1.
Foxhall Stadium
–
Foxhall Stadium is a Stock car racing stadium located in Foxhall near Ipswich. The Stadium is also used by the Ipswich Witches Speedway team, the stadium also hosts carboot sales on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays from March until the end of September opening at 6. 00am and costing £9.00 to sell and 50p a person entry. The Stadium is run by Spedeworth UK Ltd stock car promoters, at both events a large entry of Stock Cars, Hot Rods and Banger Racers can be expected as well as a sell out crowd of around 10,000. Foxhall has also hosted the Superstox World Championship race seven times including the first running back in 1961, more recently the Banger racing Unlimited World Final has been staged here since its move from the Plough Lane venue in London. The world final first ran at Foxhall in 2008 and proved to be a successful event, the world final is predicted to stay at Foxhall due to the LEZ emission laws enforced in and around London making it difficult for many racers to transport their cars to the track. The first official winner was Robert Howe in 1972, he was also the first winner to be televised, the stadium opened in the mid-1950s and has been in continuous operation since
Foxhall Stadium
–
Foxhall Stadium
Foxhall Stadium
2.
Ipswich
–
Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk, England, located on the estuary of the River Orwell, about 60 miles north east of London. The town has been occupied since the Saxon period. It has also known as Gyppewicus and Yppswyche. Ipswich is one of Englands oldest towns, if not the oldest, the claim has also been made of the Essex town of Colchester, but that town was abandoned for some time, leaving Ipswich to claim to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in England. Under the Roman empire, the area around Ipswich formed an important route inland to towns and settlements via the rivers Orwell. A large Roman fort, part of the defences of Britain, stood at Walton near Felixstowe. The modern town took shape in Anglo-Saxon times around Ipswich dock, gipeswic ) arose as the equivalent to these, serving the Kingdom of East Anglia, its early imported wares dating to the time of King Rædwald, supreme ruler of the English. The famous ship-burial and treasure at Sutton Hoo nearby is probably his grave, the Ipswich Museum houses replicas of the Roman Mildenhall and Sutton Hoo treasures. A gallery devoted to the towns origins includes Anglo-Saxon weapons, jewellery, the 7th-century town was centred near the quay. Towards 700 AD, Frisian potters from the Netherlands area settled in Ipswich and their wares were traded far across England, and the industry was unique to Ipswich for 200 years. With growing prosperity, in about 720 AD a large new part of the town was out in the Buttermarket area. Ipswich was becoming a place of national and international importance, parts of the ancient road plan still survive in its modern streets. After the invasion of 869 Ipswich fell under Viking rule, the earth ramparts circling the town centre were probably raised by Vikings in Ipswich around 900 to prevent its recapture by the English. The town operated a mint under royal licence from King Edgar in the 970s, the abbreviation Gipes appears on the coins. King John granted the town its first charter in 1200, laying the foundations of its modern civil government. In the next four centuries it made the most of its wealth, Five large religious houses, including two Augustinian Priories, and those of the Greyfriars, Ipswich Whitefriars and Ipswich Blackfriars, stood in medieval Ipswich. The last Carmelite Prior of Ipswich was the celebrated John Bale, there were also several hospitals, including the leper hospital of St Mary Magdalene, founded before 1199. During the Middle Ages the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Grace was a pilgrimage destination
Ipswich
–
Top down:
Christchurch Mansion,
Willis Building,water tower,
Ipswich Waterfront, Ipswich Town Centre,
Sir Bobby Robson Bridge
Ipswich
–
Ancient House is decorated with a particularly fine example of
pargeting.
Ipswich
–
Timber-frame buildings in St Nicholas Street
Ipswich
–
Neptune Marina Quay, Ipswich
3.
England
–
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
England
–
Stonehenge, a
Neolithic monument
England
–
Flag
England
–
Boudica led an uprising against the
Roman Empire
England
–
Replica of a 7th-century ceremonial
helmet from the
Kingdom of East Anglia, found at
Sutton Hoo
4.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
Italy
–
The
Colosseum in Rome, built c. 70 – 80 AD, is considered one of the greatest works of
architecture and
engineering of ancient history.
Italy
–
Flag
Italy
–
The
Iron Crown of Lombardy, for centuries symbol of the
Kings of Italy.
Italy
–
Castel del Monte, built by German Emperor
Frederick II,
UNESCO World Heritage site
5.
Australia
–
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
Australia
–
Aboriginal rock art in the
Kimberley region of Western Australia
Australia
Australia
–
Portrait of Captain
James Cook, the first European to map the eastern coastline of Australia in 1770
Australia
–
Tasmania's
Port Arthur penal settlement is one of eleven UNESCO World Heritage-listed
Australian Convict Sites.
6.
Kyle Newman
–
In March 2006, while working on the set of Fanboys, he met actress and former model Jaime King. Newman proposed in Spring 2007, and the two married on November 23,2007 in an intimate and relaxed ceremony in Los Angeles at Greystone Park and Manor and their first son, James Knight Newman was born October 6,2013. In February 2015, it was announced King was pregnant with the second child. King gave birth to Leo Thames Newman on July 16,2015, kyles brother, Kevin Newman, is a character designer for The Simpsons. Kyle is a supporter of Arsenal Football Club in England, kyle Newman at the Internet Movie Database 2009 interview with Bullz-Eye. com
Kyle Newman
–
Kyle Newman
7.
Motorcycle speedway
–
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes, racing takes place on an oval track usually consisting of dirt, loosely packed shale. Competitors use this surface to slide their machines sideways, powersliding or broadsiding into the bends, on the straight sections of the track the motorcycles reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. The exact origins of the sport are unknown but there is evidence of a type of speedway racing being practised in the USA before the First World War and in Australia in the late 1910s and early 1920s. Speedway is popular in central and northern Europe and to an extent in Australia. A variant of racing, speedway is administered internationally by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme. Domestic speedway events are regulated by FIM affiliated national motor sport federations, the early history of speedway race meetings is a subject of much debate and controversy. There is evidence to show that meetings were held on dirt tracks in Australia. An American rider named Don Johns was known to have used broadsiding before 1914 and it was said that he would ride the entire race course wide open, throwing great showers of dirt into the air at each turn. By the early 1920s, Johns style of cornering was followed in the US – where the sport was initially called Short Track Racing – by riders such as Albert Shrimp Burns, Maldwyn Jones and Eddie Brinck. For instance, a newspaper report of this meeting, in the Maitland Mercury. The first meeting in the United Kingdom took place at High Beech on 19 February 1928, there are, however, claims that meetings were held in 1927 at Camberley, Surrey and Droylsden, Lancashire. Despite being described as the first British Dirt Track meeting at the time, both featured in the 1928 High Beech meeting. Proto speedway was staged in Glasgow at the Olympic Stadium on April 9,1928, the first meeting in Wales was staged at Cardiff White City on Boxing Day 1928. In the 1928/29 season at the Melbourne Exhibition Speedway, Australian Colin Stewart won the prestigious Silver Gauntlet and he won it 12 times.00 points per match. He also raced in the 1930 Scottish Championship which was won by Wembley Lions Harry Whitfield, frank Arthur won the Overseas Section and Roger Frogley the British. The following year the two sections were amalgamated and Vic Huxley proved to be the winner, Huxley was also runner-up three times and won the first British Match Race championship in 1931. Each track is between 260 and 425 metres long and it approximately one minute to complete four laps
Motorcycle speedway
–
A speedway rider on the track
Motorcycle speedway
–
Col Stewart races his speedway motorcycle wearing a wooden helmet. Photo taken around 1930.
Motorcycle speedway
–
A speedway rider waits at the start gate for his 3 opponents
Motorcycle speedway
–
All 4 riders leaning into the first corner - note the elbows.
8.
Suffolk
–
Suffolk is an East Anglian county of historic origin in England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west, the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich, other important towns include Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket and Felixstowe, the county is low-lying with very few hills, and is largely arable land with the wetlands of the Broads in the north. The Suffolk Coast and Heaths are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, by the fifth century, the Angles had established control of the region. The Angles later became the folk and the south folk. Suffolk and several adjacent areas became the kingdom of East Anglia, Suffolk was originally divided into four separate Quarter Sessions divisions. In 1860, the number of divisions was reduced to two, the eastern division was administered from Ipswich and the western from Bury St Edmunds. Under the Local Government Act 1888, the two divisions were made the administrative counties of East Suffolk and West Suffolk, Ipswich became a county borough. A few Essex parishes were added to Suffolk, Ballingdon-with-Brundon and parts of Haverhill. On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, East Suffolk, West Suffolk, the county was divided into several local government districts, Babergh, Forest Heath, Ipswich, Mid Suffolk, St. Edmundsbury, Suffolk Coastal, and Waveney. This act also transferred some land near Great Yarmouth to Norfolk, in 2007, the Department for Communities and Local Government referred Ipswich Borough Councils bid to become a new unitary authority to the Boundary Committee. The Boundary Committee consulted local bodies and reported in favour of the proposal and it was not, however, approved by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Beginning in February 2008, the Boundary Committee again reviewed local government in the county, West Suffolk, like nearby East Cambridgeshire, is renowned for archaeological finds from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. Bronze Age artefacts have been found in the area between Mildenhall and West Row, in Eriswell and in Lakenheath, other finds include traces of cremations and barrows. The majority of agriculture in Suffolk is either arable or mixed, Farm sizes vary from anything around 80 acres to over 8,000. Soil types vary from clays to light sands. The continuing importance of agriculture in the county is reflected in the Suffolk Show, although latterly somewhat changed in nature, this remains primarily an agricultural show. Below is a chart of regional gross value added of Suffolk at current basic prices published by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling, well-known companies in Suffolk include Greene King and Branston Pickle in Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
–
Sheep grazing among the ruins of
Bury St Edmunds Abbey,
Bury St Edmunds in 1920
Suffolk
Suffolk
–
Gainsborough's
Mr and Mrs Andrews (1748–49), housed at the
National Gallery in London, depicts the Suffolk landscape of his time.
9.
John Louis (speedway rider)
–
John Tiger Louis is an England international Motorcycle speedway rider who rode for Ipswich, Newport, West Ham, Oxford, Wembley, Halifax and Kings Lynn during his career. He is the father of Great Britain International Chris Louis, Ipswich born Louis started his motorcycling career in scrambling and was tempted to have a go at speedway when Ipswich re-opened in 1969. He made his debut in 1970 and by the following year topped the national Second Division averages and he also captained Ipswich to the British League title in 1975 and 1976. Louis was also the British Champion in 1975 and he was British League Division Two Riders Champion in 1971 and British League Riders Champion in 1979. In 1981 Louis joined Halifax, spending two seasons at The Shay before signing for a season at Kings Lynn in 1983 and he retired from riding in 1984 and is now the promoter of the Ipswich Witches. John Louis – Celebrating 40 years in speedway
John Louis (speedway rider)
–
John Louis
10.
Sky Sports
–
Sky Sports is a group of sports television channels operated by the satellite pay-TV company Sky plc. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom, Sky Sports 1,2,3,4 and 5 are available as a premium package on top of the basic Sky package. These channels are available as premium on nearly every satellite, cable and IPTV broadcasting system in the UK. Sky Sports News HQ and Sky Sports Mix are both provided as part of basic packages, the Sky Sports network is managed by Barney Francis. At launch on 5 February 1989, Sky Television operated Eurosport as a 50/50 joint venture with the European Broadcasting Union, however, the service had encountered a legal challenge from rival sports channel Screensport, a joint venture between WH Smith Television and Americas ESPN network. Subtitled as The European Sports Network, the channel was available on the Astra satellite. Screensports contention was that the involvement of the EBU with Skys Eurosport channel had the effect of restricting and distorting competition in the sports market, the European Commission agreed, and the Eurosport joint venture ceased broadcasting in early 1991. The Sports Channel was part of the BSB channel line-up, the Sports Channel survived BSBs merger with Sky Television to become one of the five channels operated by the consolidated British Sky Broadcasting. In the BSB years, it shared the frequency with its underpromoted sister channel, The Computer Channel. The channel is seen as a presuccessor of Sky Sports, with Sky owning any archive recordings made by the channel, an example of this was a 1996 retro screening of Liverpool and Evertons 1991 FA Cup 4-4 draw between the sides. The commentary was taken from the original BSB Sports Channel alongside on-screen captions, the channel was sold as one of the major draws of the Sky system and initially aired sports such as rugby and golf in 1991, before acquiring rights to German and Italian league football in 1996. The channel was initially encrypted but broadcast free-to-view, requiring an analogue VideoCrypt decoder, since VideoCrypt decoders were only officially available within the UK, this measure was intended to prevent viewing of the service outside the UK and Ireland. However, it was following the formation of the Premier League for the 1992/93 football season, believed to have been assisted by the promise of higher TV payments, that Sky Sports became well known. By bidding £304m, BSkyB beat the BBC and ITV to acquire the live and exclusive Premier League football broadcasting rights for the United Kingdom, in doing so, they had taken live top-flight English league football from terrestrial and free-to-air television for the first time in its history. At this point, Sky Sports became a channel, available with a monthly subscription on a standalone basis. Sky Sports 1 mainly broadcasts football, Sky launched its second sport-dedicated channel, Sky Sports 2 on 19 August 1994, three years after the original channel launched on the Marcopolo satellite on BSB. As a result, Sky Sports was renamed as Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports 2 mainly broadcasts Cricket and Rugby Union. Sky Sports Gold, a dedicated to classic sport, in a similar vein to ESPN Classic
Sky Sports
11.
Chris Louis (speedway rider)
–
Christopher Chris Louis is an England international speedway motorcycle rider who rode for the Ipswich Witches and Hackney Kestrels. He is the son of former Great Britain International John Louis who is the current manager at the Ipswich club, Louis is former schoolboy grasstrack champion. He started his career at Hackney before moving to Ipswich in 1989 where he rode to the end of his riding career. He has missed a couple of seasons due to injury, Chris Louis made history in 1993 when he became the first son of a former World Finalist to also qualify for the World Final when he finished in third place in Pocking, Germany. Louis tied with former champion Hans Nielsen of Denmark in 11 points, in a run-off to decide overall second place, Nielsen defeated Chris Louis who had to settle for third in his World Final debut. Louis also qualified for the 1994 World Final in Vojens, Denmark but was unable to repeat his 1993 form, Chris Louis qualified for the new Speedway Grand Prix series which replaced the former World Final in 1995. He finished a career best 7th in the 1995 SGP with a best finish of third in Poland. He continued to part in the SGP series as a regular rider until 2000, with his best finishes being second placings in the 1998 Danish and Swedish GPs. He rode in selected events in 2001 before making his last appearance as wild card in 2004, during his career, Chris won trophies in the UK, Poland, Sweden and Germany, and in 1998 and 2000 he followed his fathers footsteps by becoming British Speedway Champion. Louis is married to Julie and the couple have two daughters, Hannah and Freya Louis,1993 - Pocking, Rottalstadion - 3rd - 11pts + 2pts 1994 - Vojens, Speedway Center - 12th - 6pts
Chris Louis (speedway rider)
–
Chris Louis. U-21 WC 1990, Lvov.
12.
Stock car racing
–
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly and most prominently in the United States and Canada, with Australia and New Zealand also having forms of stock car auto racing. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately 0.25 to 2.66 miles, the worlds largest governing body for stock car racing is the American NASCAR, and its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is the premier top level series of professional stock car racing. Top level races typically range between 200 to 600 miles in length, top level stock cars reach speeds in excess of 200 mph at speedway tracks and on superspeedway tracks such as Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. Contemporary NASCAR-spec top level cars produce maximum power outputs of 860-900 hp from their naturally aspirated V8 engines, for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, power output of the competing cars ranged from 750–800 hp. A stock car, in the sense of the term, is an automobile that has not been modified from its original factory configuration. Later the term stock car came to mean any production-based automobile used in racing and this term is used to differentiate such a car from a race car, a special, custom-built car designed only for racing purposes. The actual degree to which the cars conform to standard model specs has changed over the years, are architecturally identical on all vehicles. For example, the NASCAR Sprint Cup series now requires fuel injection, the closest European equivalent to stock car racing is probably touring car racing. In the UK and New Zealand there is a formula called stock cars. In Australia there was a formula that was similar to NASCAR called AUSCAR. The Racecar-Euro Series began in 2009 and was sanctioned by NASCAR as a series in 2012. True stock car racing, which consists of only street vehicles that can be bought by public, is sometimes now called street stock, pure stock, hobby stock, showroom stock. In 1972, SCCA started its first showroom stock racing series, some modern showroom stock racing allows safety modifications done on showroom stock cars. Super stock classes are similar to street stock, but allow for modifications to the engine. Power output is usually in the range of 500–550 horsepower, Tire width is usually limited to 8 in. Some entry level classes are called street stock, and are similar to what is called banger racing in England. Late models are usually the highest class of cars in local racing. Rules for construction of a model car vary from region to region
Stock car racing
–
Sprint Cup Series drivers race at Daytona International Speedway in 2015
Stock car racing
–
Tony Stewart at Infineon Raceway in 2005
Stock car racing
–
ASA Late Model Series car on an asphalt track
Stock car racing
–
A late model car on a dirt track
13.
Tony Rickardsson
–
Tony Rickardsson svenska is a retired Swedish motorcycle speedway rider. He is widely acknowledged as being the most successful rider of the current era. He has three daughters, Michelle and Natalie with his ex wife Anna, in 1989 he became Swedish team champion with the now defunct Stockholm U team. The next year, he won the Swedish Championship, a title hes won six times since and that year, he also won a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in Lviv. In 1991, he made his debut at the World Championship in Gothenburg, in 1993 he won the Speedway World Pairs Championship with Per Jonsson and Henrik Gustafsson. However, from 1998 onwards, he was dominant and he won three of six events in 1998, including a home win in Linköping, and ended up beating fellow Swede Jimmy Nilsen by 12 points. Joining Hans Nielsen as the only 2 riders to have won titles in both the single meeting and grand prix formats. 1999 was an almost equally stunning season, although it started badly when he got disqualified in the first race at Prague, after three races, he was third,24 points behind Tomasz Gollob, who looked to be cruising to victory. However, Gollob ran into trouble in the race at Coventry, being forced to retire after the introductory stages and finishing eighth. This recovery gave him Swedish sports arguably greatest award, Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal, Rickardsson continued to win titles throughout the new century, although Mark Loram won the 2000 World Championship despite not winning a single event. Rickardsson won one - at Wrocław, but was too inconsistent to win the overall title, however, he again won the Elitserien, this time with his local team Masarna from Avesta, as he and team-mate Leigh Adams were the two highest averaging riders in the entire league. He managed to win at home in the next Grand Prix series in 2002, in 2003, he finished third overall. Thirteenth place finishes in Gothenburg, Bydgoszcz and Vikingskipet at Hamar ruining his bid for the title, the following year he managed to win the Swedish Championship at Målilla, but consistency eluded him as Jason Crump pipped him to the World title by three points. He followed this up with extremely strong season in 2005. Even with such a finish in Poland, however, he had already virtually sown up the Championship in the 7th Grand Prix in Målilla. After the sixth event held in the Czech Republic, he was first in the points per event table of the Elitserien, Rickardsson was a contestant on the TV4 television show Lets Dance 2008 in which he finished 2nd. For the last four years the Swedish comedian Robert Gustafsson often appeared as him, http, //www. rickardssonracing. com/ Speedway Home Page Landqvist, Maria. Svensk speedway är 33 år och blond
Tony Rickardsson
–
Tony Rickardsson,
Edward Jancarz Memorial,
Poland, 2005
14.
Scott Nicholls
–
Scott Karl Nicholls is a British speedway rider, who has won the British Championship seven times. Born in Ipswich, Nicholls began his career in grasstrack racing becoming National Schoolboy champion in 1993. His first international appearance came in 1996 when he was selected to ride for Great Britain in the Speedway World Cup final and he then became British Under-21 Champion in 1998 and again in 1999. His first experience of the Speedway Grand Prix series came with a wild ride in Britain. He qualified as a full-time Grand Prix rider in 2002 and capped that season with a place in the season ending event in Australia. That year he won the first of his six British Championships. His sixth British Championship win occurred in 2011, Nicholls was the most successful ever Coventry Bees captain, skippering them to five trophies in three seasons between 2004 and 2007, including two Elite League championships. Despite quitting the British Elite League to reduce his schedule in 2009. Nicholls led his club, the Ipswich Witches for the 2010 Elite League season, as well as riding for Vargarna in the Swedish league and Miskolc. With Ipswich dropping down a division, Nicholls signed for Swindon Robins for 2011, after an unsuccessful spell with the Robins, Nicholls returned to parent club Coventry Bees for the 2012 season, staying there in 2013. He has signed to ride for Belle Vue Aces in 2014, list of Speedway Grand Prix riders Scott Nicholls official website
Scott Nicholls
–
Scott Nicholls
15.
Tomasz Gollob
–
Tomasz Gollob is a Polish motorcycle speedway rider who has appeared in every Speedway Grand Prix series since its inaugural season in 1995. His brother Jacek is also a speedway rider, tomasz Gollob spent almost all of his career with hometown club Bydgoszcz until he moved to Unia Tarnów in 2004. He has won the Polish Individual Championship eight times and the Polish Pairs Championship ten times and he has also won the Polish Grand Prix eight times in thirteen years. He clinched the Speedway World Championship in 2010 after securing the championship in Terenzano and he is only the second Pole to ever win the World Championship, following in the footsteps of Jerzy Szczakiel who won in 1973. Gollob also spent some time in Australia in the early-mid 1990s based at the North Arm Speedway in Adelaide, while In Australia, Gollob would race against many of his future World Championship rivals including Jason Crump, Leigh Adams, and Ryan Sullivan. Gollob is the only World Champion to win the Jack Young Solo Cup held in Adelaide each year in memory of Australias 1951 and 1952 World Champion and he won the cup in 1995 at North Arm. Gollob was also a member of the Poland speedway team that won the World Team Cup in 1996, in 2007 Gollob survived a plane crash with fellow rider Rune Holta. The plane, flown by his father Władysław, crashed on the way to a meeting at Tarnów. Gollob escaped with cuts and bruises after pulling his father from the wreckage
Tomasz Gollob
–
Tomasz Gollob
Tomasz Gollob
–
Site of 2007 plane crash.
16.
Birmingham Brummies
–
Birmingham Brummies are a British speedway team, who competed in the Elite League from 2011 until they folded part way through the 2014 season, and now in the National League. The team was formed in 1928 until they closed for the first time in 1986. Then in 2006 the club was back into British Speedway. Birmingham had two teams in the Southern League of the season of British speedway in 1929. One was based at Perry Barr Stadium and the other was based at Hall Green Stadium, the Hall Green team, known during their time as Birmingham Bulldogs, closed in 1938. Speedway continued at Perry Barr Stadium until 1983 before moving to Bordesley Green until closing in 1986, after 20 years away from the sport Birmingham were reformed in 2006 and then accepted into the Premier League in 2007. Ahead of their season in the top flight they retained the services of the previous seasons star performers Danny King. Although Pedersens time at Birmingham was an unhappy one the team made a big improvement on their first season in the Elite League, finishing in 3rd place and achieving a spot in the play-offs. The 2013 season was filled with success, with the Brummies finishing in 1st place in the Elite League and they found themselves outclassed in the final, losing out on aggregate 104-79 to the Poole Pirates, who were inspired by Greg Hancock. Despite the success of the 2013 season there were reports of turmoil behind the scenes at the club. The off season was a time for the club, with captain Danny King handing in a transfer request. Once the season began the troubles only intensified, and on 14 July 2014 it was announced that the club would cease to operate, the team was taken over later that year by Tony Mole and entered into the National League for 2015. Under the stewardship of Mole and Drury The Brummies would crown a superb season back on track by winning the National League title. The Brummies defended their National League title in 2016, beating Eastbourne in a two leg play off, the play off system having been introduced for this season. They would also win the National Trophy to crown a superb double, Tony Mole has announced that he is giving up the sport, so once again The Brummies face an uncertain future. Perry Barr Stadium is the track of the Birmingham Brummies, located on Aldridge Road in Perry Barr. The stadium was constructed for an athletics club, the Birchfield Harriers. Since then its facilities have also used by the Birchfield Cycling Club and also Aston Villa Football Club, whose second
Birmingham Brummies
–
Birmingham Brummies
17.
Denmark
–
Denmark, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, is a Scandinavian country in Europe and a sovereign state. The southernmost and smallest of the Nordic countries, it is south-west of Sweden and south of Norway, Denmark also comprises two autonomous constituent countries in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Denmark has an area of 42,924 square kilometres. The country consists of a peninsula, Jutland, and an archipelago of 443 named islands, with the largest being Zealand, the islands are characterised by flat, arable land and sandy coasts, low elevation and a temperate climate. The unified kingdom of Denmark emerged in the 10th century as a proficient seafaring nation in the struggle for control of the Baltic Sea, Denmark, Sweden and Norway were ruled together under the Kalmar Union, established in 1397 and ending with Swedish secession in 1523. Denmark and Norway remained under the monarch until outside forces dissolved the union in 1814. The union with Norway made it possible for Denmark to inherit the Faroe Islands, Iceland, beginning in the 17th century, there were several cessions of territory to Sweden. In the 19th century there was a surge of nationalist movements, Denmark remained neutral during World War I. In April 1940, a German invasion saw brief military skirmishes while the Danish resistance movement was active from 1943 until the German surrender in May 1945, the Constitution of Denmark was signed on 5 June 1849, ending the absolute monarchy which had begun in 1660. It establishes a constitutional monarchy organised as a parliamentary democracy, the government and national parliament are seated in Copenhagen, the nations capital, largest city and main commercial centre. Denmark exercises hegemonic influence in the Danish Realm, devolving powers to handle internal affairs, Home rule was established in the Faroe Islands in 1948, in Greenland home rule was established in 1979 and further autonomy in 2009. Denmark became a member of the European Economic Community in 1973, maintaining certain opt-outs, it retains its own currency, the krone. It is among the members of NATO, the Nordic Council, the OECD, OSCE. The etymology of the word Denmark, and especially the relationship between Danes and Denmark and the unifying of Denmark as a kingdom, is a subject which attracts debate. This is centred primarily on the prefix Dan and whether it refers to the Dani or a historical person Dan and the exact meaning of the -mark ending. Most handbooks derive the first part of the word, and the name of the people, from a word meaning land, related to German Tenne threshing floor. The -mark is believed to mean woodland or borderland, with references to the border forests in south Schleswig. The first recorded use of the word Danmark within Denmark itself is found on the two Jelling stones, which are believed to have been erected by Gorm the Old and Harald Bluetooth
Denmark
–
The gilded side of the
Trundholm sun chariot dating from the Nordic Bronze Age.
Denmark
–
Flag
Denmark
–
The
Ladby ship, the largest ship burial found in Denmark.
Denmark
–
Larger of the two Jelling stones, raised by
Harald Bluetooth.
18.
Ben Barker
–
Benjamin John Barker is a British speedway rider. Barker signed for Stoke Potters in December 2006 after impressing for the Stoke clubs Conference League side, in October 2006, Barker finished in third place in the British Under-18 Championship behind winner Lewis Bridger and second placed Tai Woffinden. In April 2007, a month after his 19th birthday, he reached the final of the British Under-21 Championship, Barker has represented Great Britain at Under-21 level. He rode for Great Britain in the 2006 Team Speedway Junior World Championship, Barker returned to the Coventry Bees in the 2008 Elite League, after riding for the Coventry Cougars in the Conference Trophy during the 2004 season. In July 2008, he agreed a permanent move to Coventry Bees as a full asset, Ben splits his time with Birmingham with riding for the Ipswich Witches in the Premier League. In 2016 Ben signed for Glasgow Tigers in the Premier League and he currently rides for Redcar Bears in the newly formed British SGB Championship for 2017
Ben Barker
–
Ben Barker
19.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
United States
–
Native Americans meeting with Europeans, 1764
United States
–
Flag
United States
–
The signing of the
Mayflower Compact, 1620.
United States
–
The
Declaration of Independence: the
Committee of Five presenting their draft to the
Second Continental Congress in 1776
20.
Leigh Lanham
–
Leigh Stefan Lanham is a speedway rider in the United Kingdom. Son of former rider Mike, Lanham won the British Under 21 Championship in 1997 and he has reached the World Under 21 Final and has finished in the top six of the British Speedway Championship. In December 2011 he signed to ride for Coventry Bees in the Elite League as a double-up rider and he now rides for the Rye House Rockets
Leigh Lanham
–
Leigh Lanham
21.
Finland
–
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland, Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finlands population is 5.5 million, and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region,88. 7% of the population is Finnish people who speak Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, the second major group are the Finland-Swedes. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe, Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, from the late 12th century, Finland was an integral part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In the spirit of the notion of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns, nevertheless, in 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the nation in the world to give the right to vote to all adult citizens. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent, in 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Reds supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the Whites, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla and Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era, Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity, however, Finnish GDP growth has been negative in 2012–2014, with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, a large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, though freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution. The first known appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three rune-stones. Two were found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have the inscription finlonti, the third was found in Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It has the inscription finlandi and dates from the 13th century, the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, which is mentioned first known time AD98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, in addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian
Finland
–
Hakkapeliitta featured on a 1940 Finnish stamp
Finland
–
Flag
Finland
–
Now lying within Helsinki,
Suomenlinna is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of an inhabited 18th century sea fortress built on six islands. It is one of Finland's most popular tourist attractions.
Finland
–
Pioneers in Karelia (1900) by
Eero Järnefelt
22.
France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
France
–
One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
–
Flag
France
–
The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
–
With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
23.
Lasse Bjerre
–
Lasse Bjerre Jensen is a speedway rider who won the 2010 Under-21 World Cup with the Denmark team. Bjerre was born in Esbjerg, Denmark in 1993 and his brother, Kenneth, is also a speedway rider. They have two sisters Janni and Lotte and their parents are Ivan and Vibeke. Bjerre was part of the Danish team that won the World under-21 Team Cup in 2010 and he rode for Kings Lynn Stars in the latter part of the 2010 season, and became a Peterborough Panthers asset towards the end of that year. He rode again for Kings Lynn in 2011, doubling up with Ipswich Witches and he signed to ride for Peterborough Panthers in the Elite League in 2012 in a doubling-up role, and also in the Premier League with Leicester Lions with whom he continued to ride in 2013. In June 2012 he was dropped by Panthers, in August 2012 he joined Swindon Robins. pl
Lasse Bjerre
–
Lasse Bjerre
24.
Poland
–
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
Poland
–
Reconstruction of a
Bronze Age,
Lusatian culture settlement in
Biskupin, c. 700 BC
Poland
–
Flag
Poland
–
Earliest known contemporary depiction of a Polish ruler; King
Mieszko II Lambert of Poland being presented with a
Liturgical book by
Matilda of Swabia, 1025–1031
Poland
–
Drawing of the
Battle of Grunwald, which was fought against the
German Order of Teutonic Knights, 15 July 1410
25.
Czech Republic
–
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres with mostly temperate continental climate and it is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the territories of Bohemia, Moravia. The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire, after the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1002, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years War. After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, reimposed Roman Catholicism, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections. Following the 1948 coup détat, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence, in 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed, on 6 March 1990, the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and it is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development, the Czech Republic also ranks as the 6th most peaceful country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, the traditional English name Bohemia derives from Latin Boiohaemum, which means home of the Boii. The current name comes from the endonym Čech, spelled Cžech until the reform in 1842. The name comes from the Slavic tribe and, according to legend, their leader Čech, the etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root *čel-, meaning member of the people, kinsman, thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk. The country has traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the southeast, and Czech Silesia in the northeast. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word geographical name in English, the name Czechia /ˈtʃɛkiə/ was recommended by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Czech Republic
–
Přemysl Ottokar II,
King of Bohemia (1253–1278) and
Duke of Austria (1251–1278)
Czech Republic
–
Flag
Czech Republic
–
The
Crown of Saint Wenceslas is the 4th oldest in Europe
Czech Republic
–
The
Defenestration of Prague sparked the
Thirty Years' War
26.
Sweden
–
Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
Sweden
–
A
Vendel-era helmet, at the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities.
Sweden
–
Flag
Sweden
–
A
romantic nationalist interpretation of
Valdemar IV taking control over
Gotland. The final battle outside the walls of Visby in 1361 ended with a massacre of 1,800 defenders of the city.
Sweden
–
Stockholm in mid-17th century
James Sarjeant - interim injury replacement for Kyle Newman at start of season.
Justin Sedgmen - injury replacement for Nico Covatti for majority of season.
Robert Miśkowiak
Aleš Dryml, Jr.
Linus Sundström (DU)
Tobi Kroner
Jan Graversen (as No 8)
John Cook
