1.
Germany
–
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
2.
Eisleben
–
Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as the hometown of Martin Luther, hence, as of 2005, Eisleben had a population of 24,284. It lies on the Halle–Kassel railway, Eisleben is divided into old and new towns, the latter of which was created for Eislebens miners in the 14th century. Eisleben was the capital of the district of Mansfelder Land and is the seat of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Lutherstadt Eisleben, Eisleben was first mentioned in 997 as a market called Islebia, and in 1180 as a town. The counts of Mansfeld governed the area until the 18th century, the German Peasants War devastated the area, about a century before the Thirty Years War. After the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, the Countess of Mansfield, Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben converted Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg and their marriage and his declaration of religious parity throughout his lands caused another round of religious war, the Cologne War. The couple fled numerous times through various German states before Gerhard relinquished his claims in 1588 and he died and was buried in Strassbourg in 1601, having failed in his attempt to convert his electorate into a dynasty. His lady came under the protection of the Dukes of Württemberg and died in 1601, the Hinterort branches died out in 1666, but the Mansfeld-Vorderort line lasted until 1780, when it too became extinct and Eisleben came under directly under the Electorate of Saxony. The Prussian Province of Saxony became part of the Free State of Prussia after World War I, after World War II, Eisleben became part of the new state of Saxony-Anhalt, part of the German Democratic Republic until Germanys reuinification in 1990. On June 6,1927, American aviator Clarence D, the Counts of Mansfield in 1229 endowed a monastery for women on the grounds of their castle in 1229, then built a separate monastery at Helfta near Eisleben, which opened in 1258. Governed under either the Benedictine or Cistercian model, Helfta became known for its powerful and mystical abbesses, including Gertrude of Hackeborn, Gertrude the Great, however, Duke Albrecht of Brunswick destroyed the nunnery in 1342. Rebuilt the following year, it was called the Queen of German Convents. In 1712 it became a run by the Prussian state. In 1950, the GDR turned it into a fruit farm, in 1994, after Germanys reunification, the Catholic Diocese of Magdeburg bought the property using donations from all over the world and soon began restoration. Cistercian nuns from Seligenthal in Bavaria moved into the cloister starting circa 1999, Since 2006 Helfta has been on the portion of a major European cultural route. The Protestant reformer Martin Luther was born in Eisleben on November 10,1483 and his father, Hans Luther, was a miner like many in Eisleben. Luthers family moved to Mansfeld when he was only a year old, seemingly by chance Luther preached his last sermon and died in Eisleben in 1546. Eisleben took steps to preserve its Luther memorials as far back as 1689, danish poet Hans Christian Andersen came to Eisleben while researching Lutheran links as well as touring through Saxony and the Harz Mountains in 1831
3.
Richard Wagner
–
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is primarily known for his operas. Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works and he described this vision in a series of essays published between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realised these ideas most fully in the first half of the four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and his advances in musical language, such as extreme chromaticism and quickly shifting tonal centres, greatly influenced the development of classical music. His Tristan und Isolde is sometimes described as marking the start of modern music, Wagner had his own opera house built, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which embodied many novel design features. The Ring and Parsifal were premiered here and his most important stage works continue to be performed at the annual Bayreuth Festival, until his final years, Wagners life was characterised by political exile, turbulent love affairs, poverty and repeated flight from his creditors. His controversial writings on music, drama and politics have attracted extensive comment, notably, since the late 20th century, where they express antisemitic sentiments. The effect of his ideas can be traced in many of the arts throughout the 20th century, his influence spread beyond composition into conducting, philosophy, literature, Richard Wagner was born to an ethnic German family in Leipzig, where his family lived at No. 3, the Brühl in the Jewish quarter and he was baptized at St. Thomas Church. He was the child of Carl Friedrich Wagner, who was a clerk in the Leipzig police service, and his wife, Johanna Rosine. Wagners father Carl died of typhus six months after Richards birth, afterwards his mother Johanna lived with Carls friend, the actor and playwright Ludwig Geyer. In August 1814 Johanna and Geyer probably married—although no documentation of this has found in the Leipzig church registers. She and her family moved to Geyers residence in Dresden, until he was fourteen, Wagner was known as Wilhelm Richard Geyer. He almost certainly thought that Geyer was his biological father, Geyers love of the theatre came to be shared by his stepson, and Wagner took part in his performances. In his autobiography Mein Leben Wagner recalled once playing the part of an angel, in late 1820, Wagner was enrolled at Pastor Wetzels school at Possendorf, near Dresden, where he received some piano instruction from his Latin teacher. He struggled to play a scale at the keyboard and preferred playing theatre overtures by ear. Following Geyers death in 1821, Richard was sent to the Kreuzschule, at the age of nine he was hugely impressed by the Gothic elements of Carl Maria von Webers opera Der Freischütz, which he saw Weber conduct. At this period Wagner entertained ambitions as a playwright and his first creative effort, listed in the Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis as WWV1, was a tragedy called Leubald. Begun when he was in school in 1826, the play was influenced by Shakespeare
4.
Gymnasium (school)
–
In its current meaning, it usually refers to secondary schools focused on preparing students to enter a university for advanced academic study. In the US, the German Gymnasium curriculum was used at a number of universities such as the University of Michigan as a model for their undergraduate college programs. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men, in the Polish educational system the gimnazjum is a middle school for pupils aged 13 to 16. The same applies in the Greek educational system, with the option of Εσπερινό Γυμνάσιο for adults. The gymnasium is a school which prepares the student for higher education at a university. They are thus meant for the more academically minded students, who are sifted out at about the age of 10–13, in addition to the usual curriculum, students of a gymnasium often study Latin and Ancient Greek. Some gymnasiums provide general education, others have a specific focus, today, a number of other areas of specialization exist, such as gymnasiums specializing in economics, technology or domestic sciences. In some countries, there is a notion of progymnasium, which is equivalent to beginning classes of the full gymnasium, here, the prefix pro indicates that this curriculum precedes normal gymnasium studies. The term was derived from the classical Greek word gymnasion, which was applied to an exercising ground in ancient Athens. Here teachers gathered and gave instruction between the hours devoted to exercises and sports, and thus the term became associated with. This use of the term did not prevail among the Romans, but was revived during the Renaissance in Italy, in 1538, Johannes Sturm founded at Strasbourg the school which became the model of the modern German gymnasium. In 1812, a Prussian regulation ordered that all schools which had the right to send their students to the university should bear the name of gymnasia, by the 20th century, this practice was followed in almost the entire Austrian-Hungarian, German, and Russian Empires. In the modern era, many countries which have gymnasiums were once part of three empires. In Albania a gymnasium education takes three years following a compulsory nine-year elementary education and ending with an aptitude test called Matura Shtetërore. The final test is standardized at the level and serves as an entrance qualification for universities. There are both public and private schools in these countries. Therefore, gymnasiums often base their admittance criteria on an entrance exam, in Austria the Gymnasium has two stages, from the age of 11 to 14, and from 15 to 18, concluding with Matura. The Humanistisches Gymnasium focuses on Ancient Greek and Latin, the Neusprachliches Gymnasium puts its focus on actively spoken languages
5.
Jurisprudence
–
Jurisprudence is the study and theory of law. It includes principles behind law that make the law, scholars of jurisprudence, also known as jurists or legal theorists, hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems, and of legal institutions. Modern jurisprudence began in the 18th century and was focused on the first principles of the law, civil law. Contemporary philosophy of law, which deals with general jurisprudence, addresses problems in two groups, Problems internal to law and legal systems. Problems of law as a social institution as law relates to the larger political and social situation in which it exists. Answers to these questions come from four schools of thought in general jurisprudence. The foundations of law are accessible through reason and it is from these laws of nature that human-created laws gain whatever force they have. Legal positivism, by contrast to natural law, holds that there is no connection between law and morality and that the force of law comes from some basic social facts. Legal positivists differ on what facts are. Critical legal studies are a younger theory of jurisprudence that has developed since the 1970s and it holds that the law is largely contradictory, and can be best analyzed as an expression of the policy goals of a dominant social group. A further relatively new field is known as jurisprudence, concerned with the impact of legal processes on wellbeing. The English word is based on the Latin maxim jurisprudentia, juris is the form of jus meaning law. The word is first attested in English in 1628, at a time when the word prudence had the meaning of knowledge of or skill in a matter, the word may have come via the French jurisprudence, which is attested earlier. Ancient Indian jurisprudence is available in various Dharmaśāstra texts starting from the Dharmasutra of Bhodhayana. Jurisprudence already had this meaning in Ancient Rome even if at its origins the discipline was a in the jus of mos maiorum, an iudex then would judge a remedy according to the facts of the case. The law was implemented with new evolutive Institutiones, while remaining in the traditional scheme. Praetors were replaced in the 3rd century BC by a body of prudentes. Admission to this body was conditional upon proof of competence or experience, under the Roman Empire, schools of law were created, and the activity constantly became more academic
6.
Leipzig University
–
Leipzig University, in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the worlds oldest universities and the second-oldest university in Germany. Famous alumni include Leibniz, Goethe, Ranke, Nietzsche, Wagner, Angela Merkel, Raila Odinga, Tycho Brahe, and nine Nobel laureates are associated with the university. The university was founded on December 2,1409 by Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and his brother William II, Margrave of Meissen, since its inception, the university has engaged in teaching and research for over 600 years without interruption. The university was modelled on the University of Prague, from which the German-speaking faculty members withdrew to Leipzig after the Jan Hus crisis, the Alma mater Lipsiensis opened in 1409, after it had been officially endorsed by Pope Alexander V in his Bull of Acknowledgment on. Its first rector was Johann von Münsterberg, from its foundation, the Paulinerkirche served as the university church. After the Reformation, the church and the buildings were donated to the university in 1544. As many European universities, the university of Leipzig was structured into colleges responsible for organising accommodation, among the colleges of Leipzig were the Small College, the Large College, the Red College, the College of our Lady and the Pauliner-College. There were also private residential halls, the colleges had jurisdiction over their members. The college structure was abandoned later and today only the names survive, during the first centuries, the university grew slowly and was a rather regional institution. This changed, however, during the 19th century when the university became an institution of higher education. At the end of the 19th century, important scholars such as Bernhard Windscheid, Leipzig University was one of the first German universities to allow women to register as guest students. At its general assembly in 1873, the Allgemeiner Deutscher Frauenverein thanked the University of Leipzig and this was the year that the first woman in Germany obtained her JD, Johanna von Evreinov. Many of the alumni became important scientists. Under Nazi rule many Jews degrees were cancelled, some were reinstated as Karl-Marx University degrees by the GDR. The university was open throughout World War II, even after the destruction of its buildings. After the destruction of most of the buildings and the majority of its libraries and this is what must be preserved as the great repository of value in the university. By the end of the war 60 per cent of the buildings and 70 per cent of its books had been destroyed. The university reopened after the war on February 5,1946, in 1948 the freely elected student council was disbanded and replaced by Free German Youth members
7.
Hobby
–
A hobby is a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during ones leisure time. Hobbies can include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, a list of hobbies is lengthy and always changing as interests and fashions change. By continually participating in a hobby, one can acquire substantial skill. Engagement in hobbies has increased since the nineteenth century as workers have more leisure time and advancing production. As some hobbies have become popular, like stamp collecting, others have been created following technological advances. Hobbyists are a part of a group of people engaged in leisure pursuits where the boundaries of each group overlap to some extent. The Serious Leisure Perspective groups hobbyists with amateurs and volunteers and identifies three broad groups of activity with hobbies being found mainly in the Serious leisure category. Casual leisure is intrinsically rewarding, short-lived, pleasurable activity requiring little or no preparation b, Serious leisure is the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer that is substantial, rewarding and results in a sense of accomplishment. Project-based leisure is a short-term often a one-off project that is rewarding, in the 16th century, the term hobyn had the meaning of small horse and pony. The term hobby horse was documented in a 1557 payment confirmation for a Hobbyhorse from Reading, the item, originally called a Tourney Horse, was made of a wooden or basketwork frame with an artificial tail and head. It was designed for a child to mimic riding a real horse, by 1816 the derivative, hobby, was introduced into the vocabulary of a number of English people. Over the course of subsequent centuries, the term came to be associated with recreation, a hobby became an activity that is practised regularly and usually with some worthwhile purpose. Hobbies are usually, but not always, practised primarily for interest and enjoyment, the origins pursuits that others thought somewhat childish or trivial. However, as early as 1676 Sir Matthew Hale, in Contemplations Moral and Divine and he was acknowledging that a hobby horse produces a legitimate sense of pride. By the mid 18th century there was a flourishing of hobbies as working people had more hours of work. They spent more time to pursue interests that brought them satisfaction, however, there was concern that these working people might not use their leisure time in worthwhile pursuits. The hope of weaning people away from bad habits by the provision of counter-attractions came to the fore in the 1830s, the flourishing book and magazine trade of the day encouraged worthwhile hobbies and pursuits. The burgeoning manufacturing trade made materials used in hobbies cheap and was responsive to the interests of hobbyists
8.
Leipzig
–
Leipzig is the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. With a population of 570,087 inhabitants it is Germanys tenth most populous city, Leipzig is located about 160 kilometres southwest of Berlin at the confluence of the White Elster, Pleisse, and Parthe rivers at the southern end of the North German Plain. Leipzig has been a city since at least the time of the Holy Roman Empire. The city sits at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, Leipzig was once one of the major European centers of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing. Leipzig became an urban center within the German Democratic Republic after the Second World War. Leipzig later played a significant role in instigating the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, through events which took place in, Leipzig today is an economic center and the most livable city in Germany, according to the GfK marketing research institution. Since the opening of the Leipzig City Tunnel in 2013, Leipzig forms the centerpiece of the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland public transit system, Leipzig is currently listed as Gamma World City and Germanys Boomtown. Outside of Leipzig the Neuseenland district forms a lake area of approximately 300 square kilometres. Leipzig is derived from the Slavic word Lipsk, which means settlement where the linden trees stand, an older spelling of the name in English is Leipsic. The Latin name Lipsia was also used, the name is cognate with Lipetsk in Russia and Liepāja in Latvia. In 1937 the Nazi government officially renamed the city Reichsmessestadt Leipzig, the common usage of this nickname for Leipzig up until the present is reflected, for example, in the name of a popular blog for local arts and culture, Heldenstadt. de. Leipzig was first documented in 1015 in the chronicles of Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg as urbs Libzi and endowed with city, Leipzig Trade Fair, started in the Middle Ages, became an event of international importance and is the oldest remaining trade fair in the world. During the Thirty Years War, two battles took place in Breitenfeld, about 8 kilometres outside Leipzig city walls, the first Battle of Breitenfeld took place in 1631 and the second in 1642. Both battles resulted in victories for the Swedish-led side, on 24 December 1701, an oil-fueled street lighting system was introduced. The city employed light guards who had to follow a schedule to ensure the punctual lighting of the 700 lanterns. The Leipzig region was the arena of the 1813 Battle of Leipzig between Napoleonic France and a coalition of Prussia, Russia, Austria and Sweden. It was the largest battle in Europe prior to the First World War, in 1913 the Monument to the Battle of the Nations celebrating the centenary of this event was completed. The railway station has two entrance halls, the eastern one for the Royal Saxon State Railways and the western one for the Prussian state railways
9.
Magdeburg
–
Magdeburg is the capital city and the second largest city of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe, Emperor Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, founder of the archbishopric of Magdeburg, was buried in the towns cathedral after his death. Magdeburgs version of German town law, known as Magdeburg rights, spread throughout Central, the city is also well known for the 1631 Sack of Magdeburg, which hardened Protestant resistance during the Thirty Years War. Prior to it Magdeburg was one of the largest German cities, Magdeburg was destroyed twice in its history. Magdeburg is the site of two universities, the Otto-von-Guericke University and the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, nowadays Magdeburg is a traffic junction as well as an industrial and trading centre. In 2005 Magdeburg celebrated its 1200th anniversary, in June 2013 Magdeburg was hit by record breaking flooding. Founded by Charlemagne in 805 as Magadoburg, the town was fortified in 919 by King Henry I the Fowler against the Magyars and Slavs. Edith loved the town and often lived there, at her death she was buried in the crypt of the Benedictine abbey of Saint Maurice, in 937, Magdeburg was the seat of a royal assembly. Otto I repeatedly visited Magdeburg and was buried in the cathedral. He granted the abbey the right to income from various tithes, the Archbishopric of Magdeburg was founded in 968 at the synod of Ravenna, Adalbert of Magdeburg was consecrated as its first archbishop. The archbishopric under Adalbert included the bishoprics of Havelberg, Brandenburg, Merseburg, Meissen, the archbishops played a prominent role in the German colonisation of the Slavic lands east of the Elbe river. In 1035 Magdeburg received a patent giving the city the right to hold exhibitions and conventions. These laws were adopted and modified throughout Central and Eastern Europe, visitors from many countries began to trade with Magdeburg. In the 13th century, Magdeburg became a member of the Hanseatic League, with more than 20,000 inhabitants Magdeburg was one of the largest cities in the Holy Roman Empire. The town had a maritime commerce on the west, with the countries of the North Sea. The citizens constantly struggled against the archbishop, becoming independent from him by the end of the 15th century. In about Easter 1497, the then twelve-year-old Martin Luther attended school in Magdeburg, in 1524, he was called to Magdeburg, where he preached and caused the citys defection from Catholicism. The Protestant Reformation had quickly found adherents in the city, where Luther had been a schoolboy, Emperor Charles V repeatedly outlawed the unruly town, which had joined the Alliance of Torgau and the Schmalkaldic League
10.
Braunschweig
–
Braunschweig, also called Brunswick in English, is a city of 252,768 people, in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the furthest navigable point of the Oker river, today, Braunschweig is the second largest city in Lower Saxony and a major centre of scientific research and development. The date and circumstances of the foundation are unknown. The towns original name of Brunswik is a combination of the name Bruno and Low German wik, the towns name therefore indicates an ideal resting-place, as it lay by a ford across the Oker River. Another explanation of the name is that it comes from Brand. The city was first mentioned in documents from the St. Magni Church from 1031, up to the 12th century, Braunschweig was ruled by the Saxon noble family of the Brunonids, then, through marriage, it fell to the House of Welf. In 1142 Henry the Lion of the House of Welf became duke of Saxony and he turned Dankwarderode Castle, the residence of the counts of Brunswick, into his own Pfalz and developed the city further to represent his authority. Under Henrys rule the Cathedral of St. Blasius was built and he also had the statue of a lion, his heraldic animal, the lion subsequently became the citys landmark. Henry the Lion became so powerful that he dared to refuse military aid to the emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, Henry went into exile in England. He had previously established ties to the English crown in 1168, through his marriage to King Henry II of Englands daughter Matilda, however, his son Otto, who could regain influence and was eventually crowned Holy Roman Emperor, continued to foster the citys development. By the year 1600, Braunschweig was the seventh largest city in Germany, the Princes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel didnt regain control over the city until the late 17th century, when Rudolph Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, took the city by siege. In the 18th century Braunschweig was not only a political, influenced by the philosophy of the Enlightenment, dukes like Anthony Ulrich and Charles I became patrons of the arts and sciences. In 1745 Charles I founded the Collegium Carolinum, predecessor of the Braunschweig University of Technology, with this he attracted poets and thinkers such as Lessing, Leisewitz, and Jakob Mauvillon to his court and the city. Emilia Galotti by Lessing and Goethes Faust were performed for the first time in Braunschweig, in 1806, the city was captured by the French during the Napoleonic Wars and became part of the short-lived Napoleonic Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807. The exiled duke Frederick William raised a corps, the Black Brunswickers. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Braunschweig was made capital of the reestablished independent Duchy of Brunswick, in the aftermath of the July Revolution in 1830, in Brunswick duke Charles II was forced to abdicate. His absolutist governing style had alienated the nobility and bourgeoisie. During the night of 7–8 September 1830, the palace in Braunschweig was stormed by an angry mob, set on fire
11.
Szczecin
–
Szczecin is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea, it is a major seaport, as of June 2011, the population was 407,811. Szczecin is located on the Oder, south of the Szczecin Lagoon, the city is situated along the southwestern shore of Dąbie Lake, on both sides of the Oder and on several large islands between the western and eastern branches of the river. The citys recorded history began in the 8th century as a Slavic Pomeranian stronghold, in the 12th century, when Szczecin had become one of Pomeranias main urban centres, it lost its independence to Piast Poland, the Duchy of Saxony, the Holy Roman Empire and Denmark. At the same time, the House of Griffins established themselves as rulers, the population was Christianized. The native Slavic population was subjected to discrimination and Germanization in the following centuries, between 1237 and 1243, the town was rebuilt, granted extensive autonomy rights and eventually joined the Hanseatic League. After the Treaty of Stettin in 1630, the town came under the control of the Swedish Empire, in the late-19th century Stettin became an industrial town, vastly increasing in size and population, and served as a major port for Berlin. During the Nazi era, opposition groups and minorities were persecuted and treated as enemies, by the end of World War II Stettins status was in doubt, and the Soviet occupation authorities at first appointed officials from the citys almost entirely German pre-war population. In July 1945, however, Polish authorities were permitted to take power, Stettin was renamed Szczecin and became part of the newly established the Polish Peoples Republic, and from 1989 the Republic of Poland. From 1999 onwards, Szczecin has served as the site of the headquarters of NATOs Multinational Corps Northeast, the names Szczecin and Stettin are of Slavic origin, though the exact etymology is the subject of ongoing research. Other medieval names for the town are Burstaborg and Burstenburgh and these names, which literally mean brush burgh, are likely derived from the translation of the citys Slavic name. The recorded history of Szczecin began in the century, when West Slavs settled Pomerania. Since the 9th century, the stronghold was fortified and expanded toward the Oder bank, Mieszko I of Poland took control of Pomerania between 960 and 967, and the region with the city of Szczecin became part of Poland in 967. Subsequent Polish rulers, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Liutician federation all aimed to control the territory, after the decline of the neighbouring regional centre Wolin in the 12th century, the city became one of the more important and powerful seaports of the Baltic Sea. In a campaign in the winter of 1121–1122, Bolesław III Wrymouth, the inhabitants were Christianized by two missions of Bishop Otto of Bamberg in 1124 and 1128. At this time, the first Christian church of Saints Peter, Polish minted coins were commonly used in trade in this period. The population of the city at that time is estimated to be at around 5, Polish rule ended with Boleslaws death in 1138. There, a Polish contingent supplied by Mieszko III the Old joined the crusaders, however, the citizens had placed crosses around the fortifications, indicating they already had been Christianised
