1.
Ukraine
–
Ukraine is currently in territorial dispute with Russia over the Crimean Peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014 but which Ukraine and most of the international community recognise as Ukrainian. Including Crimea, Ukraine has an area of 603,628 km2, making it the largest country entirely within Europe and it has a population of about 42.5 million, making it the 32nd most populous country in the world. The territory of modern Ukraine has been inhabited since 32,000 BC, during the Middle Ages, the area was a key centre of East Slavic culture, with the powerful state of Kievan Rus forming the basis of Ukrainian identity. Following its fragmentation in the 13th century, the territory was contested, ruled and divided by a variety of powers, including Lithuania, Poland, the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. A Cossack republic emerged and prospered during the 17th and 18th centuries, two brief periods of independence occurred during the 20th century, once near the end of World War I and another during World War II. Before its independence, Ukraine was typically referred to in English as The Ukraine, following independence, Ukraine declared itself a neutral state. Nonetheless it formed a limited partnership with the Russian Federation and other CIS countries. In the 2000s, the government began leaning towards NATO, and it was later agreed that the question of joining NATO should be answered by a national referendum at some point in the future. Former President Viktor Yanukovych considered the current level of co-operation between Ukraine and NATO sufficient, and was against Ukraine joining NATO and these events formed the background for the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014, and the War in Donbass in April 2014. On 1 January 2016, Ukraine applied the economic part of the Deep, Ukraine has long been a global breadbasket because of its extensive, fertile farmlands and is one of the worlds largest grain exporters. The diversified economy of Ukraine includes a heavy industry sector, particularly in aerospace. Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system with separate powers, legislative, executive. Its capital and largest city is Kiev, taking into account reserves and paramilitary personnel, Ukraine maintains the second-largest military in Europe after that of Russia. Ukrainian is the language and its alphabet is Cyrillic. The dominant religion in the country is Eastern Orthodoxy, which has strongly influenced Ukrainian architecture, literature, there are different hypotheses as to the etymology of the name Ukraine. According to the older and most widespread hypothesis, it means borderland, while more recently some studies claim a different meaning, homeland or region. The Ukraine now implies disregard for the sovereignty, according to U. S. ambassador William Taylor. Neanderthal settlement in Ukraine is seen in the Molodova archaeological sites include a mammoth bone dwelling
Ukraine
–
Gold
Scythian pectoral, or neckpiece, from a royal
kurgan in
Ordzhonikidze, dated to the 4th century BC
Ukraine
–
Flag
Ukraine
–
Principalities of
Kievan Rus', 1054-1132
Ukraine
–
The baptism of the Grand Prince Vladimir led to the adoption of Christianity in
Kievan Rus'.
2.
Rivne Oblast
–
Rivne Oblast is an oblast of Ukraine. The area of the region is 20,100 km², its population is 1.2 million, before 1992, under the policy of Russification, the region was officially known under its Russian name of Rovno Oblast. In the mass media it is referred as Rivnenshchyna - Ukrainian. The Rivne Nuclear Power Plant is located in the oblast, near the city of Varash, the region is located almost in the middle of the historical region of Volhynia which is indicated on its coat of arms with a white cross on a red background. Volhynia was completely parted after the incorporation of the east Poland into the Soviet Union in September 1939, Rivne is one of the regions with the highest birth rate in all of Ukraine. The heavy rural and ethnic Ukrainian composition of the population might be responsible for this, however the birth rate is not uniform across Rivne, with raions like Ostroh having extremely low birth rates and other raions like Rokytnivskyi having extremely high birth rates. According to statistics the population of Rivne Oblast Central Office at 1 January 2013 is 1,156,900 people, in 2012, it increased by 2612 people. This was due to natural increase 4014 people at the same time reduce the migration of the population -1,402 people, compared to 2011, the volume of natural growth increased by 485 people. Natural movement of the population in 2012 was characterized by an increase in fertility and mortality, in 2012, the number of births in the region was 619 more than in 2011. Fertility in rural areas is higher than in urban areas, total fertility rate for 2012 was 15.9. Compared to 2011, the mortality rate in 2012 rose from 12.3 to 12.4 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants, the mortality rate in rural areas is 1.6 pa za higher than in urban areas. Ostroh Castle Troitsk monastery Dubno Castle Most of Ukraines oblasts are named after their capital cities, the name of each oblast is a relative adjective, formed by adding a feminine suffix to the name of respective center city, Rivne is the center of the Rivnens’ka oblast’. Subdivisions of Ukraine - Web-site of Rivne
Rivne Oblast
3.
City rights
–
Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. Judicially, a borough was distinguished from the countryside by means of a charter from the monarch that defined its privileges. Common privileges involved trade and the establishment of guilds, some of these privileges were permanent and could imply that the town obtained the right to be called a borough, hence the term borough rights. Some degree of self-government, representation by diet, and tax-relief could also be granted, multiple tiers existed, for example, in Sweden, the basic royal charter establishing a borough enabled trade, but not foreign trade, which required a higher-tier charter granting staple right
City rights
–
The borough charter of
Flensburg (1284)
City rights
–
Medieval square in
Spišská Sobota (
Slovakia). The name of the town literally means "Saturday in
Spiš " and it is derived from a day of week in which the town was granted a right to organize a market.
4.
Daylight saving time
–
Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
Daylight saving time
–
Ancient
water clock that lets hour lengths vary with season.
Daylight saving time
–
G. V. Hudson invented modern DST, proposing it first in 1895.
Daylight saving time
–
Retailers generally favor DST.
United Cigar Stores hailed a 1918 DST bill.
Daylight saving time
–
William Willett independently proposed DST in 1907 and advocated it tirelessly.
5.
Town twinning
–
In recent times, town twinning has increasingly been used to form strategic international business links between member cities. In the United Kingdom, the twin towns is most commonly used. In mainland Europe, the most commonly used terms are twin towns, partnership towns, partner towns, the European Commission uses the term twinned towns and refers to the process as town twinning. Spain uses the term ciudades hermanadas that means sister cities, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic use Partnerstadt / Miasto Partnerskie / Partnerské město, which translate as Partner Town or City. France uses Ville Jumelée, and Italy has Gemellaggio and Comune gemellato, in the Netherlands, the term is Stedenband. In Greece, the word αδελφοποίηση has been adopted, in Iceland, the terms vinabæir and vinaborgir are used. In the former Soviet Bloc, twin towns and twin cities are used, the Americas, South Asia, and Australasia use the term sister cities or twin cities. In China, the term is 友好城市, sometimes, other government bodies enter into a twinning relationship, such as the agreement between the provinces of Hainan in China and Jeju-do in South Korea. The Douzelage is a twinning association with one town from each of the member states of the European Union. In recent years, the term city diplomacy has gained increased usage and acceptance, particularly as a strand of paradiplomacy and public diplomacy. It is formally used in the workings of the United Cities and Local Governments, the importance of cities developing their own foreign economic policies on trade, foreign investment, tourism and attracting foreign talent has also been highlighted by the World Economic Forum. The earliest known town twinning in Europe was between Paderborn, Germany, and Le Mans, France, in 836, starting in 1905, Keighley in West Yorkshire, England, had a twinning arrangement with French communities Suresnes and Puteaux. The first recorded modern twinning agreement was between Keighley and Poix-du-Nord in Nord, France, in 1920 following the end of the First World War and this was initially referred to as an adoption of the French town, formal twinning charters were not exchanged until 1986. The practice was continued after the Second World War as a way to promote mutual understanding, for example, Coventry twinned with Stalingrad and later with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, all three cities having been heavily bombed during the war. Similarly, in 1947, Bristol Corporation sent five leading citizens on a mission to Hanover. Reading in 1947 was the first British town to form links with an enemy city – Düsseldorf. Since 9 April 1956 Rome and Paris have been exclusively and reciprocally twinned with other, following the motto, Only Paris is worthy of Rome. Within Europe, town twinning is supported by the European Union, the support scheme was established in 1989
Town twinning
–
Twin towns sign in
Oskarshamn,
Sweden
Town twinning
–
An example of a 'gemellaggio' (twinning) agreement between
Castellabate, Italy and
Blieskastel, Germany
Town twinning
–
Column dedicated to
Paris in
Rome. Since April 9, 1956 Rome and Paris are exclusively and reciprocally twinned with each other, following the motto: "Only Paris is worthy of Rome; only Rome is worthy of Paris."
Town twinning
–
The painting of Gagny
6.
Poland
–
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
Poland
–
Reconstruction of a
Bronze Age,
Lusatian culture settlement in
Biskupin, c. 700 BC
Poland
–
Flag
Poland
–
Earliest known contemporary depiction of a Polish ruler; King
Mieszko II Lambert of Poland being presented with a
Liturgical book by
Matilda of Swabia, 1025–1031
Poland
–
Drawing of the
Battle of Grunwald, which was fought against the
German Order of Teutonic Knights, 15 July 1410
7.
Sandomierz
–
Sandomierz is a town in south-eastern Poland with 25,714 inhabitants, situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Sandomierz County, Sandomierz is known for its Old Town, which is a major tourist attraction. In the past, Sandomierz used to be one of the most important urban centers not only of Lesser Poland, but also of the whole country. The name of the city might have originated from the Old Polish Sędomir, composed of Sędzi- and mir, or more likely from the given name Sędzimir. Sandomierz is known in German, Sandomir, Latin, Sandomiria, Yiddish, צויזמיר, Hungarian, Szandomir, Ukrainian, Сандомир or Судомир, Russian, Сандомир, Sandomierz is one of the oldest and historically most significant cities in Poland. Archeological finds around the city indicate that humans have inhabited the area since neolithic times, the city came into existence in the early Middle Ages, taking advantage of an excellent location at the junction of Vistula and San rivers, and on the path of important trade routes. The first known mention of the city comes from the early 12th-century. The testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth, in which he divided Poland among his sons, designated Sandomierz as the capital of one of the resulting principalities, in the course of the 13th century the city suffered grievous damage during raids by Tatars in 1241,1259 and 1287. The old wooden buildings of the town were completely destroyed, as a result, in 1286 the High Duke of Poland Leszek II the Black, effectively refounded the city under Magdeburg Law. The city archives preserve the founding document, after the re-unification of the Polish lands in the 14th century, the former principality became the Sandomierz Voivodeship, incorporating large areas of southeastern Poland. Until 1474, it was one of two voivodeships of Lesser Poland, together with Krakow Voivodeship, in 1474, Lublin Voivodeship was created from eastern part of Sandomierz Voivodeship. At this time Sandomierz had about 3,000 inhabitants and was one of the largest Polish cities, in the middle of the 14th century the city was burned again during a raid by the Lithuanians. It was rebuilt during the rule of king Casimir III of Poland, the layout of the city has survived practically unchanged since that time until the present day. The following three hundred years, running until the middle of the 17th century, were prosperous for the city. The most important historical buildings were built during this period and this golden age came to an end in 1655 when Swedish forces captured the city in the course of the Deluge. After briefly holding out in the city, the withdrawing Swedes blew up the castle, in the next 100 years the economy of Poland suffered a decline, which also affected the city. A great fire in 1757 and the First Partition of Poland in 1772, as a result, Sandomierz lost its role as an administrative capital. In 1809, during the Napoleonic Wars, fighting between the forces of Austria and of the Duchy of Warsaw caused damage to the city, after 1815 it found itself in the Russian Empire
Sandomierz
–
Town Hall
Sandomierz
–
Panorama of Sandomierz
Sandomierz
Sandomierz
–
Main Square
8.
Ukrainian language
–
Ukrainian /juːˈkreɪniən/ is an East Slavic language. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic script, historical linguists trace the origin of the Ukrainian language to the Old East Slavic of the early medieval state of Kievan Rus. After the fall of the Kievan Rus as well as the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, the Modern Ukrainian language has been in common use since the late 17th century, associated with the establishment of the Cossack Hetmanate. From 1804 until the Russian Revolution, the Ukrainian language was banned from schools in the Russian Empire and it has always maintained a sufficient base in Western Ukraine, where the language was never banned, in its folklore songs, itinerant musicians, and prominent authors. The Ukrainian language retains a degree of intelligibility with Belarusian and Russian. The first theory of the origin of Ukrainian language was suggested in Imperial Russia in the middle of the 18th century by Mikhail Lomonosov and this theory posits the existence of a common language spoken by all East Slavic people in the time of the Rus. Another point of view developed during the 19th and 20th centuries by linguists of Imperial Russia, like Lomonosov, they assumed the existence of a common language spoken by East Slavs in the past. This general point of view is the most accepted amongst academics worldwide, the supporters of this theory disagree, however, about the time when the different languages were formed. Soviet scholars set the divergence between Ukrainian and Russian only at time periods. During the time of the incorporation of Ruthenia into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and this point of view is, however, at variance with some historical data. In fact, several East Slavic tribes, such as Polans, Drevlyans, Severians, Dulebes, White Croats, Tiverians, notably, some Ukrainian features were recognizable in the southern dialects of Old East Slavic as far back as the language can be documented. In contrast, Ahatanhel Krymsky and Alexei Shakhmatov assumed the existence of the spoken language of Eastern Slavs only in prehistoric times. According to their point of view, the diversification of the Old East Slavic language took place in the 8th or early 9th century, Ukrainian linguist Stepan Smal-Stotsky went even further, denying the existence of a common Old East Slavic language at any time in the past. Similar points of view were shared by Yevhen Tymchenko, Vsevolod Hantsov, Olena Kurylo, Ivan Ohienko, according to this theory, the dialects of East Slavic tribes evolved gradually from the common Proto-Slavic language without any intermediate stages during the 6th through 9th centuries. The Ukrainian language was formed by convergence of tribal dialects, mostly due to a migration of the population within the territory of todays Ukraine in later historical periods. This point of view was supported by George Shevelovs phonological studies. During the 13th century, when German settlers were invited to Ukraine by the princes of Galicia-Vollhynia and their influence would continue under Poland not only through German colonists but also through the Yiddish-speaking Jews. Often such words involve trade or handicrafts, examples of words of German or Yiddish origin spoken in Ukraine include dakh, rura, rynok, kushnir, and majster
Ukrainian language
–
Miniature of
St Luke from the
Peresopnytsia Gospels (1561).
Ukrainian language
–
Ukrainian-speaking world
Ukrainian language
–
The 1921 Soviet recruitment poster. It uses traditional Ukrainian imagery with Ukrainian-language text: "Son! Enroll in the school of
Red commanders, and the defense of
Soviet Ukraine will be ensured."
Ukrainian language
–
Anti-russification protest. The banner reads "For Ukrainian Children – a Ukrainian school!".
9.
Russian language
–
Russian is an East Slavic language and an official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and many minor or unrecognised territories. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages and is one of the four living members of the East Slavic languages, written examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th century and beyond. It is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages and it is also the largest native language in Europe, with 144 million native speakers in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Russian is the eighth most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers, the language is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Russian is also the second most widespread language on the Internet after English, Russian distinguishes between consonant phonemes with palatal secondary articulation and those without, the so-called soft and hard sounds. This distinction is found between pairs of almost all consonants and is one of the most distinguishing features of the language, another important aspect is the reduction of unstressed vowels. Russian is a Slavic language of the Indo-European family and it is a lineal descendant of the language used in Kievan Rus. From the point of view of the language, its closest relatives are Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Rusyn. An East Slavic Old Novgorod dialect, although vanished during the 15th or 16th century, is considered to have played a significant role in the formation of modern Russian. In the 19th century, the language was often called Great Russian to distinguish it from Belarusian, then called White Russian and Ukrainian, however, the East Slavic forms have tended to be used exclusively in the various dialects that are experiencing a rapid decline. In some cases, both the East Slavic and the Church Slavonic forms are in use, with different meanings. For details, see Russian phonology and History of the Russian language and it is also regarded by the United States Intelligence Community as a hard target language, due to both its difficulty to master for English speakers and its critical role in American world policy. The standard form of Russian is generally regarded as the modern Russian literary language, mikhail Lomonosov first compiled a normalizing grammar book in 1755, in 1783 the Russian Academys first explanatory Russian dictionary appeared. By the mid-20th century, such dialects were forced out with the introduction of the education system that was established by the Soviet government. Despite the formalization of Standard Russian, some nonstandard dialectal features are observed in colloquial speech. Thus, the Russian language is the 6th largest in the world by number of speakers, after English, Mandarin, Hindi/Urdu, Spanish, Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Education in Russian is still a choice for both Russian as a second language and native speakers in Russia as well as many of the former Soviet republics. Russian is still seen as an important language for children to learn in most of the former Soviet republics, samuel P. Huntington wrote in the Clash of Civilizations, During the heyday of the Soviet Union, Russian was the lingua franca from Prague to Hanoi
Russian language
–
Russian language street sign in
Russia.
Russian language
–
Russian minimarket in
Limassol, Cyprus; translation: "Teremok market. Russian goods. Phone number: 96 74 19 63"
Russian language
–
This page from an "ABC" book printed in Moscow in 1694 shows the letter
П.
Russian language
–
The
Ostromir Gospels of 1056 is the second oldest
East Slavic book known, one of many medieval
illuminated manuscripts preserved in the
Russian National Library.
10.
Polish language
–
Polish is a West Slavic language spoken primarily in Poland and is the native language of the Poles. It belongs to the Lechitic subgroup of the West Slavic languages, Polish is the official language of Poland, but it is also used throughout the world by Polish minorities in other countries. It is one of the languages of the European Union. Its written standard is the Polish alphabet, which has 9 additions to the letters of the basic Latin script, Polish is closely related to Kashubian, Silesian, Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian, Czech and Slovak. It is also the second most widely spoken Slavic language, after Russian, in history, Polish is known to be an important language, both diplomatically and academically in Central and Eastern Europe. Today, Polish is spoken by over 38.5 million people as their first language in Poland. It is also spoken as a language in western parts of Belarus and Ukraine, west and central Lithuania, as well as the northern parts of the Czech Republic. There are 55 million Polish language speakers around the world, Polish began to emerge as a distinct language around the 10th century, the process largely triggered by the establishment and development of the Polish state. With Christianity, Poland also adopted the Latin alphabet, which made it possible to write down Polish, the precursor to modern Polish is the Old Polish language. Ultimately, Polish is thought to descend from the unattested Proto-Slavic language, Poland is the most linguistically homogeneous European country, nearly 97% of Polands citizens declare Polish as their first language. Elsewhere, Poles constitute large minorities in Lithuania, Belarus, Polish is the most widely used minority language in Lithuanias Vilnius County and is found elsewhere in southeastern Lithuania. There are significant numbers of Polish speakers among Polish emigrants and their descendants in many other countries, in the United States, Polish Americans number more than 11 million but most of them cannot speak Polish fluently. The largest concentrations of Polish speakers reported in the census were found in three states, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey. Enough people in these areas speak Polish that PNC Financial Services offer services available in Polish at all of their machines in addition to English and Spanish. According to the 2011 census there are now over 500,000 people in England, in Canada, there is a significant Polish Canadian population, There are 242,885 speakers of Polish according to the 2006 census, with a particular concentration in Toronto and Montreal. The geographical distribution of the Polish language was affected by the territorial changes of Poland immediately after World War II. Poles settled in the Recovered Territories in the west and north and this tendency toward a homogeneity also stems from the vertically integrated nature of the authoritarian Polish Peoples Republic. The inhabitants of different regions of Poland still speak standard Polish somewhat differently, first-language speakers of Polish have no trouble understanding each other, and non-native speakers may have difficulty distinguishing regional variations
Polish language
–
The oldest printed text in Polish – Statuta synodalia Episcoporum Wratislaviensis printed in 1475 in
Wrocław by Kasper Elyan.
Polish language
–
Polish
Polish language
–
The
Jakub Wujek Bible in Polish, 1599 print
11.
Horyn River
–
The Horyn or Haryn is a river, a tributary of the Pripyat River, which flows through Ukraine and Belarus. It has a length of 659 km, a basin of 22,700 km², a maximum width of 80 m. An important tributary of the Horyn river is the Sluch River, the Horyn River takes its source in the Ternopil Oblast of Ukraine, south of the city of Kremenets, located north of the administrative center of the Ternopil Oblast, Ternopil. The river then flows north, where it makes s-shape formations, through the Ukrainian oblasts of Khmelnitsky, the river then flows northeast into the Belarusian voblast of Brest, where it finally flows into the Pripyat River. The atomic power plant Khmelnytskyi, located in the proximity of the city of Netishyn, before the river was dammed up which created pollution, the river was used for irrigation and for fishing purposes. A clean-up effort in September 1996, was a step toward the rivers restoration, cities and towns located on the river are, Iziaslav, Slavuta, Netishyn, Ostroh, Dubrovytsia, and, Rechytsa, Stolin
Horyn River
–
A map shown with the Horyn River flowing through Ukraine and Belarus.
12.
Capital (political)
–
A capital city is the municipality exercising primary status in a country, state, province, or other region, usually as its seat of government. A capital is typically a city that encompasses the offices and meeting places of its respective government. In some jurisdictions, including countries, the different branches of government are located in different settlements. In some cases, a distinction is made between the capital and the seat of government, which is in another place. The word capital derives from the Latin caput, meaning head, in several English-speaking states, the terms county town, county seat, and borough seat are also used in lower subdivisions. In unitary states, subnational capitals are known as administrative centres. The capital is often, but not necessarily, the largest city of its constituent, historically, the major economic centre of a state or region often becomes the focal point of political power, and becomes a capital through conquest or federation. Examples are Ancient Babylon, Abbasid Baghdad, Ancient Athens, Rome, Constantinople, Changan, Ancient Cusco, Madrid, Paris, London, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, Vienna, and Berlin. Some of these cities are or were also religious centres, e. g. Constantinople, Rome, Jerusalem, Ancient Babylon, Moscow, Belgrade, Paris, and Peking. A capital city that is also the economic, cultural. The convergence of political and economic or cultural power is by no means universal, traditional capitals may be economically eclipsed by provincial rivals, e. g. Nanking by Shanghai, Quebec City by Montreal, and numerous US state capitals. The decline of a dynasty or culture could also mean the extinction of its city, as occurred at Babylon. Although many capitals are defined by constitution or legislation, many long-time capitals have no legal designation as such, for example Bern, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London, Paris, are located in or near them. In Canada, there is a capital, while the ten provinces. The states of such countries as Mexico, Brazil, and Australia all have capital cities, for example, the six state capitals of Australia are Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. In Australia, the capital cities is regularly used, to refer to the aforementioned state capitals plus the federal capital Canberra and Darwin. Abu Dhabi is the city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In unitary states which consist of multiple constituent countries, such as the United Kingdom or the Kingdom of Denmark, the national capitals of Germany and Russia, the Stadtstaat of Berlin and the Federal City of Moscow, are also constituent states of both countries in their own right
Capital (political)
–
Parliament Hill, the national legislative buildings, in
Ottawa, the capital of
Canada.
Capital (political)
–
The
Roman Forum was surrounded by many government buildings as the capital of
Ancient Rome.
Capital (political)
–
The
Western Wall is one of the greatest findings of the Jewish history in
Jerusalem.
Capital (political)
–
Cornwall Council headquarters in the
county town of
Truro.
13.
Ostroh Academy
–
National University Ostroh Academy is a national autonomous research university of Ukraine that is located in Ostroh. It is considered to be the first institution of education in Ukraine, dating to 1576. The university was closed in 1636 and reopened only in 1994, in the 16th century, all higher schools of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were under influence of the Catholic or Protestant nobles. The school was founded some time between 1576 and 1580, but it did not start full activities until 1585, initially tasked only with translation of The Bible to Ruthenian, with time it grew to become a permanent institution of secondary education. The school, officially styled Academy, was modelled after Western European education of the epoch and it taught the trivium as well as the quadrivium. It featured education in Latin, Greek and Ruthenian, the institution of higher education in the world teaching that language at the time. The first rector of the academy was Herasym Smotrycki, a noted Eastern Christian writer of the epoch, with time, Ostrogski assembled a significant group of professors, many of them having been expelled from the Jagiellonian University or having quarreled with the king or the Catholic clergy. However, the nature of the conflict between Ostrogski, Protestants and Catholics prevented the school from attracting enough professors of international fame. Some of the professors were also of local stock, including Jurij Rohatyniec, Wasyl Maluszycki, the religious character of the academy was underlined by close ties to Eastern Christian monasteries of Derman, Dubno, Slutsk and later also Pochayiv. While the school failed to attract as many students as the founder had envisioned, after the death of Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski in 1608 the Ostroh Academy declined, but then was revived by his son Janusz Ostrogski as a Jesuit College. June 18,1578 – Ivan Fyodorov with help of teachers printed first book in Ukraine - Bukvar and “Greek-Rus Church Slavonic Reader” and this was first contribution for Academy. May 5,1581 – was printed first religious poetic calendar “Которого ся мѣсяца што за старых вѣков дѣло коротко е описаніе”, known in modern science literature as Andrew Rymshis “Chronology”. July 12,1581 – was printed Ostrog Bible, with effort of Ivan Fyodorov, petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny — Ukrainian szlachta, Hetman of Ukraine. Ostroh Сleric — pseudonym of Ukrainian unknown writer-polemnist, meletius Smotrytsky — Ukrainian linguist from Galicia, author and religious activist. Andrew Rymsha — Ukrainian writer and translator at the end of 16th century
Ostroh Academy
–
National University "Ostroh Academy"
14.
Ostrog Bible
–
The Ostrog Bible was translated not from the Masoretic text, but from the Septuagint. This translation comprised seventy-six books of the Old and New Testaments, some parts were based on Francysk Skarynas translations. The Ostrog Bibles were printed on two dates,12 July 1580, and 12 August 1581, the second version differs from the 1580 original in composition, ornamentation, and correction of misprints. In the printing of the Bible delays occurred, as it was necessary to remove mistakes, to search for correct textual resolutions of questions, the editing of the Bible detained printing. In the meantime, Fyodorov and his company printed other biblical books, the first were those that did not require correcting, the Psalter and the New Testament. The Ostrog Bible is a publication of 1,256 pages, lavishly decorated with headpieces and initials. From the typographical point of view, the Ostrog Bible is irreproachable and this is the first Bible printed in Cyrillic type. It served as the original and model for further Russian publications of the Bible, the importance of the first printed Cyrillic Bible can hardly be overestimated. Prince Ostrogski sent copies to Pope Gregory XIII and tsar Ivan the Terrible, while the latter presented a copy to an English ambassador, when leaving Ostroh, Fyodorov took 400 books with him. Only 300 copies of the Ostrog Bible are extant today, the Ostrog Bible was widely known in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, and also abroad. It is registered in the library of Oxford, its copies were owned by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, the cardinal Barberini, many scientists, the Ostrog Bible was reprinted in Moscow in 1663. The significance of the Ostrog Bible was enormous for Orthodox education, the Ostrog Circle and Bible from Ways of Russian Theology, by Fr. George Florovsky Ostrih Bible at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
Ostrog Bible
–
The Ostrog Bible on Commons
Ostrog Bible
–
Modern picture showing the creation of the Ostroh Bible in 1581
15.
Volhynia
–
Volhynia or Volyn is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe straddling Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, while the territory that still carries the name is Volyn Oblast, Volhynia has changed hands numerous times throughout history and been divided among competing powers. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, it has been part of the independent nation of Ukraine, among important cities are Lutsk, Rivne, Volodymyr-Volynskyi, Iziaslav, Novohrad-Volynskyi. In other versions, the city was located over 20 km to the west of Volodymyr-Volynskyi near the mouth of Huczwa River, before the partitions of Poland, eastern edge stretched a little west along the right-banks of Sluch River or just east of it. Volhynia is located in basins of Western Bug and Prypyat, therefore most of its rivers flow either in northern or western directions, relative to other historical regions, it is northeast of Galicia, east of Lesser Poland, and northwest of Podolia. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, and it is considered to overlap a number of other regions, among which are Polesia. Territories of historical Volhynia are now part of the Volyn, Rivne, major cities include Lutsk, Rivne, Kovel, Volodymyr-Volynskyi, Kremenets, and Starokostiantyniv. Before World War II, many Jewish shtetls, such as Trochenbrod, at one time all of Volhynia was part of the Pale of Settlement designated by Imperial Russia on its southwesternmost border. The land was mentioned in works of the Arabian scholar Al-Masudi who denoted the local tribe as people of Valin, in his work of 947-948 Al-Masudi mentions that Valinians as an intertribal union were ruled by their leader Madjak. In the opinion of Ukrainian historian Yuriy Dyba, the chronicle phrase «и оустави по мьстѣ, и по лузѣ погосты и дань и ѡброкы» reflects the actual route of the Olgas raid against Drevlians further to the west up to the Western Bugs right tributary Luha River. As early as 983, Vladimir the Great appointed his son Vsevolod the ruler of the Volhynian Principality and in 988 established the city of Volodymer. The first records can be traced to the Ruthenian chronicles, such as the Primary Chronicle, which mentions tribes of the Dulebe, Buzhan, volhynias early history coincides with that of the duchies or principalities of Halych and Volhynia. These two successor states of the Kievan Rus formed Halych-Volhynia between the 12th and the 14th centuries, after 1569 Volhynia formed a province of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. During this period many Poles and Jews settled in the area, the Roman and Greek Catholic churches became established in the province. In 1375 was established a Roman Catholic Diocese of Lodomeria but it was suppressed in 1425, many Orthodox churches joined the latter organization in order to benefit from a more attractive legal status. Records of the first agricultural colonies of Mennonites date from 1783, after the Third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Volhynia was annexed as the Volhynian Governorate of the Russian Empire. It covered an area of 71,852.7 square kilometers, many Roman Catholic church buildings were also given to the Russian Church, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lutsk was suppressed on orders of Empress Catherine II. In 1897, the population amounted to 2,989,482 people and it consisted of 73.7 percent East Slavs,13.2 percent Jews,6.2 percent Poles, and 5.7 percent Germans
Volhynia
–
Lubart's Castle (
Lutsk) was the seat of the medieval princes of Volhynia.
Volhynia
–
Mezhyrich Abbey in
Ostroh was endowed by the
Ostrogski princes in the 15th century.
Volhynia
–
Olyka Castle
Volhynia
–
Pochayiv Lavra, the spiritual heart of the
Orthodox in Volhynia.
16.
Ostrogski
–
The Ostrogski family was one of the greatest Polish-Ruthenian families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The family spanned from the 14th century to the 17th century, after the death of the last male heir of the Ostrogoski family, Janusz Ostrogski, most of the familys possessions were passed to the Zasławski family. The Ostrogski family was most likely of Rurikid stock and descended from Sviatopolk II of Kiev, some scholars however claim that their descent is from the Galicia-Volhynia line of the Rurikid dynasty. Vasilko Romanovich, Prince of Slonim, may have been the grandfather of Prince Daniel Ostrogski, the probable progenitor of this family was Prince Danylo Dmytrovych, who received Ostroh from Liubartas, King of Galicia-Volhynia and son of Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas. His son, Prince Feodor Danilovich Ostrogski, was a supporter of King Jagiello, in addition to Ostrog Feodor Danilovich Ostrogski became owner of Korets, Zaslav, and other towns. In some chronicles Feodor is called Dux Fethko de Ostrog and their dominions in Volynia, Galicia, and Podolia included 24 towns,10 townlets, and more than 100 villages. The most notable among Feodors descendants was Grand Hetman of Lithuania, Prince Konstanty Ostrogski, unlike other Ruthenian magnates, the Ostrogskis refused to give up Eastern Orthodoxy for Roman Catholicism despite the cultural pressure that led to Polonization of Ruthenian nobility. The last male member of the family was Janusz Ostrogski, the last female was Anna Alojza Ostrogska, when a junior line of the family which inherited the Ostrogoski fortune became extinct in 1682, their huge possessions passed to the Lubomirski family and other families of Polish szlachta. A complicated litigation concerning the Ostrogski inheritance continued until the Russian Empire annexed Poland during the Partitions, daniil Ostrogski, ancestor of the Ostrogski house. Konstanty Ostrogski - Hetman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ilia Ostrogski, Braclaw starost Elizaveta Ostrogska Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski, marshal of Volhynia and voivode of the Kiev Voivodeship. Janusz Ostrogski, Voivode of Volhynian Voivodship and castellan of Kraków, aleksander Ostrogski, Voivode of the Volhynian Voivodship. Aleksander Janusz Zasławski-Ostrogski, Last of Dukes Ostrogski-Zasławski, władysław Dominik Zasławski-Ostrogski, Voivode of Sandomierz Voivodship. Anna Alojza Ostrogska, married Jan Karol Chodkiewicz
Ostrogski
–
Ostrogski Palace in
Warsaw,
Poland
Ostrogski
–
Ostrogski.
17.
Lubomirski
–
The House of Lubomirski is a Polish princely family. The Lubomirski familys coat of arms is the Drużyna coat of arms, the Lubomirski family have been actors in the history of Poland since the 10th century. There are two theories regarding the familys origin, one, by Adam Boniecki, a Polish heraldist, assumes that there were two branches of the family. One settled at the Szreniawa River in Proszowice County while the other established itself in Szczyrzyc County, the time of this division of the family is not known, but most likely it was before the adoption of Christianity by Poland. The Szreniawici family used a coat of arms, which means that the two families had the same ancestry. At the time of Mieszko I, the members of the Lubomirski family demonstrated bravery in battle against pagans and this coat of arms has been used by the representatives of the family to the present time. The author of the theory of the familys origins is the medievalist Władysław Semkowicz. In his article The fellowship and Śreniawa, Semkowicz says that the original territory of the Drużynnici family was located there. The history of the Szreniawici, or Drużynnici, family is linked with the rulers of the Piast dynasty. The oldest document mentioning the Lubomirski family comes from the 11th century and it is in the property section of the Crown Register of 1682 in Kraków. There is only a mention in the register under a given year, successive members of the family took up positions of bishops, for example, Piotr, Archbishop of Gniezno mediated between the princes of the Piast dynasty during the congress in Łęczyca in 1180. The family performed important functions at the court of the Piast dynasty and extended their estates through investing in land, jakub Lubomirski served as a borough writer in the 14th century. Piotr, the heir of Lubomierz, the designation that is the basis of the family name, is regarded as the progenitor of the Lubomirski family. The economic foundation of the family rested on the exploitation of mines in Kraków province. The Lubomirski family also established private mines in Małopolska province, Sebastian, who in 1581 became a mine administrator of Kraków, was the creator of this economic power. This was the first administrative position in the city occupied by a member of the family. While taking up his duties, Sebastian had the support of Stefan Batory, in 1595, Sebastian received the title of Count of Wiśnicz from the Emperor Rudolf II, in 1591, he entered the Senate as governor of Małogoszcz. He opened a salt mine shaft Kunegunda in Siercza, which was exploited for about 100 years
Lubomirski
–
Prince
Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski
Lubomirski
–
Lubomirski family coat of arms
Lubomirski
–
Prince
Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski
Lubomirski
–
Prince Jan Kazimierz Lubomirski
18.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
–
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 13th century until 1795. The state was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija, the Grand Duchy later expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus and other Slavic lands, including territory of present-day Belarus, parts of Ukraine, Poland and Russia. At its greatest extent in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe and it was a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state with great diversity in languages, religion, and cultural heritage. Consolidation of the Lithuanian lands began in the late 12th century, Mindaugas, the first ruler of the Grand Duchy, was crowned as Catholic King of Lithuania in 1253. The pagan state was targeted in the crusade by the Teutonic Knights. The multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state emerged only at the reign of Gediminas. The reign of Vytautas the Great marked both the greatest territorial expansion of the Grand Duchy and the defeat of the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 and it also marked the rise of the Lithuanian nobility. After Vytautass death, Lithuanias relationship with the Kingdom of Poland greatly deteriorated, Lithuanian noblemen, including the Radvila family, attempted to break the personal union with Poland. However, the unsuccessful Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars with the Grand Duchy of Moscow forced the union to remain intact, eventually, the Union of Lublin of 1569 created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In this federation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania maintained its political distinctiveness and had separate government, laws, army, shortly after, the unitary character of the state was confirmed by adopting the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations. The newly reformed Commonwealth was invaded by Russia in 1792 and partitioned between the neighbours, with a truncated state remaining only nominally independent, after the Kościuszko Uprising, the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and Austria in 1795. The Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania name the name of the state as Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia. The title of Grand Duchy was consistently applied to Lithuania from the 14th century onward, in the 12th century, Slavic chronicles refer to Lithuania as one of the areas attacked by the Rus. Pagan Lithuanians initially paid tribute to Polotsk, but they grew in strength. The sudden spark of military raids marked consolidation of the Lithuanian lands in Aukštaitija, the Livonian Order and Teutonic Knights, crusading military orders, were established in Riga in 1202 and in Prussia in 1226. The Christian orders posed a significant threat to pagan Baltic tribes, the peace treaty with Galicia–Volhynia of 1219 provides evidence of cooperation between Lithuanians and Samogitians. This treaty lists 21 Lithuanian dukes, including five senior Lithuanian dukes from Aukštaitija, although they had battled in the past, the Lithuanians and the Žemaičiai now faced a common enemy. Likely Živinbudas had the most authority and at least several dukes were from the same families, the formal acknowledgment of common interests and the establishment of a hierarchy among the signatories of the treaty foreshadowed the emergence of the state
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
–
Navahrudak Castle
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
–
Trakai Island Castle
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
–
Gediminas Tower in Vilnius
19.
Union of Lublin
–
The Union of Lublin was signed July 1,1569, in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In addition, the autonomy of Royal Prussia was largely abandoned, the Duchy of Livonia, tied to Lithuania in real union since the Union of Grodno, became a Polish–Lithuanian condominium. The Commonwealth was ruled by an elected monarch who carried out the duties of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. The Union was a stage in the Polish–Lithuanian alliance and personal union. Constituting a crucial event in the history of nations, the Union of Lublin has been viewed quite differently by many historians. Sometimes identified as the moment at which the Szlachta rose to the height of their power, some Lithuanian historians are more critical of the Union, pointing out that it was an effect of domination by Polish nobles. The Polish nobility on the hand were reluctant to offer help to Lithuania without receiving anything in exchange. Still, the Polish and Lithuanian elite strengthened personal bonds and had opportunities to plan their united futures during increased military cooperation in the 1560s, a clear motivation for Sigismund is that he was the last Jagiello and had no children nor brothers who could inherit the throne. So the Union was an attempt to preserve the continuity of his dynastys work since the union of Poland and Lithuania at the marriage of Jadwiga of Poland. The Union was one of the changes required to establish a formal elected monarchy that would simultaneously reign over the two domains. The Sejm met in January,1569, near the Polish town of Lublin, one of the points of contention was the right of Poles to settle and own land in the Grand Duchy. Bratslav and eastern Podolia were also transferred to Poland and these historic lands of Rus comprise over half of modern Ukraine, and were at that time a substantial portion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuanias territory. The Rus nobles there were eager to capitalize on the economic and political opportunities offered by the Polish sphere, the Lithuanians were forced to return to the Sejm under the leadership of Jan Hieronimowicz Chodkiewicz and to continue negotiations, using slightly different tactics than Mikołaj the Red Radziwiłł. Though the Polish szlachta wanted full incorporation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into the Crown, on 28 June 1569, the last objections were overcome, and on 4 July an act was accordingly signed by the King at Lublin Castle. The Union of Lublin was superseded by the Constitution of May 3,1791 from 1791, the status of semi-federal state was restored by the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations. However, the constitution was not fully implemented and the Commonwealth was ended by the late 18th century Partitions of the Commonwealth, with the last one in 1795. After the Union, the Lithuanian nobles had the formal rights as the Polish to rule the lands. However, political advancement in the Catholic-dominated Commonwealth was a different matter, by the late 15th century, the Polish language was already making rapid inroads among the Lithuanian and Rus elites
Union of Lublin
–
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569
Union of Lublin
–
The Union of Lublin. Painting by
Jan Matejko.
Union of Lublin
–
Memory of the union lasted long. Painting commemorating Polish–Lithuanian union; circa 1861. The
motto reads "Eternal union."
20.
Crown of the Kingdom of Poland
–
The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, or simply the Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, including Poland proper. The kingdom has been dated back to c. 966, when Mieszko I and his pagan Slavic realm joined Christian Europe and his oldest son and successor, Prince Bolesław I Chrobry, Duke of Poland, became the first crowned King of Poland in 1025. The creation of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland was a milestone in the evolution of Polish statehood and it represented the concept of the Polish kingdom as distinctly separate from the person of the monarch. A related concept that evolved soon afterward was that of Rzeczpospolita, the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland was also related to other symbols of Poland, such as the capital, the Polish coat of arms and the flag of Poland. The concept of the Crown also had a geographical aspects, particularly related to the indivisibility of the Polish - Crown -territory. It can be seen as a unit of administrative division. Parts formed part at the early Kingdom of Poland, then, at the same time, the Crown also referred to all lands that the Polish state could claim to have the right to rule over, including those that were not within Polish borders. The term distinguishes those territories federated with the Crown Grand Duchy of Lithuania from various fiefdom territories, such as the Duchy of Prussia and the Duchy of Courland. Prior to the 1569 Union of Lublin, Crown territories may be understood as those of Poland proper, inhabited by Poles, with the Union of Lublin, however, most of present-day Ukraine, passed onto Polish administration, thus becoming Crown territory. During that period, a term for a Pole from the Crown territory was koroniarz - or Crownlander in English - derived from Korona - the Crown and this often meant a distinction between persons loyal to the elected King and persons loyal to Polish magnate. Crown lands were divided into two provinces, Lesser Poland and Greater Poland and these were further divided into administrative units known as voivodeships. Royal Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land, Malbork Voivodeship, Gdańsk, Toruń, Polish historian Henryk Wisner writes that Royal Prussia belonged to the Province of Greater Poland. The towns affected were, Biała, Lubica, Wierzbów, Spiska Sobota, Poprad, Straże, Spiskie Włochy, Nowa Wieś, Spiska Nowa Wieś, Ruszkinowce, Wielka, Spiskie Podgrodzie, Maciejowce, Twarożne. Wenceslaus I sold the Duchy of Siewierz to the Archbishop of Kraków, Zbigniew Cardinal Oleśnicki, after that point it was considered to be associated with the Lesser Poland Province and was the only ecclesiastical duchy in Lesser Poland. In 1641 it became part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Duchy of Livonia was held as a condominium with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was held as a condominium with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, jan Herburt, Statuta Regni Poloniae, in ordinem alphabeti digesta, Cracoviae 1563. Jan Dąbrowski, Korona Królestwa Polskiego w XIV wieku, studium z dziejów rozwoju polskiej monarchii stanowej, stanisław Szczur, Historia Polski Średniowiecze, Wydawnictwo Literackie 2002, ISBN 83-08-03272-9
Crown of the Kingdom of Poland
–
Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, 1635
21.
Partitions of Poland
–
The First Partition of Poland was decided on August 5,1772. Two decades later, Russian and Prussian troops entered the Commonwealth again, Austria did not participate in the Second Partition. The Third Partition of Poland took place on October 24,1795, with this partition, the Commonwealth ceased to exist. In Polish, there are two words for the two meanings. In Polish historiography, the term Fourth Partition of Poland has also been used, the term Fourth Partition in a temporal sense can also mean the diaspora communities that played important political role in re-establishing the Polish sovereign state after 1918. A single member of parliaments belief that a measure was injurious to his own constituency, even after the act had been approved and it became increasingly difficult to undertake action. The liberum veto also provided openings for foreign diplomats to get their ways and this applies particularly to the last Commonwealth King Stanisław August Poniatowski, who for some time had been a lover of Russian Empress Catherine the Great. Their alliance later became known in Poland as the Alliance of the Three Black Eagles, the Commonwealth could never be liquidated unless its long-time ally, Austria, allowed it, so Catherine had to use diplomacy to win Austria to her side. Frederick II retaliated by ordering enough Polish currency counterfeited to severely affect the Polish economy and this new constitution undid the reforms made in 1764 under Stanisław II. The liberum veto and all the old abuses of the last one, the irregular and poorly commanded Polish forces had little chance in the face of the regular Russian army and suffered a major defeat. In 1769 Austria annexed a small territory of Spisz and in 1770 – Nowy Sącz and these territories had been a bone of contention between Poland and Hungary, which was a part of the Austrian crown lands. In February 1772, the agreement of partition was signed in Vienna, early in August, Russian, Prussian and Austrian troops simultaneously invaded the Commonwealth and occupied the provinces agreed upon among themselves. The partition treaty was ratified by its signatories on September 22,1772, to Austria fell Zator and Auschwitz, part of Lesser Poland embracing parts of the counties of Kraków and Sandomir and the whole of Galicia, less the city of Kraków. Catherine of Russia was also very satisfied, by this diplomatic document Russia came into possession of that section of Livonia that had remained in Commonwealth control, and of Belarus embracing the counties of Vitebsk, Polotsk and Mstislavl. By this partition, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth lost about 30% of its territory and half of its population, by seizing northwestern Poland, Prussia instantly gained control over 80% of the Commonwealths total foreign trade. Through levying enormous customs duties, Prussia accelerated the collapse of the Commonwealth, after having occupied their respective territories, the three partitioning powers demanded that King Stanisław and the Sejm approve their action. By 1790 the First Polish Republic had been weakened to such a degree that it was forced into an unnatural and terminal alliance with its enemy, the Polish–Prussian Pact of 1790 was signed. The conditions of the Pact contributed to the succeeding and final two partitions of Poland–Lithuania, the May Constitution of 1791 enfranchised the bourgeoisie, established the separation of the three branches of government, and eliminated the abuses of the Repnin Sejm
Partitions of Poland
–
Allegory of the
1st partition of
Poland, showing
Catherine II of Russia (left),
Joseph II of Austria and
Frederick the Great of Prussia (right) quarrelling over their territorial seizures
Partitions of Poland
–
The
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772
Partitions of Poland
–
Włodzimierz Tetmajer, Allegory of Dead Poland, St. Nicholas Cathedral,
Kalisz
Partitions of Poland
–
Russian general
Krechetnikov presents the manifest of Catherine the Great to the people of
Podolia
22.
Magdeburg rights
–
Named after the German city of Magdeburg, these town charters were perhaps the most important set of medieval laws in Central Europe thus far. They became the basis for the German town laws developed during many centuries in the Holy Roman Empire, in medieval Poland, Jews were invited along with German merchants to settle in cities as part of the royal city development policy. Jews and Germans were sometimes competitors in those cities, Jews lived under privileges that they carefully negotiated with the king or emperor. They were not subject to city jurisdiction and these privileges guaranteed that they could maintain communal autonomy, live according to their laws, and be subjected directly to the royal jurisdiction in matters concerning Jews and Christians. Other provisions frequently mentioned were a permission to sell meat to Christians, external merchants coming into the city were not allowed to trade on their own, but instead forced to sell the goods they had brought into the city to local traders, if any wished to buy them. Being a member of the Hanseatic League, Magdeburg thus was one of the most important trade cities also, maintaining commerce with the Low countries, the Baltic states, in these lands they were mostly known as German or Teutonic law. The Law of Magdeburg implemented in Poland was different from its original German form and it was combined with a set of civil and criminal laws, and adjusted to include the urban planning popular across Western Europe – which was based on the ancient Roman model. Polish land owners used the location known as settlement with German law across the country usually with no German settlers present. Meanwhile, the people often ignorant of the actual German text. The advantages were not only economic, but also political, members of noble families were able to join the city patriciate usually unchallenged. In the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, the first town to receive the Magdeburg rights was Székesfehérvár in 1237, followed by, towns and cities including Bardejov, Buda, Bratislava and Košice adopted the Southern German Nuremberg town rights, rather than the Magdeburg rights. German town law Kulm law Lübeck law Danzig law
Magdeburg rights
–
City charter of
Kraków, Poland's medieval capital; inscribed in obligatory Latin
23.
Bastion
–
A bastion is an angular structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly at the corners. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks with fire from the flanks being able to protect the wall and also the adjacent bastions. It is one element in the style of fortification dominant from the mid 16th to mid 19th centuries, Bastion fortifications offered a greater degree of passive resistance and more scope for ranged defense in the age of gunpowder artillery compared with the medieval fortifications they replaced. By the middle of the 15th century, artillery pieces had become powerful enough to make the traditional medieval round tower, during the Eighty Years War Dutch military engineers developed the concepts further lengthening the faces and shortening the curtain walls of the bastions. To augment this change they placed v shaped outworks in front of the bastions, Bastions differ from medieval towers in a number of respects. Bastions are lower than towers and are normally of similar height to the adjacent curtain wall, the height of towers, although making them difficult to scale, also made them easy for artillery to destroy. A bastion would normally have a ditch in front, the side of which would be built up above the natural level then slope away gradually. This glacis shielded most of the bastion from the cannon while the distance from the base of the ditch to the top of the bastion meant it was still difficult to scale. In contrast to late medieval towers, bastions were flat sided rather than curved. This eliminated dead ground making it possible for the defenders to fire upon any point directly in front of the bastion, Bastions also cover a larger area than most towers. This allows more cannons to be mounted and provided space for the crews to operate them. Surviving examples of bastions are usually faced with masonry, unlike the wall of a tower this was just a retaining wall, cannonball were expected to pass through this and be absorbed by a greater thickness of hard-packed earth or rubble behind. The top of the bastion was exposed to fire. If a bastion was successfully stormed, it could provide the attackers with a stronghold from which to further attacks. Some bastion designs attempted to minimise this problem and this could be achieved by the use of retrenchments in which a trench was dug across the rear of the bastion, isolating it from the main rampart. Various kinds of bastions have been used throughout history, solid bastions are those that are filled up entirely, and have the ground even with the height of the rampart, without any empty space towards the centre. Void or hollow bastions are those that have a rampart, or parapet, only around their flanks and faces, so that a void space is left towards the centre. The ground is so low, that if the rampart is taken, no retrenchment can be made in the centre, but what will lie under the fire of the besieged
Bastion
–
Drawing of a bastion
Bastion
–
A bastion in the
Komárno Fortress (Slovakia).
Bastion
–
One of the bastions of the castle of
Copertino,
Italy
Bastion
–
Aerial view of bastions at the Castle Siklós,
Hungary
24.
Voivode
–
Voivode is an Eastern European title that originally denoted the principal commander of a military force. It derives from the word vojevoda, which in early Slavic meant the bellidux, i. e. the military commander of an area, in Byzantine times it referred to mainly military commanders of Slavic populations, especially in the Balkans. In medieval Serbia it meant an official and - before the Ottoman conquest in the 15th century - the commander of a military area. During Ottoman times, Voivode was the title borne by the ruler of a province, whose powers included the administration, security, the same title was borne by the Ottoman official who oversaw the “Chora Metzovo” each time. The word gradually came to denote the governor of a province, the territory ruled or administered by a voivode is known in English as a voivodeship. In the English language, the title is translated as duke or prince. In Eastern European terminology, the rank of a voivode is considered equal of that of a German Herzog, a voivode was often considered to be an assistant of the Knyaz. During military actions the voivode was in charge of an army that consisted of the local population, the voj, while the knyaz had its own regular military formation. As of 2016 in Poland the term means the centrally-appointed governor of a Polish province or voivodeship. The Polish title is rendered in English as palatine or prince palatine. Other similar titles include Margrave, Governor-General, and others, with the expansion of the Russian Empire the title of voivode was superseded by namestnik. Later, voivode denoted the highest military rank in the principalities of Montenegro and Serbia, in the Romanian medieval principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, voievode became part of the official titulature of the sovereign prince, showing his right to lead the entire army. Voivode or vajda was also the title of the Hungarian governors of Transylvania in the Middle Ages, baida was a title of a Ruthenian nobleman and Cossack leader Dmytro Vyshnevetsky. Similarly, the leaders in the Balkans were called voivodes. The term derives from Slavic voi or vojsko + vodi, the word has developed to take various forms in the modern Slavic languages, such as vojvoda, wojewoda, воевода, войвода or воевода, воєвода, vévoda and војвода. It has also borrowed into some non-Slavic languages, taking such forms as voievod, vajda. Voivode is also related to state such as Vojvodina, Polish provinces voivodeship. For this reason, the Slavic terms are translated as duke
Voivode
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"The Voyevoda Arrives to a Provincial Town", by
Sergei Vasilievich Ivanov (1864–1910)
Voivode
–
Jerzy Ossoliński, Voivode of
Sandomierz from 1636 and
Great Crown Chancellor from 1643, Poland
Voivode
–
Stephen the Great of Moldavia
Voivode
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Živojin Mišić Serbian Vojvoda from 1914
25.
Janusz Ostrogski
–
Prince Janusz Ostrogski was a Polish–Lithuanian noble and statesman. He served as a voivode of Volhyn, as a castellan of Kraków, Ostrogski was one of the richest magnates of the Commonwealth, and the last of the male line of the family. Upon his death his estate passed to the Zasławskis, Janusz was of the princely Ostrogski family, the son of Konstanty Wasyl and Sophie née Tarnowski. He had four siblings, brothers Aleksander and Konstanty and sisters Katarzyna and he spend his early childhood in Dubno, and then lived at the court of Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna. In 1579 he converted from Orthodoxy to Roman Catholicism, in 1577, he led the defense of Dubno against the Tatars. During the Livonian War in 1579, he participated in campaigns in Chernigov. On 2 February 1593 together with Alexander Vyshnevetsky he won the battle with the Cossack army under the command of C, for the protection of state borders and their own possessions in 1609, he founded Ostrogski ordination, the capital of which over time became Dubno. In addition, he funded churches in Mezhyrechchy and Astrovtsy, orthodox clerics in his province did not interfere. Cherished treasures of the ancestors, especially the gold medal with the image of his father, Prince Constantine-Basil. This medal is now in the Hermitage, ostrogskis wives were, Suzanne Sered, children, Eleanor and Euphrosyne Catherine Lubomirski Teafiliya Tarlo, children, Janusz Vladimir Ostrogski family Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Encyclopedia. At 3 tons / ed. GP Pashkov et al, at 6 m. T.1, А-Беліца / Belarus. Barbara Sawczyk, Maria Sąsiadowicz, Ewa Stańczyk
Janusz Ostrogski
–
Ostrogski
Janusz Ostrogski
–
Janusz Ostrogski
26.
Calvinism
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Calvinism is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice of John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians. The term Calvinism can be misleading, because the tradition which it denotes has always been diverse. The movement was first called Calvinism by Lutherans who opposed it, early influential Reformed theologians include Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, Martin Bucer, William Farel, Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Theodore Beza, and John Knox. In the twentieth century, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, B. B, Warfield, J. Gresham Machen, Karl Barth, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Cornelius Van Til, and Gordon Clark were influential. Contemporary Reformed theologians include J. I, sproul, Timothy J. Keller, John Piper, David Wells, and Michael Horton. Reformed churches may exercise several forms of polity, most are presbyterian or congregationalist. Calvinism is largely represented by Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist traditions, the biggest Reformed association is the World Communion of Reformed Churches with more than 80 million members in 211 member denominations around the world. There are more conservative Reformed federations such as the World Reformed Fellowship, Calvinism is named after John Calvin. It was first used by a Lutheran theologian in 1552 and it was a common practice of the Catholic Church to name what they perceived to be heresy after its founder. Nevertheless, the term first came out of Lutheran circles, Calvin denounced the designation himself, They could attach us no greater insult than this word, Calvinism. It is not hard to guess where such a deadly hatred comes from that they hold against me, despite its negative connotation, this designation became increasingly popular in order to distinguish Calvinists from Lutherans and from newer Protestant branches that emerged later. Moreover, these churches claim to be—in accordance with John Calvins own words—renewed accordingly with the order of gospel. Since the Arminian controversy, the Reformed tradition—as a branch of Protestantism distinguished from Lutheranism—divided into two groups, Arminians and Calvinists. However, it is now rare to call Arminians a part of the Reformed tradition, some have also argued that Calvinism as a whole stresses the sovereignty or rule of God in all things including salvation. First-generation Reformed theologians include Huldrych Zwingli, Martin Bucer, Wolfgang Capito, John Oecolampadius, scripture was also viewed as a unified whole, which led to a covenantal theology of the sacraments of baptism and the Lords Supper as visible signs of the covenant of grace. Another Reformed distinctive present in these theologians was their denial of the presence of Christ in the Lords supper. Each of these also understood salvation to be by grace alone. Martin Luther and his successor Philipp Melanchthon were undoubtedly significant influences on these theologians, the doctrine of justification by faith alone was a direct inheritance from Luther
Calvinism
–
Reformation Wall in
Geneva; from left to right:
William Farel,
John Calvin,
Theodore Beza, and
John Knox
Calvinism
–
Calvin preached at
St. Pierre Cathedral, the main church in Geneva
Calvinism
–
Calvin's
magnum opus:
Institutio Christianae religionis
Calvinism
–
Calvinism has been known at times for its simple, unadorned churches and lifestyles, as depicted in this painting by
Emanuel de Witte c.1661
27.
Khmelnytsky Uprising
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The Khmelnytsky Uprising was a Cossack rebellion within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1648–1657, which led to the creation of a Cossack Hetmanate in Ukrainian lands. The insurgency was accompanied by atrocities committed by Cossacks against the civilian population, especially against the Roman Catholic clergy. The uprising has a meaning in the history of Ukraines relationship with Poland. The event triggered a period of turbulence and infighting in the Hetmanate known as the Ruin. With the creation of the Polish-Lithuanian Union in 1569, a number of Ruthenian lands were gradually absorbed under the control of a powerful aristocratic republic — the Rzeczpospolita. Although the local nobility was granted full rights within the Rzeczpospolita, local Orthodox traditions were also under siege from the assumption of ecclesiastical power by the Grand Duchy of Moscow in 1448. Born to a family, Bohdan Khmelnytsky attended Jesuit schools. At the age of 22 he joined his father in the service of the Commonwealth, after being held captive in Constantinople, he returned to life as a registered Cossack, settling in his hometown of Subotiv with a wife and several children. He participated in campaigns for Grand Crown Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski, led delegations to King Władysław IV Vasa in Warsaw, the course of his life was altered, however, when Aleksander Koniecpolski, heir to Hetman Koniecpolskis magnate estate, attempted to seize Khmelnytskys land. In 1647 Chyhyryn starost Daniel Czapliński openly started to harass Khmelnytsky on behalf of the younger Koniecpolski in an attempt to force him off the land. He twice sought assistance from the king by traveling to Warsaw, having received no support from Polish officials, Khmelnytsky turned to his Cossack friends and subordinates. The case of a Cossack being unfairly treated by the Poles found a lot of not only in his regiment. All through the autumn of 1647 Khmelnytsky traveled from one regiment to the other and had numerous consultations with different Cossack leaders throughout Ukraine and his activity raised the suspicions of Polish authorities already used to Cossack revolts, and he was promptly arrested. Polkovnyk Mykhailo Krychevsky assisted Khmelnytsky in his escape, and with a group of supporters he headed for the Zaporozhian Sich. Cossacks were already on the brink of the new rebellion as plans for the new war with the Ottoman Empire advanced by the Polish king Władysław IV Vasa were cancelled by Sejm. Rumors about the hostilities with the infidels were greeted with joy. However, the Cossack rebellion might have fizzled in the manner as the great rebellions of 1637–1638. He realized that Cossacks, while having an excellent infantry, could not hope to match the Polish cavalry, however, combining Cossack infantry with Crimean Tatar cavalry could have provided a balanced military force and given the Cossacks a chance to beat the Polish army
Khmelnytsky Uprising
–
Bohdan Khmelnytsky with Tuhai Bey at Lviv, oil on canvas by
Jan Matejko, 1885,
National Museum in
Warsaw.
Khmelnytsky Uprising
–
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1648
Khmelnytsky Uprising
–
Bohdan Khmelnytsky Entering Kiev by Mykola Ivasiuk.
28.
Cossack
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Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic-speaking people who became known as members of democratic, self-governing, semi-military communities, predominantly located in Ukraine and in Russia. The origins of the first Cossacks are disputed, though the 1710 Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk claimed Khazar origin, the Zaporizhian Sich were a vassal people of Poland–Lithuania during feudal times. Under increasing pressure from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in the century the Sich declared an independent Cossack Hetmanate. Afterwards, the Treaty of Pereyaslav brought most of the Ukrainian Cossack state under Russian rule, the Sich with its lands became an autonomous region under the Russian-Polish protectorate. The Don Cossack Host, which had established by the 16th century. Together they began a systematic conquest and colonisation of lands in order to secure the borders on the Volga, the whole of Siberia, and the Yaik, Cossack communities had developed along the latter two rivers well before the arrival of the Don Cossacks. By the 18th century, Cossack hosts in the Russian Empire occupied effective buffer zones on its borders, the expansionist ambitions of the Empire relied on ensuring the loyalty of Cossacks, which caused tension given their traditional exercise of freedom, democratic self-rule, and independence. By the end of the 18th century, Cossack nations had transformed into a special military estate. The government provided only firearms and supplies for them, Cossack service was considered the most rigorous one. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Tsarist regime used Cossacks extensively to perform police service and they also served as border guards on national and internal ethnic borders. During the Russian Civil War, Don and Kuban Cossacks were the first nations to open war against the Bolsheviks. By 1918, Cossacks declared the independence of their nations and formed the independent states, the Ukrainian State, the Don Republic. The Cossack troops formed the core of the anti-Bolshevik White Army. With the victory of the Red Army, the Cossack lands were subjected to Decossackization, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Cossacks made a systematic return to Russia. Many took a part in Post-Soviet conflicts and Yugoslav Wars. In Russias 2010 Population Census, Cossacks have been recognized as an ethnicity, there are Cossack organizations in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Poland, and the United States. Max Vasmers etymological dictionary traces the name to the Old East Slavic word козакъ, kozak, the ethnonym Kazakh is from the same Turkic root. In written sources the name is first attested in Codex Cumanicus from the 13th century, in English, Cossack is first attested in 1590
Cossack
–
Italian map of «European Tartaria» (1684).
Dnieper Ukraine is marked as « Ukraine or the land of
Zaporozhian Cossacks (Vkraina o Paese de Cossachi di Zaporowa)». On the east there is « Ukraine or the land of
Don Cossacks, who are subjects of
Muscovy (Vkraina ouero Paese de Cossachi Tanaiti Soggetti al Moscouita)».
Cossack
–
Cossack Mamay – the ideal image of Cossack in Ukrainian folklore.
Cossack
–
A Zaporozhian Cossack, 17th-18th century traditional clothing.
29.
Collegium Nobilium (Warsaw)
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The Collegium Nobilium was an elite boarding secondary school for sons of magnates and wealthy gentry, founded in 1740 in Warsaw by Stanisław Konarski and run by Piarist monks. The school existed until 1832 and was one of the predecessors of Warsaw University and it was at first called Collegium Novum, but its name was changed in the autumn of 1741. It operated in a building on Warsaw’s Dluga Street, later, it was moved to the district of Zoliborz. The target of the Collegium Nobilium was to educate future elites of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and it had eight grades, but education lasted for eight years, as in grades II, IV, and V, the curriculum lasted two years. The school had a modern syllabus, it concentrated on natural sciences, mathematics, philosophy and modern languages, stanislaw Konarski selected well-educated teachers, introducing courses in history, law, economics and sciences. The campus of the Collegium Nobilium was almost completely destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising and it was rebuilt after the war, together with its classicistic facade
Collegium Nobilium (Warsaw)
–
Building of the Collegium Nobilium today
Ukraine
Rivne Oblast
Sandomierz, Bieruń[1]
