1.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
2.
Danish language
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There are also minor Danish-speaking communities in Norway, Sweden, Spain, the United States, Canada, Brazil and Argentina. Due to immigration and language shift in urban areas, around 15–20% of the population of Greenland speak Danish as their home language. Along with the other North Germanic languages, Danish is a descendant of Old Norse, until the 16th century, Danish was a continuum of dialects spoken from Schleswig to Scania with no standard variety or spelling conventions. With the Protestant Reformation and the introduction of printing, a language was developed which was based on the educated Copenhagen dialect. It spread through use in the system and administration though German. Today, traditional Danish dialects have all but disappeared, though there are variants of the standard language. The main differences in language are between generations, with youth language being particularly innovative, Danish has a very large vowel inventory comprising 27 phonemically distinctive vowels, and its prosody is characterized by the distinctive phenomenon stød, a kind of laryngeal phonation type. The grammar is moderately inflective with strong and weak conjugations and inflections, nouns and demonstrative pronouns distinguish common and neutral gender. As in English, Danish only has remnants of a case system, particularly in the pronouns. Its syntax is V2, with the verb always occupying the second slot in the sentence. Danish is a Germanic language of the North Germanic branch, other names for this group are the Nordic or Scandinavian languages. Along with Swedish, Danish descends from the Eastern dialects of the Old Norse language, Scandinavian languages are often considered a dialect continuum, where there are no sharp dividing lines between the different vernacular languages. Like Norwegian and Swedish, Danish was significantly influenced by Low German in the Middle Ages, Danish itself can be divided into three main dialect areas, West Danish, Insular Danish, and East Danish. Danish is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Swedish, both Swedes and Danes also understand Norwegian better than they understand each others languages. By the 8th century, the common Germanic language of Scandinavia, Proto-Norse, had some changes. This language was called the Danish tongue, or Norse language. Norse was written in the alphabet, first with the elder futhark. From the 7th century the common Norse language began to undergo changes that did not spread to all of Scandinavia, most of the changes separating East Norse from West Norse started as innovations in Denmark, that spread through Scania into Sweden and by maritime contact to southern Norway
3.
Duchy of Schleswig
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The region is also called Sleswick in English. Roman sources place the homeland of the Jute tribe north of the river Eider and that of the Angles to its south, who in turn abutted the neighbouring Saxons. During the early Viking Age, Haithabu - Scandinavias biggest trading centre - was located in this region and its construction, and in particular its great expansion around 737, has been interpreted as an indication of the emergence of a unified Danish state. In May 1931 scientists of the National Museum of Denmark announced the finding of eighteen Viking graves with the remains of eighteen men in them, the discovery came during excavations in Schleswig. The skeletons indicated that the men were bigger proportioned than twentieth-century Danish men, each of the graves was laid out from east to west. Researchers surmised that the bodies were entombed in wooden coffins originally, towards the end of the Early Middle Ages, Schleswig formed part of the historical Lands of Denmark as Denmark unified out of a number of petty chiefdoms in the 8th to 10th centuries. The southern boundary of Denmark in the region of the Eider River, the Treaty of Heiligen was signed in 811 between the Danish King Hemming and Charlemagne, by which the border was established at the Eider. During the 10th century there were wars between East Francia and Denmark. In 1027, Conrad II and Canute the Great again settled their mutual border at the Eider. In 1115, king Niels created his nephew Canute Lavard - a son of his predecessor Eric I - Earl of Schleswig, in the 1230s, Southern Jutland was allotted as an appanage to Abel Valdemarsen, Canutes great-grandson, a younger son of Valdemar II of Denmark. Feuds and marital alliances brought the Abel dynasty into a connection with the German Duchy of Holstein by the 15th century. The latter was a subordinate to the Holy Roman Empire. The title Duke of Schleswig was inherited in 1460 by the kings of Norway who were also regularly elected kings of Denmark simultaneously. This was an anomaly – a king holding a ducal title, the title and anomaly survived presumably because it was already co-regally held by the kings sons. Between 1544 and 1713/20 the ducal reign had become a condominium, with the royal House of Oldenburg, a third branch in the condominium, the short-lived House of Haderslev, was already extinct in 1580 by the time of John the Elder. On the west coast the Danish diocese of Ribe stopped about 5 km north of the present border and this line corresponds remarkably well with the present border. In the 17th century a series of wars between Denmark and Sweden—which Denmark lost—devastated the region economically, however the nobility responded with a new agricultural system that restored prosperity. In the period 1600 to 1800 the region experienced the growth of manorialism of the common in the rye-growing regions of eastern Germany
4.
Jutland
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Jutland, also known as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula, is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and the northern portion of Germany. The names are derived from the Jutes and the Cimbri, respectively, jutlands terrain is relatively flat, with open lands, heaths, plains and peat bogs in the west and a more elevated and slightly hilly terrain in the east. Jutland is a peninsula bounded by the North Sea to the west, the Skagerrak to the north, geographically and historically, Jutland comprises the regions of South Jutland, West Jutland, East Jutland and North Jutland. There are several subdivisions and regional names, some of which are still occasionally encountered today. They include Nørrejyllland, Sydvestjylland, Nordvestjylland and Slesvig, historically, Jutland was regulated by the Law Code of Jutland. This civic code covered the Jutland Peninsula from the north of the River Eider to Funen as well as the North Jutlandic Island. The Danish part of Jutland is currently divided into three regions, North Denmark Region, Central Denmark Region and Region of Southern Denmark. These three regions have an area of 29,775 km2, a population of 2,599,104. The northernmost part of Jutland is separated from the mainland by the Limfjord and this area is called the North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy or simply Jutland north of the Limfjord, it is only partly co-terminous with the North Jutland region. Inhabitants of Als would agree to be South Jutlanders, but not necessarily Jutlanders, the Danish Wadden Sea Islands and the German North Frisian Islands stretch along the southwest coast of Jutland in the German Bight. Jutland has historically been one of the three lands of Denmark, the two being Scania and Zealand. Before that, according to Ptolemy, Jutland or the Cimbric Chersonese was the home of Teutons, Cimbri, many Angles, Saxons and Jutes migrated from Continental Europe to Great Britain starting in c.450 AD. The Angles themselves gave their name to the new emerging kingdoms called England and this is thought by some to be related to the invasion of Europe by the Huns from Asia. Saxons and Frisii migrated to the region in the part of the Christian era. Old Saxony was later on referred to as Holstein, during the First World War, the Battle of Jutland in the North Sea west of Jutland was one of the largest naval battles in history. In this pitched battle, the British Royal Navy engaged the Imperial German Navy, the British fleet sustained greater losses, but remained in control of the North Sea, so in strategic terms, most historians regard Jutland either as a British victory or as indecisive. The distinctive Jutish dialects differ substantially from standard Danish, especially West Jutlandic, dialect usage, although in decline, is better preserved in Jutland than in eastern Denmark, and Jutlander speech remains a stereotype among many Copenhageners and eastern Danes. Administratively, Danish Jutland comprises three of Denmarks five regions, namely the Region Nordjylland, Region Midtjylland and the half of Region of Southern Denmark
5.
Eider (river)
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The Eider is the longest river in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The river starts near Bordesholm and reaches the outskirts of Kiel on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The lower part of the Eider was used as part of the Eider Canal until that canal was replaced by the modern Kiel Canal, during the High Middle Ages the Eider was the border between the Saxons and the Danes, as reported by Adam of Bremen in 1076. For centuries it divided Denmark and the Holy Roman Empire, today it is the border between Schleswig and Holstein, the northern and southern parts, respectively, of the modern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The Eider flows through the towns, Bordesholm, Kiel, Rendsburg, Friedrichstadt. Near Tönning it flows into the North Sea, the estuary has tidal flats and brackish water. The mouth of the river is crossed by a storm surge barrier. A tidal lock provides access for boats through the Eider Barrage, the fishing port of Tönning lies 11 kilometres upstream of the barrier, while Friedrichstadt is 15 kilometres further upstream. At Friedrichstadt a lock gives access to the River Treene, the Eider remains tidal as far as the lock at Nordfeld,6 kilometres above Friedrichstadt. There is a lock at Lexfähre,52 kilometres upstream of Nordfeld. A further 3 kilometres beyond Lexfähre is the junction with the short Gieselau Canal, the Eider therefore provides an alternative route from the North Sea to the Kiel Canal, avoiding the tides of the estuary of the Elbe. The head of navigation lies a further 23 kilometres upstream at Rendsburg, although it is adjacent to the Kiel Canal, through passage is no longer possible
6.
Flensburg Firth
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Flensburg Firth or Flensborg Fjord, is the westernmost inlet of the Baltic Sea. It forms part of the border between Germany to the south and Denmark to the north and its length is either 40 or 50 km, depending to the definition of its limits. It has the largest surface of all Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, two peninsulas, Broager peninsula on the northern side and Holnis peninsula on the southern side divide the inlet in an outer and an inner part. West of them, near the Danish coast, there are two small Islands called Okseøer, on the Danish side, outer part of the northern limits of the firth is formed by the island of Als with the town of Sønderborg. Towards the west, continuing on the Danish side are Broager, Egernsund, Gråsten, Rinkenæs, Sønderhav, the Tourist attraction of the Flensburg Firth are the church of Broager, the Ox isles, the Sønderborg Castle, the Naval Academy Mürwik and the harbor of Flensburg
7.
Denmark
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The term Danish Realm refers to the relationship between Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland—three countries constituting the Kingdom of Denmark. The legal nature of the Kingdom of Denmark is fundamentally one of a sovereign state. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been part of the Crown of Denmark since 1397 when the Kalmar Union was ratified, legal matters in The Danish Realm are subject to the Danish Constitution. Beginning in 1953, state law issues within The Danish Realm has been governed by The Unity of the Realm, a less formal name for The Unity of the Realm is the Commonwealth of the Realm. In 1978, The Unity of The Realm was for the first time referred to as rigsfællesskabet. The name caught on and since the 1990s, both The Unity of The Realm and The Danish Realm itself has increasingly been referred to as simply rigsfællesskabet in daily parlance. The Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Danish Realm are the responsibility of the Danish government, the Faroes received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in 1979. In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received self rule, the Danish Realms unique state of internal affairs is acted out in the principle of The Unity of the Realm. This principle is derived from Article 1 of the Danish Constitution which specifies that constitutional law applies equally to all areas of the Danish Realm, the Constitutional Act specifies that sovereignty is to continue to be exclusively with the authorities of the Realm. The language of Denmark is Danish, and the Danish state authorities are based in Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmarks parliament, with its 179 members, is located in the capital, Copenhagen. Two of the members are elected in each of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Government ministries are located in Copenhagen, as is the highest court, in principle, the Danish Realm constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese, the Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have the economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides a grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands sets out the terms of Faroese home rule, the Act states. the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark. It establishes the government of the Faroe Islands and the Faroese parliament. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as a Danish county, the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand and these powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an equal partner with the Danish government
8.
South Jutland County
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South Jutland County is a former county on the south-central portion of the Jutland Peninsula in southern Denmark. The county was formed on April 1,1970, comprising the counties of Aabenraa, Haderslev, Sønderborg. The county was abolished effective January 1,2007, when the Region of Southern Denmark was formed, following the reunification of the region with Denmark, the Church of Denmark elevated Haderslev to a diocese in 1923 and divided the region between the dioceses of Ribe and Haderslev. South Jutland county is known as Northern Schleswig. Denmark lost the Duchy of Schleswig, as well as the German Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg, following Austrias defeat in the Austro-Prussian War, all three provinces were annexed to Prussia. Following the defeat of Germany in World War I, the Allied powers organised two plebiscites in Northern and Central Schleswig on 10 February and 14 March 1920, respectively, in Northern Schleswig 75% voted for reunification with Denmark and 25% for staying with Germany. In Central Schleswig the situation was reversed with 80% voting for Germany, no vote ever took place in the southern third of Schleswig, as the result was a foregone conclusion. On 15 June 1920, Northern Schleswig was officially reunited with Denmark and it is the only one of the German transfers of territory after World War I that the Nazis did not dispute. Central Schleswig chose to remain with Southern Schleswig as part of Germany and is today a part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, a small ethnic German minority still lives in South Jutland county - predominantly in and near the towns of Tønder and Aabenraa. Important settlements, Sønderborg, Aabenraa, Haderslev and Tønder, the coat of arms of South Jutland County was designed in 1980 and is derived from the historic coat of arms of Schleswig which in turn is derived from the national coat of arms of Denmark. The inspiration for the Dannebrog pennant was a 13th-century seal used by Erik Abelsøn, Duke of Schleswig
9.
Holstein
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Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the County of Holstein, the later Duchy of Holstein, the history of Holstein is closely intertwined with the history of the Danish Duchy of Schleswig. The capital of Holstein is Kiel, Holsteins name comes from the Holcetae, a Saxon tribe mentioned by Adam of Bremen as living on the north bank of the Elbe, to the west of Hamburg. The name means dwellers in the wood, after the Migration Period of the Early Middle Ages, Holstein was adjacent to The Obotrites on the coast of the Baltic Sea and the land of the Danes in Jutland. With the conquest of Old Saxony by Charlemagne circa 800, he granted land north of the Eider River to the Danes by the Treaty of Heiligen signed in 811. The ownership of Holstein was given to The Obotrites, namely the Wagrians, after 814, the Saxons were restored to Western Holstein. The new county of Holstein was established in 1111, it was first a fief of the Duchy of Saxony, then of the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, with the establishment of the new territorial unit, expansion to the East began and the Wagrians were finally defeated in 1138. The County of Holstein was ruled by the House of Schaumburg, Holstein was occupied by Denmark after the Battle of Stellau, but was reconquered by the Count of Schauenburg and his allies in the Battle of Bornhöved. He thus became as Gerhard II duke of Schleswig, until 1390 the Rendsburg branch united by inheritance all branches except of that of Holstein-Pinneberg. Through the Treaty of Ribe Christian was elected Count of Holstein-Rendsburg, in 1474 Lauenburgs liege lord Emperor Frederick III elevated Christian I as Count of Holstein-Rendsburg to Duke of Holstein, thus becoming an immediate imperial vassal. The Duchy of Holstein retained that status until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806, in 1490, the Duchy of Holstein was divided into Holstein-Segeberg and Holstein-Gottorp. Holstein-Segeberg remained with the Danish king and was known as Royal Holstein. Holstein-Gottorp, also known as Ducal Holstein, was given to a branch of the House of Oldenburg. Between 1533 and 1544 King Christian III of Denmark ruled the entire Duchies of Holstein and of Schleswig also in the name of his still minor half-brothers John the Elder. The elder three brothers determined their youngest brother Frederick for a career as Lutheran administrator of a state within the Holy Roman Empire. The secular rule in the fiscally divided duchies thus became a condominium of the parties, as dukes of Holstein and Schleswig the rulers of both houses bore the formal title of Duke of Schleswig, Holstein, Ditmarsh and Stormarn. Between 1648 and 1773 the royal share used to be called Holstein-Glückstadt after its capital Glückstadt, parts of the former County of Holstein-Pinneberg were transformed 1649/50 into the Imperial County of Rantzau, which fell back to the Danish Crown in 1726
10.
Otto von Bismarck
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Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg, known as Otto von Bismarck, was a conservative Prussian statesman who dominated German and European affairs from the 1860s until 1890. In the 1860s, he engineered a series of wars that unified the German states, significantly and deliberately excluding Austria, into a powerful German Empire under Prussian leadership. With that accomplished by 1871, he skillfully used balance of power diplomacy to maintain Germanys position in a Europe which, despite many disputes and war scares, in 1862, King Wilhelm I appointed Bismarck as Minister President of Prussia, a position he would hold until 1890. He provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria, and France, aligning the smaller German states behind Prussia in its defeat of France, in 1871, he formed the German Empire with himself as Chancellor, while retaining control of Prussia. His diplomacy of realpolitik and powerful rule at home gained him the nickname the Iron Chancellor, German unification and its rapid economic growth was the foundation to his foreign policy. He disliked colonialism but reluctantly built an empire when it was demanded by both elite and mass opinion. A master of politics at home, Bismarck created the first welfare state in the modern world. In the 1870s, he allied himself with the Liberals and fought the Catholic Church in what was called the Kulturkampf and he lost that battle as the Catholics responded by forming a powerful Centre party and using universal male suffrage to gain a bloc of seats. Bismarck then reversed himself, ended the Kulturkampf, broke with the Liberals, imposed protective tariffs, a devout Lutheran, he was loyal to his king, who argued with Bismarck but in the end supported him against the advice of his wife and his heir. Under Wilhelm I, Bismarck largely controlled domestic and foreign affairs, until he was removed by the young Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1890, bismarck—a Junker himself—was strong-willed, outspoken and sometimes judged overbearing, but he could also be polite, charming and witty. Occasionally he displayed a violent temper, and he kept his power by threatening resignation time and again. He possessed not only a national and international vision but also the short-term ability to juggle complex developments. As the leader of what historians call revolutionary conservatism, Bismarck became a hero to German nationalists, many historians praise him as a visionary who was instrumental in uniting Germany and, once that had been accomplished, kept the peace in Europe through adroit diplomacy. Bismarck was born in Schönhausen, a family estate situated west of Berlin in the Prussian province of Saxony. He had two siblings, Bernhard and Malwine, the world saw Bismarck as a typical Prussian Junker, an image that he encouraged by wearing military uniforms. Bismarck was well educated and cosmopolitan with a gift for conversation, in addition to his native German, he was fluent in English, French, Italian, Polish and Russian. Bismarck was educated at Johann Ernst Plamanns elementary school, and the Friedrich-Wilhelm, from 1832 to 1833, he studied law at the University of Göttingen, where he was a member of the Corps Hannovera, and then enrolled at the University of Berlin. In 1838, while stationed as an army reservist in Greifswald, at Göttingen, Bismarck befriended the American student John Lothrop Motley
11.
Emperor of Austria
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The emperors retained the title of Archduke of Austria. The wives of the emperors bore the title of empress, while members of the family the title archduke or archduchess. Members of the House of Austria, the Habsburg dynasty, had for centuries been elected as Holy Roman Emperor, thus the term Austrian emperor may occur in texts dealing with the time before 1804, when no Austrian Empire existed. In these cases the word Austria means the composite monarchy ruled by the dynasty, a special case was Maria Theresa, she bore the imperial title as the consort of Francis I, but she herself was the monarch of the Austrian Hereditary Lands including Bohemia and Hungary. Therefore, on 11 August 1804 he created the new title of Emperor of Austria for himself, for two years, Francis carried two imperial titles, being Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and by the Grace of God Emperor Francis I of Austria. This led Francis II/I on 6 August 1806 to declare the Reich dissolved, from 1806 onwards, Francis was Emperor of Austria only. He had three successors—Ferdinand I, Francis Joseph I and Charles I—before the Empire broke apart in 1918, a coronation ceremony was never established, the heir to the throne became emperor the moment his predecessor died or abdicated. The symbol of the Austrian Emperor was the private crown dating back to Rudolf II. The Austrian Emperors had an extensive list of titles and claims that reflected the geographic expanse, the function of the emperor was styled like a secular papacy. Therefore, it was the goal to demonstrate the highest majesty and dignity of the monarch to his subjects and to other monarchs. His and his entourages life was governed by strict rules all the time. The members of the House of Habsburg were ranked as princes and princesses of the blood imperial and their permanent address and their travels abroad had to be agreed to by the Emperor. Otherwise the marriage would be one to the hand, called a morganatic marriage. To manage the political implications of the Imperial house since 1867 the Emperor, Minister des kaiserlichen und königlichen Hauses und des Äußeren, the I. &R. Minister of the Imperial and Royal House and of the Exterior, one of the three ministers common to Austria and Hungary. Under Francis I, Klemens Wenzel had covered these and many other agenda, bearing the title Haus-, the Emperors household, his personal officers and the premises where they worked were called Hof. The highest officials managing the Court were the Grand Master of the Court, the Grand Marshal of the Court, the Grand Chamberlain, whoever wanted to meet the Emperor himself had to apply to the Obersthofmeisteramt. Francis Joseph I expected soldiers to appear in uniform at his court and he never shook hands with visitors, in letters he never addressed his subjects as Sir or Mr. The Emperors court managed e. g. R, hofoperntheater, the Imperial Crypt below the Capuchin Church and Monastery in Vienna, where three of the four Emperors of Austria have been buried
12.
Franz Joseph I of Austria
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Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, and many others from 2 December 1848 until his death on 21 November 1916. From 1 May 1850 to 24 August 1866 he was also President of the German Confederation, in December 1848, Emperor Ferdinand abdicated the throne at Olomouc as part of Ministerpräsident Felix zu Schwarzenbergs plan to end the Revolutions of 1848 in Hungary. This allowed Ferdinands nephew Franz Joseph to accede to the throne, largely considered to be a reactionary, Franz Joseph spent his early reign resisting constitutionalism in his domains. Franz Joseph was troubled by nationalism during his entire reign and he concluded the Ausgleich of 1867, which granted greater autonomy to Hungary, hence transforming the Austrian Empire into the Austro-Hungarian Empire under his dual monarchy. After the Austro-Prussian War, Austria-Hungary turned its attention to the Balkans, the Bosnian crisis was a result of Franz Josephs annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, which had been occupied by his troops since the Congress of Berlin. On 28 June 1914, the assassination of his nephew Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo resulted in Austria-Hungarys declaration of war against the Kingdom of Serbia and this activated a system of alliances which resulted in World War I. Franz Joseph died on 21 November 1916, after ruling his domains for almost 68 years and he was succeeded by his grandnephew Charles. His name in German was Franz Joseph I and I and his names in other languages were, Croatian and Bosnian, Franjo Josip I. Ukrainian, Фра́нц Йо́сиф I, Romanian, Francisc Iosif Slovene, serbian, Фрања Јосиф Franz Joseph was born in the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, the eldest son of Archduke Franz Karl, and his wife Princess Sophie of Bavaria. Franzl came to idolise his grandfather, der Gute Kaiser Franz, at the age of thirteen, Franzl started a career as a colonel in the Austrian army. From that point onward, his fashion was dictated by army style, Franz Joseph was soon joined by three younger brothers, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Archduke Karl Ludwig, and Archduke Ludwig Viktor, and a sister, Maria Anna, who died at the age of four. Instead, Franz was sent to the front in Italy, joining Field Marshal Radetzky on campaign on 29 April, by all accounts he handled his first military experience calmly and with dignity. Around the same time, the Imperial Family was fleeing revolutionary Vienna for the setting of Innsbruck. Soon, the Archduke was called back from Italy, joining the rest of his family at Innsbruck by mid-June. It was at Innsbruck at this time that Franz Joseph first met his cousin Elisabeth, his bride, then a girl of ten. Following victory over the Italians at Custoza in late July, the court felt safe to return to Vienna, but within a few months Vienna again appeared unsafe, and in September the court left again, this time for Olomouc in Moravia. By now, Prince Alfred I of Windisch-Grätz, the military commander in Bohemia, was determined to see the young Archduke soon put on the throne. By the abdication of his uncle Ferdinand and the renunciation of his father, at this time he first became known by his second as well as his first Christian name
13.
Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
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Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a German Field Marshal. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field. He is often referred to as Moltke the Elder to distinguish him from his nephew Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke, Moltke was born in Parchim, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, son of the Danish Generalleutnant Friedrich Philipp Victor von Moltke. Young Moltke therefore grew up under difficult circumstances, at nine he was sent as a boarder to Hohenfelde in Holstein, and at age twelve went to the cadet school at Copenhagen, being destined for the Danish army and court. In 1818 he became a page to the king of Denmark, at twenty-one Moltke resolved to enter the Swedish service, in spite of the loss of seniority. In 1822 he became a lieutenant in the 8th Infantry Regiment stationed at Frankfurt. At twenty-three, he was allowed to enter the war school. For a year Moltke had charge of a school at Frankfurt an der Oder. In 1832 he was seconded for service on the staff at Berlin. He was at this time regarded as a brilliant officer by his superiors, including Prince William, max Boot says of Moltke in his War Made New, Moltke loved music, poetry, art, archaeology, and theater. He was a prolific artist who filled sketchbooks with landscapes and portraits, as well as a popular author. For all his catholicity of interests and he was a nationalist to the core who was appalled by the liberal revolutions that swept Europe on 1848. He placed his faith in the king and the forces of the old regime, Moltke was well received at court and in the best society of Berlin. His tastes inclined him to literature, to study and to travel. In 1827 he had published a romance, The Two Friends. In 1831 he wrote an essay entitled Holland and Belgium in their Mutual Relations, a year later he wrote An Account of the Internal Circumstances and Social Conditions of Poland, a study based both on reading and on personal observation of Polish life and character. In eighteen months he had finished nine volumes out of twelve, in 1835 on his promotion as captain, Moltke obtained six months leave to travel in south-Eastern Europe. After a short stay in Constantinople he was requested by the Sultan Mahmud II to help modernize the Ottoman Empire army and he remained two years at Constantinople, learned Turkish and surveyed the city of Constantinople, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. He travelled through Wallachia, Bulgaria and Rumelia, and made other journeys on both sides of the Strait
14.
Elbe
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The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia, then Germany and its total length is 1,094 kilometres. The Elbes major tributaries include the rivers Vltava, Saale, Havel, Mulde, Schwarze Elster, the Elbe river basin, comprising the Elbe and its tributaries, has a catchment area of 148,268 square kilometres, the fourth largest in Europe. The basin spans four countries, with its largest parts in Germany, much smaller parts lie in Austria and Poland. The basin is inhabited by 24.5 million people, the Elbe rises at an elevation of about 1,400 metres in the Krkonoše on the northwest borders of the Czech Republic near Labská bouda. Of the numerous small streams whose waters compose the infant river, here the Elbe enters the vast vale named Polabí, and continues on southwards through Hradec Králové and then to Pardubice, where it turns sharply to the west. At Kolín some 43 kilometres further on, it bends gradually towards the north-west, at the village of Káraný, a little above Brandýs nad Labem, it picks up the Jizera. At Mělník its stream is more than doubled in volume by the Vltava, or Moldau, upstream from the confluence the Vltava is in fact much longer, and has a greater discharge and a larger drainage basin. Some distance lower down, at Litoměřice, the waters of the Elbe are tinted by the reddish Ohře, in its northern section both banks of the Elbe are characterised by flat, very fertile marshlands, former flood plains of the Elbe now diked. At Magdeburg there is a viaduct, the Magdeburg Water Bridge, from the sluice of Geesthacht on downstream the Elbe is subject to the tides, the tidal Elbe section is called the Low Elbe. Within the city-state the Unterelbe has a number of streams, such as Dove Elbe, Gose Elbe, Köhlbrand, Northern Elbe, Reiherstieg. Some of which have been disconnected for vessels from the stream by dikes. In 1390 the Gose Elbe was separated from the stream by a dike connecting the two then-islands of Kirchwerder and Neuengamme. The Dove Elbe was diked off in 1437/38 at Gammer Ort and these hydraulic engineering works were carried out to protect marshlands from inundation, and to improve the water supply of the Port of Hamburg. The Northern Elbe passes the Elbe Philharmonic Hall and is then crossed under by the old Elbe Tunnel, a bit more downstream the Low Elbes two main anabranches Northern Elbe and the Köhlbrand reunite south of Altona-Altstadt, a locality of Hamburg. Right after both anabranches reunited the Low Elbe is passed under by the New Elbe Tunnel, the last structural road link crossing the river before the North Sea. At the bay Mühlenberger Loch in Hamburg at kilometre 634, the Northern Elbe and the Southern Elbe used to reunite, leaving the city-state the Lower Elbe then passes between Holstein and the Elbe-Weser Triangle with Stade until it flows into the North Sea at Cuxhaven. Near its mouth it passes the entrance to the Kiel Canal at Brunsbüttel before it debouches into the North Sea, the Elbe has been navigable by commercial vessels since 1842, and provides important trade links as far inland as Prague
15.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
16.
Flensburg
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Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig, after Kiel and Lübeck it is the third largest town in Schleswig-Holstein. The regime was officially dissolved on 23 May, the nearest larger towns are Kiel and Odense in Denmark. Flensburgs city centre lies about 7 km from the Danish border, after Westerland on the island of Sylt it is Germanys northernmost town. Flensburg lies at the innermost tip of the Flensburg Fjord, an inlet of the Baltic Sea, Flensburgs eastern shore is part of the Angeln peninsula. The town of Flensburg is divided into 13 communities, which themselves are divided into 38 statistical areas. Constituent communities have a number and the statistical areas a three-digit number. In 1284, its rights were confirmed and the town quickly rose to become one of the most important in the Duchy of Schleswig. Unlike Holstein, however, Schleswig did not belong to the German Holy Roman Empire, therefore, Flensburg was not a member of the Hanseatic League, but it did maintain contacts with this important trading network. They were sent inland and to almost every European country, on 28 October 1412, Queen Margaret I of Denmark died on board a ship in Flensburg Harbour of the Plague. From time to time such as bubonic plague, caused mainly by rat fleas, red dysentery. Lepers were strictly isolated, namely at the St. -Jürgen-Hospital, which lay far outside the towns gates, the church hospital Zum Heiligen Geist stood in Große Straße, now Flensburgs pedestrian precinct. A Flensburgers everyday life was hard, and the old roads. The main streets were neither paved nor lit at night, when they got really bad, the citizens had to make the dung-filled streets passable with wooden pathways. Only the few houses had windows. In 1485, a fire struck Flensburg. Even storm tides beset the town at times, every household in the town kept livestock in the house and the yard. Townsfolk furthermore had their own cowherds and a swineherd, after the Hanse fell in the 16th century, Flensburg was said to be one of the most important trading towns in the Scandinavian area
17.
Unification of Germany
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The unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state officially occurred on 18 January 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in France. Princes of the German states gathered there to proclaim Wilhelm I of Prussia as German Emperor after the French capitulation in the Franco-Prussian War. The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, which had included more than 500 independent states, was dissolved when Emperor Francis II abdicated during the War of the Third Coalition. Economically, the creation of the Prussian Zollverein in 1818, and its subsequent expansion to other states of the German Confederation. Emerging modes of transportation facilitated business and recreational travel, leading to contact, the model of diplomatic spheres of influence resulting from the Congress of Vienna in 1814–15 after the Napoleonic Wars endorsed Austrian dominance in Central Europe. The negotiators at Vienna took no account of Prussias growing strength within and among the German states and this German dualism presented two solutions to the problem of unification, Kleindeutsche Lösung, the small Germany solution, or Großdeutsche Lösung, the greater Germany solution. Reaction to Danish and French nationalism provided foci for expressions of German unity, military successes—especially those of Prussia—in three regional wars generated enthusiasm and pride that politicians could harness to promote unification. This experience echoed the memory of mutual accomplishment in the Napoleonic Wars, by establishing a Germany without Austria, the political and administrative unification in 1871 at least temporarily solved the problem of dualism. 1797, The French First Republic annexed the Left Bank of the Rhine as a result of the War of the First Coalition,1802, Previous annexations by France confirmed following its victory in the War of the Second Coalition. 1804, Francis I of Austria declared the new Austrian Empire as a reaction to Napoleon Bonapartes proclamation of the First French Empire in 1804. 1806, As a result of the War of the Third Coalition, Napoleon I annexed some territories East of the Rhine,1807, Prussia lost one half of its territory following the War of the Fourth Coalition. 1815, After the defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna reinstated the Germanic states into the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire,1834, The Prussian-led custom union evolved into the Zollverein that included almost all Confederation states except the Austrian Empire. 1848, Revolts across the German Confederation, such as in Berlin, Dresden and Frankfurt, in the meantime, the Frankfurt Parliament was set up in 1848 and attempted to proclaim a united Germany, but this was refused by William IV. The question of a united Germany under the Kleindeutsch solution or the so-called Großdeutsch began to surface,1864, The Danish-Prussian War started as Prussia protested against Danish incorporation of Schleswig into the Kingdom of Denmark. The Austrian Empire was deliberately drawn into war by Otto von Bismarck. The Austro-Prussian victory led to Schleswig, the part, being governed by Prussia and Holstein. 1866, Bismarck accused the Austrian Empire of stirring up troubles in Prussian-held Schleswig, Prussian troops drove into Austrian-held Holstein and took control of the entire state of Schleswig-Holstein. Austria declared war on Prussia and, after fighting the Austro-Prussian War, was swiftly defeated, Napoleon III declared war against Prussia
18.
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
19.
States of Germany
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Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen federal states. Since todays Germany was formed from a collection of several states, it has a federal constitution. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was through the unification of the western states created in the aftermath of World War II. West Berlin, while not part of the Federal Republic, was largely integrated and considered as a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, in 1957, the Saar Protectorate rejoined the Federal Republic as the Saarland. Federalism is one of the constitutional principles of Germany. After 1945, new states were constituted in all four zones of occupation, in 1949, the states in the three western zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to the development in Austria, where the Bund was constituted first. The use of the term Länder dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, before this time, the constituent states of the German Empire were called Staaten. Today, it is common to use the term Bundesland. However, this term is not used officially, neither by the constitution of 1919 nor by the Basic Law of 1949, three Länder call themselves Freistaaten, Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. He summarizes the arguments for boundary reform in Germany. The German system of dual federalism requires strong Länder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation, too many Länder also make coordination among them and with the federation more complicated. But several proposals have failed so far, territorial reform remains a topic in German politics. Federalism has a tradition in German history. The Holy Roman Empire comprised many petty states numbering more than 300 around 1796, the number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Congress of Vienna,39 states formed the German Confederation, the new German Empire included 25 states and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia, which controlled 65% of the territory, after the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles, the remaining states continued as republics of a new German federation
20.
Schleswig-Holstein
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Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig. Its capital city is Kiel, other cities are Lübeck. Also known in more dated English as Sleswick-Holsatia, the Danish name is Slesvig-Holsten, the Low German name is Sleswig-Holsteen, historically, the name can also refer to a larger region, containing both present-day Schleswig-Holstein and the former South Jutland County in Denmark. The term Holstein derives from Old Saxon Holseta Land, originally, it referred to the central of the three Saxon tribes north of the River Elbe, Tedmarsgoi, Holstein and Sturmarii. The area of the tribe of the Holsts was between the Stör River and Hamburg, and after Christianization, their church was in Schenefeld. Saxon Holstein became a part of the Holy Roman Empire after Charlemagnes Saxon campaigns in the eighth century. Since 811, the frontier of Holstein was marked by the River Eider. The term Schleswig comes from the city of Schleswig, around 1100, the Duke of Saxony gave Holstein, as it was his own country, to Count Adolf I of Schauenburg. Schleswig and Holstein have at different times belonged in part or completely to either Denmark or Germany, the exception is that Schleswig had never been part of Germany until the Second Schleswig War in 1864. For many centuries, the King of Denmark was both a Danish Duke of Schleswig and a German Duke of Holstein, essentially, Schleswig was either integrated into Denmark or was a Danish fief, and Holstein was a German fief and once a sovereign state long ago. Both were for centuries ruled by the kings of Denmark. In the church, following the reformation, German was used in the part of Schleswig. This would later prove decisive for shaping national sentiments in the population, the administration of both duchies was conducted in German, despite the fact that they were governed from Copenhagen. The German national awakening that followed the Napoleonic Wars gave rise to a popular movement in Holstein. This development was paralleled by an equally strong Danish national awakening in Denmark and this movement called for the complete reintegration of Schleswig into the Kingdom of Denmark and demanded an end to discrimination against Danes in Schleswig. The ensuing conflict is called the Schleswig-Holstein Question. e. Not only in the Kingdom of Denmark, but also to Danes living in Schleswig, furthermore, they demanded protection for the Danish language in Schleswig. A liberal constitution for Holstein was not seriously considered in Copenhagen and these demands were rejected by the Danish government in 1848, and the Germans of Holstein and southern Schleswig rebelled
21.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
22.
West Germany
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West Germany is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation on 23 May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990. During this Cold War era, NATO-aligned West Germany and Warsaw Pact-aligned East Germany were divided by the Inner German border, after 1961 West Berlin was physically separated from East Berlin as well as from East Germany by the Berlin Wall. This situation ended when East Germany was dissolved and its five states joined the ten states of the Federal Republic of Germany along with the reunified city-state of Berlin. With the reunification of West and East Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany, enlarged now to sixteen states and this period is referred to as the Bonn Republic by historians, alluding to the interwar Weimar Republic and the post-reunification Berlin Republic. The Federal Republic of Germany was established from eleven states formed in the three Allied Zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom and France, US and British forces remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Its population grew from roughly 51 million in 1950 to more than 63 million in 1990, the city of Bonn was its de facto capital city. The fourth Allied occupation zone was held by the Soviet Union, as a result, West Germany had a territory about half the size of the interbellum democratic Weimar Republic. At the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided among the Western and Eastern blocs, Germany was de facto divided into two countries and two special territories, the Saarland and divided Berlin. The Federal Republic of Germany claimed a mandate for all of Germany. It took the line that the GDR was an illegally constituted puppet state, though the GDR did hold regular elections, these were not free and fair. For all practical purposes the GDR was a Soviet puppet state, from the West German perspective the GDR was therefore illegitimate. Three southwestern states of West Germany merged to form Baden-Württemberg in 1952, in addition to the resulting ten states, West Berlin was considered an unofficial de facto 11th state. It recognised the GDR as a de facto government within a single German nation that in turn was represented de jure by the West German state alone. From 1973 onward, East Germany recognised the existence of two German countries de jure, and the West as both de facto and de jure foreign country, the Federal Republic and the GDR agreed that neither of them could speak in the name of the other. The first chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who remained in office until 1963, had worked for an alignment with NATO rather than neutrality. He not only secured a membership in NATO but was also a proponent of agreements that developed into the present-day European Union, when the G6 was established in 1975, there was no question whether the Federal Republic of Germany would be a member as well. With the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, symbolised by the opening of the Berlin Wall, East Germany voted to dissolve itself and accede to the Federal Republic in 1990. Its five post-war states were reconstituted along with the reunited Berlin and they formally joined the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990, raising the number of states from 10 to 16, ending the division of Germany
23.
Bay of Kiel
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The Bay of Kiel or Kiel Bay is a bay in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and the islands of Denmark. It is connected with the Bay of Mecklenburg in the east, the Little Belt in the northwest, maritime traffic entering or leaving the Baltic through the two Belts must enter the bay. Once in, through traffic to the Baltic passes through another strait, the Fehmarn Belt, into the Bay of Mecklenburg, the Kiel Fjord ends at Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein. The southwest shore of the bay is the coast of Schleswig-Holstein, from the latter drains the Schlei inlet, actually a brackish estuary, at the head of which is the city named after it, Schleswig. In that coast also are two smaller bays, the Eckernförde Bay and the Flensburg Fjord. In the north are the Danish islands of Als, Ærø, kieler Förde, projecting from the bay to the south, is about 17 km long and 1 km wide at its narrowest point. The strategic location was not lost on the founders of Holstein and it became a prolific shipyard, which made it a prime target of allied bombing in World War II. Before the foundation of Kiel in 1242 and the construction of a city there. Any archaeological trace of them, however, either lies under the city or was disturbed long ago, Eckernförde Bay is about 16 km long and turns at the mouth, with the south bank on approximately ten km of the Bay of Kiel. The border with Kiel Fjord is at Bülker lighthouse, the once forested peninsula between Kiel Fjord and Eckernförde Bay formed the borderland between the Saxons and the Danes in the Middle Ages. It was termed the Danish Wold, North of Eckernförde Bay is the Schwansen region, at the end of the bay is the city of Eckernförde. The bay itself hosted the events for the 1936 Summer Olympics mainly held in Berlin. The 42-km Schlei forms the border between the historical regions Angeln and Schwansen and this part of the bay hosted the sailing competitions for the 1972 Summer Olympics held in mainly held Munich, Bavaria. Flensburg Fjord is approximately 50 km long and it forms part of the border between Germany and Denmark and marks north border of Angeln
24.
Fief
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The fees were often lands or revenue-producing real property held in feudal land tenure, these are typically known as fiefs or fiefdoms. However, not only land but anything of value could be held in fee, including office, rights of exploitation such as hunting or fishing, monopolies in trade. In ancient Rome a benefice was a gift of land for life as a reward for services rendered, originally, in medieval Latin European documents, a land grant in exchange for service continued to be called a beneficium. Later, the term feudum, or feodum, began to replace beneficium in the documents, the first attested instance of this is from 984, although more primitive forms were seen up to one hundred years earlier. The origin of the feudum and why it replaced beneficium has not been well established, but there are multiple theories, described below. The most widely held theory is put forth by Marc Bloch that it is related to the Frankish term *fehu-ôd, in which means cattle and -ôd means goods. When land replaced currency as the store of value, the Germanic word *fehu-ôd replaced the Latin word beneficium. This Germanic origin theory was also shared by William Stubbs in the nineteenth century, a theory put forward by Archibald R. Lewis that the origin of fief is not feudum, but rather foderum, the earliest attested use being in Astronomuss Vita Hludovici. In that text is a passage about Louis the Pious which says annona militaris quas vulgo foderum vocant, a theory by Alauddin Samarrai suggests an Arabic origin, from fuyū. Samarrais theory is that early forms of fief include feo, feu, feuz, feuum and others, Samarrai, however, also advises medieval and early modern Muslim scribes often used etymologically fanciful roots in order to claim the most outlandish things to be of Arabian or Muslim origin. It lacked a precise meaning until the middle of the 12th century, in English usage, the word fee is first attested around 1250–1300, the word fief from around 1605–15. In French, the fief is found from the middle of the 13th century. In French, one also finds seigneurie, which rise to the expression seigneurial system to describe feudalism. Originally, vassalage did not imply the giving or receiving of landholdings, by the middle of the 10th century, fee had largely become hereditary. The eldest son of a deceased vassal would inherit, but first he had to do homage and fealty to the lord, historically, the fees of the 11th and the 12th century derived from two separate sources. The first was land carved out of the estates of the upper nobility, the second source was allodial land transformed into dependent tenures. The process occurred later in Germany, and was going on in the 13th century. In England, Henry II transformed them into important sources of royal income, the discontent of barons with royal claims to arbitrarily assessed reliefs and other feudal payments under Henrys son King John resulted in Magna Carta of 1215
25.
Francia
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The kingdom was founded by Clovis I, crowned first King of the Franks in 496. The tradition of dividing patrimonies among brothers meant that the Frankish realm was ruled, nominally, even so, sometimes the term was used as well to encompass Neustria north of the Loire and west of the Seine. Most Frankish Kings were buried in the Basilica of Saint Denis, modern France is still named Francia in Spanish and Italian. The Franks emerged in the 3rd century as a confederation of smaller Germanic tribes, such as the Sicambri, Bructeri, Ampsivarii, Chamavi and Chattuarii, in the area north and east of the Rhine. Some of these peoples, such as the Sicambri and Salians, already had lands in the Roman Empire, in 357 the Salian king entered the Roman Empire and made a permanent foothold there by a treaty granted by Julian the Apostate, who forced back the Chamavi to Hamaland. As Frankish territory expanded, the meaning of Francia expanded with it, after the fall of Arbogastes, his son Arigius succeeded in establishing a hereditary countship at Trier and after the fall of the usurper Constantine III some Franks supported the usurper Jovinus. Jovinus was dead by 413, but the Romans found it difficult to manage the Franks within their borders. The Frankish king Theudemer was executed by the sword, in c, around 428 the Salian king Chlodio, whose kingdom included Toxandria and the civitatus Tungrorum, launched an attack on Roman territory and extended his realm as far as Camaracum and the Somme. The kingdom of Chlodio changed the borders and the meaning of the word Francia permanently, Francia was no longer barbaricum trans Rhenum, but a landed political power on both sides of the river, deeply involved in Roman politics. Chlodios family, the Merovingians, extended Francia even further south, the core territory of the Frankish kingdom later came to be known as Austrasia. Chlodios successors are obscure figures, but what can be certain is that Childeric I, possibly his grandson, Clovis converted to Christianity and put himself on good terms with the powerful Church and with his Gallo-Roman subjects. In a thirty-year reign Clovis defeated the Roman general Syagrius and conquered the Roman exclave of Soissons, defeated the Alemanni, Clovis defeated the Visigoths and conquered their entire kingdom with its capital at Toulouse, and conquered the Bretons and made them vassals of Francia. He conquered most or all of the neighbouring Frankish tribes along the Rhine, by the end of his life, Clovis ruled all of Gaul save the Gothic province of Septimania and the Burgundian kingdom in the southeast. The Merovingians were a hereditary monarchy, the Frankish kings adhered to the practice of partible inheritance, dividing their lands among their sons. Cloviss sons made their capitals near the Frankish heartland in northeastern Gaul, Theuderic I made his capital at Reims, Chlodomer at Orléans, Childebert I at Paris, and Chlothar I at Soissons. During their reigns, the Thuringii, Burgundes, and Saxons and Frisians were incorporated into the Frankish kingdom, the fraternal kings showed only intermittent signs of friendship and were often in rivalry. Theuderic died in 534, but his adult son Theudebert I was capable of defending his inheritance, which formed the largest of the Frankish subkingdoms and the kernel of the later kingdom of Austrasia. Theudebert interfered in the Gothic War on the side of the Gepids and Lombards against the Ostrogoths, receiving the provinces of Rhaetia, Noricum, and part of Venetia
26.
Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
27.
Schleswig-Holstein Question
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Schleswig was a part of Denmark during the Viking Age, and became a Danish duchy in the 12th century. Denmark repeatedly tried to reintegrate the Duchy of Schleswig into the Danish kingdom and this led to an open uprising by Schleswig-Holsteins large German majority in support of independence from Denmark and of close association with the German Confederation. The military intervention of the Kingdom of Prussia supported the uprising, even though Schleswig, Holstein, and Denmark had all had the same hereditary ruler for some centuries, the inheritance rules in the three territories were not quite the same. Much of the history of Schleswig-Holstein has a bearing on this question, following the defeat of Germany in World War I, the Danish majority area of Northern Schleswig was finally unified with Denmark after two plebiscites organised by the Allied powers. A small minority of ethnic Germans still lives in Northern Schleswig, since 1849 disparate systems of government had co-existed within the Danish state. Denmark proper had become a constitutional democracy, however, absolutism was still the system of Schleswig and Holstein, with advisory assemblies based on the estates system which gave more power to the most affluent members of society. After the uprising in Holstein and Schleswig the monarch had no interest in sharing rule with the people, estates of the realm, with their fear to be replaced by democratic institutions, were easier to be compromised. This caused a deadlock for practical lawmaking, hardened by ethnic tensions, in Copenhagen, the palace and most of the administration supported a strict adherence to the status quo. Since the Lutheran Reformation, German had been dominant in church and schools, the Low German dialect was the language of all of Holstein. During the centuries following the Middle Ages, Low German had come to dominate in Southern Schleswig, the Danish language still dominated in Northern Schleswig. Around 1800, German and Danish were spoken in approximately equal proportions throughout what is now Central Schleswig. The German language had been slowly spreading at the expense of Danish in previous centuries, for example, Danish was still spoken on the peninsula of Schwansen around 1780, the language border in the nineteenth century conformed approximately to the current border between Denmark and Germany. It was clear that Danish dominance in Schleswig was vulnerable and weakening, through its vigorous economic activity, the ethnically German area to the south expanded its geographic domain. Linguistically Low German immigrants constantly arrived, and previously Danish-speaking families often came to find it convenient to change languages, the Low German language, rather than Danish, had become typical of Holstein and much of south Schleswig. One solution, which afterwards had the support of Napoleon III, would have been to partition Schleswig on the lines of nationality, assigning the Danish part to Denmark, the German to Holstein. This idea, which afterwards had supporters among both Danes and Germans, proved impracticable at the time owing to the temper of the majority on both sides. This solution was implemented by plebiscites in 1920 as a condition of the treaty of Versailles. German Schleswig-Holsteiners often cited a clause from the Treaty of Ribe of 1460, stating that Schleswig and this had happened many times anyway, leaving a confusing pattern of feudal units
28.
Revolutions of 1848
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It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history. The revolutions were essentially democratic in nature, with the aim of removing the old feudal structures, the revolutionary wave began in France in February, and immediately spread to most of Europe. Over 50 countries were affected, but with no coordination or cooperation between their respective revolutionaries, the uprisings were led by shaky ad hoc coalitions of reformers, the middle classes and workers, which did not hold together for long. Tens of thousands of people were killed, and many forced into exile. Significant lasting reforms included the abolition of serfdom in Austria and Hungary, the end of monarchy in Denmark. The revolutions were most important in France, the Netherlands, the states that would make up the German Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century, Italy, and the Austrian Empire. The revolutions arose from such a variety of causes that it is difficult to view them as resulting from a coherent movement or set of social phenomena. Numerous changes had been taking place in European society throughout the first half of the 19th century, both liberal reformers and radical politicians were reshaping national governments. Technological change was revolutionizing the life of the working classes, a popular press extended political awareness, and new values and ideas such as popular liberalism, nationalism and socialism began to emerge. Some historians emphasize the serious crop failures, particularly those of 1846, that produced hardship among peasants, large swaths of the nobility were discontented with royal absolutism or near-absolutism. In 1846, there had been an uprising of Polish nobility in Austrian Galicia, additionally, an uprising by democratic forces against Prussia, planned but not actually carried out, occurred in Greater Poland. Next, the middle classes began to agitate, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, working in Brussels, had written Manifesto of the Communist Party at the request of the Communist League. Following the March insurrection in Berlin, they began agitating in Germany, the middle and working classes thus shared a desire for reform, and agreed on many of the specific aims. Their participations in the revolutions, however, differed, while much of the impetus came from the middle classes, much of the cannon fodder came from the lower. The revolts first erupted in the cities, the population in French rural areas had risen rapidly, causing many peasants to seek a living in the cities. Many in the feared and distanced themselves from the working poor. Many unskilled laborers toiled from 12 to 15 hours per day when they had work, living in squalid, traditional artisans felt the pressure of industrialization, having lost their guilds. Revolutionaries such as Karl Marx built up a following, the situation in the German states was similar
29.
Kingdom of Prussia
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It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. Prussia was a power from the time it became a kingdom, through its predecessor, Brandenburg-Prussia. Prussia continued its rise to power under the guidance of Frederick II, more known as Frederick the Great. After the might of Prussia was revealed it was considered as a power among the German states. Throughout the next hundred years Prussia went on to win many battles and it was because of its power that Prussia continuously tried to unify all the German states under its rule. Attempts at creation of a federation remained unsuccessful and the German Confederation collapsed in 1866 when war ensued between its two most powerful states, Prussia and Austria. The North German Confederation which lasted from 1867–1871, created a union between the Prussian-aligned states while Austria and most of Southern Germany remained independent. The North German Confederation was seen as more of an alliance of military strength in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War, the German Empire lasted from 1871–1918 with the successful unification of all the German states under Prussian hegemony. This was due to the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, in 1871, Germany unified into a single country, minus Austria and Switzerland, with Prussia the dominant power. Prussia is considered the predecessor of the unified German Reich. The Kingdom left a significant cultural legacy, today notably promoted by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, in 1415 a Hohenzollern Burgrave came from the south to the March of Brandenburg and took control of the area as elector. In 1417 the Hohenzollern was made an elector of the Holy Roman Empire, after the Polish wars, the newly established Baltic towns of the German states including Prussia, suffered many economic setbacks. Many of the Prussian towns could not even afford to attend political meetings outside of Prussia, the towns were poverty stricken, with even the largest town, Danzig, having to borrow money from elsewhere to pay for trade. Poverty in these towns was partly caused by Prussias neighbors, who had established and developed such a monopoly on trading that these new towns simply could not compete and these issues led to feuds, wars, trade competition and invasions. However, the fall of these gave rise to the nobility, separated the east and the west. It was clear in 1440 how different Brandenburg was from the other German territories, not only did it face partition from within but also the threat of its neighbors. It prevented the issue of partition by enacting the Dispositio Achillea which instilled the principle of primogeniture to both the Brandenburg and Franconian territories, the second issue was solved through expansion
30.
First Schleswig War
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The war, which lasted from 1848 to 1851, also involved troops from Prussia and Sweden. Ultimately, the war resulted in a Danish victory, a second conflict, the Second Schleswig War, erupted in 1864. At the beginning of 1848, Denmark included the Duchy of Schleswig, here the majority of the ethnic Germans in Denmark lived. Germans made up a third of the population, and the three duchies were behind a half of Denmarks economy. The Napoleonic Wars, which had ended in 1815, had fanned both Danish and German nationalism, the conflicting aims of Danish and German nationalists contributed to the outbreak of the First Schleswig War. Danish nationalists believed that Schleswig, but not Holstein, should be a part of Denmark, as Schleswig contained a number of Danes. Schleswig became a source of contention, as it contained a large number of Danes, Germans. Another cause of the war was the legally questionable change to the rules of succession in the duchies. King Christian VIII of Denmark died in January 1848, accordingly, Christian VIII had decreed a change to the succession law in the duchies to allow succession through the female line. The implementation of law was illegal. Schleswig-Holsteinian Prince Frederik of Noer took the 5th Lauenburger Rifle Corps, the fortress contained the main armoury of the duchies, and the 14th, 15th, and 16th Infantry Battalions, the 2nd Regiment of Artillery, as well as some military engineers. When Noers force arrived, they found that the gates to the fortress had been open for an unknown reason and promptly walked in. After delivering a speech to the defenders, the prince secured the allegiance of the battalions, Danish officers who had been serving in the defence of the fortress were allowed to leave for Denmark on the assurance that they did not fight against Schleswig-Holstein in the coming war. Wishing to defeat Denmark before Prussian, Austrian, and German troops arrived to support them,7,000 Schleswig-Holsteinish soldiers under General Krohn occupied Flensborg on March 31. Over 7,000 Danish soldiers landed east of the city, the Danes were able to reach the Schleswig-Holsteiners before they were able to retreat, and the subsequent Battle of Bov on April 9 was a Danish victory. April 12, The diet recognized the government of Schleswig. General Wrangel was also ordered to occupy Schleswig, April 23, Prussian victory in battle at Schleswig. April 23, German victory in battle at Mysunde, April 24, Prussian victory in battle at Oeversee
31.
Austrian Empire
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The Austrian Empire was an empire in Central Europe created out of the realms of the Habsburgs by proclamation in 1804. It was an empire and one of Europes great powers. Geographically it was the second largest country in Europe after the Russian Empire and it was also the third most populous after Russia and France, as well as the largest and strongest country in the German Confederation. Proclaimed in response to the First French Empire, it overlapped with the Holy Roman Empire until the dissolution in 1806. The Ausgleich of 1867 elevated Hungarys status and it became a separate entity from the Empire entirely, joining with it in the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. Changes shaping the nature of the Holy Roman Empire took place during conferences in Rastatt, on 24 March 1803, the Imperial Recess was declared, which reduced the number of ecclesiastical states from 81 to only 3 and the free imperial cities from 51 to 6. This measure was aimed at replacing the old constitution of the Holy Roman Empire, taking this significant change into consideration, the German Emperor Francis II created the title Emperor of Austria, for himself and his successors. In 1804 the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, who was ruler of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, founded the Empire of Austria. In doing so he created a formal overarching structure for the Habsburg Monarchy, to safeguard his dynastys imperial status he adopted the additional hereditary title of Emperor of Austria. Hungarys affairs remained administered by its own institutions as they had been beforehand, thus under the new arrangements no Imperial institutions were involved in its internal government. The fall and dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire was accelerated by French intervention in the Empire in September 1805, on 20 October 1805, an Austrian army led by general Karl Mack von Leiberich was defeated by French armies near the town of Ulm. The French victory resulted in the capture of 20,000 Austrian soldiers, Napoleons army won another victory at Austerlitz on 2 December 1805. Francis was forced into negotiations with the French from 4 to 6 December 1805, the French victories encouraged rulers of certain imperial territories to assert their formal independence from the Empire. On 10 December 1805, the prince-elector Duke of Bavaria proclaimed himself King, finally, on 12 December, the Margrave of Baden was given the title of Grand Duke. In addition, each of these new countries signed a treaty with France, the Treaty of Pressburg between France and Austria, signed in Pressburg on 26 December, enlarged the territory of Napoleons German allies at the expense of defeated Austria. Certain Austrian holdings in Germany were passed to French allies—the King of Bavaria, the King of Württemberg, Austrian claims on those German states were renounced without exception. On 12 July 1806, the Confederation of the Rhine was established, comprising 16 sovereigns and this confederation, under French influence, put an end to the Holy Roman Empire. On 6 August 1806, even Francis recognized the new state of things and proclaimed the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, as he did not want Napoleon to succeed him
32.
Second Schleswig War
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The Second Schleswig War was the second military conflict as a result of the Schleswig-Holstein Question. It began on 1 February 1864, when Prussian forces crossed the border into Schleswig, decisive controversy arose due to the passing of the November Constitution, which integrated the Duchy of Schleswig into the Danish kingdom in violation of the London Protocol. Reasons for the war were the controversy in Schleswig and the co-existence of conflicting political systems within the Danish unitary state. The war ended on 30 October 1864, when the Treaty of Vienna caused Denmarks cession of the Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, the northern and middle parts of Schleswig spoke Danish, but over time, the language in the southern half had shifted gradually to German. German culture was dominant among the clergy and nobility, Danish culture had a social status and was spoken mainly by the rural population. For centuries, while the rule of the king was absolute, however, when ideas of liberal democracy spread and nationalist currents emerged about 1820, identification was mixed between Danish and German. To that was added a grievance about tolls charged by Denmark on shipping passing through the Danish Straits between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, to avoid that expense, Prussia planned the Kiel Canal, which could not be built so long as Denmark ruled Holstein. Much of the focused on the heir of King Frederick VII of Denmark. Prince Christian had served on the Danish side in the First Schleswig War in 1848-1851, at the time, the king of Denmark was also duke of the duchies of Holstein and Schleswig. In 1848, Denmark had received its first free constitution and at the time had fought a civil war with the Germans of Schleswig-Holstein in which Prussia had intervened. The peace treaty stipulated that the duchy of Schleswig should not be treated any differently from the duchy of Holstein in its relations with the Kingdom of Denmark and that was a clear breach of the 1851 peace treaty and gave Prussia and the German union a casus belli against Denmark. France had colonial problems, not least with Britain, Bismarck had effectively neutralized Russia politically and succeeded in obtaining cooperation from Austria which underlined its major power status within the German union. The adoption of the Constitution of Denmark in 1849 complicated matters further, as many Danes wished for the new constitution to apply to all Danes. Thus two systems of government co-existed within the state, democracy in Denmark, and absolutism in Schleswig. This caused a deadlock for practical lawmaking, in Copenhagen, the Palace and most of the administration supported a strict adherence to the status quo. In 1858, the German Confederation deposed the union constitution of the Danish monarchy concerning Holstein and Lauenburg, the two duchies were henceforth without any constitution, while the union constitution still applied to Schleswig and Denmark proper. As the heirless King Frederick VII grew older, Denmarks successive National-Liberal cabinets became increasingly focused on maintaining control of Schleswig following the kings demise. The king died in 1863 at a critical time, work on the November Constitution for the joint affairs of Denmark and Schleswig had just been completed
33.
Austro-Prussian War
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This conflict also paralleled the Third Independence War of Italian unification. It saw the abolition of the German Confederation and its replacement by a North German Confederation that excluded Austria. The war also resulted in the Italian annexation of the Austrian province of Venetia, for centuries, Central Europe was split into a few large states and hundreds of tiny entities, each maintaining its independence with the assistance of outside powers, particularly France. After 1815, the German states were again reorganized into a loose confederation. When Austria brought the dispute before the German Diet and also decided to convene the Diet of Holstein, when the German Diet responded by voting for a partial mobilization against Prussia, Bismarck claimed that the German Confederation was ended. Crown Prince Frederick was the member of the Prussian Crown Council to uphold the rights of the Duke of Augustenberg. Although he supported unification and the restoration of the medieval empire, the ultimate aim of most German nationalists was the gathering of all Germans under one state. Two ideas of national unity eventually came to the fore – once including, US newspaper The New York Times summarized its views of German nationalism shortly after the outbreak of the war, There is, in political geography, no Germany proper to speak of. There are Kingdoms and Grand Duchies, and Duchies and Principalities, inhabited by Germans, yet there is a natural undercurrent tending to a national feeling and toward a union of the Germans into one great nation, ruled by one common head as a national unit. Bismarck maintained that he orchestrated the conflict in order to bring about the North German Confederation, the Franco-Prussian War, taylor thinks Bismarck manipulated events into the most beneficial solution possible for Prussia. On 22 February 1866, Count Karolyi, Austrian ambassador in Berlin, sent a dispatch to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, possible evidence can be found in Bismarcks orchestration of the Austrian alliance during the Second Schleswig War against Denmark, which can be seen as his diplomatic masterstroke. It was in the Prussian interest to gain an alliance with Austria to defeat Denmark and settle the issue of the duchies of Schleswig, the alliance can be regarded as an aid to Prussian expansion, rather than a provocation of war against Austria. Many historians believe that Bismarck was simply a Prussian expansionist, rather than a German nationalist and it was at the Gastein Convention that the Austrian alliance was set up to lure Austria into war. The timing of the declaration was perfect, because all other European powers were bound by alliances that forbade them from entering the conflict. Britain had no stake economically or politically in war between Prussia and Austria, the details of the discussion are unknown but many historians think Bismarck was guaranteed French neutrality in the event of a war. Italy was already allied with Prussia, which meant that Austria would be fighting both with no major allies of its own, Bismarck was aware of his numerical superiority but still he was not prepared to advise it immediately even though he gave a favourable account of the international situation. When the Prussian victory became clear, France attempted to extract concessions in the Palatinate. Naturally I was not doubtful of the answer for a second, I answered him, Good, then its war
34.
Schleswig plebiscites, 1920
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The process was monitored by a commission with representatives from France, the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden. Between 1864 and 1866, Prussia and Austria ruled the region as a condominium. The condominium was terminated due to the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, the idea of a plebiscite had been presented earlier. Bismarcks initiative was not adopted by the conference, primarily since the option had not been included in the instruction to the Danish delegation, the inclusion of the promise of a plebiscite in the 1866 Austro-Prussian Peace of Prague was a diplomatic concession to Austria, but was not implemented. The reference to it was dropped in the 1877 Gastein Convention between Austria and Germany. The 1864 border was confirmed in the 1907 German-Danish Optant Treaty, during the 1880s and 1890s, Clausen had travelled extensively on both sides of a possible future Dano-German border, for which he published two suggestions. Clausen had excluded both from his two lines, Zone I was based on Clausens estimations of the local populations national self-identification. In addition, Clausen believed that it would minimize the risk of future conflict if the border in the marshy West Schleswig followed either the Vidå river or a dyke. This caused resentment on the German side, as this implied that the town of Tønder would be included in Zone I. e. vote en bloc and this wish was conveyed to the Paris Peace Conference in Versailles, and became the basis for the plebiscites Zone I. As a compromise, it was decided to request the Allied Powers to extend the plebiscite until Clausens second line, in this smaller Zone II, each town or - in the rural areas each parish - was to decide its own allegiance. Two other requests were made, which were only followed by the Allied Powers. Firstly, Denmark requested that the plebiscite areas German civil administration be replaced by an international administration, the Allied Powers replaced the German garrisons with a small international force, but the civil administration was only partially replaced in Zone I, and not at all in Zone II. Secondly, Denmark had requested that persons previously expelled from the region should be allowed to vote in the plebiscite, the Allied Powers granted this request but extended it, consequently entitling anyone who had previously lived in the region to vote in the plebiscite. On February 10,1920, the plebiscite was held in Zone I, there,74. 9% of the public voted to come under Danish rule,25. It was mostly this area that caused controversy after the voting, the vote in Central Schleswig took place on March 14,1920. 80. 2% fell for Germany,19. 8% for Denmark, the poor result for Denmark in Central Schleswig, particularly in Flensburg, Schleswigs largest city, triggered Denmarks 1920 Easter Crisis. A plebiscite was not held in the southernmost third of the province as the population was almost exclusively pro-German, the Allied Powers had offered to include this region in the plebiscite, but the Danish government had expressly asked for Zone III to be excluded. Selected results in detail, Directly after the announcement of the results from Zone I, an alternative draft for the frontier was made by the German administrator Johannes Tiedje
35.
Treaty of Versailles
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The Treaty of Versailles was the most important of the peace treaties that brought World War I to an end. The Treaty ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers and it was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of World War I signed separate treaties, although the armistice, signed on 11 November 1918, ended the actual fighting, it took six months of Allied negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. The treaty was registered by the Secretariat of the League of Nations on 21 October 1919 and this article, Article 231, later became known as the War Guilt clause. The treaty forced Germany to disarm, make substantial territorial concessions, in 1921 the total cost of these reparations was assessed at 132 billion marks. On the other hand, prominent figures on the Allied side such as French Marshal Ferdinand Foch criticized the treaty for treating Germany too leniently, although it is often referred to as the Versailles Conference, only the actual signing of the treaty took place at the historic palace. Most of the negotiations were in Paris, with the Big Four meetings taking place generally at the Quai dOrsay, the First World War was fought across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Countries beyond the war zones were also affected by the disruption of trade, finance. In 1917, two revolutions occurred within the Russian Empire, which led to the collapse of the Imperial Government, the American war aim was to detach the war from nationalistic disputes and ambitions after the Bolshevik disclosure of secret treaties between the Allies. The existence of these treaties tended to discredit Allied claims that Germany was the power with aggressive ambitions. On 8 January 1918, United States President Woodrow Wilson issued a statement that became known as the Fourteen Points and this speech outlined a policy of free trade, open agreements, democracy and self-determination. After the Central Powers launched Operation Faustschlag on the Eastern Front and this treaty ended the war between Russia and the Central powers and annexed 1,300,000 square miles of territory and 62 million people. During the autumn of 1918, the Central Powers began to collapse, desertion rates within the German army began to increase, and civilian strikes drastically reduced war production. On the Western Front, the Allied forces launched the Hundred Days Offensive, sailors of the Imperial German Navy at Kiel mutinied, which prompted uprisings in Germany, which became known as the German Revolution. The German government tried to obtain a settlement based on the Fourteen Points. Following negotiations, the Allied powers and Germany signed an armistice, the terms of the armistice called for an immediate evacuation of German troops from occupied Belgium, France, and Luxembourg within fifteen days. In addition, it established that Allied forces would occupy the Rhineland, in late 1918, Allied troops entered Germany and began the occupation. Both the German Empire and Great Britain were dependent on imports of food and raw materials, primarily from the Americas, the Blockade of Germany was a naval operation conducted by the Allied Powers to stop the supply of raw materials and foodstuffs reaching the Central Powers
36.
Districts of Germany
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A German district is an administrative subdivision known as Landkreis, except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where it is known simply as Kreis. Most major cities in Germany are not part of a rural district, in this context, those cities are referred to as Kreisfreie Stadt or Stadtkreis. Rural districts are at a level of administration between the German states and the municipal governments. They correspond to level 3 administrative units of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, previously, the similar title Reichskreis was given to groups of states in the Holy Roman Empire. The related term Landeskommissariat was used for administrative divisions in some German territories until the 19th century. The majority of German districts are rural districts of which there are 295, cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants do not usually belong to a district, but take over district responsibilities themselves, similar to the concept of independent cities. These are known as urban districts —cities which constitute a district in their own there are currently 107 of them. As of 2011, approximately 25 million people live in these 107 urban districts, in North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Neuss and Moers. Nevertheless, these cities take over many district responsibilities themselves, although they are part of a larger rural district. Midsize towns can perform particular administrative functions of the district as well, the classification as midsize town is usually based on a towns registered population, but varies from state to state. Aachen, Hanover and Göttingen retain certain rights of an urban district, urban districts have these responsibilities and also those of the municipalities. The district council is the highest institution of a district and is responsible for all fundamental guidelines of regional self-administration. This council is elected every five years, except in Bavaria where it is elected every six years. Usually the administrative seat of a district is located in one of its largest towns. However, district council and administrative seat of rural districts are not situated within the district proper. Most of those districts are named after this central city as well. Moers is the biggest city in Germany that is neither an urban district, in parts of northern Germany, Landrat is also the name of the entire district administration, which in southern Germany is known as Kreisverwaltung or Landratsamt. In urban districts similar administrative functions are performed by a mayor, rural districts in some German states have an additional administrative commission called Kreisausschuss
37.
Schleswig-Flensburg
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Schleswig-Flensburg is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Dithmarschen and Nordfriesland, the Region Syddanmark in Denmark, the city of Flensburg, written history in the area began about 800 AD, when the Danish Viking settlement of Haithabu was founded. Later the neighbouring city of Schleswig took the place of Haithabu and it later lost its power to Lübeck. The district was established in 1974 by merging the districts of Flensburg-Land. Due to the proximity of Denmark and the history there is a large percentage of Danish inhabitants. The Schlei, a firth of the Baltic Sea, is the border of this district. All the land north of the Schlei and south of Flensburg is called the peninsula of Angeln, Angeln was the ancient home of the Germanic people known as the Angles, who migrated to England in the early Middle Ages. Media related to Kreis Schleswig-Flensburg at Wikimedia Commons Official website
38.
Nordfriesland (district)
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Nordfriesland is the northernmost district of Germany, part of the state of Schleswig-Holstein. As of 2008, Nordfriesland was the most visited rural district in Germany, the sea has always had a strong influence in the region. In medieval times, storm tides made life in what is now Nordfriesland rather dangerous, only in modern times was the loss of land and lives able to be stopped by building solid dikes. Many villages that existed are now at the bottom of the sea. The best-known example is the seaport of Rungholt, which was destroyed by a storm surge in 1362. The island of Strand vanished in the Burchardi flood, another storm in 1634. Subsequent to this surge, there were many small islets instead of Strand. Nordfriesland is still a district, there are people speaking standard German, Low German, North Frisian. The North Frisian language exists in nine slightly different dialects, yet it is used by older citizens in mainland Nordfriesland. A relatively lively community of Frisian speakers exists though on the islands of Föhr, after becoming German, three districts were established in the region, Südtondern in the north, Husum in the centre, and Eiderstedt in the south. In 1970 these three districts were merged to form the Nordfriesland district, the entire coastal region is part of the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park. Nordfriesland includes the section between Dithmarschen and Denmark. In the south is the Eiderstedt peninsula, where the River Eider meets the sea, the North Frisian Islands are also part of the Nordfriesland district and located inside the national park as well. There are five islands and ten smaller islets known as Halligen
39.
South Jutlandic
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South Jutlandic or South Jutish is a dialect of the Danish language. South Jutlandic is spoken in Southern Jutland on both sides of the border between Denmark and Germany, variants of the dialect include Western and Eastern South Jutlandic. The former variant in Angeln and Schwansen was known as Angel Danish, the other dialects classified as belonging to the Jutlandic or Jutish group of dialects are West, East, and North Jutlandic. Many older people still speak a distinct South Jutlandic dialect. Younger people and children are likely to use a dialect-tinted version of Standard Danish. Many are able to switch between both varieties, a renewed popular interest in preserving the South Jutlandic dialect has been seen in recent years. This revival has been fuelled by the works of local artists and authors as well as Æ Synnejysk Forening. Several schools now offer the dialect as a subject, although Rigsdansk. Members of the South Jutlandic speaking minority on the German side of the border tend to emphasize their South Jutlandic identity, many members of this minority are in one way or another connected with agriculture, the dialect being more prevalent in rural communities. The German minority usually speak South Jutlandic with each other and with Danish-minded people alike, Standard Danish is mastered as well, being taught in schools along with Standard German. Most people will be able to speak or understand Low German, all will know High German, often being the only language of young people and children. Members of the Danish minority are taught Standard Danish as well in schools, language is not necessarily linked with national identification. Family ties and informal local contact across the border used to be very common, sometimes the purest South Jutlandic may be found among older people who identify as German. Since they have not attended Danish schools, their speech is not influenced by Standard Danish, historically, the Danish language had a much larger extension in South Slesvig than today. South Jutlandic was spoken down to the Danevirke wall south of Schleswig town, close to the Viking town of Hedeby, South of this was a sparsely inhabited area which after the Viking age became populated with Saxon settlers whose language is now better known as Low German. The western islands and the west coast were settled by Frisians, a little further inland Frisians and Danes were mixed. With the reformation in the 16th century the language was installed in church instead of Latin. In Slesvig this meant not the language of the peasantry, but that of the dukes and gentry, being first Low German, German was the language of administration in all of Slesvig
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North Frisian language
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North Frisian is a minority language of Germany, spoken by about 10,000 people in North Frisia. The language is part of the group of the West Germanic Frisian languages. The language comprises 10 dialects which are divided into an insular. North Frisian is closely related to the Saterland Frisian language of Northwest Germany, all of these are also closely related to the English language forming the Anglo-Frisian group. The phonological system of the North Frisian dialects is strongly being influenced by Standard German and is adapting to that of the German language. With a number of native speakers probably even less than 10,000 and decreasing use in mainland North Frisia and it is protected as a minority language and has become an official language in the Nordfriesland district and on Heligoland island. Together these three form the group of Frisian languages. The English language is closely related to Frisian. The two languages are classified in a common Anglo-Frisian group, Anglo-Frisian is grouped among the Ingvaeonic languages together with Low German. The related Low German has developed differently since Old Saxon times and has lost many Ingvaeonic characteristics, the North Frisian dialects can be grouped into two main dialectal divisions, those of the mainland and the insular dialects. All in all these two groups comprise 10 dialects, the dialect spoken on the Halligen is one of the mainland dialects though. Typically one distinguishes between the ten dialects that have been spoken since the beginning of Frisian linguistic studies in the 19th century. The islands of Sylt, Föhr and Amrum were colonised around 800 while the mainland was settled by Frisians in AD1100, add to this the various influences of neighbouring languages on the dialects. The sentence displayed below in many variants reads, Shine, old moon, cried Häwelmann, but the moon was nowhere to be seen and the stars neither, they had all already gone to bed. Insular Sölring „Ljucht, ual Muun, ljucht. ”Skriilt Häwelmann, man di Muun wiar narigen tö sen en uk di Stiaren ek, rep Heewelmaan, man a muun wiar nochhuaren tu sen an a stäären uk ei, jo wiar al altermaal tu baad gingen. Rüp Heäwelman, oawers de Muun wear naarni tu sin’n en uk de Steern ni, dja wear al allemoal tu Baad gingen. Mainland Northern Goesharde Frisian, Hoorninger Fräisch variety of Langenhorn „Jocht, uule moune, jocht. ”Biilked Hääwelmoon, ors e moune waas närngs to schüns än da steere ok ai, ja weern al aal to beede gingen. Wiedingharde Frisian „Ljocht, uuile moone, ljocht. ”Biilked Hääwelmuon, män e moone was näärgen to schüns än uk e steere ai, jä würn al altomoale to beerd gingen
