1.
Paris
–
Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
Paris
–
In the 1860s Paris streets and monuments were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, making it literally "The City of Light."
Paris
Paris
–
Gold coins minted by the Parisii (1st century BC)
Paris
–
The
Palais de la Cité and
Sainte-Chapelle, viewed from the Left Bank, from the
Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (month of June) (1410)
2.
SNCF
–
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
SNCF
–
A high-speed train
TGV Duplex from SNCF
SNCF
SNCF
–
A SNCF
Transport Express Régional train
SNCF
–
TGV 4402 operation V150 reaching 574 km/h on 3 April 2007 near
Le Chemin, France.
3.
Keolis Downer
–
Keolis Downer commenced trading on 30 November 2009, when the joint venture commenced operating the Yarra Trams franchise on the Melbourne tram network. The contract is for eight years, with an option to extend for a seven years. KDR continue to operate under the Yarra Trams name that had used by TransdevTSL. On 21 July 2014, Keolis Downer commenced operating the G, in March 2015, Keolis Downer purchased bus operator Australian Transit Enterprises which operated the Hornibrook Bus Lines, Link SA, Path Transit and SouthLink operations with 930 buses. On 1 July 2017, Keolis Downer trading as Newcastle Transport will take over the Newcastle Buses & Ferries operation, Keolis Downer also unsuccessfully bid to operate the Melbourne Metropolitan Bus, Sydney Light Rail franchises
Keolis Downer
–
Keolis Downer
4.
Flinders Street railway station
–
Flinders Street railway station is a railway station on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets in Melbourne, Australia. It serves the metropolitan rail network. Backing onto the city reach of the Yarra River in the heart of the city, Flinders Street is served by Metros suburban services, and V/Line regional services to Gippsland. It is the busiest station on Melbournes metropolitan network and the busiest railway station in Australia and it was the first railway station in an Australian city and the worlds busiest passenger station in the late 1920s. The main station building, completed in 1909, is an icon of Melbourne, with its prominent dome, arched entrance, tower. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, Flinders Street Station is responsible for two of Melbournes busiest pedestrian crossings, both across Flinders Street, including one of Melbournes few pedestrian scrambles. The first railway station to occupy the Flinders Street site was called Melbourne Terminus and it was opened on 12 September 1854 by the Lieutenant-Governor, Charles Hotham. The terminus was the first city railway station in Australia, and it travelled to Sandridge, over the now redeveloped Sandridge Bridge, travelling along the now light rail Port Melbourne line. The first terminus had a single platform 30 metres long, and was located beside the Fish Market building on the south-west corner of Swanston and Flinders Streets. An additional platform was provided in 1877, along with two bridges to provide passenger access, followed by additional timber and corrugated iron buildings. The first signal boxes were opened at the station in 1883, by the 1890s a third island platform had been constructed. Melbournes two other early central-city stations, Spencer Street and Princes Bridge, opened in 1859, Princes Bridge was originally separated from Flinders Street, even though it was only on the opposite side of Swanston Street. Once the railway line was extended under the street in 1865 to join the two, Princes Bridge was closed and it was not reopened until April 1879, and from 1909 slowly became amalgamated into Flinders Street. Federation Square now occupies its site, up until the 1880s a number of designs for a new station had been prepared, but none ever went any further. In 1882, the government decided to build a new passenger station to replace the existing ad-hoc construction. A design competition was held in 1899 with 17 entries received. The train shed over the platforms was intended to have arched roofs running north-south. Work began in 1900 on the rearrangement of the station tracks, work on the central pedestrian subway started in 1901, with the foundations of the main building completed by 1903
Flinders Street railway station
–
Main entrance to the station on the corner of
Flinders &
Swanston Streets in February 2010
Flinders Street railway station
–
Flinders Street Station, 1895
Flinders Street railway station
–
The
Swanston Street Extension frontage of the pre-1910 station
Flinders Street railway station
–
Flinders Street Station and the intersection of
Flinders &
Swanston Streets in 1927
5.
Trams in Melbourne
–
The Melbourne tramway network is a major form of public transport in Melbourne, the capital city of the state of Victoria, Australia. As of May 2014, the network consisted of 250 kilometres of track,493 trams,25 routes and it is the largest urban tramway network in the world, ahead of the networks in St Petersburg and Upper Silesia, Berlin, Moscow and Vienna. Trams are the second most used form of transport in overall boardings in Melbourne after the commuter railway network. Trams have operated continuously in Melbourne since 1884, with the opening of a tram line in Fairfield. Since then they have become a part of Melbournes character and feature in tourism. Melbournes cable tram system opened in 1885, and expanded to one of the largest in the world, the first electric tram line opened in 1889, but closed only a few years later in 1894. In 1906 electric tram systems were opened in St Kilda and Essendon, the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board was formed in 1919 to take control of Melbournes cable tram network, six of the seven electric tramway companies, and the last horse tram. By 1940 all cable and horse lines had been abandoned or converted to either electric tram or bus operation. The network has operated under contract since the commencement of franchising, following the privatisation of the Public Transport Corporation in 1999. The current private operator contracted to run Melbournes tram system is Keolis Downer, Ticketing, public information and patronage promotion are undertaken by Victorias public transport body, Public Transport Victoria. The multi-modal integrated ticketing system, myki, currently operates across the tram network, at some Melbourne intersections, motor vehicles are required to perform a hook turn, a manoeuvre designed to give trams priority. Since January 2015 trams inside the business district have been free. Melbournes first tram was a tram from Fairfield railway station to a real estate development in Thornbury, it opened on 20 December 1884. Seven horse trams operated in Melbourne, three lines were built by the Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company, while the four were built by different private companies. Melbournes cable tram system has its origins in the MTOC, started by Francis Boardman Clapp in 1877, with a view to operate a Melbourne tram system. Although some lines were intended to be horse trams. The Act established the Melbourne Tramways Trust, which was made up of the 12 municipalities that the MTOC system would serve. The MTT was responsible for the construction of tracks and engine house, while the MTOC built the depots, offices and arranged for the delivery or construction of the rolling stock
Trams in Melbourne
–
Z3 215 and
B2 2028 in
Swanston St walk, 2012
Trams in Melbourne
–
Cable tram dummy and trailer passing
Queen Victoria Hospital, Swanston St, 1905
Trams in Melbourne
–
Melbourne's first cable tram service on 11 November 1885
Trams in Melbourne
–
Box Hill to Doncaster tram
6.
Gold Coast, Queensland
–
Gold Coast is a coastal city in the Australian state of Queensland, approximately 66 kilometres south-southeast of the state capital Brisbane and immediately north of the border with New South Wales. With a census-estimated 2016 population of 638,090, The Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, making it the largest non-capital city, the first settlement in what is now South East Queensland was as a penal colony at Redcliffe. The Gold Coast region remained uninhabited by Europeans until 1823 when explorer John Oxley landed at Mermaid Beach. The hinterlands red cedar supply attracted people to the area in the mid-19th century, later in 1875, Southport was surveyed and established and grew a reputation as a secluded holiday destination for wealthy Brisbane residents. The Gold Coast region grew significantly after the establishment of the Surfers Paradise hotel in the late 1920s and it is also the major film production hub for Queensland. Gold Coast will host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, lieutenant James Cook became the first European to note the region when he sailed along the coast on 16 May 1770 in the HM Bark Endeavour. Captain Matthew Flinders, an explorer charting the continent north from the colony of New South Wales, escaped convicts from the Moreton Bay penal settlement hid in the region. The region remained uninhabited by Europeans until 1823 when explorer John Oxley landed at Mermaid Beach. The hinterlands red cedar supply attracted people to the area in the mid-19th century, a number of small townships developed along coast and in the hinterland. The western suburb of Nerang was surveyed and established as a base for the industry, by 1873, the town reserve of Burleigh Heads had also been surveyed and successful land sales had taken place. Southport quickly grew a reputation as a holiday destination for wealthy Brisbane residents. Gold Coast was originally known as the South Coast, however, inflated prices for real estate and other goods and services led to the nickname of Gold Coast from 1950. South Coast locals initially considered the name Gold Coast derogatory, however, soon the Gold Coast simply became a convenient way to refer to the holiday strip from Southport to Coolangatta. As the tourism grew into the 1950s, local businesses began to adopt the term in their names. The area was proclaimed a city less than one year later, in 2007, Gold Coast overtook the population of Newcastle, New South Wales to become the sixth largest city in Australia and the largest non-capital city. The Gold Coast is approximately covered by forests of various types. This includes small patches of near-pristine ancient rainforest, mangrove-covered islands, of the plantation pine forests that were planted in the 1950s and 1960s, when commercial forest planting for tax minimisation was encouraged by the Commonwealth government, tiny remnants remain. Gold Coast City lies in the southeast corner of Queensland, to the south of Brisbane, the Albert River separates Gold Coast from Logan City, a suburban area of Brisbane
Gold Coast, Queensland
–
Nerang River and the
Surfers Paradise skyline, 2011
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast, Queensland
–
Burleigh Heads c. 1939.
Gold Coast, Queensland
–
part of the Surfers Paradise skyline
7.
Australian Transit Enterprises
–
Australian Transit Enterprises, known simply as ATE, was an Australian operator of bus services in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. In January 1996 it commenced operating services in Perth under the Path Transit banner and this was followed in April 2000 by a contract in Adelaide under the SouthLink banner. At the same time, the Adelaide Hills operation contract was awarded to Transitplus, in April 2005 SouthLink was awarded an additional Adelaide contract. In 2010, ATE took full control of the operation of the Hills contract, in July 2011, SouthLinks existing contracts were renewed for eight years. It also operates the LinkSA coach business, in 2012 Grenda Corporation sold its share in the business to the Mountjoy family. Kefford Corporation had previously sold its share, in March 2015, Keolis Downer purchased the business. As a result, ATEs subsidiaries were reorganised to be directly under the control of Keolis Downer, prior to the companys sale to Keolis Downer in March 2015, it had a total bus fleet of 930
Australian Transit Enterprises
Australian Transit Enterprises
–
Australian Transit Enterprises
8.
Path Transit
–
Path Transit is an Australian bus company operating services in Perth under contract to Transperth. It is a subsidiary of Keolis Downer, on 29 September 1996 Path Transit commenced operating services in the Marmion and Wanneroo areas from depots in Joondalup and Trigg with 191 Mercedes-Benz and Renault buses. In January 1998 Path Transit gained further services in the Joondalup North area followed on 5 July 1998 by services in the Morley area, in 1998 a new depot was opened in Wangara. As at June 2015 Path Transit operate the Kalamunda and Morley area contracts, as at November 2015 the Perth fleet consisted of 334 buses while the TransGoldfields fleet had 16 buses. Buses are painted in Transperth livery, Path Transit operates four depots in Perth in Bayswater, Kalamunda, Malaga, Welshpool and Kalgoorlie
Path Transit
Path Transit
–
JW Bolton bodied
Renault PR180.2 in November 2006
9.
SouthLink
–
SouthLink is an Australian bus service operator in Adelaide. It operates services as part of the Adelaide Metro network under contract to the Government of South Australia and it is a subsidiary of Keolis Downer. In April 2000 SouthLink commenced operating the Adelaide Metro Outer South services with 82 buses under contract to the Government of South Australia, in April 2005 SouthLink commenced operating the Outer North contract that had previously been run by Serco. In July 2011 SouthLink commenced a contract with an optional four-year extension exercisable if performance criteria is met for the Outer North. It also commenced operating the Hills area services that had operated by Transitplus. As at October 2014, the fleet consisted of 373 buses, SouthLink operate depots in Aldgate, Seaford, Pooraka, Elizabeth, Lonsdale and Mount Barker. Willaston Adelaide Metro Buses in Adelaide Transport in Adelaide Company website Adelaide Metro
SouthLink
–
Custom Coaches CB80 bodied
Scania K320UA on
King William Street in September 2014
SouthLink
SouthLink
–
Volgren CR224L bodied
Scania L94UB in 2006
SouthLink
–
Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa at
Hallett Cove station in September 2014
10.
Quebec
–
Quebec is the second-most populous province of Canada and the only one to have a predominantly French-speaking population, with French as the sole provincial official language. Quebec is Canadas largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division and it also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canadas second-most populous province, after Ontario, most inhabitants live in urban areas near the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, the capital. Approximately half of Quebec residents live in the Greater Montreal Area, the Nord-du-Québec region, occupying the northern half of the province, is sparsely populated and inhabited primarily by Aboriginal peoples. Even in central Quebec at comparatively southerly latitudes winters are severe in inland areas, Quebec independence debates have played a large role in the politics of the province. Parti Québécois governments held referendums on sovereignty in 1980 and 1995, in 2006, the House of Commons of Canada passed a symbolic motion recognizing the Québécois as a nation within a united Canada. These many industries have all contributed to helping Quebec become an economically influential province within Canada, early variations in the spelling of the name included Québecq and Kébec. French explorer Samuel de Champlain chose the name Québec in 1608 for the colonial outpost he would use as the seat for the French colony of New France. The province is sometimes referred to as La belle province, the Province of Quebec was founded in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 after the Treaty of Paris formally transferred the French colony of Canada to Britain after the Seven Years War. The proclamation restricted the province to an area along the banks of the Saint Lawrence River, the Treaty of Versailles ceded territories south of the Great Lakes to the United States. After the Constitutional Act of 1791, the territory was divided between Lower Canada and Upper Canada, with each being granted an elected legislative assembly, in 1840, these become Canada East and Canada West after the British Parliament unified Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada. This territory was redivided into the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario at Confederation in 1867, each became one of the first four provinces. In 1898, the Canadian Parliament passed the first Quebec Boundary Extension Act that expanded the provincial boundaries northward to include the lands of the aboriginal peoples. This was followed by the addition of the District of Ungava through the Quebec Boundaries Extension Act of 1912 that added the northernmost lands of the Inuit to create the modern Province of Quebec. In 1927, the border between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador was established by the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Located in the part of Canada, and part of Central Canada. Its topography is very different from one region to another due to the composition of the ground, the climate. The Saint Lawrence Lowland and the Canadian Shield are the two main regions, and are radically different
Quebec
–
The arrival of
Samuel de Champlain, the father of
New France, on the site of
Quebec City.
Quebec
–
Flag
Quebec
–
Michel's falls on
Ashuapmushuan River in
Saint-Félicien,
Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.
Quebec
–
View of
Jacques-Cartier River from Andante mountain.
11.
Acadian Lines
–
Acadian Lines was a Canadian coach operator based in Moncton, New Brunswick. The company was established in Halifax, Nova Scotia by industrialist Roy Jodrey on 1 August 1938 as Nova Scotia Coach Lines, a division of United Service Corporation. In 1947, it known as Acadian Lines and on 28 December 1955. Thompson, Ralph A. Pepper, and Gordon H. Thompson, the company subsequently purchased the bus operations of Fleetlines Limited of Halifax and Highland Lines of Sydney. Acadian Lines operated regular passenger and parcel express services between communities throughout the province, Acadian Lines was Nova Scotian-owned until December 1995, when the Irving Transportation Group purchased Acadian Lines Ltd. In 2004, Irving Transportation Group sold Acadian Lines to the Orléans Express group, Orléans Express modified the company logo to include an upside-down a for the third a, the legal company name remains spelled Acadian for correspondence. Effectively, this made the logo a bilingual ambigram, as the ɐ could either stand for a, Acadian Lines operated regular bus services between New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia as well as Rivière-du-Loup, and Quebec. In 2006, Acadian Lines cancelled bus service on the route between Halifax and Yarmouth due to low ticket sales, in 2011, Acadian Lines cancelled bus service on the route between Saint John, New Brunswick and Bangor, Maine due to low ticket sales. Service restarted in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island on 16 May serving a route network. Routes north of Moncton, New Brunswick to Campbellton, New Brunswick as well as from Saint John, New Brunswick to Fredericton, additional buses on existing routes to Prince Edward Island were eliminated. Acadian Lines ceased operations in all three provinces on 30 November 2012, citing financial losses due to regulatory inflexibility for routes, the company was incorporated as Acadian Coach Lines LP/Autocars Acadien SEC in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Additionally, the company has a subsidiary incorporated in the three provinces named Acadian Motor Coach Tours LP/Tours Autocars Acadien SEC
Acadian Lines
–
Acadian Lines
12.
The Maritimes
–
The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,813,606 in 2016, the Maritimes, along with a fourth province – Canadas easternmost province, Newfoundland and Labrador – make up Atlantic Canada. Located along the Atlantic coast, various aquatic sub-basins are located in the Maritimes, such as the Gulf of Maine, the region is located northeast of New England, southeast of Quebecs Gaspé Peninsula, and southwest of the island of Newfoundland. All three provinces are entirely south of the southernmost extremity of Western Canada, and are the provinces of Canada without large. The Mikmaq, Maliseet and Passamaquoddy people are indigenous to the Maritimes, while Acadian, the word maritime is an adjective that simply means of the sea, thus any land associated with the sea can be considered a maritime state or province. Nonetheless, the term Maritimes has historically been applied to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The Middle Period, starting 6,000 years ago, and this is also when what is called the Laurentian tradition started among Archaic Indians, existing First Nations peoples of the time. Evidence of Archaic Indian burial mounds and other ceremonial sites existing in the Saint John River valley has been uncovered, the primarily agrarian Maliseet Nation settled throughout the Saint John River and Allagash River valleys of present-day New Brunswick and Maine. The Passamaquoddy Nation inhabited the coastal regions of the present-day Bay of Fundy. The Maritimes were the area in Canada to be settled by Europeans. Both Giovanni Caboto and Giovanni da Verrazzano are reported to have sailed in or near Maritime waters during their voyages of discovery for England, several Portuguese explorers/cartographers have also documented various parts of the Maritimes, namely Diogo Homem. However, it was French explorer Jacques Cartier who made the first detailed reconnaissance of the region for a European power, and in so doing, claimed the region for the King of France. Champlain went on to fame as the founder of New Frances province of Canada which comprises much of the present-day lower St. Lawrence River valley in the province of Quebec. Most Acadian fishing activities were overshadowed by the comparatively enormous seasonal European fishing fleets based out of Newfoundland which took advantage of proximity to the Grand Banks. In 1613, Virginian raiders captured Port-Royal, and in 1621 Acadia was ceded to Scotlands Sir William Alexander who renamed it Nova Scotia. By 1632, Acadia was returned from Scotland to France under the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, colonial administration by France throughout the history of Acadia was contemptuous at best. Frances priorities were in settling and strengthening its claim on New France and the exploration and settlement of interior North America, over 74 years there were six colonial wars, which involved continuous warfare between New England and Acadia. Throughout these wars, New England was allied with the Iroquois Confederacy, in the first war, King Williams War, natives from the Maritime region participated in numerous attacks with the French on the Acadia/ New England border in southern Maine
The Maritimes
–
Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia, an
archetypal classic Maritime scene
The Maritimes
–
St. John River Campaign: Raid on Grimrose (present day
Gagetown, New Brunswick). This is the only contemporaneous image of the
Expulsion of the Acadians
The Maritimes
–
Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
The Maritimes
–
Halifax skyline from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
13.
Maritime Bus
–
Maritime Bus is a Canadian coach operator based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The company began operations on December 1,2012, after Acadian Lines discontinued service on November 30, maritime Bus began operations in December 2012, serving 15,500 passengers in its first month. This increased to 16,700 in the month of March and its busiest single day of operation was on October 13,2014 when ridership totalled 1,757 passengers. The bus service provides daily same-day parcel delivery to all its terminals in the Maritimes. Maritime Bus is a subsidiary of its parent company, Coach Atlantic Group, the application for incorporation was filed on August 16,2012, and was originally going to be called Atlantic Express Inc. During the incorporation process, the name of the applicant was changed to Tri-Maritime Bus Network Inc
Maritime Bus
–
Maritime Bus
14.
GrandLinq
–
The consortium named GrandLinq is the successful bidder to build and operate the Ion rapid transit system in Waterloo Region, Ontario. GrandLinq was one of three groups invited to bid on the system in February 2013, grandLinqs partners include, Plenary Group Canada, Meridiam Infrastructure Waterloo, Aecon, Kiewit, Mass Electric Construction Canada, Keolis, STV Canada Construction, AECOM, and CIBC World Markets. In 2012 seven groups of partners indicated an interest in bidding on the system, in February GrandLinq and two other groups, Tricity Transit System and Kitchener Waterloo Cambridge Transit Partners, were chosen as those which would be invited to submit proposals. In June the formal request for proposal was issued, and the three groups had until December to complete their bids, in March 2014, GrandLinq was identified as the preferred bidder in the staff report on the final bids, and approved by the Regions Planning and Works committee. Regional Council gave final approval on March 19, with financial close being made May 9, Construction is expected to commence by the end of the year
GrandLinq
–
External links [edit]
15.
Ion rapid transit
–
Ion is a light rail and bus rapid transit service under construction in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It will be operated by Grand River Transit, the first phase will run between the north end of Waterloo, Ontario and the south end of Kitchener, with a future extension to the downtown Galt area of Cambridge. In 2009, an Environmental Assessment began to create a proposal of light rail through Kitchener and Waterloo, on June 24,2009, Regional Council voted to approve the project, subject to funding from higher levels of government. On June 15,2011, council approved funding for the first phase and this was followed by a community building strategy to guide development, identify key destinations, and strengthen regional connections. The strategy, led by Urban Strategies Inc. of Toronto, consulted hundreds of individuals and stakeholders from Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo. The EA took an approach to studying possible routes and stations for the rapid transit line, examining several options such as utilizing existing tracks/roads. In keeping with legislation, the Environmental Assessment also examined ten possible transport technologies, including monorails, the EA as planned consisted of three phases, Phase 1, Determine a preferred transportation strategy from options such as road expansion, improved conventional transit, and rapid transit. Phase 1 was completed in July 2006, Phase 2, Step 1, Determine a preferred route design and technology. The EA examined ten different technologies including light rail, bus transit, monorail. Step 1, completed in February 2007, determined that rail transit. Step 2, Determined a short list of preferred routes and technologies for seven segments of a transit system. Step 3, Proposed an overall preferred rapid transit system Phase 3, in June 2008, the Province of Ontario announced a new expedited Transit Project Assessment Process. In August 2008, the Region notified the Ministry of the Environment to advise that the it would transition from the Individual EA to the expedited process, for that reason, Phase 3 of the Individual EA will not be completed. The Region expects to transition to the new Assessment Process in the Fall of 2009, on June 24,2009, Regional Council approved the initiative and the Region is in discussions with Provincial and Federal governments to obtain funding for the $790-million project. Light Rail Transit has been short-listed as the technology for the new transit system. The Region has decided upon an approach for building light rail from Conestoga Mall to Fairview Park Mall, passing through Uptown Waterloo. In summer of 2010, funding from higher levels of government was announced, $300 million from the province of Ontario, the provincial figure was disappointing to supporters, as they had previously promised 2/3 of the cost. The Region must now look into funding the remaining $200–300 million if the project is to go ahead as planned, on June 24,2009, Regional Council approved LRT as the technology for rapid transit in Waterloo Region
Ion rapid transit
–
Artist's image of the future Ion trainset
Ion rapid transit
–
ion
Ion rapid transit
–
Waterloo Spur just south of University Avenue in April, 2014, before construction started
Ion rapid transit
–
Construction work on Waterloo Spur in April, 2015
16.
Waterloo Region
–
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo is a regional municipality located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, and the townships of Wellesley, Woolwich, Wilmot and it is often referred to as the Region of Waterloo or Waterloo Region. The region is 1,369 square kilometres in size and its seat of government is in Kitchener. The Regions population was 535,154 at the 2016 census, the Region was preceded by Waterloo County, Ontario, created in 1853 and dissolved in 1973. That entity consisted of five townships, Woolwich, Wellesley, Wilmot, Waterloo, during the 16th and 17th centuries, the area was inhabited by the Iroquoian speaking Attawandaron nation. After the invasion of the Six Nations into the Grand River Valley, any dispersed survivors were taken captive or escaped to other tribes such as the Mississaugas and were assimilated into that culture. There are no distinct Attawandarons today, the Iroquois settled in the lower Grand River Valley, and sold parts of the land which was part of Waterloo Township to Colonel Richard Beasley, a United Empire Loyalist. Another developer was William Dickson who, in 1816, came into possession of 90,000 acres of land along the Grand River that was later to make up North and South Dumfries Townships. William Dickson of Niagara purchased land in the township of North Dumfries and South Dumfries which would become much of what is now Cambridge, Ontario. It was Dicksons intention to divide the land into lots that would be sold primarily to the Scottish settlers that he hoped to attract to Canada. They chose the site where Mill Creek flows into the Grand River, the new settlement grew slowly but by 1825, though still very small, was the largest settlement in the area and was important enough to obtain a post office. Dickson decided that a new name was needed for the Post Office and consequently the settlement and he chose Galt in honour of the Scottish novelist and Commissioner of the Canada Company, the settlers resisted the introduction of the new name preferring the more familiar Shades Mills. However, after Galt visited Dickson in the settlement in 1827 the name Galt received more widespread acceptance, in its early days Galt was an agricultural community serving the needs of the farmers in the surrounding countryside. By the late 1830s, however, the settlement began to develop an industrial capacity, Galt was the largest and most important town in the area until the beginning of the 20th century when it was finally overtaken by Kitchener. Settlement of the what became the Township of Waterloo and later, Waterloo County, Ontario, among the first settlers, Joseph Schoerg and Samuel Betzner, Jr. Mennonites, arrived from Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Other settlers followed mostly from Pennsylvania typically by Conestoga wagons, the early group purchased land from Richard Beasley who had acquired it from the Six Nations. The first school was begun in 1802 near the village of Blair, the tract included most of Block 2 of the previous Grand River Indian Lands. Many of the first farms were least 400 acres in size. The majority of the settlers before about 1830 were Mennonites from Pennsylvania and they were often called Pennsylvania Dutch although they were actually Deutsch, German
Waterloo Region
–
Region of Waterloo Headquarters in Kitchener
Waterloo Region
–
Logo
Waterloo Region
–
The
Conestoga Parkway in Kitchener-Waterloo.
17.
Shanghai Metro
–
The Shanghai Metro is a rapid transit system in Shanghai, China, operating urban and suburban rail transit services to 13 of its 16 municipal districts and to Huaqiao Town, Kunshan, Jiangsu Province. Opening in 1993 with full-scale construction extending back to 1986, Shanghai Metro is the third oldest rapid transit system in China, after the Beijing Subway and the Tianjin Metro. It has seen growth, significantly during the years leading up to the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. The metro system is heavily tied with other forms of public transport in Shanghai. Currently, the Shanghai Metro system is the worlds largest rapid transit system by route length and it also ranks second in the world by annual ridership after the Beijing Subway, with 3.4 billion rides delivered in 2016. The daily ridership record was set at 11.7 million on March 20,2017, further plans to connect the Shanghai Metro with the metro systems of Suzhou and Wuxi are under active review. The first line connecting Shanghai Metro Line 11 and Suzhou Metro Line 3 is projected to be completed in 2020, ambitious expansion plans call for 25 Lines with over 1,000 km of length by 2025. By then, every location in the area of Shanghai will be within 600 meters of a subway station. May 28,1993 – Southern section of Line 1 enters operation, April 10,1995 – Line 1 enters operation. December 28,1996 – Southern extension to Line 1 enters operation, sept 20,1999 – Line 2 enters operation. December 26,2000 – The eastern extension to Line 2, november 25,2003 – Line 5 enters operation. December 28,2004 – Northern extension to Line 1 enters operation, December 31,2005 – Line 4 enters operation, except the section between Lancun Road and Damuqiao Road that was delayed due to a construction accident. December 18,2006 – Northern extension to Line 3 enters operation, December 30,2006 – Western extension to Line 2 enters operation. December 29,2007 – Five lines or sections enter operation on the day, Second northern extension to Line 1 Delayed section of Line 4. Line 6 Line 8 Line 9 December 28,2008 – Line 9 is extended from Guilin Road to Yishan Road, July 5,2009 – Southern extension to Line 8 enters operation. December 5,2009 – Line 7 enters operation, December 31,2009 – The downtown section of Line 9 and the first section of Line 11 open. February 24,2010 – Short section of extension of Line 2 enters operation. Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park station is rebuilt underground, March 16,2010 – Second western extension to Line 2 enters operation, connecting Hongqiao Airport to the metro system
Shanghai Metro
–
Line 1
Shanghai Metro
–
System map
Shanghai Metro
–
Line 2
Shanghai Metro
–
Line 11
18.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport
–
Shanghai Pudong International Airport is one of two international airports of Shanghai and a major aviation hub of China. Pudong Airport mainly serves international flights, while the other major airport Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport mainly serves domestic. Located about 30 kilometres east of the city center, Pudong Airport occupies a 40-square-kilometre site adjacent to the coastline in eastern Pudong, the airport is operated by Shanghai Airport Authority. The airport is the hub for China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines. It is also the hub for privately owned Juneyao Airlines and Spring Airlines, the DHL hub, opened in July 2012, is said to be the biggest express hub in Asia. Pudong Airport has two passenger terminals, flanked on both sides by four parallel runways. Pudong Airport is a hub for both passenger and cargo traffic. With 3,440,279.7 metric tonnes handled in 2016, Pudong Airport also served a total of 66,002,414 passengers in 2016, making it the second busiest airport in China, 5th busiest in Asia and the 9th busiest in the world. By the end of 2016, Pudong Airport hosted 104 airlines serving more than 210 destinations, Shanghai Pudong is the busiest international hub of China, about half of its total passenger traffic is international. Pudong Airport is connected to Shanghai Metro Line 2 and the Shanghai Maglev Train via Pudong International Airport Station, prior to the establishment of Pudong International Airport, Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport was the primary airport of Shanghai. Construction of the first phase of the new Shanghai Pudong International Airport began in October 1997 and it covers an area of 40 square kilometres and is 30 kilometres from downtown Shanghai. The first phase of the airport has one 4E category runway along with two parallel taxiways, an 800, 000-square-metre apron, seventy-six aircraft positions and a 50,000 m2 cargo warehouse. A second runway was opened on March 17,2005, in November 2011, Pudong Airport received approval from the national government for a new round of expansion which includes two runways. The 3, 800-meter fourth runway, along with an auxiliary taxiway, the 3, 400-meter fifth runway, along with a new traffic tower, will cost 4.65 billion yuan. Construction was completed in 2015 and has doubled the capacity of the airport, the airport has 70 boarding bridges along with 218 parking positions. Terminal 1 was opened on October 1,1999 along with a 4000m runway and it was built to handle the demand for traffic and to relieve Shanghai Hongqiao International Airports traffic. Terminal 1 is shaped like Osaka Kansai International Airports terminal, but it is shorter, the exterior of the terminal is shaped like waves. The capacity of Terminal 1 is 20 million passengers and it currently has 204 check-in counters, thirteen luggage conveying belts and covering an area of 280,000 square meters
Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Shanghai Pudong International Airport
–
Shanghai Pudong International Airport 上海浦东国际机场 Shànghǎi Pǔdōng Guójì Jīchǎng
Shanghai Pudong International Airport
–
The interior of Terminal 1
Shanghai Pudong International Airport
–
A Shanghai Pudong Airport Bus Expressway
19.
Songjiang District
–
Songjiang, is a suburban district, formerly a county, of Shanghai. It has an area of 605.64 km2 and a population of 1,582,398. Owing to a history, Songjiang is known as the cultural root of Shanghai. Songjiang Town, the center of the district, was formerly the major city in the area. It is now connected to downtown Shanghai by Line 9 of the Shanghai Metro, Songjiang was formerly known as Huating County and was part of Jiangsu province. In AD751, during the mid-Tang Dynasty, Huating County was established at modern-day Songjiang, in the Yuan Dynasty, Huating County was raised to prefecture status and changed its name to Songjiang Prefecture. Under the Republic, the Songjiang Special Administration District extended as far as Chongming Island in northern Shanghai, in 1998, the current Songjiang District was established. It has a subtropical climate and experiences four distinct seasons. Winters are chilly and damp, and cold winds from Siberia can cause nighttime temperatures to drop below freezing. Summers are hot and humid, with an average of 8.7 days exceeding 35 °C annually and it is also susceptible to typhoons in summer and the beginning of autumn, none of which in recent years has caused considerable damage. The most pleasant seasons are spring, although changeable and often rainy, and autumn and it averages 4.2 °C in January and 27.9 °C in July, for an annual mean of 16.1 °C. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 34% in March to 54% in August, extreme temperatures within the municipality range from 40.8 °C on 7 August 2013, down to −12.1 °C on 19 January 1893. As the cultural root of Shanghai, Songjiang preserves brilliant and unique prehistoric, ancient, in the prehistoric period, there formed Majiabang Culture, Songze Culture, Liangzhu Culture and Guangfulin Culture in Songjiang. At the beginning of the 21st century, discoveries in Songjiang Guangfulin Cultural Relics made great contribution to archaeology. As time passed by, there were two important periods in the ancient Chinese society, the Western Jin Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty,3. Guidingness A famous art and literature school---Yunjian rooted and gained its fame here. Its representatives are Chen Zilong, Chen Wen, Mo Shilong, Dong Qichang and these successful candidates, being high government officials, all made great contributions to the country. Songjiang also has influence on the development of newspaper, cotton manufacturing. Some of the features in Songjiang District include, Songjiang New City is a major new-town development located within Songjiang District
Songjiang District
–
Songjiang Guangfulin Relics Park, containing the historical site of the
Guangfulin Culture dated over 5,000 years ago.
Songjiang District
–
Songjiang in Shanghai
Songjiang District
–
Administrative divisions
20.
Shanghai
–
Shanghai is the most populous city proper in the world, with a population of more than 24 million as of 2014. As one of the four direct-controlled municipalities of the Peoples Republic of China, it is a financial centre and transport hub. Located in the Yangtze River Delta in East China, Shanghai sits on the edge of the mouth of the Yangtze in the middle portion of the eastern Chinese coast. The municipality borders the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the north, south and west, as a major administrative, shipping and trading city, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to trade and recognition of its favourable port location and economic potential. The city was one of five treaty ports forced open to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the First Opium War, the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking and 1844 Treaty of Whampoa allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between China and other parts of the world, and became the financial hub of the Asia-Pacific region in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, trade was limited to other socialist countries, and the citys global influence declined. In the 1990s, the reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance. The two Chinese characters in the name are 上 and 海, together meaning Upon-the-Sea. The earliest occurrence of this dates from the 11th-century Song Dynasty, at which time there was already a river confluence. There are disputes as to exactly how the name should be understood, Shanghai is officially abbreviated 沪 in Chinese, a contraction of 沪渎, a 4th- or 5th-century Jin name for the mouth of Suzhou Creek when it was the main conduit into the ocean. This character appears on all motor vehicle license plates issued in the municipality today, another alternative name for Shanghai is Shēn or Shēnchéng, from Lord Chunshen, a third-century BC nobleman and prime minister of the state of Chu, whose fief included modern Shanghai. Sports teams and newspapers in Shanghai often use Shen in their names, such as Shanghai Shenhua F. C. Huating was another early name for Shanghai. In AD751, during the dynasty, Huating County was established at modern-day Songjiang. Today, Huating appears as the name of a hotel in the city. The city also has various nicknames in English, including Pearl of the Orient, during the Spring and Autumn period, the Shanghai area belonged to the Kingdom of Wu, which was conquered by the Kingdom of Yue, which in turn was conquered by the Kingdom of Chu. During the Warring States period, Shanghai was part of the fief of Lord Chunshen of Chu and he ordered the excavation of the Huangpu River. Its former or poetic name, the Chunshen River, gave Shanghai its nickname of Shen, two important events helped promote Shanghais development in the Ming dynasty
Shanghai
–
Clockwise from top: A view of the
Pudong skyline,
Yu Garden,
China Pavilion along with the
Expo Axis, neon signs on
Nanjing Road, and
The Bund
Shanghai
–
The walled
Old City of Shanghai in the 17th century
Shanghai
–
Shanghai in the 1930s, with the
Shanghai International Settlement and
Shanghai French Concession
Shanghai
–
The Bund in 1928; the WWI monument in the foreground was destroyed by the Japanese during WWII
21.
Hubei
–
Hubei is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the Central China region. The name of the province north of the lake, referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The provincial capital is Wuhan, a major thoroughfare and the political, cultural. It borders Henan to the north, Anhui to the east, Jiangxi to the southeast, Hunan to the south, Chongqing to the west, the high-profile Three Gorges Dam is located at Yichang, in the west of the province. The Hubei region was home to sophisticated Neolithic cultures, by the Spring and Autumn period, the territory of todays Hubei was part of the powerful State of Chu. During the Warring States period Chu became the major adversary of the upstart State of Qin to the northwest, which began to assert itself by outward expansionism. As wars between Qin and Chu ensued, Chu lost more and more land, first its dominance over the Sichuan Basin, then its heartland, which correspond to modern Hubei. In 223 BC Qin chased down the remnants of the Chu regime, Qin founded the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, the first unified state in the region. Qin was succeeded by the Han dynasty in 206 BC, which established the province of Jingzhou in what is now Hubei, the Qin and Han played an active role in the agricultural colonization of Hubei, maintaining a system of river dikes to protect farmland from summer floods. Towards the end of the Han Dynasty in the beginning of the 3rd century, the incursion of northern nomadic peoples into the region at the beginning of the 4th century began nearly three centuries of division into a nomad-ruled north and a Han Chinese-ruled south. Hubei, to the South, remained under southern rule for this entire period, until the unification of China by the Sui dynasty in 589. After the Tang dynasty disintegrated in the 10th century, Hubei came under the control of several regional regimes, Jingnan in the center, Wu to the east, and the Five Dynasties to the north. The Song dynasty reunified the region in 982 and placed most of Hubei into Jinghubei Circuit, Mongols conquered the region in 1279, and under their rule the province of Huguang was established, covering Hubei, Hunan, and parts of Guangdong and Guangxi. The Ming dynasty drove out the Mongols in 1368 and their version of Huguang province was smaller, and corresponded almost entirely to the modern provinces of Hubei and Hunan combined. While Hubei was geographically removed from the centers of the Ming power, during the last years of the Ming, todays Hubei was ravaged several times by the rebel armies of Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng. The Manchu Qing dynasty which had much of the region in 1644, soon split Huguang into the provinces of Hubei. The Huangshi/Daye area, south-east of Wuhan, became an important center of mining, in 1911 the Wuchang Uprising took place in modern-day Wuhan, overthrowing the Qing dynasty and establishing the Republic of China. In 1927 Wuhan became the seat of a government established by left-wing elements of the Kuomintang, led by Wang Jingwei, during World War II the eastern parts of Hubei were conquered and occupied by Japan while the western parts remained under Chinese control
Hubei
–
Detail of an embroidered silk gauze ritual garment from a 4th-century BC,
Zhou era tomb at Mashan,
Jiangling County, Hubei
Hubei
–
Map showing the location of Hubei Province
Hubei
–
A family's ancestral hall,
Yangxin County
Hubei
–
Boats on the Yangtze River, upstream from the Three Gorges
22.
Wuhan
–
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies in the eastern Jianghan Plain at the intersection of the reaches of the Yangtze. Because of its key role in transportation, Wuhan was sometimes referred to as the Chicago of China by foreign sources. Holding sub-provincial status, Wuhan is recognized as the political, economic, financial, cultural, educational, the city of Wuhan, first termed as such in 1927, has a population of 10,607,700 people as of 2015. In the 1920s, Wuhan was the capital of a leftist Kuomintang government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek. At the 2010 census, its built-up area made of 8 out of 10 urban districts was home to 8,821,658 inhabitants, with a 3, 500-year-long history, Wuhan is one of the most ancient and civilized metropolitan cities in China. During the Han dynasty, Hanyang became a busy port. Around that time, walls were built to protect Hanyang and Wuchang, the latter event marks the foundation of Wuhan. In AD223, the Yellow Crane Tower was constructed on the Wuchang side of the Yangtze River, cui Hao, a celebrated poet of the Tang dynasty, visited the building in the early 8th century, his poem made it the most celebrated building in southern China. The city has long been renowned as a center for the arts, under the Mongol rulers, Wuchang was promoted to the status of provincial capital, by the dawn of the 18th century, Hankou had become one of Chinas top four most important towns of trade. In the late 19th century, railroads were extended on an axis through the city. Also during this period foreign powers extracted mercantile concessions, with the riverfront of Hankou being divided up into foreign-controlled merchant districts and these districts contained trading firm offices, warehouses, and docking facilities. On October 10,1911, Sun Yat-sens followers launched the Wuchang Uprising, Wuhan was the capital of a leftist Kuomintang government led by Wang Jingwei, in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek during the 1920s. S. As the battle raged on through 1938, Wuhan and the region had become the site of the Battle of Wuhan. After being taken by the Japanese in late 1938, Wuhan became a major Japanese logistics center for operations in southern China, in December 1944, the city was largely destroyed by U. S. firebombing raids conducted by the Fourteenth Air Force. In 1967, civil strife struck the city in the Wuhan Incident as a result of tensions arising out of the Cultural Revolution. The city has been subject to devastating floods, which are now supposed to be controlled by the ambitious Three Gorges Dam, a project which was completed in 2008. In December 1858, James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, High Commissioner to China, and in the spring of 1861, Counselor Harry Parkes and Admiral Herbert were sent to Wuhan to open a trading port
Wuhan
–
From top: Wuhan and the
Yangtze River,
Yellow Crane Tower, Wuhan Custom House, and
Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge
Wuhan
–
Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng, made in 433 B.C., now on display at the
Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan
Wuhan
–
A map of Wuhan painted by Japanese in 1930, with Hankou being the most prosperous sector
Wuhan
–
Yellow Crane Tower
23.
Transpole
–
Transpole is the public transport operator for the Lille Métropole, the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Lille in northern France. It operates a system, comprising buses, trams and a driverless metro system. The company is a subsidiary of Keolis, the largest private sector French transport group, Keolis is 70% owned by SNCF and 30% owned by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. The network is famous for its frequent technical mishaps, slowing down or interrupting the traffic on an almost daily basis, the Lille Metro is a VAL system, which opened on May 16,1983, the first automatic metro line in the world. It has two lines, with a length of 45 km, and 60 stations. All stations have doors between the platform and the train, line 1 is 13.5 km long, of which 8.5 km are underground, with 18 stations. The line links Loos, to the south-west of Lille, with Villeneuve dAscq, to the south-east, via central Lille, line 2 is 32 km long with 43 stations. It links Lomme, to the west of Lille, to the Belgian border, via central Lille, the tram system consists of two interurban tram lines, connecting central Lille to the nearby communities of Roubaix and Tourcoing, and has 45 stops. It is metre gauge electrifed at 750 volts DC, the system is often called the Mongy, after Alfred Mongy, the engineer who created it. It was built in 1909 at the time as the boulevards linking Lille to its two neighbours, and the lines run on reserved track within the boulevards for most of their length. While most urban lines in Lille were abandoned after 1950, the Mongy remained in service as the backbone of the transport network of the TCC. Whilst the expansion of the Metro initially threatened the trams, they were kept in service, the system was renovated between 1991 and 1994, and new low-floor trams were provided. Transpole also operates 68 urban bus routes, eight of which run into Belgium, Transpole web site Transpole web site Route diagram of all Transpole services
Transpole
–
A train of type Val-208 on the Lille Metro
Transpole
–
Map of Lille's metro and tramway lines
Transpole
–
One of the tram cars, at Marcq-en-Baroeul on the Roubaix line
24.
Essonne
–
Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River and it was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments. The Essonne department was created on 1 January 1968, from the portion of the former department of Seine-et-Oise. In June 1963 Carrefour S. A. opened the first hypermarket in the Paris region at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, in 1969, the communes of Châteaufort and Toussus-le-Noble were separated from Essonne and added to the department of Yvelines. Essonne belongs to the region of Île-de-France and it has borders with the departments of, Hauts-de-Seine and Val-de-Marne to the north, Seine-et-Marne to the east, Loiret to the south, Eure-et-Loir and Yvelines to the west. All of northern Essonne department belongs to the Parisian agglomeration and is very urbanized, milly-la-Forêt is an example of its more rural communes. Founded in 1794, LEcole Polytechnique is one of the most prestigious engineering universities in France and this university was ranked 10th in the world by the Times Higher Education Supplement in 2005. Its campus is in the town of Palaiseau, one of the best public schools in France, it is ranked 52nd by Academic Ranking of World Universities. It is best known for its physics department, located in Orsay, Essonne, about 26,000 students are enrolled. The Headquarters of the Arianespace Company, a major commercial aerospace launcher, originally having been an ancient fort during Roman times, the first feudal lords began to inhabit the castle around 1000 AD. One major battle was fought in the castle during its lifetime, in 1465, Charles the Rash and French King Louis XI fought in the plains in front of the castle. In 1842, the reconstruction of the castle was started, covering 3,500 hectares in area, this forest is very important to the local population. The local government has kept roads and agricultural companies from cutting down parts of this forest, the forest receives between two and three million visitors annually, and the government spends 1.2 million euros a year maintaining it. Situated in Évry, this is a grande ecole for engineers The departments most high-profile political representative has been Manuel Valls and he visited its main town Évry to deliver remarks following the Charlie Hebdo massacre of January 2015
Essonne
–
Prefecture building of the Essonne department, in Évry
Essonne
–
Étampes
Essonne
–
Château de Dourdan
Essonne
–
Château de Montlhéry
25.
North Rhine-Westphalia
–
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with a population of approximately 18 million, and the fourth largest by area. Its capital is Düsseldorf, the most populous city is Cologne, four of Germanys ten largest cities—Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, and Essen—are located within the state, as well as the largest metropolitan area on the European continent, Rhine-Ruhr. North Rhine-Westphalia was formed in 1946 as a merger of the provinces of North Rhine and Westphalia, the state has been run by a coalition of the Social Democrats and Greens since 2010. The Ubii and some other Germanic tribes such as the Cugerni were later settled on the west side of the Rhine in the Roman province of Germania Inferior, North of the Sigambri and the Rhine region were the Bructeri. By the 8th century the Frankish dominion was established in western Germany. But at the time, to the north, Westphalia was being taken over by Saxons pushing south. The Merovingian and Carolingian Franks eventually built an empire which controlled first their Ripuarian kin, the Ottonian dynasty had both Saxon and Frankish ancestry. As the central power of the Holy Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland split into small independent principalities, each with its separate vicissitudes. Such struggles as the War of the Limburg Succession therefore continued to create military, Aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of the Rhine bulked largely in German history. Prussia first set foot on the Rhine in 1609 by the occupation of the Duchy of Cleves and about a century later Upper Guelders and Moers also became Prussian. At the peace of Basel in 1795 the whole of the bank of the Rhine was resigned to France. In 1920, the districts of Eupen and Malmedy were transferred to Belgium, around 1 AD there were numerous incursions through Westphalia and perhaps even some permanent Roman or Romanized settlements. The Battle of Teutoburg Forest took place near Osnabrück and some of the Germanic tribes who fought at this came from the area of Westphalia. Charlemagne is thought to have spent considerable time in Paderborn and nearby parts and his Saxon Wars also partly took place in what is thought of as Westphalia today. Popular legends link his adversary Widukind to places near Detmold, Bielefeld, Lemgo, Osnabrück, Widukind was buried in Enger, which is also a subject of a legend. Along with Eastphalia and Engern, Westphalia was originally a district of the Duchy of Saxony, in 1180 Westphalia was elevated to the rank of a duchy by Emperor Barbarossa. The Duchy of Westphalia comprised only an area south of the Lippe River. Parts of Westphalia came under Brandenburg-Prussian control during the 17th and 18th centuries, the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, signed in Münster and Osnabrück, ended the Thirty Years War
North Rhine-Westphalia
–
Map of the
Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle in 1799 by
John Cary
North Rhine-Westphalia
–
Flag
North Rhine-Westphalia
–
Ratification of the
Peace of Westphalia of 1648 in
Münster by Gerard Terborch
North Rhine-Westphalia
–
Rhine near
Bonn
26.
Netherlands
–
The Netherlands is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
Netherlands
–
The Netherlands in 5500 BC
Netherlands
–
Flag
Netherlands
–
The Netherlands in 500 BC
Netherlands
–
An oak figurine found in
Willemstad, North Brabant (4500 BC).
27.
Lower Saxony
–
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in northwestern Germany and is second in area, with 47,624 square kilometres, and fourth in population among the sixteen Länder of Germany. In rural areas Northern Low Saxon, a dialect of Low German, and Saterland Frisian, a variety of Frisian, are still spoken, but the number of speakers is declining. Lower Saxony borders on the North Sea, the states of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, and the Netherlands. Furthermore, the state of Bremen forms two enclaves within Lower Saxony, one being the city of Bremen, the other, its city of Bremerhaven. In fact, Lower Saxony borders more neighbours than any other single Bundesland, the states principal cities include the state capital Hanover, Braunschweig, Lüneburg, Osnabrück, Oldenburg, Hildesheim, Wolfenbüttel, Wolfsburg and Göttingen. The northwestern area of Lower Saxony, which lies on the coast of the North Sea, is called East Frisia, in the extreme west of Lower Saxony is the Emsland, a traditionally poor and sparsely populated area, once dominated by inaccessible swamps. The northern half of Lower Saxony, also known as the North German Plains, is almost invariably flat except for the hills around the Bremen geestland. Towards the south and southwest lie the northern parts of the German Central Uplands, the Weser Uplands, between these two lie the Lower Saxon Hills, a range of low ridges. Thus, Lower Saxony is the only Bundesland that encompasses both maritime and mountainous areas, Lower Saxonys major cities and economic centres are mainly situated in its central and southern parts, namely Hanover, Braunschweig, Osnabrück, Wolfsburg, Salzgitter, Hildesheim and Göttingen. Oldenburg, near the coastline, is another economic centre. To the north, the Elbe river separates Lower Saxony from Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the banks just south of the Elbe are known as Altes Land. Due to its local climate and fertile soil, it is the states largest area of fruit farming. Most of the territory was part of the historic Kingdom of Hanover. It was created by the merger of the State of Hanover with several states in 1946. Lower Saxony has a boundary in the north in the North Sea. The state and city of Bremen is an enclave surrounded by Lower Saxony. The Bremen/Oldenburg Metropolitan Region is a body for the enclave area. To the southeast the state border runs through the Harz, low mountains that are part of the German Central Uplands, in northeast Lower Saxony is Lüneburg Heath
Lower Saxony
–
Hannover
Lower Saxony
–
Flag
Lower Saxony
–
Braunschweig
Lower Saxony
–
Lüneburg
28.
Stadler FLIRT
–
Stadler FLIRT is a diesel or electric multiple unit railcar made by Stadler Rail of Switzerland. The articulated trainset comes in units of two to six cars with two to six motorized axles, the maximum speed is 200 km/h. Standard floor height is 57 cm, but 78 cm high floors are available for platform heights of 76 cm. The FLIRT train was developed for the Swiss Federal Railways and was first delivered in 2004. As of 22 April 2015,1,094 units have been sold, the FLIRT is a new generation of multiple units, even though it has a striking resemblance with GTW vehicles. The trains can have two to six sections and electric variants are available for all commonly used power supply systems as well as standard and it has jacobs bogies between the individual sections, with wide walk-through gangways. The floor height at the entrances can be chosen by the operator, automatic couplers of either Schwab type or Scharfenberg type at both ends of the train allow up to four trains to be connected. All FLIRT variations use IGBT based traction converters from ABB, which drive the induction motors located in the two bogies at either end of the train. On the two-section trains, only one bogie is powered, while on longer versions it is possible to have a powered bogie in the middle, found on the trains for NSB. Each bogie usually has a power rating of 1,000 kW giving a typical four-section train 2,000 kW total power output as well as maximum power output of 2,600 kW over a short time. Depending on the number of powered bogies, the length and weight, acceleration also varies between 0.8 and 1.2 m/s2. The Swiss Federal Railways were Stadlers first customer for the FLIRT when they ordered 42 units with options for 100 more in September 2002, the first vehicle was delivered in 2004 for the use on the Stadtbahn Zug. Meanwhile, the Swiss Federal Railways have ordered a total of 117 units that can be broken down into four different types that differ in their equipment for driving in neighboring countries, the base version is the RABe 523 that is used on the Stadtbahn Zug and the RER Lausanne. These 43 four-section units can only be used within Switzerland, the 30 RABe 521 and 14 RABe 522 are versions that can also be used in Germany and France respectively. They also consist of four sections and are used on the Basel S-Bahn, the last version is the Italy-capable RABe 524/ETR150 that is used on Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia services in Ticino and northern Italy. SNTF Stadler Rail has signed a contract to supply Azerbaijan Railways with 30 gauge-changing sleeping and dining cars for use on future Baku-Tbilisi-Kars,10 units to the Belarusian Railways delivered 2011. 6 more to be delivered 2013–14, Trains are used mostly on routes with Minsk as the start or the end point. Stadler trains are used as inter-regional transport in Belarus
Stadler FLIRT
–
RABe 522 of the
Swiss Federal Railways
Stadler FLIRT
–
Stadler FLIRT of the Swiss
Südostbahn on
Seedamm
Stadler FLIRT
–
Stadler FLIRT of Czech private rail operator LeoExpress on the test circuit in Cerhenice, the Czech Republic
Stadler FLIRT
–
Estonian Stadler FLIRT EMU 1401 in Keila
29.
Bombardier Talent
–
The Talent is a multiple unit railcar manufactured by Bombardier that was developed by Waggonfabrik Talbot in Aachen shortly before the company was acquired by Bombardier in 1995. The name Talent is an acronym in German for TALbot LEichter Nahverkehrs Triebwagen and it comes in a number of variants, including high-floor, low-floor, diesel-mechanical, diesel-hydraulic, diesel-electric, electric, and tilting, and in lengths of two, three, or four carriages. As with most multiple-unit trains, Talent units can run individually, classified as heavy rail according to UIC standards, the Talent is a two-, three- or four-part articulated railcar with Jacobs bogies. The sharing of bogies also means that a Talent unit cannot be disassembled or rearranged without the assistance of a railway yard. In those variants whose floor is 590 mm above the rails, this means that the floor is raised. In the variants with 800 and 960 mm floor height, the floor is flat from the first door to the last, the endsections have a raised floor in all variants, because the traction equipment installed underneath requires more space than unpowered bogies. After a prototype was presented in 1994, the first Talents entered service in 1996 and they are used by mainline railways in Germany, Austria and Norway. More than 260 are in service worldwide, the Trillium Line shares a lightly used freight railway line. In March 2015, all three Talent units were replaced by Alstom Coradia LINT diesel units and presumably retired, the Talent has now been superseded by the Bombardier Talent 2. com
Bombardier Talent
–
Diesel-electric Talent in Germany
Bombardier Talent
–
Nord-Ostsee-Bahn (NOB) Talent train in Germany
Bombardier Talent
–
Ostmecklenburgische Eisenbahn (OME) Talent train in Germany
Bombardier Talent
–
Bombardier Talent
NSB Class 93 at the
Nordland Line crossing
Arctic Circle in
Norway
30.
Rhein-Emscher-Express
–
The Rhein-Emscher-Express is a Regional-Express service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, running from Düsseldorf via Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund to Hamm. It connects with the rest of the rail network of NRW in Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Oberhausen, Wanne-Eickel, Dortmund. In addition, it connects in Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Oberhausen, Dortmund, the Rhein-Emscher-Express has been operating since the introduction of the integrated regular interval timetable in North Rhine-Westphalia in 1998. It first ran from Mönchengladbach via Krefeld, Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen, the Duisburg–Mönchengladbach section was dropped in exchange for an extension from Duisburg to Düsseldorf in the timetable change in December 2002. Since then the Rhein-Emscher-Express has run entirely on the line of the Cologne-Minden Railway Company. Only the NRW-Express and the Rhein-Express use the long-distance tracks, the RE3 runs hourly every day from Düsseldorf to Hamm. It runs parallel with Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn lines over large parts of its route, the passenger rail transport was operated by DB Regio NRW until 12 December 2009, using class 425 electric multiple units in coupled sets since the introduction of the winter timetable of 2008. Previously the service had operated with push–pull trains of five refurbished Silberling carriages or four double-deck carriages with a class 111 electric locomotive. The average speed is only 63 km/h, the reason for this is the frequent stops between Dortmund and Hamm. The current operator of this service and the Maas-Wupper-Express is Eurobahn, operations are carried out using 4 four-carriage and 14 five-carriage Stadler FLIRT electrical multiple units with a top speed of 160 km/h, rented from Angel Trains. On 7 January 2010, the station was officially renamed Essen-Zollverein Nord, two North Rhine-Westphalian municipal transport associations, the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr and the Verkehrsgemeinschaft Ruhr-Lippe are involved in the operation of the service. The franchise for operating the service together with the Maas-Wupper-Express from the change on 13 December 2009 was put out to tender. The winner was Rhenus Keolis GmbH, beating Abellio Rail NRW GmbH, List of regional rail lines in North Rhine-Westphalia List of scheduled railway routes in Germany Rhein-Emscher-Epress
Rhein-Emscher-Express
–
Service route
31.
Hamm
–
Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849, the city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railway station is an important hub for transport and renowned for its distinctive station building. The coat of arms has been in use in its present form for about 750 years and it shows the markish chessboard in red and silver on a golden field. Originally it was the coat of arms, i. e. the Counts of Mark. The chessboard and the colours are displayed in the coats of arms of further towns founded by that family line. Similarly, the colours of the city are red and white, the name Ham means corner in the old Low German dialect spoken at that time. In the old times the name thom Hamme would be used,1350 The Black death killed nearly all of the citizens. 1469 Hamm became a member of the Hanseatic League and it was one of the most powerful towns in the region, while the large cities of the todays Ruhr area still were only tiny villages. Almost all buildings were destroyed, except for the main church St. Georg,1657 Establishment of the Gynasium illustre with three faculties. 1820 The regional appeal court moves from Cleve to Hamm,1944 Coal-mine Maximillian closes after several problems with water drainage of the hole mine. 1945 First meeting of the city council after the war 1946 Establishment of the industrial court,1956 Sport airfield founded in the Lippe meadows. 1976 Coal-mine Sachsen closes 1984 First Landesgartenschau of North Rhine-Westphalia is held in Hamm, the old area of the coal-mine Maximillian was used for this purpose. The world greatest Glasselefant is built as main attraction and until today is one of the landmarks of the city. The Oberbürgermeister is elected directly for a five years term, together with the city council, in 1939,1968 and 1975 Hamm incorporated several towns and municipalities, in 1939 the village Mark and in 1968 the villages of Berge and Westtünnen. The number of more than doubles from 83.000 in 1974 to 173.000 in 1975. The following table shows the situation in 2006, every quarter is named with the prefix Hamm, like Hamm-Bockum-Hövel or Hamm-Mitte
Hamm
–
City of Hamm
Hamm
–
Pauluskirche former St.Georg, main church of Hamm
Hamm
–
"Gründungsprivileg" Town rights of Hamm
Hamm
–
Hamm railway station hall
32.
Dortmund
–
Dortmund is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the part of the state and is considered to be the administrative. Its population of 581,612 makes it the 8th largest city in Germany, moreover, Dortmund is the largest city by area and population in the Ruhr Area, an urban area with some 5.1 million inhabitants which is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany. Founded around 882, Dortmund became an Imperial Free City, throughout the 13th to 14th centuries, it was the chief city of the Rhine, Westphalia, the Netherlands Circle of the Hanseatic League. After the Thirty Years War the city was destroyed and decreased in significance until the onset of industrialization, the city then became one of Germanys most important coal, steel and beer centres. Thereby Dortmund was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during World War II, the devastating bombing raids of the 12th March 1945 destroyed 98% of buildings in the inner city center. This bombing raids with more than 1,110 aircraft was a record to a target in World war II. The region has adapted since the collapse of its century long steel and coal industries and shifted to high technology biomedical technology, micro systems technology and also services. In 2009, Dortmund was classified as a Node city in the Innovation Cities Index published by 2thinknow and is the most sustainable city in Germany, the city is known as Westphalias green metropolis. Nearly half the territory consists of waterways, woodland, agriculture. This stands in a stark contrast with nearly a years of extensive coal mining. Dortmund is home to Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V, Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund, a successful club in German football. The first time Dortmund was mentioned in documents was around 882. as Throtmanni. After it was destroyed by a fire, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I had the town rebuilt in 1152 and it became an Imperial Free City. Throughout the 13th to 14th centuries, it was the city of the Rhine, Westphalia. After 1320, the city appeared in writing as Dorpmunde, in the years leading up to 1344, the English King even borrowed money from well-heeled Dortmund merchant families Berswordt and Klepping, offering the regal crown as security. In 1388, Count von Mark joined forces with Archbishop of Cologne, following a major siege lasting 18 months, peace negotiations took place and Dortmund emerged victorious. After Cologne was excluded after the Anglo-Hanseatic War, Dortmund was made capital of the Rhine-Westphalian, the 1661 earthquake made the Reinoldikirche collapse
Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund
33.
Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia
–
Herne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen, like most other cities in the region, Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century. Herne is located on the axis between Bochum to the South and Recklinghausen to the North, Münster yet further North, Gelsenkirchen to the West and Castrop-Rauxel. The physical border between Herne and Recklinghausen in fact is, and has been for a time, the bridge at the Bochumer Strasse across the Rhine-Herne Canal. After World War II Herne was known as Die Goldene Stadt because of the limited damage suffered during World War II. In reference to the Kreuzkirche, if you will, but seems to be obliterated, razed, eliminated, forgotten. Herne, Wanne and Eickel as well as independent settlements or villages like Baukau, Börnig, Crange. Farms bearing these names were probably or possibly founded in the 11th and 12th centuries and were integrated at one time or another into the city of Herne. In 1860 the first of a number of coal mines started operating. In the following thirty years the population increased twentyfold, for the first time, Herne would be called a city. The same process took place in Wanne and Eickel, the two of which merged in 1926 to form the new city of Wanne-Eickel. In 1975 Wanne-Eickel, by then a city with over 70,000 inhabitants, was incorporated into Herne, Herne was targeted by the RAF on 4 June 1940, early in World War II, and air-raids became daily and nightly occurrences. On one occasion, three high-explosive torpedo-bombs were dropped, severely damaging a number of houses in the Vincke-Strasse and resulting in the deaths of all the inhabitants, phosphorus bombs were dropped in several locations and caused fires that lasted for days. Herne was probably targeted because of the coal mines as well as the Rhein-Herne Kanal with two double chambered locks at that time, within the city-confines of Herne and at the Northern edge. Goldfinger and Otto Normalverbraucher star Gerd Fröbe is or was a native of Wanne-Eickel, the Krupp Treibstoffwerke oil refinery near the local Shamrock ¾ coal mine was bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II. A fair called Cranger Kirmes is held in the citys Crange district every first week of August and this is the second largest carnival in Germany with an average of around 4,500,000 visitors. Its origins can be traced back to the 15th century, when farmers started trading horses on Saint Lawrence’s Day and that is why the official opening always takes place on the first Friday in August. The horse market tradition is kept up, by arranging a horse show, today there are about 500 stalls every year covering 111,000 square metres, meaning that it takes a 5 kilometre walk to see the whole fairground
Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia
–
View towards the center of Herne
Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia
–
Herne, church
Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia
–
Baukau, castle: Schloss Strünkede
Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia
–
Baukau, chapel: Schlosskapelle Strünkede
34.
Gelsenkirchen
–
Gelsenkirchen is a city in the North Rhine-Westphalia state of Germany. It is located in the part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2015 was c, Gelsenkirchen was first documented in 1150, but it remained a tiny village until the 19th century, when the Industrial Revolution led to the growth of the entire area. In 1840, when the mining of coal began,6,000 inhabitants lived in Gelsenkirchen, in the early 20th century, Gelsenkirchen was the most important coal mining town in Europe. It was called the city of a thousand fires for the flames of mine gasses flaring at night, in 1928, Gelsenkirchen was merged with the adjoining cities of Buer and Horst. The city bore the name Gelsenkirchen-Buer, until it was renamed Gelsenkirchen in 1930, during the Nazi era Gelsenkirchen remained a centre of coal production and oil refining, and for this reason it was bombed in Allied air raids during World War II. There are no longer colliers in Gelsenkirchen with the city searching for a new image, today Germanys largest solar power plant is located in the city. In Gelsenkirchen-Scholven there is a power station with the tallest chimneys in Germany. Gelsenkirchen is home of the football club Schalke 04, which is named after the borough Schalke, while the clubs stadium. They did not live in houses as such, but in small yards gathered together near each other, later, the Romans pushed into the area. In about 700, the region was settled by the Saxons, a few other parts of town which today lie in Gelsenkirchens north end were mentioned in documents from the early Middle Ages, some examples being, Raedese, Middelvic, Sutheim and Sculven. Many nearby farming communities were identified as iuxta Bure. It was about 1150 when the name Gelstenkerken or Geilistirinkirkin appeared up for the first time, at about the same time, the first church in town was built in what is now Buer. This ecclesia Buron was listed in a directory of churches by the sexton from Deutz. This settlement belonged to the Mark, however, in ancient times and even in the Middle Ages, only a few dozen people actually lived in the settlements around the Emscher basin. Up until the middle of the 19th century, the area in and around Gelsenkirchen was only thinly settled and almost exclusively agrarian. In 1815, after belonging to the Grand Duchy of Berg, the land now comprising the city of Gelsenkirchen passed to the Kingdom of Prussia. This arrangement came to an end only in 1928, in 1868, Gelsenkirchen became the seat of an Amt within the Bochum district which encompassed the communities of Gelsenkirchen, Braubauerschaft, Schalke, Heßler, Bulmke and Hüllen
Gelsenkirchen
–
The
Musiktheater im Revier (MiR) Opera House of Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
–
Gelsenkirchen-Buer looking south towards downtown Gelsenkirchen, 1955
Gelsenkirchen
–
In the city-forest of Buer (Buerscher Stadtwald)
Gelsenkirchen
–
A former mining settlement
35.
Oberhausen
–
Oberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen. The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is a point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. The citys Sea Life Centre was home to Paul the Octopus, Oberhausen was named for its 1847 railway station which had taken its name from the Castle Oberhausen. The new borough was formed in 1862 following inflow of people for the coal mines. Awarded town rights in 1874, Oberhausen absorbed several neighbouring boroughs including Alstaden, parts of Styrum, Oberhausen became a city in 1901, and they incorporated the towns of Sterkrade and Osterfeld in 1929. The Ruhrchemie AG synthetic oil plant was a target of the Oil Campaign of World War II. In 1973 Thyssen employed 14,000 people in Oberhausen in the steel industry, in 1954 the city began hosting the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, and the 1982 Deutscher Filmpreis was awarded to a group that wrote the Oberhausen Manifesto. The age breakdown of the population is, There are 12. 5% non-Germans living in Oberhausen
Oberhausen
–
CentrO -Park in Oberhausen
Oberhausen
–
Schloss Oberhausen - inner courtyard with little castle
Oberhausen
–
Oberhausen Hauptbahnhof
Oberhausen
–
Gasometer
36.
Duisburg
–
Duisburg is a German city in the western part of the Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is an independent metropolitan borough within Regierungsbezirk Düsseldorf, with the worlds biggest inland harbor and its proximity to Düsseldorf Airport, Duisburg has become an important venue for commerce and steel production. In the early Middle Ages it was a court of the Franks. Like many other cities, todays Duisburg is a result of numerous incorporations of surrounding towns and it is the fifteenth-largest city in Germany and the fifth-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia with 486,855 residents at the end of 2013. The city is renowned for its steel industry, the last remaining coal mine closed down in the summer of 2009, but Duisburg had never been a coal-mining center to the same extent as other places in the Ruhr region. All blast furnaces in the Ruhr are now located in Duisburg, in 2000 49% of all hot metal and 34. 4% of all pig iron in Germany was produced here. It also has a brewery, the König Brauerei, located in Duisburg-Beeck. The University of Duisburg-Essen, with 39,000 students, ranks among the 10 largest German universities, Duisburg is located in the Lowland Rhine area at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr and near the outskirts of the Bergisches Land. The city spreads along both sides of these rivers, the following cities border Duisburg, Oberhausen, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Ratingen, Düsseldorf, Meerbusch, Krefeld, Moers, Rheinberg, and Dinslaken. Duisburg therefore could mean fortified place in the floodplain, another interpretation assumes that the name is derived from the Old German duis which means hill. Duisburg could mean something like castle on the hill, thus, a place on a hill overlooking the Rhine, that could refer to the area of the present Town Hall. Duisburggau was also the name of the medieval Gau on the Lower Rhine, a legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the namesake Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca.2395 BC. There is nothing to any historical basis for such an early founding of Duisburg. Latest archaeological studies show that the present-day market-place was already in use in the first century and it has been the major central trading place of the city since the 5th century. The city itself was located at the Hellweg, an important medieval trade route, the Romans already guarded the ford. 420, The Franks usurp the Roman settlement and recolonize the old part of the town,883, The Normans conquer Duisburg and stay for the winter. Due to the towns favorable geographic position a palatinate was built, Duisburg became a member of the Hanseatic League. Around 1000 the river Rhine moved westward from the city and this put an end to the citys development as a trading town and it soon grew into a quiet rural city
Duisburg
–
Duisburg Inner Harbor
Duisburg
–
Coat of arms of Duisburg at the town hall in Duisburg.
Duisburg
–
Duisburg Corputius plan 1566
Duisburg
–
Duisburg Area 1591
37.
Maas-Wupper-Express
–
The Maas-Wupper-Express is a Regional-Express service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, running from the Dutch border town of Venlo to Hamm in Westphalia. Together with the Wupper-Express and Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn line S8, the Maas-Wupper-Express provides an east-west link between the lower Rhine of Germany and the eastern Ruhr and it runs on the tracks of the Venlo–Viersen, Viersen-Mönchengladbach, Mönchengladbach–Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf–Wuppertal, Wuppertal–Hagen and Hagen–Hamm lines. Operator of the line is Eurobahn, a subsidiary of Keolis, List of regional rail lines in North Rhine-Westphalia List of scheduled railway routes in Germany Maas-Rhein-Lippe-Netz
Maas-Wupper-Express
–
RE 13 in Venlo
Maas-Wupper-Express
Maas-Wupper-Express
–
New FLIRT train
Maas-Wupper-Express
–
RE 13 in Mönchengladbach
38.
Unna
–
Unna is a city of around 59,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the seat of the Unna district. Unna is situated on an ancient salt-trading route, the Westphalian Hellweg, trade on this route and during the period of the Hanseatic League came from as far as London. The city is located at the extremity of the Ruhr district. The history of settlement in what is now the city of Unna can be traced back to the Neolithic Era. In the Middle Ages, Unna gained significance as a way station on the Hellweg and it is first recorded by name in an ecclesiastical document of 1032. Around 1200, Count Friedrich von Altena-Isenberg was invested with the fiefdom of Unna, among other estates, over the next few hundred years the town was repeatedly fought over, and burned down several times. In the 14th century the town became wealthy, a mint was established and this is documented by the discovery of around 70 gold coins during excavation works in 1952. The coins originated from countries and are thought to have been buried around 1375. From the mid-15th century on, the town was a trade centre. In 1597 more than half the population died of the Bubonic plague, in the early 17th century, the town changed hands several times in religious wars, and in 1666 fell under the control of Prussia. In the early 19th century, the character of the town started to change from agricultural to industrial, with improved communications by road, rail. Coal mining started in 1870, together with industries dependent on it, the population rose from around 2,500 at the start of the 19th century to 15,000 in 1900. At the beginning of the 19th century, the city district Königsborn gained prominence as a resort with mineral springs. The cityscape of Königsborn still shows many buildings from that era. In 2013, a survey showed that the mineral springs could still be used for health purposes. During the Second World War, in 1943-45 there were air attacks directed at the significant barracks. In the older part of the city, there are many half-timbered buildings built between the 16th and 19th centuries, Unnas economy was largely based on agriculture until the 19th century, when it became industrialised. After World War II, the district which had survived bombing was largely torn down to make way for modern development
Unna
–
The Old Market in Unna.
Unna
Unna
–
City church with evening lighting
Unna
–
Donkey fountain in the town square (Josef Baron)
39.
Hagen
–
Hagen is the 41st-largest city in Germany. The municipality is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and it is located on the south eastern edge of the Ruhr area,15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme meet the river Ruhr. As of 31 December 2010, the population was 188,529, the city is home to the FernUniversität Hagen, which is the only state funded distance education university in Germany. Counting more than 67,000 students, it is the largest university in Germany, Hagen was first mentioned c.1200, presumably the name of a farm at the junction of the Volme and the Ennepe. After the conquest of Burg Volmarstein in 1324, Hagen passed to the County of Mark, in 1614 it was awarded to the Margraviate of Brandenburg according to the Treaty of Xanten. In 1701 it became part of the Kingdom of Prussia, after the defeat of Prussia in the Fourth Coalition, Hagen was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Berg from 1807–13. In 1815 it became part of the new Prussian Province of Westphalia, the growth of the city began in the 19th century with the mining of coal and the production of steel in the Ruhr Area. Hagen was the scene of fighting during the Ruhr Uprising,13 March -2 April 1920 and has a monument to the Ruhr Red Army, in 1928, Hagen developed into a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants. During World War II, Hagen was bombed repeatedly, by both the Royal Air Force and the Eighth Air Force, on the night of 1 October 1943,243 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes from the Royal Air Forces Bomber Command attacked the city. According to the Bomber Command Campaign Diary, This raid was a complete success achieved on a completely cloud-covered target of small size, with only a moderate bomber effort, Hagen sustained severe damage from that raid, and hundreds of civilians were killed. After World War II, the became part of the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Owing to the use of water power along the rivers Ruhr, Lenne, Volme and Ennepe, metal processing played an important role in the region of Hagen in. In the 17th and 18th century, textile and steel industries as well as paper production followed, Hagen is the home of the Suedwestfaelische Industrie- und Handelskammer, as well as Sparkasse Hagen, the local municipal savings bank. The banks former headquarters, the Sparkasse Hagen tower, was a landmark until its demolition in 2004. The city is heavily indebted and in the process of cutting city services in order to balance its budget and it is located near the Hagen community of Eilpe. The Historisches Centrum Hagen includes the city museum and Werdringen castle, in the Blätterhöhle cave in Hagen the oldest fossils of modern people in Westphalia and the Ruhr were found. Some date back to the early Mesolithic,10,700 years B. C and it seems that the descendants of Mesolithic people in this area maintained a foraging lifestyle for more than 2000 years after the arrival of farming societies. Some localities of Hagen, Hagen-Dahl Hagen-Emst Hagen-Priorei Hagen-Rummenohl Hagen-Halden The following table shows the largest foreign resident groups in the city of Hagen, schulz The Autobahnen A1, A45 and A46 touch Hagen
Hagen
–
Old Town Hall (right) and Square. In the center the Volme Galerie (City Mall).
Hagen
–
Hengsteysee
Hagen
–
Panoramic view of Hagen (taken from urban forest of Hagen)
Hagen
–
Half-timbered houses "Lange Riege" (17th century)
40.
Wuppertal
–
Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the river Wupper valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf, with a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land. Wuppertal is known for its steep slopes, its woods and parks, and its suspension railway and it is the greenest city of Germany with two-thirds green space of the total municipal area of Wuppertal. From any part of the city, it is only a walk to one of the public parks or woodland paths. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Wupper valley was one of the largest industrial regions of continental Europe, the increasing demand for coal from the textile mills and blacksmith shops encouraged the expansion of the nearby Ruhrgebiet. Wuppertal still is an industrial centre, being home to industries such as textiles, metallurgy, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics, automobiles, rubber, vehicles. Aspirin originates from Wuppertal, patented in 1897 by Bayer, as is the Vorwerk-Kobold vacuum cleaner, the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy and the European Institute for International Economic Relations are located in the city. Wuppertal in its present borders was formed in 1929 by merging the cities of Barmen and Elberfeld with the communities Vohwinkel, Ronsdorf, Cronenberg, Langerfeld. The initial name Barmen-Elberfeld was changed in a 1930 referendum to Wuppertal, the new city was administered as part of the Prussian Rhine Province. Uniquely for Germany, it is a city, owing to the steep hillsides along the River Wupper. Its highest hill is the Lichtscheid, which is 351 metres above sea level, the dominant urban centres Elberfeld and Barmen have formed a continuous urbanized area since 1850. During the succeeding decades, “Wupper-Town” became the dominant industrial agglomeration of northwestern Germany, during the 20th century, this conurbation had been surpassed by Cologne, Düsseldorf, and the Ruhr area, all with a more favourable topography. From July 5,1933 to January 19,1934, the Kemna concentration camp was established in Wuppertal and it was one of the early Nazi concentration camps, created by the Third Reich to incarcerate their political opponents after the Nazi Party first gained power in 1933. The camp was established in a factory on the Wupper river in the Kemna neighborhood of the Barmen part of Wuppertal. Wuppertal is famous as an important place of resistance in Germany, the Barmen Declaration or The Theological Declaration of Barmen was a document adopted by Christians in Nazi Germany who opposed the Deutsche Christen philosophy. During World War II, about 40% of buildings in the city were destroyed by Allied bombing, as were many other German cities and industrial centres. However, a number of historic sites have been preserved, such as, Ölberg, literally “Oil mountain”. The name came about during the 1920s as the district continued using oil lamps while the surrounding bourgeois residential quarters were electrified, in traditional use, the name Ölberg refers to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem
Wuppertal
–
View of Wuppertal
Wuppertal
–
The Schwebebahn floating tram in Wuppertal-Barmen
Wuppertal
–
Sankt Laurentius church in Wuppertal
Wuppertal
–
The Schwebebahn in Wuppertal-Elberfeld
41.
Venlo
–
Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, near the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg, blerick, on the west bank, was known as Blariacum. Because of its importance, the city of Venlo was besieged several times. The most significant siege was that of 1702, carried on by Menno van Coehoorn, consequently, Venlo was incorporated into the Generaliteitslanden of the United Provinces at the Treaty of 1713. After the Napoleonic Wars it became part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, on 9 November 1939, two British Intelligence Service agents were kidnapped by the Sicherheitsdienst in what became known as the Venlo Incident. Venlo had both a road and a bridge over the Maas. The city was damaged by bombing raids on the bridges at the end of the war. Allied forces made 13 attempts to destroy the bridges to cut the German supply lines and these failed, and it was the retreating German troops who in the end blew up the bridges in an attempt to stop the allied advance. Allied forces liberated Venlo from the east, from inside Germany itself, about 300 people were killed due to those raids. The raids also cost Venlo a major part of its historical buildings, however, some old buildings, such as the city hall and the Römer house, survived the war relatively unscathed. Before the war, Venlo had an active Jewish community, most of the Jews were murdered in The Holocaust. By the late 1990s, drug-related nuisance had become a problem in the centre of Venlo, in 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago, on 1 January 2010, the municipality of Arcen en Velden, was merged into the municipality of Venlo. In 2003 Venlo was awarded the title Greenest city of Europe, Venlo was the host of Floriade 2012, the worlds largest horticultural exhibition. In 2013, Venlo has won the prestigious Best City Centre of the Netherlands award. It amazed the jury by all the investments which have made in the last couple of years in the Maas Boulevard, the railway station, the tunnel in the centre. Summer park festivities called Zomerparkfeest in August held in and around the park of Venlo. Venlo, being a city with a 100, 000+ population, is served by a number of schools both at primary and secondary education levels
Venlo
–
Venlo city centre
Venlo
–
Dutch Topographic map of Venlo (city), as of March 2014
Venlo
–
Map circa 1850
Venlo
–
One of the (meanwhile closed) coffeeshops in a former rest stop
42.
Soest, Germany
–
Soest is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Soest district, after Lippstadt, a neighbouring town, Soest is the second biggest town in its district. The city is home to a branch of South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences which offers various engineering programmes. Soest is located along the Hellweg road, approximately 23 kilometres south-west of Lippstadt, roughly 50 km east of Dortmund, the actual location of Attilas capital has not been determined. But there is no doubt that Soest has been inhabited for a long time, in the 11th and 12th centuries, Soest grew considerably, making it one of the biggest towns in Westphalia with some 10,000 citizens. It was also an important member of the Hanseatic League until 1609, a self-confident Soest from 1444 to 1449 liberated itself from the Bishop of Cologne, who controlled Westphalia. Being no longer capital of Westphalia, the city aligned itself with the Duke of Cleves, when the last Duke of Cleves died in 1609, that dukedom was inherited by Brandenburg and, after a short siege, Soest was incorporated into it. During and after the Thirty Years War, Soest suffered a loss of both population and influence, at the lowest point in 1756 it had only 3,600 citizens. With the creation of the Soest district in 1817, its influence slowly rose, however, the industrialization of the Ruhr area did not reach Soest, which remained a small town. The Nazi Party placed Soest in Gau Westphalia-South, during World War II, Soest was the target of several allied bomber raids targeted at the marshalling yard, which was one of the biggest in the Reich, and the important battery factory Akku Hagen. Later, Soest suffered major fighting in early April 1945, starting when Allied forces captured the town at the beginning of the month and they were soon evicted by a German counterattack. Destructive front-line combat raged in Soest and its environs through the first week of April until the Allies gained a permanent upper hand. From approximately 1953 to 1971, there was a garrison of Canadian soldiers and their families stationed at Soest as well as Werl and Hemer-Iserlohn. There were also several Belgian Kasernes located in Soest itself, in addition, there was an American Nike Battery situated to the south, which was subsequently turned over to the German military. From 1971-1993, the former Canadian properties, including the Married Quarters along Hiddingser Weg, south of the B-1, were used and occupied by the British military personnel and their families. On the closure of the Belgian and British army facilities, many of these properties either became used for purposes or were abandoned or demolished. The former Married Quarters area was converted to civilian housing, the former CLFEX was converted to a NAAFI under the British and finally demolished in 2006. The many medieval churches are built from a greenish sandstone unique to this area, the place comes alive on weekends, with the youngsters pub-hopping from Dimwittekar to Pesel, which is a pub with a dance floor
Soest, Germany
–
Soest
Soest, Germany
Soest, Germany
–
Church St. Patrokli
Soest, Germany
–
Soest, view to a street 1
43.
Bielefeld
–
Bielefeld is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 336,352, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold, the historical centre of the city is situated north of the Teutoburg Forest line of hills, but modern Bielefeld also incorporates boroughs on the opposite side and on the hills. Bielefeld is home to a significant number of operating companies, including Dr. Oetker, Gildemeister. It has a university and several Fachhochschulen, Bielefeld is also famous for the Bethel Institution, and for the Bielefeld Conspiracy, which satirises conspiracy theories by claiming that Bielefeld does not exist. This concept has been used in the marketing and alluded to by Chancellor Angela Merkel. Founded in 1214 by Count Hermann IV of Ravensberg to guard a crossing the Teutoburg Forest. After the Cologne-Minden railway opened in 1849, the Bozi brothers constructed the first large mechanised spinning mill in 1851, the Ravensberg Spinning Mill was built from 1854 to 1857, and metal works began to open in the 1860s. Between 1904 and 1930, Bielefeld grew, opening a railway station, a municipal theatre, and finally. The Dürkopp car was produced 1898-1927 and these pieces were issued by the Bielefeld Stadtsparkasse and were sent all around the world in the early 1920s. These pieces are known as Stoffgeld – that is, money made from fabric, nazi Germany The towns synagogue was burned in 1938. In 1944, B-17 Flying Fortresses bombed Bielefeld on September 20 and October 7, american troops entered the city in April 1945. The British presence was scaled back after the reunification of Germany. In 1973 the first villages on the side of the Teutoburg Forest were incorporated. In Bielefeld, the annual high temperature is 14 °C, the annual low temperature is 6 °C. Bielefeld was a town, and in the early 1920s the Towns Savings Bank issued money made of linen, silk. These items were known as stoffgeld, in addition to the manufacture of home appliances and various heavy industries, Bielefeld companies include Dr. Oetker, Möller Group, Seidensticker and Bethel Institution with 17.000 employees. Bielefeld University was founded in 1969, among its first professors was the notable contemporary German sociologist Niklas Luhmann. Two major autobahns, the A2 and A33, intersect in the south east of Bielefeld, the Ostwestfalendamm expressway connects the two parts of the city, naturally divided by the Teutoburg Forest
Bielefeld
–
Bielefeld
Bielefeld
–
Bielefeld City
Bielefeld
44.
Paderborn
–
Paderborn is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and born, the river Pader originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried. Paderborn was founded as a bishopric by Charlemagne in 795, although its history began in 777 when Charlemagne built a castle near the Pader springs. In 799 Pope Leo III fled his enemies in Rome and reached Paderborn, where he met Charlemagne and it was during this time that it was decided that Charlemagne would be crowned emperor. Charlemagne reinstated Leo in Rome in 800 and was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Leo in return, in 836, St. Liborius became the patron saint of Paderborn after his bones were moved there from Le Mans by Bishop Badurad. St. Liborius is commemorated in Paderborn every year in July with the Liborifest, the bishop of Paderborn, Meinwerk, became a Prince of the Empire in 1100. The bishop had several buildings built, and the area became a place for the emperors to stay. The city was taken by Prussia in 1802, then by the French vassal state Kingdom of Westphalia from 1807 to 1813, native Friedrich Sertürner, a pharmacists apprentice in Paderborn, was the first to isolate morphine from opium in 1804. In 1930, the See of Paderborn was promoted to archdiocese, during World War II, Paderborn was bombed by Allied aircraft in 1944 and 1945, resulting in 85% destruction, including many of the historic buildings. After the city was reconstructed in the 1940s and 1950s, Paderborn became an industrial seat in Westphalia. The British Army has retained a significant presence in the area, Paderborn is situated at the spring of the Pader river, approximately 30 kilometres east of Lippstadt and approximately 50 kilometres south of Bielefeld on the Pader river. The hills of the Eggegebirge are located east of the city, the city of Paderborn consists of the following Stadtteile, Paderborn has a population of over 144,000, of which approximately 10% are students at the local university. Additionally, about 10,000 members or relatives of members of the British armed forces live within Westfalen Garrison, 60% of the population are Catholics, 20% Lutherans and 20% other. Paderborn is the headquarters of the former Nixdorf Computer AG, which was acquired by Siemens in the early 1990s, the company is now known as Wincor Nixdorf which is still located in Paderborn, but Siemens retains a considerable presence in the city. Paderborn has the largest computer museum in the world, the de, from 2001 to 2005 it hosted the RoboCup German Open. The town supports the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie for regular symphony concerts in the Paderhalle, the city is known today for its exhibitions in three museums, the Kaiserpfalz, The Diocesian Museum and the Art Museum - Städtische Galerie. The local baseball team, the Paderborn Untouchables, has won many German championships, and the local American Football team, in 2006 the Paderborn Baskets, the home basketball team of the city achieved the Bundesliga. The Paderborn Baskets played in the playoffs of the 2008-09 German basketball league, SC Paderborn 07 is a German football club based in Paderborn
Paderborn
–
Paderborn town hall
Paderborn
Paderborn
–
Saint George 's church, Paderborn
Paderborn
–
Pader River, Stadt Mitte.
45.
Warburg
–
Warburg is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia on the river Diemel near the three-state point shared by Hessen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is in Höxter district and Detmold region, Warburg is the midpoint in the Warburger Börde. The main town, consisting of the Old Town and the New Town, while the Old Town lies in the Diemel Valley, the New Town rises on the heights above the Diemel. In the 1st century AD, there were Germanic settlers south of the Desenberg, in the 8th century, there was a Saxon noble seat west of the town. In the 8th and 9th centuries came the Christianization of the Saxons in the Diemel area, the first definite documentary mention came in 1036. In the 11th century there was on the Warburger Burgberg the Wartburg, under whose protection people came and settled. The castle was at first owned by Count Dodiko, whose estate, according to documents, eventually, sometime between 1021 and 1033, the Emperor further granted to the bishop the Counts rights. About 1180, the Old Town was granted town rights, from the castle hill, there was a good view over the Diemel Valley, such that a close watch could be kept on the ford that merchants had to cross going to Warburg and Paderborn. This ford on the Diemel was a crossroads of ancient commercial roads and was crucial in the towns development into a central place. The Warburg New Town was founded in 1228–29 by Bernhard IV. zur Lippe, Bishop of Paderborn, about 1239, the New Town had been built into a complete town in its own right, and the townsfolk there had full civil rights after the Dortmund and Marsberg models. In 1260, the New Town was granted the right to build a wall, not only against armies from afar. In 1364, both the Old Town and the New Town became members of the Hanseatic League, by 1436, they had forgotten their differences, uniting that year into one town. The two towns, the Old Town and the New Town, joined in 1436 into one town, in Der Grote Breff, the newly united towns constitution was precisely framed and sealed. Both former towns seals are to be seen on the Great Letter, on the cast seal, two defensive towers with a double wall are to be seen. Under the town stands the Bishop of Paderborn with a staff. The circumscription reads, Sigillium burgensium in wartborch, the Great Letter is written in Middle Low German, the Hanseatic Leagues language, and stands as a substantial legal document. Hitherto, the Old Towns and the New Towns council meetings had each been taking place in their respective town halls, now, however, there were two mayors. This was solved by allowing each mayor to head the town for half the year
Warburg
–
Warburg city panorama with sights
Warburg
Warburg
–
Warburg as seen from the Desenberg
Warburg
–
The constituent community
Welda
46.
Kassel
–
Kassel is a city located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the Kreis of the same name and has 200,507 inhabitants in December 2015. The former capital of the state of Hesse-Kassel has many palaces and parks, including the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, Kassel is also known for the documenta exhibitions of contemporary art. The citys name is derived from the ancient Castellum Cattorum, a castle of the Chatti, Kassel was first mentioned in 913 AD, as the place where two deeds were signed by King Conrad I. The place was called Chasella and was a fortification at a crossing the Fulda river. A deed from 1189 certifies that Cassel had city rights, in 1567, the Landgraviate of Hesse, until then centered in Marburg, was divided among four sons, with Hesse-Kassel becoming one of its successor states. Kassel was its capital and became a centre of Calvinist Protestantism in Germany, strong fortifications were built to protect the Protestant stronghold against Catholic enemies. Secret societies, such as Rosicrucianism flourished, with Christian Rosenkreutz’s work Fama Fraternitis first published in 1617, in 1685, Kassel became a refuge for 1,700 Huguenots who found shelter in the newly established borough of Oberneustadt. Landgrave Charles, who was responsible for this act, also ordered the construction of the Oktagon. In the early 19th century, the Brothers Grimm lived in Kassel and they collected and wrote most of their fairy tales there. At that time, around 1803, the Landgraviate was elevated to a Principality, shortly after, it was annexed by Napoleon and in 1807 it became the capital of the short-lived Kingdom of Westphalia under Napoleons brother Jérôme. The Electorate was restored in 1813, having sided with Austria in the Austro-Prussian War to gain supremacy in Germany, the principality was annexed by Prussia in 1866. The Prussian administration united Nassau, Frankfurt and Hesse-Kassel into the new Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, Kassel ceased to be a princely residence, but soon developed into a major industrial centre, as well as a major railway junction. Henschel & Son, the largest railway locomotive manufacturer in Germany at the end of the century, was based in Kassel. In 1870, after the Battle of Sedan, Napoleon III was sent as a prisoner to the castle of Wilhelmshohe above the city, during World War I the German military headquarters were located in the castle of Wilhelmshohe. In the late 1930s Nazis destroyed Heinrich Hübschs Kassel Synagogue, the most severe bombing of Kassel in World War II destroyed 90% of the downtown area, some 10,000 people were killed, and 150,000 were made homeless. Most of the casualties were civilians or wounded soldiers recuperating in local hospitals, Karl Gerland replaced the regional Gauleiter, Karl Weinrich, soon after the raid. The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Kassel at the beginning of April 1945, post-war, most of the ancient buildings were not restored, and large parts of the city area were completely rebuilt in the style of the 1950s
Kassel
–
Kassel Hercules at
Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, landmark of the city (UNESCO World Heritage)
Kassel
–
A map of Kassel in 1648.
Kassel
–
Königsstrasse, the main shopping street
Kassel
–
Kassel 360° Panorama view from the Tower of the Lutherkirche.
47.
Warendorf
–
Warendorf is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of Warendorf District. The town is best known today for its medieval town centre, for horse-riding. Bicycles are such a means of transport in the area that many cycle paths have been built. The origin and name Warendorf date back to the ancient Saxon royal court of Warintharpa, between the years of 1197 and 1201 Warendorf became a town. During this time, among the established parish, which belonged to the “old church”. The medieval records of the founding of Warendorf are missing, along with several records and these were all destroyed during the rule under the Anabaptists. Bishop Hermann II von Katzenelnbogen also contributed to the founding of the town, in 1224 the first recorded mention of Warendorf as a civitas, which is a civil and municipal community, was made. The wealth of Warendorf grew increasingly and developed more and more into an important trading town, apart from that Warendorf profited from the production and selling of linen. The wealthy citizens settled on the square and in the streets. Still today these areas of the town are most prominent in the townscape of Warendorf, in contrast, the poorer part of population lived in simple houses with dirt floors. These bad living conditions lead to the epidemics and illnesses, in 1404 there was a great fire in Warendorf, during which along with 600 houses also the “old church” and the town hall with all its inventory were destroyed. In 1533 the Anabaptist movement spread in Warendorf and also in Münster and this movement took over rule in the town for one week in October 1534, until it was ended by a short occupation by Bishop Franz von Waldeck. Four Anabaptist apostles and the Warendorf Anabaptist movement leaders were sentenced to death and were executed by a sword on the market square, as a deterrent the bodies of the “apostles” were laid on the four gates into the town. As a result of this, Warendorf lost its town rights, free elections of the local council were first held in 1556 under Bishop Franz von Waldecks successor. The Anabaptist movement continued up into the 17th century in the background without any danger for the town or church. Between 1627 and 1632 loss of the town occurred during religious battles of the Thirty Years War. The first mention of the dates back to 1657. This event remained an important funfair with a market and livestock market still today
Warendorf
–
Townhall in Warendorf
Warendorf
Warendorf
–
The Market Square, Warendorf
Warendorf
–
Saint Mary's Church, Warendorf
48.
Rahden
–
Rahden is a town in the far north of North Rhine-Westphalia between Bielefeld and Bremen and between Hanover and Osnabrück. Rahden is part of the Minden-Lübbecke District in East Westphalia-Lippe, Rahden was first mentioned in 1033 and 1816 to 1831 was county town of the district Rahden. Rahden is situated approximately 15 km north of Lübbecke and 25 km north-west of Minden and it is the northernmost town of North Rhine-Westphalia. The town of Rahden consists of 7 districts, Rahden Kleinendorf Varl Sielhorst Preußisch Ströhen Wehe Tonnenheide Bert Honsel was elected Mayor in September 2015 with 61,1 % of the votes. Rahden is twinned with, Glindow -- since 1990 Galgahévíz -- since 1995 The only honorary citizen of Rahden is Professor Carl Langhorst and he was born in 1867 in the Great Village and was a prominent portrait painter, poet and the composer of the New Westphalia March. A street in downtown Rahden is named after him, the individuals listed here come from the city Rahden and have both regional, national or even international importance. Here, the list is not exhaustive
Rahden
.jpg)
