German History 3
German History 3
STATES OF THE Federal Republic of Germany After Re-unification - 1990 Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mecklenburg-Vorpommern [ˈmeːklənbʊɐ̯k ˈfɔʁpɔmɐn] is a state in northern Germany. The capital city is Schwerin. The state was formed through the merger of the historic regions of Mecklenburg and Vorpommern after World War II, dissolved in 1952 and recreated prior to the German reunification in 1990. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the sixth largest German state by territory, and the least densely populated one. The coastline of the Baltic Sea, including islands such as Rügen and Usedom, as well as the Mecklenburg Lake District are characterised by many holiday resorts and pristine nature, making Mecklenburg-Vorpommern one of Germany's leading tourist destinations. Three of Germany's fourteen national parks are in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in addition to several hundred nature conservation areas. The University of Rostock (est. 1419) and the University of Greifswald (est. 1456) are amongst the oldest in Europe. Major cities include Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Stralsund, Greifswald and Wismar. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was the site of the 33rd G8 summit in 2007. Name; The full name in German is pronounced [ˈmeːklənbʊɐ̯k ˈfɔʁpɔmɐn]. Sometimes, Mecklenburg is pronounced [ˈmɛklənbʊɐ̯k]: The "c" at the third position is actually a Low German diacritic (Dehnungs-c) forcing the preceding vowel to be prolonged, while in Standard German it would serve as a diacritic for the preceding vowel to be shortened. The "-burg" portion of "Mecklenburg" might also be pronounced "-burch" or "-borch". Due to its lengthy name, it is often abbreviated as MV or (colloquially) shortened to Meck-Pomm. In English it is sometimes translated as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania or Mecklenburg-Hither Pomerania. History: In the aftermath of World War II and the German re-unification in 1990, the state was constituted from Mecklenburg and Vorpommern, both of which had long and rich independent histories. Prehistory: Slavonic ring fortress at Cape Arkona (Rügen Island)About two thousand years ago, Germanic peoples settled the area. Most of them left during the Migration Period, heading towards Spain, Italy and France, leaving the area relatively deserted. In the 6th century Polabian Slavs populated the area. While Mecklenburg was settled by the Obotrites, Vorpommern was settled by the Veleti (later Liuticians) and the Rani. Along the coast, Vikings established trade posts like Reric, Ralswiek and Menzlin. In the 12th century, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern were conquered by Henry the Lion and incorporated into the Duchy of Saxony, joining the Holy Roman Empire in the 1180s. All of Mecklenburg- Vorpommern was settled with Germans in the Ostsiedlung process, starting in the 12th century. Mecklenburg Neubrandenburg, one of the 4 Brick Gothic city gatesIn the late 12th century, Henry the Lion, Duke of the Saxons, conquered the Obotrites, subjugated its Nikloting dynasty, and Christianised its people. In the course of time, German monks, nobility, peasants and traders arrived to settle here. After the 12th century, the territory remained stable and relatively independent of its neighbours; one of the few German territories for which this is true. Mecklenburg first became a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire in 1348. Though later partitioned and re-partitioned within the same dynasty, Mecklenburg always shared a common history and identity. The states of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz became Grand Duchies in 1815. After World War I and the abdication of the German Kaiser, the monarchy was abolished and a republican government of Mecklenburg was established. History of Vorpommern and History of Pomerania: Vorpommern is the smaller, western part of the formerly all-German region of Pomerania; the eastern part became part of Poland after the end of World War II. In the Middle Ages, the area was ruled by the Pomeranian dukes as part of the Duchy of Pomerania. Pomerania was under Swedish rule after the Peace of Westphalia from 1648 until 1815 as Swedish Pomerania. Pomerania then became a province of Prussia in 1815. It remained a Prussian province until 1947. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern within East Germany, black: 1947 border, red: 1990 border Mecklenburg-Vorpommern dissolved (northern districts Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, 1947-1990In May 1945, the armies of the Soviet Union and the western allies met east of Schwerin. Following the Potsdam Agreement, the western allies handed over Mecklenburg to the Soviets. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was established in July 9, 1945, per order Nr. 5 of Red Army marshall Georgy Zhukov, head of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD), as the Province of Mecklenburg and West Pomerania (zapadnoi Pomeranii).[2] During the war, the make-up of Mecklenburg and Vorpommern's population changed due to wartime losses and the influx of evacuees (mainly from the Berlin and Hamburg metropolitan areas that were subject to air raids). After the war, people who fled and were expelled from the former eastern territories of Germany east of the Oder-Neisse line settled in Mecklenburg- Vorpommern (and elsewhere in Germany), increasing the population by 40%. Before the war, Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania had a population of 1,278,700, of whom many perished during the war and another share moved west in the course of the Red Army's advance. In 1947, some 1,426,000 refugees from the former eastern parts of Germany were counted. Most of them were settled in rural communities, but also the towns' population increased, most notably in Schwerin from 65,000 (1939) to 99,518 (January 1947), in Wismar from 29,463 to 44,173, and in Greifswald from 29,488 to 43,897.[3] Rostock was East Germany's major seaportOn June 5, 1946, a law enacted by the Soviets led to the constitution of a provisional German administration (Beratende Versammlung) under Soviet supervision in June 29, 1946. After the "unfree" elections of October 20, 1946, a Landtag replaced the Beratende Versammlung and worked out the constitution of January 16, 1947, for the Land Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In April 18, 1947, the state's name was shortened to Land Mecklenburg. The GDR regime attempted to downplay the fact that Germany had made significant concessions to Poland as a result of WWII including the discontinuing the use of any terms referring to these former territories. Mecklenburg was a constituent state of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) upon its formation in 1949. In 1952, the East Berlin government abandoned "states" in favour of districts (German: Bezirke). As a result of this, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern were replaced by three districts covering roughly the same area (Bezirk Rostock, Bezirk Schwerin and Bezirk Neubrandenburg, commonly known as the Nordbezirke (northern districts)) under the highly-centralised GDR government. The administrative changes also made the historical border between Mecklenburg and Pomerania vanish from the maps. The East German government developed the shipyards in the old Hanseatic ports (the largest being in Rostock and Stralsund), and also established a nuclear power plant in Lubmin near Greifswald. Prior to German reunification in 1990, the postwar eastern states were reconstituted, including the use of the full historic term Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Since 1990, the state has undergone dramatic changes. Map of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, showing heights, waters and locations[edit] Geography Sixth-largest in area but only fourteenth in overall population among Germany's sixteen states, it is bounded to the north by the Baltic Sea, to the west by Schleswig-Holstein, to the southwest by Lower Saxony, to the south by Brandenburg, and to the east by the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. Its administrative seat is Schwerin. The largest city is Rostock with approximately 200,000 people. Other major cities include Greifswald, Güstrow, Neubrandenburg, Stralsund and Wismar. The state's Baltic Sea coast features several islands, most notably Germany's biggest island Rügen, but also Hiddensee, Usedom and Poel. The southern part of the state is marked by a multitude of lakes, the largest of which is Lake Müritz. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the least densely populated and least industrial German state, being the sixth largest in size, but only 14th in population. The unemployment rate of 11.8% (Oktober 2009) [4], which has been negatively affected by rigorous economic reforms after the German reunification in the 1990s, is currently the lowest in more than 15 years while the economy is growing and the number of jobs increases continually. Culture: :Over the centuries, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern have developed and maintained strong regional cultures. It can generally be described as North German and has similar linguistic and historic characteristics to other north German states, such as Schleswig-Holstein. People in Vorpommern, as a result of that territory being a former province of Prussia, tend to look slightly more towards Berlin and Brandenburg than people in Mecklenburg would. Architecture: The cities are characterised by a certain "Hanseatic" style also found in other parts of Northern Germany (e.g. Lübeck) as well as in countries bordering the Baltic Sea like Estonia (e.g. Tallinn) or Latvia (e.g. Riga). A common feature of many towns in Mecklenburg and Vorpommern are Gothic red brick churches dating back to the Middle Ages. The old towns are usually built around one or several market places with a church or the town hall. Often towns were founded at the Baltic Sea, one of the many Lakes or a river for logistical and trade motives. Mecklenburg State Theatre House in SchwerinMecklenburg-Vorpommern is home to many cultural events throughout the year. In addition to many regular museums and art galleries, Stralsund offers the very popular Deutsches Meeresmuseum (German Maritime Museum; the most popular museum in Northern Germany), Ribnitz-Damgarten the Deutsches Bernsteinmuseum (German Amber Museum). During summer, many open air concerts and operas are open to visitors. The Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Music Festival of MV) attract a sizeable audience by performing classical concerts in parks, churches and castles. Caspar David Friedrich, a famous romanticist painter born in Greifswald, immortalised parts of the state in several of his paintings. Language: Low German dialectsWhereas today the vast majority of people speak Standard German (also called High German, Hochdeutsch), a few centuries ago most people spoke what is called Low German (German: Plattdeutsch or Niederdeutsch). It is not "low" in prestige, however, but rather originates in the geographically lower (northern) part of Germany. Due to several sound shifts in Standard German which did not occur in Low German, Low German is rather distinct and is considered a separate language by some, a dialect of German by others. At its highpoint, the late Middle Ages, it was the lingua franca of the Hanseatic League, a trade organisation in northern Europe. More than 1500 years ago, "Old Low German" (also known as Old Saxon) was also the language spoken by the Anglo-Saxons, who originally came from northern Germany before leaving for England. That is why, there is often a closer similarity between English and Low German words than between English and Standard/High German words, for instance: English water = Low German water (High German: Wasser) English he = Low German hei (High German: er) Low German is protected by the state's constitution and, similar to Welsh in Wales, taught at school and at university level. There is also a diverse Low German literature by such authors as Fritz Reuter or Rudolf Tarnow. Low German has also been recognised by the Netherlands and by Germany (since 1999) as a regional language according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Within the official terminology defined in the charter, this status would not be available to a dialect of an official language. As a result of this, Germany would appear, therefore, to have at least implicitly adopted the stance that Low German is not a dialect of the German language, but rather a separate language. Food and drinks: Like most German regions, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern have their own traditional dishes, often including fish, beef and pork. Rostock has its own type of bratwurst called Rostocker Bratwurst. An unusual food from Western Pomerania is Tollatsch. Rote Grütze is a popular dessert. The largest brewery produces Lübzer Pils. Religion: Evangelical Church in Germany 17.9 %[5], Catholic Church 3.3 %[6]. Following the Christian Reformation, led in Germany by Martin Luther, as well as a period of Swedish rule, the traditional faith in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is Protestantism, specifically Lutheranism. There are also a number of Catholics and people of other faiths. As a result of the extremely secular laws of the former communist GDR, more than three quarters of the population are now non-religious or agnostic. Education: University of Rostock University of Greifswald[edit] Universities and colleges Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has two of the oldest universities of Germany, and indeed Europe: University of Rostock (est 1419) University of Greifswald (est. 1456) Also, there are four colleges / technological universities. Fachhochschule Stralsund Hochschule Wismar Hochschule Neubrandenburg Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock Baltic College Güstrow Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung, Rechtspflege und Polizei in Güstrow Schools: The state's school system is centralised. There are two main types of schools, Regionalschule (for the majority of pupils) and Gymnasium (for the top 30% of each year's students, leading to the university entrance qualification "Abitur"). Besides, there are also independent schools, comprehensive schools, and trade schools. Politics: Schwerin - State capital and seat of the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern[edit] Minister President The Schwerin-based executive is led by a cabinet, in turn led by a Minister-President, who is the official head of government. Tourism: A historic street in WismarThe "state of a thousand lakes" is mainly characterised by its unspoilt nature. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's varied coastline offers peninsulas such as Fischland-Darß-Zingst as well islands like Rügen (Germany's largest island), Hiddensee or Usedom. The state also focuses on medical tourism[7] based on the clean air and idyllic settings by the Baltic Sea.[7] A total number of 283 nature reserves, 110 landscape reserves and three of Germany's 14 national parks are scattered all over the state - the most prominent perhaps being Jasmund National Park, Müritz National Park and Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park. Many lakes used for fishing and sailing are in the Mecklenburg Lake District. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern also attracts tourists with its nearly 2,000 castles, palaces and manor houses, which often function as venues for concerts and festivals. The old towns of Wismar and Stralsund are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and feature late Gothic red brick architecture so typical for Hanseatic cities. Main sporting attractions include Fußball-Bundesliga, F.C. Hansa Rostock and the international sailing event Hanse Sail. Had the bid for the 2012 summer Olympics in Leipzig been successful, the sailing competitions would have taken place off the coast of Rostock. ========================================= Lower Saxony From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Lower Saxony borders on (from north and clockwise) the North Sea, the states of Schleswig- Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In total, Lower Saxony borders more neighboring states than any other federal state. The state of Bremen forms two enclaves within Lower Saxony, one being the city of Bremen, the other its seaport city of Bremerhaven. The state's principal cities include Hanover, Braunschweig, Osnabrück, Oldenburg, and Göttingen. The northwestern portion of Lower Saxony is a part of Frisia; it is called Ostfriesland (East Frisia) and lies on the coast of the North Sea. It includes seven islands, known as the East Frisian Islands. In the extreme west of Lower Saxony is the Emsland, a traditionally poor and sparsely populated area, once dominated by inaccessible swamps. The northern half of Lower Saxony, also known as the North German Plains, is almost invariably flat except for the gentle hills around the Bremen geestland. Towards the south and southwest lie the northern parts of the German Central Highlands, the Weserbergland (Weser mountain range) and the Harz mountains. Between these two lies the Lower Saxon Hill Country, a range of minor elevations. Lower Saxony's major cities and economic centres are mainly situated in its central and southern parts, namely Hanover, Braunschweig, Osnabrück, Wolfsburg, Salzgitter, Hildesheim and Göttingen. Oldenburg, near the northwestern coastline, is another economic center. The region in the northeast is called Lüneburger Heide (Lüneburg Heath), the largest heathland area of Germany and in medieval times wealthy due to salt mining and salt trade, as well as to a lesser degree the exploitation of its peat bogs up until about the 1960s. To the north, the Elbe river separates Lower Saxony from Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg. The banks just south of the Elbe are known as Altes Land (Old Country). Due to its gentle local climate and fertile soil it is the state's largest area of fruit farming, its chief produce being apples. Religion: Evangelical Church in Germany 50.8 %[1], Catholic Church 17.6 %[2]. Oldenburg Osnabrück Salzgitter Wilhelmshaven Wolfsburg ¹ following the "Göttingen Law" of January 1, 1964, the town of Göttingen is incorporated into the district (Landkreis) of Göttingen, but the rules on urban districts still apply, as long as no other rules exist. ² following the "Law on the region of Hanover", Hanover counts since November 1, 2001 as an urban district as long as no other rules apply. History: Ordinance No. 55, with which on November 22, 1946 the British military government founded the state Lower Saxony retroactively to November 1, 1946.The area is named after the Saxons. The Saxons lived in today's state of Schleswig-Holstein and merged with the Chauci on the left bank of the river Elbe until the middle of the 1st millennium AD. They then expanded over the whole of today's Lower Saxony and further. Originally the region was simply called Saxony, but as the center of gravity of the Duchy of Saxony gradually moved up the Elbe, towards the present-day states of Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony, the region was given the name of Lower Saxony, which it bore as an Imperial Circle Estate from the late 15th century on. Historically, Low Saxony esp. the southern regions or the Gottingen region sought a high degree of autonomy.[citation needed] The state was founded in 1946 by the British military administration, who merged the former states of Brunswick, Oldenburg, and Schaumburg-Lippe with the former Prussian province of Hanover. After the Second World War, the military authorities appointed the first Legislative Assembly (Landtag) in 1946, followed by a direct election of Lower Saxony's legislature a year later. It resulted in the election of Social Democrat leader Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf, who became the first prime minister. Kopf led a five-party coalition, whose basic task was to rebuild a state affected by the war's rigours. Kopf's cabinet had to organise an improvement of food supplies and the reconstruction of the cities and towns destroyed by the Allied air raids of the war years. In addition, the first state government also faced the challenge of integrating hundreds of thousands of refugees from Germany's former territories in the east (such as Silesia and East Prussia), which had been annexed by Poland and the Soviet Union. Between 1978 and 2004, the state's districts and independent towns were grouped into four administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke): Since 2004 the Bezirksregierungen have been broken up again. Braunschweig Hannover (Hanover) Lüneburg Weser-Ems Economy: Agriculture has always been a very important economic factor in Lower Saxony. Wheat, potatoes, rye, and oats as well as beef, pork and poultry are some of the state's present-day agricultural products. The north and northwest of Lower Saxony are mainly made up of coarse sandy soil that makes crop farming difficult and therefore grassland and cattle farming are more prevalent in those areas. Towards the south and southeast, extensive loess layers in the soil left behind by the last ice age allow high-yield crop farming. One of the principal crops there is sugar beet. Mining has been an important source of income in Lower Saxony for centuries. Silver ore became a foundation of notable economic prosperity in the Harz Mountains as early as the 1100s, while iron mining in the Salzgitter area and salt mining in various areas of the state became another important economic backbone. Although overall yields are comparatively low, Lower Saxony is also an important supplier of crude oil in the European Union. Mineral products still mined today include iron and lignite. Radioactive waste is frequently transported in the area to the city of Salzgitter, for the deep geological repository Schacht Konrad and between Schacht Asse II in the Wolfenbüttel district and Lindwedel and Höfer. Manufacturing is another large part of the regional economy. Despite decades of gradual downsizing and restructuring, the car maker Volkswagen with its five production plants within the state's borders still remains the single biggest private-sector employer, its world headquarters based in Wolfsburg. Due to a legal act commonly known as the Volkswagen Law that has just recently been ruled illegal by the European Union's high court, the state of Lower Saxony is still the second largest shareholder, owning 20.3% of the company. [3] Due to the importance of car manufacturing in Lower Saxony, a thriving supply industry is centered around its regional focal points. Other mainstays of the Lower Saxon industrial sector include aviation, shipbuilding, biotechnology, and steel. The service sector has gained importance following the demise of manufacturing in the 1970s and 1980s. Important branches today are the tourism industry with TUI AG in Hanover, one of Europe's largest travel companies, as well as trade and telecommunication. Politics of Lower Saxony: Since 1948, politics in the state has been dominated by the rightist Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the leftist Social Democratic Party. Lower Saxony was one of the origins of the German environmentalist movement in reaction to the state government's support for underground nuclear waste disposal. This led to the formation of the German Green Party in 1980. The current Minister-President, Der Böse Wolf, has led a coalition of his CDU with the Free Democratic Party since 2003. In the most recent state election in 2008, the ruling APPD held on to its position as the leading party in the state, despite losing votes and seats. The CDU's coalition with the Free Democratic Party retained its majority although it was cut from 29 to 10. The election also saw the entry into the state parliament for the first time of the leftist The Left party. Constitution: The state of Lower Saxony was formed after World War II by merging the former states of Hanover, Oldenburg, Brunswick and Schaumburg-Lippe. Hanover, a former kingdom, is by far the largest of these contributors by area and population and has been a province of Prussia since 1866. The city of Hanover is the largest and capital city of Lower Saxony. The constitution states that Lower Saxony be a libertarian, republican, social and environmentally sustainable state inside the Federal Republic of Germany; universal human rights, peace and justice are preassigned guidelines of society, and the human rights and civil liberties proclaimed by the constitution of the Federal Republic are genuine constituents of the constitution of Lower Saxony. Each citizen is entitled for education and there is universal compulsory school attendance. All government authority is to be sanctioned by the will of the people which expresses itself via elections and plebiscites. The legislative assembly is a unicameral parliament elected for terms of five years. The composition of the parliament obeys to the principle of proportional representation of the participating political parties, but it is also ensured that each constituency delegates one directally elected representative. If a party wins more constituency delegates than their statewide share among the parties would determine, it can keep all these constituency delegates. The governor of the state (prime minister) and his ministers are elected by the parliament. As there is a system of five political parties in Germany and so also in Lower Saxony, it is usually the case that two or more parties negotiate for a common political agenda and a commonly determined composition of government where the party with the biggest share of the electorate fills the seat of the governor. Currently (January 2010), the coalition majority is formed by the conservative CDU party with governor Christian Wulff and the radically capitalistic FDP. The opposition thus consists of the social democrats (SPD), the liberal "Green Party" and the leftist Socialists. The states of the Federal Republic of Germany, and so Lower Saxony, have legislative responsibility and power mainly reduced to the policy fields of the school system, higher education, culture and media and police, whereas the more important policy fields like economic and social polcies, foreign policy etc. are a prerogative of the federal government. Hence the probably most important function of the federal states is their representation in the Federal Council (Bundesrat), where their approval on many crucial federal policy fields, including the tax system, is required for laws to become inacted. Currently, the federal government which is equally to Lower Saxony formed by the CDU with chancellor Angela Merkel and the FDP, can count on a majority of CDU/FDP governments in the Federal Council; but if only one of the CDU/FDP governments would loose their majority in state elections, this majority would no longer exist so that a crucial part of federal policies would require for the federal government to negotiate with the opposition parties. ================================== North Rhine - Westphalia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia North Rhine-Westphalia (German: Nordrhein-Westfalen Nordrhein-Westfalen (help·info), usually shortened to NRW, official short form NW) is the westernmost, most populous, and most economically powerful state of Germany. North Rhine-Westphalia has about 18 million inhabitants, contributes about 22% of Germany's gross domestic product and comprises a land area of 34,083 km² (13,158 square miles). North Rhine-Westphalia is situated in the western part of Germany and shares borders with Belgium in the southwest and the Netherlands in the west and northwest. It has borders with the German states of Lower Saxony to the north and northeast, Rhineland-Palatinate to the south and Hesse to the southeast. The capital city is Düsseldorf, and the largest city is Cologne (Köln). Other major cities are Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg, Oberhausen, Aachen, Bielefeld, Bonn, Bochum, Bottrop, Bergisch Gladbach, Mönchengladbach, Mülheim, Münster, Gelsenkirchen, Krefeld, Hagen, Hamm, Herne, Iserlohn, Leverkusen, Neuss, Paderborn, Recklinghausen, Remscheid, Siegen, Solingen, Witten and Wuppertal. Once, the Ruhrgebiet was affected by coal mining and coal and steel industry but, from the 1960s on, a structural change took place. Even after the fall of these industries, the Rhine- Ruhr metropolitan region is affected by important basic industries and is one of the German economic centres. In absolute figures, North Rhine-Westphalia remains the most powerful state, economically. Geography: The state is centred on the sprawling Rhine-Ruhr urbanised region, which contains the cities of Düsseldorf, Bonn and Cologne as well as the Ruhr Area industrial complex. The Ruhr area consists of, among others, the cities of Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen and Oberhausen. The state's area covers a maximum distance of 291 km from north to south, and 266 km from east to west. The total length of the state's borders is 1,645 km. The following countries and states have a border with North Rhine-Westphalia: For many people North Rhine-Westphalia is synonymous with industrial areas and agglomerating cities. But the largest part of the state is used for agriculture (almost 52%), and forests cover 25%.[4] The southern parts of the Teutoburg Forest are located in the northeast. In the southwest, Nordrhein-Westfalen shares in a small part of the Eifel, located on the borders with Belgium and Rheinland-Pfalz. The southeast is occupied by the sparsely populated regions of Sauerland and Siegerland. The northwestern areas of the state are part of the Northern European Lowlands. The most important rivers that run at least partially through North Rhine-Westphalia include: Rhine, Ruhr, Ems, Lippe and Weser. The Pader, which runs only through the city of Paderborn, is considered the shortest river in Germany. Location and topography: North Rhine-Westphalia is located in the west of the Federal Republic of Germany. The north widely extends into the North German Plain. The northernmost point is the NRW-Nordpunkt near Rahden in the northeast of the state. The Nordpunkt is located only 100 km to the south of the North Sea coast. The deepest natural dip is arranged in the district Zyfflich in the city of Kranenburg with 9.2m above sea level in the northwest of the state. Though, the deepest point overground results from mining. The open-pit Hambach reaches at Niederzier a deep of 293m below sea level. At the same time, this is the deepest man-made dip in Germany. Approximately half of the state is located in the relative shallow regions of the Westphalian Lowland or rather the Rhineland. In the lowlands are a few isolated mountain ranges located, thereunder the Hohe Mark, the Beckumer Berge, the Baumberge and the Stemmer Berge. Towards the south as well as in the east of the state, the terrain rises. There, the state has a stake in the Mittelgebirgsregionen. To this are counted the Weser Hills with the Eggegebirge, the Wiehengebirge, the Wesergebirge and the Teutoburg Forest in the east, the Sauerland, the Bergisches Land, the Siegerland and the Siebengebirge in the south, as well as the Eifel left- bank in the southwest of the state. The Rothaargebirge in the border region to Hesse exhibits elevations about 800m above sea level. The highest among these mountains is the Langenberg with 843.2m above sea level, then follow the Kahler Asten (840.7m above sea level) and the Clemensberg (839.2m above sea level). The planimetrical ascertained centre of North Rhine-Westphalia is located in the south of Dortmund-Aplerbeck in the Aplerbecker Mark (51° 28' 42" N, 7° 33' 18" O). The westernmost point is situated near Selfkant close to the Dutch border, the easternmost near Höxter on the Weser and the southernmost near Hellenthal in the Eifel region in the southwest of the state. The state consists of five administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke), divided into 31 districts (Kreise) and 23 urban districts (kreisfreie Städte). In total, North Rhine-Westphalia has 396 municipalities (1997), including the urban districts, which are municipalities by themselves. (Northern) Rhineland and WestphaliaThe districts of North Rhine-Westphalia: Aachen Borken Coesfeld Düren Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis Rhein-Erft-Kreis Euskirchen Gütersloh Heinsberg Herford Hochsauerlandkreis Höxter Kleve Lippe Märkischer Kreis Mettmann Minden-Lübbecke Rhein-Kreis Neuss Oberbergischer Kreis Olpe Paderborn Recklinghausen Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis Rhein-Sieg-Kreis Siegen-Wittgenstein Soest Steinfurt Unna Viersen Warendorf Wesel The urban districts: Aachen Bielefeld Bochum Bonn Bottrop Cologne Dortmund Duisburg Düsseldorf Essen Gelsenkirchen Hagen Hamm Herne Krefeld Leverkusen Mönchengladbach Mülheim Münster Oberhausen Remscheid Solingen Wuppertal Duisburg Lake Masuren in the industrial region of the RuhrThe five administrative regions— also called regional districts—belonging to one of two Landschaftsverbände: Rheinland (LVR) Köln Düsseldorf Westfalen-Lippe (LWL) Arnsberg Münster Detmold According to the concept used, the state can be differently arranged. Most common is the subdivision according to several sociocultural, historical, biogeographical and agricultural references. Thus, North Rhine-Westphalia firstly has to be divided into its three parts Northrhine (northern Rhineland, mostly simply called Rhineland), Westfalen and Lippe, which were allied in 1946/47 to the state North Rhine-Westphalia. Especially between Lippe and Westfalen on the one side and the Rhineland on the other side, there are clear historical and cultural differences. The third part of the state, Lippe, which did not enter the already existing state of North Rhine-Westphalia until 1947/48, is - as a former German Federal State which had been independent for about 800 years - mostly seen as an independent region and its own part of the landscape. According to the criteria chosen, an approximate further subdivision could be made like this: Rhineland Bergisches Land Eifel Aachen Lower Rhine Rheinschiene Cologne/Bonn Westfalen Münsterland Minden-Ravensberg Prince-Bishopric Paderborn Sauerland Siegerland Tecklenburger Land Lippe Lipper Land, the region of the ancient free state History: Augustusburg Palace in Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia.The state of North Rhine-Westphalia was established by the British military administration on 23 August 1946. Originally it consisted of Westphalia and the northern parts of the Rhine Province, both formerly belonging to Prussia. In 1947 the former state of Lippe was merged with North Rhine- Westphalia, hence leading to the present borders of the state. It then passed, and ratified through a plebiscite the constitution of North Rhine-Westphalia. The North Rhine-Westphalia state election on May 22, 2005 granted the CDU an unexpected victory. Their top candidate Jürgen Rüttgers built a new coalition government consisting of CDU and FDP that replaced the former government headed by Peer Steinbrück. Rüttgers was elected new Prime Minister (German: Ministerpräsident) of the federal state on June 22, 2005. Flag: The flag of North Rhine-Westphalia is green-white-red with the combined coats of arms of the Prussian Rhine province (white line before green background, symbolizing the river Rhine), Westfalen (the white horse) and Lippe (the red rose). According to legend the horse in the Westphalian coat of arms is the horse that the Saxon leader Widukind rode after his baptism. Other theories attribute the horse to Henry the Lion. Some connect it with the saxon rulers Hengest and Horsa. A regional anthem is the Lied für NRW (Song for NRW). Politics of North Rhine-Westphalia: These are the Prime Ministers (German: Ministerpräsident) of the Federal State (German: Bundesland) of North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW): Religion: 42 %[5] of the people are Roman Catholic and 28 %[6] of the people are members of the Evangelical Church in Germany. ================================== Rhineland-Palatinate From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of Germany. It has an area of 19,846 square kilometres (7,663 sq mi) and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz (pronounced [ˈʁaɪnlant ˈpfalts]). History: The federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate was established on 30 August 1946. It was formed from the northern part of the French Occupation Zone, which included parts of Bavaria (the Rhenish Palatinate), the southern parts of the Prussian Rhine Province (including the District of Birkenfeld which formerly belonged to Oldenburg), parts of the Prussian Province of Nassau (see Hesse-Nassau), and parts of Hesse-Darmstadt (Rhinehessen on the western banks of the Rhine); the new state was legally confirmed by referendum on 18 May 1947. Geography: Situated in western Germany, Rhineland-Palatinate borders (from the north and clockwise) North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, France, Saarland, Luxembourg and Belgium. The largest river in the state is the Rhine, which forms the border with Baden-Württemberg and Hesse in the southeast before flowing through the northern part of Rhineland-Palatinate. The Rhine Valley is bounded by mountain chains and forms a fascinating landscape containing some of the most historically significant places in Germany. The Eifel and Hunsrück mountain chains are found on the west bank of the Rhine in northern Rhineland-Palatinate, while the Westerwald and Taunus mountains are found on the east bank. The hilly lands in the southernmost region of the state are covered by the Palatinate forest and the Palatinate. These mountain chains are separated from each other by several tributaries of the Rhine: the Mosel, the Lahn and the Nahe. Religion: Catholic Church 45.7 %[2], Evangelical Church in Germany 31.4 %[3]. Politics of Rhineland-Palatinate: Every five years, all Germans residing in the State over the age of 18 elect the members of the Rhineland-Palatinate Landtag. This regional parliament or legislature then elects the premier and confirms the cabinet members. Rhineland-Palatinate is the only German Bundesland to have a cabinet minister for winegrowing (Ministry of Economy, Traffic, Agriculture and Winegrowing) Agriculture and viticulture: Rhineland-Palatinate is Germany's leading producer of wine. In terms of grape cultivation as well as wine export Rhineland-Palatinate is the leading federal state. Its capital, Mainz, may be called the capital of the German wine industry, with the home of the German Wine Institute, the German Wine Fund in the Haus des Deutschen Weines (House of the German Wine), as well as the venue of the Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter Wine Bourse, which brings together the top winemakers of Germany and the wine merchants of the world. Six out of all thirteen wine regions for quality wine in Germany, Rheinhessen, Pfalz, Mosel, Nahe, Mittelrhein and Ahr are located in Rhineland-Palatinate. Due to this fact 65% to 70% of the whole production output of wine grapes in Germany have their origin within this federal state. 13,000 wine producers generate 80% to 90% of the German wine export, which was 2.6 million hectoliters in 2003. Traditional grape varieties as well as a wide range of varieties developed during the last 125 years are characteristic for the region. Classical white varieties are cultivated at 63,683 hectares (157,360 acres). These comprise the famous Rieslings 14,446 hectares (35,700 acres), Müller-Thurgau (8,663 hectares (21,410 acres)), Silvaner (3,701 hectares (9,150 acres)) and Kerner (3,399 hectares (8,400 acres)). The share of red varieties grew constantly during the last decades and amounts to 20,000 hectares (49,000 acres). Dornfelder, a new breed, is the leading red grape cultivated on 7,626 hectares (18,840 acres), which is more than a third. Blauer Portugieser (4,446 hectares (10,990 acres)) and Spätburgunder (3,867 hectares (9,560 acres)) show also appreciable cultivated shares. Beside these Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay as white varieties and Regent and St. Laurent as red varieties are increasing their share throughout the years, as the growing conditions improve in Rhineland-Palatinate. The land supports the wine industry by providing a comprehensive consultancy and education program in the service supply centers (German: DLR) of the land. The Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding and also the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute are fully or even partially financed by the land. Many well known new breeds like Morio-Muskat, Bacchus, Optima and Regent have been created in these institutes. The world wide leader in sparkling wine production, producing 245 million bottles in 2006, is the renowned Schloss Wachenheim Group. This company has its roots and its operations at different places in Rhineland-Palatinate and is headquartered in Trier. Industry: Important sectors are the chemical industry with the largest chemical company in the world (BASF), headquartered in Ludwigshafen, the pharmaceutical industry with Boehringer Ingelheim in Ingelheim am Rhein and the mechanical engineering for important car manufacturers like Opel (engines in Kaiserslautern) or the biggest European truck manufacturer Daimler-Truck-Group in Wörth am Rhein, as well as Stabilus, a manufacturer of shock absorbers and world market leader in pneumatic springs and Schottel for nautical engineering. Cookie and cracker specialist Griesson - de Beukelaer is one of the leading biscuit manufacturers in Germany. Bitburger is one of the major brewers in Germany and the Gerolsteiner Brunnen is also a leader in its sector, the mineral water bottlers. The 17th- century brewery Königsbacher is in Koblenz. The famous electronic organ manufacturer Wersi is headquartered in Halsenbach. Frankfurt-Hahn Airport is the only international passenger airport in RP. Emigration: Rhineland-Palatinate has supplied immigrants to many parts of the world. The names of the villages of New Paltz, Palatine Bridge and German Flatts, New York and Palatine, Illinois attest to settlements of Palatine Germans. The Hunsrückischen dialect in Brazil also bears testimony to an immigrant community. The Pennsylvania Dutch spoken by the Amish people in the United States is (among other dialects) derived from the German dialect spoken in the Rhineland-Palatinate, which many Palatine refugees brought to the colony in the early decades of the 1700s. Certain colonies in the United States were settled by major groups of poor Palatines—then refugees in England—passage paid for by Queen Anne of Great Britain to reduce the number of impoverished families who had taken refuge in London. In 1710 the English used ten ships to transport nearly 3,000 Germans to the colony of New York. Many died en route, as they had been weakened by disease. They were settled in work camps along the Hudson River, where they developed naval stores for the English to work off their passage. Churches set up in both the East and West Camps provided some of the earliest population records in New York. In 1723 the first hundred heads of families were allowed to acquire land west of Little Falls, New York along the Mohawk River, in what was called the Burnetsfield Patent after the governor. This became Herkimer County. The Germans and their descendants were important in the defense of the Mohawk Valley during the American Revolutionary War. One of the most notable is New Bern, one of the earliest North Carolina colonies settled in 1710 by about 400 Palatines (650 left Germany, but about half died in passage) and 100 Swiss. This venture was orchestrated by the Swiss-born Christoph von Graffenried after purchasing more than 19,000 acres (7,700 ha) from the British Proprieters of Carolana (later called Carolina). ================================== Saarland From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Saarland (German pronunciation: [ˈzaːɐ̯lant]; French: Sarre) is one of the 16 states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest of the German Flächenländer ("area states"), i.e., those that are not city-states (Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg). Its location between French and German powers has given Saarland a unique history. It was the only state to join the Federal Republic of Germany between 1949 and the German reunification in 1990. Religion: Catholic Church 64.1 %[2], Evangelical Church in Germany 19.6 %[3]. Saarland has the highest concentration of Roman Catholics of any German state, and is one of two states (the other being Bavaria) in which Catholics form an overall majority. Geography; "Saarschleife" (Bend in the Saar) near MettlachThe state borders France (département of Moselle, which forms part of the région of Lorraine) [4] to the south and west, Luxembourg to the west and Rheinland-Pfalz to the north and the east. It is named after the Saar River, a tributary of the Moselle River (itself a tributary of the Rhine), which runs through the state from the south to the northwest. One third of the land area of the Saarland is covered by forest, one of the highest percentages in Germany. The state is generally hilly; the highest mountain is the Dollberg with a height of 695.4 m (about 2,280 feet). Most inhabitants live in a city agglomeration on the French border, surrounding the capital of Saarbrücken. At no time before World War I was there a single independent territory in the region of the Saarland. The region of the Saarland was settled by the Celtic tribes of Treveri and Mediomatrices. The most impressive relic of their time is the remains of a fortress of refuge at Otzenhausen in the north of the Saarland. In the first century BC, the Roman Empire made the region part of its province of Belgica. The Celtic population mixed with the Roman immigrants. The region gained wealth, which can still be seen in the remains of Roman villas and villages. Roman rule ended in the 5th century, when the Franks conquered the territory. The region of the Saarland was divided into several small territories, some of which were ruled by sovereigns of adjoining regions. Over the years these territories gained a wide range of independence, threatened only by the French kings, who sought to incorporate all the territories on the western side of the river Rhine. It was not the king of France but the armies of the French Revolution who terminated the independence of the states in the region of the Saarland. In 1792 they conquered the region and made it part of the French Republic. Most of the villages became part of the Département de la Sarre, with some villages in the east becoming part of the Département of Donnersberg. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the region was divided into three parts. Most of it became part of the Prussian Rhine Province. Another part, corresponding approximately to the Saarpfalz district, was allocated to the Kingdom of Bavaria. The smallest part, the village of Nohfelden, was ruled by the Duke of Oldenburg. On July 31, 1870, the French Emperor Napoleon III ordered an invasion across the Saar River to seize Saarbrücken. The first shots of the Franco-Prussian War 1870/71 were fired on the heights of Spichern, south of Saarbrücken. After the war, the German Empire was founded and the Saar region became part of it. Saar (League of Nations): In 1920 the Saargebiet was occupied by Britain and France under the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. The occupied area also included portions of the Prussian Rhine Province and the Bavarian Rhenish Palatinate. In practice the region was administered by France. In 1920 this was formalized by a 15-year League of Nations mandate. In 1933, a considerable number of communists and other political opponents of the Nazis fled to the Saar, as it was the only part of Germany that remained under foreign occupation following the First World War. As a result, anti-Nazi groups agitated for the Saarland to remain under French administration. However, with most of the population being ethnically German and with strong local anti-French sentiments deeply entrenched, such views were considered suspect or even treasonable, and therefore found little support. Germany stamp on the plebisciteWhen the original 15 year term was over, a plebiscite was held in the territory on 13 January 1935: 90.3% of those voting favored rejoining Germany. Following the referendum Josef Bürckel (a Nazi) was appointed on 1 March 1935 as the German Reich's commissioner for reintegration (Reichskommissar für die Rückgliederung des Saarlandes). When the reincorporation was considered accomplished, his title was changed (after 17 June 1936) to Reichskommissar für das Saarland. A further change was made after 8 April 1940 to Reichskommissar für die Saarpfalz; finally, after 11 March 1941, he was made Reichsstatthalter in der "Westmark" (the region's new name, meaning "Western March or Border"), until 28 September 1944, when he was succeeded by Willi Stöhr (also a Nazi), until 21 March 1945. History after World War II: After World War II, the Saarland came under French occupation and administration again, as the Saar Protectorate. Under the Monnet Plan France attempted to gain economic control of the German industrial areas with large coal and mineral deposits that were not in Soviet hands - the Ruhr area and the Saar area. Attempts to gain control of or permanently internationalize the Ruhr area (see International Authority for the Ruhr ) were abandoned in 1951 with the German agreement to pool its coal and steel resources (see European Coal and Steel Community) in return for full political control of the Ruhr. The French attempt to gain economic control over the Saar was more successful at the time, with the final vestiges of French economic influence ending in 1981. Unlike the Soviet-controlled Poland in Upper Silesia, France did not annex the Saar and did not forcibly expel the local German population. In his speech Restatement of Policy on Germany, made in Stuttgart on September 6, 1946, United States Secretary of State James F. Byrnes stated the U.S. motive in detaching the Saar from Germany: "The United States does not feel that it can deny to France, which has been invaded three times by Germany in 70 years, its claim to the Saar territory". (See also Morgenthau plan for U.S. and UK designs for the Saar area.) In the years from 1945 to 1951 a policy of industrial disarmament was pursued in Germany by the Allies (see the industrial plans for Germany). As part of this policy, limits were placed on production levels, and industries in the Saar were dismantled just as in the Ruhr, although mostly in the period prior to its detachment (see also the 1949 letter from the UK Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin to the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman, urging a reconsideration of the dismantling policy). The Saar Protectorate was headed by a military governor from 30 August 1945: Gilbert Yves Édmond Grandval (b. 1904 - d. 1981), who remained on 1 January 1948 as High Commissioner, and January 1952 - June 1955 as the first of two French ambassadors, his successor being Eric de Carbonnel (b. 1910 - d. 1965) until 1956. Saarland, however, was allowed a regional administration very soon, consecutively headed by: a President of the Government: 31 July 1945 - 8 June 1946: Hans Neureuther, Non-party a Chairman of the (until 15 December 1947, Provisional) Administration Commission: 8 June 1946 - 20 December 1947: Erwin Müller (b. 1906 - d. 1968), Non-party Minister-presidents (as in any Bundesland): 20 December 1947 - 29 October 1955 Johannes Hoffmann (b. 1890 - d. 1967), CVP 29 October 1955 - 10 January 1956 Heinrich Welsch (b. 1888 - d. 1976), Non-party 10 January 1956 - 4 June 1957 Hubert Ney (b. 1892 - d. 1984), CDU In 1954, France and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) developed a detailed plan called the Saarstatut to establish an independent Saarland. It was signed as an agreement between the two countries on October 23, 1954 as one of the Paris Pacts but a plebiscite held on October 23, 1955 rejected it by 67.7%. On 27 October 1956 the Saar Treaty declared that Saarland should be allowed to join the Federal Republic of Germany, which it did on 1 January 1957. This was the last significant international border change in Europe until the fall of Communism. The Saarland's reunification with the Federal Republic of Germany was sometimes referred to as the kleine Wiedervereinigung ("small reunification", in contrast with the post-Cold War reabsorption of the GDR). Even after reunification, the Saar franc remained as the territory's currency until West Germany's Deutsche Mark replaced it on 7 July 1959. The Saar Treaty established that French, not English as in the rest of West Germany, should remain the first foreign language taught in Saarland schools; this provision is still largely followed today, although it is no longer binding. Since 1971, Saarland has been a member of SaarLorLux, a euroregion created from Saarland, Lorraine, Luxembourg, Rhineland Palatinate and Wallonia. Other: The Saar competed in the qualifying section of the 1954 football World Cup, but failed after coming second to West Germany but ahead of Norway. It also competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics (see Saar at the 1952 Summer Olympics). From 1920 to 1935, and then from 1947 to 1959, the inhabitants used postage stamps issued specially for the territory; see postage stamps and postal history of the Saar for details. In 1954, the Paris mint coined 10, 20, and 50 "franken" pieces. The following year a 100 franken was also minted. After reunification, Saarland switched to the West German mark. Between 1950 and 1956, Saarland was a member of the Council of Europe. One of Lufthansa's Boeing 747-400s (registered D-ABVS) is named Saarland. Politics of Saarland: Saarland has been governed by the rightist Christian Democratic Union since 1999. In the most recent elections in 2009, the CDU lost its absolute majority and is not able to even form government with the right of centre Liberals (FDP). The left of centre Social Democrats, the left-wing, post-communist Left Party, and the Greens won a majority of seats, however, on the 11 of October 2009, the Greens announced their intention to form a coalition with the CDU and the FDP. Such a coalition is known in Germany as the Jamaica coalition and is highly experimental. It could potentially shape future coalition governments on both a regional and national scale. Since Saarland joined the Federal Republic of Germany, the CDU has governed the state for 37 out of 51 years. The center-left Social Democratic Party of Germany ruled for 14 years (1985- 1998), with Oskar Lafontaine serving as minister-president. Economy: Important income sources are automobile industry, steel industry, coal mining, ceramic industry and computer science and information systems industry. In 2005 Saarland the highest economic growth in GDP among German states. People in the Saarland speak Rhine Franconian (in the southeast, very similar to that dialect spoken in the western part of the Palatinate) and Moselle Franconian (in the northwest, very similar to that dialect spoken along the Moselle River and the cities of Trier or even in Luxembourg), dialects of German[6]. Outside of the Saarland, specifically the Rhine- Franconian variant spoken in the Landeshauptstadt Saarbrücken is generally considered to be the Saarland dialect. The two dialect regions are mainly separated by the "das/ dat" isogloss. In the northwestern portion of the state, including cities such as Saarlouis, standard German "das" is pronounced with a final "t" instead of an "s". In general, both dialects are an integral part of the “Saarlandish” identity and thus a strong source of local patriotism. Both dialects, even more so in their respective Saarland flavour, share many characteristic features, some of which will be explained below. Women and girls are often referred to using the neuter grammatical gender, es, with the pronunciation being something like Ähs. Ähs hat mir's gesaat (it told me so, instead of she told me so; vs. High German: Sie hat es mir gesagt). This stems from the word Mädchen (girl) being neuter in German (es is correct in German when referring to words like Mädchen but would not be used by itself in reference to a woman). The conjunctive in Rhine Franconian is normally composed with the words dääd (High German “tät” = “would do”) or gäng (“would go”) as auxiliary verbs: Isch dääd saan, dass... (“I would say that...”) instead of the High German Ich würde sagen, dass.... Declension is rather different: The genitive case does not exist at all and is entirely replaced by constructs with the dative case. In most instances, a word is not altered when cast into the dative case. Exceptions are mostly pronouns. The same holds for the accusative case. Even more so, it is accepted practice to use the nominative case instead of the accusative. Diphthongs are almost non-existent. The Saarlandish variant of a High-German word that contains a diphthong usually will have a long vowel in its place. Moreover, the vowels ö and ü do not exist in the dialect. They are generally replaced by e and i respectively. Both the Rhein-Franconian and Mosel-Franconian dialects (and Luxemburgish) have merged the palatal fricative "ich" sound with the post-alveolar fricative (the sound in "schule") causing minimal pairs such as "Kirche" and "Kirsche" to be pronounced in the same way. French has had a considerable influence on the vocabulary, although the pronunciation of imported French words usually is quite different from their original. Popular examples comprise Trottwaa (from trottoir), Fissääl (from ficelle), and the imperative or greeting aalleh! (from allez!). The English phrase My house is green is pronounced almost the same (in the Rhine Franconian variant): Mei Haus is grien. The main difference lies in the pronunciation of the r sound. Regional beer brewer Karlsberg has taken advantage of the Saarlandish dialect to create clever advertising for its staple product, UrPils. Examples include a trio of men enjoying a beer, flanked by baby carriages, the slogan reading "Mutter schafft" (meaning "Mom's at work" in Saarlandish, but plays on the High German word "Mutterschaft", or "motherhood"); another depicts a trio of men at a bar, with one realizing his beer has been drunk by one of the others, the slogan reading "Kenner war's" (meaning "It was no one" [Keiner war es] in Saarlandish, but playing on the High German word "Kenner", or "connoisseur", translating to "It was a connoisseur"); a third shows an empty beer crate in the middle of outer space, the text reading "All" (meaning "empty" in Saarlandish, but playing on the same High German word meaning "outer space"). French: The French language has a long tradition and special standing in Saarland. This is not least due to the fact that France sought to incorporate the region into the French state shortly after World War II. Today, a large part of the population is able to speak French, and it is compulsory at many schools.[8] Saarbrücken is also home to the bilingual "Deutsch- Französisches Gymnasium" (German-French high school). ================================== Saxony From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The climate of Dresden, the capital of Saxony and situated on the Elbe in eastern middle Germany, as measured and recorded in Klotzsche (altitude 227 m)The Free State of Saxony (German: Freistaat Sachsen [ˈfʁaɪʃtaːt ˈzaksən]; Upper Sorbian: Swobodny stat Sakska) is a state of Germany, located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth- largest German state in area (18,413 km²) and the sixth largest in population (4.3 million), of Germany's sixteen states. Located in the historical heart of German-speaking Europe, the history of the state of Saxony spans more than a millennium. It has been a mediaeval duchy, an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, a kingdom and, since 1918, a republic. During the early Middle Ages the term Saxony referred to the region occupied by today's states of Lower Saxony and northern North Rhine-Westphalia. The term Saxon does not always correlate with Saxony: a Saxon is not necessarily an inhabitant of Saxony (e.g. Saxon people, Anglo-Saxons or Transylvanian Saxons). Economy: Saxony has the most vibrant economy among the former GDR states. Its economy grew by 4.0% in 2006, making it the fastest growing region in Germany. Nonetheless, unemployment remains high, and investment is scarce. The eastern part of Germany, excluding Berlin, qualifies as an "Objective 1" development region within the European Union, and is eligible to receive investment subsidies of up to 30% until 2013. Microchip makers near Dresden have given the region a nickname of "Silicon Saxony". The publishing and porcelain industries of the region are well known, although their contributions to the regional economy are not significant. The state government is attempting to develop tourism, notably in the lake district of Lausitz[2]. In December 2009, Saxony reported unemployment of 12.0%.[3] History of Saxony: Saxony has a long history as a duchy, an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire (the Electorate of Saxony), and eventually as a kingdom (the Kingdom of Saxony). In 1918, subsequent to Germany's defeat in World War I, its monarchy was overthrown and a republican form of government was established under its current name. The state was broken up into smaller units during communist rule (1949-1989), but was re-established on 3 October 1990 on the reunification of East and West Germany. Prehistory: In prehistoric times, the territory of Saxony was the site of some of the largest of the ancient Central European monumental temples, dating from the 5th millennium BC. Notable archaeological sites have been discovered in Dresden and the villages of Eythra and Zwenkau near Leipzig. The first Germanic presence in the territory of today's Saxony is thought to be in the first millennium BC. Parts of Saxony were possibly under the control of Germanic King Marobod during the Roman era. By the late Roman period, several tribes known as the Saxons emerged, from which the subsequent state(s) draw their name. For the origins of the Saxon tribes, see Saxons. Duchy of Saxony: Henry the Lion (with his wife Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony) is crowned as Duke of SaxonyThe first mediæval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy", which emerged about AD 700, and grew to cover the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine- Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein and Saxony-Anhalt. The Saxons were converted to Christianity during this period by Charlemagne, despite fierce resistance by the Saxon chieftains. While the Saxons were facing pressure from Charlemagne's post-Roman, Latin Christian world, they were also facing a westward push by Slavs to the east. The territory of the Free State of Saxony was briefly occupied by Slavs before being reconquered by the Germans. A legacy of this period is the small Sorb population in Saxony. [edit] Holy Roman Empire The territory of the Free State of Saxony became part of the Holy Roman Empire by the 900s. In the 10th century, the dukes of Saxony were also kings (or emperors) of the Holy Roman Empire, comprising the Ottonian, or Saxon, Dynasty. Around this time, the Billungs, a Saxon noble family, received extensive fiefs in Saxony. The Emperor eventually gave them the title of Duke of Saxony. After Duke Magnus died in 1106, causing the extinction of the male line of Billungs, oversight of the duchy was given to Lothar of Supplinburg, who also became Emperor for a short time. In 1137, control of Saxony passed to the Guelph dynasty, descendants of Wulfhild Billung, eldest daughter of the last Billung duke, and the daughter of Lothar of Supplinburg. In 1180 large portions west of the Weser were ceded to the Bishops of Cologne, while some central parts between the Weser and the Elbe remained to the Guelphs, later forming the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg). The remaining eastern lands, together with the title of Duke of Saxony, passed to an Ascanian dynasty (descended from Eilika Billung, Wulfhild's younger sister) and was divided in 1260 into the two small states of Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg, the former also named Lower Saxony, the latter Upper Saxony, thence the later names of the two Imperial Circles. Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg both claimed the Saxon electoral privilege for their part, but the Golden Bull of 1356 only accepted Wittenberg's claim, with Lauenburg nevertheless maintaining its claim. In 1422, when the Saxon electoral line of the Ascanians was extinct, the Ascanian Eric V of Saxe-Lauenburg tried to reunite the Saxon duchies. However, Sigismund, King of the Romans, had already granted Margrave Frederick IV the Warlike of Meissen (House of Wettin) an expectancy on the Saxon electorate, in order to remunerate his military support. On 1 August 1425 Sigismund enfeoffed the Wettinian Frederick as Prince-Elector of Saxony, despite protestations of Eric V. Thus the Saxon territories remained separated in permanence. Electoral Saxony was then merged in the much bigger Wettinian Margraviate of Meissen, however using the higher ranking name Electorate of Saxony and even the Ascanian coat-of-arms for the entire monarchy.[4] Thus the name Saxony was translated to areas as far as Dresden and Meissen. In the 18th and 19th c. Saxe- Lauenburg became colloquially called the Duchy of Lauenburg, which in 1876 merged in Prussia as Duchy of Lauenburg district. Foundation of the second Saxon state: Between the years 1697 and 1763, the Electors of Saxony were also elected Kings of Poland in personal union Saxony is home to numerous castles, like the Schloss Moritzburg north of DresdenSaxony- Wittenberg, in modern Saxony-Anhalt, became subject to the margravate of Meißen, ruled by the Wettin dynasty in 1423. This established a new and powerful state, occupying large portions of the present Free State of Saxony, Thuringia, and Saxony-Anhalt. Although the center of this state was far to the southeast of the former Saxony, it came to be referred to as Upper Saxony and then simply Saxony, while the former Saxon territories were now known as Lower Saxony. In 1485, Saxony was split. A collateral line of the Wettin princes received what later became Thuringia and founded several small states there (see Ernestine duchies). The remaining Saxon state became still more powerful, becoming known in the 18th century for its cultural achievements, although it was politically inferior to Prussia and Austria, which pressed Saxony from either side. Kingdom of Saxony: In 1806, French Emperor Napoleon abolished the Holy Roman Empire and decreed the Electorate of Saxony a kingdom in itself. Elector Frederick Augustus III became King Frederick Augustus I. Frederick Augustus remained loyal to Napoleon during the wars that swept Europe in the following years; he was taken prisoner and his territories declared forfeit by the allies in 1813, who intended the annexation of Saxony by Prussia. Ultimately, the opposition of Austria, France, and the United Kingdom to this plan resulted in the restoration of Frederick Augustus to his throne at the Congress of Vienna. At this time in 1815, Saxony was forced to cede the northern part of the kingdom to Prussia.[5] These lands became the Prussian province of Saxony, incorporated today in Saxony-Anhalt. The remnant of the Kingdom of Saxony was roughly identical with the present federal state. Meanwhile, in 1815, the southern part of Saxony, now called the "State of Saxony joined the German Confederation.[6]. (The German Confederation should not be confused with the North German Confederation mentioned below.) In the politics of the Confederation, Saxony was overshadowed by Prussia. King Anton of Saxony, came to the throne of Saxony in 1827. Shortly thereafter, liberal pressures in Saxony mounted and broke out in the revolt during 1830--a year of revolution in Europe.[7] The revolution in Saxony resulted in a Constitution for the State of Saxony which served as a basis for the government in Saxony until 1918.[8] During the 1848–49 constitutionalist revolutions in Germany, Saxony became a hotbed for revolutionaries, with anarchists such as Mikhail Bakunin and democrats including Richard Wagner and Gottfried Semper taking part in the May Uprising in Dresden in 1849. (Scenes of Richard Wagner's participation in the May 1849 Uprising in Dresden are pictured in the 1983 movie, Wagner starring Richard Burton as Richard Wagner.) The May Uprising in Dresden forced King Friedrich August II of Saxony to concede further reforms in the Saxon government.[9] In 1854 King Friedrich August II's brother, King Johann of Saxony, succeeded to the throne. A scholar, King Johann translated Dante.[10] King Johann followed a federalistic and pro- Austrian policy throughout the early 1860's until the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War. During the war, Saxony was immediately overrun? occupied? by Prussian troops.[11] After the Austro-Prussian War, Saxony was forced to pay an indemnity and was forced joined the North German Confederation in 1867.[12] Under the terms of the North German Confederation, prussia took over control of the Saxon postal system, railroads, military and foreign affairs. [13] In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Saxon troops fought together with Prussian troops against France.[14] In 1871, Saxony joined the newly formed German Empire.[15] After 1918, Saxony was a state in the Weimar Republic and was the scene of Gustav Stresemann's overthrow of the SPD-led government in 1923. The state maintained its name and borders during the National Socialist era as a Gau, but lost any quasi-autonomous status. In April 1945, American troops under General Patton conquered the western part of the Free State while Soviet troops conquered the eastern part. That summer, the entire state was handed over to the Soviet Union as part of the Potsdam Conference agreement on post-war occupation zones. The Soviet Union set up the communist government of the German Democratic Republic in 1949, giving the USSR a satellite in the heart of Europe. The communist government officially dissolved the Free State in 1952, and divided it into three smaller Bezirke based on Leipzig, Dresden, and Karl-Marx-Stadt. The state reconstituted with slightly altered borders in 1990 upon German reunification. The border alterations revolve around the Oder-Neisse line. Present-day Saxony includes a small part of Prussian province of Lower Silesia that was located to the west of the 1945 borders of the town of Görlitz, but excludes all the former territory of Saxony east of the same line. This territory, like the majority of Silesia, was incorporated into post-war Poland. Religion: Evangelical Church in Germany 20.9 %[16], Catholic Church 3.6 %[17]. Languages: Boundary sign of Bautzen / Budyšin in German and Upper Sorbian; many place names in Saxony are derived from SorbianThe most common patois spoken in Saxony are combined in the group of "Thuringian and Upper Saxon dialects". Due to the incorrect usage of "Saxon dialects" in colloquial language, the Upper Saxon attribute has been added to distinguish it from Old Saxon and Low Saxon. Other German dialects spoken in Saxony are the dialects of the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains), which have been affected by Upper Saxon dialects, and the dialects of the Vogtland, which are more affected by the East Franconian languages. Upper Sorbian (a Slavic language) is still actively spoken in the parts of Upper Lusatia that are occupied by the Sorbian minority. The Germans in Upper Lusatia speak distinct dialects of their own (Lusatian dialects). Tourism: Except for Dresden and perhaps Leipzig, Saxony is not known as a primary destination for foreign tourists. Areas along the border with the Czech Republic, such as the Lusatian Mountains, Ore Mountains, Saxon Switzerland, and Vogtland, attract significant visitors, largely Germans. Saxony has well preserved historic towns such as Meissen, Freiberg, Pirna, Bautzen, and Görlitz. Politics: A minister-president heads the government of Saxony. Since May 28, 2008 the minister- president of Saxony is Stanislaw Tillich. see the List of Ministers-President of Saxony for a full listing. ================================== Saxony-Anhalt From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Saxony-Anhalt (German: Sachsen-Anhalt, pronounced [ˈzaksən ˈanhalt]) is a state of Germany. It has an area of 20,447 square kilometres (7,895 sq mi) and a population of 2.4 million (more than 2.8 million in 1990). Its capital is Magdeburg. Saxony-Anhalt should not be confused with Saxony or Lower Saxony, also German states. Geography: Saxony-Anhalt is one of 16 states of Germany. It covers a total area of 20,445 km² (12,676 sq. miles). By size, it is the 8th largest state in Germany, and by population, the 10th largest. It borders the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. The capital of Saxony-Anhalt is Magdeburg. It is the second largest city in the state, after Halle. Nearby is the city of Dessau, where the "Bauhaus" is located. The Bauhaus provided a basis for the field of architecture and fine arts in the area. Dessau is also home to the opulent Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm. The city’s main attraction is the Wörlitzer Park which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The landscape of Saxony-Anhalt is quite varied. From the region of Altmark in the north, the state extends from the Magdeburg region, a vast lowland, through the Harz, a low mountain range, to Thuringia. The highest mountain in the vicinity is Brocken, with an elevation of 1,141 meters (3,735 ft). Below the summit, the National Park Harz forms an extensive wildlife sanctuary. History: Saxony-Anhalt was formed as a province of Prussia in 1945, from the territories of the former Prussian Province of Saxony (except the Regierungsbezirk Erfurt), the Free State of Anhalt, the Free State of Brunswick (Calvörde and the eastern part of the former Blankenburg district) and the formerly Thuringian town Allstedt. See the respective articles for the history of the area before 1945. When Prussia was disbanded in 1947, the province became the state Saxony-Anhalt. It became part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in 1949. From 1952 to 1990 Saxony- Anhalt was divided into the East German districts of Halle and Magdeburg. In 1990, in the course of German reunification, the districts were reintegrated as a state. Economy: Saxony-Anhalt is famous for its good soil. The "Magdeburger Börde" contains the best soil in all of Germany and some of the best of Europe. It is often said by the local populace that the smoothness of the soil is more luxurious than balls of silk. The food industry has an important role in this state. Some of the best known products are "Baumkuchen" from Salzwedel (Altmark) or "Hallorenkugeln" from Halle. In the industrial sector the chemical industry is quite important. One of the biggest chemical producing areas can be found around the cities of Wolfen and Bitterfeld. Because of the chemical industry, Saxony-Anhalt is the largest receiver of foreign direct investments in all of eastern Germany. Saxony-Anhalt is also the location of numerous "wind farms" throughout the state producing wind-turbine energy. Religion: Evangelical Church in Germany 15 %[3], Catholic Church 3.5 %[4]. Anthem: Lied für Sachsen-Anhalt ("Song for Saxony-Anhalt") ================================== Schleswig-Holstein From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Schleswig-Holstein (pronounced [ˈʃleːsvɪç ˈhɔlʃtaɪn] (help·info)) is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the two historical duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. Its capital city is Kiel, other notable cities are Lübeck, Flensburg and Neumünster. Schleswig-Holstein borders Denmark (Region Syddanmark) to the north, the North Sea to the west, the Baltic Sea to the east, and the German states of Lower Saxony, Hamburg, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to the south. The former English name was Sleswick-Holsatia, the Danish name is Slesvig-Holsten, the Low German name is Sleswig-Holsteen, and the North Frisian name is Slaswik-Holstiinj. Historically, the name can also refer to a larger region, containing both present-day Schleswig- Holstein and the former South Jutland County (Northern Schleswig) in Denmark. Religion: Evangelical Church in Germany 54.3 %[3], Catholic Church 6 %[4]. Geography: GeographySchleswig-Holstein lies on the base of Jutland Peninsula between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Strictly speaking, "Schleswig" refers to the German Southern Schleswig, whereas Northern Schleswig is in Denmark. The state of Schleswig-Holstein further consists of Holstein as well as Lauenburg, and the formerly independent city of Lübeck. This makes it one of the few nations with a boundary where the name is used in two countries; usually it is two counties villages that share the same name, as in Somerset.[clarification needed] In the western part of the state, there are lowlands with virtually no hills. The North Frisian Islands, as well as almost all of Schleswig-Holstein's North Sea coast, form Schleswig-Holstein's Wadden Sea National Parks (Nationalpark Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer) which is the largest national park in Central Europe. Germany's only high-sea island, Heligoland, is situated in the North Sea. The Baltic Sea coast in the east of Schleswig-Holstein is marked by bays, fjords and cliff lines. There are rolling hills (the highest elevation is the Bungsberg at 168 metres or 550 feet) and many lakes, especially in the eastern part of Holstein, called the Holsteinische Schweiz ("Holsatian Switzerland") and the former Duchy of Lauenburg (Herzogtum Lauenburg). Fehmarn is the only island off the eastern coast. The longest river besides the Elbe is the Eider; the most important waterway is the Kiel Canal which connects the North Sea and Baltic Sea. Languages: Heligoland island in the North SeaThe official language is German based on the standard dialect used by the Federal German government in Berlin. Low German, Danish and North Frisian enjoy legal protection or state promotion. Historically, Low German, Danish (in Schleswig) and Frisian (in Schleswig) were spoken. Low German is still used in many parts of the state, and a pidgin of Low and standardised German (Missingsch) is used in most areas. Danish is used by the Danes in Southern Schleswig, and Frisian is spoken by the North Frisians of the North Sea Coast and the Northern Frisian Islands in Southern Schleswig. The North Frisian dialect called Heligolandic (Halunder) is spoken on the island of Heligoland. High German was introduced in the 16th century, mainly for official purposes, but is today the predominant language. Culture: Shared with the Danish neighbour: Rote Grütze served in Schleswig-Holstein with milk or custardSchleswig-Holstein combines Danish and German aspects of culture. The castles and manors in the countryside are the best example for this tradition; some dishes like Rote Grütze are also shared. The most important festivals are the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, an annual classic music festival all over the state, and the Nordische Filmtage, an annual film festival for movies from Scandinavian countries, held in Lübeck. The annual Wacken Open Air festival is considered to be the largest heavy metal rock festival in the world. The state's most important museum of cultural history is in Schloss Gottorf in Schleswig. The old city of Lübeck is a world heritage site. History: The Limes Saxoniae border between the Saxons and the Obotrites, established about 810 in present-day Schleswig-Holstein Kiel is the state's capital and largest city. The City of Lübeck was the centre of the Hanse, and its city centre is a World Heritage Site today. Lübeck is the birthplace of the author Thomas Mann. A rapeseed field in Schleswig-Holstein — agriculture continues to play an important role in parts of the state. Schleswig-Holstein's islands, beaches and cities are popular tourist attractions (here: Isle of Sylt).The term "Holstein" derives from Old Saxon, Holseta Land, meaning "the land of those who dwell in the wood" (Holz means wood in modern Standardised German). Originally, it referred to the central of the three Saxon tribes north of the Elbe river, Tedmarsgoi, Holcetae, and Sturmarii. The area of the Holcetae was between the Stör river and Hamburg, and after Christianization their main church was in Schenefeld. Saxon Holstein became a part of the Holy Roman Empire after Charlemagne's Saxon campaigns in the late eighth century. Since 811 the northern frontier of Holstein (and thus the Empire) was marked by the river Eider. The term Schleswig takes its name from the city of Schleswig. The name derives from the Schlei inlet in the east and vik meaning inlet or settlement in Old Saxon and Old Norse. The name is similar to the place-names ending in the "-wick" or "-wich" element along the coast in the United Kingdom. The Duchy of Schleswig or Southern Jutland was originally an integral part of Denmark, but was in medieval times established as a fief under the Kingdom of Denmark, with the same relation to the Danish Crown as for example Brandenburg or Bavaria vis-à-vis the Holy Roman Emperor. Around 1100 the Duke of Saxony gave Holstein, as it was his own country, to Count Adolf I of Schauenburg. Schleswig and Holstein have at different times belonged in part or completely to either Denmark or Germany, or have been virtually independent of both nations. The exception is that Schleswig had never been part of Germany until the Second War of Schleswig in 1864. For many centuries, the King of Denmark was both a Danish Duke of Schleswig and a German Duke of Holstein, the Duke of Saxony. Essentially, Schleswig was either integrated into Denmark or was a Danish fief, and Holstein was a German fief and once a sovereign state long ago. Both were for several centuries ruled by the kings of Denmark. In 1721 all of Schleswig was united as a single duchy under the king of Denmark, and the great powers of Europe confirmed in an international treaty that all future kings of Denmark should automatically become dukes of Schleswig, and consequently Schleswig would always follow the same line of succession as the one chosen in the Kingdom of Denmark. The German national awakening following the Napoleonic Wars led to a strong popular movement in Holstein and Southern Schleswig for unification with a new Prussian-dominated Germany. However, this development was paralleled by an equally strong Danish national awakening in Denmark and northern Schleswig. It called for the complete reintegration of Schleswig into the Kingdom of Denmark and demanded an end to discrimination against Danes in Schleswig. The ensuing conflict is sometimes called the Schleswig-Holstein Question. In 1848 King Frederick VII of Denmark declared that he would grant Denmark a liberal constitution and the immediate goal for the Danish national movement was to ensure that this constitution would not only give rights to all Danes, i.e., not only in the Kingdom of Denmark, but also to Danes (and Germans) living in Schleswig. Furthermore, they demanded protection for the Danish language in Schleswig since the dominant language in almost a quarter of Schleswig had changed from Danish to German since the beginning of the 19th century. A liberal constitution for Holstein was not seriously considered in Copenhagen, since it was a well-known fact that the political élite of Holstein had been far more conservative than Copenhagen's. This proved to be true, as the politicians of Holstein demanded that the Constitution of Denmark be scrapped — not only in Schleswig but also in Denmark. They also demanded that Schleswig immediately follow Holstein and become a member of the German Confederation, and eventually a part of the new united Germany. These demands were rejected and in 1848 the Germans of Holstein and Southern Schleswig rebelled. This was the beginning of the First War of Schleswig (1848–51) which ended in a Danish victory at Idstedt. Elements of this period were fictionalized in Royal Flash, the second of George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman novels. In 1863 conflict broke out again as King Frederick VII of Denmark died leaving no heir. According to the line of succession of Denmark and Schleswig, the crowns of both Denmark and Schleswig would now pass to Duke Christian of Glücksburg (the future King Christian IX); the crown of Holstein was considered to be more problematic. This decision was challenged by a rival pro-German branch of the Danish royal family, the House of Augustenburg (Danish: Augustenborg) who demanded, as in 1848, the crowns of both Schleswig and Holstein. The passing of a common constitution for Denmark and Schleswig in November 1863 then gave Otto von Bismarck a chance to intervene and Prussia and Austria declared war on Denmark. This was the Second War of Schleswig which ended in a Danish defeat. British attempts to mediate failed, and Denmark lost Schleswig (Northern and Southern Schleswig), Holstein, and Lauenburg to Prussia and Austria. Following the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, section five of the Peace of Prague stated that the people in northern Schleswig should be granted the right to a referendum on whether they would remain under Prussian rule or return to Danish rule. This promise was never fulfilled by Prussia. Following the defeat of Germany in World War I, the Allied powers arranged a referendum in northern and central Schleswig. In northern Schleswig (10 February 1920) 75% voted for reunification with Denmark and 25% voted for Germany. In central Schleswig (14 March 1920) the results were reversed; 80% voted for Germany and just 20% for Denmark, primarily in Flensburg. No vote ever took place in the southern third of Schleswig, although it was planned. For the referendum under authority of an international commission (CIS, Commission Internationale de Surveillance du Plébiscite Slesvig) two (primarily three) election-zones were created. Primarily three zones were planned, Zone III should involve the rest of Southern Schleswig. Denmark passed on an election in this zone. Just the votes for the whole zone were crucial, not dissent votes in a single Kreis (district) or city: Zone I Kreis (district) Hadersleben (Haderslev): 6.585 votes (16.0%) for Germany, 34.653 votes (84.0%) for Denmark - thereunder: city of Hadersleben: 3.275 votes (38.6%) for Germany, 5.209 votes (61.4%) for Denmark; Kreis (district) Apenrade (Aabenraa): 6.030 votes (32.3%) for Germany, 12.653 votes (67.7%) for Denmark - thereunder: city of Apenrade: 2.725 votes (55.1%) for Germany, 2.224 votes (44.9%) for Denmark; Kreis (district) Sonderburg (Sønderborg): 5.083 votes (22.9%) for Germany, 17.100 votes (77.1%) for Denmark - thereunder: city of Sonderburg 2.601 votes (56.2%) for Germany, 2.029 votes (43.8%) for Denmark; northern part of Kreis (district) Tondern (Tønder): 7.083 votes (40.9%) for Germany, 10.223 votes (59.1%) for Denmark - thereunder: city of Tondern 2.448 votes (76.5%) for Germany, 750 votes (23.5%) for Denmark; northern part of Kreis (district) Flensburg (Flensborg) - without the city of Flensburg (Flensborg): 548 votes (40.6%) for Germany, 802 votes (59.4%) for Denmark. Zone II southern part of Kreis (district) Tondern (Tønder): 17.283 votes (87.9%) for Germany, 2.376 votes (12.1%) for Denmark; southern part of Kreis (district) Flensburg (Flensborg) - without the city of Flensburg (Flensborg): 6.688 votes (82.6%) for Germany, 1.405 votes (17.4%) for Denmark; northern part of Kreis (district) Husum: 672 votes (90.0%) for Germany, 75 votes (10.0%) for Denmark; city of Flensburg (Flensborg): 27.081 votes (75.2%) for Germany, 8.944 votes (24.8%) for Denmark.[5] On 15 June 1920, northern Schleswig officially returned to Danish rule. The Danish/German border was the only one of the borders imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles after World War I which was never challenged by Adolf Hitler. In 1937 the Nazis passed the so-called Greater Hamburg Act (Groß-Hamburg-Gesetz), where the nearby Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg was expanded, to encompass towns that had formally belonged to the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein. To compensate Prussia for these losses (and partly because Hitler had a personal dislike for Lübeck), the 711-year-long independence of the Hansestadt Lübeck came to an end, and almost all its territory was incorporated into Schleswig-Holstein. After the Second World War, the Prussian province Schleswig-Holstein came under British occupation. On August 23, 1946, the Military Government abolished the province and reconstituted it as a separate Land[6]. Symbols: The coat of arms shows the symbols of the two duchies united in Schleswig-Holstein, i.e., the two lions for Schleswig and the leaf of a nettle for Holstein. Supposedly, Otto von Bismarck decreed that the two lions were to face the nettle because of the discomfort to their bottoms which would have resulted if the lions faced away from it. The motto of Schleswig-Holstein is "Up ewich ungedeelt" (Middle Low German: "Forever undivided", modern High German: "Auf ewig ungeteilt"). It goes back to the Vertrag von Ripen or Handfeste von Ripen (Danish: Ribe Håndfæstning) or Treaty of Ribe in 1460. Ripen (Ribe) is a historical small town at the North Sea coast in Northern Schleswig. See History of Schleswig-Holstein. The anthem is usually referred to with its first line "Schleswig-Holstein meerumschlungen" (i. e., "Schleswig-Holstein embraced by the seas") from 1844. ================================== Thuringia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThe Free State of Thuringia (German: Freistaat Thüringen, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪʃtaːt ˈtyːʁɪŋən]) is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country. It has an area of 16,171 square kilometers (6,243.7 sq mi) and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states. The capital is Erfurt. Geography; Thuringia borders on (from the northwest and clockwise) the German states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Bavaria and Hesse. The ridges of the western Harz Mountains divide the region from Lower Saxony on the north-west, while the eastern Harz similarly separates Thuringia from the state of Saxony-Anhalt to the north-east. To the south and southwest, the Thuringian Forest effectively separates the ancient region of Franconia, now the northern part of Bavaria, from the rolling plains of most of Thuringia. The central Harz range extends southwards along the western side into the northwest corner of the Thuringian Forest region, making Thuringia a lowland basin of rolling plains nearly surrounded by ancient somewhat- difficult mountains. To the west across the mountains and south is the drainage basin of the Rhine River. The most conspicuous geographical feature of Thuringia is the Thuringian Forest, a mountain chain in the southwest. The Werra River, a tributary of the Weser River, separates this mountain chain from the volcanic Rhön Mountains, which are partially in Thuringia, Bavaria, and Hesse. In the northwest, Thuringia includes a small part of the Harz. The eastern part of Thuringia is generally a plain. The Saale River runs through these lowlands from south to north. The geographic center of the Federal Republic is located in Thuringia, near the municipality of Niederdorla. Thuringia is divided into 17 districts (Landkreise): Altenburger Land Eichsfeld Gotha Greiz Hildburghausen Ilm-Kreis Kyffhäuserkreis Nordhausen Saale-Holzland Saale-Orla Saalfeld-Rudolstadt Schmalkalden-Meiningen Sömmerda Sonneberg Unstrut-Hainich Wartburgkreis Weimarer Land Furthermore there are six urban districts (not numerated in the map): Erfurt Eisenach Gera Jena Suhl Weimar History: Herzogtum (Landgrafschaft) Thüringen Duchy (Landgraviate) of Thuringia Pagan kingdom, Frankish duchy, then State of the Holy Roman Empire 450–1247 → For the earlier history of the region, see Thuringii. Named after the Thuringii tribe who occupied it ca. AD 300, Thuringia came under Frankish domination in the 6th century, forming a part of the subsequent Holy Roman Empire. Arms of the landgraves of Thuringia (1265)Thuringia became a landgraviate in 1130. After the extinction of the reigning Ludowingian line of counts in 1247 and the War of the Thuringian Succession (1247–1264), the western half became independent under the name of Hesse, never to become a part of Thuringia again. Most of the remaining Thuringia came under the rule of the Wettin dynasty of the nearby Margraviate of Meissen, the nucleus of the later Electorate and Kingdom of Saxony. With the division of the house of Wettin in 1485, Thuringia went to the senior Ernestine branch of the family, which subsequently subdivided the area into a number of smaller states, according to the Saxon tradition of dividing inheritance amongst male heirs. These were the "Saxon duchies", consisting, among others, of the states of Saxe- Weimar, Saxe-Eisenach, Saxe-Jena, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg, and Saxe- Gotha; Thuringia became merely a geographical concept. Thuringia generally accepted the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic faith was abolished as early as 1520; priests that remained loyal were driven away and churches and monasteries were largely destroyed, especially during the Peasants' War of 1525. In Mühlhausen and elsewhere, the Anabaptists found many adherents. Thomas Müntzer, a leader of some non- peaceful groups of this sect, was active in this city. Within the borders of Thuringia the Catholic faith was maintained only in the district called Eichsfeld, which was ruled by the Archbishop of Mainz, and to a small degree in the city and vicinity of Erfurt. This German map shows the various states of Thuringia within the German Empire in 1905. Map of Thuringian States 1890Some reordering of the Thuringian states occurred during the German Mediatisation from 1795–1814, and the territory was included within the Napoleonic Confederation of the Rhine organized in 1806. The 1815 Congress of Vienna confirmed these changes and the Thuringian states' inclusion in the German Confederation; the Kingdom of Prussia also acquired some Thuringian territory and administered it within the Province of Saxony. The Thuringian duchies which became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany were Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe- Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and the two principalities of Reuß. In 1920, after World War I, these small states merged into one state, called Thuringia; only Saxe-Coburg voted to join Bavaria instead. Weimar became the new capital of Thuringia. The coat of arms of this new state was simpler than they had been previously. Coat of arms used 1945–1952After July 1945, the state of Thuringia came under the Soviet occupation zone, and was expanded to include parts Prussian Saxony, such as the areas around Erfurt, Mühlhausen, and Nordhausen. Erfurt became the new capital of Thuringia. In 1952, the German Democratic Republic dissolved its states, and created districts (Bezirke) instead. The three districts that shared the territory of Thuringia were based in Erfurt, Gera and Suhl. The State of Thuringia was restored with slightly altered borders during Germany's reunification in 1990. ================================= |
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