title: Montevideo

text: World Trade Center Montevideo officially opened in 1998, but work was completed in 2009. The complex is composed of three towers, two three-story buildings called World Trade Center Plaza and World Trade Center Avenue and a large central square called Towers Square. World Trade Center 1 was the first building to be inaugurated, in 1998. It has 22 floors and 17,100 square meters of space. That same year the avenue and the auditorium were raised. World Trade Center 2 was inaugurated in 2002, a twin tower of World Trade Center 1. Finally, in 2009, World Trade Center 3 and the World Trade Center Plaza and the Towers Square were inaugurated. It is located between the avenues Luis Alberto de Herrera and 26 de Marzo and has 19 floors and of space. The World Trade Center Plaza is designed to be a center of gastronomy opposite Towers Square and Bonavita St. Among the establishments on the plaza are Burger King, Walrus, Bamboo, Asia de Cuba, Gardenia Mvd, and La Claraboya Cafe.


title: Montevideo

text: The Towers Square, is an area of remarkable aesthetic design, intended to be a platform for the development of business activities, art exhibitions, dance and music performances and social place. This square connects the different buildings and towers which comprise the WTC Complex and it is the main access to the complex. The square contains various works of art, notably a sculpture by renowned Uruguayan sculptor Pablo Atchugarry. World Trade Center 4, with 40 floors and of space is under construction .


title: Montevideo

text: Torre de las Telecomunicaciones (Telecommunications Tower) or Torre Antel (Antel Tower) is the , 37-floor headquarters of Uruguay's government-owned telecommunications company, ANTEL, and is the tallest building in the country. It was designed by architect Carlos Ott. It is situated by the side of the Bay of Montevideo. The tower was completed by American Bridge Company and other design/build consortium team members on 15 March 2000.


title: Montevideo

text: When its construction was announced, many politicians complained about its cost (US$40 million, plus US$25 million for the construction of the other 5 buildings of the Telecommunications Complex). Problems during its construction turned the original US$65 million price into US$102 million.


title: Montevideo

text: Ciudad Vieja was the earliest part of the city to be developed and today it constitutes a prominent "barrio" of southwest Montevideo. It contains many colonial buildings and national heritage sites, but also many banks, administrative offices, museums, art galleries, cultural institutions, restaurants and night-clubs, making it vibrant with life. Its northern coast is the main port of Uruguay, one of the few deep-draft ports in the Southern Cone of South America.


title: Montevideo

text: Montevideo's most important plaza is Plaza Independencia, located between Ciudad Vieja and downtown Montevideo. It starts with the Gateway of The Citadel at one end and ends at the beginning of 18 de Julio Avenue. It is the remaining part of the wall that surrounded the oldest part of the city. Several notable buildings are located here.


title: Montevideo

text: The Solís Theatre is Uruguay's oldest theater. It was built in 1856 and is owned by the government of Montevideo. In 1998, the government of Montevideo started a major reconstruction of the theater, which included two US$110,000 columns designed by Philippe Starck. The reconstruction was completed in 2004, and the theater reopened in August of that year. The plaza is also the site of the offices of the President of Uruguay (both the Estévez Palace and the Executive Tower). The Artigas Mausoleum is located at the center of the plaza. Statues include that of José Gervasio Artigas, hero of Uruguay's independence movement; an honor guard keeps vigil at the Mausoleum.


title: Montevideo

text: Palacio Salvo, at the intersection of 18 de Julio Avenue and Plaza Independencia, was designed by the architect Mario Palanti and completed in 1925. Palanti, an Italian immigrant living in Buenos Aires, used a similar design for his Palacio Barolo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Palacio Salvo stands high, including its antenna. It is built on the former site of the Confitería La Giralda, renowned for being where Gerardo Matos Rodríguez wrote his tango "La Cumparsita" (1917.) Palacio Salvo was originally intended to function as a hotel but is now a mixture of offices and private residences.


title: Montevideo

text: Also of major note in Ciudad Vieja is the Plaza de la Constitución (or "Plaza Matriz"). During the first decades of Uruguayan independence this square was the main hub of city life. On the square are the Cabildo—the seat of colonial government—and the Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral. The cathedral is the burial place of Fructuoso Rivera, Juan Antonio Lavalleja and Venancio Flores. Another notable square is Plaza Zabala with the equestrian statue of Bruno Mauricio de Zabala. On its south side, Palacio Taranco, once residence of the Ortiz Taranco brothers, is now the Museum of Decorative Arts. A few blocks northwest of Plaza Zabala is the Mercado del Puerto, another major tourist destination.


title: Montevideo

text: Parque Batlle (formerly: "Parque de los Aliados", translation: "Park of the Allies") is a major public central park, located south of and north of Avenue Rivera. Along with Parque Prado and Parque Rodó it is one of three large parks that dominate Montevideo. The park and surrounding area constitute one of the 62 neighborhoods ("barrios") of the city. The barrio of Parque Batlle is one of seven coastal barrios, the others being Buceo, Carrasco, Malvin, Pocitos, Punta Carretas, and Punta Gorda. The barrio of Parque Battle includes four former districts: Belgrano, Italiano, Villa Dolores and Batlle Park itself and borders the neighborhoods of La Blanqueada, Tres Cruces, Pocitos and Buceo. It has a high population density and most of its households are of medium-high- or high-income. Villa Dolores, a sub-district of Parque Batlle, took its name from the original villa of Don Alejo Rossell y Rius and of Doña Dolores Pereira de Rossel. On their grounds, they started a private collection of animals that became a zoological garden and was passed to the city in 1919;<ref name="montevideo.gub.uy/Zoologico"></ref> in 1955 the Planetarium of Montevideo was built within its premises.<ref name="montevideo.gub.uy/planetario"></ref>


title: Montevideo

text: Parque Batlle is named in honor of José Batlle y Ordóñez, President of Uruguay from 1911 to 1915. The park was originally proposed by an Act of March 1907, which also projected wide boulevards and avenues. French landscape architect, Carlos Thays, began the plantings in 1911. In 1918, the park was named "Parque de los Aliados", following the victory of the Allies of World War I. On 5 May 1930, after significant expansion, it was again renamed as Parque Batlle y Ordóñez, in memory of the prominent politician and president, who had died in 1929. The park was designated a National Historic Monument Park in 1975. , the park covers an area of and is considered the "lung" of the Montevideo city due to the large variety of trees planted here.


title: Montevideo

text: The Estadio Centenario, the national football stadium, opened in 1930 for the first World Cup, and later hosted several other sporting grounds of note (see "Sports").


title: Montevideo

text: In 1934, sculptor José Belloni's "La Carreta", a bronze monument on granite base, was installed on Avenida Lorenzo Merola near Estadio Centenario. One of several statues in the park, it depicts yoked oxen pulling a loaded wagon. It was designated a national monument in 1976. Another statue on the same side of the park is a bronze copy of the Discobolus of Myron.


title: Montevideo

text: On the west side of Parque Batlle, on Artigas Boulevard, the 1938 Obelisk of Montevideo is a monument dedicated to those who created the first Constitution. The work of sculptor José Luis Zorrilla de San Martín (1891–1975), it is a three-sided granite obelisk, tall, with bronze statues on its three sides, representing "Law", "Liberty", and "Force", respectively. It has been a National Heritage Site since 1976.


title: Montevideo

text: Established in 1873, the largest of Montevideo's six main public parks is the Parque Prado. Located in the northern part of the city, the Miguelete Creek flows through the park and the neighborhood and of the same name. It is surrounded by the avenues Agraciada, Obes Lucas, Joaquín Suárez, Luis Alberto de Herrera and by the streets Castro and José María Reyes.


title: Montevideo

text: The most frequented areas of the park are the "Rosedal", a public rose garden with pergolas, the Botanical Garden, the area around the Hotel del Prado, as well as the "Rural del Prado", a seasonal cattle and farm animal fairground. The Rosedal contains four pergolas, eight domes, and a fountain; its 12,000 roses were imported from France in 1910. There are several jogging paths along the Miguelete river.


title: Montevideo

text: The Presidential Residence is located behind the Botanical Gardens. Established in 1930, Juan Manuel Blanes Museum is situated in the Palladian villa, a National Heritage Site since 1975, and includes a Japanese garden. The Professor Atilio Lombardo Museum and Botanical Gardens were established in 1902. The National Institute of Physical Climatology and its observatory are also in the Prado.


title: Montevideo

text: Parque Rodó is both a "barrio" (neighborhood) of Montevideo and a park which lies mostly outside the limits of the neighborhood itself and belongs to Punta Carretas. The name "Rodó" commemorates José Enrique Rodó, an important Uruguayan writer whose monument is in the southern side of the main park. The park was conceived as a French-style city park. Apart from the main park area which is delimited by Sarmiento Avenue to the south, Parque Rodó includes an amusement park; the Estadio Luis Franzini, belonging to Defensor Sporting; the front lawn of the Faculty of Engineering and a strip west of the Club de Golf de Punta Carretas that includes the "Canteras" ("quarry") "del Parque Rodó", the "Teatro de Verano" ("summer theatre") and the "Lago" ("lake") "del Parque Rodó".


title: Montevideo

text: On the east side of the main park area is the National Museum of Visual Arts. On this side, a street market takes place every Sunday. On the north side is an artificial lake with a little castle housing a municipal library for children. An area to its west is used as an open-air exhibition of photography. West of the park, across the coastal avenue Rambla Presidente Wilson, stretches Ramirez Beach. Directly west of the main park are, and belonging to Parque Rodó "barrio", is the former "Parque Hotel", now called "Edifício Mercosur", seat of the parliament of the members countries of the Mercosur. During the guerilla war the Tupamaros frequently attacked buildings in this area, including the old hotel.


title: Montevideo

text: The first set of subsidiary forts were planned by the Portuguese at Montevideo in 1701 to establish a front line base to stop frequent insurrections by the Spaniards emanating from Buenos Aires. These fortifications were planned within the River Plate estuary at Colonia del Sacramento. However, this plan came to fruition only in November 1723, when Captain Manuel Henriques de Noronha reached the shores of Montevideo with soldiers, guns and colonists on his warship "Nossa Senhora de Oliveara". They built a small square fortification. However, under siege from forces from Buenos Aires, the Portuguese withdrew from Montevideo Bay in January 1724, after signing an agreement with the Spaniards.


title: Montevideo

text: Fortaleza del Cerro overlooks the bay of Montevideo. An observation post at this location was first built by the Spanish in the late 18th century. In 1802, a beacon replaced the observation post; construction of the fortress began in 1809 and was completed in 1839. It has been involved in many historical developments and has been repeatedly taken over by various sides. In 1907, the old beacon was replaced with a stronger electric one. It has been a National Monument since 1931 and has housed a military museum since 1916. Today it is one of the tourist attractions of Montevideo.


title: Montevideo

text: Punta Brava Lighthouse ("Faro Punta Brava"), also known as Punta Carretas Lighthouse, was erected in 1876. The lighthouse is high and its light reaches away, with a flash every ten seconds. In 1962, the lighthouse became electric. The lighthouse is important for guiding boats into the Banco Inglés Buceo Port or the entrance of the Santa Lucía River.


title: Montevideo

text: The Rambla is an avenue that goes along the entire coastline of Montevideo. The literal meaning of the Spanish word "rambla" is "avenue" or "watercourse", but in the Americas it is mostly used as "coastal avenue", and since all the southern departments of Uruguay border either the Río de la Plata or the Atlantic Ocean, they all have "ramblas" as well. As an integral part of Montevidean identity, the Rambla has been included by Uruguay in the Indicative List of World Heritage sites, though it has not received this status. Previously, the entire Rambla was called "Rambla Naciones Unidas" ("United Nations"), but in recent times different names have been given to specific parts of it.


title: Montevideo

text: The Rambla is a very important site for recreation and leisure in Montevideo. Every day, a large number of people go there to take long strolls, jog, bicycle, roller skate, fish and even—in a special area—skateboard. Its length makes it one of the longest esplanades in the world.


title: Montevideo

text: Montevideo is noted for its beaches, which are particularly important because 60% of the population spends the summer in the city. Its best known beaches are Ramírez, Pocitos, Carrasco, Buceo and Malvín. Further east and west are other beaches including the Colorada, Punta Espinillo, Punta Yeguas, Zabala and Santa Catarina.


title: Montevideo

text: There are five large cemeteries in Montevideo, all administered by the "Fúnebre y Necrópolis" annex of the Intendencia of Montevideo.


title: Montevideo

text: The largest cemetery is the Cementerio del Norte, located in the northern-central part of the city. The Central Cemetery (Spanish: "Cementerio central"), located in Barrio Sur in the southern area of the city, is one of Uruguay's main cemeteries. It was one of the first cemeteries (in contrast to church graveyards) in the country, founded in 1835 in a time where burials were still carried out by the Catholic Church. It is the burial place of many of the most famous Uruguayans, such as Eduardo Acevedo, Delmira Agustini, Luis Batlle Berres, José Batlle y Ordóñez, Juan Manuel Blanes, François Ducasse, father of Comte de Lautréamont (Isidore Ducasse), Luis Alberto de Herrera, Benito Nardone, José Enrique Rodó, and Juan Zorrilla de San Martín.


title: Montevideo

text: The other large cemeteries are the Cementerio del Buceo, Cementerio del Cerro, and Cementerio Paso Molino.


title: Montevideo

text: The British Cemetery Montevideo (Cementerio Británico) is another of the oldest cemeteries in Uruguay, located in the Buceo neighborhood. Many noblemen and eminent persons are buried there. The cemetery originated when the Englishman Mr. Thomas Samuel Hood purchased a plot of land in the name of the English residents in 1828. However, in 1884 the government compensated the British by moving the cemetery to Buceo to accommodate city growth. A section of the cemetery, known as British Cemetery Montevideo Soldiers and Sailors, contains the graves of quite a number of sailors of different nationalities, although the majority are of British descent. One United States Marine, Henry de Costa, is buried here.


title: Montevideo

text: In 1860, Montevideo had 57,913 inhabitants including a number of people of African origin who had been brought as slaves and had gained their freedom around the middle of the century. By 1880, the population had quadrupled, mainly because of the great European immigration. In 1908, its population had grown massively to 309,331 inhabitants. In the course of the 20th century the city continued to receive large numbers of European immigrants, especially Spanish and Italian, followed by Portuguese Brazilians, French, Germans, English, Irish, Swiss, Austrians, Poles, Dutch, Greek, Hungarians, Russians, Croats, Lebanese, Armenians, and Jews of various origins. The last wave of immigrants occurred between 1945 and 1955.


title: Montevideo

text: According to the census survey carried out between 15 June and 31 July 2004, Montevideo had a population of 1,325,968 persons, compared to Uruguay's total population of 3,241,003. The female population was 707,697 (53.4%) while the male population accounted for 618,271 (46.6%). The population had declined since the previous census carried out in 1996, with an average annual growth rate of −1.5 per thousand. Continual decline has been documented since the census period of 1975–1985, which showed a rate of −5.6 per thousand. The decrease is due in large part to lowered fertility, partly offset by mortality, and to a smaller degree in migration. The birth rate declined by 19% from 1996 (17 per thousand) to 2004 (13.8 per thousand). Similarly, the total fertility rate (TFR) declined from 2.24 in 1996 to 1.79 in 2004. However, mortality continued to fall with life expectancy at birth for both sexes increasing by 1.73 years.


title: Montevideo

text: The Intendancy of Montevideo was first created by a legal act of 18 December 1908. The municipality's first mayor (1909–1911) was Daniel Muñoz. Municipalities were abolished by the Uruguayan Constitution of 1918, effectively restored during the 1933 military coup of Gabriel Terra, and formally restored by the 1934 Constitution. The 1952 Constitution again decided to abolish the municipalities; it came into effect in February 1955. Municipalities were replaced by departmental councils, which consisted of a collegiate executive board with 7 members from Montevideo and 5 from the interior region. However, municipalities were revived under the 1967 Constitution and have operated continuously since that time.


title: Montevideo

text: Since 1990, Montevideo has been partially decentralized into 18 areas; administration and services for each area is provided by its Zonal Community Center ("Centro Comunal Zonal", CCZ), which is subordinate to the Intendancy of Montevideo. The boundaries of the municipal districts of Montevideo were created on 12 July 1993, and successively amended on 19 October 1993, 6 June 1994 and 10 November 1994. In 2010, the city CCZ were abolished and eight municipalities were created instead.


title: Montevideo

text: The city government of Montevideo performs several functions, including maintaining communications with the public, promoting culture, organizing society, caring for the environment and regulating traffic. The city hall is the Palacio Municipal on 18 de Julio Avenue in the Centro area of Montevideo.


title: Montevideo

text: The legislative branch of government, the Junta Departamental, or the Congress of Montevideo, governs the Department of Montevideo. The Junta, composed of 31 unsalaried elected members, is responsible for such things as the freedom of the citizens, the regulation of cultural activities, the naming of streets and public places, and the placement of monuments; it also responds to proposals of the Intendant in various circumstances. Its seat is the architecturally remarkable Casa de Francisco Gómez in Ciudad Vieja.


title: Montevideo

text: A 2016 private ranking named "Subnational Legislative Online Opening Index" measured the data availability in official websites, scoring Montevideo as the second most open district nationally at 17.50 points.


title: Montevideo

text: In recent years Montevideo nightlife has moved to Parque Rodó, where a large concentration of buildings cater for the recreational interests of young people during the night time. Under a presidential decree which went into effect on 1 March 2006, smoking is prohibited in any public place with roofing, and there is a prohibition on the sale of alcohol in certain businesses from 21.00 to 9.00.


title: Montevideo

text: Montevideo has been part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the area of Literature since December 2015.


title: Montevideo

text: Montevideo has a very rich architectural heritage and an impressive number of writers, artists, and musicians. Uruguayan tango is a unique form of dance that originated in the neighborhoods of Montevideo towards the end of the 1800s. Tango, candombe and murga are the three main styles of music in this city. The city is also the center of the cinema of Uruguay, which includes commercial, documentary and experimental films. There are two movie theater companies running seven cinemas, around ten independent ones and four art film cinemas in the city. The theater of Uruguay is admired inside and outside Uruguayan borders. The Solís Theatre is the most prominent theater in Uruguay and the oldest in South America. There are several notable theatrical companies and thousands of professional actors and amateurs. Montevideo playwrights produce dozens of works each year; of major note are Mauricio Rosencof, and .


title: Montevideo

text: The daily newspaper "El País" sponsors the Virtual Museum of contemporary Uruguayan art. The director and curator of the Museum presents exhibitions in "virtual spaces, supplemented by information, biographies, texts in English and Spanish".


title: Montevideo

text: In the early 1970s (1973, to be particular) when the military junta took over power in Uruguay, art suffered in Montevideo. The art studios went into protest mode, with Rimer Cardillo, one of the country's leading artists, making the National Institute of Fine Arts, Montevideo a "hotbed of resistance". This resulted in the military junta coming down heavily on artists by closing the Fine Art Institute and carting away all the presses and other studio equipment. Consequently, the learning of fine arts was only in private studios run by people who had been let out of jail, in works of printing and on paper and also painting and sculpture. It resumed much later.


title: Montevideo

text: The first public library in Montevideo was formed by the initial donation of the private library of Father José Manuel Pérez Castellano, who died in 1815. Its promoter, director and organizer was Father Dámaso Antonio Larrañaga, who also made a considerable donation along with donations from José Raimundo Guerra, as well as others from the Convent of San Francisco in Salta. In 1816 its stock was 5,000 volumes. The building of the National Library of Uruguay ("Biblioteca Pública de Uruguay") was designed by Luis Crespi in the Neoclassical style and occupies an area of . Construction began in 1926 and it was inaugurated in 1964. Its collection amounts to 900,000 volumes.


title: Montevideo

text: The city has a long and rich literary tradition. Although Uruguayan literature is not limited to the authors of the capital (Horacio Quiroga was born in Salto and Mario Benedetti in Paso de los Toros, for instance), Montevideo has been and is the center of the editorial and creative activity of literature.


title: Montevideo

text: In 1900, the city had a remarkable group of writers, including José Enrique Rodó, Carlos Vaz Ferreira, Julio Herrera y Reissig, Delmira Agustini and Felisberto Hernández. Montevideo was then called the "Atenas del Plata" or the "Athens of the Rio de la Plata".


title: Montevideo

text: Among the outstanding authors of Montevideo of the second half of the 20th century are Juan Carlos Onetti, Antonio Larreta, Eduardo Galeano, Marosa di Giorgio and Cristina Peri Rossi.


title: Montevideo

text: A new generation of writers have become known internationally in recent years. These include Eduardo Espina (essayist and poet), Fernando Butazzoni (novelist), (poet) and Hugo Burel (short story writer and novelist).


title: Montevideo

text: In Montevideo, as throughout the Rio de Plata region, the most popular forms of music are tango, milonga and "vals criollo". Many notable songs originated in Montevideo including "El Tango supremo", "La Cumparsita", "La Milonga", "La Puñalada" and "Desde el Alma", composed by notable Montevideo musicians such as Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, and Rosita Melo. Tango is deeply ingrained in the cultural life of the city and is the theme for many of the bars and restaurants in the city. "Fun Fun' Bar", established in 1935, is one of the most important places for tango in Uruguay as is "El Farolito", located in the old part of the city and "Joventango", "Café Las Musas", "Garufa" and "Vieja Viola". The city is also home to the Montevideo Jazz Festival and has the Bancaria Jazz Club bar catering for jazz enthusiasts.


title: Montevideo

text: The center of traditional Uruguayan food and beverage in Montevideo is the Mercado del Puerto ("Port Market"). Beef is very important in Uruguayan cuisine and an essential part of many dishes. A "torta frita" is a pan-fried cake consumed in Montevideo and throughout Uruguay. It is generally circular, with a small cut in the center for cooking, and is made from wheat flour, yeast, water and sugar or salt. Montevideo has a variety of restaurants, from traditional Uruguayan cuisine to Japanese cuisine.


title: Montevideo

text: The Centro Cultural de España, as well as Asturian and cultural centers, testify to Montevideo's considerable Spanish heritage. Montevideo also has important museums including Museo Torres García, , Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales and Museo Juan Manuel Blanes etc.


title: Montevideo

text: The Montevideo Cabildo was the seat of government during the colonial times of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. It is located in front of Constitution Square, in Ciudad Vieja. Built between 1804 and 1869 in Neoclassical style, with a series of Doric and Ionic columns, it became a National Heritage Site in 1975. In 1958, the Municipal Historic Museum and Archive was inaugurated here. It features three permanent city museum exhibitions, as well as temporary art exhibitions, cultural events, seminars, symposiums and forums.


title: Montevideo

text: The Palacio Taranco is located in front of the Plaza Zabala, in the heart of Ciudad Vieja. It was erected in the early 20th century as the residence of the Ortiz Taranco brothers on the ruins of Montevideo's first theater (of 1793), during a period in which the architectural style was influenced by French architecture. The palace was designed by French architects Charles Louis Girault and who also designed the Petit Palais and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It passed to the city from the heirs of the Tarancos in 1943, along with its precious collection of Uruguayan furniture and draperies and was deemed by the city as an ideal place for a museum; in 1972 it became the Museum of Decorative Arts of Montevideo and in 1975 it became a National Heritage Site. The Decorative Arts Museum has an important collection of European paintings and decorative arts, ancient Greek and Roman art and Islamic ceramics of the 10th–18th century from the area of present-day Iran. The palace is often used as a meeting place by the Uruguayan government.


title: Montevideo

text: The National History Museum of Montevideo is located in the historical residence of General Fructuoso Rivera. It exhibits artifacts related to the history of Uruguay. In a process begun in 1998, the National Museum of Natural History (1837) and the National Museum of Anthropology (1981), merged in 2001, becoming the National Museum of Natural History and Anthropology. In July 2009, the two institutions again became independent. The Historical Museum has annexed eight historical houses in the city, five of which are located in the Ciudad Vieja. One of them, on the same block with the main building, is the historic residence of Antonio Montero, which houses the Museo Romantico. Also nearby is the Museo Casa de José Garibaldi where Giuseppe Garibaldi lived in the 1840s while participating in the Uruguayan Civil War.


title: Montevideo

text: The Museo Torres García is located in the Old Town, and exhibits Joaquín Torres García's unusual portraits of historical icons and cubist paintings akin to those of Picasso and Braque. The museum was established by Manolita Piña Torres, the widow of Torres Garcia, after his death in 1949. She also set up the García Torres Foundation, a private non-profit organization that organizes the paintings, drawings, original writings, archives, objects and furniture designed by the painter as well as the photographs, magazines and publications related to him.


title: Montevideo

text: There are several other important art museums in Montevideo. The Centro de Fotografía de Montevideo (CdF) is a museum, archive, and gallery for historic and contemporary photography with twelve outdoor exhibition spaces in various Montevideo neighborhoods as well as four galleries in its downtown headquarters. The National Museum of Visual Arts in Parque Rodó has Uruguay's largest collection of paintings. The Juan Manuel Blanes Museum was founded in 1930, the 100th anniversary of the first Constitution of Uruguay, significant with regard to the fact that Juan Manuel Blanes painted Uruguayan patriotic themes. In back of the museum is a Japanese Garden with a pond where there are over a hundred carp. The Museo de Historia del Arte, located in the Palacio Municipal, features replicas of ancient monuments and exhibits a varied collection of artifacts from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Greece, Rome and Native American cultures including local finds of the pre-Columbian period. The Museo Municipal Precolombino y Colonial, in the Ciudad Vieja, has preserved collections of the archeological finds from excavations carried out by Uruguayan archeologist Antonio Taddei. These antiquaries are exhibits of pre-Columbian art of Latin America, painting and sculpture from the 17th and 18th century mostly from Mexico, Peru and Brazil. The Museo de Arte Contempo has small but impressive exhibits of modern Uruguayan painting and sculpture.


title: Montevideo

text: There are also other types of museums in the city. The Museo del Gaucho y de la Moneda, located in the Centro, has distinctive displays of the historical culture of Uruguay's gauchos, their horse gear, silver work and "mate" (tea), gourds, and "bombillas" (drinking straws) in odd designs. The Museo Naval, is located on the eastern waterfront in Buceo and offers exhibits depicting the maritime history of Uruguay. The Museo del Automóvil, belonging to the Automobile Club of Uruguay, has a rich collection of vintage cars which includes a 1910 Hupmobile. The Museo y Parque Fernando García in Carrasco, a transport and automobile museum, includes old horse carriages and some early automobiles. The Castillo Pittamiglio, with an unusual façade, highlights the eccentric legacy of Humberto Pittamiglio, local alchemist and architect.


title: Montevideo

text: As the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo is home to a number of festivals and carnivals including a Gaucho festival when people ride through the streets on horseback in traditional gaucho gear. The major annual festival is the annual Montevideo Carnival which is part of the national festival of Carnival Week, celebrated throughout Uruguay, with central activities in the capital, Montevideo. Officially, the public holiday lasts for two days on Carnival Monday and Shrove Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday, but due to the prominence of the festival, most shops and businesses close for the entire week.


title: Montevideo

text: During carnival there are many open-air stage performances and competitions and the streets and houses are vibrantly decorated. "Tablados" or popular scenes, both fixed and movable, are erected in the whole city. Notable displays include "Desfile de las Llamadas" ("Parade of the Calls"), which is a grand united parade held on the south part of downtown, where it used to be a common ritual back in the early 20th century. Due to the scale of the festival, preparation begins as early as December with an election of the "zonal beauty queens" to appear in the carnival.


title: Montevideo

text: Estadio Centenario, the national football stadium in Parque Batlle, was opened in 1930 for the first World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centennial of Uruguay's first constitution. In this World Cup, Uruguay won the title game against Argentina by 4 goals to 2. The stadium has 70,000 seats. It is listed by FIFA as one of the football world's classic stadiums, along with Maracanã, Wembley Stadium, San Siro, Estadio Azteca, and Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. A museum located within the football stadium has exhibits of memorabilia from Uruguay's 1930 and 1950 World Cup championships. Museum tickets give access to the stadium, stands, locker rooms and playing field.


title: Montevideo

text: Between 1935 and 1938, the athletics track and the municipal velodrome were completed within Parque Batlle. The Tabaré Athletic Club is occasionally made over as a carnival theater using impermanent materials.


title: Montevideo

text: Today the vast majority of teams in the Primera División and Segunda División come from Montevideo, including Nacional, Peñarol, Central Español, Cerrito, Cerro, Danubio, Defensor Sporting, Atlético Fénix, Liverpool, Wanderers, Racing, River Plate, Club Atlético Torque and Rampla Juniors.


title: Montevideo

text: Besides Estadio Centenario, other stadiums include Estadio Campeon del Siglo, Peñarol, Gran Parque Central, Belvedere, Complejo Rentistas, Jardines del Hipódromo, José Pedro Damiani, "La Bombonera", Luis Franzini, Luis Tróccoli and the park stadiums of Abraham Paladino, Alfredo Víctor Viera, Omar Saroldi, José Nasazzi, Osvaldo Roberto, Maracaná and Palermo.


title: Montevideo

text: The city has a tradition as host of major international basketball tournaments including the official 1967 FIBA World Cup and the 1988 1997 and 2017 editions of the official Americas Basketball Championship.


title: Montevideo

text: The Uruguayan Basketball League is headquartered in Montevideo and most of its teams are from the city, including Defensor Sporting, Biguá, , Goes, Malvín, , and . Montevideo is also a center of rugby; equestrianism, which regained importance in Montevideo after the Maroñas Racecourse reopened; golf, with the Club de Punta Carretas; and yachting, with the Puerto del Buceo, an ideal place to moor yachts. The Golf Club of Punta Carretas was founded in 1894 covers all the area encircled by the west side of Bulevar Artigas, the Rambla (Montevideo's promenade) and the Parque Rodó (Fun Fair).


title: Montevideo

text: The religion with most followers in Montevideo is Roman Catholicism and has been so since the foundation of the city. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montevideo was created as the Apostolic Vicariate of Montevideo in 1830. The vicariate was promoted to the Diocese of Montevideo on 13 July 1878. Pope Leo XIII elevated it to the rank of a metropolitan archdiocese on 14 April 1897. The new archdiocese became the Metropolitan of the suffragan sees of Canelones, Florida, Maldonado–Punta del Este, Melo, Mercedes, Minas, Salto, San José de Mayo, Tacuarembó.


title: Montevideo

text: Montevideo is the only archdiocese in Uruguay and, as its Ordinary, the archbishop is also Primate of the Catholic Church in Uruguay. The archdiocese's mother church and thus seat of its archbishop is Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción y San Felipe y Santiago. Church and state are officially separated since 1916 in Uruguay. , the Archbishop of Montevideo is Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, SDB, since his appointment on 11 February 2014.


title: Montevideo

text: Other religious faiths in Montevideo are Protestantism, Umbanda, Judaism, and there are many people who define themselves as Atheists and Agnostics, while others profess "believing in God but without religion".


title: Montevideo

text: The Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral is the main Roman Catholic church of Montevideo. It is located in Ciudad Vieja, immediately across Constitution Square from the Cabildo. In 1740 a brick church was built on the site. In 1790, the foundation was laid for the current neoclassical structure. The church was consecrated in 1804. Bicentennial celebrations were held in 2004.


title: Montevideo

text: In 1897, Pope Leo XIII elevated the church to Metropolitan Cathedral status. Important ceremonies are conducted under the direction of the Archbishop of Montevideo. Weddings and choral concerts are held here and the parish priest conducts the routine functions of the cathedral. In the 19th century, its precincts were also used as a burial place of famous people who died in the city. For decades, the prison and the nearby Punta Carretas parish church were the only major buildings in the neighborhood.


title: Montevideo

text: Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Corazón ("Our Lady of the Sacred Heart"), also known as Iglesia Punta Carretas ("Punta Carretas Church"), was built between 1917 and 1927 in the Romanesque Revival style. The church was originally part of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, but is presently in the parish of the Ecclesiastic Curia. Its location is at the corner of Solano García and José Ellauri. It has a nave and aisles. The roof has many vaults. During the construction of the Punta Carretas Shopping complex, major cracks developed in the structure of the church as a result of differential foundation settlement.


title: Montevideo

text: As the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo is the economic and political center of the country. Most of the largest and wealthiest businesses in Uruguay have their headquarters in the city. Since the 1990s the city has undergone rapid economic development and modernization, including two of Uruguay's most important buildings—the World Trade Center Montevideo (1998), and Telecommunications Tower (2000), the headquarters of Uruguay's government-owned telecommunications company ANTEL, increasing the city's integration into the global marketplace.


title: Montevideo

text: The Port of Montevideo, in the northern part of Ciudad Vieja, is one of the major ports of South America and plays a very important role in the city's economy. The port has been growing rapidly and consistently at an average annual rate of 14 percent due to an increase in foreign trade. The city has received a US$20 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank to modernize the port, increase its size and efficiency, and enable lower maritime and river transportation costs.


title: Montevideo

text: The most important state-owned companies headquartered in Montevideo are: AFE (railways), ANCAP (Energy), Administracion Nacional de Puertos (Ports), ANTEL (telecommunications), BHU (savings and loan), BROU (bank), BSE (insurance), OSE (water & sewage), UTE (electricity). These companies operate under public law, using a legal entity defined in the Uruguayan Constitution called "Ente Autonomo" ("autonomous entity"). The government also owns part of other companies operating under private law, such as those owned wholly or partially by the CND (National Development Corporation).


title: Montevideo

text: Banking has traditionally been one of the strongest service export sectors in Uruguay: the country was once dubbed "the Switzerland of America", mainly for its banking sector and stability, although that stability has been threatened in the 21st century by the recent global economic climate. The largest bank in Uruguay is Banco Republica (BROU), based in Montevideo. 9 private banks, most of them branches of international banks, operate in the country (Banco Santander, BBVA, ABN AMRO, Citibank, among others). There are also a myriad of brokers and financial-services bureaus, among them Ficus Capital, Galfin Sociedad de Bolsa, Europa Sociedad de Bolsa, Darío Cukier, GBU, Hordeñana & Asociados Sociedad de Bolsa, etc.


title: Montevideo

text: Tourism accounts for much of Uruguay's economy. Tourism in Montevideo is centered in the Ciudad Vieja area, which includes the city's oldest buildings, several museums, art galleries, and nightclubs, with Sarandí Street and the Mercado del Puerto being the most frequented venues of the old city. On the edge of Ciudad Vieja, Plaza Independencia is surrounded by many sights, including the Solís Theatre and the Palacio Salvo; the plaza also constitutes one end of 18 de Julio Avenue, the city's most important tourist destination outside of Ciudad Vieja. Apart from being a shopping street, the avenue is noted for its Art Deco buildings, three important public squares, the Gaucho Museum, the Palacio Municipal and many other sights. The avenue leads to the Obelisk of Montevideo; beyond that is Parque Batlle, which along with the Parque Prado is another important tourist destination. Along the coast, the Fortaleza del Cerro, the "Rambla" (the coastal avenue), of sandy beaches, and Punta Gorda attract many tourists, as do the Barrio Sur and Palermo "barrios".


title: Montevideo

text: The Ministry of Tourism offers a two-and-a-half-hour city tour and the Montevideo Tourist Guide Association offers guided tours in English, Italian, Portuguese and German. Apart from these, many private companies offer organized city tours.


title: Montevideo

text: Most tourists to the city come from Argentina, Brazil and Europe, with the number of visitors from elsewhere in Latin America and from the United States growing every year, thanks to an increasing number of international airline arrivals at Carrasco International Airport as well as cruises and ferries that arrive into the port of Montevideo.


title: Montevideo

text: Montevideo is the heartland of retailing in Uruguay. The city has become the principal center of business and real estate, including many expensive buildings and modern towers for residences and offices, surrounded by extensive green spaces. In 1985, the first shopping center in Rio de la Plata, Montevideo Shopping was built. In 1994, with building of three more shopping complexes such as the Shopping Tres Cruces, Portones Shopping, and Punta Carretas Shopping, the business map of the city changed dramatically. The creation of shopping complexes brought a major change in the habits of the people of Montevideo. Global firms such as McDonald's and Burger King etc. are firmly established in Montevideo. In 2013 Nuevocentro Shopping, a shopping mall located in the Jacinto Vera neighborhood, was inaugurated.


title: Montevideo

text: Apart from the big shopping complexes, the main retailing venues of the city are: most of 18 de Julio Avenue in the Centro and Cordón "barrios", a length of Agraciada Avenue in the Paso de Molino area of Belvedere, a length of Arenal Grande St. and the


title: Montevideo

text: Out of the 100 radio stations found in Uruguay, 40 of them are in Montevideo. The city has a vibrant artistic and literary community. The press enjoyed full freedom until the advent of the Civic-military dictatorship (1973–1985); this freedom returned on 1 March 1985, as part of the restoration of democracy.


title: Montevideo

text: Some of the important newspapers published in the city are: "Brecha", "La Republica", "El Observador", "El País", "Gaceta Comercial" and "La Diaria". "El Día" was the most prestigious paper in Uruguay, founded in 1886 by José Batlle, who would later go on to become President of Uruguay. The paper ceased production in the early 1990s. All television stations have their headquarters in Montevideo, for example: Saeta Channel 10, Teledoce, Channel 4 and National Television (Channel 5)


title: Montevideo

text: The city and its metropolitan area have a bus transportation network, the "Sistema Met"s acronym. It covers urban and interurban services within the Metropolitan Area and is administered by the municipal government together with the Ministry of Transport and Public Works. The Baltasar Brum Terminal located in Ciudad Vieja, is the main urban bus station. However, there are numerous interchanges and terminals distributed in both the city and the metropolitan area.


title: Montevideo

text: In Montevideo its design contains yellow and white. To determine the rate they use a taximeter, which will determine the price depending on the distance traveled. All taxis accept cash, now it is also common that you can pay with a credit card.


title: Montevideo

text: The State Railways Administration of Uruguay (AFE) operates three commuter rail lines, namely the Empalme Olmos, San Jose and Florida. These lines operate to major suburban areas of Canelones, San José and Florida. Within the Montevideo city limits, local trains stop at Lorenzo Carnelli, Yatai (Step Mill), Sayago, Colón (line to San Jose and Florida), Peñarol and Manga (line Empalme Olmos) stations. The historic 19th century General Artigas Central Station located in the "barrio" Aguada, six blocks from the central business district, was abandoned 1 March 2003 and remains closed. A new station, north of the old one and part of the Telecommunications Tower modern complex, has taken over the rail traffic.


title: Montevideo

text: The train service is currently suspended for works related to the modernization of the railway system until mid-2023 when the work will end.


title: Montevideo

text: The Tres Cruces bus station is the main bus terminal in Uruguay, serving long-distance buses that travel into Montevideo, from other parts of the country and abroad. Inaugurated in 1994, it serves more than 12 million passengers per year.


title: Montevideo

text: Montevideo is served by the Carrasco International Airport , which is located in the north of Ciudad de la Costa, in Canelones Department, from the city center. It handles over 1,5 million passengers per year, and has been cited as one of the most efficient and traveler-friendly airports in Latin America.


title: Montevideo

text: Ángel S. Adami Airport is a private airport operated by minor charter companies and in which there is also a flight school.


title: Montevideo

text: Montevideo is also served by a ferry system operated by the company Buquebus that connects the port with Buenos Aires. More than 2.2 million people per year travel between Argentina and Uruguay with Buquebus. One of these ships is a catamaran, which can reach a top speed of about .The port on Montevideo Bay is one of the reasons the city was founded. It gives natural protection to ships, although two jetties now further protect the harbor entrance from waves. This natural port is competitive with the other great port of Río de la Plata, Buenos Aires.


title: Montevideo

text: The main engineering work on the port occurred between the years 1870 and 1930. These six decades saw the construction of the port's first wooden pier, several warehouses in La Aguada, the north and south Rambla, a river port, a new pier, the dredged river basin and the La Teja Refinery. A major storm in 1923 necessitated repairs to many of the city's engineering works. Since the second half of the 20th century, until the 21st century, physical changes had ceased, and since that time the area had degraded due to national economic stagnation.


title: Montevideo

text: The port's proximity has contributed to the installation of various industries in the area surrounding the bay, particularly import/export businesses and other business related to port and naval activity. The density of industrial development in the area surrounding the port has kept its popularity as a residential area relatively low despite its centrality. The main environmental problems are subaquatic sedimentation and air and water contamination.


title: Montevideo

text: Every year more than one hundred cruises arrive, bringing tourists to Montevideo by public or private tours.


title: Montevideo

text: The city has bicycle circuits in Ciudad Vieja, Artigas Boulevard and Centro as well as with good facilities for cyclists such as bike paths and bike racks throughout the city. In 2013 the "South Bicicircuito" was also inaugurated, which connects several of the dependent faculties of the University of the Republic. There are more than 100 bike stations in the city. In 2014, a bicycle sharing system called "Movete" was launched.


title: Montevideo

text: The University of the Republic is the country's largest and most important university, with a student body of 81,774, according to the census of 2007. It was founded on 18 July 1849 in Montevideo, where most of its buildings and facilities are still located. Its Rector is Dr. Rodrigo Arocena. The university houses 14 faculties (departments) and various institutes and schools. Many eminent Uruguayans have graduated from this university, including Carlos Vaz Ferreira, José Luis Massera, Gabriel Paternain, Mario Wschebor, Roman Fresnedo Siri, Carlos Ott and Eladio Dieste


title: Montevideo

text: The process of founding the country's public university began on 11 June 1833 with the passage of a law proposed by Senator Dámaso Antonio Larrañaga. It called for the creation of nine academic departments; the President of the Republic would pass a decree formally creating the departments once the majority of them were in operation. In 1836, the House of General Studies was formed, housing the departments of Latin, philosophy, mathematics, theology and jurisprudence. On 27 May 1838, Manuel Oribe passed a decree establishing the Greater University of the Republic. That decree had few practical effects, given the institutional instability of the Oriental Republic of the Uruguay at that time.


title: Montevideo

text: The largest private university in Uruguay, is also located in Montevideo. ORT Uruguay was first established as a non-profit organization in 1942, and was officially certified as a private university in September 1996, becoming the second private educational institution in the country to achieve that status. It is a member of World ORT, an international educational network founded in 1880 by the Jewish community in Saint Petersburg, Russia.


title: Montevideo

text: The university has about 8,000 students, distributed among 5 faculties and institutes, mainly geared towards the sciences and technology/engineering. Its rector is Dr. Jorge A. Grünberg.


title: Montevideo

text: The Montevideo Crandon Institute is an American School of missionary origin and the main Methodist educational institution in Uruguay. Founded in 1879 and supported by the Women's Society of the Methodist Church of the United States, it is one of the most traditional and emblematic institutions in the city inculcating John Wesley's values. Its alumni include presidents, senators, ambassadors and Nobel Prize winners, along with musicians, scientists, and others. The Montevideo Crandon Institute boasts of being the first academic institution in South America where a home economics course was taught.


title: Montevideo

text: The Christian Brothers of Ireland Stella Maris College is a private, co-educational, not-for-profit Catholic school located in the wealthy residential southeastern neighborhood of Carrasco. Established in 1955, it is regarded as one of the best high schools in the country, blending a rigorous curriculum with strong extracurricular activities. The school's headmaster, history professor Juan Pedro Toni, is a member of the Stella Maris Board of Governors and the school is a member of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). Its long list of distinguished former pupils includes economists, engineers, architects, lawyers, politicians and even F1 champions. The school has also played an important part in the development of rugby union in Uruguay, with the creation of Old Christians Club, the school's alumni club.


title: Montevideo

text: Also in Carrasco is The British Schools of Montevideo, one of the oldest educational institutions in the country, founded in 1908 with "the object of giving children a complete education, both intellectual and moral, based upon the ideas and principles of the best schools in The British Isles".


title: Montevideo

text: The School is governed by the Board of Governors, elected by the British Schools Society in Uruguay, whose honorary president is the British Ambassador to Uruguay. Prominent alumni include former government ministers Pedro Bordaberry Herrán and Gabriel Gurméndez Armand-Ugon.


title: Montevideo

text: Located in Cordon, St.Brendan's school, previously named St.Catherine's is a non-profit civil association, which has a solid institutional culture with a clear vision of the future. It is known for being one of the best schools in the country, joining students from the wealthiest parts of Montevideo, such as, Punta Carretas, Pocitos, Malvin and Carrasco.


title: Montevideo

text: St. Brendan's School is a bilingual, non-denominational school that promotes a pedagogical constructivist approach focused on the child as a whole. In this approach, understanding is built from the connections children make between their own prior knowledge and the learning experiences, thus developing critical thinking skills. It is also the only school in the country implementing the three International Baccalaureate Programmes. These are:


title: Montevideo

text: Other educational institutions of note include Colegio Ingles, , Lycée Français de Montevideo, Ivy Thomas, German School of Montevideo and Colegio Preuniversitario Ciudad de San Felipe.


title: Montevideo

text: In Montevideo, as elsewhere in the country, there are both public and private health services. In both sectors, medical services are provided by polyclinics and hospitals or sanatorios. The term "hospital" is used here for both outpatient and inpatient facilities, while "sanatorio" is used for private short- and long-term facilities for the treatment of illnesses.


title: Montevideo

text: Hospital de Clínicas "Dr. Manuel Quintela" is a University Hospital attached to the University of the Republic, and is located on Avenida Italia. It functions as an adult general polyclinic and hospital. The building was designed by architect Carlos Surraco in 1928–1929 and has a surface area of on 23 floors. The hospital was inaugurated 21 September 1953. For many years it was led by Dr. Hugo Villar, who was a considerable influence on the institution.


title: Montevideo

text: Hospital Maciel is one of the oldest hospitals in Uruguay and stands on the block bounded by the streets Maciel, 25 de Mayo, Guaraní and Washington, with the main entrance at 25 de Mayo, 172. The land was originally donated in Spanish colonial times by philanthropist Francisco Antonio Maciel, who teamed up with Mateo Vidal to establish a hospital and charity. The first building was constructed between 1781 and 1788 and later expanded upon. The present building stems from the 1825 plans of José Toribio (son of ) and later Bernardo Poncini (wing on the Guaraní street, 1859), Eduardo Canstatt (corner of Guaraní and 25 de Mayo) and Julián Masquelez (1889). The hospital has a chapel built in Greek style by Miguel Estévez in 1798.


title: Montevideo

text: Hospital Pereira Rossell was founded in 1908 and was built on land donated in late 1900 by Alexis Rossell y Rius and Dolores Pereira de Rossell. It was the city's first pediatric hospital, and shortly afterwards the addition of an obstetric and gynecological clinic in 1915 made it the first maternity hospital as well. Later, the hospital received a donation from Dr. Enrique Pouey for a radiotherapy unit.


title: Montevideo

text: Hospital Vilardebó is the only psychiatric hospital in Montevideo. Named after the physician and naturalist , it opened 21 May 1880. The hospital was originally one of the best of Latin America and in 1915 grew to 1,500 inpatients. Today the hospital is very deteriorated, with broken walls and floors, lack of medicines, beds, and rooms for the personnel. It has an emergency service, outpatient, clinic and inpatient rooms and employs approximately 610 staff, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, administrators, guards, among others. The average patient age is 30 years; more than half of the patients arrive by court order; 42% suffer from schizophrenia, 18% from depression and mania, and there are also a high percentage of drug addicted patients.


title: Montevideo

text: Other public polyclinics and hospitals of note include the Hospital Saint Bois, founded 18 November 1928, which consists of a General Hospital and Eye Hospital; the Pasteur Hospital in La Unión neighborhood; the Hospital Español, which was founded in 1886, passed to the private sector in the 20th century, closed in 2004 and was restored and re-inaugurated in 2007 as the municipal Juan Jose Crottogini Polyclinic; the National Cancer Institute; and the National Institute of Trauma and Orthopedics.


title: Montevideo

text: Private healthcare is offered by many private health insurance companies, each of which has one or more polyclinics and owns or is associated with one or more hospitals. Private medical facilities of note include the Hospital Británico, the Italian Hospital of Montevideo, Mutualista CASMU's Sanatoria I, II, III and IV, the Evangelical Hospital, , Sanatorio de la Asociación Española, Sanatorios del Círculo Católico, Sanatorio Casa de Galicia and Sanatorio GREMCA.


title: Berserk (2016 TV series)

text: The story follows Guts as the "Black Swordsman", an appearance which was briefly seen in the first episode of the 1997 television series as well as in the final scene of the "" films.


title: Berserk (2016 TV series)

text: Guts was once a wandering mercenary taken in by the mercenary group known as the and he fought alongside them before their mutilated leader, Griffith, sacrificed his followers to become one of the God Hand and continue his dream of ruling a kingdom of his own. Only Guts and his lover Casca, who lost her sanity and memory from the horrors she saw and endured, escaped the "Eclipse" ritual. However, they were branded with marks that attract evil, restless spirits and other similar entities. With Casca in the care of blacksmith Godo and his adopted daughter Erica as well as Rickert, the only member of the Hawks absent during the Eclipse, Guts set off to hunt down the God Hand's Apostles to find and kill Griffith in a quest for vengeance. Years have passed, and Guts is joined in his hunt by an elf named Puck as events the God Hand has long waited for are beginning to unfold.


title: Berserk (2016 TV series)

text: A new "Berserk" anime was announced in December 2015 in Hakusensha's "Young Animal" magazine, with a short preview trailer released at Comiket later the same month. The anime's website announced in February 2016 that the project would be a television series. A second trailer was streamed in March 2016. A teaser video was streamed on the series' website in early June 2016. At the conclusion of the first season's final episode, a teaser confirmed a second season for April 2017. The brief clip showed off the character Schierke and the Berserker armor, indicating the second season would adapt the next arc, "Hawk of the Millennium Empire".


title: Berserk (2016 TV series)

text: Kentaro Miura, the author of the original manga, served as executive supervisor for the anime. The series is directed by Shin Itagaki, and written by Makoto Fukami and Takashi Yamashita, with character designs provided by Hisashi Abe. Animation studio Liden Films is producing the series with GEMBA and Millepensee helming on the animation production. Shirō Sagisu returns from the "" films to compose the music for the series, while Susumu Hirasawa, composer for the 1997 series and the "Golden Age Arc" films, returns to produce two songs for the series, titled and "Ash Crow". For first season, the opening theme song, "Inferno", is performed by 9mm Parabellum Bullet, while the ending theme, , is performed by Nagi Yanagi. For second season, the opening theme song, "Sacrifice", performed by 9mm Parabellum Bullet, while the ending theme, , performed by Yoshino Nanjō featuring Nagi Yanagi.


title: Berserk (2016 TV series)

text: The primary voice cast is reprising their roles from the "Golden Age Arc" film trilogy, while voice actor Unshō Ishizuka is reprising his role as the Narrator from the original anime.


title: Berserk (2016 TV series)

text: Producer Reo Kurosu has described the show's animation style as "a hybrid between 2D and 3D", elaborating that "For this series, we’re trying to do something new. The director is a 2D animator so what goes on in his mind and what he puts on the storyboard is all in 2D. From there it’s all about choosing which tool to use between full CG animation, traditional 2D, or a hybrid of the two. The director and the 2D and 3D studios will meet and discuss what to use depending on what we’re trying to accomplish with each scene." The 3D characters and objects are rendered with Cel shading to make them look more like 2D animation. A particular feature is that the shadows on 3D objects contain a linear hatching effect that simulates shading with a pen or pencil, and the same hatching effect is applied to the shadows that appear on any 2D models to create a more uniform look.


title: Berserk (2016 TV series)

text: The first 12-episode season premiered on 1 July 2016 on Wowow, and later on MBS's Animeism programming block, TBS, CBC, and BS-TBS. The second season of the series began airing on April 7, 2017, with an hour-long two episode premiere.


title: Berserk (2016 TV series)

text: The series is being simulcast on Crunchyroll. Crunchyroll announced at the annual Anime Expo on 1 July 2016 that the company will be releasing the series with an English dub on Blu-ray and DVD. The exact date that the series will be released has not been announced.


title: Berserk (2016 TV series)

text: On March 17, 2017, IGN released a clip of the "Berserk" English dub and was announced that the series would be distributed by Funimation, but the series was dubbed by Bang Zoom! Entertainment. This marks the first time NYAV Post had no involvement in dubbing "Berserk" media since "". The first season was available on March 20 by Funimation.


title: Berserk (2016 TV series)

text: IGN contributor Meghan Sullivan gave the opening episode a score of 8.5 out of a possible 10. In the review Sullivan praised the episodes' direction, stating "despite the somewhat distracting visuals, 'The Branded Swordsman' gets Guts' quest for vengeance off to a strong start".


title: Berserk (2016 TV series)

text: Writer Cecilia D'Anastasio applauded the opening episode in a review published by Kotaku, going so far as to state that it "already outshines the 90's original". Though, noting the series' sub-par animation quality, D'Anastasio concluded, ""Berserk" is not for the faint-hearted. But 'The Branded Swordsman' proved to me that directors of fighting-heavy anime are making more of an effort to beautify and civilize the genre, doing justice to manga that showcases writing and ingenuity."


title: Berserk (2016 TV series)

text: Anime News Network contributor Jacob Hope Chapman was critical of the show's production quality in his review of episodes 1–3, stating that ""Berserk 2016" is an abominably ugly and almost forcefully unpleasant realization of our dreams, with cut-rate CGI, questionable music choices, and disorienting camera work". However, to him, the strength of the source work helps to carry the show, and Itagaki's frenetic directing style at least keeps the action interesting: "Once you manage to unclench your teeth at all those garish cel-shaded puppet bodies smacking against each other, Miura's compelling story and the captivating world still shine as one-of-a-kind flights of dark images with poignant characterization, even as they struggle under such a lackluster production."


title: Board of directors

text: A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organization, or a government agency.


title: Board of directors

text: The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations (including the jurisdiction's corporate law) and the organization's own constitution and by-laws. These authorities may specify the number of members of the board, how they are to be chosen, and how often they are to meet.


title: Board of directors

text: In an organization with voting members, the board is accountable to, and may be subordinate to, the organization's full membership, which usually elect the members of the board. In a stock corporation, non-executive directors are elected by the shareholders, and the board has ultimate responsibility for the management of the corporation. In nations with codetermination (such as Germany and Sweden), the workers of a corporation elect a set fraction of the board's members.


title: Board of directors

text: The board of directors appoints the chief executive officer of the corporation and sets out the overall strategic direction. In corporations with dispersed ownership, the identification and nomination of directors (that shareholders vote for or against) are often done by the board itself, leading to a high degree of self-perpetuation. In a non-stock corporation with no general voting membership, the board is the supreme governing body of the institution, and its members are sometimes chosen by the board itself.


title: Board of directors

text: Other names include "board of directors and advisors", "board of governors", "board of managers", "board of regents", "board of trustees", and "board of visitors". It may also be called the "executive board".


title: Board of directors

text: The legal responsibilities of boards and board members vary with the nature of the organization, and between jurisdictions. For companies with publicly trading stock, these responsibilities are typically much more rigorous and complex than for those of other types.


title: Board of directors

text: Typically, the board chooses one of its members to be the "chairman" (often now called the "chair" or "chairperson"), who holds whatever title is specified in the by-laws or articles of association. However, in membership organizations, the members elect the president of the organization and the president becomes the board chair, unless the by-laws say otherwise.


title: Board of directors

text: The directors of an organization are the persons who are members of its board. Several specific terms categorize directors by the presence or absence of their other relationships to the organization.


title: Board of directors

text: An inside director is a director who is also an employee, officer, chief executive, major shareholder, or someone similarly connected to the organization. Inside directors represent the interests of the entity's stakeholders, and often have special knowledge of its inner workings, its financial or market position, and so on.


title: Board of directors

text: An inside director who is employed as a manager or executive of the organization is sometimes referred to as an executive director (not to be confused with the title executive director sometimes used for the CEO position in some organizations). Executive directors often have a specified area of responsibility in the organization, such as finance, marketing, human resources, or production.


title: Board of directors

text: An outside director is a member of the board who is not otherwise employed by or engaged with the organization, and does not represent any of its stakeholders. A typical example is a director who is president of a firm in a different industry. Outside directors are not employees of the company or affiliated with it in any other way.


title: Board of directors

text: Outside directors bring outside experience and perspectives to the board. For example, for a company that serves a domestic market only, the presence of CEOs from global multinational corporations as outside directors can help to provide insights on export and import opportunities and international trade options. One of the arguments for having outside directors is that they can keep a watchful eye on the inside directors and on the way the organization is run. Outside directors are unlikely to tolerate "insider dealing" between inside directors, as outside directors do not benefit from the company or organization. Outside directors are often useful in handling disputes between inside directors, or between shareholders and the board. They are thought to be advantageous because they can be objective and present little risk of conflict of interest. On the other hand, they might lack familiarity with the specific issues connected to the organization's governance, and they might not know about the industry or sector in which the organization is operating.


title: Board of directors

text: Individual directors often serve on more than one board. This practice results in an interlocking directorate, where a relatively small number of individuals have significant influence over many important entities. This situation can have important corporate, social, economic, and legal consequences, and has been the subject of significant research.


title: Board of directors

text: The process for running a board, sometimes called the board process, includes the selection of board members, the setting of clear board objectives, the dissemination of documents or board package to the board members, the collaborative creation of an agenda for the meeting, the creation and follow-up of assigned action items, and the assessment of the board process through standardized assessments of board members, owners, and CEOs. The science of this process has been slow to develop due to the secretive nature of the way most companies run their boards, however some standardization is beginning to develop. Some who are pushing for this standardization in the USA are the National Association of Corporate Directors, McKinsey and The Board Group.


title: Board of directors

text: A board of directors conducts its meetings according to the rules and procedures contained in its governing documents. These procedures may allow the board to conduct its business by conference call or other electronic means. They may also specify how a quorum is to be determined.


title: Board of directors

text: The responsibilities of a board of directors vary depending on the nature and type of business entity and the laws applying to the entity (see types of business entity). For example, the nature of the business entity may be one that is traded on a public market (public company), not traded on a public market (a private, limited or closely held company), owned by family members (a family business), or exempt from income taxes (a non-profit, not for profit, or tax-exempt entity). There are numerous types of business entities available throughout the world such as a corporation, limited liability company, cooperative, business trust, partnership, private limited company, and public limited company.


title: Board of directors

text: Much of what has been written about boards of directors relates to boards of directors of business entities actively traded on public markets. More recently, however, material is becoming available for boards of private and closely held businesses including family businesses.


title: Board of directors

text: A board-only organization is one whose board is self-appointed, rather than being accountable to a base of members through elections; or in which the powers of the membership are extremely limited.


title: Board of directors

text: In membership organizations, such as a society made up of members of a certain profession or one advocating a certain cause, a board of directors may have the responsibility of running the organization in between meetings of the membership, especially if the membership meets infrequently, such as only at an annual general meeting. The amount of powers and authority delegated to the board depend on the bylaws and rules of the particular organization. Some organizations place matters exclusively in the board's control while in others, the general membership retains full power and the board can only make recommendations.


title: Board of directors

text: The setup of a board of directors vary widely across organizations and may include provisions that are applicable to corporations, in which the "shareholders" are the members of the organization. A difference may be that the membership elects the officers of the organization, such as the president and the secretary, and the officers become members of the board in addition to the directors and retain those duties on the board. The directors may also be classified as officers in this situation. There may also be ex-officio members of the board, or persons who are members due to another position that they hold. These ex-officio members have all the same rights as the other board members.


title: Board of directors

text: Members of the board may be removed before their term is complete. Details on how they can be removed are usually provided in the bylaws. If the bylaws do not contain such details, the section on disciplinary procedures in "Robert's Rules of Order" may be used.


title: Board of directors

text: In a publicly held company, directors are elected to represent and are legally obligated as fiduciaries to represent owners of the company—the shareholders/stockholders. In this capacity they establish policies and make decisions on issues such as whether there is dividend and how much it is, stock options distributed to employees, and the hiring/firing and compensation of upper management.


title: Board of directors

text: Theoretically, the control of a company is divided between two bodies: the board of directors, and the shareholders in general meeting. In practice, the amount of power exercised by the board varies with the type of company. In small private companies, the directors and the shareholders are normally the same people, and thus there is no real division of power. In large public companies, the board tends to exercise more of a supervisory role, and individual responsibility and management tends to be delegated downward to individual professional executives (such as a finance director or a marketing director) who deal with particular areas of the company's affairs.


title: Board of directors

text: Another feature of boards of directors in large public companies is that the board tends to have more "de facto" power. Most shareholders do not attend shareholder meetings, but rather cast proxy votes via mail, phone, or internet, thus allowing the board to vote for them. However, proxy votes are not a total delegation of the voting power, as the board must vote the proxy shares as directed by their owner even when it contradicts the board's views. In addition, many shareholders vote to accept all recommendations of the board rather than try to get involved in management, since each shareholder's power, as well as interest and information is so small. Larger institutional investors also grant the board proxies. The large number of shareholders also makes it hard for them to organize. However, there have been moves recently to try to increase shareholder activism among both institutional investors and individuals with small shareholdings.


title: Board of directors

text: A contrasting view is that in large public companies it is upper management and not boards that wield practical power, because boards delegate nearly all of their power to the top executive employees, adopting their recommendations almost without fail. As a practical matter, executives even choose the directors, with shareholders normally following management recommendations and voting for them.


title: Board of directors

text: In most cases, serving on a board is not a career unto itself. For major corporations, the board members are usually professionals or leaders in their field. In the case of outside directors, they are often senior leaders of other organizations. Nevertheless, board members often receive remunerations amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year since they often sit on the boards of several companies. Inside directors are usually not paid for sitting on a board, but the duty is instead considered part of their larger job description. Outside directors are usually paid for their services. These remunerations vary between corporations, but usually consist of a yearly or monthly salary, additional compensation for each meeting attended, stock options, and various other benefits. such as travel, hotel and meal expenses for the board meetings. Tiffany & Co., for example, pays directors an annual retainer of $46,500, an additional annual retainer of $2,500 if the director is also a chairperson of a committee, a per-meeting-attended fee of $2,000 for meetings attended in person, a $500 fee for each meeting attended via telephone, in addition to stock options and retirement benefits.


title: Board of directors

text: In some European and Asian countries, there are two separate boards, an executive board (or management board) for day-to-day business and a supervisory board (elected by the shareholders and employees) for supervising the executive board. In these countries, the chairman of the supervisory board is equivalent to the chairman of a single-tier board, while the chairman of the management board is reckoned as the company's CEO or managing director. These two roles are always held by different people. This ensures a distinction between management by the executive board and governance by the supervisory board and allows for clear lines of authority. The aim is to prevent a conflict of interest and too much power being concentrated in the hands of one person. There is a strong parallel here with the structure of government, which tends to separate the political cabinet from the management civil service.


title: Board of directors

text: In the United States, the board of directors (elected by the shareholders) is often equivalent to the supervisory board, while the executive board may often be known as the executive committee (operating committee or executive council), composed of the CEO and their direct reports (other C-level officers, division/subsidiary heads).


title: Board of directors

text: Board structures and procedures vary both within and among OECD countries. Some countries have two-tier boards that separate the supervisory function and the management function into different bodies. Such systems typically have a "supervisory board" composed of nonexecutive board members and a "management board" composed entirely of executives. Other countries have "unitary" boards, which bring together executive and non-executive board members. In some countries there is also an additional statutory body for audit purposes. The OECD Principles are intended to be sufficiently general to apply to whatever board structure is charged with the functions of governing the enterprise and monitoring management.


title: Board of directors

text: The development of a separate board of directors to manage/govern/oversee a company has occurred incrementally and indefinitely over legal history. Until the end of the 19th century, it seems to have been generally assumed that the general meeting (of all shareholders) was the supreme organ of a company, and that the board of directors merely acted as an agent of the company subject to the control of the shareholders in general meeting.


title: Board of directors

text: However, by 1906, the English Court of Appeal had made it clear in the decision of "Automatic Self-Cleansing Filter Syndicate Co Ltd v Cuninghame" [1906] 2 Ch 34 that the division of powers between the board and the shareholders in general meaning depended on the construction of the articles of association and that, where the powers of management were vested in the board, the general meeting could not interfere with their lawful exercise. The articles were held to constitute a contract by which the members had agreed that "the directors and the directors alone shall manage."


title: Board of directors

text: The new approach did not secure immediate approval, but it was endorsed by the House of Lords in "Quin & Axtens v Salmon" [1909] AC 442 and has since received general acceptance. Under English law, successive versions of Table A have reinforced the norm that, unless the directors are acting contrary to the law or the provisions of the Articles, the powers of conducting the management and affairs of the company are vested in them.


title: Board of directors

text: The modern doctrine was expressed in "John Shaw & Sons (Salford) Ltd v Shaw" [1935] 2 KB 113 by Greer LJ as follows:


title: Board of directors

text: A company is an entity distinct alike from its shareholders and its directors. Some of its powers may, according to its articles, be exercised by directors, certain other powers may be reserved for the shareholders in general meeting. If powers of management are vested in the directors, they and they alone can exercise these powers. The only way in which the general body of shareholders can control the exercise of powers by the articles in the directors is by altering the articles, or, if opportunity arises under the articles, by refusing to re-elect the directors of whose actions they disapprove. They cannot themselves usurp the powers which by the articles are vested in the directors any more than the directors can usurp the powers vested by the articles in the general body of shareholders.


title: Board of directors

text: It has been remarked that this development in the law was somewhat surprising at the time, as the relevant provisions in Table A (as it was then) seemed to contradict this approach rather than to endorse it.


title: Board of directors

text: In most legal systems, the appointment and removal of directors is voted upon by the shareholders in general meeting or through a proxy statement. For publicly traded companies in the U.S., the directors which are available to vote on are largely selected by either the board as a whole or a nominating committee. Although in 2002 the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ required that nominating committees consist of independent directors as a condition of listing, nomination committees have historically received input from management in their selections even when the CEO does not have a position on the board. Shareholder nominations can only occur at the general meeting itself or through the prohibitively expensive process of mailing out ballots separately; in May 2009 the SEC proposed a new rule allowing shareholders meeting certain criteria to add nominees to the proxy statement. In practice for publicly traded companies, the managers (inside directors) who are purportedly accountable to the board of directors have historically played a major role in selecting and nominating the directors who are voted on by the shareholders, in which case more "gray outsider directors" (independent directors with conflicts of interest) are nominated and elected.


title: Board of directors

text: In countries with co-determination, a fixed fraction of the board is elected by the corporation's workers.


title: Board of directors

text: Directors may also leave office by resignation or death. In some legal systems, directors may also be removed by a resolution of the remaining directors (in some countries they may only do so "with cause"; in others the power is unrestricted).


title: Board of directors

text: Some jurisdictions also permit the board of directors to appoint directors, either to fill a vacancy which arises on resignation or death, or as an addition to the existing directors.


title: Board of directors

text: In practice, it can be quite difficult to remove a director by a resolution in general meeting. In many legal systems, the director has a right to receive special notice of any resolution to remove them; the company must often supply a copy of the proposal to the director, who is usually entitled to be heard by the meeting. The director may require the company to circulate any representations that they wish to make. Furthermore, the director's contract of service will usually entitle them to compensation if they are removed, and may often include a generous "golden parachute" which also acts as a deterrent to removal.


title: Board of directors

text: A 2010 study examined how corporate shareholders voted in director elections in the United States. It found that directors received fewer votes from shareholders when their companies performed poorly, had excess CEO compensation, or had poor shareholder protection. Also, directors received fewer votes when they did not regularly attend board meetings or received negative recommendations from a proxy advisory firm. The study also shows that companies often improve their corporate governance by removing poison pills or classified boards and by reducing excessive CEO pay after their directors receive low shareholder support.


title: Board of directors

text: Board accountability to shareholders is a recurring issue. In 2010, the "New York Times" noted that several directors who had overseen companies which had failed in the financial crisis of 2007–2010 had found new positions as directors. The SEC sometimes imposes a ban (a "D&O bar") on serving on a board as part of its fraud cases, and one of these was upheld in 2013.


title: Board of directors

text: The exercise by the board of directors of its powers usually occurs in board meetings. Most legal systems require sufficient notice to be given to all directors of these meetings, and that a quorum must be present before any business may be conducted. Usually, a meeting which is held without notice having been given is still valid if all of the directors attend, but it has been held that a failure to give notice may negate resolutions passed at a meeting, because the persuasive oratory of a minority of directors might have persuaded the majority to change their minds and vote otherwise.


title: Board of directors

text: In most common law countries, the powers of the board are vested in the board as a whole, and not in the individual directors. However, in instances an individual director may still bind the company by their acts by virtue of their ostensible authority (see also: the rule in "Turquand's Case").


title: Board of directors

text: Because directors exercise control and management over the organization, but organizations are (in theory) run for the benefit of the shareholders, the law imposes strict duties on directors in relation to the exercise of their duties. The duties imposed on directors are fiduciary duties, similar to those that the law imposes on those in similar positions of trust: agents and trustees.


title: Board of directors

text: The duties apply to each director separately, while the powers apply to the board jointly. Also, the duties are owed to the company itself, and not to any other entity. This does not mean that directors can never stand in a fiduciary relationship to the individual shareholders; they may well have such a duty in certain circumstances.


title: Board of directors

text: Directors must exercise their powers for a proper purpose. While in many instances an improper purpose is readily evident, such as a director looking to enrich themselves or divert an investment opportunity to a relative, such breaches usually involve a breach of the director's duty to act in good faith. Greater difficulties arise where the director, while acting in good faith, is serving a purpose that is not regarded by the law as proper.


title: Board of directors

text: The seminal authority in the United Kingdom in relation to what amounts to a proper purpose is the Supreme Court decision in Eclairs Group Ltd v JKX Oil & Gas plc (2015). The case concerned the powers of directors under the articles of association of the company to disenfranchise voting rights attached to shares for failure to properly comply with notice served on the shareholders. Prior to that case the leading authority was "Howard Smith Ltd v Ampol Ltd" [1974] AC 821. The case concerned the power of the directors to issue new shares. It was alleged that the directors had issued many new shares purely to deprive a particular shareholder of his voting majority. An argument that the power to issue shares could only be properly exercised to raise new capital was rejected as too narrow, and it was held that it would be a proper exercise of the director's powers to issue shares to a larger company to ensure the financial stability of the company, or as part of an agreement to exploit mineral rights owned by the company. If so, the mere fact that an incidental result (even if it was a desired consequence) was that a shareholder lost their majority, or a takeover bid was defeated, this would not itself make the share issue improper. But if the sole purpose was to destroy a voting majority, or block a takeover bid, that would be an improper purpose.


title: Board of directors

text: Not all jurisdictions recognised the "proper purpose" duty as separate from the "good faith" duty however.


title: Board of directors

text: Directors cannot, without the consent of the company, fetter their discretion in relation to the exercise of their powers, and cannot bind themselves to vote in a particular way at future board meetings. This is so even if there is no improper motive or purpose, and no personal advantage to the director.


title: Board of directors

text: This does not mean, however, that the board cannot agree to the company entering into a contract which binds the company to a certain course, even if certain actions in that course will require further board approval. The company remains bound, but the directors retain the discretion to vote against taking the future actions (although that may involve a breach by the company of the contract that the board previously approved).


title: Board of directors

text: As fiduciaries, the directors may not put themselves in a position where their interests and duties conflict with the duties that they owe to the company. The law takes the view that good faith must not only be done, but must be manifestly seen to be done, and zealously patrols the conduct of directors in this regard; and will not allow directors to escape liability by asserting that their decisions were in fact well founded. Traditionally, the law has divided conflicts of duty and interest into three sub-categories.


title: Board of directors

text: By definition, where a director enters into a transaction with a company, there is a conflict between the director's interest (to enrich themselves with the transaction) and their duty to the company (to ensure that the company gets as much as it can out of the transaction). In some places, this rule is so strictly enforced that, even where the conflict of interest or conflict of duty is purely hypothetical, the directors can be forced to disgorge all personal gains arising from it. In "Aberdeen Ry v Blaikie" (1854) 1 Macq HL 461 Lord Cranworth stated in his judgment that:


title: Board of directors

text: However, in many jurisdictions the members of the company are permitted to ratify transactions which would otherwise fall foul of this principle. It is also largely accepted in most jurisdictions that this principle can be overridden in the company's constitution.


title: Board of directors

text: In many countries, there is also a statutory duty to declare interests in relation to any transactions, and the director can be fined for failing to make disclosure.


title: Board of directors

text: Directors must not, without the informed consent of the company, use for their own profit the company's assets, opportunities, or information. This prohibition is much less flexible than the prohibition against the transactions with the company, and attempts to circumvent it using provisions in the articles have met with limited success.


title: Board of directors

text: In "Regal (Hastings) Ltd v Gulliver" [1942] All ER 378 the House of Lords, in upholding what was regarded as a wholly unmeritorious claim by the shareholders, held that:


title: Board of directors

text: And accordingly, the directors were required to disgorge the profits that they made, and the shareholders received their windfall.


title: Board of directors

text: Directors cannot compete directly with the company without a conflict of interest arising. Similarly, they should not act as directors of competing companies, as their duties to each company would then conflict with each other.


title: Board of directors

text: Traditionally, the level of care and skill which has to be demonstrated by a director has been framed largely with reference to the non-executive director. In "Re City Equitable Fire Insurance Co" [1925] Ch 407, it was expressed in purely subjective terms, where the court held that:


title: Board of directors

text: However, this decision was based firmly in the older notions (see above) that prevailed at the time as to the mode of corporate decision making, and effective control residing in the shareholders; if they elected and put up with an incompetent decision maker, they should not have recourse to complain.


title: Board of directors

text: However, a more modern approach has since developed, and in "Dorchester Finance Co Ltd v Stebbing" [1989] BCLC 498 the court held that the rule in "Equitable Fire" related only to skill, and not to diligence. With respect to diligence, what was required was:


title: Board of directors

text: More recently, it has been suggested that both the tests of skill and diligence should be assessed objectively and subjectively; in the United Kingdom, the statutory provisions relating to directors' duties in the new Companies Act 2006 have been codified on this basis.


title: Board of directors

text: In most jurisdictions, the law provides for a variety of remedies in the event of a breach by the directors of their duties:


title: Board of directors

text: Historically, directors' duties have been owed almost exclusively to the company and its members, and the board was expected to exercise its powers for the financial benefit of the company. However, more recently there have been attempts to "soften" the position, and provide for more scope for directors to act as good corporate citizens. For example, in the United Kingdom, the Companies Act 2006 requires directors of companies "to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole" and sets out the following six factors regarding a director's duty to promote success:


title: Board of directors

text: This represents a considerable departure from the traditional notion that directors' duties are owed only to the company. Previously in the United Kingdom, under the Companies Act 1985, protections for non-member stakeholders were considerably more limited (see, for example, s.309 which permitted directors to take into account the interests of employees but which could only be enforced by the shareholders and not by the employees themselves). The changes have therefore been the subject of some criticism.


title: Board of directors

text: The adoption of technology that facilitates the meeting preparation and execution of directors continues to grow. Board directors are increasingly leveraging this technology to communicate and collaborate within a secure environment to access meeting materials, communicate with each other, and execute their governance responsibilities. This trend is particularly acute in the United States where a robust market of early adopters garnered acceptance of board software by organizations resulting in higher penetration of the board portal services in the region.


title: Board of directors

text: Most companies have weak mechanisms for bringing the voice of society into the board room. They rely on personalities who were not appointed for their understanding of societal issues. Often they give limited focus (both through time and financial resource) to issues of corporate responsibility and sustainability. A social board has society designed into its structure. It elevates the voice of society through specialist appointments to the board and mechanisms that empower innovation from within the organisation. Social boards align themselves with themes that are important to society. These may include measuring worker pay ratios, linking personal social and environmental objectives to remuneration, integrated reporting, fair tax and B-Corp certification.


title: Board of directors

text: Social boards recognise that they are part of society and that they require more than a licence to operate to succeed. They balance short-term shareholder pressure against long-term value creation, managing the business for a plurality of stakeholders including employees, shareholders, supply chains and civil society.


title: Board of directors

text: The Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 has introduced new standards of accountability on boards of U.S. companies or companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges. Under the act, directors risk large fines and prison sentences in the case of accounting crimes. Internal control is now the direct responsibility of directors. The vast majority of companies covered by the act have hired internal auditors to ensure that the company adheres to required standards of internal control. The internal auditors are required by law to report directly to an audit board, consisting of directors more than half of whom are outside directors, one of whom is a "financial expert".


title: Board of directors

text: The law requires companies listed on the major stock exchanges (NYSE, NASDAQ) to have a majority of independent directors—directors who are not otherwise employed by the firm or in a business relationship with it.


title: Board of directors

text: According to the Corporate Library's study, the average size of publicly traded company's board is 9.2 members, and most boards range from 3 to 31 members. According to Investopedia, some analysts think the ideal size is seven. State law may specify a minimum number of directors, maximum number of directors, and qualifications for directors (e.g. whether board members must be individuals or may be business entities).


title: Board of directors

text: While a board may have several committees, two—the compensation committee and audit committee—are critical and must be made up of at least three independent directors and no inside directors. Other common committees in boards are nominating and governance.