title: Hubei

text: Qin founded the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, the first unified dynasty in China. The Qin dynasty was succeeded in 206 BC by the Han dynasty , which established the province ("zhou") of Jingzhou in today's Hubei and Hunan. The Qin and Han played an active role in the extension of farmland in Hubei, maintaining a system of river dikes to protect farms from summer floods. Towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty in the beginning of the 3rd century, Jingzhou was ruled by regional warlord Liu Biao. After his death in 208, Liu Biao's realm was surrendered by his successors to Cao Cao, a powerful warlord who had conquered nearly all of north China; but in the Battle of Red Cliffs (208 or 209), warlords Liu Bei and Sun Quan drove Cao Cao out of Jingzhou. Liu Bei then took control of Jingzhou and appointed Guan Yu as administrator of Xiangyang (in modern Xiangyang, Hubei) to guard Jing province; he went on to conquer Yizhou (the Sichuan Basin), but lost Jingzhou to Sun Quan; for the next few decades Jingzhou was controlled by the Wu Kingdom, ruled by Sun Quan and his successors.


title: Hubei

text: The incursion of northern nomadic peoples into the region at the beginning of the 4th century (Five Barbarians' rebellion and Disaster of Yongjia


title: Hubei

text: ()) began nearly three centuries of division into a nomad-ruled (but increasingly Sinicized) north and a Han Chinese-ruled south. Hubei, to the south, remained under southern rule for this entire period, until the unification of China by the Sui dynasty in 589. In 617 the Tang dynasty replaced Sui, and later on the Tang dynasty placed present-day Hubei under the jurisdiction of several circuits: Jiangnanxi Circuit in the south; Shannandong Circuit (山南东道) in the west, and Huainan Circuit in the east. After the Tang dynasty disintegrated in the early 10th century, Hubei came under the control of several regional regimes: Jingnan in the center, Yang Wu and its successor Southern Tang to the east, the Five Dynasties to the north and Shu to Shizhou (施州, in modern Enshi, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture).


title: Hubei

text: The Song dynasty reunified the region in 982 and placed most of Hubei into Jinghubei Circuit, a longer version of Hubei's current name. Mongols conquered the region in 1279, and under their rule the province of Huguang was established, covering Hubei, Hunan, and parts of Guangdong and Guangxi. During the Mongol rule, in 1331, Hubei was devastated by an outbreak of the Black Death, which reached England, Belgium, and Italy by June 1348, and which, according to Chinese sources, spread during the following three centuries to decimate populations throughout Eurasia.


title: Hubei

text: The Ming dynasty (1368-1644) drove out the Mongols in 1368. Their version of Huguang province was smaller, and corresponded almost entirely to the modern provinces of Hubei and Hunan combined. Hubei lay geographically outside the centers of the Ming power. During the last years of the Ming, today's Hubei was ravaged several times by the rebel armies of Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng. The Manchu Qing dynasty which took control of much of the region in 1644, soon split Huguang into the modern provinces of Hubei and Hunan. The Qing dynasty, however, continued to maintain a Viceroy of Huguang, one of the most well-known viceroys being Zhang Zhidong (in office between 1889 and 1907), whose modernizing reforms made Hubei (especially Wuhan) into a prosperous center of commerce and industry. The Huangshi/Daye area, south-east of Wuhan, became an important center of mining and metallurgy.


title: Hubei

text: In 1911 the Wuchang Uprising took place in modern-day Wuhan. The uprising started the Xinhai Revolution, which overthrew the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China. In 1927 Wuhan became the seat of a government established by left-wing elements of the Kuomintang, led by Wang Jingwei; this government later merged into Chiang Kai-shek's government in Nanjing. During World War II the eastern parts of Hubei were conquered and occupied by Japan, while the western parts remained under Chinese control.


title: Hubei

text: During the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, Wuhan saw fighting between rival Red Guard factions. In July 1967, civil strife struck the city in the Wuhan Incident ("July 20th Incident"), an armed conflict between two hostile groups who were fighting for control over the city at the height of the Cultural Revolution.


title: Hubei

text: As the fears of a nuclear war increased during the time of Sino-Soviet border conflicts in the late 1960s, the Xianning prefecture of Hubei was chosen as the site of Project 131, an underground military-command headquarters.


title: Hubei

text: The province—and Wuhan in particular—suffered severely from the 1954 Yangtze River Floods. Large-scale dam construction followed, with the Gezhouba Dam on the Yangtze River near Yichang started in 1970 and completed in 1988; the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, further upstream, began in 1993. In the following years, authorities resettled millions of people from western Hubei to make way for the construction of the dam. A number of smaller dams have been constructed on the Yangtze's tributaries as well.


title: Hubei

text: The Xianning Nuclear Power Plant is planned in Dafanzhen, Tongshan County, Xianning, to host at least four 1,250-megawatt (MW) AP1000 pressurized-water reactors.


title: Hubei

text: Work on the site began in 2010; plans envisaged that the first reactor would start construction in 2011 and go online in 2015. However, construction of the first phase had yet to start .


title: Hubei

text: On 1 December 2019, the first case of COVID-19 in the COVID-19 pandemic was identified in the city of Wuhan. In January 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 virus was officially identified, leading local and federal governments to implement massive quarantine zones across Hubei province, especially in the capital Wuhan (the epicenter of the outbreak). Authorities partially or fully locked down 15 cities, directly affecting 57 million people. Following severe outbreaks in numerous other countries, including in different areas of the world, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 a pandemic in March 2020. However, after more than eight weeks, the lockdown on most cities in the province was lifted.


title: Hubei

text: The Jianghan Plain takes up most of central and southern Hubei, while the west and the peripheries are more mountainous, with ranges such as the Wudang Mountains, the Jing Mountains, the Daba Mountains, and the Wu Mountains (in rough north-to-south order). The Dabie Mountains lie to the northeast of the Jianghan Plain, on the border with Henan and Anhui; the Tongbai Mountains lie to the north on the border with Henan; to the southeast, the Mufu Mountains form the border with Jiangxi. The highest peak in Hubei is Shennong Peak, found in the Daba Mountains of the forestry area of Shennongjia; it has an altitude of 3105 m.


title: Hubei

text: The two major rivers of Hubei are the Yangtze River and its left tributary, the Han River; they lend their names to the Jianghan Plain – Jiang representing the Yangtze and han representing the Han River. The Yangtze River enters Hubei from the west via the Three Gorges; the eastern half of the Three Gorges (Xiling Gorge and part of Wu Gorge) lie in western Hubei, while the western half is in neighbouring Chongqing. The Han River enters the province from the northwest. After crossing most of the province, the two great rivers meet at the center of Wuhan, the provincial capital.


title: Hubei

text: Among the notable tributaries of the Yangtze within the province are the Shen Nong Stream (a small northern tributary, severely affected by the Three Gorges Dam project); the Qing, a major waterway of southwestern Hubei; the Huangbo near Yichang; and the Fushui River in the southeast.


title: Hubei

text: Thousands of lakes dot the landscape of Hubei's Jianghan Plain, giving Hubei the name of "Province of Lakes"; the largest of these lakes are Liangzi Lake and Hong Lake. The numerous hydrodams have created a number of large reservoirs, the largest of which is the Danjiangkou Reservoir on the Han River, on the border between Hubei and Henan.


title: Hubei

text: Hubei has a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa" or "Cwa" under the Köppen climate classification), with four distinct seasons. Winters are cool to cold, with average temperatures of in January, while summers are hot and humid, with average temperatures of in July; punishing temperatures of or above are widely associated with Wuhan, the provincial capital. The mountainous districts of western Hubei, in particular Shennongjia, with their cooler summers, attract numerous visitors from Wuhan and other lowland cities.


title: Hubei

text: Besides the capital Wuhan, other important cities are Jingmen; Shiyan, a center of automotive industry and the gateway to the Wudang Mountains; Yichang, the main base for the gigantic hydroelectric projects of southwestern Hubei; and Shashi.


title: Hubei

text: Hubei is divided into seventeen prefecture-level divisions (of which there are twelve prefecture-level cities (including a sub-provincial city) and one autonomous prefecture), as well as three directly administered county-level cities (all sub-prefecture-level cities) and one directly administered county-level forestry area. At the end of 2017, the total population is 59.02 million.


title: Hubei

text: The thirteen Prefecture and four directly administered county-level divisions of Hubei are subdivided into 103 county-level divisions (39 districts, 24 county-level cities, 37 counties, 2 autonomous counties, 1 forestry district; the directly administered county-level divisions are included here). Those are in turn divided into 1234 township-level divisions (737 towns, 215 townships, nine ethnic townships, and 273 subdistricts).


title: Hubei

text: Hubei is often called the "Land of Fish and Rice" (). Important agricultural products in Hubei include cotton, rice, wheat, and tea, while industries include automobiles, metallurgy, machinery, power generation, textiles, foodstuffs and high-tech commodities.


title: Hubei

text: Mineral resources that can be found in Hubei in significant quantities include borax, hongshiite, wollastonite, garnet, marlstone, iron, phosphorus, copper, gypsum, rutile, rock salt, gold amalgam, manganese and vanadium. The province's recoverable reserves of coal stand at 548 million tons, which is modest compared to other Chinese provinces. Hubei is well known for its mines of fine turquoise and green faustite.


title: Hubei

text: Once completed, the Three Gorges Dam in western Hubei will provide plentiful hydroelectricity, with an estimated annual power production of 84,700 Gwh. Existing hydroelectric stations include Gezhouba, Danjiangkou, Geheyan, Hanjiang, Duhe, Huanglongtan, Bailianhe, Lushui and Fushui.


title: Hubei

text: Hubei is the 7th-largest provincial economy of China, the second largest in the Central China region after Henan, the third largest in the South Central China region after Guangdong and Henan and the third largest among inland provinces after Henan and Sichuan. , Hubei's nominal GDP was US$ 787 billion (CNY 5 trillion). Its GDP (nominal) per capita exceeded US$13,000, making it the richest landlocked province, the richest province in the Central China region, and 2nd richest province in South Central China region after Guangdong.


title: Hubei

text: Han Chinese form the dominant ethnic group in Hubei. A considerable Miao and Tujia population live in the southwestern part of the province, especially in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.


title: Hubei

text: On October 18, 2009, Chinese officials began to relocate 330,000 residents from the Hubei and Henan provinces that will be affected by the Danjiangkou Reservoir on the Han river. The reservoir is part of the larger South-North Water Transfer Project.


title: Hubei

text: The predominant religions in Hubei are Chinese folk religions, Taoist traditions and Chinese Buddhism. According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 6.5% of the population believes and is involved in cults of ancestors, while 0.58% of the population identifies as Christian, declining from 0.83% in 2004. The reports did not give figures for other types of religion; 92.92% of the population may be either irreligious or involved in worship of nature deities, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, folk religious sects.


title: Hubei

text: People in Hubei speak Mandarin dialects; most of these dialects are classified as Southwestern Mandarin dialects, a group that also encompasses the Mandarin dialects of most of southwestern China.


title: Hubei

text: Perhaps the most celebrated element of Hubei cuisine is the Wuchang bream, a freshwater bream that is commonly steamed.


title: Hubei

text: The Shennongjia area is the alleged home of the "Yeren", a wild undiscovered hominid that lives in the forested hills.


title: Hubei

text: The people of Hubei are given the uncomplimentary nickname "Nine-headed Birds" by other Chinese, from a mythological creature said to be very aggressive and hard to kill. ""In the sky live nine-headed birds. On the earth live Hubei people."" ()


title: Hubei

text: As of 2022, Hubei hosts 130 institutions of higher education, ranking sixth together with Hunan (130) among all Chinese provinces after Jiangsu (168), Guangdong (160), Henan (156), Shandong (153), and Sichuan (134). The Huazhong University of Science and Technology(HUST), Wuhan University and many other institutions in Wuhan make it a hub of higher education and research in China. Wuhan is the city that has the largest college student population in the world (1.3 million) studying in its 89 universities.


title: Hubei

text: Prior to the construction of China's national railway network, the Yangtze and Hanshui Rivers had been the main transportation arteries of Hubei for many centuries, and still continue to play an important transport role.


title: Hubei

text: Historically, Hubei's overland transport network was hampered by the lack of bridges across the Yangtze River, which divides the province into northern and southern regions. The first bridge across the Yangtze in Hubei, the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was completed in 1957, followed by the Zhicheng Bridge in 1971. , Hubei had 23 bridges and tunnels across the Yangtze River, including nine bridges and three tunnels in Wuhan.


title: Hubei

text: The railway from Beijing reached Wuhan in 1905, and was later extended to Guangzhou, becoming the first north-to-south railway mainline to cross China. A number of other lines crossed the province later on, including the Jiaozuo–Liuzhou railway and Beijing–Kowloon railway, respectively, in the western and eastern part of the province.


title: Hubei

text: The first decade of the 21st century has seen a large amount of new railway construction in Hubei. The Wuhan–Guangzhou high-speed railway, roughly parallel to the original Wuhan-Guangzhou line, opened in late 2009, it was subsequently extended to the north, to Beijing becoming the Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed railway. An east-west high-speed corridor connecting major cities along the Yangtze, the Shanghai–Wuhan–Chengdu passenger railway was gradually opened between 2008 and 2012, the Wuhan–Yichang railway section of it opening in 2012. The Wuhan–Xiaogan intercity railway was opened in December 2016 and it was extended when the Wuhan–Shiyan high-speed railway opened in November 2019.


title: Hubei

text: Hubei's main airport is Wuhan Tianhe International Airport. Yichang Sanxia Airport serves the Three Gorges region. There are also passenger airports in Xiangyang, Enshi, and Jingzhou (Shashi Airport, named after the city's Shashi District).


title: Hubei

text: The province's best-known natural attraction (shared with the adjacent Chongqing municipality) is the scenic area of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze. Located in the far west of the province, the gorges can be conveniently visited by one of the numerous tourist boats (or regular passenger boats) that travel up the Yangtze from Yichang through the Three Gorges and into the neighboring Chongqing municipality.


title: Hubei

text: The mountains of western Hubei, in particular in Shennongjia District, offer a welcome respite from Wuhan's and Yichang's summer heat, as well as skiing opportunities in winter. The tourist facilities in that area concentrate around Muyu in the southern part of Shennongjia, the gateway to Shennongjia National Nature Reserve (). Closer to the provincial capital, Wuhan, is the Mount Jiugong ("Jiugongshan") national park, in Tongshan County near the border with Jiangxi.


title: Hubei

text: A particular important site of both natural and cultural significance is Mount Wudang ("Wudangshan") in the northwest of the province. Originally created early in the Ming dynasty, its building complex has been listed by UNESCO since 1994 as a World Heritage Site.


title: Hubei

text: The province also has historical sites connected with China's more recent history, such as the Wuchang Uprising Memorial in Wuhan, Project 131 site (a Cultural-Revolution-era underground military command center) in Xianning, and the National Mining Park () in Huangshi.


title: Hubei

text: In 2005, Hubei province signed a twinning agreement with Telemark county of Norway, and a "Norway-Hubei Week" was held in 2007.


title: Marty Balin

text: Martyn Jerel Buchwald (January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018), known as Marty Balin (), was an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known as the founder/leader and one of the lead singers and songwriters of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.


title: Marty Balin

text: Balin was born Martyn Jerel Buchwald in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Catherine Eugenia "Jean" (née Talbot) and Joseph Buchwald. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Eastern Europe. His father was Jewish and his mother was Episcopalian. Buchwald attended Washington High School in San Francisco, California. As a child, Balin was diagnosed with autism.


title: Marty Balin

text: In 1962, Buchwald changed his name to Marty Balin, and began recording with Challenge Records, releasing the singles "Nobody But You" and "I Specialize in Love". By 1964, Balin was leading a folk music quartet called The Town Criers.


title: Marty Balin

text: Balin was the primary founder of Jefferson Airplane, which he "launched" from a restaurant-turned-club he created and named The Matrix, and was also one of its lead vocalists and songwriters from 1965 to 1971. Balin was one of three Jewish members of the band, including guitarists Paul Kantner and Jorma Kaukonen. In the group's 1966–1971 iteration, Balin served as co-lead vocalist alongside Grace Slick. Balin's songwriting output diminished after "Surrealistic Pillow" (1967) as Slick, Kantner and Kaukonen matured as songwriters, a process compounded by personality clashes. Balin's most enduring songwriting contributions were often imbued with a romantic, pop-oriented lilt that was atypical of the band's characteristic forays into psychedelic rock. Among Balin's most notable songs were "Comin' Back to Me" (a folk rock ballad later covered by Ritchie Havens and Rickie Lee Jones), "Today" (a collaboration with Kantner initially written on spec for Tony Bennett that was prominently covered by Tom Scott), and, again with Kantner, the topical 1969 top-100 hit "Volunteers". Although uncharacteristic of his oeuvre, the uptempo "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds" and "Plastic Fantastic Lover" (both written for "Surrealistic Pillow") remained integral components of the Airplane's live set throughout the late 1960s.


title: Marty Balin

text: Balin played with Jefferson Airplane at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and at the Woodstock Festival in 1969.


title: Marty Balin

text: In December 1969, Balin was knocked unconscious by members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club while performing during the infamous Altamont Free Concert, as seen in the 1970 documentary film "Gimme Shelter". In April 1971, he formally departed Jefferson Airplane after breaking off all communication with his bandmates following the completion of their autumn 1970 American tour. He elaborated upon this decision in a 1993 interview with Jeff Tamarkin of "Relix:"


title: Marty Balin

text: Balin remained active in the San Francisco Bay Area rock scene, managing and producing an album for the Berkeley-based sextet Grootna before briefly joining funk-inflected hard rock ensemble Bodacious DF as lead vocalist on their eponymous 1973 debut album. The following year, Kantner asked Balin to write a song for his new Airplane offshoot group, Jefferson Starship. Together, they wrote the early power ballad "Caroline", which appeared on the album "Dragon Fly" with Balin as guest lead vocalist.


title: Marty Balin

text: Rejoining the team he had helped to establish, Balin became a permanent member of Jefferson Starship in 1975; over the next three years, he contributed to and sang lead on four top-20 hits, including "Miracles" (No. 3, a Balin original), "With Your Love" (No. 12, a collaboration between Balin, former Jefferson Airplane drummer Joey Covington, and former Grootna/Bodacious DF lead guitarist Vic Smith), Jesse Barish's "Count on Me" (No. 8), and N. Q. Dewey's "Runaway" (No. 12). Ultimately, Balin's relationship with the band was beleaguered by interpersonal problems and his own reluctance toward live performances. He abruptly left the group in October 1978 shortly after Slick's departure from the band.


title: Marty Balin

text: In 1979, Balin produced a rock opera titled "Rock Justice", about a rock star who was put in jail for failing to produce a hit for his record company, based on his experiences with the lawsuits fought for years with former Jefferson Airplane manager Matthew Katz. The cast recording was produced by Balin, but it did not feature him in performance.


title: Marty Balin

text: Balin continued with EMI as a solo artist and in 1981 he released his first solo album, "Balin", featuring two Jesse Barish songs that became top-40 hits, "Hearts" (#8) and "Atlanta Lady (Something About Your Love)" (#27). There was in 1983 a second solo album, "Lucky", along with a Japan-only EP produced by EMI called "There's No Shoulder". Balin's contract with EMI ended shortly thereafter.


title: Marty Balin

text: In 1985, he teamed with former Jefferson Airplane members Paul Kantner and Jack Casady to form the KBC Band. After the breakup of the KBC band, a 1989 reunion album and tour with Jefferson Airplane followed.


title: Marty Balin

text: Balin continued recording solo albums in the years following the reunion, and reunited with Kantner in the latest incarnation of Jefferson Starship.


title: Marty Balin

text: Balin had intended to record lead vocals for two tracks for Jefferson Starship's album "Jefferson's Tree of Liberty". However, his art touring schedule conflicted with studio sessions, and instead, the track "Maybe for You", from the German release of "Windows of Heaven", was included.


title: Marty Balin

text: On July 2, 2007, the music-publishing firm Bicycle Music, Inc. announced that it had acquired an interest in songs written or performed by Balin, including hits from his days with Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.


title: Marty Balin

text: Balin, along with the other members of the 1966–1970 line-up of Jefferson Airplane, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. As a member of Jefferson Airplane, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.


title: Marty Balin

text: Balin enjoyed painting all his life. He painted many of the most influential musicians of the last half of the 20th century. Marty Balin's Atelier was located at 130 King Fine Art in Saint Augustine, Florida, Balin's permanent signature collection gallery.


title: Marty Balin

text: Balin resided in Florida and San Francisco with his wife, Susan Joy Balin, formerly Susan Joy Finkelstein. Balin and Finkelstein had daughters Jennifer Edwards and Delaney Balin. Susan's other daughters were Rebekah Geier and Moriah Geier.


title: Marty Balin

text: Jennifer was born later in the year of his 1963 marriage to Victoria Martin. Balin married Karen Deal, Delaney's mother, in 1989. Karen died in 2010.


title: Marty Balin

text: While on tour in March 2016, Balin was taken to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in New York City after complaining of chest pains. After undergoing open-heart surgery, he was transferred to an intensive-care unit to spend time recovering. In a subsequent lawsuit, Balin alleged that neglect and inadequate care facilities on the hospital's part had resulted in a paralyzed vocal cord, loss of his left thumb and half of his tongue, bedsores, and kidney damage.


title: Lignin

text: Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidity and do not rot easily. Chemically, lignins are polymers made by cross-linking phenolic precursors.


title: Lignin

text: Lignin was first mentioned in 1813 by the Swiss botanist A. P. de Candolle, who described it as a fibrous, tasteless material, insoluble in water and alcohol but soluble in weak alkaline solutions, and which can be precipitated from solution using acid. He named the substance “lignine”, which is derived from the Latin word "lignum", meaning wood. It is one of the most abundant organic polymers on Earth, exceeded only by cellulose. Lignin constitutes 30% of non-fossil organic carbon on Earth, and 20 to 35% of the dry mass of wood.


title: Lignin

text: Lignin is present in red algae, which suggest that the common ancestor of plants and red algae also synthesised lignin. This finding also suggests that the original function of lignin was structural as it plays this role in the red alga "Calliarthron", where it supports joints between calcified segments.


title: Lignin

text: Lignin is a collection of highly heterogeneous polymers derived from a handful of precursor lignols. Heterogeneity arises from the diversity and degree of crosslinking between these lignols. The lignols that crosslink are of three main types, all derived from phenylpropane: coniferyl alcohol (4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylpropane) (G, its radical is sometimes called guaiacyl), sinapyl alcohol (3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxyphenylpropane) (S, its radical is sometimes called syringyl), and paracoumaryl alcohol (4-hydroxyphenylpropane) (H, its radical is sometimes called 4-hydroxyphenyl).


title: Lignin

text: The relative amounts of the precursor "monomers" (lignols) vary according to the plant source. Lignins are typically classified according to their syringyl/guaiacyl ratio. Lignin from gymnosperms (softwoods, grasses) is derived from the coniferyl alcohol, which gives rise to guaiacol upon pyrolysis. In angiosperms (hardwoods) some of the coniferyl alcohol is converted to sinapyl alcohol. Thus, lignin in angiosperms has both guaiacyl and syringyl components.


title: Lignin

text: Lignin's molecular masses exceed 10,000 u. It is hydrophobic as it is rich in aromatic subunits. The degree of polymerisation is difficult to measure, since the material is heterogeneous. Different types of lignin have been described depending on the means of isolation.


title: Lignin

text: Many grasses have mostly G, while some palms have mainly S. All lignins contain small amounts of incomplete or modified monolignols, and other monomers are prominent in non-woody plants.


title: Lignin

text: Lignin fills the spaces in the cell wall between cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin components, especially in vascular and support tissues: xylem tracheids, vessel elements and sclereid cells.


title: Lignin

text: Lignin plays a crucial part in conducting water and aqueous nutrients in plant stems. The polysaccharide components of plant cell walls are highly hydrophilic and thus permeable to water, whereas lignin is more hydrophobic. The crosslinking of polysaccharides by lignin is an obstacle for water absorption to the cell wall. Thus, lignin makes it possible for the plant's vascular tissue to conduct water efficiently. Lignin is present in all vascular plants, but not in bryophytes, supporting the idea that the original function of lignin was restricted to water transport.


title: Lignin

text: It is covalently linked to hemicellulose and therefore cross-links different plant polysaccharides, conferring mechanical strength to the cell wall and by extension the plant as a whole. Its most commonly noted function is the support through strengthening of wood (mainly composed of xylem cells and lignified sclerenchyma fibres) in vascular plants.


title: Lignin

text: Finally, lignin also confers disease resistance by accumulating at the site of pathogen infiltration, making the plant cell less accessible to cell wall degradation.


title: Lignin

text: Global commercial production of lignin is a consequence of papermaking. In 1988, more than 220 million tons of paper were produced worldwide. Much of this paper was delignified; lignin comprises about 1/3 of the mass of lignocellulose, the precursor to paper. Lignin is an impediment to papermaking as it is colored, it yellows in air, and its presence weakens the paper. Once separated from the cellulose, it is burned as fuel. Only a fraction is used in a wide range of low volume applications where the form but not the quality is important.


title: Lignin

text: Mechanical, or high-yield pulp, which is used to make newsprint, still contains most of the lignin originally present in the wood. This lignin is responsible for newsprint's yellowing with age. High quality paper requires the removal of lignin from the pulp. These delignification processes are core technologies of the papermaking industry as well as the source of significant environmental concerns.


title: Lignin

text: In sulfite pulping, lignin is removed from wood pulp as lignosulfonates, for which many applications have been proposed. They are used as dispersants, humectants, emulsion stabilizers, and sequestrants (water treatment). Lignosulfonate was also the first family of water reducers or superplasticizers to be added in the 1930s as admixture to fresh concrete in order to decrease the water-to-cement ("w/c") ratio, the main parameter controlling the concrete porosity, and thus its mechanical strength, its diffusivity and its hydraulic conductivity, all parameters essential for its durability. It has application in environmentally sustainable dust suppression agent for roads. Also, lignin can be used in making biodegradable plastic along with cellulose as an alternative to hydrocarbon-made plastics if lignin extraction is achieved through a more environmentally viable process than generic plastic manufacturing.


title: Lignin

text: Lignin removed by the kraft process is usually burned for its fuel value, providing energy to power the paper mill. Two commercial processes exist to remove lignin from black liquor for higher value uses: LignoBoost (Sweden) and LignoForce (Canada). Higher quality lignin presents the potential to become a renewable source of aromatic compounds for the chemical industry, with an addressable market of more than $130bn.


title: Lignin

text: Given that it is the most prevalent biopolymer after cellulose, lignin has been investigated as a feedstock for biofuel production and can become a crucial plant extract in the development of a new class of biofuels.


title: Lignin

text: Lignin biosynthesis begins in the cytosol with the synthesis of glycosylated monolignols from the amino acid phenylalanine. These first reactions are shared with the phenylpropanoid pathway. The attached glucose renders them water-soluble and less toxic. Once transported through the cell membrane to the apoplast, the glucose is removed, and the polymerisation commences. Much about its anabolism is not understood even after more than a century of study.


title: Lignin

text: The polymerisation step, that is a radical-radical coupling, is catalysed by oxidative enzymes. Both peroxidase and laccase enzymes are present in the plant cell walls, and it is not known whether one or both of these groups participates in the polymerisation. Low molecular weight oxidants might also be involved. The oxidative enzyme catalyses the formation of monolignol radicals. These radicals are often said to undergo uncatalyzed coupling to form the lignin polymer. An alternative theory invokes an unspecified biological control.


title: Lignin

text: In contrast to other bio-polymers (e.g. proteins, DNA, and even cellulose), lignin resists degradation. It is immune to both acid- and base-catalyzed hydrolysis. The degradability varies with species and plant tissue type. For example, syringyl (S) liginl is more susceptible to degradation by fungal decay as it has fewer aryl-aryl bonds and a lower redox potential than guaiacyl units. Because it is cross-linked with the other cell wall components, lignin minimizes the accessibility of cellulose and hemicellulose to microbial enzymes, leading to a reduced digestibility of biomass.


title: Lignin

text: Some ligninolytic enzymes include heme peroxidases such as lignin peroxidases, manganese peroxidases, versatile peroxidases, and dye-decolourizing peroxidases as well as copper-based laccases. Lignin peroxidases oxidize non-phenolic lignin, whereas manganese peroxidases only oxidize the phenolic structures. Dye-decolorizing peroxidases, or DyPs, exhibit catalytic activity on a wide range of lignin model compounds, but their "in vivo" substrate is unknown. In general, laccases oxidize phenolic substrates but some fungal laccases have been shown to oxidize non-phenolic substrates in the presence of synthetic redox mediators.


title: Lignin

text: Well-studied ligninolytic enzymes are found in "Phanerochaete chrysosporium" and other white rot fungi. Some white rot fungi, such as "Ceriporiopsis subvermispora", can degrade the lignin in lignocellulose, but others lack this ability. Most fungal lignin degradation involves secreted peroxidases. Many fungal laccases are also secreted, which facilitate degradation of phenolic lignin-derived compounds, although several intracellular fungal laccases have also been described. An important aspect of fungal lignin degradation is the activity of accessory enzymes to produce the HO required for the function of lignin peroxidase and other heme peroxidases.


title: Lignin

text: Bacteria lack most of the enzymes employed by fungi to degrade lignin, and lignin derivatives (aliphatic acids, furans, and solubilized phenolics) inhibit the growth of bacteria. Yet, bacterial degradation can be quite extensive, especially in aquatic systems such as lakes, rivers, and streams, where inputs of terrestrial material (e.g. leaf litter) can enter waterways. The ligninolytic activity of bacteria has not been studied extensively even though it was first described in 1930. Many bacterial DyPs have been characterized. Bacteria do not express any of the plant-type peroxidases (lignin peroxidase, Mn peroxidase, or versatile peroxidases), but three of the four classes of DyP are only found in bacteria. In contrast to fungi, most bacterial enzymes involved in lignin degradation are intracellular, including two classes of DyP and most bacterial laccases.


title: Lignin

text: In the environment, lignin can be degraded either biotically via bacteria or abiotically via photochemical alteration, and oftentimes the latter assists in the former. In addition to the presence or absence of light, several of environmental factors affect the biodegradability of lignin, including bacterial community composition, mineral associations, and redox state.


title: Lignin

text: Pyrolysis of lignin during the combustion of wood or charcoal production yields a range of products, of which the most characteristic ones are methoxy-substituted phenols. Of those, the most important are guaiacol and syringol and their derivatives. Their presence can be used to trace a smoke source to a wood fire. In cooking, lignin in the form of hardwood is an important source of these two compounds, which impart the characteristic aroma and taste to smoked foods such as barbecue. The main flavor compounds of smoked ham are guaiacol, and its 4-, 5-, and 6-methyl derivatives as well as 2,6-dimethylphenol. These compounds are produced by thermal breakdown of lignin in the wood used in the smokehouse.


title: Lignin

text: The conventional method for lignin quantitation in the pulp industry is the Klason lignin and acid-soluble lignin test, which is standardized procedures. The cellulose is digested thermally in the presence of acid. The residue is termed Klason lignin. Acid-soluble lignin (ASL) is quantified by the intensity of its Ultraviolet spectroscopy. The carbohydrate composition may be also analyzed from the Klason liquors, although there may be sugar breakdown products (furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural).


title: Lignin

text: A solution of hydrochloric acid and phloroglucinol is used for the detection of lignin (Wiesner test). A brilliant red color develops, owing to the presence of coniferaldehyde groups in the lignin.


title: Lignin

text: Thioglycolysis is an analytical technique for lignin quantitation. Lignin structure can also be studied by computational simulation.


title: Lignin

text: Thermochemolysis (chemical break down of a substance under vacuum and at high temperature) with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) or cupric oxide has also been used to characterize lignins. The ratio of syringyl lignol (S) to vanillyl lignol (V) and cinnamyl lignol (C) to vanillyl lignol (V) is variable based on plant type and can therefore be used to trace plant sources in aquatic systems (woody vs. non-woody and angiosperm vs. gymnosperm). Ratios of carboxylic acid (Ad) to aldehyde (Al) forms of the lignols (Ad/Al) reveal diagenetic information, with higher ratios indicating a more highly degraded material. Increases in the (Ad/Al) value indicate an oxidative cleavage reaction has occurred on the alkyl lignin side chain which has been shown to be a step in the decay of wood by many white-rot and some soft rot fungi.


title: Lignin

text: Lignin and its models have been well examined by H and C NMR spectroscopy. Owing to the structural complexity of lignins, the spectra are poorly resolved and quantitation is challenging.


title: Valladolid

text: Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 people (2021 est.).


title: Valladolid

text: The city is located roughly in the centre of the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula's Meseta Central, at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers before they join the Duero, surrounded by winegrowing areas. The area was settled in pre-Roman times by the Celtic Vaccaei people, and then by Romans themselves. The settlement was purportedly founded after 1072, growing in prominence within the context of the Crown of Castile, being endowed with fairs and different institutions such as a collegiate church, University (1241), Royal Court and Chancellery and a royal mint. The city was briefly the capital of the Habsburg Monarchy between 1601 and 1606. The city then declined until the arrival of the railway in the 19th century, and with its industrialisation into the 20th century.


title: Valladolid

text: The old town is made up of a variety of historic houses, palaces, churches, plazas, avenues and parks, and includes the National Museum of Sculpture as well as the houses of Zorrilla and Cervantes which are open as museums. Among the events that are held each year in the city are the famous Holy Week, Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci), and the Festival of Theatre and Street Arts (TAC). Together with another 15 surrounding municipalities, it belongs to an urban community of around 404,000 inhabitants.


title: Valladolid

text: It is mentioned as "Valledolit" in the "Primera Crónica General"; earlier documented variants include "Valledolidi", "Valleolide" (1092) and "Valleolit", "Valleoleti", "Valleoliti" (1095).


title: Valladolid

text: One widely held etymological theory suggests that the modern name "Valladolid" derives from the Celtiberian language expression , meaning "valley of waters", referring to the confluence of rivers in the area. Another theory suggests that the name derives from the Arabic expression (, ), which is the and means 'city of al-Walid', referring to Al-Walid I. Yet a third claims that it derives from , meaning 'valley of the olives'; however, no olive trees are found in that terrain. Instead, innumerable pine trees abound in the south part of the city. The gastronomy reflects the importance of the (pine nut) as a local product, rather than olives. In texts from the middle ages the town is called "Vallisoletum", meaning 'sunny valley', and a person from the town is a (male), or (female).


title: Valladolid

text: The city is also popularly called , a nickname whose origin is not clear, but may refer to knights in the service of Joan of Arc, known as . Another theory is that comes from the fact that Pozzolana cement was sold there, the only city in Spain that sold it.


title: Valladolid

text: Valladolid is located at roughly 735 metres above sea level, at the centre of the "Meseta Norte", the plateau drained by the Duero river basin covering a major part of the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The primitive urban core was built "ex novo" in the 11th century on a small elevation near the confluence of the Esgueva with the Pisuerga, on the left-bank of the later river. The city of Valladolid currently lies on both banks of the Pisuerga, a major right-bank tributary of the Douro.


title: Valladolid

text: Besides the main territory on which the city lies, the municipality also includes two exclaves: Navabuena (5,129 hectares, hosting the ) and El Rebollar (400 hectares).


title: Valladolid

text: The city of Valladolid experiences a continentalized hot-summer Mediterranean climate ("Csa") with influences of a cold semi-arid climate ("BSk"). Valladolid's climate features cool and windy winters due to altitude and the inland location of the city. Fog is very typical in the morning during winter. Winters experience occasional snow and low temperatures below freezing during cold fronts. Valladolid's climate is influenced by the distance from the sea and its higher altitude.


title: Valladolid

text: Valladolid is drier than Spain's northern coastal regions, although there is year-round precipitation. Average annual precipitation is and the average annual relative humidity is 64%. In winter, temperatures very often (almost every second day) drop below freezing, often reaching temperatures as low as , and snowfall is common, while the summer months see average high temperatures of . The lowest recorded temperature in Valladolid was and the hottest on 19 July 1995. Summer daytime temperatures are hot, but nighttime temperatures are relatively cool.


title: Valladolid

text: The Vaccaei were a Celtic tribe, the first people documented as a stable presence on the sector of the middle valley of the River Duero.


title: Valladolid

text: Remains of Celtiberian and of a Roman camp have been excavated near the city. The nucleus of the city was originally located in the area of the current San Miguel y el Rosarillo square and was surrounded by a palisade. Proofs of the existence of three ancient lines of walls have been found.


title: Valladolid

text: During the time of Muslim rule in Spain, the Christian kings moved the population of this region north into more easily defended areas and deliberately created a no man's land as a buffer zone against further Moorish conquests. The area was captured from the Moors in the 10th century.


title: Valladolid

text: In 1072 Alfonso VI of León and Castile gifted the Lordship of Valladolid to Count Pedro Ansúrez. Entrusted with the repopulation of the area, Ansúrez led the foundation of Valladolid along his wife . By 1084 the project for the foundation of the settlement was already underway. Ansúrez built a palace (now lost) and La Antigua church. Eylo founded three hospitals and the Churches of San Sebastián and San Nicolás. Both co-founded the church of Santa María. Valladolid was repopulated by people from the lands of Carrión and Saldaña.


title: Valladolid

text: In the 12th and 13th centuries, Valladolid grew rapidly, favoured by the commercial privileges granted by the kings Alfonso VIII and Alfonso X.


title: Valladolid

text: In 1469, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon were married in the city; by the 15th century Valladolid was the residence of the kings of Castile. In 1506, Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid "still convinced that he had reached the Indies" in a house that is now a museum dedicated to him.


title: Valladolid

text: From 1554 to 1559, Joanna of Austria, sister of Philip II, served as regent, establishing herself in Valladolid, with the latter becoming the political center of the Hispanic Monarchy by that time. She favoured the Ebolist Party, one of the two leading factions of the Court of Philip II, in competition with the "albistas". The Reformation took some hold in the city appearing some Protestant circles presumably around the leading figure of Augustino de Cazalla, an adviser of Joanna. Ensuing "autos de fe" against the Protestant sects took place in 1559 in Valladolid. A catastrophic fire in 1561 destroyed a portion of the city.


title: Valladolid

text: During 1550-1551 the town held the first moral debate in European history to discuss the rights and treatment of the indigenous people by conquerors. See Valladolid debate.


title: Valladolid

text: In the midst of the reign of Philip III, Valladolid briefly served as the capital of the Hispanic Monarchy between 1601 and 1606 under the auspice of the Duke of Lerma, "valido" of Philip III. Lerma and his network had bought plots in Valladolid before in order to sell those to the Crown. Promoted by Lerma, the decision on moving the capital from Madrid to Valladolid has been portrayed as case of a (double) real estate speculative scheme, as Lerma had bought housing in Madrid as the prices plummeted when the capital was moved from the city. After a plague in Valladolid, Lerma suggested the King to go back to Madrid, earning a hefty profit when the Royal Court returned and prices went up again.


title: Valladolid

text: From 1950 onwards Valladolid became an important industrial centre. This was the context in which companies such as ENDASA (1950), FASA (1954), TECNAUTO (1956) and SAVA (1957) were created. The city was declared as a "Polo de Desarrollo Industrial" ("Pole for Industrial Development") in 1964. During the 1960 and early 1970s the city attracted many immigrants, chiefly coming from the province of Valladolid and neighbouring provinces. The city started to expand across the western bank of the Pisuerga in the early 1960s.


title: Valladolid

text: In the context of the fraught process for the creation of the autonomous community of Castile and León (completed in 1983), Valladolid vied for the condition of regional capital, competing with other cities, most notably creating a sense of "antagonism" with Burgos. Although the capital was not explicitly enshrined in the from 1983, Valladolid was designated in 1987 as the "de jure" seat of the executive and legislative institutions (the Junta of Castile and León and the Cortes of Castile and León).


title: Valladolid

text: Valladolid is a municipality, the basic local administrative division in Spain. The Ayuntamiento de Valladolid is the body charged with the municipal government and administration. The Plenary of the "ayuntamiento" is formed by 27 elected municipal councillors, who in turn invest the mayor. The last municipal election took place on 26 May 2019. Since 2015, Óscar Puente (PSOE) serves as Mayor. He renewed his spell for a second mandate following the 2019 election.


title: Valladolid

text: Education management and policing in Valladolid depends on the Ministry of Education of the Government of Castile and León, the department responsible for the education at the regional level, both at the university and non-university level.


title: Valladolid

text: The University of Valladolid (UVA) was founded in 1241 by Alfonso VIII of Castille. It is one of the oldest universities in the world. It has four campuses around the city (Huerta del Rey, Centro, Río Esgueva and Miguel Delibes) as well as another three campuses scattered around the wider region of Castile and León (Palencia, Soria and Segovia). Spread over 25 colleges and their associated centers, about 2000 teachers give classes to more than 23,800 students enrolled in 2011.


title: Valladolid

text: It also features the 25 centers, a number of administrative buildings such as the Palacio de Santa Cruz, where the rector, and the Museum of the University of Valladolid (MUVa), The House of Students, featuring the other administrative services mainly related to international relations, or CTI (Center for Information Technology), both located in the basement of the University Residence Alfonso VIII, next to the old Faculty of Science.


title: Valladolid

text: The Miguel de Cervantes European University ("Universidad Europea Miguel de Cervantes"; UEMC) is a private university with roughly 1,500 students. It is spread over three faculties: Social Sciences, Law and Economics, Health and the Polytechnic School. It has later expanded its campus with a new facility doubling the area devoted to teaching and research. It also has a dental clinic and a library.


title: Valladolid

text: Lycée Français de Castilla y León, a French international school, is near Valladolid, in Laguna de Duero.


title: Valladolid

text: San Juán Bautista de La Salle School, a High Private College in Valladolid. Integral and Superior Education. Integrates Kindergarten, Primary School and High School.


title: Valladolid

text: 12th century romanesque architecture is present in the belltowers of the churches of Santa María La Antigua and .


title: Valladolid

text: The School of San Gregorio has been highlighted as an outstanding example Late Gothic architecture (Isabelline gothic). The Gothic style is also present in the Church of San Pablo (featuring also Renaissance and plateresque elements). The late 15th century Palace of Santa Cruz (current seat of the rectorate of the University of Valladolid) has been noted as a pioneer example of Renaissance art in Spain.


title: Valladolid

text: The monumental Plaza Mayor, considered the first in its genre in Spain, was projected by by 1561–62, following the great fire of 1561. The porticoed plaza distinctly employs stone columns with wooden footings and lintels. The design of the façades of the "plaza" served as template for a number of buildings in nearby streets.


title: Valladolid

text: The unfinished Cathedral of Valladolid, initially projected by Juan de Herrera in the 16th century (intending to follow a Mannerist style) experienced protracted building works owing to financial problems and its main body was not opened until 1668. Decades later, in 1730, finished the work on the main front.


title: Valladolid

text: The Teatro Lope de Vega is a theater built in the classical style in 1861 and now very run-down. There has been recent controversy over whether the city should pay to restore it. The Campo Grande, a large public park located in the heart of the city, dates back to 1787. Architect left a key imprint in the city's outline, authoring many housing projects in the late 19th to early 20th century, with a good number of his buildings still standing. Standout examples of Eclectic architecture from the late 19th and early 20th century in the city include the neoplateresque , the and (defaced in a revamp undergone in the 1960s) and the neobaroque new building for the university.


title: Valladolid

text: The Francoist dictatorship left an example of "Imperial Architecture" of neo-herrerian (or "escurialense") style in the building for the "Seminario Menor", clearly influenced by the Spanish capital's Ministry of the Air.


title: Valladolid

text: The city preserves the residences of iconic city neighbors such as the Casa de Cervantes, the Christopher Columbus House-Museum and the house of José Zorrilla.


title: Valladolid

text: As of 2019, the population of the city of Valladolid proper was 298,412, and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 406,923. The most important municipalities of the urban area are (after Valladolid itself) Laguna de Duero and Boecillo on the south, Arroyo de la Encomienda, Zaratán, Simancas and Villanubla on the west, Cigales and Santovenia de Pisuerga on the north, and Tudela de Duero and Cistérniga on the east.


title: Valladolid

text: After new neighbourhoods developed in recent decades (one example would be Covaresa), the high prices in the municipality led young people to buy properties in towns around the city, so the population has fallen in Valladolid but is growing fast in other peri-urban areas (for example, Arroyo de la Encomienda or Zaratán).


title: Valladolid

text: Valladolid is a major economic center in Spain. The automotive industry is one of the major motors of the city's economy since the founding of FASA-Renault in 1953 for the assembling of Renault-branded vehicles, which would later become Renault España. Four years later, in 1957, Sava was founded and started producing commercial vehicles. Sava would later be absorbed by Pegaso and since 1990 by the Italian truck manufacturer Iveco. Together with the French tire manufacturer Michelin, Renault and Iveco form the most important industrial companies of the city.


title: Valladolid

text: Besides the automotive and automotive auxiliary industries, other important industrial sectors are food processing (with local companies like Acor and Queserías Entrepinares and facilities of multinationals like Cadbury, Lactalis or Lesaffre), metallurgy (Lingotes Especiales, Saeta die Casting...), chemical and printing. In total 22 013 people were employed in 2007 in industrial workplaces, representing 14.0% of total workers.


title: Valladolid

text: The main economic sector of Valladolid in terms of employment is however the service sector, which employs 111,988 people, representing 74.2% of Valladolid workers affiliated to Social Security.


title: Valladolid

text: Finally, agriculture is a tiny sector in the city which only employs 2,355 people (1.5% of the total). The predominant crops are wheat, barley and sugar beet.


title: Valladolid

text: Top 10 companies by turnover in 2013 in € million were : Renault (4 596), Michelin (2 670), IVECO (1 600), the Valladolid-based supermarket chain Grupo El Árbol (849), cheese processing Queserías Entrepinares (204), sugar processing Acor (201), service group Grupo Norte (174), automobile auxiliary company Faurecia-Asientos de Castilla y León (143), Sada (129) and Hipereco (108).


title: Valladolid

text: Urban transit system was based on the Valladolid tram network from 1881 to 1933. A public urban bus system started in 1928, managed by different private tenders until 1982, when the service was taken over by the municipality. Today the public company AUVASA operates the network, with 22 regular lines and 5 late night lines.


title: Valladolid

text: Valladolid-Campo Grande railway station is integrated into the Spanish high-speed network AVE. The Madrid–Valladolid high-speed rail line was inaugurated on 22 December 2007. The line links both cities, crossing the Sierra de Guadarrama through the namesake tunnel, the fourth longest train tunnel in Europe. Valladolid will become the hub for all AVE lines connecting the north and north-west of Spain with the rest of the country. Trainsets used on this line include S-114 (max speed 250 km/h (155 mph)), S-130 (Patito, max speed 250 km/h (155 mph)) and the S102 (Pato, max speed 320 km/h or 199 mph). This line connects the city with Madrid, which can be reached in 56 minutes.


title: Valladolid

text: The airport serving the city is not located within the municipal limits, but in Villanubla. The airport has connections to Barcelona, Málaga, and the Canary Islands.


title: Valladolid

text: Spanish is the only official language throughout the city. Valladolid stands out for having been the residence of the author of "Don Quixote", Miguel de Cervantes, as well as authors such as José Zorrilla or Miguel Delibes and the thrust of its University. The province stands out for receiving a significant number of people who want to learn the Spanish language (Language tourism).


title: Valladolid

text: Holy Week ("Semana Santa" in Spanish) holds one of the best known Catholic traditions in Valladolid. The Good Friday processions are considered an exquisite and rich display of Castilian religious sculpture. On this day, in the morning, members of the brotherhoods on horseback make a poetic proclamation throughout the city. The "Sermon of the Seven Words" is spoken in Plaza Mayor Square. In the afternoon, thousands of people take part in the Passion Procession, comprising 31 pasos (religious statues), most of which date from the 16th and 17th centuries. The last statue in the procession is the Virgen de las Angustias, and her return to the church is one of the most emotional moments of the celebrations, with the Salve Popular sung in her honour.


title: Valladolid

text: Easter is one of the most spectacular and emotional fiestas in Valladolid. Religious devotion, art, colour and music combine in acts to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ: the processions. Members of the different Easter brotherhoods, dressed in their characteristic robes, parade through the streets carrying religious statues (pasos) to the sound of drums and music.


title: Valladolid

text: The city is also host to one of the foremost (and oldest) international film festivals, the "Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid (Seminci)", founded in 1956. Valladolid, through various loopholes in state censorship, was able to present films that would otherwise have been impossible to see in Spain. An award or an enthusiastic reception from the audience and the critics meant, on numerous occasions, that the official state bodies gave the go-ahead to certain films which Francisco Franco's regime considered out of line with their ideology.


title: Valladolid

text: Even after the death of Franco in 1975, Valladolid continued to be the "testing ground" for films which had been banned. For example, the premiere in Spain of Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" at the 1975 festival is still recalled as a landmark.


title: Valladolid

text: Although an inland province, fish is commonly consumed, some brought from the Cantabrian Sea. Fish like red bream and hake are a major part of Valladolid's cuisine.


title: Valladolid

text: The main speciality of Valladolid is, however, lechazo (suckling baby lamb). The lechazo is slowly roasted in a wood oven and served with salad.


title: Valladolid

text: Valladolid also offers a great assortment of wild mushrooms. Asparagus, endive and beans can also be found. Some legumes, like white beans and lentils are particularly good. Pine nuts are also produced in great quantities.


title: Valladolid

text: Sheep cheese from Villalón de Campos, the famous pata de mulo (mule's foot) is usually unripened (fresh), but if it is cured the ripening process brings out such flavour that it can compete with the best sheep cheeses in Spain.


title: Valladolid

text: Valladolid has a bread to go with every dish, like the delicious cuadros from Medina del Campo, the muffins, the pork-scratching bread and the lechuguinos, with a pattern of concentric circles that resemble a head of lettuce.


title: Valladolid

text: The pastries and baked goods from the province of Valladolid are well-known, specially St. Mary's ring-shaped pastries, St. Claire's sponge cakes, pine nut balls and cream fritters.


title: Valladolid

text: Valladolid is also a producer of wines. The ones that fall under the Designation of Origin Cigales are very good. White wines from Rueda and red wines from Ribera del Duero are known for their quality.


title: Valladolid

text: Valladolid's main association football club is Real Valladolid, nicknamed "Pucela", who play in the country's top league, La Liga. Players who went on to play for the Spain national football team include Fernando Hierro, José Luis Caminero and Rubén Baraja. The municipally-owned stadium where Real Valladolid play their home matches, the Estadio Nuevo José Zorrilla, was built as a venue for the 1982 FIFA World Cup and in preparation staged the 1982 Copa del Rey Final.


title: Valladolid

text: CBC Valladolid is the city's new basketball team since the dissolution of CB Valladolid in 2015. Arvydas Sabonis and Oscar Schmidt played for the latter team. Currently playing in the Liga LEB Oro, the CBC Valladolid matches are held at the Polideportivo Pisuerga.


title: Valladolid

text: In handball Valladolid was represented by BM Valladolid of the Liga ASOBAL. They won 2 King's Cup, 1 ASOBAL Cup and 1 EHF Cup Winners' Cup. After the disappearance of this club, BM Atlético Valladolid was born, which also competes in the Liga ASOBAL. They play their games at the Polideportivo Huerta del Rey.


title: Valladolid

text: Rugby union is a very popular sport in Valladolid. VRAC and CR El Salvador, with 30 and 27 titles respectively, have dominated Spanish rugby for the last decades. They play their matches at Estadio Pepe Rojo.


title: Valladolid

text: The Plaza de toros de Valladolid, a bullring, opened on 29 September 1890, and it has a capacity of 11,000.


title: What I Like About You (TV series)

text: What I Like About You is an American television sitcom co-created by Wil Calhoun and Dan Schneider. It is set mainly in New York City, following the lives of two sisters: vivacious teenaged sister Holly (Amanda Bynes) and her responsible older sister Val (Jennie Garth). The series ran on The WB from September 20, 2002, to March 24, 2006, with a total of 86 episodes produced. With the exception of a brief period early in the second season, "What I Like About You" was a headline on The WB's Friday night comedy block.


title: What I Like About You (TV series)

text: Throughout their time on the series, two main characters—Vince and Lauren—were never given last names. Jeff was also never given a last name, although in the artwork for the season 1 DVDs, he is listed as "Jeff Campbell".


title: What I Like About You (TV series)

text: The series takes its title from the song of the same name, which was originally released on a hit record by The Romantics in 1980; it was written by the group's members Wally Palmar, Mike Skill, Rich Cole, and Jimmy Marinos. A cover version of the song, performed by the Canadian all-female rock group Lillix, was used as the theme song for the show. Lillix's cover version was also heard on the soundtrack of the 2003 remake of "Freaky Friday" and the soundtrack of the film "13 Going on 30". The theme was remixed into a techno/dance style theme for the second season by Philip Steir (who composed all the music for remainder of the series).


title: What I Like About You (TV series)

text: The pilot episode had a short opening sequence and the cast members' names were only shown over the cold open. The first season's opening sequence featured intercut scenes (as from home movies) of two girls portraying younger versions of Holly and Val, with shots of Bynes and Garth sticking their tongues out at the camera, mixed with footage excerpted from the first four episodes. The opening title sequence used for the rest of the series featured the show's cast in front of digitally inserted scenes of New York at night. Different versions of the sequence were used for SD and HD broadcasts.


title: What I Like About You (TV series)

text: Due to music costs, and rights, DVD and streaming releases replaced the theme song of Lillix's cover of a song by the same name of the series by The Romantics. Remarking upon it when the series was added to HBO Max in January 2021 with the replacement music, TVLine called it "royalty-free garbage that not even Shazam can identify."


title: What I Like About You (TV series)

text: "What I Like About You" premiered on Friday, September 20, 2002, in the 8PM timeslot. On September 11, 2003, the series moved to Thursday nights at 9PM, alongside "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment". On January 9, 2004, the series moved back to Friday nights, in the 8:30PM timeslot. On September 17, 2004, the series moved back to the original 8:00PM timeslot, remaining there until the series finale in March 2006.


title: What I Like About You (TV series)

text: In Italy, the series aired under the name "" ("The things I Love about you") on Rai 2 from July 7, 2006 until August 2, 2008.


title: What I Like About You (TV series)

text: From April to September 2006, reruns of "What I Like About You" aired as part of The WB’s "Daytime WB" weekday afternoon programming block alongside "8 Simple Rules". Reruns of the series moved to The CW (which replaced The WB) on September 18, 2006, airing for a full hour at 3:00PM on weekdays alongside "Reba". On September 24, 2007, The CW reduced its daytime reruns of "What I Like About You" to one episode per day to accommodate the addition of reruns of "All of Us", remaining until September 2008. Following the series' departure from The CW, the show began airing on ABC Family (now Freeform) in various timeslots during the daytime. The N aired the series in early 2009, a few months before their rebranding to TeenNick, where the series aired before subsequently being removed in 2013.


title: What I Like About You (TV series)

text: On May 1, 2007, Warner Home Video released the complete first season on DVD in region 1. The 3-disc set included a gag reel as the set's only bonus feature. Due to music licensing issues along, Lillix's cover of the theme song was removed and replaced with a generic pop-rock song produced specifically for the set. Due to low DVD sales and high music licensing costs, no further seasons were given a general retail release.


title: What I Like About You (TV series)

text: On March 7, 2017, Warner Archive released the complete second season on DVD in region 1. The 3-disc set is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available only from online sellers such as Amazon.com and their CreateSpace MOD program. Despite being a Manufacture-on-Demand release, the theme song is still replaced with the same song used for the season 1 DVD set, and although it was originally broadcast in widescreen high definition (the first season of the series to do so), the episodes are presented on the DVD in fullscreen format.


title: What I Like About You (TV series)

text: The complete third season was released on November 27, 2018. The complete fourth and final season was released on February 26, 2019.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: The (First) Slovak Republic (), otherwise known as the Slovak State (), was a partially-recognized client state of Nazi Germany which existed between 14 March 1939 and 7 May 1945. The Slovak part of Czechoslovakia declared independence with German support one day before the German occupation of Bohemia and Moravia. The Slovak Republic controlled the majority of the territory of present-day Slovakia but without its current southern parts, which were ceded by Czechoslovakia to Hungary in 1938. It was the first time in history that Slovakia had been a formally independent state.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: A one-party state governed by the far-right Hlinka's Slovak People's Party, the Slovak Republic is primarily known for its collaboration with Nazi Germany, which included sending troops to the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. In 1942, the country deported 58,000 Jews (two-thirds of the Slovak Jewish population) to German-occupied Poland, paying Germany 500 Reichsmarks each. After an increase in the activity of anti-Nazi Slovak partisans, Germany invaded Slovakia, triggering a major uprising. The Slovak Republic was abolished after the Soviet occupation in 1945 and its territory was reintegrated into the recreated Third Czechoslovak Republic.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: The current Slovak Republic does not consider itself a successor state of the wartime Slovak Republic, instead tracing its lineage to the Czechoslovak government-in-exile. However, some nationalists continue to celebrate 14 March as a day of independence.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: The official name of the country was the Slovak State () from 14 March to 21 July 1939 (until the adoption of the Constitution), and the Slovak Republic () from 21 July 1939 to its end in April 1945. The country is often referred to historically as the "First Slovak Republic" () to distinguish it from the contemporary (Second) Slovak Republic, Slovakia, which is not considered its legal successor state. The name "Slovak State" was used colloquially, but the term "First Slovak Republic" was used even in encyclopedias written during the post-war Communist period.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: After the Munich Agreement, Slovakia gained autonomy inside Czecho-Slovakia (as former Czechoslovakia had been renamed) and lost its southern territories to Hungary under the First Vienna Award. As the Nazi Führer Adolf Hitler was preparing a mobilisation into Czech territory and creation of his Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, he had various plans for Slovakia. German officials were initially misinformed by the Hungarians that the Slovaks wanted to join Hungary. Germany decided to make Slovakia a separate puppet state under the influence of Germany, and a potential strategic base for German attacks on Poland and other regions.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: On 13 March 1939, Hitler invited Monsignor Jozef Tiso (the Slovak ex-prime minister who had been deposed by Czechoslovak troops several days earlier) to Berlin and urged him to proclaim Slovakia's independence. Hitler added that, if Tiso did not consent, he would have no interest in Slovakia's fate and would leave it to the territorial claims of Hungary and Poland. During the meeting, Joachim von Ribbentrop passed on a report claiming that Hungarian troops were approaching the Slovak borders. Tiso refused to make such a decision himself, after which he was allowed by Hitler to organise a meeting of the Slovak parliament ("Diet of the Slovak Land") which would approve Slovakia's independence.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: On 14 March, the Slovak parliament convened and heard Tiso's report on his discussion with Hitler as well as on a possible declaration of independence. Some of the deputies were skeptical of making such a move, among other reasons due to the fact that some worried that the Slovak state would be too small and with a strong Hungarian minority. The debate was quickly brought to a head when Franz Karmasin, leader of the German minority in Slovakia, said that any delay in declaring independence would result in Slovakia being divided between Hungary and Germany. Under these circumstances, Parliament unanimously declared Slovak independence, thus creating the first Slovak state in history. Jozef Tiso was appointed the first Prime Minister of the new republic. The next day, Tiso sent a telegram (which had actually been composed the previous day in Berlin) asking the Reich to take over the protection of the newly minted state. The request was readily accepted.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: On 23 March 1939, Hungary, having already occupied Carpatho-Ukraine, attacked from there, and the newly established Slovak Republic was forced to cede of territory with about 70,000 people to Hungary before the onset of World War II.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: Slovakia was the only Axis nation other than Germany to take part in the Invasion of Poland. With the impending German invasion of Poland planned for September 1939, the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) requested the assistance of Slovakia. Although the Slovak military was only six months old, it formed a small mobile combat group consisting of a number of infantry and artillery battalions. Two combat groups were created for the campaign in Poland for use alongside the Germans. The first group was a brigade-sized formation that consisted of six infantry battalions, two artillery battalions, and a company of combat engineers, all commanded by Antonín Pulanich. The second group was a mobile formation that consisted of two battalions of combined cavalry and motorcycle recon troops along with nine motorised artillery batteries, all commanded by Gustav Malár. The two groups reported to the headquarters of the 1st and 3rd Slovak Infantry Divisions. The two combat groups fought while pushing through the Nowy Sącz and Dukla Mountain Passes, advancing towards Dębica and Tarnów in the region of southern Poland.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: The Slovak military participated in the war on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union. The Slovak Expeditionary Army Group of about 45,000 entered the Soviet Union shortly after the German attack. This army lacked logistic and transportation support, so a much smaller unit, the Slovak Mobile Command (Pilfousek Brigade), was formed from units selected from this force; the rest of the Slovak army was relegated to rear-area security duty. The Slovak Mobile Command was attached to the German 17th Army (as was the Hungarian Carpathian Group also) and shortly thereafter given over to direct German command, the Slovaks lacking the command infrastructure to exercise effective operational control. This unit fought with the 17th Army through July 1941, including at the Battle of Uman.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: At the beginning of August 1941, the Slovak Mobile Command was dissolved and instead two infantry divisions were formed from the Slovak Expeditionary Army Group. The Slovak 2nd Division was a security division, but the Slovak 1st Division was a front-line unit that fought in the campaigns of 1941 and 1942, reaching the Caucasus area with Army Group B. The Slovak 1st Division then shared the fate of the German southern forces, losing their heavy equipment in the Kuban bridgehead, then being badly mangled near Melitopol in southern Ukraine. In June 1944, the remnant of the division, no longer considered fit for combat due to low morale, was disarmed and the personnel assigned to construction work, a fate which had already befallen the Slovak 2nd Division earlier for the same reason.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: In 1944 Slovak National Uprising, many Slovak units sided with the Slovak resistance and rebelled against Tiso's collaborationist government, while others helped German forces put the uprising down.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: The emergent Slovak state was almost immediately recognized by Germany, few weeks later also by Italy. Britain and France refused to do so; in March 1939 both powers in diplomatic notes to Berlin protested developments in former Czechoslovakia as breach of the Munich agreement and pledged not to acknowledge the territorial changes related. Similar notes – though without reference to Munich – were sent by the USSR and the USA. Some non-Axis states, however (like Switzerland, Poland or Vatican), recognized Slovakia in March or April 1939.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: Great powers started to change their position soon. In May the British diplomacy asked for (and received) a new exequatur for its former consul in Bratislava, which marked "de facto" recognition of Slovakia. France followed suit in July 1939. However, Czechoslovak legations kept on operating in London and Paris. Some international organizations like the League of Nations or the International Labour Union still considered Czechoslovakia their member, but some – like the Universal Postal Union – admitted Slovakia.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: Following outbreak of the Second World War the British and French consulates in Slovakia were closed and the territory was declared under the enemy (i.e. German) occupation. However, in September 1939 the USSR recognized Slovakia, admitted a Slovak representative and closed the hitherto operational Czechoslovak legation in Moscow. The official Soviet-Slovak diplomatic relations were maintained until the outbreak of the German-Soviet war in 1941, when the USSR recognized the Czechoslovak government on exile (Britain recognized it one year earlier).


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: Overall, there were 27 states which either "de iure" or "de facto" recognized Slovakia. They were either the Axis allies (like Romania, Finland, Hungary) or the Axis-dominated semi-independent states (like Vichy France, Manchukuo) or the neutral countries (like Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden), including some beyond Europe (like Ecuador, Costa Rica, Liberia). In some cases Czechoslovak legations were closed (e.g. in Switzerland), but some countries opted for somewhat ambiguous stand. The states which maintained their own independence ceased to recognize Slovakia in late stages of World War Two, though few (e.g. Spain) permitted operations of semi-diplomatic representation until the late 1950s.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: From the beginning, the Slovak Republic was under the influence of Germany. The so-called "protection treaty" ("Treaty on the protective relationship between Germany and the Slovak State"), signed on 23 March 1939, partially subordinated its foreign, military, and economic policy to that of Germany. The German Wehrmacht established the so-called "protection zone" in Western Slovakia in August 1939. In July 1940 at the Salzburg Conference, the Germans forced a reshuffle of the Slovak cabinet by threatening to withdraw their protection guarantees.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: The most difficult foreign policy problem of the state involved relations with Hungary, which had annexed one-third of Slovakia's territory by the First Vienna Award of 2 November 1938. Slovakia tried to achieve a revision of the Vienna Award, but Germany did not allow it. There were also constant quarrels concerning Hungary's treatment of Slovaks living in Hungary.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: Following Slovak participation in the invasion of Poland in September 1939, border adjustments increased the Slovak Republic's geographical extent in the areas of Orava and Spiš, absorbing previously Polish-controlled territory.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: The Croatian–Romanian–Slovak friendship proclamation was created in 1942 with the aim of stopping further Hungarian expansion. It can be compared to the Little Entente.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: 2.6 million people lived within the 1939 borders of the Slovak State, and 85 percent had declared Slovak nationality on the 1938 census. Minorities included Germans (4.8 percent), Czechs (2.9 percent), Rusyns (2.6 percent), Hungarians (2.1 percent), Jews (1.1 percent), and Romani people (0.9 percent). Seventy-five percent of Slovaks were Catholics, and most of the remainder belonged to the Lutheran and Greek Catholic churches. 50% of the population were employed in agriculture. The state was divided in six counties ("župy"), 58 districts ("okresy") and 2659 municipalities. The capital Bratislava had over 140,000 inhabitants.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: The state continued the legal system of Czechoslovakia, which was modified only gradually. According to the Constitution of 1939, the "President" (Jozef Tiso) was the head of the state, the "Assembly/Diet of the Slovak Republic" elected for five years was the highest legislative body (no general elections took place, however), and the "State Council" performed the duties of a senate. The government with eight ministries was the executive body.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: The Slovak Republic was a totalitarian state where the German pressure resulted in the adoption of many elements of German Nazism. Some historians characterized the Slovak regime from 1939 to 1945 as clerical fascism. The government issued a number of antisemitic laws, prohibiting the Jews from participation in public life, and later supported their deportation to concentration camps erected by Germany on occupied Polish territory. The only political parties permitted were the dominant Hlinka's Slovak People's Party and two smaller openly fascist parties, these being the Hungarian National Party which represented the Hungarian minority and the German Party which represented the German minority.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: The Slovak Republic was divided into 6 counties and 58 districts as of 1 January 1940. The extant population records are from the same time:


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: Soon after independence and along with the mass exile and deportation of Czechs, the Slovak Republic began a series of measures aimed against the Jews in the country. The Hlinka's Guard began to attack Jews, and the "Jewish Code" was passed in September 1941. Resembling the Nuremberg Laws, the code required Jews to wear a yellow armband, and banned them from intermarriage and from many jobs. By October 1941, 15,000 Jews were expelled from Bratislava; many were sent to labour camps.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: The Slovak Republic was one of the countries to agree to deport its Jews as part of the Nazi Final Solution. Originally, the Slovak government tried to make a deal with Germany in October 1941 to deport its Jews as a substitute for providing Slovak workers to help the war effort. After the Wannsee Conference, the Germans agreed to the Slovak proposal, and a deal was reached where the Slovak Republic would pay for each Jew deported, and, in return, Germany promised that the Jews would never return to the republic. The initial terms were for "20,000 young, strong Jews", but the Slovak government quickly agreed to a German proposal to deport the entire population for "evacuation to territories in the East" meaning to Auschwitz-Birkenau.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: The deportations of Jews from Slovakia started on 25 March 1942, but halted on 20 October 1942 after a group of Jewish citizens, led by Gisi Fleischmann and Rabbi Michael Ber Weissmandl, built a coalition of concerned officials from the Vatican and the government, and, through a mix of bribery and negotiation, was able to stop the process. By then, however, some 58,000 Jews had already been deported, mostly to Auschwitz. Slovak government officials filed complaints against Germany when it became clear that many of the previously deported Slovak Jews had been gassed in mass executions.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: Jewish deportations resumed on 30 September 1944, when the Republic lost independence to a complete German occupation due to the Nazis' concern that the Soviet army had reached the Slovak border, and the Slovak National Uprising began. During the German occupation, another 13,500 Jews were deported and 5,000 were imprisoned. Deportations continued until 31 March 1945. In all, German and Slovak authorities deported about 70,000 Jews from Slovakia; about 65,000 of them were murdered or died in concentration camps. The overall figures are inexact, partly because many Jews did not identify themselves, but one 2006 estimate is that approximately 105,000 Slovak Jews, or 77% of their pre-war population, died during the war.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: Although the official policy of the Nazi regime was in favour of an independent Slovak state dependent on Germany and opposed to any annexations of Slovak territory, Heinrich Himmler's SS considered ambitious population policy options concerning the German minority of Slovakia, which numbered circa 130,000 people. In 1940, Günther Pancke, head of the SS RuSHA ("Race and Settlement Office") undertook a study trip in Slovak lands where ethnic Germans were present, and reported to Himmler that the Slovak Germans were in danger of disappearing. Pancke recommended that action should be taken to fuse the racially valuable part of the Slovaks into the German minority and remove the Romani and Jewish populations. He stated that this would be possible by "excluding" the Hungarian minority of the country, and by settling some 100,000 ethnic German families to Slovakia. The racial core of this Germanization policy was to be gained from the Hlinka Guard, which was to be further integrated into the SS in the near future.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: After the anti-Nazi Slovak National Uprising in August 1944, the Germans occupied the country (from October 1944), which thereby lost much of its independence. The German troops were gradually pushed out by the Red Army, by Romanian and by Czechoslovak troops coming from the east. The liberated territories became "de facto" part of Czechoslovakia again.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: The First Slovak Republic ceased to exist "de facto" on 4 April 1945 when the Red Army captured Bratislava and occupied all of Slovakia. "De jure" it ceased to exist when the exiled Slovak government capitulated to General Walton Walker leading the XX Corps of the 3rd US Army on 8 May 1945 in the Austrian town of Kremsmünster. In summer 1945, the captured former president and members of the former government were handed over to Czechoslovak authorities.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: Several prominent Slovak politicians escaped to neutral countries. Following his captivity, the deposed president Jozef Tiso authorized the former foreign minister Ferdinand Ďurčanský as his successor. Ďurčanský, Tiso's personal secretary Karol Murín, and cousin Fraňo Tiso were appointed by ex-president Tiso as the representatives of the Slovak nation, however, they failed to create a government-in-exile as no country recognized them. In the 1950s with fellow Slovak nationalist, they established the Slovak Action Committee (later Slovak Liberation Committee) which unsuccessfully advocated the restoration of the independent Slovak State and the renewal of war against the Soviet Union. After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and the creation of the Slovak republic, the Slovak Liberation Committee proclaimed Tiso's authorization as obsolete.


title: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

text: Some Slovak nationalists, such as the Kotleba party, celebrate 14 March as the anniversary of Slovak independence, although 1 January (the date of the Velvet Divorce) is the official independence day. The issue of 14 March commemorations divided the Christian Democratic Movement in the early 1990s.


title: Girona

text: Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: "Gerona" ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital of the province of the same name and also capital of the "comarca" of the Gironès and the vegueria of Girona. Since much of the old quarter of this ancient city has been preserved, Girona is a popular destination for tourists, and film productions have used it as a filming location (e.g. "Game of Thrones"). The city is located northeast of Barcelona.


title: Girona

text: The first historical inhabitants in the region were Iberians; Girona is the ancient Gerunda, a city of the Ausetani. Later, the Romans built a citadel there, which was given the name of "Gerunda". The Visigoths ruled in Girona until it was conquered by the Moors in 715. Charlemagne reconquered it in 785 and made it one of the fourteen original counties of Catalonia. It was wrested temporarily from the Moors, who recaptured it in 793. From this time until the Moors were finally driven out in 1015, the city repeatedly changed hands. It was sacked by the Moors in 827, 842, 845, 935, and 982.


title: Girona

text: In the 11th century, Alfons I of Aragon declared Girona a city. The ancient county became a duchy in 1351 when King Peter III of Aragon gave the title of Duke to his first-born son, John. In 1414, King Ferdinand I in turn gave the title of Prince of Girona to his first-born son, Alfonso. The title is currently carried by Princess Leonor of Asturias, the second since the 16th century to do so.


title: Girona

text: The earliest documented evidence of a Jewish community in Girona dates to about 885. The 12th century saw the Jewish community of Girona flourish, having one of the most important Kabbalistic schools in Europe. The Rabbi of Girona, Moshe ben Nahman Gerondi (better known as Nahmanides or Ramban) was appointed Great Rabbi of Catalonia. Centered on the Jewish Call (Call Jueu), the Jewish community of Girona came to an end in 1492, when the Catholic Monarchs outlawed Judaism throughout Spain and Jews were given the choice of conversion or exile (see Alhambra Decree). For 400 years before that time, the Jewish cemetery was located beside the road to France, just north of the old city between the mountain Montjuïc, or "hill of the Jews" in medieval Catalan, and the river Ter.


title: Girona

text: Girona has undergone twenty-five sieges and been captured seven times. It was besieged by the French royal armies under Charles de Monchy d'Hocquincourt in 1653, under Bernardin Gigault de Bellefonds in 1684, and twice in 1694 under Anne Jules de Noailles. During the Third siege of Girona of the Peninsular War, the city was besieged from May to December 1809 by 35,000 French Napoleonic troops under Vergier, Augereau and St. Cyr. Continuously under heavy bombardment, Girona held out obstinately under the leadership of Álvarez de Castro until disease and famine compelled it to capitulate on 12 December. Girona was the center of the Ter department during the French rule, which lasted from 1809 to 1813. The defensive city walls of the western side were demolished at the end of the 19th century to allow for the expansion of the city, while the walls of the eastern side remained untouched but abandoned.


title: Girona

text: In recent years, the missing parts of the city walls on the eastern side of the city have been reconstructed. Called the "Passeig de la Muralla" it now forms a tourist route around the old city.


title: Girona

text: In the Köppen climate classification, Girona has a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa"), with cool winters and hot summers. In winter, temperatures can drop to below . In summer, maximum temperatures are typically . Although rainfall is evenly spread throughout the year, it is more common in spring (April–May) and autumn (September–November). The driest month is July. Thunderstorms are very common, particularly in the summer.


title: Girona

text: Girona is a popular destination for tourists and Barcelona day-trippers - the train journey from Barcelona Sants to Girona takes approximately forty minutes on high-speed trains, eighty with express ones and ninety with regional ones. The old town stands on the steep hill of the Caputxins to the east of the river Onyar, while the more modern section stands on the plains to the west. The city has a number of "Art Nouveau" buildings including the "Farinera Teixidor" by Rafael Masó.


title: Girona

text: The ancient cathedral, which stood on the site of the present one, was used by the Moors as a mosque, and after their final expulsion was either entirely remodelled or rebuilt. The present edifice is one of the most important monuments of the school of the Majorcan architect Jaume Fabre and an excellent example of Catalan Gothic architecture. It is approached by ninety steps. An aisle and chapels surround the choir, which opens by three arches into the nave, of which the pointed stone vault is the widest in Christendom (22 meters). Among its interior decorations is a retable which is the work of the Valencian silversmith Pere Bernec. It is divided into three tiers of statuettes and reliefs, framed in canopied niches of cast and hammered silver. A gold and silver altar-frontal was carried off by the French in 1809. The cathedral contains the tombs of Ramon Berenguer and his wife.


title: Girona

text: The old fortifications are another popular sight. Historically, these have played a vital role in protecting Girona from invaders for hundreds of years. The city wall of the old town was an important military construction built in Roman times in the 1st century BC. It was thoroughly rebuilt under the reign of Peter III the Ceremonious in the second half of the 14th century. The Roman wall was used as a foundation. At the start of the 16th century, the wall was absorbed in the city. The walled precinct lost its military value. Bit by bit, the wall was degrading, as parts were gradually altered from the inside and the outside. The walls and lookout towers that make up these fortifications are split in two - a small section in the north of the old town and a much larger section to the east and south. It is possible to walk the walls and climb the towers, where visitors can enjoy panoramic views of Girona and the surrounding countryside.


title: Girona

text: The Collegiate Church of Sant Feliu is noteworthy from an architectural point of view. Its style is 14th-century Gothic, the façade dating from the 18th, and it is one of the few Spanish churches which possesses a genuine spire. It contains, besides the sepulchre of its patron and the tomb of the valiant Álvarez, a chapel dedicated to St. Narcissus, who according to tradition was one of the early bishops of the see.


title: Girona

text: The Benedictine church of the monastery of Sant Pere de Galligants is in the early Romanesque style, dating to about the year 1130, though the monastery dates to about 950. The monastery slightly predates the Monastery of St. Daniel.


title: Girona

text: The "Plaça de la Independència" is one of the best known and busiest squares in Girona. Located in the Mercadal district in the city centre, it is also known as Plaça de Sant Agustí, after the former Convent of Sant Agustí. Its name refers to the 1808–1814 War of Spanish Independence, part of the larger Peninsular War, against Napoleon Bonaparte.


title: Girona

text: The interest of the square lies in its 19th-century style, despite its being surrounded by identical austere neoclassical buildings with porches dedicated to the defenders of the city of Girona during the 1808 and 1809 sieges.


title: Girona

text: However, the symmetrical proportions of the square correspond more to contemporary interventions than its architectural past. The municipal architect Martí Sureda was the first to conceive an arcaded square with closed and neoclassical loops, and with some buildings having matching aesthetic proportions. The development of the area followed this scheme only in part. The construction of the first theatres in the city transgressed the concept of Martí Sureda. Until the 18th century, what that architect had imagined could not be completed. This part of the city in Noucentisme style is a romantic and timeless creation which nowadays captivates inhabitants and visitors. Today the area has great vitality because of the spread of cafés and restaurants, including some businesses well known for their history like the Café Royal, Cinema Albéniz and Casa Marieta.


title: Girona

text: Characteristic of Girona are the picturesque houses overlooking the river Onyar. These were built over many years and give the flavour of a small Mediterranean city. The façanes are painted according to a palette created by Enric Ansesa, James J. Faixó and the architects Fuses and J. Viader.


title: Girona

text: One of these houses (at Ballesteries 29, Girona) is Casa Masó, the birthplace of the architect Rafael Masó and an example of Noucentisme in Girona. Since 2006 it has been the headquarters of the Fundació Rafael Maso. The river façade can be recognised by its unique white color.


title: Girona

text: Today, the historical Jewish quarter or "Call Jueu" is one of the best preserved in Europe and is a major tourist attraction. In 1492 the Jewish community was forced to chose between conversion and expulsion. Although the Jewish community abandoned the Jewish Call after this time and considerable revisions were made to its buildings over the subsequent 500 years, the neighborhood has remained. On Carrer de Sant Llorenç, a rectangular indentation that once held a mezuzah can be seen on the doorway of an old building. Within the Call, on Carrer de la Força, is the Centre Bonastruc ça Porta, an emblematic building that in the 15th century contained the last synagogue in Girona. The Bonastruc ça Porta project started in the 1970s, when it became fashionable to renovate properties in the old town. The Center hosts The Museum of Jewish History and The Institute of Nahmanid.


title: Girona

text: The "Barri Vell" and the Girona Cathedral have been the set of several films, e.g. "The Monk" and episode 10 of season 6 of "Game of Thrones".


title: Girona

text: During the professional cycling season, various non-European pro cyclists have called Girona home, as illustrated in the book by Michael Barry, written during his time with the US Postal Service cycling team. Between races, cyclists do their training rides outside the city, which provides excellent training terrain.


title: Girona

text: In the Spring of 1997, Marty Jemison, Tyler Hamilton and George Hincapie moved to Girona as teammates of the US Postal Service Professional Cycling Team. This was the first year that American cyclists started living in Girona and meeting for training rides at the Pont de Pedra. Later, other well-known professional cyclists such as Lance Armstrong came to live in the city.


title: Girona

text: Football is also widely popular. The local Football club is Girona FC, who were promoted to La Liga in 2017. The club's stadium is Estadi Montilivi.


title: Girona

text: The city has a roller hockey team, GEiEG, one of the most important in Spain, which competes in the main League OK Liga.


title: Girona

text: The city is the home of the Jaume Vicens Vives Secondary School, as well as the Universitat de Girona (University of Girona).


title: Girona

text: The town is on the Autopista AP-7 and N-II. The city is also the hub of the local road network with routes to the coast and inland towards the Pyrenees.


title: Girona

text: The city has a comprehensive urban bus service operated by private companies. There are also services to the other towns in the Girona province and long-distance buses.