title: Zagreb

text: In Middle Latin and Modern Latin, Zagreb is known as "Agranum" (the name of an unrelated Arabian city in Strabo), "Zagrabia" or "Mons Graecensis" (also "Mons Crecensis", in reference to "Grič" (Gradec)).


title: Zagreb

text: In Croatian folk etymology, the name of the city has been derived from either the verb "za-grab-", meaning "to scoop" or "to dig". One folk legend illustrating this derivation


title: Zagreb

text: ties the name to a drought of the early 14th century, during which Augustin Kažotić (c. 1260–1323) is said to have dug a well which miraculously produced water.


title: Zagreb

text: In another legend, a city governor is thirsty and orders a girl named Manda to "scoop" water from the Manduševac well (nowadays a fountain in Ban Jelačić Square), using the imperative: "Zagrabi, Mando!" ("Scoop, Manda!").


title: Zagreb

text: The oldest settlement located near today's Zagreb was the Roman town of Andautonia, now Ščitarjevo, which existed between the 1st and the 5th century AD.


title: Zagreb

text: The first recorded appearance of the name Zagreb is dated to 1094, at which time the city existed as two different city centers: the smaller, eastern Kaptol, inhabited mainly by clergy and housing Zagreb Cathedral, and the larger, western Gradec, inhabited mainly by craftsmen and merchants. Gradec and Kaptol were united in 1851 by ban Josip Jelačić, who was credited for this by naming the main city square, Ban Jelačić Square in his honor.


title: Zagreb

text: During the period of former Yugoslavia, Zagreb remained an important economic centre of the country, and was the second largest city. After Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia, Zagreb was proclaimed its capital.


title: Zagreb

text: The history of Zagreb dates as far back as 1094 A.D. when the Hungarian King Ladislaus, returning from his campaign against Croatia, founded a diocese. Alongside the bishop's see, the canonical settlement Kaptol developed north of Zagreb Cathedral, as did the fortified settlement Gradec on the neighbouring hill; the border between the two being the Medveščak stream. Today the latter is Zagreb's Upper Town (Gornji Grad) and is one of the best preserved urban nuclei in Croatia. Both settlements came under Tatar attack in 1242. As a sign of gratitude for offering him a safe haven from the Tatars the Croatian and Hungarian King Béla IV bestowed Gradec with a Golden Bull, which offered its citizens exemption from county rule and autonomy, as well as its own judicial system.


title: Zagreb

text: There were numerous connections between the Kaptol diocese and the free sovereign town of Gradec for both economic and political reasons, but they weren't known as an integrated city, even as Zagreb became the political center and, representing both Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, first convened at Gradec. Zagreb became Croatian capital in 1557, with city also being chosen as the seat of the Ban of Croatia in 1621 under ban Nikola IX Frankopan.


title: Zagreb

text: At the invitation of the Croatian Parliament, the Jesuits came to Zagreb and built the first grammar school, the St. Catherine's Church and monastery. In 1669, they founded an academy where philosophy, theology, and law were taught, the forerunner of today's University of Zagreb.


title: Zagreb

text: During the 17th and 18th centuries, Zagreb was badly devastated by fire and the plague. In 1776, the royal council (government) moved from Varaždin to Zagreb and during the reign of Joseph II Zagreb became the headquarters of the Varaždin and Karlovac general command.


title: Zagreb

text: In the 19th century, Zagreb was the center of the Croatian National Revival and saw the erection of important cultural and historic institutions.


title: Zagreb

text: The first railway line to connect Zagreb with Zidani Most and Sisak was opened in 1862 and in 1863 Zagreb received a gasworks. The Zagreb waterworks was opened in 1878.


title: Zagreb

text: After the 1880 Zagreb earthquake, up to the 1914 outbreak of World War I, development flourished and the town received the characteristic layout which it has today.


title: Zagreb

text: The first horse-drawn tram was used in 1891. The construction of the railway lines enabled the old suburbs to merge gradually into Donji Grad, characterized by a regular block pattern that prevails in Central European cities. This bustling core hosts many imposing buildings, monuments, and parks as well as a multitude of museums, theatres, and cinemas. An electric power plant was built in 1907.


title: Zagreb

text: Since 1 January 1877, the Grič cannon is fired daily from the Lotrščak Tower on Grič to mark midday. The first half of the 20th century saw a considerable expansion of Zagreb. Before World War I, the city expanded and neighborhoods like Stara Peščenica in the east and Črnomerec in the west were created. After the war, working-class districts such as Trnje emerged between the railway and the Sava, whereas the construction of residential districts on the hills of the southern slopes of Medvednica was completed between the two World Wars.


title: Zagreb

text: In the 1920s, the population of Zagreb increased by 70 percent – the largest demographic boom in the history of the town. In 1926, the first radio station in the region began broadcasting from Zagreb, and in 1947 the Zagreb Fair was opened.


title: Zagreb

text: During World War II, Zagreb became the capital of the Independent State of Croatia, which was backed by Nazi Germany and the Italians. The history of Zagreb in World War II became rife with incidents of regime terror and resistance sabotage, and the Ustaša regime had thousands of people executed during the war in and near the city. The city was taken by the Partisans at the end of the war. From 1945 until 1990, Zagreb was the capital of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, one of the six constituent socialist republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.


title: Zagreb

text: The area between the railway and the Sava river witnessed a new construction boom after World War II. After the mid-1950s, construction of new residential areas south of the Sava river began, resulting in Novi Zagreb (Croatian for "New Zagreb"), originally called "Južni Zagreb" ("Southern Zagreb").


title: Zagreb

text: Today Novi Zagreb is divided in two city districts: Novi Zagreb – zapad ("New Zagreb – West") and Novi Zagreb – istok ("New Zagreb – East")


title: Zagreb

text: The city also expanded westward and eastward, incorporating Dubrava, Podsused, Jarun, Blato, and other settlements.


title: Zagreb

text: The cargo railway hub and the international airport Pleso were built south of the Sava river. The largest industrial zone (Žitnjak) in the south-eastern part of the city represents an extension of the industrial zones on the eastern outskirts of the city, between the Sava and the Prigorje region. Zagreb also hosted the Summer Universiade in 1987. This event initiated the creation of pedestrian-only zones in the city centre and numerous new sport infrastructure, lacking until then, all around the city.


title: Zagreb

text: During the 1991–1995 Croatian War of Independence, it was a scene of some sporadic fighting surrounding its JNA army barracks, but escaped major damage. In May 1995, it was targeted by Serb rocket artillery in two rocket attacks which killed seven civilians and wounded many.


title: Zagreb

text: An urbanized area connects Zagreb with the surrounding towns of Zaprešić, Samobor, Dugo Selo, and Velika Gorica. Sesvete was the first and the closest area to become a part of the agglomeration and is already included in the City of Zagreb for administrative purposes and now forms the easternmost city district.


title: Zagreb

text: In 2020 the city was hit by a 5.5 magnitude earthquake. Various buildings in the historic downtown area were damaged. The city's iconic cathedral lost the cross off of one of its towers. This earthquake was the strongest one to affect the city since the destructive 1880 Zagreb earthquake.


title: Zagreb

text: The climate of Zagreb is classified as an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification "Cfb") with significant continental influences, very closely bordering on a humid continental climate ("Dfa"/"Dfb") as well as a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa"). Zagreb has four separate seasons. Summers are generally warm, sometimes hot. In late May it gets significantly warmer, temperatures start rising and it is often very warm or even hot with occasional afternoon and evening thunderstorms. Heatwaves can occur but are short-lived. Temperatures rise above on average 14.6 days each summer. Rainfall is abundant in summertime, falling mainly during thunderstorms. With 840 mm of precipitation per year, Zagreb is Europe's ninth wettest capital, receiving less precipitation than Luxembourg but more than Brussels, Paris or London. Compared to these cities, however, Zagreb has less rainy days, but the annual rainfall is higher due to heavier showers occurring mainly in late spring and summer. Autumn in its early stage often brings pleasant and sunny weather with occasional episodes of rain later in the season. Late autumn is characterized by a mild increase in the number of rainy days and a gradual decline in temperature averages. Morning fog is common from mid-October to January, with northern city districts at the foothills of the Medvednica mountain as well as south-central districts along the Sava river being more prone to longer fog accumulation. Winters are relatively cold, bringing overcast skies and a precipitation decrease pattern. February is the driest month, averaging 39 mm of precipitation. On average there are 29 days with snowfall, with the first snow usually falling in early December. However, in recent years, the number of days with snowfall in wintertime has decreased considerably. Springs are generally mild and very pleasant with sporadic weather changes and are somewhat windier than other seasons. As the season progresses, sunny days become more frequent, bringing higher temperatures. Sometimes cold spells can occur, mostly in springtime's early stages. The average daily mean temperature in the winter is around (from December to February) and the average temperature in the summer is .


title: Zagreb

text: The highest recorded temperature at the Maksimir weather station was in July 1950, and lowest was in February 1956. A temperature of was recorded on the since defunct Borongaj Airfield in February 1940.


title: Zagreb

text: The most important historical high-rise constructions are Neboder (1958) on Ban Jelačić Square, Cibona Tower (1987), and Zagrepčanka (1976) on Savska Street, Mamutica in Travno (Novi Zagreb – istok district, built in 1974) and Zagreb TV Tower on Sljeme (built in 1973).


title: Zagreb

text: In the 2000s, the City Assembly approved a new plan that allowed for the many recent high-rise buildings in Zagreb, such as the Almeria Tower, Eurotower, HOTO Tower, Zagrebtower and one of the tallest skyscrapers Sky Office Tower.


title: Zagreb

text: In Novi Zagreb, the neighbourhoods of Blato and Lanište expanded significantly, including the Zagreb Arena and the adjoining business centre.


title: Zagreb

text: Due to a long-standing restriction that forbade the construction of 10-story or higher buildings, most of Zagreb's high-rise buildings date from the 1970s and 1980s and new apartment buildings on the outskirts of the city are usually 4–8 floors tall. Exceptions to the restriction have been made in recent years, such as permitting the construction of high-rise buildings in Lanište or Kajzerica.


title: Zagreb

text: The wider Zagreb area has been continuously inhabited since the prehistoric period, as witnessed by archaeological findings in the Veternica cave from the Paleolithic and excavation of the remains of the Roman Andautonia near the present village of Šćitarjevo.


title: Zagreb

text: Picturesque former villages on the slopes of Medvednica, Šestine, Gračani, and Remete, maintain their rich traditions, including folk costumes, Šestine umbrellas, and gingerbread products.


title: Zagreb

text: To the north is the Medvednica Mountain (), with its highest peak Sljeme(1,035 m), where one of the tallest structures in Croatia, Zagreb TV Tower is located. The Sava and the Kupa valleys are to the south of Zagreb, and the region of Hrvatsko Zagorje is located on the other (northern) side of the Medvednica hill. In mid-January 2005, Sljeme held its first World Ski Championship tournament.


title: Zagreb

text: From the summit, weather permitting, the vista reaches as far as Velebit Range along Croatia's rocky northern coast, as well as the snow-capped peaks of the towering Julian Alps in neighboring Slovenia. There are several lodging villages, offering accommodation and restaurants for hikers. Skiers visit Sljeme, which has four ski-runs, three ski-lifts, and a chairlift.


title: Zagreb

text: The old Medvedgrad, a recently restored medieval burg was built in the 13th century on Medvednica hill. It overlooks the western part of the city and also hosts the "Shrine of the Homeland", a memorial with an eternal flame, where Croatia pays reverence to all its heroes fallen for homeland in its history, customarily on national holidays. The ruined medieval fortress Susedgrad is located on the far-western side of Medvednica hill. It has been abandoned since the early 17th century, but it is visited during the year.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb occasionally experiences earthquakes, due to the proximity of Žumberak-Medvednica fault zone. It's classified as an area of high seismic activity. The area around Medvednica was the epicentre of the 1880 Zagreb earthquake (magnitude 6.3), and the area is known for occasional landslide threatening houses in the area. The proximity of strong seismic sources presents a real danger of strong earthquakes. Croatian Chief of Office of Emergency Management Pavle Kalinić stated Zagreb experiences around 400 earthquakes a year, most of them being imperceptible. However, in case of a strong earthquake, it's expected that 3,000 people would die and up to 15,000 would be wounded.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb is by far the largest city in Croatia in terms of area and population. The 2021 census counted 767,131 residents.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb metropolitan area population is slightly above 1.0 million inhabitants, as it includes the Zagreb County. Zagreb metropolitan area makes approximately a quarter of a total population of Croatia.


title: Zagreb

text: In 1997, the City of Zagreb itself was given special County status, separating it from Zagreb County, although it remains the administrative centre of both.


title: Zagreb

text: The majority of its citizens are Croats making up 93% of the city's population (2011 census). The same census records around 55,000 residents belonging to ethnic minorities: 17,526 Serbs (2.22%), 8,119 Bosniaks (1.03%), 4,292 Albanians (0.54%), 2,755 Romani (0.35%), 2,132 Slovenes (0.27%), 1,194 Macedonians (0.15%), 1,191 Montenegrins (0.15%), and a number of other smaller communities.


title: Zagreb

text: Since 14 December 1999 City of Zagreb is divided into 17 city districts ("gradska četvrt", pl. "gradske četvrti"):


title: Zagreb

text: The city itself is not the only standalone settlement in the City of Zagreb administrative area – there are a number of larger urban settlements like Sesvete and Lučko and a number of smaller villages attached to it whose population is tracked separately.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb is the capital of the Republic of Croatia, its political center and the center of various state institutions. On the St. Mark's Square are the seats of the Government of the Republic of Croatia in the Banski Dvori complex, the Croatian Parliament (Sabor), as well as the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia. Various ministries and state agencies are located in the wider area of the City of Zagreb.


title: Zagreb

text: The current mayor of Zagreb is Tomislav Tomašević ('We can!'), elected in the 2021 Zagreb local elections, the second round of which was held on 30 May 2021. There are two deputy mayors elected from the same list, Danijela Dolenec and Luka Korlaet.


title: Zagreb

text: According to the Constitution, the city of Zagreb, as the capital of Croatia, has a special status. As such, Zagreb performs self-governing public affairs of both city and county. It is also the seat of the Zagreb County which encircles Zagreb.


title: Zagreb

text: The city administration bodies are the Zagreb City Assembly ("Gradska skupština Grada Zagreba") as the representative body and the mayor of Zagreb ("Gradonačelnik Grada Zagreba") who is the executive head of the city.


title: Zagreb

text: The City Assembly is the representative body of the citizens of the City of Zagreb elected for a four-year term on the basis of universal suffrage in direct elections by secret ballot using proportional system with d'Hondt method in a manner specified by law. There are 51 representatives in the City Assembly, among them the president and vice-presidents of the assembly are elected by the representatives.


title: Zagreb

text: Prior to 2009, the mayor was elected by the City Assembly. It was changed to direct elections by majoritarian vote (two-round system) in 2009. The mayor is the head of the city administration and has two deputies (directly elected together with him/her).


title: Zagreb

text: The term of office of the mayor (and his/her deputies) is four years. The mayor (with the deputies) may be recalled by a referendum according to the law (not less than 20% of all electors in the City of Zagreb or not less than two-thirds of the Zagreb Assembly city deputies have the right to initiate a city referendum regarding recalling of the mayor; when a majority of voters taking part in the referendum vote in favor of the recall, provided that majority includes not less than one third of all persons entitled to vote in the City of Zagreb, i.e. of persons in the City of Zagreb electoral register, the mayor's mandate shall be deemed revoked and special mayoral by-elections shall be held).


title: Zagreb

text: In the City of Zagreb the mayor is also responsible for the state administration (due to the special status of Zagreb as a "city with county rights", there isn't a State Administration Office which in all counties performs tasks of the central government).


title: Zagreb

text: City administration offices, institutions and services (18 city offices, 1 public institute or bureau and 2 city services) have been founded for performing activities within the self-administrative sphere and activities entrusted by the state administration.


title: Zagreb

text: The city administrative bodies are managed by the principals (appointed by the mayor for a four-year term of office, may be appointed again to the same duty). The City Assembly Professional Service is managed by the secretary of the City Assembly (appointed by the Assembly).


title: Zagreb

text: Local government is organised in 17 city districts represented by City District Councils. Residents of districts elect members of councils.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb is an important tourist center, not only in terms of passengers traveling from the rest of Europe to the Adriatic Sea, but also as a travel destination itself. Since the end of the war, it has attracted close to a million visitors annually, mainly from Austria, Germany, and Italy, and in recent years many tourists from far east (South Korea, Japan, China, and last two years, from India). It has become an important tourist destination, not only in Croatia, but considering the whole region of southeastern Europe. There are many interesting sights and happenings for tourists to attend in Zagreb, for example, the two statues of Saint George, one at the Republic of Croatia Square, the other at the Stone Gate, where the image of Virgin Mary is said to be the only thing that hasn't burned in the 17th-century fire. Also, there is an art installation starting in the Bogovićeva Street, called Nine Views.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb is also famous for its award-winning Christmas market that had been named the one in Europe for three years in a row (2015, 2016, 2017) by "European Best Destinations".


title: Zagreb

text: The capital is also known for its top Restaurants in Zagreb that offer more than traditional Croatian food and classic dishes.


title: Zagreb

text: The historical part of the city to the north of Ban Jelačić Square is composed of the Gornji Grad and Kaptol, a medieval urban complex of churches, palaces, museums, galleries and government buildings that are popular with tourists on sightseeing tours. The historic district can be reached on foot, starting from the Ban Jelačić Square, the center of Zagreb, or by a funicular on nearby Tomićeva Street. Each Saturday, (from April until the end of September), on St. Mark's Square in the Upper town, tourists can meet members of the Order of The Silver Dragon ("Red Srebrnog Zmaja"), who reenact famous historical conflicts between Gradec and Kaptol. It's a great opportunity for all visitors to take photographs of authentic and fully functional historical replicas of medieval armor.


title: Zagreb

text: In 2010 more than 600,000 tourists visited the city, with a 10% increase seen in 2011. In 2012 a total of 675 707 tourists visited the city. A record number of tourists visited Zagreb in 2017. – 1.286.087, up 16% compared to the year before, which generated 2.263.758 overnight stays, up 14,8%.


title: Zagreb

text: Numerous shops, boutiques, store houses and shopping centers offer a variety of quality clothing. There are about fourteen big shopping centers in Zagreb. Zagreb's offerings include crystal, china and ceramics, wicker or straw baskets, and top-quality Croatian wines and gastronomic products.


title: Zagreb

text: Notable Zagreb souvenirs are the tie or "cravat", an accessory named after Croats who wore characteristic scarves around their necks in the Thirty Years' War in the 17th century and the ball-point pen, a tool developed from the inventions by Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, an inventor and a citizen of Zagreb.


title: Zagreb

text: Many Zagreb restaurants offer various specialties of national and international cuisine. Domestic products which deserve to be tasted include turkey, duck or goose with "mlinci" (a kind of pasta), "štrukli" (cottage cheese strudel), "sir i vrhnje" (cottage cheese with cream), "kremšnite" (custard slices in flaky pastry), and "orehnjača" (traditional walnut roll).


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb's museums reflect the history, art, and culture not only of Zagreb and Croatia, but also of Europe and the world. Around thirty collections in museums and galleries comprise more than 3.6 million various exhibits, excluding church and private collections.


title: Zagreb

text: The Archaeological Museum collections, today consisting of nearly 450,000 varied archaeological artefacts and monuments, have been gathered over the years from many different sources. These holdings include evidence of Croatian presence in the area. The most famous are the Egyptian collection, the Zagreb mummy and bandages with the oldest Etruscan inscription in the world ("Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis"), as well as the numismatic collection.


title: Zagreb

text: Modern Gallery () holds the most important and comprehensive collection of paintings, sculptures and drawings by 19th- and 20th-century Croatian artists. The collection numbers more than 10,000 works of art, housed since 1934 in the historic Vranyczany Palace in the center of Zagreb, overlooking the Zrinjevac Park. A secondary gallery is the Josip Račić Studio.


title: Zagreb

text: Croatian Natural History Museum holds one of the world's most important collection of Neanderthal remains found at one site. These are the remains, stone weapons, and tools of prehistoric "Krapina man". The holdings of the Croatian Natural History Museum comprise more than 250,000 specimens distributed among various collections.


title: Zagreb

text: Technical Museum was founded in 1954 and it maintains the oldest preserved machine in the area, dating from 1830, which is still operational. The museum exhibits numerous historic aircraft, cars, machinery and equipment. There are some distinct sections in the museum: the Planetarium, the Apisarium, the Mine (model of mines for coal, iron and non-ferrous metals, about long), and the Nikola Tesla study.


title: Zagreb

text: Museum of the City of Zagreb was established in 1907 by the Association of the Braća Hrvatskog Zmaja. It is located in a restored monumental complex (Popov toranj, the Observatory, Zakmardi Granary) of the former Convent of the Poor Clares, of 1650. The Museum deals with topics from the cultural, artistic, economic and political history of the city spanning from Roman finds to the modern period. The holdings comprise over 80,000 items arranged systematically into collections of artistic and mundane objects characteristic of the city and its history.


title: Zagreb

text: Arts and Crafts Museum was founded in 1880 with the intention of preserving the works of art and craft against the new predominance of industrial products. With its 160,000 exhibits, the Arts and Crafts Museum is a national-level museum for artistic production and the history of material culture in Croatia.


title: Zagreb

text: Ethnographic Museum was founded in 1919. It lies in the fine Secession building of the one-time Trades Hall of 1903. The ample holdings of about 80,000 items cover the ethnographic heritage of Croatia, classified in the three cultural zones: the Pannonian, Dinaric and Adriatic.


title: Zagreb

text: Mimara Museum was founded with a donation from Ante "Mimara" Topić and opened to the public in 1987. It is located in a late 19th-century neo-Renaissance palace.


title: Zagreb

text: The holdings comprise 3,750 works of art of various techniques and materials, and different cultures and civilizations.


title: Zagreb

text: Croatian Museum of Naïve Art is one of the first museums of naïve art in the world. The museum holds works of Croatian naïve expression of the 20th century. It is located in the 18th-century Raffay Palace in the Gornji Grad. The museum holdings consist of almost 2000 works of art – paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints, mainly by Croatians but also by other well-known world artists. From time to time, the museum organizes topics and retrospective exhibitions by naïve artists, expert meetings and educational workshops and playrooms.


title: Zagreb

text: The Museum of Contemporary Art was founded in 1954. Its new building hosts a rich collection of Croatian and international contemporary visual art which has been collected throughout the decades from the nineteen-fifties until today. The museum is located in the center of Novi Zagreb, opened in 2009. The old location is now part of the Kulmer Palace in the Gornji Grad.


title: Zagreb

text: Other museums and galleries are also found in the Croatian School Museum, the Croatian Hunting Museum, the Croatian Sports Museum, the Croatian Post and Telecommunications Museum, the HAZU (Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts) Glyptotheque (collection of monuments), and the HAZU Graphics Cabinet.


title: Zagreb

text: The Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters offers permanent holdings presenting European paintings from the 14th to 19th centuries, and the Ivan Meštrović Studio, with sculptures, drawings, lithography portfolios and other items, was a donation of this great artist to his homeland The Museum and Gallery Center introduces on various occasions the Croatian and foreign cultural and artistic heritage. The Art Pavilion by Viennese architects Hellmer and Fellmer who were the most famous designers of theatres in Central Europe is a neo-classical exhibition complex and one of the landmarks of the downtown. The exhibitions are also held in the impressive Meštrović building on the Square of the Victims of Fascism – the Home of Croatian Fine Artists. The World Center "Wonder of Croatian Naïve Art" exhibits masterpieces of Croatian naïve art as well as the works of a new generation of artists. The Modern Gallery comprises all relevant fine artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. The Museum of Broken Relationships at 2 Ćirilometodska holds people's mementos of past relationships. It is the first private museum in the country. Lauba House (23a Baruna Filipovića) presents works from Filip Trade Collection, a large private collection of modern and contemporary Croatian art and current artistic production.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb has been, and is, hosting some of the most popular mainstream artists, in the past few years their concerts held the Rolling Stones, U2, Eric Clapton, Deep Purple, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Roger Waters, Depeche Mode, Prodigy, Beyoncé, Nick Cave, Jamiroquai, Manu Chao, Massive Attack, Metallica, Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga, Duran Duran as well as some of world most recognised underground artists such as Dimmu Borgir, Sepultura, Melvins, Mastodon and many more.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb is also the home of the INmusic festival, one of the biggest open-air festivals in Croatia which is held every year, usually at the end of June. There is also the Zagreb Jazz Festival which has featured popular jazz artists like Pat Metheny or Sonny Rollins. Many others festivals occur in Zagreb like Žedno uho featuring indie, rock, metal and electronica artists such as Animal Collective, Melvins, Butthole Surfers, Crippled Black Phoenix, NoMeansNo, The National, Mark Lanegan, Swans, Mudhoney around the clubs and concert halls of Zagreb.


title: Zagreb

text: There are about 20 permanent or seasonal theatres and stages. The Croatian National Theater in Zagreb was built in 1895 and opened by emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. The most renowned concert hall named "Vatroslav Lisinski", after the composer of the first Croatian opera, was built in 1973.


title: Zagreb

text: The World Theatre Festival and International Puppet Festival both take place in Zagreb in September and October.


title: Zagreb

text: "Animafest", the World Festival of Animated Films, takes place every even-numbered year, and the "Music Biennale", the international festival of avant-garde music, every odd-numbered year. It also hosts the annual "ZagrebDox" documentary film festival. The "Festival of the Zagreb Philharmonic" and the flowers exhibition "Floraart" (end of May or beginning of June), the "Old-timer Rally" annual events. In the summer, theatre performances and concerts, mostly in the Upper Town, are organized either indoors or outdoors. The stage on Opatovina hosts the "Zagreb Histrionic Summer" theatre events.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb is also the host of "Zagrebfest", the oldest Croatian pop-music festival, as well as of several traditional international sports events and tournaments. The "Day of the City of Zagreb" on 16 November is celebrated every year with special festivities, especially on the Jarun lake in the southwestern part of the city.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb is home to numerous sports and recreational centers. Recreational Sports Center Jarun, situated on Jarun Lake in the southwest of the city, has fine shingle beaches, a world-class regatta course, a jogging lane around the lake, several restaurants, many night clubs and a discothèque. Its sports and recreation opportunities include swimming, sunbathing, waterskiing, angling, and other water sports, but also beach volleyball, football, basketball, handball, table tennis, and mini-golf.


title: Zagreb

text: Dom Sportova, a sport centre in northern Trešnjevka features six halls. The largest two have seating capacity of 5,000 and 3,100 people, respectively. This centre is used for basketball, handball, volleyball, hockey, gymnastics, tennis, etc. It also hosts music events.


title: Zagreb

text: Arena Zagreb was finished in 2008. The 16,500-seat arena hosted the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship. The Dražen Petrović Basketball Hall seats 5,400 people. Alongside the hall is the high glass Cibona Tower. Sports Park Mladost, situated on the embankment of the Sava river, has an Olympic-size swimming pool, smaller indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a sunbathing terrace, 16 tennis courts as well as basketball, volleyball, handball, football and field hockey courts. A volleyball sports hall is within the park. Sports and Recreational Center Šalata, located in Šalata, only a couple hundred meters from the Jelačić Square, is most attractive for tennis players. It comprises a big tennis court and eight smaller ones, two of which are covered by the so-called "balloon", and another two equipped with lights. The center also has swimming pools, basketball courts, football fields, a gym, and fitness center, and a four-lane bowling alley. Outdoor ice skating is a popular winter recreation. There are also several fine restaurants within and near the center.


title: Zagreb

text: Maksimir Tennis Center, located in Ravnice east of downtown, consists of two sports blocks. The first comprises a tennis center situated in a large tennis hall with four courts. There are 22 outdoor tennis courts with lights. The other block offers multipurpose sports facilities: apart from tennis courts, there are handball, basketball and indoor football grounds, as well as track and field facilities, a bocci ball alley and table tennis opportunities.


title: Zagreb

text: Recreational swimmers can enjoy a smaller-size indoor swimming pool in Daničićeva Street, and a newly opened indoor Olympic-size pool at Utrine sports center in Novi Zagreb. Skaters can skate in the skating rink on Trg Sportova (Sports Square) and on the lake Jarun Skaters' park. Hippodrome Zagreb offers recreational horseback riding opportunities, while horse races are held every weekend during the warmer part of the year.


title: Zagreb

text: The 38,923-seat Maksimir Stadium, last 10 years under renovation, is located in Maksimir in the northeastern part of the city. The stadium is part of the immense Svetice recreational and sports complex (ŠRC Svetice), south of the Maksimir Park. The complex covers an area of . It is part of a significant green zone, which passes from Medvednica in the north toward the south. ŠRC Svetice, together with Maksimir Park, creates an ideal connection of areas which are assigned to sport, recreation, and leisure.


title: Zagreb

text: The latest larger recreational facility is Bundek, a group of two small lakes near the Sava in Novi Zagreb, surrounded by a partly forested park. The location had been used prior to the 1970s, but then went to neglect until 2006 when it was renovated.


title: Zagreb

text: In year 2021 Zagreb was the host city of Croatia Rally, round three of 2021 World Rally Championship. The Rally was won by Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT crew. Service parc, Overnight parc ferme and Shakedown Medvedgrad took place in Zagreb placing him as a lone capital in the championship. 2021 Croatia Rally became third tightest WRC event up to date, with only 0,6 seconds dividing the winning crew and second placed Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin (co-driver) in Toyota Yaris WRC. The Croatian round of WRC was praised by becoming the part of 2022 World Rally Championship.


title: Zagreb

text: Some of the most notable sport clubs in Zagreb are: GNK Dinamo Zagreb, KHL Medveščak Zagreb, RK Zagreb, KK Cibona, KK Zagreb, KK Cedevita, NK Zagreb, HAVK Mladost and others. The city hosted the 2016 Davis Cup World Group final between Croatia and Argentina.


title: Zagreb

text: The Archdiocese of Zagreb is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Croatia, serving as its religious center. The Archbishop is Josip Cardinal Bozanić. The Catholic Church is the largest religious organisation in Zagreb, Catholicism being the predominant religion of Croatia, with over 1.1 million adherents. Zagreb is also the Episcopal see of the Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Islamic religious organization of Croatia has the see in Zagreb. President is Mufti Aziz Hasanović. There used to be a mosque in the Meštrović Pavilion during World War II at the Square of the Victims of Fascism, but it was relocated to the neighborhood of Borovje in Peščenica. Mainstream Protestant churches have also been present in Zagreb – Evangelical (Lutheran) Church and Reformed Christian (Calvinist) Church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is also present in the Zagreb neighborhood of Jarun whereas Jehovah's Witnesses have their headquarters in Central Zagreb. In total there are around 40 non-Catholic religious organizations and denominations in Zagreb with their headquarters and places of worship across the city making it a large and diverse multicultural community. There is also significant Jewish history through the Holocaust.


title: Zagreb

text: Important branches of industry are: production of electrical machines and devices, chemical, pharmaceutical, textile, food and drink processing. Zagreb is an international trade and business centre, as well as an essential transport hub placed at the crossroads of Central Europe, the Mediterranean and the Southeast Europe. Almost all of the largest Croatian as well as Central European companies and conglomerates such as Agrokor, INA, Hrvatski Telekom have their headquarters in the city.


title: Zagreb

text: The only Croatian stock exchange is the Zagreb Stock Exchange (), which is located in Eurotower, one of the tallest Croatian skyscrapers.


title: Zagreb

text: According to 2008 data, the city of Zagreb has the highest PPP and nominal gross domestic product per capita in Croatia at $32,185 and $27,271 respectively, compared to the Croatian averages of US$18,686 and $15,758.


title: Zagreb

text: As of May 2015, the average monthly net salary in Zagreb was 6,669 kuna, about €870 (Croatian average is 5,679 kuna, about €740). At the end of 2012, the average unemployment rate in Zagreb was around 9.5%.


title: Zagreb

text: 34% of companies in Croatia have headquarters in Zagreb, and 38.4% of the Croatian workforce works in Zagreb, including almost all banks, utility and public transport companies.


title: Zagreb

text: Companies in Zagreb create 52% of total turnover and 60% of total profit of Croatia in 2006 as well as 35% of Croatian export and 57% of Croatian import.


title: Zagreb

text: The following table includes some of the main economic indicators for the period 2011–2019, based on the data by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics. A linear interpolation was used for the population data between 2011 and 2021. While data on the yearly averaged conversion rates between HRK, EUR and USD is provided by the Croatian National Bank, data regarding the PPP are based on OECD estimates.


title: Zagreb

text: The highway A6 was upgraded in October 2008 and leads from Zagreb to Rijeka, and forming a part of the Pan-European Corridor Vb. The upgrade coincided with the opening of the bridge over the Mura river on the A4 and the completion of the Hungarian M7, which marked the opening of the first freeway corridor between Rijeka and Budapest. The A1 starts at the Lučko interchange and concurs with the A6 up to the Bosiljevo 2 interchange, connecting Zagreb and Split ( Vrgorac). A further extension of the A1 up to Dubrovnik is under construction. Both highways are tolled by the Croatian highway authorities Hrvatske autoceste and Autocesta Rijeka - Zagreb.


title: Zagreb

text: Highway A3 (formerly named Bratstvo i jedinstvo) was the showpiece of Croatia in the SFRY. It is the oldest Croatian highway.


title: Zagreb

text: A3 forms a part of the Pan-European Corridor X. The highway starts at the Bregana border crossing, bypasses Zagreb forming the southern arch of the Zagreb bypass, and ends at Lipovac near the Bajakovo border crossing. It continues in Southeast Europe in the direction of Near East. This highway is tolled except for the stretch between Bobovica and Ivanja Reka interchanges.


title: Zagreb

text: Highway A2 is a part of the Corridor Xa. It connects Zagreb and the frequently congested Macelj border crossing, forming a near-continuous motorway-level link between Zagreb and Western Europe. Forming a part of the Corridor Vb, highway A4 starts in Zagreb forming the northeastern wing of the Zagreb bypass and leads to Hungary until the Goričan border crossing. It is often used highway around Zagreb.


title: Zagreb

text: The railway and the highway A3 along the Sava river that extend to Slavonia (towards Slavonski Brod, Vinkovci, Osijek and Vukovar) are some of the busiest traffic corridors in the country. The railway running along the Sutla river and the A2 highway (Zagreb-Macelj) running through Zagorje, as well as traffic connections with the Pannonian region and Hungary (the Zagorje railroad, the roads and railway to Varaždin – Čakovec and Koprivnica) are linked with truck routes. The southern railway connection to Split operates on a high-speed tilting trains line via the Lika region (renovated in 2004 to allow for a five-hour journey); a faster line along the Una river valley is in use only up to the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.


title: Zagreb

text: The city has an extensive avenue network with numerous main arteries up to ten lanes wide and Zagreb bypass, a congested four-lane highway encircling most of the city. Finding a parking space is supposed to be made somewhat easier by the construction of new underground multi-story parking lots (Importanne Center, Importanne Gallery, Lang Square, Tuškanac, Kvaternik Square, Klaić Street, etc.). The busiest roads are the main east–west arteries, former Highway "Brotherhood and Unity", consisting of Ljubljanska Avenue, Zagrebačka Avenue and Slavonska Avenue; and the Vukovarska Avenue, the closest bypass of the city center. The avenues were supposed to alleviate the traffic problem, but most of them are nowadays gridlocked during rush hour and others, like Branimirova Avenue and Dubrovnik Avenue which are gridlocked for the whole day. European routes E59, E65 and E70 serve Zagreb.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb has seven road traffic bridges across the river Sava, and they all span both the river and the levees, making them all by and large longer than . In downstream order, these are:


title: Zagreb

text: There are also two rail traffic bridges across the Sava, one near the Sava bridge and one near Mičevec, as well as two bridges that are part of the Zagreb bypass, one near Zaprešić (west), and the other near Ivanja Reka (east).


title: Zagreb

text: Public transportation in the city is organized in several layers: the inner parts of the city are mostly covered by trams, the outer city areas, and closer suburbs are linked with buses and rapid transit commuter rail.


title: Zagreb

text: The public transportation company ZET ("Zagrebački električni tramvaj", Zagreb Electric Tram) operates trams, all inner bus lines, and most of the suburban bus lines, and it is subsidized by the city council.


title: Zagreb

text: The national rail operator Croatian Railways ("Hrvatske željeznice", HŽ) runs a network of urban and suburban train lines in the metropolitan Zagreb area and is a government-owned corporation.


title: Zagreb

text: Taxi market has been liberalized in early 2018 and numerous transport companies have been allowed to enter the market; consequently, the prices significantly dropped whereas the service was immensely improved so the popularity of taxis in Zagreb has been increasing from then onwards.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb has an extensive tram network with 15 day and 4 night lines covering much of the inner- and middle-suburbs of the city. The first tram line was opened on 5 September 1891 and trams have been serving as a vital component of Zagreb mass transit ever since. Trams usually travel at speeds of , but slow considerably during rush hour. The network operates at the curb whereas on larger avenues its tracks are situated inside the green belts.


title: Zagreb

text: An ambitious program, which entailed replacing old trams with the new and modern ones built mostly in Zagreb by companies Končar elektroindustrija and, to a lesser extent, by TŽV Gredelj, has recently been finished. The new "TMK 2200", trams by the end of 2012 made around 95% of the fleet.


title: Zagreb

text: The commuter rail network in Zagreb has existed since 1992. In 2005, suburban rail services were increased to a 15-minute frequency serving the middle and outer suburbs of Zagreb, primarily in the east–west direction and to the southern districts. This has enhanced the commuting opportunities across the city.


title: Zagreb

text: A new link to the nearby town of Samobor has been announced and is due to start construction in 2014. This link will be standard-gauge and tie in with normal Croatian Railways operations. The previous narrow-gauge line to Samobor called "Samoborček" was closed in the 1970s.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb Airport is the main Croatian international airport, a drive southeast of Zagreb in the city of Velika Gorica. The airport is also the main Croatian airbase featuring a fighter squadron, helicopters, as well as military and freight transport aircraft. The airport had 3,45 million passengers in 2019 with a new passenger terminal being opened in late March 2017 that can accommodate up to 5,5 million passengers.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb also has a second, smaller airport, Lučko . It is home to sports aeroplanes and a Croatian special police unit, as well as being a military helicopter airbase. Lučko used to be the main airport of Zagreb from 1947 to 1959.


title: Zagreb

text: A third, small grass airfield, Buševec, is located just outside Velika Gorica. It is primarily used for sports purposes.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb has 136 primary schools and 100 secondary schools including 30 gymnasia. There are 5 public higher education institution and 9 private professional higher education schools.


title: Zagreb

text: Founded in 1669, the University of Zagreb is the oldest continuously operating university in Croatia and one of the largest and oldest universities in the Southeastern Europe. Ever since its foundation, the university has been continually growing and developing and now consists of 29 faculties, three art academies and the Croatian Studies Centre. More than 200,000 students have attained the Bachelor's degree at the university, which has also assigned 18,000 Master's and 8,000 Doctor's degrees.


title: Zagreb

text: , the University of Zagreb is ranked among 500 Best Universities of the world by the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities.


title: Zagreb

text: Zagreb is also the seat of two private universities: the Catholic University of Croatia and the Libertas International University; as well as numerous public and private polytechnics, colleges, and higher professional schools.


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: Adrienne Jo Barbeau (born June 11, 1945) is an American actress, singer and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical "Grease", and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter of Maude Findlay (played by Bea Arthur) on the sitcom "Maude" (1972–1978). In 1980, she began appearing in horror and science fiction films, including "The Fog" (1980), "Escape from New York" (1981), "Creepshow" (1982), and "Swamp Thing" (1982). During the 1990s, she became known for providing the voice of Catwoman on "" (1992–1995), and subsequent Batman cartoon series. In the 2000s, she appeared on the HBO series "Carnivàle" as Ruthie the snake dancer.


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: Barbeau was born on June 11, 1945, in Sacramento, California, the daughter of Armene (née Nalbandian) and Joseph Barbeau, who was a public relations executive for Mobil Oil. Her mother was of Armenian descent and her father's ancestry was French Canadian, Irish, and German. She has a sister, Jocelyn, and a half brother on her father's side, Robert Barbeau, who still resides in the Sacramento area. She attended Del Mar High School in San Jose, California. In her autobiography, Barbeau says that she first caught the show business bug while entertaining troops at army bases throughout Southeast Asia, touring with the San Jose Civic Light Opera.


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: In the late 1960s, Barbeau moved to New York City and worked "for the mob" as a go-go dancer. She made her Broadway debut in the chorus of "Fiddler on the Roof", and later took the role of Hodel, Tevye's daughter; Bette Midler played her character's sister Tzeitel. She left "Fiddler" in 1971 to play the leading role of Cookie Kovac in the off-Broadway nudie musical "Stag Movie". Barbeau, as Cookie Kovac, and Brad Sullivan, as Rip Cord, were "quite jolly and deserve to be congratulated on the lack of embarrassment they show when, on occasion, they have to wander around stark naked. They may not be sexy but they certainly keep cheerful," wrote "The New York Times" theater critic Clive Barnes in an otherwise negative review. Barbeau went on to star in more than 25 musicals and plays, including "Women Behind Bars", "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas", and "Grease". She received a Theater World Award and a 1972 Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of tough-girl Rizzo in "Grease".


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: During the 1970s, Barbeau starred as Carol Traynor, the daughter of Bea Arthur's title character, on the comedy series "Maude", which ran from 1972 to 1978 (actress Marcia Rodd had originated the role of Carol in a 1972 episode of "All in the Family", also titled "Maude," alongside Arthur). In her autobiography, "There Are Worse Things I Could Do", Barbeau remarked: "What I didn't know is that when I said [my lines] I was usually walking down a flight of stairs and no one was even listening to me. They were just watching my breasts precede me." During the last season of "Maude", Barbeau did not appear in the majority of the episodes. In a 2009 "Entertainment Tonight" TV interview, Barbeau mentioned that she had good on- and off-camera chemistry with Arthur; she said that the two stayed close until Arthur's death on April 25, 2009. Barbeau and Arthur reunited on camera during a 2007 taping of "The View", reminiscing about their long-running friendship and their years as co-stars on "Maude". About her relationship with Arthur, Barbeau said in a 2018 interview with Dread Central:


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: "I was doing an interview for this one-woman show that I am doing and the interviewer asked, 'What do people usually ask you,' and I said, 'They always want to know what it was like working with Bea.' She was fantastic and, you know, I realized years later how much I took it for granted because it was my first experience on television. I just assumed that everyone was as giving as she was, as professional as she was, that everyone who was doing a TV show showed up knowing their lines and showed up on time and was willing to say to the writers, 'I think this line was funnier if Adie had said it or Conrad had said it or Bill had said it.' I mean, she was just the best, she was the best, very funny. She was not Maude when she wasn't saying those lines. I don't know if I'd say she was quiet. She was a homebody. She had her sons, her dog and her cooking and she wasn't into the celebrity scene and she was a great lady. I loved her dearly and we had a great cast and they were my family for six years. I loved each of them and all of them and it was the best experience anyone could've had, being introduced to television like that!"


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: Barbeau was cast in numerous television films and series such as "The Love Boat", "Fantasy Island", "Valentine Magic on Love Island" and "Battle of the Network Stars". In her autobiography, she claimed: "I actually thought CBS asked me to be on "Battle of the Network Stars" because they thought I was athletic. My husband clued me in: who cared if I won the race, as long as I bounced when I ran?"


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: The popularity of Barbeau's 1978 cheesecake poster confirmed her status as a sex symbol. Barbeau's popularity stemmed partly from what critic Joe Bob Briggs referred to as the "two enormous talents on that woman," and her typecasting as a "tough broad". Despite her initial success, she said at the time that she thought of Hollywood as a "flesh market" and that she would rather appear in films that "explore the human condition" and "deal with issues".


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: Barbeau's then-husband, director John Carpenter, cast her in his horror film, "The Fog" (1980), which was her first theatrical film appearance. The film was released on February 1, 1980, and was a theatrical success, grossing over $21 million in the United States alone, and establishing Barbeau as a genre film star. She subsequently appeared in a number of early-1980s horror and science fiction films, including "Escape from New York" (1981) (also from Carpenter), "Creepshow" (1982) and "Swamp Thing" (1982). Of her screen work with Carpenter, Barbeau has stated: "John is a great director. He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it. It's simple and it's easy [working with him]."


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: She also appeared in the Burt Reynolds comedy "The Cannonball Run" (1981), and as the shrewish wife of Rodney Dangerfield's character in "Back to School" (1986). Barbeau also starred in the comedy "Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death" (1989).


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: In the 1990s, Barbeau mostly appeared in made-for-television films such as Scott Turow's "The Burden of Proof" (1992), as well as playing Oswald's mother on "The Drew Carey Show" and gaining new fame among animation fans as Catwoman on "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Gotham Girls".


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: She also worked as a television talk show host and a weekly book reviewer for KABC talk radio in Los Angeles. In 1999, she guest starred in the "" episode "" as Romulan Senator Kimara Cretak.


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: In 1998, Barbeau released her debut album as a folk singer, the self-titled "Adrienne Barbeau". She starred in the cartoon series "Totally Spies!" doing the voice of villainess Helga Von Guggen in seasons 1, 2 and 4.


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: From 2003 to 2005, she starred on the HBO series "Carnivàle". From March to May 2006, she starred as Judy Garland in the off-Broadway play "The Property Known as Garland".


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: in 2007, Barbeau played a cameo role in Rob Zombie's "Halloween", a "reimagining" of the 1978 film of the same name, written and directed by her first husband, John Carpenter. Her scene was cut from the theatrical version of the film but is included in the DVD version.


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: In 2009, Barbeau was cast as "The Cat Lady" in the family comedy "The Dog Who Saved Christmas", as Scooter's Mom in the 3D animated feature "Fly Me to the Moon", and as a hospice patient in the love-story "Reach for Me".


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: Also in 2009, Barbeau had guest spots in the first episode of Showtime's hit series "Dexter" (Season 4).


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: She voiced the Greek goddess Hera in the video game "God of War III" released for the PlayStation 3 in March 2010. In August 2010, she began a role on the long-running ABC daytime drama "General Hospital". In 2012, she voiced UNSC scientist Dr. Tilson in the highly anticipated game "Halo 4", released on the Xbox 360 in November 2012. She voiced characters in the 2015 "Mad Max" video game.


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: Barbeau reprised her role as Catwoman in an animated remake of the third trailer for "The Dark Knight Rises". This trailer was made to both celebrate the upcoming movie as well as to promote Hub's ten episode marathon of "Batman: The Animated Series".


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: In 2015, she assumed the role of Berthe in "Pippin" with the Broadway Touring Company of the renowned musical.


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: In 1978, Barbeau met director John Carpenter on the set of his television movie "Someone's Watching Me!" The couple wed on January 1, 1979 and lived in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles, California although according to Barbeau remained "totally outside Hollywood's social circles". They remained together for five years, but separated shortly after the birth of their son John "Cody" Carpenter on May 7, 1984. The couple then divorced later that same year.


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: In 1991, Barbeau met actor/playwright/producer Billy Van Zandt, when she was cast in the West Coast premiere of his play "Drop Dead!" Van Zandt is the half-brother of musician/actor Steven Van Zandt. The couple wed in 1992. On March 17, 1997, at age 51, she gave birth to twin boys, Walker Steven and William Dalton Van Zandt, quipping that she was the only one on the maternity ward who was a member of AARP. The couple filed for divorce in 2018.


title: Adrienne Barbeau

text: Barbeau's autobiography "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" was published in 2006 by Carroll & Graf, rising to No. 11 on the "Los Angeles Times" best-sellers list. In July 2008, her first novel, "Vampyres of Hollywood", was published by St Martin's Press. The novel was co-written by Michael Scott. The first sequel "Love Bites" was published in 2010, and the second, "Make Me Dead" was published in 2015.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid.


title: British Armed Forces

text: Since the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 (later succeeded by the United Kingdom), the British Armed Forces have seen action in a number of major wars involving the world's great powers, including the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the Napoleonic Wars, the 1853–1856 Crimean War, the First World War, and the Second World War. Britain's victories in most of these decisive wars, allowed it to influence world events and establish itself as one of the world's leading military and economic powers.


title: British Armed Forces

text: As of October 2022, the British Armed Forces consist of: the Royal Navy, a blue-water navy with a fleet of 72 commissioned ships, together with the Royal Marines, a highly specialised amphibious light infantry force; the British Army, the UK's principal land warfare branch; and the Royal Air Force, a technologically sophisticated air force with a diverse operational fleet consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. The British Armed Forces include standing forces, Regular Reserve, Volunteer Reserves and Sponsored Reserves.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The head of the Armed Forces is the British monarch, currently Charles III, to whom members of the forces swear allegiance. Long-standing constitutional convention, however, has vested "de facto" executive authority, by the exercise of royal prerogative, in the prime minister and the secretary of state for defence. The prime minister (acting with the Cabinet) makes the key decisions on the use of the armed forces. The UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the British Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, as required by the Bill of Rights 1689. The Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, and Royal Marines among with all other forces do not require this act. The armed forces are managed by the Defence Council of the Ministry of Defence, headed by the secretary of state for defence.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The United Kingdom is one of five recognised nuclear powers, a permanent member on the United Nations Security Council, founding and leading member of the NATO military alliance, and party to the AUKUS security pact and the Five Power Defence Arrangements. Overseas garrisons and training facilities are maintained at Ascension Island, Bahrain, Belize, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kenya, Montserrat, Nepal, Qatar, Singapore, and the United States.


title: British Armed Forces

text: With the Acts of Union 1707, the armed forces of England and Scotland were merged into the armed forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain.


title: British Armed Forces

text: There were originally several naval and several military regular and reserve "forces", although most of these were consolidated into the Royal Navy or the British Army during the 19th and 20th Centuries (the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps of the British Army, by contrast, were separated from their parent forces in 1918 and amalgamated to form a new force, the Royal Air Force, which would have complete responsibility for naval, military and strategic aviation until the Second World War).


title: British Armed Forces

text: "Naval" forces included the Royal Navy, the Waterguard (subsequently HM Coastguard), and Sea Fencibles and "River Fencibles" formed as and when required for the duration of emergencies. The Merchant Navy and offshore fishing boat crews were also important manpower reserves to the armed naval forces (any seaman was liable to impressment, with many so conscripted especially during the two decades of conflict from the French Revolution until the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and from 1835 registered on the "Register of Seamen" to identify them as a potential resource), and many of their seamen would serve part time in the Royal Navy Reserve (created under the "Naval Reserve Act of 1859") and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (created in 1903).


title: British Armed Forces

text: The British military (those parts of the British Armed Forces tasked with land warfare, as opposed to the naval forces) historically was divided into a number of military forces, of which the British Army (also referred to historically as the 'Regular Army' and the 'Regular Force') was only one. The oldest of these organisations was the Militia Force (also referred to as the "Constitutional Force"), which (in the Kingdom of England) was originally the main military defensive force (there otherwise were originally only Royal bodyguards, including the Yeomen Warders and the Yeomen of the Guard, with armies raised only temporarily for expeditions overseas), made up of civilians embodied for annual training or emergencies, and had used various schemes of compulsory service during different periods of its long existence.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The Militia was originally an all infantry force, organised at the city or county level, and members were not required to serve outside of their recruitment area, although the area within which militia units in Britain could be posted was increased to anywhere in the Britain during the Eighteenth Century, and Militia coastal artillery, field artillery, and engineers units were introduced from the 1850s. The Yeomanry was a mounted force that could be mobilised in times of war or emergency. Volunteer Force units were also frequently raised during wartime, which did not rely on compulsory service and hence attracted recruits keen to avoid the Militia. These were seen as a useful way to add to military strength economically during wartime, but otherwise as a drain on the Militia and so were not normally maintained in peacetime, although in Bermuda prominent propertied men were still appointed "Captains of Forts", taking charge of maintaining and commanding fortified coastal artillery batteries and manned by volunteers (reinforced in wartime by embodied militiamen), defending the colony's coast from the Seventeenth Century to the Nineteenth Century (when all of the batteries were taken over by the regular Royal Artillery). The Militia system was extended to a number of English (subsequently "British") colonies, beginning with Virginia and Bermuda. In some colonies, "Troops of Horse" or other mounted units similar to the Yeomanry were also created. The Militia and Volunteer units of a colony were generally considered to be separate forces from the "Home" Militia Force and Volunteer Force in the United Kingdom, and from the Militia Forces and Volunteer Forces of other colonies. Where a colony had more than one Militia or Volunteer unit, they would be grouped as a Militia or Volunteer Force for that colony, such as the Jamaica Volunteer Defence Force, which comprised the St. Andrew Rifle Corps (or Kingston Infantry Volunteers), the Jamaica Corps of Scouts, and the Jamaica Reserve Regiment, but not the Jamaica Militia Artillery. In smaller colonies with a single militia or volunteer unit, that single unit would still be considered to be listed within a force, or in some case might be named a force rather than a regiment or corps, such as is the case for the Falkland Islands Defence Force and the Royal Montserrat Defence Force. The Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteer Forces collectively were known as the "Reserve Forces", "Auxiliary Forces", or "Local Forces". Officers of these forces could not sit on Courts Martial of regular forces personnel. The Mutiny Act did not apply to members of the Reserve Forces.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The other "regular" military force that existed alongside the British Army was the Board of Ordnance, which included the "Ordnance Military Corps" (made up of the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, and the Royal Sappers and Miners), as well as the originally-civilian Commissariat Stores and transport departments, as well as barracks departments, ordnance factories and various other functions supporting the various naval and military forces. The English Army, subsequently the British Army once Scottish regiments were moved onto its establishment following the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England, was originally a separate force from these, but absorbed the Ordnance Military Corps and various previously civilian departments after the Board of Ordnance was abolished in 1855. The "Reserve Forces" (which referred to the Home Yeomanry, Militia and Volunteer Forces before the 1859 creation of the British Army "Regular Reserve" by Secretary of State for War Sidney Herbert, and re-organised under the "Reserve Force Act, 1867") were increasingly integrated with the British Army through a succession of reforms over the last two decades of the Nineteenth Century (in 1871, command of the Auxiliary Forces in the British Isles was taken from the Lords-Lieutenant of counties and transferred to the War Office, though colonial Governors retained control of their militia and volunteer forces, and by the end of the century, at the latest, any unit wholly or partly funded from Army Funds was considered part of the British Army) and the early years of the Twentieth Century, whereby the Reserve Forces units mostly lost their own identities and became numbered Territorial Force sub-units of regular British Army corps or regiments (the Home Militia had followed this path, with the Militia Infantry units becoming numbered battalions of British Army regiments, and the Militia Artillery integrating within Royal Artillery territorial divisions in 1882 and 1889, and becoming parts of the Royal Field Artillery or Royal Garrison Artillery in 1902 (though retaining their traditional corps names), but was not merged into the Territorial Force when it was created in 1908 (by the merger of the Yeomanry and Volunteer Force). The Militia was instead renamed the "Special Reserve", and was permanently suspended after the First World War (although a handful of Militia units survived in the United Kingdom, its colonies, and the Crown Dependencies). Unlike the Home, Imperial Fortress and Crown Dependency Militia and Volunteer units and forces that continued to exist after the First World War, although parts of the British military, most were not considered parts of the British Army unless they received Army Funds (as was the case for the Bermuda Militia Artillery and the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps), which was generally only the case for those in the Channel Islands or the Imperial Fortress colonies (Nova Scotia, before Canadian confederation, Bermuda, Gibraltar, and Malta). Today, the British Army is the only Home British military force (unless the Army Cadet Force and the Combined Cadet Force are considered), including both the regular army and the forces it absorbed, though British military units organised on Territorial lines remain in British Overseas Territories that are still not considered formally part of the British Army, with only the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and the Royal Bermuda Regiment (an amalgam of the old Bermuda Militia Artillery and Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps) appearing on the British Army order of precedence and in the Army List.


title: British Armed Forces

text: Confusingly, and similarly to the dual meaning of the word Corps in the British Army (by example, the 1st Battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps was in 1914 part of the 6th Brigade that was part of the 2nd Infantry Division, which was itself part of 1st Army Corps), the British Army sometimes also used the term expeditionary force or field force to describe a body made up of British Army units, most notably the British Expeditionary Force, or of a mixture of British Army, Indian Army, or Imperial auxiliary units, such as the Malakand Field Force (this is similarly to the naval use of the term task force). In this usage, "force" is used to describe a self-reliant body able to act without external support, at least within the parameters of the task or objective for which it is employed.


title: British Armed Forces

text: During the later half of the seventeenth century, and in particular, throughout the eighteenth century, British foreign policy sought to contain the expansion of rival European powers through military, diplomatic and commercial means – especially of its chief competitors; Spain, the Netherlands and France. This saw Britain engage in a number of intense conflicts over colonial possessions and world trade, including a long string of Anglo-Spanish and Anglo-Dutch wars, as well as a series of "world wars" with France, such as; the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815). During the Napoleonic wars, the Royal Navy victory at Trafalgar (1805) under the command of Horatio Nelson (aboard HMS "Victory") marked the culmination of British maritime supremacy, and left the Navy in a position of uncontested hegemony at sea. By 1815 and the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, Britain had risen to become the world's dominant great power and the British Empire subsequently presided over a period of relative peace, known as Pax Britannica.


title: British Armed Forces

text: With Britain's old rivals no-longer a threat, the nineteenth century saw the emergence of a new rival, the Russian Empire, and a strategic competition in what became known as The Great Game for supremacy in Central Asia. Britain feared that Russian expansionism in the region would eventually threaten the Empire in India. In response, Britain undertook a number of pre-emptive actions against perceived Russian ambitions, including the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842), the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880) and the British expedition to Tibet (1903–1904). During this period, Britain also sought to maintain the balance of power in Europe, particularly against Russian expansionism, who at the expense of the waning Ottoman Empire had ambitions to "carve up the European part of Turkey". This ultimately led to British involvement in the Crimean War (1854–1856) against the Russian Empire.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The beginning of the twentieth century served to reduce tensions between Britain and the Russian Empire, partly due to the emergence of a unified German Empire. The era brought about an Anglo-German naval arms race which encouraged significant advancements in maritime technology (e.g. Dreadnoughts, torpedoes and submarines), and in 1906, Britain had determined that its only likely naval enemy was Germany. The accumulated tensions in European relations finally broke out into the hostilities of the First World War (1914–1918), in what is recognised today, as the most devastating war in British military history, with nearly 800,000 men killed and over 2 million wounded. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Central Powers, the end of the German Empire, the Treaty of Versailles and the establishment of the League of Nations.


title: British Armed Forces

text: Although Germany had been defeated during the First World War, by 1933 fascism had given rise to Nazi Germany, which under the leadership of Adolf Hitler re-militarised in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles. Once again tensions accumulated in European relations, and following Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Second World War began (1939–1945). The conflict was the most widespread in British history, with British Empire and Commonwealth troops fighting in campaigns from Europe and North Africa, to the Middle East and the Far East. Approximately 390,000 British Empire and Commonwealth troops lost their lives. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Axis powers and the establishment of the United Nations (replacing the League of nations).


title: British Armed Forces

text: Post–Second World War economic and political decline, as well as changing attitudes in British society and government, were reflected by the armed forces' contracting global role, and later epitomised by its political defeat during the Suez Crisis (1956). Reflecting Britain's new role in the world and the escalation of the Cold War (1947–1991), the country became a founding member of the NATO military alliance in 1949. Defence Reviews, such as those in 1957 and 1966, announced significant reductions in conventional forces, the pursuement of a doctrine based on nuclear deterrence, and a permanent military withdrawal East of Suez. By the mid-1970s, the armed forces had reconfigured to focus on the responsibilities allocated to them by NATO. The British Army of the Rhine and RAF Germany consequently represented the largest and most important overseas commitments that the armed forces had during this period, while the Royal Navy developed an anti-submarine warfare specialisation, with a particular focus on countering Soviet submarines in the Eastern Atlantic and North Sea.


title: British Armed Forces

text: While NATO obligations took increased prominence, Britain nonetheless found itself engaged in a number of low-intensity conflicts, including a spate of insurgencies against colonial occupation. However the Dhofar Rebellion (1962–1976) and The Troubles (1969–1998) emerged as the primary operational concerns of the armed forces. Perhaps the most important conflict during the Cold War, at least in the context of British defence policy, was the Falklands War (1982).


title: British Armed Forces

text: Since the end of the Cold War, an increasingly international role for the armed forces has been pursued, with re-structuring to deliver a greater focus on expeditionary warfare and power projection. This entailed the armed forces often constituting a major component in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions under the auspices of the United Nations, NATO, and other multinational operations, including: peacekeeping responsibilities in the Balkans and Cyprus, the 2000 intervention in Sierra Leone and participation in the UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya (2011). Post-September 11, the armed forces have been heavily committed to the War on Terror (2001–present), with lengthy campaigns in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and Iraq (2003–2009), and more recently as part of the Military intervention against ISIL (2014–present). Britain's military intervention against Islamic State was expanded following a parliamentary vote to launch a bombing campaign over Syria; an extension of the bombing campaign requested by the Iraqi government against the same group. In addition to the aerial campaign, the British Army has trained and supplied allies on the ground and the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service, and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (British special forces) has carried out various missions on the ground in both Syria and Iraq.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The armed forces have also been called upon to assist with national emergencies through the provisions of the military aid to the civil authorities (MACA) mechanism. This has seen the armed forces assist government departments and civil authorities responding to flooding, food shortages, wildfires, terrorist attacks and, most notably, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; the armed forces' support to the latter falls under Operation Rescript, described as the UK's "biggest ever homeland military operation in peacetime" by the Ministry of Defence.


title: British Armed Forces

text: Figures released by the Ministry of Defence on 31 March 2016 show that 7,185 British Armed Forces personnel have lost their lives in medal earning theatres since the end of the Second World War.


title: British Armed Forces

text: King Charles III, sovereign of the United Kingdom, is the Head of the Armed Forces, with officers and personnel swearing allegiance to him. Long-standing constitutional convention, however, has "de facto" vested military authority and associated royal prerogative powers in the prime minister and the secretary of state for defence, with the former (acting with the support of the Cabinet) making the key decisions on the use of the armed forces. The sovereign retains the power to prevent the unconstitutional use of the armed forces, including that of its nuclear arsenal.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The Ministry of Defence is the government department charged with formulating and executing defence policy. It currently employs 56,860 civilian staff members as of 1 October 2015. The department is administered by the secretary of state for defence who is assisted by the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Minister for Defence Procurement, and Minister for Veterans' Affairs. Responsibility for the management of the forces is delegated to a number of committees: the Defence Council, Chiefs of Staff Committee, Defence Management Board and three single-service boards. The Defence Council, composed of senior representatives of the services and the Ministry of Defence, provides the "formal legal basis for the conduct of defence". The three constituent single-service committees (Admiralty Board, Army Board and Air Force Board) are chaired by the secretary of state for defence.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The chief of the defence staff (CDS) is the senior-most officer of the armed forces and is an appointment that can be held by an admiral, air chief marshal or general. Before the practice was discontinued in the 1990s, those who were appointed to the position of CDS had been elevated to the most senior rank in their respective service. The CDS, along with the permanent under secretary, are the principal military advisers to the secretary of state. All three services have their own respective professional chiefs; the First Sea Lord for the Royal Navy, the chief of the general staff for the Army and the chief of the air staff for the Royal Air Force.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The British Armed Forces are a professional force with a strength of 153,290 UK Regulars and Gurkhas, 37,420 Volunteer Reserves and 8,170 "Other Personnel" . This gives a total strength of 198,880 "UK Service Personnel". As a percentage breakdown of UK Service Personnel, 77.1% are UK Regulars and Gurkhas, 18.8% are Volunteer Reserves and 4.1% are composed of Other Personnel. In addition, all ex-Regular personnel retain a "statutory liability for service" and are liable to be recalled (under Section 52 of the Reserve Forces Act (RFA) 1996) for duty during wartime, which is known as the Regular Reserve. MoD publications since April 2013 no longer report the entire strength of the Regular Reserve, instead they only give a figure for Regular Reserves who serve under a fixed-term reserve contract. These contracts are similar in nature to those of the Volunteer Reserve. , Regular Reserves serving under a fixed-term contract numbered 44,600 personnel.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The distribution of personnel between the services and categories of service on 1 April 2021 was as follows:


title: British Armed Forces

text: , there were a total of 9,330 Regular service personnel stationed outside of the United Kingdom, 3,820 of those were located in Germany. 138,040 Regular service personnel were stationed in the United Kingdom, the majority located in the South East and South West of England with 37,520 and 36,790 Regular service personnel, respectively.


title: British Armed Forces

text: According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the United Kingdom has the fourth-largest defence budget in the world. For comparison's sake, this sees Britain spending more in absolute terms than France, Germany, India or Japan, a similar amount to that of Russia, but less than China, Saudi Arabia or the United States. In September 2011, according to Professor Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal United Services Institute, current "planned levels of defence spending should be enough for the United Kingdom to maintain its position as one of the world's top military powers, as well as being one of NATO-Europe's top military powers. Its edge – not least its qualitative edge – in relation to rising Asian powers seems set to erode, but will remain significant well into the 2020s, and possibly beyond." The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 committed to spending 2% of GDP on defence and announced a £178 billion investment over ten years in new equipment and capabilities.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The United Kingdom is one of five recognised nuclear weapon states under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and maintains an independent nuclear deterrent, currently consisting of four ballistic missile submarines, UGM-133 Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and 160 operational thermonuclear warheads. This is known as Trident in both public and political discourse (with nomenclature taken after the UGM-133 Trident II ballistic missile). Trident is operated by the Royal Navy Submarine Service, charged with delivering a 'Continuous At-Sea Deterrent' (CASD) capability, whereby one of the "Vanguard"-class strategic submarines is always on patrol. According to the British Government, since the introduction of Polaris (Tridents predecessor) in the 1960s, from April 1969 "the Royal Navy's ballistic missile boats have not missed a single day on patrol", giving what the Defence Council described in 1980 as a deterrent "effectively invulnerable to pre-emptive attack". As of 2015, it has been British Government policy for the "Vanguard"-class strategic submarines to carry no more than 40 nuclear warheads, delivered by eight UGM-133 Trident II ballistic missiles. In contrast with the other recognised nuclear weapon states, the United Kingdom operates only a submarine-based delivery system, having decommissioned its tactical WE.177 free-fall bombs in 1998.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The House of Commons voted on 18 July 2016 in favour of replacing the "Vanguard"-class submarines with a new generation of s. The programme will also contribute to extending the life of the UGM-133 Trident II ballistic missiles and modernise the infrastructure associated with the CASD.


title: British Armed Forces

text: Former weapons of mass destruction possessed by the United Kingdom include both biological and chemical weapons. These were renounced in 1956 and subsequently destroyed.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The British Armed Forces maintain a number of overseas garrisons and military facilities which enable the country to conduct operations worldwide. The majority of Britain's permanent military installations are located on British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or former colonies which retain close diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom, and located in areas of strategic importance. The most significant of these are the "Permanent Joint Operating Bases" (PJOBs), located on the four overseas territories of Cyprus (British Forces Cyprus), Gibraltar (British Forces Gibraltar), the Falkland Islands (British Forces South Atlantic Islands) and Diego Garcia (British Forces British Indian Ocean Territories). While not a PJOB, Ascension Island (another BOT) is home to the airbase RAF Ascension Island, notable for use as a staging post during the 1982 Falklands War, the territory is also the site of a joint UK-US signals intelligence facility.


title: British Armed Forces

text: Qatar is home to RAF Al Udeid, a Royal Air Force outpost at Al Udeid Air Base which serves as the operational headquarters for No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group and its operations across the Middle East. A large Royal Navy Naval Support Facility (NSF) is located in Bahrain, established in 2016 it marks the British return East of Suez. In support of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), the United Kingdom retains a naval repair and logistics support facility at Sembawang wharf, Singapore. Other overseas military installations include; British Forces Brunei, British Forces Germany, the British Army Training Unit Kenya, British Army Training Unit Suffield in Canada, British Army Training and Support Unit Belize, and British Gurkhas Nepal.


title: British Armed Forces

text: Some British Overseas Territories also maintain locally raised units and regiments; The Royal Bermuda Regiment, the Falkland Islands Defence Force, the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, the Royal Montserrat Defence Force, the Cayman Islands Regiment, and the Turks and Caicos Regiment. Though their primary mission is "home defence", individuals have volunteered for operational duties. The Royal Gibraltar Regiment mobilised section-sized units for attachment to British regiments deployed during the Iraq War. The Isle of Man, a Crown dependency hosts a multi-capability recruiting and training unit of the British Army Reserve.


title: British Armed Forces

text: Since 1969 Britain has had a military satellite communications system, Skynet, initially in large part to support East of Suez bases and deployments. Since 2015 Skynet has offered near global coverage.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The British Armed Forces place significant importance in the ability to conduct expeditionary warfare. While the armed forces are expeditionary in nature, it maintains a core of "high readiness" forces trained and equipped to deploy at very short notice, these include; the Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) (Royal Navy), 3 Commando Brigade (Royal Marines), and 16 Air Assault Brigade (British Army). Frequently, these forces will act as part of a larger tri-service effort, under the direction of Permanent Joint Headquarters, or along with like-minded allies under the UK Joint Expeditionary Force. Similarly, under the auspices of NATO, such expeditionary forces are designed to meet Britain's obligations to the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps and other NATO operations.


title: British Armed Forces

text: In 2010, the governments of the United Kingdom and France signed the Lancaster House Treaties which committed both governments to the creation of a Franco-British Combined Joint Expeditionary Force. It is envisaged as a deployable joint force, for use in a wide range of crisis scenarios, up to and including high intensity combat operations. As a joint force it involves all three armed Services: a land component composed of formations at national brigade level, maritime and air components with their associated Headquarters, together with logistics and support functions.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The Royal Navy is a technologically sophisticated naval force, and as of October 2022 consists of 72 commissioned ships with an additional 11 support vessels of various types operated by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Command of deployable assets is exercised by the Fleet Commander of the Naval Service. Personnel matters are the responsibility of the Second Sea Lord/Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, an appointment usually held by a vice-admiral.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The Surface Fleet consists of aircraft carriers, amphibious warfare ships, destroyers, frigates, patrol vessels, mine-countermeasure vessels, and other miscellaneous vessels. The Surface Fleet has been structured around a single fleet since the abolition of the Eastern and Western fleets in 1971. The recently built Type 45 destroyers are technologically advanced air-defence destroyers. The Royal Navy has commissioned two s, embarking an air-group including the advanced fifth-generation multi-role fighter, the F-35B.


title: British Armed Forces

text: A submarine service has existed within the Royal Navy for more than 100 years. The Submarine Service's four nuclear-powered submarines carry Lockheed Martin's Trident II ballistic missiles, forming the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent. Seven nuclear-powered attack submarines have been ordered, with five completed and two under construction. The "Astute" class are the most advanced and largest fleet submarines ever built for the Royal Navy, and will maintain Britain's nuclear-powered submarine fleet capabilities for decades to come.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The Royal Marines are the Royal Navy's amphibious troops. Consisting of a single manoeuvre brigade (3 Commando) and various independent units, the Royal Marines specialise in amphibious, arctic, and mountain warfare. Contained within 3 Commando Brigade are three attached army units; 383 Commando Petroleum Troop RLC, 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, a field artillery regiment based in Plymouth, and 24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers. The Commando Logistic Regiment consists of personnel from the Army, Royal Marines, and Royal Navy.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The British Army is made up of the Regular Army and the Army Reserve. The army has a single command structure based at Andover and known as "Army Headquarters". Deployable combat formations consist of two divisions (1st and 3rd Mechanised) and eight brigades. Within the United Kingdom, operational and non-deployable units are administered by two divisions, Force Troops Command, and London District.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The Army has 50 battalions (36 regular and 14 reserve) of regular and reserve infantry, organised into 17 regiments. The majority of infantry regiments contains multiple regular and reserve battalions. Modern infantry have diverse capabilities and this is reflected in the varied roles assigned to them. There are four operational roles that infantry battalions can fulfil: air assault, armoured infantry, mechanised infantry, and light role infantry. Regiments and battalions e.g.: the Parachute Regiment, exist within every corps of the Army, functioning as administrative or tactical formations.


title: British Armed Forces

text: Armoured regiments are equivalent to an infantry battalion. There are 14 armoured regiments within the army, ten regular and four yeomanry (armoured reserve), of which four are designated as "Armoured", three as "Armoured cavalry", and six as "Light Cavalry". Army 2020 Refine has seen developments which will further modify the Royal Armoured Corps. with two existing regiments forming the core of two new STRIKE Brigades. These two regiments, along with the Armoured Cavalry will be equipped with the "Ajax" armoured fighting vehicle, a new £3.5 billion procurement programme. The Ajax will be employed in the task organisation and roles of both Armoured Cavalry and Medium Armour. With a slight exception of the Household Cavalry, which maintains quasi-autonomy within the Household Division, armoured regiments and their yeomanry counterparts collectively form the Royal Armoured Corps.


title: British Armed Forces

text: Arms and support units are also formed into similar collectives organised around specific purposes, such as the Corps of Royal Engineers, Army Air Corps and Royal Army Medical Corps.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The Royal Air Force has a large operational fleet that fulfils various roles, consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. Frontline aircraft are controlled by Air Command, which is organised into five groups defined by function: 1 Group (Air Combat), 2 Group (Air Support), 11 Group (Air and Space operations), 22 Group (training aircraft and ground facilities) and 38 Group (Royal Air Force's Engineering, Logistics, Communications and Medical Operations units). In addition 83 Expeditionary Air Group directs formations in the Middle East and the 38 Group combines the expeditionary combat support and combat service support units of the RAF. Deployable formations consist of Expeditionary Air Wings and squadrons—the basic unit of the Air Force. Independent flights are deployed to facilities in Afghanistan, the Falkland Islands, Iraq, and the United States.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The Royal Air Forces operates multi-role and single-role fighters, reconnaissance and patrol aircraft, tankers, transports, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, and various types of training aircraft. Ground units are also maintained by the Royal Air Force, most prominently the RAF Police and the Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regt). The Royal Air Force Regiment essentially functions as the ground defence force of the RAF, optimised for the specialist role of fighting on and around forward airfields, which are densely packed with operationally vital aircraft, equipment, infrastructure and personnel . The Regiment contains nine regular squadrons, supported by five squadrons of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force Regiment. In addition, it provides the UK's specialist Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear capability. It also provides half of the UK's Forward Air Controllers and the RAF's contribution to the Special Forces Support Group. By March 2008, the three remaining Ground Based Air Defence squadrons (equipped with Rapier Field Standard C) had disbanded or re-roled and their responsibilities transferred to the British Army's Royal Artillery.


title: British Armed Forces

text: The Ministry of Defence maintains a number civilian agencies in support of the British Armed Forces. Although they are civilian, they play a vital role in supporting Armed Forces operations, and in certain circumstances are under military discipline:


title: British Armed Forces

text: All three services of the British Armed Forces recruit primarily from within the United Kingdom, although citizens from the Commonwealth of Nations and the Republic of Ireland are equally eligible to join. The minimum recruitment age is 16 years (although personnel may not serve on armed operations below 18 years, and if under 18 must also have parental consent to join); the maximum recruitment age depends whether the application is for a regular or reserve role; there are further variations in age limit for different corps/regiments. The normal term of engagement is 22 years; however, the minimum service required before resignation is 4 years, plus, in the case of the Army, any service person below the age of 18. At present, the yearly intake into the armed forces is 11,880 (per the 12 months to 31 March 2014).


title: British Armed Forces

text: Excluding the Brigade of Gurkhas and the Royal Irish Regiment, as of 1 April 2014 there are approximately 11,200 Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) persons serving as Regulars across the three service branches; of those, 6,610 were recruited from outside the United Kingdom. In total, Black and Minority Ethnic persons represent 7.1% of all service personnel, an increase from 6.6% in 2010.


title: British Armed Forces

text: Since the year 2000, sexual orientation has not been a factor considered in recruitment, and homosexuals can serve openly in the armed forces. All branches of the forces have actively recruited at Gay Pride events. The forces keep no formal figures concerning the number of gay and lesbian serving soldiers, saying that the sexual orientation of personnel is considered irrelevant and not monitored.


title: British Armed Forces

text: Women have been part of the armed forces, on and off, for centuries, more fully integrated since the early 1990s, including flying fast jets and commanding warships or artillery batteries. As of 1 April 2014, there were approximately 15,840 women serving in the armed forces, representing 9.9% of all service personnel. The first female military pilot was Flight Lieutenant Julie Ann Gibson while Flight Lieutenant Jo Salter was the first fast-jet pilot, the former flying a Tornado GR1 on missions patrolling the then Northern Iraqi No-Fly Zone. Flight Lieutenant Juliette Fleming and Squadron Leader Nikki Thomas recently were the first Tornado GR4 crew. While enforcing the Libyan No-Fly Zone, Flight Lieutenant Helen Seymour was identified as the first female Eurofighter Typhoon pilot. In August 2011, it was announced that a female lieutenant commander, Sarah West, was to command the frigate . In July 2016, it was announced that women would be allowed to serve in close combat, starting with the Royal Armoured Corps. In July 2017, the Secretary of Defence announced that women would be allowed to enlist in the RAF Regiment from September 2017, a year ahead of schedule. In 2018, women were allowed to apply for all roles in the British military, including the special forces. , the most senior serving woman is three-star Air Marshal Sue Gray.


title: Cuneiform

text: Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-shaped impressions (Latin: ) which form its signs. Cuneiform was originally developed to write the Sumerian language of southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). Cuneiform is the earliest known writing system.


title: Cuneiform

text: Over the course of its history, cuneiform was adapted to write a number of languages in addition to Sumerian. Akkadian texts are attested from the 24th century BC onward and make up the bulk of the cuneiform record. Akkadian cuneiform was itself adapted to write the Hittite language in the early second millennium BC. The other languages with significant cuneiform corpora are Eblaite, Elamite, Hurrian, Luwian, and Urartian. The Old Persian and Ugaritic alphabets feature cuneiform-style signs; however, they are unrelated to the cuneiform logo-syllabary proper.