Ilfov County

Ilfov () is the county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of Communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, which act like suburbs or satellites of Bucharest. The gentrification of the county is continuing, with many towns in Ilfov, such as Otopeni, having some of the highest GDP per capita levels in the country.
Demographics.
It has a population (excluding Bucharest) of 364,241. The population density is 230.09 per km². 40% of the population commutes and works in Bucharest, although, in recent years, many industrial plants were built outside Bucharest, in Ilfov county. It has an annual growth of about 4%.
Geography.
The county has an area of 1,584 km² and it is situated in the Romanian Plain between the Argeș River and the Ialomița River.
The main rivers that pass through the county are: Dâmbovița River, Colentina River and Gruiu River. Several lakes can be found in Ilfov county, notably Lake Cernica, Lake Snagov and Lake Căldărușani.
Economy.
The base occupation used to be the agriculture. Nowadays, due to the economical growth in Bucharest, many companies have opened their offices, production facilities or warehouses in the nearby villages, situated in the Ilfov County, thus making it the most developed county in Romania.
The predominant industries in the county are:
At Otopeni there is the main aerial transport hub in Romania - the Henri Coandă International Airport. Also all the main roads and railways leaving Bucharest pass through the county.
Tourism.
The county has a large surface covered with forests and also due to its lakes, it is a frequent week-end and holiday destinations for the inhabitants of Bucharest.
Other notable touristic sites are:
Politics.
The Ilfov County Council, renewed at the 2020 local elections, consists of 32 counsellors, with the following party composition:
History.
Most of today's Ilfov County used to be covered by Codrii Vlăsiei, a thick forest, but there were several Dacian settlements, most important being Argedava, on the right bank of the Argeș River in what is now Popești, which was the capital of king Burebista.
The thick forests were useful for retreat during the migration age because they were not easy to cross on horseback. In fact, the name of the forest means "the Forests of the Vlachs" (Romanians), a name given by the Slavs who inhabited the nearby plains.
The county was named after the Ilfov River and it appears for the first time in a 1482 donation act of voivode Vlad Călugărul to the monastery of Snagov. In earliest documents, it was known as "Elhov". The name is of Slavic origin, being derived from "елха, elha" (alder) and possessive suffix -ov, referring to a river which flowed through an alder forest.
Administrative divisions.
The county has 8 towns and 32 communes. The largest settlements by population are Voluntari, Pantelimon, Buftea and Popești-Leordeni. These are the only settlements with more than 20.000 residents. Unlike most other areas of Romania, the population in Ilfov County is increasing, as many of the settlements here are seen as suburbs of Bucharest and are increasingly attracting upper class families. At the 2011 census, 43% of the county's population was defined as urban.
Voluntari is the largest settlement, with a population of 42.944 at the 2011 census. It has experienced rapid population growth in recent years. There were serious debates about the city level awarded to Voluntari in 2004, as it is alleged that it was given in regard to the city's political affiliation, rather than population, development or any other objective features. Despite this, Voluntari did have a population of 30,000 at that time, and many other localities with this population have been given city-status in the past.
Buftea is associated with the cinema of Romania; as the film studios MediaPro Pictures are located in Buftea.
Otopeni was transformed into a town under the communist regime, as part of Nicolae Ceaușescu's systematization policy, with semidetached houses being replaced by four-storey blocks of flats.
Before 1972, Ilfov County used to be one of the largest counties of Romania, but parts of it were added to neighbouring counties and nowadays it is the smallest (excluding the city of Bucharest, which has a special status). Between 1981 and 1997, it was called "Sectorul Agricol Ilfov" and it was not a separate county, but subordinate to the capital.
Ilfov County is the only county that has its capital outside of its territorial area, in Bucharest, which is not part of the actual county. Initially, immediately after the 1968 reform of the public administration in communist Romania, Ilfov was a larger county, that comprised its present-day territory, the entire Giurgiu County, Bucharest and the western parts of Călărași and Ialomița counties. Later during the communist period, its territory was reduced to its current size and it became one of the sectors of Bucharest. It became again a county in 1997, when its capital was designated to be Bucharest.
However, in 2005, some plans were proposed that would merge Bucharest with 90 other communes located to up to 40 km outside the city, in Ilfov County and other nearby counties into a "metropolitan area" of Bucharest, similar to Greater London. As of 2011, these plans did not happen, while a debate on the general administrative division of Romania was under way.
Historical county.
Historically, the county was located in the southern part of Greater Romania, in the southern part of the historical region of Muntenia, around and in the south of Bucharest. During the interwar years, the county, which contained the city of Bucharest, was the most populous county in Romania. Currently the territory of the county is divided among Bucharest, the current Ilfov County, Dâmbovița County, Ialomița County, Călărași County, and Giurgiu County. It was bordered to the north by the counties of Prahova and Dâmboviţa, to the west by Vlașca County, to the east by Ialomița County, and to the south by Durostor County.
Administration.
The county included the cities of Bucharest and Oltenița, and originally seven administrative districts ("plăṣi"):
Subsequently, the county established three more districts:
Population.
According to the 1930 census data, the county population was 999,562 inhabitants, ethnically divided as follows: 84.3% Romanians, 7.0% Jews, 2.5% Hungarians, 1.7% Romanies, 1.5% Germans, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the population was 84.5% Eastern Orthodox, 7.7% Jewish, 3.7% Roman Catholic, 1.3% Greek Catholic, 1.2% Lutheran, as well as other minorities.
Urban population.
In 1930, the county's urban population was 649,429 inhabitants, comprising 77.7% Romanians, 10.8% Jews, 3.7% Hungarians, 2.2% Germans, 1.2% Romanis, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population was composed of 76.4% Eastern Orthodox, 11.8% Jewish, 5.6% Roman Catholic, 2.0% Greek Catholic, 1.9% Lutheran, 1.1% Reformed, as well as other minorities.


Harju County

Harju County ( or ), (, ) is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in Northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Järva County to the southeast, Rapla County to the south, and Lääne County to the southwest. The capital and largest city of Estonia, Tallinn, is situated in Harju County. Harju County is the largest county in Estonia in terms of population, as almost half (45%) of the Estonia's population lives in Harju County.
History.
Ancient history.
The territory of modern Harju County consists mostly of two ancient Estonian counties: Revala, around what is now Tallinn, and Harjumaa, which was situated south of Revala and presently rests mostly in Rapla County. Lindanise, then a small trading post at the Gulf of Finland, served as the capital of Revala. It eventually grew into the mostly German-populated Hanseatic town of "Reval" and later into the Estonian capital, Tallinn.
Conquest.
In 1219, the Danish King, Valdemar II, landed in Lindanise (Danish: "Lyndanisse") and conquered both Revala and Harju counties, while the inhabitants were forced into Christianity. At the end of the Livonian Crusade (1208–1227 in Estonia), both counties were captured by the Order of the Sword Brothers until given back to Denmark with the Treaty of Stensby in 1238.
The Danes built the Toompea Castle ("Castrum Danorum") on Toompea Hill in Tallinn, which quickly became the biggest settlement in Estonia. In 1248, it was the first settlement in Estonia to receive its town rights, and in 1285 it became the northernmost member of the Hanseatic League.
German dominance led to the St. George's Night Uprising, which broke out in 1343 with the burning of Padise Abbey in modern Padise Parish. The uprising led Denmark to sell its possessions in Northern Estonia to the Livonian Order. In 1561, after the outbreak of the Livonian War, the nobility of North Estonia and the Tallinn Town Council declared loyalty to Sweden. Tallinn and other Swedish-occupied territories gained during warfare were secured by the Treaty of Plyussa.
During the Great Northern War, Harju was one of the few regions in Estonia untouched by warfare for a long time. Nonetheless, Harju County was greatly affected by the 1710-1713 Plague that killed more than eighty percent of the county's population. Russian forces finally arrived in 1710 and laid siege to Tallinn for a month until the Swedish garrison surrendered, thus ending the Great Northern War in Estonia. Russian rule was secured with the Treaty of Nystad in 1721. The plague raged on for several years, eventually leaving several parts of the county completely empty of human habitation.
Russian rule.
Imperial Russian rule started with the construction of naval harbours in Tallinn and Paldiski (Swedish: "Rogerwiek"). Russian Tsar Peter I visited Tallinn at least nine times between 1711 and1723. He personally opened the construction for Tallinn Naval Harbour in 1714 and Paldiski Naval Harbour in 1718.
In 1870, the Paldiski-Tallinn-St. Petersburg Railway was opened, after which several smaller settlements along the line - Paldiski, Keila, Saue, Nõmme, Aruküla, Raasiku, Kehra and Aegviidu (then in Viru County) - started to grow. Several elements of Peter the Great's Naval Fortress were built in Harju County and its headquarters were in Tallinn.
During World War I in 1914, the native population of Naissaar island was expelled from the island and it was turned into a military base. A narrow-gauge railway network was built on the island. Tallinn was the site for the very beginning of the October Revolution when the Estonian Bolshevik Jaan Anvelt took power in Tallinn on 5 November 1917, two days before the Revolution started in Petrograd. On 9 November 1917, the Bolsheviks took power from Governor Jaan Poska. After the coup, refusing to cooperate with the Estonian Soviet Executive Committee, the Estonian Provincial Assembly (Estonian: "Maanõukogu") in Tallinn declared sovereignty from the Russian Empire on 28 November 1917. In December 1917, Russian sailors under the leadership of Stepan Maximovich Petrichenko declared the "Soviet Republic of Soldiers and Fortress-Builders of Naissaar". They were ousted by German forces on 26 February 1918.
Republic of Estonia.
The Republic of Estonia was proclaimed in Tallinn on 24 February 1918 while German occupation followed on the next day. German rule ended with the November Revolution in Germany. During the Estonian War of Independence, Soviet troops were halted only 40 km east of Tallinn by the end of 1918. Tallinn was the site of a failed Communist coup d'état attempt of 1924.
Occupation era.
Soviet occupation.
On 18 September 1939, after both Germany and the Soviet Union had invaded Poland, the Polish submarine ORP Orzeł escaped from internment in Tallinn Harbor during the Orzeł incident. The submarine eventually made her way to the United Kingdom, which led both the Soviet Union and Germany to question Estonia's neutrality. On 24 September 1939, Soviet Navy warships appeared in North Estonian waters and Soviet Air Force bombers patrolled above Tallinn and the nearby countryside.
The Soviet Union demanded that Estonia allow the Soviet military bases and stationed 25,000 troops on Estonian soil for the duration of the European war. On 28 September 1939, the government of Estonia accepted the ultimatum and signed the mutual assistance treaty. Paldiski was made a Soviet Naval Base and its population was expelled from the town. With its new military bases in Northern Estonia, the Soviet Union invaded Finland on 30 November 1939, starting the Winter War. During 1939–1940, most of the Baltic German population from Tallinn and the Harju County countryside fled to Germany ("Umsiedlung").
On 14 June 1940, the Soviet Navy set up a naval blockade in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea and stationed a navy squadron west of Naissaar island near Tallinn. Soviet bombers shot down the passenger airplane "Kaleva" near Keri island, killing all nine on board, which had included foreign diplomats.
On 16 June 1940, the Red Army invaded Estonia and organised a Soviet "coup d'état" in Tallinn. On 21 June 1940, the Independent Signal Battalion in Tallinn showed resistance to the Red Army, until it surrendered and was disarmed on the same day. The Soviet powers organised rigged parliamentary elections and the new parliament declared the Estonian SSR on 21 July 1940, which was annexed by the Soviet Union on 6 August 1940. Most county and municipal leaders were replaced and local assemblies were replaced with Soviets. The native population of Naissaar island was expelled from the island (as in 1914) as the island was turned into a military base. During the 1940–41 Soviet Occupation, thousands were executed, imprisoned, mobilised into the Red Army labour battalions or deported to Siberia on 14 June 1941 (June deportation).
Summer War.
Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 and Finland declared the Continuation War with the Soviet Union on 25 June 1941. As the Soviet Union retreated, its destruction battalions carried out the scorched-earth tactics. The Erna long-range reconnaissance group was sent from Finland to Northern Estonia on 10 July 1941 to perform reconnaissance of the retreating Red Army, but it eventually engaged the destruction battalions near Kautla forest (Battle of Kautla) on 31 July to 1 August 1941, allowing 2,000 civilians to flee.
German forces started its Tallinn Offensive on 19 August 1941, capturing Rapla on 21 August 1941. They reached Tallinn outskirts in Pirita on 24 August 1941 and Harku and Lasnamäe on 26 August 1941. Ordinary citizens were ordered to build defenses around Tallinn. Soviet forces started evacuating by sea on 24 August 1941. Of the 195 ships, that left Tallinn and Paldiski, 55 were sunk by mines near Juminda Peninsula, killing around 15,000 evacuees. Evacuating Soviet forces destroyed much of the infrastructure and industry around Tallinn. German forces captured Paldiski and Tallinn on 28 August 1941, shooting down the Soviet Flag on Tallinn Pikk Hermann Tower. Estonians replaced it with the Flag of Estonia, but it was replaced with the Flag of Germany the next day. German forces were greeted as liberators in Tallinn. It was also the first time since 1219 that Tallinn had been captured following a military engagement.
German occupation.
Northern Estonia was the site of several concentration camps and massacres. In September 1942, up to three thousand foreign Jews and Gypsies were executed at Kalevi-Liiva in Jõelähtme Parish, while the rest were sent to the small Jägala concentration camp nearby, that never had more than 200 prisoners as their lifespan was short. Klooga concentration camp in Keila Parish was mostly evacuated before the Soviet takeover, however, 2,000 prisoners were executed before the German retreat. The Red Army liberated the few survivors on 22 September 1944.
Tallinn was bombed by the Soviet Air Force on 9 and 10 March 1944, killing 757 people and destroying 8,000 buildings (about one-third of the capital). Among others, Harju Street, St. Nicholas' Church, and Estonia Theatre were hit. 36-38 Soviet bombers were shot down during the bombardment.
After the Red Army broke through the Tannenberg Line in Eastern Estonia and crossed the Emajõgi river near Tartu, it launched the Tallinn Offensive on 17 September 1944 when Adolf Hitler had agreed to start abandoning Estonia on 16 September 1944. The National Committee of the Republic of Estonia was formed in Tallinn in March 1944 and the last Prime Minister of Estonia Jüri Uluots organized a new government under Otto Tief on 18 September 1944, captured government offices in Tallinn on 20 September 1944, and put the Estonian flag on top of the Pikk Hermann Tower.
German forces started Operation Aster to evacuate its 50,000 soldiers and 20,000 civilians through Tallinn and Paldiski. On the way, the hospital ship "Moero" was attacked and sunk by the Soviet Air Force, killing 637 of its passengers. The retreating German forces avoided conflict with the Red Army in Tallinn and the invading army saw only little resistance by Estonian units led by Rear Admiral Johan Pitka. The Red Army entered Tallinn on 22 September and Paldiski on 24 September 1944.
Before the Soviet reoccupation in 1944, thousands fled to Sweden across the Baltic Sea, including the entire Estonian Swedish population, who had been settling also on Pakri islands in Harju County.
Second Soviet occupation.
The Forest Brothers resistance movement was considered to be the weakest in Harju County, due to dense population, fewer forests and more Soviet military activity. New deportations followed in 1949. The Soviet era brought development of heavy industry, a massive influx of foreign workers from throughout the Soviet Union and construction of new districts (Maardu, Mustamäe, Väike-Õismäe and Lasnamäe) for Tallinn.
Hotel Viru in Tallinn was built in 1972 as the first modern highrise in Estonia. The 1980 Summer Olympics Sailing events were held in Tallinn. The event also brought major construction, such as the seaside road from Central Tallinn to Pirita, renovation projects in Tallinn Old Town and the iconic highrise Hotel Olümpia and Tallinn TV Tower.
In 1962, Paldiski became a Soviet Navy nuclear submarine training centre and had two land-based nuclear reactors with 16,000 employees. It was a closed town until the last Russian warship left in August 1994. Until then it was the last Russian military base in Estonia. Russia relinquished control of the nuclear reactor facilities in September 1995.
Administrative history.
Formation of the county.
The ancient counties of Harjumaa and Revala were merged into Harju County in 1266. It remained within most of its borders until 1949 (with the exclusion of 1783–1796, when Paldiski County was separated).
Loksa was transferred to Viru County in 1949. The rest of Harju County was replaced with four raions in 1950. Harju Raion around Tallinn gradually absorbed the former areas of Harju County as Loksa Raion was abolished in 1957, Kose Raion in 1959 and Keila Raion in 1962 and most of their territories transferred to Harju Raion. Aegviidu, Aegviidu Village Council and Kohila Village Council were transferred to Harju Raion in 1962. Harju Raion and the remaining Rapla Raion became Harju County and Rapla County in 1990.
Municipal history.
Urban municipalities.
Tallinn was the first settlement in Harju County to receive town rights in 1248. Municipally, it consisted of the "upper town" of Toompea and the "lower town". The two municipalities were merged in 1877. The naval harbour town of Paldiski received its town rights in 1783. Nõmme was given a town status in 1926 and Keila in 1938.
Soviet powers merged Nõmme with Tallinn already in 1940. They also separated Tallinn from Harju County and it became a centrally administered town. The same was applied to Paldiski in 1941. The German occupation of 1941-1944 left only Tallinn separated from Harju County. The Soviet reoccupation brought Paldiski back to central administration. Tallinn was divided into four urban raions in 1945 and it gained several new territories from its surrounding parishes. Aegviidu (then in Järva County), Järvakandi and Kohila (both now in Rapla County) and Kehra were named boroughs. The central administration of Paldiski was abolished in 1950 when Paldiski was merged with Keila Raion. Tallinn absorbed Saue in 1960 and Maardu in 1962 and the latter became a town within the municipality of Tallinn in 1980.
Maardu and Saue were separated from Tallinn in 1991 and Kehra, Loksa and Saue were given town status in 1993. The central administration of Tallinn was abolished and the town was re-transferred into Harju County. Its urban raions were abolished in 1993 and replaced with eight modern districts.
Rural municipalities.
Ancient Estonian counties were divided into parishes (Estonian language: "kihelkond"), that became centered on local churches from the 13th century. Modern municipal parishes (Estonian: "vald") were created in the 19th century. They were created within the old parishes, that were still centered on the local church.
Soviet rule brought major changes in rural municipalities as local village councils were created throughout 1945. The parishes were abolished with the creation of raions in 1950. Naissaar Parish had been abolished and given to the Red Army already in 1940 and Pakri Parish had been abolished and merged with Paldiski in 1947.
Village councils were renamed "parishes" in 1990–1993. Kehra merged into Anija Parish in 2002, Loksa Parish merged into Kuusalu Parish in 2005 and Kõue Parish merged into Kose Parish in 2013.
Geography.
Harju County lies on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. Its shores are dominated by the North-Estonian coastal plain and the North-Estonian Klint separates the plain from Harju plateau in central and southern Harju County. The forested Kõrvemaa area is situated in eastern Harju County and the West-Estonian plain in western Harju County.
Shoreline.
The shoreline is mostly low, but is at some places close to the high North-Estonian Klint. The coastal cliff is the highest in Rannamõisa () and Türisalu () in Harku Parish, and in three points in Paldiski: Pakri Peninsula (), Leetse () and Väike-Pakri island (). There are also several long sand beaches, for example Kakumäe, Stroomi in Pelguranna, Pikakari in Paljassaare and Pirita along the shoreline and Lake Harku in Pikaliiva, all within Tallinn, and Kloogaranna and Kaberneeme in the countryside. The shoreline is also characterized by many peninsulas, such as Pakri, Lohusalu, Suurupi, Kakumäe, Kopli, Paljassaare, Viimsi, Ihasalu, Kaberneeme, Juminda and Pärispea.
Islands.
The shoreline is dotted with several islands, with the largest ones being Naissaar (), Väike-Pakri (), Suur-Pakri (), Prangli (), Aegna () and Rammu (). All of the larger islands and several of the smaller islands have had a considerable historical population. Pakri Islands, Naissaar and Prangli even formed separate municipalities. Their population diminished during Soviet occupation, either gradually or by force. Today, Prangli (73 inhabitants) and Naissaar (three inhabitants) both consist of three villages within Viimsi Parish. Aegna (eight inhabitants) is a subdistrict in Kesklinn (central) district of Tallinn. Pakri islands (six inhabitants) are part of Paldiski. Koipsi and Rammu form uninhabited villages within Jõelähtme Parish.
Lakes and rivers.
The largest lakes in Harju County are Lake Ülemiste () and Lake Harku () in Tallinn and Lake Kahala () in Kuusalu Parish. The largest artificial lake is Paunküla Reservoir () in Kose Parish. The longest rivers are the Keila River ( in total), Pirita River (), Jägala River () and Valgejõgi River (). The two largest permanently active waterfalls in Estonia, Jägala Waterfall () and Keila Waterfall (), are situated on these rivers.
Protected areas.
There are a number of protected areas in Harju County. Lahemaa National Park was the first national park in the Soviet Union, when it was created in 1971. The park was intended for the protection of the natural and cultural heritage of the coastal landscapes of Northern Estonia. There are 21 nature reserves and 25 landscape protection areas, that are at least partly situated in Harju County. The largest is the Põhja-Kõrvemaa Nature Reserve in Kuusalu Parish and Anija Parish.
Transportation.
Highways.
The Harju County highway system is determined by roads leading out from Tallinn.
Rail.
Paldiski-Tallinn-St Petersburg line was opened as the first line in Estonia in 1870. Today, Elron operates both commuter rail in Harju County and inter-city rail from Tallinn. Important lines include Tallinn-Narva/Tartu through Kehra and Aegviidu, Tallinn-Pärnu/Viljandi through Saku and Tallinn-Paldiski through Saue and Keila. Tallinn-Riisipere line used to be extended to Haapsalu. The Rail Baltic Tallinn-Riga-Warsaw line is estimated to be operational in 2024.
Air.
Harju County and Estonia are serviced by Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport, which is open to both domestic and international flights. The Tallinn Linnahall Heliport offers international flights to Helsinki, Finland.
Ports and harbours.
Tallinn Passenger Port or the Old City Harbour served 8.84 million passengers in 2012 on lines to Helsinki, Stockholm and St. Petersburg. Transport to Kelnase Harbour on Prangli Island is provided from Leppneeme Harbour in Viimsi Parish and to Naissaar Island from Tallinn Lennusadam Harbour. Seasonal transport to Aegna Island is provided from Tallinn Kalasadam Harbour.
The biggest cargo port is Muuga Harbour in Maardu and Viimsi Parish. Other large ports include Paldiski North Harbour and Paldiski South Harbour, Miiduranna Harbour in Viimsi Parish and Bekkeri-Meeruse Port, Hundipea Harbour, Lennusadama Harbour, Paljassaare Harbour, Patarei Harbour, Peetri Harbour and Vene-Balti Port in Tallinn.
Media.
The official newspaper of Harju County is "Harju Elu".
County Government.
The County Government () is led by a governor (), who is appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. Since 2009 the Governor position has been held by Ülle Rajasalu.
Harju County received municipal functions on 30 March 1917. Members of the Harju County Council were elected by the delegates of county municipalities and the first meeting was held on 1 July 1917 in Tallinn's Toompea Castle. Johannes Reinthal won the election for the Chair of the Council. The language of the proceedings was decided to be Estonian.
Harju County Government became the Executive Committee of Harju County Soviet in January 1941. The County Government was restored during the German occupation from autumn 1941 until autumn 1944. In 1950, the Executive Committee of Harju County Soviet became the Executive Committee of Harju District Labour Soviet. The Harju County Government was re-formed in 1990.
The Chairs of Harju County Councils, the Heads of County Governments and the County Governors:
Settlements.
Harju County has seven settlements with town status: Tallinn, Maardu, Keila, Saue, Paldiski, Kehra and Loksa. All but Kehra are municipal towns, the latter being part of the parish of Anija Parish since 2002. There are also two boroughs: Kiili and Aegviidu, of which Aegviidu (Aegviidu Parish) is one of the five municipal boroughs of Estonia. There are also 31 small boroughs in Harju County. There are plans to give a town status to Haabneeme in Viimsi Parish and Peetri in Rae Parish.
Municipalities.
Harju County is subdivided into 16 municipalities, of which 4 are urban ( — cities or towns) and 12 are rural ( — parishes).


Laconia

Laconia or Lakonia (, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word "laconic"—to speak in a blunt, concise way—is derived from the name of this region, a reference to the ancient Spartans who were renowned for their verbal austerity and blunt, often pithy remarks.
Geography.
Laconia is bordered by Messenia to the west and Arcadia to the north and is surrounded by the Myrtoan Sea to the east and by the Laconian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It encompasses Cape Malea and Cape Tainaron and a large part of the Mani Peninsula. The Mani Peninsula is in the west region of Laconia. The islands of Kythira and Antikythera lie to the south, but they administratively belong to the Attica regional unit of islands. The island, Elafonisos, situated between the Laconian mainland and Kythira, is part of Laconia.
The Eurotas is the longest river in the prefecture. The valley of the Eurotas is predominantly an agricultural region that contains many citrus groves, olive groves, and pasture lands. It is the location of the largest orange production in the Peloponnese and probably in all of Greece. "Lakonia", a brand of orange juice, is based in Amykles.
The main mountain ranges are the Taygetus in the west and the Parnon in the northeast. Taygetus, known as Pentadaktylos ("five-fingers") throughout the Middle Ages, is west of Sparta and the Eurotas valley. It is the highest mountain in Laconia and the Peloponnese and is mostly covered with pine trees. Two roads join the Messenia and Laconia prefectures: one is a tortuous mountain pass through Taygetus and the other bypasses the mountain via the Mani district to the south.
The stalactite cave, Dirou, a major tourist attraction, is located south of Areopolis in the southwest of Laconia.
Climate.
Laconia has a Mediterranean climate with warm winters and hot summers. Snow is rare on the coast throughout the winter but is very common in the mountains.
History.
Ancient history.
Evidence of Neolithic settlement in southern Laconia has been found during excavations of the Alepotrypa cave site. In ancient Greece, this was the principal region of the Spartan state. For much of classical antiquity the Spartan sphere of influence expanded to Messenia, whose inhabitants (the Helots) were enslaved. Significant archaeological recovery exists at the Vaphio-tomb site in Laconia. Found there is advanced Bronze Age art as well as evidence of cultural associations with the contemporaneous Minoan culture on Crete. Laconia was at war with the Kingdom of Macedonia and saw several battles; at the end of the Mycenaean period, the population of Laconia sharply declined. From the early-2nd century BC until 395 AD, it was a part of the Roman Empire.
Medieval history.
In the medieval period, Laconia formed part of the Byzantine Empire. Following the Fourth Crusade, it was gradually conquered by the Frankish Principality of Achaea. In the 1260s, however, the Byzantines recovered Mystras and other fortresses in the region and managed to evict the Franks from Laconia, which became the nucleus of a new Byzantine province. By the mid-14th century, this evolved into the Despotate of Morea, held by the last Greek ruling dynasty, the Palaiologoi. With the fall of the Despotate to the Ottomans in 1460, Laconia was conquered as well.
Modern history.
With the exception of a 30-year interval of Venetian rule, Laconia remained under Ottoman control until the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence of 1821. Following independence, Sparta was selected as the capital of the modern prefecture, and its economy and agriculture expanded. With the incorporation of the British-ruled Ionian Islands into Greece in 1864, Elafonissos became part of the prefecture. After World War II and the Greek Civil War, its population began to somewhat decline, as people moved from the villages toward the larger cities of Greece and abroad.
In 1992, a devastating fire ruined the finest olive crops in the northern part of the prefecture, and affected the area of Sellasia along with Oinountas and its surrounding areas. Firefighters, helicopters and planes battled for days to put out the horrific fire.
The Mani portion along with Gytheio became famous in Greece for filming episodes of "Vendetta", broadcast on Mega Channel throughout Greece and abroad on Mega Cosmos.
In early 2006, flooding ruined olive and citrus crops as well as properties and villages along the Eurotas river. In the summer 2006, a terrible fire devastated a part of the Mani Peninsula, ruining forests, crops, and numerous villages.
Municipalities of Laconia.
The regional unit, Laconia, is subdivided into five municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox):
Prefecture.
As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, regional unit Laconia was created out of the former prefecture Laconia (). The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.
Provinces.
"Note:" Provinces no longer hold any legal status in Greece.
Population.
The main cities and towns of Laconia are (ranked by 2011 census population):


Gozo

Gozo (, ), known locally as Għawdex () and in antiquity as Gaulos (; ), is an island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago.
As of March 2015, the island has a population of around 37,342 (out of Malta's total 475,000), and its inhabitants are known as Gozitans (). It is rich in historic locations such as the Ġgantija temples, which, along with the other Megalithic Temples of Malta, are among the world's oldest free-standing structures.
The island is rural in character and less developed than the island of Malta. Gozo is known for its scenic hills, which are featured on its coat of arms, The Azure Window, a natural limestone arch, was a remarkable geological feature until its collapse on March 8, 2017. The island has other notable natural features, including the Inland Sea and Wied il-Mielaħ Window. There are few sandy beaches on the island, all small, as well as seaside resorts that are popular with both locals and tourists, the most popular being Marsalforn and Xlendi. Gozo is considered one of the top diving destinations in the Mediterranean and a centre for water sports.
History.
Gozo has been inhabited since 5000 BC, when farmers from nearby Sicily crossed the sea to the island. Due to the discovery of similar pottery found in both places from the Għar Dalam phase, it has been suggested that the first colonists were specifically from the area of Agrigento; however, it is currently unknown exactly where in Sicily the farmers came from. They are thought to have first lived in caves on the outskirts of what is now known as San Lawrenz.
Gozo was an important place for cultural evolution, and during the neolithic period the Ġgantija temples were built; they are among the world's oldest free-standing structures, as well as the world's oldest religious structures. The temple's name is Maltese for "belonging to the giants", because legend in Maltese and Gozitan folklore says the temples were built by giants. Another important Maltese archaeological site in Gozo, which dates back to the neolithic period, is the Xagħra Stone Circle. Also, native tradition and certain ancient Greek historians (notably Euhemerus and Callimachus) maintain that Gozo is the island Homer described as Ogygia, home of the nymph Calypso. Diodorus Siculus writes that the island had many well harbors.
Gozo was occupied by the Carthaginians, who built a temple to Astarte on the islands. It was probably annexed by Rome around 218BC and minted its own bronze coins in the 1st centuryBC. These feature Astarte's head with a crescent obverse and a warrior, a star, and the legend "Gaulitōn" () reverse.
In July 1551 Ottomans under Sinan Pasha and Dragut invaded and ravaged Gozo and enslaved most of its inhabitants, about 5,000, bringing them to Tarhuna Wa Msalata in Libya, their departure port in Gozo was Mġarr ix-Xini. The island of Gozo was repopulated between 1565 and 1580 by people from mainland Malta, undertaken by the Knights of Malta.
The history of Gozo is strongly coupled with the history of Malta, since Gozo has been governed by Malta throughout history, with the brief exception of a short period of autonomy following the uprising against the French forces after Napoleon's conquest of Malta, between 28 October 1798 and 20 August 1801.
The Gozo Civic Council was set up as a statutory local government in the island of Gozo on 14 April 1961, the first experiment in civil local government in Malta since the French occupation of 1798–1800. The law authorised the Council to raise taxes, although it never actually made use of this power. In 1971 the Malta Labour Party was voted into office. As its support in Gozo was weak and it favoured a more centralised administration, it proposed a referendum on the abolition of the Council, putting emphasis on the unpopular possibility of its raising taxes. In the Gozo Civic Council referendum, 1973, the overwhelming majority of voters (76.97%) voted for the abolition of the Gozo Civic Council.
In the mid-1980s attempts were made to set up a Gozo committee, chaired by the prime minister and with the Gozitan members of Parliament as members. However, it was only in 1987 that the Ministry of Gozo was set up (demoted to a parliamentary secretariat between 1996 and 1998). Local government in the Gozitan localities was restored with the introduction of local councils in 1993 with Gozo having 14 councils.
Religion.
The island has its own Latin bishopric, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gozo, the only suffragan of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Malta.
Gozo contains a large number of Catholic churches. The Rotunda of Xewkija, in the village of Xewkija, has a capacity of 3,000, enough for the entire population of Xewkija village; its dome is larger than that of St Paul's Cathedral in London. The church bells are rung daily for the canonical hours Matins, Lauds, Terce, Sext, None and vespers.
The most famous church on the island is the sanctuary of Ta' Pinu, near the village of Għarb, in the west of Gozo.
Connection between Malta and Gozo.
The islands have historically been connected by air and sea links. However, a helicopter service which connected the two ceased operations in 2006.
By ferry.
Visitors can currently reach the island by ferry. There are regular crossings between the port of Mġarr on Gozo and Ċirkewwa on the north-west coast of Malta. The Gozo Channel Line makes the trip every 45 minutes during the summer and almost as often in the winter. A return journey costs €4.65 and takes around 25 minutes each way. The service is used by tourists and commuters (including Gozitan students who are studying at the University of Malta), and is also used to transport goods between the islands. Each year, the route is used by around 1.1 million cars, and many more foot passengers. On arrival at Mġarr, visitors can take one of the 'Hop On Hop Off' buses, which depart from outside the ferry terminal and operate on a timetable synchronized to the ferry timetables. Public buses, taxis and hire cars are also available.
Proposed links.
Tunnel.
Several proposals have been made to construct a road link between Malta and Gozo. In 1972 the newly elected Labour Party administration carried out a feasibility study that concluded building a bridge between the two islands was possible, but would have negative environmental effects. A tunnel was also considered, but found to be too expensive at the time. An online poll by "The Times of Malta" in 2006 found that 55% of respondents supported a road link.
In June 2013 a "mega Chinese state-owned company [China Communications Construction Corporation Limited] will finance a €4 million study to assess the feasibility of a bridge between Malta and Gozo." "Depending on the feasibility of the tunnel and bridge projects, popular consultation will take place giving particular weight to what Gozitans have to say." "Gozo Minister Anton Refalo alluded to the possibility of calling a referendum to determine whether Gozitans prefer a tunnel or a bridge to connect Malta and Gozo"
The study found out that the bridge would take four years to build and construction would cost €1 billion. Apart from this, operation and maintenance costs are estimated to cost up to €4 million every year — China Communications Construction Corporation Limited is proposing to build the bridge by 2020.
The idea of building a bridge is opposed by environmentalists and NGOs such as Din l-Art Ħelwa and Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar.
An 11-km underground Sub seabed tunnel has been proposed in a report on the viability of a Gozo-Malta tunnel link by the Gozo Business Chamber (GBC) together with Transport Malta (TM). The Gozo Business Chamber is organising a Presentation by economist Gordon Cordina, of the detailed report about the feasibility of a ‘Gozo – Malta Subsea Tunnel. In 2015, members from the GBC together with representatives from TM also visited Norway, where they spoke with experts, and toured several underwater tunnels.
In December 2015, a group of students joined forces to create 'Front Favur il-Mina' to support permanent connectivity, tunnel project between Malta and its sister island. Several Members of Parliament endorsed the group. A catamaran service (fast ferry) to Gozo, ferry trips from Grand Harbour and ultimately a tunnel linking Malta with the sister island are the main proposals pushed forward by the pressure group. Addressing a conference in Gozo organised by the pro-tunnel movement, Muscat said the government intends to move forward with a project linking the two islands. Furthermore, opposition leader Simon Busuttil confirmed during the same conference, that the PN is in favour of the project and willing to cooperate with the government.
The University of Malta carried out geological and geophysical investigations in connection with a proposed sub-sea tunnel between Malta and Gozo following an agreement with Transport Malta. Scientific investigations included both desktop and field studies, passive seismic measurements, bathymetric mapping, and a seismic study. The University of Malta conducted a marine baseline study which incorporated a geological model of topography, stratigraphy, structure, geological, geophysical and tectonic properties of the study area. During this phase of the study, scientists deployed a 300-metre-long cable with a series of specialised receptors. An ‘air gun’ released bursts of compressed air every few metres. The compressed air was reflected to the receptors. Different geological layers reflect different frequencies. Scientists can thus determine the geological formations that lie beneath the surface and determine possible cracks. Following such tests, more tests will be carried out; these will consist in the drilling of a series of boreholes, up to 200 metres below the sea bed, to determine the rock strata below the surface.
Catamaran.
"Expressions of interest have been issued for a fast catamaran service between Gozo and Valletta as well as between Gozo and Sicily." In June 2013, the services would be aimed for use by both tourists and Maltese and would involve public service obligations.
Air.
An airstrip for fixed-wing aircraft on Gozo was proposed in the 1990s, but rejected for environmental reasons.
In June 2013: "The government intends to issue a call for expressions of interest for the operation of a scheduled air service between Malta and Gozo."
Getting around.
On foot.
Many of the distances within villages are negligible and some of the roads are fairly quiet and pleasant to walk along. However there is often heavy traffic in the capital, Victoria and between Victoria and the Malta ferry. There is also a footpath network, though the paths require good shoes and a good map (they are not always clearly marked on the ground). There are longer distances if travelling between different villages, ranging from from one village to the next.
By public bus.
Though Arriva ceased to operate in Gozo and Malta, in January 2014, their old vehicles are still being utilised and most routes remain the same, although there have been some amendments and additions. The most noticeable change at the moment is that the discrepancy between resident and non-resident fares has been abolished with all passengers now paying €2 for a 2-hour ticket in summer and €1.50 for the same ticket in winter, although other fares apply for the Tallinja Card holders.
Other.
A hop-on hop-off bus service operates in Gozo. The open top bus tour of Gozo starts from the harbour of Mġarr and there are stops located along the route. In Gozo, there are 2 providers, City Sightseeing Gozo and Gozo Sightseeing.
Demographics.
In 2005, the island had a population of 31,053, of whom 6,414 lived in its capital Victoria. As of 2017, the population has increased to 32,723.
Geography.
Gozo is famed for its character and places of interest. Some of these include the Calypso's Cave (from Homer's Odyssey, where the island is called Ogygia) and the Ġgantija Neolithic temples which are among the oldest surviving man-made structures.
Gozo covers , approximately the same area as New York City's Manhattan island. It lies approximately northwest of the nearest point of Malta, is of oval form, and is long and wide.
Notable beaches in Gozo include San Blas and the beach at Ramla Bay.
Culture and traditions.
Gozo is known for Nadur carnival. Feasts are important traditions on the island and are held in honour of the patron saint of each village. The celebrations include religious ceremonies, fireworks and live band music, some feature horse racing, concerts, and a greasy pole competition over the water.
Local feast allow time for Gozitans people to meet. In the village of Nadur many locals dress up in colourful and outrageous carnival costumes, with the intention of not being recognised.
Some of Maltese dishes or variants of these dishes are associated with Gozo. Gozo is particularly known for its local cheeselet, "ġbejna t'Għawdex".
Gozo has two opera houses. Astra and Aurora are owned by rival band clubs that both trace their founding to 1863. For over a century they have been one-upping each other in everything from musical performances to feast-day celebrations. Once, when Aurora heard rumors that Astra planned to bring a horse onstage during a performance of "Aida", the competing house—which was presenting its own "Aida"—secretly cast "two" horses. Some locals on the island compare the rivalry to an arms race.
Wildlife.
During the Summer months on Gozo you will often see the Maltese Wall Lizard. The wall lizard of Malta was originally thought to be a variety of the Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis) of mainland Europe. For example, the naturalist Andrew Leith Adams writing in 1870 reported "the common lizard (Podarcis mura/is)" as occurring on the Islands. In 1876, Dr. J. Bedriaga named this Maltese variety filjolensis since the animals he studied came from the islet of Filfla.Later studies, however, showed that the lizards of the Maltese Islands were actually quite different from the Common Wall Lizard or any other species in the region and therefore Bedriaga's filjolensis became established as a distinct species whose full modern name is Podarcis filjolensis - the Maltese Wall Lizard.
Sport.
The island of Gozo also has its own national football team. Because it is a part of Malta and not a state on its own this team isn't official and thereby is on the N.F.-Board. Gozo F.C. used to represent Gozo in the Maltese League, while a Gozo Football League is also maintained. Football on the island is managed by the Gozo Football Association.
In Gozo one can also find a rugby club. The Gozo Rugby Club opened it doors in 2011 and nowadays competes in the Malta Rugby Football Union and Malta Rugby League competition.
Education.
The Malta campus of Queen Mary University of London is based in Gozo. It is designated an undergraduate medical school, with the same curriculum taught as the main UK campus.
Films.
Gozo was used to depict "Resolution Island" in the 1953 film "Single-Handed", based on C. S. Forester's book "Brown on Resolution". For much of the film, the German raider "Essen" (depicted by ) is holed up in the semi-circular Dwejra Bay, behind Fungus Rock on the west coast of Gozo, and there are several scenes set among the desolate limestone cliffs above the bay as Able Seaman Brown single-handedly detains the German ship until her pursuers can catch up with her.
In 1969, Anthony Newley directed the beach scenes of his flawed "Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?" starring Joan Collins at Ir-Ramla Bay.
In 1978, Kevin Connor's film "Warlords of Atlantis" starring Doug McClure was shot in Marsalforn Bay.
Two days of shooting in Gozo's strong Mediterranean light provided shots used to represent the desolate surface of the alien planet in the 1981 British horror film "Inseminoid".
In 1981, parts of Episode 7 from "Brideshead Revisited" were filmed on the island, particularly in the village of Kercem, to depict Fez in Morocco.
Gozo was the location for Calypso's island in the 1997 Hallmark miniseries "The Odyssey" based on Homer's epic poem.
Dwejra was one of several filming locations in the Maltese islands used for the 2011 HBO TV series "Game of Thrones".
The film titled "By the Sea", starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt was partially filmed at Mġarr ix-Xini from August to November 2014.
Local councils.
The following is a list of local councils in Gozo:
Notable features.
The following is a list of notable features in Gozo:


Province of Verona

The Province of Verona () is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. The eastern bank of Lake Garda is near the province. Its capital is the city of Verona. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The province is cosmopolitan in nature. It is bordered by Italian Tyrol in the north, Province of Vicenza and Province of Padua in the east. Province of Rovigo and Province of Mantua in south and Lake Garda in the west. From north to south the maximum extent of the province is 50 miles while it is 25 miles from east to west.
Overview.
The province has an area of and a total population of about 0.9 million. There are 98 "comuni" (singular: "comune") in the province. Important "comuni" include Bovolone, Bonavigo, Bussolengo, Cerea, Isola della Scala, Legnago, Negrar, Peschiera del Garda, San Bonifacio, San Giovanni Lupatoto, San Martino Buon Albergo, Soave, Sona, Valeggio sul Mincio and Villafranca di Verona.
William Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet" takes place in Verona, as do some scenes in his play "The Two Gentlemen of Verona". Verona attracts many tourists, and the Casa di Giulietta (Juliet Capulet's villa in the play) is an important local visitor attraction.
Due to its historic importance, the province boasts a large number of castles, towers, hermitages, monasteries, sanctuaries, and old Romanesque parishes. A regional park is located in Lessinia. Valpolicella is popular for its wines which are made from indigenous techniques. Europe's biggest natural bridge-Ponte di Veja is located in the province. The northern part of the province is mostly hilly, with several rivers, including Tartaro, Caslagnaro and Adige.


County Kilkenny

County Kilkenny () is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the county. As of the 2016 census the population of the county was 99,232. The county was based on the historic Gaelic kingdom of Ossory ("Osraighe"), which was co-terminus with the Diocese of Ossory.
Geography and political subdivisions.
Kilkenny is the 16th-largest of Ireland's 32 counties by area, and the 21st largest in terms of population. It is the third-largest of Leinster's 12 counties in size, the seventh-largest in terms of population, and has a population density of 48 people per km2. Kilkenny borders five counties - Tipperary to the west, Waterford to the south, Carlow and Wexford to the east, and Laois to the north. Kilkenny city is the county's seat of local government and largest settlement, and is situated on the River Nore in the centre of the county. Kilkenny city is approximately from Waterford, from Dublin and from Cork.
Physical geography.
The River Nore flows through the county and the River Suir forms the border with County Waterford. Brandon Hill is the highest point with an elevation of . Most of the county has a hilly surface of moderate elevation with uplands in the north-east, the north-west and the South of the county; the middle is lower by comparison.
The county is located at and has an area of . The county extends from 52 degrees 14 minutes to 52 degrees 52 minutes north latitude, and from 6 degrees 56 minutes to 7 degrees 37 minutes west longitude. The north–south length of the county is ; and its greatest breadth from east to west, is about and its narrowest part is about from where it widens irregularly towards the north.
Kilkenny extends southward from Laois to the valley of the Suir and eastward from the Munster–Leinster border to the River Barrow. The River Nore bisects the county and the River Barrow and River Suir are natural boundaries to the east and south of the county. County Kilkenny is bordered by Laois, Carlow, Wexford, Waterford and Tipperary.
Rivers.
The main rivers in County Kilkenny, called the Three Sisters, are the Nore, Barrow and Suir. The River Nore bisects the county and flows through Ballyragget, Kilkenny City and the villages of Bennettsbridge, Thomastown and Inistioge. The River Suir forms the border between County Waterford and County Kilkenny. River Barrow forms a boundary to the east of the county.
Although County Kilkenny lies inland it has access to the sea via Belview Port, Port of Waterford, on the Suir Estuary and via New Ross on the River Barrow. On the River Barrow, from the villages of Goresbridge and Graiguenamanagh, there is a navigable river with traditional barges to the River Shannon or to Dublin Bay. Kilkenny's river network helps drain the land giving the county a highly fertile lower central plain.
Kings River and the Dinan are used for canoeing and kayaking as they contain stretches of peaceful waterways and a number of weirs and rapids. The wide and meandering Rivers Nore and Barrow are used for angling, boating and water sports.
Protected areas.
Special Areas of Conservation, under the European Union Habitats Directive, in County Kilkenny includes Hugginstown Fen south-west of Ballyhale, The Loughans near Urlingford, Cullahill Mountain on the Castlecomer Plateau near Johnstown, Spahill and Clomantagh Hill which form part of an escarpment which links the Slieveardagh Hills with the Castlecomer Plateau, Galmoy Fen north of Johnstown, Lower River Suir south of Thurles, the freshwater stretches of the Barrow/River Nore and Thomastown Quarry, near Thomastown.
In 2005 Coan Bogs was defined as a "Natural Heritage Area" under section 18 of the Wildlife Act 2000. The blanket bog consists of two small areas of upland blanket bog located near Castlecomer in the townlands of Coan East and Smithstown. Bedrock geology for both areas is shale overlain locally by glacial till and blanket bog vegetation is well developed.
Fiddown Island is a 62.6 ha state-owned "Nature Reserve" established in 1988. Near Fiddown along the River Suir it consists of a long narrow island of marsh/woodland covered in willow scrub and bordered by reed swamps - it is the only known site of its type in Ireland.
Wildlife.
The wildlife of County Kilkenny is part of the county's biodiversity and is an environmental, economic, amenity and resource.
Fauna of County Kilkenny includes hedgehogs, otters, badgers, red foxes, and bats such as Leisler's bat, Daubenton's bat, the brown long-eared bat and the common pipistrelle. There is also sika deer, fallow deer, stoat, red squirrel and pygmy shrew. The bird nesting period is from 1 March until 1 September. Woodlands, trees and hedgerows form a network of habitats, ecological 'corridors' essential for wildlife to flourish and move between habitats.
Flora of County Kilkenny includes the endangered autumn crocus, also rare species such as the bog orchid, the Killarney fern and the tufted salt-marsh grass. There are also vulnerable species like lesser snapdragon, meadow barley, small-white orchid, opposite-leaved pondweed, betony, red hemp nettle, narrow-leaved helleborine, lanceolate spleenwort, annual knawel and basil thyme.
Woodlands.
Surveys of woodlands of County Kilkenny include "A Woodland Survey of Kilkenny", undertaken in 1997 to identify woodlands in the county and "A survey of broadleaved woodlands in three special Areas of Conservation, Barrow-Nore, River Unshin and Lough Forbes (2000)" which covers some of County Kilkenny, and "National Survey of Native Woodlands (NSNW) 2003-2008" which was one of the largest ecological surveys to be completed in Ireland and did its fieldwork in the county in 2003.
Estimates of the woodlands in County Kilkenny include the "Forest Inventory Planning System (1998)" which estimated Kilkenny had 2251 ha of mixed woodland and broadleaf woodland not dominated by beech, representing 1.09% of the county and the "National Forest Inventory 2004 and 2006" which estimated that 4430 ha of the county is native forested land, Scots pine was regarded as non-native, representing 2.15% of the county.
The best quality sites in the county in terms of their conservation value include Kylecorragh Wood (SAC) along the River Nore, Grenan Wood (SAC), Knockadrina, Garryricken North (NHA/SNR), Ballytobin/Ballaghtobin, Brownstown Wood (NHA/SAC), Kyleadohir Wood (NHA/SNR), Brown's Wood, Thomastown, Ballykeeffe Wood, Cullentragh, Rossenarra, Newrath and Garryricken South. The most threatened forested area in the county is Greatwood.
The main governmental organisations responsible for ensuring the development of forestry within Kilkenny are the National Parks and Wildlife Service (Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government) and the Forest Service (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine). There are legislative measures which recognise the importance of trees woodlands and hedgerows and provide for their protection including the "Forestry Act (1946)" and "Wildlife (Amendment) Act (2000)". These stop trees being cut down unless a notice of intention is given and prohibit the cutting of hedges within the bird nesting period. The main threats come mainly from invasive species, heavy grazing and damaging activities such as non-native planting, native felling and dumping. There are instances of felling (both legal and illegal) of ash trees for the production of hurleys.
There are around 180 significant trees in County Kilkenny included in the Tree Register of Ireland, compiled by the Tree Council of Ireland, based on characteristics such as age, height, diameter, historical or folklore connections. The tallest tree in Kilkenny is a silver fir of 5.39 x 43m located at Woodstock Gardens in Inistioge and the tree with the largest girth is a common lime of 9.01 x 27m located at Coolmore House in Thomastown. At present there under the "Planning and Development Act (2000)" there are 4 Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) in County Kilkenny for the protection of trees, groups of trees and woods of amenity value. These include Oldcourt in Inistioge, Keatingstown, Barna in Freshford, Sawney's Wood in Castlecomer and the Castle Gardens in Kilkenny City.
Important trees in county Kilkenny include two cedars of Lebanon at "Kildalton Agricultural College" in Piltown, a Monterey cypress, beech, silver fir and two coastal redwood at Woodstock Gardens in Inistioge. In Thomastown there is a common lime at "Coolmore House", an English/common oak at "Stoneen Kilfawe", an English/common oak at Mount Juilliet Estate and a Wellingtonia, giant sequoia, Monterey cypress, sweet/Spanish chestnut and a holm oak/evergreen oak at "Kilfane Glebe". There is also a Turkey oak at "Threecastles House" in Kilkenny, an ash and two English/common oak at "Ballytobin House" in Callan, a common lime, Wellingtonia giant sequoia and two Monterey cypress at Shankill Castle in Paulstown, an English/common oak at "Ballykeefe House" in Kilmanagh, an English/common oak at Fanningstown House in Owning and a beech at "Castlecomer Golf Club" in Castlecomer.
Climate.
The climate of County Kilkenny, like the climate of Ireland, is a changeable oceanic climate with few extremes. It is defined as a temperate oceanic climate, or "Cfb" on the Köppen climate classification system. Kilkenny lies in plant Hardiness zone
9. Weatherwise, the county is generally representative of wide river valleys in the region with low temperatures on cloudless nights, and is significant in that it records some of the highest summer and lowest winter temperatures in Ireland. The highest air temperature ever recorded in Ireland was , at Kilkenny Castle on 26 June 1887.
The Met Éireann Kilkenny Weather Observing Station, 2 km north-west of Kilkenny City centre, on the Duningstown Road, opened in May 1957, and observations ceased in April 2008. A climatological station is currently in operation within 1 km of the old site, and as of March 2010, was providing live weather data to the general public and climate data to Met Éireann.
The maximum temperature recorded at the Met Station was on 2 August 1995. Extremes recorded at the station include the highest air temperature of on 29 June 1976, the lowest air temperature of on 2 January 1979 and the lowest ground temperature of on 12 January 1982. The maximum daily sunshine was 16.3 hours on 18 June 1978. The warmest and sunniest month on record in Kilkenny was August 1995 with a total of 274.9 hours sunshine and very high temperatures throughout. The maximum daily sunshine was 16.3 hours on 18 June 1978. The overall trend in temperatures has been on the rise with a marked increase from 1988 onwards. Annual temperatures are running over 0.5 degrees above 20th-century levels.
The maximum daily rainfall recorded at Kilkenny station was on 17 July 1983. The late 1950s and early 1960s were wet but rainfall had been steady throughout the century. 2002 was a very wet year and since 2005 annual rainfall has been increased steadily, with 2009 being the wettest year since records commenced in 1958. At the centre of the county, Kilkenny is in a sheltered location, over 60 km inland and is surrounded by hills over 200m, which ensures that it is not a windy location. The highest wind gust of 77 knots, from a south-west direction, was recorded on 12 January 1974.
Geology.
The geology of Kilkenny includes the Kiltorcan Formation which is early Carboniferous in age. The Formation is located around Kiltoncan Hill near Ballyhale in the Callan and Knocktopher areas. It forms the uppermost part of the Old Red Sandstone and is the distinctive Upper Devonian–Lower Carboniferous unit in southern Ireland. It contains non-red lithologies, green mudstones, siltstones, fine sandstones and yellow sandstones. There is a fossil assemblage containing Cyclostigma and Archaeopteris and Archaeopteris hibernica.
Most of the county is principally limestone of the upper and lower group, corresponding with the rest of Ireland. A large area in the north and east contains beds of coal, surrounded by limestone strata, alternated with shale, argillaceous ironstone, and sandstone. This occurs eastward of the Nore around Castlecomer, along the border with Laois. It is generally accompanied by culm, which was used extensively for burning lime.
The natural environment and resources of County Kilkenny includes its rivers, wildlife (mammals, birds, plants), woodlands, hedgerows, and diverse landscapes and geological features. The main land use is grassland, dairy farming and tillage farming especially around Kilkenny City and in the fertile central plain of the Nore Valley. Conifer forests are found on the upland areas.
Habitats of international and national importance, are designated under European Union and national legislation. The four categories of designated site in effect in County Kilkenny are Special Areas of Conservation, Natural Heritage Areas, Statutory Nature Reserves and Wildfowl Sanctuaries. The 2008-2014 county development plan recorded 36 designated natural heritage sites of international and national importance in County Kilkenny, covering approximately 4.5% of the county.
Mountains and hills.
County Kilkenny is comparably low compared to other mountain ranges in Ireland with the highest peak being Brandon Hill (), at above sea level. The majority of rest of the county is hilly except for the centre of the county, just south of the city of Kilkenny, which is comparably lower than the rest of the county. There are highlands in the North-East, the North-West and in the South of the county.
In the north of the county the uplands of the Castlecomer district, the Castlecomer Plateau includes the Culla Hills to the west of the Nore Valley with Castlecomer Hills and Slieve Marcy to the east. These hills are divided by the valley of the Dinan river which joins the Nore from the east. The highest point of the Castlecomer Hills is , and located North-West of the town of Castlecomer and near the border with Laois. The highest point of the Culla Hills is in Laois at , but its undulating slopes spread over a considerable area of Kilkenny in the north-westerly area.
In the west of the county the Slieveardagh Hills and Booley Hills extend westwards to County Tipperary. The highest point in the Slieveardagh Hills is Knocknamuck at . The Booley Mountains partly divide from Tory Hill to the valley of the Kilmacow River which flows into the Suir.
In the south of the county is Brandon Hill, at and is near the Barrow and Graiguenamanagh. The area enclosed between the rivers Nore and Barrow towards their point of joining is elevated. Along the west of the Barrow and Nore is mostly covered by hills of nearly equal elevation except along the left bank of the river Suir. Here there is a rich area of land between the river and the hills.
Baronies.
The county is subdivided into twelve baronies which are in turn divided into civil parishes and townlands. There are about 800 townlands in Kilkenny. Each barony was made up of a number of parishes or parts of parishes. Both civil parishes and baronies are now largely obsolete (except for purposes such as legal transactions involving land) and are no longer used for local government purposes.
Civil parishes and townlands.
For religious administration, the county was divided into parishes. Every parish had at least one church. The barony boundaries and the parish boundaries were not connected.
From the 17th to mid-19th centuries, civil parishes were based on early Christian and medieval monastic and church settlements. The civil parishes are divided into townlands (See List of townlands in County Kilkenny). As the population grew, new parishes were created and the civil parish covered the same area as the established Church of Ireland. The Roman Catholic Church adapted to a new structure based on towns and villages. There 2,508 civil parishes in Ireland, which often break both barony and county boundaries.
Local government and politics.
Local Government.
Local government in County Kilkenny is governed by the "Local Government Acts", the most recent of which (Local Government Reform Act 2014) established a unitary structure of local government. This single-tier structure consists of Kilkenny County Council. Until 2014, the second tier of local government consisted of Kilkenny Borough Council which was a town council. The city of Kilkenny was allowed to use the title of "Borough Council" instead of "Town Council", but Kilkenny Borough Council had no additional responsibilities. Since the enactment of the aforementioned Act on 1 June 2014, which abolished the borough, the county council is solely responsible for local services.
For the purposes of local government, Kilkenny is divided into 4 local electoral areas - Callan–Thomastown (6), Castlecomer (6), Kilkenny city (7) and Piltown (5) - which return a total of 24 elected members to Kilkenny County Council. The 2019 Kilkenny local elections had a voter turnout of 53%, a decrease of 4.1% on the 2014 election. The highest turnout was in Callan–Thomastown (56.4%) and the lowest was in Kilkenny city (50.4%).
In the 2019 local elections, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael emerged as the two dominant parties, holding 20 of the 24 seats between them. The Labour Party hold 2 seats, the Green Party hold 1 seat, and there is 1 independent. Sinn Féin, which had held 3 seats, failed to gain a seat in the 2019 election. Council elections are held every 5 years, with the next election due to be held in May 2024.
National Elections.
For elections to Dáil Éireann, Kilkenny is part of the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency which returns 5 TDs. The present form of the constituency was created for the 1948 general election. Kilkenny has been represented through several parliamentary constituencies in the past. From 1918 to 1921 Kilkenny was part of the North Kilkenny United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. In 1921 the Carlow–Kilkenny Dáil constituency was created and has stayed apart from between 1937 and 1948 when there was just a Kilkenny constituency.
European Elections.
For statistical purposes at European level, the county is part of the South-East Region - a NUTS III entity - which is in turn part of the level II NUTS entity - Southern. The county is located within the South constituency for elections to the European Parliament. The constituency has 5 seats and comprises the South-East, South-West and Mid-West regions of Ireland.
As the county is part of the South-East Region, some county councillors are also representatives on the Southern Regional Assembly.
History.
County Kilkenny takes its name from the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny is the anglicised version of the Irish "Cill Chainnigh", meaning "Church (Cell) of Cainneach or Canice". This probably relates to the church and round tower, now St. Canice's Cathedral, which was built in honour of St. Canice.
The Kingdom of Osraige was one of the ancient Kingdoms of Ireland. The Kings of Osraige, the Mac Giolla Phádraig family, reigned over Osraige and Cill Chainnigh was their stronghold. The Kingdom of Ossory existed from at least the 2nd century until the 13th century AD. The current ecclesiastical dioceses of that area is still known as Ossory. The medieval Diocese of Ossory and was established in 549 AD, and its territory corresponded to the medieval Kingdom of Ossory. In historic times, Kilkenny replaced Aghaboe as the chief church in Osraige.
The kingdom was bounded by two of the Three Sisters the rivers Barrow and Suir and the northern limit was, generally, the Slieve Bloom Mountains. The Osraige —their name means people of the deer— inhabited much of modern County Kilkenny and parts of neighbouring County Laois. To the west and south, Osraige was bounded by the River Suir, to the east the watershed of the River Barrow marked the boundary with Leinster, and to the north it extended into and beyond the Slieve Bloom Mountains. The River Nore ran through the Kingdom.
Osraige formed the easternmost part of the kingdom and province of Munster until the middle of the 9th century, after which it was attached to Leinster. Osraige was largely a buffer state between Leinster and Munster. Its most significant neighbours were the Loígsi, Uí Cheinnselaig and Uí Baircche of Leinster to the north and east and the Déisi Muman, Eóganacht Chaisil and Éile of Munster to the south and west.
The name Osraige is said to be from the Usdaie, a Celtic tribe that Ptolemy's map of Ireland places in roughly the same area that Osraige would later occupy. The territory indicated by Ptolemy probably included the major late Iron Age hill-fort at Freestone Hill which produced some Roman finds. Also the interesting burial at Stoneyford which is of typical Roman type and probably dates to the 1st century AD. The Osraighe themselves claimed to be descended from the Érainn people. Others propose that the Ivernic groups included the Osraige of the Kingdom of Osraige/Ossory. The Brigantes were the only Celtic tribe to have a presence in both England and Ireland, in the latter of which they could be found around Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford.
Pope Adrian IV gave Norman King Henry II of England permission to claim Ireland 1154. The Cisternians came to Jerpoint and Kilkenny around 1155/60. Jerpoint Abbey is founded by Donal MacGiollaPhadruig, King of Ossory 1158. In 1168, Dermot MacMurrough the King of Leinster was driven out of his kingdom by Rory O'Connor the High King of Ireland with the help of Tiernan O'Rourke. MacMurrough looked for help from Henry II and got help from a Cambro-Norman lord notable Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, known to history as Strongbow. MacMurrough secured the services of Richard, promising him the hand of his daughter Aoife of Leinster and the succession to Leinster. Richard and other Marcher barons and knights by King Henry assembled an army. The army, under Raymond le Gros, took Wexford, Waterford and Dublin in 1169 and 1170, and Strongbow joined them in August 1170. The day after the capture of Waterford, he married MacMorrough's daughter, Aoife.
The Lordship of Ireland was a lordship created in the wake of the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169–71. Kilkenny formed part of the lordship of Leinster. Strongbow became Lord of Leinster in 1171.
Following the Norman invasion, the island of Ireland was divided into thirty-two counties. The Republic of Ireland today is made up of twenty-six of the traditional thirty-two counties with the other six forming Northern Ireland. Two former counties in the Republic have been subdivided, giving a modern total of twenty-nine counties for administrative purposes rather than twenty-six.
Places of interest.
Architecture.
The architecture of County Kilkenny contains features from all eras since the Stone Age including Norman and Anglo-Irish castles, Georgian urban buildings, towns and villages with unique architectures, palladian and rococo country houses, Gothic and neo-Gothic cathedrals and buildings. In the late 20th century a new economic climate resulted in a renaissance of culture and design, with some at the cutting edge of modern architecture. County Kilkenny contains varied architecture including passage graves, ringforts, Irish round towers, castles, churches and cathedrals, abbeys and priories, bridges and roads, and townhouses of varying style.
Early architecture.
Evidence of Neolithic settlement can be found throughout the county. There are great burial mounds including the portal tombs and dolmens at Owning, Kilmogue-Harristown and Borrismore. There are passage graves at Clomantagh Hill and Knockroe. There were non-megalith single-grave burial tombs, Linkardstown-type Cists, excavated at Jerpoint West. These are late Neolithic and before the single-grave rite of the Bronze Age. A Neolithic house was identified in Granny near Waterford, making it the oldest house in County Kilkenny. The square house consisted of slot-trenches, internal floor surfaces, a hearth and wooden posts at each corner, one of the post-holes was radiocarbon-dated to 3997-3728 BC. A new form of early Neolithic pottery with a lip around the inside of the rim were found. This Granny pottery is similar to pottery found in the south-east of England.
Ogham stones are found throughout County Kilkenny. The Gowran Ogham Stone which is on display in St. Mary's Collegiate Church Gowran is an example of a Christianised ogham stone. The ogham lettering is from the 3rd or 4th century. The Christian cross was carved c. 6th century following St. Patrck's arrival in Ireland in 432 AD. The ogham stone was found on the site during the rebuilding of the chancel in 1826. The Gowran Ogham Stone has survived to the present day due to the fact that it was used as a building stone in another part of the church and lay undisturbed for centuries.
Passage graves consisted of a central burial chamber, with a long passageway to the entrance. Knockroe contains a passage tomb which is protected by listing order. From some time beginning around the Iron Age, Ireland has thousands of ringforts, or "raths". Carigeen, Danesfort, Dunbell big and Tullaroan all contain ring forts protected by preservation order.
The round stone tower is one feature of "early historic architecture" not usually found outside Ireland with only three in Scotland and one on the Isle of Man. The tower at St Canice's Cathedral in Kilkenny City is a good example. Other round towers are situated around the county such as Tullaherin round tower, one near Bennettsbridge, Kells, Johnstown, and Aghaviller near Knocktopher.
Castles.
Kilkenny Castle is a castle in Kilkenny. It was the seat of the Butler family. Formerly the family name was FitzWalter. The castle was sold to the local Castle Restoration Committee in the middle of the 20th century for £50. Shortly afterwards it was handed over to the State, and has since been refurbished and is open to visitors. Part of the National Art Gallery is on display in the castle. There are ornamental gardens on the town side of the castle, and extensive land and gardens to the front. It has become one of the most visited tourist sites in Ireland.
Foulksrath Castle is a 15th-century Anglo-Norman tower house located in Jenkinstown in County Kilkenny. It was built by the Purcell clan, who also constructed several others nearby. After over three centuries as owners, the family was reduced to living as peasants in the castle stables after it was confiscated by Oliver Cromwell and given to his officers after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.
Abbeys and priories.

Force between magnets

Magnets exert forces and torques on each other due to the rules of electromagnetism. The forces of attraction field of magnets are due to microscopic currents of electrically charged electrons orbiting nuclei and the intrinsic magnetism of fundamental particles (such as electrons) that make up the material. Both of these are modeled quite well as tiny loops of current called magnetic dipoles that produce their own magnetic field and are affected by external magnetic fields. The most elementary force between magnets is the magnetic dipole–dipole interaction. If all of the magnetic dipoles that make up two magnets are known then the net force on both magnets can be determined by summing up all these interactions between the dipoles of the first magnet and that of the second.
It is often more convenient to model the force between two magnets as being due to forces between magnetic poles having magnetic charges spread over them. Positive and negative magnetic charge is always connected by a string of magnetized material; isolated magnetic charge does not exist. This model works well in predicting the forces between simple magnets where good models of how the magnetic charge is distributed are available.
Magnetic poles vs. atomic currents.
The field of a magnet is the sum of fields from all magnetized volume elements, which consist of small magnetic dipoles on an atomic level. The direct summation of all those dipole fields would require three-dimensional integration just to obtain the field of one magnet, which may be intricate.
In case of a homogeneous magnetization, the problem can be simplified at least in two different ways, using Stokes' theorem. Upon integration along the direction of magnetization, all dipoles along the line of integration cancel each other, except at the magnet's end surface. The field then emerges only from those (mathematical) magnetic charges spread over the magnet's end facets. On the contrary, when integrating over a magnetized area orthogonal to the direction of magnetization, the dipoles within this area cancel each other, except at the magnet's outer surface, where they (mathematically) sum up to a ring current. This is called Ampère model. In both models, only two-dimensional distributions over the magnet's surface have to be considered, which is simpler than the original three-dimensional problem.
Magnetic-charge model: In the magnetic-charge model, the pole surfaces of a permanent magnet are imagined to be covered with so-called "magnetic charge", north pole particles on the north pole and south pole particles' on the south pole, that are the source of the magnetic field lines. The field due to magnetic charges is obtained through Coulomb's law with magnetic instead of electric charges. If the magnetic pole distribution is known, then the pole model gives the exact distribution of the magnetic field intensity H both inside and outside the magnet. The surface charge distribution is uniform, if the magnet is homogeneously magnetized and has flat end facets (such as a cylinder or prism).
Ampère model: In the Ampère model, all magnetization is due to the effect of microscopic, or atomic, circular "bound currents", also called "Ampèrian currents" throughout the material. The net effect of these microscopic bound currents is to make the magnet behave as if there is a macroscopic electric current flowing in loops in the magnet with the magnetic field normal to the loops. The field due to such currents is then obtained through the Biot–Savart law. The Ampère model gives the correct magnetic flux density B both inside and outside the magnet. It is sometimes difficult to calculate the Ampèrian currents on the surface of a magnet.
Magnetic dipole moment.
Far away from a magnet, its magnetic field is almost always described (to a good approximation) by a dipole field characterized by its total magnetic dipole moment, m. This is true regardless of the shape of the magnet, so long as the magnetic moment is non-zero. One characteristic of a dipole field is that the strength of the field falls off inversely with the cube of the distance from the magnet's center.
The magnetic moment of a magnet is therefore a measure of its strength and orientation. A loop of electric current, a bar magnet, an electron, a molecule, and a planet all have magnetic moments. More precisely, the term "magnetic moment" normally refers to a system's magnetic dipole moment, which produces the first term in the multipole expansion of a general magnetic field.
Both the torque and force exerted on a magnet by an external magnetic field are proportional to that magnet's magnetic moment. The magnetic moment is a vector: it has both a magnitude and direction. The direction of the magnetic moment points from the south to north pole of a magnet (inside the magnet). For example, the direction of the magnetic moment of a bar magnet, such as the one in a compass is the direction that the north poles points toward.
In the physically correct Ampère model, magnetic dipole moments are due to infinitesimally small loops of current. For a sufficiently small loop of current, "I", and area, A, the magnetic dipole moment is:
where the direction of m is normal to the area in a direction determined using the current and the right-hand rule. As such, the SI unit of magnetic dipole moment is ampere meter2. More precisely, to account for solenoids with many turns the unit of magnetic dipole moment is Ampere-turn meter2.
In the magnetic-charge model, the magnetic dipole moment is due to two equal and opposite magnetic charges that are separated by a distance, "d". In this model, m is similar to the electric dipole moment p due to electrical charges:
where "q"m is the ‘magnetic charge’. The direction of the magnetic dipole moment points from the negative south pole to the positive north pole of this tiny magnet.
Magnetic force due to non-uniform magnetic field.
Magnets are drawn along the magnetic field gradient. The simplest example of this is the attraction of opposite poles of two magnets. Every magnet produces a magnetic field that is stronger near its poles. If opposite poles of two separate magnets are facing each other, each of the magnets are drawn into the stronger magnetic field near the pole of the other. If like poles are facing each other though, they are repulsed from the larger magnetic field.
The magnetic-charge model predicts a correct mathematical form for this force and is easier to understand qualitatively. For if a magnet is placed in a uniform magnetic field then both poles will feel the same magnetic force but in opposite directions, since they have opposite magnetic charge. But, when a magnet is placed in the non-uniform field, such as that due to another magnet, the pole experiencing the large magnetic field will experience the large force and there will be a net force on the magnet. If the magnet is aligned with the magnetic field, corresponding to two magnets oriented in the same direction near the poles, then it will be drawn into the larger magnetic field. If it is oppositely aligned, such as the case of two magnets with like poles facing each other, then the magnet will be repelled from the region of higher magnetic field.
In the Ampère model, there is also a force on a magnetic dipole due to a non-uniform magnetic field, but this is due to Lorentz forces on the current loop that makes up the magnetic dipole. The force obtained in the case of a current loop model is
where the gradient ∇ is the change of the quantity m · B per unit distance, and the direction is that of maximum increase of m · B. To understand this equation, note that the dot product m · B = "mB"cos("θ"), where "m" and "B" represent the magnitude of the m and B vectors and "θ" is the angle between them. If m is in the same direction as B then the dot product is positive and the gradient points 'uphill' pulling the magnet into regions of higher B-field (more strictly larger m · B). B represents the strength and direction of the magnetic field. This equation is strictly only valid for magnets of zero size, but is often a good approximation for not too large magnets. The magnetic force on larger magnets is determined by dividing them into smaller regions having their own m then summing up the forces on each of these regions.
Magnetic-charge model.
The magnetic-charge model assumes that the magnetic forces between magnets are due to magnetic charges near the poles. This model works even close to the magnet when the magnetic field becomes more complicated, and more dependent on the detailed shape and magnetization of the magnet than just the magnetic dipole contribution. Formally, the field can be expressed as a multipole expansion: A dipole field, plus a quadrupole field, plus an octopole field, etc. in the Ampère model, but this can be very cumbersome mathematically.
Calculating the magnetic force.
Calculating the attractive or repulsive force between two magnets is, in the general case, a very complex operation, as it depends on the shape, magnetization, orientation and separation of the magnets. The magnetic-charge model does depend on some knowledge of how the ‘magnetic charge’ is distributed over the magnetic poles. It is only truly useful for simple configurations even then. Fortunately, this restriction covers many useful cases.
Force between two magnetic poles.
If both poles are small enough to be represented as single points then they can be considered to be point magnetic charges. Classically, the force between two magnetic poles is given by:
where
The pole description is useful to practicing magneticians who design real-world magnets, but real magnets have a pole distribution more complex than a single north and south. Therefore, implementation of the pole idea is not simple. In some cases, one of the more complex formulas given below will be more useful.
Force between two nearby magnetized surfaces of area "A".
The mechanical force between two nearby magnetized surfaces can be calculated with the following equation. The equation is valid only for cases in which the effect of fringing is negligible and the volume of the air gap is much smaller than that of the magnetized material, the force for each magnetized surface is:
where:
The derivation of this equation is analogous to the force between two nearby electrically charged surfaces, which assumes that the field in between the plates is uniform.
Force between two bar magnets.
The force between two identical cylindrical bar magnets placed end to end at great distance formula_6 is approximately:
where
Note that these formulations assume point-like magnetic-charge distributions instead of a uniform distribution over the end facets, which is a good approximation only at relatively great distances. For intermediate distances, numerical methods must be used.
Force between two cylindrical magnets.
For two cylindrical magnets with radius formula_9, and length formula_10, with their magnetic dipole aligned, the force can be computed analytically using elliptic integrals. In the limit formula_6, the force can be approximated by,
Where formula_13 is the magnetization of the magnets and formula_14 is the distance between them. For small values of formula_14, the results are erroneous as the force becomes large for close-to-zero distance.
If the magnet is long (formula_16), a measurement of the magnetic flux density very close to the magnet formula_17 is roughly related to formula_13 by the formula
The effective magnetic dipole moment can be written as
Where formula_21 is the volume of the magnet. For a cylinder this is formula_22, and
formula_13 is the magnetisation field of the dipole.
When formula_24 the point dipole approximation is obtained,
Which matches the expression of the force between two magnetic dipoles.
Ampère model.
French scientist André Marie Ampère found that the magnetism produced by permanent magnets and the magnetism produced by electromagnets are the same kind of magnetism.
Because of that, the strength of a permanent magnet can be expressed in the same terms as that of an electromagnet.
The strength of magnetism of an electromagnet that is a flat loop of wire through which a current flows, measured at a distance that is great compared to the size of the loop, is proportional to that current and is proportional to the surface area of that loop.
For purpose of expressing the strength of a permanent magnet in same terms as that of an electromagnet, a permanent magnet is thought of as if it contains small current-loops throughout its volume,
and then the magnetic strength of that magnet is found to be proportional to the current of each loop (in Ampere), and proportional to the surface of each loop (in square meter), and proportional to the density of current-loops in the material (in units per cubic meter), so the dimension of strength of magnetism of a permanent magnet is Ampere times square meter per cubic meter, is Ampere per meter.
That is why Ampere per meter is the correct unit of magnetism, even though these small current loops are not really present in a permanent magnet.
The validity of Ampere's model means that it is allowable to think of the magnetic material as if it consists of current-loops, and the total effect is the sum of the effect of each current-loop, and so the magnetic effect of a real magnet can be computed as the sum of magnetic effects of tiny pieces of magnetic material that are at a distance that is great compared to the size of each piece.
This is very useful for computing magnetic force-field of a real magnet ;
It involves summing a large amount of small forces and you should not do that by hand, but let your computer do that for you ;
All that the computer program needs to know is the force between small magnets that are at great distance from each other.
In such computations it is often assumed that each (same-size) small piece of magnetic material has an equally strong magnetism, but this is not always true :
a magnet that is placed near another magnet can change the magnetization of that other magnet.
For permanent magnets this is usually only a small change, but if you have an electromagnet that consists of a wire wound round an iron core, and you bring a permanent magnet near to that core, then the magnetization of that core can change drastically (for example, if there is no current in the wire, the electromagnet would not be magnetic, but when the permanent magnet is brought near, the core of the electromagnet becomes magnetic).
Thus the Ampere model is suitable for computing the magnetic force-field of a permanent magnet, but for electromagnets it can be better to use a magnetic-circuit approach.
Magnetic dipole–dipole interaction.
If two or more magnets are small enough or sufficiently distant that their shape and size is not important then both magnets can be modeled as being magnetic dipoles having a magnetic moments m1 and m2. In case of uniformly magnetized spherical magnets this model is precise even at finite size and distance, as the outside field of such magnets is exactly a dipole field.
The magnetic field of a magnetic dipole in vector notation is:
where
This is "exactly" the field of a point dipole, "exactly" the dipole term in the multipole expansion of an arbitrary field, and "approximately" the field of any dipole-like configuration at large distances.
If the coordinate system is shifted to center it on m1 and rotated such that the z-axis points in the direction of m1 then the previous equation simplifies to
where the variables r and "θ" are measured in a frame of reference with origin in m1 and oriented such that m1 is at the origin pointing in the z-direction. This frame is called Local coordinates and is shown in the Figure on the right.
The force of one magnetic dipole on another is determined by using the magnetic field of the first dipole given above and determining the force due to the magnetic field on the second dipole using the force equation given above. Using vector notation, the force of a magnetic dipole m1 on the magnetic dipole m2 is:
where r is the distance-vector from dipole moment m1 to dipole moment m2, with "r"=||r||. The force acting on m1 is in opposite direction. As an example the magnetic force for two magnets pointing in the z-direction and aligned on the z-axis and separated by the distance z is:
The final formulas are shown next. They are expressed in the global coordinate system,


Pointer (user interface)


Poncet Platform

A Poncet Platform or Poncet mount is a type of equatorial platform (a telescope mount that adds an additional "polar axis" to non-equatorial mounts) that uses a simple polar pivot and an inclined plane. The motion of the mount allows any device sitting on that platform to track the apparent motion of the stars in the night sky (Diurnal motion). It is a highly suitable complement to Dobsonian telescope style altazimuth mounted telescopes in that it follows the design's philosophy of being easy to build using common materials without the need for specialized tools or machined parts.
Origins and usage.
The Poncet Platform was invented in the 1970s by Adrien Poncet. Poncet's original design was a very simple type of equatorial platform that uses pivot as one support and an inclined plane in line with the Earth's equator along which two other supports slide. It was publicized in the January 1977 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine. The model Poncet demonstrated was very simple plywood construction, using a nail pivot and a Formica covered inclined plane with plastic 35mm film canisters as the platforms bearing feet, on which he mounted a 6" newtonian telescope. The mount in its basic form is very simple, requiring just hand tools and common materials to build, with the only precise calculation being setting the angle of the inclined plane to match the angle of the Celestial equator. It has been used to add equatorial tracking to everything from small cameras to entire observatory buildings. Its simple design and low profile has made it a useful "retrofit" for altazimuth mounted telescopes such as the popular Dobsonian telescope. Users simply place their telescope on top of it to get the added feature of tracking in the direction of right ascension accurate enough for work at higher magnification or astrophotography.
Poncet Platforms do have design limitations. They are usually designed to track for 1 hour (15° of tilt) since longer tracking could cause the instrument on top of it to topple off. After that hour the mount has to be pivoted back to the east to reset the clock drive mechanism. Since the Poncet platform has no roller bearing surfaces that can be driven, the clock drive mechanism itself has posed some design difficulty for telescope makers. Straight line drives such as threaded nut/bolt drives change drive rate when converted to a circular motion. It is also time consuming to reset via spinning the nut back to the starting point. Amateurs have tackled this by employing curved bolt designs and even using specially shaped cams to convert the straight line motion to a variable speed motion. High mechanical loadings from heavy telescopes or using them at low geographic latitudes can cause the mount to bind up, requiring more complicated improved bearing surfaces to overcome this. This has led to equatorial platform variations based on the Poncet design include Alan Gee's platform mount using a more complicated cylindrical bearing surface in place of the inclined plane, and Georges D'Autume's platform design which uses a sophisticated conical bearing system.