Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in Western and Central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. The largest territory of the empire after 962 was the Kingdom of Germany, though it came to include the neighboring Kingdom of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Burgundy, the Kingdom of Italy, numerous other territories. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the earlier ancient Western Roman Empire in 476; the title continued in the Carolingian family until 888 and from 896 to 899, after which it was contested by the rulers of Italy in a series of civil wars until the death of the last Italian claimant, Berengar I, in 924. The title was revived again in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne and beginning a continuous existence of the empire for over eight centuries.
Some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, describing a gradual assumption of the imperial title and role; the exact term "Holy Roman Empire" was not used until the 13th century, but the concept of translatio imperii, the notion that he—the sovereign ruler—held supreme power inherited from the ancient emperors of Rome, was fundamental to the prestige of the emperor. The office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although controlled by dynasties; the German prince-electors, the highest-ranking noblemen of the empire elected one of their peers as "King of the Romans", he would be crowned emperor by the Pope. The empire never achieved the extent of political unification as was formed to the west in France, evolving instead into a decentralized, limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of sub-units: kingdoms, duchies, prince-bishoprics, Free Imperial Cities, other domains.
The power of the emperor was limited, while the various princes, lords and cities of the empire were vassals who owed the emperor their allegiance, they possessed an extent of privileges that gave them de facto independence within their territories. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806 following the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by emperor Napoleon I the month before. In various languages the Holy Roman Empire was known as: Latin: Sacrum Imperium Romanum, German: Heiliges Römisches Reich, Italian: Sacro Romano Impero, Czech: Svatá říše římská, Polish: Święte imperium rzymskie, Slovene: Sveto rimsko cesarstvo, Dutch: Heilige Roomse Rijk, French: Saint-Empire romain. Before 1157, the realm was referred to as the Roman Empire; the term sacrum in connection with the medieval Roman Empire was used beginning in 1157 under Frederick I Barbarossa: the term was added to reflect Frederick's ambition to dominate Italy and the Papacy. The form "Holy Roman Empire" is attested from 1254 onward.
In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, a form first used in a document in 1474. The new title was adopted because the Empire had lost most of its Italian and Burgundian territories to the south and west by the late 15th century, but to emphasize the new importance of the German Imperial Estates in ruling the Empire due to the Imperial Reform. By the end of the 18th century, the term "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" had fallen out of official use. Besides, contradicting the traditional view concerning that designation, Hermann Weisert has stated in a study on imperial titulature that, despite the claim of many textbooks, the name "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" never had an official status and points out that documents were thirty times as to omit the national suffix as include it. This, or the shortened "Roman Empire of the German Nation", is used in Germany to refer to the Holy Roman Empire. In a famous assessment of the name, the political philosopher Voltaire remarked sardonically: "This body, called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire."
As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control. In the late 5th and early 6th centuries, the Merovingians, under Clovis I and his successors, consolidated Frankish tribes and extended hegemony over others to gain control of northern Gaul and the middle Rhine river valley region. By the middle of the 8th century, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel's son Pepin became King of the Franks, gained the sanction of the Pope; the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768, Pepin's son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an extensive expansion of the realm, he incorporated the territories of present-day France, northern Italy, beyond, linking the Frankish kingdom with Papal lands. In 797, the Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VI was removed from the throne by his mother Irene who declared herself Empress; as the Church regarded a male Roman Emperor as the head of Christendom, Pope
University of Passau
The University of Passau is a public research university located in Passau, Lower Bavaria, Germany. Founded in 1973, it is the youngest university in Bavaria and has the most modern campus in the state, its roots as the Institute for Catholic Studies date back some hundreds of years. Today it is home to four faculties and 39 different undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes; the university was established on 1 January 1973 by a resolution of the Bayerischer Landtag. However its history goes back to 1622 when an Institute for Catholic Studies was incorporated into the Gymnasium founded by Fürst Leopold in 1612. In 1773, the school was renamed fürstbischöfliche Akademie, highlighting its relationship to the bishop. In 1803 it was downgraded to a kurfürstliches Lyzeum, which meant a loss of status. After a period of abandonment, it was re-established as Passauer Lyzeum; this lyceum grew over the years until it became a philosophical-theological university in 1923. Under the Nazi regime the university was forced to change its logo, but in 1950 a new seal was introduced, representing Mary with The Child Jesus vanquishing evil.
The strong religious symbolism of this logo was considered inappropriate for the new university and replaced with a neutral logo. In 1969, the city council initiated negotiations to establish a university out of the old Faculty; the campus of the University of Passau is unique in Germany. With the exception of the Department of Catholic Theology, in the Old Town, a number of offices in the city centre, all faculties are situated on a single campus along a single street; this is advantageous for the internal communication of students and staff because the university offers many interdisciplinary courses. Hence, it is not uncommon for law courses to be held in the vice versa; the campus is stretched out along the left bank of the Inn river, making it an idyllic place to study. The gardens and meadows are popular with students in the summer; the Nikolakloster building is the oldest building on campus, existing long before the university was established. It is the only building that breaks with the university's otherwise modern architecture.
Today, this former convent is home to the language centre. On the opposite end of the campus are the IT Centre building and the sports grounds; the latest addition to the campus, inaugurated in 2014, is the Centre for Media and Communication, which houses a state-of-the-art newsroom. The university's sports facilities include four gymnasiums, a football pitch and an athletics field with a race track. A wide range of sports courses are offered throughout the semester and are free to staff and students, including football, basketball, martial arts and aerobics; the University of Passau has an award-winning refectory with a seating capacity of 560. The campus additionally has four cafeterias, which offer sandwiches, coffee, soft drinks and – this being Bavaria – beer; the university's nursery is open to children of students and staff. It is unusual for a German university to have day care facilities, but the reasonably-priced service is well used by students with toddlers aged 1 to 3; the library was established together with the university in 1978 and opened its doors to students and citizens of Passau the same year.
The central library is the main library of the university and, together with the five faculty and institute libraries, constitutes the university's library system. Its Director is Dr Steffen Wawra; the university library has two million books and 3,050 journals. There are a total of 1,000 desk spaces for library users in the reading rooms, which are open 16 hours a day; the University Executive consists of the President, Professor Carola Jungwirth, the Acting Head of Administration, Mr Thomas Werrlein, three Vice Presidents: Professor Ursula Reutner, Professor Harry Haupt and Professor Rainer Wernsmann. The Senate is the legislative branch of the university; the president and vice presidents are senators ex officio, as are the deans of the faculties, the university's gender equality officer. The University of Passau has four faculties: Law, Business Administration and Economics and Humanities, Computer Science and Mathematics; the Faculty of Arts and Humanities is further subdivided into five departments, viz.
Catholic Theology. In 2010 the Department of Catholic Theology and the Chair of Philosophy became inactive for a planned 15 years, a controversial decision, as the academic staff of the faculty had received numerous awards in recognition of their research achievements; the Department of Catholic Theology now offers catholic religious education as a specialisation for students enrolled in one of the teacher training programmes or the M. A. programme in Caritas Science. Centre for European Law Institute for the Didactics of Law Institute of International and Comparative Law Institute of Market and Economic Research, including:the Centre for Market-Oriented Research in Tourism the Centre for Market ResearchInstitute of Private Financial Planning Institute of Applied Ethics in Business, Professional Training and in Continuing Education Institute of Eastern Bavaria Area Studies Institute of Intercultural Communication Institute of Interdisciplinary Media Science Institute of Information Systems and Software Engineering Institute of IT Security and Security Law Institute of Software Systems in Technical Applications of
Protestantism
Protestantism is the second largest form of Christianity with collectively between 800 million and more than 900 million adherents worldwide or nearly 40% of all Christians. It originated with the 16th century Reformation, a movement against what its followers perceived to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. Protestants reject the Roman Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy and sacraments, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, they emphasize the priesthood of all believers, justification by faith alone rather than by good works, the highest authority of the Bible alone in faith and morals. The "five solae" summarise basic theological differences in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church. Protestantism is popularly considered to have begun in Germany in 1517 when Martin Luther published his Ninety-five Theses as a reaction against abuses in the sale of indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church, which purported to offer remission of sin to their purchasers.
However, the term derives from the letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical. Although there were earlier breaks and attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church—notably by Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Jan Hus—only Luther succeeded in sparking a wider and modern movement. In the 16th century, Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark, Sweden, Latvia and Iceland. Reformed denominations spread in Germany, the Netherlands, Scotland and France by reformers such as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, John Knox; the political separation of the Church of England from the pope under King Henry VIII began Anglicanism, bringing England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement. Protestants have developed their own culture, with major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts, many other fields. Protestantism is diverse, being more divided theologically and ecclesiastically than either the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, or Oriental Orthodoxy.
Without structural unity or central human authority, Protestants developed the concept of an invisible church, in contrast to the Roman Catholic view of the Catholic Church as the visible one true Church founded by Jesus Christ. Some denominations do have a worldwide scope and distribution of membership, while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of a handful of Protestant denominational families: Adventists, Anglicans, Reformed, Lutherans and Pentecostals. Nondenominational, charismatic and other churches are on the rise, constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity. Proponents of the branch theory consider Protestantism one of the three major divisions of Christendom, together with the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodoxy. Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities, who issued a protest against the edict of the Diet of Speyer, were the first individuals to be called Protestants; the edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier.
The term protestant, though purely political in nature acquired a broader sense, referring to a member of any Western church which subscribed to the main Protestant principles. However, it is misused to mean any church outside the Roman and Eastern Orthodox communions. Protestantism as a general term is now used in contradistinction to the other major Christian traditions, i.e. Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. During the Reformation, the term protestant was hardly used outside of German politics. People who were involved in the religious movement used the word evangelical. For further details, see the section below. Protestant became a general term, meaning any adherent of the Reformation in the German-speaking area, it was somewhat taken up by Lutherans though Martin Luther himself insisted on Christian or evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ. French and Swiss Protestants instead preferred the word reformed, which became a popular and alternative name for Calvinists.
The word evangelical, which refers to the gospel, was used for those involved in the religious movement in the German-speaking area beginning in 1517. Nowadays, evangelical is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran and United Protestant traditions in Europe, those with strong ties to them. Above all the term is used by Protestant bodies in the German-speaking area, such as the Evangelical Church in Germany. In continental Europe, an Evangelical is either a Calvinist, or a United Protestant; the German word evangelisch means Protestant, is different from the German evangelikal, which refers to churches shaped by Evangelicalism. The English word evangelical refers to evangelical Protestant churches, therefore to a certain part of Protestantism rather than to Protestantism as a whole; the English word traces its roots back to the Puritans in England, where Evangelicalism originated, was brought to the United States. Martin Luther always disliked the term Lutheran, preferring the term evangelical, derived from euangelion, a Greek word meaning "good news", i.e. "gospel".
The followers of
Electorate of Bavaria
The Electorate of Bavaria was an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria. The Wittelsbach dynasty which ruled the Duchy of Bavaria was the younger branch of the family which ruled the Electorate of the Palatinate; the head of the elder branch was one of the seven prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire according to the Golden Bull of 1356, but Bavaria was excluded from the electoral dignity. In 1621, the Elector Palatine Frederick V was put under the imperial ban for his role in the Bohemian Revolt against Emperor Ferdinand II, the electoral dignity and territory of the Upper Palatinate was conferred upon his loyal cousin, Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria. Although the Peace of Westphalia would create a new electoral title for Frederick V's son, with the exception of a brief period during the War of the Spanish Succession, Maximilian's descendants would continue to hold the original electoral dignity until the extinction of his line in 1777.
At that point the two lines were joined in personal union until the end of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1805, after the Peace of Pressburg, the then-elector, Maximilian Joseph, raised himself to the dignity of King of Bavaria, the Holy Roman Empire was abolished the year after; the Electorate of Bavaria consisted of most of the modern regions of Upper Bavaria, Lower Bavaria, the Upper Palatinate. Before 1779, it included the Innviertel, now part of modern Austria; this was ceded to the Habsburgs by the Treaty of Teschen, which ended the War of the Bavarian Succession. There were a considerable number of independent enclaves and jurisdictions within those broad areas, including the principalities of Palatinate-Neuburg and Palatinate-Sulzbach in the Upper Palatinate, which were held by cadet branches of the Palatinate line of the Wittelsbachs. For administration purposes Bavaria was from 1507 divided into four stewardships: Munich, Burghausen and Straubing. With the acquisition of the Upper Palatinate during the Thirty Years' War the stewardship Amberg was added.
In 1802 they were abolished by the minister Maximilian von Montgelas. In 1805 shortly before the elevation Tirol and Vorarlberg were united with Bavaria, same as several of these enclaves. By virtue of his electoral title, the Elector of Bavaria was a member of the Council of Electors in the Imperial Diet as well as Archsteward of the Holy Roman Empire. In the Council of Princes of the Diet prior to the personal union of 1777 he held individual voices as Duke of Bavaria and Princely Landgrave of Leuchtenberg. In the Imperial Circles he was, along with the Archbishop of Salzburg, co-Director of the Bavarian Circle, a circle territorially dominated by the elector's lands, he held lands in the Swabian Circle. After 1777 these lands were joined by all of the Palatine lands, including the Electorate of the Palatinate, the Duchies of Jülich and Berg, Palatinate-Neuburg, Palatinate-Sulzbach, Palatinate-Veldenz, other territories; when he had succeeded to the throne of the duchy of Bavaria in 1597, Maximilian I had found it encumbered with debt and filled with disorder, but ten years of his vigorous rule effected a remarkable change.
The finances and the judicial system were reorganised, a class of civil servants and a national militia founded, several small districts were brought under the duke's authority. The result was a unity and order in the duchy which enabled Maximilian to play an important part in the Thirty Years' War. In spite of subsequent reverses, Maximilian retained these gains at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. During the years of this war Bavaria the northern part, suffered severely. In 1632 the Swedes invaded, when Maximilian violated the treaty of Ulm in 1647, the French and the Swedes ravaged the land. After repairing this damage to some extent, the elector died at Ingolstadt in September 1651, leaving his duchy much stronger than he had found it; the recovery of the Upper Palatinate made Bavaria compact. Whatever lustre the international position won by Maximilian I might add to the ducal house, on Bavaria itself its effect during the next two centuries was more dubious. Maximilian's son, Ferdinand Maria, a minor when he succeeded, did much indeed to repair the wounds caused by the Thirty Years' War, encouraging agriculture and industries, building or restoring numerous churches and monasteries.
In 1669, moreover, he again called a meeting of the diet, suspended since 1612. His constructive work, was undone by his son Maximilian II Emanuel, whose far-reaching ambition set him warring against the Ottoman Empire and, on the side of France, in the great struggle of the Spanish succession, he shared in the defeat at the Battle of Blenheim, near Höchstädt, on 13 August 1704.
Ilz
The Ilz is a river running through the Bavarian Forest, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Danube and 40 km in length, during which it travels down a height difference of ~140m; the Ilz is formed at the confluence of its source rivers Große Kleine Ohe in Eberhardsreuth. In the city of Passau it enters the Danube. Another town on the Ilz is Fürsteneck. Ilz river
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost of the nine states of Austria. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been St. Polten, the most designated capital in Austria. Lower Austria's capital was Vienna though Vienna has not been part of Lower Austria since 1921. With a land area of 19,186 km2 and a population of 1.612 million people, Lower Austria is the country's largest state. Other main cities are Krems an der Donau and Wiener Neustadt. Situated east of Upper Austria, Lower Austria derives its name from its downriver location on the Enns River, which flows from west to east. Lower Austria has an international border, 414 km long, with Slovakia; the state has the second longest external border of all Austrian states. It borders the other Austrian states of Upper Austria and Burgenland as well as surrounding Vienna. Lower Austria is divided into four regions, known as Viertel: Weinviertel or Tertiary Lowland Waldviertel or Bohemian Plateau Mostviertel Industrieviertel; these regions have different geographical structures.
Whilst the Mostviertel is dominated by the foothills of the Limestone Alps with mountains up to 2,000 m high, most of the Waldviertel is a granite plateau. The hilly Weinviertel lies to the northeast, descends to the plains of Marchfeld in the east of the state, is separated by the Danube from the Vienna Basin to the south, which in turn is separated from the Vienna Woods by a line of thermal springs running north to south. Schneeberg Rax Ötscher Dürrenstein Schneealpe Hochkar Gamsstein Stumpfmauer Göller Hochwechsel Gippel Großer Sonnleitstein Großer Zellerhut Gemeindealpe Scheiblingstein Drahtekogel Sonnwendstein Obersberg Königsberg Großer Sulzberg Reisalpe Gahns Tirolerkogel Türnitzer Höger Unterberg Traisenberg Dürre Wand Hohenstein Eisenstein Hohe Wand Großer Peilstein Weinsberg Hocheck Nebelstein Eibl Hohe Mandling Jauerling Anninger Buschberg Other mountains in Lower Austria may be found at Category:Mountains of Lower Austria. Semmering Wechsel The state border with Styria runs over both passes.
All of Lower Austria is drained by the Danube. The only river that flows into the North Sea is the Lainsitz in northern Waldviertel; the most important rivers north of the Danube are the Ysper, Krems, Lainsitz and Thaya. South of the Danube are the Enns, Erlauf, Pielach, Schwechat, Schwarza, Triesting and the Leitha. Ottenstein Reservoir Lunzer See Erlaufsee Erlauf Reservoir Wienerwaldsee Lower Austria is rich in natural caves. Most of the caves are therefore called karst caves. Cavities form in the marble of the Central Alps and the Bohemian Massif. Among the largest caves in Lower Austria are: Ötscherhöhlensystem: 27,003 m long; the history of Lower Austria is similar to the history of Austria. Many castles are located in Lower Austria. Klosterneuburg Abbey, located here, is one of the oldest abbeys in Austria. Before World War II, Lower Austria had the largest number of Jews in Austria. Lower Austria is divided into four regions: Waldviertel, Mostviertel and Weinviertel; the Wachau valley, situated between Melk and Krems in the Mostviertel region, is famous for its landscape and wine.
Administratively, the state is divided into 20 districts, four independent towns. In total, there are 573 municipalities within Lower Austria. Krems an der Donau Sankt Pölten Waidhofen an der Ybbs Wiener Neustadt Amstetten Baden Bruck an der Leitha Gänserndorf Gmünd Hollabrunn Horn Korneuburg Krems-Land Lilienfeld Melk Mistelbach Mödling Neunkirchen Sankt Pölten-Land Scheibbs Tulln an der Donau Waidhofen an der Thaya Wiener Neustadt-Land Zwettl Media related to Lower Austria at Wikimedia Commons Land Niederösterreich Useful information of Lower Austria Lower Austrian Genealogy PhotoGlobe - georeferenced photos of Lower Austria
Hackensack, New Jersey, US, since 1952
Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, since 1973
Krems an der Donau, Austria, since 1974
Akita, Japan, since 1984
Málaga, Spain, since 1987[17]
České Budějovice, Czech Republic, since 1993
Liuzhou, People's Republic of China, since 1999
Veszprém, Hungary, since 1999
Montecchio Maggiore, Italy, since 2003
(in German)
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