Administrative divisions of medieval Serbia

Administrative divisions of medieval Serbia refer to regional administrative divisions of Medieval Serbia, from the 7th to the 15 the century.
Serbian Principality and Principality of Duklja.
The Byzantine Empire called the lands of the South Slavs "Sclaviniaes" (from the Sclaveni, the Southwestern branch), and they were initially outside Imperial control. By the second half of the 7th century, most of the Slavs in proximity to Byzantium had recognized the Emperor's supreme rule.
The prince ("archon") that led the Serbs to the Balkans and received the protection of Heraclius (r. 610–641), known conventionally as the "Unknown Archont", was an ancestor of the Vlastimirović dynasty. The Serbs at that time were organized into "župe", a confederation of village communities (roughly the equivalent of a county), headed by a local "župan" (a magistrate or governor). According to Fine, the governorship was hereditary, and the "župan" reported to the Serbian prince, whom they were obliged to aid in war. Emperor Constantine VII "Porphyrogenitus" (r. 913–959) mentions that the Serbian throne is inherited by "the son", i.e. the first-born, though in one occasion there is a triumvirate in his enumeration of monarchs.
Višeslav, the first Serbian monarch known by name, was a contemporary with Charlemagne (fl. 768–814). He directly held the hereditary lands of Neretva, Tara, Piva and Lim. Radoslav, then Prosigoj, succeeded Višeslav, and they ruled during the revolt of Ljudevit Posavski against the Franks (819–822). According to the Royal Frankish Annals, written in 822, Ljudevit went from his seat at Sisak to the Serbs somewhere in western Bosnia, who controlled the greater part of Dalmatia: "ad Sorabos, quae natio magnam Dalmatiae partem obtinere dicitur".
The Serbs established several future principalities by the 10th century: "Serbia" (roughly the later province of "Rascia", including Bosnia; part of "Zagorje" - "hinterlands"); and Pagania, Zachlumia, Travunia (including Kanalitai) and Dioclea (part of "Pomorje" - "maritime").


Tajar Tetova

Tajar Tetova () was an Albanian military commander and "çetë" (band) leader in southern Albania and Macedonia.
History.
Background.
Born in Kalkandelen (modern day Tetovo) in the late-19th century, Tajar bey Tetova came from a noble landowning family. Tetova rose through the military ranks of the Ottoman empire, becoming a captain in the Ottoman army.
Albanian National Awakening.
In 1908 he was sent by the Ottoman empire to support the Ottoman troops against the Albanian uprisings in Monastir (present-day Bitola). On June 22, 1908 captain Tajar Tetova working together with the Bashkimi club of Monastir, mutinied and fled into the mountains with seven officers and 150 Albanian soldiers to join southern Albanian Tosk revolutionaries. He formed a military league, demanding the retirement of the Young Turk government and general elections claiming that the existing cabinet was elected under terrorist agitation of the Young Turkish Committee. Tetova and his soldiers took all the weapons and ammunition company as well as two heavy machine guns from the Turkish in Monastir. Tetova expanded his insurgent movement in the area of Dibra, Korce and Kolonje. Tetova's group merged with Sali Butka fighters and together fought against the invaders of Albania.
He served for a short time as Mayor of Elbasan. A street in Elbasan is named after him.


Uusikaupunki

Uusikaupunki (; ) is a town and municipality of Finland.
It is located in the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is inland water. The population density is .
The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Both its Finnish and Swedish names translate literally to "new town". The original name of the main village that was incorporated into Uusikaupunki was Kalainen (roughly translated from Finnish as "rich in fish"). The surrounding region, and especially the neighboring town of Kalanti, which merged with Uusikaupunki in 1993, was already a lively marketplace for wooden objects and salt in the early Middle Ages. Uusikaupunki was founded to legalize this trade.
The town of Uusikaupunki was founded as a town with the rights of commerce in 1617 by decree by Gustav II Adolf. In 1721, the Peace of Nystad was signed in Uusikaupunki, ending the Great Northern War between Sweden and Russia, but as the Crimean War broke out in 1853, Uusikaupunki was attacked by French Navy and British Navy in 1855 during the Åland War. Up to the 19th century, Uusikaupunki was an important port for commerce and fishing, and up to the latter half of the 20th century, the Port of Uusikaupunki retained an important ship-building industry.
Uusikaupunki is the home of Valmet Automotive, a contract automobile mechanical production company, producing cars and vehicles for brands such as Mercedes-Benz. It was founded in 1968 as Saab-Valmet for manufacturing Saab cars. As of June 2017, Valmet is assembling Mercedes-Benz A-Class and Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class cars.
Uusikaupunki is home to the Bonk museum.
Politics.
The results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Uusikaupunki were:
International relations.
Twin towns – sister cities.
Uusikaupunki is twinned with:
Sports.
The town was co-host of the 1982 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women.


Artakioi

Artakioi was a Moesian tribe mentioned in the Roman period. Cassius Dio (155–235) mentioned the tribe. The ethnonym has been connected with the Roman-era toponyms Artiskos (a tributary of the Maritsa) and Artanes (a tributary of the Danube). The tribe inhabited the region of the upper Tundzha river, a tributary of Maritsa. It is believed that they spoke a Thracian language.


Palazzo Pola e Todescan

The Palazzo Pola e Todescan is a building in central Florence, Italy. The palazzo was completed in 1903. It is in the Art Nouveau style and was designed by architect Giuseppe Paciarelli.
The building was initially built as residence for Counts of Pola. It housed the Florence branch of Pola & Todescan, a store selling clothing made in Britain. As of 2015, it is occupied by a bank.


San Tommaso Apostolo, Albignasego

San Tommaso Apostolo is a Roman Catholic parish church in Albignasego, province of Padua, region of Veneto, Italy.
Prior to 1445, a church was present at the site with an adjacent cemetery; in that year, under the patronage of the marchesi Obizzi, the church underwent refurbishment. The family also helped decorate the main chapel.
By the end of the 19th century, the increase in population had surpassed the capacity of the small church, and construction of a new church was begun in 1890 under the direction of the engineer Zanovello, and completed ten years later. The design is eclectic, and includes a triumphal arch motif, a round oculus, and a rounded portal, all circumscribed by sleek lines recalling the new "Stilo Liberty" (art-nouveau) style. The apse has frescoes depicting the four evangelists.


Palaeopagurus

Palaeopagurus is an extinct genus of hermit crab from the Lower Cretaceous.


Oscar Arthur von Riesemann

Oscar Arthur von Riesemann ( – ) was a Baltic German lawyer and politician who was the mayor of Reval from 22 December 1877 to 6 April 1878.
A member of a prominent Baltic German family that had origins in Lübeck, von Riesemann studied the arts abroad. He formulated the Governorate of Estonia's provincial property tax. He was the first mayor of Reval in nearly a century, after the end of the mayoralty of Wilhelm Hetling. This was due to the revocation of the Magistracy of Reval, the governing institution of the city at the time. In 1864, he was appointed the head legal counsel of the Reval Magistrate. He was later elected by the Reval Landtag at the Reval Town Hall in 1877, due to his sympathy for the concerns of the majority Estonian population. He emerged as a central figure in the opposition to the main Baltic German party in the elections to the first independent Reval city council. He was succeeded by Baron Alexander Rudolf Karl von Uexküll.
See also.
List of mayors of Tallinn


Flags of Napoleonic Italy

Transpadane, Cispadane and Cisalpine Republics.
When, in 1796, the French Army led by Napoleon Bonaparte entered into Italy, both the new republic ("Repubblica Transpadana", Transpadane Republic) and the military group attached to French army adopted the flags similar to the modern-day Italian tricolor. Probably, the colors have been chosen according to "Legione Lombarda" flag: it summed Milan city colors (red and white) to the green of Milan Civic Guard uniforms, and was inspired by the French tricolor. The same colors were adopted by the "Legione Italiana", formed by soldiers coming from Emilia and Romagna.
The first Italian tricolor was adopted on 7 January 1797, in Reggio Emilia, as official flag of the "Repubblica Cispadana" (Cispadane Republic). It was a horizontal tricolor, with red (top), white and green stripes; in the middle, an emblem composed by a quiver, accolade to a war trophy, with four arrows that symbolized the four provinces forming the "Po federation"; all within a crown of bay.
Italian Republic and the Kingdom of Italy.
The "Repubblica Cispadana" and the "Repubblica Transpadana" merged into the "Repubblica Cisalpina" (Cisalpine Republic), which adopted the vertical Italian tricolor without emblem in 1798, even if in a square shape. The flag was maintained until 1802, after the republic was renamed "Repubblica Italiana" (Italian Republic); in 1802 a new square flag was adopted, with a red field carrying a white rhombus and a green square in the middle of the white rhombus.
In 1799, the Republic of Lucca came under French influence, and adopted as flag a green-white-red horizontal tricolor, up to 1801.
After Napoleon became emperor, in 1805, the "Repubblica Italiana" was turned into "Regno d'Italia" (Kingdom of Italy), ruled by Napoleon himself; the flag of the "Regno d'Italia" was the "Repubblica Italiana" flag in rectangular shape, with Napoleon's eagle on the central green rectangle. This flag was in use until the abdication of Napoleon, in 1814.


7th century in Ireland

Events from the 7th century in Ireland.


Demographics of West Germany


List of years in Denmark

This is a list of years in Denmark.


Roman Rosen

Baron Roman Romanovich Rosen () (February 24, 1847 – December 31, 1921) was a diplomat in the service of the Russian Empire.
Biography.
Rosen was from a Baltic German nobility (with a Swedish title, obtained when Livonia and Pomerania were Swedish territories) that included musicians and military leaders. One of his ancestors, another Baron Rosen, won distinction in command of the Astrakhanskii Cuirassier Regiment at the Battle of Borodino on September 7, 1812 for which he was noted in the official battlefield report to General Barclay de Tolly.
A "Washington Post" article dated July 5, 1905 claimed that "Baron Rosen is of Swedish ancestry, his forebears having followed Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus in his invasion of Russia and settled there. He was "chargé d'affaires" at Tokyo and later at Washington, and was acting in a judicial capacity as the mouthpiece of an international tribunal that was regarded as discourteous to Japan. ... As judicial minister, he reformed the judicial system of Siberia." Actually, the family was originally from Bohemia (Habsburg territory) and included one Marshal of France and one Austrian Field-Marshal. Rosen’s mother was a Georgian, Elizabeth Sulkhanishvili.
Early career.
Rosen graduated from the University of Dorpat and the Imperial School of Jurisprudence, and joined the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Asiatic Department, rising to head the Japan Bureau in 1875. He helped draft the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875), in which Japan exchanged its claims over Sakhalin for undisputed sovereignty over the entire Kurile islands chain. He served as First Secretary of the Russian legation at Yokohama from 1875-1883. Rosen was then appointed to the Consulate-General of Russia in New York City in 1884, and then as temporary charge d’affaires to Washington DC from 1886-1889. In 1891, he opened the Russian legation in Mexico City, remaining in Mexico until 1893. He then returned to Europe, and was appointed ambassador Serbia, staying in Belgrade until 1897.
Career in the Far East.
During a short term as Russian minister to Tokyo in 1897–1898, Rosen concluded the Nishi-Rosen Agreement between Russia and Japan, whose articles recognized Japanese supremacy in Korea in exchange for an implicit recognition of Russia's exclusive rights to the Kwantung Leased Territory. However, after he was publicly critical over increasing Russian military activity on the Korean coast and the Yalu River, he was suddenly transferred to the rather symbolic post as Ambassador of Russia to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1899. In 1900 his diplomatic career revived when he exchanged Munich for Greece, and in April 1903 his most important period commenced when he was reinstalled as Minister in Tokyo.
Rosen was in Tokyo at the start of the Russo-Japanese War, which he had made every effort to prevent. When United States President Theodore Roosevelt attempted to mediate the hostilities, Rosen was chosen as new Russian ambassador to the United States in May 1905 and as Sergei Witte's deputy within the Russian peace delegation. Rosen traveled to New Hampshire for negotiations in a cessation of hostilities and a peace treaty. The resulting Treaty of Portsmouth was a diplomatic triumph, which ended the war on very favorable terms for Russia.
Later career.
Rosen stayed in the United States until autumn 1911, when he was recalled to St. Petersburg to retire from the diplomatic service. He was subsequently appointed by Tsar Nicholas II to the State Council of Imperial Russia. He held this membership in the Russian parliamentary Upper House under the Constitution of 1905 until the overthrow of the monarchy by the February Revolution in 1917.
After the Bolshevik takeover in November 1917 October Revolution and the subsequent persecution of the old political and social elites, Rosen and his family managed to escape from Russia with the help of Western diplomatic friends in the end of the year 1918. He spent his last years in poverty, working as a translator and business consultant.
He got hit by a taxi while walking down the street on the night of December 14, 1921 in Manhattan, New York City. This accident resulted in the fracture of his shin bone, and despite the fact that he was initially "cheerful[ly] unconcern[ed]" about this accident, Rosen died due to lobar pneumonia resulting from this accident on December 31, 1921, a little more than two weeks after this accident occurred.
Legacy.
Rosen wrote a series of articles about European diplomacy and politics for "The Saturday Evening Post" covering the period from his first exile in Sweden to his life in the United States. The series was published in 41 parts from 1919–1921 and was posthumously issued as a 2-volume-book "Forty Years of a Diplomat's Life" in 1922.


Corallian Group

The Corallian Group or Corallian Limestone is a geologic group in England. It is predominantly a coralliferous sedimentary rock, laid down in the Oxfordian stage of the Jurassic. It is a hard variety of "coral rag". Building stones from this geological structure tend to be irregular in shape. It is often found close to seams of Portland Limestone (e.g. Abbotsbury in Dorset, England). It is a younger limestone than its near-neighbour, the Oolitic, as found in the Cotswolds, in Gloucestershire. It is laterally equivalent to and interfingers with units of the Ancholme Group.
A ridge of Corallian Limestone rises above the Vale of Avon and the Thames Valley in its Oxfordshire stretch. The Oxfordshire Corallian ridge is an escarpment holding back the hanging valley that is the Vale of White Horse and its hardness forced the River Thames to take a wide northern detour, to cut through the low ridge at Oxford. High points along the ridge are Cumnor Hurst and Wytham Hill. The outcrop known as Headington stone was quarried at Headington Quarry on the outskirts of Oxford and used for many of the historic University buildings there.
Hilly outcrops above this corallian ridge, composed of Lower Greensand, occur at Badbury Hill, Faringdon (Folly Hill) and Boars Hill.
Softer sandy deposits occur within the Corallian, found for example at Faringdon, Shellingford and Hatford in Oxfordshire, where the sands and gravels are extensively quarried.
The Corallian Limestone aquifer is present at outcrop in Yorkshire and in the Cotswolds. In Yorkshire it consists of limestones and grits up to about 110 m thick, thinning to about 20 m towards the south of the region, where the limestones are progressively replaced by clay. It is typically well jointed and gives rise to numerous springs. Here it yields up to 15 l/sec. In the Cotswolds the aquifer is up to 40 m thick, give yields of 5 to 10 l/sec, with water quality becoming increasingly saline down dip as the aquifer becomes confined in the Wessex Basin.
In England, Corallian Limestone is to be found in Dorset, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.
The most noted scholar of the Corallian strata of England was the geologist W.J. Arkell (1904–1958).


2000 in Luxembourg

The following lists events that happened during 2000 in Luxembourg.


Casa dei Tre Oci, Venice

The Casa dei Tre Oci or Casa di Maria is a modern, neo-gothic palace located in the island of Giudecca of the sestiere of Dorsoduro, in Venice. The facade is visible across the Giudecca Canal from the Church of the Zitelle.
Storia.
La Casa dei Tre Oci was designed in 1912-1913 by the Bolognese painter Mario de Maria as his own house. It is stated that the symbolism of the facade is that the three large windows represent Maria's immediate family: his son, wife, and himself, while the smaller upper window represents his then daughter Silvia, who had recently died in her youth. The Italian term for eye ("occhi") in Venetian dialect is "òci", hence the house's name. After the Maria family's the palace was occupied for a spell by the architect Renzo Piano. In 2016, the house is owned by "Polymnia Venezia srl", a cultural institution promoting twentieth century art. In the 1960s Fulbright scholars Wolf Kahn, Richard Miller and William Eddelman lived and worked in the building. During those years it was known as the Casa de Maria. Many noted painters lived and worked there . One was F. Hundetwasser from Austria and his wife. Also Pegeen Guggenheim, Peggy,s daughter. Miss Berheimer, Who was an assistant to Max Rheinhardt also resided there. There were several separate apartments and art studios. At one time, The top floor was used by the American Consulate. The historic gondola, once in the lobby, is now in the Venice Arsenale Museum.
Visiting.
The Casa dei Tre Oci is open Everyday from 10am - 7pm (closed on Tuesdays)
It is located on the island of Giudecca and is mostly easily reached by the Zitelle vaporetto stop.
TIckets cost €12 in person or €9 with the MyPass Venezia App.
The current on display is the Letizia Battaglia Exhibition until August 18, 2019.


Ernest Crutchley

Ernest Tristram Crutchley (10 February 1878 – 5 October 1940) was a British civil servant who was the predecessor of the first British High Commissioner to Australia.
Career.
Crutchley was educated at Emanuel School and joined the Post Office as a "boy clerk" in 1893. In 1909 he was promoted from clerk to Assistant Surveyor
"upon a special recommendation from the Postmaster-General." During World War I he was appointed to organise the Army postal service and was commissioned in the Royal Engineers with the rank of Captain. He ended the war as an acting Lieutenant colonel and was appointed OBE. After the war he served in the Ministry of Transport 1919–21, then on the staff of the last Chief Secretary for Ireland at Dublin Castle until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. In 1928 he was appointed "British Government Representative for Migration in Australia", and in 1931 he became "Representative in the Commonwealth of Australia of HM Government in the United Kingdom" pending the appointment of the first British High Commissioner to Australia. In 1935 he was recalled by the Post Office to serve as Public Relations Officer, then was Public Relations Officer in the Ministry of Home Security, 1939–40 "to undertake the difficult task of explaining to the public the importance of the new Civil Defence measures." He retired due to ill health shortly before his death.
Crutchley was appointed OBE in 1919 and promoted to CBE in 1926. He was appointed CMG in the 1932 New Year Honours and CB in the 1935 Birthday Honours.


Castelvecchio Museum

Castelvecchio Museum (Italian: Museo Civico di Castelvecchio) is a museum in Verona, northern Italy, located in the eponymous medieval castle. Restoration by the architect Carlo Scarpa between 1959 and 1973 has enhanced the appearance of the building and exhibits. Scarpa's architectural style is visible in the details for doorways, staircases, furnishings, and even fixtures designed to hold a specific piece of artwork. The renovation carefully balanced new and old, revealing the history of the original building where appropriate. Unusual at the time, this approach has now become a common approach to renovation.
Collection.
The museum displays a collection of sculpture, statues, paintings, ancient weapons, ceramics, goldworks, miniatures and some old bells.
Sculptures, mostly from the Romanesque period of Verona, include:
Paintings include:
There are also numerous paintings and frescoes from the 14th century.


List of years in Finland

This is a list of years in Finland.


San Michele Arcangelo, Marsico Nuovo

San Michele Arcangelo is a Roman Catholic church located on Largo San Gianuario, in front of the more imposing church of San Gianuario in the town of Marsico Nuovo, province of Potenza, region of Basilicata, Italy.
History.
The popularity of churches dedicated to the warrior angel was spread by the Lombards, and this and some documents attest to this church existing centuries before 1131, perhaps in the time of the Duchy of Benevento. The church at the site has undergone many reconstructions over the centuries. Many are due to damage by earthquakes, including one in 1700 cited by a plaque in the belltower.
The present facade was likely the original apse. The main portal in gothic-style dates to the 13th century or earlier, and is attributed to the Master Melchiorre da Montalbano.
The interior has a medieval stone baptismal font and an 18th-century painting on wood of the Archangel. The apse has remains of medieval frescoes showing Byzantine influence.


Elche

Elche (, ) or Elx (, , ) is a town and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants, making it the third most populated municipality in the region (after Valencia and Alicante) and the 20th largest Spanish municipality. It is part of the comarca of Baix Vinalopó.
Part of the municipality is coastal yet the city proper is roughly away from the Mediterranean Sea. A small creek called Vinalopó flows through the city.
Elche is so close to the city of Alicante that both cities form a "de facto" conurbation of some 800,000 inhabitants.
The city is noted by its urban Palm Grove, designated as World Heritage Site.
History.
"La Alcudia" is 10 km from the current city's location and the immediate predecessor of current day Elche. This original location was settled by the Greeks and then occupied by Carthaginians and Romans. Greek Ionian colonists from the Achaean city Helike established their new colony, naming it Helíkē () around 600BC. It was a point of resistance against Carthaginian advance in Spain between the First and Second Punic Wars. The Romans called the city Ilici or Illice and granted it the status of colonia; after a brief Byzantine rule, the Goths took over, establishing an episcopal see.
Elche lost importance during the period of Moorish occupation, when it was moved slightly north to its present location. James II of Aragon took the city from the Moors in the 13th century, during the "Reconquista". The city grew throughout the 18th century and became more important during the 19th century with the arrival of the railway and a booming industrial development of what used to be the traditional footwear industry.
Many archaeological remains have been found in Elche, with the stone bust of the "Lady of Elche" ("Dama de Elche/Dama d'Elx" in Spanish and Valencian, respectively) being the most important. This may date from the Iberian period (4th century BC). The original is in the National Archaeological Museum of Spain.
Geography.
It shares borders with Santa Pola, Guardamar del Segura, San Fulgencio, Dolores, Catral, Crevillent, Aspe, Montforte del Cid and Alicante. The most remarkable landform is Vinalopó River.
According to the Spanish Statistical Institute, there are 20 localities in the municipality besides the main town. The main town had a population of 190,821 in 2019 The number of people livin in the other localities came up to 41,821 in the same year. Algoda was home to 2,650 people, Algorós has a population of 638, Altabix was inhabited by 2,829 people, El Altet was home to 5,750 people Atsavares was home to 1,328 people, Asprella had a population of 403, Las Bayas was home to 2,975 people, Carrús was inhabited by 1,300 people, Daimés had a population of 1,190, El Derramador was home to 419 people, La Foia was inhabited by 2,804 people, Jubalcoi had a population of 1,215, El Pla de Sant Jose was home to 2,411 people, Maitino was inhabited by 890 people, La Marina had a population of 2,008, La Perleta was home to 1,376 people, Puçol was inhabited by 900 people, Torrellano had a population of 7,480, Vallverda was home to 1,767 people and Los Arenales del Sol was inhabited by 2,019 people.
The local government also acknowledges Matola, which is part of Algoda according to the Spanish Stadistical Institute; Penya de les Àguiles, which is part of El Pla de Sant Josep accoding to the same institution, and Santa Anna, which is not recognised by the Stadistical Institute.
Demographics.
10.497% inhabitants are foreigners – 3.267% come from other countries of Europe, 3.369% are African, 2.46% are American, 1.139% are Asian and 15 people from Oceania and stateless people reside in the municipality. The table below shows the population trend of 20th and 21st centuries by the beginning of their decades.
Economy.
The economy of Elche is based, in large part, on the footwear industry, with over 1,000 shoe factories, being one of the most important footwear centres in Spain and the rest of Europe with brands like Pura Lopez or Panama Jack. There are other economic activities in Elche: agriculture (dates, olives, cereals and pomegranates), although it has lost importance in recent years; rubber industry; trade, which employs 20% of the workforce; and tourism.
Elche has a conference centre (called "Ciutat d'Elx"), an international airport ("Aeropuerto de Alicante") a public University, Universidad Miguel Hernández, and a private University, Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera.
Climate.
Elche has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: "BSh") close to a desert climate ("BWh") with mild, dry winters and hot, dry summers.
Main sights.
The Mystery Play of Elx (better known as "Misteri d'Elx", in Valencian) is a sacral-lyrical medieval drama, dated from the 15th century, which was declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2002. It is played every year in mid August, in the context of the local holidays dedicated to the Assumption of Virgin Mary. Also as a part of this celebration, on the 13th of August is the date of a celebration in Elche called Nit de l'Albà (Night of the Dawn) in which a citywide night-long show of fireworks takes place.
Transport.
The Alicante–Elche Airport, the fifth-busiest in Spain is located in the municipality of Elche, around east from the city centre. The Autopista AP-7 serves the outskirts of the city, and the railway linking Alicante and Murcia del Carmen runs through a tunnel underneath the city, with two underground stations; Elche-Parque () and Elche-Carrús (). These are served by line C–1 of the Cercanías Murcia/Alicante commuter rail service, along with Media Distancia trains between Valencia Nord station and Murcia.
The Madrid–Levante high-speed rail network is being extended to reach a new station named Elche-Matola, branching off from the line to Alicante near Monforte del Cid. The new AVE station will contain parking space for 500 cars and 50 motorcycles.


Valeria, Spain (Roman City)

Valeria was an important Roman city and one of the three major cities (with Segobriga and Ercavica) in the modern province of Cuenca.
Its impressive ruins are located on an spectacular site near the modern town of Valeria (Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha).
History.
Valeria was founded on land conquered from the celtiberians, between 93 and 82 BC when Valerius Flaccus became proconsul of Hispania Citerior, since when it has preserved the name that refers to its founder.
Site.
Valeria is located on a tongue of land between limestone gorges at an altitude of a 1000 metres.
Excavation began in the 1950s, but more scientifically since 1974. Since then, systematic excavations have focussed primarily on the space occupied by the forum as well as on private villas.
The major urban development of Valeria dates to the 1st century AD, when construction of the forum was undertaken. The centre of the site comprises a series of public buildings around an immense square platform in the centre of which the forum stood. It is one of the most complete Roman fora situated on a platform. Built into the platform are cisterns to store rainwater collected from above.
The Basilica is located to the north side of the forum while on the west side are the "Exedra" (Hall of the imperial cult) and Cryptoporticus, a vaulted underground gallery functioning as a street or storerooms that also served as foundation to the floor of the Exedra and which occupies the whole side of the platform from the Basilica to the southern limit of the Forum. To the south lies a monumental staircase to the forum, a series of shops and the most iconic building of Valeria, the Nymphaeum, over 100 metres long. The ensemble is bounded by streets.
The extent and status of the remains indicate that it was a Municipium.
The Nymphaeum.
On the east side of the forum lies this very original fountain building dedicated to the nymphs and rivers. It is very large at over 105m long of which more than 80 belong to the fountain proper. This makes it one of the
largest known throughout the Roman Empire and, of course, the largest in Hispania.
The Nymphaeum did not perhaps figure in the first, late-republican, forum and was perhaps devised when
forum was raised in level in the remodelling of the first century AD in the Claudius era. It is, however, a very old example since its construction must date from the early years of the 1st c. AD, and therefore well before the great nymphaea of Africa (2nd c. AD) so that Valeria is closer to the older Hellenistic types.
The hillside fell abruptly on this side of the Forum and it was necessary to build a high retaining wall which would have compromised its aesthetic appearance. Therefore the designer of the forum took advantage of this wall to create a shrine to water gods, typical in the celtibérian world. In front of the wall, decorated
with rectangular niches and alcoves, shops were built at the foot of the retaining wall. Their roofs served as part of an elongated terrace at a lower floor level of the Forum and divided into two halves, one like a large balcony supporting the retaining wall on the rear and providing a view over all the city, and the other half covered and attached to nymphaeum.
A longitudinal gallery ran along the back of the terrace containing a channel connected to the tanks of the city so that water flowing from the channel came out of mouths in niches that decorated the wall. In them
would be statues or paintings and water was channelled to ornate fountains below. The water supply and recuperation circuit must have been a remarkable work of hydraulic engineering, of which little remains.
The Nympeum is undoubtedly the most emblematic monument of Valeria and one of the best known and most iconic of Hispania.
By the 4th century AD the Nymphaeum fell out of use and was perhaps damaged. The area was re-occupied by rather modest private houses and partially dismantled, later to be used as a quarry.
The Exedra.
During the first phase of occupation of the Exedra, the cryptoporticus was connected to the ground floor of the building through doors. The Exedra was accessed at street level through two doors located in the east walls
of the building from the Cardo (the north-south street) which runs parallel to the building. The exedra underwent various modifications or re-uses in its life. In the 2nd century AD in one of the renovations the doors to the cryptoporticus were blocked up and, after the Forum became ruined and abandoned as a public space in the 3rd century, the exedra was re-occupied as a private dwelling in the 4th century. At this time the debris from the collapse of the building was not removed so it was necessary to build stairs for access to the ground floor of the building, possibly the only space that could be inhabited. Also in this phase they divided up some areas; walls were rebuilt and door openings between rooms modified.
Other Buildings.
On the southern side of the Forum structures is the House of the Adobe. Another example of private urbanism is the "Casa del Hoyo".
The Roman city had a good water supply through an articulated system of aqueducts that can be seen carved into the rock.
The objects found at this site are in the museum of Cuenca, including the treasure of Valeria consisting of silver coins dating from the period after the Second Punic War in about 185 BC.


Kizil-Koba culture

Kizil-Koba is a Middle Paleolithic culture belonging to local Tauri tribes who lived in the 9th–8th millennia BC in the Eastern Crimean territory. It is known as the first Eastern European settlement, where Neanderthal remains were found. The Kizil-Koba culture is represented by the materials from two caves: the Kizil-Koba cave and Prolom I. Both settlements are located in the foothills of the Crimean Mountains in the East Crimea.
The similarity between the Kizil-Koba culture and the Koban culture created by the Cimmerian tribes in the Caucasus leads to suppose that the Kizil-Koba culture emerged in the Caucasus.
Kizil-Koba Cave.
Name.
Kizil-Koba (The Krasnaya Cave -literally translates as the Red Cave) is the biggest grotto of the Crimea and one of the karst cave that appear on the limestone in the Eastern Europe. The cave is known as the "Kiikin-Kobasy" (Savage's Cave) by local Tatars or “Kiik-Koba” (Wild Cave) chosen by the archeologist Bonch-Osmolowski.
Geograpy.
Kizil-Koba is located on the right bank of the Zuya River, 7 km south of Zuya city, 20 km south-west of Belogorsk district, 25 km east of Simferopol in the Salgir river system. The cave belongs to the South foothill valley-cuesta region with 44 º 58” Northern Latitude and 34 º 20” Eastern Longitude. The cave located 150 m over the river level has a depth of 9 m, length of 9 m and width of 11 m.
History.
Kizil Koba cave was discovered by G. A. Bonch-Osmolovsky in 1924 and investigated over 2 years by him along with N. L. Ernst, S.A. Trusova, E.V.Zhirov and others. G. A. Bonch-Osmolovsky published monographs and articles about the results of cave materials and excavations in 1934, 1940, 1941, 1954.
Finding the Kizil-Koba created the conditions for the discovery of the new Paleolithic settlements in Crimea and extensive study of the Quaternary period.
Cultural remainings.
A large number of ceramic artefacts, including bronze arrow heads, choker, bracelets and rings dating back to the 7th to 6th centuries B.C. were found by N. L. Ernst and G. A. Bonch-Osmolovsky.
Bonch-Osmolovsky identified 7 layers in Kiik Koba cave and labeled them I-VII from the top to the bottom. These layers reflect 2 separate Middle Paleolithic occupation – Upper MP occupation (layers II-IV) and Lower MP occupation (layers V-VI). 12874 lithics were revealed from the lower occupation, 4.755 from the upper occupation. In layer IIa, Mesolithic remains were found (50 pieces).
Two Neanderthal interments (an adult and a child) were uncovered in 1924 from Kizil-Koba cave. They were identified as Kiik-Koba 1 (adult) and Kiik-Koba 2 (child). Kiik-koba 1 buried in limestone soil was found in layer VI. 73 skeletal remains belonging to the 40–45 years old adult have been found and they date about 35,000 years ago. Findings consist of canine, hand fragments, foot remains, right patella, tibia and fibula. The height of this person estimated to be nearly 164 cm and weight to be 78 kg. The gender of this Neandertal is controversial, as some scholars (Alexeev) assumed that it was female, however, according to the tibial maximum and body proportions of Neandertals, it is presumed that the skeleton belonged to a man.
Kizil-Koba 2 – the more intact skeleton was discovered close to the adult's remains in a separate grave and considered to be belong to an infant (younger than 12 months old at death).
In the upper occupation of Kizil Koba remains of different animals were detected. According to the faunistic data, people mainly (65.5%) hunted horse, saiga and giant deer. 8 species (ass, bison, mammoth, ram, wild boar, red deer, bear, woolly rhinoceros) were constituted the remaining part (34.5%). (1) Based on the pollen spectra, it is believed that Upper layer had larger areas covered with trees (pine, oak, hazel, birch) than Lower layer. Some of other tree species (maple, juniper and buckthorn) were determined from the charcoal relics.
Prolom I.
The materials found in the Prolom I cave are similar to the Kilik-Koba findings. The lithic industry characteristic to the upper layer of Kilik-Koba and two layers of Prolom I is called as “Para-Micoquien”.
The Prolom I cave was explored by Yu. G. Kolosov in 1973. The Prolom I cave is located on the left side of the river Kuchuk Karasu Valley, 10 km north-east of Belogorsk district, in the Salgir river system with 45º07” Northern Latitude, 34 º42” Eastern Longitude. 7 lithological layers were identified here. Generally, the set of layers were divided into 2 parts: Upper layer with significant limestone remains and Lower layer composed of nummulithic sand having a small amount of remains.
The cave is covered with limestone in the south-eastern part dating back to the Middle Eocene age. The cave has 2 cameras. The larger one is 4 m high, 5 m long and 7 m wide, while the other has 1.5 m height, 5 m length and 2.5 m width. The cave has 12 m height.


2020 in Croatia

Events.
Ongoing – COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia


John II, Count of Blois

John II of Châtillon (died 1381, in Valenciennes), second son of Louis I of Châtillon and Jeanne of Avesnes, was count of Blois and lord of Avesnes from 1372 to 1381.
In February 1372, he married Mathilde of Guelders (d. 1384), the daughter and co-heir of Duke Reginald II of Guelders, and became Lord of Schoonhoven and Gouda. He spent most of his career trying to seize Guelders from Mathilde's nephew William I of Guelders and Jülich.


Cephalopone

Cephalopone is an extinct genus of ants in the formicid subfamily Ponerinae described from fossils found in Europe. There are two described species placed into the genus, Cephalopone grandis and Cephalopone potens. "Cephalopone" is one several Lutetian Ponerinae genera.
History and classification.
When described, "Cephalopone" was known from three fossil insects which are compression-impression fossils preserved in layers of soft sedimentary rock. Along with other well preserved insect fossils, the "Cephalopone" specimens were collected from layers of the Lutetian Messel pit World Heritage Site. The formation is composed of brown coals, oil shales, and bituminous shale, which preserved numerous insects, fish, birds, reptiles, and terrestrial mammals as a notable lagerstätten. The area is a preserved maar lake which initially formed approximately 47 million years ago as the result of volcanic explosions.
At the time of description, the holotype and paratype specimens were preserved in the Senckenberg Research Station Messel fossil collections. The fossils were described by Gennady Dlussky and Sonja Wedmann in a 2012 paper on the poneromorph ants of Messel, with the genus and both species named in it. The genus name is a combination of the ant genus "Ponera" and the Greek word "cephale", meaning head. The specific epithet "grandis" is derived from the Latin meaning "strong," while the name "potens" is based on the Latin meaning "strong" or "powerful".
"Cephalopone" is one of five extinct genera from three subfamilies which have species described from Messel Formation fossils by Dlussky and Wedmann in 2012. Three of the other genera "Cyrtopone", "Messelepone", and "Protopone" are also placed in Ponerinae. The genus "Casaleia" is placed in Amblyoponinae, while the last genus "Pseudectatomma" is in Ectatomminae.
Description.
The "Cephalopone" queens from Messel are described as large, having approximate body lengths ranging over . Species have heads that are up to, but no longer than 1.5 times the length of the mesosoma. The subtriangular mandibles are large, being over 80% of the length of the head, and have nine to ten teeth on the chewing faces. Like "Protopone" species, the antennae sockets are widely placed on the head, in contrast to those seen in "Pachycondyla" which are close together. On both the hind and middle tibiae there are a pair of spurs, one simple and one pectinate. The petiole is rounded with a helcium that projects of the front face of the gasteral segment.
"C. grandis".
"C. grandis" is known from a single fossil, consisting of a winged gyne preserved with the top of the body showing in the fossil. The body has an approximate length of with a squared off head that has slightly bulged back margin with rounded corners on each side. The clypeus has a slight downward cure along its front edge and bears a pair of protrusions on the lateral edges. The antennae have segments that range from 1.2 to 2 times as long as they are wide, with a scape is slightly extending past the back edge of the head. The large mandibles are about 87% of the head length and each one has ten teeth. The two teeth at the ends of the mandibles are both large, while the remaining teeth alternate between large and small.
"C. potens".
Two specimens were used to describe "C. potens", both of mostly complete winged queens preserved as dorsal impressions. The body length of the queens is between with a square shaped petiole and a mesosoma that is 1.5-1.6 times longer than the head. The small eyes are placed just to the front of the heads midpoint. The clypeus is rounded on it front edge and the antennae have a scape which reaches the back edge of the head. The mandibles are approximately the length of the head, subtriangular in shape, and have nine teeth alternating between large and small.


History of Gagauzia

The history of Gagauzia dates back to ancient times. With the exception of a six-day de facto independence in the winter of 1906, when a peasant uprising declared an autonomous Comrat Republic, Gagauzians have been ruled by the Russian Empire (1812–1917), Romania (1918–1940 and 1941–1944), the Soviet Union (1940–1941 and 1944–1991), and Moldova (1917–1918 and 1991 to date).
Middle Ages.
The Gagauz people are said to be descended from the Seljuk Turks that settled in Dobruja, together with the Pechenegs, Uz (Oghuz) and Cuman (Kipchak) people that followed the Anatolian Seljuk Sultan İzzeddin Keykavus II (1236-1276). More specifically, one clan of Oghuz Turks migrated to the Balkans during the inter-tribal conflicts with other Turks. This Oghuz Turk clan converted from Islam to Orthodox Christianity after settling in the Eastern Balkans (nowadays in Bulgaria) and were called Gagauz people.
Russian Empire.
In 1812 Bessarabia, previously eastern half of the Principality of Moldavia became part of the Russian Empire, and Nogai tribes that inhabited several villages in south Bessarabia (or Budjak) were forced to leave. Between 1812 and 1846, Russians settled the Gagauz people from what is nowadays eastern Bulgaria (which remained under Ottoman Empire) to the orthodox Bessarabia, mainly in the settlements vacated by the Nogai tribes. They settled there in parallel with Bessarabian Bulgarians in Avdarma, Comrat, Congaz, Tomai, Cişmichioi, and other former Nogai villages. Some Gagauz were also settled in the part of the Principality of Moldavia that did not come under Russian control in 1812, but within several years village by village moved to the compact area they inhabit today in the south of Bessarabia.
Soviet Union.
During World War II, the Soviet created Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was invaded by the forces of Nazi Germany.
Gagauzian nationalism remained an intellectual movement during the 1980s, but strengthened by the end of the decade, as the Soviet Union began to embrace democratic ideals. In 1988, activists from the local intelligentsia aligned with other ethnic minorities to create a movement known as the "Gagauz People". A year later, the "Gagauz People" held its first assembly in which a resolution was passed to demand the creation an autonomous territory in southern Moldova, with the city of Comrat as its capital. The Gagauzian national movement intensified when the Romanian language was accepted as the official language of the Republic of Moldova in August 1989, replacing Russian, the official language of the USSR. A part of the multi-ethnic population of southern Moldova regarded this decision with concern, precipitating a lack of confidence in the central government in Chişinău. The Gagauzians were also worried about the implications for them if Moldova reunited with Romania, as seemed increasingly likely at the time.
Independent Moldova.
In August 1990, Comrat declared itself an autonomous republic, but the Moldovan government annulled the declaration as unconstitutional. At that time, Stepan Topal emerged as the leader of the Gagauz national movement. Support for the Soviet Union remained high, with a referendum in March 1991 returning an almost unanimous vote in favor of remaining part of the USSR. The referendum, however, was boycotted by Moldovans in Gagauzia, as well as in the rest of Moldova. Many Gagauzians supported the Moscow coup attempt in August 1991, and Gagauzia declared itself independent on 19 August 1991, followed in September by Transnistria, thus further straining relations with Chişinău. However, when the Moldovan parliament voted on whether Moldova should become independent on 27 August 1991, six of the twelve Gagauz deputies in Moldovan parliament voted in favor, while the other six did not participate. As a consequence, the Moldovan government toned down its pro-Romanian stance and paid more attention to minority rights.
In February 1994, President Mircea Snegur promised the Gagauzians autonomy, but he was against outright independence. He was also opposed to the suggestion that Moldova become a federal state made up of three republics: Moldova, Gagauzia and Transnistria. In 1994, the Parliament of Moldova awarded to "the people of Gagauzia" (through the adoption of the new Constitution of Moldova) the right of "external self-determination", should the status of the country change. In other words, if the case was that Moldova decided to join another country (by all accounts, that would be Romania), then the Gagauzians would be entitled to decide, by means of a self-determination referendum, whether to remain part of the new state or not. On December 23, 1994, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova accepted the "Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia" (Gagauz: Gagauz Yeri), resolving the dispute peacefully. This date is now a Gagauzian holiday. Many European human rights organizations recognize and promote Gagauzia as a successful model for resolving ethnic conflicts. Gagauzia is now a "national-territorial autonomous unit" with three official languages, Moldovan, Gagauz, and Russian.
Three cities and twenty-three communes were included in the Autonomous Gagauz Territory: all localities with over 50% of Gagauzians, and those localities with between 40% and 50% of Gagauzians, which expressed their desire to be included as a result of referendums to determine Gagauzia's borders. In 1995, Georgi Tabunshik was elected to serve as the Governor (Moldovan: Guvernator, Gagauz: Bashkan) of Gagauzia for a four-year term, as were the deputies of the local parliament, "The People's Assembly", with Peter Pashali as chairman.
Dumitru Croitor won the 1999 Governor elections and began to make use of the rights granted to the Governor by the 1994 agreement. The central authorities of Moldova proved unwilling to accept the results initiating a lengthy stand-off between the autonomy and Chişinău. Finally Croitor resigned in 2002 due to the pressure from the Moldovan government which accused him of abuse of authority, relations with the separatist authorities of Transnistria and other charges. The central electoral commission of Gagauzia did not register Croitor as a candidate for the post of the Governor in the subsequent elections and Gheorgi Tabunshik was elected in what was described as unfair elections.
On 1 April 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic reached Gagauzia.


Hambledon Hill

Hambledon Hill is a prehistoric hill fort in Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale five miles northwest of Blandford Forum. The hill itself is a chalk outcrop, on the southwestern corner of Cranborne Chase, separated from the Dorset Downs by the River Stour. It is owned by the National Trust.
Prehistory.
Its earliest occupation was in the Neolithic when a pair of causewayed enclosures were dug at the top of the hill, one smaller than the other. They were linked by a bank and ditch running northwest–southeast. Two long barrows, one in length, also stood within the complex and a third enclosure is now known to underlie later earthworks. In all, the area of activity covered more than .
Excavations in the 1970s and 1980s by Roger Mercer produced large quantities of Neolithic material. Environmental analysis indicated the site was occupied whilst the area was still wooded with forest clearances coming later, in the Bronze Age. The charcoal recovered seems to have come from timber lacing within the Neolithic earthworks.
Radiocarbon analysis gives a date of 2850 BC. At least one skeleton, of a young man killed by an arrow was found, seemingly connected with the burning of the timber defences and suggesting at least one phase of violence. A single grape pip and a leaf fragment is evidence of vine cultivation and the occupants seem to have traded with sites further to the southwest.
The ditches of the enclosures also contained significant quantities of pottery as well as red deer antler picks used to excavate them. Human skulls had been placed right at the bottom of one of the enclosure ditches possibly as a dedicatory or ancestral offering. Animal bone analysis suggests that most of the meat was consumed in late summer and early autumn, possibly indicating seasonal use of the site. Different material was found in different areas of the site suggesting that Hambledon Hill was divided up into zones of activity. The original interpretation was that the large causewayed enclosure was used as a mortuary enclosure for the ritual disposal of the dead and veneration of the ancestors with attendant feasting and social contact taking place in the smaller enclosure.
Little remains of the Neolithic activity and the site is more easily identified as a prime example of an Iron Age hill fort. It was originally univallate but further circuits of banks and ditches were added increasing its size to . Three entrances served the fort, the southwestern with a long hornwork surrounding it. Hut platforms can be seen on the hillside. The site appears to have been abandoned around 300 BC possibly in favour of the nearby site of Hod Hill.
Hambledon Hill is the first in a series of Iron Age earthworks, which continues with Hod Hill, Spetisbury Rings, Buzbury Rings, Badbury Rings and Dudsbury Camp. The Iron Age port at Hengistbury Head forms a final Iron Age monument in this small chain of sites.
Battle of Hambledon Hill.
The Clubmen were a third force in the English Civil War, aligned to neither crown nor parliament, but striving to protect their land from being despoiled by foraging troops of either side. They armed themselves with clubs and agricultural implements and gathered in large numbers to protect their fields, especially in Dorset. Between 2,000 and 4,000 of them encamped on Hambledon Hill in August 1645. There were large numbers of Cromwell's troops in the area at that time, after the siege of Sherborne Castle. Cromwell ordered that the Clubmen be dispersed and his well-equipped New Model Army soon drove them away on 4 August. The leaders were arrested but Cromwell sent most home saying they were 'poor silly creatures'.
Protected status.
The hill is now a National Nature Reserve (NNR) with common plants including milkwort, salad burnet, horseshoe vetch, squinancywort, pyramidal orchid and wild thyme. Rarer species include bastard toadflax, meadow saxifrage, early gentian and dwarf sedge. Butterflies include dingy skipper, grizzled skipper, chalkhill blue and Adonis blue.
In August 2014, Hambledon Hill fort was acquired by the National Trust for £450,000. The money to buy the hill had come from a Natural England grant and a legacy gift left to benefit Dorset countryside. The hillfort is a Scheduled Monument, as is the adjacent Neolithic causewayed camp.
Cultural references.
Singer-songwriter Gordon Haskell wrote a song about Hambledon Hill for his album "Hambledon Hill" in 1990.


Nadere Reformatie

Nadere Reformatie (Dutch Second Reformation or Further Reformation) is the period of church history in the Netherlands, following the Reformation, from roughly 1600 until 1750.
History.
The period and its representatives are known for their desire to apply the principles of the Reformation to their day – their homes, churches, and, indeed, all sectors of Dutch society in the seventeenth and early eighteenth century. In their balance and value of both orthodoxy as well as piety, the "Nadere Reformatie" resembles English Puritanism and German Pietism.
In fact, Puritanism had much influence on the "Nadere Reformatie". Many Puritan works were translated into Dutch during this time. Moreover, many Dutch visiting students learned about Puritan ideas from English universities.
The two leading figures of the period are a professor, Gisbertus Voetius, and a pastor, Wilhelmus à Brakel. Brakel's main work, the "Redelijke Godsdienst", an explanation, defense, and application of the Reformed faith, has been translated into English.


United Nations Security Council Resolution 28

United Nations Security Council Resolution 28, adopted on August 6, 1947, appointed a sub-committee composed of all the representatives who proposed solutions for the Greek question to attempt to combine all of them into a new draft resolution.
The resolution passed with 10 votes; the Soviet Union abstained.


Nyon

Nyon (; outdated German: or ; outdated Italian: , ) is a municipality in Nyon District in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north east of Geneva's city centre, and since the 1970s it has become part of the Geneva metropolitan area. It lies on the shores of Lake Geneva and is the seat of Nyon District. The town has () a population of and is famous in the sporting world for being the headquarters of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the European Club Association (ECA). It is connected to the rest of Switzerland by way of the Route Suisse, the A1 Motorway and the railways of the "Arc Lémanique".
Name.
Nyon derives from one of the names used by the Romans for the town, "Noviodunum" or "Noiodunum". Other names for the town, particularly of colonies placed there, are "Colonia Iulia Equestris" or "Colonia Julia Equestris", "Colonia Equestris Noiodunum", "Equestris", "Civitas Equestrium", and "Civitas Equestrium Noiodunum".
History.
Nyon is first mentioned around 367–407 as "civitas Equestrium id est Noiodunus" (in the "Notitia Galliarum"). In 1236, it was mentioned as "Neveduni" and in 1292 as "Nyons".
Pre-Roman settlements.
A few scattered neolithic items were discovered in the 19th century. North of the city, some bronze rings and the ruins of a Bronze Age settlement were discovered.
Noviodunum.
It was founded by the Romans between 50 and 44 BC under the name of Colonia Iulia Equestris or Colonia Equestris Noiodunum, the urban center of which was called Noviodunum. It grew to be one of the most important Roman colonies in modern-day Switzerland, with a forum, a basilica and an amphitheater that was discovered only recently, in 1996, when digging for the construction of a new building.
At Roman contact, the country round the town was held by the Helvetii. The town's importance is reflected in its numerous mentions in ancient sources. The Antonine Itineraries place the town on the road from Geneva to Lacus Lausonius (near Lausanne). It is first mentioned by Pliny ("H.N.", iv. 7), and then by Ptolemy (ii. 9), who assigns it to the Sequani. Pliny and Ptolemy simply name it Equestris; and so it is named in the Itineraries. On some inscriptions it is called "Civ. Equestrium" (short for Civitas Equestrium), and "Col. Julia Equ." (short for Colonia Julia Equestris) from which some have concluded that it was founded by Julius Caesar. In the Notitia it is called "Civ. Equestrium Noiodunum" (short for Civitas Equestrium Noiodunum). The district in which Nyon stands is called "Pagus Equestricus" in a document of the year 1011; and it is said that the people of the country as of the 18th century still called this district "Enquestre". (D'Anville, Notice, &c.; Walckenaer, Géographie, &c., des Gaules, vol. ii. p. 316.)
Noviodunum was part of a loose network of settlements that radiated out from Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France) and helped to control the Rhone Valley. It served, along with other Roman colonies in the area, to control the Helvetii who were settled in the area against their will after their defeat at the Battle of Bibracte in 58 BC.
A rectangular grid pattern divided the area of the wall-less city. A monumental center, housing everything needed for the economic, religious and social life of the colony, was established. Only portions of this first forum have been discovered. At its east end was a two-story basilica. Grid-like residential streets radiated out from the center.
Under Tiberius, the forum was expanded and redesigned into a familiar pattern for the provinces. The sacred area was surrounded on three sides by colonnades, which were built on half-sunken Cryptoporticus. Two outbuildings, including most likely the seat of the Curia, flanked the building. A market building (macellum) with a central courtyard around which were the sales rooms, and the baths (tepidarium with geometric shapes and mosaics) were renovated. The forum witnessed further transformations, particularly the establishment of another large building. During the same building phase a large mosaic on the central part of the north portico was built.
The amphitheater, which was discovered in 1996, was probably built in the early 2nd century AD. Its arena, which was flanked by two prisons and provided with sewers, is about . The ruins of the theater, that should have been in the Colonia, have not been discovered.
The residential quarters consisted of modest homes, in addition to some domi with gardens and pools. The buildings were originally made of wood and clay, but after the mid-1st century AD were built from masonry. Some villa suburbana stood in the west of the village, while the artisan and merchant quarter, presumably, developed in the southwest. A long aqueduct which ran from the Divonne area to the colony, provided the water supply. Sewage canals, that followed the road networks, dumped sewage into the lake.
Decline of the Roman colonia.
After a long period of peace and prosperity, signs of crisis and general insecurity were increasing in the early 3rd century. As a result of Alamanni invasions of 259 or 260 AD, the forum and the public buildings in the city were razed. The stone blocks were scattered all over the Lake Geneva region. The stones were re-used as building material, especially in Geneva, where about 300 were used in the construction of the wall. But the settlement was not abandoned. Nyon-Noviodunum, which had already lost much of its prestige and reputation was as a regional capital, now separated from Geneva. Geneva became the center and seat of the diocese which initially fought to administer the territory that had been part of the Colonia.
Medieval Nyon.
During the Carolingian era, Nyon belonged to the county of Geneva. In a 926 charter, Rudolph II of Burgundy mentioned that this area was under a "comes de pago Equestrico". During the Second Kingdom of Burgundy, Nyon became independent from Geneva. In 1032, Rudolf III granted Nyon to the Archbishop of Besançon. The bishop granted Nyon to the Lord of Prangins as a fief. After 1130, , the Lord of Prangins, held his court in Nyon. A market was built in 1211. In 1272, the Archbishop of Besançon confirmed Philip of Savoy's right to administer high justice in Nyon. In 1279, Aymon of Prangins unsuccessfully rebelled against the counts of Savoy, but was forced to acknowledge Savoy authority over him and Nyon.
The Castle is first mentioned in 1272, but probably dates back to the Lords of Prangins. It was rebuilt by Louis I of Savoy in 1463. The rectangular edifice was built in a variety of styles. Around the same time, the square César Tower or Tour de Rive (now a residence), was built to defend the city.
In 1293, Amadeus V, Count of Savoy, and his brother Louis I, Baron of Vaud, conquered the city by besieging it from both the land and the lake. They confirmed the town rights which had been granted to Nyon by Aymon of Prangins, and extended further rights and freedoms. It became one of the four "bonnes villes" of Canton Vaud. In 1294, Louis I began to expand Nyon as a center of his power after Amadeus granted his share of the conquest to Louis. He created a court and a mint, which minted coins for the lords of Vaud between 1286 and 1350. In 1323 Louis II, granted the so-called mountains of Nyon, i.e. pastures and forests in the area of Arzier and Saint-Cergue, to Nyon. In 1359 Nyon lost importance after Amadeus VI acquired rights over the entire Vaud. In 1364 the town charter of Morges replaced the charter in Nyon. This change was reconfirmed in 1439. Under the new charter, the town gained greater self-sufficiency. The mint in Nyon reopened in 1430. In 1530 the Swiss Confederation invaded Vaud and acquired Nyon. Then in 1536, Nyon surrendered again to Bern without a fight as Bernese troops marched through to support Geneva.
Starting in 1323, the municipal government was composed of eight procurators and a mayor. A little later the government was replaced by a community meeting which was headed by two mayors (Syndics). The Town Hall is first mentioned in 1508.
A Benedictine priory was founded in the first half of the 12th century in Nyon. In 1244 it was given to the Augustinian order. The last prior, before the Reformation in 1535 was Aymon de Gingins, who was also the abbot of Bonmont and the selected Bishop of Geneva.
In 1295–96, Louis I, Duke of Savoy, built a Franciscan monastery under the patronage of St. Francis, in which several members of the House of Savoy were buried. In 1530, Bern and Fribourg plundered the monastery for the first time, and Bern destroyed all the pictures of saints. In 1536, it was burned by the withdrawing Savoy garrison.
In 1110 Geneva granted authority over the church of Notre-Dame to the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Oyend (Saint-Claude). The church was built with material from the Roman period and replaced an earlier Christian church. The choir dates from the 12th century, and the nave was built in 1448. The vault and the side chapels were built in 1470–81.
Situated outside the city walls was the church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, also known as Corps-Saints. The church is first mentioned in 1346. By 1412, it was administered by the Augustinian Priory. Until the Reformation it was a pilgrimage site where the relics of the martyrs of the Theban Legion were revered. Bern ordered the church destroyed in 1537.
Early Modern Nyon.
Nyon was raised to the status of administrative center of a "Vogtei" of Bern in 1536. It remained the seat of the vogt until the Vaud revolution of 1798. In 1568, a yearly market took place for the first time. In 1574–80 the castle was converted into the seat of the bailiff. It was renovated several times in the following centuries. The municipal government added a Council of Fifty in 1558 and in 1578, an inner council of Twenty-four. The inner council was made up of nobles, citizens and "habitants". Later the councils became a Council of Twelve and a council of Twenty-Four, which was headed by a knight banneret.
In 1570, Theodore Beza headed the regional assembly of Protestant refugee clergymen in Nyon. After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, many Huguenots fled to Nyon. In 1688, they founded the "Bourse française" to help other refugees.
Nyon remained an important transhipment point for trade along Lake Geneva and from France and Italy. Grain and wood came from Burgundy and Franche-Comté through the Col de la Givrine and Saint-Cergue on to Geneva. In 1537–76, the customs post of Nyon was the most profitable in the bailiwick. Over the following centuries, trade through Nyon remained very profitable and by 1772–73, it was again the highest in the region. In the 18th century, trade and commerce grew strongly. The flow of goods allowed four (after 1738, five) yearly markets. A granary was built in the 18th century. The Bernese rebuilt the Asse canal system to drive tanneries, sawmills and mills. The Faïencerie Baylon earthenware factory was founded in 1769. It was followed by the Jacob Dortu and Ferdinand Müller porcelain factory in 1781, both of which contributed Nyon's reputation for fine ceramics.
With the profits of the Early Modern era, many of the public buildings of Nyon were rebuilt or expanded. Following the suppression of the monasteries, in 1539, the town hospital moved into the offices of the Augustinian convent and received money from the closed monasteries. Hans-Ulrich Heldt rebuilt the College, the original building was from 1559, in 1786 in a neoclassical style. The church of Notre-Dame was rebuilt several times between 1661 and 1718. The medieval city walls and gates were demolished in 1718. The town hall was rebuilt in 1773. In 1720, Louis de Saint-Georges, a minister of the English king, built Changins Castle.
The city was one of the most active centers of the revolutionary movement in the Vaud region. The councils of Nyon formed an oversight committee and refused to pay homage to Bern on 10 January 1798. A few days later, they secured the support of the French General in support of the independence of Canton Vaud. When this proclamation of support was brought from Nyon to Lausanne, on 24 January 1798, it finally led to the Vaudois revolution.
From 1798 to 1803, it was in the canton of Léman of the Helvetic Republic as district capital.
Modern Nyon.
In the first half of the 19th century, the city continued with the demolition of the fortifications, but left wall remains at the Promenade des Marronniers and by the tower of Notre Dame. During the 19th century the Reformed parish church was rebuilt several times. The Catholic Church was consecrated in 1839, and a chapel for the "Église libre" (Free Church) was finished in 1872.
In 1858, a station of the railway line Lausanne–Geneva was built in north of Nyon. New housing developments sprung up around this station, and the city began to spread. The railroads Nyon–Crassier–Divonne (1905) and Nyon–Saint-Cergue–Morez (1916) connected Nyon with its hinterland. To meet the needs of the economy, the shipping industry and the emerging tourism industry, a port was built in 1838 and a quay was added in 1873. By the middle of the 19th century, a major source of income was the sale of timber from the commons forest. Other industries included tanneries (closed in 1925), carpentry, saw mills (until 1935), mills (including Andre & Cie.), cooperages and a soap factory. The Faïencerie Baylon closed in 1828. The porcelain factory, Müller et Dortu temporarily closed in 1813, then resumed production of ceramics in the Art Nouveau style in 1878. From then on until 1980 they produced Stoneware. Other industries in Nyon include the pasta factory Sangal SA (1860–1996), Zyma (1906, since 1996, Swiss Novartis Consumer Health), Stellram (hard metal treatment, 1940–99), Cherix et Filanosa SA (printing and graphic arts, 1932) and several tool factories. Starting in 1966, the companies stopped using the local locks and dams for hydropower and by 1974 they had disappeared from the Asse river.
In 1937, it hosted the Nyon Conference.
Current situation.
Nyon has a high school (Gymnase de Nyon, known as CESSOuest until 1997 or 1998), a modern hospital, a movie theater, numerous hotels, restaurants, and cafes. The town is well known on the international stage as the home of the headquarters for UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe. It is also the seat of the international headquarters of the global union federation UNI Global Union. Nyon is also a major centre for the International Money-Broking Industry.
In the last week of July each year, Nyon hosts the Paléo Festival, the second largest outdoor festival in Europe (although technically the festival is in the village of L'Asse).
Nyon Rugby Club is one of the top rugby teams in Switzerland and is twinned with Ealing Rugby Club in West London.
Nyon also hosts Visions du Réel international film festival every April. Nyon has been the regular host of the draws of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League as well as other UEFA Football competitions.
Geography.
Nyon has an area, , of . Of this area, or 39.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 7.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 54.1% is settled (buildings or roads).
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5.9% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 27.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 14.1%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.1% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 4.6%. Out of the forested land, 5.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 25.9% is used for growing crops and 4.7% is pastures, while 8.5% is used for orchards or vine crops.
The municipality was the capital of the old Nyon District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Nyon became the capital of the new district of Nyon.
The municipality is located between the Jura Mountains and Lake Geneva. The old core of Nyon, on the right bank of the Asse, is divided into the upper city (which was built on the Roman ruins on a hill) and the lower city along the water. Along the main thoroughfare a residential section developed to the east of the old city, and an industrial sector to the west.
Coat of arms.
The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is "Per pale Gules and Azure, overall a Fish nainaint Argent."
Demographics.
Nyon has a population () of . , 38.0% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 16.8%. It has changed at a rate of 9.7% due to migration and at a rate of 7.7% due to births and deaths.
Most of the population () speak French (12,274 or 75.8%), with German being second most common (918 or 5.7%) and English being third (647 or 4.0%). There are 565 people who speak Italian and 9 people who speak Romansh.
The age distribution, , in Nyon is; 2,015 children or 11.2% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,828 teenagers or 10.1% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 2,304 people or 12.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 3,150 people or 17.4% are between 30 and 39, 3,051 people or 16.9% are between 40 and 49, and 2,187 people or 12.1% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 1,757 people or 9.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 1,045 people or 5.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 595 people or 3.3% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 130 people or 0.7% who are 90 and older.
, there were 6,796 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 7,538 married individuals, 768 widows or widowers and 1,080 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 7,307 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.2 persons per household. There were 2,818 households that consist of only one person and 342 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 7,450 households that answered this question, 37.8% were households made up of just one person and there were 27 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 1,785 married couples without children, 2,053 married couples with children. There were 493 single parents with a child or children. There were 131 households that were made up of unrelated people and 143 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
 there were 650 single family homes (or 40.1% of the total) out of a total of 1,621 inhabited buildings. There were 621 multi-family buildings (38.3%), along with 235 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (14.5%) and 115 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (7.1%).
, a total of 7,072 apartments (86.2% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 1,028 apartments (12.5%) were seasonally occupied and 105 apartments (1.3%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.13%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance.
Nyon Castle and the Museum of the History of Porcelain, the Roman Colonia "Iulia Equestris", the Swiss Reformed Church of Notre-Dame, the Manoir at Rue Maupertuis 2 & 4, the Roman Museum and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire old city of Nyon is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
Politics.
In the 2011 Swiss federal election the most popular party was the SP which received 26.0% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (20.9%), the FDP (13.4%) and the Green Party (12.2%).
In the 2007 Swiss federal election the most popular party was the SP which received 21.54% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (18.78%), the Green Party (16.29%) and the FDP (12.05%). In the federal election, a total of 3,846 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 42.6%.
Economy.
Glénat's Swiss subsidiary has its headquarters in Nyon. Cantor Fitzgerald has an office in Nyon. Edwards Lifesciences opened the regional headquarters and training center in Nyon in 2009.
, Nyon had an unemployment rate of 6%. , there were 49 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 13 businesses involved in this sector. 1,331 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 153 businesses in this sector. 10,644 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 1,131 businesses in this sector. There were 8,631 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 46.0% of the workforce.
 the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 10,337. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 39, of which 35 were in agriculture, 2 were in forestry or lumber production and 2 were in fishing or fisheries. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 1,264 of which 600 or (47.5%) were in manufacturing and 588 (46.5%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 9,034. In the tertiary sector; 1,592 or 17.6% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 281 or 3.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 493 or 5.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 400 or 4.4% were in the information industry, 1,414 or 15.7% were the insurance or financial industry, 1,499 or 16.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 595 or 6.6% were in education and 1,150 or 12.7% were in health care.
, there were 7,415 workers who commuted into the municipality and 5,234 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.4 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 12.1% of the workforce coming into Nyon are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.1% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 26.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 50.6% used a private car.
Religion.
From the , 6,121 or 37.8% were Roman Catholic, while 4,522 or 27.9% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 174 members of an Orthodox church (or about 1.08% of the population), there were 17 individuals (or about 0.11% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 936 individuals (or about 5.78% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 32 individuals (or about 0.20% of the population) who were Jewish, and 750 (or about 4.63% of the population) who were Islamic. There were 63 individuals who were Buddhist, 98 individuals who were Hindu and 29 individuals who belonged to another church. 2,893 (or about 17.88% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 996 individuals (or about 6.15% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education.
In Nyon about 5,216 or (32.2%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 3,009 or (18.6%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a "Fachhochschule"). Of the 3,009 who completed tertiary schooling, 36.4% were Swiss men, 27.4% were Swiss women, 20.4% were non-Swiss men and 15.7% were non-Swiss women.
In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 1,867 students in the Nyon school district. In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts. During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 1,249 children of which 563 children (45.1%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 995 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 806 students in those schools. There were also 66 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.
Nyon is home to three museums; the "Musée historique", the "Musée du Léman" and the "Musée romain". In 2009 the "Musée historique" was visited by 14,164 visitors (the average in previous years was 26,194). In 2009 the "Musée du Léman" was visited by 20,596 visitors (the average in previous years was 23,020). In 2009 the "Musée romain", was closed for renovations but in previous years it had an average of 9,225 visitors.
, there were 1,582 students in Nyon who came from another municipality, while 415 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Nyon is home to 2 libraries; the Bibliothèque municipale de Nyon and the "Ecole d'ingénieurs de Changins". There was a combined total () of 53,262 books or other media in the libraries, and in the same year a total of 117,481 items were loaned out.
Collège Champittet, an international school, has its Nyon campus in the commune.
Sports.
Nyon is home to FC Stade Nyonnais, who play in the Swiss Promotion League, and their ground Colovray Sports Centre.
Nyon Rugby Club is one of the most successful rugby teams in Switzerland, regularly ending top of their leagues in both the first and second teams leagues, they also have a third team, youth, ladies and veterans side and also are based at the Colovray Centre.
UEFA.
Nyon is famous for being the headquarters of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the European Club Association (ECA). The draws for the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League are held in Nyon. The two main Nyon draws, which take place in December for the Round of 16 and April for the semi-finals, are eagerly anticipated by football fans whose teams are in UEFA competitions. UEFA Youth League semi-finals and finals are also held in Nyon.
Transport.
Nyon is the starting station for the Nyon–St-Cergue–Morez Railway, as well as being on the main Geneva to Lausanne Swiss Federal Railways line.
The A1 motorway runs nearby and Nyon is served by Junction 11.


2020 in England

Events from 2020 in England


Fermanagh

Fermanagh () was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. "Fir Manach" originally referred to a distinct kin group of alleged Laigin origins. The kingdom of Fermanagh was formed in the 10th century, out of the larger kingdom of Uí Chremthainn, which was part of the overkingdom of Airgíalla. By the late 11th century it had grown to cover all of what is now County Fermanagh. The kingdom came to be ruled by the Mag Uidhir (Maguire) clan from the late 13th century onward. They were based at Lisnaskea, and their royal inauguration site was nearby Sgiath Gabhra (Skeagoura), now called Cornashee. Under Hugh Maguire, Fermanagh was involved in the Nine Years' War against English rule. His successor, Cú Chonnacht Óg Mag Uidhir, was one of the Gaelic Irish leaders who fled Ireland during the Flight of the Earls. Fermanagh was subsequently merged into the Kingdom of Ireland as County Fermanagh.
History.
Laighin ancient origins.
The original "Fir Manach" or "Fear Manach", that is to say the Manach or Monaigh people in the north of Ireland, claimed descent from the Laighin of Leinster. They reached upper Lough Erne in ancient times. According to the Book of Glendalaugh (also known as the Rawlinson B 502) a genealogy is provided for the early Manach people and they claim descent from Dáire Barrach, the son of Cathair Mór, High King of Ireland. Dáire Barrach's descendants elsewhere in Ireland are today known as the MacGorman (Mac Gormáin) and ruled Uí Bairrche during the Middle Ages. Cathair Mór himself had ruled Ireland as King of Tara in the 2nd century.
Connachta and Three Collas.
The geopolitical situation in Ireland changed during the 4th and 5th centuries, owing to the rise of the descendants of Conn of the Hundred Battles. Most significantly for the Fir Manach, the kingdoms of Airgíalla (under the descendants of the Three Collas), the kingdom of Ailech (under the Uí Néill) and the kingdom of Connacht (under the Uí Briúin) arose. According to Peadar Livingstone, the territory of Fermanagh became disputed between these groups and the previously ruling Fir Manach people.
11th century onwards.
By the end of the 11th century, Fermanagh had decisively re-emerged as a sovereign kingdom in the region. The rulers of this kingdom were drawn from the Airgíalla. Early on the territory drew kings from three branches of Clann Lugainn; the Ó hEignigh (O'Heany), Maolruanaidh (Mulrooney) and Ó Dubhdara (Darragh). These families claimed descent from the Three Collas, in the person of Colla Fochríth and were thus kinsmen of the MacMahon kings of Airgíalla. Towards the end of the 13th century, the Mag Uidhir (Maguire) arose to the kingship of Fermanagh and with the exception of some challenges from the Ó Domhnaill of Tyrconnell, this would remain the situation until the end of the kingdom in 1607 with the Flight of the Earls.
Kings of Fermanagh.
The "Annals of the Four Masters" mention the following as Kings of Fermanagh.
Paul Bennett (died 1769)


Its Kale


Caesar C line

The Caesar Line was the last German line of defence in Italy before Rome during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. It extended from the west coast near Ostia, over the Alban Hills south of Rome, from Valmontone to Avezzano and then to Pescara on the Adriatic coast. Behind the western half of the line was a subsidiary line, the Roman switch line which took a path north of Rome.
When the Caesar C Line defences, manned by the German 14th Army, were breached by the U.S. Fifth Army on 30 May 1944, following the breakout from Anzio, the road to Rome was finally opened. The Germans retreated to their next line of defence, the Trasimene Line where the 14th Army re-aligned with the German 10th Army before withdrawing to the formidable defences of the Gothic Line.


Sassari Cathedral

Sassari Cathedral (; "Cattedrale di San Nicola") is the Roman Catholic cathedral of Sassari, Sardinia, Italy, and is dedicated to Saint Nicholas. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Sassari. It was built in the Romanesque style in the 12th century. The present building also includes Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical elements. Construction was finished in the 18th century.


Ekornavallen

Ekornavallen is an ancient burial ground in the Falköping Municipality in Sweden. It contains a variety of ancient monuments dating from the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages.
Overview.
The Ekornavallen burial ground is located 15 km (9 miles) north of the city of Falköping. It contains four passage graves and a gallery grave from the Neolithic period, as well as cairns, stone circles, twelve standing stones, eight round stone settings and one triangular stone setting all dating from the Bronze and Iron Ages. It is estimated that the field was used over a six to seven thousand-year period.
Girommen passage grave.
The largest, and best known, of the Neolithic passage graves at Ekornavallen is one called the "Girommen" which according to early writers means the giant oven. It consists of sandstone slabs, but the mound which once covered the grave is entirely gone. Between the lower passage and the chamber proper lies a very large and thick slab, the "Key stone", resting on the passage stones. The grave was restored in the 1940s when a fragment of a chisel, some amber slivers and some ornate potsherds were found.
Other structures.
Among the other structures at Ekornavallen is a probable stone cist. During its restoration a flint knife was found in the surface layer. The cairns at Ekornavallen probably date to the Bronze Age. The largest cairn has a diameter of more than 20 metres, is 2 metres high, and is surrounded by large kerb stones. The individual standing stones ("bautastones"), mark the Iron Age graves at Ekornavallen, and they are placed in an almost straight line from the north to south. The stone circles are of a type common in Sweden which were typically built in the five hundred years up to 500 AD. Their function is uncertain.


Imia crisis


Battle of San Pietro Infine

The Battle of San Pietro Infine (commonly referred to as the "Battle of San Pietro") was a major engagement from 8–17 December 1943, in the Italian Campaign of World War II involving Allied forces attacking from the south against heavily fortified positions of the German "Winter Line" in and around the town of San Pietro Infine, just south of Monte Cassino about halfway between Naples and Rome.
The eventual Allied victory in the battle was crucial in the ultimate drive to the north to liberate Rome. The battle is also remembered as the first in which the troops of the Royal Italian Army ("Regio Esercito") fought as co-belligerents of the Allies following the armistice with Italy. The original town of San Pietro Infine was destroyed in the battle; the modern, rebuilt town of the same name is located a few hundred meters away.
Background.
North Africa and Sicily.
The Allied invasion of Italy from the south followed the Allied successes in North Africa. Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery's British Eighth Army advanced from the east following the Second Battle of El Alamein and the British-American invasion of French North Africa by Lieutenant General Kenneth Anderson's British First Army in "Operation Torch" had led to the surrender of almost 250,000 Axis forces in North Africa in May 1943.
The Germans retreated to the island of Sicily and on the night of 9/10 July 1943, an Allied armada of 2,590 vessels launched one of the largest combined operations of World War II: the Allied invasion of Sicily ("Operation Husky"). The invasion was launched by the American Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General George S. Patton Jr., and the British Eighth Army, under Lieutenant General Sir Bernard Montgomery. Both armies were under the command of the 15th Army Group, commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander. Over the next five weeks, 500,000 Allied soldiers, sailors, and airmen fought German and Italian forces for control of the island. Although the Allied powers were victorious, the Axis managed to evacuate over 100,000 men and 10,000 vehicles from Sicily across the Straits of Messina during the first seventeen days in August. The Allies then invaded the Italian mainland in early September 1943 at Salerno ("Operation Avalanche"), in Calabria ("Operation Baytown") and Taranto ("Operation Slapstick").
On 8 September, before the main invasion at Salerno by Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark's U.S. Fifth Army (which contained significant British units), the surrender of Italy to the Allies was announced. Italian units ceased combat, and the Royal Italian Navy sailed to Allied ports to surrender. This changed the German defensive strategy greatly, and the Germans now regarded their former allies as enemies and moved to disarm Italian units and occupy important defensive positions. The invasion at Salerno was ultimately successful, although the Allies sustained heavy casualties, and subsequently captured nearby Naples on 1 October. German forces then withdrew to the north, towards Rome, and dug in along a series of well-fortified lines. By late 1943 the fighting had reached the Winter Line (also known as the Gustav Line).
Italy.
The German Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) Albert Kesselring—had marked out the "Winter Line" as three parallel defensive systems to the south of Rome. The defensives lines were called the Reinhard Line, Gustav Line and Hitler Line, placed one from the other, taking advantage of the point at which the Italian Peninsula is narrowest; they served as a formidable series of obstacles in the path of the Allied march toward Rome. The Reinhard was the southernmost of the three and was the German fall-back position from the Barbara Line and Volturno Line further to the south as German forces retreated gradually up the peninsula. (The Reinhard was also called the Bernhardt Line.) The Reinhard was actually a southern bulge in the stronger Gustav line to the north. On the eastern side, the Reinhard went from the Sangro River to the Adriatic Sea (along which length it was identical to the Gustav Line); then, in the west, it bulged south from Cassino to incorporate the mountains overlooking the approaches to the Liri Valley and then moved west to the mouth of the Garigliano River. The line passed directly through the town of San Pietro Infine, blocking the Mignano Gap, the pass through which Route 6, the main road up the center of Italy from Naples to Rome, ran toward Cassino and the entrance to the Liri valley.
Preparations.
The Germans occupied San Pietro in September 1943 to prepare the defenses. They evacuated all non-essential Italians from the town, meaning women, children and old men; they conscripted able-bodied men to help set up the defenses and requisitioned available vehicles and beasts of burden. They set up a defensive apparatus in the whole territory, in particular on Mount Sambúcaro and Mount Lungo, which overlooked the Mignano Gap. These were strategically important positions because they allowed the control of the long stretch of Route 6, important for the advance of the Allies. The Fifth Army began to attack the Reinhard/Bernhardt Line on 5 November, and the attacks continued into December.
The Battle of San Pietro was preceded by Allied attacks on the Camino hill mass at the entrance to the Mignano Gap (named for the small town on the road at that point). The entire hill mass is about long and wide. After that, the main Allied effort was against the German defenses on Mount Sambúcaro and Mount Lungo, which dominated the narrow valley on the northeast and southwest respectively. As a point of historical interest, the assault on Mount Lungo was aided for the first time by the 1st Italian Motorized Group, part of the recently reconstituted Italian army, now fighting on the side of the Allies.
The battle.
The direct attack on the German positions in and around San Pietro began on 8 December by Major General Geoffrey Keyes' II Corps of the Fifth Army. The positions were defended by two battalion sized elements of the 15th "Panzer" Grenadier Regiment (29. Panzer-Grenadier-Division) and a battalion of the 71st Infanterie Division, all part of German Tenth Army's XIV Panzer Corps.
After a week of intense attacks and counterattacks, the U.S. 36th Division's 143rd Infantry Regiment the 3rd Ranger Battalion and the 504th Parachute Regimental Combat Team (504th PRCT) commanded the heights of the Sambúcaro mass. The U.S. 36th Division, then planned a further effort for 15 December. The 143rd Infantry, assisted by the 504th PRCT, would continue to push west along the shoulders of Sambúcaro and take San Vittore del Lazio while to the south of Route 6 the 142nd Infantry, supported by the Italian 1st Motorized Group, were to capture Mount Lungo. In the center, the 141st Infantry would attack San Pietro itself. The main attack of the 36th Division started at 12:00 on 15 December. In an effort to break the German defenses in the town, two platoons from the 753rd Tank Battalion attacked with 16 Sherman tank and tank destroyers. The armored attack failed due to mines and anti-tank fire. Four of the 16 tanks survived. After four successive Allied attacks and German counterattacks, the Germans pulled back from San Pietro since the dominating ground on both flanks, Mount Lungo and the Sambúcaro peaks, was now in II Corps' possession. The Germans launched a counterattack on 16 December to cover their withdrawal as they retreated to positions farther north at Cedro Hill, Mount Porchia, San Vittore, and the western spurs of Sambcaro.
Aftermath.
The Battle of San Pietro was part of the overall campaign to breach the Bernhardt/Reinhard Line, some deep at that point. It took six weeks of heavy fighting—from early November to late December—to overcome the German defenses. During that time, the Fifth Army sustained 16,000 casualties. Among German casualties was athlete Luz Long, who won the silver medal for the long jump at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The highway through the Mignano Gap to the Liri Valley was nicknamed "Death Valley" by members of the attacking force. The battle destroyed the town of San Pietro Infine completely. Destruction was wrought by a combination of close combat, both Allied and German mortar and artillery, and German "scorched earth" policy. Both the battle and the plight of the civilian population have inspired numerous accounts, most famous of which is the John Huston film "The Battle of San Pietro".
By mid-January, Fifth Army had reached the formidable Gustav Line defenses and commenced the first Battle of Monte Cassino, which started on 17 January 1944.