History.

The city of Würzburg was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Würzburg under Ferdinand III until 1814. It was then part of the territories in Franconia that were granted to the Kingdom of Bavaria by the Congress of Vienna in compensation for the loss of the Tyrol and that part of Palatinate that was east of the Rhine to Baden. Because of its remoteness within Bavaria, Würzburg was not connected by the Ludwig South-North Railway, which crossed the entire kingdom. At the urging of the Bavarian parliament, the city was connected to the railway network by the second state railway, the Ludwig Western Railway only a few years later. Construction work began in 1852 and the 43 kilometre-long third stage from Schweinfurt to Würzburg (now part of the Bamberg–Rottendorf railway) of the 206 km-long line was opened on 1 June 1854. In the fourth and final stage, the line was opened to the Bavarian border in Kahl am Main via Gemünden am Main and Aschaffenburg on 1 October 1854 (now part of the Main–Spessart railway).

The first station of 1852: the Ludwig station.

The first Würzburg station was named the "Ludwigsbahnhof" (Ludwig station) after King Ludwig I. At the request of the Ministry of War, the station was built inside the city walls, despite the higher land acquisition costs, at the exact location of the Mainfranken Theater today. This however meant, due to the already dense development, that it was possible to build only a terminal station. The area available for the station was about 400 metres long and between 50 and 100 metres wide and next to the station building and the train shed there was also a roundhouse and a carriage shed. It also included a workshop for the maintenance of rail vehicles and a freight warehouse. A second building was added, which was connected by tracks that had to be built on embankments that were up to five metres high due to the unevenness of the ground and as a result the

Relocation of the station.

In subsequent years the railways grew steadily. Although a lack of resources prevented rapid economic growth, as a result of the construction of new tracks, Würzburg became a railway junction. First, in 1861 construction started on a nearly 90 kilometre-long link between Würzburg and Ansbach station, where it connected with a line that had been built in 1859 by the town of Ansbach to connect with the Ludwig South-North Railway in Gunzenhausen. This line (which is now part of the Treuchtlingen–Würzburg railway) was

The new station outside the inner city.

The terminus could no longer absorb the traffic of the additional lines. An extension of the facilities that were tight from the start was not possible due to the density of buildings in the inner city. To provide greater capacity for passenger services, it was planned initially to shift freight and shunting to a separate location. Against the backdrop of the ever-growing rail traffic and given the operational benefits of a through station, the decision was taken in 1862 to build a new station to the north of the city beneath the Schalksberg (hill) and near the famous Würzburger Stein vineyard. At this time the area was only sparsely populated and there was enough space available for a large station yard and a through station. The construction of the station was accompanied by an extensive reorganisation of the road network. The mainly narrow and winding streets of the town centre were greatly improved by the widening of existing streets and the building of the central Schönbornstraße. The newly created Kaiserstraße connected the outlying station complex and the town. A new district was then established in the immediate vicinity of the station and

Destruction during World War II and reconstruction.

Until shortly before the end of the Second World War people still living in Würzburg had the illusion that the city would be spared an air raid because no significant industry was located in the city and it had three hospitals. However, Würzburg had great importance for rail transport, the logistical backbone of German armaments. On 23 February 1945, during an air strike of the United States Army Air Force, which was actually directed at Bayreuth, a large part of the station area was destroyed or severely degraded by about 200 bombs. Although the only threat from Würzburg for the Allies had been eliminated and another attack seemed unlikely, starting on the evening of 16 March 1945 in England, about 230 four-engined Avro Lancaster bombers of the Royal Air Force flew to Würzburg. In this destruction, considered one of the most devastating in the war, about 5,000 people lost their lives. In addition, 90 percent of the buildings in the inner city were damaged, which made Würzburg one of the most devastated cities of World War II. The

The division of Germany and recent development since the 1980s.

Würzburg Hauptbahnhof has a central location in Germany and was always a major hub for rail transport, but after the division of Germany its importance increased again. While rail traffic between the north and the southeast of the country had previously been distributed over several routes, now the lines through the Thuringian Forest, the Franconian Forest and the Vogtland were truncated. All the trains that had to be operated along the Inner German border, including the routes to Munich via Würzburg and Nuremberg caused a considerable increase in the workload for Würzburg.  In the timetable of 1979/80, 300 passenger, 250 freight trains and 100 other trains operated through Würzburg station on weekdays. About 60 passenger and 50 freight trains were shunted at the station.  The high utilisation of the access routes led to the construction of two new lines for high-speed traffic (Mannheim–Stuttgart and Hanover–Würzburg) in order to clear the old lines of express trains. During the 1991 timetable, the first Intercity-Express sets served Würzburg, still under the “Intercity” name. In May 1992, Würzburg became an ICE stop with the establishment of the Hamburg–Würzburg–Munich ICE service.

The station today.

Infrastructure.

Entrance building.

Since the construction of the new station building, it has been changed only slightly since its completion so that the basic structure of the original design is still preserved almost completely. In place of the wall paintings that have been removed there are now billboards. The former ticket office was converted into a travel center that was modified in the 1990s to fit the new corporate design of Deutsche Bahn. In addition, the entrance building now housed a baggage room, a “ServicePoint”, a food shop, a book shop and a small kiosk for tobacco products and magazines. In the summer of 2006, two new sales pavilions were established for this purpose and an older bakery was removed and the ServicePoint had to be moved to the side of the hall. At the eastern end there was an office of the "Bahnhofsmission" charity, which provides assistance to travellers and the homeless;

Platforms and railway tracks.

The station still has extensive trackage used by both passenger and freight trains. The southern two tracks (201 and 202) are only for freight. The platform next to the station building is used for parking inter-city and has no rail services. On the remaining five island platforms the following passenger services are carried out:  All platforms are 76 cm high, which is one of the two standard heights used in Germany. Step-free entry is still not possible to any one of trains running, as Deutsche Bahn has no long-distance trains with entrance heights of 76 cm and the regional trains used here are mostly of older construction and can

Station forecourt.

The station forecourt extends from the entrance building to the Röntgenring and Haugerring on the inside of the ring of parks on the site of the former walls. It is bounded to the east and west by two lines of pavilions harbouring various shops.  The St Kilian fountain stands on a pedestal in the middle of the forecourt, which was inaugurated in July 1895 by Prince Regent Luitpold and is the only existing remnant of the former station. The St Kilian fountain was a gift from the Prince Regent to Würzburg; after this the Franconia fountains were built in front of the Residence in honour of Luitpold.  A bronze statue of St. Kilian stood over the basin of the fountain from 1895 to 1943. This

Services.

Lines.

Several major rail corridors cross at Würzburg Hauptbahnhof. All lines are electrified and duplicated and the highly trafficked Würzburg–Rottendorf section has three tracks. The high-speed line from Fulda is scheduled for 250 km/h

Long-distance lines.

Würzburg Hauptbahnhof is connected by the following services to the rail network : Due to its convenient location, long-distance trains have run from all over Germany and neighbouring countries to Würzburg station since the early days of rail travel. Therefore, it was also served on several routes of the Trans Europ Express (TEE) network, which was established in 1957. With a single domestic route and two routes to Vienna and Klagenfurt, the only non-German cities to be served directly were in nearby Austria.  After Deutsche Bundesbahn gradually introduced its increasingly popular Intercity network with two-class trains from 1968, the first class only TEE services were phased out.  On 27 May 1988, the Fulda–Würzburg section was the first major section of the Hanover–Würzburg high-speed line to be put into operation. The official ceremonial opening of operations by the InterCityExperimental was held at Würzburg station at 12:58. The opening of the section was celebrated with a festival at the station on 28 and 29 May, with many shuttles services running to Fulda. The first scheduled passenger service on the new line, IC 686 ("Herrenchiemsee") left Würzburg station on 29 May at 9:17. The first scheduled service arriving regularly

Regional transport routes.

Würzburg Hauptbahnhof is connected by the following services to the rail network : A dense network of services on the lines around Würzburg are operated by DB Regio Unterfranken and another DB subsidiary, Westfrankenbahn. Würzburg is directly connected by five Regional-Express services to major cities such as Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Erfurt and by five Regionalbahn services to the intervening

Connections with trams and buses.

Würzburg station is also a central transfer station for trams and buses. In the station forecourt are the Würzburg tram stops of "Hauptbahnhof West" and "Hauptbahnhof Ost" (east). This division of departure platforms for trams to the inner city (west) and Grombühl (east) was established in 1996 as a "temporary" measure during the construction of a new station, which has not yet commenced. Immediately west of the station forecourt is the bus station where the majority of urban and regional bus routes start.

Future development.

In 2004, the city of Würzburg published plans for the post office area to the west of the station building by the Essen company "Management für Immobilien AG" ("mfi"), which would involve building a shopping centre with an area of 20,000 square metres, including a wedding hall. The so-called "Würzburg Arcaden" (Wurzburg arcades) would extend to the current bus station, where the Quellenbach parking station would be built. The ambitious schedule provided for a completion of the project by the end of 2006. A citizens' initiative warned against drastic changes to the ring of parks on the former wall, which would have been affected, and demanded a referendum. Before that was carried out, however, the project was abandoned in October 2004 because of differences with the managers of the venue.  After the project had failed at the first attempt, "mfi" brought a revised version to the table in July 2005. This did not include the originally planned development of the bus station, instead, the arcades would be built on the west wing of the main station and a connection to the station building would be created. The profits from the sale of the west wing were intended to be invest in the modernisation of the station building by Deutsche Bahn. "Mfi" pledged to finance the redevelopment of the station forecourt, the relocation of the bus station on the eastern side of the station and the greening of its current location. Far-reaching changes were also planned in the layout of roads and tram tracks, so that sections of the Haugerring and Röntgenring (the streets on the south side of the ring of parks) would have been widened to five lanes and the tramline to Grombühl would have been relocated from the Haugerring to Haugerglacisstraße (on the north side of the ring of parks next to the station).  On 14 December 2005, the council agreed by a narrow margin to the construction of "Würzburg Arcaden" and so paved the way for the €250 million project. Finally, in mid-2006, an architectural competition for the redevelopment of the station environment was started, which selected the Stuttgart office of Auer+Weber+Assoziierte and the Hamburg landscape architects, "WES & Partner".  The citizens' initiative "Ringpark-in-Gefahr" (“Ring Park in danger") succeeded in having a referendum called, which took place on 3 December 2006. The proponents of the initiative warned of, despite the planned restoration of the bus station area to the ring park, impending gridlock and the desolation of the inner city after the opening of the proposed shopping centre. With a turnout of over 40 percent, the Wurzburg citizens decided by about 51 to 49 percent, to support the joint project of "mfi", Deutsche Bahn and the city—a majority of 985 in favour. Many people complained after the vote that the voting slip was confusing and difficult to understand and more than 12 percent of all votes cast were invalid.

2007: further development after the breakdown of "Würzburg Arcaden".

After the referendum was put the federal parliamentarian, Walter Kolbow, who, like the state parliamentarian Rainer Boutter (both SPD), had criticized the coupling of the station redevelopment and the arcade project before the vote, called for the redevelopment to be carried out in several stages. At his initiative, a four-hour summit meeting was held on 12 March 2007 between the then Mayor of Würzburg, Pia Beckmann and the CEO of DB Station&Service, Wolf-Dieter Siebert. Federal and state grants of up to 80 percent of the cost of the renovation of the platforms and their access had already been largely secured, and it was suggested at the meeting that €8 million for the renovation of the entrance building in 2011/2012 was on the way. Deutsche Bahn would provide €3 million and the city of Würzburg would be able to put together €5 million. To keep the city's contribution to a minimum, Mayor Pia Beckmann had brought a "stripped down" version to the discussion, which did not require the development of the second floor. Despite their initial opposition, Deutsche Bahn finally accepted this proposal and also waived the requirement that the City fund €5 million of the cost.  Furthermore, the city is planning extensive changes in the station environment. This will mean that the station forecourt will have a uniform design and more attractive pavilion shops will be built. In addition, the conversion of the current location of the bus station into parkland and the installation of the bus station on the eastern side of the station is planned. Land there that is currently still owned by subsidiaries of Deutsche Bahn is required in return for the city's participation in the rebuilding of station. In particular, as the Würzburg tramway is crowded even after the reorganisation of the tram service, the construction of a central tram stop in front of the entrance building is required. These projects are to be taken forward after the completion of the renovation of the station.

Remediation for the 2018 state garden show.

According to Deutsche Bahn, the station is to be rehabilitated for the State Garden Show 2018 from March 2010. The redevelopment of the eastern part of the station building is currently (as of February 2013) expected to be completed in the spring of 2013. The first floor offices are also to be renewed. In addition, the station underpass will be built, including the installation of lifts to the platforms. Likewise, a completely new toilet facility will be built. The barrier-free upgrade of the station will cost €32 million.

Würzburg Hauptbahnhof is a railway station for the city of Würzburg in the German state of Bavaria. It was opened in 1864 to the north of the inner city as a replacement for the former "Ludwigsbahnhof" (Ludwig's station) in the city centre, the capacity of which had been exhausted by the dramatic increase of rail traffic. Even today, Würzburg station is one of the major stations in Bavaria, since it lies at the intersection of several heavily used rail corridors. In particular, the routes in the north–south direction from Hamburg and Bremen to Munich as well as in west–east direction from the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main to Nuremberg and Vienna. Apart from Aschaffenburg Hauptbahnhof, Würzburg is the only station in Lower Franconia to be served by Intercity-Express services. With its combination of rail, tram and bus services, the station is the main hub for public transport in the city and the district of Würzburg.

La gare centrale de Wurtzbourg est une gare ferroviaire allemande, située au centre-ville de Wurtzbourg dans le land de la Bavière.


Background.

Abe Burrows, who had previously written the books for the successful musicals "Guys and Dolls", "Can-Can", and "Say, Darling", wrote the book for a new musical adaptation of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". The score was credited to three authors: George Weiss, Robert Goldman, and Glenn Paxton, though composer Jule Styne, who produced the show under the auspices of the "Jule Styne Organization", was said to have augmented the score. The score mixes early-19th-century "period" music with standard Broadway idioms of the 1950s. The musical was originally titled "A Perfect Evening", but before rehearsals began, the show's creators changed it to "First Impressions", Austen's original, pre-publication title for "Pride and Prejudice."  The show was not a success. Burrows thought critics were hard on him because they wondered why a comedy guy would take on a "tired period drama," but he also took some unusual liberties with the story. The musical concentrates more than the novel does on Mrs. Bennet's perspective and on her tireless attempts to marry off her five marriageable daughters despite the family's lack of money. The emphasis on Mrs. Bennet is the result of having cast a star (Hermione Gingold) in what was meant by Austen to be a secondary role.  When Jane Austen wrote her first novel, a novel about the Bennet family of Longbourn, she called it First Impressions, but she couldn't find a publisher. However, once "Sense & Sensibility", Austen's second novel, became a popular success, T. Egerton of Whitehall, the publisher of "Sense & Sensibility", agreed to release First Impressions with a new name: "Pride & Prejudice". In this early instance of successful branding, a novel called "First Impressions" went nowhere, but given a new title, "Pride & Prejudice" quickly became one of the great classics of Western literature.

Production.

The Broadway production premiered at the Alvin Theater, New York City, on March 19, 1959, and played 84 performances. The stars of the original cast were Hermione Gingold (as Mrs. Bennet), Polly Bergen (as Elizabeth Bennet), and Farley Granger (as Mr. Darcy), supported by Phyllis Newman (Jane Bennet), Ellen Hanley (Charlotte Lucas), Christopher Hewett (Mr. Collins), Donald Madden (Charles Bingley), and James Mitchell (Capt. Wickham). Hewett replaced Hiram Sherman after the show's out-of-town tryout, while Hanley replaced Bergen shortly into the run.  According to Granger, the musical was beset by a series of disasters, the most notable all involving the frequently dangerous sets. Granger said several dancers were injured during rehearsals and the tryout in New Haven. Moreover, reports Granger, Gingold, and Bergen disliked each other, and Mitchell felt ill-used. Stuart Hodes Mitchell's understudy and one of the injured dancers, says that Granger's account was exaggerated. Hodes also notes that Lucas's several replacements as choreographer included an uncredited Herbert Ross.  Fifteen-year-old Lauri Peters, who played Kitty Bennet, left a good enough first impression on Richard Rodgers that he invited her to audition for his next show, "The Sound of Music". Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II cast her in the role of Liesl, the eldest daughter, in the 1959 original Broadway production of "The Sound of Music". Peters shared a Tony Award nomination for the role, and stayed with the show for two years.

Synopsis.

Like the novel, the musical is concerned primarily with the rocky courtship between Elizabeth Bennet, a poor gentleman's daughter with four sisters, and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, a wealthy aristocrat who arrives in Miss Elizabeth's rural village in 1813. The course of true love is hindered by minor character flaws on both sides—his pride and reserve, which look like arrogance to her, and her tendency to jump to erroneous conclusions based on little evidence, as well as her verbal assertiveness, which mildly scandalizes him. Both eventually realize that they have misjudged each other, however, and find that they are actually ideally suited for each other.

Songs.

After decades out of print, the original cast album was rereleased on CD in 2002.

First Impressions is a Broadway musical with music and lyrics by George Weiss, Bo Goldman, and Glenn Paxton, and book by Abe Burrows, who also directed the musical. It is based on Helen Jerome's 1935 stage adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel "Pride and Prejudice".

First Impressions ("Premières Impressions" en français) est une comédie musicale créée le à l'Alvin Theater de Broadway à New York, et qui a eu 84 représentations. C'est une adaptation musicale de la pièce à succès de Helen Jerome "Pride and Prejudice, A Sentimental Comedy in Three Acts" créée en 1935 d'après "Orgueil et Préjugés" de Jane Austen.


Biography.

Arthur Amiotte was born on March 25, 1942 in Pine Ridge, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He was given the name Warpa Tanka Kuciyela or Low Black Bird as an infant, but received his second Lakota name in 1972. Amiotte's parents are Walter Douglas Amiotte and Olive Louise Mesteth. lives. His great-grandfather Standing Bear (1859–1933) was at the Battle of Little Big Horn. Amiotte lived in the reservation until he was six and then visited it during summers up to the age of 15.  During his studies at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, Arthur Amiotte attended a workshop from Oscar Howe in 1961. By this encounter, Arthur Amiotte got a concrete example of how a native artist can be a contemporary artist. Arthur Amiotte received his bachelor's degree in Art and Art Education and was subsequently a teacher at Woodrow Wilson Junior High School in Sioux City from 1964 to 1966.  Two mentors, in particular, guided Amiotte. From 1969 to 1975, his grandmother Christina Standing Bear, a sacred bundle keeper, taught him the heritage of his great-grandfather Standing Bear (Mató Nájin), who illustrated "Black Elk Speaks". In the period from 1972 to 1981, Arthur Amiotte was influenced by the Lakota medicine man Pete Catches (Oglala Lakota), who introduced Amiotte to Lakota spirituality and rituals belonging to Lakota traditions.  He received his Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies in 1983 from the University of Montana-Missoula.  Amiotte was professor of Native American art history at Brandon University, Manitoba, but in 1985, he decided to dedicate himself to art and he established his studio in Custer, South Dakota in 1986.  Amiotte curated exhibitions about the culture of the tribes on the Great Plains, such as at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Akta Lakota Museum in Chamberlain, South Dakota; the Buffalo Bill Historical Center of Cody, Wyoming; and the Museum of World Cultures of Frankfurt am Main, Germany in 2006. In 2004, Arthur Amiotte lectured Oscar Howe Memorial Lecture

Works.

Main exhibitions and artworks.

Lakota philosophy and oral history form the foundation of Amiotte's artistic work. His creativity as a whole is an expression of the "Lakól wicóh'an washtélaka" – the love of the Lakota traditions. Amiotte promotes Lakota rituals and the visionary experiences during the traditional ceremonies also find their impact on his artistic work.  Amiotte defines his work as being bound to the reservation culture which bridges the gap between yesterday and today, a split which is often mastered in an amazing manner. Amiotte has said, "I realized that contemporary art was ignoring the whole reservation period. This had been a dynamic time. Some people were going to school in the east, to Carlisle and Hampton... People were moving onto land allotments. They were familiar with print media, exposed to lots of magazines, pictures, photographs... Daily life was infused with this mixture of nonliterate/literate. There were new technologies... it seemed to me that it was more honest to deal with all this in my art, rather than to create a fake hide painting."  His collage work is inspired by Ledger art but takes it to a new level. In a pointed and sharp-witted manner, they reveal the discrepancy of Lakota culture between tradition and modernism ("The Visit," 1995, Acrylic-Collage; Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Wyoming). He also explores experiences of Lakota people in Europe, during the Wild West show era of the early 20th century.  Amiotte has participated in over 100 exhibitions, including over 20 solo exhibitions. He has shown throughout the United States and Europe, including at the Kunsthallen Bradts Klaedefabrik in Odense, Denmark in 1994-5.  His work, ranging from painting to sculpture and textile objects, is present in 26 public and about 200 private collections. His work is included in such public collections as the Denver Art Museum, the Sequoyah National Research Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, the National Museum of Natural History, as well as the following institutions.

Publications and lectures.

He frequently lectures at home and abroad and is a published author. In 1989 Amiotte wrote with a chapter about Sioux Arts in the important volume," Illustrated History of the Arts in South Dakota", published during the state's centennial.

Honors.

From 1979 to 1981, Amiotte served on the Presidential Advisory Council for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. In 1980, he was awarded the South Dakota Governor's Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Arts. That same year, Amiotte was awarded the Bush Leadership Fellowship, which allowed him to study Northern Plains art collections in the United States and Europe at the University of Montana-Missoula.  Amiotte was awarded various fellowships and grants, including the Lila Wallace Readers Digest Artists at Giverny, France in 2002; the Bush Artist Fellowship; and the Getty Foundation Grant in 1994-5.  In 1999, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award as Artist and Scholar by the Native American Art Studies Association.  Arthur Amiotte holds honorary doctorates from the Oglala Lakota College and the Brandon University, Manitoba.

Arthur Douglas Amiotte, (Wanblí Ta Hócoka Washté or Good Eagle Center) (born 1942) is an Oglala Lakota American painter, collage artist, educator, and author.

Arthur Amiotte, (Wanblí Ta Hócoka Washté, Good Eagle Center, Centre Bon Aigle) est un artiste, éducateur et conservateur de la culture des Lakota (Sioux) né le 25 mars 1942 au Dakota du Sud.


Overview.

MFSB formed in 1971 and disbanded in 1985, three years after Teddy Pendergrass' accident.  Assembled by record producers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, MFSB was the house band for their Philadelphia International Records label and originated the signature smooth "Philly sound" that dominated the early 1970s for the artists who recorded at the Sigma Sound Studios, including the O'Jays, the Spinners, the Bluenotes, The Delfonics, Blue Magic, The Intruders, The Three Degrees, Jerry Butler, and Teddy Pendergrass. Later in the decade, the collective would become known for the hi-hat-dominated disco sounds that became popular in the late 1970s with groups such as The Trammps, First Choice, Ripple and Double Exposure.  It was the 1972 release of their first album, "MFSB", that put them on the map. This marked the beginning of a string of instrumental hits that brought major attention to a large orchestra who laid the foundation for the Sound of Philadelphia. The line-up of musicians included Karl Chambers, Earl Young, and Norman Fearrington on drums; Norman Harris, Roland Chambers, Bobby Eli, and T.J. Tindall on guitar; Winnie Wilford and Ronnie Baker on bass; Vincent Montana Jr. on vibes, tympani, orchestra bells, chimes, percussion, arrangements and conductor, and Larry Washington on congas and bongos, Harold Ivory Williams on keyboards, plus Leon Huff and Thom Bell on keyboards and Don Renaldo on strings and horns featuring Rocco Bene on trumpet.  MFSB's disco sound first hit the top of the Hot 100 charts as the backing band for The O'Jays' "Love Train" in March 1973.  In 2005, drummer Keith Benson (who had joined the group upon Young's departure) revived the group with Gamble's help. The lineup included himself on drums, Jimmy Williams on bass, Dennis Harris and Barton French on guitars, and vocalists Carla Benson, Johnny Ingram, and Michael Clark. In 2007, Philadelphia's Inner City Horns (George Bussey, Jr., saxophone; Bill Hosbach, Jr., trumpet; and Matt Vernon, trombone) were added to the mix. The group performs live at private and concert events, and was featured at the inauguration of Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter.

Career.

In the spring of 1974, Philadelphia International released an instrumental track which had been recorded by the band as the theme music for the television show "Soul Train" as a single. The record, titled "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" reached number one on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and also topped the R&B chart and the adult contemporary chart. The success of "TSOP" launched a recording career for the band under their own name. MFSB albums and singles were released for the rest of the decade.  MFSB recorded a cover of The Nite-Liters's 1971 instrumental "K-Jee", which gained some popularity when it was featured in a key scene in the film "Saturday Night Fever" (1977). It is also included in the soundtrack to that movie. "Sexy" (1975) was later used as a prize cue for the "Big Deal of the Day" on the 1980 version of "Let's Make a Deal".  Another popular MFSB number, "Love Is The Message", has been a favorite of dance/disco DJs since its release; countless remixes, both official and unofficial, exist of the song. On September 20, 2004, the record became among the first to be inducted into the newly formed Dance Music Hall of Fame. In October 2004, the song appeared in the video game, "", playing on funk radio station,.  Due to a disagreement with Gamble & Huff over finances, several members of the group moved on to Salsoul Records, where they became known as the Salsoul Orchestra. Other members began performing as The Ritchie Family orchestra, and John Davis and the Monster Orchestra. Not to be outdone, Gamble & Huff replaced them with a new rhythm section consisting of Charles Collins on drums, Michael Foreman on bass guitar, and Dennis Harris on lead guitar. They also employed Dexter Wansel and others on MFSB's latter recordings for the label.  Since 1975, MFSB's "My Mood" has been the closing theme music for the Friday 6:00 p.m. newscast on WRC-TV (NBC4), the NBC-owned television station in Washington, D.C. MFSB's "TLC" (Tender Lovin' Care) has been used for decades as the closing credits theme for the Washington, DC version of the "It's Academic" quiz show recorded at WRC-TV.  In 2008, some of the members appeared together on new recordings made at Bobby Eli’s Studio E/The Grooveyard in the Philly suburbs. Musicians on the session were Earl Young on drums, Bobby Eli and Dennis Harris on guitars, Jimmie Williams on bass guitar, Rikki Hicks on percussion and T G Conway on keys. Two songs have been released from that session: "Soul Recession" by Double Exposure and "There I go falling in love again" by Chiquita Green.

Name origin.

According to the book "A House on Fire: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul", by John A. Jackson, the "clean" version of the MFSB name means "Mother, Father, Sister, Brother", because according to Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, despite the diversity at Philadelphia International Records, all were connected musically. This was in line with their spiritual views at the time. The "other" version was "mother-fuckin' son-of-a-bitch", an expression which was used among the musicians to compliment a person's musical prowess.

MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom Bell, and backed up such groups as Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the O’Jays, the Stylistics, the Spinners, Wilson Pickett, and Billy Paul.

MFSB (abréviation pour « Mother Father Sister and Brother ») était un groupe de plus d'une trentaine de musiciens de session basé dans les studios Sigma Sound à Philadelphie. Ils travaillaient avec les producteurs Gamble et Huff et l'arrangeur Thom Bell, mais jouaient également pour des formations ou artistes tels que Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, The O'Jays, The Stylistics, The Spinners, Wilson Pickett et Billy Paul.


Biography.

Background.

Masse was educated at the Université de Montréal and pursued graduate work in Paris. He worked as a high school teacher in Joliette, Quebec from 1962 to 1966.

Provincial politics.

In the 1966 Quebec provincial election, he was elected to the Quebec legislative assembly in the riding of Montcalm as a member of the Union Nationale (UN), a conservative political party. He served as a minister in the governments of Quebec premiers Daniel Johnson (1966–1968) and Jean-Jacques Bertrand (1968–1970).  Masse was re-elected in 1970. He was a leadership candidate at the party convention of 1971, but lost by 21 votes. He left the Union Nationale to sit as an independent until his term expired in 1973. In 1974, Masse was hired by the engineering firm Lavalin as an administrator.

Federal politics.

He attempted to win a seat in the House of Commons of Canada as a Progressive Conservative candidate, but was defeated in the 1974 and 1980 federal elections. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Frontenac in the 1984 election that brought Brian Mulroney and the Tories to power.  Prime Minister Mulroney appointed Masse to the position of Minister of Communications. Masse resigned from the Canadian Cabinet on September 25, 1985, during an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police of alleged overspending during his election campaign. He returned to Cabinet on November 30 after being cleared of any wrongdoing.  As Communications Minister, Masse was responsible for Canada's cultural policy. He argued against measures that would undermine the country's cultural sovereignty during negotiations leading to the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement. He was moved out of the Communications portfolio to that of Minister of Energy in 1986 when it appeared to Mulroney that Masse might be an obstacle to the free trade negotiations. Masse was moved back to Communications following the 1988 election and the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement.  In 1991, Masse became Minister of National Defence. He resigned from cabinet in January 1993 along with a number of other ministers who were not intending to run in the 1993 election.

Retirement.

Since leaving federal politics Masse, a moderate Quebec nationalist, has served in a number of positions under the "Parti Québécois" governments of Jacques Parizeau and Lucien Bouchard. He was head of one of fourteen regional committees that held public hearings on Quebec independence in 1995 in the run up to the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty. He served as president of the "Conseil de la langue française du Québec" in 1995, and as Quebec's delegate-general in France from 1996 to 1997. He has also served as chair of the "Commission des biens culturels du Québec".  In 1995, he was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec. In 1989, he was made a Commander of the Order of La Pléiade and an Officer of the Legion of Honour in 1999. He is also a Commander of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques.

Death.

Masse died on August 25, 2014. Circumstances of his death were not immediately disclosed.

Marcel Masse, (May 27, 1936 – August 25, 2014) was a Canadian politician. He served as a Quebec MLA, federal MP and federal cabinet minister.

Marcel Masse (né le à Saint-Jean-de-Matha, mort le à Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts) est un administrateur et homme politique provincial et fédéral du Québec.


History.

Foundation.

The Diocese of Utrecht was established in 695 when Saint Willibrord was consecrated bishop of the Frisians at Rome by Pope Sergius I. With the consent of the Frankish ruler, Pippin of Herstal, he settled in an old Roman fort in Utrecht. After Willibrord's death the diocese suffered greatly from the incursions of the Frisians, and later on of the Vikings. Whether Willibrord could be called the first bishop of Utrecht is doubtful; as James Palmer points out, "there was no real concept of a well-defined bishopric until at least the days of Alberic (775–84)". And while Saint Boniface is referred to in his hagiographies as the successor of Willibrord (and, in turn, Gregory of Utrecht is referred to as the successor to Willibrord and Boniface), this does not necessarily mean "successor as bishop", but rather that they succeeded each other as missionaries to the Frisians.

Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht.

Better times appeared during the reign of the Saxon emperors, who frequently summoned the Bishops of Utrecht to attend the imperial councils and diets. In 1024 the bishops were made Princes of the Holy Roman Empire and the new Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht was formed. The secular territory over which it ruled was known as Sticht Utrecht or Het Sticht (a sticht was any piece of land governed by a bishop or abbot). This territory was divided into the "Nedersticht" (Lower Sticht, roughly corresponding to the present day province of Utrecht) and "Oversticht" (Upper Sticht, encompassing the present-day provinces of Overijssel, Drenthe, and part of Groningen).  In 1122, with the Concordat of Worms, the Emperor's right of investiture was annulled, and the cathedral chapter received the right to elect the bishop. It was, however, soon obligated to share this right with the four other collegiate chapters in the city. The Counts of Holland and Guelders, between whose territories the lands of the Bishops of Utrecht lay, also sought to acquire influence over the filling of the episcopal see. This often led to disputes and consequently the Holy See frequently interfered in the election. After the middle of the 14th century the popes repeatedly appointed the bishop directly without regard to the five chapters.  It was part of the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle  In 1527, the Bishop sold his territories, and thus his secular authority, to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the principality became an integral part of the Habsburg dominions. The chapters transferred their right of electing the bishop to Charles V and his government, a measure to which Pope Clement VII gave his consent, under political pressure after the Sack of Rome.

End.

The Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht was conquered by Habsburg troops in 1528. The southwestern Nedersticht core territory around the city of Utrecht became the Lordship of Utrecht, whilst the southern part of the Oversticht was transformed into the Lordship of Overijssel. The northern parts were annexed in 1536 as the County of Drenthe.

The Bishopric of Utrecht (1024–1528) was a civil principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, in present Netherlands, which was ruled by the bishops of Utrecht as princes of the Holy Roman Empire.

La principauté d'Utrecht ou évêché d'Utrecht (en ) fut une État du Saint-Empire romain germanique. Au, les évêques d'Utrecht obtinrent l'immédiateté impériale comme seigneurs temporels de la principauté épiscopale ("Hochstift"). Leur siège était la cathédrale Saint-Martin à Utrecht.


Plot.

Kiyo Katsuragi is a young girl still attending school, when she is about to inherit her grandmother's mansion given to her mother. When she enters, she finds out she is also living in the mansion with two vampires, Kuroboshi and his servant Alshu. Things get even crazier when Kuroboshi decides to make Kiyo his "bride". A vampire's "bride" is a female human who will become his only source of blood. Even though Kiyo seems to like Kuroboshi, she is embarrassed when he tries to suck her blood, which is a problem for Kuroboshi.  Then, Kiyo's childhood friend tries to stop their growing affection, because he is afraid that Kiyo will be tainted by the vampire. Kiyo is then told that if she wants to be with Kuroboshi forever and be his bride, she will have to kiss him. There is one side effect—she might turn into a vampire herself!

Reception.

The series ranked 9th in About.com 2009 Readers Poll for Best New Shōjo Manga. However, Carlo Santos of Anime News Network and Connie C. of Pop Culture Shock were not that positive on their reviews. Santos said "The main characters are generally appealing and the chemistry works, but the overall execution falls flat", citing the frequency of vampiric neck-biting as the main drawback—which led him to consider it "just mindless formulaic fanservice". Connie C. criticized the two main characters as stereotypical and its plot for using "a few terrible shojo plot devices". Nevertheless, she appreciated the development of their romantic relationship, which attracted her to read the second volume. Connie C. and Santos dubbed the art as "confusing" and "mess" respectively, although she said the panel layouts "tend to muddy up the flow of the page", while he affirmed that it "help to keep the story moving at a decent clip, and the elegant sense of character design guarantees some attractive visuals".  Santos was again critical of excessive usage of neck-biting, "the epitome of all vampire clichés", and for this and other clichés labeled it "just a copy of 80% of all other shoujo manga", affirming it is "a series designed to be forgotten just like all its other clones". Despite of this, he considered "Bloody Kiss" "a refreshing tongue-in-cheek affair that isn't afraid to poke fun at itself—and the entire genre.... All in all, the story moves at a fun, bouncy pace, and the delicate lines in the artwork make this one go down nice and easy." For the series conclusion, Connie C. wrote that "It's an okay story that manages to be a light and enjoyable read, if nothing spectacular. I was a little disappointed that such common plot devices were used in this volume..., but I really didn't expect too much from the series otherwise. The main draw is the adorable (if shallow) romance between Kiyo and Kuroboshi. Neither really stand out as terribly developed or original characters, but the chemistry between them is believable."

The series was serialized in Hakusensha's semi-monthly shōjo manga magazine, "Hana to Yume" from May 2004 to March 2005. The chapters were then compiled and two volumes were released. It is licensed in English for North American distribution by Tokyopop.

, est un shōjo manga écrit et dessiné par Kazuko Furumiya. Il fut prépublié dans le magazine "Hana to yume" puis publié par "Hakusensha" au Japon en deux tomes. La version française est publiée par Glénat depuis le 27 janvier 2010.


Event.

The solar eclipse began at 08:30GMT in North West Europe and moved towards the northeast but still in northern Europe. It was most visible from the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Faroe Islands, northern Norway and Murmansk Oblast. The shadow began its pass off the south coast of Greenland. It then moved to the northeast, passing between Iceland and the United Kingdom before moving over the Faroe Islands and the northernmost islands of Norway. The shadow of the eclipse was visible in varying degrees all over Europe. For example, London experienced an 86.8% partial solar eclipse while points north of the Faroe Islands in the Norwegian Sea saw a complete solar eclipse. Three chartered airliners flew above the clouds, giving passengers a slightly prolonged view.  The eclipse was observed at radio frequencies at the Metsähovi Radio Observatory, Finland, where a partial eclipse was seen. The eclipse was also observed by meteorological satellite Meteosat-10.

Impact.

The European Union has a solar power output of about 90 gigawatts and production could have been temporarily decreased by up to 34 GW of that dependent on the clarity of the sky. In actuality the dip was less than expected, with a 13 GW drop in Germany happening due to overcast skies. This was the first time that an eclipse had a significant impact on the power system, and the electricity sector took measures to mitigate the impact. The power gradient (change in power) may be −400 MW/minute and +700 MW/minute. Places in Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark may be 85.2% obscured. Temperature may decrease by 3 °C, and wind power may decrease as winds are reduced by 0.7 m/s.

Coincidence of events.

In addition to the eclipse, 20 March 2015 was also the day of the March equinox (also known as the spring or vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere). In addition, six supermoons were expected for 2015. The supermoon on 20 March 2015 was the third of the year; however, it was a new moon (near side facing away from the sun), and only its shadow was visible.  At greatest eclipse, the Sun was at its zenith less than 24 kilometers south of the Equator. Greatest eclipse occurred at 09:45:39 UTC of Friday, March 20, 2015 while March Equinox occurred at 22:45:09 UTC, just under 13 hours after the greatest eclipse (Greatest eclipse occurred in winter, 13 hours before spring).

Religious Significance.

Proponents of the Blood Moon Prophecy, such as Bob O'Dell also pointed out that 20 March 2015 was also a significant day on the Jewish and Biblical calendar. That evening was the onset of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month in the Biblical calendar year. Furthermore, the path of the total eclipse over the North Pole was a highly symbolic location infusing the day with both great natural significance and profound religious meaning according to O'Dell. Due to the significance of the eclipse, a global prayer event in Jerusalem was organized that day.

Eclipse visibility.

The event was visible as a partial eclipse all across Europe including: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, France, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Montenegro, Finland, Western Russia, and Ukraine.

Related eclipses.

Lunar eclipses.

A total lunar eclipse followed on April 4, 2015, visible over Australia, and the Pacific coast of Asia and North America.

A total solar eclipse occurred on March 20, 2015. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with a partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. This total solar eclipse is notable in that the path of totality passed over the North Pole. Totality was visible in the Faroe Islands and Svalbard.

L'éclipse solaire du est la neuvième éclipse totale du et le onzième passage de l’ombre de la Lune sur Terre.


Synthesis.

Mercuric chloride is obtained by the action of chlorine on mercury or on mercury(I) chloride. It can also be produced by the addition of hydrochloric acid to a hot, concentrated solution of mercury(I) compounds such as the nitrate:  Heating a mixture of solid mercury(II) sulfate and sodium chloride also affords volatile HgCl, which can be separated by sublimation.

Properties.

Mercuric chloride exists not as a salt composed of discrete ions, but rather is composed of linear triatomic molecules, hence its tendency to sublime. In the crystal, each mercury atom is bonded to two chloride ligands with Hg—Cl distance of 2.38 Å; six more chlorides are more distant at 3.38 Å.  Its solubility increases from 6% at to 36% in. In the presence of chloride ions, it dissolves to give the tetrahedral coordination complex [HgCl].

Applications.

The main application of mercuric chloride is as a catalyst for the conversion of acetylene to vinyl chloride, the precursor to polyvinylchloride: For this application, the mercuric chloride is supported on carbon in concentrations of about 5 weight percent. This technology has been eclipsed by the thermal cracking of 1,2-dichloroethane. Other significant applications of mercuric chloride include its use as a depolarizer in batteries and as a reagent in organic synthesis and analytical chemistry (see below). It is being used in plant tissue culture for surface sterilisation of explants such as leaf or stem nodes.

As a chemical reagent.

Mercuric chloride is occasionally used to form an amalgam with metals, such as aluminium. Upon treatment with an aqueous solution of mercuric chloride, aluminium strips quickly become covered by a thin layer of the amalgam. Normally, aluminium is protected by a thin layer of oxide, thus making it inert. Once amalgamated, aluminium can undergo a variety of reactions. For example, upon removal of the oxide layer, the exposed aluminium will immediately react with water generating Al(OH) and hydrogen gas. Halocarbons react with amalgamated aluminium in the Barbier reaction. These alkylaluminium compounds are nucleophilic and can be used in a similar fashion to the Grignard reagent. Amalgamated aluminium is also used as a reducing agent in organic synthesis. Zinc is also commonly amalgamated using mercuric chloride.  Mercuric chloride is used to remove dithiane groups attached to a carbonyl in an umpolung reaction. This reaction exploits the high affinity of Hg for anionic sulfur ligands.  Mercuric chloride may be used as a stabilising agent for chemicals and analytical samples. Care must be taken to ensure that detected mercuric chloride does not eclipse the signals of other components in the sample, such as is possible in gas chromatography.

Historical use in photography.

Mercury(II) chloride was used as a photographic intensifier to produce positive pictures in the collodion process of the 1800s. When applied to a negative, the mercury(II) chloride whitens and thickens the image, thereby increasing the opacity of the shadows and creating the illusion of a positive image.

Historical use in preservation.

For the preservation of anthropological and biological specimens during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, objects were dipped in or were painted with a "mercuric solution". This was done to prevent the specimens' destruction by moths, mites and mold. Objects in drawers were protected by scattering crystalline mercuric chloride over them. It finds minor use in tanning, and wood was preserved by kyanizing (soaking in mercuric chloride). Mercuric chloride was one of the three chemicals used for railroad tie wood treatment between 1830 and 1856 in Europe and the United States. Limited railroad ties were treated in the United States until there were concerns over lumber shortages in the 1890s. The process was generally abandoned because mercuric chloride was water-soluble and not effective for the long term, as well as being highly poisonous. Furthermore, alternative treatment processes, such as copper sulfate, zinc chloride, and ultimately creosote; were found to be less toxic. Limited kyanizing was used for some railroad ties in the 1890s and early 1900s.

Historic use in medicine.

Mercuric chloride was used to disinfect wounds by Arab physicians in the Middle Ages. It continued to be used by Arab doctors into the twentieth century, until modern medicine deemed it unsafe for use.  Syphilis was frequently treated with mercuric chloride before the advent of antibiotics. It was inhaled, ingested, injected, and applied topically. Both mercuric-chloride treatment for syphilis and poisoning during the course of treatment were so common that the latter's symptoms were often confused with those of syphilis. This use of "salts of white mercury" is referred to in the English-language folk song "The Unfortunate Rake".  Yaws was treated with mercuric chloride (labeled as Corrosive Sublimate) before the advent of antibiotics. It was applied topically to alleviate ulcerative symptoms. Evidence of this is found in Jack London's book "The Cruise of the Snark" in the chapter entitled The Amateur M.D.

Toxicity.

Mercuric chloride is extremely toxic, both acutely and as a cumulative poison. Its toxicity is due not just to its mercury content but also to its corrosive properties, which can cause serious internal damage, including ulcers to the stomach, mouth, and throat, and corrosive damage to the intestines. Mercuric chloride also tends to accumulate in the kidneys, causing severe corrosive damage which can lead to acute kidney failure. However, mercuric chloride, like all inorganic mercury salts, does not cross the blood-brain barrier as readily as organic mercury, although it is known to be a cumulative poison.  Common side effects of acute mercuric chloride poisoning include burning sensations in the mouth and throat, stomach pain, abdominal discomfort, lethargy, vomiting of blood, corrosive bronchitis, severe irritation to the gastrointestinal tract, and kidney failure. Chronic exposure can lead to symptoms more common with mercury poisoning, such as insomnia, delayed reflexes, excessive salivation, bleeding gums, fatigue, tremors, and dental problems.  Acute exposure to large amounts of mercuric chloride can cause death in as little as 24 hours, usually due to acute kidney failure or damage to the gastrointestinal tract. In other cases, victims of acute exposure have taken up to two weeks to die.

Mercury(II) chloride or mercuric chloride (historically "corrosive sublimate") is the chemical compound of mercury and chlorine with the formula HgCl. It is white crystalline solid and is a laboratory reagent and a molecular compound that is very toxic to humans. Once used as a treatment for syphilis, it is no longer used for medicinal purposes because of mercury toxicity and the availability of superior treatments.

Le chlorure de mercure(II) ou chlorure mercurique est le composé chimique de formule HgCl. Ce solide cristallin blanc est un réactif de laboratoire. Il était autrefois utilisé plus largement, cependant il est l'une des formes les plus toxiques du mercure parce qu'il est plus soluble dans l'eau que la plupart des autres composés du mercure.


Name.

In a 1279 document the mountain bore the name "Adwich"; Johannes Aventinus called it "Hädweg" in 1500; and, in 1540, "Ätwa". Philipp Apian referred to it as "Aetwha m.", i.e. "Aetwha mons "(mons, montis = Lat. mountain/hill); in 1720 it was recorded on a map as "Aidweich". According to more recent research, the name is of Celtic origin. In 1740 it is recorded for the first time as "Arber".

Geography.

Location.

The Großer Arber rises in the Rear Bavarian Forest on the boundary of the Upper Bavarian Forest Nature Park to the north and the Bavarian Forest Nature Park to the south. The boundary running close to the summit, which itself is in the municipality of Bayerisch Eisenstein, while its southwestern flank is in Bodenmais – both in the county of Regen. Its western slopes are in the municipality of Lohberg in the county of Cham.  The Großer Arber has four tops: the main top with its 1913 summit cross, the "Bodenmaiser Riegel" with its characteristic, often photographed "Richard Wagner Kopf", as well as the "Kleiner" and "Großer Seeriegel." Also part of the mountain group is the Little Arber (1,384 m).

Natural regions.

The Großer Arber is part of the natural regional major unit group of the Upper Palatine and Bavarian Forest (No. 40), in the major unit of the Rear Bavarian Forest (403), the sub-unit of the Arber-Kaitersberg Ridge (403.5) and the natural region of the "Arber Massif" (403.51).

Waterbodies.

On the southeastern flank of the Großer Arber lies the lake of Großer Arbersee and, to the northwest and north-northeast of the Kleiner Arber is the Kleiner Arbersee, which both lies within a nature reserve. Among the rivers and streams rising on the mountain are: two Arberbachs (one to the east and one to the south), the Geigenbach, Hirschaubach, Schwellbach, Seebach, Steinbach, Teufelsbach and Weidenbach. The Großer Regen flows past the mountain to the northeast, being fed near the mountain by the Arberseeback and Teufelsbach, and on the northwestern flank the White Regen drains the Kleiner Arbersee, which is fed by the Weidenbach.

Nature parks.

Since summer 1995 a full-time nature conservation presence has been active in the Bavarian Forest Nature Park in the area of the Großer Arber. Their management of the area is primarily focussed on the summit region, but also on the protected areas on the mountain as a contact partner for conservation questions and for guided tours. Among their tasks are visitor information, public relations and the monitoring of protected area regulations. Since 1999 another area support servicefor the Großer Arber has been provided by the neighbouring Upper Bavarian Forest Nature Park (focus: summit plateau and Kleiner Arbersee Nature Reserve).

Protected areas.

From the summit region of the Großer Arber, the nature reserve of the Great Arbersee and Arberseewand ("Großer Arbersee und Arberseewand", CDDA no. 163348; designated in 1939; 1.4857 km2) runs away to the southeast. Extending from the summit region to the northwest is the Little Arbersee Nature Reserve ("Kleiner Arbersee", CDDA no. 164117; 1998; 4.1059 km2). Near the mountain at the Riesloch Falls is the "Riesloch" nature reserve (CDDA no. 318989; 1939; 33.4 ha). On the mountain itself are parts of the protected landscapes of the Bavarian Forest ("Bayerischer Wald", CDDA no. 396098; 1983; 2310.1276 km2) and Upper Bavarian Forest ("Oberer Bayerischer Wald", CDDA no. 396128 1308.5616 km2), the Special Area of Conservation of the Great and Little Arber and Arber lakes ("Großer und Kleiner Arber mit Arberseen", FFH no. 6844-373; 22.952 km2) and the bird reserve of the Great and Little Arber and Schwarzeck ("Großer und Kleiner Arber mit Schwarzeck", VSG no. 6844-471; 35.4624 km2).

Fauna and flora.

The summit region of the Großer Arber does not rise above the natural tree line. Nevertheless, it as treeless and covered by subalpine calcareous grasses, rocky meadows ("Felsfluren") and mountain pine bushes, which occur nowhere else in the Bavarian Forest. The characteristic bird species of this region include the meadow pipit, alpine accentor, water pipit, ring ouzel and wheatear. To the north in the direction of Lam there is farmer-managed, selection cutting forest ("Plenterwald"), in the south towards Bodenmais is state forest.

Climate.

Overview.

The summit region of the Great Arber has an average of 160 days of frost and 150 days of snow cover per year. Because of late and early frosts, the vegetation period lasts little more than 100 days. The July temperature in the highest areas is 11 degrees. Of the approximately 1950 mm of annual precipitation, 40% falls as snow.

Arbermandl.

In winter the east wind together with ice snow forms the so-called "Arbermandl". The mountain pines and mountain spruces of the Great Arber freeze into bizarre and often comical-looking shapes. Cameraman Martin Lippl made a film about it in 1985. The recordings were made somewhat accidentally during a short break of sunshine during a blizzard. Elfie Pertramer later underscored these recordings with a mystical poem. Under the title "Voices from the Magic Forest" the film will be broadcast at the beginning of each year on Bavarian television in the programme "Zwischen Spessart und Karwendel".

History.

Since the 19th century, the Großer Arber and the extended woodlands down to Bayerisch Eisenstein with several former forest glassworks were owned by the princely House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. They procured the estate of the master glassworker, Hafenbrädl, in Böhmisch Eisenstein, later Markt Eisenstein, today Železná Ruda, and, in 1872, the estates in Bayerisch Eisenstein. In 1884, a wooden mountain hut was built by the Bavarian Forest Club. In 1903, the first hut was built on the summit. The current shingle-covered one was built in 1936 and extended in 1985.  As early as 1939, large parts of the area were put under protection, in order to save its uniqueness. During the Cold War, a military radar station was built at the top which is still in operation albeit at reduced level - see below.

Arber Chapel and Arber parish fair.

A little to the northwest and a few metres below the summit of the Great Arber stands the little Arber chapel dedicated to Saint Bartholomew the Apostle. The first chapel there was built in 1806 by the glassworks owner, Baron von Hafenbrädl. Since then the building has been renovated four times; the present one was built in 2015.  On the occasion of the centenary of the chapel's construction, Abbot Willibald Adam of Metten Abbey celebrated a mountain mass for the first time in the presence of 2,000 people on St. Bartholomew's Day in 1906. On 29 August 1965, the priest of Arber, Josef Kufner, celebrated another mass here, thus founding the first actual Arber parish fair ("Arberkirchweih"). Since then it has been celebrated every year on the penultimate Sunday in August. After mass, people meet for lunch in the Arber Hut; afterwards folk singers and musicians give performances.

Radar site.

Two buildings owned by the German Air Force together with their radomes are situated on the summit. The site was built during the Cold War, in the face of vehement protests by conservationists, close to the border with Czechoslovakia in order to monitor air traffic in the Eastern Bloc. The facility entered service in 1983, originally with two radar antennas. In 1996, it was converted and equipped with a large-capacity RRP 117 radar. Since then, the second tower has contained the transmitting and receiving antennas for radio communications. The Great Arber Air Defence Base is operated as part of the Integrated NATO Air Defence System.

Sport and leisure.

Hiking trails.

A footpath runs from Bodenmais to the top of the mountain. It begins at the walkers' car park of "Rissloch" and climbs up past the Riesloch Falls. The descent may be made past the Little Arber, past the waterfalls and ending back at the start. In addition, there are two tours - the Eight Thousanders Tour (""8-1000er Tour"") and the Twelve Thousanders Tour (""12-1000er Tour"") - which are hiking trails that include an ascent of the mountain along the E6 European long distance path as part of a walk that take in eight or twelve 1,000-metre-high mountains respectively.

Arberland Mountain Run.

On 10 June 2017 the Arberland Mountain Run took place, which also included the 2017 German Mountain Running Championships. 346 runners reached the finish line of the 13.8-kilometre course with a difference in altitude of 887 metres.

Arber Bergbahn and winter sports.

The lifts on the Grosser Arber are called the "Arber Bergbahn". The mountain has been turned into a winter sports area with several ski pistes. On 17 September 1949, the first chairlift was opened on the mountain. The systematic renewal of the lifts in recent years, the construction of a 6-seater gondola lift and the construction of two, six-seater chair lifts have made the mountain's ski area the most modern in the Bavarian Forest. In summer operation, the gondolas transports hikers and tourists to the summit.  Slalom and giant slalom competitions have been held on the mountain for the Alpine Ski European Cup since 1973 and, for the Alpine Ski World Cup, since 1976. The races were sponsored by the German Ski Association and alternated between Ofterschwang, Zwiesel and Berchtesgaden. Since 2011, no more ski world cups have taken place there, and according to the responsible organising committee no further races are planned for the foreseeable future.

The Großer Arber ();, "Great Maple") or Great Arber, is the highest peak of the Bavarian/Bohemian Forest mountain range and in Lower Bavaria, with an elevation of. As a result, it is known in the Lower Bavarian county of Regen and the Upper Palatine county of Cham as the "King of the Bavarian Forest". Its summit region consists of paragneiss.

Le Großer Arber est le sommet le plus élevé de la crête montagneuse de la Forêt de Bavière, entre la Bavière et la Bohême. Situé en Allemagne, il culmine à d'altitude. Il est surnommé le « roi de la Forêt de Bavière » (en allemand : "König des Bayerischen Waldes")


Background.

Sparta and its allies, with the exception of Corinth, were almost exclusively land based powers, able to summon large land armies that were very nearly unbeatable. In the face of a combined campaign on land from Sparta and its allies beginning in 431 BC, the Athenians, under the direction of Pericles, pursued a policy of retreat within the city walls of Athens, relying on Athenian maritime supremacy for supply while the superior Athenian navy harassed Spartan troop movements. Unfortunately, the strategy also resulted in massive migration from the Attic countryside into an already highly-populated city, generating overpopulation and resource shortage. Due to the close quarters and poor hygiene exhibited at that time, Athens became a breeding ground for disease and many citizens died. In the history of epidemics, the 'Plague' of Athens is remarkable for the one-sidedness of the affliction as well as for its influence on the ultimate outcome of the war.  In his "History of the Peloponnesian War", the historian Thucydides, who was present and contracted the disease himself and survived, describes the epidemic. He writes of a disease coming from Ethiopia and passing through Egypt and Libya into the Greek world and spreading throughout the wider Mediterranean; a plague so severe and deadly that no one could recall anywhere its like, and physicians ignorant of its nature not only were helpless but themselves died the fastest, having had the most contact with the sick. In overcrowded Athens, the disease killed an estimated 25% of the population. The sight of the burning funeral pyres of Athens caused the Spartans to withdraw their troops, being unwilling to risk contact with the diseased enemy. Many of Athens' infantry and expert seamen died. According to Thucydides, not until 415 BC had Athens recovered sufficiently to mount a major offensive, the disastrous Sicilian Expedition.  The first corroboration of the plague was not revealed until 1994-95 where excavation revealed the first mass grave. Upon this discovery, Thucydides' accounts of the event as well as analysis of the remains had been used to try and identify the cause of the epidemic.

Social implications.

Accounts of the Athenian plague graphically describe the social consequences of an epidemic. Thucydides' account clearly details the complete disappearance of social morals during the time of the plague:  This perceived impact of the Athenian plague on collective social and religious behavior echoes accounts of the medieval pandemic best known as the Black Death, although scholars have disputed its objective veracity in both instances, citing a historical link between epidemic disease and unsubstantiated moral panic.

Fear of the law.

Thucydides states that people ceased fearing the law since they felt they were already living under a death sentence. Likewise, people started spending money indiscriminately. Many felt they would not live long enough to enjoy the fruits of wise investment, while some of the poor unexpectedly became wealthy by inheriting the property of their relatives. It is also recorded that people refused to behave honorably because most did not expect to live long enough to enjoy a good reputation for it.

Care for the sick and dead.

Another reason for the lack of honorable behavior was the sheer contagiousness of the illness. Those who tended to the ill were most vulnerable to catching the disease. This meant that many people died alone because no one was willing to risk caring for them. The dead were heaped on top of each other, left to rot, or shoved into mass graves. Sometimes those carrying the dead would come across an already burning funeral pyre, dump a new body on it, and walk away. Others appropriated prepared pyres so as to have enough fuel to cremate their own dead. Those lucky enough to survive the plague developed an immunity and so became the main caretakers of those who later fell ill.  A mass grave and nearly 1,000 tombs, dated between 430 and 426 BC, have been found just outside Athens' ancient Kerameikos cemetery. The mass grave was bordered by a low wall that seems to have protected the cemetery from a wetland. Excavated during 1994–95, the shaft-shaped grave may have contained a total of 240 individuals, at least ten of them children. Skeletons in the graves were randomly placed with no layers of soil between them.  Excavator Efi Baziotopoulou-Valavani, of the Third Ephoreia (Directorate) of Antiquities, reported that "[t]he mass grave did not have a monumental character. The offerings we found consisted of common, even cheap, burial vessels; black-finished ones, some small red-figured, as well as white lekythoi (oil flasks) of the second half of the 5th century BC. The bodies were placed in the pit within a day or two. These [factors] point to a mass burial in a state of panic, quite possibly due to a plague."  During this time refugees from the Peloponnesian war had immigrated within the Long Walls of Athens, inflating the populations of both the polis of Athens and the port of Piraeus. The population had tripled in this time increasing chance of infection along with poor hygiene.

Religious strife.

The plague also caused religious uncertainty and doubt. Since the disease struck without regard to a person's piety toward the gods, people felt abandoned by the gods and there seemed to be no benefit to worshiping them. The temples themselves were sites of great misery, as refugees from the Athenian countryside had been forced to find accommodation in the temples. Soon the sacred buildings were filled with the dead and dying. The Athenians pointed to the plague as evidence that the gods favored Sparta, and this was supported by an oracle that Apollo himself (the god of disease and medicine) would fight for Sparta if they fought with all their might. An earlier oracle had warned that "A Dorian [Spartan] war will come, and bring a pestilence with it".  Thucydides is skeptical of these conclusions and believes that people were simply being superstitious. He relies upon the prevailing medical theory of the day, Hippocratic theory, and strives to gather evidence through direct observation. He notes that carrion-eating birds and animals disappeared as a result, though he leaves it an open question whether they died after eating the corpses or refused to eat them and were driven away:

Aftermath.

The plague was an unforeseen event that resulted in one of the largest recorded loss of life in ancient Greece as well as a breakdown of Athenian society. The balance of power between citizens had changed due to many of the rich dying and their fortunes being inherited by remaining relatives of the lower class. According to Thucydides, those who had become ill and survived were the most sympathetic to others suffering: believing that they could no longer succumb to any illness, a number of survivors offered to assist with the remaining sick. The plague had also contributed to Athens' overall loss of power and ability to expand. Many of the remaining Athenians were found to be metics who had forged their documentation or had bribed officials to hide their original status. A number of these people were reduced to slaves once they were caught. This resulted in stricter laws dictating who can become an Athenian citizen, reducing both their number of potential soldiers and amount of political power, but also a decline in treatment and rights for metics in Athens.  The plague dealt massive damage to Athens two years into the Peloponnesian War, from which it never recovered. Their political strength had weakened and morale among their armies as well as the citizens had fallen significantly. Athens would then go on to be defeated by Sparta and fall from being a major superpower in Ancient Greece.

Symptoms.

According to Thucydides, the Plague of Athens, the illness began by showing symptoms in the head as it worked its way through the rest of the body. He also describes in detail the symptoms victims of the plague experienced.

Possible causes.

Historians have long tried to identify the disease behind the Plague of Athens. The disease has traditionally been considered an outbreak of the bubonic plague in its many forms, but reconsideration of the reported symptoms and epidemiology have led scholars to advance alternative explanations. These include typhus, smallpox, measles, and toxic shock syndrome. Based upon striking descriptive similarities with recent outbreaks in Africa, as well as the fact that the Athenian plague itself apparently came from Africa (as Thucydides recorded), Ebola or a related viral hemorrhagic fever has been considered.  Given the possibility that profiles of a known disease may have changed over time, or that the plague was caused by a disease that no longer exists, the exact nature of the Athenian plague may never be known. In addition, crowding caused by the influx of refugees into the city led to inadequate food and water supplies and a probable proportionate increase in insects, lice, rats, and waste. These conditions would have encouraged more than one epidemic disease during the outbreak.

Typhus.

In January 1999, the University of Maryland devoted their fifth annual medical conference, dedicated to notorious case histories, to the Plague of Athens. They concluded that the disease that killed the Greeks was typhus. "Epidemic typhus fever is the best explanation," said Dr. David Durack, consulting professor of medicine at Duke University. "It hits hardest in times of war and privation, it has about 20 percent mortality, it kills the victim after about seven days, and it sometimes causes a striking complication: gangrene of the tips of the fingers and toes. The Plague of Athens had all these features." In typhus cases, progressive dehydration, debilitation and cardiovascular collapse ultimately cause the patient's death.  This medical opinion is supported by the opinion of A. W. Gomme, who wrote a comprehensive annotated edition of Thucydides and who also believed typhus was the cause of the epidemic. This opinion is expressed in his monumental work "Historic Comments on Thucydides", completed after Gomme's death by A. Andrewes and K. J. Dover. Angelos Vlachos (), a member of the Academy of Athens and a diplomat, in his "Remarks on Thucydides" (, [1992] I: 177–178) acknowledges and supports Gomme's opinion: "Today, according to Gomme, it is generally acceptable that it was typhus" (""). The theory has also found support recent in a study of the plague by Greek epidemiologists.

Typhoid.

Symptoms.

Symptoms generally associated with typhoid resemble Thucydides' description. They include:  Some characteristics of typhoid are at clear variance from Thucydides' description. Scavenger animals do not die from infection with typhoid, the onset of fever in typhoid is typically slow and subtle, and typhoid generally kills later in the disease course. As typhoid is most commonly transmitted through poor hygiene habits and public sanitation conditions in crowded urban areas, it is an unlikely cause of a plague emerging in the less urbanized Africa, as reported by Thucydides.

DNA analysis.

A 2005 DNA study of dental pulp from teeth recovered from an ancient Greek burial pit, led by the orthodontist Dr. Manolis Papagrigorakis of the University of Athens, found DNA sequences similar to those of "Salmonella enterica" ("S. enterica"), the organism that causes typhoid fever.  A second group of researchers, including American evolutionary molecular biologist Dr. Beth Shapiro of the University of California, Santa Cruz, disputed the Papagrigorakis team's findings, citing what they claim are serious methodological flaws. In a letter to the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, Shapiro et al. stated that "while this DNA analysis confirms that the Athens sequence is possibly "Salmonella", it demonstrates clearly that it is not typhoid."  The technique used by the Papagrigorakis team (PCR) has shown itself to be prone to contamination-induced false-positive results, and the source burial site is known to have been heavily trafficked in antiquity by hogs, carriers of another "Salmonella" serovar that may have been confused with the one that causes typhoid fever. Nonetheless, the Papagrigorakis team assert that the basis of this refutation is flimsy, and that the methodology used by the Shapiro team has historically produced conflicting results.

Viral hemorrhagic fever.

Thucydides' narrative pointedly refers to increased risk among caregivers, more typical of the person-to-person contact spread of viral hemorrhagic fever (e.g., Ebola virus disease or Marburg virus) than typhus or typhoid. Unusual in the history of plagues during military operations, besieging Spartan troops are described as not having been afflicted by the illness raging near them within the city. Thucydides' description further invites comparison with VHF in the character and sequence of symptoms developed, and of the usual fatal outcome on about the eighth day. Some scientists have interpreted Thucydides' expression "" () as the unusual symptom of hiccups, which is now recognized as a common finding in Ebola virus disease. Outbreaks of VHF in Africa in 2012 and 2014 reinforced observations of the increased hazard to caregivers and the necessity of barrier precautions for preventing disease spread related to grief rituals and funerary rites. The 2015 west African Ebola outbreak noted persistence of effects on genitalia and eyes in some survivors, both described by Thucydides. With an up to 21-day clinical incubation period, and up to 565-day infectious potential recently demonstrated in a semen-transmitted infection, movement of Ebola via Nile commerce into the busy port of Piraeus is plausible. Ancient Greek intimacy with African sources is reflected in accurate renditions of monkeys in art of frescoes and pottery, most notably guenons ("Cercopithecus"), the type of primates responsible for transmitting Marburg virus into Germany and Yugoslavia when that disease was first characterized in 1967. Circumstantially tantalizing is the requirement for the large quantity of ivory used in the Athenian sculptor Phidias’ two monumental ivory and gold statues of Athena and of Zeus (one of the Seven Wonders), which were fabricated in the same decade. Never again in antiquity was ivory used on such a large scale.  A second ancient narrative suggesting hemorrhagic fever etiology is that of Titus Lucretius Carus. Writing in the 1st century BC, Lucretius characterized the Athenian plague as having "bloody" or black discharges from bodily orifices. Lucretius cited and was an admirer of scientific predecessors in Greek Sicily Empedocles and Acron. While none of the original works of Acron, a physician, are extant, it is reported that he died c. 430 BC after travel to Athens to combat the plague.  Unfortunately DNA sequence-based identification is limited by the inability of some important pathogens to leave a "footprint" retrievable from archaeological remains after several millennia. The lack of a durable signature by RNA viruses means some etiologies, notably the hemorrhagic fever viruses, are not testable hypotheses using currently available scientific techniques.

The Plague of Athens (, ) was an epidemic that devastated the city-state of Athens in ancient Greece during the second year of the Peloponnesian War (430 BC) when an Athenian victory still seemed within reach. The plague killed an estimated 75,000 to 100,000 people and is believed to have entered Athens through Piraeus, the city's port and sole source of food and supplies. Much of the eastern Mediterranean also saw an outbreak of the disease, albeit with less impact.

La peste d'Athènes est le nom traditionnel sous lequel est désignée une épidémie qui toucha par vagues la Grèce antique de 430 à 426 av. J.-C. Elle éclata au début de la saison chaude et sèche de 430, s'affaiblit et modéra ses atteintes pendant deux ans, fut endémique en 428 et 427, avec une recrudescence au début de l'hiver 427, pour disparaître dans les derniers mois de l'an 426. Elle a été rapportée par Thucydide, dans le Livre II de son "Histoire de la guerre du Péloponnèse", dans un texte d'importance emblématique qui n'a cessé de susciter l'intérêt des philosophes, des historiens et des médecins.


Amateur career.

Snider played for the Mill Creek Little League team at 1999 Little League Western Regional Tournament in San Bernardino, California. He attended Henry M. Jackson High School, where he played as an outfielder for the baseball team and as a running back and linebacker in football.

Professional career.

Toronto Blue Jays.

The Toronto Blue Jays selected Snider in the first round, with the 14th overall selection, of the 2006 MLB Draft. Snider began his professional career in 2006 with the Pulaski Blue Jays in the Appalachian League. He excelled in his debut and ended up winning the Short Season Player of The Year honors for Appalachian League. In 2007, he was promoted to the Class A Lansing Lugnuts, he spent the whole season in Lansing and led the league in many hitting categories and he represented Lansing in the 2007 Midwest League All-Star Game.  Snider began the 2008 season with the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League. Coming out of spring training he had suffered an injury to his throwing elbow so for the first portion of the season he was the team's designated hitter exclusively. Snider performed well in High A and he was promoted to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Eastern League on May 21, 2008. Initially at Double-A, Snider struggled but as he regained his health and started to play in the outfield again he began hitting well. Snider won the Eastern League Home Run Derby with an impressive performance, hitting 10 home runs in the semifinals in front of a record crowd at the Fisher Cats stadium. Snider was nicknamed "the Franchise" by New Hampshire Union Leader reporter Kevin Gray. On August 6, 2008 the Blue Jays promoted Snider to Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs of the International League. Snider continued to play well at Triple-A and would only play 18 games at that level before being promoted.

2008–2010.

Snider was promoted to the Toronto Blue Jays on August 29, 2008, and became the youngest position player in the majors. He made his debut later that day, playing left field and batting ninth at Yankee Stadium. Facing Carl Pavano, Snider lined out to shortstop in his first at-bat. He later doubled off Pavano for his first big-league hit. On September 4, 2008, Snider launched his first career home run at Rogers Centre off Kevin Slowey of the Minnesota Twins. Snider is the fourth youngest Blue Jay to hit a home run. After his first season with Toronto, he finished hitting.301 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 24 games.  Baseball America ranked Snider sixth on their annual ranking of the best baseball prospects, moving him up five spots from the previous year's rankings.  He had a home run and double on Opening Day, 2009. He had his first two home run game on April 13, 2009 against the Minnesota Twins and became the youngest player in Blue Jays history to hit two home runs in a game. He was sent back to Triple-A Las Vegas 51s in May, after a prolonged hitting slump, but was recalled by the Blue Jays in August, going on to hit a home run in his next at-bat.  On August 1, 2010, he became the first Blue Jays player since 1978 to hit 2 doubles in one inning against the New York Yankees (pitchers A. J. Burnett and Boone Logan). This was part of an AL record tying 6 doubles in an inning by the Toronto Blue Jays.

2011.

After opening the season with just a.184 batting average with 1 home run and 12 RBI through 25 games, Snider was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on April 28. On July 3 Travis was recalled by the Blue Jays. On the nights of July 8 and 20th, 2011, Snider had 5 RBI – a career best. On August 4, Snider was optioned back to Triple-A Las Vegas to make room for Brett Lawrie. He was diagnosed with tendinitis in his right wrist on August 25, ending his 2011 season.

2012.

Snider was a spring training invitee, but was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas before the end of spring. He was in competition with Eric Thames for the starting left field position. He was recalled to the Blue Jays on July 20. Mid-game against the Seattle Mariners on July 30, Snider was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for pitcher Brad Lincoln.

Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 50 games with the Pirates to finish 2012, Snider hit.250 with 1 HR and 9 RBI.

2013.

Snider began 2013 in a platoon in right field with José Tábata, with Garrett Jones also getting occasional starts when he wasn't at first base. The platoon dissolved when Tábata went on the disabled list with a strained oblique, and Snider got most of the starts during Tábata's stint on the DL. To that point, Snider was hitting.252 with 2 HR, 14 RBI and 31 strikeouts. After hitting.171 in June, Snider was relegated to a pinch-hitting role upon Tábata's return on July 3. On July 28, Snider was placed on the disabled list with discomfort in his left big toe, which had been bothering him for over a month. Snider was activated from the disabled list when the rosters expanded on September 1, and was used in a pinch-hitting role to finish the season. In 111 games (53 starts) in 2013, Snider hit.215/.281/.333 with 5 HR and 25 RBI.

2014.

On June 18, 2014, Snider pitched the top of 9th inning. He allowed two runs, one hit, and two walks in that inning but managed to strike out Joey Votto. Snider finished the 2014 season with a.264 average with 13 home runs and 38 RBIs in 140 games.

Baltimore Orioles.

On January 27, 2015, Snider was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for minor league pitcher Stephen Tarpley and a player to be named later, eventually revealed as minor league pitcher Steven Brault. He was designated for assignment on August 7, and released on August 15.

Second stint with the Pirates.

On August 19, 2015, Snider signed a minor league deal to return to the Pirates. He elected free agency on October 22.

Kansas City Royals.

On January 30, 2016, Snider signed a minor league contact with the Kansas City Royals, with an invitation to spring training. He was released on March 30, and re-signed to a minor league contract on April 1. He was released on July 30, 2016.

Texas Rangers.

On January 6, 2017, Snider signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers.

New York Mets.

On August 15, 2017, the Rangers traded Snider to the New York Mets for cash. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Long Island Ducks.

On April 5, 2018, Snider signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He became a free agent following the 2018 season.

Arizona Diamondbacks.

On January 10, 2019, Snider signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He elected free agency on November 7, 2019. On January 15, 2020, Snider re-signed with the Diamondbacks organization, and was released in late May.

Personal life.

From Lynnwood, Washington, Snider faced many challenges in his teen years. In a two-year span he had lost two grandparents, a coach, and a close friend. He then later lost his mother in an accident. Snider says this made his teen years tough but also helped him work hard to get to the major leagues.

Travis James Snider (born February 2, 1988) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Baltimore Orioles.

Travis James Snider (né le à Kirkland, Washington, États-Unis) est un joueur de champ extérieur de la Ligue majeure de baseball.


History.

Niemcza is historically one of the most important towns of Silesia. The oldest traces date back to the Bronze Age. Between 1000 and 800 B.C. people of the Lusatian culture fortified the so-called "city hill" and incorporated this fortification into their Silesian defence system. This fort was probably destroyed during a battle against the Scythian around 500 BC. Members of the Germanic Silingi tribe who did not participate in the Migration Period but stayed in Silesia chose the place in the 4th century as their fortified center of a Germanic settlement area between "mons Silencii" (Ślęża) and the river "Selenca" (Ślęza). Slavs arrived after the 6th century and called this place "Nemci" ( = mute, metaphorically "those who do not speak our language"). Thietmar of Merseburg later described "Nemzi" as "eo quod a nostris olim sitcondita, dicta" (Nemzi is called like that because it is, according to reports, founded by our people). The settlement was expanded and evolved into the center of the Ślężanie district.  In early times Niemcza became an important base in Bohemias fight for Silesia. After 990 it was seized by Poland under first historic ruler Mieszko I of Poland and withstood both emperor Henry II. in 1017 (Siege of Niemcza) and a major offensive of Bohemia in 1093. In 1137, the Polish and Czech rulers, Bolesław III Wrymouth and Soběslav I, met in Niemcza. In 1152 the overthrown Polish ruler Władysław II the Exile stayed in Niemcza. After 1155 it became the center of a Piast castellany district. This preurban civitas consisted of a settlement enclosed by imposing ramparts in great-moravian design (the only one in Silesia), the castellany castle with St. Peter chapel, first mentioned in 1288/95, and a market place around St. Adalbert church, one of the oldest churches of Silesia, outside and to the west of the ramparts. The area was surrounded by several manors.  The German Ostsiedlung reached Niemcza and the surrounding area already in 1210. The settlement however grew only slow as the new German town was founded directly on the soil of the cramped old Polish urbs, whereas the more spacious market place around St. Adalbert was remodeled to a village. In 1282, Duke Henry IV Probus granted Niemcza town rights, although it is possible that town rights were granted earlier. Remarkable was the establishment of the parish church St. Marien, which in 1295 was assigned to both Poles and Germans for shared and separate usage. Before 1300 a new city wall was built, which is in parts preserved. At the same time the wooden castellany castle was replaced by a stone castle, and a city hall was first mentioned in 1474. With the partition of the Duchy of Wrocław in 1311 the town passed to the Duchy of Brzeg. In 1322 both the town and municipal area (Weichbild) became a pledged possession of the Duchy of Świdnica, whose duke Bolko I. used the strategic position of Niemcza in his fight against Bohemia. In 1331 Niemcza was successfully defended during the Czech invasion of King John of Bohemia. After 1392 the duchy of Świdnica was dissolved, Niemcza came back to the duchy of Brzeg, which in 1419 was reunited with the Duchy of Legnica and remained under the rule of the Piast dynasty until 1675, although under Bohemian suzerainty. The Hussites seized Niemcza/Nimptsch in 1430 and held the town for several years. After six unsuccessful sieges it was returned in 1434 and razed to the ground by the burghers of Wrocław. In 1455 duchess Hedwig of Legnica confirmed the town rights of Niemcza. In 1481 the administration of the municipal area was moved to Białobrzezie. Nimptsch, which was equipped below average, enclosed by noble properties, on the periphery of the municipal area, in the extreme western corner of the duchy and close to the far more successful foundations of Reichenbach (Dzierżoniów) and Frankenstein (Ząbkowice Śląskie), could never overcome such backlashes. A moderate recovery, marked by the reconstruction of the town wall, the modernisation of the,never used, ducal residence, the rebuilding of St. Adalbert as the Protestant church St. George in 1612 and the awarding of several town rights, was stopped by the Thirty Years' War. During the war, in 1625 a plague epidemic broke out, and in the 1630s the town was destroyed and plundered by foreign troops. In 1635 Daniel Casper von Lohenstein was born in the residence, the only building not destroyed during this war. Only 12 out of 103 landlords of Nimpsch survived firestorm and pest. In 1642 the town hall was rebuilt.  The slow rebuilding, with the help of immigrated Bohemians, was again stopped by several major fires, which destroyed the town hall and parts of the residence. After the extinction of the local Piasts in 1675 the counter-reformation obtained the tension-filled reestablishment of a Catholic commune. At the same time Nimptsch became a center of sacred music thanks to Protestant cantor Johann Heinrich Quiel. In 1742 it was annexed by Kingdom of Prussia, and from 1871 to 1945 it was part of Germany. In 1832 and 1846, Protestant and Catholic schools were built. In 1940, the Germans established a forced labour camp in the town, and in 1944 also the "AL Nimptsch" subcamp of the Groß-Rosen concentration camp, whose prisoners were mostly Poles. After the defeat of Nazi Germany Nimptsch passed to Poland and the historic Polish name "Niemcza" was restored. The German inhabitants were expelled and the town was resettled with Poles, many of whom where themselves expelled from former eastern Polish territories, annexed by the Soviet Union. Also Greeks, refugees of the Greek Civil War, settled in Niemcza in the 1950s. The town wasn't destroyed in World War II. Of the three preserved historical buildings at that time the Renaissance octagon of the residence and the Catholic Church are decayed and demolished. St. George is preserved, as well as the late Baroque residential buildings on the market place ("Rynek").  The town suffered in the 1997 Central European flood.

Twin towns – sister cities.

See twin towns of Gmina Niemcza.

Niemcza () is a town in Dzierżoniów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Niemcza.

Niemcza (en ) est une ville historique de la voïvodie de Basse-Silésie, dans le Sud-Ouest de la Pologne. Elle est le chef-lieu de la commune ("gmina") de Niemcza dans le powiat de Dzierżoniów.


Synthesis and reactions.

By oxidation of thioethers and sulfoxides.

Sulfones are typically prepared by organic oxidation of thioethers, often referred to as sulfides. Sulfoxides are intermediates in this route. For example, dimethyl sulfide oxidizes to dimethyl sulfoxide and then to dimethyl sulfone.

From SO.

Sulfur dioxide is a convenient and widely used source of the sulfonyl functional group. Specifically, Sulfur dioxide participates in cycloaddition reactions with dienes. The industrially useful solvent sulfolane is prepared by addition of sulfur dioxide to buta-1,3-diene followed by hydrogenation of the resulting sulfolene.

From sulfonyl and sulfuryl halides.

Sulfones are prepared under conditions used for Friedel–Crafts reactions using sources of RSO derived from sulfonyl halides and sulfonic acid anhydrides. Lewis acid catalysts such as AlCl and FeCl are required.  Sulfones have been prepared by nucleophilic displacement of halides by sulfinates:

Reactions.

Sulfone is a relatively inert functional group, being weakly basic (compared to sulfoxides). They are non-oxidizing. In the Ramberg–Bäcklund reaction and the Julia olefination, sulfones are converted to alkenes by the elimination of sulfur dioxide.

Applications.

Sulfolane is used to extract valuable aromatic compounds from petroleum.

Polymers.

Some polymers containing sulfone groups are useful engineering plastics. They exhibit high strength and resistance to oxidation, corrosion, high temperatures, and creep under stress. For example, some are valuable as replacements for copper in domestic hot water plumbing. Precursors to such polymers are the sulfones bisphenol S and 4,4′-dichlorodiphenyl sulfone.

Pharmacology.

Examples of sulfones in pharmacology include dapsone, a drug formerly used as an antibiotic to treat leprosy, dermatitis herpetiformis, tuberculosis, or pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP). Several of its derivatives, such as promin, have similarly been studied or actually been applied in medicine, but in general sulfones are of far less prominence in pharmacology than for example the sulfonamides.

A sulfone is a chemical compound containing a sulfonyl functional group attached to two carbon atoms. The central hexavalent sulfur atom is double-bonded to each of two oxygen atoms and has a single bond to each of two carbon atoms, usually in two separate hydrocarbon substituents.

Une sulfone est un composé organique contenant un groupe sulfonyle de formule générique. La diméthylsulfone est un exemple de sulfone.