1.
Kingdom of Hanover
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The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German Confederation in June 1815, along with the rest of Prussia, Hanover became part of the German Empire upon unification in January 1871. Briefly revived as the State of Hanover in 1946, the state was merged with some smaller states to form the current state of Lower Saxony in West Germany. After his accession in 1714, George Louis of the House of Hanover ascended the throne of Great Britain as George I, descendants of Hanoverians who fought alongside the British in the War of 1812 remain in Canada. In 1803, however, it fell to French and Prussian armies during the Napoleonic Wars, the Treaties of Tilsit in 1807 joined it to territories from Prussia and created the Kingdom of Westphalia, rule of which was allocated to Napoleons youngest brother Jérôme Bonaparte. French control lasted until October 1813 when the territory was overrun by Russian Cossack troops, the terms of the Congress of Vienna in 1814 not only restored Hanover, but elevated it to an independent kingdom with its Prince-Elector, George III of Great Britain, as King of Hanover. The new kingdom was also expanded, becoming the fourth-largest state in the German Confederation. During the British Regency and the reigns of kings George IV and William IV from 1816 to 1837, their younger brother Adolph Frederick officiated as Viceroy of Hanover, when Queen Victoria succeeded to the British throne in 1837, the 123-year personal union of Great Britain and Hanover ended. During the Austro-Prussian War, Hanover attempted to maintain a neutral position, hanovers vote in favor of the mobilisation of Confederation troops against Prussia on 14 June 1866 prompted Prussia to declare war. The outcome of the war led to the dissolution of Hanover as an independent kingdom and it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, along with the rest of Prussia, it became part of the German Empire in 1871. After George V fled Hanover in 1866, he raised forces loyal to him in the Netherlands and they were eventually disbanded in 1870. Nevertheless, George refused to accept the Prussian takeover of his realm and his only son, Prince Ernest Augustus, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, inherited this claim upon Georges death in 1878. Ernest Augustus was also first in line to the throne of the Duchy of Brunswick, in 1884, that branch became extinct with the death of William, a distant cousin of Ernest Augustus. The Duke then renounced his claim to Brunswick in favor of his son, the German-Hanoverian Party, which at times supported secession from the Reich, demanded a separate status for the province in the Reichstag. The party existed until banned by the Nazi government, the state saw itself in the tradition of the kingdom. The former territory of Hanover makes up 85 percent of Lower Saxonys territory, the Lutheran church was the state church of the Kingdom of Hanover with the King being summus episcopus. Regional consistories supervised church and clergy and these were in Aurich, a simultaneously Lutheran and Calvinist consistory dominated by Lutherans and the Lutheran consistories in Hanover, in Ilfeld, in Osnabrück, in Otterndorf as well as in Stade. A general superintendent chaired each consistory and this introduction of presbyteries was somewhat revolutionary in the rather hierarchically structured Lutheran church
2.
Biarritz
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Biarritz is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located 35 kilometres from the border with Spain and it is a luxurious seaside tourist destination known for the Hôtel du Palais, its casinos and its surfing culture. Biarritz is located in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and it is adjacent to Bayonne and Anglet and 35 kilometres from the border with Spain. It is in the province of Labourd in the French Basque Country. In Basque, its name is Biarritz or Miarritze and its current Occitan Gascon name is Biàrrits. The name for an inhabitant is Biarrot, Biarriztar ou Miarriztar in Basque, the suffix -itz is a Basque locative. The name appears as Bearriz in 1170, Bearids in 1186, Biarritz appears as Bearids and Bearriz in 1150, Beiarridz in 1165, Bearriz and Beariz in 1170, Bearidz, Bearriz and Beariz, lo port de Beiarriz and Bearridz in 1261. Other forms include Beiarid, Bearritz, Beiarriz and Beiarrids, Bearridz, Bearrits, Bearritz, Sanctus Martinus de Biarriz, mearritcen, analysis of stones from the Middle Paleolithic show that the Biarritz area was inhabited at that time. The oldest mention appears in a cartulary, Baiona’s Golden book, from 1186, the first urban town was to the south, at the top and at the interior, where the church of San Martin is located. This church is the oldest in Biarritz, in 1152, Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry II of England, who became suzerain of the Duchy of Aquitaine. Prince Edward, oldest son of Henry III of England, was invested with the duchy, and betrothed to Eleanor of Castile, two population centers are attested in the Middle Ages. This château had a double crenulated wall two meters thick, a drawbridge and four towers, mentions of this château occur as late as 1603, in the letters patent of Henry IV. One tower remained as of 1739, when a daymark was established there, called de la Haille, most of the documents, records and official agreements gathered in the archives from Biarritz mention whaling. This was the local industry. Consequently, the coat of arms features the image of a whale below a rowing boat manned by five sailors wearing berets. This inscription is written on it, Aura, sidus, mare, Biarritz has long made its living from the sea, from the 12th century onwards, it was a whaling town. In the 18th century, doctors claimed that the ocean at Biarritz had therapeutic properties, after the 7th century, Biarritz had many confrontations with Baiona, with the Kingdom of England – Lapurdi was under its control – and with the Bishop of Baiona. Almost all of the disputes were about whale hunting, in 1284, the towns right to hunt whales was reinstated by the authorities of Lapurdi and the Duchy of Aquitaine
3.
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
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St Georges Chapel is the place of worship at Windsor Castle in England, United Kingdom. It is both a royal peculiar and the chapel of the Order of the Garter, the chapel is governed by the Dean and Canons of Windsor. The chapel is located in the Lower Ward of the castle, the Society of the Friends of St Georges and Descendants of the Knights of the Garter, a registered charity, was established in 1931 to assist the College in maintaining the chapel. In 1348, King Edward III founded two new colleges, St Stephens at Westminster and St Georges at Windsor. The new college at Windsor was attached to the Chapel of St Edward the Confessor which had constructed by Henry III in the early thirteenth century. The chapel was rededicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Edward the Confessor. Edward III also built the Aerary Porch in 1353–1354 and it was used as the entrance to the new college. St Georges Chapel became the Mother Church of the Order of the Garter, and their heraldic banners hang above the upper stalls of the choir where they have a seat for life. The period 1475–1528 saw a redevelopment of St Georges Chapel, set in motion by Edward IV and continued by Henry VII. The Horseshoe Cloister was constructed for the new community of 45 junior members,16 vicars, St Georges Chapel was a popular destination for pilgrims during the late medieval period. The chapel was purported to contain several important relics, the bodies of John Schorne and Henry VI of England and these relics all appear to have been displayed at the east end of the south choir aisle. The Chapel suffered a great deal of destruction during the English Civil War, parliamentary forces broke into and plundered the chapel and treasury on 23 October 1642. Further pillaging occurred in 1643 when the chapter house was destroyed, lead was stripped off the chapel roofs. Following his execution in 1649, Charles I was buried in a vault in the centre of the choir at St Georges Chapel which also contained the coffins of Henry VIII. A programme of repair was undertaken at St Georges Chapel following the Restoration of the monarchy, the reign of Queen Victoria saw further changes made to the architecture of the chapel. On the roof of the chapel, standing on the pinnacles, the original beasts dated from the sixteenth century, but were removed in 1682 on the advice of Sir Christopher Wren, the present statues date from 1925, when the chapel was restored. Members of the meet at Windsor Castle every June for the annual Garter Service. After lunch in the State Apartments in the Upper Ward of the Castle they process on foot, wearing their robes and insignia, if any new members have been admitted to the Order they are installed at the service
4.
House of Hanover
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Upon Victorias death, the British throne passed to her eldest son Edward VII, a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha through his father. The House of Hanover was formally named the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Hanover line, the senior branch became extinct in 1884, and the House of Hanover is now the only surviving branch of the House of Welf, which is the senior branch of the House of Este. The current head of the House of Hanover is Ernst August, George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, is considered the first member of the House of Hanover. When the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg was divided in 1635, George inherited the Principality of Calenberg and his son, Christian Louis inherited the Principality of Lüneburg from Georges brother. Calenberg and Lüneburg were then shared between Georges sons until united in 1705 under his grandson, also called George, who subsequently became George I of Great Britain, all held the title Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. George died in 1641 and was succeeded by, Christian Louis, 1st son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg and he relinquished Calenburg when he became Prince of Lüneburg. George William, 2nd son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg and he relinquished Calenburg when he became Prince of Lüneburg on the death of his brother, Christian Louis. John Frederick, 3rd son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg, Ernest Augustus, 4th son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg. He became Prince of Calenberg on the death of his brother John Frederick and he was elevated to prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire in 1692. Ernest Augustuss wife, Sophia of the Palatinate, was declared heiress of the throne of England by the Act of Settlement of 1701, Sophia was at that time the senior eligible Protestant descendant of James I of England. George Louis, son of Duke Ernest Augustus and Sophia, became Elector and Prince of Calenberg in 1698 and he inherited his mothers claim to the throne of Great Britain when she died in 1714. George Louis became the first British monarch of the House of Hanover as George I in 1714, George I, George II, and George III also served as electors and dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, informally, Electors of Hanover. From 1814, when Hanover became a kingdom, the British monarch was also King of Hanover, in 1837, however, the personal union of the thrones of the United Kingdom and Hanover ended. After the death of William IV in 1837, the kings of Hanover continued the dynasty. The 1866 rift between the House of Hanover and the House of Hohenzollern was settled only by the 1913 marriage of Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia to Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick. At the end of the Thirty Years War, the Peace of Westphalia awarded the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück alternately to a Catholic bishop, since the treaty gave cadets priority over heirs and reigning princes, Osnabrück became a form of appanage of the House of Hanover. In 1884, the branch of the House of Welf became extinct. By a law of 1879, the Duchy of Brunswick established a council of regency to take over at the Dukes death
5.
George V of Hanover
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George V was the last king of Hanover, the only child and successor of King Ernest Augustus. George Vs reign was ended by the Unification of Germany and he was baptized on 8 July 1819, at a hotel in Berlin where his parents were staying, by the Rev. Henry Thomas Austen. George spent his childhood in Berlin and in Britain and he lost the sight of one eye following a childhood illness and accident in 1828, and in the other eye in 1833. His uncle, William IV, created him a Knight of the Garter on 15 August 1835. His father had hoped that the prince might marry his cousin Victoria. The Duke of Cumberland succeeded to the Hanoverian throne as Ernst August I, since he was totally blind, there were doubts as to whether the Crown Prince was qualified to succeed as king of Hanover, but his father decided that he should do so. George married, on 18 February 1843, at Hanover, Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg, during his 15-year reign, he engaged in frequent disputes with the Hanoverian parliament. George was generally supportive of Austria in the Diet of the German Confederation, as the Austro-Prussian War started, the Prussian government sent a dispatch on 15 June 1866 demanding that Hanoverian troops submit to their authority or face war. Despite previously having concluded that Hanover could not win an armed confrontation with Prussia, George remained protective of his throne, contrary to the wishes of the parliament, Hanover joined the Austrian camp in the war. As a result, the Prussian army occupied Hanover and the Hanoverian army surrendered on 29 June 1866, the Prussian government formally annexed Hanover on 20 September 1866. Incidentally, the King of Prussia when all this happened was William I, German Emperor, the deposed King never renounced his rights to the throne or acknowledged Prussias actions. From exile in Gmunden, Austria, he appealed in vain for the European great powers to intervene on behalf of Hanover, from 1866 to 1870, George V maintained the Guelphic Legion partially at his own expense. George V died at his residence in the Rue de Presbourg, Paris and he was buried in St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle. The king supported industrial development – in 1856 the Georgs-Marien-Bergwerks- und Hüttenverein was founded which was named after him, the company erected an iron and steel works which gave the city Georgsmarienhütte its name
6.
Hanover
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At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Electorate was enlarged to become a Kingdom with Hanover as its capital. From 1868 to 1946 Hanover was the capital of the Prussian Province of Hanover and it is now the capital of the Land of Lower Saxony. Since 2001 it has been part of the Hanover district, which is a body made up from the former district. With a population of 518,000, Hanover is a centre of Northern Germany. Hanover also hosts annual commercial trade fairs such as the Hanover Fair, every year Hanover hosts the Schützenfest Hannover, the worlds largest marksmens festival, and the Oktoberfest Hannover, the second largest such festival in Germany. In 2000, Hanover hosted the world fair Expo 2000, the Hanover fairground, due to numerous extensions, especially for the Expo 2000, is the largest in the world. Hanover is of importance because of its universities and medical school, its international airport. The city is also a crossing point of railway lines and highways. Hanover is the traditional English spelling, the German spelling is becoming more popular in English, recent editions of encyclopaedias prefer the German spelling, and the local government uses the German spelling on English websites. The traditional English spelling is used in historical contexts, especially when referring to the British House of Hanover. Hanover was founded in times on the east bank of the River Leine. Its original name Honovere may mean high bank, though this is debated, Hanover was a small village of ferrymen and fishermen that became a comparatively large town in the 13th century due to its position at a natural crossroads. As overland travel was difficult, its position on the upper navigable reaches of the river helped it to grow by increasing trade. In the 14th century the churches of Hanover were built. The beginning of industrialization in Germany led to trade in iron and silver from the northern Harz Mountains, in 1636 George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruler of the Brunswick-Lüneburg principality of Calenberg, moved his residence to Hanover. The Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg were elevated by the Holy Roman Emperor to the rank of Prince-Elector in 1692, thus the principality was upgraded to the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, colloquially known as the Electorate of Hanover after Calenbergs capital. Its electors would later become monarchs of Great Britain, the first of these was George I Louis, who acceded to the British throne in 1714. The last British monarch who ruled in Hanover was William IV, semi-Salic law, which required succession by the male line if possible, forbade the accession of Queen Victoria in Hanover
7.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
8.
Otto von Bismarck
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Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg, known as Otto von Bismarck, was a conservative Prussian statesman who dominated German and European affairs from the 1860s until 1890. In the 1860s, he engineered a series of wars that unified the German states, significantly and deliberately excluding Austria, into a powerful German Empire under Prussian leadership. With that accomplished by 1871, he skillfully used balance of power diplomacy to maintain Germanys position in a Europe which, despite many disputes and war scares, in 1862, King Wilhelm I appointed Bismarck as Minister President of Prussia, a position he would hold until 1890. He provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria, and France, aligning the smaller German states behind Prussia in its defeat of France, in 1871, he formed the German Empire with himself as Chancellor, while retaining control of Prussia. His diplomacy of realpolitik and powerful rule at home gained him the nickname the Iron Chancellor, German unification and its rapid economic growth was the foundation to his foreign policy. He disliked colonialism but reluctantly built an empire when it was demanded by both elite and mass opinion. A master of politics at home, Bismarck created the first welfare state in the modern world. In the 1870s, he allied himself with the Liberals and fought the Catholic Church in what was called the Kulturkampf and he lost that battle as the Catholics responded by forming a powerful Centre party and using universal male suffrage to gain a bloc of seats. Bismarck then reversed himself, ended the Kulturkampf, broke with the Liberals, imposed protective tariffs, a devout Lutheran, he was loyal to his king, who argued with Bismarck but in the end supported him against the advice of his wife and his heir. Under Wilhelm I, Bismarck largely controlled domestic and foreign affairs, until he was removed by the young Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1890, bismarck—a Junker himself—was strong-willed, outspoken and sometimes judged overbearing, but he could also be polite, charming and witty. Occasionally he displayed a violent temper, and he kept his power by threatening resignation time and again. He possessed not only a national and international vision but also the short-term ability to juggle complex developments. As the leader of what historians call revolutionary conservatism, Bismarck became a hero to German nationalists, many historians praise him as a visionary who was instrumental in uniting Germany and, once that had been accomplished, kept the peace in Europe through adroit diplomacy. Bismarck was born in Schönhausen, a family estate situated west of Berlin in the Prussian province of Saxony. He had two siblings, Bernhard and Malwine, the world saw Bismarck as a typical Prussian Junker, an image that he encouraged by wearing military uniforms. Bismarck was well educated and cosmopolitan with a gift for conversation, in addition to his native German, he was fluent in English, French, Italian, Polish and Russian. Bismarck was educated at Johann Ernst Plamanns elementary school, and the Friedrich-Wilhelm, from 1832 to 1833, he studied law at the University of Göttingen, where he was a member of the Corps Hannovera, and then enrolled at the University of Berlin. In 1838, while stationed as an army reservist in Greifswald, at Göttingen, Bismarck befriended the American student John Lothrop Motley
9.
Austro-Prussian War
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This conflict also paralleled the Third Independence War of Italian unification. It saw the abolition of the German Confederation and its replacement by a North German Confederation that excluded Austria. The war also resulted in the Italian annexation of the Austrian province of Venetia, for centuries, Central Europe was split into a few large states and hundreds of tiny entities, each maintaining its independence with the assistance of outside powers, particularly France. After 1815, the German states were again reorganized into a loose confederation. When Austria brought the dispute before the German Diet and also decided to convene the Diet of Holstein, when the German Diet responded by voting for a partial mobilization against Prussia, Bismarck claimed that the German Confederation was ended. Crown Prince Frederick was the member of the Prussian Crown Council to uphold the rights of the Duke of Augustenberg. Although he supported unification and the restoration of the medieval empire, the ultimate aim of most German nationalists was the gathering of all Germans under one state. Two ideas of national unity eventually came to the fore – once including, US newspaper The New York Times summarized its views of German nationalism shortly after the outbreak of the war, There is, in political geography, no Germany proper to speak of. There are Kingdoms and Grand Duchies, and Duchies and Principalities, inhabited by Germans, yet there is a natural undercurrent tending to a national feeling and toward a union of the Germans into one great nation, ruled by one common head as a national unit. Bismarck maintained that he orchestrated the conflict in order to bring about the North German Confederation, the Franco-Prussian War, taylor thinks Bismarck manipulated events into the most beneficial solution possible for Prussia. On 22 February 1866, Count Karolyi, Austrian ambassador in Berlin, sent a dispatch to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, possible evidence can be found in Bismarcks orchestration of the Austrian alliance during the Second Schleswig War against Denmark, which can be seen as his diplomatic masterstroke. It was in the Prussian interest to gain an alliance with Austria to defeat Denmark and settle the issue of the duchies of Schleswig, the alliance can be regarded as an aid to Prussian expansion, rather than a provocation of war against Austria. Many historians believe that Bismarck was simply a Prussian expansionist, rather than a German nationalist and it was at the Gastein Convention that the Austrian alliance was set up to lure Austria into war. The timing of the declaration was perfect, because all other European powers were bound by alliances that forbade them from entering the conflict. Britain had no stake economically or politically in war between Prussia and Austria, the details of the discussion are unknown but many historians think Bismarck was guaranteed French neutrality in the event of a war. Italy was already allied with Prussia, which meant that Austria would be fighting both with no major allies of its own, Bismarck was aware of his numerical superiority but still he was not prepared to advise it immediately even though he gave a favourable account of the international situation. When the Prussian victory became clear, France attempted to extract concessions in the Palatinate. Naturally I was not doubtful of the answer for a second, I answered him, Good, then its war
10.
Gmunden
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Gmunden is a town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden. It is much frequented as a health and summer resort, and has a variety of lake, brine, vegetable and pine-cone baths and it is also an important centre of the salt industry in Salzkammergut. Gmunden covers an area of 63.49 square kilometres and has an elevation of 425 metres. It is situated next to the lake Traunsee on the Traun River and is surrounded by mountains, including the Traunstein, the Erlakogel, the Wilder Kogel. Gmunden is divided into the boroughs, Gmunden, Gmunden-Ort, Schlagen, Traundorf. As of 2001, Gmunden had a population of 13,336, of that,88. 4% were Austrian in nationality,1. 5% are from other European Union states, and 10. 2% are other foreigners. Citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia placed the strongest foreigner portion, followed by Turks, the majority confess themselves to the Roman Catholic Church. Evangelicals are next, which 7. 3% of the associate with. 5. 9% are Muslims and 3. 3% are Orthodox, a settlement was in existence already in the fifth century AC. By 1186 Gmunden was a place surrounded by walls, although it did not receive a church until about 1300. In 1278 Gmunden became a town, on November 14,1626 an army of rebellious peasants was completely defeated at Gmunden by General Pappenheim, who had been ordered by Maximilian I to suppress the peasant rebellion in Upper Austria. The dead peasant insurgents were buried in nearby Pinsdorf, where an obelisk styled memorial known as the Bauernhügel in their honour can still be seen, Gmunden supplied battleships to Austria during the 17th century and helped wounded soldiers in hospitals in World War I. During World War II, an SS maternity home was located here, the local council consists of 37 members. He became the mayor of Gmunden since 2014 replacing Heinz Köppl, the city council which includes of the mayor, consists of nine members,5 from ÖVP,2 from SPÖ, and 1 each from FPÖ and the Greens. The town hall is also a popular tourist destination, in Gmunden there are four kindergartens, four elementary schools and three Hauptschulen. The three high schools are BG/BRG Gmunden, BRG Schloss Traunsee, and Gymnasium Ort, media related to Gmunden at Wikimedia Commons Gmundens official homepage Schloss Ort Gmunden Pictures of Gmunden
11.
Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
12.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
