- published: 31 Jan 2009
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- author: mrallsop
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![Shaggy - Live @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 7/26/2009 [Part1]](http://web.archive.org./web/20121225015017im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lOC96gGvpJQ/default.jpg "www.REGGAEVILLE.com Shaggy - Live @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 7")
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Baghdad
Baghdad (Arabic: بغداد, Baġdād, IPA: [bæɣˈdæːd]) is the capital of Republic of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Province. The population of Baghdad as of 2011 is approximately 7,216,040, making it the largest city in Iraq, the second largest city in the Arab World (after Cairo, Egypt), and the second largest city in Western Asia (after Tehran, Iran).
Located along the Tigris River, the city was founded in the 8th century and became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. Within a short time of its inception, Baghdad evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center for the Islamic World. This in addition to housing several key academic institutions (e.g. House of Wisdom) garnered the city a worldwide reputation as the "Center of Learning". Throughout the High Middle Ages, Baghdad was considered to be the largest city in the world with an estimated population of 1,200,000 people. The city was largely destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues and multiple successive empires. With the recognition of Iraq as an independent state (formerly the British Mandate of Mesopotamia) in 1938, Baghdad gradually regained some of its former prominence as a significant center of Arabic culture.
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Bandung
Bandung (pronounced [banˈduŋ]) (Indonesian: Kota Bandung) is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, the country's third largest city, and second largest metropolitan area in Indonesia with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 meters (2,520 ft) above sea level, approximately 140 km south eastern of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler temperatures year-round than most other Indonesian cities. The city lies on a river basin surrounded by volcanic mountains. This topography provides a good natural defense system, which was the primary reason for the Dutch East Indies government's plan to move the colony capital from Batavia to Bandung.
The Dutch colonials first established tea plantations around the mountains in the eighteenth century, and a road was constructed to connect the plantation area to the capital (180 km or 112 miles to the northwest). The Dutch inhabitants of the city demanded establishment of a municipality (gemeente), which was granted in 1906, and Bandung gradually developed itself into a resort city for plantation owners. Luxurious hotels, restaurants, cafes and European boutiques were opened, hence the city was nicknamed Parijs van Java (Dutch: "The Paris of Java").
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Bangalore
Bangalore /ˈbæŋɡəlɔər/, also rendered Bengaluru,[needs IPA] is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City for its gardens and parks and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and fifth-most populous urban agglomeration. Bangalore is well known as a hub for India's information technology sector. It is among the top 10 preferred entrepreneurial locations in the world.
A succession of South Indian dynasties ruled the region of Bangalore until in 1537 AD Kempe Gowda—a feudatory ruler under the Vijayanagara Empire—established a mud fort considered to be the foundation of modern Bangalore. Following transitory occupation by Maratha and Mughal, the city remained under the Mysore kingdom. Bangalore continued to be a cantonment of the British and a major city of the Princely State of Mysore which existed as a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj. Following the independence of India in 1947, Bangalore became the capital of Mysore state, and later Karnataka.
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Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital city of and largest urban area in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (กรุงเทพมหานคร, pronounced [krūŋ tʰêːp máhǎː nákʰɔ̄ːn] (
listen)) or simply Krung Thep (
listen), meaning "city of angels". Bangkok is by far the most densely populated city in Thailand with about 12 million people. Bangkok was a small trading post near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century. It eventually grew in size and became the site of two capital cities: Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782.
Because of its strategic location in Southeast Asia, Siam (later Thailand) acted as a buffer-zone between the French and British colonial empires. Bangkok itself has gained a reputation as an independent, dynamic and influential city. Bangkok is the political, social and economic centre of Thailand, and one of the leading cities in Southeast Asia.
Due to the 1980s and 1990s Asian investment boom, many multinational corporations make their regional headquarters in Bangkok and the city is a regional force in finance and business. Its increasing influence on global politics, culture, fashion and entertainment underlines its status as an Alpha global city. In 2009, it was the second most expensive city in South-East Asia behind Singapore. The city's many cultural landmarks and attractions in addition to its nightlife venues has made it synonymous with exoticism. Its rapid modernization, reflected in the cityscape and the urban society, has left untouched the historic Grand Palace, Wat Arun, Vimanmek Palace Complex and hundreds of Buddhist temples draw about 10 million international visitors each year, second only to London.
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Beijing
Beijing ( /beɪˈdʒɪŋ/; Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng, [peɪ˨˩ t͡ɕiŋ˥]), formerly romanized as Peking ( /piːˈkɪŋ/ or /peɪˈkɪŋ/), is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The metropolis, located in northern China, is governed as a direct-controlled municipality under the national government, with 14 urban and suburban districts and two rural counties. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.
Beijing is China's second largest city by urban population after Shanghai and is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's largest state-owned companies. Beijing is a major transportation hub in the national highway, expressway, railway and high-speed rail network. Beijing's Capital International Airport is the second busiest in the world by passenger traffic.
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Berg (state)
Berg was a state – originally a county, later a duchy – in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed from the early 12th to the 19th centuries.
The Counts of Berg emerged in 1101 as a junior line of the dynasty of the Ezzonen, which traced its roots back to the 9th-century Kingdom of Lotharingia, and in the 11th century became the most powerful dynasty in the region of the lower Rhine. In 1160 the territory split into two portions, one of them later becoming the County of the Mark, which returned to the possession of the family line in the 16th century. In 1280 the counts moved their court from Schloss Burg on the Wupper river to the town of Düsseldorf. The most powerful of the early rulers of Berg, Engelbert II of Berg died in an assassination on November 7, 1225. Count Adolf VIII of Berg fought on the winning side in the Battle of Worringen against Guelders in 1288.
The power of Berg grew further in the 14th century. The County of Jülich united with the County of Berg in 1348, and in 1380 the Emperor Wenceslaus elevated the counts of Berg to the rank of dukes, thus originating the Duchy of Jülich-Berg.
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Berlin
Berlin ( /bɜrˈlɪn/; German pronunciation: [bɛɐ̯ˈliːn] ( listen)) is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.5 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city and is the second most populous city proper and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeastern Germany, it is the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, which has 5.9 million residents from over 190 nations. Located in the European Plains, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes.
First documented in the 13th century, Berlin was the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and the Third Reich (1933–1945).Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world. After World War II, the city became divided into East Berlin—the capital of East Germany—and West Berlin, a West German exclave surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989). Following German reunification in 1990, the city regained its status as the capital of Germany, hosting 147 foreign embassies.
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Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital (Spanish pronunciation: [boɣoˈta] ( listen)), from 1991 to 2000 called Santafé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district and no longer belongs administratively to that department. Bogotá is the most populous city in the country, with 7.363.782 inhabitants as of 2010. Bogotá and its metropolitan area, which includes municipalities such as Chía, Cota, Soacha, Cajicá and La Calera, had a population of 7,881,156 in 2005.
In terms of land area, Bogotá is the largest city in Colombia, and one of the biggest of Latin America. It figures amongst the thirty largest cities of the world and it is the third-highest capital city in South America (after La Paz and Quito) at 2,625 metres (8,612 ft) above sea level. With its many universities and libraries, Bogotá has become known as "The Athens of South America". Bogotá owns the largest moorland of the world, which is located in the Sumapaz Locality. The city ranked 54th in the 2010 Global Cities Index and is listed as global city of the Beta+ kind by the GaWC.
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Bundesautobahn 44
Bundesautobahn 44 (translates from German as Federal Motorway 44, short form Autobahn 44, abbreviated as BAB 44 or A 44) is a German Autobahn. It consists of three main-parts and a few smaller parts. It begins in Aachen at the German-Belgian border and ends near Kassel. Before the German unification it was an unimportant provincial-motorway but after this event it became an integral part of the German highway-system. The A 44 is a high-frequented link between the Rhine-Ruhr-Area and the new German states, especially Thuringia.
The first section of this motorway which was opened was the connection between Aachen and the interchange Aachen. This was in 1963.
The section Geseke-Büren was constructed as an auxiliary runway. This section is even and straight, without any constructions like bridges and the crash-barriers can be taken out. It was constructed to be a runway for US-military aircraft in a war with NATO's opponent, the Warsaw Pact. At both ends of the section there are parking lots for parking and maintenance of the aircraft.
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Cairo
Cairo ( /ˈkaɪroʊ/ KYE-roh; Arabic: القاهرة al-Qāhira, literally "The Vanquisher" or "The Conqueror"), is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Located near the Nile Delta, it was founded in the year 969 A.D. making it 1,043 years old. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life. Cairo was founded by the Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century AD.; but the land composing the present-day city was the site of national capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo is also associated with Ancient Egypt due to its proximity to the ancient cities of Memphis, Giza and Fustat which are nearby to the Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza.
Egyptians today often refer to Cairo as Maṣr (Arabic: مصر), the Arabic pronunciation of the name for Egypt itself, emphasizing the city's continued role in Egyptian influence. Cairo has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab World, as well as the world's second-oldest institution of higher learning, al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city, and the Arab League has had its headquarters in Cairo for most of its existence.
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Chennai
Chennai /ˈtʃɛnaɪ/, formerly Madras /məˈdræs/, is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal, it is a major commercial, cultural, and educational centre in South India, while the port of Chennai is the second largest port in India. As of the 2011 census, the city had 4.68 million residents making it the sixth most populous city in India; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 8.9 million, making it the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the country.
Although the area has been part of successive South Indian kingdoms through centuries, the recorded history of the city began in the colonial times, specifically with the arrival of British East India Company and the establishment in 1644 of Fort St George, an English settlement. The British defended several attacks from the French colonial forces, and from the kingdom of Mysore, on Chennai's way to become a major naval port and presidency city by late eighteenth century. Following the independence of India, Chennai became the capital of Tamil Nadu and a hotbed of regional politics that tended to bank on Dravidian identity of the populace. Chennai had become a bustling metropolis with beautiful classical and colonial European styled buildings, lining the city’s thoroughfares.
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Chicago
Chicago (
i/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ or /ʃɪˈkɔːɡoʊ/) is the largest city in the US state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. The city has around 2.7 million residents. Its metropolitan area, sometimes called "Chicagoland", is the third largest in the United States, with an estimated 9.8 million people. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, though a small portion also extends into DuPage County.
Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Today, Chicago is listed as an alpha+ global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and ranks seventh in the world on the 2012 Global Cities Index. The city retains its status as an international hub for finance, industry, telecommunications and infrastructure, with O'Hare International Airport being the second busiest airport in the world in terms of traffic movements. In 2008[update], the city hosted 45.6 million domestic and overseas visitors. Among metropolitan areas, Chicago has the 4th largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world, ranking just behind Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles. Chicago is one of the most important Worldwide Centers of Commerce and trade.
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Delhi
Delhi (/ˈdɛli/; locally pronounced Dillee or Dehli), officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16.7 million inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census. The region has been given special status of National Capital Region under The Constitution (69th Amendment) Act, 1991. There are nearly 22.2 million residents in the greater National Capital Region urban area (which also includes the cities Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon,Sonepat and Faridabad along with other smaller nearby towns).
Delhi is known to have been continuously inhabited since at least the 6th century BCE, though human habitation is believed to have existed since the second millennium BCE. Delhi is also widely believed to have been the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas during the times of the Mahabharata. Delhi re-emerged as a major political, cultural and commercial city along the trade routes between northwest India and the Gangetic plain after the rise of the Delhi sultanates. It is the site of many ancient and medieval monuments, archaeological sites and remains.
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Dhaka
Dhaka (Bengali: ঢাকা, pronounced IPA: [ˈɖʱaka]; formerly spelled Dacca, named Jahangirnagar during Mughal era) is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. It is located on the banks of the Buriganga River. Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 16 million in 2011, making it the largest city in Bangladesh. It is the 9th largest city in the world and also 28th among the most densely populated cities in the world. Dhaka is known as the City of Mosques and with 400,000 cycle rickshaws running on its streets every day, the city is also described as the Rickshaw Capital of the World.
Under Mughal rule in the 17th century, the city was known as Jahangir Nagar. It was a provincial capital and a centre of the worldwide muslin trade. The modern city, however, was developed chiefly under British rule in the 19th century, and became the second-largest city in Bengal after Calcutta (presently Kolkata). After the Partition of Bengal in 1905, Dhaka became the capital of the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam but lost its status as a provincial capital again after the partition was annulled in 1911. After the partition of India in 1947, Dhaka became the administrative capital of East Pakistan, and later, in 1971, the capital of an independent Bangladesh. During the intervening period, the city witnessed widespread turmoil; this included many impositions of martial law, the declaration of Bangladesh's independence, military suppression, devastation during war, and natural calamities.
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Dongguan
Dongguan (simplified Chinese: 东莞; traditional Chinese: 東莞; pinyin: Dōngguǎn, Mandarin pronunciation: [tʊ́ŋkwàn]; Cantonese: Dung1 gun2; Postal Map Spelling: Tungkuan) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.
An important industrial city located in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the south, and the Pearl River to the west.
It is also home to the world's largest, though mostly empty, shopping mall, New South China Mall. City administration is considered especially progressive in seeking foreign direct investment. The three neighboring municipalities of Guangzhou, Dongguan, and Shenzhen are home to over 25 million residents, accounting for a large proportion of the Pearl River Delta Region's population.
Dongguan ranks behind only Shenzhen, Shanghai and Suzhou in exports among Chinese cities, with $65.54bn in shipment.
Dongguan has no intermediate county level; instead it is divided into:
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East Prussia
East Prussia (German: Ostpreußen, pronounced [ˈɔstˌpʁɔʏsən] ( listen); Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Lithuanian: Rytų Prūsija or Rytprūsiai; Russian: Восточная Пруссия or Vostochnaya Prussiya; Latin: Borussia orientalis) was the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.
East Prussia enclosed the bulk of the ancestral lands of the Baltic Old Prussians. During the 13th century, the native Prussians were conquered by the crusading Teutonic Knights. The indigenous Balts who survived the conquest were gradually converted to Christianity. Because of Germanization and colonisation over the following centuries, Germans became the dominant ethnic group, while Poles and Lithuanians formed minorities. From the 13th century, East Prussia was part of the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights, which became the Duchy of Prussia in 1525. The Old Prussian language had become extinct by the 17th or early 18th century.
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East Rand
Coordinates: 26°10′38″S 28°13′19″E / 26.17722°S 28.22194°E / -26.17722; 28.22194
The East Rand (known in Afrikaans as the Oos-Rand) is the name of the urban eastern part of the Witwatersrand that is functionally merged with the Johannesburg conurbation. This area became settled by Europeans after a gold-bearing reef discovered in 1886 and sparked the gold rush that gave rise to the establishment of Johannesburg.
The large black townships of the East Rand were the scene of heavy clashes between the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party before the end of Apartheid.
The region extends from Germiston in the west to Springs in the east, and south down to Nigel, and includes the towns of Boksburg, Benoni, Brakpan, Kempton Park, Edenvale, and Bedfordview.
As part of the restructuring of municipalities in South Africa at the time, the local governments of the East Rand were merged into a single municipality in 1999, called the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, meaning "place of peace."
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Foshan
Foshan (Chinese: 佛山; pinyin: Fóshān, pronounced [fwɔ̌ ʂán]), is a city in central Guangdong province in southern China. The prefectural area under the city's jurisdiction over an area of about 3,840 km² and a population of 5.4 million of which 1.1 million reside in the city proper (year 2000 figures).
It is shown on some older maps as 'Fatshan', which is a phonetic spelling of the city's Cantonese name. Today many areas of Foshan city are occupied mostly by Chinese migrants coming from different provinces of China and speak only Mandarin, while its native dialect is a Foshan variant of Cantonese.
The town of Foshan is many centuries old, and was famous for its porcelain industry. Now, the third largest city in Guangdong, it has become relatively affluent compared to other Chinese cities, and is home to many large private enterprises. Foshan has recently seen a transformation brought by China's booming economy. Foshan is also famous for its martial arts. It contains numerous Wing Chun schools where many come to train and spar.
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France
France (English
i/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
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Frankfurt Rhine-Main
The Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, often simply referred to as Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main area or Rhine-Main area (German: Frankfurt/Rhein-Main, abbreviated FRM) is the second largest metropolitan region in Germany, with a total population exceeding 5.8 million. The metropolitan region is located in the central western part of Germany, and stretches over parts of three federal states: Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria, as well as the cities of Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, Offenbach, Mainz, Darmstadt and Aschaffenburg.
The polycentric region is named after its core city Frankfurt am Main and the two rivers Rhine and Main. The Frankfurt Rhine-Main area is officially designated as a European Metropolitan region by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs and covers an area of roughly 13,000 square kilometers (5,000 sq mi).
Rhine-Main is a polycentric metropolitan region, but the economic size and political weight of the city of Frankfurt sets it into a very monocentric relation with her commuter belt. Since the early 1970s the Frankfurt am Main metropolitan area (German: Ballungsraum Frankfurt/Rhein-Main) is defined as an area encompassing the cities of Frankfurt and Offenbach and their directly neighboring districts. The Regierungsbezirk Darmstadt of the state of Hesse could be seen as the next administrative division, as it lies entirely within the metropolitan region and further includes the cities of Darmstadt and Wiesbaden and a number of larger districts. Only on a level further, the metropolitan region also includes the cities and districts of Mainz and Aschaffenburg in the two adjoing federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria.
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Fulda Gap
The Fulda Gap is an area between the former East German border and Frankfurt am Main, that contains two corridors of lowlands that tanks might come through. Named for the town of Fulda, the Fulda Gap was strategically important during the Cold War.
The Fulda Gap was one of two obvious routes for a hypothetical Soviet tank attack upon West Germany from Eastern Europe, especially East Germany; the second route was the North German Plain, and the third, less likely, route was up through the Danube River valley in Austria. The concept of a major tank battle along the Fulda Gap was a predominant element of NATO war planning during the Cold War, and weapons such as the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter and A-10 ground attack aircraft were developed with such an eventuality in mind.
The northern route through the Gap passes south of the Knüllgebirge and then continues around the northern flank of the Vogelsberg Mountains; the southern route passes through the Fliede and Kinzig Valleys, with the Vogelsberg to the north and the Rhön mountains and Spessart mountains to the south. Perhaps even more importantly, on emerging from the western exit of the Gap, one encounters gentle terrain from there to the river Rhine, which favoured Soviet chances to reach and cross the Rhine before NATO could prevent it.
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Germany
Germany (i/ˈdʒɜrməni/), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant] ( listen)), is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.
A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, was documented before AD 100. During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward, and established successor kingdoms throughout much of Europe. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation while southern and western parts remained dominated by Roman Catholic denominations, with the two factions clashing in the Thirty Years' War, marking the beginning of the Catholic–Protestant divide that has characterized German society ever since. Occupied during the Napoleonic Wars, the rise of Pan-Germanism inside the German Confederation resulted in the unification of most of the German states into the German Empire in 1871 which was Prussian dominated. After the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the subsequent military surrender in World War I, the Empire was replaced by the Weimar Republic in 1918, and partitioned in the Treaty of Versailles. Amidst the Great Depression, the Third Reich was proclaimed in 1933. The latter period was marked by Fascism and World War II. After 1945, Germany was divided by allied occupation, and evolved into two states, East Germany and West Germany. In 1990 Germany was reunified.
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Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires (Gran Buenos Aires, GBA, in Spanish) is the generic denomination to refer to the urban agglomeration comprising the autonomous city of Buenos Aires and the conurbation around it, over the province of Buenos Aires—namely the adjacent 24 partidos or municipalities—which nonetheless do not constitute a single administrative unit. The conurbation spreads to the south, west and north of Buenos Aires; to the east the River Plate serves as a natural boundary.
Urban sprawl, especially between 1945 and 1980, created a vast conurbation of 9,910,282 inhabitants in the 24 conurbated partidos, as of 2010, and a total of 12,801,365 including the City of Buenos Aires, a third of the total population of Argentina.
The term "Greater Buenos Aires" is related with other expressions not necessarily well-defined: the "Buenos Aires' conurbation" (Conurbano Bonaerense), the "Greater Buenos Aires Agglomeration" (Aglomerado Gran Buenos Aires), and the "Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires" (Área Metropolitana Buenos Aires, AMBA).
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Guangzhou
Guangzhou (Chinese: 广州; Mandarin pronunciation: [kwɑ̀ŋʈʂóʊ̯]), known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port. One of the five National Central Cities, it holds sub-provincial administrative status.
Guangzhou is the third largest city in China and southern China's largest city. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 12.78 million. Some estimates place the population of the entire Pearl River Delta Mega City built up area as high as 40 million including Shenzhen (10.36 million), Dongguan (8.22 million) and most parts of Foshan (7.19 million), Jiangmen (4.45 million), Zhongshan (3.12 million) and a small part of Huizhou adjoining Dongguan and Shenzhen, with an area of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) (about the size of US state of New Jersey). In 2008 Guangzhou was identified as a Beta World City by the global city index produced by GaWC.
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Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton ( /ˈhæməltən/; 2011 population 519,949; UA population 670,580; CMA population 721,053) is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe. On January 1, 2001, the new City of Hamilton was formed through the amalgamation of the former city and the other constituent lower-tier municipalities of the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth with the upper-tier regional government. Residents of the old city are known as Hamiltonians. Since 1981, the metropolitan area has been listed as the ninth largest in Canada and the third largest in Ontario.
Hamilton is home to the shared Royal Botanical Gardens, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, the Bruce Trail, McMaster University and Mohawk College. The Canadian Football Hall of Fame can be found downtown right beside Hamilton City Hall and across town to the east, the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats play at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
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Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City (Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh; listen), formerly named Saigon (Sài Gòn; listen) is the largest city in Vietnam. It was once known as Prey Nokor, an important Khmer sea port prior to annexation by the Vietnamese in the 17th century.
Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochin-china and later of the independent state of South Vietnam from 1955–75. South Vietnam, as an anti-communist state, fought against the communist North Vietnamese and Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, with aid from the United States of America and countries including Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. Saigon fell when it was captured by the communists on 30 April 1975, bringing an end to the War with its enemy's victory. Vietnam was then turned into a communist state with the South overtaken. On 2 July 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding Gia Định Province and was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City after Hồ Chí Minh (although the name Sài Gòn is still commonly used.)
The city center is situated on the banks of the Saigon River, 60 kilometers (37 mi) from the South China Sea and 1,760 kilometers (1,090 mi) south of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
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Hong Kong
Coordinates: 22°16′42″N 114°09′32″E / 22.27833°N 114.15889°E / 22.27833; 114.15889
Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West", and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.
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Incheon
Coordinates: 37°29′N 126°38′E / 37.483°N 126.633°E / 37.483; 126.633
The Incheon Metropolitan City (인천, 仁川, literally 'wise river' - formerly Inchon; named Jinsen during the time of Japanese rule) is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City. While people have inhabited the area from the New Stone Age, the city’s growth was assured in modern times with the development of its port due to its natural advantages as a coastal city.
Incheon has since led the economic development of Korea by opening its port to the outside world, issuing in the modernization of Korea as a center of industrialization. In 2003, the city was designated as Korea’s first free economic zone. Since then, large local companies and global enterprises have increasingly invested in Incheon Free Economic Zone, including Samsung which chose Songdo International City as its new investment destination for its bio industry.
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Ireland
Coordinates: 53°20′N 08°00′W / 53.333°N 8°W / 53.333; -8
Ireland (pronounced [ˈaɪrlənd] ( listen); Irish: Éire [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen); Ulster Scots: Airlann or Airlan) is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth. To its east is the larger island of Great Britain, from which it is separated by the Irish Sea.
Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers just under five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the remainder and is located in the northeast of the island. The population of Ireland is approximately 6.4 million. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just under 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.
Relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain epitomise Ireland's geography with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild but changeable oceanic climate, which avoids extremes in temperature. Thick woodlands covered the island until the 17th century. Today, it is one of the most deforested areas in Europe. There are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland.
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Istanbul
Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul) is the largest city in Turkey, forming the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population of 13.4 million, the city is at the center of the second-largest urban area in Europe after Moscow, and among the world's largest cities by population within city limits. Istanbul's vast area of 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi) is coterminous with Istanbul Province, of which the city is considered capital. Straddling the Bosphorus—one of the world's busiest waterways—in northwestern Turkey, between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, Istanbul is a transcontinental city, with one third of its population living in Asia but its commercial and historical center in Europe.
Founded around 660 BC as Byzantium on the Seraglio Point, the city now known as Istanbul developed to become one of the most significant cities in history. For nearly sixteen centuries following its reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 AD, it served as the capital of four empires — the late classical Roman Empire (330–395), the Eastern Roman ("Byzantine") Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). It was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times, before the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 and transformed it into an Islamic stronghold from which the last caliphate ruled. Although the Republic of Turkey established its capital elsewhere, in Ankara, remnants of Istanbul's previous central role still remain highly visible across the city, with palaces and imperial mosques lining its hills.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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Jakarta
Jakarta ( /dʒəˈkɑrtə/), officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta (Indonesian: Daerah Khusus Ibu Kota Jakarta), is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Located on the northwest coast of Java, Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre, and with a population of 10,187,595 as of November 2011, it is the most populous city in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia, and is the twelfth-largest city in the world. The official metropolitan area, known as Jabodetabekjur, is the second largest in the world, yet the city's suburbs still continue beyond it. Jakarta is listed as a global city in the 2008 Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) research. and has an area of 661 square kilometres (255 sq mi)
Based on Brooking Institute survey about growth, in 2011 Jakarta ranked 17th among the world's 200 largest cities, a significant jumps from 2007 when Jakarta ranked 171st. Jakarta has seen more rapid growth than Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Bangkok.
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Johannesburg
Johannesburg (/dʒoʊˈhænɪsbɜrɡ/; Afrikaans: [joˈhɑnəsbʏrx]) also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or eGoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa. The city is one of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the world, and is also the world's largest city not situated on a river, lake, or coastline. It claims to be the lightning capital of the world, though this title is also claimed by others.
While Johannesburg is not one of South Africa's three capital cities, it is the seat of the Constitutional Court, which has the final word on interpretation of South Africa's new post-Apartheid constitution. The city is the source of a large-scale gold and diamond trade, due to its location on the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills. Johannesburg is served by O.R. Tambo International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in Africa and a gateway for international air travel to and from the rest of Southern Africa. More recently Lanseria International Airport has started international flights, and is situated conveniently on the opposite side of the metropolis.
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Karachi
Karachi ( Karācī (help·info), Urdu: کراچی; Sindhi: ڪراچي) is the largest city, main seaport and financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 13 million. Results in April 2012 of Pakistan's latest census initial tabulations show that the district is home to over 21 million people, at a density of nearly 6,000 people per square kilometer (15,500 per square mile). Karachi is the most populous city in the country, one of the world's largest cities in terms of population and also the 10th largest urban agglomeration in the world. It is Pakistan's premier centre of banking, industry, economic activity and trade and is home to Pakistan's largest corporations, including those involved in textiles, shipping, automotive industry, entertainment, the arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, software development and medical research. The city is a major hub of higher education in South Asia and the wider Muslim world.
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Kinshasa
Kinshasa (formerly French Léopoldville, and Dutch Leopoldstad (help·info)) is the capital and the largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River.
Once a site of fishing villages, Kinshasa is now an urban area with a population of nearly 10 million inhabitants. It faces the capital of the neighbouring Republic of Congo, Brazzaville which can be seen in the distance across the wide Congo River. Because the administrative boundaries cover such a vast area, over 60% of the city's land is rural in nature, and the urban area only occupies a small section in the far western end of the province.
Kinshasa holds the status of the second largest city in Africa, after Cairo.
Residents of Kinshasa are known as Kinois (in French and sometimes in English) or Kinshasans (English).
The city was founded as a trading post by Henry Morton Stanley in 1881 and named Léopoldville in honor of King Leopold II of Belgium, who controlled the vast territory that is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, not as a colony but as a private property. The post flourished as the first navigable port on the Congo River above Livingstone Falls, a series of rapids over 300 kilometres (190 mi) below Leopoldville. At first, all goods arriving by sea or being sent by sea had to be carried by porters between Léopoldville and Matadi, the port below the rapids and 150 km (93 mi) from the coast. The completion of the Matadi-Kinshasa portage railway in 1898 provided a faster and more efficient alternative route around the rapids and sparked the rapid development of Léopoldville. By 1920, the city was elevated to capital of the Belgian Congo, replacing the town of Boma in the Congo estuary.
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Kobe
Kobe (神戸市, Kōbe-shi?, Japanese pronunciation: [koːbe]), is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately 30 km (19 mi) west of Osaka. With a population of about 1.5 million, the city is part of the Keihanshin (Keihanshin) metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kyoto.
The earliest written records regarding the region come from the Nihon Shoki, which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine by Empress Jingū in AD 201. For most of its history the area was never a single political entity, even during the Tokugawa Period, when the port was controlled directly by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Kobe did not exist in its current form until its founding in 1889. Its name comes from "kanbe" (神戸?), an archaic title for supporters of the city's Ikuta Shrine. Kobe became one of Japan's 17 designated cities in 1956.
Kobe was one of the cities to open for trade with the West following the end of the policy of seclusion and has since been known as a cosmopolitan port city. While the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake diminished much of Kobe's prominence as a port city, it remains Japan's fourth busiest container port. Companies headquartered in Kobe include ASICS, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Kobe Steel, as well as over 100 international corporations with Asia or Japan headquarters in the city such as Procter & Gamble, Boehringer-Ingelheim and Nestlé. The city is the point of origin and namesake of Kobe beef as well as the site of one of Japan's most famous hot spring resorts, Arima Onsen.
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Kolkata
Kolkata /kɒlˈkætə/, or Calcutta /kælˈkʌtə/, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of East India, while the Port of Kolkata is India's oldest port as well as its sole major riverine port. As of 2011, the city had 4.5 million residents; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. As of 2008, its economic output as measured by gross domestic product ranked third among South Asian cities, behind Mumbai and Delhi. As a growing metropolitan city in a developing country, Kolkata confronts substantial urban pollution, traffic congestion, poverty, overpopulation, and other logistic and socioeconomic problems.
In the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Kolkata were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading license in 1690, the area was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified mercantile base. Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah occupied Kolkata in 1756, and the East India Company retook it in the following year and by 1772 assumed full sovereignty. Under East India Company and later under the British Raj, Kolkata served as the capital of India until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages, combined with growing nationalism in Bengal, led to a shift of the capital to New Delhi. The city was a centre of the Indian independence movement; it remains a hotbed of contemporary state politics. Following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata—which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics—witnessed several decades of relative economic stagnation. Since the early 2000s, an economic rejuvenation has led to accelerated growth.
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Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the federal capital and most populous city in Malaysia. The city covers an area of 243 km2 (94 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 1.6 million as of 2012.Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in the country, in terms of population and economy.
Kuala Lumpur is the seat of the Parliament of Malaysia. The city was once home to the executive and judicial branches of the federal government, but they were moved to Putrajaya in early 1999. Some sections of the judiciary still remains in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. The official residence of the Malaysian King, the Istana Negara, is also situated in Kuala Lumpur. Rated as an alpha world city, Kuala Lumpur is the cultural, financial and economic centre of Malaysia due to its position as the capital as well as being a key city. Kuala Lumpur was ranked 48th among global cities by Foreign Policy's 2010 Global Cities Index and was ranked 67th among global cities for economic and social innovation by the 2thinknow Innovation Cities Index in 2010.
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Kyoto
Kyoto (京都市, Kyōto-shi?, "Capital City") (Japanese pronunciation: [kʲoːto] ( listen)) is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area.
Although archaeological evidence places the first human settlement on the islands of Japan to approximately 10,000 BC, relatively little is known about human activity in the area before the 6th century AD, around which time the Shimogamo Shrine is believed to have been established. During the 8th century, when powerful Buddhist clergy became involved in the affairs of the Imperial government, the Emperor chose to relocate the capital to a region far from the Buddhist influence. Emperor Kammu selected the village of Uda, at the time in the Kadono district of Yamashiro Province, for this honor.
The new city, Heian-kyō (平安京, "tranquility and peace capital"), a scaled replica of the then Tang capital Chang'an, became the seat of Japan's imperial court in 794, beginning the Heian period of Japanese history. Although military rulers established their governments either in Kyoto (Muromachi shogunate) or in other cities such as Kamakura (Kamakura shogunate) and Edo (Tokugawa shogunate), Kyoto remained Japan's capital until the transfer of the imperial court to Tokyo in 1869 at the time of the Imperial Restoration. (Some believe that it is still a legal capital: see Capital of Japan.)
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Lagos
Lagos (/ˈleɪɡɒs/ LAY-gos) is a port city and the most populous city in Nigeria. Officially, the population of Lagos was last recorded at 7,937,932. Lagos is the second fastest growing city in Africa and the 7th fastest in the world. Lagos was originally inhabited by the Awori subgroup of the Yoruba people. Under the leadership of their Olofin, the Awori moved to an island now called Iddo and then to the larger Lagos Island. In the 15th century, the Awori settlement was attacked by the Benin Empire following a quarrel, and the island became a Benin war-camp called "Eko" under Oba Orhogba, the Oba of Benin at the time.
Lagos is a huge metropolis which originated on islands separated by creeks, such as Lagos Island, fringing the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon whilst protected from the Atlantic Ocean by long sand spits such as Bar Beach, which stretch up to 100 km east and west of the mouth. From the beginning, Lagos has expanded on the mainland west of the lagoon and the conurbation, including Ikeja and Agege, now reaches more than 40 km north-west of Lagos Island. Some suburbs include Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry, and more local councils have recently been created, bringing the total number of local governments in Lagos to 57.
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Lahore
Lahore (Punjabi: لہور, Urdu: لاہور) is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich history dating back over a millennium, Lahore is a main cultural centre of Pakistan. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains an economic, political, transportation, entertainment, and educational hub.
Lahore successively served as regional capital of the empires of the Shahi kingdoms in the 11th century, the Ghaznavids in the 12th century, the Ghurid State in the 12th and 13th centuries the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, the Sikh expansion in the early 19th century, and it was the capital of the Punjab region under the British Raj in the mid 19th and early 20th century. The traditional capital of Punjab for a thousand years, Lahore was the cultural center of the northern Indian subcontinent which extends from the eastern banks of the Indus River to New Delhi. Mughal structures such as the Badshahi Mosque, the Lahore Fort, Shalimar Gardens, and the mausolea of Jehangir and Nur Jehan are tourist attractions. Lahore is also home to many British colonial structures built in the Indo-Saracenic style, such as the Lahore High Court, the General Post Office, Lahore Museum and many older universities including the University of the Punjab. The Lahore Zoo, thought to be the fourth oldest in the world, is also situated here.
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Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima Metropolitan Area. With a population approaching 9 million, Lima is the fifth largest city in Latin America, behind Mexico City, São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. Lima is home to one of the largest financial hubs in Latin America. It has been defined as a beta world city by GaWC international ranking.
Lima was founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on January 18, 1535, as la Ciudad de los Reyes, or "the City of Kings". It became the capital and most important city in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru. Following the Peruvian War of Independence, it became the capital of the Republic of Peru. Today, around one-third of the Peruvian population lives in the metropolitan area.
Lima is home to one of the oldest higher learning institutions in the New World. The National University of San Marcos, founded on May 12, 1551 during Spanish colonial regime, is the oldest continuously functioning university in the Americas.
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London
Londoni/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is the world's leading financial centre alongside New York City and has the fifth-largest city GDP in the world (and the largest in Europe). London has been described as a world cultural capital. It was the world's most visited city during 2011 and London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. In 2012 London will become the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.
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Los Angeles
Los Angeles (i/lɒs ˈændʒələs/ loss-AN-jə-ləs; Spanish: [los ˈaŋxeles], which is written Los Ángeles; British pronounciation /lɒs ˈændʒəliːz/ loss-AN-jə-leez) with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in the state of California, and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of 468.67 square miles (1,213.8 km2), and is located in Southern California. Often known by its initials L.A., the city is the focal point of the larger Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metropolitan statistical area and Greater Los Angeles Area region, which contain 12,828,837 and nearly 18 million people respectively as of 2010, making it one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world and the second largest in the United States. Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated and one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States, while the entire Los Angeles area itself has been recognized as the most diverse of the nation's largest cities. The city's inhabitants are referred to as "Angelenos".
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Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (Filipino: Kalakhang Maynila, Kamaynilaan), the National Capital Region (NCR) (Filipino: Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines. It is composed of 16 cities, namely City of Manila, Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Pasay, Pasig, Parañaque, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela, plus the smaller Municipality of Pateros.
The region is the political, economic, social, cultural, and educational center of the Philippines. As proclaimed by Presidential Decree No. 940, Metro Manila as a whole is the Philippines' seat of government but the City of Manila is the capital. The largest city in the metropolis is Quezon City, while the largest business district is the Makati Central Business District.
Metro Manila is the most populous of the twelve defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines and the 11th most populous in the world. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 11,855,975, comprising 13% of the national population. The sum total population of provinces with a provincial density above 700 people per square kilometer (more than double the national average) in a contiguous zone with Metro Manila is 25.5 million people as of the 2007 census, one way to refer to the conurbation around Metro Manila is Greater Manila.
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Mexico City
Mexico City ( /ˈmɛksɨkoʊ ˈsɪti/; Spanish: Ciudad de México [sjuˈðað ðe ˈmexiko], also known as México D.F., or simply D.F.) is the Federal District (Distrito Federal), capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole. Mexico City is the country's largest city as well as its most important political, cultural, educational and financial center.
As an "alpha" global city Mexico City is one of the most important financial centers in North America. It is located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de México), a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres (7,350 ft). The city consists of sixteen boroughs.
The 2009 estimated population for the city proper was around 8.84 million people, and has a land area of 1,485 square kilometres (573 sq mi). According to the most recent definition agreed upon by the federal and state governments, the Mexico City metropolitan area population is 21.2 million people, making it the largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere and the fifth largest agglomeration in the world.
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Moscow
Moscow (
/ˈmɒskaʊ/ or /ˈmɒskoʊ/; Russian: Москва́, tr. Moskva; IPA: [mɐˈskva] (
listen)) is the capital and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural and scientific center of Russia and the continent. Moscow is the northernmost megacity on Earth, the most populous city in Europe, and the 6th largest city proper in the world. Its population, according to the results of the 2010 Census, is 11,503,501. Based on Forbes 2011, Moscow has the largest community of billionaires in the world.
Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia. In the course of its history the city has served as the capital of a progression of states, from the medieval Grand Duchy of Moscow and the subsequent Tsardom of Russia to the Soviet Union. Moscow is the site of the Moscow Kremlin, an ancient fortress that is today the residence of the Russian President and of the executive branch of the Government of Russia. The Kremlin is also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament (the State Duma and the Federation Council) also sit in Moscow.
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Mumbai
Mumbai /mʊmˈbaɪ/, also known as Bombay /bɒmˈbeɪ/, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million. Along with the neighbouring urban areas, including the cities of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it is one of the most populous urban regions in the world. Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. In 2009, Mumbai was named an Alpha world city. Mumbai is also the richest city in India, and has the highest GDP of any city in South, West or Central Asia.
The seven islands that came to constitute Mumbai were home to communities of fishing colonies. For centuries, the islands were under the control of successive indigenous empires before being ceded to the Portuguese and subsequently to the British East India Company. During the mid-18th century, Mumbai was reshaped by the Hornby Vellard project, which undertook the reclamation of the area between the seven constituent islands from the sea. Completed by 1845, the project along with construction of major roads and railways transformed Bombay into a major seaport on the Arabian Sea. Economic and educational development characterised the city during the 19th century. It became a strong base for the Indian independence movement during the early 20th century. When India became independent in 1947, the city was incorporated into Bombay State. In 1960, following the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, a new state of Maharashtra was created with Bombay as capital. The city was renamed Mumbai in 1996.
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Nagoya
Nagoya (名古屋市, Nagoya-shi?) is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the third-largest incorporated city and the fourth most populous urban area in Japan. (Tokyo is not a single incorporated city - see Tokyo for more information on the definition and makeup of Tokyo.)
Located on the Pacific coast on central Honshu, it is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and is one of Japan's major ports along with those of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama, Chiba, and Kitakyushu. It is also the center of Japan's third largest metropolitan region, known as the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area. As of 2000, Chūkyō Metropolitan Area has 8.74 million people, of which 2.27 million live in the city of Nagoya.
The city's name was historically written as 那古野 or 名護屋 (both read as Nagoya). One possible etymology for the city's name is the adjective なごやか (nagoyaka), meaning 'peaceful'. [2]
The name Chūkyō (中京) is also used (chū (middle) + kyō (capital)), since it is the main city of the central Chūbu region. Various things are named after Chūkyō, for example the Chūkyō Industrial Area, Chūkyō Metropolitan Area, Chūkyō Television Broadcasting, Chukyo University and the Chukyo Racecourse.
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Osaka
Osaka (大阪, Ōsaka?) listen (help·info) is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. Located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, Osaka is the third largest city by population after Tokyo (special wards) and Yokohama.
Keihanshin is the second largest area in Japan by population and one of the largest metropolitan areas highly ranked in the world, with nearly 18 million people, and by GDP the second largest area in Japan and the seventh largest area in the world.
Historically the commercial centre of Japan, Osaka functions as one of the command centers for the Japanese economy. The ratio between daytime and night time population is 141%, the highest in Japan, highlighting its status as an economic center. Its nighttime population is 2.6 million, the third in the country, but in daytime the population surges to 3.7 million, second only after Tokyo (combining the Special wards of Tokyo, which is not a single incorporated city, for statistical purposes. See the Tokyo article for more information on the definition and makeup of Tokyo.) Osaka used to be referred to as the "nation's kitchen" (天下の台所, tenka no daidokoro?) in feudal Edo period because it was the centre of trading for rice, creating the first modern futures exchange market in the world.
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Pomerania
Pomerania - Polish: Pomorze, Kashubian: Pòmòrze or Pòmòrskô, (German: Pommern, Latin: Pomerania or Pomorania) is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. Pomerania was strongly affected by 20th century, post-World War I and II border and population shifts.
Pomerania belongs to the lowlands of the North European Plain. Outside its few urban centers − most notably the Szczecin and Tricity metropolitan areas − the poor soil is mostly used as farmland, dotted with numerous lakes, forests, and small towns. Agriculture primarily consists of raising livestock, forestry, fishery and the cultivation of cereals, sugar beets, and potatoes. Since the late 19th century, tourism has become an important sector of the economy, primarily in the numerous seaside resorts along the coast. Of the limited industrial zones, the most important products are ships, metal products, refined sugar, and paper.
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Province of Posen
The Province of Posen (German: Provinz Posen, Polish: Prowincja Poznańska) was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2.
The territory of later province, roughly corresponding to the region of Greater Poland, had become Prussian in 1772 (Netze District) and 1793 (South Prussia) during the partitions of Poland. After Prussia's defeat in the Napoleonic Wars, the territory was attached to the Duchy of Warsaw in 1807 during the Treaty of Tilsit. In 1815 during the Congress of Vienna, Prussia gained the western third of the Warsaw duchy, which was about half of former South Prussia. Prussia then administered this province as the semi-autonomous Grand Duchy of Posen, which lost most of its exceptional status in 1830. While the local Posen (Poznań) Parliament voted 26 to 17 votes against joining German Confederation, on 3 April 1848 the Frankfurt Parliament ignored the vote, forcing status change to a normal Prussian province and its integration in the German Confederation.
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Rhenish Massif
The Rhenish Massif (German: Rheinisches Schiefergebirge: "Rhenish Slate Range") is a geologic massif in western Germany, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg and northeastern France.
The Rhenish Massif consists of the Belgian and French Ardennes, the German Eifel and east of the river Rhine the Sauerland and Siegerland. The Mosel and Hunsrück hills form its southwestern part, the Westerwald, Lahn-Dill area and the Taunus occupy the southeastern part. The massif is divided in two by the Middle Rhine Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage area.
Geologically the Rhenish Massif consists of metamorphic rocks, mostly slates (hence its name), deformed and metamorphosed during the Hercynian orogeny (around 300 million years ago). Most of the massif is part of the Rhenohercynian zone of this orogeny, that also encompasses the Harz further east and Devonian rocks of Cornwall (southwestern England).
Most rocks in the Rhenish Massif were originally sediments, mostly deposited during the Devonian and Carboniferous in a back-arc basin called the Rhenohercynian basin. In some places in the Ardennes, even older rocks of Cambrian to Silurian age crop out as massifs overlain by Devonian slates. These older rocks form smaller massifs of their own (Stavelot, Rocroi, Givonne and Serpont). In the eastern Rhenish Massif some very limited outcrops in the Sauerland show rocks of Ordovician and lower Siliurian age. Further Ordovician rock exposures are part of the southern Taunus.
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Rhine-Neckar
The Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region (German: Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar), often referred to as Rhein-Neckar-Triangle is a polycentric metropolitan region located in south western Germany, between the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region to the North and the Stuttgart Region to the South-East.
Rhine-Neckar has a population of some 2.4 million with major cities being Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg. Other cities include the former Free imperial cities of Speyer and Worms. The metro area also encompasses parts of the picturesque Baden and Palatinate wine regions and territory from the three federal states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse.
The region is named after the rivers Rhine and Neckar, which confluence at Mannheim. Since 2005, the region is officially recognized as a European Metropolitan Area. It has a strong local identity as a successor of the historical Kurpfalz state.
The city of Heidelberg with its castle and ancient old-town is a popular tourist destination. Mannheim, where Carl Benz invented his first automobile, is on the other hand one of the most important industrial centers of Southern Germany. Its twin city Ludwigshafen across the Rhine river is home of the world's largest chemical plant and headquarters of BASF. Walldorf, just south of Heidelberg hosts the headquarters of Europe's largest software company SAP.
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Rhine-Ruhr
The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region (German: Metropolregion Rhein-Ruhr) is the largest metropolitan region in Germany with over 11 million inhabitants. It is of polycentric nature and the only megacity in Germany. It covers an area of 7,110 square kilometers and lies entirely within the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region spreads from Dortmund-Bochum-Essen-Duisburg (Ruhr Area) in the north, to the urban areas of the cities of Mönchengladbach, Düsseldorf (the state capital), Wuppertal, Cologne (the region's largest and Germany's fourth largest city), and Bonn in the south. The location of the Rhine-Ruhr at the heart of the European "blue banana" makes it well connected to other major European cities and metropolitan areas like Amsterdam and the Randstad, the Flemish Diamond and Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Region.
The metropolitan area is named after the Rhine and Ruhr rivers, which are the regions's defining geographical features and historically its economic backbone.
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Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( /ˈriːoʊ deɪ ʒəˈnɛəroʊ/ or /ˈriːoʊ deɪ dʒəˈnɛəroʊ/; Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈʁi.u dʒi ʒaˈnejɾu],River of January), commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th largest in the Americas, and 26th in the world.
The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1815 during the Portuguese colonial era, 1815 to 1821 as the capital of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves, and 1822 to 1960 as an independent nation. Rio is nicknamed the Cidade Maravilhosa or "Marvelous City."
Rio de Janeiro represents the second largest GDP in the country (and 30th largest in the world in 2008), estimated at about R$ 343 billion (IBGE/2008) (nearly US$ 201 billion), and is the headquarters of two major Brazilian companies – Petrobras and Vale, and major oil companies and telephony in Brazil, besides the largest conglomerate of media and communications companies in Latin America, the Globo Organizations. The home of many universities and institutes, it is the second largest center of research and development in Brazil, accounting for 17% of national scientific production – according to 2005 data.
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Ruhr
The Ruhr (German Ruhrgebiet, colloquial Ruhrpott, Kohlenpott, Pott or Revier), is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 7100/km² and a population of some 7.3 million, it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany. It consists of several large, formerly industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe to the north. In the Southwest it borders to the Bergisches Land. It is considered part of the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region of more than 12 million people.
Since the Ruhr is polycentric, coordinates shown are general in nature and so can be used to focus on the entire region of the Ruhr: 51°30′N 7°30′E / 51.5°N 7.5°E / 51.5; 7.5.
From west to east, the region includes the cities of Duisburg, Oberhausen, Bottrop, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Herne, Hagen, Dortmund, and Hamm, as well as parts of the more "rural" districts Wesel, Recklinghausen, Unna and Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. Historically, the western Ruhr towns, such as Duisburg and Essen, belonged to the historic region of the Rhineland, whereas the eastern part of the Ruhr, including Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Dortmund and Hamm, were part of the region of Westphalia. Since the 19th century, these districts have grown together into a large complex with a vast industrial landscape, inhabited by some 7.3 million people (when including Düsseldorf and Wuppertal). It is the fifth largest urban area in Europe after Istanbul, Moscow, London and Paris.
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Santiago
Santiago (Spanish: Santiago de Chile (help·info)), also Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation (Greater Santiago). It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of 520 m (1,706.04 ft) above mean sea level. Although Santiago is the capital, the National Congress of Chile meets in the coastal town of Valparaíso, 120 km to the west.
Chile's steady economic growth has transformed Santiago into Latin America's most modern metropolitan area, with extensive suburban development, dozens of shopping centers, and impressive high-rise architecture. It has a very modern transport infrastructure, including the steadily growing underground Santiago Metro, an effort at modernizing public bus transport and a free flow toll-based ring road and inner city highway system, part of which is tunneled underneath a large section of the city's main river Mapocho connecting the Eastern and Western end of the city in a 25-minute drive. Santiago is the regional headquarters to many multinationals and a financial center.
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Seoul
Seoul (Korean pronunciation: [sʌ.ul] ( listen), English /soʊl/), officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world. The Seoul National Capital Area is the world's second largest metropolitan area with over 25 million inhabitants, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province. Almost a quarter of South Koreans live in Seoul, half of South Koreans live in the metropolitan area, along with over 275,000 international residents.
Located in the Han River, Seoul has been a major settlement for over 2,000 years, with its foundation dating back to 18 B.C. when Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, established its capital in what is now south-east Seoul. It continued as the capital of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty and the Korean Empire. The Seoul National Capital Area is home to four UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Changdeokgung, Hwaseong Fortress, Jongmyo Shrine and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty.
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Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the largest city proper by population in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities of the PRC, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010. It is a global city, with influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology, and transport. It is a major financial center and the busiest container port in the world.
Located in the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China, Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces to the west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea.
Once a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to European recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of several opened to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the first opium war and the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking which allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, the city's international influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city.
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Shenzhen
Shenzhen (Mandarin pronunciation: [ʂə́ntʂə̂n]) is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones (SEZs). It currently also holds sub-provincial administrative status, with powers slightly less than a province.
Shenzhen's modern cityscape is the result of the vibrant economy made possible by rapid foreign investment since the institution of the policy of "reform and opening" establishment of the SEZ in the late 1979, before which it was only a small village. Both Chinese and foreign nationals have invested enormous amount of money in the Shenzhen SEZ. More than US$30 billion in foreign investment has gone into both foreign-owned and joint ventures, at first mainly in manufacturing but more recently in the service industries as well. Shenzhen is now reputedly considered as one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.
Being southern mainland China's major financial centre, Shenzhen is home to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange as well as the headquarters of numerous high-tech companies. Shenzhen is also the third-busiest container port in China, after Shanghai and Hong Kong.
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São Paulo
São Paulo (/ˌsaʊ ˈpaʊloʊ/; Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃w ˈpawlu] ( listen); Saint Paul;), popularly known as Sampa, is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and Americas, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among the five largest metropolitan areas on the planet. São Paulo is the capital of the state of São Paulo, which is the most populous Brazilian state, and exerts strong regional influence in commerce and finance as well as arts and entertainment. São Paulo maintains strong international influence and is considered an Alpha- World City. The name of the city honors Saint Paul.
The metropolis has significant cultural, economic and political influence both nationally and internationally. It houses several important monuments, parks and museums such as the Latin American Memorial, the Museum of the Portuguese Language, São Paulo Museum of Art and the Ibirapuera Park. The Paulista Avenue is the most important financial center of São Paulo. The city holds many high profile events, like the São Paulo Art Biennial, the Brazil Grand Prix Formula 1 Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo Fashion Week, ATP Brasil Open, and the São Paulo Indy 300.
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Taipei
Taipei City (/ˌtaɪˈpeɪ/; [tʰǎipèi]; Chinese: 臺北市 or 台北市; pinyin: Táiběi Shì) is the capital of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Situated at the northern tip of the island of Taiwan, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River; it is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, a port city on the Pacific Ocean. It lies in the two relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung (基隆河) and Xindian (新店溪) rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border. The city proper (Taipei City) is home to an estimated 2,618,772 people. Taipei, New Taipei, and Keelung together form the Taipei metropolitan area with a population of 6,900,273. However, they are administered under different local governing bodies. "Taipei" sometimes refers to the whole metropolitan area, while "Taipei City" refers to the city proper. Taipei City proper is surrounded on all sides by New Taipei.
Taipei is the political, economic, and cultural center of Taiwan. The National Palace Museum which has one of the largest collections of Chinese artifacts and artworks in the world is located in Taipei. Considered to be a global city, Taipei is part of a major industrial area. Railways, high speed rail, highways, airports, and bus lines connect Taipei with all parts of the island. The city is served by two airports – Taipei Songshan and Taiwan Taoyuan.
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Tehran
Tehran ( pronunciation (help·info)) (Persian: تهران Tehrān; pronounced [tehˈɾɒːn]), sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, the largest city in Western Asia, one of the largest in Southern Asia, and the 19th-largest city globally.
In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to mass-migration of people from all around Iran. The city is home to many historic mosques, churches, synagogues and Zoroastrian fire temples. Contemporary Tehran is a modern city featuring many structures, of which the Azadi (Freedom) Tower and the Milad Tower have come to be symbols of Tehran itself. In 2008 Tehran was the least expensive capital in the world and the second-least expensive city globally based on the cost-of-living index presenting the best value for money in the world. Globally it stands 19th by city population, 56th by the size of its GDP and 29th by the population of its metropolitan area. Throughout Iran's history, the capital city has been relocated many times, with Tehran being the 32nd national capital of Iran. Persian is the city's native tongue, with roughly 98% of the population able to speak and understand it. The majority of people in Tehran identify themselves as Persians. In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, Tehran was called Ray (which in the Avesta occurs in the form of Ragha)[citation needed].
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Tianjin
Tianjin (help·info) (Chinese: 天津; pinyin: Tiānjīn; Mandarin pronunciation: [tʰjɛ́ntɕín]; Tianjinese: /tʰiɛn˨˩tɕin˨˩/~[tʰjɛ̃̀ɦɪ̀ŋ]; Postal map spelling: Tientsin) is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government. Tianjin borders Hebei Province and Beijing Municipality, bounded to the east by the Bohai Gulf portion of the Yellow Sea.
As a dual-core city, Tianjin is divided into the old city and the Binhai New Area. Binhai New Area is a new growth pole in China, and it maintains an annual growth rate of nearly 30% of the GDP. As of the end of 2010, 285 Fortune Global 500 companies have established branch offices in Binhai. It is a base of China's advanced industry, financial reform, and innovation.
In terms of urban population, it is the sixth-largest city of the People's Republic of China, and its urban land area (Binhai New Area is not included) ranks fifth in the nation after Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou. Tianjin's urban area is located along the Hai River, which connects to the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers via the Grand Canal in Tianjin. Tianjin was once home to foreign concessions in the late Qing Dynasty and early Kuomintang (KMT) era. The municipality incorporates the coastal region of Tanggu, home to the Binhai New Area and the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA).
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Tokyo
Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō?, "Eastern Capital") [toːkʲoː], English /ˈtoʊki.oʊ/; officially Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to?), is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of the world. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family. Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture (東京府, Tōkyō-fu?) and the city of Tokyo (東京市, Tōkyō-shi?).
The Tokyo Metropolitan government administers the 23 special wards of Tokyo (each governed as a city), which cover the area that was the city of Tokyo, as well as 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the special wards is over 8 million people, with the total population of the prefecture exceeding 13 million. The prefecture is part of the world's most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 35 million people and the world's largest urban agglomeration economy with a GDP of US$1.479 trillion at purchasing power parity in 2008, ahead of New York City metropolitan area, which ranks second on the list. The city hosts 47 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest amount of any city.
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Toronto
Toronto (/təˈrɒntoʊ/, colloquially /ˈtrɒnoʊ/) is the largest city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from the Mississaugas of the New Credit. The settlement was later established as the Town of York and proclaimed as the new capital of Upper Canada by its lieutenant-governor, John Graves Simcoe. In 1834, York was incorporated as a city and renamed to its present name. The city was ransacked in the Battle of York during the War of 1812 and damaged in two great fires in 1849 and in 1904. Since its incorporation, Toronto has repeatedly expanded its borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities, most recently in 1998.
With over 2.6 million residents, it is the fifth most populous city in North America. Its metropolitan area has over 5.5 million residents. Toronto is at the heart of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and is part of a densely populated region in Southern Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe, which has a population of nearly 9 million people as of 2011. The census metropolitan area (CMA) had a population of 5,583,064, and the Greater Toronto Area had a population of 6,054,191 in the 2011 Census. Its cosmopolitan and international population reflects its role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada. Toronto is one of the world's most diverse cities by percentage of non-native-born residents, with about 49% of the population born outside Canada. Toronto is also consistently rated as one of the world's most livable cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Mercer Quality of Living Survey.
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Turkey
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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Yokohama
Yokohama (横浜市, Yokohama-shi?, "Side Shore") ( listen (help·info)) is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu. It is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area.
Yokohama's population of 3.7 million makes it Japan's largest incorporated city.
Yokohama developed rapidly as Japan's prominent port city following the end of Japan's relative isolation in the mid-19th century, and is today one of its major ports along with Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, Hakata, Tokyo, and Chiba.
Yokohama was a small fishing village up to the end of the feudal Edo period, when Japan held a policy of national seclusion, having little contact with foreigners. A major turning point in Japanese history happened in 1853–54, when Commodore Matthew Perry arrived just south of Yokohama with a fleet of American warships, demanding that Japan open several ports for commerce, and the Tokugawa shogunate agreed by signing the Treaty of Peace and Amity.
wn.com/Yokohama -
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian: Jugoslavija; Cyrillic: Југославија) was a country in the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century which was established three times under differing forms of government.
The first country to be known by this name was the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which before 3 October 1929 was known as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was established on 1 December 1918 by the union of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and the Kingdom of Serbia (the Kingdom of Montenegro was annexed on 13 November 1918, and the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris gave international recognition to the union on 13 July 1922). The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers in 1941, and because of the events that followed, was officially abolished in 1943 and 1945.
The second country with this name was the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, proclaimed in 1943 by the Yugoslav Partisans resistance movement during World War II. It was renamed to the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946, when a communist government was established. In 1963, it was renamed again to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). This was the largest Yugoslav state, as Istria, Rijeka and Zadar were added to the new Yugoslavia after the end of World War II.
wn.com/Yugoslavia -
Zeche Zollern
The Zeche Zollern (or translated: Zollern II/IV Colliery) is located in the northwestern suburb of Bövinghausen of Dortmund, Germany. The Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-AG projected Zollern in 1898 as a model colliery.
Ground up construction began in 1898 on a new site. Most of the buildings of the colliery were built in solid brickwork by the architect Paul Knobbe and were completed in 1904 with the central engine house, in which the most up-to-date generators and machinery used in the colliery were housed. The architecture and state-of-the-art technology support the transition of Gothic-revival to Art Nouveau and the industrialization of the early 1900s.
Due to deadline pressure, the central engine house was built in iron framework construction with infilling of red brickwork, planned and executed by the Gutehoffnungshütte. The Art Nouveau styled main entrance was designed by the Berlin architect Bruno Möhring, it shows a lead glazing of blue, green and violet colored stained-glass. Counterpart of the main entrance is the big control board of polished marble in brass mounting, with a brass clock hanging from above.
wn.com/Zeche_Zollern
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Beijing
Beijing ( /beɪˈdʒɪŋ/; Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng, [peɪ˨˩ t͡ɕiŋ˥]), formerly romanized as Peking ( /piːˈkɪŋ/ or /peɪˈkɪŋ/), is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The metropolis, located in northern China, is governed as a direct-controlled municipality under the national government, with 14 urban and suburban districts and two rural counties. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.
Beijing is China's second largest city by urban population after Shanghai and is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's largest state-owned companies. Beijing is a major transportation hub in the national highway, expressway, railway and high-speed rail network. Beijing's Capital International Airport is the second busiest in the world by passenger traffic.
wn.com/Beijing -
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (Chinese: 广州; Mandarin pronunciation: [kwɑ̀ŋʈʂóʊ̯]), known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port. One of the five National Central Cities, it holds sub-provincial administrative status.
Guangzhou is the third largest city in China and southern China's largest city. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 12.78 million. Some estimates place the population of the entire Pearl River Delta Mega City built up area as high as 40 million including Shenzhen (10.36 million), Dongguan (8.22 million) and most parts of Foshan (7.19 million), Jiangmen (4.45 million), Zhongshan (3.12 million) and a small part of Huizhou adjoining Dongguan and Shenzhen, with an area of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) (about the size of US state of New Jersey). In 2008 Guangzhou was identified as a Beta World City by the global city index produced by GaWC.
wn.com/Guangzhou -
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, (or Goering;German pronunciation: [ˈɡøːʁɪŋ] ( listen); 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader, and leading member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP). A veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, he was a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "the Blue Max". He was the last commander of Jagdgeschwader 1, the fighter wing once led by Manfred von Richthofen, "the Red Baron".
A member of the NSDAP from its early days, Göring was wounded in 1923 during the failed coup known as the Beer Hall Putsch. He suffered from a lifelong addiction to morphine after being treated with the drug for his injuries. He founded the Gestapo in 1933. Göring was appointed commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe (air force) in 1935, a position he held until the final days of World War II. By 1940 he was at the peak of his power and influence; as minister in charge of the Four Year Plan, he was responsible for much of the functioning of the German economy in the build-up to World War II. Adolf Hitler promoted him to the rank of Reichsmarschall, a rank senior to all other Wehrmacht commanders, and in 1941 Hitler designated him as his successor and deputy in all his offices.
wn.com/Hermann_Göring -
Hong Kong
Coordinates: 22°16′42″N 114°09′32″E / 22.27833°N 114.15889°E / 22.27833; 114.15889
Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West", and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.
wn.com/Hong_Kong -
Mazurs
The Masurians or Mazurs or Masurs (Polish: Mazurzy, German: Masuren) are a Lechitic sub-ethnic group in the Masovian and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeships in Poland. They are descended from Masovians (Polish: Mazowszanie; German: Masowier), Polish settlers from Masovia who moved to Prussia especially during and after the Protestant Reformation and who were primarily Protestant. In the 19th century, the Masuria region of East Prussia was named after the Masurians.
In the Middle Ages, the inhabitants of the northern Duchy of Masovia were called Mazury in Polish. Between the 14th and 17th centuries, Polish settlers from northern Masovia moved to the southern territories of the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights that was previously the land of the Baltic Old Prussians who were conquered by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th and 14th centuries. The northern part of this state was soon settled by settlers from Germany and was therefore Germanised. On the other hand the southern part - Masuria - was Polonised by the incoming Masovians approximately in the same period. In 1466 those territories became a fief of Poland.
wn.com/Mazurs -
Poles
The Polish people, or Poles (Polish: Polacy [pɔˈlat͡sɨ]; singular: Polak), are a nation indigenous to Poland. They speak the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe. The Polish word for a Polish person is "Polak" (masculine) and "Polka" (feminine).
The preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland defines the Polish nation as comprising all the citizens of Poland. Poland's inhabitants live in the following historic regions of the country: Wielkopolska, Małopolska, Mazovia, Pomerania, Warmia, Mazury, Podlasie, Kujawy and Silesia. A wide-ranging Polish diaspora exists throughout Europe (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine), the Americas (the United States, Brazil and Argentina) and Australia. Chicago, in the United States, has the world's largest urban Polish population after Warsaw.
Over a thousand years ago, the Polans of Giecz, Gniezno and Poznań — an influential tribe in Wielkopolska — succeeded in uniting Lechitic tribes under what became the Piast dynasty, thus giving rise to the Polish state.
wn.com/Poles -
Ruhrpolen
Ruhrpolen (“Ruhr Poles”) is a German umbrella term for Poles (including Silesians, Masurians, Kashubians), who migrated to the rapidly-industrializing areas of the Ruhr Valley.
The immigrants mainly came from what were then eastern territories of Germany (Province of Posen, East Prussia and West Prussia, Province of Silesia), which were partially acquired in the Polish partitions and which housed a significant Polish population. This migration wave, known as the Ostflucht, began in the late 19th century, with most of the Ruhrpolen arriving around the 1870s. The migrants found employment in the mining, steel and construction industries. In 1913 there were between 300,000 and 350,000 Poles and 150,000 Masurians. Of those, one-third were born in the Ruhr area The Protestant Masurians did not accept being identified with Catholic Poles and underlined their loyalty to Prussia and the German Empire.[dubious – discuss]
The rights of the Ruhrpolen as citizens were restricted in many ways by anti-Polish policies of the German Empire. While initially German officials hoped that the Polish population would succumb to Germanization, they eventually lost hope that this long-term strategy would succeed. Polish schools had their accreditation refused and public schools no longer took account of ethnic diversity. In schools here the percentage of Polish-speaking students became high, German officials split up the students. When parents tried to organize private lessons for their children, police would come to their homes.
wn.com/Ruhrpolen -
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the largest city proper by population in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities of the PRC, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010. It is a global city, with influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology, and transport. It is a major financial center and the busiest container port in the world.
Located in the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China, Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces to the west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea.
Once a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to European recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of several opened to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the first opium war and the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking which allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, the city's international influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city.
wn.com/Shanghai -
Silesians
Silesians (Silesian: Ślůnzoki; Silesian German: Schläsinger; Polish: Ślązacy; Czech: Slezané; German: Schlesier), are the inhabitants of Silesia in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. A small diaspora community also exists in Karnes County, Texas in the USA and in Ostojićevo in Serbia.
There has been some debate over whether or not a group of Silesians (historically Upper Silesians) constitute a distinct nation. In modern history, they have been often pressured to declare themselves to be either German or Polish or Czech and embrace the language of the current governing nation. Nevertheless, 809,000 people declared Silesian nationality in the Polish national census in 2011, making them the largest minority group in Poland alongside the German minority (93% of Germans in Poland live in the Polish part of Silesia), while 12,231 people declared Silesian nationality in the Czech national census in 2011 (44,446 in 1991) and 6,361 people declared Silesian and Moravian nationality in the Slovak national census.
wn.com/Silesians -
Tianjin
Tianjin (help·info) (Chinese: 天津; pinyin: Tiānjīn; Mandarin pronunciation: [tʰjɛ́ntɕín]; Tianjinese: /tʰiɛn˨˩tɕin˨˩/~[tʰjɛ̃̀ɦɪ̀ŋ]; Postal map spelling: Tientsin) is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government. Tianjin borders Hebei Province and Beijing Municipality, bounded to the east by the Bohai Gulf portion of the Yellow Sea.
As a dual-core city, Tianjin is divided into the old city and the Binhai New Area. Binhai New Area is a new growth pole in China, and it maintains an annual growth rate of nearly 30% of the GDP. As of the end of 2010, 285 Fortune Global 500 companies have established branch offices in Binhai. It is a base of China's advanced industry, financial reform, and innovation.
In terms of urban population, it is the sixth-largest city of the People's Republic of China, and its urban land area (Binhai New Area is not included) ranks fifth in the nation after Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou. Tianjin's urban area is located along the Hai River, which connects to the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers via the Grand Canal in Tianjin. Tianjin was once home to foreign concessions in the late Qing Dynasty and early Kuomintang (KMT) era. The municipality incorporates the coastal region of Tanggu, home to the Binhai New Area and the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA).
wn.com/Tianjin
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Make Germany Pay - The Ruhr, Hyperinflation, Recovery
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:24
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
Make Germany Pay (part 2)
http://wn.com/Make_Germany_Pay_The_Ruhr,_Hyperinflation,_Recovery
Presa Diretta: Le differenze tra Bagnoli e Ruhr
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 26:53
- Updated: 16 Aug 2012
Nella puntata di "Presa Diretta" del 25 settembre 2011 si è parlato di Bagnoli e Ruhr. Queste due cittadine hanno una cosa in comune: erano delle zone industriali. Per ulteriori info: maxsomagazine.blogspot.com
http://wn.com/Presa_Diretta_Le_differenze_tra_Bagnoli_e_Ruhr
Nella puntata di "Presa Diretta" del 25 settembre 2011 si è parlato di Bagnoli e Ruhr. Queste due cittadine hanno una cosa in comune: erano delle zone industriali. Per ulteriori info: maxsomagazine.blogspot.com
- published: 26 Sep 2011
- views: 3102
- author: maxsoit
PA Sports - Thug Life - Meine Stadt " Ruhrpott" (PART 36) HQ
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:09
- Updated: 23 Dec 2012
Werde Fan: www.facebook.com thuglife-clothing.com Im MS Channel - The "My City" project combines various hip-hop culture and it promotes International Newcomer. Everyone share a passion for music and the pursuit of success. We have made it our mission to revolutionize the hip hop worldwide and so we break the chains. Everyone deserves a chance! This Video is copyrighted by Thug Life Clothing (Coast2Coast Distribution GmbH)
http://wn.com/PA_Sports_Thug_Life_Meine_Stadt_Ruhrpott_PART_36_HQ
Werde Fan: www.facebook.com thuglife-clothing.com Im MS Channel - The "My City" project combines various hip-hop culture and it promotes International Newcomer. Everyone share a passion for music and the pursuit of success. We have made it our mission to revolutionize the hip hop worldwide and so we break the chains. Everyone deserves a chance! This Video is copyrighted by Thug Life Clothing (Coast2Coast Distribution GmbH)
- published: 08 Oct 2010
- views: 799956
- author: meinestadt2010
Kingston Hot Radio Reggae Mix by JUGGLERZ SOUND (Ruhr Reggae Summer)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 79:37
- Updated: 25 Dec 2012
Sheloxx in Facebook www.facebook.com Find more Reggae music, downloads, weekly online radioshow at: www.JUGGLERZ.de www.facebook.com/jugglerz.de JUGGLERZ SOUND (DJ Meska and Shotta Paul) 01 Cheerleader-OMI 02. Laza Morgan Ft. Mavado - One By One 03 Delilah-Mavado 04 Alborosie feat. Etana...
http://wn.com/Kingston_Hot_Radio_Reggae_Mix_by_JUGGLERZ_SOUND_Ruhr_Reggae_Summer
Sheloxx in Facebook www.facebook.com Find more Reggae music, downloads, weekly online radioshow at: www.JUGGLERZ.de www.facebook.com/jugglerz.de JUGGLERZ SOUND (DJ Meska and Shotta Paul) 01 Cheerleader-OMI 02. Laza Morgan Ft. Mavado - One By One 03 Delilah-Mavado 04 Alborosie feat. Etana...
- published: 13 Mar 2012
- views: 2055500
- author: Deltron Zero
Shaggy - Live @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 7/26/2009 [Part1]
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:06
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
www.REGGAEVILLE.com Shaggy - Live @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 7
http://wn.com/Shaggy_Live_@_Ruhr_Reggae_Summer_7_26_2009_Part1_
www.REGGAEVILLE.com Shaggy - Live @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 7
- published: 27 Jul 2009
- views: 32552
- author: reggaeville
Ruhr Area after WW2 (1/2) - www.pastfinder.de
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:25
- Updated: 01 May 2012
Watch out or the little shop "KARL ALBRECHT LEBENSMITTEL" in Essen an min. 7:07. Better known today as the discount supermarket chain "ALDI". A Family of the Industrial Ruhr after World War 2 (Audio Productions / Alfred Wagg Pictures).
http://wn.com/Ruhr_Area_after_WW2_1_2_wwwpastfinderde
Watch out or the little shop "KARL ALBRECHT LEBENSMITTEL" in Essen an min. 7:07. Better known today as the discount supermarket chain "ALDI". A Family of the Industrial Ruhr after World War 2 (Audio Productions / Alfred Wagg Pictures).
- published: 07 Mar 2008
- views: 3312
- author: PastFinderLtd
Ruhr Reggae Summer 2011 - Official Trailer
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 11:11
- Updated: 17 Aug 2012
Three Days of Love, Peace & Music. German Reggae Festival - Mülheim adRuhr Ticktes for 2012 available at www.reggaesummer.com
http://wn.com/Ruhr_Reggae_Summer_2011_Official_Trailer
Three Days of Love, Peace & Music. German Reggae Festival - Mülheim adRuhr Ticktes for 2012 available at www.reggaesummer.com
- published: 04 Oct 2011
- views: 15600
- author: RuhrReggaeSummer
Mono & Nikitaman - Live @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 7/26/2009
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:59
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
www.REGGAEVILLE.com Mono & Nikitaman @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 7
http://wn.com/Mono_Nikitaman_Live_@_Ruhr_Reggae_Summer_7_26_2009
www.REGGAEVILLE.com Mono & Nikitaman @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 7
- published: 26 Jul 2009
- views: 20800
- author: reggaeville
Uwe Banton "11th September" live at Ruhr Reggae Summer 2009
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:20
- Updated: 23 Dec 2012
Date: 24th July 2009 Location: Ruhr Stadion, Mülheim Germany backed by the Sharp Axe Band. Camera by Alex Thanks to HoRo for the Sound Recording
http://wn.com/Uwe_Banton_11th_September_live_at_Ruhr_Reggae_Summer_2009
Date: 24th July 2009 Location: Ruhr Stadion, Mülheim Germany backed by the Sharp Axe Band. Camera by Alex Thanks to HoRo for the Sound Recording
- published: 17 Aug 2009
- views: 34266
- author: RasBanton
Freddie McGregor - Live @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 7/25/2009
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:07
- Updated: 17 Dec 2012
www.REGGAEVILLE.com Freddie McGregor - Live @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 7
http://wn.com/Freddie_McGregor_Live_@_Ruhr_Reggae_Summer_7_25_2009
www.REGGAEVILLE.com Freddie McGregor - Live @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 7
- published: 26 Jul 2009
- views: 14349
- author: reggaeville
Ganjaman @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 7/25/2009
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:29
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
www.REGGAEVILLE.com Ganjaman @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 7
http://wn.com/Ganjaman_@_Ruhr_Reggae_Summer_7_25_2009
www.REGGAEVILLE.com Ganjaman @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 7
- published: 25 Jul 2009
- views: 9842
- author: reggaeville
Pow Pow Movement playing @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 2011 - Soundsystem Tent RRS
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:29
- Updated: 30 Oct 2012
Pow Pow playing @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 2011 longside Silverbullit, Irie Crew, Deebuzz & Skarra, Warrior International, Herbalize It, Melting Pott, Ruffcut Sound, Smallman Reggaetainment... www.powpow.de
http://wn.com/Pow_Pow_Movement_playing_@_Ruhr_Reggae_Summer_2011_Soundsystem_Tent_RRS
Pow Pow playing @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 2011 longside Silverbullit, Irie Crew, Deebuzz & Skarra, Warrior International, Herbalize It, Melting Pott, Ruffcut Sound, Smallman Reggaetainment... www.powpow.de
- published: 25 Jul 2011
- views: 7347
- author: PowPowMovement
2009 German Street Rod Nationals Witten, Ruhr
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:53
- Updated: 29 Oct 2012
... Rat, Pro-Street, High-Tech & Old Style Rod´s got together at the 13th German Street Rod Nats in Witten, Ruhr .
http://wn.com/2009_German_Street_Rod_Nationals_Witten,_Ruhr
... Rat, Pro-Street, High-Tech & Old Style Rod´s got together at the 13th German Street Rod Nats in Witten, Ruhr .
- published: 17 May 2009
- views: 9814
- author: RMCGOODGUYS
" FUN AT THE BIKEPARK " SCALE CRAWLER COOPERATION RUHR
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:20
- Updated: 20 Dec 2012
" FUN AT THE BIKEPARK " with Andy C, Michaelhonor, SY, Ma, To and JE.
http://wn.com/_FUN_AT_THE_BIKEPARK_SCALE_CRAWLER_COOPERATION_RUHR
" FUN AT THE BIKEPARK " with Andy C, Michaelhonor, SY, Ma, To and JE.
- published: 27 Nov 2011
- views: 21646
- author: MaToJe1
Kingston Hot Radio Reggae Mix (Ruhr Reggae Summer)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 14:16
- Updated: 23 Dec 2012
TITEL: 01 Cheerleader-OMI 02. Laza Morgan Ft. Mavado - One By One 03 Delilah-Mavado 04 Alborosie feat. Etana - YOU MAKE ME FEEL GOOD 05 Truly love some one - Luciano 06 Outta mi heart - Cornadoor 07 March with us -Serengti 08 Rub-a-Dub Soldier - Ky-Mani Marley, Protoje and Da Professor
http://wn.com/Kingston_Hot_Radio_Reggae_Mix_Ruhr_Reggae_Summer
TITEL: 01 Cheerleader-OMI 02. Laza Morgan Ft. Mavado - One By One 03 Delilah-Mavado 04 Alborosie feat. Etana - YOU MAKE ME FEEL GOOD 05 Truly love some one - Luciano 06 Outta mi heart - Cornadoor 07 March with us -Serengti 08 Rub-a-Dub Soldier - Ky-Mani Marley, Protoje and Da Professor
- published: 17 Aug 2012
- views: 6526
- author: RemixMixTV
Ruhr Hunter- Come Back, My Brother
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:44
- Updated: 05 Nov 2012
http://wn.com/Ruhr_Hunter_Come_Back,_My_Brother
Chick Corea Solo, Dortmund, Germany: Klavier-Festival Ruhr
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:04
- Updated: 19 Aug 2012
Chick Corea plays his composition "Alegria" at a solo gig in Dortmund, Germany at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr on 9 July 2009.
http://wn.com/Chick_Corea_Solo,_Dortmund,_Germany_Klavier-Festival_Ruhr
Chick Corea plays his composition "Alegria" at a solo gig in Dortmund, Germany at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr on 9 July 2009.
- published: 21 Jul 2009
- views: 4714
- author: Chick Corea
Geierwally Bärenjosef
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:11
- Updated: 14 Dec 2012
Aus der 80er Jahre Trash-Komödie Geierwally
http://wn.com/Geierwally_Bärenjosef
Aus der 80er Jahre Trash-Komödie Geierwally
- published: 10 Mar 2009
- views: 31698
- author: cryptkeeper83
Rennaction beim 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen 2008 Nürburgring Nordschleife
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:35
- Updated: 15 Dec 2012
More Videos: www.youtube.com Facebook: www.facebook.com Google+ : plus.google.com VLN Langstrecke Lauf #7 2008 Nürburgring 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen VLN Langstrecke Lauf #7 19.07.2008 Nürburgring Nordschleife Unfall BMW Fuchsröhre, Crash BMW Adenauer Forst Abflug Dreher Ford Fiesta...
http://wn.com/Rennaction_beim_6h_ADAC_Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen_2008_Nürburgring_Nordschleife
More Videos: www.youtube.com Facebook: www.facebook.com Google+ : plus.google.com VLN Langstrecke Lauf #7 2008 Nürburgring 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen VLN Langstrecke Lauf #7 19.07.2008 Nürburgring Nordschleife Unfall BMW Fuchsröhre, Crash BMW Adenauer Forst Abflug Dreher Ford Fiesta...
- published: 22 Jul 2008
- views: 24471
- author: VLNClub
Commandantes - An Rhein und Ruhr
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:55
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
Commandantes An Rhein und Ruhr Für Brot und Freiheit
http://wn.com/Commandantes_An_Rhein_und_Ruhr
Commandantes An Rhein und Ruhr Für Brot und Freiheit
- published: 17 Sep 2008
- views: 54131
- author: Melleken2310
Die Deutsche Wehrmacht : To the Bitter End ( Stories in the Ruhr Pocket )
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:59
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
Die Deutsche Wehrmacht This video is pacifically focused on German Soldier account in the Ruhr Pocket. That Veteran name is Lothar Ester. The commander of the Forces in Ruhr pocket was Mödel The Ruhr pocket took place in 1945. The Ruhr Valley was Germanys industrial heart land. Taking the Ruhr Valley would create a huge set back on the Third Reich. By this time the third Reich days were numbered. Visit www.wwii-info.net for World War II info No profit being made on this video
http://wn.com/Die_Deutsche_Wehrmacht_To_the_Bitter_End_Stories_in_the_Ruhr_Pocket_
Die Deutsche Wehrmacht This video is pacifically focused on German Soldier account in the Ruhr Pocket. That Veteran name is Lothar Ester. The commander of the Forces in Ruhr pocket was Mödel The Ruhr pocket took place in 1945. The Ruhr Valley was Germanys industrial heart land. Taking the Ruhr Valley would create a huge set back on the Third Reich. By this time the third Reich days were numbered. Visit www.wwii-info.net for World War II info No profit being made on this video
- published: 21 Dec 2009
- views: 16318
- author: shermanace
Komm zur Ruhr (Herbert Grönemeyer), Chor bei !SING - DAY OF SONG, 05.06.2010, WDR (& NO DIME)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:21
- Updated: 20 Dec 2012
Im Rahmen der Veranstaltungen um die Kulturhauptstadt 2010 gab es ein Massensingen in Gelsenkirchen; hier wird Grönemeyers Hymne zum Thema dargeboten.
http://wn.com/Komm_zur_Ruhr_Herbert_Grönemeyer,_Chor_bei_!SING_DAY_OF_SONG,_05062010,_WDR_NO_DIME
Im Rahmen der Veranstaltungen um die Kulturhauptstadt 2010 gab es ein Massensingen in Gelsenkirchen; hier wird Grönemeyers Hymne zum Thema dargeboten.
- published: 08 Jun 2010
- views: 24054
- author: DocWoelle
Nosliw "Ey Jau" LIVE @ Ruhr Reggae Summer 2010 Zuschauervideo
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:25
- Updated: 21 Dec 2012
"EY Jau" Zuschauervideo der Nosliw Show beim Ruhr Reggae Summer 2010 am 25.07.10.. www.nosliw.de http www.rootdown-music.com http Regie: Nosliw Schnit: Nosliw Kamerakinder: Chris Weber Efireloki Etienne_400WattMan Heiko Minze horstdieblume Janina Ju Julian Hardy Klausmann99 Lea Josefine Vandelden MacQuassel Michael 'Meiyo' Kleineken Miri4Peace MrBobbie1990 Salmaria7 Thiemo Schmerse Danke auch an alle weiteren Zusender..
http://wn.com/Nosliw_Ey_Jau_LIVE_@_Ruhr_Reggae_Summer_2010_Zuschauervideo
"EY Jau" Zuschauervideo der Nosliw Show beim Ruhr Reggae Summer 2010 am 25.07.10.. www.nosliw.de http www.rootdown-music.com http Regie: Nosliw Schnit: Nosliw Kamerakinder: Chris Weber Efireloki Etienne_400WattMan Heiko Minze horstdieblume Janina Ju Julian Hardy Klausmann99 Lea Josefine Vandelden MacQuassel Michael 'Meiyo' Kleineken Miri4Peace MrBobbie1990 Salmaria7 Thiemo Schmerse Danke auch an alle weiteren Zusender..
- published: 22 Oct 2010
- views: 28606
- author: rootdownrec
photo: AP / Aijaz Rahi
22 Dec 2012
Tweet. 0 Email. Report. Photo 1 of 18. In 2009, ELLE Magazine named Mrs Assad the most stylish woman in world politics. She is an icon of fashion in her country. Credit. Aimee Kligman. In 2009, ELLE Magazine named Mrs Assad the most stylish woman in world politics. She is an icon of fashion in her country.In 2009, ELLE Magazine named Mrs Assad the most stylish woman in world politics ... Syrians detained by the Assad regime. 13 Photos ... 10 Photos ... ....(size: 6.3Kb)
photo: AP / Altaf Qadri
23 Dec 2012
A commission will be set up to probe the gang-rape and torture of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi and measures to ensure such crimes do not recur while laws will be amended to enhance punishment for rape, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said . He also appealed the thousands of protesters on the capital’s streets, demanding justice for the victim, to withdraw ... “The government is serious on the issue. ... . . ....(size: 2.4Kb)
photo: AP / Musadeq Sadeq
24 Dec 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan policewoman shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul on Monday, the latest in a rising tide of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies, senior Afghan officials said. The woman, identified as Afghan police Sgt ... The woman was taken into Afghan custody shortly after the attack ... As many Afghans, the policewoman uses only one name ... Air Force Lt. Col ... Gen ... ....(size: 4.6Kb)
photo: AP / Virginie Nguyen Huang
23 Dec 2012
Tweet. Moscow, Dec 23 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Chemical weapons in Syria are under the control of the government, which has consolidated them in one or two locations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. "As of right now, the (Syrian) government is doing all it can to safeguard those weapons," he said. "We are following all leads concerning chemical weapons," Lavrov said ... "My answer is very simple. Why use us as a postman ... pm/ ... ) .. ). ... . ....(size: 3.2Kb)
photo: Creative Commons / Giorgione
24 Dec 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. A deadly silence immediately followed after a bullet penetrated the calf's skull. Against my wishes, Vic had decided against either amputating its leg or contacting a veterinarian-something he reasoned would have been too expensive. The unfortunate calf had slid down into a ravine where its hind leg, which was mangled and torn, became wrapped in barbed wire ... But it was more than a bellow ... 9....(size: 6.3Kb)
The Daily Telegraph Australia
24 Dec 2012
THE head of Germanys Catholic Church believes Jesus would be a keen user of social media, were he alive today. In an interview with the Ruhr Nachrichten newspaper, he asserted his theory that Jesus would certainly these days be on Facebook and Twitter. "He was always looking for people, and took unusual routes to do this," said Freiburg Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, who is chairman of the German Bishops' Conference ... . ....(size: 2.3Kb)
noodls
21 Dec 2012
(Source. STEAG GmbH). Essen. At the end of 2012, STEAG looks back at a year in which the company has made important strategic decisions ... In the field of district heating, STEAG is continuously working together with other district heating companies in the Ruhr area onmethods of linking the Lower Rhine and Ruhr trunking systems for district heating, a project initiated by the State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia ... (36 K) <- Back to....(size: 5.0Kb)
PhysOrg
20 Dec 2012
The Seventies. Smog alert in the Ruhr area, acid rain, dying spruce trees in the Bavarian Forest. In those days, the solution was filter systems for the smokestacks in the Ruhr area. Today, people in the urban areas are suffering from high levels of pollution that is being caused by, among other things, automotive traffic. Particularly undesired. the nitrogen oxides (NOX) ... Hüben explains the set-up of the test ... The motto is ... ....(size: 3.6Kb)
noodls
20 Dec 2012
(Source. FC Bayern München AG). 19.12.2012 ... �I�m always very happy to play Bayern, but obviously I�d rather we were at home ... FCB and BVB most recently crossed swords in the cup last season, but the occasion is replete with unhappy memories for Munich as the Ruhr Valley outfit won the 2011/12 final 5-2 to complete a domestic double ... Kickers Offenbach � VfL Wolfsburg....(size: 2.5Kb)
Yahoo Daily News
19 Dec 2012
Brenntag, the world's largest distributor of Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF), recently honored KleerBlue as “DEF Equipment Supplier of the Year” during the Brenntag DEF national sales meeting at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN ... Happel went on to say. “We appreciate the relationship with KleerBlue ... Headquartered in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, the company operates a global network with more than 400 locations in 70 countries ... ....(size: 2.5Kb)
The Independent
19 Dec 2012
Berthold Albrecht was one of Germany's and Europe's richest men and the billionaire co-owner of the Aldi discount supermarket empire ... No cause of death was given ... Little is known about the Albrecht family except their obsession with privacy; they live behind fortress-like security on estates overlooking the Ruhr valley, maintaining an almost total media black-out with only a handful of photographs of the male members in existence ... ....(size: 5.6Kb)
Deutsche Welle
18 Dec 2012
Schalke square off against Mainz in the last 16 of the German Cup on Tuesday ... Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel must be sick of saying words to the effect of "I'm not going to Schalke." ... Tuchel is on his way to the Ruhr valley mining town on Tuesday, albeit to sit in the opposing dugout, where he will seek to pour salt into Schalke's Bundesliga hemorrhage by booting them out of the German Cup before the winter break ... The pledge of allegiance ... ....(size: 5.7Kb)
noodls
17 Dec 2012
(Source ... Mülheim an der Ruhr, December 17, 2012 - TREI Real Estate GmbH, the real estate subsidiary of the Tengelman Group opened two additional specialty retail centres under the name "VENDO Park" in Bánovce, Slovakia and Jablonec, Czech Republic on 29/11/2012 ... TREI Real Estate ... This family-owned business was established in 1867 in Mülheim an der Ruhr and is currently managed by the fifth generation of the family ... * * *....(size: 4.5Kb)
Bloomberg
17 Dec 2012
“In the long term, it’s the clients that decide if a bank survives.” ... “I’d ask you, especially in the tough times to trust banks not to repeat what happened before the crisis, to trust that we will work for a new normality with the regulators who set the rules and our clients,” said Fitschen, speaking at a conference organized by companies based in the Ruhr region, Germany’s industry heartland ... ....(size: 2.5Kb)
Goal
13 Dec 2012
By Barney Cullum ... Comments ... Recent matches such as the Ruhr derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, and Hannover's DFB-Pokal cash with Dynamo Dresden, were marred by violence, and DFL president Reinhard Rauball believes the game will benefit from the measure ... ....(size: 1.8Kb)
BBC News
13 Dec 2012
It's 1.30pm on a Wednesday. Frankfurt is freezing. Yet football fans are gathered outside one of the German city's business hotels. They're not waiting for a new signing to emerge in a sports car ... silence ... But travelling armies also bring security issues - Borussia Dortmund's stadium holds more than 80,000, which means Schalke 04 were entitled to 8,000 tickets for October's Ruhr Valley derby ... Share this story ... ....(size: 10.4Kb)
noodls
12 Dec 2012
(Source ... It is the first time Glasgow Airport will have served Düsseldorf, which is located in the heart of the prosperous Rhine-Ruhr region, in 20 years and the launch of the route will also mark the return of the Lufthansa network to Glasgow ... . "From a business perspective, the Ruhr-Rhine region is one of the best known industrial centres in the world with many leading German companies like ThyssenKrupp headquartered there....(size: 5.1Kb)
The Guardian
12 Dec 2012
"Professional football is coming out as a winner today," DFL President Reinhard Rauball told reporters. "All 16 points were accepted with a wide majority ... Widespread crowd trouble before the Ruhr valley derby between champions Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 in October and more fighting when Hanover 96 met Dynamo Dresden in the German Cup have put further pressure on the DFL to be seen tackling the problem....(size: 10.6Kb)
For the name-giving river of the region see Ruhr (river)
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009) |
| Ruhr Metropolitan Region Metropolregion Ruhr |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country |  Germany |
| State |  North Rhine-Westphalia
|
| Largest Cities | Dortmund Essen Duisburg Bochum |
| Government | |
| • Body | Regionalverband Ruhr |
| Area | |
| • Metro | 4,435 km2 (1,712 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 441 m (1,447 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 13 m (43 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Metro | 5,172,745 |
| • Metro density | 1,646/km2 (4,260/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| GRP | 2007 |
| Nominal | € 136.3 billion[1] |
| Website | www.metropoleruhr.de |
The Ruhr (German Ruhrgebiet, colloquial Ruhrpott, Kohlenpott, Pott or Revier), is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.[2] With a population density of 7100/km² and a population of some 7.3 million,[3] it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany. It consists of several large, formerly industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe to the north. In the Southwest it borders to the Bergisches Land. It is considered part of the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region of more than 12 million people.
Since the Ruhr is polycentric, coordinates shown are general in nature and so can be used to focus on the entire region of the Ruhr: 51°30′N 7°30′E / 51.5°N 7.5°E / 51.5; 7.5.
From west to east, the region includes the cities of Duisburg, Oberhausen, Bottrop, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Herne, Hagen, Dortmund, and Hamm, as well as parts of the more "rural" districts Wesel, Recklinghausen, Unna and Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. Historically, the western Ruhr towns, such as Duisburg and Essen, belonged to the historic region of the Rhineland, whereas the eastern part of the Ruhr, including Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Dortmund and Hamm, were part of the region of Westphalia. Since the 19th century, these districts have grown together into a large complex with a vast industrial landscape, inhabited by some 7.3 million people (when including Düsseldorf and Wuppertal). It is the fifth largest urban area in Europe after Istanbul, Moscow, London and Paris.
For 2010, the Ruhr region was one of the European Capitals of Culture.
Contents |
Geography[link]
The urban landscape of the Ruhr extends from the Lower Rhine Basin east on to the Westphalian Plain and south on to the hills of the Rhenish Massif. Through the centre of the Ruhr runs a segment of the loess belt that extends across Germany from west to east. Historically, this loess belt has underlain some of Germany's richest agricultural regions.
Geologically, the region is defined by the occurrence of coal-bearing layers from the upper Carboniferous period, more or less independent of their depth. The coal seams reach the surface in a strip along the River Ruhr and dip downward from the river to the north. Beneath the River Lippe, the coal seams lie at a depth of 600 to 800 metres (2,000 to 2,600 feet). The thickness of the coal layers ranges from one to three metres (three to ten feet). This geological feature played a decisive role in the development of coal mining in the Ruhr.
According to the Regionalverband Ruhr (RVR, Ruhr Regional Association), 37.6% of the region’s area is built up. A total of 40.7% of the region’s land remains in agricultural use. Forests account for 17.6% of the region’s area. Bodies of water and other types of land use occupy the rest of the Ruhr's land. The inclusion of four mainly rural districts in the otherwise mainly industrial Ruhr helps to explain the large proportion of agricultural and forested land. In addition, the city boroughs of the Ruhr region have outlying districts with a rural character.
Seen on a map, the Ruhr could be considered a single city, since—at least in the north-south dimension—there are no visible breaks between the individual city boroughs. For this reason, the Ruhr is described as a polycentric urban area. The area is characterized by a similar history of urban and economic development.
Because of its history, the Ruhr is structured differently from monocentric urban regions such as Berlin and London, which developed through the rapid merger of smaller towns and villages with a growing central city. Instead, the individual city boroughs and urban districts of the Ruhr grew independently of one another during the Industrial Revolution. While large European cities typically have population densities of up to 20,000 inhabitants per square kilometre (about 50,000 per square mile), the population density of the central Ruhr—with only about 2,100 inhabitants per square kilometre (about 5,400 per square mile)—is thin compared to other German cities.
The transitions from one Ruhr city to another consist of relatively open suburbs and even open or agricultural fields. In some places, the borders between cities in the central Ruhr are unrecognizable due to continuous development across them.
Replanting of brownfield land has created new parks and recreation areas. The Emscher Landschaftspark (Emscher Landscape Park) lies along the River Emscher, formerly virtually an open sewer, parts of which have undergone natural restoration. This park connects strips of parkland running from north to south, which were developed through the regional planning in the 1920s, to form a green belt between the Ruhr cities from east to west.
History[link]
Main article: History of the Ruhr
Middle Ages[link]
During the Middle Ages, much of the region that later was called Ruhrgebiet was situated in the Mark, the Duchies of Cleves and Berg and the territories of the bishop of Münster and the archbishop of Cologne. The region knew some medieval villages and castles but was mainly agrarian, its loess soil made it one of the richer parts of western Germany. The free imperial city of Dortmund was the trading and cultural centre, due to the Hellweg, an important east-west trading route, that brought prosperity to the town of Duisburg as well. Both towns were members of the Hanseatic League.
Industrial Revolution[link]
The development of the region into an urbanized industrial area started in the late 18th century with the fortgoing early industrialisation in the nearby Wupper Valley in the Bergisches Land. Here around 1820 hundreds of water-powered mills were producing textile, lumber, shingles and iron in automated processes. And in even more workshops in the hills, highly skilled workers manufactured knives, tools, weapons and harnesses, using water, coal and charcoal. History has no official name for this phase of the industrial revolution, but one could call it the early waterpowered industrial revolution.
As the machines became bigger and transitioned from water- to steampower, local mined coal and charcoal became expensive and delivered insufficient burning power. The Bergische industry ordered more and more coal from the new coal mining area along Ruhr river.[4] Impressive and expensive railways were constructed through the hilly Wupper region, to bring coal, and later steel, in from the Ruhr, and to carry products out to the world.[5]
By 1850, there were almost 300 coal mines in operation in the Ruhr area, in and around the center cities Duisburg, Essen, Bochum and Dortmund. The coal was exported or processed in coking ovens into coke, needed to fuel blast furnaces, producing iron and steel. In this period the name Ruhrgebiet became common. Before the coal deposits along the Ruhr were used up, the mining industry moved northward to the Emscher and finally to the Lippe, drilling ever deeper mines as it went. Locks built at Mülheim on the Ruhr led to the expansion of Mülheim as a port. With the establishment of the Cologne-Minden railway in the late 19th century, several iron works were built within the borders of the present-day city of Oberhausen.
Migration[link]
The population climbed rapidly. Cities that in the early 19th century counted 2,000–5,000 inhabitants, grew in the following 100 years to over 100,000. Employers recruited skilled mine workers from other regions to the Ruhr's mines and steel mills and unskilled people started to move in. From 1860 onwards masses of new workers migrated from Silesia, Pomerania, East Prussia and Posen to the Ruhr. A majority of them were Polish-speakers and they were treated as second class citizens. In 1899 this led to a revolt in Herne of young Polish workers, who later established a Workers Union of their own. Skilled workers in the mines were often housed in so-called "miners’ colonies", constructed by the mining firms. At the end of the Prussian Kingdom over 3 million people lived in the Ruhrgebiet and the new coal-mining district had become the largest industrial region of Europe.[6]
World War I[link]
During the first World War the Ruhrgebiet functioned as Germany's central weapon-factory. At a big Essen company the amount of employees in four years rose from 40,000 to 120,000. They were partly women, partly forced labourers.
Interbellum[link]
French and Belgian occupation[link]
In March 1921, French and Belgian troops occupied Duisburg, which according to the Treaty of Versailles formed part of the demilitarized Rhineland. In January 1923 the whole Ruhrgebiet was occupied as a reprisal after Germany failed to fulfill World War I reparation payments as agreed in the Versailles Treaty. The German government answered with "passive resistance", letting workers and civil servants refuse orders and instructions by the occupation forces.
Hyperinflation[link]
Production and transportation came to a standstill and the financial consequences contributed to German hyperinflation and ruined public finances in Germany. Passive resistance was called off in late 1923 allowing Germany to undertake a currency reform and to negotiate the Dawes Plan, which led to the withdrawal of French and Belgian troops from the Ruhr in 1925.
1943 March: Battle of the Ruhr
1943 May: Operation Chastise
1944 October: Operation Hurricane
1944 September: Bombing of German oil facilities during World War II
World War II[link]
During World War II, the "Ruhr 1940–1945" bombing caused a loss of 30% of plant and equipment (compared to 15–20% for the entire German industry).[7] A second battle of the Ruhr (6/7 October 1944–end of 1944) is claimed to have begun with an attack on Dortmund.[8][verification needed] In addition to the strategic bombing of the Ruhr, in April 1945, the Allies trapped several hundred thousand Wehrmacht troops in the Ruhr Pocket.
Post-World War II[link]
Demilitarization[link]
The Level of Industry plans for Germany abolished all German munitions factories and civilian industries that could support them and severely restricted civilian industries of military potential. The French Monnet Plan pushed for an internationalization of the area,[9] and the subsequent Ruhr Agreement was imposed as a condition for permitting for establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany.[10]
During the Cold War, the Western allies anticipated that any Red Army thrust into Western Europe would begin in the Fulda Gap and have the Ruhr as a primary target. Increased German control of the area was limited by the pooling of German coal and steel into a multinational community in 1951. The nearby Saar region, containing much of Germany's remaining coal deposits, was handed over to economic administration by France as a protectorate in 1947 and did not politically return to Germany until January 1957, with economic reintegration occurring two years later. Parallel to the question of political control of the Ruhr, the Allies conducted an effort to decrease German industrial potential by limitations on production and dismantling of factories and steel plants, predominantly in the Ruhr. By 1950, after the virtual completion of the by-then much watered-down "level of industry" plans, equipment had been removed from 706 manufacturing plants in the west, and steel production capacity had been reduced by 6.7 million tons.[11] Dismantling finally ended in 1951. In all, less than 5% of the industrial base was dismantled.[12]
Economic miracle[link]
The Ruhr was at the center of the German economic miracle of the 1950s and 1960s, as very rapid economic growth at 9% a year created a heavy demand for coal and steel.
Decline after 1970[link]
After 1973, Germany was hard hit by a worldwide economic crisis, soaring oil prices, and persistently high unemployment, which jumped from 300,000 in 1973 to 1.1 million in 1975. The Ruhr region was hardest hit, as the easy-to-reach coal mines petered out, and German coal was no longer competitive. Likewise the Ruhr steel industry went into sharp decline, as its prices were undercut by lower-cost suppliers such as Japan. The welfare system provided a safety net for the large number of unemployed workers, and many factories reduce their labor force and began to concentrate on high-profit specialty items.[13][14]
As demand for coal decreased after 1958, the area went through phases of structural crisis (see steel crisis) and industrial diversification, first developing traditional heavy industry, then moving into service industries and high technology. The air and water pollution of the area are largely a thing of the past although some issues take a long time to solve.[15][16] In 2005, Essen[17] was the official candidate for nomination as European Capital of Culture for 2010.
Demographics[link]
Largest cities[link]
The ten largest cities of the Ruhr:
| Pos. | Name | Pop. 2010 | Area (km²) | Pop. per km² | map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dortmund | 580,688 | 280.37 | 2,071 |  |
| 2 | Essen | 575,027 | 210.38 | 2,733 | |
| 3 | Duisburg | 501,564 | 232.81 | 2,154 | |
| 4 | Bochum | 385,626 | 145.43 | 2,652 | |
| 5 | Gelsenkirchen | 268,102 | 104.86 | 2,557 | |
| 6 | Oberhausen | 218,898 | 77.04 | 2,841 | |
| 7 | Hagen | 196,934 | 160.36 | 1,228 | |
| 8 | Hamm | 184,239 | 226.24 | 814 | |
| 9 | Herne | 170,992 | 51.41 | 3,326 | |
| 10 | Mülheim an der Ruhr | 169,917 | 91.29 | 1,861 |
Language[link]
The local dialect of German is commonly called Ruhrdeutsch or Ruhrpottdeutsch, although there is really no uniform dialect that justifies designation as a single dialect. It is rather a working class sociolect with influences from the various dialects found in the area and changing even with the professions of the workers. A major common influence stems from the coal mining tradition of the area. For example, quite a few locals prefer to call the Ruhr either "Kohlenpott", where "Pott" is a derivate of "Pütt" (pitmen's term for mine; cp. the English "pit"), or "Revier".
Migration[link]
During the 19th century the Ruhr attracted up to 500,000 ethnic Poles, Masurians and Silesians from East Prussia and Silesia in a migration known as Ostflucht. By 1925, the Ruhrgebiet had around 3.8 million inhabitants. Most of the new inhabitants migrated from Eastern Europe, however, immigrants also came from France, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It has been claimed that immigrants came to the Ruhr from over 140 different nations. Almost all of their descendants today speak German only and due to various reasons they do not identify with their Polish roots and traditions, often only their Polish family names remaining as a sign of their past.
In 1900, the main concentrations of the Polish minority were:
- District of Gelsenkirchen (Westfalia) 13.1 %
- District of Bochum (Westfalia) 9.1 %
- District of Dortmund (Westfalia) 7.3 %
- City of Gelsenkirchen (Westfalia) 5.1 %
Official minority status and rights for Poles (Polish-speaking emigrants and their descendants) in Germany in general and in Ruhr specifically were revoked by Hermann Göring's World War II decree of 27 February 1940, and their property was confiscated. After World War II, even more immigrants originated from beyond German eastern and southern borders, first the former Polish, Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war and slave-laborers of Nazi Germany who stayed in Ruhr, and then the guest workers from the south and other emigrants (Silesians, Masurians and Kashubians) from beyond the Iron Curtain. These guest workers or Gastarbeiter came mostly from Italy, Yugoslavia and Turkey and since the fall of communism most other Eastern European countries as well. Official minority status for Poles in Germany has never been restored nor Nazi-confiscated property returned, in spite of numerous promises and declarations by various German governments and European Community reports. Polish government signed a treaty with Germany called Treaty of Good Neighbourship on June 17, 1991 where official Polish minority status in Germany was not recognized whereas the German minority in Poland status was and has been since fully protected.
Culture[link]
![[icon]](http://web.archive.org./web/20121225015017/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} |
This section requires expansion. |
The city of Essen (representing the Ruhr) was selected as European Capital of Culture for 2010 by the Council of the European Union.
The Industrial Heritage Trail[link]
The Industrial Heritage Trail (German: Route der Industriekultur) links tourist attractions related to the European Route of Industrial Heritage in the Ruhr area.
Economy[link]
|
This section requires expansion. |
Largest companies[link]
(A–Z)
Transport[link]
Road transport[link]
The Ruhr has one of the densest motorway networks in all of Europe, with dozens of Autobahns and Autobahn like Schnellstraßen (expressways) crossing the region. The Autobahn network is built in a grid network, with 4 east-west (A2, A40, A42, A44) and 7 north-south (A1, A3, A43, A45, A52, A57, A59) routes. A1, A2 and A3 are mostly used by through traffic, while other autobahns have a more regional function. Both A44 and A52 have several missing links, in various stages of planning. Some missing links are currently not considered to be constructed.
Additional expressways serve as bypasses and local routes, especially around Dortmund and Bochum. Due to the density of the autobahns and expressways, Bundesstraßes are less important for intercity traffic. The first Autobahns in the Ruhr opened during the mid-1930s. Due to the density of the network, and the number of alternate routes, traffic volumes are generally lower than other major metropolitan areas in Europe. Traffic congestion is an everyday occurrence, but far less compared to Randstad, another polycentric urban area. Most important Autobahns possess six lanes, but there are no eight-lane Autobahns in the Ruhr.
Public transport[link]
All public transport companies in the Ruhr are run under the umbrella of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, which provides a uniform ticket system valid for the entire area. The Ruhr region is well-integrated into the Deutsche Bahn, both in passenger and cargo rail.
Air transport[link]
Düsseldorf International Airport serves as the interncontinental airport for North Rhine-Westphalia and is within 20 km for most of the Western Ruhr area. Dortmund Airport in the Eastern Ruhr is a mid-sized airport, offering scheduled flights to domestic and European destinations.
See also[link]
- Rhine-Ruhr
- Metropolitan regions in Germany
- Occupation of the Ruhr (1923–1924)
- Ruhrpolen
- Silesian metropolitan area
- Upper Silesian Coal Basin
Notes[link]
- ^ metropoleruhr.de
- ^ "Few foreigners know that in fact 'the Ruhr' is the name of a 150-mile-long Rhine right-bank tributary which, after meandering through the industrial basin now named after it, enters its parent near Europe's greatest inland port, Duisburg." See German International, Volume 10 (1966), p. 30. "The territory through which the Ruhr flows is called the Ruhr district." See Edmund Jan Osmańczyk and Anthony Mango, Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: A to F, 2003, p.1970. "Many industries were built in the Ruhr region, where both iron ore and coal were found." Kathryn Lane, Germany: The Land (2001), p. 24.
- ^ http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf referred to as the Essen-Dusseldorf Urban Area
- ^ Prof. Dr. Klaus Tenfelde. ""Das Ruhrgebiet! Von der Steinzeit bis zur Kulturhauptsatdt 2010" part 2". http://www.bild.de/BILD/regional/ruhrgebiet/aktuell/2009/03/02/geschichte-des-ruhrgebiets/fruehzeit-und-mittelalter-geburtsstunde-zweiter-artikelteil.html. Retrieved 2001-11-20.
- ^ Friedrich Harkort, "Die Eisenbahn von Minden nach Köln", Brune, Hagen 1833
- ^ Prof. Dr. Klaus Tenfelde. ""Das Ruhrgebiet! Von der Steinzeit bis zur Kulturhauptsatdt 2010" part 3". http://www.bild.de/BILD/regional/ruhrgebiet/aktuell/2009/03/04/geschichte-des-ruhrgebiets/die-kohle-der-kaiser-und-die-kanonen-1.html. Retrieved 2001-11-20.
- ^ Botting (1985), p. 125
- ^ Bishop,[page needed]
- ^ French Directorate for Economic Affairs, Memorandum on the separation of the German industrial regions, 8 September 1945
- ^ Yoder (1955), pp. 345–358
- ^ Gareau (1961), pp. 517–534
- ^ John Ardagh, Germany and the Germans (1987) p 84
- ^ Ardagh, Germany and the Germans (1987) pp 74–82
- ^ Christian Berndt, "Ruhr Firms between Dynamic Change and Structural Persistence. Globalization, the 'German Model' and Regional Place-Dependence", Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers New Series, Vol. 23, No. 3 (1998), pp. 331–352 in JSTOR
- ^ De Ridder K. et al., 2008. Simulating the impact of urban sprawl on air quality and population exposure in the German Ruhr area. Part I: Reproducing the base state. Atmospheric Environment 42,7059–7069
- ^ De Ridder K et al., 2008. Simulating the impact of urban sprawl on air quality and population exposure in the German Ruhr area. Part II: Development and evaluation of an urban growth scenario. Atmospheric Environment 42,7070–7077
- ^ http://en.kulturhauptstadt-europas.de/start.php "Essen for the Ruhrgebiet"[dead link]
References[link]
- Botting, Douglas (1985). From the Ruins of the Reich: Germany 1945–1949. New York: Crown Publishing. ISBN 0-517-55865-3.
- Bishop, Patrick. Bomber Boys Fighting Back 1940–1945
- French Directorate for Economic Affairs, Memorandum on the separation of the German industrial regions, 8 September 1945.
- Gareau, Frederick H. "Morgenthau's Plan for Industrial Disarmament in Germany", Western Political Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Jun., 1961), pp. 517–53 in JSTOR
- Yoder, Amos. "The Ruhr Authority and the German Problem", Review of Politics, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Jul., 1955), pp. 345–358 in JSTOR
Further reading[link]
- Kift, Roy, Tour the Ruhr: The English language guide (3rd ed., 2008) (ISBN 3-88474-815-7) Klartext Verlag, Essen [1]
- Berndt, Christian. Corporate Germany Between Globalization and Regional Place Dependence: Business Restructuring in the Ruhr Area (2001)
- Crew, David. Town in the Ruhr: A Social History of Bochum, 1860–1914 (1979) (ISBN 0231043007)
- Fischer, Conan. The Ruhr Crisis, 1923–1924 (2003)
- Gillingham, John. "Ruhr Coal Miners and Hitler's War", Journal of Social History Vol. 15, No. 4 (Summer, 1982), pp. 637–653 in JSTOR* Chauncy D. Harris, "The Ruhr Coal-mining District", Geographical Review, 36 (1946), 194–221.
- Gillingham, John. Industry and Politics in the Third Reich: Ruhr Coal, Hitler, and Europe (1985) (ISBN 0231062605)
- Pounds, Norman J. G. The Ruhr: A Study in Historical and Economic Geography (1952) online
- Pierenkemper, Toni. "Entrepreneurs in Heavy Industry: Upper Silesia and the Westphalian Ruhr Region, 1852 to 1913", Business History Review Vol. 53, No. 1 (Spring, 1979), pp. 65–78 in JSTOR
- Royal Jae Schmidt. Versailles and the Ruhr: Seedbed of World War II (1968)
- Spencer, Elaine Glovka. "Employer Response to Unionism: Ruhr Coal Industrialists before 1914" Journal of Modern History Vol. 48, No. 3 (Sep., 1976), pp. 397–412 in JSTOR
- Spencer, Elaine Glovka. Management and Labor in Imperial Germany: Ruhr Industrialists as Employers, 1896–1914. Rutgers University Press. (1984) online
- Todd, Edmund N. "Industry, State, and Electrical Technology in the Ruhr Circa 1900", Osiris 2nd Series, Vol. 5, (1989), pp. 242–259 in JSTOR
External links[link]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ruhrgebiet |
 |
Look up Ruhrgebiet in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
 |
Wikinews has related news: Themenportal_Ruhrgebiet |
- Ruhr Tourism
- Post-Surrender Program for Germany (Sept. 1944)
- Ruhr Delegation of the United States of America, Council of Foreign Ministers American Embassy Moscow, March 24, 1947
- Draft, The President's Economic Mission to Germany and Austria, Report 3, March, 1947; OF 950B: Economic Mission as to Food…; Truman Papers.
- France, Germany and the Struggle for the War-making Natural Resources of the Rhineland Describes the contest for the Ruhr and Saar over the centuries.
- Ruhrgebietsbilder: Photos about the Ruhr
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| Freddie McGregor | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born | (1956-06-27) 27 June 1956 (age 55), Clarendon, Jamaica |
| Genres | Reggae, lovers rock, ska, rocksteady, roots reggae |
| Occupations | Singer, record producer |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Labels | VP, Greensleeves, Studio One, Polydor, RAS, various |
| Website | freddiemcgregor.com |
Freddie McGregor (born 27 June 1956, Clarendon, Jamaica)[1] has been variously a singer, musician and producer. According to Allmusic he is one of reggae's most durable and soulful singers, with a steady career that started in the 1960s, when he was just seven years old.[1]
Contents |
Biography[link]
In 1963 he joined with Ernest Wilson and Peter Austin to form The Clarendonians, and began to record for the Studio One label. McGregor worked with producer Niney the Observer during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1975, McGregor converted to Rastafari, which had a profound impact on his music.[1] He is a member of the Twelve Tribes organization.
His popularity soared in the early 1980s with the release of "Bobby Bobylon". Other popular hits of McGregor's include "Big Ship", "Push Comes to Shove", "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" and "I Was Born a Winner"; as well as cover versions of many early reggae standards. He has also worked with producers Junjo Lawes, Linval Thompson, and Gussie Clarke. McGregor has also toured extensively for many years.
In 1984, he inaugurated his own Big Ship label, secured a licensing agreement with RAS Records in U.S. and released Come On Over in 1987.
After slowing his pace in the late 1990s, McGregor returned in 2000 with the acclaimed Signature, which restored his typical balance of roots reggae and lovers rock with touches of dancehall. He followed it two years later with a similarly well-received album, the Grammy nominated, Anything for You.[1]
He established the Big Ship Recording Studio, and has produced many artists including Luciano and Mikey Spice.
One of McGregor's three sons, Stephen, is a dancehall record producer.
McGregor has spanned nearly every stylistic shift in Jamaican music, from ska and rocksteady to Rastafarian roots reggae to lovers rock to dabblings in dancehall, ragga, and dub.[1]
In a 2011 interview, he expressed concern many veteran artists, including himself, struggled for local radio play of their newer material, which he felt may be "lost" over time as a result.[2]
Discography[link]
Albums[link]
- Bobby Bobylon (1979) Studio One
- Mr. McGregor aka Freddie McGregor (1979) Observer/Jackal/56 Hope Rd/Mercury
- Lovers Rock (Showcase Jamaica Style) (1981) Live & Love
- I Am Ready (1982) Coxsone/Studio One
- Love At First Sight (1982) Intense
- Come On Over (1983) RAS
- Rhythm So Nice (1983) Thompson Sounds
- Across The Border (1984) RAS
- All In The Same Boat (1986) RAS
- Freddie McGregor (1987) Polydor
- Don't Want To Be Lonely Studio One
- Live at the Town & Country Club (1991) VP
- FM (1992) High Times
- Live in London 1991 (1993) Charly
- Roots Man Skanking Clocktower
- Sing Jamaican Classics Vol.1
- Jamaican Classics Vol.2 (1998) Big Ship
- Magic In The Air (1999) Big Ship
- Zion Chant (1999) Heartbeat
- Signature (2000) VP
- Rumours (2000) Greensleeves
- Carry Go Bring Come (2000) Greensleeves
- Hard to Get (2000) Greensleeves
- Forever My Love (2000) RAS
- Push On (2002) Big Ship
- Lovers Rock (2003) Prestige
- Anything For You (2002) VP
- Reggae Max (2003) Jet Star
- Heart Is Willing (2003) Charm
- Rhythms of My Heart (2004) Nuff
- Comin' in Tough (2005) VP
- Masterpiece (200?) VP
- Mister Eudaric Riddim (2009)
- Mr.McGregor (2009) VP
- Giants (2009) Joe Gibbs Publishing
UK hit singles[link]
The following were hits on the UK Singles Chart:
- "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely" (1987) - #9
- "That Girl (Groovy Situation)" (1987) - #47
DVDs and videos[link]
Freddie McGregor releases[link]
- Live Video Music, Inc. (DVD)
Various artists releases featuring McGregor[link]
- A Reggae Christmas (1988) RAS
- Sunsplash '90 - Reggae Rockers (1990) Wienerworld (DVD)
- The Reggae Movie (1996) Geneon (DVD)
- Golden Voices of Reggae (2005) Island MVD (DVD)
- Western Consciousness Pt 2 (2005) Island MVD (DVD)
See also[link]
- List of reggae musicians
- List of roots reggae artists
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
- VP Records
- Rastafari movement
References[link]
- ^ a b c d e Allmusic biography - accessed January 2008
- ^ Campbell, Howard. Freddie approaches 50 years in music biz. Jamaica Gleaner. March 7, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2011
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 339. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
External links[link]
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | McGregor, Freddie |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Jamaican singer, musician and producer |
| Date of birth | 27 June 1956 |
| Place of birth | Clarendon, Jamaica |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Freddie_McGregor
Related pages:
http://fr.wn.com/Freddie McGregor
http://de.wn.com/Freddie McGregor
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_McGregor
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
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| Chick Corea | |
|---|---|
| Chick Corea in 2009 Chick Corea in 2009 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Armando Anthony Corea |
| Born | (1941-06-12) June 12, 1941 (age 71) |
| Origin | Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, jazz fusion, post bop, latin jazz, classical music, avant-garde jazz |
| Occupations | Pianist, keyboardist, composer, bandleader |
| Instruments | Piano, keyboards, synthesizers, organ, vibraphone, drums |
| Years active | 1962–present[1] |
| Labels | ECM, Polydor, Stretch, Warner Bros. |
| Associated acts | Return to Forever, Five Peace Band, Chaka Khan |
| Website | www.chickcorea.com |
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (born June 12, 1941)[2] is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.
Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever.[2] Along with Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Keith Jarrett, he has been described as one of the major jazz piano voices to emerge in the post-John Coltrane era.[3]
His career has been driven by his will to operate as a free agent and compulsively explore different avenues of music making. This hunger has positioned him as an important catalyst in the world of serious, mainstream acoustic jazz, and he is one of the most influential and widely studied figures in the last 40 years.[4]
Corea continued to pursue other collaborations and to explore various musical styles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He is also known for promoting and fundraising for a number of social issues, such as eradicating social illiteracy,[5] and is a Scientologist.[6]
Contents |
Life and career[link]
Youth[link]
Armando Corea was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He is of Sicilian and Spanish descent.[7] His father, a jazz trumpet player who had led a Dixieland band in the Boston area in the 1930s and 1940s, introduced him to the piano at the age of four. Growing up surrounded by jazz music, he was influenced at an early age by bebop and stars such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Horace Silver, and Lester Young. At eight Corea also took up drums, which would later influence his use of the piano as a percussion instrument.
Corea developed his piano skills by exploring music on his own. A notable influence was concert pianist Salvatore Sullo from whom Corea started taking lessons at age eight and who introduced him to classical music, helping spark his interest in musical composition. He also spent several years as a performer and soloist for the Knights of St. Rose, a drum and bugle corps based in Chelsea.
Given a black tuxedo by his father, he started doing gigs when in high school. He enjoyed listening to Herb Pomeroy's band at the time, and had a trio which would play Horace Silver's music at a local jazz club.
He eventually decided to move to New York where he studied musical education for one month at Columbia University and six months at The Juilliard School. He quit after finding both disappointing, but liked the atmosphere of New York where the musical scene became the starting point for his professional career.
Early career[link]
Corea's first major professional gig was with Cab Calloway. Corea started his professional career in the 1960s playing with trumpeter Blue Mitchell and Latin greats such as Herbie Mann, Willie Bobo and Mongo Santamaría. One of the earliest recordings of his playing is with Blue Mitchell's quintet on The Thing To Do. This album features his composition "Chick's Tune", a clever retooling of "You Stepped Out of a Dream" that demonstrates the angular melodies and Latin-and-swing rhythms that characterize, in part, Corea's personal style. (Incidentally, the same tune features a drum solo by a very young Al Foster.)
His first album as a leader was Tones for Joan's Bones in 1966, two years before the release of his album Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, with Roy Haynes on drums and Miroslav Vitouš on bass.[2]
He made another sideman appearance with Stan Getz on 1967's Sweet Rain (Verve Records).[2]
Avant garde period[link]
From 1968 to 1971 Corea had associations with avant garde players and his solo style revealed a dissonant, avant garde orientation. His avant garde playing can be heard on his solo works of the period, his solos in live recordings under the leadership of Miles Davis, his recordings with Circle, and his playing on Joe Farrell's Song of the Wind album on CTI Records.
In September 1968 Corea replaced Herbie Hancock in the piano chair in Davis' band and appeared on landmark albums such as Filles de Kilimanjaro, In a Silent Way, and Bitches Brew. In concert, Davis' rhythm section of Corea, Dave Holland, and Jack DeJohnette combined elements of free jazz improvisation and rock music.[citation needed] Corea experimented using electric instruments with the Davis band, mainly the Fender Rhodes electric piano.
In live performance he frequently processed the output of his electric piano with a device called a ring modulator, producing sounds reminiscent of composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Using this style, he appeared on multiple Davis albums, including Black Beauty: Live at the Fillmore West and Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East. His live performances with the Miles Davis band continued into 1970, with a great touring band of Steven Grossman, tenor sax, Keith Jarrett, additional electric piano and organ, Jack DeJohnette, drums, Dave Holland, bass, Airto Moreira, percussion, and Miles on trumpet.[2]
Holland and Corea left to form their own group, Circle, active in 1970 and 1971. This free jazz group featured multi-reed player Anthony Braxton and drummer Barry Altschul. This band was documented on Blue Note and ECM. Aside from soloing in an atonal style, Corea sometimes reached in the body of the piano and plucked the strings. In 1971 or 1972 Corea struck out on his own.
The concept of communication with an audience became a big thing for me at the time. The reason I was using that concept so much at that point in my life – in 1968, 1969 or so – was because it was a discovery for me. I grew up kind of only thinking how much fun it was to tinkle on the piano and not noticing that what I did had an effect on others. I did not even think about a relationship to an audience, really, until way later.[8]
Jazz fusion[link]
In the early 1970s Corea took a profound stylistic turn from avant garde playing to a crossover jazz fusion style that incorporated Latin jazz elements. He founded Return to Forever in 1971. This band had a fusion sound and even though it relied on electronic instrumentation it drew more on Brazilian and Spanish-American musical styles than on rock music. On its first two records, Return to Forever featured Flora Purim's vocals, the Fender Rhodes electric piano, and Joe Farrell's flute and soprano saxophone. Airto Moreira played drums. Corea's compositions for this group often had a Brazilian tinge. In 1972 Corea played many of the early Return to Forever songs in a group he put together for Stan Getz. This group, with Stanley Clarke on bass and Tony Williams on drums, recorded the Columbia label album Captain Marvel under Getz's name.
Only Clarke remained from the group's first lineup; Bill Connors played electric guitar and Lenny White played drums. No one replaced vocalist Purim. (Briefly, in 1977, Corea's wife, Gayle Moran, served as vocalist in the band.) In 1974 Al Di Meola joined the band, replacing Connors. In this second version of Return to Forever, Corea extended the use of synthesizers, particularly Moogs. The group released its final studio record in 1977 named "Romantic Warrior". Thereafter, Corea focused on solo projects.[2]
Corea's composition "Spain" first appeared on the 1972 Return to Forever album Light as a Feather. This is probably his most popular piece, and it has been recorded by a variety of artists. There are also a variety of subsequent recordings by Corea himself in various contexts, including an arrangement for piano and symphony orchestra that appeared in 1999, and a collaborative piano and voice-as-instrument arrangement with Bobby McFerrin on the 1992 album Play. Corea usually performs "Spain" with a prelude based on Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez (1940), which earlier received a jazz orchestration on Miles Davis' and Gil Evans' "Sketches of Spain".
In 1976 he issued My Spanish Heart, influenced by Latin American music and featuring vocalist Moran and electric violinist Jean-Luc Ponty.The record was somewhat misunderstood at the time but it is considered nowadays as a true example of Corea's ability to write fussion material. The album combined jazz, flamenco, supported by plenty of mini- moog backup and a powerful horn section.
The late Ana Mazzotti, a Brazilian jazz pianist and vocalist, dedicated what is perhaps her last ever recorded track, "Grand Chick", to Corea. The song may be found on her "Ao Vivo Guaruja 1982" album. As Ana Mazzotti worked with Brazilian jazz fusion masters Azymuth in her first album, it was further testament to Corea's influence in the genre.
Duet projects[link]
In the 1970s Corea started working occasionally with vibraphonist Gary Burton, with whom he recorded several duet albums on ECM, including 1972's Crystal Silence. They reunited in 2006 for a concert tour. A new record called The New Crystal Silence (which has received 3 nominations for the 51st Grammy Awards) was issued shortly into 2008. The package includes a disc of duets and another disc featuring the Sydney Symphony.
Later, toward the end of the 1970s, Corea embarked on a series of concerts and two albums with Herbie Hancock. These concerts were presented in elegant settings with both pianists formally dressed, and performing on Yamaha concert grand pianos. The two jazz greats traded playing each other's compositions, as well as pieces by other composers such as Béla Bartók.
In December 2007 Corea recorded a duet album, The Enchantment, with banjoist Bela Fleck.[9] Fleck and Corea toured extensively behind the album in 2007. Fleck was nominated in the Best Instrumental Composition category at the 49th Grammy Awards for the track "Spectacle."[10]
In 2008 Corea collaborated with Japanese pianist Hiromi Uehara on the live album Duet (Chick Corea and Hiromi). The duo played a concert at Tokyo's Budokan arena on April 30.[11]
Later work[link]
Corea's other bands include the Elektric Band, the Akoustic Band, and Origin.
The Akoustic Band released a self-titled album in 1989, and featured John Patitucci on bass and Dave Weckl on drums. It marked a turn back toward traditional jazz in Corea's career, and the bulk of his subsequent recordings have been acoustic ones. The Akoustic Band also provided the music for the 1986 Pixar short Luxo Jr. with their song The Game Maker.
In 1992 Corea started his own label, Stretch Records.[2]
In 2001 the Chick Corea New Trio, with Avishai Cohen and Jeff Ballard on bass and drums, respectively, released the album Past, Present & Futures. The 11-song album includes only one standard composition (Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz"). The rest of the tunes are Corea originals.
He also participated in 1998's Like Minds, which features Gary Burton on vibes, Pat Metheny on guitar, Dave Holland on bass and Roy Haynes on drums.
Recent years have also seen Corea's rising interest in contemporary classical music. He composed his first piano concerto – and an adaptation of his signature piece, Spain, for a full symphony orchestra – and performed it in 1999 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Five years later he composed his first work not to feature any keyboards: His String Quartet No. 1 was specifically written for the Orion String Quartet and performed by them on 2004's Summerfest.
Corea has continued releasing jazz fusion concept albums such as To the Stars (2004) and Ultimate Adventure (2006). The latter album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group.
In 2008 the second version of Return to Forever (Corea, keyboards; Stanley Clarke, bass; Lenny White, drums; Al Di Meola, guitar) reunited for a worldwide tour. The reunion received positive reviews from most jazz and mainstream publications.[12] Most of the group's studio recordings were re-released on the compilation Return to Forever: The Anthology to coincide with the tour. A concert DVD recorded during their performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival was released in May 2009. He is recently working on a collaboration CD with the Grammy Award winning jazz vocal group The Manhattan Transfer, due to be released in August 2009.
A new group, the 5 Peace Band, which features Corea and guitarist John McLaughlin, began a world tour in October 2008. Corea had previously worked with McLaughlin in Miles Davis' late 1960s bands, including the group that recorded Davis' album Bitches Brew. Joining Corea and McLaughlin in the 5 Peace Band are saxophonist Kenny Garrett and bassist Christian McBride. Drummer Vinnie Colaiuta played with the band in Europe and on select North American dates; Brian Blade played all dates in Asia and Australia, and most dates in North America.
Scientology[link]
Corea says that Scientology has helped deepen his relationships with others, and helped him find a renewed path.[3] Under the "special thanks" notes, found in all of his later albums, Corea mentions that L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, has been a continual source of inspiration. In 1968 Corea discovered Dianetics, Hubbard's principal work, and in the early 1970s developed an interest in Hubbard's science fiction novels. The two exchanged letters until Hubbard's death in 1986, and Corea had three guest appearances on Hubbard's 1982 album Space Jazz: The Soundtrack of the Book Battlefield Earth, noting, "[Hubbard] was a great composer and keyboard player as well. He did many, many things. He was a true Renaissance Man."[6]
Corea said that Scientology became a profound influence on his musical direction in the early 1970s:
I no longer wanted to satisfy myself. I really want to connect with the world and make my music mean something to people.[13]
Due to Corea's religious affiliation, he was banned from performing in a concert to be held in Stuttgart, Germany, on August 15, 1993.[14] Members of the U.S. Congress sent letters to the German government concerning a violation of basic human rights that are upheld by the German Constitution. The ban was not upheld, and in later years Corea performed in festivals in Germany, including several times at the government-supported International Jazz Festival in Burghausen where he was awarded a plaque in Burghausen's "Street of Fame" in 2011.[15]
In 1998, Corea and fellow entertainers Anne Archer, Isaac Hayes, and Haywood Nelson attended the 30th anniversary of Freedom Magazine, the Church of Scientology's investigative news journal, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to honor 11 human rights activists.[16]
Discography[link]
Main article: Chick Corea discography
Awards[link]
Over the years, he has been nominated for 51 Grammy Awards out of which he has won 18:
Corea has also won two Latin Grammy Awards.
| Year | Award | Album/song |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Best instrumental album | The Enchantment (with Bela Fleck) |
| 2011 | Best instrumental album | Forever (with Stanley Clarke and Lenny White) |
His 1968 album Now He Sings, Now He Sobs was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
In 2010, he was named doctor honoris causa at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).[17]
See also[link]
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Chick Corea |
References[link]
- ^ Yanow, Scott (June 12, 1941). "Chick Corea". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/chick-corea-p66463/biography. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g allmusic Biography
- ^ a b Heckman, Don (August 18, 2001). "Playing in His Key". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2001/aug/18/entertainment/ca-35464. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ Ratliff, Ben (November 30, 2000). "Jazz Veteran Is Most at Home When He's Away; With His Playing and His Label, Chick Corea Is Newly Influential". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/30/arts/jazz-veteran-most-home-when-he-s-away-with-his-playing-his-label-chick-corea.html. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "Literacy 2005: Celebrities, Church of Scientology Vow To Eradicate Social Ill". The Sacramento Observer 36 (43): p. F2. September 15, 1999.
- ^ a b "All About Jazz". http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=15351. Retrieved March 24, 2008.
- ^ "Chick Corea: Brazil – Jazz.com | Jazz Music – Jazz Artists – Jazz News". Jazz.com. November 20, 1999. http://www.jazz.com/music/2007/11/5/chick-corea-brazil. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
- ^ "Chick Corea Interview on ArtistInterviews". http://www.artistinterviews.eu/?page_id=6&parent_id=22. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
- ^ Levine, Doug (April 24, 2007). "Chick Corea, Bela Fleck Collaborate On New CD". VOA News (Voice of America). http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-04/2007-04-24-voa68.cfm. Retrieved January 1, 2009.
- ^ Concord Music Group :
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Chinen, Nate (August 3, 2008). "The Return of Return to Forever". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/arts/music/03chin.html. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^ Down Beat, October 21, 1976, p.47
- ^ Hennessey, Mike (January 18, 2011). "U.S. lawmakers rip Germany's ban of Corea show. (controversy over US musician Chick Corea's religious beliefs)". Billboard. http://books.google.com/books?id=6BEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=billboard+magazine+%2B+Germany's+ban+of+Corea+show&source=bl&ots=bNzTHOxVH6&sig=zOEiQow0eDr8U2KCsMjTektvGrc&hl=en&ei=7XH2TdGdCY74sAOOkpTaCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
- ^ Haserer, Wolfgang (January 18, 2011). "Musikalisch unumstritten". OVB Online. http://www.ovb-online.de/kultur/musikalisch-unumstritten-1085897.html. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
- ^ Haywood You Remember Garden City Park
- ^ "Chick Corea utnevnt til æresdoktor – NRK Trøndelag – NRK Nyheter". Nrk.no. http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/nrk_trondelag/1.7355183. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
External links[link]
- Official site
- Official discography
- Jazzreview.com biography
- Verve Records Archived October 13, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- An Interview with Chick Corea by Bob Rosenbaum, July 1974 (PDF file) "You put these notes together and you come out with that sound, and isn't it beautiful. So what? What does it do to another person? What does it do to your neighborhood?"
- Chick Corea talks to Michael J Stewart about his Piano Concerto
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Corea, Chick |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | June 12, 1941 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Chick_Corea
Related pages:
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| Herbert Grönemeyer | |
|---|---|
 Herbert Grönemeyer, 2004 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Herbert Arthur Wiglev Clamor Grönemeyer |
| Born | (1956-04-12) April 12, 1956 (age 56) |
| Origin | Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany |
| Genres | Rock, pop rock, soft rock, pop |
| Occupations | Singer, actor, composer |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano, guitar |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels | EMI, Grönland |
| Website | www.groenemeyer.de |
Herbert Grönemeyer (born April 12, 1956) is a German musician and actor, popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He starred as war correspondent Lieutenant Werner in Wolfgang Petersen's movie Das Boot, but later concentrated on his musical career. His fifth album 4630 Bochum (1984) and his 20th album Mensch (Human) (2002) are the best-selling German-language records of all time.[citation needed] He is the most successful artist in Germany with album sales of over 13 million albums.[1]
Contents |
Early life[link]
Grönemeyer often refers to his personal roots as lying in the German town of Bochum where he spent most of his childhood, youth and early adulthood. Still today, the song Bochum, first released in 1984, is one of his signature songs, especially during live performances. Being born in Göttingen and not in Bochum he has his own explanation: "I was only born in Göttingen because my mother often fainted when she was pregnant with me. She did this every time she turned to her left side, and no one believed her. In Göttingen there was a professor, a specialist, and he didn't believe her either, at which point she lay down, fainted, and brought me into the world. This is why I was born in Göttingen."[2]
Work[link]
Grönemeyer’s interest in music was sparked at the age of eight, when he started to take piano classes. These later formed the basis for his work as a pianist and composer at the local theatre Schauspielhaus Bochum. In 1979, at the City of Cologne Theatre (Schauspielhaus Köln), using his musical talent to great effect, he gave an excellent performance as Lorenzo in the The Merchant of Venice. Although never having attended an acting school he soon appeared in several TV productions. During one of the shootings he met his later wife, the actress Anna Henkel. Additionally, Grönemeyer published an album he had recorded with the jazz formation "Ocean Orchestra" in 1978, a year in which he also composed the music for the film Uns reicht das nicht by Jürgen Flimm, together with Jens-Peter Ostendorf. His first solo album Grönemeyer, which was published in 1979, was awarded the Golden Lemon for the ugliest album cover of the year. His second album Zwo was released in 1981. Neither managed to chart. In the same year he starred in Wolfgang Petersen’s successful movie Das Boot as Lieutenant Werner. For the role of composer Robert Schumann in the German-German coproduction Frühlingssinfonie (co-starring Nastassja Kinski and Rolf Hoppe), for which he also composed the film score, Grönemeyer spent six months in the GDR. During the early 1980s Grönemeyer put his main focus on his music; the next two albums Total egal (1982) and Gemischte Gefühle (1983) flopped and most concerts of the planned tour had to be cancelled.
Grönemeyer first met success as a musician in 1984 with the release of Bochum which became the best-sold album in Germany that year, particularly supported by the singles "Männer" ( English lyrics ) and "Flugzeuge im Bauch". A year later Grönemeyer appeared in the TV-movie Väter und Söhne, co-starring Julie Christie, Burt Lancaster and Bruno Ganz. In his next albums Sprünge (1986) and Ö (1988) he increasingly expressed his political opinion, criticising the government under German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In 1986 Grönemeyer performed at the Anti-WAAhnsinns Festival against nuclear power and he composed the film score for the TV film Sommer in Lesmona, for which he received the Adolf Grimme Award in gold. The release of his first English album What’s all this was followed by a tour through Canada, where it had success in the charts. After the Berlin Wall had fallen Grönemeyer released the album Luxus in which he addressed the feelings in East and West Germany. Having two children together, Felix and Marie, he married his companion Anna Henkel in 1993. In the same year Chaos was released and became a Top 1 hit record in Germany. More than 600,000 people saw the following tour. In 1994, Grönemeyer was the first non-English-speaking artist who was invited by MTV to do an unplugged concert. Four years later Grönemeyer moved to London and released Bleibt alles anders (Everything Remains Different). He also founded his own record label, Grönland Records. In the same year his brother Wilhelm and his wife Anna died of cancer (both dying within 3 days); it took Grönemeyer a year to resume his work. In 2000 he recorded a concert with a philharmonic orchestra and released the DVD Stand der Dinge (State of Affairs). In August 2002 he released his so far most successful album Mensch (Human) which was awarded Platinum even before release due to advance orders. The single "Mensch" became Grönemeyer’s first number one hit in Germany and 1.5 million people saw the 2-year tour. In 2004 and 2006 Grönemeyer recorded songs for the Olympic Games in Athens ("Everlasting") and the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany ("Celebrate the Day"), respectively.
In March 2007 he released his 12th studio album 12 which was followed by a stadium tour across German-speaking countries. Smaller concerts took place in September in Amsterdam, Munich, Dresden and London's Royal Albert Hall.
The three re-recorded albums What's all this, Luxus and Chaos for the English-speaking market were met with limited sales success. Grönemeyer was scheduled to make his American debut on September 17, 2007 at the Beacon Theater in New York City, but the performance has since been postponed.
In January 2010, Grönemeyer performed the anthem "Komm zur Ruhr" as part of the opening ceremony of the "RUHR.2010" - The city of Essen being the "European Capital of Culture 2010" on behalf of the entire Ruhr area.
The magazine TIME awarded him the title of "European Hero" in 2005 for his humanitarian work.
Discography[link]
Main article: Herbert Grönemeyer discography
Studio albums[link]
- 1979 Grönemeyer
- 1980 Zwo
- 1982 Total egal
- 1983 Gemischte Gefühle
- 1984 4630 Bochum
- 1986 Sprünge
- 1988 Ö
- 1990 Luxus
- 1993 Chaos
- 1998 Bleibt alles anders
- 2002 Mensch
- 2007 12
- 2011 Schiffsverkehr
Filmography[link]
- 1976 — Die Geisel (directed by Peter Zadek)
- 1978 — Von Tag zu Tag (directed by Ulrich Stein)
- 1978 — Uns reicht das nicht (directed by Juergen Flimm)
- 1979 — Daheim unter Fremden (directed by Peter Keglevic)
- 1981 — Das Boot (directed by Wolfgang Petersen)
- 1982 — Doktor Faustus (directed by Franz Seitz)
- 1982 — Frühlingssinfonie (directed by Peter Schamoni)
- 1984 — Die ewigen Gefühle (directed by Peter Beauvais)
- 1985 — Väter und Söhne (directed by Bernhard Sinkel)
- 2007 — Control (directed by Anton Corbijn)
- 2010 — The American (directed by Anton Corbijn): film score by Herbert Grönemeyer
References[link]
External links[link]
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Herbert Grönemeyer |
- Official website
- http://www.groenland.com Grönemeyer's record label
- http://www.letzte-version.de Fan site
- Herbert Grönemeyer on Europopmusic.eu (English)
- Herbert Grönemeyer at the Internet Movie Database
- Herbert Grönemeyer discography at Discogs
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Grönemeyer, Herbert |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | German musician, actor |
| Date of birth | April 12, 1956 |
| Place of birth | Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
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Wiki Summary
The Ruhr (German Ruhrgebiet, colloquial Ruhrpott, Kohlenpott, Pott or Revier), is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 7100/km² and a population of some 7.3 million, it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany. It consists of several large, formerly industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe to the north. In the Southwest it borders to the Bergisches Land. It is considered part of the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region of more than 12 million people.
Since the Ruhr is polycentric, coordinates shown are general in nature and so can be used to focus on the entire region of the Ruhr: 51°30′N 7°30′E / 51.5°N 7.5°E / 51.5; 7.5.
From west to east, the region includes the cities of Duisburg, Oberhausen, Bottrop, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Herne, Hagen, Dortmund, and Hamm, as well as parts of the more "rural" districts Wesel, Recklinghausen, Unna and Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. Historically, the western Ruhr towns, such as Duisburg and Essen, belonged to the historic region of the Rhineland, whereas the eastern part of the Ruhr, including Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Dortmund and Hamm, were part of the region of Westphalia. Since the 19th century, these districts have grown together into a large complex with a vast industrial landscape, inhabited by some 7.3 million people (when including Düsseldorf and Wuppertal). It is the fifth largest urban area in Europe after Istanbul, Moscow, London and Paris.
