1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Germany
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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
3.
States of Germany
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Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen federal states. Since todays Germany was formed from a collection of several states, it has a federal constitution. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was through the unification of the western states created in the aftermath of World War II. West Berlin, while not part of the Federal Republic, was largely integrated and considered as a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, in 1957, the Saar Protectorate rejoined the Federal Republic as the Saarland. Federalism is one of the constitutional principles of Germany. After 1945, new states were constituted in all four zones of occupation, in 1949, the states in the three western zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to the development in Austria, where the Bund was constituted first. The use of the term Länder dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, before this time, the constituent states of the German Empire were called Staaten. Today, it is common to use the term Bundesland. However, this term is not used officially, neither by the constitution of 1919 nor by the Basic Law of 1949, three Länder call themselves Freistaaten, Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. He summarizes the arguments for boundary reform in Germany. The German system of dual federalism requires strong Länder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation, too many Länder also make coordination among them and with the federation more complicated. But several proposals have failed so far, territorial reform remains a topic in German politics. Federalism has a tradition in German history. The Holy Roman Empire comprised many petty states numbering more than 300 around 1796, the number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Congress of Vienna,39 states formed the German Confederation, the new German Empire included 25 states and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia, which controlled 65% of the territory, after the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles, the remaining states continued as republics of a new German federation
4.
Regierungsbezirk
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Regierungsbezirk is an administrative region at federal state level in Germany. The regional authority is called a Regierungspräsidium or Bezirksregierung and is headed by a Regierungspräsident, the Regierungsbezirke do not pass any legislation. Within the federal authority, they act as a mid-level agency. Regierungsbezirk is variously translated as district, administrative district or province. By German unification in 1871, the concept of Regierungsbezirke had been adopted by most States of the German Empire, the Regierungsbezirke of North Rhine-Westphalia are in direct continuation of those created in the Prussian Rhine and Westphalia provinces in 1816. Similar entities in other states were initially named Kreishauptmannschaft or Kreis or province in Hesse, in Nazi Germany the naming was unified to Regierungsbezirk. Currently, only four large-area states out of 16 in total are divided into Regierungsbezirke, on 1 January 2004, Saxony-Anhalt disbanded its three Regierungsbezirke, Dessau, Halle and Magdeburg. The responsibilities are now covered by a Landesverwaltungsamt with three offices at the seats of the Bezirksregierungen. On 1 January 2005, Lower Saxony disbanded its remaining four Regierungsbezirke, Brunswick, Hanover, Lüneburg, on 1 August 2008, Saxony restructured its districts and changed the name of its Regierungsbezirke to Direktionsbezirke. This was necessary because one of the new districts did not fit with the borders of the old Regierungsbezirke, the Direktionsbezirke are still named Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig. As of 1 March 2012, the Direktionsbezirke were merged into one Landesdirektion, four of the new federal states re-established in 1990, Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Thuringia, decided not to implement Regierungsbezirke. In Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Saarland they never existed, stettin, dissolved in 1945, Province of Pomerania Media related to Regierungsbezirk at Wikimedia Commons
5.
Districts of Germany
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A German district is an administrative subdivision known as Landkreis, except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where it is known simply as Kreis. Most major cities in Germany are not part of a rural district, in this context, those cities are referred to as Kreisfreie Stadt or Stadtkreis. Rural districts are at a level of administration between the German states and the municipal governments. They correspond to level 3 administrative units of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, previously, the similar title Reichskreis was given to groups of states in the Holy Roman Empire. The related term Landeskommissariat was used for administrative divisions in some German territories until the 19th century. The majority of German districts are rural districts of which there are 295, cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants do not usually belong to a district, but take over district responsibilities themselves, similar to the concept of independent cities. These are known as urban districts —cities which constitute a district in their own there are currently 107 of them. As of 2011, approximately 25 million people live in these 107 urban districts, in North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Neuss and Moers. Nevertheless, these cities take over many district responsibilities themselves, although they are part of a larger rural district. Midsize towns can perform particular administrative functions of the district as well, the classification as midsize town is usually based on a towns registered population, but varies from state to state. Aachen, Hanover and Göttingen retain certain rights of an urban district, urban districts have these responsibilities and also those of the municipalities. The district council is the highest institution of a district and is responsible for all fundamental guidelines of regional self-administration. This council is elected every five years, except in Bavaria where it is elected every six years. Usually the administrative seat of a district is located in one of its largest towns. However, district council and administrative seat of rural districts are not situated within the district proper. Most of those districts are named after this central city as well. Moers is the biggest city in Germany that is neither an urban district, in parts of northern Germany, Landrat is also the name of the entire district administration, which in southern Germany is known as Kreisverwaltung or Landratsamt. In urban districts similar administrative functions are performed by a mayor, rural districts in some German states have an additional administrative commission called Kreisausschuss
6.
Lord mayor
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The lord mayor is the title of the mayor of a major city in the United Kingdom or Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. In Australia, Lord Mayor is a status granted by the monarch to mayors of major cities. Australian cities with lord mayors, Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, see list of cities in Australia. In Canada, the town with a lord mayor in the traditional sense is Niagara-on-the-Lake. Unusually, the council of Brantford, Ontario has taken upon itself to appoint an honorary Lord Mayor Walter Gretzky in addition to the elected mayor. This is the example of a council granting the cachet itself, rather than the cachet being granted by a higher authority. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland it is a ceremonial post conferred by letters patent. See List of lord mayoralties and lord provostships in the United Kingdom, most famously referring to the Lord Mayor of London, who only has jurisdiction over the City of London, as opposed to the modern title of Mayor of London governing Greater London. In Uganda, the jurisdiction with a lord mayor is Kampala. In the Republic of Ireland, the posts of Lord Mayor of Dublin and Lord Mayor of Cork still exist, in Denmark, as the translation of Danish Overborgmester, it is the title of the highest mayor of Denmarks capital city, Copenhagen. In Germany, it is used to translate German Oberbürgermeister. As in Austria, Germanys mayors serve as the executive leaders of their cities and are elected officials. In Romania and Moldova, the mayors of the capitals are named Primar General which means General Mayor, the name is ceremonial and it has no higher powers than mayors of other cities. In Hungary, the mayor of the capital Budapest is called főpolgármester which means chief mayor or grand mayor, only the capital has a főpolgármester. Between 1873 and 1945, the Lord Mayor of Budapest was representative of the Hungarian government at the municipal authority. In ancient China, jīng zhào yĭn was the given to the mayor of capital city. In Estonia, the mayor of the capital, was named Lord Mayor from 1938 to 1940, in Czech Republic, the mayor of the capital Prague and so-called statutory cities is called Primátor. In Sweden, the titles of mayor and lord mayor have no direct equivalent since the 1970s, the executive leader of Swedish municipalities is one of sometimes several Kommunalråd in the function of Chair of the Municipal Board
7.
Social Democratic Party of Germany
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The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany. The party, led by Chairman Martin Schulz since 2017, has one of the two major contemporary political parties in Germany, along with the Christian Democratic Union. The SPD has governed at the level in Germany as part of a grand coalition with the CDU. The SPD participates in 14 state governments, nine of them governed by SPD Minister-Presidents, the SPD is a member of the Party of European Socialists and of the Socialist International, and became a founding member of the Progressive Alliance on 22 May 2013. Established in 1863, the SPD is the oldest extant political party represented in the German Parliament and was one of the first Marxist-influenced parties in the world. The General German Workers Association, founded in 1863, and the Social Democratic Workers Party, founded in 1869, merged in 1875, under the name Socialist Workers Party of Germany. From 1878 to 1890, any grouping or meeting that aimed at spreading socialist principles was banned under the Anti-Socialist Laws, in 1890, when the ban was lifted and it could again present electoral lists, the party adopted its current name. In the years leading up to World War I, the party remained ideologically radical in official principle, by 1912, the party claimed the most votes of any German party. Despite the agreement of the Second International to oppose the First World War, after 1918 the SPD played an important role in the political system of the Weimar Republic, although it took part in coalition governments only in few years. Adolf Hitler prohibited the party in 1933 under the Enabling Act – party officials were imprisoned, killed or went into exile, in exile, the party used the name Sopade. In the Soviet Zone of Occupation, the Soviets forced the Social Democrats to form a party with the Communists. In the Western zones, the Communist Party was later banned by West Germanys Federal Constitutional Court, since 1949, in the Federal Republic of Germany, the SPD has been one of the two major parties, with the other being the Christian Democratic Union. From 1969 to 1982 and 1998 to 2005 the Chancellors of Germany were Social Democrats whereas the other years the Chancellors were Christian Democrats, the SPD was established as a Marxist party in 1875. After World War II, under the leadership of Kurt Schumacher, the SPD re-established itself as a socialist party, representing the interests of the working class and the trade unions. With the Godesberg Program of 1959, however, the party evolved from a socialist working-class party to a modern social-democratic party working within capitalism. The current party platform of the SPD espouses the goal of social democracy, according to the party platform, freedom, justice, and social solidarity, form the basis of social democracy. The coordinated social market economy should be strengthened, and its output should be distributed fairly, the party sees that economic system as necessary in order to ensure the affluence of the entire population. The SPD also tries to protect the poor with a welfare state
8.
Metropolitan area
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As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions. The Greater São Paulo is a term for one of the multiple definitions the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. A metropolitan area combines an urban agglomeration with zones not necessarily urban in character and these outlying zones are sometimes known as a commuter belt, and may extend well beyond the urban zone, to other political entities. For example, El Monte, California is considered part of the Los Angeles metro area in the United States, in practice, the parameters of metropolitan areas, in both official and unofficial usage, are not consistent. Population figures given for one area can vary by millions. A polycentric metropolitan area is one not connected by continuous development or conurbation, in defining a metropolitan area, it is sufficient that a city or cities form a nucleus that other areas have a high degree of integration with. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines statistical divisions as areas under the influence of one or more major towns or a major city. However, this definition has become obsolete with the conurbation of several statistical divisions into a larger metropolitan areas. In Brazil, metropolitan areas are called metropolitan regions, each State defines its own legislation for the creation, definition and organization of a metropolitan region. The creation of a region is not intended for any statistical purpose, although the Brazilian Institute of Geography. Their main purpose is to allow for a management of public policies of common interest to all cities involved. They dont have political, electoral or jurisdictional power whatsoever, so living in a metropolitan region do not elect representatives for them. Statistics Canada defines a metropolitan area as an area consisting of one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core. To form a CMA, the area must have a population of at least 100,000. To be included in the CMA, adjacent municipalities must have a degree of integration with the core. As of the Canada 2011 Census, there were 33 CMAs in Canada, including six with a population over one million—Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. In Denmark the only area is Greater Copenhagen, consisting of the Capital Region of Denmark along with the neighboring regions Region Zealand. Greater Copenhagen has an population of 1.25 million people
9.
Central European Summer Time
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It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
10.
Vehicle registration plate
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A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
11.
Stuttgart
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Stuttgart is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the Stuttgart Cauldron an hour from the Swabian Jura. Stuttgarts urban area has a population of 623,738, making it the sixth largest city in Germany. 2.7 million people live in the administrative region and another 5.3 million people in its metropolitan area. Since the 6th millennium BC, the Stuttgart area has been an important agricultural area and has been host to a number of cultures seeking to utilize the rich soil of the Neckar valley. The Roman Empire conquered the area in 83 AD and built a massive Castrum near Bad Cannstatt, Stuttgarts roots were truly laid in the 10th century with its founding by Liudolf, Duke of Swabia as a stud farm for his warhorses. Overshadowed by nearby Cannstatt, the town grew steadily and was granted a charter in 1320, the fortunes of Stuttgart turned with those of the House of Württemberg, and they made it the capital of their County, Duchy, and Kingdom from the 15th Century to 1918. Stuttgart prospered despite setbacks in the forms of the Thirty Years War and devastating air raids by the Allies on the city, however, by 1952, the city had bounced back and became the major economic, industrial, tourism and publishing center it is today. Stuttgart is also an important transport junction, and possesses the sixth largest airport in Germany. Such companies as Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler AG, Dinkelacker, Stuttgart is unusual in the scheme of German cities. It is spread across a variety of hills, valleys and parks and this is often a source of surprise to visitors who associate the city with its reputation as the Cradle of the Automobile. The citys tourism slogan is Stuttgart offers more, under current plans to improve transport links to the international infrastructure, the city unveiled a new logo and slogan in March 2008 describing itself as Das neue Herz Europas. For business, it describes itself as Where business meets the future, in July 2010, Stuttgart unveiled a new city logo, designed to entice more business people to stay in the city and enjoy breaks in the area. Stuttgart is a city of mostly immigrants, according to Dorling Kindersley Publishings Eyewitness Travel Guide to Germany, In the city of Stuttgart, every third inhabitant is a foreigner. 40% of Stuttgarts residents, and 64% of the population below the age of five are of immigrant background, the reason for this being that the city was founded in 950 AD by Duke Liudolf of Swabia to breed warhorses. Originally, the most important location in the Neckar river valley as the rim of the Stuttgart basin at what is today Bad Cannstatt. As with many military installations, a settlement sprang up nearby, when they did, the town was left in the capable hands of a local brickworks that produced sophisticated architectural ceramics and pottery. When the Romans were driven back past the Rhine and Danube rivers in the 3rd Century by the Alamanni, in 700, Duke Gotfrid mentions a Chan Stada in a document regarding property
12.
Karlsruhe
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Karlsruhe is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, near the French-German border. It has a population of 307,755, the city is the seat of the two highest courts in Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Court of Justice. Its most remarkable building is Karlsruhe Palace, which was built in 1715, the city lies at an altitude between 100 m and 322 m. Its geographical coordinates are 49°00′N 8°24′E, the 49th parallel runs through the city centre and its course is marked by a stone and painted line in the Stadtgarten. Almost all of these survived until today. The city centre is the oldest part of town and lies south of the palace in the quadrant defined by nine of the radial streets, the central part of the palace runs east-west, with two wings, each at a 45° angle, directed southeast and southwest. The market square lies on the street running south from the palace to Ettlingen, the area north of the palace is a park and forest. The area west of the palace is now mostly residential, Karlsruhe experiences an oceanic climate and its winter climate is milder, compared to most other German cities. Summers are also hotter than elsewhere in the country and it is one of the sunniest cities in Germany, precipitation is almost evenly spread throughout the year. In 2008, the station in Karlsruhe, which had been operating since 1876, was closed, it was replaced by a weather station in Rheinstetten. A variation of this claims that he built the new palace in order to find peace from his wife. Charles William founded the city on June 17,1715, after a dispute with the citizens of his previous capital, the founding of the city is closely linked to the construction of the palace. Karlsruhe became the capital of Baden-Durlach and in 1771 of the united Baden until 1945, built in 1822, the Ständehaus was the first parliament building in a German State. In the aftermath of the revolution of 1848, a republican government was elected here. Karlsruhe was visited by Thomas Jefferson during his time as the American envoy to France, Jefferson passed to him maps of 12 European towns to consult, one of which was a sketch he had made of Karlsruhe during his visit. In 1860, the international professional convention of chemists, the Karlsruhe Congress, was held in the city. Much of the area, including the palace, was reduced to rubble by Allied bombing during World War II but was rebuilt after the war. Located in the American zone of the post-war Allied occupation, Karlsruhe was home to an American military base, in 1995, the bases closed, and their facilities were turned over to the city of Karlsruhe
13.
Rhine-Neckar
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Rhine-Neckar has a population of some 2.4 million with major cities being Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg. Other cities include the former Free imperial cities of Speyer and Worms and it has a strong local identity as a successor of the historical Electorate of the Palatinate state. The region is named after the rivers Rhine and Neckar, which join at Mannheim, since 2005, the region is officially recognized as a European Metropolitan Area. V. Verband Region Rhein-Neckar and Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar GmbH have stood for targeted, harmonised regional development work, the Rhine-Neckar Region is one of Germany’s driving economic forces, with global players such as BASF, SAP, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen or Fuchs Petrolub. It is also home to various SMEs and it is known as the largest technology cluster in Europe, also labeled IT cluster Rhine-Main-Neckar. For this reason, it is called the Silicon Valley of Europe. In 2010, regional gross value added was around 67.5 billion euros, just under 58% of the goods produced in the region are exported. Rhine-Neckar has a position both nationally and internationally in many of these fields. The gross domestic product as a measure of performance is over 75 billion euros in the region. The GDP per inhabitant is EUR31,915, thanks to its economic power, the Rhine-Neckar region is one of the areas with low unemployment. According to the Industrie und Handelskammer, there are 134,000 companies registered in the region, the Rhine-Neckar region also has high-volume purchasing power, therefore it is an attractive location for retailers and investors. Per capita income in 2008 came to EUR19,300 in 2008, the Metropolitan region is a strong economic driver as well as a center of the European transportation network. The central location and infrastructure of the region makes it accessible nationally and internationally, with the connection to Frankfurt International Airport within 31 minutes, the Rhine-Neckar and the Rhine-Main region can access global markets and other metropolitan areas. In addition, the Mannheim City Airport and a regional airport in Speyer serve as an important connection point of business air travel. Travelling by rail also provides access to national major cities as well as European capitals. The Rhine-Neckar public transport system, with the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn as its backbone, provides infrastructure, the Mannheim railway yard dispatches up to 5,300 freight cars daily. In the conurbation of Mannheim/Heidelberg/Ludwigshafen, more than twice as many work in research than the German average. Moreover, both universities and non-university R&D institutes maintain a lively exchange of ideas with industry, ensuring that knowledge is transferred from theory to practice
14.
Metropolitan regions in Germany
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The metropolitan regions in Germany are eleven densely populated areas in the Federal Republic of Germany. They comprise the major German cities and their catchment areas. The eleven metropolitan regions in Germany were organised into units for planning purposes. Using a narrower definition of metropolises, only four cities surpass the threshold of at least one million inhabitants within its borders, namely, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich. They are, Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf/Cologne, Frankfurt/Rhine-Main and Munich, globalization and World Cities Study Group considers Frankfurt and Munich α Global Cities, while the others are considered β global cities
15.
Rhine
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The largest city on the river Rhine is Cologne, Germany, with a population of more than 1,050,000 people. It is the second-longest river in Central and Western Europe, at about 1,230 km, with an average discharge of about 2,900 m3/s. The Rhine and the Danube formed most of the inland frontier of the Roman Empire and, since those days. The many castles and fortifications along the Rhine testify to its importance as a waterway in the Holy Roman Empire, in the modern era, it has become a symbol of German nationalism. The variant of the name of the Rhine in modern languages are all derived from the Gaulish name Rēnos, spanish is with French in adopting the Germanic vocalism Rin-, while Italian, Occitan and Portuguese retain the Latin Ren-. The Gaulish name Rēnos belongs to a class of river names built from the PIE root *rei- to move, flow, run, the grammatical gender of the Celtic name is masculine, and the name remains masculine in German, Dutch and French. The Old English river name was variously inflected as masculine or feminine, the length of the Rhine is conventionally measured in Rhine-kilometers, a scale introduced in 1939 which runs from the Old Rhine Bridge at Constance to Hoek van Holland. The river length is shortened from the rivers natural course due to a number of canalisation projects completed in the 19th and 20th century. The total length of the Rhine, to the inclusion of Lake Constance and its course is conventionally divided as follows, The Rhine carries its name without distinctive accessories only from the confluence of the Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein near Tamins-Reichenau. Above this point is the catchment of the headwaters of the Rhine. It belongs almost exclusively to the Swiss Canton of Graubünden, ranging from Gotthard Massif in the west via one valley lying in Ticino, traditionally, Lake Toma near the Oberalp Pass in the Gotthard region is seen as the source of the Vorderrhein and the Rhine as a whole. The Hinterrhein rises in the Rheinwald valley below Mount Rheinwaldhorn, the Vorderrhein, or Anterior Rhine, springs from Lai da Tuma, near the Oberalp Pass and passes the impressive Ruinaulta formed by the largest visible rock slide in the alps, the Flims Rockslide. A multiday trekking route is signposted along the young Rhine called Senda Sursilvana, the Hinterrhein/Rein Posteriur, or Posterior Rhine, starts from the Paradies Glacier, near the Rheinwaldhorn. One of its tributaries, the Reno di Lei, drains the Valle di Lei on politically Italian territory, after three main valleys separated by the two gorges, Roflaschlucht and Viamala, it reaches Reichenau. The Vorderrhein arises from numerous source streams in the upper Surselva, one source is Lai da Tuma with the Rein da Tuma, which is usually indicated as source of the Rhine, flowing through it. Into it flow tributaries from the south, some longer, some equal in length, such as the Reno di Medel, the Rein da Maighels, and the Rein da Curnera. The Cadlimo Valley in the Canton of Ticino is drained by the Reno di Medel, all streams in the source area are partially, sometimes completely, captured and sent to storage reservoirs for the local hydro-electric power plants. In its lower course the Vorderrhein flows through a gorge named Ruinaulta through the Flims Rockslide, the whole stretch of the Vorderrhein to the Rhine confluence near Reichenau-Tamins is accompanied by a long-distance hiking trail called Senda Sursilvana
16.
Neckar
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The Neckar is a 367-kilometre-long river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a right tributary of the Rhine. From Plochingen to Stuttgart the Neckar valley is populated and industrialised, with several well-known companies, e. g. Daimler AG. Between Stuttgart and Lauffen the Neckar cuts a scenic, meandering, after passing Heidelberg, the Neckar discharges on average 145 m3/s of water into the Rhine, making the Neckar its 4th largest tributary, and the 10th largest river in Germany. The name Neckar was derived from Nicarus and Neccarus from Celtic Nikros, from about 1100 Black Forest timber was rafted downstream as far as Holland, for use in shipyards. During the 19th century, traditional horse-drawn boats were replaced by steam-powered chain boats that used a 155 km long chain in the river to haul themselves upstream towing barges. After 1899 a railway made it possible to transport timber to the port of Heilbronn, due to the construction of 11 locks, ships up to 1500 t could travel to Heilbronn in 1935. Other important ports include Stuttgart and Heilbronn, the rivers course provides a popular route for cyclists, especially during the summer months. Its steep valley sides are used for vineyards, mainly for the cultivation of Trollinger, Lemberger, Kerner, old Bridge, in Heidelberg The Neckar is mentioned prominently in Gustav Mahlers Rheinlegendchen, composed in August 1893
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Ludwigshafen
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For Ludwigshafen am Bodensee, see Bodman-Ludwigshafen. Ludwigshafen am Rhein is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany and it is located on the Rhine river opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg and the region, it forms the Rhine Neckar Area. Known primarily as a city, Ludwigshafen is the home of chemical giant BASF. Among its cultural facilities are the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and it is the birthplace of the former German chancellor Helmut Kohl and the philosopher Ernst Bloch. The city is a city with Sufficiency status. In antiquity, Celtic and Germanic tribes settled in the Rhine Neckar area, during the 1st century B. C. the Romans conquered the region, and a Roman auxiliary fort was constructed near the present suburb of Rheingönheim. The Rhine Neckar region was part of the territory of the Prince-elector of the Kurpfalz, or Electorate of the Palatinate, the foundation of the new capital of the Kurpfalz, Mannheim, was a decisive influence on the development of the area as a whole. In the 17th century the region was devastated and depopulated during the Thirty Years War and it was only in the 18th century that the settlements around the Rheinschanze began to prosper, profiting from the proximity of the capital Mannheim. Oggersheim in particular gained some importance, after the construction of both a small palace serving as residence for the Elector, and the famous pilgrimage church. For some weeks in 1782, the great German writer and playwright Friedrich Schiller lived in Oggersheim, War returned to the Ludwigshafen area with the armies of the French Revolution. The palace at Oggersheim was burned down, Mannheim besieged several times, the Electorate of the Palatinate was split up. The eastern bank of the Rhine with Mannheim and Heidelberg was given to Baden, while the bank was granted to Bavaria, following the Wars of Liberation. The Rhine had become a frontier and the Rheinschanze, cut off politically from Mannheim, in 1808, during the French occupation, Carl Hornig of Mannheim purchased the fortress from the French authorities and turned it into a way station for passing river traffic. Later, the Rheinschanze with its winter-proof harbour basin was used as trading post, Hornig died in 1819, but Johann Heinrich Scharpff, a businessman from Speyer, continued Hornigs plans, which were then turned over to his son-in-law, Philipp Markus Lichtenberger, in 1830. Their activities marked the beginning of the use of the Rheinschanze. The year 1844 was the birth of Ludwigshafen, when Lichtenberger sold this property to the state of Bavaria. The Bavarian king, Ludwig I, set forth plans to rename the settlement after himself, during the failed German revolution of 1848 rebels captured Ludwigshafen, but they were bombarded from Mannheim, and Prussian troops quickly expelled the revolutionaries
18.
Rhineland-Palatinate
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Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of 19,846 square kilometres and about four million inhabitants, Rhineland-Palatinate is located in western Germany and borders Belgium, Luxembourg and France, and the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Saarland. The state of Rhineland-Palatinate dates from 30 August 1946, as of 201044. 9% of the population of the state adhered to the Roman Catholic Church,30. 6% to the Evangelical Church in Germany. 22. 0% of the population is irreligious or adheres to other religions, muslims made up 2. 5% of the total. The league of ShUM-cities in the later Rhineland-Palatinate comprised the Jewish communities of Mainz, Speyer, the Takkanot Shum, or Enactments of ShUM were a set of decrees formulated and agreed upon over a period of decades by their Jewish community leaders. Rhineland-Palatinate leads all German states with a rate of approximately 50%. Important sectors are the industry, chemical industry, pharmaceutical industry. Distinctive regional industries includes gemstone industry, ceramic and glass industry, small and medium enterprises are considered the backbone of the economy in Rhineland-Palatinate. The principal employer is the chemical and plastics processing industry which is represented by BASF in Ludwigshafen, boehringer, Joh. A. Benckiser, SGE Deutsche Holding, Schott Glassworks concludes the top 5 companies in the state. Rhineland-Palatinate is Germanys leading producer of wine in terms of grape cultivation, of thirteen wine regions producing quality wine in Germany, six are located in Rhineland-Palatinate, with 65% to 70% of the production of wine grapes in Germany having their origin within the state. 13,000 wine producers generate 80% to 90% of the German wine export, traditional grape varieties and a wide range of varieties developed during the last 125 years are characteristic for the region. Classical white varieties are cultivated at 63,683 hectares and these comprise the famous Rieslings 14,446 hectares, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner and Kerner. The share of red varieties grew constantly during the last decades, dornfelder, a new cultivar, is the leading red grape cultivated on 7,626 hectares, which is more than a third. Blauer Portugieser and Spätburgunder show also appreciable cultivated shares, the state supports the wine industry by providing a comprehensive consultancy and education program in the service supply centers of the land. The Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding is fully financed by the state, many well known new breeds, such as Morio-Muskat, Bacchus, Optima and Regent have been created in these institutes. The worldwide leader in sparkling wine production, producing 245 million bottles in 2006, is the renowned Schloss Wachenheim Group and this company is headquartered in Trier, with operations in several locations in Rhineland-Palatinate
19.
Hesse
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Hesse or Hessia is a federal state of the Federal Republic of Germany, with just over six million inhabitants. The state capital is Wiesbaden, the largest city is Frankfurt am Main, the English name Hesse originates in the Hessian dialects. The variant Hessia comes from the medieval Latin Hassia, the German term Hessen is used by the European Commission because their policy is to leave regional names untranslated. The term Hesse ultimately derives from a Germanic tribe called the Chatti, an inhabitant of Hesse is called a Hessian. The synthetic element hassium, number 108 on the table, is named after the state of Hesse. As early as the Paleolithic period, the Central Hessian region was inhabited, due to the favorable climate of the location, people lived there about 50,000 years ago during the last glacial period, as burial sites show from this era. Finds of paleolitical tools in southern Hesse in Rüsselsheim suggest Pleistocene hunters about 13,000 years ago, the Züschen tomb is a prehistoric burial monument, located between Lohne and Züschen, near Fritzlar, Hesse, Germany. Classified as a grave or a Hessian-Westphalian stone cist, it is one of the most important megalithic monuments in Central Europe. Dating to the fourth millennium BC, it belongs to the Late Neolithic Wartberg culture. An early Celtic presence in what is now Hesse is indicated by a mid-fifth-century BC La Tène style burial uncovered at Glauberg, the region was later settled by the Germanic Chatti tribe around the first century BC, and the name Hesse is a continuation of that tribal name. The ancient Romans had a camp in Dorlar, and in Waldgirmes directly on the eastern outskirts of Wetzlar was a civil settlement under construction. Presumably, the government for the occupied territories of the right bank of Germania was planned at this location. The governor of Germania, at least temporarily, likely had resided here, the settlement appears to have been abandoned by the Romans after the devastating Battle of the Teutoburg Forest failed in the year 9 AD. The Chatti were also involved in the Revolt of the Batavi in 69 AD, Hessia occupies the northwestern part of the modern German state of Hesse, its borders were not clearly delineated. Its geographic center is Fritzlar, it extends in the southeast to Hersfeld on the Fulda river, in the north to past Kassel and up to the rivers Diemel, to the west, it occupies the valleys of the rivers Eder and Lahn. It measured roughly 90 kilometers north-south, and 80 north-west, the area around Fritzlar shows evidence of significant pagan belief from the first century on. Excavations have produced a horse burial and bronze artifacts, a possible religious cult may have centered on a natural spring in Geismar, called Heilgenbron, the name Geismar itself may be derived from that spring. By 650, the Franks were establishing themselves as overlords, which is suggested by evidence of burials
20.
Heidelberg
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Heidelberg is a college town situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. At the 2015 census, its population was 156,257, located about 78 km south of Frankfurt, Heidelberg is the fifth-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Heidelberg is part of the densely populated Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, founded in 1386, Heidelberg University is Germanys oldest and one of Europes most reputable universities. A scientific hub in Germany, the city of Heidelberg is home to internationally renowned research facilities adjacent to its university. Heidelberg is in the Rhine Rift Valley, on the bank of the lower part of the Neckar in a steep valley in the Odenwald. It is bordered by the Königsstuhl and the Gaisberg mountains, the Neckar here flows in an east-west direction. On the right bank of the river, the Heiligenberg mountain rises to a height of 445 meters, the Neckar flows into the Rhine approximately 22 kilometres north-west in Mannheim. Villages incorporated during the 20th century stretch from the Neckar Valley along the Bergstraße, Heidelberg is on European walking route E1. Alongside the Philosophenweg on the side of the Old Town. There is a population of African rose-ringed parakeets, and a wild population of Siberian swan geese. Heidelberg is an authority within the Regierungsbezirk Karlsruhe. The Rhein-Neckar-Kreis rural district surrounds it and has its seat in the town, Heidelberg is a part of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, often referred to as the Rhein-Neckar Triangle. The Rhein-Neckar Triangle became a European metropolitan area in 2005, Heidelberg consists of 15 districts distributed in six sectors of the town. The new district will have approximately 5, 000–6,000 residents, Heidelberg has an oceanic climate, defined by the protected valley between the Pfälzerwald and the Odenwald. Year-round, the temperatures are determined by maritime air masses coming from the west. In contrast to the nearby Upper Rhine Plain, Heidelbergs position in the leads to more frequent easterly winds than average. The hillsides of the Odenwald favour clouding and precipitation, the warmest month is July, the coldest is January. Temperatures often rise beyond 30 °C in midsummer, according to the German Meteorological Service, Heidelberg was the warmest place in Germany in 2009
21.
Mannheim Palace
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Mannheim Palace is a large Baroque palace in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was originally the residence of the Prince-electors of the Electorate of the Palatinate of the House of Wittelsbach. Part of the palace is used by the University of Mannheim, the State of Baden-Württemberg offers tours of parts of the reconstructed and restored Baroque palace, which features tapestries, furniture, paintings, porcelain and silverware. The actual palace dates from the 18th century, when Elector Karl III Philip had confessional controversies with the inhabitants of his capital Heidelberg, he decided to make Mannheim the Palatinates new capital in 1720. Karl Philip decided to construct a new palace as his residence on the site of the old Friedrichsburg and it was part of a general trend among the German princes to create grand new residences in that era. Construction was commenced solemnly on June 2,1720, the first administrative institutions began using the palace in 1725, but Karl Philip was able to transfer his court to the new residence only in 1731. Construction was not completed until 1760, Karl Philip died in 1742 and was succeeded by a distant relative, the young Karl Theodor. During his reign, the palace and the city of Mannheim saw their zenith, the glamour of the Electors court and Mannheims then famous cultural life lasted until 1778, when Karl Theodor became Elector of Bavaria by inheritance and he moved his court to Munich. Although Mannheim kept the title of “residence”, the palace was used merely as accommodation for several administrative bodies, things worsened further during the Napoleonic Wars, when Mannheim was besieged. During Napoleons reorganization of Germany, the Electorate of the Palatinate was split up and Mannheim became part of the Grand Duchy of Baden, some glamour returned to Mannheim Palace when Stéphanie de Beauharnais, the consort of Grand Duke Karl of Baden, resided here after 1806. For most of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the palace served no purpose, being used as a representative building. In World War II, the palace was bombed and partly destroyed. Many people supported demolishing it after the war to create space for a modern city architecture. These plans came to nothing and the palace was reconstructed, the college expanded its subjects program in 1967, thus gaining “university” status. The site of the palace is impressive, although the construction of roads, to the southwest, it faces the Rhine and Ludwigshafen. To the northeast the palace presents its 450 m long front to the Mannheim city centre, by surrounding an area of 6 hectare the castle is one of Europes biggest Palaces and the second biggest one in barock style, second only after Versailles. Thereby and for reasons of prestige the architects made sure that Mannheim Palace has one more window than Versailles, the Breite Straße runs from the palace to Mannheims central square, the Paradeplatz. The central part of the palace is the Mittelbau with its representative halls, today, the Mittelbau holds university library halls and the Rittersaal hall
22.
Prince-elector
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The prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the Prince-Electors had the privilege of electing the King of the Romans, Charles V was the last to be a crowned Emperor, his successors were elected Emperors directly by the electoral college, each being titled Elected Emperor of the Romans. In practice, all but one Emperor from 1440 onwards came from the Austrian House of Habsburg, the dignity of Elector carried great prestige and was considered to be second only to that of King or Emperor. The Electors had exclusive privileges that were not shared with the princes of the Empire. The heir apparent to a secular prince-elector was known as an electoral prince, the German practice of electing monarchs began when ancient Germanic tribes formed ad hoc coalitions and elected the leaders thereof. Elections were irregularly held by the Franks, whose successor states include France, the French monarchy eventually became hereditary, but the Holy Roman Emperors remained elective, at least in theory, although the Habsburgs provided most of the later monarchs. While all free men originally exercised the right to vote in such elections, in the election of Lothar II in 1125, a small number of eminent nobles chose the monarch and then submitted him to the remaining magnates for their approbation. Soon, the right to choose the monarch was settled on a group of princes. The college of electors was mentioned in 1152 and again in 1198, a letter of Pope Urban IV suggests that by immemorial custom, seven princes had the right to elect the King and future Emperor. The seven have been mentioned as the vote-casters in the election of 1257 that resulted in two kings becoming elected, the Count Palatine of the Rhine held most of the former Duchy of Franconia after the last Duke died in 1039. The Margrave of Brandenburg became an Elector when the Duchy of Swabia was dissolved after the last Duke of Swabia was beheaded in 1268, Saxony, even with diminished territory, retained its eminent position. The Palatinate and Bavaria were originally held by the same individual, meanwhile, the King of Bohemia, who held the ancient imperial office of Arch-Cupbearer, asserted his right to participate in elections. Sometimes he was challenged on the grounds that his kingdom was not German, though usually he was recognized, instead of Bavaria which after all was just a younger line of Wittelsbachs. The Declaration of Rhense issued in 1338 had the effect that election by the majority of the electors automatically conferred the title and rule over the empire. The Golden Bull of 1356 finally resolved the disputes among the electors, in 1621, the Elector Palatine, Frederick V, came under the imperial ban after participating in the Bohemian Revolt. The Elector Palatines seat was conferred on the Duke of Bavaria, originally, the Duke held the electorate personally, but it was later made hereditary along with the duchy. When the Thirty Years War concluded with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, since the Elector of Bavaria retained his seat, the number of electors increased to eight, the two Wittelsbach lines now sufficiently estranged so as not to pose a combined potential threat. In 1685, the composition of the College of Electors was disrupted when a Catholic branch of the Wittelsbach family inherited the Palatinate
23.
Electoral Palatinate
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Its rulers served as prince-electors from time immemorial, were noted as such in a papal letter of 1261, and were confirmed as electors by the Golden Bull of 1356. The Counts Palatine of the Rhine held the office of Imperial vicars in the territories under Frankish law and their climax and decline is marked by the rule of Elector Palatine Frederick V, whose coronation as King of Bohemia in 1619 sparked the Thirty Years War. After the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, the lands were further afflicted by the Reunion campaigns launched by King Louis XIV of France. Ruled in personal union with the Electorate of Bavaria from 1777, the office of a Count palatine at the Frankish court of King Childebert I was already mentioned about 535. Up to the 10th century, the rule of the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties was centered at the palace in Aachen. In 985, Herman I, a scion of the Ezzonids, is mentioned as count palatine of Lotharingia and his territories were centered in the Rhineland proper around Cologne and Bonn, but extended south to the Moselle and Nahe Rivers in Lorraine. The southernmost point was near Alzey, from about 1085/86, after the death of the last Ezzonian count palatine Herman II, the Palatinate lost its military importance in Lotharingia. The territorial authority of his successor Henry of Laach was reduced to the counties along the Upper Rhine, various noble dynasties competed to be enfeoffed with the Palatinate by the Holy Roman Emperor, among them the House of Ascania, the House of Salm and the House of Babenberg. The first hereditary Count Palatine of the Rhine was Conrad, a member of the House of Hohenstaufen, the territories attached to this hereditary office in 1156 started from those held by the Hohenstaufens in the Donnersberg, Nahegau, Haardt, Bergstraße and Kraichgau regions. Much of this was from their ancestors, the Salian emperors, and apart from Conrads maternal ancestry. These backgrounds explain the composition of Upper and Rhenish Palatinate in the inheritance centuries onwards, about 1182, Conrad moved his residence from Stahleck Castle near Bacharach up the Rhine River to Heidelberg. Upon Conrads death in 1195, the Palatinate passed to the House of Welf through the—secret—marriage of his daughter Agnes with Henry of Brunswick, when Henrys son Henry the Younger died without heirs in 1214, the Hohenstaufen king Frederick II enfeoffed the Wittelsbach duke Louis I of Bavaria. The Bavarian House of Wittelsbach eventually held the Palatinate territories until 1918, as this region was politically connected to the Rhenish Palatinate, the name Upper Palatinate became common from the early 16th century in contrast to the Lower Palatinate along the Rhine. With the Treaty of Pavia in 1329, the Wittelsbach emperor Louis IV, from that time forth, the Count Palatine of the Rhine was usually known as the Elector Palatine. The Elector Palatine, now based in Heidelberg, adopted Lutheranism in the 1530s, in 1619, Frederick V accepted the throne of Bohemia from the Bohemian estates. He was soon defeated by the forces of Emperor Ferdinand II at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, called the Winter King because his reign in Bohemia only lasted one winter, Frederick was put under the ban of the Empire in 1623. Frederick Vs territories and his position as Elector were transferred to the Catholic Duke of Bavaria, Maximilian I, although technically Elector Palatine, he was known as the Elector of Bavaria. From 1648 he ruled in Bavaria and the Upper Palatinate alone, but retained all his Electoral dignities, after Frederick Vs death, his wife Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, worked tirelessly to have the Palatinate restored to her family and to the Protestant cause
24.
University of Mannheim
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The University of Mannheim, also known as UMA, is a public research university situated in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Mannheims campus is located in the city center of Mannheim, the university has around 12,362 full-time students,800 scholars enrolled,840 academic staff and a total income of more than €120 million in 2016. It is organized into 5 academic departments and 2 academic colleges, moreover, the universitys programs for social sciences, politics as well as business informatics rank nationwide within the Top 3 and its programs for law and computer science within the Top 10. Furthermore, the University of Mannheim is placed 83rd with regard to global employer reputation, the THE world university ranking in 2016 ranked the University of Mannheim 102nd worldwide. The University of Mannheim has no clearly defined foundation date, Mannheims history is closely tied to the history of its main campus – the Mannheim Baroque Palace. The Mannheim Palace itself dates back to the early 18th century, when Elector Palatine Karl Philip III. Had confessional controversies with the inhabitants of his capital city Heidelberg, Karl Philip III. decided subsequently to construct a new palace as his residence on the site of the old Friedrichsburg. In general, it was part of a trend among the German princes to construct grand new residences in that era. The construction of the palace was commenced solemnly on 2 June 1720. The first administrative institutions began using the Mannheim palace in 1725, the final construction was not completed until 1760. Karl Philip died in 1742 and was succeeded by a distant relative, in 1778, a second school was established at Mannheims palace – the Commercial School – that served as school for merchant sons and which was later named into Grand-Ducal Commercial Academy. The establishment of the Theodoro-Palatinae had a cultural and educational policy link and intended to foster the sciences. Charles Theodor developed Mannheim into a German centrum for Arts and Sciences, not only the palace, but also the city of Mannheim saw their zenith during Charles Philipps reign. The glamour of the Electors court and Mannheims then famous cultural life lasted until 1778 when Charles Theodor became Elector of Bavaria by inheritance, things worsened further during the Napoleonic Wars, when Mannheim was besieged. During Napoleons reorganization of Germany, the Electorate of the Palatinate was split up and Mannheim became part of the Grand Duchy of Electorate-Bavaria, although Mannheim kept the title of residence, the Mannheim Palace was used merely as accommodation for several administrative bodies. In addition, the reorganization of the Palatinate and Bavaria made the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities a major concurrent for academic funding, several years later in 1817, the Grand-Ducal Commercial Academy was closed as well. For most of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the palace served no purpose, being used as a representative building. The Handelshochschule was founded under an initiative from Mannheims senior mayor Otto Beck, director of the Handelshochschule since 1929 was Otto Selz, a German philosopher and psychologist who is considered as being a pioneer of the cognitive sciences. While the institutes, collections and personnel had transferred in 1933 the entire absorption process took until April 1938
25.
Daimler AG
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Daimler AG is a German multinational automotive corporation. Daimler AG is headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, the Maybach brand was closed at the end of 2012, but was revived in April 2015 as Mercedes-Maybach, an ultra luxury edition of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. In 2016 Daimler sold 3.0 million vehicles, by unit sales, Daimler is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and is the largest truck manufacturer in the world. In addition to automobiles, Daimler manufactures buses and provides services through its Daimler Financial Services arm. The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index, Daimler AG is a German manufacturer of automobiles, motor vehicles, and engines, which dates back more than a century. An Agreement of Mutual Interest was signed on 1 May 1924 between Benz & Cie and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, in 1998, Daimler-Benz and Chrysler Corporation announced the worlds largest cross-border deal ever, valued at US$38billion, and the resulting change in company name to DaimlerChrysler AG. In 2007, when the Chrysler group was sold off to Cerberus Capital Management, in November 2014, Daimler announced it would acquire 25 percent of Italian motorcycle producer MV Agusta for an undisclosed fee. The terms of the merger allowed Daimler-Benzs non-automotive businesses such as Daimler-Benz InterServices AG, debis AG for short, debis AG reported revenues of $8.6 bn in 1997. A class action lawsuit was settled in August 2003 for US$300 million while a suit by billionaire investor activist Kirk Kerkorian was dismissed on 7 April 2005. The transaction claimed the job of its architect, Chairman Jürgen E. Schrempp, the merger was also the subject of a book Taken for a Ride, How Daimler-Benz Drove Off With Chrysler, by Bill Vlasic and Bradley A. Stertz. Another issue of contention is whether the merger delivered promised synergies, martin H. Wiggers concept of a platform strategy like the VW Group, was implemented only for a few models, so the synergy effects in development and production were too low. As late as 2002, DaimlerChrysler appeared to run two independent product lines. 2L V6, and the Dodge Sprinter/Freightliner Sprinter, a re-badged Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, Daimler agreed to sell the Chrysler unit to Cerberus Capital Management in May 2007 for US$6 billion. Chrysler reported losses of US$1.5 billion in 2006 and it then announced plans to lay off 13,000 employees in mid-February 2007, close a major assembly plant and reduce production at other plants in order to restore profitability by 2008. DaimlerChrysler had reportedly approached other carmakers and investment groups to sell Chrysler in early 2007, general Motors was reported to be a suitor, but on 3 August 2007, DaimlerChrysler completed the sale of Chrysler Group to Cerberus Capital Management. The original agreement stated that Cerberus would take an 80.1 percent stake in the new company, DaimlerChrysler changed its name to Daimler AG and retained the remaining 19. 9% stake in the separated Chrysler. The terms saw Daimler pay Cerberus US$650 million to take Chrysler, of the US$7.4 billion purchase price, Cerberus Capital Management was to invest US$5 billion in Chrysler Holdings and US$1.05 billion in Chryslers financial unit. The de-merged Daimler AG received US$1.35 billion directly from Cerberus, interestingly, despite the fact it had been nearly a decade since the Daimler/Chrysler split, the fourth-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee shares a platform with the Mercedes-Benz M-Class. This also includes the Chrysler LX platform vehicles which initially used Mercedes-Benz components since its 2005 introduction
26.
John Deere
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Deere & Company is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural, construction, and forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains used in heavy equipment, and lawn care equipment. In 2016, it was listed as 97th in the Fortune 500 Americas ranking and was ranked 364th in the Fortune Global 500 ranking in 2016, John Deere also provides financial services and other related activities. Deere is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols DE, the companys slogan is Nothing Runs Like a Deere, and its logo is a leaping deer, with the words JOHN DEERE under it. The logo of the deer has been used by this company for over 155 years. Over the years, the logo has had changes and pieces removed. Some of the older style logos have the deer leaping over a log, the company uses different logo colors for agricultural vs. construction products. The companys agricultural products are identifiable by a shade of green paint. While the construction products are identifiable by a shade of black with the deer being yellow, and the inside border also being yellow. Deere & Company began when John Deere, born in Rutland, Vermont, USA on February 7,1804, moved to Grand Detour, Illinois in 1836 in order to escape bankruptcy in Vermont. Small tools was just a start, the item that set him apart, was the steel plow. Prior to Deeres steel plow, most farmers used iron or wooden plows that the rich Midwestern soil stuck to and had to be cleaned frequently. The smooth sided steel plow solved this problem, and greatly aided migration into the American Great Plains in the 19th, the traditional way of doing business was to make the product as and when it was ordered. Word of his products began to spread quickly, in 1842, Deere entered a business partnership with Leonard Andrus and purchased land for the construction of a new two-story factory along the Rock River in Illinois. This factory, named the L. Andrus Plough Manufacturer, produced about 100 plows in 1842, Deeres partnership with Andrus ended in 1848, and Deere relocated to Moline, Illinois in order to have access to the railroad and the Mississippi River. There, Deere formed a partnership with Robert Tate and John Gould, Production rose quickly, and by 1849, the Deere, Tate & Gould Company was producing over 200 plows a month. A two story addition to the plant was built, allowing further production, Deere bought out Tate and Goulds interests in the company in 1853, and was joined in the business by his son Charles Deere. At that time, the company was manufacturing a variety of farm equipment products in addition to plows, including wagons, in 1857, the companys production totals reached almost 1,120 implements per month. In 1858, a financial recession took a toll on the company
27.
Caterpillar Inc.
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Caterpillar is a leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. With more than US$89 billion in assets, Caterpillar was ranked one in its industry. In 2016 Caterpillar was ranked #59 on the Fortune 500 list, Caterpillar stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Caterpillar Inc. traces its origins to the 1925 merger of the Holt Manufacturing Company, Best Tractor Company, creating a new entity, the California-based Caterpillar Tractor Company. In 1986, the company re-organized itself as a Delaware corporation under the current name, Caterpillars headquarters are located in Peoria, Illinois, it announced in January 2017 that over the course of that year it would relocate its headquarters to Chicago. The company also licenses and markets a line of clothing and workwear boots under its Cat / Caterpillar name, Caterpillar machinery is recognizable by its trademark Caterpillar Yellow livery and the CAT logo. Benjamin Holt attempted to fix the problem by increasing the size and width of the wheels up to 7.5 feet tall and 6 feet wide, but this also made the tractors increasingly complex, expensive and difficult to maintain. Another solution considered was to lay a temporary plank road ahead of the tractor, but this was time-consuming, expensive. Holt thought of wrapping the planks around the wheels and he replaced the wheels on a 40 horsepower Holt steamer, No. 77, with a set of wooden tracks bolted to chains, on Thanksgiving Day, November 24,1904, he successfully tested the updated machine plowing the soggy delta land of Roberts Island. Company photographer Charles Clements was reported to have observed that the tractor crawled like a caterpillar, some sources, though, attribute this name to British soldiers in July 1907. Two years later Holt sold his first steam-powered tractor crawlers for US$5,500, each side featured a track frame measured 30 inches high by 42 inches wide and were 9 feet long. The tracks were 3 inches by 4 inches redwood slats, Holt received the first patent for a practical continuous track for use with a tractor on December 7,1907 for his improved Traction Engine. On February 2,1910, Holt opened up a plant in East Peoria, Illinois, there Pliny met farm implement dealer Murray Baker who knew of an empty factory that had been recently built to manufacture farm implements and steam traction engines. On October 25,1909, Pliny Holt purchased the factory, Holt incorporated it as the Holt Caterpillar Company, although he did not trademark the name Caterpillar until August 2,1910. Tractors were built in both Stockton and East Peoria, on January 31,2017, after more than 90 years of being headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, the company announced plans to move their headquarters from Peoria to Chicago, Illinois by the end of 2017. The upper echelon of executives, including newly installed CEO Jim Umpleby, will begin relocating later this year, about 300 employees will work in the new office at an as-yet undecided location once the transition is complete. The changes contributed to $2.3 billion in savings in 2016, Umpleby said that decline is a fundamental reason the companys Board of Directors opted to move global headquarters to an area where the global marketplace is in easier reach
28.
ABB Group
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ABB is a Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, operating mainly in robotics and the power and automation technology areas. It ranked as the 286th largest company by revenue for 2016 in the Fortune Global 500 list, ABB is one of the largest engineering companies as well as one of the largest conglomerates in the world. ABB has operations in around 100 countries, with approximately 132,000 employees in December 2016, ABB is traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange in Zürich, Nasdaq Stockholm and the New York Stock Exchange in the United States. ABBs history goes back to the late 19th century, ASEA was founded in 1883 by Ludvig Fredholm in Västerås as manufacturer of electrical light and generators. CEO at the time of the merger was the former CEO of ASEA, Percy Barnevik, in 1990, ABB purchased Westinghouses metering and control division. Klaus Agthe was CEO of the US operation at the time, continuing with its expansion plans, ABB purchased Elsag Bailey, a process automation group, in 1997 which included Bailey Controls, Hartmann & Braun, and Fischer & Porter. This was the largest acquisition to date in ABBs history, ABB bought International Combustion Ltd from Rolls-Royce in 1997. ABBs boiler and fossil fuel businesses were purchased by Alstom in 2000, ABB formally divested from a joint venture named ABB-Alstom Power in 2000, and sold its interest in conventional power generation systems to Alstom Power. ABBs nuclear business was sold to BNFL and merged into Westinghouse Electric Company, in 2001, ABB was ranked as number one on the Dow Jones corporate sustainability index for the third year in a row. In 2002, ABB asked Lindahl, the former chief executive, to return some of his $50 million retirement pay. ABB also asked its former chairman Percy Barnevik to pay part of his $87 million pension package. The size of the pensions was disclosed at the time as ABBs $691 million net loss for 2001 made headlines and drew sharp criticism in Switzerland. ABBs Building Systems business unit was sold off in 2004 to Capvis, ABBs building systems businesses in Australia and Hong Kong were sold off the year before, in May 2003, to Downer EDI Limited. Building Systems provided services for building facilities encompassing indoor air quality, building automation as well as power distribution, financial debt and lingering asbestos liability brought ABB to the brink of bankruptcy in the early 2000s. In 2006, ABB returned to health by settling its asbestos liability regarding claims that were filed against ABBs U. S. subsidiaries, Combustion Engineering. In August 2007 Lummus Global was sold to CB&I, in December 2008, ABB acquired Ber-Mac Electrical and Instrumentation to expand its presence in western Canadas oil and gas industries. Ber-Mac Electrical and Instrumentation has been in the business of supplying power and instrumentation equipment and services. Ber-Mac provides its clients with expertise in industrial automation, electrical and instrumentation design, process optimization, panel fabrication and it is particularly strong in the Oil & Gas industry
29.
Fuchs Petrolub
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Fuchs Petrolub SE is the worlds largest independent manufacturer of lubricants, and related speciality products. The companys headquarters are at Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, where the company was founded in 1931, Fuchs is a public company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. As of 2016, it is a constituent of the MDAX trading index of German mid-cap companies, Fuchs produces a wide range of products, which include automotive lubricants, metalworking lubricants, industrial, civil engineering, and hydraulic products. Fuchs also produces the Planto range of biodegradable products, Fuchs Titan is a range of products aimed at motor cars, trucks, buses, agricultural and plant equipment. Fuchs Silkolene is a product range specifically for motorcycles, Fuchs Renolin are a range of hydraulic and industrial gearbox lubricants. Fuchs Renocast are a range of release agents, used when casting concrete. Fuchs Ecocut and Ecocool are fluids for metalworking, specifically cutting, Fuchs Renoform and Trenoil are used for forming metals, be that die drawing, rolling or pressing, in both hot and cold processes. Fuchs Thermisol are a range of quenching oils, used for heat treatment processes, Fuchs Renolit are a range of greases used across their entire portfolio, including aviation and food processing. Initially, it was called Dalton and Company, being named after its founder, however, recognising the strength of the Silkolene brand, in the early 1980s, the company was renamed Silkolene Lubricants. In 1989, Silkolene Lubricants was acquired by the German Fuchs group, the products themselves gained a high international regard. The Silkolene company developed specialist lubricants for aviation, including oils for the Merlin engine, as used in the Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster, Silkolene dedicated many years on technical cooperation with the US Air Force, and was also involved with the supersonic passenger aircraft, Concorde. The company amassed expertise with synthetic lubricant technology, and Silkolene became a world leader in the field of synthetic lubricants. Synthetic lubricant technology continued, and in the early 1990s, developments continued to include Aerospace engineering, along with motorsports, including rallying, an early partnership was with Honda UK Motorcycle Race Team. With positive market exposure, coupled with a high degree of research and development. Presently, Silkolene products continue to be manufactured at Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and they are now also made in Germany, the US, and South East Asia. Fuchs purchased the British Batoyle Freedom Group company of Norfolk in 2014, Fuchs, like many of their competitor brands of lubricants, have a strong worldwide presence in motorsports, particularly in Europe and the USA. The brand has also involved with Motorcross, and Speedway. Fuchs have a current long term partnership with Kawasaki motorcycles, although they also sponsor Honda, Suzuki, Silkolene have also participated in the Isle of Man TT races, arguably, the toughest test in the world for any motorcycle
30.
IBM
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International Business Machines Corporation is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States, with operations in over 170 countries. The company originated in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company and was renamed International Business Machines in 1924, IBM manufactures and markets computer hardware, middleware and software, and offers hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology. IBM is also a research organization, holding the record for most patents generated by a business for 24 consecutive years. IBM has continually shifted its business mix by exiting commoditizing markets and focusing on higher-value, also in 2014, IBM announced that it would go fabless, continuing to design semiconductors, but offloading manufacturing to GlobalFoundries. Nicknamed Big Blue, IBM is one of 30 companies included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and one of the worlds largest employers, with nearly 380,000 employees. Known as IBMers, IBM employees have been awarded five Nobel Prizes, six Turing Awards, ten National Medals of Technology, in the 1880s, technologies emerged that would ultimately form the core of what would become International Business Machines. On June 16,1911, their four companies were amalgamated in New York State by Charles Ranlett Flint forming a fifth company, the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company based in Endicott, New York. The five companies had 1,300 employees and offices and plants in Endicott and Binghamton, New York, Dayton, Ohio, Detroit, Michigan, Washington, D. C. and Toronto. They manufactured machinery for sale and lease, ranging from commercial scales and industrial time recorders, meat and cheese slicers, to tabulators and punched cards. Thomas J. Watson, Sr. fired from the National Cash Register Company by John Henry Patterson, called on Flint and, Watson joined CTR as General Manager then,11 months later, was made President when court cases relating to his time at NCR were resolved. Having learned Pattersons pioneering business practices, Watson proceeded to put the stamp of NCR onto CTRs companies and his favorite slogan, THINK, became a mantra for each companys employees. During Watsons first four years, revenues more than doubled to $9 million, Watson had never liked the clumsy hyphenated title of the CTR and in 1924 chose to replace it with the more expansive title International Business Machines. By 1933 most of the subsidiaries had been merged into one company, in 1937, IBMs tabulating equipment enabled organizations to process unprecedented amounts of data, its clients including the U. S. During the Second World War the company produced small arms for the American war effort, in 1949, Thomas Watson, Sr. created IBM World Trade Corporation, a subsidiary of IBM focused on foreign operations. In 1952, he stepped down after almost 40 years at the company helm, in 1957, the FORTRAN scientific programming language was developed. In 1961, IBM developed the SABRE reservation system for American Airlines, in 1963, IBM employees and computers helped NASA track the orbital flight of the Mercury astronauts. A year later it moved its headquarters from New York City to Armonk. The latter half of the 1960s saw IBM continue its support of space exploration, on April 7,1964, IBM announced the first computer system family, the IBM System/360
31.
Hoffmann-La Roche
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F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG is a Swiss multinational health-care company that operates worldwide under two divisions, Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has bearer shares listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, the company headquarters are located in Basel. Roches revenues during fiscal year 2016 were 50.58 billion Swiss francs, Roche is the third-largest pharma company worldwide. Descendants of the founding Hoffmann and Oeri families own slightly over half of the shares with voting rights. Roche is one of the few companies increasing their dividend every year, F. Hoffmann-La Roche is a full member of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. Founded in 1896 by Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche, the company was early on known for producing various vitamin preparations, in 1934, it became the first company to mass-produce synthetic vitamin C, under the brand name Redoxon. In 1957 it introduced the class of known as benzodiazepines. It manufactures and sells several cancer drugs and is a leader in this field, in 1956, the first antidepressant, iproniazid, was accidentally created during an experiment while synthesizing isoniazid. Originally, it had intended to create a more efficient drug at combatting Tuberculosis. Iproniazid, however, revealed to have its own benefits, some felt it made them feel happier. It was withdrawn from the market in the early 1960s due to toxic side-effects, in 1976, an accident at a chemical factory in Seveso, Italy, owned by a subsidiary of Roche caused a large dioxin contamination, see Seveso disaster. In 1982, the United States arm of the company acquired Biomedical Reference Laboratories for US$163.5 million and that company dated from the late 1960s, and was located in Burlington, North Carolina. That year Hoffmann–La Roche then merged it with all of its laboratories, by the early 1990s, Roche Biomedical became one of the largest clinical laboratory networks in the United States, with 20 major laboratories and US$600 million in sales. Roche has also produced various HIV tests and antiretroviral drugs and it bought the patents for the polymerase chain reaction technique in 1992. In 1995 the era of highly active anti-retroviral therapy was initiated by the United States FDAs approval of Hoffman LaRoches HIV protease inhibitor saquinavir, Roche acquired Syntex in 1994 and Chugai Pharmaceuticals in 2002. Oseltamivir is considered to be the primary drug used to combat avian influenza. Roche is the drug company authorized to manufacture the drug. On 20 October 2005, Hoffmann–La Roche decided to license companies to manufacture Oseltamivir
32.
Reckitt Benckiser
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Reckitt Benckiser Group plc is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, England. It is a producer of health, hygiene and home products and it was formed in 1999 by the merger of the UK-based Reckitt & Colman plc and the Netherlands-based Benckiser NV. It has operations in around 60 countries and its products are sold in almost 200 countries, RB is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE100 Index. It had a capitalisation of approximately £44 billion as of December 2015. Johann A. Benckiser founded a business in Germany in 1823 and its main products were industrial and consumer goods industrial chemicals. Reckitt & Sons started in 1840 when Isaac Reckitt rented a mill in Hull. He diversified into other products and after his death in 1862. In 1886, Reckitt opened its first overseas business in Australia, the firm was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1888. Harpic Lavatory Cleaners was acquired in 1932, and that same year, Dettol was launched. In 1938 Reckitt & Sons merged with J. & J. Colman, the company made several acquisitions, including the Airwick and Carpet Fresh brands, the Boyle-Midway division of American Home Products, and the Lehn & Fink division of Sterling Drug. It acquired several brands from DowBrands in 1998, Reckitt & Colman sold the Colmans food business in 1995. The company was formed by a merger between Britains Reckitt & Colman plc and the Dutch company Benckiser NV in December 1999, Bart Becht became CEO of the new company and has been credited for its transformation, focusing on core brands and improving efficiency in the supply chain. The new management teams strategy of innovation marketing, – a combination of increased marketing spend and product innovation, focusing on consumer needs – has been linked to the companys ongoing success. For example, in 2008, the rapid succession of well publicised new product variants were credited for helping them to capture shoppers imagination. Business Week has also noted that 40% of Reckitt Benckisers $10.5 billion in 2007 revenues came from products launched within the three years. In October 2005, RB agreed to purchase the over-the-counter drugs manufacturing business of Boots Group, Boots Healthcare International, the three main brands acquired were Nurofens analgesics, Strepsils sore throat lozenges, and Clearasil anti-acne treatments. In January 2008, RB acquired Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, Inc. a pharmaceutical company, for $2.3 billion, in July 2010, RB agreed to buy SSL International, the makers of Durex condoms and Scholls footcare products, in a £2.5 billion deal. On 27 August 2011, RB recalled all remaining stock of its major product, Nurofen Plus
33.
Unilever
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Unilever is a Dutch-British transnational consumer goods company co-headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands and London, United Kingdom. Its products include food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products and it is the worlds largest consumer goods company measured by 2012 revenue. Unilever is the worlds largest producer of food spreads, such as margarine, Unilever is one of the oldest multinational companies, its products are available in around 190 countries. It is a company consisting of Unilever N. V. based in Rotterdam. The two companies operate as a business, with a common board of directors. Unilever is organised into four main divisions – Foods, Refreshment, Home Care and it has research and development facilities in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, China, India and the United States. Unilever was founded in 1930 by the merger of the Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie, during the second half of the 20th century the company increasingly diversified from being a maker of products made of oils and fats, and expanded its operations worldwide. It has made numerous acquisitions, including Lipton, Brooke Bond, Chesebrough-Ponds, Best Foods, Ben & Jerrys, Alberto-Culver. Unilever divested its speciality chemicals businesses to ICI in 1997, in 2015, under leadership of Paul Polman, the company gradually shifted its focus towards health and beauty brands and away from food brands showing slow growth. Unilever N. V. has a listing on Euronext Amsterdam and is a constituent of the AEX index. Unilever plc has a listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE100 Index. The company is also a lux of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index, in 1872, Anton Jurgens, founded the first margarine factory in the world in Oss, Netherlands. Then, in 1888, Samuel van den Bergh, also from Oss and these two companies merged in 1927 to form Margarine Unie. The initial harvesting of palm oil was from British West Africa, in 1911, the company received a concession for 750,000 hectares of forest in Belgian Congo, mostly south of Bandundu, where a system of forced labour operated. In 1922 Lever Brothers acquired Mac Fisheries, owner of T, the merger made sound commercial sense, as palm oil was a major raw material for both margarines and soaps, and could be imported more efficiently in larger quantities. In the 1930s business grew and new ventures were launched in Africa, the Nazi occupation of Europe during the Second World War meant that Unilever was unable to reinvest its capital into Europe, so it instead acquired new businesses in the UK and the US. In 1943 it acquired T. J. Lipton, a majority stake in Frosted Foods and Batchelors Peas, after 1945 Unilevers once successful US businesses began to decline. As a result, Unilever began to operate a hands off policy towards the subsidiaries, sunsilk was first launched in the UK in 1954
34.
Phoenix Pharmahandel
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Its PHOENIX Documentation is an Internet-based archive offering detailed information on drugs, their components, indications, and effects. Formation of Holding company PHOENIX International Beteiligungs GmbH, phoenix Group is majority owner of the pharmaceutical wholesalers Purus A. S. in the Czech Republic and Tamro in Finland. Phoenix Group itself is majority-owned by pharmaceutical conglomerate Merckle Group, the PHOENIX Pharmahandel Aktiengesellschaft & Co was founded from the German regional wholesalers F. Reichelt AG, Otto Stumpf GmbH, Ferd. Schulze GmbH, Otto Stumpf AG, and Hageda AG in early 1994, the newly established enterprise has achieved a market leading position in its home markets from day one. The Northern Italian pharmaceutical wholesaler Comifar S. p. A, 60-per cent shareholding in the second-largest Dutch pharmaceutical wholesaler ACF Holding NV, based in Maarssen near Utrecht. In 1996, the PHOENIX group already achieved a turnover exceeding EUR10 billion for the first time in its history. Following this achievement further acquisitions in Italy, the Czech Republic, in addition new branches were established in Poland and France. The entry into the United Kingdom market occurred in 1998 with the establishment of 11 distribution centres, PHOENIX GROUP also acquired the regional wholesalers L. Rowland & Co. The Rowlands estate comprised approximately 70 pharmacies at this time, in 2000, the number of employees across the group exceeds 10,000 for the first time and the company acquired the Finnish Tamro Group in April with a 33. 7% stake. In the year 2002, PHOENIX Pharmahandel AG & Co KG merged with Ferd, schulze GmbH Co. subsequently its number of employees across the group exceeded 15,000 for the first time with a group-wide turnover of more than EUR15 billion. In 2006, the group-wide turnover exceeds EUR20 billion for the first time, in July 2011, the rating agency Standard & Poor’s upgraded PHOENIX’s rating from B+ to BB- with continuing positive outlook. In August, the rating agency Moody’s raised the outlook for PHOENIX from “stable” to “positive”, in October, the rating agency Fitch issued a rating for PHOENIX of “BB” with a “stable” outlook. In May 2013, PHOENIX group has issued a bond with a volume of EUR300 million
35.
Siemens
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Siemens AG is a German conglomerate company headquartered in Berlin and Munich and the largest manufacturing and electronics company in Europe with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the company are Industry, Energy, Healthcare, and Infrastructure & Cities, the company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. Siemens and its subsidiaries employ approximately 362,000 people worldwide, the von Siemens family remain the largest shareholder with a stake of 6. 9% percent. Siemens & Halske was founded by Werner von Siemens and Johann Georg Halske on 12 October 1847, based on the telegraph, their invention used a needle to point to the sequence of letters, instead of using Morse code. The company, then called Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske, opened its first workshop on 12 October, in 1848, the company built the first long-distance telegraph line in Europe,500 km from Berlin to Frankfurt am Main. In 1850, the younger brother, Carl Wilhelm Siemens, later Sir William Siemens. The London agency became an office in 1858. In the 1850s, the company was involved in building long distance telegraph networks in Russia, in 1855, a company branch headed by another brother, Carl Heinrich von Siemens, opened in St Petersburg, Russia. In 1867, Siemens completed the monumental Indo-European telegraph line, in 1867, Werner von Siemens described a dynamo without permanent magnets. A similar system was independently invented by Charles Wheatstone. In 1881, a Siemens AC Alternator driven by a watermill was used to power the worlds first electric lighting in the town of Godalming. The company continued to grow and diversified into electric trains and light bulbs, in 1890, the founder retired and left running the company to his brother Carl and sons Arnold and Wilhelm. In 1887, it opened its first office in Japan, Siemens & Halske was incorporated in 1897, and then merged parts of its activities with Schuckert & Co. Nuremberg in 1903 to become Siemens-Schuckert, in 1907, Siemens had 34,324 employees and was the seventh-largest company in the German empire by number of employees. In 1919, S & H and two companies jointly formed the Osram lightbulb company. During the 1920s and 1930s, S & H started to manufacture radios, television sets, in the 1920s, Siemens constructed the Ardnacrusha Hydro Power station on the River Shannon in the then Irish Free State, and it was a world first for its design. The company is remembered for its desire to raise the wages of its workers only to be overruled by the Cumann na nGaedheal government. Siemens exploited the forced labour of deported people in extermination camps, the company owned a plant in Auschwitz concentration camp
36.
SAP Arena
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SAP Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Mannheim, Germany. It is primarily used for ice hockey and handball, and is the arena of the Adler Mannheim ice hockey club. Inaugurated in 2005, the arena has a capacity of up to 15,000 people, more than a hundred concerts and congressional events are hosted at the arena annually. The SAP Arena is one of the largest in Germany and one of the most high-tech in Europe, the arena is named after its sponsor SAP. Tina Turner performed at the arena on 19 and 20 February 2009 during her Tina. Depeche Mode performed at the arena twice, On 7 November 2009 during their Tour of the Universe and on 4 February 2014 during their Delta Machine Tour, in front of a sold out crowd of 11,280 people. Madonna played a show in front of a sold out crowd of 10,883 people during her Rebel Heart Tour on 29 November 2015, deep Purple performed a show on 11 February 2013 in front of nearly 10,000 people
37.
Adler Mannheim
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The Adler Mannheim are an ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest ice hockey league in Germany. The team is based in Mannheim, a city in the part of Baden-Württemberg. Currently, the plays at SAP Arena, where they moved to at the beginning of the 2005–06 season after having played at Eisstadion am Friedrichspark for nearly seven decades from 1938 through 2005. They have won the German Championship a total of seven times, six of those coming after 1994 in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. German ice hockey changed a lot after the Deutsche Eishockey Liga was founded in 1994 and its growing influence also brought growing independence from the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund-organization which dominated the ice hockey in Germany for decades. The first incarnation of the Adler Mannheim were The Mannheimer ice and roller skating club, on February 19,1939, they had their introduction match in the brand new Friedrichspark Stadium. The match against the winner of the German Championship was lost 0–11, however, due to the ongoing Second World War, it was difficult to play a regular season without some limitations. In 1942, after the Mannheim was qualified for the finals, on June 5,1943, the Eisstadion am Friedrichspark was destroyed by an air attack on Mannheim. After the end of the Second World War in 1945, it took four years before the hockey club began playing once again. In the 1951/52 season, Mannheim again had a team to play in a regular team, the most successful game in this time was a 10–2 victory against a team of American soldiers based in the Mannheim-area. In 1994, the Mannheimer ERC was a member of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. While the organization of the MERC still existed, the hockey team changed its name to Adler Mannheim and was transformed into an independent legal entity. The old organization MERC still performs in the amateur and junior sectors, the first two seasons in the DEL ended in playoff quarter finals. But the following season changed everything, The Mannheimer Adler swept through the playoffs, at the minimum number of 9 games, they won the championship in 1997. After also winning the championships in 1998 and 1999, head coach Lance Nethery, after a disastrous start to the regular 1999–2000 season, the Adler reached the playoffs again, but were beaten in the quarter finals again. After that season, head coach Chris Valentine had to go and was succeeded by Bill Stewart, in 2000/2001, they were back on the road to success with the fourth DEL championship in 5 years. In their final season at Friedrichspark, Mannheim native Jochen Hecht, Cristobal Huet, Yannick Tremblay, the team made it to the finals, but were defeated by the Eisbären Berlin. In their new home, the SAP Arena, the team was on pos.10 at the end of the regular season and it was the first time in 26 years the Adler Mannheim did not qualify for the playoffs
38.
Forbes
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Forbes is an American business magazine. Published bi-weekly, it features articles on finance, industry, investing. Forbes also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, politics and its headquarters is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. Primary competitors in the business magazine category include Fortune and Bloomberg Businessweek. The magazine is known for its lists and rankings, including its lists of the richest Americans. Another well-known list by the magazine is The Worlds Billionaires list, the motto of Forbes magazine is The Capitalist Tool. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes, and its CEO is Mike Perlis, Forbes, a financial columnist for the Hearst papers, and his partner Walter Drey, the general manager of the Magazine of Wall Street, founded Forbes magazine on September 15,1917. Forbes provided the money and the name and Drey provided the publishing expertise, the original name of the magazine was Forbes, Devoted to Doers and Doings. Drey became vice-president of the B. C. Forbes Publishing Company, while B. C. Forbes became editor-in-chief, B. C. Forbes was assisted in his later years by his two eldest sons, Bruce Charles Forbes and Malcolm Stevenson Forbes. Bruce Forbes took over on his fathers death, and his strengths lay in streamlining operations, during his tenure, 1954–1964, the magazines circulation nearly doubled. On Malcolms death, his eldest son Malcolm Stevenson Steve Forbes Jr. became President and Chief Executive of Forbes, between 1961 and 1999 the magazine was edited by James Michaels. In 1993, under Michaels, Forbes was a finalist for the National Magazine Award. com, a 2009 New York Times report said,40 percent of the enterprise was sold. For a reported $300 million, setting the value of the enterprise at $750 million, according to Mark M. Edmiston of AdMedia Partners, Its probably not worth half of that now. The companys headquarters moved to the Newport section of downtown Jersey City. In November 2013, Forbes Media, which publishes Forbes magazine, was put up for sale and this was encouraged by Elevation Partners, of whom were minority shareholders. Sales documents prepared by Deutsche Bank revealed that the publishers 2012 EBITDA was $15 million, Forbes reportedly sought a price of $400 million. In July 2014, Forbes sold a majority of itself to Integrated Whale Media Investments, Steve Forbes and his magazines writers offer investment advice on the weekly Fox TV show Forbes on Fox and on Forbes On Radio. Other company groups include Forbes Conference Group, Forbes Investment Advisory Group, from the 2009 Times report, Steve Forbes recently returned from opening up a Forbes magazine in India, bringing the number of foreign editions to 10
39.
UNESCO
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The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Paris. It is the heir of the League of Nations International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, UNESCO has 195 member states and nine associate members. Most of its offices are cluster offices covering three or more countries, national and regional offices also exist. UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs, education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and it is also a member of the United Nations Development Group. UNESCO and its mandate for international cooperation can be traced back to a League of Nations resolution on 21 September 1921, on 18 December 1925, the International Bureau of Education began work as a non-governmental organization in the service of international educational development. However, the work of predecessor organizations was largely interrupted by the onset of World War II. On 30 October 1943, the necessity for an organization was expressed in the Moscow Declaration, agreed upon by China, the United Kingdom, the United States. This was followed by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference proposals of 9 October 1944, a prominent figure in the initiative for UNESCO was Rab Butler, the Minister of Education for the United Kingdom. At the ECO/CONF, the Constitution of UNESCO was introduced and signed by 37 countries, the Preparatory Commission operated between 16 November 1945, and 4 November 1946—the date when UNESCOs Constitution came into force with the deposit of the twentieth ratification by a member state. The first General Conference took place between 19 November to 10 December 1946, and elected Dr. Julian Huxley to Director-General and this change in governance distinguished UNESCO from its predecessor, the CICI, in how member states would work together in the organizations fields of competence. In 1956, the Republic of South Africa withdrew from UNESCO claiming that some of the organizations publications amounted to interference in the racial problems. South Africa rejoined the organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, UNESCOs early work in the field of education included the pilot project on fundamental education in the Marbial Valley, Haiti, started in 1947. This project was followed by missions to other countries, including, for example. In 1948, UNESCO recommended that Member States should make free primary education compulsory, in 1990, the World Conference on Education for All, in Jomtien, Thailand, launched a global movement to provide basic education for all children, youths and adults. Ten years later, the 2000 World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, UNESCOs early activities in culture included, for example, the Nubia Campaign, launched in 1960. The purpose of the campaign was to move the Great Temple of Abu Simbel to keep it from being swamped by the Nile after construction of the Aswan Dam, during the 20-year campaign,22 monuments and architectural complexes were relocated. This was the first and largest in a series of campaigns including Mohenjo-daro, Fes, Kathmandu, Borobudur, the organizations work on heritage led to the adoption, in 1972, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Committee was established in 1976 and the first sites inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978, since then important legal instruments on cultural heritage and diversity have been adopted by UNESCO member states in 2003 and 2005
40.
Smart city
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A smart city is an urban development vision to integrate information and communication technology and Internet of things technology in a secure fashion to manage a citys assets. A smart city is promoted to use urban informatics and technology to improve the efficiency of services, through the use of sensors integrated with real-time monitoring systems, data are collected from citizens and devices – then processed and analyzed. The information and knowledge gathered are keys to tackling inefficiency, Smart city applications are developed to manage urban flows and allow for real-time responses. A smart city may therefore be prepared to respond to challenges than one with a simple transactional relationship with its citizens. Yet, the term remains unclear to its specifics and therefore. The European Union has devoted constant efforts to devising a strategy for achieving smart urban growth for its metropolitan city-regions, the EU has developed a range of programmes under Europes Digital Agenda. In 2010, it highlighted its focus on strengthening innovation and investment in ICT services for the purpose of improving public services, arup estimates that the global market for smart urban services will be $400 billion per annum by 2020. Examples of Smart City technologies and programs have been implemented in Milton Keynes, Southampton, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid, Stockholm and in China. Due to the breadth of technologies that have been implemented under the smart city label, deakin defines the smart city as one that utilises ICT to meet the demands of the market, and that community involvement in the process is necessary for a smart city. A smart city would thus be a city not only possesses ICT technology in particular areas. Alternative definitions include, Giffinger et al, Smart Cities Council, A smart city is one that has digital technology embedded across all city functions. Excelling in these key areas can be done so through strong human capital, social capital, learn, adapt and innovate and thereby respond more effectively and promptly to changing circumstances by improving the intelligence of the city. They evolve towards a strong integration of all dimensions of human intelligence, collective intelligence, the intelligence of cities resides in the increasingly effective combination of digital telecommunication networks, ubiquitously embedded intelligence, sensors and tags, and software. This has been referred to as the first example of a city or an intelligent community. Empowerment intelligence, Cities provide open platforms, experimental facilities and smart city infrastructure in order to cluster innovation in certain districts and these are seen in the Kista Science City in Stockholm and the Cyberport Zone in Hong Kong. Similar facilities have also established in Melbourne. Instrumentation intelligence, Where city infrastructure is made smart through real-time data collection, with analysis, there is much controversy surrounding this, particularly with regards to surveillance issues in smart cities. Examples of Instrumentation intelligence have been implemented in Amsterdam and this is implemented through, A common IP infrastructure that is open to researchers to develop applications
41.
Electrical grid
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An electrical grid is an interconnected network for delivering electricity from suppliers to consumers. Power stations may be located near a source, at a dam site, or to take advantage of renewable energy sources. They are usually large to take advantage of the economies of scale. The electric power which is generated is stepped up to a voltage at which it connects to the electric power transmission network. The bulk power transmission network will move the power long distances, sometimes across international boundaries, on arrival at a substation, the power will be stepped down from a transmission level voltage to a distribution level voltage. As it exits the substation, it enters the distribution wiring, finally, upon arrival at the service location, the power is stepped down again from the distribution voltage to the required service voltage. Electrical grids vary in size covering an single building through national grids which cover whole countries. Early electric energy was produced near the device or service requiring that energy, in the 1880s, electricity competed with steam, hydraulics, and especially coal gas. Coal gas was first produced on premises but later evolved into gasification plants that enjoyed economies of scale. In the industrialized world, cities had networks of piped gas, but gas lamps produced poor light, wasted heat, made rooms hot and smoky, and gave off hydrogen and carbon monoxide. In the 1880s electric lighting soon became advantageous compared to gas lighting, Electric utility companies took advantage of economies of scale and moved to centralized power generation, distribution, and system management. With long distance power transmission it became possible to interconnect stations to balance load, merz was appointed head of a Parliamentary Committee and his findings led to the Williamson Report of 1918, which in turn created the Electricity Supply Bill of 1919. The bill was the first step towards an integrated electricity system, the Electricity Act of 1926 led to the setting up of the National Grid. The Central Electricity Board standardized the nations electricity supply and established the first synchronized AC grid and this started operating as a national system, the National Grid, in 1938. In the United States in the 1920s, utilities formed joint-operations to share peak load coverage, no longer were electric utilities built as vertical monopolies, where generation, transmission and distribution were handled by a single company. Now, the three stages could be split among various companies, in an effort to provide accessibility to high voltage transmission. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 allowed incentives and loan guarantees for energy production. In France, electrification began in the 1900s, with 700 communes in 1919, and 36,528 in 1938
42.
Power-line communication
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Power-line communication is a communication method that uses electrical wiring to simultaneously carry both data, and alternating current electric power transmission or electric power distribution. It is also known as carrier, power-line digital subscriber line, mains communication, power-line telecommunications. A wide range of communication technologies are needed for different applications. Most PLC technologies limit themselves to one type of wire, typically transformers prevent propagating the signal, which requires multiple technologies to form very large networks. Various data rates and frequencies are used in different situations, a number of difficult technical problems are common between wireless and power-line communication, notably those of spread spectrum radio signals operating in a crowded environment. Radio interference, for example, has long been a concern of amateur radio groups, Narrowband power-line communications began soon after electrical power supply became widespread. Around the year 1922 the first carrier frequency systems began to operate over lines with frequencies of 15 to 500 kHz for telemetry purposes. Consumer products such as baby alarms have been available at least since 1940, in the 1930s, ripple carrier signalling was introduced on the medium and low voltage distribution systems. Électricité de France developed a system called spread frequency shift keying or S-FSK and it is a simple low cost system with a long history, however it has a very slow transmission rate, between 200 and 800 bits per second. In the 1970s, the Tokyo Electric Power Co ran experiments which reported successful bi-directional operation with several hundred units, since the mid-1980s, there has been a surge of interest in using the potential of digital communications techniques and digital signal processing. The drive is to produce a system which is cheap enough to be widely installed. But the narrowband powerline communications channel presents many challenges, a mathematical channel model. Power line networking uses existing electrical wiring, whether in a building or in the utility grid, as network cables and it can be a means of extending an existing network into new places without adding new wires. For example, a computer could be wired to a router as follows, a second adapter is connected to an Ethernet-ready device like a computer. When both adapters are plugged into their wall sockets they will have a connection via the electrical wiring in between the two wall sockets being used. Some networking devices, such as routers or switches, also have power line connectivity built in and this adds no new wires since they need to be plugged into the wall to operate anyway. The power line is transformed into a line via the superposition of a low energy information signal to the power wave. Since electricity is 50 or 60 Hz, data is transmitted at at least 3 kHz to ensure that the wave does not interfere with the data signal
listen (help·info), Palatine German: Monnem or Mannem) is a city in the southwestern part of Germany, the third-largest in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart and Karlsruhe with a 2015 population of approximately 305,000 inhabitants. The city is at the centre of the larger densely populated Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region which has a population of 2,400,000[3] and is Germany's eighth-largest metropolitan region.
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Mannheim travel guide from Wikivoyage
