1.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
2.
Autonomous communities of Spain
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Spain is not a federation, but a highly decentralized unitary state. Some scholars have referred to the system as a federal system in all. There are 17 autonomous communities and two cities that are collectively known as autonomies. The two autonomous cities have the right to become autonomous communities, but neither has yet used this right and this unique framework of territorial administration is known as the State of Autonomies. The autonomous communities are governed according to the constitution and their own organic laws known as Statutes of Autonomy, since devolution was intended to be asymmetrical in nature, the scope of competences vary for each community, but all have the same parliamentary structure. Spain is a country made up of different regions with varying economic and social structures, as well as different languages. While the entire Spanish territory was united under one crown by the 16th century, the constituent territories—be it crowns, kingdoms, principalities or dominions—retained much of their former institutional existence, including limited legislative, judicial or fiscal autonomy. These territories also exhibited a variety of customs, laws. From the 18th century onwards, the Bourbon kings and the government tried to establish a more centralized regime, leading figures of the Spanish Enlightenment advocated for the building of a Spanish nation beyond the internal territorial boundaries. This culminated in 1833, when Spain was divided into 49 provinces and these were the Basque Country and Catalonia. This gave rise to peripheral nationalisms along with Spanish nationalism, therefore, economic and social changes that had produced a national cultural unification in France had the opposite effect in Spain. In a response to Catalan demands, limited autonomy was granted to Catalonia in 1913 and it was granted again in 1932 during the Second Spanish Republic, when the Generalitat, Catalonias mediaeval institution of government, was restored. During General Francos dictatorial regime, centralism was most forcefully enforced as a way of preserving the unity of the Spanish nation, peripheral nationalism, along with communism and atheism were regarded by his regime as the main threats. When Franco died in 1975, Spain entered into a phase of transition towards democracy, the then Prime Minister of Spain, Adolfo Suárez, met with Josep Tarradellas, president of the Generalitat of Catalonia in exile. An agreement was made so that the Generalitat would be restored and limited competencies would be transferred while the constitution was still being written. In the end, the constitution, published and ratified in 1979, found a balance in recognizing the existence of nationalities and regions in Spain, within the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation. The starting point in the organization of Spain was the second article of the constitution. In order to exercise this right, the established a open process whereby the nationalities
3.
Basque Country (autonomous community)
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The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, the Basque Country or Basque Autonomous Community was granted the status of nationality within Spain, attributed by the Spanish Constitution of 1978. The term Basque Country may also refer to the cultural region, the home of the Basque people. The territory has three areas, which are defined by the two parallel ranges of the Basque Mountains. The main range of forms the watershed between the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins. The highest point of the range is in the Aizkorri massif, the three areas are, Formed by many valleys with short rivers that flow from the mountains to the Bay of Biscay, like the Nervión, Urola or Oria. The coast is rough, with cliffs and small inlets. The main features of the coast are the Bilbao Abra Bay and the Estuary of Bilbao, the Urdaibai estuary, between the two mountain ranges, the area is occupied mainly by a high plateau called Llanada Alavesa, where the capital Gasteiz is located. The rivers flow south from the mountains to the Ebro River, the main rivers are the Zadorra River and Bayas River. From the southern mountains to the Ebro is the so-called Rioja Alavesa, some of Spains production of Rioja wine takes place here. Precipitation average is about 1200 mm, the middle section is more influence by the continental climate, but with a varying degree of the northern oceanic climate. This gives warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters, the Ebro valley has a pure continental climate, winters are cold and dry and summers very warm and dry, with precipitation peaking in spring and autumn. Precipitation is scarce and irregular, as low as 300 mm, almost half of the 2,155,546 inhabitants of the Basque Autonomous Community live in Greater Bilbao, Bilbaos metropolitan area. Of the ten most populous cities, six form part of Bilbaos conurbation, with 28. 2% of the Basque population born outside this region, immigration is crucial to Basque demographics. Over the 20th century most of this came from other parts of Spain, typically from Galicia or Castile. Over recent years, sizeable numbers of population have returned to their birthplaces and most immigration to the Basque country now comes from abroad. Roman Catholicism is, by far, the largest religion in Basque Country, bilbao-Bilbo Vitoria-Gasteiz San Sebastián-Donostia Barakaldo Getxo Irun Portugalete Santurtzi Basauri Errenteria Spanish and Basque are co-official in all territories of the autonomous community. The Basque-speaking areas in the autonomous community are set against the wider context of the Basque language, spoken to the east in Navarre
4.
Ancient Rome
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In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
5.
France
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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
6.
Bidasoa
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The Bidasoa is a river in the Basque Country of northern Spain and southern France that runs largely south to north. It joins the Cantabrian Sea between the towns of Hendaye and Hondarribia, the river is best known for establishing the borderline at its lower tract. Besides these major lines, other regional ones cross it too, e. g. regional railway EuskoTren and another double bridge joining the towns on the border, at this stage of the river, urban landscape prevails.28 km2. The banks of Hondarribia hold the minor San Sebastian Airport serving domestic flights, the river comprises an area of linguistic contact, so it is pronounced differently depending on the language, namely in Basque, in Spanish, and in French. In line with the distribution of the length, the bulk of its watersheds area lies on Navarre. The basin holds 105 permanent streams and rivers that number 497 km, the Navarrese side of the basin is inhabited by 22,000 inhabitants. 70% of its population have the sewage treated before spilling to the river, but for the first 15-odd kilometres, the river clings to the north to south disposition of other neighbouring rivers of Gipuzkoa joining the Bay of Biscay, e. g. Urumea, Oria, etc. From the town of Doneztebe on, the main road N-121 runs along till the roundabout across the river from the toll of Biriatu by the AP-8, next comes the quarter Behobia and the major towns on the shores of the estuary. The main tributaries of the Bidasoa are the minor rivers Zeberia, Ezkurra, Latsa, additionally, further small rivers and streams feed the Bidasoa all along. Moreover, a species of the Ebro, i. e. Chondrostoma miegii, has introduced in the last 30–40 years on the lower tract of the Bidasoa. As a result, overfishing has become a problem for the rivers fauna. Schemes by the Regional Government of Navarre are underway with a view to handling the issue
7.
Hendaye
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Hendaye is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. Hendaye acquired its independence from the Urrugne parish in 1598, when Saint Vincents church was built, in the Franco-Spanish War, the town was briefly occupied by the Spanish, in September 1636. On the fortified Île des Faisans in the river, the Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed in 1659, authority over the Île changes between France and Spain every six months. All the same, the village kept being subject to destruction due to military activity. Currently all the houses, but for a handful of them, the empty walls can barely stand, while the ground before inhabited is covered with overgrown bush and hawthorn. Ivy creeps up the walls, out of crumbling windows the desolate ocean can be seen through the room, shells can still be come across the street here and there, but hardly ever can one bump into a person. Most of the inhabitants perished in the danger and helplessness of the runaway. On 22 October 1863, the arrived in Hendaye, as the track on the Spanish side also approached the Bidassoa borderline. On 15 August 1864, the first Madrid-Paris train arrived in Hendaye, forever re-shaping the human and urban landscape of the village, Hendaye started to stand out as an international hub and a seaside resort for the elites after the model of Biarritz, halfway between Donostia and Biarritz. In 1913, the Spanish Basque railway serving the coastline all the way to Donostia arrived at Hendaye Gare, franco, uneasy about committing his nation to another conflict so soon after the Spanish Civil War, was not convinced, and Hitler decided not to force the issue. The church of Saint-Vincent was built in 1598, and largely reconstructed over the following fires. Its most recent transformation was finished in 1968, the 13th-century crucifix is the principal treasure. The seafront Château of Antoine dAbbadie, built by the architect, the Casino building, of Neo-Moorish style, was built in 1885. It used to be occupied by a casino, until it was moved to the quartier de Sokoburu. The picturesque old fishing port of Caneta has views over the Bay of Txingudi to Hondarribia and the Jaizkibel, and is also the site of Pierre Lotis house, the Jumeaux rocks have become somewhat emblematic to Hendaye. Hendaye doesnt have any specific music venues, but there are places where bands can play. The covered pelota fronton at Belcenia has a capacity and the basque folk band Oskorri have played here on more than one occasion. In summer, bigger bands can play in open air at the Hendaye Plage Rugby pitch, toure Kunda, among others, have played here
8.
Break of gauge
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With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transhipped. A break-of-gauge adds delays, cost, and inconvenience, narrow gauges tend to be associated with smaller loading gauges and sharper curves, which tend to reduce initial capital costs. This offsets the costs of any affected by the break-of-gauge. Historically narrow gauge railways were built on marginal lines, mostly through hilly and mountainous terrain to cut costs. Associated disadvantages were not recognized as much as rail lines were operated independent of potentially connecting lines regardless of gauge as competing companies built. Only the building of union stations or the nationalization of railroads changed this, an advantage is that invading armies may be severely hampered. Another advantage might be if the different gauges have different loading gauges. Similarly, if the larger and smaller gauges use different couplers or brakes, for passenger trains the inconvenience is less, especially at major stations where many passengers change trains or end their journeys anyway. Therefore, some railways have been built with gauges otherwise not used in the concerned countries. For example, the railways in Japan and Spain use 1,435 mm while their respective mainline railroad systems use 1,067 mm and 1,668 mm. For night trains, which are common in places like Russia. For these, often the bogies are replaced, even if it takes more time than having passengers change trains. If local government has influence over the construction of railways, some may see it as desirable for trains to stop in rather than pass through their town. Transhipping freight from cars of one gauge to cars of another is very labour- and time-intensive, if the capacity of the freight cars on both systems does not match, additional inefficiencies can arise. If the frequency is low, trains might need to wait a time for its counterpart to arrive before transshipping. This is avoided by storing the goods, but that is also an inconvenience, technical solutions to avoid transhipping include variable gauge axles, replacing the bogies of cars, and using transporter cars that can carry a car of a different gauge. Talgo and CAF have developed dual-gauge axles which permit through running between broad gauge and standard gauge, in Japan the Gauge Change Train, built on Talgo patents, runs on standard and narrow 1,067 mm gauge
9.
SNCF
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SNCF is Frances national state-owned railway company and manages the rail traffic in France and the Principality of Monaco. SNCF operates the national rail services, including the TGV. Its functions include operation of services for passengers and freight. SNCF employs more than 180,000 people in 120 countries around the globe, the railway network consists of about 32,000 km of route, of which 1,800 km are high-speed lines and 14,500 km electrified. About 14,000 trains are operated daily, since July 2013, SNCF headquarters are located in a Parisian suburb at 2, place aux Étoiles,93200 Saint Denis. In 2010 SNCF was ranked 22nd in France and 214th globally on the Fortune Global 500 list and it is the main business of the SNCF group, which in 2014 employed 245,763 people and had €27.2 billion of sales in 120 countries. The chairman of the SNCF group is Guillaume Pépy, SNCF operates almost all of Frances railway system, including the TGV, In the 1970s, SNCF began the TGV high-speed train programme with the intention of creating the worlds fastest railway network. It came to fruition in 1981, when the first TGV service, today, SNCF operates 1,850 km of designated high-speed track that accommodate more than 800 high-speed services per day. SNCF’s TGV trains carry more than 100 million passengers a year, TGV lines and TGV technology are now spread across several European countries in addition to South Korea.8 km/h. SNCF has a safety record. After nearly 30 years in operation, SNCF’s TGV system has experienced one fatal accident. SNCF also owns the tracks and the stations, since the 1990s, SNCF has been selling railway carriages to regional governments, with the creation of the Train Express Régional brand. SNCF also maintains a broad scope of business that includes work on freight lines, inter-city lines. SNCF experts provide logistics, design, construction, operations and maintenance services, SNCF operates the international ticketing agency, Voyages SNCF. SNCF has employees in 120 countries offering extensive overseas and cross border consulting and those projects include, Israel, Assistance and Training. SNCF International provides assistance to Israel Railways in every area of operations including projects to upgrade the networks general safety regulations. Other assistance and training programmes involve Infrastructure and the Traction Division, SNCF supervised the prime contractor responsible for construction of the Taiwan Railways Administration’s main high-speed rail line. It also trained rail traffic controllers, drivers, and crew members, on behalf of the Government of Taiwan, SNCF managed the high-speed railway Command Control Centre
10.
Broad-gauge railway
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Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the 1,435 mm standard gauge. In Britain the Great Western Railway, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, pioneered broad gauge in 1838 with a gauge of 7 ft 1⁄4 in, some harbours also used railways of this gauge for construction and maintenance. These included Portland Harbour and Holyhead Breakwater, which used a locomotive for working sidings, as it was not connected to the national network, this broad-gauge operation continued until the locomotive wore out in 1913. The gauge initially proposed by Brunel was 7 ft exactly but this was increased by 1⁄4 in to accommodate clearance problems identified during early testing. It became apparent that standardization on a gauge throughout a rail transport system was advantageous. Rolling stock did not need to match the gauge exactly, a difference of a few millimetres could be coped with, the value of interoperability was initially not obvious to the industry. The standardization movement was gradual, over time the value of a proprietary gauge diminished, being replaced by the idea of charging money for equipment used on other railway lines. Ireland, using the criteria, was allocated a different standard gauge. Broad-gauge lines in Britain were gradually converted to dual gauge or standard gauge from 1864, Ireland and some states in Australia and Brazil have a gauge of 5 ft 3 in, but Luas, the Dublin light rail system, is built to standard gauge. Russia and the other former Soviet Republics use a 1,520 mm gauge while Finland continues to use the 5 ft gauge inherited from Imperial Russia, in 1839 the Netherlands started its railway system with two broad-gauge railways. But the neighbouring countries Prussia and Belgium already used standard gauge, in 1855, NRS regauged its line and shortly afterwards connected to the Prussian railways. There are replicas of one broad-gauge 2-2-2 locomotive and three carriages in the Dutch Railway Museum in Utrecht and these replicas were built for the 100th anniversary of the Dutch Railways in 1938–39. Portugal and the Spanish Renfe system use a gauge of 1,668 mm called Ancho Ibérico in Spanish or Bitola Ibérica in Portuguese, in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, a gauge of 5 ft 6 in is widespread. This is also used by the Bay Area Rapid Transit system of the San Francisco Bay Area. In Toronto, Canada the gauge for TTC subways and streetcars was chosen in 1861, years after the establishment of gauge in Britain. In 1861, the province was supplying subsidies only to broad gauge railways. The use of a non-standard gauge precludes interoperability of rolling stock on railway networks. On the 5 ft 3 in and 5 ft 6 in gauges, the extra width allowed bigger inside cylinders and greater power, in the event, the most powerful engines on standard gauge in North America and Scandinavia far exceeded the power of any broad-gauge locomotive
