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Ishtar Gate

Ishtar Gate

The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon. It was constructed in about 575 BC by order of King Nebuchadrezzar II on the north side of the city. Dedicated to the goddess Ishtar, the Gate was constructed of blue glazed tiles with alternating rows of bas-relief dragons and bulls. The roof and doors of the gate were of cedar, according to the dedication plaque. Through the gate ran the Processional Way which was lined with walls covered in lions on glazed bricks (about 120 of them). Statues of the gods were paraded through the gate and down the Processional Way each year during the New Year's celebration. A reconstruction of the Ishtar gate and Processional Way was built at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin out of material excavated by Robert Koldeway and finished in the 1930s. It includes the inscription plaque. It stands 47 feet high and 32 feet wide (14 meters by 10 meters). The excavation ran from 1902-1914 and during that time 45 ft of the foundation of the gate was uncovered. Parts of the gate and lions from the Processional Way are in various other museums around the world. Only two museums acquired dragons while lions went to several museums. The Istanbul Archaeology Museum has lions, dragons and bulls. The Detroit Institute of Arts houses a dragon; the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Oriental Institute in Chicago, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston each have lions. Museum of Fine Arts A reproduction of the gate was built in Iraq as the entrance to a museum that was never completed.

External links


- [http://www.andycarvin.com/video/pergamon.ishtar.avi Video of Ishtar Gate] taken in November 2004, from [http://www.andycarvin.com/ Andy Carvin's Waste of Bandwidth] Category:History of Iraq Category:Buildings and structures in Iraq

Babylon

Babylon is the Greek variant of Akkadian Babilu, an ancient city in Mesopotamia (Location: , modern Al Hillah, Iraq). It was the "holy city" of Babylonia from early times, and the seat of the Neo-Babylonian empire from 612 BC. In the Hebrew Bible, the name appears as בבל (Babel), interpreted by popular etymology to mean "confusion". Akkadian bāb-ilû means "Gate of God", translating Sumerian Kadingirra.

History

The earliest mention of Babylon is in a dated tablet of the reign of Sargon of Akkad (24th century BC short chr.), who made it the capital of his empire. Over the years its power and population waned. From around the 20th century BC, it was occupied by Amorites (nomadic Semitic tribes), flooding southern Mesopotamia from the the west, until it became the capital of Hammurabi's empire (ca. 18th century BC). From that time onward, it continued to be the capital of Babylonia, though during the 440 years of domination by the Kassites (1595-1155 BC), the city was renamed "Karanduniash". The city itself was built upon the Euphrates, and divided in equal parts along its left and right banks with steep embankments to contain the river's seasonal floods. Babylon grew in extent and grandeur over time, but gradually became subject to the rule of Assyria.

Assyrian period

Assyria During the reign of Sennacherib of Assyria, Babylonia was in a constant state of revolt, led by Mushezib-Marduk, and suppressed only by the complete destruction of the city of Babylon. In 689 BC, its walls, temples and palaces were razed to the ground, and the rubbish thrown into the Arakhtu, the canal bordering the earlier Babylon on the south. This act shocked the religious conscience of Mesopotamia; the subsequent murder of Sennacherib was held to be in expiation of it, and his successor Esarhaddon hastened to rebuild the old city, to receive there his crown, and make it his residence during part of the year. On his death, Babylonia was left to his elder son Shamash-shum-ukin, who eventually headed a revolt against his brother Assurbanipal. Once again, Babylon was besieged by the Assyrians and starved into surrender. Assurbanipal purified the city and celebrated a "service of reconciliation", but did not venture to "take the hands" of Bel. In the subsequent overthrow of the Assyrian empire, the Babylonians saw another example of divine vengeance. On the fall of Nineveh (612 BC), Babylon threw off the Assyrian yoke, and became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian empire. Egypt had had a very large cultural influence prior to this, until the Babylonians defeated the Egyptians at the Battle of Carchemish and thus removed them as a major world empire. With the recovery of Babylonian independence under Nabopolassar a new era of architectural activity ensued, and his son Nebuchadrezzar II made Babylon into one of the wonders of the ancient world.

Beautification of Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar II

Nebuchadrezzar II It was under the rule of king Nebuchadnezzar II (605 BC-562 BC) that Babylon became one of the most splendid cities of the ancient world. Nebuchadnezzar ordered the complete reconstruction of the imperial grounds, including rebuilding the Etemenanki ziggurat and the construction of the Ishtar Gate -- the most spectacular of eight gates that ringed the perimeter of Babylon. The Ishtar Gate survives today in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. Nebuchadnezzar is also credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world), said to have been built for his homesick wife Amyitis. Whether the gardens did exist is a matter of dispute. Although excavations by German archaeologist Robert Koldewey are thought to reveal its foundations, many historians disagree about the location, and some believe it may have been confused with gardens in Nineveh.

Babylon under the Persians

After passing through various vicissitudes, the city was occupied in 538 BC by Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, who issued a decree permitting the Jews to return to their own land (Ezra 1). Under Cyrus and his heir Darius I, Babylon became a center of learning and scientific advancement. Babylonian scholars completed maps of constellations, and created the foundations of modern astronomy and mathematics. However, during the reign of Darius III, Babylon began to stagnate and degenerate.

Hellenic period

In 331 BC, Darius III was defeated by the forces of the Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great at the battle of Gaugamela, and in October, Babylon saw its own invasion and occupation. A native account of this invasion notes a ruling by Alexander not to enter the homes of its inhabitants. Under Alexander, Babylon again flourished as a center of learning and commerce. But following Alexander’s mysterious death in 323 BC in the palace of Nebuchadrezzar, his empire was divided amongst his generals, and decades of fighting soon began, with Babylon once again caught in the middle. The constant turmoil virtually emptied the city of Babylon. A tablet dated 275 BC states that the inhabitants of Babylon were transported to Seleucia, where a palace was built, as well as a temple given the ancient name of E-Saggila. With this deportation, the history of Babylon comes practically to an end, though more than a century later, it was found that sacrifices were still performed in its old sanctuary. By 141 BC, when the Parthian Empire took over the region, Babylon was in complete desolation and obscurity.

Archaeology of Babylon

Historical knowledge of Babylon's topography is derived from classical writers, the inscriptions of Nebuchadrezzar, and several excavations, including those of the Deutsche Orientgesellschaft begun in 1899. The layout is that of the Babylon of Nebuchadrezzar; the older Babylon destroyed by Sennacherib having left few, if any, traces behind. 1899 1899 Most of the existing remains lie on the east bank of the Euphrates, the principal ones being three vast mounds: the Babil to the north, the Qasr or "Palace" (also known as the Mujelliba) in the centre, and the Ishgn "Amran ibn" All, with the outlying spur of the Jumjuma, to the south. East of these come the Ishgn el-Aswad or "Black Mound" and three lines of rampart, one of which encloses the Babil mound on the N. and E. sides, while a third forms a triangle with the S.E. angle of the other two. West of the Euphrates are other ramparts, and the remains of the ancient Borsippa. We learn from Herodotus and Ctesias that the city was built on both sides of the river in the form of a square, and was enclosed within a double row of lofty walls, or a triple row according to Ctesias. Ctesias describes the outermost wall as 360 stades (42 miles/68 km) in circumference, while according to Herodotus it measured 480 stades (56 miles/90 km), which would include an area of about 520 km² (approx. 200 square miles). The estimate of Ctesias is essentially the same as that of Q. Curtius (v. I. 26) -- 368 stades -- and Cleitarchus (ap. Diod. Sic. ii. 7) -- 365 stades; Strabo (xvi. 1. 5) makes it 385 stades. But even the estimate of Ctesias, assuming the stade to be its usual length, would imply an area of about 260 km² (100 square miles). According to Herodotus, the width of the walls was 24 m (80 ft). Saddam Hussein installed a huge portrait of himself and Nebuchadrezzar at the entrance to the ruins. He also had part of the ruins rebuilt, to the dismay of archaeologists, with his name inscribed on many of the bricks, in imitation of Nebuchadrezzar. One frequent inscription reads: "This was built by Saddam Hussein, son of Nebuchadnezzar, to glorify Iraq". This recalls the ziggurat at Ur, where each individual brick was stamped with "Ur-Nammu, king of Ur, who built the temple of Nanna". These bricks became sought after as collectors' items after the downfall of Saddam, and the ruins are no longer being restored to their original state.

See also


- Kings of Babylon
- Tower of Babel, Babel
- Babylon (New Testament)
- New Babylon

External links


- [http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Babylon_Babil.html The History of the Ancient Near East]
- [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1391042,00.html Babylon wrecked by war, The Guardian, January 15, 2005]
- [http://www.gardenvisit.com/garden_history/sacred_gardens/babylon_gardens.htm Babylonian gardens]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4461755.stm History lost in dust of war-torn Iraq], BBC, April 25, 2005, mentions damage to Babylon.

References


- Category:Hebrew Bible/Tanakh places Category:Babylonia Category:Destroyed cities Category:Archaeological sites in Iraq ja:バビロン

Nebuchadrezzar II

Nebuchadrezzar (also Nebuchadnezzar) II (reigned 605 BC - 562 BC), perhaps the best known ruler of Babylon in the Neo-Babylonian Dynasty. He is famous (or infamous) for his conquests of Judah and Jerusalem, in addition to his monumental building within his capital of Babylon. One of the reasons he is so well known is because of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which he made for his wife because she was homesick. He is sometimes called "Nebuchadnezzar the Great", but because of his destruction of temples in Jerusalem and the conquest of Judah, he was vilified in the Bible and the appellation of "Great" was lost. His name, in Akkadian Nabû-kudurri-uṣur, is variously interpreted as "O Nebo, defend my crown", "empire", "landmark", or "work". In an inscription he styles himself "Nebo's favourite." The Hebrew form is נבוכדנאצר , (the presence of the א (aleph) may indicate an earlier Hebrew pronunciation ), and sometimes (in Jeremiah and Ezekiel) נבוכדראצר, . The LXX and Vulgate have Ναβουχοδονοσορ, Nabuchodonosor, but the KJV re-introduces the Hebrew variants as Nebuchadnezzar vs. Nebuchadrezzar.

Biography

Nebuchadrezzar was the oldest son and successor of Nabopolassar, who delivered Babylon from its dependence on Assyria and laid Nineveh in ruins. According to Berossus, he married the daughter of Cyaxares, and thus the Median and Babylonian dynasties were united. Necho II, the king of Egypt, had gained a victory over the Assyrians at Carchemish. This secured Egypt the possession of Phoenician provinces of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, including parts of Palestine. The remaining Assyrian provinces were divided between Babylonia and Media. Nabopolassar was intent on reconquering from Necho the western provinces of Syria, however, and to this end dispatched his son with a powerful army westward. In the ensuing Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC, the Egyptian army was defeated and driven back, and Syria and Phoenicia were brought under the sway of Babylon. Nabopolassar died on August 15, 605 BC and Nebuchadrezzar quickly returned to Babylon to ascend to the throne. After the defeat of the Cimmerians and Scythians, all of Nebuchadrezzar's expeditions were directed westwards, although a powerful neighbour lay to the North; the cause of this was that a wise political marriage with Amuhia, the daughter of the Median king, had insured a lasting peace between the two empires. Nebuchadrezzar engaged in several military campaigns designed to increase Babylonian influence in Syria and Judah. An attempted invasion of Egypt in 601 BC met with setbacks, however, leading to numerous rebellions among the states of the Levant, including Judah. Nebuchadrezzar soon dealt with these rebellions, capturing Jerusalem in 597 BC, and bringing King Jehoiachin to Babylon. When Pharaoh Apries attempted an invasion of Palestine again, in 589 BC, Judah and other states ot the region once again rebelled. Another siege of Jerusalem occurred in 587/586 BC, ending in the destruction of both the city and the Temple and the deportation of many prominent citizens to Babylon. These events are described in the Bible. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Nebuchadrezzar engaged in a 13 year long siege of Tyre (585-572 BC), which ended in a compromise, with the Tyrians accepting Babylonian authority. It would appear that following the pacification of Tyre, Nebuchadrezzar turned again to Egypt. A clay tablet, now in the British Museum, bears the following inscription referring to his wars: "In the 37th year of Nebuchadrezzar, king of the country of Babylon, he went to Mitzraim (Egypt) to make war. Amasis, king of Egypt, collected [his army], and marched and spread abroad." Having completed the subjugation of Phoenicia, and inflicted chastisement on Egypt, Nebuchadrezzar now set himself to rebuild and adorn the city of Babylon, and constructed canals, aqueducts and reservoirs. From Nebuchadrezzar's inscriptions and from the number of temples erected or restored by this prince we gather that he was a very devout man. What we know of his history shows him to have been of a humane disposition, in striking contrast with the display of wanton cruelty of most Assyrian rulers. It was owing to this moderation that Jerusalem was spared repeatedly, and finally destroyed only when its destruction became a political necessity; rebel princes easily obtained pardon, and Sedecias himself, whose ungratefulness to the Babylonian king was particularly odious, would, had he manifested less stubbornness, have been treated with greater indulgence (Jeremiah 38:17, 18); Nebuchadrezzar showed much consideration to Jeremias, leaving him free to accompany the exiles to Babylon or to remain in Jerusalem, and appointing one of the Prophet's friends, Godolias, to the governorship of Jerusalem; he granted likewise such a share of freedom to the exiled Jews that some rose to a position of prominence at Court and Baruch thought it a duty to exhort his fellow-countrymen to have the welfare of Babylon at heart and to pray for her king. Babylonian tradition has it that towards the end of his life, Nebuchadrezzar, inspired from on high, prophesied the impending ruin to the Chaldean Empire (Berosus and Abydenus in Eusebius, Praep. Evang., 9.41). Nebuchadrezzar died in Babylon between the second and sixth months of the forty-third year of his reign.

Construction activity

Nebuchadrezzar seems to have prided himself on his constructions more than on his victories. During the last century of Niniveh's existence, Babylon had been greatly devastated, not only at the hands of Sennacherib and Assurbanipal, but also as a result of her ever renewed rebellions. Nebuchadrezzar, continuing his father's work of reconstruction, aimed at making his capital one of the world's wonders. Old temples were restored; new edifices of incredible magnificence were erected to the many gods of the Babylonian pantheon (Diodorus of Sicily, 2.95; Herodotus, 1.183) to complete the royal palace begun by Nabopolassar, nothing was spared, neither "cedar-wood, nor bronze, gold, silver, rare and precious stones"; an underground passage and a stone bridge connected the two parts of the city separated by the Euphrates; the city itself was rendered impregnable by the construction of a triple line of walls. Nor was Nebuchadrezzar's activity confined to the capital; he is credited with the restoration of the Lake of Sippar, the opening of a port on the Persian Gulf, and the building of the famous Median wall between the Tigris and the Euphrates to protect the country against incursions from the North: in fact, there is scarcely a place around Babylon where his name does not appear and where traces of his activity are not found. These gigantic undertakings required an innumerable host of workmen: from the inscription of the great temple of Marduk , we may infer that most probably captives brought from various parts of Western Asia made up a large part of the labouring force used in all his public works.

Portrayal in the Book of Daniel

Nebuchadrezzar is most widely known through his portrayal in the Bible, especially the Book of Daniel, which discusses several events of his reign in addition to his conquest of Jerusalem: In the second year of his reign (evidently counting from his conquest of the Jews), Nebuchadrezzar dreams of a huge image made of various materials (gold, copper, iron, etc). The prophet Daniel interprets it to stand for the rise and fall of world powers. (Daniel Chapter 2) During another incident, Nebuchadrezzar erects a large idol for worship during a public ceremony on the plain of Dura. When three Jews, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) refuse to take part, he has them cast into a roaring furnace. They are protected by an angel and emerge unscathed. (Daniel Chapter 3) Another dream, this time of an immense tree, is interpreted by Daniel the prophet. (Daniel Chapter 4) While boasting over his achievements, Nebuchadrezzar is humbled by the God of the Jews. The king loses his sanity and lives in the wild like an animal for seven years (by some considered as an attack of the madness called lycanthropy). After this, his sanity and position are restored. Neither the illness, nor the interregnum which it must have caused, are recorded in Babylonian annals. Many scholars believe that the Book of Daniel was written long after the events described, during the 2nd century BC, and thus are skeptical of the details of Nebuchadrezzar's portrayal by Daniel. Some scholars think that Nebuchadrezzar's portrayal by Daniel is a mixture of traditions about Nebuchadrezzar -- he was indeed who conquered Jerusalem -- and about Nabonidus (Nabuna'id), the last king of Babylon. For example, Nabonidus was the real father of Belshazzar, and the seven years of insanity could be related to Nabonidus' sojourn in Teima. For more information, see the article Belshazzar.

Successors

After his death in October, 562 BC, having reigned 43 years, he was succeeded by his son Amel-Marduk, who, after a reign of two years, was succeeded by Neriglissar (559 - 555), who was succeeded by Nabonidus (555 - 538), at the close of whose reign (less than a quarter of a century after the death of Nebuchadrezzar) Babylon fell under Cyrus at the head of the combined armies of Media and Persia.

Named after Nebuchadrezzar


- There is a type of daylily named "Nebuchadnezzar's Furnace".
- In the popular The Matrix film trilogy, the main characters' hovercraft is named the Nebuchadnezzar.
- A bottle of champagne which contains the same amount as 20 bottles (15 litres) is called a Nebuchadnezzar

References


- Chapter 23, "The Chaldaean Kings" in George Roux, Ancient Iraq (3rd ed.). London: Penguin Books, 1992. ISBN 014012523-X
- [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10666c.htm Nabuchodonosor] on the Catholic Encyclopedia
Category:630 BC births Category:562 BC deaths Category:Hebrew Bible/Tanakh people Category:Babylonian kingsCategory:Chaldeans ja:ネブカドネザル2世

Ishtar

:This article is about the Mesopotamian goddess. For other uses, see Ishtar (disambiguation). Ishtar is the Akkadian counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate northwest Semitic goddess Astarte. Anunit, Astarte and Atarsamain are alternative names for Ishtar. Inanna, twin of Utu/Shamash, children of Nannar/Sin, first born on Earth of Enlil. The first names given are Sumerian, the second names derive from the Akkadians, who are a Semitic people who immigrated into Sumeria. Adding an [sh] to a name is typical Akkadian, as Anu to Anush. Semitic] The goddess represents the planet Venus. (A continent on Venus is named Ishtar Terra by astronomers today.) The double aspect of the goddess may correspond to the difference between Venus as a morning star and as an evening star. In Sumerian the planet is called "MUL.DILI.PAT" meaning "unique star". The name Inanna (sometimes spelled Inana) means "Great Lady of An", where An is the god of heaven. The meaning of Ishtar is not known, though it is possible that the underlying stem is the same as that of Assur, which would thus make her the "leading one" or "chief". In any event, it is now generally recognized that the name is Semitic in origin. The Sumerian Inanna was first worshiped at Uruk (Erech in the Bible, Unug in Sumerian) in the earliest period of Mesopotamian history. In incantations, hymns, myths, epics, votive inscriptions, and historical annals, Inanna/Ishtar was celebrated and invoked as the force of life. But there were two aspects to this goddess of life. She was the goddess of fertility and sexuality, and could also destroy the fields and make the earth's creatures infertile. She was invoked as a goddess of war, battles, and the chase, particularly among the warlike Assyrians. Before the battle Ishtar would appear to the Assyrian army, clad in battle array and armed with bow and arrow. (compare Greek Athena.) One of the most striking Sumerian myths describes Inanna passing through seven gates of hell into the underworld. At each gate some of her clothing and her ornaments are removed until at the last gate she is entirely naked. Ereshkigal, the queen of the underworld kills her and hangs her corpse on a hook on the wall. When Inanna returns from the underworld by intercession of the clever god, her uncle, Enki, according to the rules she must find someone to take her place. On her way home she encounters her friends prostrated with grief at her loss, but in Kulaba, her cult city, she finds her lover Dumuzi, a son of Enki, Tammuz seated in splendour on a throne, so she has him seized and dragged below. Later, missing him, she arranges for his sister to substitute for him during six months of the year. (Compare Greek story of Persephone) In all the great centres Inanna and then Ishtar had her temples: E-anna, "house of An", in Uruk; E-makh, "great house", in Babylon; E-mash-mash, "house of offerings", in Nineveh. Inanna was the guardian of prostitutes, and probably had priestess-prostitutes to serve her. She was served by priests as well as by priestesses. The (later) votaries of Ishtar were virgins who, as long as they remained in her service, were not permitted to marry. Inanna was also associated with beer, and was the patroness of tavern keepers, who were usually female in early Mesopotamia. Ishtar is also an omnipresent figure in the epic of Gilgamesh. She appears also on the Uruk vase, one of the most famous ancient Mesopotamian artifacts. The relief on this vase seems to show Inanna conferring kingship on a supplicant. Various inscriptions and artifacts indicate that kingship was one of the gifts bestowed by Inanna on the ruler of Uruk. On monuments and seal-cylinders Inanna/Ishtar appears frequently with bow and arrow, though also simply clad in long robes with a crown on her head and an eight-rayed star as her symbol. Statuettes have been found in large numbers representing her as naked with her arms folded across her breast or holding a child. Together with the moon god Nanna or Suen (Sin in Akkadian), and the sun god Utu (Shamash in Akkadian), Inanna/Ishtar is the third figure in a triad deifying and personalizing the moon, the sun, and the earth: Moon (wisdom), Sun (justice) and Earth (life force). This triad overlies another: An, heaven; Enlil, earth; and Enki (Ea in Akkadian), the watery deep.

Ishtar in popular culture


- Another Ishtar is a character in Namco's Tower of Druaga series. She is rumored to be the same Ishtar as the Akkadian goddess (usually by fans and critics alike), but there is not enough information to clarify whether she is the same goddess (or even a goddess). She is portrayed as kindly in the original tetrology (The Quest of Ki, The Tower of Druaga, The Return of Ishtar, and The Blue Crystal Rod), but is portrayed as bad-humored in Nightmare of Druaga.
- Ishtar is also the elemental Goddess of Virtue in the Ogre Battle Series, and sister of Lodisian chief God, Filahr. When her prowess is invoked, she sends her flying squirrel avatar, ignis fatuus to decimate undead and demonic enemies. In the most recent installation of the series (Tactics Ogre Gaiden: The Knight of Lodis), her name was altered to "Ishtalle."
- In the comic book series Sandman by Neil Gaiman, Ishtar appears as the goddess trying to live in modern times as an exotic dancer.
- The name Ishtar also appears in Konami's Yu-Gi-Oh games. Ishtar is the name of a family including Marik and Ishizu.
- In Virgin Publishing's "Doctor Who:The New Adventures", the book "Timewyrm:Genesis" portrays Ishtar/Innana as a criminal space traveller, stranded on Earth, who usurps local beliefs to effect her escape. The main characters from the Epic of Gilgamesh feature prominently.
- In the game Sailor Moon: Another Story, Ishtar is a member of the Opposit Senshi and the direct counterpart of Sailor Venus who is referenced to Aphrodite.
- In the Japanese manga Red River (aka Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori, and Anatolia Story) by Chie Shinohara, the main character Yuuri gets sucked into Ancient Anatolia where the Hittites believe she is Ishtar.
- In Stargate SG-1 season 7 episode "Birth Right" and season 8 episode "Sacrifices", Ishta(r) (played by former Star Trek Enterprise actress, Jolene Blalock) is a priestess of the Goa'uld System Lord Moloc. She secretely protects and helps women Jaffa warriors to escape from Moloc's maiden sacrifice rituals. Ishtar lived together with her group of Amazon-like warriors in a planet called Ha'ktyl but they fled to Earth when Moloc became awared of their sanctuary's location.
- Ishtar also appears in the Fire Emblem Series; more specifically, Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu. She is a thunder mage who fights against Celice in the second story, but she is defeated near the game's end.
- Ishtar is a universe-class surgeon and geneticist in three of Heinlein's novels, Time Enough for Love, To Sail Beyond the Sunset, and The Number of the Beast. Category:Akkadian deities ja:イシュタル

Cedar


Cedrus deodara
Cedrus libani
  C. libani var. libani
  C. libani var. stenocoma
  C. libani var. brevifolia
  C. libani var. atlantica
Cedar correctly refers to those trees belonging to the genus Cedrus in the coniferous plant family Pinaceae. They are most closely related to the Firs (Abies), sharing a very similar cone structure. They are native to the mountains of the western Himalaya and the Mediterranean region, occurring at altitudes of 1,500-3200 m in the Himalaya and 1,000-2,200 m in the Mediterranean. Mediterranean They are trees up to 40-50 m (occasionally 60 m) tall with spicy-resinous scented wood, thick ridged or square-cracked bark, and broad, level branches. The shoots are dimorphic, with long shoots, which form the framework of the branches, and short shoots, which carry most of the leaves. The leaves are evergreen and needle-like, 8-60 mm long, arranged singly in an open spiral phyllotaxis on long shoots, and in dense spiral clusters on short shoots; they vary from bright grass-green to dark green to strongly glaucous pale blue-green, depending on the thickness of the white wax layer which protects the leaves from desiccation. The cones are barrel-shaped, 6-12 cm long, and, as in Abies, disintegrate at maturity to release the winged seeds. The seeds are 10-15 mm long, with a 20-30 mm wing; as in Abies, the seeds have 2-3 resin blisters, containing an unpleasant-tasting resin, thought to be a defence against squirrel predation. Cone maturation takes one year, with pollination in September-October and the seeds maturing the same time a year later. Cedars are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Pine Processionary and Turnip Moth (recorded on Deodar Cedar). There are five taxa of Cedrus, assigned according to taxonomic opinion to two to four different species:
- Deodar Cedar Cedrus deodara. Western Himalaya. Leaves bright green to pale glaucous green, 25-60 mm; cones with slightly ridged scales.
- Lebanon Cedar or Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani. Mountains of the Mediterranean region, from Turkey and Lebanon west to Morocco. Leaves dark green to glaucous blue-green, 8-25 mm; cones with smooth scales; four varieties, which are treated as species by many authors:
  - Lebanon Cedar Cedrus libani var. libani Mountains of Lebanon, western Syria and south-central Turkey. Leaves dark green to glaucous blue-green, 10-25 mm.
  - Turkish Cedar Cedrus libani var. stenocoma Mountains of southwest Turkey. Leaves glaucous blue-green, 8-25 mm.
  - Cyprus Cedar Cedrus libani var. brevifolia or Cedrus brevifolia. Mountains of Cyprus. Leaves glaucous blue-green, 8-20 mm.
  - Atlas Cedar Cedrus libani var. atlantica or Cedrus atlantica. Atlas mountains in Morocco & Algeria. Leaves dark green to glaucous blue-green, 10-25 mm. Algeria The generic name Cedrus is derived from the original Greek name, 'kedros'. It has been mis-applied to many other trees with scented wood, including the genera Calocedrus ("incense-cedars"), Chamaecyparis and Thuja ("whitecedar"), Cryptomeria (Japanese cedar"), Juniperus ("Eastern Redcedar", "Mountain-cedar") and Thuja ("Western Redcedar") in the family Cupressaceae; Cedrela ("Spanish-cedar") and Toona ("Australian Redcedar") in the family Meliaceae; and Tamarix ("Saltcedar") in the family Tamaricaceae.

Uses

Tamaricaceae Cedars are very popular ornamental trees, widely used in horticulture in temperate climates where winter temperatures do not fall below about -25°C (the Turkish Cedar is slightly hardier, to -30°C or just below). They are also grown for their durable (decay-resistant) scented wood, most famously used in the construction of King Solomon's temple in Jerusalem. Extensive reforestation of cedar is carried out in the Mediterranean region, particularly Turkey, where over 50 million young cedars are being planted annually.

References and external links


- [http://www.pinetum.org/cones/PIcones.htm Arboretum de Villardebelle - cone photos] (scroll to bottom of page)
- [http://www.pinetum.org/PhotoMPF2.htm Arboretum de Villardebelle - Turkey] some photos of Cedrus libani var. stenocoma in the wild
- [http://www.conifers.org/pi/ce/index.htm Gymnosperm Database - Cedrus]
- The maturation and dispersal of cedar cones and seeds. International Dendrology Society Yearbook 1993: 43-46 (1994).
- Güner, A., Özhatay, N., Ekim, T., & Başer, K. H. C. (ed.). 2000. Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands 11 (Supplement 2): 5-6. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0748614095 Category:Pinaceae Category:Wood Category:Incense Category:Perfumery

Berlin

:This article is about the city in Germany. For other uses, see Berlin (disambiguation).

Basic Information

, IPA: , is the capital of Germany and its largest city; the city is now home to 3.4 million residents, down from a peak of 4.5 million before World War II. From 1949 to 1990 it was divided into East Berlin and West Berlin. Berlin, built on sand, is located on the rivers Spree and Havel in the north of Germany. It is enclosed by the German state of Brandenburg, and has constituted a state of its own since 1920.

Political Berlin

The state

Berlin originally was a main city in the Duchy of Brandenburg. Today, it is the national capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, and was expanded to form Greater Berlin in 1920. Since German reunification on 3 October 1990 it has been one of the three city states, together with Hamburg and Bremen, among the present 16 German Bundesländer. Berlin is governed by the Senate of Berlin, which consists of the Regierender Bürgermeister (governing mayor) and up to eight senators holding ministerial portfolios. The governing mayor is mayor of the city and representative of the Bundesland (state) at the same time. The seat of office for the Berlin Mayor is the Rotes Rathaus. Presently, this office is held by Klaus Wowereit (SPD): for earlier mayors, see the list of Mayors of Berlin. The city and state parliament is called the Abgeordnetenhaus or House of Representatives. The current Senate consists of a coalition of the social democrat SPD and the socialist Left Party.

The boroughs

Left Party Berlin is subdivided into 12 boroughs, called Bezirke, which were created from the previously existing 23 boroughs, effective since 1 January 2001. For a map and a list of the old and new borough names, see Boroughs of Berlin. Each borough is governed by a Bezirksamt consisting of ten Stadträte (town councillors) and a mayor. The Bezirksamt is elected by the district-parliament, the Bezirksverordnetenversammlung. The boroughs of Berlin are not independent municipalities, and the political power of the district-parliaments is fairly minimal and dependent on the Senate of Berlin. The district mayors form the council of mayors, called Rat der Bürgermeister under the leadership of the Regierende Bürgermeister (governing mayor), to advise the Senate.

Population

Berlin has 3,426,000 inhabitants (as of January 2005) on a surface of 891.75 square kilometres, thus, the population density of the region amounts to 3,811 inhabitants per square kilometre. Berlin citizens' average age is 41.7 years (as of 2004). 450,900 inhabitants are foreigners coming from 185 states (as of December 2004). Among them, approximately 36,000 citizens come from the nearest neighbouring country, Poland and 119,000 are Turkish - Berlin has the largest Turkish municipality in Europe outside of Turkey. According to official statistics, in 2004, 22.3% of the population were Protestants, 9.1% were Catholics, 6.2% were Muslims, and 0.4% were Jews. Between approximately the 1890s and the mid-1920s, Berlin was the fourth-largest urban area in the world after New York, London, and Paris. Today, it is only the sixth-largest urban area in the European Union, and approximately the 80th-largest urban area in the world.

History

Berlin today

Tourist attractions

urban area in the European Union Even though Berlin does have a number of impressive buildings from earlier centuries, the city's appearance today is mainly shaped by the key role it played in Germany's history in the 20th century. Each of the national governments which had their seat in Berlin — the 1871 German Empire, the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, East Germany, and now the reunified Germany — initiated ambitious construction programs, each with its own distinctive character. Berlin was devastated by bombing raids during World War II, and many of the old buildings that escaped the bombs were eradicated in the 1950s and 1960s in both West and East. Much of this destruction was caused by overambitious architecture programs, especially to build new residential or business quarters and main roads. It would not be an exaggeration to say that no other city in the world offers Berlin's unusual mix of architecture, especially 20th-century architecture. The city's tense and unique recent history has left it with a distinctive array of sights. Not much is left of the Berlin Wall. The East Side Gallery in Friedrichshain near the Oberbaumbrücke over the Spree preserves a portion of the Wall. By looking at the architecture it is still possible to tell if one is in the former eastern or western part of the city. In the eastern part, many Plattenbauten can be found, reminders of Eastern Bloc ambitions to create complete residential areas with fixed ratios of shops, kindergartens and schools. Another difference between former east and west is in the design of little red and green men on pedestrian crossing lights (Ampelmännchen in German); the eastern versions received an opt-out during the standardization of road traffic signs after re-unification, and have survived to become a popular icon in tourist products. They are however starting to appear in western Berlin too.

Historical sights in the city centre

Ampelmännchen Ampelmännchen
- The Brandenburg Gate and Unter den Linden, symbols of Berlin, Prussia, and now Germany. The Brandenburg Gate appears on German Euro coins.
- Reichstag building, the old and new seat of the German parliament, renovated by Sir Norman Foster. Features a glass dome in which you can walk around and watch the parliamentarians from above.
- Gendarmenmarkt, arguably the most beautiful square in Berlin, surrounded by two famous cathedrals and the concert hall.
- Berlin victory column, monument to Prussia's victories.
- The Berliner Dom, an historic cathedral. A large crypt houses the remains of the Prussian royal family.
- Cathedral of St. Hedwig (St.-Hedwigs-Kathedrale)
- Nikolaiviertel with the Nikolaikirche an historical city core, founded in the 13th century.
- Schloss Bellevue, now the residence of the German President
- Schloss Charlottenburg, the largest surviving historical palace in Berlin
- The Neptunbrunnen, a famous fountain in Berlin Mitte.
- Tiergarten is Berlin's largest park and a masterpiece of park design.

Cold War and sightseeing in the former East Berlin

park
- The Palast der Republik, the old East German parliament building. It is seen by some as ugly, former East Berliners remember with affection restaurants, shops, clubs, and the concerts that took place there in the 1980s. Although it has some significance as a historical tourist attraction, the German Parliament voted for its demolition, which will commence in 2005. The Palast der Republik is built on the site of the Berlin City Palace, which was demolished in 1950 by the Communists. The Palace Square was renamed Marx-Engels-Platz at the same time.
- The Fernsehturm, the TV tower, the highest building in the city at 368 m (1207 ft), and the second largest structure in Europe (after Moscow's Ostankino Tower). The Fernsehturm is easily visible throughout most of the central districts of Berlin. Which boasts one of the fastest lifts in Europe, at 45 metres per minute
- Alexanderplatz, formerly East Berlin's major shopping center, and home to the Centrum-Warenhaus, which was the DDR's department store. It is now a thoroughly Westernized shopping centre, belonging to the Kaufhof chain.
- East Side Gallery a memorial for freedom based on the last parts of the Berlin Wall
- Rotes Rathaus (the Red City Hall), historic town hall famous for its distinctive red-brick architecture
- Rathaus Schöneberg with John-F.-Kennedy-Platz, whence John F. Kennedy made his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner!" speech.
- Checkpoint Charlie, remains and a museum about one of the crossing points (albeit restricted to Allied forces) in the Berlin Wall. The museum, which is a private venture, exhibits interesting material about people who devised ingenious plans to leave the East, but is controversial in the city for its propagandistic Cold War didactics and publicity stunts that many consider tasteless.

Sights of modern Berlin

Cold War
- Potsdamer Platz, an entire quarter built from scratch after 1995. The historic Potsdamer Platz was not rebuilt as it was divided by the Wall. A must-see for people who like modern city planning. Just to the West of Potsdamer Platz is the Kulturforum, which houses the Gemäldegalerie, and is flanked by the Neue Nationalgalerie and the Philharmonie.
- Hackescher Markt, Spandauer Vorstadt and Scheunenviertel, the home to fashionable culture, with countless small clothing shops, clubs, bars, and galleries. This includes the New Synagogue area in Oranienburger Straße (originally built in the 1860s in Moorish style with a large golden dome and reconstructed in 1993), and the Hackesche Höfe, a conglomeration of several buildings around several courtyards, nicely reconstructed after 1996. This area was a centre of Jewish culture up until the 1930s.
  - Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a Holocaust memorial opened in May 2005.

Panoramic viewing points

Holocaust
- Berliner Funkturm— the only observation tower in the world which stands on insulators. Its open-air observation deck is popular for photography.
- Berlin Television Tower [http://www.berlinerfernsehturm.de/] — 368-m high television tower, built in 1969 close to Alexanderplatz. The entire city can be viewed from its 204-m high observation platform.
- Grunewaldturm [http://www.grunewaldturm.de] — this 59-m high historic tower stands on a hill in Grunewald forest close to Wannsee lake.
- Französischer Dom [http://www.franzoesischer-dom-berlin.de] — located on Gendarmenmarkt in the very heart of the city, the platform of the cathedral offers unique views.
- Bierpinsel — literally "Beer Stick". 1970s style tower in the Berlin Borough of Steglitz with a café and bar at the top giving views over south-western Berlin.
- Restaurant of the Forum Hotel Berlin
- Berliner Dom [http://www.berliner-dom.de] — Protestant cathedral situated next to the Lustgarten, with a circular observation platform around the dome.
- Bell tower at the Olympic Stadium [http://www.glockenturm.de] — part of the Reichssportfeld complex, the tower offers a view of the Olympic Stadium and also of the Waldbühne, an open-air stage.
- Siegessäule [http://www.berlin-tourist-information.de/cgi-bin/sehenswertes.pl?id=13353] — the monument at the Großer Stern situated in the middle of the Tiergarten Park where it was relocated in 1938–39 from its previous position in front of the Reichstag.
- Müggelturm — a tower giving panoramic views over the Müggelsee lake.
- Reichstag building— the roof of the parliament building, crowned by a large glass cupola designed by Lord Foster is open to the public giving an impressive view over the city, especially at night.

Other interesting structures (not accessible to public)

Foster
- Fernmeldeturm Berlin (Berlin Telephone Tower)
- Richtfunkstelle Berlin-Frohnau
- Transmitter Berlin-Britz
- Radio mast Berlin-Scholzplatz
- Transmitter Berlin-Alley of Stallupone
- Radio mast Berlin-Olympiastadium
- Radar facility Berlin-Teufelsberg
- TV Tower Berlin-Mueggelberge
- Power station Berlin-Wilmersdorf
- Power station Reutter

Famous streets and boulevards

Power station Reutter
- Unter den Linden is the street that heads east from the Brandenburg Gate. Many Classical buildings line the street. Part of Humboldt University is located there.
- Friedrichstraße, Berlin's legendary street of the "Golden Twenties" which combines the tradition of the last century with modern architecture of today's Berlin.
- Kurfürstendamm (Ku'damm), with the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church), which lies right at the top end of Kurfürstendamm, on Breitscheidplatz (underground station Kurfürstendamm). The church was bombed out in World War II and its ruins have been preserved in their damaged state. Near by is the Ka-De-We Berlin's equivalent to London's Harrods. Also nearby is the Zoologischer Garten, a zoo with a large number of species.
- The Straße des 17. Juni connects the Brandenburg Gate in the East and Ernst-Reuter-Platz in the West, commemorating the uprisings in East Berlin of 17 June 1953. It features the golden Siegessäule (Statue of Victory), which used to stand in front of the Reichstag.
- The Karl-Marx-Allee (formerly Stalinalle), a boulevard lined by monumental landmark buildings designed in the Socialist Classicism of the Stalin era. It is located in Friedrichshain and Mitte.

Street lighting

Berlin is unique in that it still has around 43,800 gas lamp standards in working order, usually to be found on back streets and historically sensitive places. The first 1,800 lanterns were erected by the English Gas Company in 1826. Operation of the Gas lamps was taken over by the City Authorities in 1847. The first electric street lighting appeared around 1880. Between 1963 and 1982 replacement of the gas lamps in East Berlin was completed apart from a few remaining streets in Köpenick. In West Berlin the reverse was the situation, new styles of gas lamp standards being introduced as late as the 1950s. There was a debate in the late 1970´s on whether replacement with electric lighting should go ahead, but public opinion was against it. This debate was revived again in 2005, due to rising costs of gas, but no definite decision on replacement has been made. There is an open-air collection of working gas lamps in Tiergarten near to S-Bahnhof Tiergarten, which as well as displaying historic examples from Berlin and other German cities also has examples from other European cities. [http://www.dtmb.de/Aktuelles/Kooperationen/Laternen/body.html]

Education and science

Universities


- Freie Universität Berlin [http://www.fu-berlin.de]
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin [http://www.hu-berlin.de]
- Technische Universität Berlin [http://www.tu-berlin.de]
- Charité [http://www.charite.de] (Medical Faculty of Freie and Humboldt-Universität)
- Universität der Künste [http://www.udk-berlin.de]

Universities of applied sciences


- Alice-Salomon-Fachhochschule für Sozialarbeit/-pädagogik [http://www.asfh-berlin.de]
- Evangelische Fachhochschule [http://www.evfh-berlin.de]
- Katholische Fachhochschule [http://www.khsb-berlin.de/]
- Fachhochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin [http://www.fhtw-berlin.de]
- Fachhochschule für Wirtschaft [http://www.fhw-berlin.de]
- Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler [http://www.hfm-berlin.de]
- Technische Fachhochschule [http://www.tfh-berlin.de]

Zoos and Botanical Gardens

Technische Fachhochschule
- Zoologischer Garten Berlin, Berlin's oldest zoo, located in the city center.
- Tierpark Friedrichsfelde, founded by the GDR in a historic castle park in eastern Berlin.
- Botanic Garden and Botanic Museum Berlin, one of the most important botanical gardens of the world and the largest in Europe.

The Arts and Culture

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 many buildings in the former city centre of East Berlin (today the district Mitte) were renovated. Many had not been rebuilt since World War II. Illegally occupied by young people, they had become a fertile ground for all sorts of underground and counter-culture gatherings. It was also home to many nightclubs, including Tacheles, Techno clubs Tresor, WMF, Ufo and E-Werk. The art scene in Berlin is extremely rich and it is home to hundreds of art galleries. The city is host to the Art Forum annual international art fair. Berlin also offers one of the most diverse and vibrant nightlife scenes in Europe. Most Berliners take great pride in their city's reputation as one of the most socially progressive cities on the continent. [http://www.presse.tk/ Source: Press] Berlin's annual Carnival of Cultures, a multi-ethnic street parade, and Chistopher Street Day celebrations, Central Europe's largest gay-lesbian pride event, are openly supported by the city's government.
- [http://www.berlin-tourist-information.de/english/unterwegs/e_uw_berlinprogramm_gay.html]
  - [http://www.berlin-tourist-information.de/english/zielgruppen/e_zg_gay_bezirke.php]. Another event is the techno-demonstration "Loveparade" (every year in July or August). Despite the city's high unemployment levels, a significant number of young Germans and artists continue to settle in the city, and Berlin has established itself as the premiere centre of youth and pop culture in Europe. Signs of this expanding role were the 2003 announcement that the annual Popkomm, Europe's largest music industry convention, would move to Berlin after 15 years in Cologne. Shortly thereafter, German MTV also decided to move its headquarters and main studios from Munich to Berlin. Universal Music opened its European headquarters on the banks of the River Spree in an area known as the [http://www.mediaspree.de mediaspree].

Film industry and films about Berlin

Berlin is the centre of the German film industry, partly due to the existence of the Babelsberg Studios and many important film and TV production companies like UFA, Senator Film, Goldkind etc. Many international movies and European co-productions have been filmed there. Berlin is also home of the European Film Academy, the German Film Academy and host of the Berlinale film festival. There are many films that were set in or portray the special "Berlin-Atmosphere" from different eras, among them are:
- Die Sinfonie der Großstadt - 1927 Documentary Type Film "Day in the life of Berlin" [http://german.imdb.com/title/tt0017668/]
- Berlin Alexanderplatz - 1920s Berlin
- M - Early 1930s Berlin
- The Testament of Dr. Mabuse - 1933 Berlin
- Germany, Year Zero - Shows the nightmarishly dilapidated remains of 1945 Berlin, post WWII.
- One, Two, Three - Cold War before the Wall 1961
- Funeral in Berlin 1966 Cold War Thriller - A bit dated, filmed in Berlin with some nice scenes in Kreuzberg
- Cabaret - Filmed in 1972, set in the early 1930s
- Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo - 1970s
- Linie 1 - 1988 Film of the 1986 Musical about U-Bahn Line 1 in West Berlin
- Run Lola Run - Filmed 1998 in post-reunification Berlin
- Good bye, Lenin! - Set in East Berlin in 1989
- Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire) - A cult film about divided city by Wim Wenders from 1987
- Hedwig and the Angry Inch - A cult film and musical about a German singer-transvestite who escapes East Berlin in 1989. 2001.
- Der Untergang (Downfall) - 2004 German film portraying the final days of the Third Reich in Hitler's bunker.
- Sonnenallee - A teen comedy set in East Berlin in the 1970s.

Museums

Sonnenallee
- Archenhold Observatory Archenhold-Sternwarte [http://www.astw.de]
- Museum Island with the Altes Museum, Pergamon Museum and Alte Nationalgalerie
- German Museum of Technology in Kreuzberg, located at the site of an old freight train hub
- Museum for Post and Telecommunication
- Gemäldegalerie (Picture Gallery), European art (mostly paintings) from the 13th to the 18th century [http://www.museen-berlin.de/gg/e/s.html]
- Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery), one of the last buildings by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
- Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), 19th-century painting and sculpture[http://www.smpk.de/ang/e/s.html]
- Jewish Museum Berlin
- Hamburger Bahnhof (Museum for contemporary art)
- Museum of European Cultures
- Berlin State Gallery [http://www.berlinischegalerie.de/en/71-1-1_0.htm]
- Bauhaus Museum [http://www.bauhaus-archiv.de/english/index.htm]
- Broehan Museum [http://www.broehan-museum.de/home1.htm]
- Deutsche Guggenheim Museum [http://www.deutsche-bank-kunst.com/guggenheim/e/]
- German Film Museum [http://www.berlin-tourist-information.de/english/veranstaltungen/e_ve_filmmuseum.html]
- Kaethe Kollwitz Museum [http://www.dhm.de/museen/kollwitz/english/home.htm]
- Museum of European Cultures [http://www.museen-berlin.de/mek/e/s.html]
- Vitra Design Museum [http://www.design-museum.de/berlin.php]
- The Berggruen Collection (Picasso and his Age) [http://www.smb.spk-berlin.de/shb/e/s.html]
- Museum of Natural History [http://www.museum.hu-berlin.de/home.asp?lang=1]
- German Museum of Technology [http://www.dtmb.de/index_en.html]
- Museum of Medical History [http://www.charite.de/kompakt/english/p8.00_frame.html]
- Berlin Wall Documentation Center [http://www.berliner-mauer-dokumentationszentrum.de/index_e.html]
- Prussian Palaces and Gardens in Berlin [http://www.spsg.de/index.php?id=1&sessionLanguage=en]
- Schwules Museum (Gay Museum) [http://www.schwulesmuseum.de/]
- [http://www.dtmb.de/Aktuelles/Kooperationen/Laternen/body.html Berlin open-air Gas Lamp Museum, adjacent to S-Bahnhof Tiergaten(see section on Street lighting)]
- [http://www.berliner-unterwelten.de Berlin Underworld`s Association]
- [http://www.ag-berliner-u-bahn.de/ Undergroundtrain / Tube-Museum]

Theatres


- Schaubühne [http://www.schaubuehne.de]
- Volksbühne [http://www.volksbuehne-berlin.de]
- Deutsches Theater [http://www.deutsches-theater.de]
- Berliner Ensemble [http://www.berliner-ensemble.de]
- Theater des Westens [http://www.theater-des-westens.de]
- Grips-Theater
- Theater am Potsdamer Platz [http://www.stageholding.de/6307.htm]
- Maxim Gorki Theater [http://www.gorki.de]
- Renaissance Theater

Opera houses


- Deutsche Oper
- Staatsoper Unter den Linden
- Komische Oper

Transport

Public transport


- U-Bahn, Metro subway system
- S-Bahn, mostly overground urban railway system
- Straßenbahn, a tram system, mainly in eastern Berlin
- Bus,
- Passenger Berlin Ferry
- All means of public transport - U- & S- Bahn, trams, buses and ferries - can be accessed with the same ticket.
- A map of the current [http://www.bvg.de/index.php/de/Common/Document/field/file/id/68 public transport network] (BVG)

Railway Termini

Berlin was, pre-1945, the hub of the central European railway network. World War Two and the political division of Germany had very negative effects on the railway network in Berlin. Today only two pre-1945 Termini, Ostbahnhof and Zoologischer Garten, remain in service. In the early 1950s, in an effort by the East German government to isolate West Berlin, railway services were diverted away from termini in West Berlin . These stations became disused and were demolished during the 1950s and 1960s.
- Anhalter Bahnhof
- Stettiner Bahnhof
- Görlitzer Bahnhof
- Potsdamer Bahnhof
- Lehrter Bahnhof See also List of Berlin metro stations

Airports


- Tegel International Airport (TXL), to close after BBI starts operations
- Schönefeld International Airport (SXF), to be expanded and renamed Berlin Brandenburg International Airport (BBI) in 2011
- Tempelhof International Airport (THF), to close 2007
- [http://www.berlin-airport.de Berlin Airports Website]

Ports


- Westhafen (Westport) - largest port in Berlin with an area of 173,000 m²: transshipment of grain, pieced and heavy goods.
- Südhafen (Southport) - an area of about 103,000 m² for transshipment of pieced and heavy goods.
- Osthafen (Eastport) - the area of 57,500 m² is still in use, but partly under urban redevelopment
- Hafen Neukölln (Port Neukölln) - with only 19,000 m² the smallest port; transshipment of building materials.

Power Supply

The power supply of Berlin has some peculiarities. In World War II it was planned to supply the grid of Berlin over an HVDC-underground cable from Dessau power station . The construction of this facility was begun in 1943, but was abandoned (see Elbe-Project). During the time of the division, the power grid of former West Berlin was cut off from the power grid of the surrounding countryside. Electricity supply was from thermal power stations in the city (Reuter, Wilmersdorf ,etc.). For buffering the load peaks, accumulators were installed in the 1980s in some of these power stations, which were connected by static inverters to the power grid and were loaded during times of low power consumption and unloaded during times of high consumption. In 1993 the power connections to the surrounding country, which were broken in 1951, were restored again. In the western districts of Berlin nearly all power lines are underground cables - only a 380 kV and a 110 kV-line, which run from Reuter power station to the urban motorway, are overhead lines. In Berlin there is the longest 380 kV three phase cable, the 380kV-crossing Berlin. It may be the most expensive power line in Germany ([http://www.seo.ag/ SEO]).

Sport


- Berlin hosted the 1936 Olympics.
- Berlin will be one of the host cities for the , to be held in Germany.
- Berlin will be hosting the 2009 athletics world championships.
- Berlin is home to Hertha BSC Berlin, a football team in the Bundesliga.
- Berlin is home to Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe.

Quotes concerning Berlin

"Berlin ist arm, aber sexy." ("Berlin is poor, but sexy.")
(Klaus Wowereit, Governing Mayor, in a television interview, 2004)
" Ich bin ein Berliner."
(John F. Kennedy, President of the USA, 1963 while visiting Berlin)
"Ihr Völker der Welt ... schaut auf diese Stadt!" ("Peoples of the world ... look at this city!")
(Ernst Reuter, Governing Mayor, during the Berlin blockade, 1948) "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this wall!"
(Ronald Reagan, President of the United States, speech at the Brandenburg Gate, 1987) "Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin" ("I still keep a suitcase in Berlin")
(Marlene Dietrich, actress and singer born 1901 in Berlin-Schöneberg) "Paris is always Paris and Berlin is never Berlin!"
(Jack Lang, French former culture minister, talking about how fast Berlin is changing, 2001) "What could have possessed people to found a city in the middle of all this sand?"
(Stendhal, French writer who travelled extensively in Germany and elsewhere) "Berlin is a city that never is, but is always in the process of becoming."
(Karl Scheffler, author of Berlin: Ein Stadtschicksal)

External links


- [http://www.berlin.de/english/index.html Official Website]
- [http://www.berlinonline.de/ Berlin Online Berlin's information web site]
- [http://www.alt-berlin.info/ Alt-Berlin - Extensive archive of historical maps of Berlin, from 1738 to the present day - in German and English]
- [http://germany.archiseek.com/brandenburg/berlin/index.html Architecture of Berlin]
- [http://www.statistik-berlin.de Berlin statistics - in German]
- [http://www.panorama-cities.net/berlin/berlin.html City Panoramas - Panoramic Views of Berlin's Highlights]
- [http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtmodelle/de/extra_fenster_schwarzplaene.shtml Comparison of historic layouts of the city]
- [http://www.western-allies-berlin.com/ Western Allies Berlin - History of the western allies in Berlin from 1945 to 1994] Category:Capitals in Europe Category:German state capitals Category:Host cities of the Summer Olympic Games Category:States of Germany Category:Cities in Germany als:Berlin ko:베를린 ja:ベルリン simple:Berlin th:เบอร์ลิน

1930s

----

Events and trends

The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. In Australia, this decade was known as the Dirty Thirties. In both Central Europe and Eastern Europe, Fascism, Nazism, Stalinism, and dominated as the solution, the first two adopting war-oriented economic policies and the latter emphasizing heavy industrial development, all of them described as totalitarian regimes. In East Asia, the rise of Militarism occurred. In Western Europe, Australia and the United States, more progressive reforms occurred as opposed to the extreme measures sought elsewhere. Roosevelt's New Deal attempted to use government spending to combat large-scale unemployment and severely negative growth. Ultimately, it would be the beginning of World War II in 1939 that would end the depression.

Technology


- Jet engine invented
- Disney adopts a three-color Technicolor process for cartoons
- The photocopier is invented
- Air mail service across the Atlantic

Science


- Nuclear fission discovered by Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassmann
- Pluto, the ninth planet from the Sun, is discovered by Clyde Tombaugh
- British biologist Arthur Tansley coins term "ecosystem"
- New and safer method for blood transfusions.

War, peace and politics


- Socialists proclaim The death of Capitalism
- Rise to power of Adolf Hitler in Germany
- Under Joseph Stalin, millions die in famines. The Great Purges eliminate all Old Bolsheviks from the Soviet government, except for Molotov and Stalin himself.
- Almost all of Continental Europe moves to Authoritarianism or Totalitarianism
- Starts or continue the Estado Novo in Brazil and Portugal.
- Advent of the modern welfare state in New Zealand and Sweden.
- The Empire of Japan invades China as a precursor to Japanese invasions in Southeast Asia
- The Spanish Civil War
- Start of World War II in Asia and Europe

Economics


- Worldwide Great Depression

Culture, religion


- Radio becomes dominant mass media in industrial nations
- "Golden Age" of radio begins in U.S.
- First intercontinental commercial airline flights
- Height of the Art Deco movement in Europe and the US
- The Wizard of Oz
- "Big band" or "swing" music becomes popular (from 1935 onward)
- Superman debuts in 1938.
- Triumph of the Will

Others


- U.S. presidential candidate Huey Long assassinated
- Board of Temperance Strategy established in U.S. to fight repeal of prohibition.

People

World leaders


- Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King (Canada)
- President Chiang Kai-shek (Republic of China)
- President Lin Sen (Republic of China)
- President Paul von Hindenburg (Germany)
- Adolf Hitler (Germany)
- King Victor Emmanuel III (Italy)
- Prime Minister Benito Mussolini (Italy)
- President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (Turkey)
- Emperor Hirohito (Japan)
- Pope Pius XI
- Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union)
- King George V (United Kingdom)
- King Edward VIII (United Kingdom)
- King George VI (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (United Kingdom)
- President Herbert Hoover (United States)
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt (United States)
- President W.T. Cosgrave (Irish Free State)
- President Eamon de Valera (Irish Free State)
- Taoiseach Eamon de Valera (Éire)
- Prime Minister James Scullin (Australia)
- Prime Minister Joseph Lyons (Australia)
- Prime Minister Sir Earle Page (Australia)
- Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage (New Zealand)
- President Getúlio Vargas (Brazil)
- Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar (Portugal)

Entertainers


- Alice Brady
- Bela Lugosi
- Benny Goodman
- Bing Crosby
- Boris Karloff
- Charlie Chaplin
- Duke Ellington
- Django Reinhardt
- Edward G. Robinson
- Fats Waller
- Fred Astaire
- Ginger Rogers
- Glenn Miller and his orchestra
- Judy Garland
- Katharine Hepburn
- Louis Armstrong
- The Marx Brothers
- Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
- Carl Stuart Hamblen

Sports figures


- Cliff Bastin (English footballer)
- Donald Bradman (Australian cricketer)
- Bill "Dixie" Dean (English footballer)
- Jack Dyer (Australian Rules Football player)
- Walter Hammond (Gloucestershire & England cricketer)
- Eddie Hapgood (English footballer)
- George Headley (West Indies cricketer)
- Alex James (Scottish footballer)
- Douglas Jardine (England cricket captain)
- Harold Larwood (Nottinghamshire & England cricketer)
- Jack Lovelock (New Zealand runner)
- Jesse Owens (American track and field athlete)
- Fred Perry (English tennis player)

External links


- [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/front.html America in the 1930s]— An overview of the decade in the United States
- [http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/keys/webtours/GE_P4_1_EN.html The Dirty Thirties] — Images of the Great Depression in Canada Category:1930s ko:1930년대 ja:1930年代 simple:1930s

Detroit Institute of Arts

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), originally named the Detroit Museum of Art, has one of the largest, most significant art collections in the United States. Its first painting was donated in 1883 and its collection consists of over 65,000 works. The DIA is a generalist museum, not a specialist one; its collections range from ancient Middle Eastern works to modern art. The DIA is located in Detroit's Cultural Center, about two miles (3 km) north of the downtown area, near Wayne State University.

Featured Holdings/Important Works

It claims to be ranked third in the country in the strength of its American art holdings including works by John Singleton Copley, George Caleb Bingham, Frederic Edwin Church, John Singer Sargent, Duncan Phyfe, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Paul Revere. Important works at the DIA include James Abbot McNeil Whistler's Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, a dragon from the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, Pieter Bruegel the Elder's The Wedding Dance, a Vincent van Gogh self-portrait, Hans Holbein the Younger's Portrait of a Woman, and Giovanni Bellini's Madonna and Child. Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry fresco forms the center of the museum. The Nut Gatherers by William-Adolphe Bouguereau is, by some accounts, the most popular painting in the collection. William-Adolphe Bouguereau

History

The museum had its genesis in an 1881 tour of Europe made by local newspaper magnate James E. Scripps. Scripps kept a journal of his family's five-month tour of art and culture in Italy, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, portions of which were published in his newspaper The Detroit News. The series proved so popular that it was republished in book form called Five Months Abroad. The popularity also inspired William H. Brearley, the manager of the newspaper's advertising department to organize an art exhibit in 1883, which was also extremely well-received. Brearly convinced many leading Detroit citizens to contribute to establish a permanent museum. Among the donors were James Scripps, his brother George H. Scripps, Dexter M. Ferry, Christian H. Buhl, Gen. Russell A. Alger, Moses W. Field, James McMillan and Hugh McMillan, George H. Hammond, James F. Joy, Francis Palms, Christopher R. Mabley, Simon J. Murphey, John S. Newberry, Cyrenius A. Newcomb, Thomas W. Palmer, Philo Parsons, George B. Remick, Allan Shelden, David Whitney Jr., G.V.N. Lothrop and Hiram Walker. Scripps gave the single largest gift of $50,000, which enabled the Detroit Museum of Art to be incorporated on April 16, 1885. The original Romanesque style building on East Jefferson at Hastings opened its doors on September 1, 1888, with the sculpture The Thinker by Rodin sitting in front just as it does today at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Woodward Avenue. In 1889, Scripps donated 70 European paintings, valued at $75,000 at the time. Later support for the museum came from the auto barons, especially Edsel Ford. Robert Hudson Tannahill of the Hudson's Department Store family left a European art collection and endowment to the museum. Part of the current support for the museum comes from the state government in exchange for which the museum carries out state-wide programs on art appreciation and provides art conservation services to other museums in Michigan.

External links


- [http://www.dia.org/ Detroit Institute of Arts]
- [http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=64&category=government James E. Scripps and Detroit's art museum] Category:Museums in Michigan Category:Detroit, Michigan Category:Art museums and galleries in the United States

Louvre

: the entrance to the galleries lies below the glass pyramid]] The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre) in Paris, France, is one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. The building, a former royal palace, lies in the centre of Paris, between the Seine river and the Rue de Rivoli. Its central courtyard, now occupied by the Louvre glass pyramid, lies in the axis of the Champs-Élysées, and thus forms the nucleus from which the Axe historique springs. Part of the royal Palace of the Louvre was first opened to the public as a museum on November 8, 1793, during the French Revolution. The building it self was sent as a gift from the mighty Polish Empire in the year 700

The building

French Revolution The first royal "Castle of the Louvre" on this site was founded by Philippe II in 1190, as a fortress to defend Paris on its west against Viking attacks. In the 14th century, Charles V turned it into a palace, but Francois I and Henri II tore it down to build a real palace; the foundations of the original fortress tower are now under the Salle des Cariatides (Room of the Caryatids). The existing part of the Château du Louvre was begun in 1546. The architect Pierre Lescot introduced to Paris the new design vocabulary of the Renaissance, which had been developed in the châteaux of the Loire. His new wing for the old castle defined its status, as the first among the royal palaces. J. A. du Cerceau also worked on the Louvre. J. A. du Cerceau During his reign (1589 - 1610), King Henri IV added the Grande Galerie. More than a quarter of a mile long and one hundred feet wide, this huge addition was built along the bank of the Seine River and at the time was the longest edifice of its kind in the world. Henri IV, a promoter of the arts, invited hundreds of artists and craftsmen to live and work on the building's lower floors. This tradition continued for another two hundred years until Napoleon ended it. Louis XIII (1610-1643) completed the Denon Wing, which had been started by Catharine Medici in 1560. Today it has been renovated, as a part of the Grand Louvre Renovation Programme. The Richelieu Wi