1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
3.
Provinces of the Netherlands
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The most populous province is South Holland, with over 3.5 million inhabitants in 2009. With approximately 381,000 inhabitants, Zeeland has the smallest population, in terms of area, Friesland is the largest province with a total area of 5,749 km2. If water is excluded, Gelderland is the largest province in terms of area at 4,972 km2, Utrecht is the smallest at 1,449 km2. In total about 13,000 people were employed by the administrations in 2009. The provinces of the Netherlands are joined in the Association of Provinces of the Netherlands and this organisation promotes the common interests of the provinces in the national government of the Netherlands in The Hague and within the EU in Brussels. The government of each province consists of three parts, The States-Provincial is the provincial parliament elected every four years. The number of members varies between 39 and 55, depending on the number of inhabitants of the province, being a member is a part-time job. The main task of the States-Provincial is to scrutinise the work of the provincial government, the Provincial Executive is a college elected from among the members of the States-Provincial and charged with most executive tasks. Each province has three and seven deputies, each having their own portfolio. The task of the Provincial Executive is the management of the province. The Kings Commissioner is a person appointed by the Crown who presides over the States-Provincial as well as over the Provincial Executive. The Commissioner is appointed for a term of six years, after which reappointment for another term is possible, the members of the States-Provincial are elected every four years in direct elections. To a large extent, the political parties are enlisted in these elections in the national elections. The chosen provincial legislators elect the members of the national Senate within three months after the provincial elections, the elections for the water boards take place on the same date as the provincial elections. The last three elections were held in 2007,2011 and in 2015. The provinces of the Netherlands have 7 core tasks, Sustainable spatial development, also, provinces have income from a part of the Vehicle Excise Duty. Several provinces have made a profit in the past from privatising utility companies originally owned or partly owned by the provinces. An example is Essent, which was owned by six provinces
4.
North Brabant
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Noord Brabant, also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the west, the northern border follows the Meuse river westward to its mouth in the Hollands Diep strait, part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. The Duchy of Brabant was a state of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183 or 1190. Until the 17th century, the area that now makes up the province of North Brabant was mostly part of the Duchy of Brabant, of which the southern part is now in Belgium. In the 14th and 15th century, the experienced a golden age, especially the cities of Brussel, Mechelen, Leuven, Antwerpen, Breda, Bergen op Zoom. After the Union of Utrecht was signed in 1579, Brabant became a battlefield between the Protestant Dutch Republic and Catholic Spain, which occupied the southern Netherlands, attempts to introduce Protestantism into the region were largely unsuccessful, North Brabant remained strongly Roman Catholic. For over a century, North Brabant served mainly as a buffer zone. In 1796, when confederate Dutch Republic became the unitary Batavian Republic and this status ended with the reorganisation by the French, and the area was divided over several departments. This boundary between the Netherlands and Belgium is special in that it does not form a contiguous line, a few of these irregularities were corrected, Huijbergen became totally Dutch, but some remain, notably Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau. The period from 1900 until the late 1960s is called Het Rijke Roomse Leven, in those days every village in North Brabant had a convent from which the nuns operated. Politically, the province was dominated by Catholic parties, the Roomsch-Katholieke Staatspartij and its successor, the Katholieke Volkspartij. The influence of Het Rijke Roomse Leven remains in the form of education where some schools are still Roman Catholic, a cultural divide is still found between the Catholic south and the Protestant north, but with a total of 1. In the province of North Brabant Catholics are no longer a majority of the population as of 2010, only 1–2% of the total population of Catholic area attend mass, and these churchgoers consist mostly of people over 65 years old. With a population density of 501/km², North-Brabant is above average urbanized, the urbanization is at the center of the province at largest, where the kite is located, the rest of the province has a more rural character. The province has preserved some of its scenic nature well, also, south of Eindhoven named De Kempen is a beautiful area with farmlands and forests. In Heeze, also south of Eindhoven, are the areas the Groote Heide. The Strabrechtse Heide holds also the largest fen of the Netherlands, like most of the Netherlands, North Brabant is mostly flat but nearly every part of North Brabant is above sea level, therefore, there are not as many canals as in the lower parts of The Netherlands. Although most of the lives in urban areas, the province is scattered with villages around which most of the land is cultivated
5.
Municipal council (Netherlands)
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In the Netherlands the municipal council is the elected assembly of the municipality. Its main role is laying down the guidelines for the policy of the council of mayor and aldermen and exercising control over its execution by the council of mayor and aldermen. The municipal councils range in size from nine to 45 seats, depending on the municipalitys population, in many municipalities all major political parties contest in the election in addition to local parties. All citizens and foreigners who live in the Netherlands for at least four years in a municipality have the right to vote, ministers and state secretaries in the national government are barred from standing in elections as well as mayors and civil servants employed by the municipality. After the elections the parties in the elect the aldermen. The municipal council is supported by its own civil service headed by the raadsgriffier, members of the council are not paid as full-time politicians, instead, most of them have day job. As in most legislatures, the members of municipal council work in political groups and policy area related committees. The mayor chairs the meetings of the council, some municipalities allow parties to have dual councillors, politicians who are not elected into the city council but are allowed to speak in committees
6.
Burgemeester
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In the Netherlands and Belgium, the mayor is an appointed government position, whose main responsibility is chairing the executive and legislative councils of a municipality. The title is translated in English as burgomaster. In the Netherlands, mayors chair both the council of mayor and aldermen and the municipal council and they are members of the council of mayor and aldermen and have their own portfolios, always including safety and public order. They also have a role for the municipal government, both to its civilians and to other authorities on the local, regional and national level. A large majority of mayors are members of a political party and this can be the majority party in the municipal council, but there are many exceptions on this. However, the mayors are expected to exercise their office in a non-partisan way, the mayor is appointed by the national government for a renewable six-year term. In the past, mayors for important cities were chosen after negotiations between the national parties. This appointment procedure has been criticised because it was seen by some as undemocratic, especially the party D66 had a direct election of the mayor as one of the main objectives in its platform. In the early 2000s, proposals for change were discussed in the national parliament, however, opponents of the status quo were divided between two alternatives, direct election of the mayor by the people or appointment by the municipal council. A constitutional change to direct election gained a majority in both chambers but failed to pass the vote in the Senate in March 2005. In the meantime, although the law remained the same, the practice changed, nowadays, when a vacancy occurs, a special committee of the municipal council interviews candidates, which are pre-selected by the provincial governor. After advice by the committee, the council express its preferences to the Minister of the Interior, who almost always follows this recommendation
7.
Christian Democratic Appeal
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The Christian Democratic Appeal is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Sybrand van Haersma Buma has been the party leader since 18 May 2012, the party suffered severe losses in the 2010 general election, losing half of its seats and falling to fourth place in the House of Representatives. Subsequently, the CDA again lost a number of seats in the 2012 general election. Since 1880 the sizeable Catholic and Protestant parties had worked together in the so-called Coalitie and they shared a common interest in public funding of religious schools. In 1888 they formed the first Christian-democratic government, led by the Anti-Revolutionary Æneas Baron Mackay, the cooperation was not without problems and in 1894 the more anti-papist and aristocratic conservatives left the Protestant Anti Revolutionary Party, to found the Christian Historical Union. The main issues dividing Protestants and Catholics was the position of the Dutch Representation at the Holy See, the General League evolved into the Roman Catholic State Party by 1926, and the Catholic Peoples Party in 1945. From 1918 to 1967, the three Christian Democratic parties had a majority in both houses of the States General, and at least two of them were included in every cabinet, the KVP and its antecedents had been in government without interruption since 1918. In the sixties, the Dutch society became more secularized and the pillars faded, in 1963 general election the three parties held 51% of the vote, whilst in 1972 general election they held only 32%. This decline forced the three parties to work closer together, in 1967 the Group of Eighteen was formed, it was a think-tank of six prominent politicians per party that planned the future cooperation of the three parties. In 1968 the three leaders of the parties (Norbert Schmelzer, Barend Biesheuvel and Jur Mellema made a public appearance. This caused progressive forces within the three parties, especially the ARP and KVP, to regret their political affiliation, in 1968 they founded the Political Party of Radicals, a left-wing party that sought cooperation with the Labour Party. Locally and provincially however the three parties had long cooperated well, in areas they formed one Christian-democratic parliamentary party. In the 1971 general election, the three presented a common political program, which lay the foundation for the first Biesheuvel cabinet. After the disastrous elections of 1972 the cooperation was given new momentum, in 1973 this federation was officially formed, with Steenkamp as chairperson. The cooperation was frustrated by the formation of the Den Uyl cabinet, established by the leader of the social-democratic PvdA, Den Uyl refused to allow members of the CHU in the cabinet that he would lead. This led to a situation where the CHU, ARP and KVP sat as a faction in both houses of parliament, but only the KVP and ARP supplied ministers and junior ministers. The cabinet Den Uyl was riddled with political and personal conflicts, another issue that split the three parties was the place that the Bible would take in the new party. In 1976, the three announced that they would field a single list at the 1977 general election under the name Christian Democratic Appeal
8.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
9.
Central European Summer Time
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It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
10.
Municipality
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It is to be distinguished from the county, which may encompass rural territory and/or numerous small communities such as towns, villages and hamlets. The term municipality may also mean the governing or ruling body of a given municipality, a municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district. The term is derived from French municipalité and Latin municipalis, a municipality can be any political jurisdiction from a sovereign state, such as the Principality of Monaco, or a small village, such as West Hampton Dunes, New York. The power of municipalities range from virtual autonomy to complete subordination to the state, municipalities may have the right to tax individuals and corporations with income tax, property tax, and corporate income tax, but may also receive substantial funding from the state. Similar terms include Spanish ayuntamiento, also called municipalidad, Polish gmina, Dutch/Flemish Gemeente, in Australia, the term local government area is used in place of the generic municipality. Here, the LGA Structure covers only incorporated areas of Australia, incorporated areas are legally designated parts of states and territories over which incorporated local governing bodies have responsibility. In Canada, municipalities are local governments established through provincial and territorial legislation, the Province of Ontario has different tiers of municipalities, including lower, upper, and single tiers. Types of upper tier municipalities in Ontario include counties and regional municipalities, nova Scotia also has regional municipalities, which include cities, counties, districts, or towns as municipal units. In India, a Nagar Palika or Municipality is a local body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more. Under the Panchayati Raj system, it directly with the state government. Generally, smaller cities and bigger towns have a Nagar Palika. Nagar Palikas are also a form of local self-government entrusted with duties and responsibilities. Such a corporation in Great Britain consists of a head as a mayor or provost, since local government reorganisation, the unit in England, Northern Ireland and Wales is known as a district, and in Scotland as a council area. A district may be awarded borough or city status, or can retain its district title, in Jersey, a municipality refers to the honorary officials elected to run each of the 12 parishes into which it is subdivided. This is the highest level of government in this jurisdiction. In the United States, municipality is usually understood as a city, town, village, or other local government unit, in the Peoples Republic of China, a direct-controlled municipality is a city with equal status to a province, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing. In Taiwan, a municipality is a city with equal status to a province, Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei. In Portuguese language usage, there are two words to distinguish the territory and the administrative organ, when referring to the territory, the word concelho is used, when referring to the organ of State, the word município is used
11.
's-Hertogenbosch
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S-Hertogenbosch, colloquially known as Den Bosch, is a city and municipality in the southern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant, the citys official name is a contraction of the Dutch des Hertogen bosch—the Dukes forest. The duke in question was Duke Henry I of Brabant, whose family had owned an estate at nearby Orthen for at least four centuries. He founded a new town located on some forested dunes in the middle of a marsh, at age 26, he granted s-Hertogenbosch city rights and the corresponding trade privileges in 1185. This is, however, the date given by later chroniclers. The original charter has been lost and his reason for founding the city was to protect his own interests against encroachment from Gelre and Holland, from its first days, he conceived of the city as a fortress. It was destroyed in 1203 in a joint expedition of Gelre and Holland, some remnants of the original city walls may still be seen. In the late 14th century, a larger wall was erected to protect the greatly expanded settled area. Artificial waterways were dug to serve as a city moat, through which the rivers Dommel, until 1520, the city flourished, becoming the second largest population centre in the territory of the present Netherlands, after Utrecht. The city was also a center of music, and composers, such as Jheronimus Clibano, the wars of the Reformation changed the course of the citys history. During the Eighty Years War, the city took the side of the Habsburg authorities and it was besieged several times by Prince Maurice of Orange, stadtholder of most of the Dutch Republic, who wanted to bring s-Hertogenbosch under the rule of the rebel United Provinces. The city was defended by Claude de Berlaymont, also known as Haultpenne. In the years of Truce, before the fighting after 1618. The surrounding marshes made a siege of the conventional type impossible, after a siege of three months, the city had to surrender—an enormous blow to Habsburg geo-political strategy during the Thirty Years War. This surrender cut the town off from the rest of the duchy, after the Peace of Westphalia, the fortifications were again expanded. In 1672, the Dutch rampjaar, the city held against the army of Louis XIV of France. In 1794, French revolutionary troops under command of Charles Pichegru took the city with hardly a fight, in the Batavian Republic, from 1806, the city became part of the Kingdom of Holland and from 1810, it was incorporated into the First French Empire. It was captured by the Prussians in 1814, the next year,1815, when the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was established, it became the capital of North Brabant
12.
Archangel
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An archangel /ˌɑːrkˈeɪndʒəl/ is an angel of high rank. The word archangel itself is associated with the Abrahamic religions. The word archangel is derived from the Greek ἀρχάγγελος, Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism, Islam and by most Christians. Protestants recognize Gabriel as an angel but consider Michael to be the only archangel, raphael—mentioned in the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit—is also recognized in the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael are venerated in the Roman Catholic Church with a feast on September 29, the named archangels in Islam are Gabriel, Michael, Israfil and Azrael. Jewish literature, such as the Book of Enoch, mentions Metatron as an archangel, called the highest of the angels, some branches of the faiths mentioned have identified a group of seven Archangels, but the actual angels vary, depending on the source. Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael are always mentioned, the other archangels vary, but most commonly include Uriel, in Zoroastrianism, sacred texts allude to the six great Amesha Spenta of Ahura Mazda. An increasing number of experts in anthropology, theology and philosophy, the Amesha Spentas of Zoroastrianism are likened to archangels. They individually inhabit immortal bodies that operate in the world to protect, guide, and inspire humanity. The Avesta explains the origin and nature of archangels or Amesha Spentas, to maintain equilibrium, Ahura Mazda engaged in the first act of creation, distinguishing his Holy Spirit Spenta Mainyu, the Archangel of righteousness. Ahura Mazda also distinguished from himself six more Amesha Spentas, who, along with Spenta Mainyu, then he oversaw the development of sixteen lands, each imbued with a unique cultural catalyst calculated to encourage the formation of distinct human populations. The Amesha Spentas were charged with protecting these holy lands and through their emanation, the Amesha Spentas as attributes of God are, Spenta Mainyu, lit. Immortality The Hebrew Bible uses the ter. מלאכי אלוהים, The Hebrew word for angel is malach, מלאכי י י, בני אלוהים and הקדושים to refer to beings traditionally interpreted as angelic messengers. Other terms are used in texts, such as העליונים. References to angels are uncommon in Jewish literature except in works such as the Book of Daniel, though they are mentioned briefly in the stories of Jacob. Daniel is the first biblical figure to refer to individual angels by name and it is therefore widely speculated that Jewish interest in angels developed during the Babylonian captivity. According to Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish of Tiberias, specific names for the angels were brought back by the Jews from Babylon, there are no explicit references to archangels in the canonical texts of the Hebrew Bible. In post-Biblical Judaism, certain angels came to take on a particular significance, though these archangels were believed to have rank amongst the heavenly host, no systematic hierarchy ever developed
13.
Michael (archangel)
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Michael is an archangel in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran traditions, he is called Saint Michael the Archangel, in the Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox traditions, he is called Taxiarch Archangel Michael or simply Archangel Michael. Michael is mentioned three times in the Book of Daniel, in the New Testament Michael leads Gods armies against Satans forces in the Book of Revelation, where during the war in heaven he defeats Satan. In the Epistle of Jude Michael is specifically referred to as the archangel Michael, by the 6th century, devotions to Archangel Michael were widespread both in the Eastern and Western Churches. Over time, teachings on Michael began to vary among Christian denominations, Michael is mentioned three times in the Hebrew Scriptures, all in the book of Daniel. The prophet Daniel experiences a vision after having undergone a period of fasting, Daniel 10, 13-21 describes Daniels vision of an angel who identifies Michael as the protector of Israel. At Daniel 12,1, Daniel is informed that Michael will arise during the time of the end, the Book of Revelation describes a war in heaven in which Michael, being stronger, defeats Satan. After the conflict, Satan is thrown to earth along with the fallen angels, in the Epistle of Jude 1,9, Michael is referred to as an archangel when he again confronts Satan. A reference to an archangel also appears in the First Epistle to the Thessalonians 4,16 and this archangel who heralds the second coming of Christ is not named, but is often associated with Michael. Michael, is one of the two mentioned in the Quran, alongside Jibreel. In the Quran, Michael is mentioned only, in Sura 2,98, Whoever is an enemy to God, and His angels and His messengers. Then, God is an enemy to the disbelievers, some Muslims believe that the reference in Sura 11,69 is Michael, one of the three angels who visited Abraham. Michaels enmity with Samael dates from the time when the latter was thrown down from heaven, Samael took hold of the wings of Michael, whom he wished to bring down with him in his fall, but Michael was saved by God. But appeal to Michael seems to have more common in ancient times. Thus Jeremiah is said to have addressed a prayer to him, the rabbis declare that Michael entered upon his role of defender at the time of the biblical patriarchs. Thus, according to Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob, it was Michael who rescued Abraham from the furnace into which he had been thrown by Nimrod. It was Michael, the one that had escaped, who told Abraham that Lot had been taken captive, and he announced to Sarah that she would bear a son and he rescued Lot at the destruction of Sodom. It is said that Michael prevented Isaac from being sacrificed by his father by substituting a ram in his place, later Michael prevented Laban from harming Jacob
14.
Berlicum
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Berlicum is a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant, located in the Meierij region near the city of s-Hertogenbosch and the river Aa. The town was most likely founded between 600 and 700 AD, in 2009, Berlicum had 9,743 inhabitants. The historic town centre is Raadhuisplein, on the edge of the town. The square is dominated by the former town hall, known as De Plaets. Another notably building at the square is former mayors mansion at number 18, behind the former town hall is the Protestant Samen-op-Weg church, a national monument dating back to the 14th century. The building was originally a Roman Catholic church under the care of priests from the nearby norbertine Berne Abbey and it became a Protestant church in 1648, when the region became part of the Dutch Republic after the Peace of Westphalia. Under the peace treaty, Catholics were allowed to exercise their religion in private, a clandestine church was built in 1676. In 1837, this church was replaced by a church building. Funding was provided by a government programme to compensate the loss of historically catholic church buildings during the Reformation period, the new church, named after Saint Peter and located at Kerkwijk 44, was subsequently enlarged several times. Both churches were damaged during Operation Market Garden at the end of the Second World War, along with many other historic buildings in Berlicum. The new Saint Peters church was smaller than its predecessor and was provided with a traditionalist facade. An additional catholic church in style was built in the nearby village of Middelrode. After the Second World War, Berlicum became a commuter town, in the 1970s a modern shopping centre, Mercuriusplein square, was created in the geographical heart of the town. Most of the stores, two supermarkets and a weekly food market are located here. On the northern side of the square is the new hall, established in 1982. The building was transformed into apartments and stores. In the face of secularization and rising costs, the diocese of s-Hertogenbosch decided to close the church of Saint Peter in 2012. Catholic religious services are now provided at the Sacraments church in Middelrode, the N279 highway along the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal connects the town with the two major commercial and industrial hubs in the region, s-Hertogenbosch to the northwest and Veghel to the southeast
15.
Den Dungen
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Den Dungen is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Sint-Michielsgestel next to the village Maaskantje, Den Dungen was a separate municipality until 1996, when it was merged with Sint-Michielsgestel. Den Dungen is a town of Portishead, Somerset in England. The town is known in the Netherlands and in countries as the shooting location of the Comedy Central sketch show New Kids. J. Kuyper, Gemeente Atlas van Nederland, 1865-1870, Den Dungen, map of the former municipality, around 1868
16.
Maaskantje
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Maaskantje is a village in the Dutch province North Brabant. The village is part of the municipality Sint-Michielsgestel, south east of s-Hertogenbosch, the village has about 1,600 inhabitants. Maaskantje is linked together with the village Den Dungen, before 1996, Maaskantje was part of the municipality of Sint-Michielsgestel instead of the municipality of Den Dungen. In 1996, Den Dungen became part of Sint-Michielsgestel, the Dutch Comedy Central sketch show New Kids that takes place in the village has generated tourism to the village. The villages signs were stolen by New Kids fans and the municipality decided not to replace them, media related to Maaskantje at Wikimedia Commons
17.
Dommel
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The Dommel is a stream in Belgium and the Netherlands, left tributary of the Dieze. It rises in north-eastern Belgium near Peer and flows into the part of the Netherlands. The main cities and towns along the Dommels course are Peer, Neerpelt, Valkenswaard, Dommelen, Eindhoven, Son en Breugel, Sint-Oedenrode, Boxtel, Sint-Michielsgestel, the most original part and natural state of the Dommel can be found between Eindhoven and Boxtel. Here the Dommel has still its original winds and meanders and forms a cultural-historical and valuable landscape area called the Dommelbeemden
18.
Meuse
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The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea. It has a length of 925 km. Its lower Belgian portion, part of the sillon industriel, was the first fully industrialized area in continental Europe. The Meuse and its crossings were a key objective of the last major German WWII counter-offensive on the Western Front, the Meuse River is represented in the documentary The River People released in 2012 by Xavier Istasse. The name Meuse is derived from the French name of the river, the Dutch name Maas descends from Middle Dutch Mase, which comes from the presumed but unattested Old Dutch form *Masa, from Proto-Germanic *Masō. Only modern Dutch preserves this Germanic form, however, despite the similarity, the Germanic name is not derived from the Latin name, judging from the change from earlier o into a, which is characteristic of the Germanic languages. Therefore, both the Latin and Germanic names were derived from a Proto-Celtic source, which would have been *Mosā. The Meuse rises in Pouilly-en-Bassigny, commune of Le Châtelet-sur-Meuse on the Langres plateau in France from where it flows northwards past Sedan, at Namur it is joined by the River Sambre. Beyond Namur the Meuse winds eastwards, skirting the Ardennes, the river then forms part of the Belgian-Dutch border, except that at Maastricht the border lies further to the west. The river has been divided near Heusden into the Afgedamde Maas on the right, the Bergse Maas continues under the name of Amer, which is part of De Biesbosch. Near Lage Zwaluwe, the Nieuwe Merwede joins the Amer, forming the Hollands Diep, between Maastricht and Maasbracht, an unnavigable section of the Meuse is bypassed by the 36 km Juliana Canal. South of Namur, further upstream, the river can carry more modest vessels. From Givet, the river is canalized over a distance of 272 kilometres, the canalized Meuse used to be called the Canal de lEst — Branche Nord but was recently rebaptized into Canal de la Meuse. The waterway can be used by the smallest barges that are still in use commercially, just upstream of the town of Commercy, the Canal de la Meuse connects with the Marne–Rhine Canal by means of a short diversion canal. The Cretaceous sea reptile Mosasaur is named after the river Meuse, the first fossils of it were discovered outside Maastricht 1780. An international agreement was signed in 2002 in Ghent, Belgium about the management of the river amongst France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, also participating in the agreement were the Belgian regional governments of Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels. Most of the area is in Wallonia, followed by France. An International Commission on the Meuse has the responsibility of the implementation of the treaty, the map of the basin area of Meuse was joined to the text of the treaty
19.
Boxtel
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Boxtel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. This is the origin of the Van Boxtel family, which has numerous descendants in North Brabant, the town was the site of the Battle of Boxtel fought in September 1794 during the Flanders campaign. It is often remembered as the first battle of the future Duke of Wellington. Boxtel Lennisheuvel Liempde Dutch Topographic map of Boxtel, March 2014
20.
Ancient Rome
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In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
21.
Castle
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A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. Usage of the term has varied over time and has applied to structures as diverse as hill forts. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built, they took on a great many forms with different features, although some, such as curtain walls. A European innovation, castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries, after the fall of the Carolingian Empire resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies, the structures served as centres of administration. Many castles were built from earth and timber, but had their defences replaced later by stone. Early castles often exploited natural defences, lacking features such as towers and arrowslits, in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, a scientific approach to castle defence emerged. This led to the proliferation of towers, with an emphasis on flanking fire, many new castles were polygonal or relied on concentric defence – several stages of defence within each other that could all function at the same time to maximise the castles firepower. These changes in defence have been attributed to a mixture of castle technology from the Crusades, such as concentric fortification, not all the elements of castle architecture were military in nature, so that devices such as moats evolved from their original purpose of defence into symbols of power. Some grand castles had long winding approaches intended to impress and dominate their landscape, while castles continued to be built well into the 16th century, new techniques to deal with improved cannon fire made them uncomfortable and undesirable places to live. As a result, true castles went into decline and were replaced by artillery forts with no role in civil administration, and country houses that were indefensible. From the 18th century onwards, there was a renewed interest in castles with the construction of castles, part of a romantic revival of Gothic architecture. The word castle is derived from the Latin word castellum, which is a diminutive of the word castrum, meaning fortified place. The Old English castel, Old French castel or chastel, French château, Spanish castillo, Italian castello, the word castle was introduced into English shortly before the Norman Conquest to denote this type of building, which was then new to England. In its simplest terms, the definition of a castle accepted amongst academics is a fortified residence. Feudalism was the link between a lord and his vassal where, in return for service and the expectation of loyalty. Castles served a range of purposes, the most important of which were military, administrative, as well as defensive structures, castles were also offensive tools which could be used as a base of operations in enemy territory
22.
Monarch
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A monarch is the sovereign head of state in a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in the state, alternatively, an individual may become monarch by conquest, acclamation or a combination of means. A monarch usually reigns for life or until abdication, if a young child is crowned the monarch, a regent is often appointed to govern until the monarch reaches the requisite adult age to rule. A monarch can reign in multiple monarchies simultaneously, for example, the monarchy of Canada and the monarchy of the United Kingdom are separate states, but they share the same monarch through personal union. Monarchs, as such, bear a variety of titles — king or queen, prince or princess, emperor or empress, archduke, duke or grand duke, Prince is sometimes used as a generic term to refer to any monarch regardless of title, especially in older texts. A king can also be a husband and a queen can be a kings wife. If both people in a reign, neither person is generally considered to be a consort. Monarchy is political or sociocultural in nature, and is associated with hereditary rule. Most monarchs, both historically and in the present day, have been born and brought up within a royal family, different systems of succession have been used, such as proximity of blood, primogeniture, agnatic seniority, Salic law, etc. In an elective monarchy, the monarch is elected but otherwise serves as any other monarch, historical examples of elective monarchy include the Holy Roman Emperors and the free election of kings of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In recent centuries, many states have abolished the monarchy and become republics, advocacy of government by a republic is called republicanism, while advocacy of monarchy is called monarchism. A principal advantage of hereditary monarchy is the continuity of national leadership. In cases where the monarch serves mostly as a ceremonial figure real leadership does not depend on the monarch, a form of government may in fact be hereditary without being considered monarchy, such as a family dictatorship. Monarchies take a variety of forms, such as the two co-princes of Andorra, positions held simultaneously by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgel and the elected President of France. Similarly, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia is considered a monarch despite only holding the position for five years at a time, hereditary succession within one patrilineal family has been most common, with preference for children over siblings, sons over daughters. Other European realms practice one form or another of primogeniture, whereunder a lord was succeeded by his eldest son or, if he had none, by his brother, the system of tanistry was semi-elective and gave weight also to ability and merit. The Salic law, practiced in France and in the Italian territories of the House of Savoy, in most fiefs, in the event of the demise of all legitimate male members of the patrilineage, a female of the family could succeed. Spain today continues this model of succession law, in the form of cognatic primogeniture, in more complex medieval cases, the sometimes conflicting principles of proximity and primogeniture battled, and outcomes were often idiosyncratic
23.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
24.
Internment
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Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The term is used for the confinement of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects. Thus, while it can simply mean imprisonment, it tends to refer to preventive confinement, use of these terms is subject to debate and political sensitivities. Interned persons may be held in prisons or in known as internment camps. In certain contexts, these may also be known either officially or pejoratively, internment also refers to a neutral countrys practice of detaining belligerent armed forces and equipment on its territory during times of war under the Hague Convention of 1907. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights restricts the use of internment, article 9 states that No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. The United States set up camps for Cherokee and other Native Americans in the 1830s. From 1863 to 1868, the U. S, military persecuted and imprisoned 9,500 Navajo and 500 Mescalero Apache. Living under armed guards, more than 3,500 Navajo and Mescalero Apache men, women, the term concentration camp saw wider use during the Second Boer War, when the British operated such camps in South Africa for interning Boers. They built 45 tented camps for Boer internees and 64 for black Africans, of the 28,000 Boer men captured as prisoners of war, the British sent 25,630 overseas. The vast majority of Boers remaining in the camps were women and children. Some of them managed to go into exile or went off to join the armies of the Allies in order to fight against the Axis powers, while others ended up in Nazi concentration camps. During the 20th century, the internment of civilians by the state reached its most notorious excesses with the establishment of the Nazi concentration camps. The Nazi concentration camp system was notable for its size, with as many as 15,000 camps. Moreover, Nazi Germany established six camps, specifically designed to kill millions
25.
Haaren, North Brabant
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Haaren is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Haaren is known as The Garden of Brabant because of the plantations of trees. The municipality of Haaren contains three villages, Helvoirt, Esch, and Biezenmortel. An unusual thing about Haaren is that it belongs to two regions, Tilburg and s-Hertogenbosch, Biezenmortel Esch Haaren Helvoirt Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Haaren, June 2015 Media related to Haaren at Wikimedia Commons Official website
26.
Simon Vestdijk
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Simon Vestdijk was a Dutch writer. He was nominated for the Nobel prize in literature fifteen times, born in the small Frisian town of Harlingen, Vestdijk studied medicine in Amsterdam, but turned to literature after a few years as a doctor. He became one of the most important 20th-century writers in the Netherlands and his prolificness as a novelist was legendary, but he was at least as important as an essayist on e. g. literature, religion, art, and music in particular. He also wrote poetry and short stories. His work has translated into most Western European languages. Simon Vestdijk, On the poet Emily Dickinson, ISBN 90-75663-37-4 Simon Vestdijk, Back to Ina Damman = Retour à Ina Damman / radio-play adaptation of the novel by Simon Vestdijk, adaptation, Marc Lohmann. (Transl. of an adaptation of Terug tot Ina Damman, no ISBN S. Vestdijk, The garden where the brass band played. Transl. by A. Brotherton, with an introd. by Hella S. Haasse, other editions, New York, New Amsterdam,1989. Amsterdam, Balkema,1940 Simon Vestdijk, Rum Island, Transl. by B. K, london, John Calder,1963 Simon Vestdijk, My brown friend & Miodrag Bulatović, Lovers & Keith Johnstone, The return & Robert Pinget, La manivelle. London, Calder,1962 http, //www. svestdijk. nl/al/wpengels. html http, //www. vestdijk. com Works by or about Simon Vestdijk in libraries
27.
Willem Schermerhorn
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Willem Wim Schermerhorn was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party. He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1945 until 1946 and he was the first Prime Minister after World War II. According to Harry W. Laidler, the government under Schermerhorns premiership achieved important results in the fields of labor, finance, housing, old age pensions, willem Schermerhorn was born on 17 December 1894 in Akersloot in the Dutch Province of North Holland. He grew up in a Protestant family of farmers and he became professor at the Delft University of Technology on 7 September 1926. Schermerhorn remained professor until 1944, when he was removed by the German occupational forces because of his activities in the Dutch resistance and he was interned by the German occupational forces as a hostage in Sint-Michielsgestel from May 1942 until December 1943. After he was removed as professor in 1944 Schermerhorn went into hiding to avoid being taken prisoner by the German occupational forces, on 24 June 1945 he became Prime Minister of the cabinet Schermerhorn/Drees, the first cabinet after World War II. Schermerhorn was the first Dutch Prime Minister who appointed civil servants with a background, people like Koos Vorrink. After the elections of 1946 he became a member of parliament and he remained a member of parliament until 1951. After his parliamentarian career ended he became director of the International Training Center for Aerial Survey in 1951, in 1956 he became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Wim Schermerhorn died on 10 March 1977 in Haarlem he was 82 and his wife Barbara died in 1986. His brother, Dirk Schermerhorn, was an engineer in the Soviet Union and he was killed during the Stalinist purges in 1937. His sister, Neeltje, was married to theologian Johannes Marie de Jonge, knight – Order of the Netherlands Lion Grand Officer – Order of Orange-Nassau Official Parliamentary Biography Biography on the Ministry of General Affairs
28.
Anneke van Giersbergen
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Currently she has a solo career. The project was originally called Agua de Annique, but now goes by her own name, a frequent collaborator of Arjen Anthony Lucassen, she portrayed main characters in the albums Into the Electric Castle,01011001 and The Theater Equation by his project Ayreon. In 2014 they created a new band together, The Gentle Storm, Van Giersbergen has also worked with Devin Townsend, Within Temptation, Anathema, Lawn, Farmer Boys, Napalm Death, Moonspell, Novembers Doom, Globus, Giant Squid, and many other artists and projects. Van Giersbergen was born in the city of Sint Michielsgestel. She began singing at age 7, when she participated in a music contest, at 12 years old she participated in her school choir where she studied and toured through France. Later she began taking singing lessons and joined her first band, after this first experience, Van Giersbergen joined several bands. In 1992, she founded the duo Bad Breath with guitarist and singer Deniz Cagdas, with predominantly rhythms like blues, jazz, folk and she joined The Gathering in 1994, and she is most notable for her work with them. In 1998, she sang on the Ayreon album Into the Electric Castle, Van Giersbergen portrayed an Egyptian woman from the time of the pharaohs. In 2006, she appeared on the album 2006 Rubicon from Asia band members John Wetton and Geoffrey Downes on the tracks To Catch a Thief, in June 2006, the epic rock band Globus released the album Epicon, which included Van Giersbergens vocal and writing contributions. Van Giersbergen co-wrote the lyrics for Mighty Rivers Run, and sang lead vocal on the track as well as dueting with Christine Navarro on the seminal Diem Ex Dei. On 5 June 2007 it was announced that Van Giersbergen would be leaving The Gathering in August 2007 to focus on a new project, Agua de Annique, on 24 November 2007 she performed the song Somewhere with Within Temptation in Eindhoven. On 7 February 2008 she performed the song Somewhere again with Within Temptation at the Ahoy arena in Rotterdam, Van Giersbergen also sings on the Ayreon album 01011001, released in early 2008. The character she portrays is one of the Forever, an alien being of the same race and she sings on Scorpion Flower from the album Night Eternal from Moonspell. On 3 December 2008, she performed this live with Moonspell in the 2013. Van Giersbergen collaborated with Devin Townsend on his albums Addicted in 2009, Epicloud in 2012 and Sky Blue in 2014, in 2011, Van Giersbergen collaborated with Yoav Goren on the song The Promise, the lead track on Globus second album Break From This World. She co-wrote lyrics as well as being a featured vocalist along with Lisbeth Scott on the track and she performed the track What Could Have Been for Death/doom metal band Novembers Doom. Van Giersbergen also features on a track in the orchestral re-interpretations album from English progressive rock band Anathema, Falling Deeper and she has been touring with the band in South America singing the song Everwake. She has released a new album, Everything Is Changing, in January 2012 through the Dutch division of PIAS Recordings and he described it as an epic double concept album, a combination of ‘classical meets metal’ and ‘acoustic folk’
29.
The Gathering (band)
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The Gathering is a Dutch alternative rock band, founded in 1989 by brothers Hans and René Rutten and vocalist Bart Smits in the small city of Oss, North Brabant. The Gathering earliest releases were categorized as atmospheric doom metal influences from death metal acts like Celtic Frost. In 1998 with the release of their 5th studio album, How to measure a planet, the group continue to expand upon the experimental nature of their music. In August 2007 Anneke van Giersbergen left the group to focus on her solo project Agua de Annique, on 12 March 2009, The Gathering announced that their replacement vocalist was Silje Wergeland. Their most recent album, Disclosure, was released on 12 September 2012, on 17 January 2014, the band announced on their Facebook page that they decided to take a break from recording and touring, and also that Marjolein Kooijman left the band. To celebrate the bands 25th anniversary, a show featuring most of current, founded by brothers Hans and René Rutten and vocalist Bart Smits, The Gathering formed in the city of Oss, North Brabant, Netherlands in 1989. Soon after they were joined by Hugo Prinsen Geerligs, Jelmer Wiersma, the Gatherings earliest recordings were categorized as atmospheric doom metal with influences from death metal acts like Celtic Frost and Hellhammer. In 1990 they recorded a tape entitled An Imaginary Symphony which met some positive reactions from the underground metal scene due to their unusual use of keyboards in metal-oriented music. A second demo, Moonlight Archer was recorded in April 1991, was picked up by music journalists. Both demos suffered from production, however they did help establish the bands name on the live circuit opening for bands such as Deadhead, Invocator, Samael, Morbid Angel. After signing with Foundation 2000, the released their debut album Always. In 1992 both Bart Smits and Marike Groot decided to leave the group due to differences, the other members wanted to change direction towards a lighter. Smits went on to form his own project, called Wish, in 1993 the group recruited two new vocalists, Niels Duffhues and female counterpart Martine van Loon. A second album, Almost a Dance, was recorded and released in 1993 by Foundation 2000, the album was met with much criticism aimed at Duffhues punk-ish tone being decidedly out of step with the music, and the album was largely written off as a result. The group collectively acknowledged their disappointments with Almost a Dance and decided to start writing new material, the Gathering released their third album Mandylion in 1995 through Century Media, proving to be their breakthrough and selling over 130,000 copies in Europe. Two singles were released from Mandylion, Adrenaline/Leaves and Strange Machines further helped raise the popularity in Europe. Tours of Belgium and Germany, as well as appearances at the Dynamo Open Air, 1997s Nighttime Birds was stylistically and musically a companion piece to Mandylion sold over 90,000 copies and saw the group tour throughout Europe. In 1998 the group acknowledged their growing influences and their need to experiment with a double-album How to Measure a Planet, produced by Attie Bauw, the album is a radical departure from the groups established sound, characteristically experimental alternative, trip rock
30.
Statistics Netherlands
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Statistics Netherlands, founded in 1899, is a Dutch governmental institution that gathers statistical information about the Netherlands. In Dutch it is known as the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek and it is a department of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and is located in The Hague and Heerlen. Since 3 January 2004, Statistics Netherlands has been a self-standing organisation and this independent commission must guard the impartiality, independence, quality, relevance, and continuity of the CBS, according to the Law on the CBS of 1996. The CBS has offices in Den Haag and Heerlen, the main office is located in Den Haag. The office in Heerlen was located there by the government in 1973 to compensate the area for the loss of ten of thousands of jobs because of closing the coalmines, the office in The Hague with the name Double U was designed by Branimir Medić and Pero Puljiz. It has a surface of 33,191 m2 and the total cost was €41,000,000, the office in Heerlen was designed by Meyer en Van Schooten Architects in 2009. The office has a surface of 22,000 m2 and parking spaces for 296 cars, glass was used everywhere in the building. The main hall has a roof and the outside walls are fully glass. The several straight staircases in the hall have glass balustrades with a RVS handrail and were manufactured by EeStairs. Queen Beatrix from The Netherlands officially opened the building the 30th of September 2009
31.
Bernheze
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Bernheze is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. It was formed in 1994 from the municipalities of Heesch, Heeswijk-Dinther. The municipality was named after an old farm Bernhese, which came into the possession of the Berne Abbey and this abbey was situated in the village of Bern. The meaning of Bernhese is twofold, Bern is the same as the word born. In 1857 the Berne Abbey was founded in Heeswijk, Heesch Heeswijk Dinther Loosbroek Nistelrode Vorstenbosch Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Bernheze, June 2015. Media related to Bernheze at Wikimedia Commons Official website
32.
Vught
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Vught is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. Many commuters live in the municipality, and the town of Vught was once named Best place to live by the Dutch magazine Elsevier. Cromvoirt Vught Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Vught, June 2015 The first mention of Vught in the record dates to the eleventh century. By the fourteenth century, the Teutonic Order had acquired the parish, in 1328, the residents of Vught were granted the right of municipality by the Duke of Brabant. During the Eighty Years War Vught was the site of struggles between Catholic interests and the troops of William of Orange. The Saint Lambert Church was made into a Reformed Protestant church in the year 1629, after the troops of Frederick Henry, Vught is known for having been the site of a transit/concentration camp built by Nazi Germany during its occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. It was part of camp Herzogenbusch, but usually known as Kamp Vught. The camp held male and female prisoners, many of them Jewish and political activists, captured in Belgium, the guard staff included SS men and a few SS women, headed by Oberaufseherin Margarete Gallinat. The SS initially used this location as a camp to gather mostly Jewish prisoners for classification and transportation to camps in Poland. A group of women were punished for standing up for another female prisoner. Seventy-four women were pushed into a room of barely nine square meters. Ten of the died, and several suffered permanent physical or mental damage. The camp commander responsible was demoted by Himmler to the rank of soldier and sent to the Hungarian front. Dutch underground members Corrie and Betsie ten Boom were held at Vught in 1944, Vught was also a transition camp for many of the female laborers at the Agfa Kamerawerke in München-Giesing, where they built ignition and camera devises. Poncke Princen, who would become known for going over to the Indonesian guerrillas opposing Dutch rule, was imprisoned at Vught for his anti-Nazi activities. Vught was liberated by the Canadians at the end of the war, after World War II, the camp was first used as a prison for Germans and collaborators. Some of the camp has been preserved as a monument related to the Nazi occupation during World War II. In addition, a prison called Nieuw Vosseveld was built on part of the site of Camp Vught, in the beginning, it chiefly held young offenders
33.
Asten, Netherlands
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Asten is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. It is home to the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry and also a carillon museum, the spoken language is Peellands, an East Brabantian dialect. Asten Heusden Ommel Asten has a history going back to the Roman period. In the swamp of the national park De Peel an ancient Roman centurion helmet was found. Silhouets of Hunter-Gatherer and Agricultural societies were also found in the area, the village has a castle dating back to the 12th century, at the south of the current village. It has also given its name to the village, Aa-Stein, a second stone-built fortified building was suspected at the north, at the site of the current Slotweg to be precise. Some stone fragments have been excavated, although no evidence of a fortified building has been produced here. The village was pillaged and burnt twice in the 17th century, by Austrian and Swedish army troops
34.
Baarle-Nassau
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Baarle-Nassau is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, located in North Brabant province. It had a population of 6,626 in 2014, topographic map of the municipality of Baarle-Nassau, June 2015. It is closely linked, with complicated borders, to the Belgian exclaves of Baarle-Hertog, Baarle-Hertog consists of 26 separate pieces of land. Apart from the main piece located north of the Belgian town of Merksplas, there are 22 Belgian exclaves in the Netherlands, there are also six Dutch exclaves located within the largest Belgian exclave, one within the second-largest, and an eighth within Zondereigen. The smallest Belgian parcel, H22, measures 2,632 square metres, the borders complexity results from a number of equally complex medieval treaties, agreements, land-swaps and sales between the Lords of Breda and the Dukes of Brabant. Generally speaking, predominantly agricultural or built environments became constituents of Brabant and these distributions were ratified and clarified as a part of the borderline settlements arrived at during the Treaty of Maastricht in 1843. For clarification and the interest of tourists, the border is made visible on all streets with iron pins and this way it is always clear whether one is in Belgium or in The Netherlands. This is also visible on the numbers, the style of house numbers is different in both countries and often one will find the Dutch or Belgian flag next to the number. Baarle-Nassau Ulicoten Castelré These are all part of Baarle-Nassau Commune and these are all part of Baarle-Hertog Commune, and are surrounded by Baarle-Nassau Commune
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Bergeijk
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Bergeijk is a municipality and town in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. It consists of an area of 101.73 km2 and had a population of 18,279 in 2014 and it is one of 21 municipalities, including Eindhoven, that make up the Eindhoven Region Cooperative. Until 1998 it had the spelling of Bergeyk. Bergeijk is traditionally an area, but tourism and recreation are steadily gaining importance. Among the facilities in the municipality of Bergeijk is a park in the village Westerhoven. Bergeijk is known in the Netherlands for a program on radio, Radio Bergeijk. Bergeijk Boscheind Braambosch Hof t Loo Loveren Luyksgestel Riethoven Rijt Sengelsbroek Walik Weebosch Westerhoven Topographic map of the municipality of Bergeijk, media related to Bergeijk at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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Bergen op Zoom
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Bergen op Zoom is a municipality and a city located in the south of the Netherlands. The city was built on a place where two types of soil meet, sandy soil and marine clay, the sandy soil pushed against the marine clay, accumulating and forming hills over several centuries. People called those hills the Brabantse Wal, literally meaning wall of Brabant, Zoom refers to the border of this wall and bergen in Dutch means mountains or hills. The name has nothing to do with the channel the ‘Zoom’ which was later built through Bergen op Zoom. Bergen op Zoom was granted city status probably in 1212, in 1287 the city and its surroundings became a lordship as it was separated from the lordship of Breda. The lordship was elevated to a margraviate in 1559, several noble families, including the House of Glymes, ruled Bergen op Zoom in succession until 1795, although the title was only nominal since at least the seventeenth century. During the early period, Bergen op Zoom was a very strong fortress and one of the main armories. It had a natural defensive site, surrounded as it was by marshes. Furthermore, it could receive reinforcements and supplies by sea, if the army did not have a fleet to blockade its port. Due to these features, the city was one of the strategic points held by the Dutch during their revolt in the Eighty Years War and it was at that time besieged by Alessandro Farnese first in 1588, and by Ambrosio Spinola a second time in 1622. Both sieges were unsuccessful and Bergen op Zoom got the nickname La Pucelle or The Virgin as it was never sieged successfully, in 1747, during the War of the Austrian Succession, the French army laid siege to it again. However, it had no line of fortifications, nor any fortress. After seventy days of siege, the city was taken and thoroughly sacked, during the War of the Seventh Coalition, the town was again besieged by the British in 1814 in a failed attempt to dislodge the French garrison. During the reign of Jan II van Glymes, nicknamed Jan metten Lippen, which means Jan with the big lips, probably caused by an infection, large fairs were held twice a year, in spring and fall, that were known both nationally and internationally. Merchants from all over Europe came to Bergen op Zoom to sell their goods, because of this major economic growth, the Sint-Gertrudischurch was enlarged. The enlargement was called the Nieuw Werck but was never finished, because of the recession of the mid 16th century. The economic recession was largely caused by the bad accessibility of the port, due to a number of floods in Zeeland, because of the great reliance on the port, the economic growth received a major blow. In addition, the modernization of trade techniques, like the permanent stock exchange instead of the fairs, nevertheless, these fairs existed until 1910
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Best, Netherlands
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Best is a municipality and a village in the southern Netherlands. It is situated northwest of the city Eindhoven, and is part of the agglomeration of this city. The headquarters of Europes largest meat processor Vion NV are located in Best, as are Philips Healthcare, the village used to be a part of Oirschot, a nearby town. But as Best was situated on the road from Amsterdam to Maastricht. Each time the military wanted to quarter troops in Best, they had to request to be stationed in Oirschot,10 km away, because of this difficulty, the government decided to separate Best from Oirschot in 1819. Archaeological excavations around the village suggest settlement in the area dating back to the Roman era, the Armenhoef is a monumental farm on the Oirschotseweg 117 in Best. This stable is the oldest still in use within Western Europe, historical building research in 2009 showed that the wooden frame of the stable dates from 1263. The living part of the farm itself is built in recent times, in 1640 at the earliest, the farm is an official monument. The first written text about Best dates back to 1421, the village itself, however, did not exist until the 19th century. There were three villages, Naastenbest in the west, Wilhelminadorp in the south and Verrenbest where Oranjestraat is located. They grew together, and formed the village with the name Best, Best received a train station on the line Rotterdam - Breda - Boxtel - Helmond - Venlo - Maastricht. The line had one track, but traffic congestion necessitated another track. In the 1980s, congestion once again became a problem so two more tracks were added in 2002 and it is now possible to travel to Best from Utrecht or Eindhoven by train. The spoken language is North Meierijs, one can take a bus from the Eindhoven central station to Best. Or one can take a bus from the Tilburg central station to Best
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Boekel
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Boekel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. The name Boekel can be explained bij the word loo the Dutch word for forest from de heeren Boc and fits in the category as places like Boxmeer. The heeren Boc was seen as the first lord of van Boxmeer, in present time is presumed that the name is derived from Beukeloo or Beukenbos. Boekel Huize Padua Venhorst Boekel is founded somewhere in the Middle Ages as a settlement of a number of farms, in the 13th century Boekel was part of de heerlijkheid Uden. In 1233 a separation took place between the Land van Cuijk and the Land van Herpen and Uden, at that time Uden together with Herpen formed a form of government called a heerlijkheid. Until the foundation of the city of Ravenstein, Herpen was the city of this region. Rutger van Herpen sold or leased 1313 of 1314 the community rights to the residents of Boekel and Volkel, when the noble lord wanted to improve its cash position, then he charges the use of any of its soils, beginning with the wasteland in his heerlijkheid. This common land should particularly think of marshy land and barren higher grounds, in 1324 the heerlijkheid of Uden administratively belonged to the Land of Ravenstein under the rule of the House of Valkenburg until 1396. From the aldermen Herpen and Uden the Heikantsgericht was created in 1339 and these shipsbanks stretched across the entire former heerlijkheid of Uden, consisting of Uden, Boekel and Zeeland. Of these aldermen, which in total consisted of seven members, by childless death of Reinoud of Valkenburg grants the Duke of Brabant Adolf van Kleef with Herpen, Ravenstein and Uden so in 1397 the Land of Ravenstein Kleefs territory aids was. Afterwards the area comes under ruling of Neuburg-Palts in 1629, under the Neubergers ruling the area had religious freedom. Because the neighboring provinces of Brabant and Gelderland from 1648 officially fall under the States-General, the religious freedom provided opportunities for Catholics in the States of Brabant. So the Catholics of Erp built their own church on the border with Boekel. Due to the religious freedom several Catholic religious orders settled in the Land of Ravenstein, in 1741 members of the Brothers Penitents, from the Handelse Kluis themselves wanted to settle in Boekel. Led by Daniël de Brouwer the brothers laid the foundations for the Psychiatric Hospital Huize Padua, from the 17th and 18th centuries various conflicts arise between the villages of Boekel, Uden and Gemert around the demarcation lines between the Ravenstein, Cuijk and Gemert areas. In 1663 the boundary dispute with the Vrije Heerlijkheid Gemert was settled, in 1729, a similar problem with Uden settled
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listen)) is a municipality and a town in the southern part of the Netherlands. It is located directly south of 's-Hertogenbosch, the capital of North Brabant province, its name refers to archangel St. Michael.
Media related to Sint-Michielsgestel at Wikimedia Commons
Sint-Michielsgestel
