Aschanska Villa
Aschanska Villa is a listed building in Umeå in northern Sweden. The villa was designed by the architect Ragnar Östberg and it was completed in 1906 for Colonel Wilhelm Aschan who led the Norrlands dragonregemente. Today the building is a restaurant; the villa was designed by the architect Ragnar Östberg and it was complete in 1906 for Colonel Wilhelm Aschan who led the local dragoons. Östberg designed a number of buildings in Umeå although he is known for building the Town Hall in Stockholm. Today the villa is used as a restaurant; the wooden villa is designed in the National Romantic style similar to Scharinska Villa, built locally by the same architect the year before. The villa stands on plinth; the building has been listed since the 1980s. Östberg created one more building in Umeå and this was a theatre, built of timber and burned to the ground in 1913
Uppsala
Uppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Malmö. It had 168,096 inhabitants in 2017. Located 71 km north of the capital Stockholm it is the seat of Uppsala Municipality. Since 1164, Uppsala has been the ecclesiastical centre of Sweden, being the seat of the Archbishop of the Church of Sweden. Uppsala is home to Scandinavia's largest cathedral – Uppsala Cathedral. Founded in 1477, Uppsala University is the oldest centre of higher education in Scandinavia. Among many achievements, the Celsius scale for temperature was invented there. Uppsala was located a few kilometres north of its current location at a place now known as Gamla Uppsala. Today's Uppsala was called Östra Aros. Uppsala was, according to medieval writer Adam of Bremen, the main pagan centre of Sweden, the Temple at Uppsala contained magnificent idols of the Norse gods; the Fyrisvellir plains along the river south of Old Uppsala, in the area where the modern city is situated today, was the site of the Battle of Fyrisvellir in the 980s.
The present-day Uppsala was a port town of Gamla Uppsala. In 1160, King Eric Jedvardsson was attacked and killed outside the church of Östra Aros, became venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. In 1274, Östra Aros overtook Gamla Uppsala as the main regional centre, when the cathedral of Gamla Uppsala burnt down, the archbishopric and the relics of Saint Eric were moved to Östra Aros, where the present-day Uppsala Cathedral was erected; the cathedral is built in the Gothic style and is one of the largest in northern Europe, with towers reaching 118.70 metres. The city is the site of the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477, is where Carl Linnaeus, one of the renowned scholars of Uppsala University, lived for many years. Uppsala is the site of the 16th-century Uppsala Castle; the city was damaged by a fire in 1702. Historical and cultural treasures were lost, as in many Swedish cities, from demolitions during the 1960s and 1970s, but many historic buildings remain in the western part of the city.
The arms bearing the lion can be traced to 1737 and have been modernised several times, most in 1986. The meaning of the lion is uncertain, but is connected to the royal lion depicted on the Coat of Arms of Sweden. Situated on the fertile Uppsala flatlands of muddy soil, the city features the small Fyris River flowing through the landscape surrounded by lush vegetation. Parallel to the river runs the glacial ridge of Uppsalaåsen at an elevation around 30 m, the site of Uppsala's castle, from which large parts of the town can be seen; the central park Stadsskogen stretches from the south far into town, with opportunities for recreation for many residential areas within walking distance. Only some 70 km or 40 minutes by train from the capital, many Uppsala residents work in Stockholm; the train to Stockholm-Arlanda Airport takes only 17 minutes, rendering the city accessible by air. The commercial centre of Uppsala is quite compact; the city has a distinct town and gown divide with clergy and academia residing in the Fjärdingen neighbourhood on the river's western shore, somewhat separated from the rest of the city, the ensemble of cathedral and university buildings has remained undisturbed until today.
While some historic buildings remain on the periphery of the central core, retail commercial activity is geographically focused on a small number of blocks around the pedestrianized streets and main square on the eastern side of the river, an area, subject to a large-scale metamorphosis during the economically booming years in the 1960s in particular. During recent decades, a significant part of retail commercial activity has shifted to shopping malls and stores situated in the outskirts of the city. Meanwhile, the built-up areas have expanded and some suburbanization has taken place. Uppsala lies south of the 60th parallel north and has a humid continental climate, with cold winters and warm summers. Due to its northerly location, Uppsala experiences over 18 hours of visible sunshine during the summer solstice, under 6 hours of sunshine during the winter solstice. Despite Uppsala's northerly location, the winter is not as cold as other cities at similar latitudes due to the Gulf Stream. For example, in January Uppsala has a daily mean of −2.7 °C.
In Canada, at the same latitude, Fort Smith experiences a daily mean of −22.4 °C. With respect to record temperatures, the difference between the highest and lowest is large. Uppsala’s highest recorded temperature was 37.4 °C, recorded in July 1933. On the same day Ultuna, which lies a few kilometres south of the centre of Uppsala, recorded a temperature of 38 °C; this is the highest temperature recorded in the Scandinavian Peninsula, although the same temperature was recorded in Målilla, Sweden, 14 years later. Uppsala’s lowest temperature was recorded in January 1875, when the temperature dropped to −39.5 °C. The second-lowest temperature recorded is −33.1 °C, which makes the record one of the hardest to beat, due to the fact that temperatures in Uppsala nowadays goes below −30 °C. The difference between the two records is 76.9 °C. The warmest month recorded is July 1914, with a daily mean of 21.4 °C. Since 2002 Uppsala has experienced 5 months where the d
Greece
Greece the Hellenic Republic, self-identified and known as Hellas, is a country located in Southern and Southeast Europe, with a population of 11 million as of 2016. Athens is largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is located at the crossroads of Europe and Africa. Situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, Turkey to the northeast; the Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a large number of islands, of which 227 are inhabited. Eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres; the country consists of nine geographic regions: Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace and the Ionian Islands.
Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilisation, being the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, Western literature, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, Western drama and notably the Olympic Games. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as poleis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Philip of Macedon united most of the Greek mainland in the fourth century BC, with his son Alexander the Great conquering much of the ancient world, from the eastern Mediterranean to India. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, in which Greek language and culture were dominant. Rooted in the first century A. D. the Greek Orthodox Church helped shape modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World. Falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence.
Greece's rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The sovereign state of Greece is a unitary parliamentary republic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, a high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the tenth member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001, it is a member of numerous other international institutions, including the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. Greece's unique cultural heritage, large tourism industry, prominent shipping sector and geostrategic importance classify it as a middle power, it is the largest economy in the Balkans. The names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages and cultures.
The Greek name of the country is Hellas or Ellada, its official name is the Hellenic Republic. In English, the country is called Greece, which comes from Latin Graecia and means'the land of the Greeks'; the earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, in the Greek province of Macedonia. All three stages of the stone age are represented for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries, as Greece lies on the route via which farming spread from the Near East to Europe. Greece is home to the first advanced civilizations in Europe and is considered the birthplace of Western civilisation, beginning with the Cycladic civilization on the islands of the Aegean Sea at around 3200 BC, the Minoan civilization in Crete, the Mycenaean civilization on the mainland; these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek.
The Mycenaeans absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC, during a time of regional upheaval known as the Bronze Age collapse. This ushered from which written records are absent. Though the unearthed Linear B texts are too fragmentary for the reconstruction of the political landscape and can't support the existence of a larger state contemporary Hittite and Egyptian records suggest the presence of a single state under a "Great King" based in mainland Greece; the end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to the year of the first Olympic Games. The Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, which spread to the shores of the Black Sea, So
AIA Gold Medal
The AIA Gold Medal is awarded by the American Institute of Architects conferred "by the national AIA Board of Directors in recognition of a significant body of work of lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture." It is the Institute's highest award. Since 1947, the medal has been awarded less annually. Gold medal Gold Medal Awards AIA web site
Mora, Sweden
Mora is a locality and the seat of Mora Municipality in Dalarna County, with 10,896 inhabitants in 2010. There are signs of human activity in the surroundings of Mora dating from 4000 BC; the earliest found. Some of the buildings can today be found in Mora's open-air museum Zorns gammelgård. Mora parish was established in the 13th century. In late 1520, Gustav Vasa stopped in Mora, in order to organize a rebellion against the Danish troops which occupied Sweden; the citizens of Mora first declined to help Gustav Vasa, but changed their minds and sought Gustav Vasa when he was about to cross the Norwegian border. According to the legend two men from Mora caught up with Gustav Vasa in Sälen and told him his people would now fight with him; the rebellion managed to overthrow the Danish government in Sweden and Gustav Vasa was installed as king of Sweden. In the 17th century, it was the place for the famous Mora witch trial. During the 18th century the area around Mora was struck by famine, many citizens abandoned their homes.
Most went to southern Sweden where they learnt new craftman skills. Returning to Mora they used their new knowledge to build up new industries. During the end of the 18th century and the 19th, cottage industries of clocks, sewing machines and water taps were important to the economy. Water taps and knives are still thriving industries. Mora is located between the northern shore of lake Siljan and the southern shore of lake Orsasjön where the Österdal River enters Siljan. Mora lies on the west side of Europe's largest meteor impact crater; the northern part of the municipality marks the beginning of the Scandinavian mountain range. Mora has a cold version of the humid continental climate, where it is at the periphery of the northern zone. Non-subarctic climates in inland areas at north of the 61st parallel are rare and can be attributed to the warming influence of the North Atlantic air masses. Being located at some distance from the four largest lakes, the Atlantic and the Baltic seas, Mora has a more continental climate than the major cities of Sweden, with warm summers but with high variability between cold and milder winters.
As of 2015, the mildest January was 0.2 °C in 1989 and the coldest −18.1 °C during the record-breaking deep freeze of 1987, just two years earlier. As the rest of the municipalities around Lake Siljan in Mora, the summer solstice celebration of Midsummer plays an important role in the cultural life. People dress up in traditional folk costumes, raise maypoles, play traditional music and dance around the maypole; the house where Swedish painter Anders Zorn lived in, together with his wife Emma, is located next to the Mora Church and is open to the public. A museum containing many of his works of art has been built next door. Right outside of Mora, in the Utmeland village, is the house Zorn was born in. A statue of King Gustav Vasa, made by Zorn, is placed on a small hill at the finishing line of Vasaloppet in Mora. Another statue depicting Zorn is located in the park behind the district court house of Mora. A third statue of a cross country skier is placed in front of the municipal house next to the town's characteristic red wooden bell tower.
Mora is home to many members of Swedish folk band Francis. Gustavian Mora clock are a type of longcase clock. Production began in the late 18th century and continued through most of the 19th succumbing to the increased competition from newer styles and cheaper mass production methods. Mora IK plays in the Swedish Hockey League), the highest Swedish ice hockey league. Mora is known as the finish of the annual Vasaloppet, a 90 kilometre cross country skiing event held in the honour of Gustav Vasa; the competition is visited by more than 48,000 annual participants in all the skiing events throughout the Vasaloppet week in the beginning of March. Mora has an 18-hole golf course located at sandängarna in Mora and an 18 hole, Jeremy Turner designed tournament length course on Sollerön. Http://www.solgolf.se/ The "Cykelvasan" is a summer version of the Vasaloppet with its start and finish in Mora. During June we have the famous "Siljanrunt" road races, attracting top European cyclists over three stages 70, 120 and 160 km with all races commencing and finishing on Sollerön.
IFK Mora FK are based in Mora. Mora played host to 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, held in FM Mattsson Arena. Another sporting event is 1984 World's Strongest Man; the town of Mora is well known for its craft products. A famous Swedish souvenir, dalahäst, a wooden horse, is produced in the village Nusnäs just outside Mora; the high quality yet inexpensive Mora knives are made in Mora. Steel production company Ovako has a production site in Mora. Mora as a municipality never received the title of a city before the local government reform of 1971, but as the population exceeds 10,000 the locality is today counted as a city by Statistics Sweden
Isak Gustaf Clason
Isak Gustaf Clason was a Swedish architect. Clason studied engineering and architecture at the Institute of Technology in Stockholm, where he was a student of A. T. Gellerstedt, at the architectural school of the Academy of Arts, at the time headed by Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander, he received the royal medal in 1881 and studied abroad 1883-1886. He was elected member of the Academy of Arts in 1889, appointed professor of architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology in 1889 and became first surveyor in the Chief Surveyor's Office in 1904, he became vice president of the Art Academy in 1902 and president in 1918. He was elected member of the Royal Academy of Sciences in 1907, his first major work was the Bünsow building at Strandvägen in Stockholm, commissioned by the sawmill baron Friedrich Bünsow and influenced by French renaissance architecture. It broke new ground in its use of natural material throughout rather than the plaster, dominant in Swedish architecture until that point, it broke against conventions through its avoidance of complete symmetry.
He built Östermalmshallen in Stockholm, the house at 14, Österlånggatan, the Adelsvärd House at Norrström in Stockholm. His largest commission was the Nordic Museum on Djurgården, in North European Renaissance style, which he began in collaboration with M. Isaeus but continued alone after Isaeus's death in 1890; the building was finished for the Stockholm Exhibition in 1897, completed a few years later. Other designs include the Hallwyl Palace in Stockholm, the Rosen house at Strandvägen, the building for Ständernas allmänna brandförsäkring, an insurance company, at Skeppsbron in the Old Town of Stockholm. Clason is responsible for the façade of Norrlands nation in Uppsala. "Nordisk familjebok". "Nordisk familjebok"
