Geography.

The state of Tyrol is separated into two parts, divided by a strip. The larger territory is called North Tyrol ("Nordtirol") and the smaller area is called East Tyrol ("Osttirol"). The neighbouring Austrian state of Salzburg stands to the east, while on the south Tyrol has a border with the Italian province of South Tyrol (Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol) which was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before the First World War. With a land area of, Tyrol is the third-largest state in Austria.  Tyrol shares its borders with the federal state of Salzburg in the east and Vorarlberg in the west. In the north, it adjoins to the German state of Bavaria; in the south, it shares borders with the Italian province of South Tyrol and the Swiss canton of Graubünden. East Tyrol also shares its borders with the federal state of Carinthia to the east and Italy's Province of Belluno (Veneto) to the south.  The state's territory is located entirely within the Eastern Alps at the Brenner Pass. The highest mountain in the state is the Großglockner, part of the Hohe Tauern range on the border with Carinthia. It has a height of 3,797 m (12,457.35 ft), making it the highest mountain in Austria.

History.

In ancient times, the region was split between the Roman provinces of Raetia (left of the Inn River) and Noricum. From the mid-6th century, it was resettled by Germanic Bavarii tribes. In the Early Middle Ages it formed the southern part of the German stem duchy of Bavaria, until the Counts of Tyrol, former "Vogt" officials of the Trent and Brixen prince-bishops at Tyrol Castle, achieved imperial immediacy after the deposition of the Bavarian duke Henry the Proud in 1138, and their possessions formed a state of the Holy Roman Empire in its own right.  When the Counts of Tyrol died out in 1253, their estates were inherited by the Meinhardiner Counts of Görz. In 1271, the Tyrolean possessions were divided between Count Meinhard II of Görz and his younger brother Albert I, who took the lands of East Tyrol around Lienz and attached it (as "outer county") to his committal possessions around Gorizia ("inner county").  The last Tyrolean countess of the Meinhardiner Dynasty, Margaret, bequeathed her assets to the Habsburg duke Rudolph IV of Austria in 1363. In 1420, the committal residence was relocated from Merano to Innsbruck. The Tyrolean lands were reunited when the Habsburgs inherited the estates of the extinct Counts of Görz in 1500.  In the course of the German mediatization in 1803, the prince-bishoprics of Trent and Brixen were secularized and merged into the County of Tyrol (which in the next year became a constituent land of the Austrian Empire), but Tyrol was ceded to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1805. Andreas Hofer led the Tyrolean Rebellion against the French and Bavarian occupiers. Later, South Tyrol was ceded to the Kingdom of Italy, a client state of the First French Empire, by Bavaria in 1810. After Napoleon's defeat, the whole of Tyrol was returned to Austria in 1814.  Tyrol was a Cisleithanian "Kronland" (royal territory) of Austria-Hungary from 1867. The County of Tyrol then extended beyond the boundaries of today's state, including North Tyrol and East Tyrol; South Tyrol and Trentino ("Welschtirol") as well as three municipalities, which today are part of the adjacent Province of Belluno. After World War I, these lands became part of the Kingdom of Italy according to the 1915 London Pact and the provisions of the Treaty of Saint Germain. Since November 1918, it was occupied by 20,000–22,000 soldiers of the Italian Army.  After World War II, Tyrol was governed by France until Austria regained independence again in 1955.

Towns.

The capital, Innsbruck, is known for its university, and especially for its medicine. Tyrol is popular for its famous ski resorts, which include Kitzbühel, Ischgl and St. Anton. The 15 largest towns in Tyrol are:

Economy.

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the state was 34.6 billion € in 2018, accounting for 9% of the Austria's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 40,900 € or 136% of the EU27 average in the same year.

Transport.

Tyrol has long been a central hub for European long-distance routes and thus a transit land for trans-European trade over the Alps. As early as the 1st century B.C. Tyrol had one of the most important north-south links of the Roman Empire, the Via Claudia Augusta. Roman roads crossed the Tyrol from the Po Plain in present-day Italy, following the course of the Etsch and Eisack in present South Tyrol over the Brenner and then following the northern Wipp valley to Hall. From there roads branched along the River Inn. The Via Raetia went westwards and up onto the Seefeld Plateau, where it crossed into Bavaria where Scharnitz is today. The Porta Claudia, built in the early 17th century is a fortification that underlines the importance of the road in the Early Modern Period.  Today Tyrol has international road, rail and air connections. Innsbruck Airport is Tyrol's international airport. In addition there are several smaller airports in various places such as St. Johann in Tirol, Höfen in the Außerfern or Langkampfen. Many public transit companies operate a common tariff scheme as part of the Tyrol Transport Association.

Administrative divisions.

The state is divided into nine districts ("Bezirke"); one of them, Innsbruck, is a statutory city. The districts and their administrative centres, from west to east and north to south, are:  North Tyrol:  East Tyrol:

Culture.

The traditional form of mural art known as Lüftlmalerei is typical of Tyrolean villages and towns.

Tyrol (; ; ; ) is a federal state ("Bundesland") in western Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical Princely County of Tyrol. It is a constituent part of the present-day Euroregion Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino (together with South Tyrol and Trentino in Italy). The capital of Tyrol is Innsbruck.


History.

One of the earliest illegal prime numbers was generated in March 2001 by Phil Carmody. Its binary representation corresponds to a compressed version of the C source code of a computer program implementing the DeCSS decryption algorithm, which can be used by a computer to circumvent a DVD's copy protection.  Protests against the indictment of DeCSS author Jon Lech Johansen and legislation prohibiting publication of DeCSS code took many forms. One of them was the representation of the illegal code in a form that had an "intrinsically archivable" quality. Since the bits making up a computer program also represent a number, the plan was for the number to have some special property that would make it archivable and publishable (one method was to print it on a T-shirt). The primality of a number is a fundamental property of number theory and is therefore not dependent on legal definitions of any particular jurisdiction.  The large prime database of The Prime Pages website records the top 20 primes of various special forms; one of them is proof of primality using the elliptic curve primality proving (ECPP) algorithm. Thus, if the number were large enough and proved prime using ECPP, it would be published.

Discovery.

Specifically, Carmody applied Dirichlet's theorem to several prime candidates of the form "k"·256 + "b", where "k" was the decimal representation of the original compressed file. Multiplying by a power of 256 adds as many trailing null characters to the gzip file as indicated in the exponent which would still result in the DeCSS C code when unzipped.  Of those prime candidates, several were identified as probable prime using the open source program OpenPFGW, and one of them was proved prime using the ECPP algorithm implemented by the Titanix software. Even at the time of discovery in 2001, this 1401-digit number, of the form "k"·256 + 2083, was too small to be mentioned, so Carmody discovered a 1905-digit prime, of the form "k"·256 + 99, that was the tenth largest prime found using ECPP, a remarkable achievement by itself and worthy of being published on the lists of the highest prime numbers. In a way, by having this number independently published for a completely unrelated reason to the DeCSS code, he had been able to evade legal responsibility for the original software.  Following this, Carmody discovered an 1811-digit prime—this one being non-compressed, directly executable machine language in the ELF format for Linux i386, implementing the same DeCSS functionality.

An illegal prime is a prime number that represents information whose possession or distribution is forbidden in some legal jurisdictions. One of the first illegal primes was found in 2001. When interpreted in a particular way, it describes a computer program that bypasses the digital rights management scheme used on DVDs. Distribution of such a program in the United States is illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. An illegal prime is a kind of illegal number.


Loading.

In general, the sequence of loading is to put in first gunpowder, by pouring in a measured amount of loose powder, historically mostly by using a powder flask (or powder horn), or by inserting a pre-measured bag or paper packet of gunpowder (called a cartridge) or by inserting solid propellant pellets. The gunpowder used is typically black powder or black powder substitutes like Pyrodex. Sometimes two types of gunpowder (and two flasks) were used consisting of finer priming powder for the flash pan and coarser powder for the main charge behind the ball. This was particularly the case with earlier muzzleloaders like matchlocks but appear to have been less common with flintlocks and was irrelevant with percussion locks since they used percussion caps rather than priming powder.  Wadding is made from felt, paper, cloth or card and has several different uses. In shotguns, a card wad or other secure wadding is used between the powder and the shot charge to prevent pellets from dropping into the powder charge and on top of the shot charge to hold it in place in the barrel. In smooth bore muskets and most rifles used prior to cartridges being introduced in the mid-to late nineteenth century, wadding was used primarily to hold the powder in place. On most naval cannons, one piece of wadding was used to hold the powder in place and served the purpose of creating a better seal around the shot. Another was used to act as a plug to stop the shot rolling out because of the swaying of the ship.  The use of cartridges with both gunpowder charge and ball, made up in batches by the shooter or a servant, was known from very early on, but until roughly around 1800 loading using a powder flask and a bag of balls was more common outside of the military. The measuring stage for the barrel charge of gunpowder could be avoided by carrying a number of pre-measured charges in small containers of wood, metal or cloth, often carried on a bandolier. These were known by various names, including "chargers" or "apostles" as 12 were often carried. For most of the time muzzleloaders were in use, a round ball and pre-measured powder charge could be carried in a paper or cloth wrapping. The shooter would bite off the end of the paper cartridge with his teeth and pour the powder into the barrel followed by the ball encased in the paper wrapping.  The projectiles and wads were then pushed down into the breech with a ramrod until they were firmly seated on the propellant charge. Priming powder could be carried in a separate priming flask and poured into the priming pan or a little powder from the cartridge was used, and the frizzen was pushed down to hold the priming powder in place. After the gunpowder and projectile or shot charge were placed in the barrel a ramrod was used to firmly pack everything down at the base of the barrel. Then either a priming charge was placed in the priming pan or a percussion cap was placed on the nipple, the firing mechanism initiated; the cock or hammer was then cocked to make the firearm ready to fire.

Projectile types and history.

Muzzleloading firearms generally use round balls, cylindrical conical projectiles, and shot charges.  In some types of rifles firing round ball, a lubricated patch (see Kentucky rifle) of fabric is wrapped around a ball which is slightly smaller than the barrel diameter. In other types of round ball firing rifles, a ramrod and hammer is used to force the round ball down through the rifling. When fired, either the lead ball or the wrapping grips the rifling and imparts spin to the ball which usually gives improved accuracy. In rifles firing Minié balls, the patch, often the paper wrapping from the cartridge, is used as an initial seal and to hold powder in place during loading.  The Minié ball replaced the round ball in most firearms, especially military, in the 1840s and 1850s. It has a hollow base which expands to grip the rifling. The combination of the spinning Minié ball and the consistent velocity provided by the improved seal gave far better accuracy than the smoothbore muzzleloaders that it replaced.

Modern usage.

When aiming for great accuracy, muzzle-loaders are usually cleaned ("swabbed") before reloading, so that there is no residue left in the barrel to reduce accuracy, though in competitions run by the international governing body, the MLAIC, this is prohibited for military rifle and musket events. However, in small arms muzzleloading rifles, swabbing is only done after every 5-10 shots. Large caliber muzzle-loaders such as cannons are always swabbed between shots to prevent accidents caused by live sparks igniting the fresh charge of powder as it is being loaded.

Muzzleloading.

Muzzleloading is the sport or pastime of firing muzzleloading guns. Muzzleloading guns, both antique and reproduction, are used for target shooting, hunting, historical re-enactment and historical research. The sport originated in the United States in the 1930s, just as the last original users and makers of muzzleloading arms were dying out. The sport received a tremendous boost in the 1960s and 1970s. The Muzzle Loaders Associations International Committee (www.MLAIC.org) was formed in 1970 and held its first World Championship in 1971. Since then a flourishing industry manufacturing working reproductions of historic firearms now exists in the United States and Europe, particularly in northern Italy near Gardone. In the United States muzzleloading guns are, subject to a number of qualifications, generally not considered firearms. Subject to state law they may be possessed by persons who might otherwise not be legally allowed to own a firearm.  The American National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association holds two national tournaments a year in Friendship, Indiana as well as the Western National Shoot Event held in Phoenix, Arizona.  The Muzzle Loaders Associations International Committee (MLAIC) governs international competition with muzzle-loading arms. The MLAIC holds a Short Range World Championship in even-numbered years and a Long Range World Championship (300 to 1000 yards) on odd numbered years (South Africa has won the last 5 Long Range World Championships).

Modern use.

Driven by demand for muzzleloaders for special extended primitive hunting seasons, firearms manufacturers have developed in-line muzzleloading rifles with designs similar to modern breech-loading centerfire designs. Knight Rifles pioneered the in-line muzzleloader in the mid-1980s, manufacturing and selling them to this day. Savage Arms has created the 10ML-II, which can be used with smokeless powder, reducing the cleaning required.

A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and usually the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the more popular modern (higher tech and harder to make) designs of breech-loading firearms. The term "muzzleloader" applies to both rifled and smoothbore type muzzleloaders, and may also refer to the marksman who specializes in the shooting of such firearms. The firing methods, paraphernalia and mechanism further divide both categories as do caliber (from cannons to small-caliber palm guns).


Formation.

The Kingdom of Westphalia was created in 1807 by merging territories ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia in the Peace of Tilsit, among them the region of the Duchy of Magdeburg west of the Elbe River, the Brunswick-Lüneburg territories of Hanover and Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and the Electorate of Hesse. Hesse's capital Cassel (modern spelling "Kassel") then fulfilled the same function for Westphalia, and the king kept the court at the palace of Wilhelmshöhe, renamed Napoleonshöhe. The state was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine.  Since it was intended as a Napoleonic "model state", a constitution was written and enacted by King Jérôme on 7 December 1807, the day after he had arrived in Cassel, making Westphalia the first monarchy in Germany with a modern-style constitution. The constitution made all male residents citizens with equal rights. Thus serfs were liberated and Jews emancipated, and soccage was abolished. The Napoleonic code was enacted, doing away with guilds and providing for the right of capitalism. A metric system of weights and measures was introduced.  The organisers used French terms to designate the regional territories within the kingdom: departments received names based on watercourses (Elbe, Saale, Weser, Fulda, Leine, Oker) and mountains (Harz), regardless of their traditional names. These departments were generally composed of territories taken from a number of petty states. Compared to the departments of France itself the Westphalian departments were relatively small and sparsely populated.  While administrative divisions (departments, districts and cantons) were certainly less unequal than the previous territorial divisions, uniformity does not appear to have been a determining factor in their creation. The desire to break from the past, and not just from the random territorial divisions of the former manorial justices, especially influenced the cantonal distribution. Just as before the conquest, freedom of expression remained curtailed and censorship was instituted. In 1810 the coastal and northern départements "North" (capital: Stade) and "Lower Elbe" (capital: Lunenburg) had to be ceded to the French Empire.

Jews.

Following the French example, Jewish congregations were reorganised and a Consistory () supervising them was established. The former Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel merchant and man of letters, Israel Jacobson, became its consistorial president, assisted by a board of officers. Jacobson did his best to exercise a reforming influence upon the various congregations of the country. He opened a house of prayer in Cassel, with a ritual similar to that introduced in Seesen. Napoléon's inglorious so-called "décret infâme", again restricting the rights of many French Jews, did not apply in Westphalia.

Russian conquest.

A significant burden on the kingdom was the requirement to supply troops and financial support for the Napoleonic wars. Large numbers of Westphalian troops fought in the Russian campaign of 1812; the Westphalian Guards heroically but unsuccessfully charged the Raevski Redoubt during the Battle of Borodino.  In September 1813, Russian troops surrounded Cassel, defeated the French completely and retook the city. By October 1 they had conquered the whole Kingdom, but three days later Jérôme returned with French soldiers and managed to recapture Cassel. The Elector of Hesse-Kassel arrived soon after and the Russians besieged the city again. After France lost the Battle of the Nations on 19 October 1813, the Russians dissolved the Kingdom and restored the status quo of 1806 except for Rietberg and Stolberg-Wernigerode, with Prussia regaining control.

Coat of arms.

The arms reflect the incorporated territories. The first quarter shows the silver horse of Westphalia; the second the lion of Hesse over the counties of Dietz, Nidda, Ziegenhain and Katzenelnbogen; the third was newly designed for non-specified territories around Magdeburg; and the fourth combined Brunswick, Diepholz, Lüneburg and Lauterburg. Around the shield are the Order of the Crown of Westphalia and the French "Grand Aigle" of the Légion d'honneur. Above is Napoleon's star. Typical of Napoleonic heraldry are the crossed sceptres.

The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the First French Empire and was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, but this was a misnomer since the kingdom had little territory in common with that area; rather the kingdom mostly covered territory formerly known as Eastphalia.


Life & career.

Military service.

During his youth, Plievier worked as a sailor and travelled extensively throughout Europe and overseas. Through his travels he was exposed to anarchist-syndicalist philosophies that would influence his later work.  In 1914, after a fight in a quayside bar, he was forced to enlist in the Imperial Navy to escape imprisonment. During most of the war, he served on the SMS Wolf, an auxiliary cruiser which remained at sea for 451 days. He later participated in the 1918 Wilhelmshaven mutiny.

Politics & war.

Under the Weimar Republic, he became a social critic and author. His early works sought to connect personal experience with documentary-style literature. He founded the "Publishing House of the 12" ("Verlag der Zwölf") in Berlin during the 1920s. During this period he wrote and published "Des Kaisers Kulis ("The Kaiser's Coolies")", a critical account of his experiences in the Imperial Navy.  His books were burned after Hitler took power in 1933. Plievier fled to France, and later to Sweden, before settling in the Soviet Union in 1934. After the outbreak of World War II, Plievier gained access to the front lines, where he observed the carnage wrought there and interviewed captive German soldiers. In 1943, he became a member of the Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland (National Committee for a Free Germany).

The novel "Stalingrad".

He used his experiences as the basis for his documentary novel, which was eventually translated into 26 languages. "Stalingrad" is one of the most important works of literature to emerge from the eastern front. Its pitiless descriptions of battle and the failures of the German military leadership indicts Hitler's megalomania and illustrates the senselessness of war.  The two main characters in "Stalingrad" are the Panzer commander Vilshofen and Gnotke, NCO of a Strafbattalion (penal battalion). Both men come from different backgrounds and experience the war differently. The Colonel is a convinced soldier who obeys orders and cares for his men. He fights with a sense of duty, but loses confidence in the German military leadership as he senses that he and his men are being sacrificed to a lost cause. NCO Gnotke's work is to collect the dead, or their dismembered parts, from the battlefield. He loses his humanity as he works under constant fire and is exposed to unrelenting horror month after month during the war, even to the point of warming up his body on freshly fallen soldiers.  "Stalingrad" was subject to harsh Soviet censorship, even though it deals mainly with the German side. Plievier eventually broke with Moscow, leaving for the west in 1947. His later book "Moscow" presents a comprehensive picture of life in the Soviet Union.

Television adaptations.

A television version of "Stalingrad" was produced by NDR in West Germany, and first shown on 31 January 1963. Adapted by Klaus Hubalek and directed by Gustav Burmester, it starred Ullrich Haupt as Generalmajor Vilshofen, Wolfgang Büttner as General Gönnern, Hanns Lothar as Gnotke, and P. Walter Jacob as General Vennekohl. Hubalek's screenplay was subsequently translated into English and directed by Rudolph Cartier for the BBC's "Festival" series, first shown on 4 December 1963. This version starred Albert Lieven as Vilshofen, Peter Vaughan as Gonnern, André van Gyseghem as Vennekohl, and Harry Fowler as Gnotke.

Theodor Otto Richard Plievier (Plivier, until 1933) (February 12, 1892, Berlin – March 12, 1955, Avegno, Switzerland) was a German author best known for his anti-war novel.


Early life.

Born in Trieste (then in the Austrian Empire, after 1867 Austria-Hungary) as Aron Ettore Schmitz to a Jewish German father and an Italian mother, Svevo was one of seven children and grew up enjoying a passion for literature from a young age, reading Goethe, Schiller, Shakespeare, and the classics of French and Russian literature.  Svevo was a citizen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the end of the First World War. He spoke Italian as a second language (as he usually spoke the Triestine dialect). Due to his germanophone ancestry by his father, he and his brothers were sent to a boarding school near Würzburg, Germany, where he learnt fluent German.  After returning to Trieste in 1880, Svevo continued his studies for a further two years at Istituto Revoltella before being forced to take financial responsibility when his father filed for bankruptcy after his once successful glassware business failed. This 20-year period as a bank clerk at Unionbank of Vienna served as inspiration for his first novel "Una Vita".  During his time at the bank, Svevo contributed to Italian-language socialist publication "L'Indipendente" (),and began writing plays (which he rarely finished) before beginning work on "Una Vita" in 1887. Svevo adhered to a humanistic and democratic socialism which predisposed him to pacifism and to advocate a European economic union after the war.  Following the death of his parents, Svevo married his cousin Livia Veneziani in 1896, and became a partner in his wealthy father-in-law's paint business that specialised in manufacturing industrial paint that was used on naval warships. He became successful in growing the business and after trips to France and Germany, set up a branch of the company in England.

Literary career.

In 1923, Italo Svevo (literally "Italian Swabian") wrote and published the psychological novel "La coscienza di Zeno" (rendered as "Confessions of Zeno", or "Zeno's Conscience"). The work, showing the author's interest in the theories of Sigmund Freud, is written in the form of the memoirs of Zeno Cosini, who writes them at the insistence of his psychoanalyst. Svevo's novel received almost no attention from Italian readers and critics at the time.  The work might have disappeared altogether if it were not for the efforts of James Joyce. Joyce had met Svevo in 1907, when Joyce tutored him in English while working for Berlitz in Trieste. Joyce read Svevo's earlier novels "Una Vita" and "Senilità", which had also been largely ignored when published in 1898.  Joyce championed "Confessions of Zeno", helping to have it translated into French and then published in Paris, where critics praised it extravagantly. That led Italian critics, including Eugenio Montale, to discover it. Zeno Cosini, the book's hero and unreliable narrator, mirrored Svevo himself, being a businessman fascinated by Freudian theory. Svevo was also a model for Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of Joyce's seminal novel "Ulysses".  "Confessions of Zeno" never looks outside the narrow confines of Trieste, much like Joyce's work, which rarely left Dublin in the last years of Ireland's time as part of the United Kingdom. Svevo employed often sardonic wit in his observations of Trieste and, in particular, of his hero, an indifferent man who cheats on his wife, lies to his psychoanalyst, and is trying to explain himself to his psychoanalyst by revisiting his memories.  There is a final connection between Svevo and the character Cosini. Cosini sought psychoanalysis, he said, in order to discover why he was addicted to nicotine. As he reveals in his memoirs, each time he had given up smoking, with the iron resolve that this would be the ""ultima sigaretta!!"", he experienced the exhilarating feeling that he was now beginning life over without the burden of his old habits and mistakes. That feeling was, however, so strong that he found smoking irresistible, if only so that he could stop smoking again in order to experience that thrill once more.

Personal life and death.

Svevo lived for part of his life in Charlton, south-east London, while working for a family firm. He documented this period in his letters to his wife which highlighted the cultural differences he encountered in Edwardian England. His old home at 67 Charlton Church Lane now carries a blue plaque.  Svevo left Trieste's Jewish community to marry Livia Veneziani in a civil ceremony. Soonly after, Livia convinced him to convert to Catholicism and take part in a religious wedding (probably after a troublesome pregnancy). Personally, however, Svevo was an atheist.  Like his most famous character Zeno, Svevo smoked for all of his life. After being involved in a serious car accident, he was brought into hospital at Motta di Livenza, where his health rapidly failed. As death approached he asked one of his visitors for a cigarette. It was refused. Svevo replied: "That would have been my last." He died that afternoon.

Legacy.

Svevo, along with Luigi Pirandello, is considered a prominent figure of early 20th century Italian literature and has had an important influence on later generations of the country's writers.  Though only recognised for his literary achievements towards the end of his life, Svevo is celebrated as one of Italy's finest writers, particularly in his home city of Trieste, and has a statue in front of the Museum of Natural History erected in his honour.  The following are named after him:

Aron Ettore Schmitz (19 December 186113 September 1928), better known by the pseudonym Italo Svevo (), was an Italian writer, businessman, novelist, playwright, and short story writer.


Mission.

Originally a United States partner probe was planned that would accompany "Giotto", but this fell through due to budget cuts at NASA. There were plans to have observation equipment on board a Space Shuttle in low-Earth orbit around the time of "Giotto"s fly-by, but they in turn fell through with the "Challenger" disaster.  The plan then became a cooperative armada of five spaceprobes including "Giotto", two from the Soviet Union's Vega program and two from Japan: the "Sakigake" and "Suisei" probes. The idea was for Japanese probes and the pre-existing American probe International Cometary Explorer to make long distance measurements, followed by the Russian Vegas which would locate the nucleus, and the resulting information sent back would allow "Giotto" to precisely target very close to the nucleus. Because Giotto would pass so very close to the nucleus ESA was mostly convinced it would not survive the encounter due to the spacecraft colliding at very high speed with the many dust particles from the comet. The coordinated group of probes became known as the Halley Armada.

The craft.

The spacecraft was derived from the GEOS research satellite built by British Aerospace in Filton, Bristol, and modified with the addition of a dust shield (Whipple shield) as proposed by Fred Whipple which comprised a thin (1 mm) aluminium sheet separated by a space and a thicker Kevlar sheet. The later "Stardust" spacecraft would use a similar Whipple shield. A mock up of the spacecraft resides at the Bristol Aero Collection hangar, at Filton, UK.

Timeline.

Launch.

The mission was given the go-ahead by ESA in 1980, and launched on an Ariane 1 rocket (flight V14) on 2 July 1985 from Kourou, French Guiana. The craft was controlled from the European Space Agency ESOC facilities in Darmstadt (then West Germany) initially in Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) then in the Near Earth Phase (NEP) before the longer Cruise Phase through to the encounter. While in GTO a number of slew and spin-up manoeuvres (to 90 RPM) were carried out in preparation for the firing of the Apogee Boost Motor (ABM), although unlike orbit circularisations for geostationary orbit, the ABM for Giotto was fired at perigee. Attitude determination and control used sun pulse and IR Earth sensor data in the telemetry to determine the spacecraft orientation.

Halley encounter.

The Soviet Vega 1 started returning images of Halley on 4 March 1986, and the first ever of its nucleus, and made its flyby on 6 March, followed by Vega 2 making its flyby on 9 March. Vega 1's closest approach to Halley was 8 889 km.  "Giotto" passed Halley successfully on 14 March 1986 at 596 km distance, and surprisingly survived despite being hit by some small particles. One impact sent it spinning off its stabilized spin axis so that its antenna no longer always pointed at the Earth, and its dust shield no longer protected its instruments. After 32 minutes "Giotto" re-stabilized itself and continued gathering science data.  Another impact destroyed the Halley Multicolor Camera, but not before it took photographs of the nucleus at closest approach.

First Earth flyby.

"Giotto"s trajectory was adjusted for an Earth flyby and its science instruments were turned off on 15 March 1986 at 02:00 UTC.

Grigg-Skjellerup encounter.

"Giotto" was commanded to wake up on 2 July 1990 when it flew by Earth in order to sling shot to its next cometary encounter.  The probe then flew by the Comet Grigg-Skjellerup on 10 July 1992 which it approached to a distance of about 200 km. Afterwards, Giotto was again switched off on 23 July 1992.

Second Earth flyby.

In 1999 "Giotto" made another Earth flyby but was not reactivated.

Scientific results.

Images showed Halley's nucleus to be a dark peanut-shaped body, 15 km long, 7 km to 10 km wide. Only 10% of the surface was active, with at least three outgassing jets seen on the sunlit side. Analysis showed the comet formed 4.5 billion years ago from volatiles (mainly ice) that had condensed onto interstellar dust particles. It had remained practically unaltered since its formation.  Measured volume of material ejected by Halley:  "Giotto" found Halley's nucleus was dark, which suggested a thick covering of dust.  The nucleus's surface was rough and of a porous quality, with the density of the whole nucleus as low as 0.3 g/cm3. Sagdeev's team estimated a density of 0.6 g/cm3, but S. J. Peale warned that all estimates had error bars too large to be informative.  The quantity of material ejected was found to be three tonnes per second for seven jets, and these caused the comet to wobble over long time periods.  The dust ejected was mostly only the size of cigarette smoke particles, with masses ranging from 10 ag to 0.4 g. (See Orders of magnitude (mass).) The mass of the particle that impacted "Giotto" and sent it spinning was not measured, but from its effects—it also probably broke off a piece of "Giotto"—the mass has been estimated to lie between 0.1 g and 1 g.  Two kinds of dust were seen: one with carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen; the other with calcium, iron, magnesium, silicon and sodium.  The ratio of abundances of the comet's light elements excluding nitrogen (i.e. hydrogen, carbon, oxygen) were the same as the Sun's. The implication is that the constituents of Halley are among the most primitive in the Solar System.  The plasma and ion mass spectrometer instruments showed Halley has a carbon-rich surface.

Giotto was a European robotic spacecraft mission from the European Space Agency. The spacecraft flew by and studied Halley's Comet and in doing so became the first spacecraft to make close up observations of a comet. On 13 March 1986, the spacecraft succeeded in approaching Halley's nucleus at a distance of 596 kilometers. It was named after the Early Italian Renaissance painter Giotto di Bondone. He had observed Halley's Comet in 1301 and was inspired to depict it as the star of Bethlehem in his painting "Adoration of the Magi".


In humans.

In humans, ovulation occurs about midway through the menstrual cycle, after the follicular phase. The few days surrounding ovulation (from approximately days 10 to 18 of a 28-day cycle), constitute the most fertile phase. The time from the beginning of the last menstrual period (LMP) until ovulation is, on average, 14.6 days, but with substantial variation among females and between cycles in any single female, with an overall 95% prediction interval of 8.2 to 20.5 days.  The process of ovulation is controlled by the hypothalamus of the brain and through the release of hormones secreted in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). In the preovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle, the ovarian follicle will undergo a series of transformations called cumulus expansion, which is stimulated by FSH. After this is done, a hole called the stigma will form in the follicle, and the secondary oocyte will leave the follicle through this hole. Ovulation is triggered by a spike in the amount of FSH and LH released from the pituitary gland. During the luteal (post-ovulatory) phase, the secondary oocyte will travel through the fallopian tubes toward the uterus. If fertilized by a sperm, the fertilized secondary oocyte or ovum may implant there 6–12 days later.

Follicular phase.

The follicular phase (or proliferative phase) is the phase of the menstrual cycle during which the ovarian follicles mature. The follicular phase lasts from the beginning of menstruation to the start of ovulation.  For ovulation to be successful, the ovum must be supported by the corona radiata and cumulus oophorous granulosa cells. The latter undergo a period of proliferation and mucification known as cumulus expansion. Mucification is the secretion of a hyaluronic acid-rich cocktail that disperses and gathers the cumulus cell network in a sticky matrix around the ovum. This network stays with the ovum after ovulation and has been shown to be necessary for fertilization.  An increase in cumulus cell number causes a concomitant increase in antrum fluid volume that can swell the follicle to over 20 mm in diameter. It forms a pronounced bulge at the surface of the ovary called the blister.

Ovulation.

Estrogen levels peak towards the end of the follicular phase. This, by positive feedback, causes a surge in levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). This lasts from 24 to 36 hours, and results in the rupture of the ovarian follicles, causing the oocyte to be released from the ovary.  Through a signal transduction cascade initiated by LH, proteolytic enzymes are secreted by the follicle that degrade the follicular tissue at the site of the blister, forming a hole called the "stigma". The secondary oocyte leaves the ruptured follicle and moves out into the peritoneal cavity through the stigma, where it is caught by the fimbriae at the end of the fallopian tube. After entering the fallopian tube, the oocyte is pushed along by cilia, beginning its journey toward the uterus.  By this time, the oocyte has completed meiosis I, yielding two cells: the larger secondary oocyte that contains all of the cytoplasmic material and a smaller, inactive first polar body. Meiosis II follows at once but will be arrested in the metaphase and will so remain until fertilization. The spindle apparatus of the second meiotic division appears at the time of ovulation. If no fertilization occurs, the oocyte will degenerate between 12 and 24 hours after ovulation. Approximately 1-2% of ovulations release more than one oocyte. This tendency increases with maternal age. Fertilization of two different oocytes by two different spermatozoa results in fraternal twins.  The mucous membrane of the uterus, termed the functionalis, has reached its maximum size, and so have the endometrial glands, although they are still non-secretory.

Luteal phase.

The follicle proper has met the end of its lifespan. Without the oocyte, the follicle folds inward on itself, transforming into the corpus luteum (pl. corpora lutea), a steroidogenic cluster of cells that produces estrogen and progesterone. These hormones induce the endometrial glands to begin production of the proliferative endometrium and later into secretory endometrium, the site of embryonic growth if implantation occurs. The action of progesterone increases basal body temperature by one-quarter to one-half degree Celsius (one-half to one degree Fahrenheit). The corpus luteum continues this paracrine action for the remainder of the menstrual cycle, maintaining the endometrium, before disintegrating into scar tissue during menses.

Clinical presentation.

The start of ovulation can be detected by signs. Because the signs are not readily discernible by people other than the female, humans are said to have a concealed ovulation. In many animal species there are distinctive signals indicating the period when the female is fertile. Several explanations have been proposed to explain concealed ovulation in humans.  Females near ovulation experience changes in the cervical mucus, and in their basal body temperature. Furthermore, many females experience secondary fertility signs including Mittelschmerz (pain associated with ovulation) and a heightened sense of smell, and can sense the precise moment of ovulation.  Many females experience heightened sexual desire in the several days immediately before ovulation. One study concluded that females subtly improve their facial attractiveness during ovulation. Symptoms related to the onset of ovulation, the moment of ovulation and the body's process of beginning and ending the menstrual cycle vary in intensity with each female but are fundamentally the same. The charting of such symptoms — primarily basal body temperature, mittelschmerz and cervical position — is referred to as the sympto-thermal method of fertility awareness, which allow auto-diagnosis by a female of her state of ovulation. Once training has been given by a suitable authority, fertility charts can be completed on a cycle-by-cycle basis to show ovulation. This gives the possibility of using the data to predict fertility for natural contraception and pregnancy planning.  The moment of ovulation has been photographed.

Disorders.

Disorders of ovulation are classified as menstrual disorders and include oligoovulation and anovulation:  The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed the following classification of ovulatory disorders:

Ovulation induction.

Ovulation induction is a promising assisted reproductive technology for patients with conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and oligomenorrhea. It is also used in in vitro fertilization to make the follicles mature before egg retrieval. Usually, ovarian stimulation is used in conjunction with ovulation induction to stimulate the formation of multiple oocytes. Some sources include ovulation induction in the definition of "ovarian stimulation".  A low dose of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) may be injected after completed ovarian stimulation. Ovulation will occur between 24–36 hours after the HCG injection.  By contrast, induced ovulation in some animal species occurs naturally, ovulation can be stimulated by coitus.

Ovulation suppression.

Combined hormonal contraceptives inhibit follicular development and prevent ovulation as a primary mechanism of action. The "ovulation-inhibiting dose" (OID) of an estrogen or progestogen refers to the dose required to consistently inhibit ovulation in women.  In assisted reproductive technology including in vitro fertilization, cycles where a transvaginal oocyte retrieval is planned generally necessitates ovulation suppression, because it is not practically feasible to collect oocytes after ovulation. For this purpose, ovulation can be suppressed by either a GnRH agonist or a GnRH antagonist, with different protocols depending on which substance is used.

Ovulation is the release of eggs from the ovaries. In women, this event occurs when the ovarian follicles rupture and release the secondary oocyte ovarian cells. After ovulation, during the luteal phase, the egg will be available to be fertilized by sperm. In addition, the uterine lining (endometrium) is thickened to be able to receive a fertilized egg. If no conception occurs, the uterine lining as well as blood will be shed during menstruation.


History.

The first description of phenylalanine was made in 1879, when Schulze and Barbieri identified a compound with the empirical formula, CHNO, in yellow lupine ("Lupinus luteus") seedlings. In 1882, Erlenmeyer and Lipp first synthesized phenylalanine from phenylacetaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, and ammonia.  The genetic codon for phenylalanine was first discovered by J. Heinrich Matthaei and Marshall W. Nirenberg in 1961. They showed that by using mRNA to insert multiple uracil repeats into the genome of the bacterium "E. coli", they could cause the bacterium to produce a polypeptide consisting solely of repeated phenylalanine amino acids. This discovery helped to establish the nature of the coding relationship that links information stored in genomic nucleic acid with protein expression in the living cell.

Dietary sources.

Good sources of phenylalanine are eggs, chicken, liver, beef, milk, and soybeans. Another common source of phenylalanine is anything sweetened with the artificial sweetener aspartame, such as diet drinks, diet foods and medication; the metabolism of aspartame produces phenylalanine as one of the compound's metabolites.

Dietary recommendations.

The Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) of the U.S. Institute of Medicine set Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for essential amino acids in 2002. For phenylalanine plus tyrosine, for adults 19 years and older, 33 mg/kg body weight/day.

Other biological roles.

-Phenylalanine is biologically converted into -tyrosine, another one of the DNA-encoded amino acids. -tyrosine in turn is converted into L-DOPA, which is further converted into dopamine, norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and epinephrine (adrenaline). The latter three are known as the catecholamines.  Phenylalanine uses the same active transport channel as tryptophan to cross the blood–brain barrier. In excessive quantities, supplementation can interfere with the production of serotonin and other aromatic amino acids as well as nitric oxide due to the overuse (eventually, limited availability) of the associated cofactors, iron or tetrahydrobiopterin. The corresponding enzymes in for those compounds are the aromatic amino acid hydroxylase family and nitric oxide synthase.

In plants.

Phenylalanine is the starting compound used in the synthesis of flavonoids. Lignan is derived from phenylalanine and from tyrosine. Phenylalanine is converted to cinnamic acid by the enzyme phenylalanine ammonia-lyase.

Phenylketonuria.

The genetic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) is the inability to metabolize phenylalanine because of a lack of the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase. Individuals with this disorder are known as "phenylketonurics" and must regulate their intake of phenylalanine. Phenylketonurics often use blood tests to monitor the amount of phenylalanine in their blood. Lab results may report phenylalanine levels using either mg/dL and μmol/L. One mg/dL of phenylalanine is approximately equivalent to 60 μmol/L.  A (rare) "variant form" of phenylketonuria called hyperphenylalaninemia is caused by the inability to synthesize a cofactor called tetrahydrobiopterin, which can be supplemented. Pregnant women with hyperphenylalaninemia may show similar symptoms of the disorder (high levels of phenylalanine in blood), but these indicators will usually disappear at the end of gestation. Pregnant women with PKU must control their blood phenylalanine levels even if the fetus is heterozygous for the defective gene because the fetus could be adversely affected due to hepatic immaturity.  A non-food source of phenylalanine is the artificial sweetener aspartame. This compound is metabolized by the body into several chemical byproducts including phenylalanine. The breakdown problems phenylketonurics have with the buildup of phenylalanine in the body also occurs with the ingestion of aspartame, although to a lesser degree. Accordingly, all products in Australia, the U.S. and Canada that contain aspartame must be labeled: "Phenylketonurics: Contains phenylalanine." In the UK, foods containing aspartame must carry ingredient panels that refer to the presence of "aspartame or E951" and they must be labeled with a warning "Contains a source of phenylalanine." In Brazil, the label "Contém Fenilalanina" (Portuguese for "Contains Phenylalanine") is also mandatory in products which contain it. These warnings are placed to help individuals avoid such foods.  Geneticists sequenced the genome of macaques in 2007. Their investigations found "some instances where the normal form of the macaque protein looked like the diseased human protein" including markers for PKU.

-, - and -phenylalanine.

The stereoisomer -phenylalanine (DPA) can be produced by conventional organic synthesis, either as a single enantiomer or as a component of the racemic mixture. It does not participate in protein biosynthesis although it is found in proteins in small amounts - particularly aged proteins and food proteins that have been processed. The biological functions of -amino acids remain unclear, although -phenylalanine has pharmacological activity at niacin receptor 2.<ref name="IUPHAR/BPS-bio"></ref>  -Phenylalanine (DLPA) is marketed as a nutritional supplement for its purported analgesic and antidepressant activities. -Phenylalanine is a mixture of -phenylalanine and -phenylalanine. The reputed analgesic activity of -phenylalanine may be explained by the possible blockage by -phenylalanine of enkephalin degradation by the enzyme carboxypeptidase A.<ref name="IUPHAR/BPS-clinical"></ref> The mechanism of -phenylalanine's supposed antidepressant activity may be accounted for by the precursor role of -phenylalanine in the synthesis of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine. Elevated brain levels of norepinephrine and dopamine are thought to have an antidepressant effect. -Phenylalanine is absorbed from the small intestine and transported to the liver via the portal circulation. A small amount of -phenylalanine appears to be converted to -phenylalanine. -Phenylalanine is distributed to the various tissues of the body via the systemic circulation. It appears to cross the blood–brain barrier less efficiently than -phenylalanine, and so a small amount of an ingested dose of -phenylalanine is excreted in the urine without penetrating the central nervous system.  -Phenylalanine is an antagonist at α2δ Ca calcium channels with a K of 980 nM.  In the brain, -phenylalanine is a competitive antagonist at the glycine binding site of NMDA receptor and at the glutamate binding site of AMPA receptor. At the glycine binding site of NMDA receptor -phenylalanine has an apparent equilibrium dissociation constant (K) of 573 μM estimated by Schild regression which is considerably lower than brain -phenylalanine concentration observed in untreated human phenylketonuria. -Phenylalanine also inhibits neurotransmitter release at glutamatergic synapses in hippocampus and cortex with IC of 980 μM, a brain concentration seen in classical phenylketonuria, whereas -phenylalanine has a significantly smaller effect.

Commercial synthesis.

-Phenylalanine is produced for medical, feed, and nutritional applications, such as aspartame, in large quantities by utilizing the bacterium "Escherichia coli", which naturally produces aromatic amino acids like phenylalanine. The quantity of -phenylalanine produced commercially has been increased by genetically engineering "E. coli", such as by altering the regulatory promoters or amplifying the number of genes controlling enzymes responsible for the synthesis of the amino acid.

Derivatives.

Boronophenylalanine (BPA) is a dihydroxyboryl derivative of phenylalanine, used in neutron capture therapy.  4-Azido-l-phenylalanine is a protein-incorporated unnatural amino acid used as a tool for bioconjugation in the field of chemical biology.

External links.

Phenylalanine (symbol Phe or F) is an essential α-amino acid with the formula. It can be viewed as a benzyl group substituted for the methyl group of alanine, or a phenyl group in place of a terminal hydrogen of alanine. This essential amino acid is classified as neutral, and nonpolar because of the inert and hydrophobic nature of the benzyl side chain. The -isomer is used to biochemically form proteins, coded for by DNA. Phenylalanine is a precursor for tyrosine, the monoamine neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and epinephrine (adrenaline), and the skin pigment melanin. It is encoded by the codons UUU and UUC.


History.

Saint Vergilius of Salzburg constructed the first cathedral possibly using the foundations of St. Rupert. The first Dom was recorded in 774. The so-called Virgil Dom was built from 767 to 774 and was 66 metres long and 33 metres wide.  Archbishop Arno (785 – 821) arranged the first renovations of the Dom, less than 70 years after its completion. In 842, the building burned after a lightning strike. Three years later, work began to rebuild the structure.  Under Archbishop Hartwig, the sanctuary expanded to the west with addition of a choir and crypt between 1000 and 1080. Archbishop Konrad I added the west towers from 1106 to 1147.  This original church, thus experienced at least three extensive building and rebuilding campaigns during the early Middle Ages, the final result of which was a somewhat "ad hoc" Romanesque basilica. In 1598, the basilica was severely damaged, and after several failed attempts at restoration and reconstruction, Prince-Bishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau (Archbishop from 1587–1612) finally ordered it demolished. Wolf Dietrich was a patron and supporter of modern Italian Baroque architecture, having seen it from its origins in Italy and particularly Rome. Indeed, it was Wolf Dietrich who was also responsible for the building of the nearby "Alten Residenz", which is today connected to the cathedral. Wolf Dietrich hired the Italian architect Vincenzo Scamozzi to prepare a plan for a comprehensive new Baroque building. Construction did not begin however until Wolf Dietrich's successor, Markus Sittich von Hohenems (Archbishop from 1612–19), in 1614 laid the cornerstone of the new cathedral. Santino Solari designed the current cathedral by dramatically altering the original Scamozzi plan. The new sanctuary was completed 1628, less than 15 years after construction began. At its consecration on September 24, 1628, 12 choirs positioned in the marble galleries of the cathedral sang a Te Deum (the score of which is since lost) composed by Stefano Bernardi, the Kapellmeister to the Salzburg court. The present Salzburg Cathedral is built partially upon the foundations of the old basilica. Indeed, the foundation stones of the preceding church building may be seen in the "Domgrabungen", an excavation site under the cathedral that also features mosaics and other artifacts found when this location was the forum of the Roman city "Juvavum". One other surviving relic that predates the baroque edifice is the 14th Century Gothic baptismal font. The relics of Saint Rupert were transferred here when the cathedral was completed.  The finished church is 142 meters long and 33 meters high at the crossing/dome. The baroque style of St. Rupert's can be seen in the choir and the nave.  The Salzburg Cathedral was damaged in 1944 during World War II when a single bomb crashed through the central dome over the crossing. Repairs were somewhat slow to take place, but restoration was complete by 1959.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptized here on January 28, 1756, the day after his birth.

Exterior.

Salzburg Cathedral is located adjacent to Residenzplatz and Domplatz in the Altstadt (Old Town) area of the city. The Domplatz is accessed by three open arcade arches in the north, south, and west. These "cathedral arches" unite the cathedral with the Salzburg Residenz and St. Peter's Abbey to form a unique enclosed square measuring 101 meters long and 69 meters wide, with walls 81 meters high.  The Domplatz is dominated by the "Maria Immaculata" (Immaculate Mary) column, commissioned by Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach and executed by the brothers Wolfgang and Johann-Baptist Hagenauer between 1766 and 1771. Modeled after similar columns in Vienna and Munich and constructed of marble and cast iron, the "Maria Immaculata" depicts the Virgin Mary enthroned on a mountain of clouds made of Untersberg marble and a globe. The central Marian figure is surrounded on four sides by allegoric figures representing angels, the devil, wisdom, and the Church. According to a plaque on the side of the cathedral, the figure group shows reactions to the mystery of the Immaculate Conception—the angels are delighted, human wisdom vanishes, the envious devil growls, and the triumphant Church rejoices. When viewed from the center of the arcades at the back of Domplatz, the classicist column is positioned in the central axis of the cathedral and shows the central Marian figure surrounded by the angels on the cathedral façade and seems to wear the crown mounted on the building. The body of the church is made of dark grey stone with ornamentation and façade of bright Untersberg marble. The richly decorated façade is framed by two towers and topped by a curved gable. The north tower houses an old oven used for baking communion bread. The façade is divided into three horizontal sections. The lower section has three high round arches or portals that provide access to three bronze doors. The portals are flanked by four large sculpted figures representing the diocesean and cathedral patrons. Mitred figures of Saint Rupert holding a salt barrel and Saint Virgilius holding a church were created c. 1660 by Bartholomäus van Opstal and flank figures of Saint Peter holding keys and Saint Paul holding a sword, sculpted c. 1697 by Bernhard Michael Mandl, who also created all the pedestals. The bases bear the arms of the Prince Archbishop Guidobald von Thun and Prince Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun.  Along the balustrade above the entrance are statues of the four evangelists—Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, Saint Luke, and Saint John—who represent the salvation offered through their preaching. The pediments over the three windows behind the evangelists depict a lion and an ibex, the animals depicted in the coats of arms above. Above the center window, a golden crown aligns with the Marian column in the Domplatz. The top section tympanum bears the arms of the builders of the cathedral, Markus Sittikus and Paris Londron. The figure group on the pediment represents the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor, showing Christ as "Salvator Mundi", with Moses holding the tablets on the left and the prophet Elijah to the right. The three statues were created in 1660 by Tommaso di Garona, the mason who built the Residenz Fountain.  The three bronze gates inside the portals date from 1957 and 1958 and represent the three divine virtues ("Göttliche Tugenden") of faith, hope, and love. The "Tor des Glaubens" (gate of faith) on the left was created by Toni Schneider-Manzell (1911-1996), the central "Tor der Liebe" (gate of love) was created by Giacomo Manzù (1908-1991), and the "Tor der Hoffnung" (gate of hope) on the right was created by Ewald Mataré (1887-1965).

Bells.

The oldest bells in the cathedral are the "Marienglocke" and the"Virgilglocke", both cast in 1628. On 24 September 1961, the cathedral added five new bells. The "Salvator" bell of the cathedral is the second largest bell in Austria, after the "Pummerin" bell in Vienna Cathedral. The clappers are held against the sound bow whilst the bells are raised, then released sequentially to give a clean start to the ringing. At the end they are successively caught again by the mechanism to silence the bells.

Salzburg Cathedral () is the seventeenth-century Baroque cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg in the city of Salzburg, Austria, dedicated to Saint Rupert and Saint Vergilius. Saint Rupert founded the church in 774 on the remnants of a Roman town, the cathedral was rebuilt in 1181 after a fire. In the seventeenth century, the cathedral was completely rebuilt in the Baroque style under Prince-Bishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau to its present appearance. Salzburg Cathedral still contains the baptismal font in which composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptized.


Role of griots.

Griots today live in many parts of West Africa and are present among the Mande peoples (Mandinka, Malinké, Bambara, etc.), Fulɓe (Fula), Hausa, Songhai, Tukulóor, Wolof, Serer, Mossi, Dagomba, Mauritanian Arabs, and many other smaller groups. The word may derive from the French transliteration """guiriot""" of the Portuguese word """criado""", or the masculine singular term for "servant." Griots are more predominant in the northern portions of West Africa.  In African languages, griots are referred to by a number of names: jeli in northern Mande areas, jali in southern Mande areas, guewel in Wolof, gawlo in Pulaar (Fula), iggawen in Hassaniyan, arokin in Yoruba, and diari or gesere in Soninke. Griots form an endogamous caste, meaning that most of them only marry fellow griots and those who are not griots do not typically perform the same functions that griots perform.  Francis Bebey writes about the griot in "African Music, A People's Art":  "The West African griot is a troubadour, the counterpart of the medieval European minstrel... The griot knows everything that is going on... He is a living archive of the people's traditions... The virtuoso talents of the griots command universal admiration. This virtuosity is the culmination of long years of study and hard work under the tuition of a teacher who is often a father or uncle. The profession is by no means a male prerogative. There are many women griots whose talents as singers and musicians are equally remarkable."

Terms: "griot" and "jali".

The Manding term "jeliya" (meaning "musicianhood") sometimes refers to the knowledge of griots, indicating the hereditary nature of the class. "Jali" comes from the root word "jali" or "djali" (blood). This is also the title given to griots in regions within the former Mali Empire. Though the term "griot" is more common in English, some, such as poet Bakari Sumano, prefer the term "jeli".

In the Mali Empire.

The Mali Empire (Malinke Empire), at its height in the middle of the 14th century, extended from central Africa (today's Chad and Niger) to West Africa (today's Mali and Senegal). The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita, whose exploits remain celebrated in Mali today. In the "Epic of Sundiata", Naré Maghann Konaté offered his son Sundiata Keita a griot, Balla Fasséké, to advise him in his reign. Balla Fasséké is considered the founder of the Kouyaté line of griots that exists to this day.  Each aristocratic family of griots accompanied a higher-ranked family of warrior-kings or emperors, called "jatigi". In traditional culture, no griot can be without a "jatigi", and no "jatigi" can be without a griot. However, the "jatigi" can loan his griot to another jatigi.  Most villages also had their own griot, who told tales of births, deaths, marriages, battles, hunts, affairs, and many other things.

In Mande society.

In Mande society, the "jeli" was an historian, advisor, arbitrator, praise singer (patronage), and storyteller. They essentially served as history books, preserving ancient stories and traditions through song. Their tradition was passed down through generations. The name "jeli" means "blood" in Manika language. They were believed to have deep connections to spiritual, social, or political powers. Speech was believed to have power in its capacity to recreate history and relationships.  Despite the authority of griots and the perceived power of their songs, griots are not treated as positively in West Africa as we may imagine. Thomas A. Hale wrote, "Another [reason for ambivalence towards griots] is an ancient tradition that marks them as a separate people categorized all too simplistically as members of a 'caste', a term that has come under increasing attack as a distortion of the social structure in the region. In the worst case, that difference meant burial for griots in trees rather than in the ground in order to avoid polluting the earth (Conrad and Frank 1995:4-7). Although these traditions are changing, griots and people of griot heritage still find it difficult to marry outside of their social group." This discrimination is now deemed illegal.

Musical instruments used by griots.

In addition to being singers and social commentators, griots are often skilled instrumentalists. Their instruments include the kora, the khalam (or xalam), the goje (or n'ko in the Mandinka language), the balafon, and the ngoni. The kora is a long-necked lute-like instrument with 21 strings. The xalam is a variation of the kora, and usually consists of fewer than five strings. Both have gourd bodies that act as resonator. The ngoni is also similar to these two instruments, with five or six strings. The balafon is a wooden xylophone, while the goje is a stringed instrument played with a bow, much like a fiddle.  According to the Encyclopædia Britannica: "West African plucked lutes such as the "konting", "khalam", and the "nkoni" (which was noted by Ibn Baṭṭūṭah in 1353) may have originated in ancient Egypt. The "khalam" is claimed to be the ancestor of the banjo. Another long-necked lute is the "ramkie" of South Africa." Griots also wrote stories that children enjoyed listening to. These stories were passed down to their children.

Griots in present day.

Today, performing is one of the most common functions of a griot. Their range of exposure has widened, and many griots now travel internationally to sing and play the kora or other instruments.  Bakari Sumano, head of the Association of Bamako Griots in Mali from 1994 to 2003, was an internationally known advocate for the significance of the griot in West African society.

A griot (; ; Mandinka: jali or jeli ("djeli" or "djéli" in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel ; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, or musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition and is often seen as a leader due to his or her position as an advisor to royal personages. As a result of the former of these two functions, they are sometimes called a bard.


Life.

Hartmann belonged to the lower nobility of Swabia, where he was born. After receiving a monastic education, he became retainer ("Dienstmann") of a nobleman whose domain, Aue, has been identified with Obernau on the River Neckar. He also took part in the Crusade of 1197. The date of his death is as uncertain as that of his birth; he is mentioned in Gottfried von Strassburg's "Tristan" (c. 1210) as still alive, and in the "Crône" of Heinrich von dem Türlin, written about 1220, he is mourned for as dead.

Works.

Hartmann produced four narrative poems which are of importance for the evolution of the Middle High German court epic. The first of these, "Erec", which may have been written as early as 1191 or 1192, and the last, "Iwein", belong to the Arthurian cycle and are based on epics by Chrétien de Troyes ("Erec and Enide" and "Yvain, the Knight of the Lion", respectively). While the story of Chretien's "Yvain" refers to events in Chretien's "Lancelot", to explain that Arthur is not present to help because Guinevere has been kidnapped, Hartmann did not adapt Chretien's "Lancelot". The result is that Hartmann's "Erec" introduces entirely different explanations for Guinevere's kidnapping, which do not correspond to what occurred in the shared literary tradition of Chretien's Arthurian romances.  His other two narrative poems are "Gregorius", also an adaptation of a French epic, and "Der arme Heinrich", which tells the story of a leper cured by a young girl who is willing to sacrifice her life for him. The source of this tale evidently came from the lore of the noble family whom Hartmann served. "Gregorius", "Der arme Heinrich" and Hartmann's lyrics, which are all fervidly religious in tone, imply a tendency towards asceticism, but, on the whole, Hartmann's striving seems rather to have been to reconcile the extremes of life; to establish a middle way of human conduct between the worldly pursuits of knighthood and the ascetic ideals of medieval religion. Translations have been made into modern German of all Hartmann's poems, while "Der arme Heinrich" has repeatedly attracted the attention of modern poets, both English (Longfellow, Rossetti) and German (notably, Gerhart Hauptmann).  He was also a Minnesänger, and 18 of his songs survive.

Hartmann von Aue, also known as Hartmann von Ouwe, (born "c." 1160–70, died "c." 1210–20) was a German knight and poet. With his works including "Erec", "Iwein", "Gregorius", and "Der arme Heinrich", he introduced the courtly romance into German literature and, with Wolfram von Eschenbach and Gottfried von Strassburg, was one of the three great epic poets of Middle High German literature.


Early career.

Born in Hornburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, he was the son of Count Konrad of Morsleben and Hornburg and his wife Amulrad. In 1040, he became bishop of Bamberg.  In the autumn of 1046, there were three rival claimants to the papacy, in St. Peter's, the Lateran, and St. Mary Major's. Two of them, Benedict IX and Sylvester III, represented rival factions of the nobility. The third, Pope Gregory VI, in order to free the city from the House of Tusculum, and Benedict's scandalous lifestyle, had paid Benedict money in exchange for his resignation. Regardless the motives, the transaction bore the appearance of simony. Questions regarding the legitimacy of any of them could undermine the validity of a coronation of Henry as Holy Roman Emperor. King Henry crossed the Alps at the head of a large army and accompanied by a brilliant retinue of the secular and ecclesiastical princes of the empire, for the twofold purpose of receiving the imperial crown and of restoring order.

Papacy.

In 1046, Suidiger accompanied King Henry on his campaign to Italy and in December, participated in the Council of Sutri, which deposed former Benedict IX and Sylvester III and persuaded Gregory VI to resign. Henry nominated Suidger for the papacy and the council elected him. Suidger insisted upon retaining the bishopric of his see, partly for needed financial support, and partly lest the turbulent Romans should before long send him back to Bamberg. Suidger took the name Clement II. Immediately after his election, Henry and the new pope travelled to Rome, where Clement was enthroned. He then crowned Henry III as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.  Clement's election as pope was later criticized by the reform party within the papal curia due to the royal involvement and the fact that the new bishop of Rome was already bishop of another diocese. Contrary to later practice, Clement kept his old see, governing both Rome and Bamberg simultaneously. Clement's first pontifical act was to crown Henry and Agnes of Poitou. He bestowed on the Emperor the title and diadem of a Roman Patricius, a dignity which was commonly understood to give the bearer the right of indicating the person to be chosen pope.  Clement II's short pontificate, starting with the Roman synod of 1047, initiated an improvement in the state of affairs within the Roman Church, particularly by enacting decrees against simony. A dispute for precedence among the Sees of Ravenna, Milan, and Aquileia was settled in favour of Ravenna.

Death.

Clement accompanied Henry III in a triumphal progress through southern Italy and placed Benevento under an interdict for refusing to open its gates to them. Proceeding with Henry to Germany, he canonized Wiborada, a nun of St. Gall, martyred by the Hungarians in 925. On his way back to Rome, he died near Pesaro on 9 October 1047. His corpse was transferred back to Bamberg, which he had loved dearly, and interred in the western choir of the Bamberg Cathedral. His is the only tomb of a pope north of the Alps.  A toxicologic examination of his remains in the mid-20th century confirmed centuries-old rumors that the pope had been poisoned with lead sugar. It is not clear, however, whether he was murdered or whether the lead sugar was used as medicine.

Pope Clement II (; born Suidger von Morsleben; died 9 October 1047), was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1046 until his death in 1047. He was the first in a series of reform-minded popes from Germany. Suidger was the bishop of Bamberg. In 1046, he accompanied King Henry III of Germany, when at the request of laity and clergy of Rome, Henry went to Italy and summoned the Council of Sutri, which deposed Benedict IX and Sylvester III, and accepted the resignation of Gregory VI. Henry suggested Suidger for pope, and he was then elected, taking the name of Clement II. Clement then proceeded to crown Henry as emperor. Clement's brief tenure as pope saw the enactment of more stringent prohibitions against simony.


Geography.

Austrian Silesia consisted of two territories, separated by the Moravian land strip of Moravská Ostrava between the Ostravice and Oder rivers.  The area east of the Ostravice around Cieszyn reached from the heights of the Western Carpathians (Silesian Beskids) in the south, where it bordered with the Kingdom of Hungary, along the Olza and upper Vistula rivers to the border with Prussian Silesia in the north. In the east the Biała river at Bielsko separated it from the Lesser Polish lands of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, incorporated into the Austrian Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria upon the First Partition of Poland in 1772.  The territory west of the Oder river stretching from the town of Opava up to Bílá Voda was confined by the Jeseníky mountain range of the eastern Sudetes in the south, separating it from Moravia, and the Opava river in the north. In the west the Golden Mountains formed the border with the County of Kladsko.

History.

The area originally formed the south-eastern part of the Medieval Duchy of Silesia, a province of the Piast Kingdom of Poland. During the 14th century most Dukes of Silesia had declared themselves Bohemian vassals.  As part of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, Silesia was inherited by the Habsburg archduke Ferdinand I of Austria in 1526, after the last Jagiellon king Louis II of Bohemia had died at the Battle of Mohács. With the female succession of the Habsburg empress Maria Theresa to the throne in 1740, the Prussian king Frederick the Great laid claim to the Silesian province and, without waiting for any reply, on 16 December started the First Silesian War, thereby opening the larger War of the Austrian Succession. His campaign was concluded in 1742 with the Prussian victory at the Battle of Chotusitz leading to the treaties of Breslau and Berlin, in which Silesia was divided.  Under the terms of the treaty, the Kingdom of Prussia received most of the territory including the Bohemian County of Kladsko, while only a small part of southeastern Silesia remained with the Habsburg Monarchy, consisting of: forming the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, which remained a Bohemian crown land with its capital in the city of Opava. In 1766 the title of a Duke of Teschen was granted to Prince Albert of Saxony, son-in-law of Maria Theresa, while the title of a Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf remained with the Princely Family of Liechtenstein. The Nysa territory was held by the Bishops of Wrocław with their residence at Castle Jánský vrch "(Johannisberg)".  When in 1804 the Habsurg emperor Francis II established the Austrian Empire, his title would include the "Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia". Austrian Silesia was connected by rail with the Austrian capital Vienna, when the Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway line was extended to Bohumín station in 1847. In the course of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia became a crown land of Cisleithanian Austria.  In 1918, the Austrian monarchy was abolished and the major part of Austrian Silesia was ceded to the newly created state of Czechoslovakia by the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, with the exception of Cieszyn Silesia (the former Duchy of Teschen), which after the Polish–Czechoslovak War was split in 1920 along the Olza river with its eastern part falling to the Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship of Poland. Smaller parts of the duchy also became a part of Poland, while the adjacent Hlučín Region of Prussian Silesia fell to Czechoslovakia.

Demographics.

According to an Austrian census, Austrian Silesia in 1910 was home to 756,949 people, speaking the following languages:

Major towns.

Towns with more than 5,000 people in 1880:

Administration.

The Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia was originally divided into the two districts "(Bezirke)" of Teschen ("Těšínský kraj", pop. 213,040 in 1847) and Troppau ("Opavský kraj", pop. 260,199) with its seat at Krnov. In eastern Teschen, the autonomous Duchy of Bielsko was established in 1754. Upon the Revolutions of 1848 and up to its dissolution Austrian Silesia was intermittently re-organised into the districts of:  For example, in 1900, there were 8 "Bezirkshauptmannschaften" in Austrian Silesia (in comparison to above list without Frydek).

Austrian Silesia ( (historically also "Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien"); ; ), officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia ( (historically "Herzogthum Ober- und Niederschlesien"); ), was an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Habsburg Monarchy (from 1804 the Austrian Empire, and from 1867 Cisleithanian Austria-Hungary). It is largely coterminous with the present-day region of Czech Silesia and was, historically, part of the larger Silesia region.


Geography.

Czech Silesia borders Moravia in the south, Poland (Polish Silesia) in the north (in the northwest the County of Kladsko, until 1742/48 an integral part of Bohemia) and Slovakia in the southeast. With the city of Ostrava roughly in its geographic center, the area comprises much of the modern region of Moravian-Silesia (save for its southern edges) and, in its far west, a small part of the Olomouc Region around the city of Jeseník. After Ostrava, the most important cities are Opava and Český Těšín. Historically Český Těšín is the western part of the city of Cieszyn which nowadays lies in Poland.  Situated in the Sudetes, it is cornered by the Carpathians in the east. Its major rivers are the Oder (Polish, ), Opava and Olše () (which forms part of the natural border with Poland).

History.

Modern-day Czech Silesia derives primarily from a small part of Silesia that remained within the Bohemian Crown and the Habsburg Monarchy at the end of the First Silesian War in 1742, when the rest of Silesia was ceded to Prussia. It was re-organised as the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, with its capital at Opava (, ). In 1900, the Duchy occupied an area of 5,140 km2 and had a population of 670,000.  In 1918, the former Duchy formed part of the newly created state of Czechoslovakia, except the Cieszyn Silesia, which was split between Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1920, Czechoslovakia gaining its western portion. Hlučín Region (, ), formerly part of Prussian Silesia, also became part of Czechoslovakia under the Treaty of Versailles in 1920.  Following the Munich Agreement of 1938, most of Czech Silesia became part of the Reichsgau Sudetenland and Poland occupied the Zaolzie area on the west bank of the Olza (the Polish gains being lost when Germany occupied Poland the following year).  With the exception of the areas around Cieszyn, Ostrava, and Hlučín, Czech Silesia was predominantly settled by German-speaking populations up until 1945. Following the Second World War, Czech Silesia and Hlučínsko were returned to Czechoslovakia and the ethnic Germans were expelled. The border with Poland was once again set along the Olza (although not confirmed by treaty until 1958).

People.

The population mainly speaks Czech with altered vowels. Some of the native Slavic population speak Lach, which is classed by "Ethnologue" as a dialect of Czech, although it also shows some similarities to Polish. In Cieszyn Silesia a unique dialect is also spoken, mostly by members of the Polish minority there.  Notable people from Czech Silesia include:

Czech Silesia (,, ; ; ; ; ; ) is the name given to the part of the historical region of Silesia located in the present-day Czech Republic. While not today an administrative entity in itself, Czech Silesia is, together with Bohemia and Moravia, one of the three historical Czech lands. In this context, it is often mentioned simply as "Silesia", even though it is only around one tenth of the area of the historic land of Silesia.


Childhood.

Maria Anna (Marianne) Mozart was born in Salzburg. When she was seven years old, her father Leopold Mozart started teaching her to play the harpsichord. Leopold took her and Wolfgang on tours of many cities, such as Vienna and Paris, to showcase their talents. In the early days, she sometimes received top billing, and she was noted as an excellent harpsichord player and fortepianist.  However, given the views of her parents, prevalent in her society at the time, it became impossible as she grew older for her to continue her career any further. According to "New Grove", "from 1769 onwards she was no longer permitted to show her artistic talent on travels with her brother, as she had reached a marriageable age." Wolfgang went on during the 1770s to many artistic triumphs while traveling in Italy with Leopold, but Marianne stayed at home in Salzburg with her mother. She likewise stayed home with Leopold when Wolfgang visited Paris and other cities (1777–1779) accompanied by his mother.  There is evidence that Marianne wrote musical compositions, as there are letters from Wolfgang praising her work, but the voluminous correspondence of her father never mentions any of her compositions, and none have survived.

Marriage and children.

In contrast to her brother, who quarreled with their father and eventually disobeyed his wishes with respect to career path and choice of spouse, Marianne remained entirely subordinate to her father. She fell in love with Franz d'Ippold, who was a captain and private tutor, but was forced by her father to turn down his marriage proposal. Wolfgang attempted, in vain, to get Marianne to stand up for her own preference.  Eventually, Marianne married a magistrate, Johann Baptist Franz von Berchtold zu Sonnenburg (23 August 1783), and settled with him in St. Gilgen, a village in Austria about 29 km east of the Mozart family home in Salzburg. Berchtold was twice a widower and had five children from his two previous marriages, whom Marianne helped raise. She also bore three children of her own: Leopold Alois Pantaleon (1785–1840), Jeanette (1789–1805) and Maria Babette (1790–1791).

Leopold's raising of her son.

An unusual episode in Marianne's life occurred when she gave birth (27 July 1785) to her first child, a son who was named Leopold after his grandfather. Marianne had traveled from her home in St. Gilgen to Salzburg for the birth. When she returned to St. Gilgen, she left her infant in the care of her father and his servants. The elder Leopold stated (by a letter that preceded Marianne back to St. Gilgen) that he would prefer to raise the child for the first few months himself. In 1786, he extended the arrangement to an indefinite term. Leopold continued to care for his grandson, taking delight in his progress (toilet training, speech, and so on), and commencing with the very beginnings of musical training. Marianne saw her son on occasional visits, but in general was not involved in his care. The arrangement continued until the death of her father, on 28 May 1787.  Biographers differ on what was the basis for this arrangement. Little Leopold was ill in his infancy, and perhaps needed to be kept in Salzburg for this reason, but this does not explain why he was still kept there after his recovery. Another possibility attributes the arrangement to Marianne's delicate health or her need to take care of her stepchildren. Biographer Maynard Solomon attributes the arrangement to Leopold's wish to revive his skills in training a musical genius, as he had done with Wolfgang. He also suggests that giving up her son was indicative of Marianne's total subordination to her father's wishes.

Relationship with Wolfgang.

When Wolfgang was a toddler, Nannerl (four and a half years older) was his idol. According to Maynard Solomon, "at three, Mozart was inspired to study music by observing his father's instruction of Marianne; he wanted to be like her." The two children were very close, and they invented a secret language and an imaginary "Kingdom of Back" of which they were king and queen. Wolfgang's early correspondence with Marianne is affectionate, and includes some of the scatological and sexual word play in which Wolfgang indulged with intimates. Occasionally Wolfgang wrote entries in Marianne's diary, referring to himself in the third person.  Wolfgang wrote a number of works for Marianne to perform, including the Prelude and Fugue in C, K. 394 (1782). Until 1785, he sent her copies of his piano concertos (up to No. 21) in St. Gilgen.  Concerning the relationship between Wolfgang and Marianne in adulthood, authorities differ. According to "New Grove", Wolfgang "remained closely attached to her." In contrast, Maynard Solomon contends that in later life Wolfgang and Marianne drifted apart completely. He notes, for instance, that after Wolfgang's visit to Salzburg in 1783 (with his new wife Constanze), Wolfgang and Marianne never visited each other again, that they never saw each other's children, and that their correspondence diminished to a trickle, ceasing entirely in 1788.  Wolfgang died on 5 December 1791. Sometime around 1800, Marianne encountered Franz Xaver Niemetschek's 1798 biography of Wolfgang. Since this biography had been written from the perspective of Vienna and of Constanze, much of its content was new to Marianne. In an 1800 letter, she wrote:  Herr Prof. Niemetschek's biography so completely reanimated my sisterly feelings toward my so ardently beloved brother that I was often dissolved in tears, since it is only now that I became acquainted with the sad condition in which my brother found himself.

Later years.

Marianne's husband died in 1801. She returned to Salzburg, accompanied by her two living children and four stepchildren, and worked as a music teacher.  In her old age, Marianne had her first encounter in person with Wolfgang's widow Constanze since the visit of 1783. In 1820, Constanze and her second husband Georg Nikolaus von Nissen moved to Salzburg. Although Marianne had not even known that Constanze was still alive, the encounter was apparently "cordial", though not warm. Eventually, Marianne did the Nissens a great favor: to help them write a biography of Wolfgang, Marianne lent the Nissens her collection of family letters, including Wolfgang and Leopold's correspondence up to 1781.  In 1821, Marianne enjoyed a visit from Wolfgang's son, Franz Xaver Mozart, whom she had never met during her brother's lifetime. The son had come from his home in Lemberg to conduct a performance of his father's Requiem in remembrance of the recently deceased Nissen.  In her last years, Marianne's health declined, and she became blind in 1825. Mary Novello, visiting in 1829, recorded her impression that Mrs. Berchtold was "blind, languid, exhausted, feeble and nearly speechless," as well as lonely. She mistakenly took Marianne to be impoverished, though in fact she was frugal and left a large fortune (7837 gulden).  Marianne died on 29 October 1829, at 78 years, and was buried in St Peter's Cemetery, Salzburg.

As a fictional character.

Many authors have created fictional characters based on Maria Anna Mozart.

References.

Works of biography  Works of literature with Maria Anna Mozart as a main character

Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart (30 July 1751 – 29 October 1829), called "Marianne" and nicknamed Nannerl, was a musician, the older sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) and daughter of Leopold (1719-1787) and Anna Maria Mozart (1720-1778).


Bicycle.

Drais was a prolific inventor, who invented the Laufmaschine ("running machine"), also later called the velocipede, "draisine" (English) or "draisienne" (French), also nicknamed the hobby horse or dandy horse. This was his most popular and widely recognized invention. It incorporated the two-wheeler principle that is basic to the bicycle and motorcycle and was the beginning of mechanized personal transport. This was the earliest form of a bicycle, without pedals. His first reported ride from Mannheim to the "Schwetzinger Relaishaus" (a coaching inn, located in "Rheinau", today a district of Mannheim) took place on 12 June 1817 using Baden's best road. Karl rode his bike; it was a distance of about. The round trip took him a little more than an hour, but may be seen as the big bang for horseless transport. However, after marketing the velocipede, it became apparent that roads were so rutted by carriages that it was hard to balance on the machine for long, so velocipede riders took to the pavements and moved far too quickly, endangering pedestrians. Consequently, authorities in Germany, Great Britain, the United States, and even Calcutta banned its use, which ended its vogue for decades.

Typewriter.

Drais also invented the earliest typewriter with a keyboard (1821). He later developed an early stenograph machine which used 16 characters (1827), a device to record piano music on paper (1812), the first meat grinder, and a wood-saving cooker including the earliest hay chest. He also invented two four-wheeled human powered vehicles (1813/1814), the second of which he presented in Vienna to the congress carving up Europe after Napoleon's defeat. In 1842, he developed a foot-driven human powered railway vehicle whose name "draisine" is used even today for railway handcars.

Time as civil servant.

Drais was unable to market his inventions for profit because he was still a civil servant of Baden, even though he was being paid without providing active service. As a result, on 12 January 1818, Drais was awarded a grand-ducal privilege ("Großherzogliches Privileg") to protect his inventions for 10 years in Baden by the younger Grand Duke Karl. Grand Duke Karl also appointed Drais professor of mechanics. This was merely an honorary title, not related to any university or other institution. Drais retired from the civil service and was awarded a pension for his appointment to professor of mechanical science.

Upheaval.

In 1820 trouble overtook Drais when the political murder of the author August von Kotzebue was followed by the beheading of the perpetrator, Karl Ludwig Sand. In 1822 Drais was a fervent liberal who supported revolution in Baden. Drais's conservative father, as the highest Judge of Baden, had not entered a plea for pardon in the beheading of Karl Ludwig Sand, and the younger Drais was mobbed by the student partisans everywhere in Germany due to his family ties. Therefore, Drais emigrated to Brazil where he lived from 1822 to 1827, and worked as a land surveyor on the fazenda of Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff. In 1827 he returned to Mannheim. Three years later in 1830 Drais's father died and the younger Drais was mobbed by jealous rivals.  Surviving a murderous attack in 1838, in 1839 he moved to the village of Waldkatzenbach in the hills of Odenwald and remained there until 1845. During this period, he invented the railway handcar (later known as the draisine). Finally he moved back to his place of birth, Karlsruhe. Still being the fervent radical, in 1849 Drais gave up his title of Baron and dropped the "von" from his name. Subsequently, after the revolution collapsed, he was in a very bad position. The royalists tried to have him certified as mad and locked up. His pension was confiscated to help to pay for the "costs of revolution" after it was suppressed by the Prussians.

Death.

Drais's undoing had been the fact that he had publicly renounced his noble title in 1848, and adopted the name "Citizen Karl Drais" as a tribute to the French Revolution.  Karl Drais died penniless on 10 December 1851 in Karlsruhe. The house in which he lived last is just two blocks away from where at that time a young Carl Benz was raised.  In 1985, West Germany issued a commemorative postage stamp, a semipostal 50 Pf+25 Pf surcharge, in remembrance of the 200th anniversary of Karl Drais's birthday.  In 2017, Germany issued a commemorative postage stamp (0,70 Euro) in remembrance of the 200th anniversary of Karl Drais's first run of his "running machine" on 12 June 1817. The stamp shows the machine plus as its shadow, a bicycle.

Karl Freiherr von Drais (full name: Karl Friedrich Christian Ludwig Freiherr Drais von Sauerbronn) (29 April 1785 in Karlsruhe – 10 December 1851 in Karlsruhe) was a noble German forest official and significant inventor in the Biedermeier period.


Historical background.

The decathlon developed from the ancient pentathlon competitions held at the ancient Greek Olympics. Pentathlons involved five disciplines – long jump, discus throw, javelin throw, sprint and a wrestling match. Introduced in Olympia during 708 BC, the competition was extremely popular for many centuries. By the sixth century BC, pentathlons had become part of religious games.  A ten-event competition known as the "all-around" or "all-round" championship, similar to the modern decathlon, was first contested at the United States amateur championships in 1884 and reached a consistent form by 1890; an all-around was held at the 1904 Summer Olympics, though whether it was an official Olympic event has been disputed. The modern decathlon first appeared on the Olympic athletics program at the 1912 Games in Stockholm.

Format.

Men's decathlon.

The vast majority of international and top level men's decathlons are divided into a two-day competition, with the track and field events held in the order below. Traditionally, all decathletes who finish the event, rather than just the winner or medal winning athletes, do a round of honour together after the competition. The current world record holder is Kevin Mayer from France with 9126 points which he set on September 16, 2018 in Talence, France.

Women's decathlon.

At major championships, the women's equivalent of the decathlon is the seven-event heptathlon; prior to 1981 it was the five-event pentathlon. However, in 2001, the IAAF approved scoring tables for a women's decathlon; the current world record holder is Austra Skujytė of Lithuania, with 8,366. Women's disciplines differ from men's in the same way as for standalone events: the shot, discus and javelin weigh less, and the sprint hurdles uses lower hurdles over 100 m rather than 110 m. The points tables used are the same as for the heptathlon in the shared events. The schedule of events differs from the men's decathlon, with the field events switched between day one and day two; this is to avoid scheduling conflicts when men's and women's decathlon competitions take place simultaneously.

One hour.

The one-hour decathlon is a special type of decathlon in which the athletes have to start the last of ten events (1500 m) within sixty minutes of the start of the first event. The world record holder is Czech decathlete Robert Změlík, who achieved 7,897 points at a meeting in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, in 1992.

Masters athletics.

In Masters athletics, performance scores are age graded before being applied to the standard scoring table. This way, marks that would be competitive within an age division can get rated, even if those marks would not appear on the scale designed for younger age groups. Additionally, like women, the age divisions use different implement weights and lower hurdles. Based on this system, German Rolf Geese in the M60 division and American Robert Hewitt in the M80 divisions have set their respective world records over 8,000 points. Using the same scale, Nadine O'Connor scored 10,234 points in the W65 division, the highest decathlon score ever recorded.

Points system.

The 2001 IAAF points tables use the following formulae:  A, B and C are parameters that vary by discipline, as shown in the table on the right, while P is the performance by the athlete, measured in seconds (running), metres (throwing), or centimetres (jumping).  The decathlon tables should not be confused with the scoring tables compiled by Bojidar Spiriev, to allow comparison of the relative quality of performances by athletes in different events. On those tables, for example, a decathlon score of 9,006 points equates to 1,265 "comparison points", the same number as a triple jump of 18 m.

Benchmarks.

Split evenly between the events, the following table shows the benchmark levels needed to earn 1,000, 900, 800 and 700 points in each sport.

Records.

The official decathlon world record holder is Kevin Mayer of France, with a score of 9,126 points set during the 2018 Décastar in Talence, France, which was ratified by the IAAF. Previous record from Ashton Eaton (9,045):

Decathlon bests.

The total decathlon score for all world records in the respective events would be 12,568. The total decathlon score for all the best performances achieved during decathlons is 10,544. The "Difference" column shows the difference in points between the decathlon points that the individual current world record would be awarded and the points awarded to the current decathlon record for that event. The "% Difference" column shows the percentage difference between the time, distance or height of the individual world record and the decathlon record (other than the "Total" entry, which shows the percentage difference between awarded decathlon points). The relative differences in points are much higher in throwing events than in running and jumping events.  Decathlon bests are only recognized when an athlete completes the ten-event competition with a score over 7,000 points.

The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα ("déka", meaning "ten") and ἄθλος ("áthlos", or ἄθλον, "áthlon", meaning "contest" or “prize”). Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not by the position achieved. The decathlon is contested mainly by male athletes, while female athletes typically compete in the heptathlon.