1.
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
2.
Hohenzollern-Hechingen
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Hohenzollern-Hechingen was a small principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the Swabian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty, the County of Hohenzollern-Hechingen was created in 1576, upon the partition of the County of Hohenzollern, a fief of the Holy Roman Empire. The County was raised to a principality in 1623, the principality joined the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806 and was a member state of the German Confederation between 1815 and 1850. The democratic Revolution of 1848 was relatively successful in Hohenzollern, and on 16 May 1848, however, the conflict between monarch and democrats continued, and on 6 August, Hohenzollern was occupied by Prussian forces. On 7 December 1849, Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Konstantin sold the country to his relative, on 12 March 1850, Hohenzollern-Hechingen officially became part of Prussia, and formed together with Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen the Province of Hohenzollern. After cession of territory to Prussia, the Prince continued to use his title, line became extinct 1869 at Prince Constantines death, and titles passed to the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen line. Almanach de Gotha info about Hohenzollern-Hechingen
3.
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
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Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was a small county in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the senior Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern, the senior Swabian branch is not as well known to history, as is the junior Franconian line which became Burgraves of Nuremberg and later ruled Brandenburg-Prussia and the German Empire. The County of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was created in 1576, upon the partition of the County of Hohenzollern, the principality became a sovereign state in 1815 after the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and an independent realm following the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. Its ruler, Charles, was deposed in the revolutions of 1848 and his son, Karl Anton, succeeded him, and turned to Prussia for aid. Prussian troops arrived in August 1849, and in a treaty signed in December Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was annexed by Prussia, the annexation of their state did not, however, mean the end of the importance of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. The last prince, Karl Anton, served as Minister President of Prussia from 1858-61, french opposition to the candidacy of Carols elder brother Prince Leopold for the throne of Spain triggered the Franco-Prussian War, which led to the founding of the German Empire in January 1871. From 1806 until 1813 the Hohenzollern lands were a realm of the Confederation of the Rhine, from 1815 until 1849 the principality was a sovereign country and a member of the German Confederation. In 1849 it lost its independence, and was incorporated into the Kingdom of Prussia as the Province of Hohenzollern, the German Confederation was succeeded in 1866 by the North German Confederation, which itself was succeeded by the German Empire in 1871. In 1918, the kingdom of Prussia became the Free State of Prussia, in 1933 the republic was replaced by the Third Reich. After the defeat of the Nazis the province of Hohenzollern was merged with other territories into the state of Württemberg-Hohenzollern and this state was part of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany until 1952. In that year, the state of Württemberg-Hohenzollern was merged into Baden-Württemberg, Prince Karl Eitel of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen reigned and, being childless, was succeeded by his nephew Ferdinand on the throne of Romania. The modern state of Romania was formed by merger of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859 under the Moldavian domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza and he was replaced by Karl Eitel of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in 1866, who mounted the throne as Carol I, Prince of Romania. During the Russo-Turkish War, Romania fought on the Russian side, in the 1878 Treaty of Berlin, Romania was subsequently recognized as an independent state by the Great Powers. In return for reverting to the Russian Empire three southern Bessarabian districts that had been regained by Moldavia after the Crimean War in 1852, in 1881, the principality was raised to a kingdom and Prince Carol became King Carol I. He reigned until his death in 1914, and was succeeded by his nephew, shortly after taking the throne, Ferdinand, a Roman Catholic like his predecessor, agreed to have his children reared in the Romanian Orthodox Church. In 1918 Transylvania and Bessarabia were incorporated, in 1918-19, confirmed by the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 and the Treaty of Trianon of 1920, most of the Banat became part of Romania. Also, Bukovina was incorporated in 1918 and his eldest son, Crown Prince Carol, having renounced his rights, Carols only son Michael ascended the throne. In 1930, however, Carol reclaimed the throne and was crowned Carol II, Carol was forced to abdicate in 1940, and Michael re-mounted the throne
4.
Kingdom of Prussia
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It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. Prussia was a power from the time it became a kingdom, through its predecessor, Brandenburg-Prussia. Prussia continued its rise to power under the guidance of Frederick II, more known as Frederick the Great. After the might of Prussia was revealed it was considered as a power among the German states. Throughout the next hundred years Prussia went on to win many battles and it was because of its power that Prussia continuously tried to unify all the German states under its rule. Attempts at creation of a federation remained unsuccessful and the German Confederation collapsed in 1866 when war ensued between its two most powerful states, Prussia and Austria. The North German Confederation which lasted from 1867–1871, created a union between the Prussian-aligned states while Austria and most of Southern Germany remained independent. The North German Confederation was seen as more of an alliance of military strength in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War, the German Empire lasted from 1871–1918 with the successful unification of all the German states under Prussian hegemony. This was due to the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, in 1871, Germany unified into a single country, minus Austria and Switzerland, with Prussia the dominant power. Prussia is considered the predecessor of the unified German Reich. The Kingdom left a significant cultural legacy, today notably promoted by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, in 1415 a Hohenzollern Burgrave came from the south to the March of Brandenburg and took control of the area as elector. In 1417 the Hohenzollern was made an elector of the Holy Roman Empire, after the Polish wars, the newly established Baltic towns of the German states including Prussia, suffered many economic setbacks. Many of the Prussian towns could not even afford to attend political meetings outside of Prussia, the towns were poverty stricken, with even the largest town, Danzig, having to borrow money from elsewhere to pay for trade. Poverty in these towns was partly caused by Prussias neighbors, who had established and developed such a monopoly on trading that these new towns simply could not compete and these issues led to feuds, wars, trade competition and invasions. However, the fall of these gave rise to the nobility, separated the east and the west. It was clear in 1440 how different Brandenburg was from the other German territories, not only did it face partition from within but also the threat of its neighbors. It prevented the issue of partition by enacting the Dispositio Achillea which instilled the principle of primogeniture to both the Brandenburg and Franconian territories, the second issue was solved through expansion
5.
German Empire
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The German Empire was the historical German nation state that existed from the unification of Germany in 1871 to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918, when Germany became a federal republic. The German Empire consisted of 26 constituent territories, with most being ruled by royal families and this included four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven principalities, three free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory. Although Prussia became one of kingdoms in the new realm, it contained most of its population and territory. Its influence also helped define modern German culture, after 1850, the states of Germany had rapidly become industrialized, with particular strengths in coal, iron, chemicals, and railways. In 1871, it had a population of 41 million people, and by 1913, a heavily rural collection of states in 1815, now united Germany became predominantly urban. During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire operated as an industrial, technological, Germany became a great power, boasting a rapidly growing rail network, the worlds strongest army, and a fast-growing industrial base. In less than a decade, its navy became second only to Britains Royal Navy, after the removal of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck by Wilhelm II, the Empire embarked on a bellicose new course that ultimately led to World War I. When the great crisis of 1914 arrived, the German Empire had two allies, Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, however, left the once the First World War started in August 1914. In the First World War, German plans to capture Paris quickly in autumn 1914 failed, the Allied naval blockade caused severe shortages of food. Germany was repeatedly forced to send troops to bolster Austria and Turkey on other fronts, however, Germany had great success on the Eastern Front, it occupied large Eastern territories following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. German declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917 was designed to strangle the British, it failed, but the declaration—along with the Zimmermann Telegram—did bring the United States into the war. Meanwhile, German civilians and soldiers had become war-weary and radicalised by the Russian Revolution and this failed, and by October the armies were in retreat, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire had collapsed, Bulgaria had surrendered and the German people had lost faith in their political system. The Empire collapsed in the November 1918 Revolution as the Emperor and all the ruling monarchs abdicated, and a republic took over. The German Confederation had been created by an act of the Congress of Vienna on 8 June 1815 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848, called Pan-Germanism, to Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarcks pragmatic Realpolitik. He envisioned a conservative, Prussian-dominated Germany, the war resulted in the Confederation being partially replaced by a North German Confederation in 1867, comprising the 22 states north of the Main. The new constitution and the title Emperor came into effect on 1 January 1871, during the Siege of Paris on 18 January 1871, William accepted to be proclaimed Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. The second German Constitution was adopted by the Reichstag on 14 April 1871 and proclaimed by the Emperor on 16 April, the political system remained the same. The empire had a parliament called the Reichstag, which was elected by universal male suffrage, however, the original constituencies drawn in 1871 were never redrawn to reflect the growth of urban areas
6.
Sigmaringen
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Sigmaringen is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district, Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen, which was the seat of the principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen until 1850 and is still owned by the family. Sigmaringen lies in the Danube valley, surrounded by wooded hills in the south of the Swabian Alb around 40 km away from Lake Constance, the city is made up from the following districts, Sigmaringen, Gutenstein, Jungnau, Laiz, Oberschmeien and Unterschmeien. Sigmaringen was first documented in 1077 and was in the principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen until 1850, the history of settlement in the territory of the present town Sigmaringen dates back to the Paleolithic. In the 11th century, the end of the Early Middle Ages, the first written reference is from the year 1077, when King Rudolf of Rheinfelden tried to conquer in vain Sigmaringen castle. The official city foundation was in 1250,1325 the city was sold to Ulrich III, Count of Württemberg. In the years 1460 and 1500, the castle was rebuilt into a chateau, about the county of Werdenberg Sigmaringen came in 1535 to the high noble family of the Hohenzollern. 1632 the Swedes occupied the castle during the Thirty Years War, from 1806 to 1849 Sigmaringen was the capital of the sovereign Principality Hohenzollern and residence of the princes of Hohenzollern. As a result of the Revolution in Sigmaringen of 1848, the Princes of Hechingen and Sigmaringen waived on their rule, from 1850 to 1945 Sigmaringen was the seat of Prussian Government for the Province of Hohenzollern. Karl Anton von Hohenzollern was 1858-1862 Prime Minister of Prussia, from 1914 to 1918 around 150 men from the town lost their lives during World War I. In the Nazi era a Gestapo office was in Sigmaringen, since 1937 it belonged to the Gestapo Stuttgart. Between 1934 and 1942 more than 100 men were sterilized because of hereditary diseases, during the Nazi medical murders, the T4, became on 12 December 1940 for the first time 71 mentally handicapped and mentally ill patients victims of Nazi injustice. On September 7,1944, following the Allied invasion of France, Philippe Pétain, a city-state ruled by the government in exile headed by Fernand de Brinon, was established at Sigmaringen. There were three embassies in the city-state, representing each of Vichy-Frances allies, Germany, Italy, célines novel Dun château lautre describes the fall of Sigmaringen. The city was taken by Free French forces on April 22,1945, Pétain returned voluntarily to France, where he stood trial for treason. See also Commission gouvernementale de Sigmaringen, public transport is organized by Verkehrsverbund Neckar-Alb-Donau. Sigmaringen was the birthplace of Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, a Roman Catholic martyr of the Counter-Reformation in Switzerland, frederick Miller, founder of the Miller Brewing Company, was living in Sigmaringen during the start of his brewing career. The German politician Christian Rehm lived here during his youth, louis-Ferdinand Céline, pro nazi and antisemitic French writer, fled in 1944 to Sigmaringen, as well as the Vichy government had been housed there
7.
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
8.
Population density
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Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume, it is a quantity of type number density. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and most of the time to humans and it is a key geographical term. Population density is population divided by land area or water volume. Low densities may cause a vortex and lead to further reduced fertility. This is called the Allee effect after the scientist who identified it, commonly this may be calculated for a county, city, country, another territory, or the entire world. The worlds population is around 7,000,000,000, therefore, the worldwide human population density is around 7,000,000,000 ÷510,000,000 =13.7 per km2. If only the Earths land area of 150,000,000 km2 is taken into account and this includes all continental and island land area, including Antarctica. If Antarctica is also excluded, then population density rises to over 50 people per km2, thus, this number by itself does not give any helpful measurement of human population density. Several of the most densely populated territories in the world are city-states, microstates, cities with high population densities are, by some, considered to be overpopulated, though this will depend on factors like quality of housing and infrastructure and access to resources. Most of the most densely populated cities are in Southeast Asia, though Cairo, for instance, Milwaukee has a greater population density when just the inner city is measured, and the surrounding suburbs excluded. Arithmetic density, The total number of people / area of land, physiological density, The total population / area of arable land. Agricultural density, The total rural population / area of arable land, residential density, The number of people living in an urban area / area of residential land. Urban density, The number of people inhabiting an urban area / total area of urban land, ecological optimum, The density of population that can be supported by the natural resources. S. States by population density Selected Current and Historic City, Ward & Neighborhood Density
9.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
10.
Provinces of Prussia
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The Provinces of Prussia constituted the main administrative divisions of Prussia upon the Stein-Hardenberg Reforms. Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and its territory covered some 60 percent of the territory that was to become the German Reich. The German Confederation was established at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the Prussian state was initially subdivided into ten provinces. The Prussian government appointed the heads of each known as Oberpräsident. The Oberpräsident represented the Prussian government in the province, and was busy with implementing and supervising central prerogatives of the Prussian government, the provinces of Prussia were further subdivided into government districts, subject to the High Commissioner. Congruent with the Kingdom of Prussia proper, its territory, like the Greater Polish territory of Posen, was not part of the German Confederation, in 1850 the Province of Hohenzollern in Southern Germany, created from the annexed principalities of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. The outcome of the Austro-Prussian War put an end to the aspirations of a unified state consisting of the countries in both Germany and Austria. Instead the North German Confederation was created under Prussian leadership, the German Empire was dissolved in 1918 following World War I. Prussia had to virtually all territory belonging to the provinces of Posen and West Prussia to the newly created state of Poland. Smaller areas had been ceded to Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, the League of Nations mandate of the Memel Territory, Poland, and the Mandatory Saar. Prussia and its provinces formally continued to exist even though political control was taken over by the National Socialist German Workers Party following their rise to power in 1933. However, Prussia did not survive the defeat and the division of Germany following the end of World War II in 1945, several of the provinces attained statehood or became a part of other post-war federal states
11.
House of Hohenzollern
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The House of Hohenzollern is a dynasty of former princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. The family arose in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century, the first ancestor of the Hohenzollerns was mentioned in 1061. They may have derived from the Burchardinger dynasty, the Hohenzollern family split into two branches, the Catholic Swabian branch and the Protestant Franconian branch, which later became the Brandenburg-Prussian branch. The Swabian branch ruled the principalities of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen until 1849, members of the Franconian branch became Margrave of Brandenburg in 1415 and Duke of Prussia in 1525. The Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia were ruled in personal union after 1618 and were called Brandenburg-Prussia, germanys defeat in World War I in 1918 led to the German Revolution. The Hohenzollerns were overthrown and the Weimar Republic was established, thus bringing an end to the German monarchy, Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia is the current head of the royal Prussian line, while Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern is the head of the princely Swabian line. Zollern, from 1218 Hohenzollern, was a county of the Holy Roman Empire and its ruling dynasty was first mentioned in 1061. The Hohenzollerns named their estates after Hohenzollern Castle in the Swabian Alps, the Hohenzollern Castle still belongs to the family today. According to the medieval chronicler Berthold of Reichenau, Burkhard I, Count of Zollern was born before 1025, the Zollerns received the comital title from Emperor Henry V in 1111. As loyal vassals of the Swabian Hohenstaufen dynasty, they were able to enlarge their territory. In 1218 the burgraviate passed to Fredericks younger son Conrad I, he became the ancestor of the Franconian Hohenzollern branch. 1150-1155 and 1160, Gotfried of Zimmern, 4th oldest son of Frederick I before 1171 – c,1200, Frederick III/I Count Frederick III of Zollern was a loyal retainer of the Holy Roman Emperors Frederick Barbarossa and Henry VI. In about 1185 he married Sophia of Raabs, the daughter of Conrad II, after the death of Conrad II who left no male heirs, Frederick III was granted Nuremberg in 1192 as Burgrave Frederick I of Nuremberg-Zollern. Since then the name has been Hohenzollern. The younger brother, Conrad III, received the burgraviate of Nuremberg from his older brother Frederick IV in 1218, members of the Franconian line eventually became the Brandenburg-Prussian branch. The Franconian line later converted to Protestantism, the cadet Franconian branch of the House of Hohenzollern was founded by Conrad I, Burgrave of Nuremberg. Beginning in the 16th century, this branch of the family became Protestant and decided on expansion through marriage, the family supported the Hohenstaufen and Habsburg rulers of the Holy Roman Empire during the 12th to 15th centuries, being rewarded with several territorial grants. He ruled the Margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach after 1398, from 1420, he became Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
12.
Coat of arms
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A coat of arms is an heraldic visual design on an escutcheon, surcoat, or tabard. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the heraldic achievement which in its whole consists of shield, supporters, crest. A coat of arms is traditionally unique to a person, family, state. The ancient Romans used similar insignia on their shields, but these identified military units rather than individuals, the first evidence of medieval coats of arms has been attributed to the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry in which some of the combatants carry shields painted with crosses. However, that heraldic interpretation remains controversial, coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in battle in the 12th century. By the 13th century, arms had spread beyond their initial battlefield use to become a flag or emblem for families in the social classes of Europe. Exactly who had a right to use arms, by law or social convention, in the German-speaking regions both the aristocracy and burghers used arms, while in most of the rest of Europe they were limited to the aristocracy. The use of spread to the clergy, to towns as civic identifiers. Flags developed from coats of arms, and the arts of vexillology, the coats of arms granted to commercial companies are a major source of the modern logo. Despite no widespread regulation, heraldry has remained consistent across Europe, some nations, like England and Scotland, still maintain the same heraldic authorities which have traditionally granted and regulated arms for centuries and continue to do so in the present day. In England, for example, the granting of arms is and has controlled by the College of Arms. Unlike seals and other emblems, heraldic achievements have a formal description called a blazon. Many societies exist that also aid in the design and registration of personal arms, in the heraldic traditions of England and Scotland, an individual, rather than a family, had a coat of arms. In those traditions coats of arms are legal property transmitted from father to son, wives, undifferenced arms are used only by one person at any given time. Other descendants of the bearer could bear the ancestral arms only with some difference. One such charge is the label, which in British usage is now always the mark of an apparent or an heir presumptive. Because of their importance in identification, particularly in seals on legal documents and this has been carried out by heralds and the study of coats of arms is therefore called heraldry. In time, the use of arms spread from military entities to educational institutes, the author Helen Stuart argues that some coats of arms were a form of corporate logo
13.
Regierungsbezirk
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Regierungsbezirk is an administrative region at federal state level in Germany. The regional authority is called a Regierungspräsidium or Bezirksregierung and is headed by a Regierungspräsident, the Regierungsbezirke do not pass any legislation. Within the federal authority, they act as a mid-level agency. Regierungsbezirk is variously translated as district, administrative district or province. By German unification in 1871, the concept of Regierungsbezirke had been adopted by most States of the German Empire, the Regierungsbezirke of North Rhine-Westphalia are in direct continuation of those created in the Prussian Rhine and Westphalia provinces in 1816. Similar entities in other states were initially named Kreishauptmannschaft or Kreis or province in Hesse, in Nazi Germany the naming was unified to Regierungsbezirk. Currently, only four large-area states out of 16 in total are divided into Regierungsbezirke, on 1 January 2004, Saxony-Anhalt disbanded its three Regierungsbezirke, Dessau, Halle and Magdeburg. The responsibilities are now covered by a Landesverwaltungsamt with three offices at the seats of the Bezirksregierungen. On 1 January 2005, Lower Saxony disbanded its remaining four Regierungsbezirke, Brunswick, Hanover, Lüneburg, on 1 August 2008, Saxony restructured its districts and changed the name of its Regierungsbezirke to Direktionsbezirke. This was necessary because one of the new districts did not fit with the borders of the old Regierungsbezirke, the Direktionsbezirke are still named Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig. As of 1 March 2012, the Direktionsbezirke were merged into one Landesdirektion, four of the new federal states re-established in 1990, Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Thuringia, decided not to implement Regierungsbezirke. In Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Saarland they never existed, stettin, dissolved in 1945, Province of Pomerania Media related to Regierungsbezirk at Wikimedia Commons
14.
Landtag of Prussia
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After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–19 the Landtag diet continued as the parliament of the Free State of Prussia between 1921 and 1933. The Prussian National Assembly however was dismissed by royal decree of 5 December 1848, both houses and the King of Prussia had the right to introduce bills. The assembly raised a blistering protest and over the following years Bismarcks cabinet had to govern without a government budget passed by the legislature. In September 1866 the prime minister, at a peak of his power after the Battle of Königgrätz, the balloting led to the split-off of the National Liberal Party which became a loyal supporter of Bismarcks policies. During the German Revolution of 1918–19 the new Prussian government of Social Democrats, a constitutional convention was elected on 26 January 1919, after the introduction of equal franchise for all men and women. After the failed Kapp Putsch of 1920, the confirmed the first cabinet of Minister-president Otto Braun. The Preußischer Landtag was re-established as the parliament of the Free State of Prussia in 1921, the provinces were represented in the Prussian State Council, which succeeded the former Herrenhaus as a kind of upper house. The Cologne mayor Konrad Adenauer served as its president until 1933, a legislative period lasted for no longer than four years. The parliament could be dissolved early by joint resolution of the minister and the presidents of the Landtag. In 1931 just such a referendum took place on the initiative of the Stahlhelm veterans association with the support of the Nazi Party, Landtag elections took place on 20 February 1921, on 7 December 1924, on 20 May 1928 on 24 April 1932 and on 5 March 1933. In 1899, the House of Representatives moved into a building on Prinz-Albrecht-Straße No,5, close to Potsdamer Platz and situated opposite to the Martin Gropius Bau. During the German Revolution of 1918–19 the Reichsrätekongress held its assemblies here from 16 to 20 December 1918, on 1 January 1919, the Communist Party of Germany was founded here. The seat of the Prussian House of Lords on Leipziger Straße was inaugurated in 1904, both buildings were built back-to-back according to plans designed by Friedrich Schulze, they intercommunicate via a common restaurant wing. Upon the Nazi Machtergreifung, the Herrenhaus building served as an annex of the neighbouring Ministry of Aviation, after World War II it housed several departments of the German Academy of Sciences and since 29 September 2000 is the seat of the German Bundesrat. Philo Fine Arts, Dresden 2001, ISBN 3-364-00378-5 Tabelle zur Geschichte des Preußischen Landtags Informationen zum Freistaat Preußen
15.
Rhine Province
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It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg. Its capital was Koblenz and in 1939 it had 8 million inhabitants, the Province of Hohenzollern was militarily associated with the Oberpräsident of the Rhine Province. The small exclave district of Wetzlar, wedged between the grand duchy states Hesse-Nassau and Hesse-Darmstadt was also part of the Rhine Province, the principality of Birkenfeld, on the other hand, was an enclave of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, a separate state of the German Empire. In 1911, the extent of the province was 10,423 km2, its length, from north to south, was nearly 200 km. The population of the Rhine Province in 1905 was 6,435,778, the left bank was predominately Catholic, while on the right bank about half the population was Protestant. The great bulk of the population was ethnically German, although some villages, on the western and southern frontiers resided smaller French-speaking communities, while the industrial region of the Ruhr housed recent Polish migrants from the eastern provinces of the Empire. The Rhine Province was the most densely populated part of Prussia, the province contains a greater number of large towns than any other province in Prussia. Upwards of half the population were supported by industrial and commercial pursuits, there was the University of Bonn, and elementary education was especially successful. For purposes of administration the province was divided into the five districts of Koblenz, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Aachen, Koblenz was the official capital, though Cologne was the largest and most important city. Being a frontier province, the Rhineland was strongly garrisoned, the province sent 35 members to the German Reichstag and 62 to the Prussian House of Representatives. Of the total area of the Rhine Province about 45% was occupied by land, 16% by meadows and pastures. Little except oats and potatoes could be raised on the plateaus in the south of the province, but the river-valleys. The great bulk of the soil was in the hands of small proprietors, the usual cereal crops were, however, all grown with success, and tobacco, hops, flax, hemp and beetroot were cultivated for commercial purposes. Large quantities of fruit were also produced, the vine-culture occupied a space of about 30,000 acres, about half of which was in the valley of the Mosel, a third in that of the Rhine itself, and the rest mainly on the Nahe and the Ahr. In the hilly districts more than half the surface was occupied by forests. Considerable herds of cattle were reared on the pastures of the lower Rhine. The wooded hills were well stocked with deer, and a stray wolf occasionally found its way from the forests of the Ardennes into those of the Hunsrück, the salmon fishery of the Rhine was very productive, and trout abound in the mountain streams. The great mineral wealth of the Rhine Province furnished its most substantial claim to the title of the richest jewel in the crown of Prussia, besides parts of the carboniferous measures of the Saar and the Ruhr, it also contains important deposits of coal near Aachen
16.
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
17.
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
18.
Sigmaringen (district)
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Sigmaringen is a district in the south of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Reutlingen, Biberach, Ravensburg, Bodensee, Constance, Tuttlingen, the area of the district was owned by several different states historically. Before 1800 it was split between many minor rulers, then it became the area between the Baden and Württemberg, and embedded in between was the duchy Sigmaringen. The duchy Sigmaringen became part of Kingdom of Prussia in 1849, at time it had the Oberamt Sigmaringen. Both were merged into the Landkreis Sigmaringen in 1925, in 1973 the district was enlarged by adding municipalities from the neighboring districts Saulgau, Stockach, Überlingen and Reutlingen. A roughly equal portion of the area came from all the three historic states. The district is located in the mountains of the Swabian Alb, Linzgau and Upper Swabia
19.
Zollernalbkreis
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The Zollernalbkreis is a district in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The district is located in the Swabian Alb, and contains the second highest elevation of this mountains, in the south-east the district nearly reaches till the river Danube. The district was created on January 1,1973, when the two previous districts Balingen and Hechingen were merged, neighboring districts are Tübingen, Reutlingen, Sigmaringen, Tuttlingen, Rottweil and Freudenstadt. The coat of arms show the black-and-white checkered symbol of the Hohenzollern in the half. Almost all of the area belonged to these two states historically. In the area of Zollernalbkreis, Swabian German, Yiddish and Pleißne were spoken, the Pleißne was spoken by hawkers selling wips, and belongs to Rotwelsch
20.
Free State of Prussia
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The Free State of Prussia was a German state formed after the abolition of the Kingdom of Prussia in the aftermath of the First World War. It was the state of the German Reich during the time of the Weimar Republic, comprising almost 5⁄8 of its territory. Free state is another German term for republic that was coined in contrast to the Latin word, the democratic Free State of Prussia was rendered incapacitated when it was taken over by the Preußenschlag of 1932–33 and Otto Braun was forced from office. His government went to court over this ouster, but in 1933 the Nazi regime seized control of the Prussian government, from 1933, the Free State was deprived of parliamentary democracy and ruled exclusively under the leadership of the National Socialist German Workers Party. Initially, Prussia was administered by high-ranking Nazi Hermann Göring who was appointed Minister-President of Prussia, after the end of World War II Otto Braun approached US officials to reinstate the legal Prussian government. They and the other Allied Occupation forces, who had occupied all of Germany, were opposed to the idea, except for its overseas colonies, Alsace-Lorraine and the Bavarian portion of the Saargebiet, all German territorial losses as a result of World War I were Prussian losses. As specified in the Treaty of Versailles, the kingdom lost territory to Belgium, Denmark. The Saargebiet was administered by the League of Nations until 1935, the Rhine Province became a demilitarised zone. The bulk of Prussias losses were to Poland, including most of the provinces of Posen and West Prussia, Danzig was placed under the administration of the League of Nations as the Free City of Danzig. These losses separated East Prussia from the rest of the country, in particular, it was thought that the French would seek to annex the Rhineland. Both the Reich and Prussian governments in Berlin were dominated by traditionalist sentiment, essentially, apart from its territorial losses and having its government placed on a democratic footing, Prussia continued unchanged. It remained by far the largest state of the Reich, with more territory, during the 500 years of Hohenzollern rule, Prussia had been synonymous with authoritarianism. In contrast, Prussia was a bulwark of democracy during the Weimar Republic, the restrictive Prussian three-class franchise was abolished shortly after Kaiser William II abdicated. Power now passed from the Junker landowners and great industrialists to Red Berlin, Prussia now became a stronghold of the left. From 1919 to 1932, Prussia was governed by a coalition of the Social Democrats, Catholic Centre, unlike in other states of the German Reich, majority rule by democratic parties in Prussia was never endangered. Otto Braun, a Social Democrat from East Prussia, served as Prussian minister-president almost continuously from 1920 to 1932. A capable leader, he implemented several trend-setting reforms together with his minister of the interior, Carl Severing, for instance, a Prussian minister-president could be forced out of office only if there was a positive majority for a potential successor. This concept, known as the vote of no confidence, was carried over into the Basic Law of the FRG
21.
Brandenburg-Prussia
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Brandenburg-Prussia is the historiographic denomination for the Early Modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Another consequence of the intermarriage was the incorporation of the lower Rhenish principalities of Cleves, Mark, the Thirty Years War was especially devastating. The Elector changed sides three times, and as a result Protestant and Catholic armies swept the land back and forth, killing, burning, seizing men, upwards of half the population was killed or dislocated. Berlin and the major cities were in ruins, and recovery took decades. By the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years War in 1648, Brandenburg gained Minden and Halberstadt, also the succession in Farther Pomerania and the Duchy of Magdeburg. With the Treaty of Bromberg, concluded during the Second Northern War, the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye expanded Brandenburgian Pomerania to the lower Oder. The second half of the 17th century laid the basis for Prussia to become one of the players in European politics later on. Brandenburg-Prussia also established a navy and German colonies in the Brandenburger Gold Coast, Frederick William also started to centralize Brandenburg-Prussias administration and reduce the influence of the estates. In 1701, Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg, succeeded in elevating his status to King in Prussia, from 1701 onward, the Hohenzollern domains were referred to as the Kingdom of Prussia, or simply Prussia. Legally, the union between Brandenburg and Prussia continued until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. However, by time the emperors overlordship over the empire had become a legal fiction. Hence, after 1701, Brandenburg was de facto treated as part of the Prussian kingdom, the Margraviate of Brandenburg had been the seat of the main branch of the Hohenzollerns, who were prince-electors in the Holy Roman Empire, since 1415. In 1525, by the Treaty of Krakow, the Duchy of Prussia was created through partial secularization of the State of the Teutonic Order. It was a vassal of the Kingdom of Poland and was governed by Duke Albert of Prussia, on behalf of her mother Elisabeth of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollern, Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg became Alberts second wife in 1550, and bore him his successor Albert Frederick. In 1563, the Brandenburgian branch of the Hohenzollern was granted the right of succession by the Polish crown, Albert Frederick became duke of Prussia after Alberts death in 1568. His mother died in the year, and thereafter he showed signs of mental disorder. Because of the illness, Prussia was governed by Alberts nephew George Frederick of Hohenzollern-Ansbach-Jägersdorf. In 1573, Albert Frederick married Marie Eleonore of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, with whom he had several daughters, in 1594, Albert Fredericks then 14-year-old daughter Anna married the son of Joachim Frederick of Hohenzollern-Brandenburg, John Sigismund
22.
Duchy of Prussia
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The Duchy of Prussia or Ducal Prussia was a duchy in eastern Prussia established during the Protestant Reformation in 1525. It was the first Lutheran duchy with a dominant German-speaking population, as well as Polish, in old texts and in Latin, the term Prutenia refers alike to Ducal Prussia, its western neighbor Royal Prussia, and their common predecessor, Teutonic Prussia. The adjectival form of the name was Prutenic, in 1525 during the Protestant Reformation, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, Albert, secularized the orders Prussian territory, becoming Albert, Duke of Prussia. His duchy, which had its capital in Königsberg, was established as fief of the Crown of Poland and it was inherited by the Hohenzollern prince-electors of Brandenburg in 1618, this personal union is referred to as Brandenburg-Prussia. Frederick William, the Great Elector of Brandenburg, achieved full sovereignty over the territory in the 1657 Treaty of Wehlau, the Duchy of Prussia was elevated to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. In a deal brokered by Luther, Ducal Prussia became the first Protestant state. When Albert returned to Königsberg, he declared his conversion. On 10 December 1525, at their session in Königsberg, the Prussian estates established the Lutheran Church in Ducal Prussia by deciding the Church Order. By the end of Alberts rule, the offices of Großkomtur and Ordensmarschall had deliberately been left vacant, some of the knights converted to Lutheranism in order to retain their property and then married into the Prussian nobility, while others returned to the Holy Roman Empire and remained Catholic. On 1 March 1526 Albert married Princess Dorothea, daughter of King Frederick I of Denmark, Albert was greatly aided by his elder brother George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, who had already earlier established the Protestant religion in his territories of Franconia and Upper Silesia. Albert also found himself reliant on support from his Jagiellonian uncle Sigismund I of Catholic Poland, as the Holy Roman Empire, the Teutonic Order had only superficially carried out its mission to Christianize the native rural population and had erected few churches within the states territory. There was little longing for Roman Catholicism, Bishop George of Polentz had forbidden the widespread forms of pagan worship in 1524, and repeated the ban in 1540. Already on 18 January 1524 Bishop George had ordered to use native languages at baptisms. There was little resistance to the new creed, although the fact that the Teutonic Knights had brought Catholicism and Protestantism made the transition easier. The Church Order of 1525 provided for visitations of the parishioners and pastors, because Ducal Prussia was ostensibly a Lutheran land, authorities travelled throughout the duchy ensuring that Lutheran teachings were being followed and imposing penalties on pagans and dissidents. The rural population of native descent was only thoroughly Christianised starting with the Reformation in Prussia, a peasant rebellion broke out in Sambia in 1525. The combination of taxation by the nobility, the furor of the Protestant Reformation, the relatively well-to-do rebel leaders, including a miller from Kaimen and an innkeeper from Schaaken in Prussia, were supported by sympathizers in Königsberg. The rebels demanded the elimination of taxes by the nobility
23.
Margraviate of Brandenburg
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The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg, it played a role in the history of Germany. Brandenburg developed out of the Northern March founded in the territory of the Slavic Wends and its ruling margraves were established as prestigious prince-electors in the Golden Bull of 1356, allowing them to vote in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor. The state thus became known as Electoral Brandenburg or the Electorate of Brandenburg. The House of Hohenzollern came to the throne of Brandenburg in 1415, under Hohenzollern leadership, Brandenburg grew rapidly in power during the 17th century and inherited the Duchy of Prussia. The resulting Brandenburg-Prussia was the predecessor of the Kingdom of Prussia, although the electors highest title was King in/of Prussia, their power base remained in Brandenburg and its capital Berlin. Although the Margraviate of Brandenburg ended with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, despite its meager beginnings in the Holy Roman Empire, the Hohenzollern Kingdom of Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the creation of the German Empire in 1871. The Mark Brandenburg is still used today to refer to the federal state of Brandenburg in the Federal Republic of Germany. The territory of the margraviate, commonly known as the Mark Brandenburg, lies in present-day eastern Germany. Geographically it encompassed the majority of the present-day German states Brandenburg and Berlin, the Altmark, parts of the present-day federal state Brandenburg, such as Lower Lusatia and territory which had been Saxon until 1815, were not parts of the Mark. Colloquially but not accurately, the federal state Brandenburg is sometimes identified as the Mark or Mark Brandenburg, the region was formed during the ice age and characterized by moraines, glacial valleys, and numerous lakes. The territory is known as a Mark or march because it was a county of the Holy Roman Empire. The Mark is defined by two uplands and two depressions, the depressions are taken up by rivers and chains of lakes with marsh and boggy soil along the shores, once used for peat collection, the riverbanks are now mostly drained and dry. The Northern or Baltic Uplands of the Mecklenburg Lake Plateau have only minor extensions into Brandenburg, the southern depression is generally to the north of this ridge and appears strikingly in the Spreewald. Between these two depressions is a low plateau that extends from the Poznań area westward to Brandenburg through Torzym, the Spree plateau, the region is predominantly marked by dry, sandy soil, wide stretches of which have pine trees and erica plants, or heath. However, the soil is loamy in the uplands and plateaus and, Mark Brandenburg has a cool, continental climate, with temperatures averaging near 0 °C in January and February and near 18 °C in July and August. Precipitation averages between 500 mm and 600 mm annually, with a modest summer maximum, by the 8th century, Slavic Wends, such as the Sprevjane and Hevelli, started to move into the Brandenburg area. They intermarried with Saxons and Bohemians, the Bishoprics of Brandenburg and Havelberg were established at the beginning of the 10th century
24.
Duchy of Cleves
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The Duchy of Cleves was a State of the Holy Roman Empire emerged from the mediaeval Duisburggau. Its history is related to that of its southern neighbours, the Duchies of Jülich and Berg, as well as Guelders. The Duchy was archaically known as Cleveland in English, a County of Cleves was first mentioned in the 11th century. In 1417, the county became a duchy, upon the death of Count Johann in 1368, the fief was inherited by his nephew Adolf III of the Marck. Cleves and the Marck were finally ruled in personal union by the House of La Marck after Adolfs elder brother Count Engelbert III had died without issue in 1391. King Sigismund of Germany raised Count Adolph I to the status of a duke, the Cleves-Mark territories became one of the most significant estates of the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle in 1500, rivaled by the Prince-Bishops of Münster. In 1511 John III of La Marck, son of Duke John II of Cleves, by his marriage with Maria inherited the fiefs of Jülich and Berge upon the death of his father-in-law Duke William IV. When John III succeeded his father as Duke of Cleves in 1521, when the last duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berge died issueless in 1609, the War of the Jülich succession broke out. The Hohenzollern margraves thereby got a first foothold in the Rhineland, however, in 1795 the Duchy of Cleves west of the Rhine and Wesel was occupied by France, and became part of the French département of the Roer. The rest of the duchy was occupied between 1803 and 1805, and became part of the département of Yssel-Supérieur and the puppet-state Grand Duchy of Berg. In 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon, the became part of the Prussian Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. The cities Gennep, Zevenaar, and Huissen became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands as a result of the 1815 Congress of Vienna
25.
County of Mark
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The County of Mark was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr river along the Volme and Lenne rivers, the Counts of the Mark were among the most powerful and influential Westphalian lords in the Holy Roman Empire. The name Mark is recalled in the present-day Märkischer Kreis district in south of the Ruhr in North Rhine-Westphalia. The northern portion is still called Hohe Mark, while the former Lower Mark is—for the most part—merged in the present Ruhr area. The County of the Mark enclosed an area of approximately 3,000 km², the east-west flowing Ruhr separated the county into two different regions, the northern, fertile lowlands of Hellweg Börde, and the southern hills of the Süder Uplands. In the south-north direction the southern part of the county was crossed by the Lenne, in the region of the Lower Lenne was the County of Limburg, a fiefdom of Berg. The seat of the Counts of the Mark von de Marck or de la Marck was originally the Burg Altena in the Sauerland region, but moved to Burg Mark near Hamm in the 1220s. The county was bordered by Vest Recklinghausen, the County of Dortmund, the Bishopric of Münster, the County of Limburg, Werden Abbey, the coat of arms of the county was Or a fess chequy Gules and Argent of three. These arms have been used by the city of Hamm since 1226, many other places in the area include the red and white checkered fess in their arms as a reference to the county and often to their founders. Originally belonging to a line of the counts of Berg at Altena. About 1198 Count Frederick I purchased the Mark Oberhof, a land on the territory of the Edelherren of Rüdenberg. Here Frederick had the Mark Castle erected as the residence of the new Counts of the Mark. The nearby town of Hamm was founded by his son Adolf I, Count of the Mark in 1226, as Brabant and its allies were victorious, the County of Mark gained supremacy in southern Westphalia and became independent of the Archbishopric of Cologne. The territory of Mark was for long restricted to the lands between the Ruhr and Lippe rivers, new territories in the north were gained during the 14th century in wars against the Prince-Bishopric of Münster. In 1332 Count Adolph II married Margarete, the daughter of Count Dietrich VIII of Cleves, adolphs younger son Adolph III upon the death of Dietrichs brother Count John acquired the County of Cleves on the western banks of the Rhine in 1368. In 1391 Adolph III also inherited the Mark from his elder brother Engelbert III, in 1509 the heir to the throne of Cleves-Mark John III the Peaceful married Maria, the daughter of Duke William IV of Berg and Jülich. The dynasty of Jülich-Cleves-Berg became extinct in 1609, when the insane last duke John William had died and it then became part of the Kingdom of Prussia after 1701. In 1807 the County of the Mark passed from Prussia to France in the Treaties of Tilsit, in 1808 Napoleon then gave Mark to the elevated Grand Duchy of Berg, which was divided into four departments along the lines of Napoleonic France
26.
County of Ravensberg
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The County of Ravensberg was a historical county of the Holy Roman Empire. Its territory was in present-day eastern Westphalia, Germany at the foot of the Osning or Teutoburg Forest, Ravensberg was first mentioned in the 12th century, its first capital was Burg Ravensberg. The Counts of Ravensberg then had Sparrenberg Castle built in Bielefeld c, 1240–50, which they made their seat. The county was inherited by the Duchy of Berg in 1346, which in turn became part of the Duchy of Jülich-Berg in 1423. Until 1144 Hermann I c.1140 -c.1170 Otto I c.1160 -c.1180 Heinrich c.1175 -c.1220 Hermann II c.1220 -1244 Otto II c
27.
Bishopric of Minden
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The Bishopric of Minden was a Roman Catholic diocese and a state, Prince-bishopric of Minden, of the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Minden which is in modern-day Germany, the diocese was founded by Charlemagne in 803, after he had conquered the Saxons. It was subordinate to the Archbishopric-Electorate of Cologne and it became the Prince-Bishopric of Minden in 1180, when the Duchy of Saxony was dissolved. In the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation was starting to hold in the state. Minden was occupied by Sweden in the Thirty Years War, and was secularized, the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 gave it to the Margraviate of Brandenburg as the Principality of Minden. Since 1719, Minden prince-bishopric was administered by Brandenburg-Prussia together with the adjacent County of Ravensberg as Minden-Ravensberg, in 1807, it became part of the Kingdom of Westphalia. In 1814, it returned to Prussia and became part of the Province of Westphalia, as of 1789, the principality had an area of 1,100 km2. As to the diocese of Minden, there was no legitimate Roman Catholic pontificate any more since the Swedish takeover in 1648, between 1709 and 1780 the former diocesan area formed part of the Vicariate Apostolic of Upper and Lower Saxony, before it was reincorporated into the Nordic Missions. The Schaumburg-Lippe area stayed with the Nordic Missions until their dissolution in 1930, becoming first part of the Diocese of Osnabrück, Johannes Tideln, O. P. Johannes Gropengeter, O. S. A. Ostwestfalen-Lippe At Meyers Konversationslexikon,1888 At NRW-Geschichte. de Herbermann, Charles, ed. Minden
28.
Principality of Halberstadt
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The Principality of Halberstadt was a state of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by Brandenburg-Prussia. It replaced the Bishopric of Halberstadt after its secularization in 1648, in 1807, the principality was made a state or regional capital of the Kingdom of Westphalia. In 1813, control of the principality was restored, and its rights were confirmed as the possession of the Kingdom of Prussia. This agreement was negotiated by Frederick Williams representative Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal, the Principality of Halberstadt was dissolved according to the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit following Prussias defeat in the War of the Fourth Coalition. Its territory became part of the Kingdom of Westphalia, a Napoleonic client-state under his younger brother Jérôme, after the French final defeat at Waterloo, the principality was restored to Prussia in 1813 and incorporated into the new Province of Saxony in 1817. Prussian monarchs of the House of Hohenzollern continued to style themselves as Princes of Halberstadt until 1918
29.
Peace of Westphalia
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The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster, effectively ending the European wars of religion. The Treaty of Osnabrück, involving the Holy Roman Empire, Sweden, the treaties did not restore peace throughout Europe, but they did create a basis for national self-determination. Inter-state aggression was to be held in check by a balance of power, a norm was established against interference in another states domestic affairs. As European influence spread across the globe, these Westphalian principles, especially the concept of states, became central to international law. Peace negotiations between France and the Habsburgs, provided by the Holy Roman Emperor and the Spanish King, were started in Cologne in 1641 and these negotiations were initially blocked by France. Cardinal Richelieu of France desired the inclusion of all its allies, in Hamburg and Lübeck, Sweden and the Holy Roman Empire negotiated the Treaty of Hamburg. This was done with the intervention of Richelieu, the Holy Roman Empire and Sweden declared the preparations of Cologne and the Treaty of Hamburg to be preliminaries of an overall peace agreement. This larger agreement was negotiated in Westphalia, in the cities of Münster. Both cities were maintained as neutral and demilitarized zones for the negotiations, Münster was, since its re-Catholization in 1535, a strictly mono-denominational community. It housed the Chapter of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, only Roman Catholic worship was permitted. No places of worship were provided for Calvinists and Lutherans, in the years of 1628–1633 Osnabrück had been subjugated by troops of the Catholic League. The Catholic Prince-Bishop Franz Wilhelm, Count of Wartenberg then imposed the Counter-Reformation onto the city with many Lutheran burgher families being exiled, while under Swedish occupation Osnabrückss Catholics were not expelled, but the city severely suffered from Swedish war contributions. Therefore, Osnabrück hoped for a great relief becoming neutralised and demilitarised, since Lutheran Sweden preferred Osnabrück as a conference venue, its peace negotiations with the Empire, including the allies of both sides, took place in Osnabrück. The Empire and its opponent France, including the allies of each, as well as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, between January 1646 and July 1647 probably the largest number of diplomats were present. The French delegation was headed by Henri II dOrléans, duc de Longueville and further comprised the diplomats Claude dAvaux, the Swedish delegation was headed by Count Johan Oxenstierna and was assisted by Baron Johan Adler Salvius. Philip IV of Spain was represented by a double delegation, the Spanish delegation was headed by Gaspar de Bracamonte y Guzmán, and notably included the diplomats and writers Diego de Saavedra Fajardo, and Bernardino de Rebolledo. The Burgundian lawyer Antoine Brun represented Philip as hereditary ruler of the Franche Comté, the papal nuncio in Cologne, Fabio Chigi, and the Venetian envoy Alvise Contarini acted as mediators. Various Imperial States of the Holy Roman Empire also sent delegations, Brandenburg sent several representatives, including Vollmar
30.
Draheim
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Draheim or Drahim was a starostwo of the Polish kingdom from the 15th century. Pawned to Brandenburg-Prussia in 1657, it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Prussia in 1772. In the High Middle Ages, the region of the later starostwo was a borderland of the Piast Kingdom of Poland with Duchy of Pomerania, in 1268, the largely unsettled area was given to the Knights Templar by the Polish duke Przemysł II. The German name Tempelburg for present-day Polish Czaplinek dates back to that era, in 1312, the order was dissolved, and its possessions were taken over by the Knights Hospitaller. Draheim Castle was built in the century at the crossing of the trade route via marchionis from Pomeranian Stargard to Danzig. Draheim was made one of three starosties of the county, the ones being Usz-Pila and Wałcz. In addition to the three starosties, four regions consisting of allodial possessions of the von Wedell, von der Goltz and these noble families were also in possession of areas in Pomerania, the Brandeburgian Neumark and other parts of Poland, and also of areas within the Draheim starosty. Draheim Castle was a royal possession, the starost of Draheim was appointed for life by the Polish king, who owned a quarter of the starostys income. The starost was in charge of the administration, military. The border was not fixed, but varied according to the ability of competing nobles in the region to manifest their respective claims. This practice persisted in Walcz county until the late 18th century, in 1407 German and Polish nobility conquered the castle of Draheim. These robber barons used the region as a base for raids until 1422, in 1438 the Teutonic Knights recognized Polish control of the region. In the 16th century the region converted to Lutheranism during the Protestant Reformation. Starost Jan Czarnowski expelled the Protestant preachers in 1625, the churches were restored to Catholicism, also in the 16th century, conditions for peasants worsened in the neighboring Duchy of Pomerania due to the implementation of stringent serfdom. This migration was enhanced by the Thirty Years War, during which Pomerania and Neumark were devastated, orders of the Polish king to expel the refugees were ignored by the local nobles. Schulzes as well as peasants and pub owners were required to attend their landlord in arms when it came to the abovementioned border skirmishes with competing nobles. This process was enhanced by the landlords, who needed the schulzes armed services at the border, in July 1655, during the Second Northern War, Draheim was devastated by a trespassing Swedish army. A Brandenburgian report noted that no more than 150 inhabitants remained, the rest had fled to nearby areas, Poland pawned Draheim to Brandenburg-Prussia in the 1657 Treaty of Bromberg
31.
Treaty of Bromberg
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The Treaty of Bromberg or Treaty of Bydgoszcz was a treaty between John II Casimir of Poland and Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg-Prussia, ratified at Bromberg on 6 November 1657. The treaty consisted of several agreements, including the Treaty of Wehlau signed on 19 September 1657 by the Brandenburg-Prussian and Polish-Lithuanian envoys in Wehlau, thus, the treaty of Bromberg is sometimes referred to as treaty of Wehlau-Bromberg or Treaty of Wehlau and Bromberg. The treaty was confirmed and internationally recognized in the Peace of Oliva in 1660, while Elbing was kept by Poland, Lauenburg and Bütow Land and Draheim were subsequently integrated into Brandenburg-Prussia. The sovereignty in Prussia constituted the basis for the coronation of the Hohenzollern as Prussian kings. Wehlau-Bromberg remained in effect until it was superseded by the Treaty of Warsaw following the First Partition of Poland, the treaty is regarded as one of the biggest mistakes in Polish foreign policy towards Prussia and its consequences were fatal to Poland. The Duchy of Prussia was established as a Polish fief under duke Albrecht in the Treaty of Cracow of 8 April 1525 and this privilege provided for the succession of the Brandenburgian electors as Prussian dukes upon the extinction of the House of Hohenzollern-Ansbach in 1618. The Polish interest in an alliance with Brandenburg-Prussia was born out of the need to end the war with Sweden as soon as possible, to quickly end the war with Sweden and thus be able to avoid the implementation of Vilna, the anti-Swedish alliance had to be extended. The new-won Russian ally was reluctant to support Poland against Sweden as long as no diet had confirmed Vilna, a third ally was Denmark-Norway, who joined the anti-Swedish coalition in June 1657 triggered by the second treaty of Vienna. The Habsburgs interest in the treaty was to build up good relations to Frederick William I, thus, the Habsburgs were interested in Frederick William I changing from the Swedish to their camp, and sent diplomat Franz Paul Freiherr von Lisola to mediate a respective settlement. Bromberg and Wehlau are regarded as twin treaties, supplementary treaties or one treaty, sometimes referred to as Treaty of Wehlau, the amended and final version of the treaty was ratified on 6 November by Frederick William I and John II Casimir in Bromberg. Both the Brandenburgian elector and the Polish king attended the ceremony with their wives, Luise Henriette of Nassau and Marie Louise Gonzaga, danzig mayor Adrian von der Linde was also present. The treaty ratified in Bromberg consisted of three parts, the second part was a special convention containing 6 articles, also drafted and signed by the plenipotentiaries and the mediator in Wehlau, which further detailed the alliance and military aid. The third part amended the Wehlau agreement and primarily detailed Polish concessions, hereditary Hohenzollern sovereignty was only agreed on for the Duchy of Prussia, while Ermland was to be returned to Poland. In case of the extinction of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollern dynasty in the male line, the Roman Catholic Church in the former Duchy of Prussia was to remain subordinate to the archbishop of Ermland, retain its possessions and income and be granted religious freedom. Brandenburg-Prussia was obliged to militarily aid Poland against the Swedish Empire in the ongoing Second Northern War, Frederick William I had already in Wehlau agreed to aid John II Casimir Vasa with 8,000 men, and both parties agreed on an eternal alliance. In Bromberg it was agreed that from his Prussian province, Frederick William I was to dispatch 1,500 foot and 500 horse to join the army of the Polish king, in return, the Polish crown granted Brandenburg-Prussia Lauenburg and Bütow Land as a hereditary fief. In case the Hohenzollern dynasty was left without a male heir, in addition to Lauenburg and Bütow land, Brandenburg-Prussia was to receive the town of Elbing. In an amendment, Brandenburg-Prussia was obliged to return the town to Poland once the latter had bailed it out with 400,000 thalers
32.
Duchy of Magdeburg
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The Duchy of Magdeburg was a province of Brandenburg-Prussia from 1680 to 1701 and a province of the German Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1807. It replaced the Archbishopric of Magdeburg after its secularization by Brandenburg, the duchys capitals were Magdeburg and Halle, while Burg was another important town. Dissolved during the Napoleonic Wars in 1807, its territory was part of the Province of Saxony in 1815. The Roman Catholic Archbishopric of Magdeburg began to be administered by princes, mostly Lutheran. The city of Magdeburg was also required to pay homage to the prince-electors of Brandenburg, in 1666, Elector Frederick William used his developing army to install a permanent Brandenburger garrison in the city. The Halle region, an exclave of the province, was surrounded by the Principality of Anhalt, the County of Mansfeld, against the wishes of the duchys Lutheran nobility, a Calvinist chancellor was appointed to govern the duchy. Through the leadership of August Hermann Francke, Halle became the center of Pietism in Brandenburg-Prussia, when Elector Frederick III crowned himself Frederick I, King in Prussia, in 1701, the Duchy of Magdeburg became part of the new Kingdom of Prussia. King Frederick William Is allodification of the fiefs, or efforts to modernize feudal land ownership laws, was opposed by the duchys Junker nobility, the nobles received judgements from the imperial court in Vienna protecting their rights in 1718 and 1725. Justus Henning Böhmer became chancellor of the province in 1743, a state-capitalized agricultural credit union was created in the duchy in 1780 for the exclusive use of the nobility. Control over the Magdeburg lands gave the monarchy a lucrative monopoly over the Stassfurt, the estates of Pomerania voluntarily raised 5,000 troops for the Prussian Army during the Seven Years War, their initiative was duplicated by the nobility of Magdeburg and neighboring provinces. In the War of the Fourth Coalition, Prussia was defeated by Napoleon in 1806, in the Treaty of Tilsit the following year, the Duchy of Magdeburg was dissolved. The ducal territory west of the Elbe River, including the cities Magdeburg and Halle, were part of the Kingdom of Westphalia. The ducal territory east of the Elbe remained in a drastically reduced Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia reacquired the Magdeburg and Halle territories during the War of the Sixth Coalition. In 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars, the territories of the Duchy of Magdeburg, the Altmark, iron Kingdom, The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600–1947. The Rise of Brandenburg-Prussia to 1786, Revised Edition, new York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston. A History of Modern Germany, 1648-1840, new York, Barnes & Noble Books. Stier, Erich, Ernst Kirsten, Wilhelm Wühr, Heinz Quirin, Werner Trillmilch, Gerhard Czybulka, Hermann Pinnow, westermanns Atlas zur Weltgeschichte, Vorzeit / Altertum, Mittelalter, Neuzeit. Map of the Duchy of Magdeburg in 1789
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German colonial empire
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The German colonial empire constituted the overseas colonies, dependencies and territories of the German Empire. Short-lived attempts of colonization by individual German states had occurred in preceding centuries, Germany lost control when World War I began in 1914 and its colonies were seized by its enemies in the first weeks of the war. However some military units out for a while longer, German South-West Africa surrendered in 1915, Kamerun in 1916. Germany seemed destined to play catch-up, the Hanseatic republics of Hamburg and Bremen sent traders across the globe. These trading houses conducted themselves as successful Privatkolonisatoren and concluded treaties and land purchases in Africa and these early agreements with local entities, however, later formed the basis for annexation treaties, diplomatic support and military protection by the German Empire. Many Germans in the late 19th century viewed colonial acquisitions as an indication of having achieved nationhood. Public opinion eventually arrived at an understanding that prestigious African and Pacific colonies went hand-in-hand with dreams of a High Seas Fleet, both aspirations would become reality, nurtured by a press replete with Kolonialfreunde and by a myriad of geographical associations and colonial societies. Bismarck and many deputies in the Reichstag had no interest in colonial conquests merely to acquire square miles of territory, in essence, Bismarcks colonial motives were obscure as he had said repeatedly. I am no man for colonies and remained as contemptuous of all colonial dreams as ever, indeed, in 1889, tried to give German South-West Africa away to the British. It was, he said, a burden and an expense, the development of German overseas protectorates essentially followed three phases. German traders and merchants began to themselves in the African Cameroon delta. At Apia and the settlements Finschhafen, Simpsonhafen and the islands Neu-Pommern and Neu-Mecklenburg, large African inland acquisitions followed — mostly to the detriment of native inhabitants. In eastern Africa the imperialist and “man-of-action” Karl Peters accumulated vast tracts of land for his colonization group, for some 60 thousand square miles of the Zanzibar Sultanate’s mainland property. Brutality, hanging and flogging prevailed during these land-grab expeditions under Peters’ control as well as others as no-one held a monopoly in the mistreatment of Africans. As Bismarck was converted to the idea by 1884, he favored chartered company land management rather than establishment of colonial government due to financial considerations. Although temperate zone cultivation flourished, the demise and often failure of tropical low-land enterprises contributed to changing Bismarck’s view and he reluctantly acquiesced to pleas for help to deal with revolts and armed hostilities by often powerful rulers whose lucrative slaving activities seemed at risk. German native military forces engaged in dozens of punitive expeditions to apprehend and punish freedom fighters. At that time, the German penchant for giving muscle priority over patience contributed to continued unrest, several of the African colonies remained powder kegs throughout this phase
34.
Arguin
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Arguin is an island off the western coast of Mauritania in the Bay of Arguin. It is approximately 6x2 km in size, with extensive and dangerous reefs around it, the island now part of the Banc dArguin National Park. The island changed frequently during the colonial era. The first European to visit the island was the Portuguese explorer Nuno Tristão, in 1445, Prince Henry the Navigator set up a trading post on the island, which acquired gum arabic and slaves for Portugal. By 1455,800 slaves were shipped from Arguin to Portugal every year, in 1633, during its war against Spain, the Netherlands seized control of Arguin. It remained under Dutch rule until 1678, with an interruption by English rule in 1665. France took over the island in September 1678, but it was abandoned until 1685. Arguins aridity and its lack of a good anchorage made long-term European settlement difficult, in 1685 Captain Reers of the frigate Rother Löwe occupied the old Portuguese fort on the island. He successfully concluded a treaty with the king in which Brandenburg was accepted as a protecting power. The treaty was ratified in 1687 and was renewed in 1698, Arguin remained a colony of Brandenburg until 1721 when the French successfully assaulted the fort and then took control of the island. The Dutch took the fort and island from the French the following year only to lose it again in 1724 to the French and this period of French rule lasted four years, in 1728, it reverted to the control of indigenous peoples. The island was included in the territory of the French colony of Mauritania, and it remained under Mauritanian rule when that country became independent in 1960
35.
Treaty of Utrecht
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The treaties between several European states, including Spain, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Savoy and the Dutch Republic, helped end the war. They marked the end of French ambitions of hegemony in Europe expressed in the wars of Louis XIV, the War of the Spanish Succession was occasioned by the failure of the Habsburg king, Charles II of Spain, to produce an heir. Dispute followed the death of Charles II in 1700, and fourteen years of war were the result, France and Great Britain had come to terms in October 1711, when the preliminaries of peace had been signed in London. The preliminaries were based on an acceptance of the partition of Spains European possessions. Following this, the Congress of Utrecht opened on 29 January 1712, with the British representatives being John Robinson, Bishop of Bristol, and Thomas Wentworth, Lord Strafford. Reluctantly the United Provinces accepted the preliminaries and sent representatives, and this assurance was given, and so in February the Imperial representatives made their appearance. As Philip was not yet recognized as its king, Spain did not at first send plenipotentiaries, but the Duke of Savoy sent one, and the Kingdom of Portugal was represented by Luís da Cunha. With Great Britain and France having agreed upon a truce, the pace of negotiation now quickened, and the main treaties were finally signed on 11 April 1713. The treaty recognised Louis XIVs grandson Philip, Duke of Anjou, as King of Spain, however, Philip was compelled to renounce for himself and his descendants any right to the French throne. In similar fashion various French princelings, including most notably the Duke of Berry, Utrecht marked the rise of Great Britain under Anne and later the House of Hanover, her exploits martial were due to Marlborough. Portugal had its sovereignty recognised over the lands between the Amazon and Oyapock rivers, in Brazil, in 1715, the Portuguese also recovered Colónia do Sacramento, previously taken by Spain in Uruguay. In North America, France ceded to Great Britain its claims to Newfoundland and they also ceded the Acadian colony of Nova Scotia. The formerly partitioned island of Saint Kitts was also ceded in its entirety to Britain, France was required to recognise British suzerainty over the Iroquois and commerce with the Far Indians was to be open to traders of all nations. France retained its other pre-war North American possessions, including Île-Saint-Jean, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, as well as Île Royale, a series of commercial treaties were also signed. The treatys territorial provisions did not go as far as the Whigs in Britain would have liked, considering that the French had made overtures for peace in 1706, the Whigs considered themselves the heirs of the staunch anti-French policies of William III and the Duke of Marlborough. However, in the Parliament of 1710 the Tories had gained control of the House of Commons, Queen Anne and her advisors had also come to agree. The French negotiator Melchior de Polignac taunted the Dutch with the scathing remark de vous, chez vous, sans vous, meaning that negotiations would be held about you, around you, without you. In any case, the Dutch achieved their condominium in the Austrian Netherlands with the Austro-Dutch Barrier Treaty of 1715
36.
Western Pomerania
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The name Pomerania comes from Slavic po more, which means Land at the Sea. The adjective for the region is Pomeranian, inhabitants are called Pomeranians, forming part of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Western Pomeranias boundaries have changed through the centuries and it belonged to countries such as Poland, Sweden, Denmark, and Prussia. Before 1945, it embraced the whole area of Pomerania west of the Oder River, today the cities of Szczecin, Świnoujście and Police are part of Poland, with the remainder of the region staying part of Germany. German Vorpommern now forms about one-third of the present-day north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, German Western Pomerania had a population of about 470,000 in 2012 - while the Polish districts of the region had a population of about 520,000 in 2012. So overall, about 1 million people live in the region of Western Pomerania today. Towns on the German side include Damgarten, Bergen, Anklam, Wolgast, Demmin, Pasewalk, Grimmen, Sassnitz, Ueckermünde, Torgelow, the German prefix Vor- denotes a location closer to the speaker, and is the equivalent of Hither in English and Citerior/Cis- in Latin. Historically the name Hither Pomerania has been used, but in modern English the German region is commonly called Western Pomerania or by its native name. The local dialect term is Low German, Vörpommern, the toponym Pomerania comes from Slavic po more, which means Land at the Sea. Poland has both a historic and geographic term Western Pomerania as well as a province called West Pomerania, the major feature of Western Pomerania is its long Baltic Sea and lagoons coastline. Typical is a distinct double coast, whereby offshore islands separate lagoons from the open sea, the islands Rügen and Usedom are located in Western Pomerania The largest town in Western Pomerania is Szczecin on the Polish side and Stralsund on the German side. Today it is still an important town economically, the towns of Stralsund and Greifswald together, after Rostock, are the second largest centres of population in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In addition the region has the highest population density of the four planning regions in the state, consideration was given during an unsuccessful district reform project in 1994 to restoring the old boundary, but this was not implemented. The Ribnitz, Marlow and Fischland area of Vorpommern-Rügen were historically part of Mecklenburg, the old western boundary line is preserved in the division between the two Protestant church bodies of the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Mecklenburg and the Pomeranian Evangelical Church. Major cities and towns in Vorpommern include Stralsund, Greifswald, Bergen auf Rügen, Demmin, Anklam, Wolgast, Sassnitz, heringsdorf does not have city rights, but is a semi-urban center. With Polish entry into the European Union and the opening of borders and you can sort the table of the 20 largest towns by clicking one of the upper columns. Popular tourist resorts can be all along the Baltic beaches of the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula. The old Haneseatic towns are popular tourist destinations due to their brick gothic medieval architecture. In Mukran near Sassnitz on Rügen, there is a ferry terminal linking Western Pomerania to Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania
37.
Silesia
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Silesia is a region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is about 40,000 km2, and its population about 8,000,000, Silesia is located along the Oder River. It consists of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia, the region is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesias largest city and historical capital is Wrocław, the biggest metropolitan area is the Upper Silesian metropolitan area, the centre of which is Katowice. Parts of the Czech city of Ostrava fall within the borders of Silesia, Silesias borders and national affiliation have changed over time, both when it was a hereditary possession of noble houses and after the rise of modern nation-states. The first known states to hold there were probably those of Greater Moravia at the end of the 9th century. In the 10th century, Silesia was incorporated into the early Polish state, in the 14th century, it became a constituent part of the Bohemian Crown Lands under the Holy Roman Empire, which passed to the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy in 1526. Most of Silesia was conquered by Prussia in 1742, later becoming part of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, the varied history with changing aristocratic possessions resulted in an abundance of castles in Silesia, especially in the Jelenia Góra valley. The remaining former Austrian parts of Silesia were partitioned to Czechoslovakia, in 1945, after World War II, the bulk of Silesia was transferred to Polish jurisdiction by the Potsdam Agreement of the victorious Allied Powers and became part of Poland. The small Lusatian strip west of the Oder-Neisse line, which had belonged to Silesia since 1815 and its centres are Görlitz and Bautzen. Most inhabitants of Silesia today speak the languages of their respective countries. The population of Upper Silesia is native, while Lower Silesia was settled by a German-speaking population before 1945, an ongoing debate exists whether Silesian speech should be considered a dialect of Polish or a separate language. Also, a Lower Silesian German dialect is used, although today it is almost extinct and it is used by expellees within Germany, as well as Germans who were left behind. The names all relate to the name of a river and mountain in mid-southern Silesia, the mountain served as a cultic place. Ślęża is listed as one of the numerous Pre-Indo-European topographic names in the region, according to some Polish Slavists, the name Ślęża or Ślęż is directly related to the Old Slavic words ślęg or śląg, which means dampness, moisture, or humidity. They disagree with the hypothesis of an origin for the name Śląsk from the name of the Silings tribe, in the fourth century BC, Celts entered Silesia, settling around Mount Ślęża near modern Wrocław, Oława, and Strzelin. Germanic Lugii tribes were first recorded within Silesia in the 1st century, Slavic peoples arrived in the region around the 7th century, and by the early ninth century, their settlements had stabilized. Local Slavs started to erect boundary structures like the Silesian Przesieka, the eastern border of Silesian settlement was situated to the west of the Bytom, and east from Racibórz and Cieszyn
38.
County of Kladsko
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The County of Kladsko was a historical administrative unit within Bohemia as a part of the Kingdom of Bohemia and later in the Kingdom of Prussia with its capital at Kłodzko on the Nysa river. The area has been populated at least since the 1st century BC, the earliest mention of the town itself is in the 12th century Chronica Boëmorum by Cosmas of Prague. He mentions the town of Cladzco as belonging to the Bohemian nobleman Slavník in 981, father of Bishop Adalbert of Prague, in turn the Bohemian prince Soběslav I campaigned Kladsko and burnt the town to the ground, but rebuilt it shortly afterwards. He also rebuilt and strengthened the castle located on a rock overlooking the town. In 1137 by the agency of Emperor Lothair III of Supplinburg the rivals finally concluded a treaty by which Bolesław ceded all claims to the land of Kladsko to Soběslav. In 1348 the Provincia Glacensis became – still as a region within the Bohemia proper – part of the Crown of Bohemia. The town developed rapidly until the start of the Hussite Wars in the 15th century, which left Kladsko depopulated by plagues, partially burnt and it was not until the 16th century that the local economy began to recover from the previous wars. Under his Poděbrad successors it still remained a part of Bohemia as an outer region south of the adjacent Silesian province. Since 1549 the County of Kladsko was under administration of the Wittelsbach until Albert V, in 1617 the first census was organised in the County. The city itself had approximately 1,300 houses and over 7,000 inhabitants, however, two years after the census took place the Thirty Years War started. Kladsko had joined the Protestant Bohemian Estates and even after the defeat at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620 rejected to submit to Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg, after the war the Habsburg rulers put an end to all local self-government, and the County existed in name only. It was therefore occupied by Prussian troops and by the 1742 Treaty of Breslau annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, the title of a Count of Glatz was part of the full title of the Prussian kings and German Emperors, but autonomy of the County was irretrievably lost. After World War I the Czechoslovak state laid claims to the region of Kladsko, particularly because of the Czech Corner where Czech language and these territorial demands were flatly rejected however by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With the implementation of the Oder-Neisse line at the Potsdam Conference in 1945 and its native German population was expelled. According to canon law however, the area was part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Prague until 1972, proposals by the Czechoslovak Delegation on incorporating Kłodzko Land into Czechoslovakia during the Paris Peace Conference,1919 MUSIL, František. A. Herzig, M. Ruchniewicz, Dzieje Ziemi Kłodzkiej, düsseldorf 1995, ISBN 3-928508-03-2 Ondřej Felcman, Ladislav Hladký, Jaroslav Šůla, Právní postavení Kladska v Českém státě do roku 1742. In, Kladský Sborník 2,1998, p
39.
Treaty of Breslau
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Several attempts to expel the invaders failed, while troops of Fredericks allies France, Saxony and Bavaria even campaigned in the adjacent Bohemian lands. Secret peace negotiations had been carried on since fall 1741, yet still Frederick invaded Bohemia, by the agency of John Carmichael, 3rd Earl of Hyndford, envoy of the British, which was eager to prevent further war in Europe, a peace was concluded. Furthermore, Frederick annexed the Bohemian County of Kladsko, despite the popular name of the treaty, it was actually signed in Berlin. This treaty, along with the Treaty of Berlin signed on 28 July 1742, except for the partition of Cieszyn Silesia and the incorporation of the Hlučín Region in 1920, the 1742 demarcation line today still determines the border of the Czech Republic with Poland. Treaty of Trentschin Treaty of Namslau Treaty of Hubertusburg History of Silesia Lodge, studies in Eighteenth Century Diplomacy 1740-1748. Three Victories and a Defeat, The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire, Encyclopædia Britannica Concise, Silesian Wars Encyclopædia Britannica, The War of the Austrian Succession
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