1.
Thalwil
–
Thalwil is a municipality and town in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. As of 2010 its population was of 17,189, besides the town of Thalwil, the municipality includes the village of Gattikon. The official language of Thalwil is German, but the spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. Thalwil is first mentioned around 1030 as Talwile villam, which is derived from Tellewilare, Tellos Farm, only a few graves remain from this period. In 1133 it was mentioned as Telwil and this estate was once owned by the Dukes of Habsburg and held by the Barons of Eschenbach. The Abbeys of Muri and Wettingen also had significant interests and owned 12 and 3 farms respectively, Thalwil also boasts the oldest wood corporation in the Canton of Zurich, the Bannegg-Waldung. It was first mentioned in 1483, when Muri Abbey granted it to the beneficiaries of the Abbey farms in Thalwil. Today the corporation is owned by 16 members as well as by the Thalwil Gemeinde, the municipality of Thalwil is located on the Zimmerberg ridge between the western shore of Lake Zurich and the Sihl river. It includes the town of Thalwil, on the slopes of the ridge alongside the lake, and the village of Gattikon, on the westen slopes. Thalwil borders on the communes of Rüschlikon, Langnau am Albis, Oberrieden, Horgen, the municipality has an area of 5.5 km2. Of this area, 18% is used for agricultural purposes, while 23. 8% is forested, of the rest of the land,56. 1% is settled and the remainder is non-productive. In 1996 housing and buildings made up 42. 3% of the total area, of the total unproductive area, water made up 1. 4% of the area. As of 200751. 3% of the municipal area was undergoing some type of construction. The Gemeindewappen consists of two diagonally crossed black bulrushes with green stems and leaves on a white background, Thalwil has a population of 17,729. As of 2007,21. 4% of the population was made up of foreign nationals, as of 2008 the gender distribution of the population was 48. 5% male and 51. 5% female. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 6%, most of the population speaks German, with Italian being second most common and English being third. In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 28. 5% of the vote, the next three most popular parties were the SPS, the FDP and the CSP. The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers make up 18. 8% of the population, while adults make up 65. 6%, in Thalwil about 81. 5% of the population have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education
2.
Switzerland
–
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’
3.
Lake Zurich
–
Lake Zürich is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. The waters of the Lake of Zürich flow out of the lake at its north-west end, passing through the city of Zürich, however, the culminating point of the lakes drainage basin is the Tödi at 3,614 metres above sea level. No streams of importance flow into the lake besides the Linth, the Seedamm, a partially artificial causeway and bridge, crosses a narrow point of the lake carrying a railway line and road from Rapperswil to Pfäffikon. The eastern section of the lake is known as the Obersee, west of this dam lie the small islands of Lützelau and Ufenau, where in 1523 Ulrich von Hutten took refuge and died. Both shores are well cultivated and fertile, another touristic destination is the Au peninsula at the village of Au between Wädenswil and Horgen. To the east – separated by Zürichberg-Adlisberg, Forch and Pfannenstiel – are two lakes, Greifensee and Pfäffikersee. Zimmerberg and the Etzel regions lie to the west, administratively, Lake Zürich is split between the cantons of Zürich, St. Gallen and Schwyz. The lower lake, to the west of the Seedamm, is largely in the canton of Zürich, besides Bürkliplatz in Zürich and the Seedamm, there are no bridges across the lake. The Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft – the Lake Zürich Navigation Company – provides with its 17-passenger ships touristic services on Lake Zürich, there are a number of passenger ferry services, noticeably the Horgen–Meilen ferry, an auto ferry between Horgen and Meilen. Zürich, at the end of the lake, is the largest city on Lake Zürich. On the west shore are Rüschlikon, Thalwil, Horgen, Wädenswil, Richterswil, Pfäffikon, on the opposite shore are Küsnacht, Meilen, Stäfa, and Rapperswil-Jona with the medieval town of Rapperswil, whose castle is home to the Polish museum. Schmerikon is close to the east end of the lake, Lake Zürichs water is very clean and reaches, during summer, temperatures well beyond 20 °C. Swimming in the baths and beaches is very popular. Historically, the best weather for swimming has been late August, with August 28 typically having the nicest weather at around 5, the lakes water is purified and fed into Zürichs water system, it is potable. Because the lake has grown in size over time, the piles are now around 4 metres to 7 metres under the water level of 406 metres. Also on the area of about 40 square kilometres around Zürichsee, there also the settlements Greifensee–Storen/Wildsberg on Greifensee
4.
Neolithic
–
It ended when metal tools became widespread. The Neolithic is a progression of behavioral and cultural characteristics and changes, including the use of wild and domestic crops, the beginning of the Neolithic culture is considered to be in the Levant about 10, 200–8800 BC. It developed directly from the Epipaleolithic Natufian culture in the region, whose people pioneered the use of wild cereals, which then evolved into true farming. The Natufian period was between 12,000 and 10,200 BC, and the so-called proto-Neolithic is now included in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic between 10,200 and 8800 BC. By 10, 200–8800 BC, farming communities arose in the Levant and spread to Asia Minor, North Africa, Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution from around 10,000 BC. Early Neolithic farming was limited to a range of plants, both wild and domesticated, which included einkorn wheat, millet and spelt, and the keeping of dogs, sheep. By about 6900–6400 BC, it included domesticated cattle and pigs, the establishment of permanently or seasonally inhabited settlements, not all of these cultural elements characteristic of the Neolithic appeared everywhere in the same order, the earliest farming societies in the Near East did not use pottery. Early Japanese societies and other East Asian cultures used pottery before developing agriculture, unlike the Paleolithic, when more than one human species existed, only one human species reached the Neolithic. The term Neolithic derives from the Greek νέος néos, new and λίθος líthos, stone, the term was invented by Sir John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system. In the Middle East, cultures identified as Neolithic began appearing in the 10th millennium BC, early development occurred in the Levant and from there spread eastwards and westwards. Neolithic cultures are attested in southeastern Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia by around 8000 BC. The total excavated area is more than 1,200 square yards, the Neolithic 1 period began roughly 10,000 years ago in the Levant. A temple area in southeastern Turkey at Göbekli Tepe dated around 9500 BC may be regarded as the beginning of the period. This site was developed by nomadic tribes, evidenced by the lack of permanent housing in the vicinity. At least seven stone circles, covering 25 acres, contain limestone pillars carved with animals, insects, Stone tools were used by perhaps as many as hundreds of people to create the pillars, which might have supported roofs. Other early PPNA sites dating to around 9500–9000 BC have been found in Jericho, Israel, Gilgal in the Jordan Valley, the start of Neolithic 1 overlaps the Tahunian and Heavy Neolithic periods to some degree. The major advance of Neolithic 1 was true farming, in the proto-Neolithic Natufian cultures, wild cereals were harvested, and perhaps early seed selection and re-seeding occurred. The grain was ground into flour, emmer wheat was domesticated, and animals were herded and domesticated
5.
Sihl Valley
–
Sihl Valley is a river valley and belongs to the Zimmerberg-Sihltal region located in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Commonly Sihltal is used as the name of the Lower Sihl Valley, the area alongside Lake Zürich had been formed as the left moraine of the Ice Age glacier, the bed of which is now the Lake Zürich and the valley of the Sihl. Sihl valley is extensively wooded, but also cultivated and heavily populated in its lower parts, the Sihl is the name of a 68 km long river located in the cantons of Schwyz and Zürich. The valley compromises parts of the districts of Einsiedeln, Horgen, the region of the valley comprises about 250 km2. Sihl rises at Drusberg near Hoch-Ybrig in the canton of Schwyz, passes the 8.5 km long Sihlsee near Einsiedeln, Sunnegg near Biberbrugg and Schindellegi. Now it enters the canton of Zurich, nearby Samstagern passing Hütten, near Sihlbrugg, the rivers passes the Sihlwald, the largest remaining deciduous forest of the Swiss Plateau, located between Sihlbrugg and Zürich-Leimbach. The Sihl flows in Zürich underneath Zürich Hauptbahnhof – parts of the station are built below the Sihl – before joining the Limmat at Platzspitz park located at the Swiss National Museum. 1498 species are, or were at least 30 years during the last 160 years in stable populations exist, of which 177 or 13% are now extinct, and 284 have been re-introduced and introduced. In all, the flora has become more species-ric, however, 42% of the species have decreased. Sihltal is a recreation area and popular for hiking and biking tours along Sihl. The term Region Zimmerberg-Sihltal usually refers to the mountain, the area, Sihlbrugg train station is a nodal point of the SBB-CFF-FFS-Gotthardbahn and Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn railways. Sihlbrugg Dorf is the station of the Zürich S-Bahn on the line S4. Nearby the city of Zürich, additional bus lines are provided by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich. It is also important as terminal of the A4 motorway between Zug and the canton of Zürich, and of five regional streets in the Sihltal to Zürich, Zug, Langnau am Albis and to Wädenswil
6.
Albis
–
The Albis is a chain of hills in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, stretching for some 19 km from Sihlbrugg in the south to Waldegg near Zurich in the north. The chain forms, among others, the border between the Affoltern and Horgen districts, the best known point is Uetliberg at 870 m, overlooking the city of Zurich. The Sihl Valley borders the Albis chain on its entire east side, on the west side, the Albis is bordered by various streams and one lake, the Türlersee. The chain is mostly wooded, but also has fields, often reaching to the summit, some cultivated. The Albis chain was formed as the left moraine of the glacier the bed of which is now the Lake of Zurich, the soil is mostly a conglomerate of gravel, some of it large, and glacial loess. The frequently steep sides of the chain are often subject to small landslides, as a generalization, the eastern side of the chain tends to be steeper than the western side
7.
Tertiary sector of the economy
–
The tertiary sector or service sector is the third of the three economic sectors of the three-sector theory. The others are the secondary sector, and the primary sector, the basic characteristic of this sector is the production of services instead of end products. Services include attention, advice, access, experience, and discussion, the production of information has long been regarded as a service, but some economists now attribute it to a fourth sector, the quaternary sector. The tertiary sector of industry involves the provision of services to businesses as well as final consumers. The goods may be transformed in the process of providing the service, however, the focus is on people interacting with people and serving the customer rather than transforming physical goods. It is sometimes hard to define whether a company is part of the secondary or tertiary sector. These governmental classification systems have a hierarchy that reflects whether the economic goods are tangible or intangible. Unlike governmental classification systems, the first level of market-based classification systems divides the economy into functionally related markets or industries, the second or third level of these hierarchies then reflects whether goods or services are produced. For the last 100 years, there has been a shift from the primary and secondary sectors to the tertiary sector in industrialised countries. The tertiary sector is now the largest sector of the economy in the Western world and these are not necessarily busboys and live-in maids. Many of them are in the professional category and they are earning as much as manufacturing workers, and often more. The first economy to follow path in the modern world was the United Kingdom. The speed at which other economies have made the transition to service-based economies has increased over time, historically, manufacturing tended to be more open to international trade and competition than services. Service providers face obstacles selling services that goods-sellers rarely face, services are intangible, making it difficult for potential customers to understand what they will receive and what value it will hold for them. Indeed, some, such as consultants and providers of investment services, since the quality of most services depends largely on the quality of the individuals providing the services, people costs are usually a high fraction of service costs. Whereas a manufacturer may use technology, simplification, and other techniques to lower the cost of goods sold, for example, how does one choose one investment adviser over another, since they are often seen to provide identical services. Charging a premium for services is usually an option only for the most established firms, who charge extra based upon brand recognition
8.
Reformation
–
The period is usually considered to have begun with the publication of the Ninety-five Theses by Luther in 1517 to the Thirty Years War and ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The Protestant position, however, would come to incorporate doctrinal changes such as sola scriptura, the initial movement within Germany diversified, and other reform impulses arose independently of Luther. The spread of Gutenbergs printing press provided the means for the dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular. The largest groups were the Lutherans and Calvinists, Lutheran churches were founded mostly in Germany, the Baltics and Scandinavia, while the Reformed ones were founded in Switzerland, Hungary, France, the Netherlands and Scotland. The new movement influenced the Church of England decisively after 1547 under Edward VI and Elizabeth I, there were also reformation movements throughout continental Europe known as the Radical Reformation, which gave rise to the Anabaptist, Moravian and other Pietistic movements. The Roman Catholic Church responded with a Counter-Reformation initiated by the Council of Trent, much work in battling Protestantism was done by the well-organised new order of the Jesuits. In general, Northern Europe, with the exception of most of Ireland, southern Europe remained Roman Catholic, while Central Europe was a site of a fierce conflict, culminating in the Thirty Years War, which left it devastated. The oldest Protestant churches, such as the Unitas Fratrum and Moravian Church, the later Protestant Churches generally date their doctrinal separation from the Roman Catholic Church to the 16th century. The Reformation began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church, by priests who opposed what they perceived as false doctrines and ecclesiastic malpractice. They especially objected to the teaching and the sale of indulgences, and the abuses thereof, and to simony, the reformers saw these practices as evidence of the systemic corruption of the Churchs hierarchy, which included the pope. Unrest due to the Great Schism of Western Christianity excited wars between princes, uprisings among the peasants, and widespread concern over corruption in the Church, New perspectives came from John Wycliffe at Oxford University and from Jan Hus at the Charles University in Prague. Hus rejected indulgences and adopted a doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone, the Roman Catholic Church officially concluded this debate at the Council of Constance by condemning Hus, who was executed by burning despite a promise of safe-conduct. Wycliffe was posthumously condemned as a heretic and his corpse exhumed and burned in 1428, the Council of Constance confirmed and strengthened the traditional medieval conception of church and empire. The council did not address the national tensions or the theological tensions stirred up during the century and could not prevent schism. Pope Sixtus IV established the practice of selling indulgences to be applied to the dead, Pope Alexander VI was one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes. He was the father of seven children, including Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia, in response to papal corruption, particularly the sale of indulgences, Luther wrote The Ninety-Five Theses. The Reformation was born of Luthers dual declaration – first, the discovering of Jesus and salvation by faith alone, the Protestant reformers were unanimous in agreement and this understanding of prophecy furnished importance to their deeds. It was the point and the battle cry that made the Reformation nearly unassailable
