Pelagosaurus

Pelagosaurus (meaning "lizard of the open sea") is an extinct genus of thalattosuchian crocodyliform that lived during the Toarcian stage of the Lower Jurassic, around 183 Ma to 175 Ma (million years ago), in shallow epicontinental seas that covered much of what is now Western Europe. The systematic taxonomy of "Pelagosaurus" has been fiercely disputed over the years, and was assigned to Thalattosuchia after its systematics within Teleosauridae were disputed. "Pelagosaurus" measured 3 m (10 ft) in length with a weight of 450 kg (1000 lbs), and was markedly similar to the modern-day gharial, which has similar adaptions and carnivorous feeding habits.
Discovery.
"Pelagosaurus" was originally described from a specimen from Normandy, but the holotype for "P. typus" was discovered north of the town of Ilminster in Somerset, England. Most "Pelagosaurus" remains have been found in the Ilminster area, but numerous other remains, predominantly skulls and articulated skeletons, have been found around Western Europe in locations such as France, Germany, and Switzerland. Specimens from the Somerset region come primarily from the Strawberry Bank quarry north of Ilminster; although the site had yielded other fossil remains before, the site has since been built over. One of the specimens was that of a small juvenile, providing some insight into "Pelagosaurus'" growth pattern.
Evolutionary relationships.
The evolutionary relationships of "Pelagosaurus" has been confusing as there have been three different interpretations of its placement in Thalattosuchia.
"Pelagosaurus" was initially classified as a teleosaurid, based upon anatomical similarity, by Eudes-Deslongchamps, Westphal and Duffin.
Its position as a basal metriorhynchid was suggested by Eric Buffetaut in 1980.
However, phylogenetic analyses from the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s found "Pelagosaurus" to be the sister taxon to both Teleosauridae and Metriorhynchidae.
The most recent phylogenetic analyses have all found "Pelagosaurus" to be a basal teleosaurid, rather than a basal metriorhynchid or thalattosuchian.
Palaeobiology.
"Pelagosaurus" was well adapted to aquatic life; it had developed a long, streamlined snout, a tail with fin-like attributes and paddle-like limbs for swimming in the warm, shallow waters of its time. "Pelagosaurus" had 30 teeth suitable for hunting and grasping fish, crustaceans and insects whilst swimming; indeed, one fossil specimen was found with a "Leptolepis"— an early teleost fish— in its stomach contents. Its forward-facing eyes and streamlined body suggest that "Pelagosaurus" was a pursuit predator, rather than a scavenger or ambush hunter. "Pelagosaurus" was markedly similar to modern crocodiles, and would have swum in much similar manner, whipping its tail from side to side, although its veterbral structure was slightly more agile, probably allowing for more movement in the water than its modern equivalents. "Pelagosaurus" would have only emerged from the water to lay eggs or to rest on the banks, and would have spent the rest of its day in the water for which it was adapted.
Comparisons with other crocodilians shows it was a small prey specialist, less suited to tackle large prey than even modern gharials.


San Gianuario, Marsico Nuovo

San Gianuario is a Roman Catholic church located on Largo San Gianuario, in front of the church of San Michele Arcangelo, in the town of Marsico Nuovo, province of Potenza, region of Basilicata, Italy. It is cited as the co-cathedral of the town along with the church of San Giorgio.
History.
The church is thought to have been erected at the site of a pagan Serapeum, and that some of the capitals of the columns are spolia from such a temple. The site had a pre-Christian cemetery. Documents maintain the Abbey of Santo Stefano was erected here under the patronage of a Count Osmondo during the rule of the Norman Robert Guiscard in the region. The abbey putatively held the relics of "San Gianuario", a 4th-century bishop martyred nearby by Diocletian. The abbey however fell into disuse and ruin, leaving behind only this church. The structure has been refurbished over the centuries.
The church houses a number of artworks including a detached fresco derived from the church of San Francesco. The church has paintings by Simonelli, Feliciano Mangieri and Nicola Peccheneda. A stone portal, attributed to Melchiorre da Montalbano, consists of flanking column-pilasters with bas-reliefs of bishops. In a niche above the portal is a half-figure bust of San Stefano. The bronze doors (1699) are by Antonio Masini.
Every August 23, a dressed icon of the patron of the town is carried in procession to the church.


Cantiga da Ribeirinha

Cantiga da Ribeirinha (also known as "Cantiga da Garvaia" or "Cantiga da Guarvaia") is one of the first known pieces of literature in Galician-Portuguese. The poem's date of composition is debated, with some experts placing it in 1189 or 1198, and others claiming it could not have been written before 1200. It was composed by Paio Soares de Taveirós and received its name because it was dedicated to Maria Pais Ribeira, the mistress of Sancho I of Portugal, known as "Ribeirinha."
Using the male I-lyric, the text tells of a platonic love between a poet of low station and a noble and unattainable woman. Although considered a love tune, it is sometimes interpreted instead as a song of derision or slander. Some experts believe that the poem is incomplete, and originally comprised three stanzas, with one having been lost. A recent hypothesis contests the poem's authorship, attributing it instead to Martim Soares de Baguim.
Lyrics.
<poem>
No mundo non me sei parelha,
mentre me for' como me vai,
ca ja moiro por vós - e ai!
mia senhor branca e vermelha,
Queredes que vos retraia
quando vos eu vi em saia!
Mao dia me levantei,
que vos enton non vi fea!
E, mia senhor, des aquelha
me foi a mi mui mal di'ai!
E vós, filha de don Paai
Moniz, e ben vos semelha
d'haver eu por vós guarvaia,
pois eu, mia senhor, d'alfaia
nunca de vós ouve nen hei
valía dũa correa.
</poem>
External links.
Wikisource: No mundo non me sei parelha


Oskar Kallis

Oskar Kallis (Tallinn, November 23, 1892 – Yalta, 1 January 1918) was an Estonian artist, one of the main representatives of the Estonian national romanticism.
Kallas studied in 1907 and 1913 to 1916 in the studio of the artist Ants Laikmaa, and in 1912-1913 studied design at the Estonian Artist Society (Eesti Kunstiselts). He participated in 1917 in the establishment of the artistic association Vikerla. He was particularly influenced by the Finnish painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela, he devoted himself especially in his short career to the illustration of the Estonian national epic "Kalevipoeg", creating about 40 works. He also designed ethnographically styled furniture and textiles. He died of tuberculosis in the Crimea in 1918.


Eleftherias Square

Eleftherias Square (, "Platía Eleftherías", , ) is a central square in downtown Thessaloniki, Greece. It takes its name from the Young Turk Revolution, which began in the square in 1908. The square is currently a car park, but a public competition was launched by the Municipality of Thessaloniki in 2013 to select a design for its redevelopment into a park. Construction will start in 2018 at a cost of €5.1 million ($ million).
The square is bound by Mitropoleos street to the north, Nikis Avenue and the old waterfront of Thessaloniki to the south, Ionos Dragoumi street to the west and Venizelou street to the east. It is trapezoidal in shape and covers an area of approximately . The square is surrounded by banks, insurance companies, and offices.
It is of particular importance to the history of the Jews in Thessaloniki. Thousands of male Jews were gathered in the square on 11 July 1942 and publicly tortured and humiliated before being registered for forced labour by the city's Nazi German occupiers.
History.
Before becoming a square, the Walls of Thessaloniki ran through the site, along with a Byzantine-era tower to guard the entrance of the port. In the Ottoman period this tower was called (Cannon House). After 1870, when the demolition of the southern and eastern city walls began, the sea would reach the middle of the known square.
The demolition of the wall to make easier the entry to the port created more space and helped the mobility of the ships. The opening of the Mehmet Sabri Pasha road (nowadays Venizelou Street) in 1867 created a small square as the road widened towards the wharfs. It was initially called (Wharf Square) and later (Olympus Square) on account of the views of Mount Olympus across the sea. During the late Ottoman Empire the square became an important cosmopolitan centre of the neighbourhood, known as (, European or Frankish Quarter), and the wider city. It also evolved into centre of commerce and finance, making Thessaloniki the financial capital of the Ottoman Balkans and a substantial economic player in the eastern Mediterranean. The buildings of the Bank of Salonica, the Bank of the Orient, and the Ottoman Bank were all within walking distance of a square. The "Olympos Hôtel", including its restaurant, as well as the "Hôtel Royale", were focal points of the early Ottoman square. The square itself became the point of entry to the city for visitors travelling by boat.
Beginning in 1893, a rapid transit system is implemented in Thessaloniki by means of a tram network, with Eleftherias Square as the western starting point. Later in the decade the square is lit as part of the introduction of gas lighting in the city, while in 1908 the tram network passing through the square is electrified.
In April 1903, Bulgarian anarchists, members of the Boatmen of Thessaloniki, plant a bomb at a beer hall on the square; this was part of a coordinated terrorist attack which also saw the sinking of the French ship and the bombing nearby Ottoman Bank among others. This event was the starting point of the Macedonian Struggle.
The rise of Thessaloniki as an Ottoman economic powerhouse meant an increase in western travellers, which rendered the original square unfit to cater to their needs. Between 1898 and 1911, the square was entirely rebuilt. Initially, the is expanded and renamed ; soon after, the is demolished and rebuilt. The Ahmet and Mehmet Kamapci brothers, who owned , built another luxury hotel on the square, the , while the , the city's then most modern building, was completed in 1911 under the sponsorship of mayor Hulusi Bey. The also opened on the square, as well as numerous cafés, restaurants, and pâtisseries.
The Jewish , with its library, was also based in the square. It was an upper class progressive society promoting philanthropy and various Jewish causes but at the same time pro-Ottoman and vehemently anti-Zionist; this created a lot of friction between the and the , a rival pro-Zionist private members club on the waterfront which split from the . In his state visit to Thessaloniki in 1908, Sultan Abdulhamid II's official procession passed through the square and in front of the . The standards at the were so high that they impressed a visiting British gentleman.
The events of the Young Turk Revolution gave the square its current name. The Young Turks began the revolution in Thessaloniki and Enver Pasha declared to a crowd gathered on Eleftherias Square that "today the capricious ruler has ended, bad government is no more. We are all brothers. There are no Bulgars, Greeks, Serbs, Romanians, Jews, Muslims. Under the blue sky we are all equal, we are proud to be Ottomans!" In old Ottoman and Greek postcards, it henceforth appears in French as "Place de la Liberté" (Liberty Square).
After Thessaloniki became part of Greece in 1913, the Liberal Association of Macedonia, the first Liberal Club in Greece, was opened on one of the buildings around the square in January 1916. It was an organisation supporting and promoting the causes of the Liberal Party and Eleftherios Venizelos, as Thessaloniki and the rest of Northern Greece were a Liberal stronghold at the time; the Liberal Club was the most successful in Greece at influencing official policy. During the First World War the square was popular with Allied troops of the 'five-nation army' fighting in the Salonica Front, especially "Café Flokas", the most famous pâtisserie in the city, where a Scottish volunteer nurse notes that "warriors [were] at last able to relax, drink, smoke, and discuss the newest singers at the city's "café-chantants"".
After the Great Fire.
The Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 destroyed the original character of the square, with only the Stein Building, an Austrian department store, being spared. Because Thessaloniki was to be a planned city after the Fire the Government had issued a ban on reconstructions in any of the burnt-out areas of the city before the new plan could be finalised. The importance of Eleftherias Square to the life of Thessaloniki is illustrated by the fact that special Royal Decrees were issued, allowing establishments such as to be rebuilt temporarily.
The redesign commission, headed by French architect Ernest Hébrard, sought to replace the square with the regional offices of the (), as the square had become obsolete after the design of the nearby Aristotelous Square. Banks and other buildings would be constructed around the public building, named (), and the waterfront promenade would be extended to provide some further public space. A small new square would be created there, called (). Hébrard was not the only one to submit proposals for the design of the TTT building; Greek architect Marinos Delladetsimas also produced a proposal, with obvious influences from Hébrard's Byzantine Revival style.
The plans were largely not carried out, although reconstruction began in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1921 the first plan-compliant permit was issued, while construction on a building housing the National Bank of Greece on the northwester corner of the square, as well as a building housing the Ionian Bank on the opposite side of the road, was started in the late 1920s. The National Bank of Greece opened in 1933, but the design was modified so as to also house the Bank of Greece, which had been established in 1928. Work on the foundations for commenced in 1931, but was hampered by the discovery of the sea wall which had been demolished in the late 1800s. This created major structural issues, and the project stalled and was abandoned. With the occupation of the city by Nazi Germany on 9 April 1941, the building of the Ionian Bank was requisitioned by the German authorities and turned into the local , the headquarters of the occupying authority. The Ionian Bank later became the Ionian and Popular Bank, which is now Alpha Bank; it still occupies the building.
During and after World War II.
In the summer of 1942, the day which became known as "black Shabbat", all Jewish men aged from 18 to 45 were commanded to present themselves at the square to be put to forced labour. On the same day, 6,000 or 7,000 of them were gathered in the square, guarded by armed German soldiers. The gathered crowd was publicly tortured and humiliated before being registered. The Nazis requested a ₯2.5 billion ransom to release the Jews from forced labour, which the community paid to them. Ultimately this incident was only the start. Adolf Hitler had planned to incorporate Thessaloniki directly into the Third Reich as a reprisal for its involvement in the First World War (Salonica Front), and the Nuremberg Laws were gradually implemented by the Nazi authorities. Under the orders of SS officers Dieter Wisliceny and Alois Brunner, between 15 March and August 7, 1943 Thessaloniki's 56,000 Jews were deported, by use of 19 holocaust trains, to Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps, where at least 43,00049,000 of them were killed; Only 2,000 Jews returned after the war, of 4% of the pre-war numbers, and less than 1,000 remain today.
After the Second World War the project to erect "TTT House" on the square was abandoned when it was officially proclaimed a public space on 6 April 1963 by order of the Ministry for Public Works. The Hellenic Post contested the decision but was unsuccessful in convincing the courts. It was subsequently turned into a parking lot and bus terminal, opened by the Hellenic Tourism Organisation as the only public parking facility in the city. This was unsuccessfully contested again in 1972. The removal of the parking and the redevelopment of the area back into an open square was first discussed in 1997, when Thessaloniki became the European Capital of Culture, but was ultimately abandoned due to the high costs of construction an underground parking facility. A Holocaust memorial was created in by Serbian holocaust survivor Nandor Glid 1997, but was only placed in the southern corner of the square in 2006. The monument was defiled twice in 2018, once by Golden Dawn members in January, and once by far-right protesters participating in a Macedonia naming dispute rally. Thessaloniki mayor Yiannis Boutaris, who championed the redevelopment of the square back into an open space, challenged the memorial as being "hard to find". In the same speech in 2018 he outlined the reasons behind the Municipality's insistence regarding the redevelopment of a square, saying:
A design competition was launched in 2013, and in 2018 the tendering process to select a contractor to carry out building works was commenced. The total budget for the redevelopment of the square currently stands at €5.1 million ($ million), funded by a loan from the European Investment Bank. By March 2019 the parking facilities on the square had been closed in preparation to the redevelopment.
Architectural character.
The original aesthetic of Eleftherias Square was influenced by the Western European "Belle Époque" style at a time when much of Thessaloniki was orientalist in character, with narrow streets and a lack of even basic European city-planning. The area of the square had, at the time, become the city's cosmopolitan centre and European-style buildings in the eclectic style began to be constructed, including examples of Ottoman neoclassicism and baroque. During that time the square was much narrower than the one designed after the fire, but it was still the largest public square in Ottoman Thessaloniki.
Transport.
There are numerous modes of public transport that make the square accessible. The bus terminal at the north of the square is operated by the Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organisation (OASTH). Buses 05 (including 05A and 05B), 06, 33 (including 33A), and 35 stop at the square, and there is a dedicated ticket kiosk. The Thessaloniki Waterbus network has its terminus at the Port of Thessaloniki opposite the square. Thessaloniki Metro's station, a short walk from the square on the corner of Venizelou and Egnatia streets, will also serve the square beginning in 2021; it will be served by both Line 1 and Line 2.
The square is also accessible by car. A parking lot has occupied entire square since the 1960s, but it is not known where the parking will be relocated following the redevelopment of the square. No provisions for underground parking have been made, which has led to questions being raised within the city council. The parking currently provides the Municipality of Thessaloniki with €1.2 million ($ million) in yearly revenues, something which will end with the redevelopment of the square back into a public space without parking provisions.
In popular culture.
The events leading up to the destruction of the Jews of Thessaloniki were portrayed in a 2015 film by Manousos Manousakis titled . Because of the significant change in the architectural character of the square, and the fact that it is now a car park, the scene depicting the registration of the Jews on Eleftherias Square was filmed at Kotzia Square in Athens.


Eurovision Song Contest 2006

The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Athens, Greece, following Helena Paparizou's win at the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine with the song "My Number One". It was the first time Greece had hosted the contest - 32 years after the country made its debut. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), the contest was held at the Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall, and consisted of a semi-final on 18 May, and the final on 20 May 2006. The two live shows were hosted by Maria Menounos and Sakis Rouvas.
Thirty-seven countries participated in the contest. Armenia took part for the first time this year. Meanwhile, Austria, Hungary, and Serbia and Montenegro announced their non-participations in the contest for various reasons. Serbia and Montenegro had intended to participate, however, due to a scandal in the national selection, tensions were caused between the Serbian broadcaster, RTS, and the Montenegrin broadcaster, RTCG. Despite of this, the nation did retain voting rights for the contest.
The winner was with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah", performed by Lordi and written by lead singer Mr. Lordi a.k.a. Tomi Petteri Putaansuu. This was Finland's first victory in the contest - and first top five placing - in 45 years of participation. It was the first ever hard rock / heavy metal music song to win the contest, and Lordi was the first band to win since . Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and Sweden rounded out the top five. Bosnia and Herzegovina achieved their best result in their Eurovision history. Further down the table, Lithuania also achieved their best result to date, finishing sixth. Of the "Big Four" countries Germany placed the highest, finishing joint fourteenth (with Norway).
The contest saw the 1,000th song performed in the contest, when Ireland's Brian Kennedy performed "Every Song Is a Cry for Love" in the semi-final.
Location.
The contest took place in Athens, Greece, following the country's victory at the 2006 edition with the song "My Number One", performed by Helena Paparizou. It was the first time Greece hosted the contest.
Venue.
The venue that was chosen as the host venue was the Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall (in 2006 it was named as "Olympic Indoor Arena"), which is located in the Athens Olympic Sports Complex, in the capital city of Greece. Completed in 1995, it was the largest indoor venue used at the 2004 Summer Olympics when hosted gymnastics and the basketball finals and the 2004 Summer Paralympics when hosted the whelchair basketball.
Bidding phase.
When Greece won the 2005 contest, the Head of the Greek Delegation, Fotini Yiannoulatou, said that ERT was ready to host the event in Athens the next year. However, multiple cities bid to host the 2006 contest, including Thessaloniki and Patras, the second and the third largest city in Greece, respectively. The majors of the three cities (Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras) were said that their cities were ready to host the event. The venues that were rumored for each city were Olympic Indoor Hall for Athens, Pylea Sports Hall for Thessaloniki and Dimitris Tofalos Arena for Patras.
Few days after Greece's won in the contest, the Greek public broadcaster stated that “ERT intends to hold the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens, taking into account EBU's already expressed wish for the event to be combined with the Olympic facilities and amenities that the city of Athens has to offer”. Mr. Panaghiotis Psomiadis, the Prefect of Thessaloniki stated the city will fight for the hosting of the contest. As the city of Patras seemed not to be available to host the contest, at the end it was a two-horse race between Athens and Thessaloniki.
Finally, on June 30, 2005, ERT and EBU announced that Athens will be the host city of the 2006 Contest, despite the opposition of some Greek politicians, stated that Athens already had its promotion during the 2004 Summer Olympics and that it's “another city's turn now”. The joint decision of the EBU and ERT is to host the 51st Eurovision Song Contest in Athens, which has several modern Olympic venues, infrastructure and a proven ability to host events of this size.
Other sites.
The Eurovision Village was the official Eurovision Song Contest fan and sponsors' area during the events week. There it was possible to watch performances by local artists, as well as the live shows broadcast from the main venue. Located at the Zappeion, it was open from 15 to 21 May 2006.
The EuroClub was the venue for the official after-parties and private performances by contest participants. Unlike the Eurovision Village, access to the EuroClub was restricted to accredited fans, delegates, and press. It was located at Athens Technopolis, an industrial museum and a major cultural venue of the city.
The official "Welcome and Opening Ceremonies" events, where the contestants and their delegations are presented before the accredited press and fans, took place also in Zappeon on 15 May 2006 at 21:00 EET, followed by the Opening Ceremony.
Format.
Visual design.
The official logo of the contest remained the same from 2004 and 2005 with the country's flag in the heart being changed. The 2006 sub-logo created by the design company Karamela for Greek television was apparently based on the Phaistos Disc which is a popular symbol of ancient Greece. According to ERT, it was "inspired by the wind and the sea, the golden sunlight and the glow of the sand". Following Istanbul's "Under The Same Sky" and Kyiv's "Awakening", the slogan for the 2006 show was "Feel The Rhythm". This theme was also the basis for the postcards for the 2006 show, which emphasized Greece's historical significance as well as being a major modern tourist destination.
The stage for the contest was designed by Greek stage designer Elias Ledakis. He would go on to design the stage for the 2013 Junior Contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. The stage was a replica of an ancient Greek amphitheatre.
Postcards.
As it was referred, the theme "Feel The Rhythm" was also the basis for the postcards, which emphasized Greece's historical significance as well as being a major modern tourist destination. The postcards filmed between March and April 2006. The host broadcaster ERT spent 3 million euros on the production of the 37 postcards. Fanis Papathanisiou of ERT said: "“An impressive, international tourism campaign is expensive as well. The Eurovision Song Contest is a perfect platform to achieve equal or even better results. That's why it is worth the investment”". To decide what to show in the postcards, ERT hold surveys in all participating countries, asking what people associate Greece with.
Voting.
To save time in the final, the voting time lasted ten minutes and the voting process was changed: points 1-7 were shown immediately on-screen. The spokespersons only announced the countries scoring 8, 10 and 12 points. Despite this being intended to speed proceedings up, there were still problems during voting – EBU imaging over-rode Maria Menounos during a segment in the voting interval and some scoreboards were slow to load. The Dutch spokesperson Paul de Leeuw also caused problems, giving his mobile number to presenter Rouvas during the Dutch results, and slowing down proceedings, also by announcing the first seven points. Constantinos Christoforou (who also represented Cyprus in 1996, 2002 and 2005) saluted from "Nicosia, the last divided capital in Europe"; during Cyprus' reading, the telecast displayed Switzerland by mistake. This voting process has been criticized because suspense was lost by only reading three votes instead of ten. And for the first and only time before the Prespa agreement, the display for the Macedonian entry had the title spelled out in its entirety (as "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia") instead of being abbreviated as it has been in previous years (as "FYR Macedonia").
Presenters.
Initially, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) asked Sakis Rouvas to represent again Greece in Athens, an offer which he didn't accept. With the Greek broadcaster wanting Rouvas' involvement in the contest, they offered him to be one of the hosts of the contest, where he accepted. Between the names that were rumored for the female host, included the Greek Canadian actress, screenwriter, director, and producer Nia Vardalos (known for writing and starring in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"), the Greek social entrepreneur and philanthropist Elizabeth Filippouli (later, she founded the Global Thinkers Forum in London), the Greek American actress, producer, and businesswoman Jennifer Aniston (world-known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom "Friends" (1994–2004), for which she earned Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild awards), all three of them having Greek roots, and the previous edition's winner, Helena Paparizou.
After a lot of speculations, the Greek broadcaster announced on 7 March 2006 that the Greek American entertainment reporter, television personality, professional wrestler, actress, and businesswoman Maria Menounos will be the hostess of the Contest. Menounos was starring along with Sean Connery in the movie remake video game "James Bond 007: From Russia with love", while in 2002 she joined the NBC show "Entertainment Tonight".
Menounos and Rouvas, will also host the allocation draw on March 21, 2006, in order to determine the running order for the semi-final, the grand final and - for the first time in the history of the contest - the voting order.
The "Welcome to the Party" opening ceremony was hosted by actress Zeta Makrypoulia and actor/screenwriter of the show, Giorgos Kapoutzidis, while Ioanna Papanikolopoulou was moderated the press conferences.
Opening and interval acts.
The semi-final opened with a medley of former Eurovision songs performed by Greek gods: "Welcome to the Party" (runner-up at the Ellinikós Telikós 2006) of Anna Vissi performed by Muses, "Nel blu, dipinto di blu" (Italy 1958) of Domenico Modugno performed by Zeus, "L'amour est bleu" (Luxembourg 1967) of Vicky Leandros performed by Poseidon, "Save Your Kisses for Me" (United Kingdom 1976) of Brotherhood of Man performed by Hermes, "Making Your Mind Up" (United Kingdom 1981) of Bucks Fizz performed by Athena, "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" (Israel 1978) of Izhar Cohen & The Alphabeta performed by Hephaestus, "Dschinghis Khan" (Germany 1979) of Dschinghis Khan performed by Ares, "Diva" (Israel 1998) of Dana International performed by Aphrodite, "Waterloo" (Sweden 1974) of ABBA performed by Charites, "Wild Dances" (Ukraine 2004) of Ruslana performed by Artemis and "My Number One" (Greece 2005) of Helena Paparizou performed by the ensemble cast of the Greek gods. In addition, the hosts Maria Menounos and Sakis Rouvas sang the winning song of the 1997 Contest, "Love Shine a Light" of Katrina and the Waves, representing the United Kingdom.
The grand final opened with a ballet dance, symbolizing the birth of Greece. Greek singer Foteini Darra performed "The Mermaid Song" (also known as "The Song of Life"), while the dancers and the sets mimicked the creative elements (the sea, the wind, the sun). At the end of the ballet, the presenters appeared in the air, suspended from ropes. They landed on the stage and greeted the audience. They immediately introduced the previous year's winner, Helena Paparizou, who covered her winning song, "My Number One".
The interval act of the semi-final began with the English cover of the song "S'eho Erotefthi", performed as "I’m In Love With You" from the host Sakis Rouvas. A folkloric ballet followed, using traditional Greek music and dances, with the pan flute as a conducting element. This ballet was composed by Dimitris Papadimitriou and choreographed by Fokas Evangelinos, while for the grand final, Helena Paparizou performed her song "Mambo!", already a hit in Greece. The interval act closed with a contemporary ballet entitled "4000 Years of Greek Song" and which traced the history of the musical culture of the host country. This ballet was also composed by Dimitris Papadimitriou and choreographed by Fokas Evangelinos.
The voting lines for both shows opened by three special guests: for the semi-final the lines opened by Emilia Tsoulfa (Gold medalist in Athens 2004 at 470 class sailing representing Greece) and Dimosthenis Tampakos (Greek gymnast and Olympic gold medalist) and for the grand final the lines opened from the Luxembourgish entrant at the 1963 Contest, Nana Mouskouri.
Participating countries.
All participating countries in a Eurovision Song Contest must be active members of the EBU.
The EBU initially announced on 16 January 2006 that thirty-eight countries would participate in the contest, with Austria opting not to participate due to the bad result at the previous contest and Hungary also deciding not to participate due to financial reasons. Armenia participated for the very first time in the history of the contest.
 announced its withdrawal on 15 March 2006, reducing the participants number from 38 to 37.
Backing performers.
Additionally, Hari Mata Hari were selected to represented Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1999 contest, but their entry was disqualified. Ireland's Brian Kennedy performed in "Lumen", the interval act of the 1995 contest.
Host Sakis Rouvas previously represented Greece at the 2004 contest. If No Name had been permitted to represent Serbia and Montenegro, they would have done so for the second consecutive year.
Results.
Semi-final.
The semi-final was held on 18 May 2006 at 21:00 (CET). 23 countries performed and all 37 participants and Serbia and Montenegro voted.
Final.
The finalists were:
The final was held on 20 May 2006 at 21:00 (CET) and was won by Finland.
Scoreboard.
Televoting was used in all nations except Monaco and Albania. Monaco used a jury as the chances of getting enough votes needed to validate the votes were low. Albania used a jury since there were problems with their televote. In the semi final, Monaco and Albania used the jury voting due to insufficient televoting numbers. Coincidentally, Albania and Monaco were two of the three countries that did not vote for the winning entry, the third one was Armenia.
Semi-final.
12 points.
Below is a summary of all 12 points in the semi-final:
Final.
12 points.
Below is a summary of all 12 points in the final:
Ratings.
After the Contest, EBU officials stated that the overall ratings for the Semi-Final were 35% higher than in 2005, and for the Final had risen by 28%.
In France, average market shares reached 30.3%, up by 8% over the 2005 figure. Other countries that showed a rise in average market shares included Germany with 38% (up from 29%), United Kingdom with 37.5% (up from 36%), Spain with 36% (up from 35%), Ireland with 58% (up from 35%) and Sweden, which reached over 80% compared to 57% the year previously.
Voting revenues had also risen from the Kyiv Contest, and the official Eurovision website, www.eurovision.tv, reported visits from over 200 countries and over 98 million page views, compared with 85 million in 2005.
Aftermath.
ERT's net income from the Eurovision event amounted to 7,280,000 euros, while the cost of the entire event reached 5,500,000 euros, said on Thursday in a press conference the president of ERT, Christos Panagopoulos and the authorized consultant George Chouliaras, who stated: "The allegations about the waste of money of the Greek taxpayer do not apply. The Greek people did not pay a penny for the event. It was a commercial and profitable event and the money we spent was donor money".
According to G. Chouliaras, the revenues that ERT had from the event were 3,630,000 euros from national sponsors, 2,200,000 euros from tickets and 1,450,000 euros from the share of international sponsors, advertising revenues outside sponsorships, sms, etc.
Regarding the costs paid by ERT for the event together with the EBU, it amounted to a total of 9 million euros, of which 5.5 million euros were paid by ERT and 3.5 million euros by the EBU. These costs include the costs for the television production, the production of the artistic program, the technical production, the payment of contributions, the organization of the competition and any other direct costs related to the organization of Eurovision 2006. It is also noted that EOT paid for the production of 47 commercials and their promotion during the semifinals and the final 3.5 million euros.
Spectacles and rewards.
The president of ERT, Christos Panagopoulos, clarified, however, that the total cost does not include the shows that started in February for the advertising support of the event, for which he estimated that their cost will not exceed 1 million euros. He stated that in essence the net profit of ERT amounts to 745,000 euros, which will be allocated for other cultural events.
It was also clarified that ERT did not pay anything to Anna Vissi, nor to Nikos Karvelas, as well as did not pay for the dress of Anna Vissi. Chouliaras stressed that all the participants of the event were paid at market prices and in particular Zeta Makrypoulia and Giorgos Kapoutzidis received 8-10 thousand euros per month for their four-month employment, Sakis Rouvas 50,000 euros and Maria Menounos 45,000 euros.
It was also clarified that the costs of the "promotour" of Anna Vissi are included in the total cost and that from these the transfers were covered by Olympic Airlines and the hotels, the cost of which amounted to 150,000 euros, by the sponsors.
Regarding the future, Giorgos Chouliaras noted that "ERT should have a dynamic participation in the next Eurovision Song Contests and not devalue the institution, since it is a television product watched by 3.5 million Greeks".
Broadcasters, commentators and spokespersons.
Spokespersons.
The following people were the spokespersons for their countries. A spokesperson delivers the results of national televoting during the final night, awarding points to the entries on behalf of his or her country. Although Serbia and Montenegro withdrew from the contest, it retained its voting rights. A draw was held to determine each country's voting order. Countries revealed their votes in the following order:
Broadcasters and commentators.
All participating broadcasters may choose to have on-site or remote commentators providing an insight about the show to their local audience and, while they must broadcast at least the semi-final they are voting in and the final, most broadcasters air all three shows with different programming plans. Similarly, some non-participating broadcasters may still want to air the contest. These are the broadcasters that have confirmed their broadcasting plans and/or their commentators:
Other awards.
In addition to the main winner's trophy, the Marcel Bezençon Awards and the Barbara Dex Award were contested during the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest.
Marcel Bezençon Awards.
The Marcel Bezençon Awards honour the best competing songs in the final. Named after the founder of the contest, the awards were created and first handed at the 2002 contest by Christer Björkman (Sweden's representative in the 1992 contest and the country's current Head of Delegation), and Richard Herrey (a member of the Herreys who won the 1984 contest for Sweden). The awards are divided into three categories: Artistic Award which was voted by previous winners of the contest, Composer Award, and Press Award.
Barbara Dex Award.
The Barbara Dex Award is a humorous fan award given to the worst dressed artist each year. Named after Belgium's representative who came last in the 1993 contest, wearing her self-designed dress, the award was handed by the fansite House of Eurovision from 1997 to 2016 and is being carried out by the fansite songfestival.be since 2017.
Official album.
Eurovision Song Contest: Athens 2006 was the official compilation album of the 2006 Contest, put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by CMC International on 28 April 2006. The album featured all 37 songs that entered in the 2006 contest, including the semi-finalists that failed to qualify into the grand final.


Wendish Crusade

The Wendish Crusade () was a military campaign in 1147, one of the Northern Crusades and a part of the Second Crusade, led primarily by the Kingdom of Germany within the Holy Roman Empire and directed against the Polabian Slavs (or "Wends"). The Wends are made up of the Slavic tribes of Abrotrites, Rani, Liutizians, Wagarians, and Pomeranians who lived east of the River Elbe in present-day northeast Germany and Poland.
The lands inhabited by the Wends were rich in resources, which played a factor in the motivations of those who participated in the crusade. The mild climate of the Baltic area allowed for the cultivation of land and livestock. Animals of this region were also thickly furred, supporting the dependence on fur trading. Access to the coastline also developed fishing and trade networks. The land was attractive for the resources it boasted, and the crusade offered an opportunity for noble families to gain part of it.
By the early 12th century, the German archbishoprics of Bremen and Magdeburg sought the conversion to Christianity of neighboring pagan West Slavs through peaceful means. During the preparation of the Second Crusade to the Holy Land, a papal bull was issued supporting a crusade against these Slavs. The Slavic leader Niklot preemptively invaded Wagria in June 1147, leading to the march of the crusaders later that summer. They achieved an ostensible forced baptism of Slavs at Dobin but were repulsed from Demmin. Another crusading army marched on the already Christian city of Szczecin (Stettin), whereupon the crusaders dispersed upon arrival (see below).
The Christian army, composed primarily of Saxons and Danes, forced tribute from the pagan Slavs and affirmed German control of Wagria and Polabia through colonization, but failed to convert the bulk of the population immediately.
Background.
The Ottonian dynasty supported eastward expansion of the Holy Roman Empire towards Wendish (West Slavic) lands during the 10th century. The campaigns of King Henry the Fowler and Emperor Otto the Great led to the introduction of burgwards to protect German conquests in the lands of the Sorbs. Otto's lieutenants, Margraves Gero and Hermann Billung, advanced eastward and northward respectively to claim tribute from conquered Slavs. Bishoprics were established at Meissen, Brandenburg, Havelberg, and Oldenburg to administer the territory. A majority of Wendish tribes had been Christianized from the German conquests, but in 983 they returned to paganism when a great Slavic rebellion reversed the initial German gains. While the burgwards allowed the Saxons to retain control of Meissen, they lost Brandenburg and Havelberg. The Elbe River then became the eastern limit of German-Roman control.
By the early 12th century, the Archbishoprics of Bremen, Magdeburg and Gniezno sought the conversion of the pagan Slavs to Christianity through peaceful means: notable missionaries included Vicelin, Norbert of Xanten, and Otto of Bamberg (sent to Pomerania by Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland). Lacking support from the Salian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire, secular Saxon princes seeking Slavic territory found themselves in a military stalemate with their adversaries. Christians, especially Saxons from Holstein, and pagans raided each other across the Limes Saxonicus, usually for tribute.
The idea of a crusade against the Wends first originated in the Magdeburg Letter, originally sent around 1107 to 1110, in which an anonymous author makes an appeal against the Wends. The Magdeburg Letter makes the case that the Wends are pagans and that any fight against them is justified and the land that they inhabit is "our Jerusalem". In the letter no formal spiritual indulgence is offered apart from a general salvation of the soul, but an emphasis is put on acquiring land. The author says, "these gentiles [pagans] are most wicked, but their land is the best, rich in meat, honey, corn, and birds; and if it were well cultivated none could be compared to it for the wealth of its produce. So say those who know it. And so, most renowned Saxon, French, Lorrainers, and Flemings and conquerors of the world, this is an occasion for you to save your souls and, if you wish it, acquire the best land in which to live." The references made to the wealth of resources in the Slavic lands would have been especially appealing to those who were motivated by material gain. The Magdeburg letter established the ideas of a northern crusade and land acquisition that would come to play defining roles of the Wendish Crusade.
From 1140–43 Holsatian nobles advanced into Wagria to permanently settle in the lands of the pagan Wagri. Count Adolf II of Holstein and Henry of Badewide took control of Polabian settlements which would later become Lübeck and Ratzeburg; Vicelin was subsequently installed as bishop at Oldenburg. Adolf sought peace with the chief of the Obodrite confederacy, Niklot, and encouraged German colonization and missionary activity in Wagria.
The fall of Edessa in Syria in 1144 shocked Christendom, causing Pope Eugenius III and St. Bernard of Clairvaux to preach a Second Crusade to reinforce Outremer. While many south Germans volunteered to crusade in the Middle East, the north German Saxons were reluctant. They told Bernard of their desire to campaign against the Slavs at a Reichstag meeting in Frankfurt on 13 March 1147. The Wends were seen as a threat to Christendom as they were apostates, meaning the crusade against them would be justified. Approving of the Saxons' plan, Pope Eugenius III issued a papal bull known as the "Divina dispensatione" on 11 April 1147. As part of the bull, Eugenius III fulfilled and validated a promise made by Bernard that the same indulgences would be offered to those who crusaded against the Wends as those who went to fight in the Middle East. These indulgences offered a complete forgiveness of sin, meaning there was to be no difference between the spiritual rewards of the different crusaders. Those who volunteered to crusade against the Slavic pagans were primarily Danes, Saxons, and Poles, although there were also some Bohemians. In preaching the Crusade, Bernard feared that those who participated were doing so only for the possible material gain. In an effort to persuade crusaders to focus on spiritual conversion, Bernard said, "We prohibit completely that a truce be made for any reason with these people [Wends] either for money or tribute, until such time as, with the aid of God either their religion or their nation shall be destroyed," which was an condition added to the papal bull. The German monarchy took no part in the crusade, which was led by Saxon families such as the Ascanians, Wettin, and Schauenburgers. Papal legate Anselm of Havelberg was placed in overall command.
Holy war.
Upset at Adolf's participation in the crusade, Niklot preemptively invaded Wagria in June 1147, and, along with the Wagrians, murdered newly settled Fleming and Frisian villages, leading to the march of the crusaders in late summer 1147. By attacking first, Niklot gave further justification for the Crusade as he legitimized the Wends as a serious threat to Christendom. After expelling the Obodrites from his territory, Adolf signed a peace treaty with Niklot. The remaining Christian crusaders targeted the Obodrite fort Dobin and the Liutizian fort Demmin.
The forces attacking Dobin included those of the Danes Canute V and Sweyn III, Archbishop Adalbert II of Bremen, and Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony. Avoiding pitched battles, Niklot ably defended the marshland of Dobin. One army of Danes was defeated by Slavs from Dobin, while another had to defend the Danish fleet from Niklot's allies, the Rani of Rügen. Henry and Adalbert maintained the siege of Dobin after the retreat of the Danes. When some crusaders advocated ravaging the countryside, others objected by asking, "Is not the land we are devastating our land, and the people we are fighting our people?" The Saxon army under Henry the Lion withdrew after Niklot agreed to have Dobin's garrison undergo baptism.
The Saxon army directed against Demmin was led by several bishops, including those of Mainz, Halberstadt, Münster, Merseburg, Brandenburg, Olmütz, and Bishop Anselm of Havelberg. While their stated goal was to achieve the conversion of the pagans, most also sought additional territory and tithe for their dioceses; Abbot Wibald of Corvey went in the hopes of acquiring the island of Rügen. The Demmin campaign also included the secular margraves Conrad I and Albert the Bear, who hoped to expand their marches. A Royal Polish contingent wanted to add to the Bishopric of Lebus. Marching from Magdeburg, Albert the Bear recovered Havelberg, lost since the 983 Slavic rebellion. The crusaders then destroyed a pagan temple and castle at Malchow. After an unsuccessful siege of Demmin, a contingent of crusaders was diverted by the margraves to attack central Pomerania instead. They reached the already Christian city Szczecin, whereupon the crusaders dispersed after meeting with Bishop Adalbert of Pomerania and Duke Ratibor I of Pomerania.
Aftermath.
The Wendish Crusade achieved mixed results. While the Saxons affirmed their possession of Wagria and Polabia, Niklot retained control of the Obodrite land east of Lübeck. The Saxons also received tribute from Niklot, enabled the colonization of the Bishopric of Havelberg, and freed some Danish prisoners. However, the disparate Christian leaders, mostly Canute and Sweyn, regarded their counterparts with suspicion and accused each other of sabotaging the campaign.
According to Bernard of Clairvaux, the goal of the crusade was to battle the pagan Slavs "until such a time as, by God's help, they shall either be converted or deleted". However, the crusade failed to achieve the conversion of most of the Wends. In preaching the Crusade, Bernard had urged to not make truce or accept any form of tribute, but the crusaders did receive tribute from Niklot as mentioned, which contributed to Bernard's perception of the crusade as a failure. The Saxons achieved largely token conversions at Dobin, as the Slavs returned to their pagan beliefs once the Christian armies dispersed; Albert of Pomerania explained, "If they had come to strengthen the Christian faith ... they should have done so by preaching, not by arms". There was no Wendish clergy established nor any Christian literature translated into the language of the Wends. Without any institutions in place, the forced conversion of the Wends was not sustainable. The only successful conversions were achieved by the Danes. The Danes recaptured the island of Rugen in 1168 and were able to re-Christianize it through the establishment of churches and by allowing Prince Jaromit of Rugen to remain in power after he fully accepted Christianity. The Danes were able to be successful through their method of encouraging Christianity rather than focusing solely on controlling the newly acquired land.
The countryside of Mecklenburg and central Pomerania was plundered and depopulated with much bloodshed, especially by the troops of Henry the Lion. Of Henry's campaigns, Helmold of Bosau wrote that "there was no mention of Christianity, but only of money". The Slavic inhabitants also lost much of their methods of production, limiting their resistance in the future. In this way, the Crusade could be viewed as a success in terms of its successful acquisition of Slavic lands as it encouraged colonization by German peasants. It also began a long-lasting crusade against the Wends that lasted the rest of the twelfth century. By the 1160s, most of the Wends had come under the control of the Saxons or the Danes. However, in 1180 when Henry the Lion and Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa had a falling out, the Danes were able to assert political control over a majority of the region. The effects of the Wendish Crusade was long-lasting through the impacts it had on extending political and colonial power in the Baltic region.


Braslaw

Braslaw or Braslav (; ) is a town in the Vitebsk Region of Belarus, an administrative center of the Braslaw District.
History.
The town was first mentioned in 1065 as a castle in the border of the Polatsk Principality with the Lithuanian tribes. Archaeologists excavated a Viking settlement in the village of Maskachichy not far from the town. They think that Viking mercenaries were used as dependable border guards. In the 14th century, Braslaw was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and, in fact, became an important fortification near the disturbing line with the Livonian Order in the 14th and 15th centuries. In 1500, Alexander Jagiellon privileged the townsfolk with limited self-administration rights and a coat of arms. In 1506, the castle was presented to the widowed queen Yelena Ivanovna, the daughter of Ivan III of Russia and wife of Alexander Jagiellon, who founded an Orthodox Christian nunnery there. The town was much developed thanks to its praepostor Lev Sapeha and the king Stanisław August Poniatowski.
From 1795 to 1919 Braslaw was part of Russian Empire. It became an uyezd center (county seat) in Vilna Governorate in 1795, later in Kovno Governorate in 1843 except brief French occupation in 1812. It was occupied by the German Empire for 10 months in 1918. According to the Treaty of Riga, it became Polish. It was a powiat center (county seat) in Wilno Voivodeship. In 1939 eastern Poland was annexed by the USSR and Braslawit became part of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Around 3,000 Jews lived in Braslav at the eve of World War II, more than the half of the inhabitants.
It was occupied by Nazi Germany between 27 June 1941 and 6 June 1944 and administered as a part of the of . In April 1942, a ghetto was established. The liquidation of the ghetto began on 3 June 1942. Many Jews tried to escape but around 2,000 Jews were arrested and shot in ditches that had been prepared. In late 1942, the Jews from the nearby village of Opsa were gathered in Braslav. They were killed in March 1943.
It was a raion center, first in Vileyka Voblast, then in Polatsk Voblast between 1944 and 1954 and finally in Molodechno Voblast between 1954 and 1960 before passing to Vitebsk. Since the 1920s, Braslaw has developed as a cheap summer resort. In 1995, it accommodated the main office of the National Park of the Braslaw Lakes.
Population.
In 1948, Braslaw had a population in excess of 2000 people. In 2009, the total population of Braslaw was 9,516 people.


Xiphodon

Xiphodon is an extinct genus of artiodactyl mammals found in European Eocene formations. It had slender legs, didactylous feet, and small canine teeth. "Xiphodon" was closely related to camels.


Duchy of Cantabria

The Duchy of Cantabria () was a march created by the Visigoths in northern Spain to watch their border with the Cantabrians and Basques. Its precise extension is unclear in the different periods, but seems likely that it included Cantabria, parts of Northern Castile, La Rioja, and probably western areas of Biscay and Álava.
The two main towns of Cantabria before its conquest by the Goths were Amaya (in northern Burgos) and the City of Cantabria, believed to have been near modern Logroño. Both towns were destroyed in 574 by Liuvigild, who massacred many of their inhabitants. The legend of this destruction remained for long in the memory of the affected peoples. Bishop Braulio of Zaragoza (631-651) wrote in his "Life of St. Emilianus" how the saint prophesied the destruction of Cantabria because of their alleged sins. It is held in popular belief that the converted refugees from the City of Cantabria founded the monastery of Our Lady of Codés in Navarre.
A Senate of Cantabria mentioned in the Saint Aemilianus' work bears witness to a local nobility and a governing diet that may have been of the last independent Hispano-Roman provincial authorities. Some names are provided too, such as autochthonous "Sicorius" or "Tuentius", with no clear ethnic affiliation, and Latin names "Honorius" and "Nepotianus".
In 581, right before major Frankish expeditions against the Basques and the establishment of the Duchy of Vasconia under Frank suzerainty, the count of Bordeaux Galactorius is cited by the poet Venantius Fortunatus as fighting both the Basques and the Cantabrians, while the Chronicle of Fredegar brings up a shadowy Francio duke of Cantabria ruling for a long period some time before Sisebut's successful campaigns against Basques and Cantabrians. Archaeological discoveries in the last decades around the millennium have brought to light that the cultural and economic influences, and even small groups of people in the near Basque territory once part of the duchy or limiting with it, came from way beyond the Pyrenees during this time gap of political vacuum or at the best, uncertain authority.
In the late Visigothic period, at a second stage after the 6th century Cantabrian defeat, the Duchy of Cantabria is attested as being a buffer zone bearing witness to continuous fighting between Visigoths and Basques. In 670, the Visigothic king Wamba was campaigning there against the Basques when he heard of a rebellion in Septimania. Notice of a certain duke Peter of Cantabria, father of Alfonso I of Asturias, is attested on 9th century Asturian documents for the first years of the Umayyad conquest of Hispania.


Table of years in Irish television

The table of years in Irish television is a tabular display of all years in Irish television, for overview and quick navigation to any year.
1950s in Irish television.
1950s
1960s in Irish television.
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s in Irish television.
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s in Irish television.
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s in Irish television.
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s in Irish television.
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s in Irish television.
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s in Irish television.
2020 2021


Tudor England


Parexus

Parexus is an extinct genus of acanthodian fish. Acanthodians are often referred to as ‘spiny sharks’, although acanthodians are not true sharks and evolved perhaps 50 million years earlier than sharks. Acanthodians share several features with bony fish and cartilaginous fish; they often have spines supporting their fins.
"Parexus" is recognised by its large anterior dorsal fin spine. Several fossils have been discovered from the Early (Lower) Devonian Period of Tillywhandland, Scotland. Two species were described, "P. recurvus" and "P. falcatus", both from Scotland; according to Burrow "et al." (2013) "P. falcatus" is in fact a junior synonym of "P. recurvus".


Villa Farragiana a Meina

The Villa Farragiana a Meina is a 19th-century Neoclassical-style rural palace located on the shores of Lago Maggiore, between the towns of Meina and Arona in the Province of Novara, region of Piedmont, Italy. This villa differs from the Villa Faraggiana at Albissola Marina in the Province of Savona.
History.
Construction of the villa began in 1855 by Alessandro Farragiana, based on designs by Antonio Bussero. In the past the villa and the grounds housed an eclectic collection of live and stuffed animals collected by Alessandro the younger, son of the former Alessandro's son, Italian senator Raffaello Faraggiana. These exhibits are now displayed at the Museum di Storia Naturale Faraggiana Ferrandi (Faraggiana Ferrandi Museum of Natural History) in Novara.
In 1949, the building was donated by the remnants of the family to the monastic order of Poverelle from Bergamo. The nuns use the site as an orphanage and hospice.
The classic facade faces the lake: the center has a protruding colonnaded portico with a balcony and a grand wide staircase. Below adjacent to the street are gates with crouching lion statues on pillars. Above the windows are eleven medallions with reliefs of illustrious Italians sculpted by Giosuè Argenti. The tympanum has an allegorical depiction of "Fame". The villa is surrounded by ample gardens with exotic flora.


2000 in Bulgaria

Events from the year 2000 in Bulgaria


Battle of Bosco Marengo

The Battle of Bosco Marengo "(aka Battle of Frascata)" was fought in the Autumn of 1447.
The Duke of Orleans, Charles I, son of Valentina Visconti, laid claim to the Duchy of Milan and dispatched an army from the "Dauphiné" "and Lyonais" under Renaud du Dresnay into Lombardy. The Golden Ambrosian Republic responded and dispatched a total of 3,700 troops under Colleoni to Alessandria. At Bosco Marengo, battle was joined and the French suffered a complete defeat with their general Renaud du Dresnay being captured and later ransomed for "14,000 couronnes".


Fastiv

Fastiv () is a city in the Kyiv Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. On older maps it is depicted as Chvastiv (). Administratively, it is incorporated as a city of oblast significance. It also serves as the administrative center of the Fastiv Raion (district), to which it does not administratively belong. Its population is approximately .
Lying on conjunction of railway lines, Fastiv is an important node station on the rail route from central Europe to Russia and Asia. On 1 December 1918 at the Fastiv train station delegations of the Ukrainian People's Republic and the West Ukrainian People's Republic signed the Unification Act uniting territories of Ukraine that were split between Austrian and Russian empires.
Beside transportation industry, Brewing and machinery industry are also present, although the majority of inhabitants are employed by Ukrzaliznytsia's 12 railway installations in the city.
History.
The foundation date of the city is not known. Under its current name the populated place is first mentioned as early as 1390 in old Russian chronicles where it is stated that Prince of Kyiv Vladimir Olgerdovich issued a certificate that stated that Fastiv belonged to Rozhanovsky princes.
Fastiv is a historical city that survived through many times Cossack uprisings and the Great Turkish War with the period of total devastation and later resettlement. In 1685 it became one of centers of revived Cossack movement in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth following the Treaty of Andrusovo. In early 18th century around Fastiv took place Paliy uprising. Following the unsuccessful military campaign of Pylyp Orlyk in 1711, remnants of his military force withdrew to Fastiv after the 1711 siege of Bila Tserkva.
In the second half of 18th century, Fastiv was one of centers of another local uprising known as Koliyivshchyna.
In 1793 the town was ceded to the Russian Empire as part of the Second Partition of Poland and the complete Russian occupation of the Right bank Ukraine.
In 1825 during the Decembrist revolt in Saint Petersburg, the Imperial Russian troops quartered around Fastiv and Vasylkiv supported the revolt. In the mid 19th century around Fastiv, the Imperial Russian archaeological commission conducted archaeological excavations of the "Perepiat kurgan" which were attended by Taras Shevchenko as an experienced artist.
The loss in Crimean War, led to intensive development of railroad network throughout the Russian Empire and in 1870 through Fastiv was installed the Kiev–Odessa railroad.
As Chwastów (Fastów), it is mentioned in the 19th century Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland being a town of the Vasylkiv county.
In 1898 Fastiv became a permanent residence of Imperial Russian inventor Nikolay Benardos out of the Central Ukraine who is known for developing of arc welding in the Russian Empire.
On 24 August 1919 the Ukrainian Galician Army defended Fastiv against hordes of Bolsheviks and few days later on 29 August 1919 the town residents were meeting the Head Otaman of the Ukrainian People's Republic forces Symon Petlura.
Soon after that in September 1919, a pogrom of the Jewish population of Fastiv was carried out by Denikin's White Army forces; about 1,800 people were murdered and about 8,000 died in the following year from wounds or epidemics. In 1941 the German Einsatzgruppe C under Paul Blobel murdered all Fastiv Jews between the ages of 12 and 60.
Architecture.
Historical landmarks include the Intercession Church (Ukrainian: Pokrovska Tserkva; Intercession of the Theotokos Church) - a 17th-century Orthodox church, also known as Paliy Church (after the Cossack leader Semen Paliy). There is also an early 20th-century Catholic church.


Lobocarcinus

Lobocarcinus is a genus of extinct marine crabs that lived in the Eocene through Pliocene, containing these species:


List of castra in Dacia


Maastricht

Maastricht (, , ; Limburgish : ; ; ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the Meuse (), at the point where the Jeker joins it. It is adjacent to the border with Belgium.
Maastricht developed from a Roman settlement (Trajectum ad Mosam) to a medieval religious centre. In the 16th century it became a garrison town and in the 19th century an early industrial city. Today, the city is a thriving cultural and regional hub. It became well known through the Maastricht Treaty and as the birthplace of the euro. Maastricht has 1677 national heritage buildings ("Rijksmonumenten"), the second highest number in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam. The city is visited by tourists for shopping and recreation, and has a large international student population. Maastricht is part of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, which includes the nearby German and Belgian cities of Aachen, Eupen, Hasselt, Liège, and Tongeren. The Meuse-Rhine Euroregion is a metropolis with a population of about 3.9 million with several international universities.
History.
Toponymy.
Maastricht is mentioned in ancient documents as "[Ad] Treiectinsem [urbem]" ab. 575, "Treiectensis" in 634, "Triecto, Triectu" in 7th century, "Triiect" in 768–781, "Traiecto" in 945, "Masetrieth" in 1051.
The place name "Maastricht" is an Old Dutch compound "Masa-" (> "Maas" "the Meuse river") + Old Dutch "*treiekt", itself borrowed from Gallo-Romance cf. its Walloon name "li trek", from Classical Latin "trajectus" ("ford, passage, place to cross a river") with the later addition of "Maas" "Meuse" to avoid the confusion with the "-trecht" of Utrecht having exactly the same original form and etymology. The Latin name first appears in medieval documents and it is not known whether "" was Maastricht's name during Roman times. A resident of Maastricht is referred to as "Maastrichtenaar" whilst in the local dialect it is either "Mestreechteneer" or, colloquially, "Sjeng" (derived from the formerly popular French name "Jean").
Early history.
Neanderthal remains have been found to the west of Maastricht (Belvédère excavations). Of a later date are Palaeolithic remains, between 8,000 and 25,000 years old. Celts lived here around 500 BC, at a spot where the river Meuse was shallow and therefore easy to cross.
It is not known when the Romans arrived in Maastricht, or whether the settlement was founded by them. The Romans built a bridge across the Meuse in the 1st century AD, during the reign of Augustus Caesar. The bridge was an important link in the main road between Bavay and Cologne. Roman Maastricht was probably relatively small. Remains of the Roman road, the bridge, a religious shrine, a Roman bath, a granary, some houses and the 4th-century castrum walls and gates, have been excavated. Fragments of provincial Roman sculptures, as well as coins, jewellery, glass, pottery and other objects from Roman Maastricht are on display in the exhibition space of the city's public library ("Centre Céramique").
According to legend, the Armenian-born Saint Servatius, Bishop of Tongeren, died in Maastricht in 384 where he was interred along the Roman road, outside the castrum. According to Gregory of Tours bishop Monulph was to have built around 570 the first stone church on the grave of Servatius, the present-day Basilica of Saint Servatius. The city remained an early Christian diocese until it lost the distinction to nearby Liège in the 8th or 9th century.
Middle Ages.
In the early Middle Ages Maastricht was part of the heartland of the Carolingian Empire along with Aachen and the area around Liège. The town was an important centre for trade and manufacturing. Merovingian coins minted in Maastricht have been found in places throughout Europe. In 881 the town was plundered by the Vikings. In the 10th century it briefly became the capital of the duchy of Lower Lorraine.
During the 12th century the town flourished culturally. The provosts of the church of Saint Servatius held important positions in the Holy Roman Empire during this era. The two collegiate churches were largely rebuilt and redecorated. Maastricht Romanesque stone sculpture and silversmithing are regarded as highlights of Mosan art. Maastricht painters were praised by Wolfram von Eschenbach in his Parzival. Around the same time, the poet Henric van Veldeke wrote a legend of Saint Servatius, one of the earliest works in Dutch literature. The two main churches acquired a wealth of relics and the septennial Maastricht Pilgrimage became a major event.
Unlike most Dutch towns, Maastricht did not receive city rights at a certain date. These developed gradually during its long history. In 1204 the city's dual authority was formalised in a treaty, with the prince-bishops of Liège and the dukes of Brabant holding joint sovereignty over the city. Soon afterwards the first ring of medieval walls were built. In 1275, the old Roman bridge collapsed under the weight of a procession, killing 400 people. A replacement, funded by church indulgences, was built slightly to the north and survives until today, the Sint Servaasbrug.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the city remained a centre for trade and manufacturing principally of wool and leather but gradually economic decline set in. After a brief period of economic prosperity around 1500, the city's economy suffered during the wars of religion of the 16th and 17th centuries, and recovery did not happen until the industrial revolution in the early 19th century.
16th to 18th centuries.
The important strategic location of Maastricht resulted in the construction of an impressive array of fortifications around the city during this period. The Spanish and Dutch garrisons became an important factor in the city's economy. In 1579 the city was sacked by the Spanish army led by the Duke of Parma (Siege of Maastricht, 1579). For over fifty years the Spanish crown took over the role previously held by the dukes of Brabant in the joint sovereignty over Maastricht. In 1632 the city was conquered by Prince Frederick Henry of Orange and the Dutch States General replaced the Spanish crown in the joint government of Maastricht.
Another Siege of Maastricht (1673) took place during the Franco-Dutch War. In June 1673, Louis XIV laid siege to the city because French supply lines were being threatened. During this siege, Vauban, the famous French military engineer, developed a new tactic in order to break down the strong fortifications surrounding Maastricht. His systematic approach remained the standard method of attacking fortresses until the 20th century. On 25 June 1673, while preparing to storm the city, captain-lieutenant Charles de Batz de Castelmore, also known as the "comte d'Artagnan", was killed by a musket shot outside the Tongerse Poort. This event was embellished in Alexandre Dumas' novel "The Vicomte de Bragelonne", part of the D'Artagnan Romances. French troops occupied Maastricht from 1673 to 1678.
In 1748 the French again conquered the city at what is known as the Second French Siege of Maastricht, during the War of Austrian Succession. The French took the city for the last time in 1794, when the condominium was dissolved and Maastricht was annexed to the First French Empire (1794–1814). For twenty years Maastricht remained the capital of the French département of Meuse-Inférieure.
19th and early 20th century.
After the Napoleonic era, Maastricht became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. It was made the capital of the newly formed Province of Limburg (1815–1839). When the southern provinces of the newly formed kingdom seceded in 1830, the Dutch garrison in Maastricht remained loyal to the Dutch king, William I, even when most of the inhabitants of the town and the surrounding area sided with the Belgian revolutionaries. In 1831, arbitration by the Great Powers allocated the city to the Netherlands. However, neither the Dutch nor the Belgians agreed to this and the arrangement was not implemented until the 1839 Treaty of London. During this period of isolation Maastricht developed into an early industrial town.
Because of its eccentric location in the southeastern Netherlands, and its geographical and cultural proximity to Belgium and Germany, integration of Maastricht and Limburg into the Netherlands did not come about easily. Maastricht retained a distinctly non-Dutch appearance during much of the 19th century and it was not until the First World War that the city was forced to look northwards.
Like the rest of the Netherlands, Maastricht remained neutral during World War I. However, being wedged between Germany and Belgium, it received large numbers of refugees, putting a strain on the city's resources. Early in World War II, the city was taken by the Germans by surprise during the Battle of Maastricht of May 1940. On 13 and 14 September 1944 it was the first Dutch city to be liberated by Allied forces of the US Old Hickory Division. The three Meuse bridges were destroyed or severely damaged during the war. As elsewhere in the Netherlands, the majority of Maastricht Jews died in Nazi concentration camps.
After World War II.
During the latter half of the century, traditional industries (such as Maastricht's potteries) declined and the city's economy shifted to a service economy. Maastricht University was founded in 1976. Several European institutions found their base in Maastricht. In 1981 and 1991 European Councils were held in Maastricht, the latter one resulting a year later in the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, leading to the creation of the European Union and the euro. Since 1988, The European Fine Art Fair, regarded as the world's leading art fair, annually draws in some of the wealthiest art collectors.
In recent years, Maastricht launched several campaigns against drug-dealing in an attempt to stop foreign buyers taking advantage of the liberal Dutch legislation and causing trouble in the downtown area.
Since the 1990s, large parts of the city have been refurbished, including the areas around the main railway station and the Maasboulevard promenade along the Meuse, the Entre Deux and Mosae Forum shopping centres, as well as some of the main shopping streets. A prestigious quarter designed by international architects and including the new Bonnefanten Museum, a public library, and a theatre was built on the grounds of the former Société Céramique factory near the town centre. Further large-scale projects, such as the redevelopment of the area around the A2 motorway, the Sphinx Quarter and the Belvédère area are under construction.
Geography.
Neighbourhoods.
Maastricht consists of five districts ("stadsdelen") and 44 neighbourhoods ("wijken"). Each neighbourhood has a number which corresponds to its postal code.
The neighbourhoods of Itteren, Borgharen, Limmel, Amby, Heer, Heugem, Scharn, Oud-Caberg, Sint Pieter and Wolder all used to be separate municipalities or villages until they were annexed by the city of Maastricht in the course of the 20th century.
Neighbouring municipalities.
The outlying areas of the following municipalities are bordering the municipality of Maastricht directly.
"Clockwise from north-east to north-west:"
"(B = Situated in Belgium)"
Border.
Maastricht's city limits has an international border with Belgium. Most of it borders Belgium's Flemish region, but a small part to the south also has a border with the Walloon region. Both countries are part of Europe's Schengen Area thus are open without border controls.
Climate.
Maastricht features the same climate as most of the Netherlands ("Cfb", Oceanic climate), however, due to its more inland location in between hills, summers tend to be warmer (especially in the Meuse valley, which lies 70 metres lower than the meteorological station) and winters a bit colder, although the difference is only noticeable on just a few days a year. The highest temperature recorded was on 25 July 2019 at .
Demographics.
Languages.
Maastricht is a city of linguistic diversity, partly as a result of its location at the crossroads of multiple language areas and its international student population.
Religion.
In 2010–2014, 69.8% of the population of Maastricht regarded themselves as religious. 60.4% of the total population stated an affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church. 13.9% attended a religious ceremony at least once a month.
Economy.
Public institutions.
Since the 1980s, a number of European and international institutions have made Maastricht their base. They provide an increasing number of employment opportunities for expats living in the Maastricht area.
Culture and tourism.
Sights of Maastricht.
Maastricht is known in the Netherlands and beyond for its lively squares, narrow streets, and historic buildings. The city has 1,677 national heritage buildings ("rijksmonumenten"), more than any Dutch city outside Amsterdam. In addition to that there are 3,500 locally listed buildings ("gemeentelijke monumenten"). The entire city centre is a conservation area ("beschermd stadsgezicht"). The tourist information office (VVV) is located in the Dinghuis, a medieval courthouse overlooking Grote Staat.
Maastricht's main sights include:
Events and festivals.
Furthermore, the Maastricht Exposition and Congress Centre (MECC) hosts many events throughout the year.
Nature.
Parks.
There are several city parks and recreational areas in Maastricht:
Politics.
City council.
The municipal government of Maastricht consists of a city council, a mayor and a number of aldermen. The city council, a 39-member legislative body directly elected for four years, appoints the aldermen on the basis of a coalition agreement between two or more parties after each election. The 2006 municipal elections in the Netherlands were, as often, dominated by national politics and led to a shift from right to left throughout the country. In Maastricht, the traditional broad governing coalition of Christian Democrats (CDA), Labour (PvdA), Greens (GreenLeft) and Liberals (VVD) was replaced by a centre-left coalition of Labour, Christian Democrats and Greens. Two Labour aldermen were appointed, along with one Christian Democrat and one Green alderman. Due to internal disagreements, one of the VVD council members left the party in 2005 and formed a new liberal group in 2006 (Liberalen Maastricht). The other opposition parties in the current city council are the Socialist Party (SP), the Democrats (D66) and two local parties (Stadsbelangen Mestreech (SBM) and the Seniorenpartij).
Aldermen and mayors.
The aldermen and the mayor make up the executive branch of the municipal government. After the previous mayor, Gerd Leers (CDA), decided to step down in January 2010 following the 'Bulgarian Villa' affair, an affair concerning a holiday villa project in Byala, Bulgaria, in which the mayor was alleged to have been involved in shady deals to raise the value of villas he had ownership of. Up until July 1, 2015 the mayor of Maastricht was Onno Hoes, a Liberal (VVD), the only male mayor in the country, who officially was married to a male person. In 2013 Hoes was the subject of some political commotion, after facts had been disclosed about intimate affairs with several other male persons. The affair had no consequences for his political career. Because of a new affair in 2014 Hoes eventually stepped down.
Since July 1, 2015 the current mayor of Maastricht has been Annemarie Penn-te Strake. Penn is independent and serves no political party, although her husband is a former chairman of the Maastricht Seniorenpartij. She has served for the Dutch judicial system for many years in many different positions. During her tenure as mayor she still serves as attorney general.
Cannabis.
One controversial issue which has dominated Maastricht politics for many years and which has also affected national and international politics, is the city's approach to soft drugs. Under the pragmatic Dutch soft drug policy, a policy of non-enforcement, individuals may buy and use cannabis from 'coffeeshops' (cannabis bars) under certain conditions. Maastricht, like many other border towns, has seen a growing influx of 'drug tourists', mainly young people from Belgium, France and Germany, who provide a large amount of revenue for the coffeeshops (around 13) in the city centre. The city government, most notably ex-mayor Leers, have been actively promoting drug policy reform in order to deal with its negative side effects.
One of the proposals, known as the 'Coffee Corner Plan', proposed by then-mayor Leers and supported unanimously by the city council in 2008, was to relocate the coffeeshops from the city centre to the outskirts of the town (in some cases near the national Dutch-Belgian border). The purpose of this plan was to reduce the impact of drug tourism on the city centre, such as parking problems and the illegal sale of hard drugs in the vicinity of the coffeeshops, and to monitor the sale and use of cannabis more closely in areas away from the crowded city centre. The Coffee Corner Plan, however, has met with fierce opposition from neighbouring municipalities (some in Belgium) and from members of the Dutch and Belgian parliament. The plan has been the subject of various legal challenges and has not been carried out up to this date (2014).
On 16 December 2010, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld a local Maastricht ban on the sale of cannabis to foreign tourists, restricting entrance to coffeeshops to residents of Maastricht. The ban did not affect scientific or medical usage. In 2011, the Dutch government introduced a similar national system, the "wietpas" ("cannabis pass"), restricting access to Dutch coffeeshops to residents of the Netherlands. After protests from local mayors about the difficulty of implementing the issuing of wietpasses, Dutch parliament in 2012 agreed to replace the pass by any proof of residency. The new system has led to a slight reduction in drug tourism to cannabis shops in Maastricht but at the same time to an increase of drug dealing on the street.
Transport.
By car.
Maastricht is served by the A2 and A79 motorways. The city can be reached from Brussels and Cologne in approximately one hour and from Amsterdam in about two and a half hours.
The A2 motorway runs through Maastricht in a double-decked tunnel. Before 2016, the A2 motorway ran through the city; heavily congested, it caused air pollution in the urban area. Construction of a two-level tunnel designed to solve these problems started in 2011 and was opened (in stages) by December 2016.
In spite of several large underground car parks, parking in the city centre forms a major problem during weekends and bank holidays because of the large numbers of visitors. Parking fees are deliberately high to encourage visitors to use public transport or park and ride facilities away from the centre.
By train.
Maastricht is served by three rail operators, all of which call at the main Maastricht railway station near the centre and two of which call at the smaller Maastricht Randwyck, near the business and university district. Only Arriva also calls at Maastricht Noord, which opened in 2013. Intercity trains northwards to Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Den Bosch and Utrecht are operated by Dutch Railways. The National Railway Company of Belgium runs south to Liège in Belgium. The line to Heerlen, Valkenburg and Kerkrade is operated by Arriva. The former railway to Aachen was closed down in the 1980s. A small section of the old westbound railway to Hasselt (Belgium) was restored in recent years and will be used as a modern tramline, scheduled to open in 2023.
By tram.
The Dutch and Flemish governments reached an agreement in 2014 to build a new tram route, the Hasselt – Maastricht tramway, as part of the larger Spartacus scheme. It was scheduled to take three years, from 2015 to 2018, and to cost €283 million. However, the planning process has been heavily delayed, and as of 2018, construction has not yet started. The tram is now scheduled to be operating in 2024. When completed, the tram will carry passengers from the city centre of Maastricht to the city centre of Hasselt in 30 minutes. It will be operated by the Flemish transport company De Lijn, with 2 scheduled stops in Maastricht and another 10 in Flanders.
By bus.
Regular bus lines connect the city centre, outer areas, business districts and railway stations. The regional Arriva bus network extends to most parts of South Limburg and Aachen (Germany). Regional buses by De Lijn connect Maastricht with Hasselt, Tongeren and Maasmechelen, and one bus connects Maastricht with Liège, operated by TEC. Various bus companies such as Flixbus and Eurolines provide intercity bus services from Maastricht to many European destinations.
By air.
Maastricht is served by the nearby Maastricht Aachen Airport , in nearby Beek, and it is informally referred to by that name. The airport is located about north of the city centre. The airport is served by Corendon Dutch Airlines and Ryanair which operate scheduled flights to destinations around the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands and North-Africa . There are also charter flights to Lourdes which are operated by Enter Air.
By boat.
Maastricht has a river port ("Beatrixhaven") and is connected by water with Belgium and the rest of the Netherlands through the river Meuse, the Juliana Canal, the Albert Canal and the Zuid-Willemsvaart. Although there are no regular boat connections to other cities, various organized boat trips for tourists connect Maastricht with Belgium cities such as Liège.
Distances to other cities.
These distances are as the crow flies and so do not represent actual overland distances.
International relations.
Twin towns.
Maastricht is twinned with:
Local anthem.
In 2002 the municipal government officially adopted a local anthem (Limburgish (Maastrichtian variant): "Mestreechs Volksleed", ) composed of lyrics in Maastrichtian. The theme was originally written by Ciprian Porumbescu (1853–1883).


Kobryn castles

Kobryn castles were a complex of wooden defense and administrative structures that existed in the city of Kobryn in the 16th–18th centuries. Presumably, the first Kobryn castle (detinets) was founded in the 11th century by the heirs of the Kiev prince Izyaslav on the island at the confluence of the Kobrinka and Mukhavets rivers. The remaining earth embankments were dismantled in the 1880s when laying the Moscow–Warsaw chaussee.
Characteristics.
The appearance of castles and their equipment can be established basing on their 16th century inventories. The fortifications consisted of the Lower Castle ("hillock") Castle and the Upper (High) Castle. The entrance to the Lower Castle was blocked by Kobrinka River. A bridge was built across the river, the last span of which was lifting. On both sides the bridge ended with gate towers. The Lower Castle was protected by 5 towers, and a parkan. In one of the towers there was a mill.
The Upper Castle was separated from the Lower by a moat. The bridge over the moat rested against the tower-gate of the Upper Castle. The last span of the bridge was also lifted. In the Upper Castle there were also 5 towers (with gates), gorodnyas and parkan. On them there were platforms with eaves covered with shingles. All the towers were covered with shingles.
According to the inventory of 1597, the castle's artillery consisted of 2 cannons and 5 . Of small arms there were 16 , 17 hand cannons and 2 cues.