Corsica ( , Upper , Southern , ;  ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the French mainland, west of the Italian Peninsula and immediately north of the Italian island of Sardinia, which is the land mass nearest to it. A single chain of mountains makes up two-thirds of the island. , it had a population of 351,255.

The island is a territorial collectivity of France. The regional capital is Ajaccio. Although the region is divided into two administrative departments, Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud, their respective regional and departmental territorial collectivities were merged on 1 January 2018 to form the single territorial collectivity of Corsica. Corsican autonomy is more far reaching than other regional collectives of France and the Corsican Assembly is permitted to exercise limited executive powers. Corsica's second-largest town is Bastia, the prefecture of Haute-Corse.

Corsica was ruled by the Republic of Genoa from 1284 to 1755, when it seceded to become a self-proclaimed, Italian-speaking Republic. In 1768, Genoa officially ceded it to Louis XV of France as part of a pledge for the debts incurred after enlisting French military help in suppressing the Corsican revolt; as a result France annexed the island in 1769. The future Emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte, was a native Corsican, born that same year in Ajaccio: his ancestral home, Maison Bonaparte, is now a visitor attraction and museum. Because of Corsica's historical ties to Tuscany, the island has retained many Italian cultural elements and many Corsican surnames are rooted in the Italian peninsula.

French (Français) is the official and most widely spoken language on the island. Corsican, the native tongue and an Italo-Dalmatian language, is recognized as one of France's regional languages. Italian is also widely spoken.

Corsica is the third-least populated region of France after Mayotte and French Guiana.

History

Prehistory and antiquity

The origin of the name Corsica is subject to much debate and remains a mystery. To the Ancient Greeks, it was known as Kalliste, Corsis, Cyrnos, Cernealis, or Cirné.

Corsica has been occupied since the Mesolithic era. The permanent human presence in Corsica is documented in the Neolithic period from the 6th millennium BC. In the 2nd millennium BC Corsica, the southern part in particular, saw the rise of the Torrean civilization, strongly linked to the Nuragic civilization in Sardinia.

After a brief occupation by the Carthaginians, colonization by the ancient Greeks, and an only slightly longer occupation by the Etruscans, it was incorporated by the Roman Republic at the end of the First Punic War and, with Sardinia, in 238 BC became a province of the Roman Republic. The Romans, who built a colony in Aléria, considered Corsica as one of the most backward regions of the Roman world. The island produced sheep, honey, resin and wax, and exported many slaves, not well considered because of their fierce and rebellious character. Moreover, it was known for its cheap wines, exported to Rome, and was used as a place of relegation, one of the most famous exiles being the Roman philosopher Seneca.

Corsica was integrated into Roman Italy by Emperor Diocletian.  Administratively, the island was divided into pagi, which in the Middle Ages became the pievi, the basic administrative units of the island until 1768. During the diffusion of Christianity, which arrived quite early from Rome and the Tuscan harbors, Corsica was home to many martyrs and saints: among them, the most important are Saint Devota and Saint Julia, both patrons of the island. ()

Middle Ages and early-modern era

In the fifth century, the western half of the Roman Empire collapsed, and the island was invaded by the Vandals and the Ostrogoths. Briefly recovered by the Byzantines, it soon became part of the Kingdom of the Lombards. This made it a dependency of the March of Tuscany, which used it as an outpost against the Saracens. Pepin the Short, king of the Franks and Charlemagne's father, expelled the Lombards and nominally granted Corsica to Pope Stephen II. In the first quarter of the 11th century, Pisa and Genoa together freed the island from the threat of Arab invasion. After that, the island came under the influence of the republic of Pisa. Many polychrome churches which adorn the island date from this period. Corsica also experienced a massive immigration from Tuscany, which gave to the island its present toponymy and rendered the language spoken in the northern two-thirds of the island very close to the Tuscan dialect. This led to the traditional division of Corsica into two parts, along the main chain of mountains roughly going from Calvi to Porto-Vecchio: the eastern Banda di dentro, or Cismonte, more populated, developed, and open to the commerce with Italy, and the western Banda di fuori, or Pomonte, almost deserted, wild and remote.

The crushing defeat experienced by Pisa in 1284 in the Battle of Meloria against Genoa had among its consequences the end of the Pisan rule and the beginning of the Genoese influence in Corsica: this was contested initially by the King of Aragon, who in 1296 had received from the Pope the investiture over Sardinia and Corsica. A popular revolution against this and the feudal lords, led by Sambucuccio d'Alando, got the aid of Genoa. After that, the Cismonte was ruled as a league of comuni and churches, after the Italian experience. The following 150 years were a period of conflict, when the Genoese rule was contested by Aragon, the local lords, the comuni and the Pope: finally, in 1450 Genoa ceded the administration of the island to its main bank, the Bank of Saint George, which brought peace.

In the 16th century, the island entered into the fight between Spain and France for supremacy in Italy. In 1553, a Franco-Ottoman fleet occupied Corsica, but the reaction of Spain and Genoa, led by Andrea Doria, reestablished the Genoese supremacy on the island, confirmed by the Peace of Cateau-Cambresis. The unlucky protagonist of this episode was Sampiero di Bastelica, who would later come to be considered a hero of the island. Their power was reinstated, the Genoese did not allow the Corsican nobility to share in the government of the island and oppressed the inhabitants with a heavy tax burden. On the other hand, they introduced the chestnut tree on a large scale, improving the diet of the population, and built a chain of towers along the coast to defend Corsica from the attacks of the Barbary pirates from North Africa. The period of peace lasted until 1729, when the refusal to pay taxes by a peasant sparked the general insurrection of the island against Genoa.

The island became known for the large number of mercenary soldiers and officers it produced. In 1743, over 4,600 Corsicans, or 4% of the entire population of the island, were serving as soldiers in various armies (predominantly those of Genoa, Venice, and Spain), making it one of the most militarized societies in Europe.

Rise and annexation of the Corsican Republic

In 1729 the Corsican Revolution for independence from Genoa began, first led by Luiggi Giafferi and Giacinto Paoli, and later by Paoli's son, Pasquale Paoli. After 26 years of struggle against the Republic of Genoa, including an ephemeral attempt in 1736 to proclaim an independent Kingdom of Corsica under the German adventurer Theodor von Neuhoff, an independent Corsican Republic was proclaimed in 1755 under the leadership of Pasquale Paoli and remained sovereign until 1769 when the island was conquered by France. The first Corsican Constitution was written in Italian, the prevalent language in Corsica until the mid-19th century, by Paoli.

The Corsican Republic was unable to eject the Genoese from the major coastal fortresses of Calvi and Bonifacio. After the Corsican conquest of Capraia in 1767, the Republic of Genoa sold the island to France, as France was trying to reinforce its Mediterranean position after its defeat in the Seven Years' War. In 1768, as part of the Treaty of Versailles, Genoa conceded the region to France to repay its heavy debts. French troops became stationed at forts to try to subdue the republicans. After an initial successful resistance culminating with the victory at Borgo, the Corsican republic was crushed by a large French army led by the Count of Vaux at the Battle of Ponte Novu. This marked the end of Corsican sovereignty. Despite triggering the Corsican Crisis in Britain, whose government gave secret aid, no foreign military support came for the Corsicans. However, nationalist feelings still ran high.

Following the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, Pasquale Paoli was able to return to Corsica from exile in Britain. In 1794, he invited British forces under Lord Hood to intervene to free Corsica from French rule. Anglo-Corsican forces drove the French from the island and established an Anglo-Corsican Kingdom. Following Spain's entry into the war, the British decided to withdraw from Corsica in 1796. Corsica returned to French rule.

19th century

Despite being the birthplace of the Emperor, the island was slightly neglected by Napoleon's government. In 1814, near the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Corsica was briefly occupied again by British troops. The Treaty of Bastia gave the British crown sovereignty over the island, but it was later repudiated by Lord Castlereagh who insisted that the island should be returned to a restored French monarchy.

After the restoration, the island was further neglected by the French state. Despite the presence of a middle class in Bastia and Ajaccio, Corsica remained an otherwise primitive place, whose economy consisted mainly of subsistence agriculture, and whose population constituted a pastoral society, dominated by clans and the rules of vendetta. The code of vendetta required Corsicans to seek deadly revenge for offences against their family's honor. Between 1821 and 1852, no fewer than 4,300 murders were perpetrated in Corsica. During the first half of the century, the people of Corsica were still immersed in the Italian cultural world: the bourgeoisie sent children to Pisa to study, official acts were enacted in Italian and most books were printed in Italian. Moreover, many islanders sympathised with the national struggle which was taking place in nearby Italy in those years: several political refugees from the peninsula, like Niccolò Tommaseo, spent years in the island, while some Corsicans, like Count , [it], took active part in the fights for Italian independence.

Despite all that, during those years the Corsicans began to feel a stronger and stronger attachment to France. The reasons for that are manifold: the knowledge of the French language, which thanks to the mandatory primary school started to penetrate among the local youth, the high prestige of French culture, the awareness of being part of a big, powerful state, the possibility of well-paid jobs as civil servants, both in the island, in the mainland and in the colonies, the prospect of serving the French army during the wars for the conquest of the colonial empire, the introduction of steamboats, which reduced the travel time between mainland France from the island drastically, and – last but not least – Napoleon himself, whose existence alone constituted an indissoluble link between France and Corsica. Thanks to all these factors by around 1870 Corsica had landed in the French cultural world.

From the 19th century into the mid-20th century, Corsicans also grew closer to the French nation through participation in the French Empire. Compared to much of Metropolitan France, Corsica was poor and many Corsicans emigrated. While Corsicans emigrated globally, especially to many South American countries, many chose to move within the French Empire which acted as a conduit for emigration and eventual return, as many young Corsican men could find better job opportunities in the far corners of the Empire where many other French hesitated to go. In many parts of the Empire, Corsicans were strongly represented, such as in Saigon where in 1926 12% of Europeans were from Corsica. Across the French Empire, many Corsicans retained a sense of community by establishing organizations where they would meet regularly, keep one another informed of developments in Corsica, and come to one another's aid in times of need.

Modern era

Corsica paid a high price for the French victory in the First World War: agriculture was disrupted by the years-long absence of almost all of the young workers, and the percentage of dead or wounded Corsicans in the conflict was double that of those from mainland France. Moreover, the protectionist policies of the French government, started in the 1880s and never stopped, had ruined the Corsican export of wine and olive oil, and forced many young Corsicans to emigrate to mainland France or to the Americas. In reaction to these conditions, a nationalist movement was born in the 1920s around the newspaper A Muvra, having as its objective the autonomy of the island from France. In the 1930s, many exponents of this movement became irredentist, seeing annexation of the island to fascist Italy as the only solution to its problems. Under Benito Mussolini annexation of Corsica had become one of the main goals of Italy's unification policy.

After the collapse of France to the German Wehrmacht in 1940, Corsica came under the rule of the Vichy French regime, which was collaborating with Nazi Germany. In November 1942 the island was occupied by Italian and German forces following the Anglo-American landings in North Africa. After the Italian armistice in September 1943, Italian and Free French Forces pushed the Germans out of the island, making Corsica the first French Department to be freed. Subsequently, the US military established 17 airfields, nicknamed "USS Corsica", which served as bases for attacks on targets in German-occupied Italy.

The Corsicans who promoted the ideal of Corsican irredentism published mainly in Italy, because of the persecutions from the French regime in the island in the first half of the 20th century. Many Corsicans, notably Petru Giovacchini, Simon Petru Cristofini and Marco Angeli di Sartèna, supported Italian irredentism on the island. Cristofini was executed by the French authorities; Angeli and Giovacchini were also condemned to death, but they escaped in Italy.

During the May 1958 crisis, the French military command in Algeria mutinied against the French Fourth Republic and on 24 May occupied the island in an action called Opération Corse that led to the collapse of the government; the second phase of the coup attempt, occupying Paris, was cancelled following the establishment of a transitional government under Charles de Gaulle.

Between the late 1950s and the 1970s, proposals to conduct underground nuclear tests in the Argentella mines, the immigration of 18,000 former settlers from Algeria ("Pieds-Noirs") in the eastern plains, and continuing chemical pollution (Fanghi Rossi) from mainland Italy increased tensions between the indigenous inhabitants and the French government. Tensions escalated until an armed police assault on a pieds-noirs-owned wine cellar in Aleria, occupied by Corsican nationalists on 23 August 1975. This marked the beginning of the Corsican conflict, an armed nationalist struggle against the French government. Ever since, Corsican nationalism has been a feature of the island's politics, with calls for greater autonomy and protection for Corsican culture and the Corsican language, or even full independence. Some groups supporting independence, such as the National Liberation Front of Corsica, have carried out a violent campaign that includes bombings and assassinations targeting buildings and officials representing the French government; periodic flare-ups of raids and killings culminated in the assassination of Prefect Claude Érignac in 1998. Lately, the drive towards independence has taken a more electoral approach, where Corsicans elected pro-autonomist, or pro-independence parties overwhelmingly in the past few elections.

In 2013, Corsica hosted the first three stages of the 100th Tour de France, which passed through the island for the first time in the event's 110-year history.

In 2018, Corsica had the highest murder rate in France due to blood feuds and vendettas between clans on the island. The most common victims of gun murders are prominent business people and local mayors.

In March 2022, Corsica saw large protests and riots after Yvan Colonna, the murderer of Claude Érignac, was murdered in prison.

In August 2022, a rare and powerful derecho swept across the island and killed six people, injured dozens of others, and caused significant damage.

Geography

Corsica was formed about 250 million years ago with the uplift of a granite backbone on the western side. About 50 million years ago sedimentary rock was pressed against this granite, forming the schists of the eastern side. It is the most mountainous island in the Mediterranean, a "mountain in the sea".

It is also the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean, after Sicily, Sardinia and Cyprus.

The island is  long at longest,  wide at widest, has  of coastline, with more than 200 beaches such as Paraguano. Corsica is very mountainous, with Monte Cinto as the highest peak at , and around 120 other summits of more than . Mountains comprise two-thirds of the island, forming a single chain. Forests make up 20% of the island.

About  of the total surface area of  is dedicated to nature reserves (Parc naturel régional de Corse), mainly in the interior. Corsica contains the GR20, one of Europe's most notable hiking trails.

The island is  from Tuscany in Italy and  from the Côte d'Azur in France. It is separated from Sardinia to the south by the Strait of Bonifacio, which is a minimum of  wide.

Major communities

In 2005 the population of Corsica was settled in approximately 360 communities.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification scheme, coastal regions are characterized by a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa). Further inland, a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb) is more common. At the highest elevation locations, small areas with a subarctic climate (Dsc, Dfc) and the rare cold-summer Mediterranean climate (Csc) can be found.

The station of Sari-Solenzara records the highest year-round temperatures of Metropolitan France with an annual average of 16.41 °C over the 1981–2010 period. Sunshine hours are not available for same period but this was 2715 h for 2008–2016.

Ecology

Zones by altitude
The island is divided into four major ecological zones, by altitude. Below  is the coastal zone's mild Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. The area's natural vegetation is sparse Mediterranean forest, scrubland, and shrubs. The coastal lowlands are part of the Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests ecoregion, in which forests and woodlands of evergreen sclerophyll oaks predominate, chiefly holm oak (Quercus ilex) and cork oak (Quercus suber). Much of the coastal lowlands have been cleared for agriculture, grazing and logging; these activities have reduced the forest area considerably.

Between  is a temperate montane zone. The mountains are cooler and wetter, and home to the Corsican montane broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion. This region supports diverse forests of oak, pine, and broadleaf deciduous trees, with vegetation more typical of northern Europe. The population lives predominantly below , with only shepherds and hikers from .

The elevation above  is the high alpine zone. Vegetation is sparse, with high winds and frequent cloud cover. This zone is uninhabited.

There is considerable birdlife in Corsica. One famous example is the bearded vulture, or Lammergeier, which (along with the iconic griffon vulture) serve as environmental "janitors" by scavenging the remains of deceased animals, thus limiting the proliferation of infectious microbes and diseases. Other avian species to be seen include the barn owl, blue rock thrush, common crane, Corsican nuthatch, golden eagle, greater flamingo, osprey, peregrine falcon, red kite, and starry bittern. In some cases, Corsica is an isolated portion of a species' distribution; in other cases, it is the furthest point in a species' range. For example, a subspecies of hooded crow (Corvus cornix cornix) occurs in Corsica, but not anywhere further south.

Corsica has abundant reptile and amphibians, one protected species being the sensitive Hermann's tortoise, which are found at A Cupulatta at Vero and Moltifao Regional Natural Park. Corsican brook and fire salamanders, leaf-toed gecko, and yellow and green grass snakes are also common. The European pond turtle can be seen, especially in the waters of Fango Estuary, southern Calvi, Biguglia Lagoon and Pietracorbara.

Parc Naturel Régional de Corse
The island has a natural park (Parc Naturel Régional de Corse, Parcu di Corsica), which protects rare animal and plant species. The park was created in 1972 and includes the Golfe de Porto, the Scandola Nature Reserve (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and some of the highest mountains on the island. Scandola cannot be reached on foot, but people can gain access by boat from the village of Galéria and Porto (Ota). Two endangered subspecies of hoofed mammals, the European mouflon (Ovis aries musimon) and Corsican red deer (Cervus elaphus corsicanus) inhabit the park. The Corsican red deer was re-introduced after it was extinct due to over hunting. This Corsican subspecies was the same that survived on Sardinia, so it is endemic. There are other species endemic to Corsica especially in the upper mountain ranges, i.e. Corsican nuthatch, Corsican fire salamander and Corsican brook salamander and many plant subspecies.

Extinct animals
Corsica, like all the other Mediterranean islands, was home to endemic mammals during the Late Pleistocene, most or all of these are shared with Sardinia (as Sardinia was joined to Corsica for much of the Pleistocene). After the arrival humans during Mesolithic around 8000 BC, these began to disappear. Some of the smaller mammals managed to survive until at least to the early Iron Age, but all are now extinct.

Extinct mammals formerly native to Corsica include the Sardinian dhole, the mustelid Enhydrictis galictoides, the deer Praemegaceros cazioti, the Corsican giant shrew, Tyrrhenian mole, Sardinian pika, Tyrrhenian vole, and the Tyrrhenian field rat.

Demographics

Corsica has a population of 351,255 inhabitants (January 2023 estimate).

Immigration
At the 2019 census, 55.7% of the inhabitants of Corsica were people born on the island, 29.9% were from Continental France, 0.3% were natives of Overseas France, and 14.1% were born in foreign countries.

The majority of the foreign immigrants in Corsica come from the Maghreb (particularly Moroccans, who made up 29.0% of all immigrants in Corsica at the 2019 census) and from Southern Europe (particularly Portuguese and Italians, 23.9% and 12.5% of immigrants on the island respectively).

Culture

Languages

French (Français) is the official and most widely spoken language on the island. Italian was the official language of Corsica until 9 May 1859, when it was replaced by French. Corsican (Corsu), a minority language that is closely related to medieval Tuscan (Toscano), has a better prospect of survival than most other French regional languages: Corsican is the second most widely spoken language after French. However, since the annexation of the island by France in the 18th century, Corsican has been under heavy pressure from French, and today it is estimated that only 10% of Corsica's population speak the language natively, with only 50% having some sort of proficiency in it.

The language is divided into two main varieties: Cismuntanu and Ultramuntanu, spoken respectively northeast and southwest of the Girolata–Porto Vecchio line. This division was due to the massive immigration from Tuscany which took place in Corsica during the lower Middle Ages: as a result, the Cismuntanu became very similar to the Tuscan dialects, being part of the Italo-Dalmatian language group, while the Ultramuntanu could keep its original characteristics which make it much more similar to a Southern Romance language like Sardinian (Sardu). Therefore, due to the differences between the main dialectal varieties, many linguists classify Corsican as an Italo-Dalmatian language, while others consider it a Southern Romance one.

Fewer and fewer people speak a Ligurian dialect, known as bunifazzinu, in what has long been a language island, Bonifacio, and in Ajaccio, the aghjaccinu dialect. In Cargèse, a village established by Greek immigrants in the 17th century, Greek (Ελληνικά) was the traditional language: whereas it has long disappeared from spoken conversation, Biblical Greek is still the liturgical language and the village has many Greek Orthodox parishes.

Among foreign languages, the most spoken ones were English (39%) and Italian (34%) as reported by an official survey by the regional government.

Cuisine

From the mountains to the plains and sea, many ingredients play a role. Game such as wild boar (Cingale, Singhjari) is popular. There also is seafood and river fish such as trout. Delicacies such as figatellu (also named as ficateddu), made with liver, coppa, ham (prizuttu), lonzu are made from Corsican pork (porcu nustrale). Characteristic among the cheeses is brocciu (similar to ricotta), which is used as a fresh ingredient in many dishes, from first courses (sturzapreti) to cakes (fiadone). Other cheeses, like casgiu merzu ("rotten cheese", the Corsican counterpart of the Sardinian casu martzu), casgiu veghju are made from goat or sheep milk. Chestnuts are the main ingredient in the making of pulenta castagnina and cakes (falculelle). A variety of alcohol also exists ranging from aquavita (brandy), red and white Corsican wines (Vinu Corsu), muscat wine (plain or sparkling), and the famous "Cap Corse" apéritif produced by Mattei. The herbs which are part of Maquis () and the chestnuts and acorns of the Corsican forests are eaten by local animals, resulting in a noticeable flavour in the food there.

Art

Corsica has produced a number of known artists:
 Alizée (singer/dancer)
 Martha Angelici (opera singer)
 A Filetta (polyphonic chant group)
 Canta U Populu Corsu (band)
 Laetitia Casta (model/actress)
 Baptiste Giabiconi (model/singer)
 Julien de Casabianca (cineast)
 Jérôme Ferrari (writer)
 Patrick Fiori (singer)
 Petru Guelfucci (singer)
 José Luccioni (opera singer)
 Gaston Micheletti (opera singer)
 I Muvrini (band)
 Jenifer (singer)
 François Lanzi (painter)
 Ange Leccia (visual art)
 Henri Padovani (musician; original guitarist for The Police)
 Thierry de Peretti (cineast)
 Marie-Claude Pietragalla (dancer)
 Jean-Paul Poletti (singer)
 Robin Renucci (comedian)
 Tino Rossi (singer)
 César Vezzani (opera singer)

Sport
Most Corsican football clubs are currently littered through the first, second, third, fourth and fifth tiers of French football. AC Ajaccio are the highest ranking team, competing in Ligue 1 after promotion in the 2021–22 season, SC Bastia currently play in Ligue 2, FC Bastia-Borgo currently competes in the Championnat National and Gazélec Ajaccio currently competes in the Championnat National 3. ÉF Bastia previously competed in Regional 1, but in 2021 merged with fellow Corsican team Association de la Jeunesse de Biguglia, to form Football Jeunesse Étoile Biguglia. Tour de Corse is a rally held since 1956, which was a round of the World Rally Championship from 1973 to 2008 and later the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and European Rally Championship. The Tour de Corse returned as a World Rally Championship round in 2015.

Music

Administration

Before 1975, Corsica was a département of the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. In 1975 two new départements, Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud, were created by splitting the hitherto united departement of Corsica.

On 2 March 1982, a law was passed that gave Corsica the status of territorial collectivity (collectivité territoriale), abolishing the Corsican Regional Council. Unlike the regional councils, the Corsican Assembly has executive powers over the island.

In 1992, three institutions were formed in the territorial collectivity of Corsica:
 The Executive Council of Corsica, which the type of executive functions held in other French regions by the presidents of the Regional Councils. It ensures the stability and consistency needed to manage the affairs of the territory
 The Corsican Assembly, a deliberative, unicameral legislative body with greater powers than the regional councils on the mainland
 The Economic, Social and Cultural Council of Corsica, an advisory body

A local referendum held in 2003, aimed at abolishing the two départements to leave a territorial collectivity with extended powers, was voted down by a narrow margin. However, the issue of Corsican autonomy and greater powers for the Corsican Assembly continues to hold sway over Corsican politics.

Economy

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 10 billion euros in 2021.

Tourism plays a big part in the Corsican economy. The island's climate, mountains, and coastlines make it popular among tourists. The island has not had the same level of intensive development as other parts of the Mediterranean and is thus mainly unspoiled. Tourism is particularly concentrated in the area around Porto-Vecchio and Bonifacio in the south of the island and Calvi in the northwest.

In 1584 the Genoese governor ordered all farmers and landowners to plant four trees yearly; a chestnut, olive, fig, and mulberry tree. Many communities owe their origin and former richness to the ensuing chestnut woods. Chestnut bread keeps fresh for as long as two weeks. Corsica produces gourmet cheese, wine, sausages, and honey for sale in mainland France and for export. Corsican honey, of which there are six official varieties, is certified as to its origin (Appellation d'origine contrôlée) by the French National Institute of Origin and Quality (Institut National des Appellations d'Origine – INAO).

Corsica's main exports are granite and marble, tannic acid, cork, cheese, wine, citrus fruit, olive oil and cigarettes.

Transport

Airports
Corsica has four international airports:
 Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport
 Bastia – Poretta Airport
 Calvi – Sainte-Catherine Airport
 Figari–Sud Corse Airport (near Bonifacio and Porto Vecchio in the south)

All airports are served by regional French airline Air Corsica, as well as Air France which mainly offers connections to Paris-Orly. Budget carriers such as EasyJet and Ryanair offer seasonal connections to different cities in Europe.

Railway
The island has  of metre gauge railway. The main line runs between Bastia and Ajaccio and there is a branch line from Ponte Leccia to Calvi. Chemins de fer de la Corse (CFC) is the name of the regional rail network serving the French island of Corsica. For a list of stations, see Railway stations in Corsica.

There was also the  along the Tyrrhenian seacoast; that line was heavily damaged during World War II, and subsequently closed for good.

Seaports

Corsica is well connected to the European mainland (Italy and France) by various car ferry lines. The island's busiest seaport is Bastia, which saw more than 2.5 million passengers in 2012. The second busiest seaport is Ajaccio, followed by L'Île-Rousse and Calvi. Propriano and Porto Vecchio in the south also have smaller ferry docks and are seasonally served from France (Marseille), while Bonifacio's harbour is only frequented by smaller car ferries from the neighbouring island of Sardinia.

The ferry companies serving Corsica are Corsica Ferries – Sardinia Ferries (from Savona, Livorno and Piombino in Italy; Toulon and Nice in France), SNCM (from Marseille, Toulon and Nice in France), CMN – La Méridionale (from Marseille in France) and Moby Lines (from Livorno and Genoa in Italy).

Politics

There are several groups and two nationalist parties (the Corsican autonomist Femu a Corsica and the separatist Corsica Libera) active on the island calling for some degree of Corsican autonomy from France or even full independence. Generally speaking, regionalist proposals focus on the promotion of the Corsican language, more power for local governments, and some exemptions from national taxes in addition to those already applying to Corsica.

The French government is opposed to full independence but has at times shown support for some level of autonomy. There is support on the island for proposals for greater autonomy, but polls show that a large majority of Corsicans are opposed to full independence.

In 1972, the Italian company Montedison dumped toxic waste off the Corsican coast, creating what looked like red mud in waters around the island with the poisoning of the sea, the most visible effects being cetaceans found dead on the shores. At that time the Corsican people felt that the French government did not support them. To stop the poisoning, one ship carrying toxic waste from Italy was bombed.

Nationalist organisations started to seek money, using tactics similar to those of the Mafia, to fund violence. Some groups that claim to support Corsican independence, such as the National Liberation Front of Corsica, have carried out a violent campaign since the 1970s that includes bombings and assassinations, usually targeting buildings and officials representing the French government or Corsicans themselves for political reasons. A war between two rival independence groups led to several deaths in the 1990s. The peaceful occupation of a pied-noir vineyard in Aléria in 1975 marked a turning point when the French government responded with overwhelming force, generating sympathy for the independence groups among the Corsican population.

In 2000, Prime Minister Lionel Jospin agreed to grant increased autonomy to Corsica. The proposed autonomy for Corsica would have included greater protection for the Corsican language (Corsu), the island's traditional language, whose practice and teaching, like other regional or minority languages in France, had been discouraged in the past. According to the UNESCO classification, the Corsican language is currently in danger of becoming extinct. However, plans for increased autonomy were opposed by the Gaullist opposition in the French National Assembly, who feared that they would lead to calls for autonomy from other régions (such as Brittany, Alsace, or Provence), eventually threatening France's unity as a country.

In a referendum on 6 July 2003, a narrow majority of Corsican voters opposed a proposal by the government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin and then-Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy that would have suppressed the two départements of the island and granted greater autonomy to the territorial collectivity of Corsica.

On 13 December 2015, the regionalist coalition Pè a Corsica (), supported by both Femu a Corsica and Corsica Libera and led by Gilles Siméoni, won the territorial elections with a percentage of 36.9%.

On 17 December 2015, Jean Guy Talamoni was elected President of the Assembly of Corsica and Gilles Simeoni was elected Executive President of the Council of the Region. In addition, legislation granting Corsica a greater degree of autonomy was passed.

On 16 March 2022, the interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, told regional newspaper Corse Matin before a two-day visit: "We are ready to go as far as autonomy – there you go, the word has been said." The comment came after two weeks of rioting in which 100 people were injured and public buildings and police were attacked with homemade explosive devices.

See also

 Corsican nationalism
 Corsican language
 Italian irredentism in Corsica
 Corsican immigration to Puerto Rico
 Corsican immigration to Venezuela
 Corsican Workers' Trade Union
 Corsican mafia
 "Dio vi salvi Regina", the unofficial Corsican anthem
 GR 20
 List of bodies of water of Corsica
 List of castles in Corsica
 University of Corsica Pascal Paoli

Notes

Bibliography

 Loughlin, John. 1989. "Regionalism and Ethnic Nationalism in France: A Case-study of Corsica". Thesis. San Domenico, Italy: European University Institute.
 Loughlin, John, and Claude Olivesi (eds.). 1999. Autonomies insulaires: vers une politique de différence pour la Corse. Ajaccio: Editions Albiana.
 Ravis-Giordani, Georges. 1991. Le Guide de la Corse. Besançon: La Manufacture.
 Saul, John Ralston. 1992. Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West. New York: Free Press; Maxwell Macmillan International.

External links

 Official website
 Corsica: a mountain in the sea – Official French website (in English)

 Ferries to Corsica Detailed technical specifications of the various ferry vessels, history, deckplans.
 Audio recording of the traditional Corsican folktale 'Goldenhair' (in English)
 3-minute video "The Workout the World Forgot", filmed in Corsica, 2008

Mediterranean islands
Regions of France
Southern Europe
Islands of the Tyrrhenian Sea
Territories of the Republic of Genoa

Corsica


Bonnie View is a privately owned unincorporated community in Colusa County, California, United States. It lies at an elevation of  on Snow Mountain. Bonnie View was settled by John and Mary Caldwell about 1875 under the Homestead Act of 1862. The Caldwell family lived on the land for many years prior to receiving their official land grant in 1896.

Originally , Bonnie View is now  surrounded to the north, west and south by the Mendocino National Forest. The property is owned by five families, each with an undivided 1/5 interest. The name "Bonnie View" presumably derives from the view east which includes the community of Stonyford, East Park Reservoir, the Sutter Buttes, and the Sierra Nevada.

References

Unincorporated communities in California
Unincorporated communities in Colusa County, California
1875 establishments in California

Bonnie View, California


The PC 1400 (Panzersprengbombe Cylindrisch) or cylindrical armor-piercing explosive bomb in English was an armor-piercing bomb used by the Luftwaffe during World War II.

History
The PC series of bombs differed from the SC series because they had thick cases for enhanced penetration of armored targets like warships or reinforced concrete fortifications.  While the SD series bombs could be used in a semi-armor piercing role the PC series of bombs were specifically designed as armor-piercing bombs.  Since they had thicker hardened steel cases their charge to weight ratio was only 20% of their total weight.  Bombs in the PC series included the PC 500, PC 1000, PC 1400, and PC 1600.  The number in the bombs designation corresponded to the approximate weight of the bomb.  The smaller bombs had either Amatol or TNT while the larger bombs were filled more powerful explosives like RDX and Trialen to compensate for their reduced charges.  The PC series of bombs were fitted with a time delay fuze which detonated the bomb after it had pierced a target destroying it with a combination of its blast and fragments.  The PC series served as a base for the later PC RS series rocket propelled bombs which were designed to enhance penetration by increasing their terminal velocity.  The PC 1400 was also modified by adding a guidance package to become the Fritz X guided bomb.

Design
The body was of one-piece forged steel construction which was filled through the base with TNT or Trialen 105, a mixture of 15% RDX, 70% TNT and 15% aluminum powder and was fitted with a cast aluminum or magnesium alloy 4 finned tail with a cylindrical strut.  There was a single transverse fuze pocket near the base of the bomb and there were two central exploders which ran through the explosives.  The PC 1400 was horizontally suspended by a suspension band and H-Type suspension lugs or trunnions in a bomb bay.  The body of the bombs were painted sky blue, while the tail was painted aluminum with a red or blue stripe.

See also
 List of weapons of military aircraft of Germany during World War II

References

External links

World War II aerial bombs of Germany

PC 1400


In communications systems, robbed-bit signaling (RBS) is a scheme to provide maintenance and line signaling services on many T1 digital carrier circuits using channel-associated signaling (CAS). The T1 carrier circuit is a type of dedicated circuit currently employed in North America and Japan.

Context
The T1 circuit is divided into 24 channels, each carrying 8,000 samples per second, each 8 bits long. The Super Frame (SF) consist of 12 frames of 24 channels. The DS1 designation consist of 24 frames called, Extended Super Frame (ESF). In either designation, these channels are multiplexed together and sample at 8000bit/s. In the superframe, ten frames are utilized entirely for voice/data and two are utilized partially for voice. Hence, each of the two partial frames yields bit/s = 56kbit/s for voice data per channel, compared to the bit/s = 64kbit/s per channel in the other frames.

Intuitively, 5 out of 6 frames have 8-bit resolution equal to 64kbit/s (8 bits × 8,000 samples per second = 64kbit/s) and 1 out of every 6 frames has a 7-bit resolution (7 bits × 8,000 samples per second = 56kbit/s). The total rate for a channel is therefore 62.666kbit/s. The distortion effect on voice and data signals is negligible when a modem is used for modulation. However, for a 64kbit/s digital signal the data will render errors when a data signal is transmitted. If such is the case the robbed-bit signaling should be turned off.

Bit robbing
The robbed-bit signal scheme is used in the super frame circuit (SF). It takes the least significant bit of each channel in every sixth frame and utilizes it to convey on or off hook, and busy signal status on telephone lines. The first bit of every six is called A bit, the second bit is called B bit.

RBS was developed at the time that AT&T was moving from analog trunks onto digital equipment. This permitted AT&T to run 24 digital phone lines on the same number of wires that 2 analog phone lines would have taken, saving money and improving call quality, without the high cost of frequency-division multiplexing.

As in other carrier systems, the physical properties of an actual trunk wire are missing. With analog trunks, to signal the equipment at the far end that a trunk was going to be used, equipment would "loop" the line by connecting the wires together at one end or ground start one of the wires (depending on the type of trunk), and do the opposite to return the trunk to idle. With a digital trunk, another method was needed to signal between ends.

To do this, signaling equipment "steals" the eighth bit of each channel on every sixth frame (see Super Frame and Extended Super Frame) and replaces it with signaling information. This means that the low-order bit on every sixth sample in every DS0 carried on the T1, in either direction, is replaced by signaling information. Simple PCM-encoded voice is not very sensitive to losing these data in a few of its lower-order bits, so it doesn't cause much degradation of voice quality; however, when carrying data, the difference is significant, reducing the available usable data rate by 12.5%. With full 64kbit/s, a voice channel has a signal-to-noise ratio of 37 decibels (dB). At 56kbit/s, a voice channel has a signal to noise ratio of 31dB. As only every sixth least-significant bit is robbed, the signal to noise ratio will be somewhere between 31 and 37dB. However, since individual T1 links are not in general synchronized to one another, a DS0 passing along several concatenated, unsynchronized, T1 spans may have its lower bit stolen in more than one frame, frequently making real-world performance closer to the lower-bound than the upper bound of signal-to-noise performance.

Robbed-bit signaling can have an effect on audio quality under certain circumstances. When a voice call is connected to a quiet termination, as can happen when on hold in a PBX that does not have music on hold or comfort noise enabled, and certain types of framing circuits are used, the noise due to robbed-bit signaling can be heard in the handset as a faint 1333Hz tone, this frequency being a result of low-bit corruption at a rate of  = 1333Hz.  This is normally not a very noticeable problem, but if the audio path contains in-line speech compression, such as G.729, the tone can be amplified and modulated by the compression algorithm to the point of annoyance to the user.

With Super Frame framing, the robbed bits are named A and B. With Extended Super Frame, the same stream is divided into four bits, named A, B, C, and D. The meanings of these bits depend on what type of signaling is provisioned on the channel. The most common types of signaling are loop start, ground start, and E&M.

Unlike T1 systems, most telephone systems in the world use E1 systems that transparently pass all 8 bits of every sample. Those systems use a separate out-of-band channel to carry the signaling information.

References

Telephony signals

Robbed-bit signaling


Bangladesh Police Academy (BPA) is a 111-year-old police training institute. It is the Alma Mater of police training in Bangladesh. It is located 20 miles from Rajshahi City.

Location

Bangladesh Police Academy is located at Sardah under Charghat police station in Rajshahi district.

Evolution
The necessity for imparting formal training to policemen was first felt in Bengal in 1893 when an experimental course of instruction limited to a period of 12 months was tried at Mill Barrack in Dhaka. The experimentation however proved positive. In the meantime, the Indian Police Commission of 1902 also recommended establishment of a Provincial Training College. So, the Police Training School at Mill Barrack, Dhaka, was transformed into Provincial Institution in 1906. On annulment of the short-lived partition of Bengal in 1911, the existing Police Training College for Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Assam at Bhagalpur (India) went to the province of the reorganized Bihar and Orissa. As such the need for a Police Training College for the province of Bengal and Assam was felt immediately. It was not possible to run the college in Dhaka for want of adequate accommodation, proper environment and also for its non-proximity from the capital city of Calcutta. So the authorities concerned thought of setting up a Police Training College at a better site having a bigger area. In July 1912, the college was established at Sardah to meet police training requirements in Bengal and Assam, which later in 1962 was declared as Police Academy, by the then president Field Marshal Ayub Khan who was visiting the academy as Chief Guest in its Golden Jubily. In 2007 it is again renamed Bangladesh Police Academy.

Historical background
Major H. Chamney who was selected to be the first principal of the reorganized Bengal Police Training College was an army officer, serving at Ghazipur (India) at that time. In those days, there was a regular passenger steamer service between Ghazipur and Calcutta run by Indian Navigation and Railway Company. Legends say that while traveling to Calcutta by this river route, Major Chamney once stopped at Charghat-which was then a steamer station-and was fascinated by the beauty of Sardah with a large open field and massive buildings of Dutch and English indigo planters. These were then being used as the Katcheries of the Midnapur Zaminderi Estate. Major H. Chamney thought this place suitable for establishment of a Police Training College. He immediately reported the matter to the Govt. and his proposal was accepted. The entire property, comprising an area of 242.66 acres of land with all its installations, was then purchased by the Government from Midnapur Zamindari Estate at an amount of only Tk. 25,000. It was thus destined to become the site for the planned Police Training College.

Courses offered

Basic courses

Refreshers' courses

Specialized courses

List of principals

See also
Sardah chhota kuthi

References

Law enforcement in Bangladesh
Vocational education in Bangladesh
Bangladesh Police
1912 establishments in India
Police academies in Bangladesh

Bangladesh Police Academy


Heinrich Karl Ludolf von Sybel (2 December 1817 – 1 August 1895) was a German historian.

Life

Sybel came from a Protestant family which had long been established at Soest. He was born in Düsseldorf, where his father held important posts in the public service under both the French and the Prussians; in 1831 he was raised to the hereditary nobility. His home was one of the centres of the vigorous literary and artistic life for which Düsseldorf was renowned at that time. Sybel was educated at the local Gymnasium, and then at the University of Berlin, where he came under the influences of Friedrich Carl von Savigny and Leopold von Ranke, whose most distinguished pupil he was to become.

After taking his degree, he settled down in 1841 as a Privatdozent in history at the university of Bonn. He had already made himself known by critical studies on the history of the Middle Ages, of which the most important was his Geschichte des ersten Kreuzzuges (History of the First Crusade) (Düsseldorf, 1841; new ed., Leipzig, 1881), a work which, besides its merit as a valuable piece of historical investigation employing the critical methods he had learnt from Ranke, was also of some significance as a protest against the vaguely enthusiastic attitude encouraged by the Romantic school towards the Middle Ages. In 1861 Lady Duff-Gordon published an English translation of a part of this book, to which were added lectures on the crusades delivered in Munich in 1858, under the title History and Literature of the Crusades. This was followed by a study of the growth of German kingship (Die Entstehung des deutschen Königtums, Frankfurt, 1844, and again 1881), after which he was appointed professor.

In the same year (1844) Sybel became prominent as an opponent of the Ultramontane party. The exhibition of the Holy Shroud at Trier had attracted enormous numbers of pilgrims, and so, indignant at what appeared to him a fake, he assisted in publishing an investigation into the authenticity of the celebrated relic. From this time he began to take an active part in contemporary politics and in controversy as a strong but moderate Liberal. In 1846 he was appointed professor at Marburg, and though this small university offered little scope for his activities as a teacher, a seat in the Hessian Landtag gave him his first experience of politics. In 1848 he was present at Frankfurt, but he did not succeed in winning a seat for the National Assembly. His opposition to the extreme democratic and revolutionary party made him unpopular with the mob who broke his windows, and his liberalism made him suspect at court. He sat in the Erfurt parliament of 1850, and was attached to the Gotha party, which hoped for the regeneration of Germany through the leadership of Prussia.

During the period 1859–1866, Sybel was engaged in a literary controversy with the historian, Julius von Ficker, on the significance of the German Empire.

During the years that followed he was occupied with his major chronicle of the French Revolution, Geschichte der Revolutionszeit 1789–1800, for which he had made prolonged studies in the archives of Paris and other countries. The later editions of the earlier volumes were enlarged and altered, and a new edition was published at Stuttgart in 1882. The first three volumes were translated into English by Walter Copland Perry (1867–1869). In this work he showed for the first time the connection between the internal and external history of France. By systematically studying the records, he was also the first to check and correct the traditional account of many episodes of France's internal history. He demonstrated that letters attributed to Marie Antoinette were not genuine. He undermined the influential revolutionary legends, expounded by French writers. Sybel was interested in Edmund Burke, on whom he had published two essays. The work was in fact the first attempt to substitute for the popular view of Thiers and Lamartine, a line which was later taken up by Taine and Albert Sorel.

In 1856, on the recommendation of Ranke, Sybel accepted the post of professor at Munich, where King Maximilian II of Bavaria, a generous patron of learning, hoped to establish a school of history. Here he found a fruitful field for his activity. Besides continuing his work on the Revolution and on the Middle Ages, he occupied himself fully with the Historical Seminar which he instituted; with the Historische Zeitschrift which he founded - the original model of the numerous historical periodicals which now exist – and as secretary of the new Historical Commission. Political differences soon interfered with his work; as a supporter of Prussia and a Protestant, especially as a militant champion against the Ultramontanes, he was from the first an object of suspicion to the Clerical party. In the political excitement which followed the war of 1859 he found that he could not hope for the unreserved support of the king, and therefore in 1861 he accepted a professorship at Bonn, which he held until 1875.

He was elected a member of the Prussian Lower House, and during the next three years was one of the most active members of that assembly. In several important debates he led the attack on the government, and opposed the policy of Bismarck, not only on finances but also on Polish and Danish affairs, in particular the impending crisis with Denmark over Schleswig and Holstein. In 1864 he did not stand for re-election, owing to an eye infection, but in 1866 he was one of the first to point out the way to a reconciliation between Bismarck and his former opponents. He had a seat in the Constituent Assembly of 1867, and while he joined the National Liberals he distinguished himself by opposing the introduction of universal suffrage, sharing the distrust of many Liberals over its effects. In 1874 he returned to the Prussian parliament in order to support the government in its conflict with the Clericals, and after 1878 with the Socialists. He explained and justified his position in two pamphlets that analysed the teaching of the Socialists and traced Clerical policy during the 19th century. In 1880 he retired, like so many other Liberals, disheartened by the change in political life which he blamed on universal suffrage.

In 1875, Bismarck appointed him to the post of director of the Prussian archives. Under his superintendence was begun the great series of publications, besides that of the correspondence of Frederick the Great, which he helped to edit. His last years were occupied with his great work, Die Begründung des deutschen Reiches durch Wilhelm I (The Founding of the German Empire under William I)(Munich, 1889–1894), a work of great importance on German unification, for which he was allowed to use the Prussian state papers and was therefore able to write a history of the greatest events of his own time with full access to highly secret sources of information. As a history of Prussian policy from 1860 to 1866 it is of incomparable value. After the fall of Bismarck permission to use the secret papers was withdrawn, and therefore vols. vi. and vii., which deal with the years 1866 to 1870, are of less importance. This work has been translated into English as The Founding of the German Empire, by M L Perrin and G Bradford (New York, 1890–1891). Sybel did not live to write an account of the war with France, dying at Marburg on 1 August 1895. His other writings include Die deutsche Nation und das Kaiserreich (1862) and a large number of historical articles.

Sybel left two sons, one of whom became an officer in the Prussian army; the other, Ludwig von Sybel (1846-1929), a professor of archaeology in the university of Marburg, was the author of several works dealing with Greek archaeology.

Some of Sybel's numerous historical and political essays have been collected in Kleine historische Schriften (3 vols, 1863, 1869, 1881; new ed., 1897); Vorträge und Aufsätze (Berlin, 1874); and Vorträge und Abhandlungen, published after his death with a biographical introduction by Conrad Varrentrapp (Munich, 1897).

References

 Gooch, G.P. History and historians in the nineteenth century (1913).   online
Biography at Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie

External links

History and Literature of the Crusades, trans. Lady Duff Gordon (at Google Books)
Geschichte des ersten Kreuzzugs (at Google Books)

1817 births
1895 deaths
Writers from Düsseldorf
People from the Rhine Province
German Protestants
German untitled nobility
National Liberal Party (Germany) politicians
Prussian politicians
19th-century German historians
Historians of the Crusades
Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)
Humboldt University of Berlin alumni
University of Bonn alumni
Academic staff of the University of Bonn
Academic staff of the University of Marburg
Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
19th-century German male writers
German male non-fiction writers
Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities

Heinrich von Sybel


A swimming machine, or resistance swimming apparatus, is a self-contained, pump-driven machine, that enables an athlete or recreational user to swim in place.  A swimming machine is possible by accelerating the water past the swimmer or by supporting the swimmer, either in water or on dry land. One type of swimming machine, known as a countercurrent swimming machine, consists of a water tank at least twice as long and about one and a half times as wide as an average person with the limbs extended. The swimmer swims unrestrained against an adjustable stream of water using jets, propellers, or paddle wheels.

Counter current swimming machines made their appearance in the 1970s, initially in the form of pump-driven jetted streams, but received criticism since they created turbulence and an unnatural swimming environment. They were followed up in the 1980s by a propeller- and paddle-wheel-driven machines. These provided a smoother stream of water, thus a more natural swimming experience, and were more popular among consumers.

Hybrid systems are another strand of swimming machines available. They feature self-contained micro pools similar to the counter-current type but use a flexible tether to keep the swimmer in place and help the swimmer from hitting the side of their exercise area. These systems, being human powered, need neither machinery or electricity but have to be carefully designed to suppress wave formation. The second type allows a person to remain on dry land while simulating certain swimming strokes. Machines of the latter type however can not compensate for the weight of the body and the limbs and thus deprive the user of the benefits of exercise in an aquatic environment. However, the higher effort required by such machines, in the absence of the metabolic effects of immersing the body in water, makes these devices more effective than true swimming if one's purpose is to achieve weight reduction. Similar in purpose, but not qualifying as swimming machines since they require access to a swimming pool, are various tether systems. Resistance Swim Spas beat the current stainless steel swim spas.

Pressure-driven machines
Pressure-driven swimming machines depend on one or more pumps. Discharge rates of 13 L/s (200 US gal/min) and more are possible, from motors of three or four horsepower (2 or 3 kW); power requirements are determined from pump curves, where the pump is selected to Ś volumetric flow, as pressure loss is relatively low as the water does not need to be lifted, but only overcome swimmer drag and other pressure losses within the system. One of the earliest models on the market, introduced in 1973, was the Badujet which is available only in the form of a bare propulsion system, to be installed into either an existing or newly built pool.

Also in this category of pressure-driven swimming machines are a number of swim spas, usually, fibreglass shells equipped with several pool pumps to set the water in motion. Seen as more convenient since they come pre-assembled, the quality of the swim has been criticized by indoor swimmers as being somewhat turbulent, as the strength of the current comes from the speed and pressure of the discharged water, rather than its volume. Contrary to this, triathletes and other sea swimmers have praised the system due to the turbulence created by the jets mimicking the behaviour of the sea, improving stamina and general fitness, and preparing them for unpredictable conditions they may face whilst they compete.

Swim Spas, as the name suggests, are a combination of a spa (or hot tub) and an exercise pool. Single-zone models are typically a fibreglass pressure-driven exercise pool which has swim jets at one end, and one or more spa seats fitted with massage jets at the other. Swimmers and athletes have praised the integration of both a hot tub and swimming machine model since they can use it for exercising and also use it recreational purposes.

In the 1980s, Monarch Spas developed the dual-zone swim spa, allowing the pumps and other equipment needed for the pool to also power a separate spa. One advantage of the modern dual-zone system is the ability to set different temperatures and use different chemicals in each pool area. The hot tub section can utilize bromine and provide a relaxing and therapeutic experience, while the swim zone can be kept cool for strenuous exercise, using chlorine..

Volume-driven machines
In the 1980s, a new type of machine made its appearance. In an attempt to correct problems of turbulence and resulting discomfort from swimming against a jet of water, systems were devised to set the water in motion in a smoother fashion. The first, in 1984, was the SwimEx, developed by Stan Charren together with two MIT-trained engineers. This machine, consisting of a fiberglass pool with the machinery housed in an adjacent compartment, sets the water in motion by means of a paddlewheel and generates a steady stream of water as wide as the swimming pool itself.

In the late 1980s, the Endless Pool was developed by James Murdock. This machine places the water-moving equipment, a large propeller encased in a stainless steel box and powered by a remote hydraulic pump, and its stainless steel water circulation tunnels, inside the body of a vinyl-lined metal pool. Its stream of water is narrower than that of the SwimEx, though the swimming experience is comparable and equally smooth. Other companies have copied this system since it was introduced.

Around the same time, the Swim Gym, a propeller-driven propulsion system became commercially available. The Swim Gym machine is encased within a large (10" diameter) PVC tee which is then incorporated into the concrete wall of a swimming pool. It delivers a current equivalent to that produced by Endless Pools.

In 2008, SmartPools Sdn Bhd  Malaysia launched its Laminar Propulsion system using drive train technology capable of moving up to 30,000 litres of water per minute at low pressure to create a non-turbulent, bubble-free, smooth flow and speed-adjustable swimming treadmill.

Hybrid systems

A number of "still-water" mini-pools have been built, designed to be used in conjunction with various resistance-swimming tether systems. These human-powered devices combine the self-contained aspect of counter-current swimming machines with the lower priced and simplicity and freedom of movement of tether systems used in athletic training. They have major cost and energy-use advantages over mechanical swimming machines. They are often used for aerobic exercise, endurance and strength training, and for stroke practice. However, they cannot replicate open water conditions, in which the water courses at speed past the swimmer, so that for competition training their use has to be combined with open-water practice. One example of such a device is the Swimergy Swim System, which also makes use of wave-reduction technology.

References

Swimming equipment
Swimming pools

Swimming machine


Hrubý Rohozec () is a castle in Turnov, Czech Republic. The original structure was connected to a polygonal tower by a defensive wall. Its purpose, in the 14th century, was to monitor the trade route running below it. Between the two parts of the castle, Gothic palaces were built by Jan von Šelmberk, and later Konrad Kraiger Kraigk. During the Renaissance, the Wartenberg family rebuilt the complex in the style of a château.

Albrecht von Wallenstein bought it in 1621 followed by the noble family Desfours, who held it until 1945. After 1822 the castle was upgraded on the basis of plans by the architect Jan F. Joendl. The castle's library, dining room, bedroom and a blue room are open to the public and display their original furnishings.

References

External links
 Hrubý Rohozec - official site

Castles in the Liberec Region
National Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic
Museums in the Liberec Region
Historic house museums in the Czech Republic
Semily District

Hrubý Rohozec