1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
3.
States of Germany
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Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen federal states. Since todays Germany was formed from a collection of several states, it has a federal constitution. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was through the unification of the western states created in the aftermath of World War II. West Berlin, while not part of the Federal Republic, was largely integrated and considered as a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, in 1957, the Saar Protectorate rejoined the Federal Republic as the Saarland. Federalism is one of the constitutional principles of Germany. After 1945, new states were constituted in all four zones of occupation, in 1949, the states in the three western zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to the development in Austria, where the Bund was constituted first. The use of the term Länder dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, before this time, the constituent states of the German Empire were called Staaten. Today, it is common to use the term Bundesland. However, this term is not used officially, neither by the constitution of 1919 nor by the Basic Law of 1949, three Länder call themselves Freistaaten, Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. He summarizes the arguments for boundary reform in Germany. The German system of dual federalism requires strong Länder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation, too many Länder also make coordination among them and with the federation more complicated. But several proposals have failed so far, territorial reform remains a topic in German politics. Federalism has a tradition in German history. The Holy Roman Empire comprised many petty states numbering more than 300 around 1796, the number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Congress of Vienna,39 states formed the German Confederation, the new German Empire included 25 states and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia, which controlled 65% of the territory, after the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles, the remaining states continued as republics of a new German federation
4.
Rhineland-Palatinate
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Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of 19,846 square kilometres and about four million inhabitants, Rhineland-Palatinate is located in western Germany and borders Belgium, Luxembourg and France, and the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Saarland. The state of Rhineland-Palatinate dates from 30 August 1946, as of 201044. 9% of the population of the state adhered to the Roman Catholic Church,30. 6% to the Evangelical Church in Germany. 22. 0% of the population is irreligious or adheres to other religions, muslims made up 2. 5% of the total. The league of ShUM-cities in the later Rhineland-Palatinate comprised the Jewish communities of Mainz, Speyer, the Takkanot Shum, or Enactments of ShUM were a set of decrees formulated and agreed upon over a period of decades by their Jewish community leaders. Rhineland-Palatinate leads all German states with a rate of approximately 50%. Important sectors are the industry, chemical industry, pharmaceutical industry. Distinctive regional industries includes gemstone industry, ceramic and glass industry, small and medium enterprises are considered the backbone of the economy in Rhineland-Palatinate. The principal employer is the chemical and plastics processing industry which is represented by BASF in Ludwigshafen, boehringer, Joh. A. Benckiser, SGE Deutsche Holding, Schott Glassworks concludes the top 5 companies in the state. Rhineland-Palatinate is Germanys leading producer of wine in terms of grape cultivation, of thirteen wine regions producing quality wine in Germany, six are located in Rhineland-Palatinate, with 65% to 70% of the production of wine grapes in Germany having their origin within the state. 13,000 wine producers generate 80% to 90% of the German wine export, traditional grape varieties and a wide range of varieties developed during the last 125 years are characteristic for the region. Classical white varieties are cultivated at 63,683 hectares and these comprise the famous Rieslings 14,446 hectares, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner and Kerner. The share of red varieties grew constantly during the last decades, dornfelder, a new cultivar, is the leading red grape cultivated on 7,626 hectares, which is more than a third. Blauer Portugieser and Spätburgunder show also appreciable cultivated shares, the state supports the wine industry by providing a comprehensive consultancy and education program in the service supply centers of the land. The Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding is fully financed by the state, many well known new breeds, such as Morio-Muskat, Bacchus, Optima and Regent have been created in these institutes. The worldwide leader in sparkling wine production, producing 245 million bottles in 2006, is the renowned Schloss Wachenheim Group and this company is headquartered in Trier, with operations in several locations in Rhineland-Palatinate
5.
Districts of Germany
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A German district is an administrative subdivision known as Landkreis, except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where it is known simply as Kreis. Most major cities in Germany are not part of a rural district, in this context, those cities are referred to as Kreisfreie Stadt or Stadtkreis. Rural districts are at a level of administration between the German states and the municipal governments. They correspond to level 3 administrative units of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, previously, the similar title Reichskreis was given to groups of states in the Holy Roman Empire. The related term Landeskommissariat was used for administrative divisions in some German territories until the 19th century. The majority of German districts are rural districts of which there are 295, cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants do not usually belong to a district, but take over district responsibilities themselves, similar to the concept of independent cities. These are known as urban districts —cities which constitute a district in their own there are currently 107 of them. As of 2011, approximately 25 million people live in these 107 urban districts, in North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Neuss and Moers. Nevertheless, these cities take over many district responsibilities themselves, although they are part of a larger rural district. Midsize towns can perform particular administrative functions of the district as well, the classification as midsize town is usually based on a towns registered population, but varies from state to state. Aachen, Hanover and Göttingen retain certain rights of an urban district, urban districts have these responsibilities and also those of the municipalities. The district council is the highest institution of a district and is responsible for all fundamental guidelines of regional self-administration. This council is elected every five years, except in Bavaria where it is elected every six years. Usually the administrative seat of a district is located in one of its largest towns. However, district council and administrative seat of rural districts are not situated within the district proper. Most of those districts are named after this central city as well. Moers is the biggest city in Germany that is neither an urban district, in parts of northern Germany, Landrat is also the name of the entire district administration, which in southern Germany is known as Kreisverwaltung or Landratsamt. In urban districts similar administrative functions are performed by a mayor, rural districts in some German states have an additional administrative commission called Kreisausschuss
6.
Lord mayor
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The lord mayor is the title of the mayor of a major city in the United Kingdom or Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. In Australia, Lord Mayor is a status granted by the monarch to mayors of major cities. Australian cities with lord mayors, Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, see list of cities in Australia. In Canada, the town with a lord mayor in the traditional sense is Niagara-on-the-Lake. Unusually, the council of Brantford, Ontario has taken upon itself to appoint an honorary Lord Mayor Walter Gretzky in addition to the elected mayor. This is the example of a council granting the cachet itself, rather than the cachet being granted by a higher authority. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland it is a ceremonial post conferred by letters patent. See List of lord mayoralties and lord provostships in the United Kingdom, most famously referring to the Lord Mayor of London, who only has jurisdiction over the City of London, as opposed to the modern title of Mayor of London governing Greater London. In Uganda, the jurisdiction with a lord mayor is Kampala. In the Republic of Ireland, the posts of Lord Mayor of Dublin and Lord Mayor of Cork still exist, in Denmark, as the translation of Danish Overborgmester, it is the title of the highest mayor of Denmarks capital city, Copenhagen. In Germany, it is used to translate German Oberbürgermeister. As in Austria, Germanys mayors serve as the executive leaders of their cities and are elected officials. In Romania and Moldova, the mayors of the capitals are named Primar General which means General Mayor, the name is ceremonial and it has no higher powers than mayors of other cities. In Hungary, the mayor of the capital Budapest is called főpolgármester which means chief mayor or grand mayor, only the capital has a főpolgármester. Between 1873 and 1945, the Lord Mayor of Budapest was representative of the Hungarian government at the municipal authority. In ancient China, jīng zhào yĭn was the given to the mayor of capital city. In Estonia, the mayor of the capital, was named Lord Mayor from 1938 to 1940, in Czech Republic, the mayor of the capital Prague and so-called statutory cities is called Primátor. In Sweden, the titles of mayor and lord mayor have no direct equivalent since the 1970s, the executive leader of Swedish municipalities is one of sometimes several Kommunalråd in the function of Chair of the Municipal Board
7.
Christian Democratic Union of Germany
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The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Germany. It is the major party of the centre-right in German politics. The CDU forms the CDU/CSU grouping, also known as the Union, the leader of the CDU, Angela Merkel, is the current Chancellor of Germany. The CDU is a member of the Centrist Democrat International, International Democrat Union, immediately following the collapse of the Nazi dictatorship at the end of World War II, the need for a new political order in Germany was paramount. Simultaneous yet unrelated meetings began occurring throughout Germany, each with the intention of planning a Christian-democratic party, the Christlich-Demokratische Union was established in Berlin on 26 June 1945, and in Rheinland and Westfalen in September of the same year. The founding members of the CDU consisted primarily of members of the Centre Party, German Democratic Party, German National Peoples Party. In the Cold War years, after World War II up to the 1960s, a prominent anti-Nazi member was theologian Eugen Gerstenmaier who became Acting Chairman of the Foreign Board. One of the lessons learned from the failure of the Weimar Republic was that disunity among the parties ultimately allowed for the rise of the Nazi Party. It was therefore crucial to create a party of Christian Democrats – a Christian Democratic Union. The result of meetings was the establishment of an inter-confessional party influenced heavily by the political tradition of liberal conservatism. The latter was more nationalist and sought German reunification, even at the expense of concessions to the Soviet Union, the Western powers appreciated the CDUs moderation, its economic flexibility and its value as an oppositional force to the Communists, which appealed to European voters at the time. Also, Adenauer was trusted by the British, the party was split over issues of rearmament within the Western alliance and German unification as a neutral state. Adenauer staunchly defended his position and outmanoeuvred some of his opponents. He also refused to consider the SPD as a party of the coalition until he felt sure that they shared his anti-Communist position, the CDU was the dominant party for the first two decades following the establishment of West Germany in 1949. Konrad Adenauer remained the leader until 1963, at which point the former minister of economics Ludwig Erhard replaced him. As the Free Democratic Party withdrew from the coalition in 1966 due to disagreements over fiscal and economic policy. Consequently, a coalition with the SPD took over government under CDU Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger. The CDU continued its role as opposition until 1982, when the FDP’s withdrawal from the coalition with the SPD allowed the CDU to regain power, CDU Chairman Helmut Kohl became the new Chancellor of West Germany and his CDU-FDP coalition was confirmed in the 1983 federal election
8.
Central European Summer Time
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It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
9.
Vehicle registration plate
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A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
10.
Town
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A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size definition for what constitutes a town varies considerably in different parts of the world, the word town shares an origin with the German word Zaun, the Dutch word tuin, and the Old Norse tun. The German word Zaun comes closest to the meaning of the word. An early borrowing from Celtic *dunom, in English and Dutch, the meaning of the word took on the sense of the space which these fences enclosed. In England, a town was a community that could not afford or was not allowed to build walls or other larger fortifications. In the Netherlands, this space was a garden, more specifically those of the wealthy, in Old Norse tun means a place between farmhouses, and is still used in a similar meaning in modern Norwegian. If there was any distinction between toun and burgh as claimed by some, it did not last in practice as burghs, for example, Edina Burgh or Edinburgh was built around a fort and eventually came to have a defensive wall. In some cases, town is a name for city or village. Sometimes, the town is short for township. A places population size is not a determinant of urban character. In many areas of the world, as in India at least until recent times, in the United Kingdom, there are historical cities that are far smaller than the larger towns. Some forms of settlement, such as temporary mining locations, may be clearly non-rural. Towns often exist as governmental units, with legally defined borders. In the United States these are referred to as incorporated towns, in other cases the town lacks its own governance and is said to be unincorporated. Note that the existence of a town may be legally set forth through other means. In the case of planned communities, the town exists legally in the form of covenants on the properties within the town. Australian geographer Thomas Griffith Taylor proposed a classification of towns based on their age, although there is no official use of the term for any settlement. In Albanian qytezë means small city or new city, while in ancient times small residential center within the walls of a castle
11.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
12.
Pirmasens
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Pirmasens is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It is famous for the manufacture of shoes, the surrounding rural district was called Landkreis Pirmasens from 1818 until 1997, when it was renamed to Südwestpfalz. The first mention of Pirminiseusna, a colony of Hornbach Abbey, the name derives from St. Pirminius, the founder of the cloister. During the period it was under rule of the Bishopric of Metz and it was passed to Diocese of Speyer in last quarter of 11th century before capturing by County of Saarbrücken in 1100. In 1182, County of Saarbrücken was divided by Simon II, Pirmasens was given to latter and Henry Is dominion was named as County of Zweibrücken. He built Lemberg Castle for protecting his dominion in 1198, during the period Pirmasens was formal jurisdiction in Bishop of Metz. But, parish administration of Pirmasens was passed to monastery of Hornbach after confirmation of John, in 1297, County of Zweibrücken was divided and Pirmasens was passed to County of Zweibrücken-Bitsch, Eberhard Is dominion. He traded some localities with Duke Frederick III of Lorraine and took lordship of Bitsch at same year, in this period village of Pirmasens was part of Reischsamt of Lemberg. In 1525, during German Peasants War, Pirmasens was looted by peasants of Bitsch, jamess older brother, Simon V Wecker, had already died in 1540, also without a male heir. A dispute about the inheritance erupted between the husbands of Ludowika Margaretha and her cousin Amalie, Philip V of Hanau-Lichtenberg and Philip I of Leiningen-Westerburg, respectively. Formally, the County of Bitsch and district of Lemberg were fiefs of the Duchy of Lorraine, Philip V was initially successful in the dispute with Philip I about Zweibrücken-Bitsch. However, he introduced the Lutheran confession in his newly gained territories in 1572 and this made the powerful and Catholic Duke of Lorraine unhappy. The Duke terminated the fief and in July 1572 Lorraine troops occupied the county, since Philip Vs army was no match for Lorraine, he took his case to the Imperial Chamber Court in Speyer. In 1604, Hanau-Lichtenberg and Lorraine decided to out of court. In a treaty signed in 1606, it was agreed that Bitsch would revert to Lorraine and this was reasonable, as it corresponded approximately to the religious realities of the territories. Thus, Pirmasens was part of County of Hanau-Lichtenberg, before the Thirty Years War, Pirmasens were 59 families and about 235 inhabitants resident, whereas in Lemberg were counted 54 families. When counting is assumed that at that time there was a family of four to five people, in 1622, Pirmasens and Lemberg were ravaged by Spaniards and Croatian horsemen of the Imperial troops. The imperial army, the village had partially set on fire, even the church was destroyed in a fire, after the withdrawal of the troops, Pirmasenser began to rebuild it
13.
Saint Pirmin
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Saint Pirmin, also named Pirminius, was a monk, strongly influenced by Celtic Christianity and Saint Amand. He originated from the surroundings of Narbonne, possible of Visigothic origin, from 718 onwards, he was abbot of the monastery Quortolodora in Antwerp and, together with its pupils, the minister of the church inside the broch, het Steen. In the 12th century, this church was dedicated to Saint Walpurga, after a while Pirmin was invited by count Rohingus to stay at his villa in Thommen, near Sankt Vith in the Ardennes. Pirmin gained the favour of Charles Martel and he was sent to help rebuild Disentis Abbey in Switzerland. In 724, he was appointed abbot of Mittelzell Abbey at Reichenau Island, for political reasons he was banished to Alsace. In 753, he died in the abbey at Hornbach, where his body is entombed, Pirmins missionary work mainly took place in the Alsace and the upper area of the Rhine and the Danube. Besides actively preaching and converting, he founded or reformed many monasteries, such as those at Amorbach, Gengenbach, Murbach, Wissembourg. Pirmin secured endowments from area nobility, Odilo of Bavaria financed the foundation of Niederaltaich Abbey, the most important of Pirmins books is Dicta Abbatis Pirminii, de Singulis Libris Canonicis Scarapsus. The book collects quotations from Church Fathers and scriptures, presumably for use by missionaries, written between 710-724, it contains the earliest appearance of the present text of the Apostles Creed. Http, //www. santiebeati. it/dettaglio/76055 Saint Boniface Saint Willibrord Schottenklöster
14.
Bishopric of Metz
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The Bishopric of Metz was a prince-bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire. It was one of the Three Bishoprics that were annexed by France in 1552, the Bishops of Metz had already ruled over a significant amount of territories within the former Kingdom of Lotharingia, which by the 870 Treaty of Meerssen became a part of East Francia. In 1234 the unrest of the Metz citizens forced the bishops to move their residence to Vic-sur-Seille, in 1357 Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg again confirmed the bishoprics Imperial immediacy. Metz was occupied by Henrys troops and annexed by the French crown, Roman Catholic Diocese of Metz List of Bishops of Metz
15.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer
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The Diocese of Speyer is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is located in the South of the Rhineland-Palatinate and comprises also the Saarpfalz district in the east of the Saarland, the bishops see is in the Palatinate city of Speyer. The current bishop is Karl-Heinz Wiesemann, see also Bishop of Speyer for a list of previous bishops. As of 31 December 2006,44. 5% of the population of the diocese was Catholic, in a slightly different hierarchic structure it is one of the oldest Dioceses in Germany. A bishop of Speyer was first mentioned in a document in 346, through grants by the Holy Roman Emperor, the prince-bishops of Speyer established themselves as worldly as well as spiritual rulers. The diocese is directed by bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann, the diocese is structured in the following deaneries, with borders that are almost the same as the local county borders
16.
Lemberg Castle
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Lemberg Castle is a medieval castle on the territory of Lemberg in the county of Südwestpfalz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Its exposed location means there are views over Lemberg and the surrounding wooded hills of the Wasgau region. In 1198 the abbot of Hornbach Abbey granted two hills, the Gutinberc and the Ruprehtisberc, to Count Henry I of Zweibrücken, on these hills the count built the castles of Lemberg and Ruppertstein. The construction period was probably around 1200, but the first documented record of the Castrum Lewenberc dates to 1230, today, all that survives on the Schlossberg hill are some wall remains and the foundation of a chapel. The chapel was mentioned in 1502, but coins and shards of pottery found on the site indicate that it back to the second half of the 13th century. The first known castellan was Gozo of Lemberg, who is recorded in 1269, in 1333 the castle went to Count Simon I, son of Eberhardt of Zweibrücken-Bitsch. From 1535 to 1541, his successor, Count James of Zweibrücken-Bitsch resided at the castle, following his death in 1570 an inheritance dispute arose, which the Lehnsherr of the castle, Duke Charles of Lorraine ended by occupying the castle with his own troops in 1572. In 1606 he agreed with Count John Reinhard I of Hanau-Lichtenberg, the castle and village were occupied and plundered in 1634 and 1635 during the Thirty Years War. In 1636 the castle was razed and then rebuilt in makeshift fashion. In 1688 Louis XIV of France sparked the War of the Palatine Succession and he acted on the authority of his sister-in-law, Liselotte of the Palatinate. The background was his plans for expansion, which were opposed by an alliance of the German emperor, in view of their superiority, Louis XIV, ordered that the Palatinate was to be burned. French troops probably slighted the castle in October 1689, even the bergfried was demolished, from then on, the location no longer held any military significance. The wall remains continued to decay, usable stone was carried off and employed for other purposes, for example, since the 20th century, the castle ruins have gained in importance as a tourist attraction. One feature of Lemberg Castle is its shaft cistern, also, after digging down 94.80 metres the well diggers had still not struck the ground water. So the shaft was turned into a cistern and almost horizontal adit driven to the shaft, after almost 200 metres the adit meets the shaft at a depth of about 60 metres. A spring on the hillside filled the shaft via the adit thus providing the water supply. All the work was carried out with hammers and chisels and it is also remarkable that the tunnel ever intercepted the shaft. The well proved to be an archaeological site during several excavation projects in the 1990s
17.
Frederick III, Duke of Lorraine
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Frederick III was the Duke of Lorraine from 1251 to his death. He was the son and successor of Matthias II and Catherine of Limburg. He was not yet thirteen years of age when his father died, in 1255, he married Margaret, the daughter of King Theobald I of Navarre and Margaret of Bourbon. When Joan I of Navarre, Margarets niece, married Philip the Fair, the king of France, in 1284. During Fredericks reign, he fought the bishops of Metz until Pope Clement IV excommunicated him, the rivalry between the two kings led to little actual combat and after Richards death the 1273 election of Rudolf of Habsburg and the subsequent withdrawal of Alfonso reestablished unity
18.
Duchy of Lorraine
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The Duchy of Lorraine, originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. It was founded in 959 following the division of Lotharingia into two duchies, Upper and Lower Lorraine, the westernmost parts of the Holy Roman Empire. The Lower duchy was quickly dismantled, while Upper Lorraine came to be known as simply the Duchy of Lorraine, the Duchy of Lorraine was coveted and briefly occupied by the Dukes of Burgundy and the Kings of France. When Stanisław died on 23 February 1766, Lorraine was annexed by France, lorraines predecessor, Lotharingia, was an independent Carolingian kingdom under the rule of King Lothair II. Its territory had originally been a part of Middle Francia, created in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun, Middle Francia was allotted to Emperor Lothair I, therefore called Lotharii Regnum. On his death in 855, it was divided into three parts, of which his son Lothair II took the northern one. His realm then comprised a territory stretching from the County of Burgundy in the south to the North Sea. In French, this became known as Lorraine, while in German. In the Alemannic language once spoken in Lorraine, the -ingen suffix signified a property, thus, in a figurative sense, stuck in the conflict with his rival Hugh the Great, in 942 King Louis IV of France renounced all claims to Lotharingia. In 953, the German king Otto I had appointed his brother Bruno the Great Duke of Lotharingia, in 959, Bruno divided the duchy into Upper and Lower Lorraine, this division became permanent following his death in 965. The Upper Duchy was further up the system, that is, it was inland. Upper Lorraine was first denominated as the Duchy of the Moselle, the usage of Lotharingia Superioris and Lorraine in official documents begins later, around the fifteenth century. The first duke and deputy of Bruno was Frederick I of Bar, Lower Lorraine disintegrated into several smaller territories and only the title of a Duke of Lothier remained, held by Brabant. After the duchy of the Moselle came into the possession of René of Anjou, the name Duchy of Lorraine was adopted again, only retrospectively called Upper Lorraine. At that time, several territories had already split off, such as the County of Luxembourg, the Electorate of Trier, the County of Bar, the border between the Empire and the Kingdom of France remained relatively stable throughout the Middle Ages. In 1301, Count Henry III of Bar had to receive the part of his lands as a fief by King Philip IV of France. In 1475, the Burgundian duke Charles the Bold campaigned for the Duchy of Lorraine, in the 1552 Treaty of Chambord, a number of insurgent Protestant Imperial princes around Elector Maurice of Saxony ceded the Three Bishoprics to King Henry II of France in turn for his support. In the 17th century, the French kings began to covet Lorraine, while the central Imperial authority decayed in the course of the Thirty Years War, Chief Minister Cardinal Richelieu urged the occupation of the duchy in 1641
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Bitche
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Bitche is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. It is the Pays de Bitches capital city and the seat of the canton of Bitche, the town belongs to the Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park and is rated 4-flowers at the towns and villages in bloom competition. As of the 2013 France census, the population is 5,225. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Bitchois and Bitchoises, the town is known for its large citadel originating from a castle built at the beginning of the 13th century. The fortress is noted for its resistance during the Franco-Prussian War, the town became part of Germany after that date until the end of the First World War, when it was given back to France. During the Second World War, it was annexed by the Third German Reich, Bitche is located near the German border on the small river Horn, at the foot of the northern slope of the Vosges between Haguenau and Sarreguemines. The town of Bitche, which was formed from the villages of Rohr and Kaltenhausen in the 17th century and this had long given its name to the countship of Bitsch, which was originally in the possession of the dukes of Lorraine. In 1297 it passed by marriage to Eberhard I of Zweibrücken-Bitsch, whose line became extinct in 1569 and it passed with that duchy to France in 1766. After 1766 the town increased in population. The citadel, which had constructed by Vauban on the site of the old castle after the capture of Bitche by the French in 1624, had been destroyed when it was restored to Lorraine in 1698. This was restored and strengthened in 1740 into a fortress that proved impregnable up until the 20th century, the attack upon it by the Prussians in 1793 was repulsed. In 1815 during Napoleons Hundred Days, Brigadier-General Creutzer was the commandant, Bitche was besieged by General Zollerns Fourth Infantry Division of the Austrian IV Corps, but Creutzer refused to surrender until the general armistice. Although Bitche was hotly contested by the Germans after the ] during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, it held out until the wars end. A large part of the fortification is built into the red rock, and was rendered bomb-proof. Commander of the fortress of Bitche was Louis-Casimir Teyssier, after the war, it was given to German Empire as part of Alsace Lorraine. It was given back to France in 1918, the town is near the Maginot Line, into which the citadel was integrated. Bitche was liberated in December 1944 by allied troops but was relinquished in the withdrawal forced by the German counteroffensive. In March 1945 the U. S. 100th Infantry Division broke through the Maginot Line in the Bitche area and liberated the town, the attack was a part of Operation Undertone
20.
German Peasants' War
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The German Peasants War, Great Peasants War or Great Peasants Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It failed because of the opposition by the aristocracy, who slaughtered up to 100,000 of the 300,000 poorly armed peasants. The survivors were fined and achieved few if any of their goals, the German Peasants War was Europes largest and most widespread popular uprising prior to the French Revolution of 1789. The fighting was at its height in the middle of 1525, after the uprising in Germany was suppressed, it flared briefly in several Swiss Cantons. In mounting their insurrection, peasants faced insurmountable obstacles, the democratic nature of their movement left them without a command structure and they lacked artillery and cavalry. Most of them had little, if any, military experience, in combat they often turned and fled, and were massacred by their pursuers. The opposition had experienced military leaders, well-equipped and disciplined armies, the revolt incorporated some principles and rhetoric from the emerging Protestant Reformation, through which the peasants sought freedom and influence. Historians have interpreted the economic aspects of the German Peasants War differently, at the time of the Peasants War, Charles V, King of Spain, held the position of Holy Roman Emperor. Aristocratic dynasties ruled hundreds of independent territories within the framework of the empire. The princes of these dynasties were taxed by the Roman Catholic church, most German princes broke with Rome using the nationalistic slogan of German money for a German church. Princes often attempted to force their freer peasants into serfdom by increasing taxes, during the Knights Revolt the knights, the lesser landholders of the Rhineland in western Germany, rose up in rebellion in 1522–1523. Their rhetoric was religious, and several leaders expressed Luthers ideas on the split with Rome, however, the Knights Revolt was not fundamentally religious. It was conservative in nature and sought to preserve the feudal order, the knights revolted against the new money order, which was squeezing them out of existence. Martin Luther, the dominant leader of the Reformation in Germany and he criticized both the injustices imposed on the peasants, and the rashness of the peasants in fighting back. He also tended to support the centralization and urbanization of the economy and this position alienated the lesser nobles, but shored up his position with the burghers. Luther argued that work was the duty on earth, the duty of the peasants was farm labor. He could not support the Peasant War because it broke the peace, therefore, he encouraged the nobility to swiftly and violently take out the rebelling peasants. Later, Luther also criticized the ruling classes for their merciless suppression of the insurrection, Luther has often been sharply criticized for his position
21.
Philipp V, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg
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Philipp V of Hanau-Lichtenberg was Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg from 1590 until his death. Philipp V was the eldest son, heir and successor of Count Philipp IV of Hanau-Lichtenberg, Philipp V was baptized in Bouxwiller on the day he was born. On 18 June 1553 he enrolled at the University of Tübingen and it was said that for a long time the Hanau family possessed a silver terrestrial and celestial sphere that Philipp had manufactured himself. In his last years, Philipp V was sick and he died in 1599 during a visit to the spa in Bad Niederbronn. Jakobs older brother, Simon V Wecker, had died in 1540. A dispute about the inheritance erupted between the husbands of Ludowika Margaretha and her cousin Amalie, Philipp V of Hanau-Lichtenberg and Philipp I of Leiningen-Westerburg, respectively. Formally, the County of Bitsch and he district of Lemberg were fiefs of the Duchy of Lorraine, Philipp V was initially successful in the dispute with Philipp I about Zweibrücken-Bitsch. However, he introduced the Lutheran confession in his newly gained territories. This made the powerful and Catholic Duke of Lorraine unhappy, the Duke terminated the fief and in July 1572 Lorraine troops occupied the county. Since Philipp Vs army was no match for Lorraine, he took his case to the Reichskammergericht, in 1604, Hanau-Lichtenberg and Lorraine decided to settle out of court. In a treaty signed in 1606, it was agreed that Bitsch would revert to Lorraine and this was reasonable, as it corresponded approximately to the religious realities of the territories. Because of his age, Philipp IV delegated successively larger parts of the government business to Philipp V during the final years of his life. After Philipp IV died in 1590, Philipp V took up rule in his own name, as early as 1579, Philipp V introduced the Statutes of Solms in the district of Babenhausen, on the advice of his father. This was part of a program to have the same law in all territories rules by members of the Wetterau Association of Imperial Counts. In 1585, he took over from his father the guardianship of Philipp Ludwig II and Albrecht, the sons of Philipp Ludwig I of Hanau-Münzenberg. The other guardian in Hanau-Münzenberg, beside Philipp V, were Count Johann VI the Elder of Nassau-Dillenburg, Philipp V tried to have the Lutheran Count Palatine Richard of Simmern-Sponheim appointed as an extra guardian. This attempt failed, despite a ruling in his favour by the Reichskammergericht, the Calvinist majority of the guardians prevented the population of Hanau-Münzenberg from paying homage to Richard. In this conflict, Philipp V eventually succumbed, in 1588, he built the first mint in his county in Wörth an der Sauer, this was probably induced by the excellent economic situation in the county during his reign
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Charles III, Duke of Lorraine
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Charles III, known as the Great, was Duke of Lorraine from 1545 until his death. He was the eldest surviving son of Francis I, Duke of Lorraine and his mother served as the regent during his minority. During his childhood, his aged great-grandmother, Philippa of Gelderland, died in 1547 and his dynasty claimed the Kingdom of Jerusalem and used also the title of Duke of Calabria as symbol of their claims to the Kingdom of Naples. Additionally, they had a claim to the Duchy of Gelderland, inherited from Charles of Egmont and he married Claude of Valois, princess of France, daughter of king Henry II and Catherine de Medici. Anne Francis II, Duke of Lorraine married Christina of Salm Catherine, Abess de Remiremont Elisabeth Renata, married Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria Claude, 1575-1576
23.
Leiningen family
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Leiningen is the name of an old German noble family whose lands lay principally in Alsace, Lorraine and the Palatinate. Various branches of this family developed over the centuries and a number of those still exist, including the branch of the Princes of Leiningen. The first count of Leiningen about whom anything definite is known was a certain Emich II, whose family became extinct in the line when Count Frederick. Fredericks sister, Liutgarde, married Simon II, count of Saarbrücken, having increased its possessions, the Leiningen family was divided around 1317 into two branches. The elder of these, whose head was a landgrave, died out in 1467, upon this event, its lands fell to a female, the last landgraves sister Margaret, wife of Reinhard, lord of Westerburg, and their descendants were known as the family of Leiningen-Westerburg. Later this family was divided into two branches, those of Alt-Leiningen-Westerburg and Neu-Leiningen-Westerburg, both of which are represented today, meanwhile, the younger branch of the Leiningens, known as the family of Leiningen-Hartenburg, was flourishing. On 27 June 1560, this branch was divided into the lines of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg, founded by Count Johann Philip, in 1779, the head of the Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg line was raised to the rank of a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire with the title of Prince of Leiningen. In 1801, this line was deprived of its lands on the bank of the Rhine by France. A few years later, its possessions were mediatized, and they are now included mainly in Baden, the second prince of the Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg line, Prince Emich Charles, married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After his death in 1814, the princess married Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, since 1991, the head of the princely line has been Prince Andreas. The family of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Heidesheim was divided into three branches, the two senior of which became extinct, at present, it is represented by the counts of Leiningen-Guntersblum and Leiningen-Heidesheim, also called Leiningen-Billigheim and Leiningen-Neidenau. Note that different sources use different sequence numbers for some of the Counts, for consistency across sources, dates of birth and death are useful. Emicho of Leiningen helped lead the German Crusade,1096 and his relationship to the others is unclear. Emich I was Count of Leiningen in 1127, but it is unclear when he died, a document from 1220 refers to his widow. Emich IV, brother of Friedrich IV ruled a portion of the lands at Leiningen-Landeck His son, Emich V and this County was then absorbed into Leiningen-Schaumburg. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. This work in turn cites, Brinckmeier
24.
Hanau-Lichtenberg
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The County of Hanau-Lichtenberg was a territory in the Holy Roman Empire. It emerged between 1456–80 from a part of the County of Hanau and one half of the Barony of Lichtenberg, following the extinction of the counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg in 1736 it went to Hesse-Darmstadt, minor parts of it to the Hesse-Cassel. Its centre was in the lower Alsace, the capital first Babenhausen, in 1452, after a reign of only one year, Count Reinhard III of Hanau died. The heir was his son, Philip the Younger, only four years old and this arrangement of 1458 allowed him to have a befitting marriage and offspring entitled to inherit, and so increased the chances of survival of the comital house. Philip the Elder was called now of Hanau-Babenhausen, in the same year of 1458, Philip the Elder married Anna of Lichtenberg, one of the two daughter-heirs of Louis V of Lichtenberg. From this arose the branch and county of Hanau-Lichtenberg and his nephew, Philip I of Hanau and his descendants called themselves, by contrast, the counts of Hanau-Münzenberg. The next large inheritance occurred in 1570, Count James of Zweibrücken-Bitsch and his brother, Simon V Wecker, who had died in 1540, left behind a daughter each “only”. The daughter of Count James, Margarethe, married Philip V of Hanau-Lichtenberg, the inheritance included the second half of the Barony of Lichtenberg, the County of Zweibrücken-Bitsch and the Barony of Ochsenstein. Parts of the County of Zweibrücken-Bitsch were a fief of the Duchy of Lorraine, initially a dispute broke out after James death between the husbands of the two cousins, Count Philip I of Leiningen-Westerburg and Count Philip V of Hanau-Lichtenberg. In July 1572 troops of Lorraine occupied the county and reversed the Reformation, because Philip V could not match Lorraines military might, he sought legal redress. Not until 1604 and 1606 the conflict was solved by a treaty between Hanau-Lichtenberg and Lorraine, as a result, the Bitsche territory remained Roman Catholic, whilst the Lutheran confession was introduced into the district of Lemberg. In 1642 the last male member of the Hanau-Münzenberg family, Count Johann Ernst, the next male of kin was Friedrich Casimir, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg, then still a minor under the guardianship of Georg II of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl. The relation to count Johann Ernst was quite remote and the inheritance endangered in more than one way, further the county of Hanau-Münzenberg was of Reformed Confession, Friedrich Casimir and the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg were Lutheran. And even to reach the capital of Hanau-Münzenberg, the town of Hanau, was a problem, the inheritance could finally be secured by a treaty of 1643 between Friedrich Casimir and Landgravine Amalie Elisabeth, née countess of Hanau-Münzenberg, daughter to Philipp II. She granted military and diplomatic support against the still resistend overlords, therefore, Friedrich Casimir granted – should the house of Hanau be without male heirs – the inheritance of Hanau-Münzenberg to the descendants of Amalie Elisabeth. She had received Steinau Castle as her widow seat, as widow of a ruling count, she could raise substantial claims against the county. The disadvantage of this arrangement was that Sibylle Christine was already 44 years of age at the time, the marriage was plagued by differences and remained childless. In 1680 the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg came under the souvereignity of France, Friedrich Casimir died childless in 1685
25.
Thirty Years' War
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The Thirty Years War was a series of wars in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648. It was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, as well as the deadliest European religious war, resulting in eight million casualties. Initially a war between various Protestant and Catholic states in the fragmented Holy Roman Empire, it developed into a more general conflict involving most of the great powers. These states employed relatively large mercenary armies, and the war became less about religion, in the 17th century, religious beliefs and practices were a much larger influence on an average European than they are today. The war began when the newly elected Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II, tried to impose uniformity on his domains. The northern Protestant states, angered by the violation of their rights to choose that had granted in the Peace of Augsburg. Ferdinand II was a devout Roman Catholic and relatively intolerant when compared to his predecessor and his policies were considered strongly pro-Catholic. They ousted the Habsburgs and elected Frederick V, Elector of the Rhenish Palatinate as their monarch, Frederick took the offer without the support of the union. The southern states, mainly Roman Catholic, were angered by this, led by Bavaria, these states formed the Catholic League to expel Frederick in support of the Emperor. The Empire soon crushed this rebellion in the Battle of White Mountain. After the atrocities committed in Bohemia, Saxony finally gave its support to the union, Spain, wishing to finally crush the Dutch rebels in the Netherlands and the Dutch Republic, intervened under the pretext of helping its dynastic Habsburg ally, Austria. No longer able to tolerate the encirclement of two major Habsburg powers on its borders, Catholic France entered the coalition on the side of the Protestants in order to counter the Habsburgs. Both mercenaries and soldiers in fighting armies traditionally looted or extorted tribute to get operating funds, the war also bankrupted most of the combatant powers. The Thirty Years War ended with the treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, the war altered the previous political order of European powers. Lutherans living in a prince-bishopric could continue to practice their faith, Lutherans could keep the territory they had taken from the Catholic Church since the Peace of Passau in 1552. Those prince-bishops who had converted to Lutheranism were required to give up their territories and this added a third major faith to the region, but its position was not recognized in any way by the Augsburg terms, to which only Catholicism and Lutheranism were parties. The Dutch revolted against Spanish domination during the 1560s, leading to a war of independence that led to a truce only in 1609. This dynastic concern overtook religious ones and led to Catholic Frances participation on the otherwise Protestant side of the war, Sweden and Denmark-Norway were interested in gaining control over northern German states bordering the Baltic Sea
26.
Spaniards
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Within Spain there are a number of nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the countrys complex history and diverse culture. There are several commonly spoken languages, most notably Basque. There are many populations outside Spain with ancestors who emigrated from Spain, the Roman Republic conquered Iberia during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. As a result of Roman colonization, the majority of languages, with the exception of Basque. The Germanic Vandals and Suebi, with part of the Iranian Alans under King Respendial conquered the peninsula in 409 AD. The Iberian Peninsula was conquered and brought under the rule of the Arab Umayyads in 711 and by the Berber North African dynasties the Almohads, in the early 16th century the Kingdom of Navarre was also conquered. In parallel, a wave of emigration began to the Americas began with over 16 million people emigrating to the Americas during the colonial period. In the post-colonial period, a further 3.5 million Spanish left for the Americas, particularly Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, as a result, Spanish-descendants in Latin America number in the hundreds of millions. Spain is home to one of the largest communities of Romani people, the Spanish Roma, which belong to the Iberian Kale subgroup, are a formerly-nomadic community, which spread across Western Asia, North Africa, and Europe, first reaching Spain in the 15th century. The population of Spain is became increasingly diverse due to recent immigration, the earliest modern humans inhabiting Spain are believed to have been Neolithic peoples who may have arrived in the Iberian Peninsula as early as 35, 000–40,000 years ago. In more recent times the Iberians are believed to have arrived or developed in the region between the 4th millennium BC and the 3rd millennium BC, initially settling along the Mediterranean coast, celts settled in Spain during the Iron Age. Some of those tribes in North-central Spain, which had contact with the Iberians, are called Celtiberians. In addition, a known as the Tartessians and later Turdetanians inhabited southwestern Spain. The seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians successively founded trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast over a period of several centuries, the Second Punic War between the Carthaginians and Romans was fought mainly in what is now Spain and Portugal. The Roman Republic conquered Iberia during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC transformed most of the region into a series of Latin-speaking provinces, hispania emerged as an important part of the Roman Empire and produced notable historical figures such as Trajan, Hadrian, Seneca and Quintilian. The Germanic Vandals and Suebi, with part of the Iranian Alans under King Respendial, the Suebi became the first Germanic kingdom to convert officially to Roman Catholicism in 447 AD. under king Rechiar. After two centuries of domination by the Visigothic Kingdom, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by a Muslim force under Tariq Bin Ziyad in 711 and this army consisted mainly ethnic Berbers from the Ghomara tribe, which were reinforced by Arabs from Syria once the conquest was complete. Muslim Iberia became part of the Umayyad Caliphate and would be known as Al-Andalus, the Berbers of Al Andalus revolted as early as 740 AD, halting Arab expansion across the Pyrenees into France
27.
Franco-Dutch War
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The war ended with the Treaty of Nijmegen, by which Spain ceded the Franche-Comté and some cities in Flanders and Hainaut to France, while France returned some of its conquests to the Dutch. The year 1672, when an invasion of English, French. In the 1560s, the future Dutch Republicans formed an alliance with France, the alliance lasted for a century. Louis XIV of France considered the Dutch to be trading rivals, seditious republicans and Protestant heretics – and this was until the Dutch signed the Triple Alliance with England and Sweden in support of Spain, and countered French expansion in the Spanish Netherlands in the War of Devolution. To Louis, it seemed clear that France had to deal with the Republic before making another move on the Spanish Netherlands, Louis prepared for war against the Republic. His first and primary objective was to gain the support of England, England felt threatened by the Dutch naval power, it had therefore fought the first and second of the Anglo-Dutch Wars. Thus, the English did not need encouragement to leave the Triple Alliance. Sweden agreed to support the invasion of the Republic, by threatening Brandenburg-Prussia if that state should intervene. Measures taken by Louvois, Louis Secretary of War, allowed France to mobilise about 180,000 men, of these about 120,000 would be used directly against the Republic. The bulk of the French army was divided into two bodies, the body led by field marshal Turenne was stationed in Charleroi, then France. The body led by Condé waited in Sedan, both would march through the pro-France Prince-Bishopric of Liège, join near Maastricht and gain the Rhine. On the Rhine, a body would be waiting. It had been created from the armies of Münster and Cologne and was placed under the command of Luxembourg. The combined armies would attack the duchy of Cleves and the region of Nijmegen. A fourth body was to be an English expeditionary force, the alliances clashed when England declared war on the Republic, on 7 April 1672. Louis arrived in Charleroi on 5 May 1672, Turennes 50,000 men set off on 11 May. Arrived at Visé, Louis decided not to lay siege to Maastricht but only to occupy the forts of Tongeren, Maaseik. Moving along the Rhine, Rheinberg, Wesel, Burick and Orsoy were taken, Turenne then took Nijmegen, with 4,000 infantry and 400 cavalry, and from there Fort Crèvecœur near s-Hertogenbosch, which fell after only two days
28.
Louis XIV of France
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Louis XIV, known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monarch of a country in European history. In the age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIVs France was a leader in the centralization of power. Louis began his rule of France in 1661, after the death of his chief minister. By these means he became one of the most powerful French monarchs, under his rule, the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to Huguenots, was abolished. The revocation effectively forced Huguenots to emigrate or convert in a wave of dragonnades, which managed to virtually destroy the French Protestant minority. During Louis reign, France was the leading European power, and it fought three wars, the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg. There were also two lesser conflicts, the War of Devolution and the War of the Reunions, warfare defined Louis XIVs foreign policies, and his personality shaped his approach. Impelled by a mix of commerce, revenge, and pique, in peacetime he concentrated on preparing for the next war. He taught his diplomats their job was to create tactical and strategic advantages for the French military, Louis XIV was born on 5 September 1638 in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, to Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. He was named Louis Dieudonné and bore the title of French heirs apparent. At the time of his birth, his parents had married for 23 years. His mother had experienced four stillbirths between 1619 and 1631, leading contemporaries thus regarded him as a divine gift and his birth a miracle of God. Sensing imminent death, Louis XIII decided to put his affairs in order in the spring of 1643, in defiance of custom, which would have made Queen Anne the sole Regent of France, the king decreed that a regency council would rule on his sons behalf. His lack of faith in Queen Annes political abilities was his primary rationale and he did, however, make the concession of appointing her head of the council. Louis relationship with his mother was uncommonly affectionate for the time, contemporaries and eyewitnesses claimed that the Queen would spend all her time with Louis. Both were greatly interested in food and theatre, and it is likely that Louis developed these interests through his close relationship with his mother. This long-lasting and loving relationship can be evidenced by excerpts in Louis journal entries, such as, but attachments formed later by shared qualities of the spirit are far more difficult to break than those formed merely by blood
29.
Electoral Palatinate
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Its rulers served as prince-electors from time immemorial, were noted as such in a papal letter of 1261, and were confirmed as electors by the Golden Bull of 1356. The Counts Palatine of the Rhine held the office of Imperial vicars in the territories under Frankish law and their climax and decline is marked by the rule of Elector Palatine Frederick V, whose coronation as King of Bohemia in 1619 sparked the Thirty Years War. After the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, the lands were further afflicted by the Reunion campaigns launched by King Louis XIV of France. Ruled in personal union with the Electorate of Bavaria from 1777, the office of a Count palatine at the Frankish court of King Childebert I was already mentioned about 535. Up to the 10th century, the rule of the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties was centered at the palace in Aachen. In 985, Herman I, a scion of the Ezzonids, is mentioned as count palatine of Lotharingia and his territories were centered in the Rhineland proper around Cologne and Bonn, but extended south to the Moselle and Nahe Rivers in Lorraine. The southernmost point was near Alzey, from about 1085/86, after the death of the last Ezzonian count palatine Herman II, the Palatinate lost its military importance in Lotharingia. The territorial authority of his successor Henry of Laach was reduced to the counties along the Upper Rhine, various noble dynasties competed to be enfeoffed with the Palatinate by the Holy Roman Emperor, among them the House of Ascania, the House of Salm and the House of Babenberg. The first hereditary Count Palatine of the Rhine was Conrad, a member of the House of Hohenstaufen, the territories attached to this hereditary office in 1156 started from those held by the Hohenstaufens in the Donnersberg, Nahegau, Haardt, Bergstraße and Kraichgau regions. Much of this was from their ancestors, the Salian emperors, and apart from Conrads maternal ancestry. These backgrounds explain the composition of Upper and Rhenish Palatinate in the inheritance centuries onwards, about 1182, Conrad moved his residence from Stahleck Castle near Bacharach up the Rhine River to Heidelberg. Upon Conrads death in 1195, the Palatinate passed to the House of Welf through the—secret—marriage of his daughter Agnes with Henry of Brunswick, when Henrys son Henry the Younger died without heirs in 1214, the Hohenstaufen king Frederick II enfeoffed the Wittelsbach duke Louis I of Bavaria. The Bavarian House of Wittelsbach eventually held the Palatinate territories until 1918, as this region was politically connected to the Rhenish Palatinate, the name Upper Palatinate became common from the early 16th century in contrast to the Lower Palatinate along the Rhine. With the Treaty of Pavia in 1329, the Wittelsbach emperor Louis IV, from that time forth, the Count Palatine of the Rhine was usually known as the Elector Palatine. The Elector Palatine, now based in Heidelberg, adopted Lutheranism in the 1530s, in 1619, Frederick V accepted the throne of Bohemia from the Bohemian estates. He was soon defeated by the forces of Emperor Ferdinand II at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, called the Winter King because his reign in Bohemia only lasted one winter, Frederick was put under the ban of the Empire in 1623. Frederick Vs territories and his position as Elector were transferred to the Catholic Duke of Bavaria, Maximilian I, although technically Elector Palatine, he was known as the Elector of Bavaria. From 1648 he ruled in Bavaria and the Upper Palatinate alone, but retained all his Electoral dignities, after Frederick Vs death, his wife Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, worked tirelessly to have the Palatinate restored to her family and to the Protestant cause
30.
Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne
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Henri de La Tour dAuvergne, Vicomte de Turenne, often called simply Turenne was the most illustrious member of the La Tour dAuvergne family. He achieved military fame and became a Marshal of France and he was one of six marshals who have been made Marshal General of France. After his fathers death in 1623, he devoted himself to bodily exercises and in a great measure overcame his natural weakness. At the age of fourteen he went to war in the camp of his uncle, Maurice of Nassau the Stadtholder of Holland and Prince of Orange. Frederick Henry of Nassau, who succeeded his brother Maurice as Stadtholder and Prince of Orange in 1625, gave Turenne a captaincy in 1626. The young officer took his part in the warfare of the period. Cardinal Richelieu at once made him colonel of an infantry regiment, in 1635 Turenne served under Louis de Nogaret, Cardinal de la Valette in Lorraine and on the Rhine. The French and their allies raised the Imperial siege of Mainz, in the retreat Turenne measured swords with the famous imperial General Gallas, and distinguished himself greatly by his courage and skill. The reorganised army took the field again in 1636 and captured Saverne, in 1637 he took part in the campaign of Flanders, including the capture of Landrecies. In the latter part of 1638, serving under Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, he directed the assault on Breisach, in 1640 Harcourt saved Casale Monferrato and besieged Prince Thomas forces in Turin, which meanwhile besieged in their turn another French force in the citadel. The latter held out, while Prince Thomas had to surrender on 17 September 1640, Turenne, who had by now become a lieutenant-general, played a major role in achieving the favourable result of these complicated operations. He himself commanded during the campaign of 1641 and took Coni, Ceva, in 1642 he served as second-in-command of the French troops which conquered Roussillon. At this time Richelieu discovered the conspiracy of Cinq Mars in which Turennes elder brother, moreover, his steady adherence to the Protestant religion provided a further element of difficulty in Turennes relations with the ministers. Cardinal Richelieu nevertheless entrusted him with the command in Italy in 1643 under Prince Thomas, Turenne took Trino in a few weeks before his recall to France towards the end of the year. He gained the rank of Marshal of France and soon departed to Alsace to re-organize the Army of Weimar which had just suffered a defeat at Tuttlingen. At this time, having reached thirty-two years of age, Turenne had served under four famous commanders. The work of re-organization over, Marshal Turenne began the campaign in June 1644 by crossing the Rhine at Breisach, the Duke, as a prince of the royal house, took the chief command of the united armies of France and Weimar. The four famous campaigns which followed brought to an end the Thirty Years War, the desperately fought battle of Freiburg against Franz von Mercys Bavarians proved the chief event of the first campaign, after which the French successfully besieged Philippsburg
31.
Landau
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Landau, or Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town, a cultural centre. Landau lies east of the Palatinate forest, Europes largest contiguous forest and it contains the districts of Arzheim, Dammheim, Godramstein, Mörlheim, Mörzheim, Nussdorf, Queichheim, and Wollmesheim. Landau was first mentioned as a settlement in 1106 and it was in the possession of the counts of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Landeck, whose arms, differenced by an escutcheon of the Imperial eagle, served as the arms of Landau until 1955. The town did not regain its ancient rights until 1511 from Maximilian I, an Augustinian monastery was founded in 1276. In the War of the Spanish Succession it had four Sieges, after the Siege in 1702 that was lost by the French, an Imperial garrison was installed in Landau. After the 2nd Siege from 13 October to 15 November 1703 the French had regained the city, the 3rd Siege began on 12 September 1704 by Louis, Margrave of Baden-Baden, and ended on 23 November 1704 with the French defeat. During this siege King Josepf I arrived at Landau coming from Vienna in a newly developed convertible carriage and it became very popular, named Landau in English, or Landauer in German. The French got Landau back after the 4th Siege which lasted from 6 June to 20 August 1713 by Marshal General Villars, Landau was part of Bas-Rhin department between 1789 and 1815. In 1840 famous political cartoonist Thomas Nast was born in Landau, following World War II, Landau was an important barracks town for the French occupation. Landaus large main square is dominated by the hall and the market hall. In the 19th-century, the fortifications gave way to a ring road that encircles the old town centre. A convention hall, the Festhalle, was built in Art Nouveau style, 1905–07 on a rise overlooking the park and facing the modernist Bundesamt. The Protestant Collegiate Church in Landau in der Pfalz is one of the oldest buildings in the town, with the construction of the church started in the 14th century, was completed in the mid 16th Century. The zoo is located near Landau downtown, along the historic fortifications, animals are held in natural enclosures. The zoo contains numerous species such as tigers and cheetahs. Wine-making continues to be an important industry of Landau, the landau, a luxury open carriage with a pair of folding tops, was invented in the town. Landau in der Pfalz travel guide from Wikivoyage Official website Pictures
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Nine Years' War
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It was fought on the European continent and the surrounding seas, Ireland, and in North America. Louis XIV of France had emerged from the Franco-Dutch War in 1678 as the most powerful monarch in Europe, Louis XIVs decision to cross the Rhine in September 1688 was designed to extend his influence and pressure the Holy Roman Empire into accepting his territorial and dynastic claims. The main fighting took place around Frances borders, in the Spanish Netherlands, the Rhineland, Duchy of Savoy, the fighting generally favoured Louis XIVs armies, but by 1696 his country was in the grip of an economic crisis. The Maritime Powers were also exhausted, and when Savoy defected from the Alliance all parties were keen for a negotiated settlement. By the terms of the Treaty of Ryswick Louis XIV retained the whole of Alsace, Louis XIV also accepted William III as the rightful King of England, while the Dutch acquired their Barrier fortress system in the Spanish Netherlands to help secure their own borders. In the years following the Franco-Dutch War Louis XIV of France – now at the height of his powers – sought to impose religious unity in France, and to solidify and expand his frontiers. Louis XIV, along with his chief advisor Louvois, his foreign minister Colbert de Croissy, Vauban had advocated a system of impregnable fortresses along the frontier that would keep Frances enemies out. To construct a system, however, the King needed to acquire more land from his neighbours to form a solid forward line. The King grabbed the necessary territory through what is known as the Réunions, a strategy that combined legalism, arrogance, the Treaty of Nijmegen and the earlier Treaty of Westphalia provided Louis XIV with the justification for the Reunions. These treaties had awarded France territorial gains, but because of the vagaries of the language they were notoriously imprecise and self-contradictory, unsurprisingly, these courts usually found in Louis XIVs favour. By 1680 the disputed County of Montbéliard had been separated from the Duchy of Württemberg, the Chamber of Reunion of Metz soon laid claims to land around the Three Bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun, and most of the Spanish Duchy of Luxembourg. The fortress of Luxembourg itself was blockaded with the intention of it becoming part of Louis XIVs defensible frontier. By forcibly taking the Imperial city the French now controlled two of the three bridgeheads over the Rhine, on the same day that Strasbourg fell French forces marched into Casale in northern Italy. Thus, the Reunions were carving territory from the frontiers of Germany, since Leopold Is intervention in the Franco-Dutch War Louis XIV had considered the Emperor his most dangerous enemy, yet the French king had little reason to fear him. Leopold I was weak in Germany, and was in danger along his Hungarian borders where the Ottoman Turks were threatening to overrun all central Europe from the south. Louis had encouraged and assisted the Ottoman drive against Leopold Is Habsburg lands, when the Turks besieged Vienna in the spring of 1683 Louis did nothing to help the defenders. Taking advantage of the Ottoman threat in the east Louis XIV invaded the Spanish Netherlands on 1 September 1683 and renewed the siege of Luxembourg, spains military options were highly limited, yet the Ottoman defeat before Vienna on 12 September had emboldened them. In the hope that Leopold I would now make peace in the east and come to their assistance, however, the Emperor had decided to continue the Turkish war in the Balkans and, for the time being, compromise in the west
33.
Johann Reinhard III, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg
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Johann Reinhard III of Hanau-Lichtenberg was the last of the counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg. He reigned from 1680 to 1736, from 1712 to 1736, he also reigned the county of Hanau-Münzenberg. Johann Reinhard III was the son of Johann Reinhard II of Hanau-Lichtenberg and Anna Magdalena and he was baptized on 1 August 1665. He was educated together with his older brother Philipp Reinhard, initially in Strasbourg, in 1678, they moved to Babenhausen, where their mother lived at the time. In 1678, they started a Grand Tour to the Alsace, Switzerland, in 1690, the travelled for a year in Savoy and Turin, in 1681 to Paris, in 1683 to the Netherlands, England and some French provinces. In early 1684, they were in Milan, from there went to see the carnival in Venice, followed by a trip to Rome, then to Naples, Florence, Modena, Parma. In 1686, they visited the court in Vienna and on the way back, they traveled to Bohemia. As Johann Reinhard III was a minor, the county was ruled by his guardians, his mother, at the same time, Johann Reinhard IIIs older brother Philipp Reinhard came to the throne of Hanau-Münzenberg. When this division was implemented, the district of Babenhausen was awarded to Hanau-Münzenberg, in 1685, Johann Reinhard III was legally adopted by his deposed uncle Friedrich Casimir. In 1688, he came of age and took over the government, in 1691, duke Christian II filed his final report on the guardianship. Johann Reinhard III tried to improve the situation, the political situation was also problematic, his predecessor had been forced to acknowledge French supremacy over the parts of the county located in Alsace. He could only rule those areas because he received Letters Patent to that effect from the French king Louis XIV in 1701 and 1707, Johann Reinhard III tried in vain to be raised to the rank of Imperial Prince. After it was clear that he would have no male heirs, when Philipp Reinhard died in 1712, Johann Reinhard III inherited Hanau-Münzenberg. Under his rule, the two sub-counties were united in one hand for the last time and he alternated his residence between the two part of the county. He also succeeded his brother as director of the Wetterau Association of Imperial Counts and he rebuilt the Hanauer Hof in Strasbourg, which had been the city residence of the counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg since 1573. This building now serves as Strasbourgs City Hall, after he took office in Hanau-Münzenberg 1712, he completed the construction of the Philippsruhe Castle, just outside the Hanau city gate, and the Philippsruhe Avenue, including the Heller bridge. He also created Chestnut Avenue and the Pheasant Park and completed construction of the stables of the City Palace in Hanau, behind the city palace, the City Wall was breached in order to obtain a direct access to the Turkish style gardens behind it. In 1727, he extended the St. Johns Church in Hanau and he built Lutheran churches in Windecken, Steinau an der Straße, Nauheim, Kesselstadt and Rodheim and Lutheran schools in many towns in the county of Hanau-Münzenberg
34.
Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
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Louis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt was the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1768 -1790. He was a son of Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and he was born in Darmstadt on 15 December 1719. On 12 August 1741, Louis married Caroline of Zweibrücken, daughter of Christian III, on 6 April 1790 Louis died in Pirmasens
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Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt
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The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse between the four sons of Landgrave Philip I, the residence of the landgraves was in Darmstadt, hence the name. As a result of the Napoleonic Wars, the landgraviate was elevated to the Grand Duchy of Hesse following the Empires dissolution in 1806. His eldest brother William IV received the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, while the second son Louis IV obtained Hesse-Marburg, the Hesse-Rheinfels line became extinct on Philips death in 1583. Because the University of Marburg had become Calvinist under the rule of Landgrave Maurice of Hesse-Kassel, the inheritance conflict was continued in the broader contest of the Thirty Years War, in which Hesse-Kassel sided with the Protestant estates and Hesse-Darmstadt sided with the Habsburg emperor. The Hesse-Homburg and Hesse-Rotenburg estates seceded from the opponents in 1622 and 1627, the conflict was finally settled on the eve of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, more than eighty years after the division of the estates. Large parts of the disputed Upper Hesse territory including Marburg fell to the elder Kassel line, while Hesse-Darmstadt retained Giessen, in 1736, the Landgraves of Hesse-Darmstadt inherited the estates of the extinct Counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg, again contested by their Kassel cousins. Hesse-Darmstadt gained a deal of territory by the secularizations and mediatizations authorized by the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803. List of rulers of Hesse Piotr Napierała, Hesja-Darmstadt w XVIII stuleciu, wielcy władcy małego państwa, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, Poznań2009. ISBN 978-83-232-2007-7 Map of Hesse in 1789 - Northern Part Map of Hesse in 1789 - Southern Part
36.
Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg
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Charlotte, Countess of Hanau-Lichtenberg, full name, Countess Charlotte Christine Magdalene Johanna of Hanau-Lichtenberg was the wife of landgrave Louis VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt. Charlotte was the surviving child of the last Count of Hanau, Johann Reinhard III. Thus, she was the heir of the County of Hanau. The first man to ask her hand in marriage, was the crown prince, had this marriage taken place, the county of Hanau would have remained united. However, it failed because of differences between William, who was a Calvinist and Charlotte, who was Lutheran. The second candidate was the prince and later Landgrave Louis VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt. They were married on 5 April 1717, a number of funeral sermons were published in July 1726 in Darmstadt. As Charlotte Christine died before her father, her son, the future Landgrave Louis IX, a dispute arose, because it wasnt clear to which part the district of Babenhausen would belong. It escalated into a military conflict, Hesse-Darmstadt occupied Dietzenbach, Schaafheim and Schlierbach, Hesse-Kassel occupied the rest of Babenhausen, deploying troops that had already been stationed in Hanau. The dispute could be settled only after protracted litigation before the highest courts of the Empire, the towns of Altheim, Dietzenbach, Harpertshausen, Schaafheim and Schlierbach were awarded to Hesse-Darmstadt and were incorporated into the district Schaafheim. Alfred Börckel, Wives of the princes of Hesse from St. Elizabeth to the present day, represented in their life and work, 2nd ed. Gießen,1908, Reinhard Dietrich, The state constitution in the Land of Hanau = Hanauer history publications, vol. 34, Hanau 1996, ISBN 3-9801933-6-5 Louis William Holland, Letters of the Duchess Elisabeth Charlotte of Orleans from the years 1716 to 1718 = Library of the Literary Association, vol. Catalog of funeral sermons and other writings of mourning in the Hessian State Archives, Marburg = Marburg staff research journal, vol 14, catalog of funeral sermons and other writings of mourning in the Hessian State Archive Darmstadt = Marburger staff research journal, vol 13, Sigmaringen 1991. Manfred Knodt, The Regents of Hesse-Darmstadt, rudolf Lenz, Catalogue of funeral sermons and other writings of sadness in the Hesse University and State Library = Marburger staff research journal, vol 11, Sigmaringen 1990. Reinhard Suchier, Genealogy of Countly House of Hanau, in, Festschrift of the Hanau Historical Association for its fifty-year jubilee celebration on 27 August 1894, ernst J. Zimmermann, Hanau city and country, 3rd Edition, Hanau 1919, reprinted 1978
37.
Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
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Louis VIII was the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1739 to 1768. He was the son of Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, in 1717, he was married to Countess Charlotte Christine Magdalene Johanna of Hanau and he received Hanau-Lichtenberg as an addition to his dominons. Because of his passion for hunting, he is known as the Hunting Landgrave, during the Seven Years War he stood on the side of the Emperor and received the rank of General Field Marshal. Like his father, Louis was not a gifted economist and only his good relationship with Empress Maria Theresa, however, his caring for his country is documented by the establishment of a textile house in 1742 and a state orphanage in the 1746. Children, Louis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt Landgrave George William of Hesse-Darmstadt, caroline Louis, Princess of Hesse, born on 11 July 1723 and died on 8 April 1783, married Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden. The Age of Absolutism in Hesse-Darmstadt Die Geschichte Hessens, Gerd Bauer, Heiner Boencke, Hans Sarkowicz, Eichborn,2002, p. 193-194
38.
Landgrave
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Landgrave was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of Landgraf, Markgraf, and Pfalzgraf are in the class of ranks as Herzog. The English word landgrave is the equivalent of the German Landgraf, the title referred originally to a count who had imperial immediacy, or feudal duty owed directly to the Holy Roman Emperor. His jurisdiction stretched over a quite considerable territory, which was not subservient to an intermediate power, such as a Duke. The title survived from the times of the Holy Roman Empire, by definition, a landgrave exercised sovereign rights. His decision-making power was comparable to that of a Duke, a landgrave was a county nobleman in the British, privately held North American colony Carolina, ranking just below the proprietary. Examples include, Landgrave of Thuringia Landgraves of Hesse and its subsequent divisions, mayer, Theodor, Über Entstehung und Bedeutung der älteren deutschen Landgrafschaften, in Mitteralterliche Studien – Gesammelte Aufsätze, ed. F. Knapp 187–201. Also published in Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, Germanische Abteilung 58 210–288, mayer, Theodor, Herzogtum und Landeshoheit, Fürsten und Staat. Studien zur Verfassungsgeschichte des deutschen Mittelalters 276–301, eichenberger, T. Patria, Studien zur Bedeutung des Wortes im Mittelalter, Nationes – Historische und philologische Untersuchungen zur Entstehung der europäischen Nationen im Mittelalter 9. Van Droogenbroeck, Frans J. De betekenis van paltsgraaf Herman II voor het graafschap Brabant, van Droogenbroeck, Frans J. Het landgraafschap Brabant en zijn paltsgrafelijke voorgeschiedenis. De territoriale en institutionele aanloop tot het ontstaan van het hertogdom Brabant The dictionary definition of landgrave at Wiktionary
39.
Prussia
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Prussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and centred on the region of Prussia. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organised, Prussia, with its capital in Königsberg and from 1701 in Berlin, shaped the history of Germany. In 1871, German states united to create the German Empire under Prussian leadership, in November 1918, the monarchies were abolished and the nobility lost its political power during the German Revolution of 1918–19. The Kingdom of Prussia was thus abolished in favour of a republic—the Free State of Prussia, from 1933, Prussia lost its independence as a result of the Prussian coup, when the Nazi regime was successfully establishing its Gleichschaltung laws in pursuit of a unitary state. Prussia existed de jure until its liquidation by the Allied Control Council Enactment No.46 of 25 February 1947. The name Prussia derives from the Old Prussians, in the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights—an organized Catholic medieval military order of German crusaders—conquered the lands inhabited by them. In 1308, the Teutonic Knights conquered the region of Pomerelia with Gdańsk and their monastic state was mostly Germanised through immigration from central and western Germany and in the south, it was Polonised by settlers from Masovia. The Second Peace of Thorn split Prussia into the western Royal Prussia, a province of Poland, and the part, from 1525 called the Duchy of Prussia. The union of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, Prussia entered the ranks of the great powers shortly after becoming a kingdom, and exercised most influence in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the 18th century it had a say in many international affairs under the reign of Frederick the Great. During the 19th century, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck united the German principalities into a Lesser Germany which excluded the Austrian Empire. At the Congress of Vienna, which redrew the map of Europe following Napoleons defeat, Prussia acquired a section of north western Germany. The country then grew rapidly in influence economically and politically, and became the core of the North German Confederation in 1867, and then of the German Empire in 1871. The Kingdom of Prussia was now so large and so dominant in the new Germany that Junkers and other Prussian élites identified more and more as Germans and less as Prussians. In the Weimar Republic, the state of Prussia lost nearly all of its legal and political importance following the 1932 coup led by Franz von Papen. East Prussia lost all of its German population after 1945, as Poland, the main coat of arms of Prussia, as well as the flag of Prussia, depicted a black eagle on a white background. The black and white colours were already used by the Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Order wore a white coat embroidered with a cross with gold insert
40.
Braunschweig
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Braunschweig, also called Brunswick in English, is a city of 252,768 people, in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the furthest navigable point of the Oker river, today, Braunschweig is the second largest city in Lower Saxony and a major centre of scientific research and development. The date and circumstances of the foundation are unknown. The towns original name of Brunswik is a combination of the name Bruno and Low German wik, the towns name therefore indicates an ideal resting-place, as it lay by a ford across the Oker River. Another explanation of the name is that it comes from Brand. The city was first mentioned in documents from the St. Magni Church from 1031, up to the 12th century, Braunschweig was ruled by the Saxon noble family of the Brunonids, then, through marriage, it fell to the House of Welf. In 1142 Henry the Lion of the House of Welf became duke of Saxony and he turned Dankwarderode Castle, the residence of the counts of Brunswick, into his own Pfalz and developed the city further to represent his authority. Under Henrys rule the Cathedral of St. Blasius was built and he also had the statue of a lion, his heraldic animal, the lion subsequently became the citys landmark. Henry the Lion became so powerful that he dared to refuse military aid to the emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, Henry went into exile in England. He had previously established ties to the English crown in 1168, through his marriage to King Henry II of Englands daughter Matilda, however, his son Otto, who could regain influence and was eventually crowned Holy Roman Emperor, continued to foster the citys development. By the year 1600, Braunschweig was the seventh largest city in Germany, the Princes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel didnt regain control over the city until the late 17th century, when Rudolph Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, took the city by siege. In the 18th century Braunschweig was not only a political, influenced by the philosophy of the Enlightenment, dukes like Anthony Ulrich and Charles I became patrons of the arts and sciences. In 1745 Charles I founded the Collegium Carolinum, predecessor of the Braunschweig University of Technology, with this he attracted poets and thinkers such as Lessing, Leisewitz, and Jakob Mauvillon to his court and the city. Emilia Galotti by Lessing and Goethes Faust were performed for the first time in Braunschweig, in 1806, the city was captured by the French during the Napoleonic Wars and became part of the short-lived Napoleonic Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807. The exiled duke Frederick William raised a corps, the Black Brunswickers. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Braunschweig was made capital of the reestablished independent Duchy of Brunswick, in the aftermath of the July Revolution in 1830, in Brunswick duke Charles II was forced to abdicate. His absolutist governing style had alienated the nobility and bourgeoisie. During the night of 7–8 September 1830, the palace in Braunschweig was stormed by an angry mob, set on fire
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