse. The movement was first called Calvinism by Lutherans who opposed it, early influential Reformed theologians include Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, Martin Bucer, William Farel, Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Theodore Beza, and John Knox. In the twentieth century, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, B. B, Warfield, J. Gresham Machen, Karl Barth, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Cornelius Van Til, and Gordon Clark were influential. Contemporary Reformed theologians include J. I, sproul, Timothy J. Keller, John Piper, David Wells, and Michael Horton. Reformed churches may exercise several forms of polity, most are presbyterian or congregationalist. Calvinism is largely represented by Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist traditions, the biggest Reformed association is the World Communion of Reformed Churches with more than 80 million members in 211 member denominations around the world. There are more conservative Reformed federations such as the World Reformed Fellowship, Calvinism is named after John Calvin. It was first used by a Lutheran theologian in 1552 and it was a common practice of the Catholic Church to name what they perceived to be heresy after its founder. Nevertheless, the term first came out of Lutheran circles, Calvin denounced the designation himself, They could attach us no greater insult than this word, Calvinism. It is not hard to guess where such a deadly hatred comes from that they hold against me, despite its negative connotation, this designation became increasingly popular in order to distinguish Calvinists from Lutherans and from newer Protestant branches that emerged later. Moreover, these churches claim to be—in accordance with John Calvins own words—renewed accordingly with the order of gospel. Since the Arminian controversy, the Reformed tradition—as a branch of Protestantism distinguished from Lutheranism—divided into two groups, Arminians and Calvinists. However, it is now rare to call Arminians a part of the Reformed tradition, some have also argued that Calvinism as a whole stresses the sovereignty or rule of God in all things including salvation. First-generation Reformed theologians include Huldrych Zwingli, Martin Bucer, Wolfgang Capito, John Oecolampadius, scripture was also viewed as a unified whole, which led to a covenantal theology of the sacraments of baptism and the Lords Supper as visible signs of the covenant of grace. Another Reformed distinctive present in these theologians was their denial of the presence of Christ in the Lords supper. Each of these also understood salvation to be by grace alone. Martin Luther and his successor Philipp Melanchthon were undoubtedly significant influences on these theologians, the doctrine of justification by faith alone was a direct inheritance from Luther
10.
YMCA
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The Young Mens Christian Association is a worldwide organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 57 million beneficiaries from 125 national associations. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London and aims to put Christian principles into practice by developing a body, mind. These three angles are reflected by the different sides of the triangle—part of all YMCA logos, from its inception, it grew rapidly and ultimately became a worldwide movement founded on the principles of Muscular Christianity. YMCAs continue to be religious organisations, many national or local organisations de-emphasise this aspect, the different local YMCAs are voluntarily affiliated through their national organisations. The national organisations in turn are part of both an Area Alliance and the World Alliance of YMCAs, the World Alliances main motto is empowering young people. It was associated with industrialisation and the movement of people to cities to work. The YMCA combined preaching in the streets and the distribution of religious tracts with a social ministry, philanthropists saw them as places for wholesome recreation that would preserve youth from the temptations of alcohol, gambling, and prostitution and that would promote good citizenship. The YMCA was founded by George Williams, a London draper and he and his colleagues were concerned about the lack of healthy activities for young men in major cities, the options available were usually taverns and brothels. By 1851, there were YMCAs in the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States. In 1855,99 YMCA delegates from Europe and North America met in Paris at the First World Conference of YMCAs and they discussed joining together in a federation to enhance cooperation amongst individual YMCA societies. This marked the beginning of the World Alliance of YMCAs, the conference adopted the Paris Basis, a common mission for all present and future national YMCAs. Its motto was taken from the Bible, That they all may be one, in 1865 The Fourth World Conference of YMCAs, held in Germany, affirmed the importance of developing the whole individual in body, mind, and spirit. The concept of work through sports, a new concept for the time, was also recognised as part of this muscular Christianity. Today the YMCA is more focused on inspiring youths and their families to exercise, in 1878, World Alliance of YMCAs offices were established in Geneva, Switzerland. Later, in 1900, North American YMCAs, in collaboration with the World Alliance, set up centres to work with emigrants in European ports, as millions of people were leaving for the USA. In 1885, Camp Baldhead, the first residential camp in the United States and North America, was established by A. Sanford and Sumner F. Dudley, both of whom worked for the YMCA. The camp, originally located near Orange Lake in New Jersey, moved to Lake Wawayanda in Sussex County the following year, by 1910, the YMCA was an early influence upon scouting, including the Boy Scouts of America and German Scouting. Edgar M. Robinson, a Chicago-area YMCA administrator, briefly left the YMCA to become the BSAs first director, the Blue Ridge Association for Christian Conferences and Training was formed in 1907, and shortly thereafter built the Blue Ridge Assembly conference centre
11.
Sicily
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Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous Region of Italy, along with surrounding minor islands, Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, the island has a typical Mediterranean climate. The earliest archaeological evidence of activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC. It became part of Italy in 1860 following the Expedition of the Thousand, a revolt led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unification, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region after the Italian constitutional referendum of 1946. Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine. It is also home to important archaeological and ancient sites, such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Temples, Sicily has a roughly triangular shape, earning it the name Trinacria. To the east, it is separated from the Italian mainland by the Strait of Messina, about 3 km wide in the north, and about 16 km wide in the southern part. The northern and southern coasts are each about 280 km long measured as a line, while the eastern coast measures around 180 km. The total area of the island is 25,711 km2, the terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly and is intensively cultivated wherever possible. Along the northern coast, the ranges of Madonie,2,000 m, Nebrodi,1,800 m. The cone of Mount Etna dominates the eastern coast, in the southeast lie the lower Hyblaean Mountains,1,000 m. The mines of the Enna and Caltanissetta districts were part of a leading sulphur-producing area throughout the 19th century, Sicily and its surrounding small islands have some highly active volcanoes. Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still casts black ash over the island with its ever-present eruptions and it currently stands 3,329 metres high, though this varies with summit eruptions, the mountain is 21 m lower now than it was in 1981. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps, Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under the mountain by Zeus, Mount Etna is widely regarded as a cultural symbol and icon of Sicily. The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the northeast of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, the three volcanoes of Vulcano, Vulcanello and Lipari are also currently active, although the latter is usually dormant
12.
Napoleon III
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Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the only President of the French Second Republic and, as Napoleon III, the Emperor of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I and he was the first President of France to be elected by a direct popular vote. He remains the longest-serving French head of state since the French Revolution, during the first years of the Empire, Napoleons government imposed censorship and harsh repressive measures against his opponents. Some six thousand were imprisoned or sent to penal colonies until 1859, thousands more went into voluntary exile abroad, including Victor Hugo. From 1862 onwards, he relaxed government censorship, and his came to be known as the Liberal Empire. Many of his opponents returned to France and became members of the National Assembly, Napoleon III is best known today for his grand reconstruction of Paris, carried out by his prefect of the Seine, Baron Haussmann. He launched similar public works projects in Marseille, Lyon, Napoleon III modernized the French banking system, greatly expanded and consolidated the French railway system, and made the French merchant marine the second largest in the world. He promoted the building of the Suez Canal and established modern agriculture, Napoleon III negotiated the 1860 Cobden–Chevalier free trade agreement with Britain and similar agreements with Frances other European trading partners. Social reforms included giving French workers the right to strike and the right to organize, womens education greatly expanded, as did the list of required subjects in public schools. In foreign policy, Napoleon III aimed to reassert French influence in Europe and he was a supporter of popular sovereignty and of nationalism. In Europe, he allied with Britain and defeated Russia in the Crimean War and his regime assisted Italian unification and, in doing so, annexed Savoy and the County of Nice to France, at the same time, his forces defended the Papal States against annexation by Italy. Napoleon doubled the area of the French overseas empire in Asia, the Pacific, on the other hand, his armys intervention in Mexico which aimed to create a Second Mexican Empire under French protection ended in failure. Beginning in 1866, Napoleon had to face the power of Prussia. In July 1870, Napoleon entered the Franco-Prussian War without allies, the French army was rapidly defeated and Napoleon III was captured at the Battle of Sedan. The French Third Republic was proclaimed in Paris, and Napoleon went into exile in England, charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, later known as Louis Napoleon and then Napoleon III, was born in Paris on the night of 20–21 April 1808. His presumed father was Louis Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. His mother was Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter by the first marriage of Napoleons wife Joséphine de Beauharnais, as empress, Joséphine proposed the marriage as a way to produce an heir for the Emperor, who agreed, as Joséphine was by then infertile. Louis married Hortense when he was twenty-four and she was nineteen and they had a difficult relationship, and only lived together for brief periods
13.
Lombardy
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Lombardy is one of the twenty administrative regions of Italy, in the northwest of the country, with an area of 23,844 square kilometres. Milan, Lombardys capital, is the second-largest city and the largest metropolitan area in Italy, the word Lombardy comes from Lombard, which in turn is derived from Late Latin Longobardus, Langobardus, derived from the Proto-Germanic elements *langaz + *bardaz, equivalent to long beard. Some sources derive the second element instead from Proto-Germanic *bardǭ, *barduz, Lombardy referred during the early Middle Ages to the entire territory of Italy ruled by the Lombards, a Germanic tribe who conquered much of the Italian peninsula beginning in the 6th century. During the late Middle Ages, the term shifted meaning and was used to identify the whole of Northern Italy, with a surface of 23,861 km2, Lombardy is the 4th largest region of Italy. It is bordered by Switzerland and by the Italian regions of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, three distinct natural zones can be fairly easily distinguished in the Lombardy region, mountains, hills and plains – the latter being divided in Alta and Bassa. Inconsistent with the three distinctions above made is the subregion of Oltrepò Pavese, formed by the Apennine foothills beyond the Po River. The mighty Po river marks the border of the region for a length of about 210 km. In its progress it receives the waters of the Ticino River, the other streams which contribute to the great river are, the Olona, the Lambro, the Adda, the Oglio and the Mincio. The numerous lakes of Lombardy, all of glacial origin, lie in the northern highlands, from west to east these are Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano, Lake Como, Lake Iseo, Lake Idro, then Lake Garda, the largest in Italy. A minor mountainous area, the Oltrepò Pavese, lies south of the Po, in the plains, intensively cultivated for centuries, little of the original environment remains. The most commons trees are elm, alder, sycamore, poplar, willow, in the area of the foothills lakes, however, grow olive trees, cypresses and larches, as well as varieties of subtropical flora such as magnolias, azaleas, acacias. Numerous species of flora in the Prealpine area include some kinds of saxifrage, the Lombard garlic, groundsels bellflowers. The highlands are characterized by the vegetation of the whole range of the Italian Alps. At a lower levels oak woods or broadleafed trees grow, on the slopes beech trees grow at the lowest limits. Shrubs such as rhododendron, dwarf pine and juniper are native to the summital zone, Lombardy has a wide array of climates, due to local variances in elevation, proximity to inland water basins, and large metropolitan areas. In addition, there is a seasonal temperature variation. A peculiarity of the climate is the thick fog that covers the plains between October and February. In the Alpine foothills, characterised by an Oceanic climate, numerous lakes exercise a mitigating influence, in the hills and mountains, the climate is humid continental
14.
Kingdom of Sardinia
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The Kingdom of Sardinia was a state in Southern Europe which existed from the early 14th until the mid-19th century. It was the state of todays Italy. When it was acquired by the Duke of Savoy in 1720, however, the Savoyards united it with their possessions on the Italian mainland and, by the time of the Crimean War in 1853, had built the resulting kingdom into a strong power. The formal name of the entire Savoyard state was the States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia and its final capital was Turin, the capital of Savoy since the Middle Ages. Beginning in 1324, James and his successors conquered the island of Sardinia, in 1420 the last competing claim to the island was bought out. After the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile, Sardinia became a part of the burgeoning Spanish Empire, in 1720 it was ceded by the Habsburg and Bourbon claimants to the Spanish throne to Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy. While in theory the traditional capital of the island of Sardinia and seat of its viceroys was Cagliari, the Congress of Vienna, which restructured Europe after Napoleons defeat, returned to Savoy its mainland possessions and augmented them with Liguria, taken from the Republic of Genoa. In 1847–48, in a fusion, the various Savoyard states were unified under one legal system, with the capital in Turin, and granted a constitution. There followed the annexation of Lombardy, the central Italian states and the Two Sicilies, Venetia, in 238 BC Sardinia became, along with Corsica, a province of the Roman Empire. The Romans ruled the island until the middle of the 5th century, when it was occupied by the Vandals, in 534 AD it was reconquered by the Romans, but now from the Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantium. It remained a Byzantine province until the Arab conquest of Sicily in the 9th century, after that, communications with Constantinople became very difficult, and powerful families of the island assumed control of the land. Starting from 705–706, Saracens from north Africa harassed the population of the coastal cities, information about the Sardinian political situation in the following centuries is scarce. There is a record of another massive Saracen sea attack in 1015–16 from the Balearics, the Saracen attempt to invade the island was stopped by the Judicatus with the support of the fleets of the maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa, free cities of the Holy Roman Empire. Pope Benedict VIII also requested aid from the republics of Pisa. Even the title of Judices was a Byzantine reminder of the Greek church and state, of these sovereigns only two names are known, Turcoturiu and Salusiu, who probably ruled in the 10th century. The Archons still wrote in Greek or Latin, but one of the first documents of the Judex of Cagliari, their successor, was written in romance Sardinian language. The realm was divided into four kingdoms, the Judicati, perfectly organized as was the previous realm, but was now under the influence of the Pope. That was the cause of leading to a long war between the Judices, who regarded themselves as kings fighting against rebellious nobles
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Austrian Empire
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The Austrian Empire was an empire in Central Europe created out of the realms of the Habsburgs by proclamation in 1804. It was an empire and one of Europes great powers. Geographically it was the second largest country in Europe after the Russian Empire and it was also the third most populous after Russia and France, as well as the largest and strongest country in the German Confederation. Proclaimed in response to the First French Empire, it overlapped with the Holy Roman Empire until the dissolution in 1806. The Ausgleich of 1867 elevated Hungarys status and it became a separate entity from the Empire entirely, joining with it in the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. Changes shaping the nature of the Holy Roman Empire took place during conferences in Rastatt, on 24 March 1803, the Imperial Recess was declared, which reduced the number of ecclesiastical states from 81 to only 3 and the free imperial cities from 51 to 6. This measure was aimed at replacing the old constitution of the Holy Roman Empire, taking this significant change into consideration, the German Emperor Francis II created the title Emperor of Austria, for himself and his successors. In 1804 the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, 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, to safeguard his dynastys imperial status he adopted the additional hereditary title of Emperor of Austria. Hungarys affairs remained administered by its own institutions as they had been beforehand, thus under the new arrangements no Imperial institutions were involved in its internal government. The fall and dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire was accelerated by French intervention in the Empire in September 1805, on 20 October 1805, an Austrian army led by general Karl Mack von Leiberich was defeated by French armies near the town of Ulm. The French victory resulted in the capture of 20,000 Austrian soldiers, Napoleons army won another victory at Austerlitz on 2 December 1805. Francis was forced into negotiations with the French from 4 to 6 December 1805, the French victories encouraged rulers of certain imperial territories to assert their formal independence from the Empire. On 10 December 1805, the prince-elector Duke of Bavaria proclaimed himself King, finally, on 12 December, the Margrave of Baden was given the title of Grand Duke. In addition, each of these new countries signed a treaty with France, the Treaty of Pressburg between France and Austria, signed in Pressburg on 26 December, enlarged the territory of Napoleons German allies at the expense of defeated Austria. Certain Austrian holdings in Germany were passed to French allies—the King of Bavaria, the King of Württemberg, Austrian claims on those German states were renounced without exception. On 12 July 1806, the Confederation of the Rhine was established, comprising 16 sovereigns and this confederation, under French influence, put an end to the Holy Roman Empire. On 6 August 1806, even Francis recognized the new state of things and proclaimed the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, as he did not want Napoleon to succeed him
16.
Castiglione delle Stiviere
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Castiglione delle Stiviere is a town and comune in the province of Mantua, in Lombardy, Italy,30 kilometres northwest of Mantua by road. During the War of the Spanish Succession, the French under the duc de Vendôme occupied it, in 1706, in the first Battle of Castiglione a French army under Jacques Eléonor Rouxel de Grancey defeated here a Hessian army led by Frederick I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. It is the birthplace of St. Aloysius Gonzaga who was a Jesuit, Aloysius was buried in the Church of the Annunciation in Rome. His head was later translated to the basilica bearing his name in Castiglione delle Stiviere, Castiglione received the honorary title of city by presidential decree on 18 October 2001. It has an old castle, much altered and restored, especially by the Gonzaga family of Mantua in the 16th century, Castiglione is the birthplace of the International Red Cross, which was established by Henri Dunant during the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino in 1859. There is a museum in the center of the dedicated to the IRC
17.
Gustave Moynier
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Gustave Moynier was a Swiss Jurist who was active in many charitable organizations in Geneva. He was a co-founder of the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, in 1864 he took over the position of President of the Committee from Guillaume-Henri Dufour, and he was also a major rival of the founder Henry Dunant. During his record long term of 46 years as president he did much to support the development of the Committee in the first decades after its creation, Moynier came from a rich and established Geneva family of merchants and bankers. He studied law in Paris and received his doctorate in 1850, because of his Calvinist persuasion, he became interested in charity work and social problems early on. In 1859 he took over the chairmanship of the Geneva Society for Public Welfare and he was also active in around forty additional charitable organizations and groups involved in tasks from improving the conditions for prison inmates to caring for orphans. In 1862 Henry Dunant sent him a copy of his book A Memory of Solferino and this led to the creation of the Committee of Five, a commission of the Society set up to investigate the plausibility of Dunants ideas. The additional members of the Commission, with Moynier as chairman, were Dunant, the doctors Louis Appia and Théodore Maunoir, Dufour became the first president of the Committee, and Moynier became its vice-president. Differences between Moynier and Dunant developed early over the reach of the authority and its legal and organizational formation. The key point of dispute was Dunants idea to grant neutrality to wounded soldiers, Moynier was a determined opponent of this plan, which he did not consider realistic and thought its insistence risked the collapse of the project. Dunant, however, was able to persuade powerful political and military figures in Europe of his ideas, in that same year however, Moynier took over the position of President of the International Committee. The increasing tensions between the pragmatist Moynier and the idealist Dunant led to Dunants expulsion, led by Moynier, after Dunants bankruptcy in 1867. For example, the medal of the Sciences Morales at the Paris Worlds Fair in 1867 was not awarded to Dunant. The prize money was not awarded to Dunant but given to the International Committee itself. An offer from Napoleon III to settle half of Dunants debt if the half would be taken over by Dunants friends was thwarted by Moyniers efforts. In 1872 Moynier submitted, after the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-71, because of concerns by most national governments over state sovereignty, the measure was not adopted. Moynier was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901,1902,1903, and 1905 by Richard Kleen, however, unlike Dunant who was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 together with Frédéric Passy, Moynier never received the prize. He died in 1910 two months before Dunant, without any sort of reconciliation between the two, having been President of the Committee until his death, he was the Committees longest-serving President in its history. Originally translated from the German Wikipedia Pierre Boissier, History of the International Committee of the Red Cross, volume I, From Solferino to Tsushima
18.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
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Guillaume Henri Dufour
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Guillaume Henri Dufour was a Swiss army officer, bridge engineer and topographer. He served under Napoleon I and held the office of General four times in career, Dufour presided over the First Geneva Convention which established the International Red Cross. He was founder and president of the Swiss Federal Office of Topography from 1838 to 1865, the Dufourspitze in the Monte Rosa Massif is named after Dufour. Dufour was born in Konstanz, where his parents were exiled from Geneva. His father Bénédict was a Genevan watchmaker and farmer, who sent his son to school in Geneva, in 1807, Dufour travelled to Paris to join the École Polytechnique, then a military academy. He studied descriptive geometry under Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, and graduated fifth in his class in 1809, in 1810, he was sent to help defend Corfu against the British, and spent his time mapping the islands old fortifications. By 1814, he had returned to France, and was awarded the Croix de la Légion dHonneur for his work repairing fortifications at Lyons. In 1817, he returned to Geneva to become commander of the Canton of Genevas military engineers and his duties included preparing a map of the Canton. Dufour remained a General in the army, among the officers serving under him was Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of the former Emperor. In 1847 the Catholic cantons of Switzerland attempted to form an alliance of their own, known as the Sonderbund. He ordered his troops to spare the injured, in 1850 the mountaineer and topographer Johann Coaz served as his private secretary. In 1863 he was part of a committee which, under Henry Dunant led to the foundation of the International Red Cross, on 16 July 1875,60,000 persons participated at Dufours burial at Cimetière de Plainpalais in Geneva. Dufour acted as engineer from 1817, although he was not officially appointed as such until 1828. His work included rebuilding a pumping station, quays and bridges and he joined with others to promote a new bridge across the Genevan fortifications, consulting with Seguin on how it might be built, receiving back a series of sketches. Dufour developed the design in late 1822, proposing a two-span suspension bridge using wire cables - this would become the first permanent wire cable bridge in the world. The design used three cables on each side of an iron and timber bridge deck, the cables stretched 131 feet between the towers, although the largest span was only 109 feet. Bronze bust, made by Fonderie Leuba, B, brasseur, succ. at Army Training Center, Lucerne His home from 1845-1875 at Rue de Contamines, Geneva, is preserved by a foundation. There is also Dufourplatz in Zollikon, the general was depicted on the 20 francs note of the 1956 series of Swiss banknotes
20.
Louis Appia
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Louis Paul Amédée Appia was a Swiss surgeon with special merit in the area of military medicine. In 1863 he became a member of the Geneva Committee of Five, appias parents, Paul Joseph Appia and Caroline Develey, originally came from Piedmont. His father, who had been a University student in Geneva, Louis was the third of six children. He went to Gymnasium in Frankfurt and at eighteen gained the Hochschulreife diploma in Geneva, in 1838 he began to study medicine in Heidelberg and concluded his medical doctorate in 1843, after which he returned to Frankfurt. In 1848, he assisted the wounded in Paris and Frankfurt during the February revolution in France, afterwards, his specialty and focus became the improvement of the application of medicine to the war-wounded. After the death of his father in 1849, he traveled with his mother to Geneva, in connection with his work on military medicine, he developed an instrument to immobilize a broken arm or leg during the transport of a wounded individual. He also wrote a treatise about surgical treatment for the war-wounded, in 1853, he married Anne Caroline Lassere and during their marriage had two sons and two daughters. His son Adolphe Appia became an architect and was a pioneer of modern stage design, in 1859 his brother George, who was a pastor in Pinerolo, sent him several letters regarding the situation for the wounded and victims of the Austro-Sardinian War. In July, Appia traveled to Italy and ended up working in hospitals in Turin, Milan, Brescia. At the Saint Phillippe Hospital in Milan his invention for transporting patients with broken bones was successfully tested on a wounded lieutenant, at the beginning of August, he returned to Geneva. Here he completed his treatise with the assistance of his friend Dr. Théodore Maunoir and published it as a book with the title The Ambulance Surgeon, or, Practical Observations on Gunshot Wounds. He was also awarded the Medal of the Saints Maurice and Lazarus, in November 1860, he gained the Geneva citizenship right and became a member of the Geneva Medical Society a year later. In 1863, Appia was requested to join the Committee of Five in order to examine the ideas of Henry Dunant and work towards their possible implementation. He therefore became one of the five founding members of the International Committee for Relief to Wounded Soldiers that in 1876 was renamed the International Committee of the Red Cross, in October 1863, Appia suggested that all volunteers should wear white armbands on the battlefield to designate their status. General Henri Dufour later expanded this recommendation by placing a red cross on the band, a red cross on a white background, the inverse of the Swiss flag, became the symbol of the Committee. Two years later, in June 1866, he reengaged in the Italian unification struggle after a request by his brother. Together with two volunteers, the two treated wounded in Storo, a small town in Italy. In 1867, Appia took over the position of Secretary when Henry Dunant dropped out of the International Committee, because of the broad role of President Gustave Moynier, this position had neither significant power nor was it a substantial burden
21.
Federal Assembly (Switzerland)
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The Federal Assembly, is Switzerlands federal legislature. It meets in Bern in the Federal Palace, the Federal Assembly is bicameral, being composed of the 200-seat National Council and the 46-seat Council of States. Both are elected in full every four years, with the last election being held in 2015. The Federal Assembly possesses the federal legislative power, along with the separate constitutional right of citizens initiative. For a law to pass, it must be passed by both houses, the Federal Assembly may come together as a United Federal Assembly in certain circumstances such as to elect the Federal Council, the Federal Chancellor, the federal judges or a General. The Federal Assembly is made up of two chambers, the National Council, with 200 seats the Council of States, with 46 councillors, seats in the National Council are allocated to the cantons proportionally, based on population. In the Council of States, every canton has two seats, on occasions the two houses sit jointly as the United Federal Assembly. The Federal Assembly also confirms the appointment of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner, Parties can cooperate in groups, allowing smaller parties access to rights as part of a caucus. These groups must have at least five members and must be maintained across both chambers, being a member of a formal group gives members the right to sit on committees, and those that arent members cant speak in most debates. Each group receives an allowance of CHF112,000, whilst each member of a group also receives an additional CHF20,800 a year each. Since March 2009, there have been six groups in the Federal Assembly, the latest group to form was the Conservative Democratic Party which split off the Swiss Peoples Party in 2008. The Christian Democrats/EPP/glp Group was formed after the 2007 elections, out of the former Christian Democratic and EPP groups. The current FTP/Liberal group was formed in 2003 out of the former FDP and Liberal groups, since the 2009 fusion of the Free Democrati and Liberal Parties, RL is once again a single-party group. In 2011, the CEg was disbanded, the Green Liberals formed their own faction and the three Christian parties formed the Christian-Evangelical Group
22.
First Geneva Convention
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The First Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field, held in 1864, is the first of four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It defines the basis on which rest the rules of law for the protection of the victims of armed conflicts. After the first treaty was adopted in 1864, it was revised and replaced in 1906,1929. It is inextricably linked to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the 1864 Geneva Convention was instituted at a critical period in European political and military history. Elsewhere, the American Civil War had been raging since 1861, between the fall of the first Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and the rise of his nephew in the Italian campaign of 1859, the powers had maintained peace in western Europe. The subsequent suffering of 40,000 wounded soldiers left on the due to lack of facilities, personnel. To ensure that its mission was accepted, it required a body of rules to govern its own activities. It derived its force from the implied consent of the states which accepted and applied them in the conduct of their military operations. Despite its basic mandates, listed below, it was successful in effecting significant, the 1906 version was updated and replaced by the 1929 version when minor modifications were made to it. It was again updated and replaced by the 1949 version, better known as the First Geneva Convention, the original ten articles of the 1864 treaty have been expanded to the current 64 articles. This lengthy treaty protects soldiers that are hors de combat, as well as medical and religious personnel, article 15 mandates that wounded and sick soldiers should be collected, cared for, and protected, though they may also become prisoners of war. Article 16 mandates that parties to the conflict should record the identity of the dead and wounded, for a detailed discussion of each article of the treaty, see the original text and the commentary. There are currently 196 countries party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, including this first treaty but also including the other three
23.
Franco-Prussian War
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The conflict was caused by Prussian ambitions to extend German unification and French fears of the shift in the European balance of power that would result if the Prussians succeeded. On 16 July 1870, the French parliament voted to declare war on the German Kingdom of Prussia, the German coalition mobilised its troops much more quickly than the French and rapidly invaded northeastern France. The German forces were superior in numbers, had training and leadership and made more effective use of modern technology, particularly railroads. The German states proclaimed their union as the German Empire under the Prussian king Wilhelm I, the Treaty of Frankfurt of 10 May 1871 gave Germany most of Alsace and some parts of Lorraine, which became the Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. French determination to regain Alsace-Lorraine and fear of another Franco-German war, along with British apprehension about the balance of power, the causes of the Franco-Prussian War are deeply rooted in the events surrounding the unification of Germany. In the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Prussia had annexed numerous territories and this new power destabilized the European balance of power established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars. France was strongly opposed to any further alliance of German states, in Prussia, some officials considered a war against France both inevitable and necessary to arouse German nationalism in those states that would allow the unification of a great German empire. Bismarck also knew that France should be the aggressor in the conflict to bring the southern German states to side with Prussia, many Germans also viewed the French as the traditional destabilizer of Europe, and sought to weaken France to prevent further breaches of the peace. The immediate cause of the war resided in the candidacy of Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, France feared encirclement by an alliance between Prussia and Spain. The Hohenzollern princes candidacy was withdrawn under French diplomatic pressure, releasing the Ems Dispatch to the public, Bismarck made it sound as if the king had treated the French envoy in a demeaning fashion, which inflamed public opinion in France. They also argue that he wanted a war to resolve growing domestic political problems, other historians, notably French historian Pierre Milza, dispute this. According to Milza, the Emperor had no need for a war to increase his popularity, the Ems telegram had exactly the effect on French public opinion that Bismarck had intended. This text produced the effect of a red flag on the Gallic bull, gramont, the French foreign minister, declared that he felt he had just received a slap. Napoleons new prime minister, Emile Ollivier, declared that France had done all that it could humanly and honorably do to prevent the war, a crowd of 15–20,000 people, carrying flags and patriotic banners, marched through the streets of Paris, demanding war. On 19 July 1870 a declaration of war was sent to the Prussian government, the southern German states immediately sided with Prussia. The French Army consisted in peacetime of approximately 400,000 soldiers, some of them were veterans of previous French campaigns in the Crimean War, Algeria, the Franco-Austrian War in Italy, and in the Mexican campaign. Under Marshal Adolphe Niel, urgent reforms were made, universal conscription and a shorter period of service gave increased numbers of reservists, who would swell the army to a planned strength of 800,000 on mobilisation. Those who for any reason were not conscripted were to be enrolled in the Garde Mobile, however, the Franco-Prussian War broke out before these reforms could be completely implemented
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UNESCO
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The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Paris. It is the heir of the League of Nations International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, UNESCO has 195 member states and nine associate members. Most of its offices are cluster offices covering three or more countries, national and regional offices also exist. UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs, education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and it is also a member of the United Nations Development Group. UNESCO and its mandate for international cooperation can be traced back to a League of Nations resolution on 21 September 1921, on 18 December 1925, the International Bureau of Education began work as a non-governmental organization in the service of international educational development. However, the work of predecessor organizations was largely interrupted by the onset of World War II. On 30 October 1943, the necessity for an organization was expressed in the Moscow Declaration, agreed upon by China, the United Kingdom, the United States. This was followed by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference proposals of 9 October 1944, a prominent figure in the initiative for UNESCO was Rab Butler, the Minister of Education for the United Kingdom. At the ECO/CONF, the Constitution of UNESCO was introduced and signed by 37 countries, the Preparatory Commission operated between 16 November 1945, and 4 November 1946—the date when UNESCOs Constitution came into force with the deposit of the twentieth ratification by a member state. The first General Conference took place between 19 November to 10 December 1946, and elected Dr. Julian Huxley to Director-General and this change in governance distinguished UNESCO from its predecessor, the CICI, in how member states would work together in the organizations fields of competence. In 1956, the Republic of South Africa withdrew from UNESCO claiming that some of the organizations publications amounted to interference in the racial problems. South Africa rejoined the organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, UNESCOs early work in the field of education included the pilot project on fundamental education in the Marbial Valley, Haiti, started in 1947. This project was followed by missions to other countries, including, for example. In 1948, UNESCO recommended that Member States should make free primary education compulsory, in 1990, the World Conference on Education for All, in Jomtien, Thailand, launched a global movement to provide basic education for all children, youths and adults. Ten years later, the 2000 World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, UNESCOs early activities in culture included, for example, the Nubia Campaign, launched in 1960. The purpose of the campaign was to move the Great Temple of Abu Simbel to keep it from being swamped by the Nile after construction of the Aswan Dam, during the 20-year campaign,22 monuments and architectural complexes were relocated. This was the first and largest in a series of campaigns including Mohenjo-daro, Fes, Kathmandu, Borobudur, the organizations work on heritage led to the adoption, in 1972, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Committee was established in 1976 and the first sites inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978, since then important legal instruments on cultural heritage and diversity have been adopted by UNESCO member states in 2003 and 2005
25.
Debt
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Debt is money owed by one party, the borrower or debtor, to a second party, the lender or creditor. The borrower may be a state or country, local government, company. The lender may be a bank, credit card company, payday loan provider, Debt is generally subject to contractual terms regarding the amount and timing of repayments of principal and interest. Loans, bonds, notes, and mortgages are all types of debt, the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value. For example, in Western cultures, a person who has been helped by a person is sometimes said to owe a debt of gratitude to the second person. Interest is the fee paid by the borrower to the lender, interest is calculated as a percentage of the outstanding principal, which percentage is known as an interest rate, and is generally paid periodically at intervals, such as monthly or semi-annually. Interest rates may be fixed or floating, in floating-rate structures, the rate of interest that the borrower pays during each time period is tied to a benchmark such as LIBOR or, in the case of inflation-indexed bonds, inflation. There are many different conventions for calculating interest, depending on the terms of the debt, compound interest may accumulate at a specific interval. In addition, different day count conventions exist, for example, sometimes each month is considered to have thirty days. The annual percentage rate is a way to calculate and compare interest rates on an annual basis. Quoting interest rates using APR is required by regulation for most loans to individuals in the United States, for some loans, the amount actually loaned to the debtor is less than the principal sum to be repaid. This may be because upfront fees or points are charged, or because the loan has been structured to be sharia-compliant, the additional principal due at the end of the term has the same economic effect as a higher interest rate. This is sometimes referred to as a dozen, a play on bakers dozen – owe twelve, receive a loan of eleven. Amortization structures are common in mortgages and credit cards, debtors of every type default on their debt from time to time, with various consequences depending on the terms of the debt and the law governing default in the relevant jurisdiction. If the debt was secured by collateral, such as a car or home. In more serious circumstances, individuals and companies may go into bankruptcy, riskier borrowers must generally pay higher rates of interest to compensate lenders for taking on the additional risk of default. Debt investors assess the risk of default prior to making a loan, for example through credit scores and corporate, common types of debt owed by individuals and households include mortgage loans, car loans, and credit card debt. For individuals, debt is a means of using anticipated income, commonly, people in industrialized nations use consumer debt to purchase houses, cars and other things too expensive to buy with cash on hand
26.
Prussia
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Prussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and centred on the region of Prussia. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organised, Prussia, with its capital in Königsberg and from 1701 in Berlin, shaped the history of Germany. In 1871, German states united to create the German Empire under Prussian leadership, in November 1918, the monarchies were abolished and the nobility lost its political power during the German Revolution of 1918–19. The Kingdom of Prussia was thus abolished in favour of a republic—the Free State of Prussia, from 1933, Prussia lost its independence as a result of the Prussian coup, when the Nazi regime was successfully establishing its Gleichschaltung laws in pursuit of a unitary state. Prussia existed de jure until its liquidation by the Allied Control Council Enactment No.46 of 25 February 1947. The name Prussia derives from the Old Prussians, in the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights—an organized Catholic medieval military order of German crusaders—conquered the lands inhabited by them. In 1308, the Teutonic Knights conquered the region of Pomerelia with Gdańsk and their monastic state was mostly Germanised through immigration from central and western Germany and in the south, it was Polonised by settlers from Masovia. The Second Peace of Thorn split Prussia into the western Royal Prussia, a province of Poland, and the part, from 1525 called the Duchy of Prussia. The union of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, Prussia entered the ranks of the great powers shortly after becoming a kingdom, and exercised most influence in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the 18th century it had a say in many international affairs under the reign of Frederick the Great. During the 19th century, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck united the German principalities into a Lesser Germany which excluded the Austrian Empire. At the Congress of Vienna, which redrew the map of Europe following Napoleons defeat, Prussia acquired a section of north western Germany. The country then grew rapidly in influence economically and politically, and became the core of the North German Confederation in 1867, and then of the German Empire in 1871. The Kingdom of Prussia was now so large and so dominant in the new Germany that Junkers and other Prussian élites identified more and more as Germans and less as Prussians. In the Weimar Republic, the state of Prussia lost nearly all of its legal and political importance following the 1932 coup led by Franz von Papen. East Prussia lost all of its German population after 1945, as Poland, the main coat of arms of Prussia, as well as the flag of Prussia, depicted a black eagle on a white background. The black and white colours were already used by the Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Order wore a white coat embroidered with a cross with gold insert
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Stuttgart
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Stuttgart is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the Stuttgart Cauldron an hour from the Swabian Jura. Stuttgarts urban area has a population of 623,738, making it the sixth largest city in Germany. 2.7 million people live in the administrative region and another 5.3 million people in its metropolitan area. Since the 6th millennium BC, the Stuttgart area has been an important agricultural area and has been host to a number of cultures seeking to utilize the rich soil of the Neckar valley. The Roman Empire conquered the area in 83 AD and built a massive Castrum near Bad Cannstatt, Stuttgarts roots were truly laid in the 10th century with its founding by Liudolf, Duke of Swabia as a stud farm for his warhorses. Overshadowed by nearby Cannstatt, the town grew steadily and was granted a charter in 1320, the fortunes of Stuttgart turned with those of the House of Württemberg, and they made it the capital of their County, Duchy, and Kingdom from the 15th Century to 1918. Stuttgart prospered despite setbacks in the forms of the Thirty Years War and devastating air raids by the Allies on the city, however, by 1952, the city had bounced back and became the major economic, industrial, tourism and publishing center it is today. Stuttgart is also an important transport junction, and possesses the sixth largest airport in Germany. Such companies as Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler AG, Dinkelacker, Stuttgart is unusual in the scheme of German cities. It is spread across a variety of hills, valleys and parks and this is often a source of surprise to visitors who associate the city with its reputation as the Cradle of the Automobile. The citys tourism slogan is Stuttgart offers more, under current plans to improve transport links to the international infrastructure, the city unveiled a new logo and slogan in March 2008 describing itself as Das neue Herz Europas. For business, it describes itself as Where business meets the future, in July 2010, Stuttgart unveiled a new city logo, designed to entice more business people to stay in the city and enjoy breaks in the area. Stuttgart is a city of mostly immigrants, according to Dorling Kindersley Publishings Eyewitness Travel Guide to Germany, In the city of Stuttgart, every third inhabitant is a foreigner. 40% of Stuttgarts residents, and 64% of the population below the age of five are of immigrant background, the reason for this being that the city was founded in 950 AD by Duke Liudolf of Swabia to breed warhorses. Originally, the most important location in the Neckar river valley as the rim of the Stuttgart basin at what is today Bad Cannstatt. As with many military installations, a settlement sprang up nearby, when they did, the town was left in the capable hands of a local brickworks that produced sophisticated architectural ceramics and pottery. When the Romans were driven back past the Rhine and Danube rivers in the 3rd Century by the Alamanni, in 700, Duke Gotfrid mentions a Chan Stada in a document regarding property
28.
Corfu
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Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its satellite islands. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality, the municipality has an area of 610.936 km2, the island proper 592.877 km2. The principal city of the island and seat of the municipality is also named Corfu, Corfu is home to the Ionian University. The island is bound up with the history of Greece from the beginnings of Greek mythology and its history is full of battles and conquests. Castles punctuating strategic locations across the island are a legacy of these struggles, two of these castles enclose its capital, which is the only city in Greece to be surrounded in such a way. As a result, Corfus capital has been declared a Kastropolis by the Greek government. From medieval times and into the 17th century, the island was recognised as a bulwark of the European States against the Ottoman Empire, the fortifications of the island were used by the Venetians to defend against Ottoman intrusion into the Adriatic. Corfu repulsed several Ottoman sieges, before falling under British rule following the Napoleonic Wars, in 2007, the citys old quarter was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, following a recommendation by ICOMOS. Corfu is a popular tourist destination. The island was the location of the 1994 European Union summit, the Greek name, Kerkyra or Korkyra, is related to two powerful water deities, Poseidon, god of the sea, and Asopos, an important Greek mainland river. According to myth, Poseidon fell in love with the beautiful nymph Korkyra, daughter of Asopos and river nymph Metope, Poseidon brought Korkyra to the hitherto unnamed island and, in marital bliss, offered her name to the place, Korkyra, which gradually evolved to Kerkyra. They had a child they called Phaiax, after whom the inhabitants of the island were named Phaiakes, Corfus nickname is the island of the Phaeacians. The name Corfù, an Italian version of the Byzantine Κορυφώ, meaning city of the peaks, derives from the Byzantine Greek Κορυφαί, the northeastern edge of Corfu lies off the coast of Sarandë, Albania, separated by straits varying in width from 3 to 23 km. The southeast side of the island lies off the coast of Thesprotia and its shape resembles a sickle, to which it was compared by the ancients, the concave side, with the city and harbour of Corfu in the centre, lies toward the Albanian coast. With the islands area estimated at 592.9 square kilometres, it runs approximately 64 km long, two high and well-defined ranges divide the island into three districts, of which the northern is mountainous, the central undulating, and the southern low-lying. The more important of the two ranges, that of Pantokrator stretches east and west from Cape Falacro to Cape Psaromita, and attains its greatest elevation in the summit of the same name. The second range culminates in the mountain of Santi Jeca, or Santa Decca, as it is called by misinterpretation of the Greek designation Άγιοι Δέκα, or the Ten Saints
29.
Basel
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Basel is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel is Switzerlands third-most-populous city with about 175,000 inhabitants, located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany. In 2014, the Basel agglomeration was the third largest in Switzerland with a population of 537,100 in 74 municipalities in Switzerland, the official language of Basel is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. Basel has been the seat of a Prince-Bishopric since the 11th century, the city has been a commercial hub and important cultural centre since the Renaissance, and has emerged as a centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in the 20th century. It hosts the oldest university of the Swiss Confederation, There are settlement traces on the Rhine knee from the early La Tène period. The unfortified settlement was abandoned in the 1st century BC in favour of an Oppidum on the site of Basel Minster, probably in reaction to the Roman invasion of Gaul. In Roman Gaul, Augusta Raurica was established some 20 km from Basel as the administrative centre. The city of Basel eventually grew around the castle, the name of Basel is derived from the Roman-era toponym Basilia, first recorded in the 3rd century. It is presumably derived from the personal name Basilius, the Old French form Basle was adopted into English, and developed into the modern French Bâle. The Icelandic name Buslaraborg goes back to the 12th century Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan, Basel was incorporated into Germania Superior in AD83. Roman control over the area deteriorated in 3rd century, and Basel became an outpost of the Provincia Maxima Sequanorum formed by Diocletian, the Alamanni attempted to cross the Rhine several times in the 4th century, but were repelled. In a great invasion of AD406, the Alemanni appear to have crossed the Rhine river a final time, conquering and then settling what is today Alsace, from this time, Basel has been an Alemannic settlement. The Duchy of Alemannia fell under Frankish rule in the 6th century, and by the 7th century, based on the evidence of a third solidus with the inscription Basilia fit, Basel seems to have minted its own coins in the 7th century. Under bishop Haito, the first cathedral was built on the site of the Roman castle, at the partition of the Carolingian Empire, Basel was first given to West Francia, but passed to East Francia with the treaty of Meerssen of 870. The city was plundered and destroyed by a Magyar invasion of 917, the rebuilt city became part of Upper Burgundy, and as such was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1032. Since the donation by Rudolph III of Burgundy of the Moutier-Grandval Abbey and all its possessions to Bishop Adalbero II in 999 till the Reformation, in 1019, the construction of the cathedral of Basel began under German Emperor Heinrich II. In 1225–1226, the Bridge over the Rhine was constructed by Bishop Heinrich von Thun, the bridge was largely funded by Basels Jewish community which had settled there a century earlier. For many centuries to come Basel possessed the only permanent bridge over the river between Lake Constance and the sea, the Bishop also allowed the furriers to found a guild in 1226
30.
Karlsruhe
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Karlsruhe is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, near the French-German border. It has a population of 307,755, the city is the seat of the two highest courts in Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Court of Justice. Its most remarkable building is Karlsruhe Palace, which was built in 1715, the city lies at an altitude between 100 m and 322 m. Its geographical coordinates are 49°00′N 8°24′E, the 49th parallel runs through the city centre and its course is marked by a stone and painted line in the Stadtgarten. Almost all of these survived until today. The city centre is the oldest part of town and lies south of the palace in the quadrant defined by nine of the radial streets, the central part of the palace runs east-west, with two wings, each at a 45° angle, directed southeast and southwest. The market square lies on the street running south from the palace to Ettlingen, the area north of the palace is a park and forest. The area west of the palace is now mostly residential, Karlsruhe experiences an oceanic climate and its winter climate is milder, compared to most other German cities. Summers are also hotter than elsewhere in the country and it is one of the sunniest cities in Germany, precipitation is almost evenly spread throughout the year. In 2008, the station in Karlsruhe, which had been operating since 1876, was closed, it was replaced by a weather station in Rheinstetten. A variation of this claims that he built the new palace in order to find peace from his wife. Charles William founded the city on June 17,1715, after a dispute with the citizens of his previous capital, the founding of the city is closely linked to the construction of the palace. Karlsruhe became the capital of Baden-Durlach and in 1771 of the united Baden until 1945, built in 1822, the Ständehaus was the first parliament building in a German State. In the aftermath of the revolution of 1848, a republican government was elected here. Karlsruhe was visited by Thomas Jefferson during his time as the American envoy to France, Jefferson passed to him maps of 12 European towns to consult, one of which was a sketch he had made of Karlsruhe during his visit. In 1860, the international professional convention of chemists, the Karlsruhe Congress, was held in the city. Much of the area, including the palace, was reduced to rubble by Allied bombing during World War II but was rebuilt after the war. Located in the American zone of the post-war Allied occupation, Karlsruhe was home to an American military base, in 1995, the bases closed, and their facilities were turned over to the city of Karlsruhe
31.
Heiden AR
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Heiden is a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. Its Biedermeier village around the square is listed as a heritage site of national significance. Heiden is first mentioned in 1461 as guot genant Haiden, around 1650 Wolfhalden and Heiden could not agree about the control over the church. This led to the creation of a church in village in 1652. The founder of the Red Cross, Henry Dunant, spent his last years in Heiden, the former president of the ICRC, Jakob Kellenberger, was also born in Heiden. Heiden has an area, as of 2006, of 7.5 km2, of this area,52. 4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30. 6% is forested. Of the rest of the land,16. 8% is settled, the municipality is located in the former District of Vorderland on the Kurzenberg. It consists of the village of Heiden and several hamlets near the village, Heiden has a population of 4,052, of which about 18. 3% are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -4. 2%, most of the population speaks German, with Croatian being second most common and Italian being third. As of 2000, the distribution of the population was 48. 5% male and 51. 5% female. The age distribution, as of 2000, in Heiden is,311 people or 7. 7% of the population are between 0–6 years old,512 people or 12. 6% are 6-15, and 219 people or 5. 4% are 16-19. Of the adult population,168 people or 4. 1% of the population are between 20–24 years old,1,179 people or 29. 0% are 25-44, and 966 people or 23. 8% are 45-64. The senior population distribution is 491 people or 12. 1% of the population are between 65–79 years old, and 217 people or 5. 3% are over 80, in the 2007 federal election the FDP received 65% of the vote. In Heiden about 68. 3% of the population have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education, Heiden has an unemployment rate of 1. 61%. As of 2005, there were 93 people employed in the economic sector. 708 people are employed in the sector and there are 41 businesses in this sector. 1,428 people are employed in the sector, with 189 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the table, A rack railway
32.
St. Gallen
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St. Gallen or traditionally St Gall, in German sometimes Sankt Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century, today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. Its economy consists mainly of the service sector, the main tourist attraction is the Abbey of Saint Gall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Abbeys renowned library contains books from the 9th century, the official language of St. Gallen is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. The city has good links to the rest of the country and to neighbouring Germany. It also functions as the gate to the Appenzell Alps, St. Gallen is situated in the northeastern part of Switzerland in a valley about 700 meters above sea level. It is one of the highest cities in Switzerland and thus receives abundant winter snow, the city lies between Lake Constance and the mountains of the Appenzell Alps. It therefore offers excellent recreation areas nearby, as the city center is built on an unstable turf ground, all buildings on the valley floor must be built on piles. For example, the foundation of the train station and its plaza are based on hundreds of piles. St. Gallen has an area, as of 2006, of 39.3 km2, of this area,31. 1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 28. 9% is forested. Of the rest of the land,38. 4% is settled, the founding of St. Gallen is attributed to the Irish monk Gallus, who built a hermitage by the river Steinach in 612 AD. Around 720, one hundred years after Galluss death, the Alemannian priest Othmar built a monastery, in 719, its first abbot Otmar extended it to an abbey. In 926 Hungarian raiders attacked the abbey and surrounding town, Saint Wiborada, the first woman formally canonized by the Vatican, reportedly saw a vision of the impending attack and warned the monks and citizens to flee. While the monks and the abbey treasure escaped, Wiborada chose to stay behind and was killed by the raiders, between 924 and 933 the Magyars threatened the abbey, and its books were removed for safekeeping to Reichenau. Not all the books were returned, on 26 April 937 a fire consumed much of the abbey, spreading to the adjoining settlement. About 954 a protective wall was raised around the abbey, by 975 abbot Notker finished the wall, in 1207, Abbot Ulrich von Sax was granted the rank of Imperial Prince by Philip of Swabia, King of the Germans. As an ecclesiastical principality, the Abbey of St. Gallen was to constitute an important territorial state, however, in 1803 it lost its independence and was incorporated into the new Canton of St. Gallen. The city of St. Gallen proper progressively freed itself from the rule of the abbot, acquiring Imperial immediacy, by about 1353 the guilds, headed by the cloth-weavers guild, had gained control of the civic government
33.
Pope Leo XIII
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Pope Leo XIII reigned as Pope from 20 February 1878 to his death. He was the oldest pope, and had the third longest pontificate, behind that of Pius IX and he is the most recent pontiff to date to take the pontifical name of Leo upon being elected to the pontificate. He is well known for his intellectualism and his attempts to define the position of the Catholic Church with regard to modern thinking. In his famous 1891 encyclical Rerum novarum, Pope Leo outlined the rights of workers to a wage, safe working conditions. He influenced Roman Catholic Mariology and promoted both the rosary and the scapular, Leo XIII issued a record of eleven Papal encyclicals on the rosary earning him the title as the Rosary Pope. In addition, he approved two new Marian scapulars and was the first pope to fully embrace the concept of Mary as Mediatrix and he was the first pope to never have held any control over the Papal States, after they had been dissolved by 1870. He was briefly buried in the grottos of Saint Peters Basilica before his remains were transferred to the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. Born in Carpineto Romano, near Rome, he was the sixth of the seven sons of Count Ludovico Pecci and his brothers included Giuseppe and Giovanni Battista Pecci. Until 1818 he lived at home with his family, in which counted as the highest grace on earth, as through her. Together with his brother Giuseppe, he studied in the Jesuit College in Viterbo and he enjoyed the Latin language and was known to write his own Latin poems at the age of eleven. In 1824 he and his older brother Giuseppe were called to Rome where their mother was dying, Count Pecci wanted his children near him after the loss of his wife, and so they stayed with him in Rome, attending the Jesuit Collegium Romanum. In 1828, Giuseppe entered the Jesuit order, while Vincenzo decided in favour of secular clergy and he studied at the Academia dei Nobili, mainly diplomacy and law. In 1834 he gave a student presentation, attended by several cardinals, for his presentation he received awards for academic excellence, and gained the attention of Vatican officials. Cardinal Secretary of State Luigi Lambruschini introduced him to Vatican congregations, during a cholera epidemic in Rome he ably assisted Cardinal Sala in his duties as overseer of all the city hospitals. Pope Gregory XVI appointed Pecci on 14 February 1837, as personal prelate even before he was ordained priest on 31 December 1837, by the Vicar of Rome and he celebrated his first mass together with his priest brother Giuseppe. He received his doctorate in theology in 1836 and doctorates of civil, shortly thereafter, Gregory XVI appointed Pecci as legate to Benevento. The smallest of papal provinces, Benevento included about 20,000 people, the main problems facing Pecci were a decaying local economy, insecurity because of widespread bandits, and pervasive Mafia or Camorra structures, who often were allied with aristocratic families. Pecci arrested the most powerful aristocrat in Benevento, and his troops captured others, with the public order restored, he turned to the economy and a reform of the tax system to stimulate trade with neighboring provinces
34.
Tsar
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Tsar /zɑːr/ or /tsɑːr/, also spelled tzar, csar, or czar, is a title used to designate certain Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, occasionally, the word could be used to designate other secular supreme rulers. Simeon II, the last Tsar of Bulgaria, is the last person to have borne the title Tsar, the title Tsar is derived from the Latin title for the Roman emperors, Caesar. In the history of the Greek language, basileus had originally meant something like potentate and it gradually approached the meaning of king in the Hellenistic Period, and it came to designate emperor after the inception in the Roman Empire. Thus, tsar was not only used as an equivalent of Latin imperator but was used to refer to Biblical rulers. From this ambiguity, the development has moved in different directions in the different Slavic languages, thus, the Bulgarian language and Russian language no longer use tsar as an equivalent of the term emperor/imperator as it exists in the West European tradition. Currently, the term refers to native sovereigns, ancient and Biblical rulers, as well as monarchs in fairy tales. The title of king is sometimes perceived as alien and is by some Russian-speakers reserved for European royalty, foreign monarchs of imperial status, both inside and outside of Europe, ancient as well as modern, are generally called imperator, rather than tsar. Biblical rulers in Serbian are called цар and in Croatian kralj, in the Polish language however tsar is always used as imperator, never as king. The term tsar is very used to refer to the Russian rulers after Peter the Great. In 705 Emperor Justinian II named Tervel of Bulgaria Caesar, the first foreigner to receive this title, the sainted Boris I is sometimes retrospectively referred to as tsar, because at his time Bulgaria was converted to Christianity. However, the tsar was actually adopted and used for the first time by his son Simeon I. Since in Byzantine political theory there was place for two emperors, Eastern and Western, the Bulgarian ruler was crowned basileus as a spiritual son of the Byzantian basileus. In Latin sources the Emperor of Bulgaria is sometimes designated Emperor of Zagora, various additional epithets and descriptions apart, the official style read Emperor and autocrat of all Bulgarians and Greeks. During the five-century period of Ottoman rule in Bulgaria, the sultan was referred to as tsar. This may be related to the fact that he had claimed the legacy of the Byzantine Empire or to the fact that the sultan was called Basileus in medieval Greek, after Bulgarias liberation from the Ottomans in 1878, its new monarchs were at first autonomous prince. With the declaration of independence, Ferdinand I of Bulgaria adopted the traditional title tsar in 1908. However, these titles were not generally perceived as equivalents of emperor any longer, in the Bulgarian as in the Greek vernacular, the meaning of the title had shifted
35.
Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark)
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Maria Feodorovna, christened Dagmar, was a Danish princess and Empress of Russia as spouse of Tsar Alexander III. She was the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Cassel, her siblings included Alexandra, King Frederick VIII of Denmark. Her eldest son became the last Russian monarch, Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, Princess Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar was born at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen. Her father was Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a member of a relatively impoverished princely cadet line and her mother was Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. She was baptised into the Lutheran faith and named after her kinswoman Marie Sophie of Hesse-Kassel, Queen Dowager of Denmark as well as the medieval Danish queen, growing up, she was known by the name Dagmar. Most of her life, she was known as Maria Feodorovna and she was known within her family as Minnie. In 1852 Dagmars father became heir-presumptive to the throne of Denmark, in 1853, he was given the title Prince of Denmark and he and his family were given an official summer residence, Bernstorff Palace. Dagmars father became King of Denmark in 1863 upon the death of King Frederick VII, due to the brilliant marital alliances of his children, he became known as the Father-in-law of Europe. Dagmars eldest brother would succeed his father as King Frederick VIII of Denmark and her elder, and favourite, sister, Alexandra married Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales in March 1863. Within months of Alexandras marriage, Dagmars second older brother, Wilhelm, was elected as King George I of the Hellenes and her younger sister was Thyra, Duchess of Cumberland. She also had younger brother, Valdemar. In 1864, Nicholas, or Nixa as he was known in his family, on 22 April 1865 he died from meningitis. His last wish was that Dagmar would marry his younger brother, Dagmar was distraught after her young fiancés death. She was so heartbroken when she returned to her homeland that her relatives were seriously worried about her health and she had already become emotionally attached to Russia and often thought of the huge, remote country that was to have been her home. The disaster had brought her close to Nixas parents. He told Dagmar in very affectionate terms that he hoped she would still consider herself a member of their family, in June 1866, while on a visit to Copenhagen, the Tsarevich Alexander asked Dagmar for her hand. They had been in her room looking over photographs together, Dagmar left Copenhagen on 1 September 1866. Hans Christian Andersen, who had occasionally been invited to tell stories to Dagmar, the writer remarked in his diary, Yesterday, at the quay, while passing me by, she stopped and took me by the hand
36.
Bertha von Suttner
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Bertha Felicitas Sophie Freifrau von Suttner was a Czech-Austrian pacifist and novelist. In 1905 she was the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the second female Nobel laureate after Marie Curies 1903 award. Suttner was born on 9 June 1843 at Palais Kinsky in the Obecní dvůr district of Prague and her father was a member of the House of Kinsky via descent from Vilém Kinský. She was additionally disadvantaged because her father, as a son, had no great estates or other financial resources to be inherited. Suttner was baptised at the Church of Our Lady of the Snows, soon after her birth, Suttners mother moved to live in Brno with her guardian Landgrave Friedrich Michael zu Fürstenberg. Her older brother Arthur was sent to a school, at the age of six. In 1855 Suttners aunt Loffe and cousin Elvira joined the household, Elvira, whose father was a private tutor, was of a similar age to Suttner and intellectually precocious, introducing Suttner to the pleasures of literature and philosophy. Suttners mother and aunt suffered from delusions of clairvoyance and thus elected to gamble at Wiesbaden in the summer of 1856 and their losses were so heavy that they were forced to move to Vienna. During this trip Suttner received a proprosal from Prince Philipp zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg which was declined due to her tender age, the family returned to Wiesbaden in 1859, the second trip was similarly unfortunate, and they had to relocate to a small property in Klosterneuburg. Shortly after this turn of events, Suttner wrote her first published work, the novella Endertraüme im Monde, in 1864, the family summered at Bad Homburg which was also a fashionable gambling destination among the aristocracy of the era. Suttner befriended the Georgian aristocrat Ekaterine Dadiani, Princess of Mingrelia, seeking a career as an opera singer as an alternative to marrying money, Suttner undertook an intensive course of lessons, working on her voice for over four hours a day. Despite tuition from the eminent Gilbert Duprez in Paris in 1867 and she suffered from stage fright and was unable to project well in performance. In the summer of 1872 she was engaged to Prince Adolf zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein who died at sea while travelling to America to escape his debts in October. In 1873, she found employment as a tutor and companion to the four daughters of Karl von Suttner, the Suttner family lived in the Innere Stadt of Vienna three seasons of the year, and summered at Schloss Harmannsdorf in Lower Austria. Suttner had a relationship with her four young students, who nicknamed her Boulotte due to her corpulence. She soon fell in love with her charges elder brother, Arthur Gundaccar and they were engaged but unable to marry due to the Suttners disapproval. In 1876, with her employers encouragement, Suttner answered an advertisement which led to her briefly becoming secretary. In the few weeks of her employment Suttner and Nobel developed a friendship, however, Suttner remained committed to Arthur and returned shortly to Vienna to marry him in secrecy, in the church of St. Aegyd in Gumpendorf
37.
Wagga Wagga
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Wagga Wagga is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The central business district is focused around the commercial and recreational grid bounded by Best and Tarcutta Streets and the Murrumbidgee River, the main shopping street of Wagga is Baylis Street which becomes Fitzmaurice Street at the northern end. The city is in a valley and much of the city has a problem with urban salinity. The original inhabitants of the Wagga Wagga region were the Wiradjuri people, in 1829, Charles Sturt became the first European explorer to visit the future site of the city. The town, positioned on the site of a ford across the Murrumbidgee, was surveyed and gazetted as a village in 1849, in 1870, the town was gazetted as a municipality. During the negotiations leading to the federation of the Australian colonies, during World War I the town was the starting point for the Kangaroo recruitment march. The Great Depression and the resulting hardship saw Wagga Wagga become the centre of a movement for the Riverina region. Wagga Wagga became a town during World War II with the establishment of a military base at Kapooka and Royal Australian Air Force bases at Forest Hill. After the war, Wagga Wagga was proclaimed as a city in 1946, in 1982 the city was amalgamated with the neighbouring Kyeamba and Mitchell Shires to form the City of Wagga Wagga local government area. Wagga Wagga is at the end of the Riverina region where the slopes of the Great Dividing Range flatten. The city straddles the Murrumbidgee River, one of the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin. This location astride some of the transport routes in the nation has made Wagga Wagga an important heavy truck depot for a number of companies including Toll Holdings. Wagga Wagga is upstream from the Riverina plain in the mid-catchment range of the Murrumbidgee River in an alluvial valley confined by low bedrock hills, much of Wagga Wagga is on heavy clay soils in a large drainage basin with a small catchment discharge point. Groundwater therefore cannot leave easily, leading to Wagga Wagga having a problem with waterlogged soil and soil salination, urban salination in Wagga Wagga is now the subject of a large multi-pronged approach to prevent further salination and reclaim salt-affected areas. The main shopping street of Wagga Wagga is Baylis Street which becomes Fitzmaurice Street at the northern end, the Wollundry Lagoon is the water focus of the city centre and has been a key element in the development and separation of the north and south parts of the city centre. Major industrial areas of Wagga Wagga include the suburb of Bomen. Thomas Mitchell, the surveyor who served under Lord Wellington named many of the streets after Peninsula War veterans, Wagga Wagga has a temperate climate with hot dry summers and cool to cold winters. Under the Köppen climate classification, the city has a subtropical climate
38.
Heidelberg University
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Heidelberg University is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germanys oldest university and it was the third university established in the Holy Roman Empire. Heidelberg has been an institution since 1899. The university consists of twelve faculties and offers programmes at undergraduate, graduate. The language of instruction is usually German, while a number of graduate degrees are offered in English. Associated with 31 Nobel Prize laureates, the university places an emphasis on research, modern scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology, psychiatric genetics, environmental physics, and modern sociology were introduced as scientific disciplines by Heidelberg faculty. Approximately 1,000 doctorates are completed every year, with more than one third of the students coming from abroad. International students from some 130 countries account for more than 20 percent of the student body. The universitys noted alumni include eleven domestic and foreign Heads of State or Heads of Government, the Great Schism of 1378 made it possible for Heidelberg, a relatively small city and capital of the Electorate of the Palatinate, to gain its own university. The Great Schism was initiated by the election of two popes after the death of Pope Gregory XI in the same year, one successor resided in Avignon and the other in Rome. Rupert I recognized the opportunity and initiated talks with the Curia, as specified in the papal charter, the university was modelled after University of Paris and included four faculties, philosophy, theology, jurisprudence, and medicine. On 18 October 1386 a special Pontifical High Mass in the Heiliggeistkirche was the ceremony that established the university, on 19 October 1386 the first lecture was held, making Heidelberg the oldest university in Germany. In November 1386, Marsilius of Inghen was elected first rector of the university, the rector seal motto was semper apertus—i. e. The book of learning is always open, the university grew quickly and in March 1390,185 students were enrolled at the university. This resulted in establishing a reputation for the university and its professors. Due to the influence of Marsilius, the university initially taught the nominalism or via moderna, the transition from scholastic to humanistic culture was effected by the chancellor and bishop Johann von Dalberg in the late 15th century. Humanism was represented at Heidelberg University particularly by the founder of the older German Humanistic School Rudolph Agricola, Conrad Celtes, Jakob Wimpfeling, and Johann Reuchlin. Æneas Silvius Piccolomini was chancellor of the university in his capacity of provost of Worms, in 1482, Pope Sixtus IV permitted laymen and married men to be appointed professors in the ordinary of medicine through a papal dispensation
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