Life and political career.

Kreisky was born in Margareten, a district of Vienna, to a non-observant Jewish family. His parents were Max Kreisky (1876, Klatovy – 1944) and Irene Felix Kreisky née Felix (1884, Třebíč – 1969). His father worked as a textile manufacturer. Shocked by the level of poverty and violence in Austria during the 1920s, he joined the youth wing of the Socialist Party of Austria (SPÖ) in 1925 at age 15. In 1927, he joined the Young Socialist Workers against the wishes of his parents. In 1929, he began studying law at the University of Vienna at the advice of Otto Bauer, who urged him to study law rather than medicine, as he had originally planned. He remained politically active during this period. In 1931, he left the Jewish religious community, becoming agnostic. In 1934, when the Socialist Party was banned by the Dollfuss dictatorship, he became active in underground political work. He was arrested in January 1935 and convicted of high treason, but was released in June 1936. In March 1938 the Austrian state was incorporated into Germany through the "Anschluss", and in September Kreisky escaped the Nazi persecution of Austrian Jews and the coming Holocaust by emigrating to Sweden, where he remained until 1945. On 23 April 1942, he married Vera Fürth (30 December 1916 – 5 December 1988) and had one son and one daughter.  He returned to Austria in May 1946, but he was soon back in Stockholm, assigned to the Austrian legation. In 1951 he returned to Vienna, where Federal President Theodor Körner appointed him Assistant Chief of Staff and political adviser. In 1953 he was appointed Undersecretary in the Foreign Affairs Department of the Austrian Chancellery. In this position he took part in negotiating the 1955 Austrian State Treaty, which ended the four-power occupation of Austria and restored Austria's independence and neutrality.  Kreisky was elected to the Austrian parliament, the Nationalrat as a Socialist during the 1956 election. He was elected to the Party Executive along with Bruno Pittermann, Felix Slavik, and Franz Olah, and thus became a member of the central leadership body of the party. After the 1959 election, he became Foreign Minister in the coalition cabinet of Chancellor Julius Raab (ÖVP), a post he continued to hold under Raab's successors Alfons Gorbach (1961–1964) and Josef Klaus (1964–1966). He played a leading role in setting up the European Free Trade Association, helped solve the South Tyrol question with Italy, and proposed a "Marshall Plan" for the countries of the Third World.  In 1966, the ÖVP under Klaus won an absolute majority in the Nationalrat. Although Klaus could have governed alone, memories of the hyperpartisanship that characterized the First Republic were still very strong, and he wanted to continue the grand coalition that had governed since 1945. However, talks between Klaus and Kreisky broke down. Kreisky resigned from cabinet, and the ÖVP formed the first one-party government of the Second Republic. However, the Socialists were not completely shut out of power; they were informally consulted on all major decisions.  In February 1967, Kreisky was elected chairman of the Socialist Party. At the March 1970 elections, the Socialists won 81 seats, two short of a majority. Kreisky became the first Socialist Chancellor since 1920, heading the first purely left-wing government in modern Austrian history. He was also Austria's first Jewish Chancellor. Kreisky's government was tolerated by the then national-liberals Freedom Party of Austria in return for electoral reforms that were intended to give smaller parties a greater voice. Following the passage of these reforms, he called fresh elections in October 1971. At these elections, the Socialists won a sweeping victory, winning a strong majority government with 93 seats. They also won half the popular vote, something no Austrian party had ever achieved in a free election. Kreisky was reelected in 1975 and 1979 elections, each time winning comfortable majorities in the Nationalrat.  Kreisky turned 70 in 1981, and by this time the voters had become increasingly uncomfortable with what they saw as his complacency and preoccupation with international issues. At the 1983 election, the Socialists lost their absolute majority in the Nationalrat. Kreisky declined to form a minority government and resigned, nominating Fred Sinowatz, his Minister of Education, as his successor. His health was declining, and in 1984 he had an emergency kidney transplant. During his final years he occasionally made bitter remarks directed at his party, who had made him their honorary chairman. He died in Vienna in July 1990.

Political views and programs.

In office, Kreisky and his close ally, Justice Minister Christian Broda, pursued a policy of liberal reform, in a country which had a tradition of conservative Roman Catholicism. He reformed Austria's family law and its prisons, and he decriminalised abortion and homosexuality. Nevertheless, he sought to bridge the gap between the Catholic Church and the Austrian Socialist movement and found a willing collaborator in the then Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna, Franz König. Kreisky promised to reduce the mandatory military service from nine to six months. After his election, military service was reduced to eight months (if performed in one stretch, or six months plus eight weeks if broken into two segments).  During Kreisky's premiership, a wide range of progressive reforms was carried out. Amongst other reforms, employee benefits were expanded, the workweek was cut to 40 hours, and legislation providing for equality for women was passed. Kreisky's government established language rights for the country's Slovene and Croatian minorities. Following the 1974 oil shock, Kreisky committed Austria to developing nuclear power to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, although this policy was eventually abandoned after a referendum held in 1978. A moderate reform of the penal code was carried out, discrimination against illegitimate children was eliminated, marriage grants were introduced, mother-child pass (a pre-natal/post-natal care and infant health program) was established, a major reform of the penal code was carried out, and sex equality legislation was passed. In addition, four weeks of annual vacation were introduced, the office of ombudsman was established, the law of parentage was reordered, consumer protection legislation was passed, and social security coverage of the self-employed was introduced. In 1979, restrictions on redundancy and the dismissal of employees were made.  Widows' pensions were indexed in 1970, and in 1972, free medical checks for healthy people were made available, while optional health insurance for students was introduced. Periods of study, illness, and unemployment were allowed pensionable status, and in 1974 family and birth benefits were indexed. The 1973 Special Subsidies Act introduced subsidies for those made redundant as a result of structural changes. The Wage Continuation Act of 1974 introduced wage continuation for workers in private enterprises in cases of sickness. In 1976, accident insurance was extended to work-related activities. The Night-shift/Heavy Manual Work Act of 1981 introduced preventive healthcare and a special early retirement pension for heavy manual workers.  Full sick pay was extended to blue-collar unions in 1974, and family benefits were expanded to include full school transport (1971), a marriage payment (1972), payment for school books (1974), and a birth payment (1976). In 1978, due to a change from tax allowances to direct payments for children, family benefits increased significantly. Between 1973 and 1980, expenditure on health and education rose on average by 13.7% and by 12.9% per annum respectively. In education, pupil/teacher ratios fell sharply and a new university law was passed in 1975 in order to make higher education more democratic. The educational sector was significantly expanded under Kreisky, greatly increasing the numbers of Austrians receiving a university education.  The 1972 Crime Victims Act established the principles of compensation for health damages caused (directly or indirectly) by crimes punishable by more than 6 months' imprisonment. The 1974 Town Renovation Act dealt with the renovation of residential town areas, while the 1975 Housing Property Act established the property rights of house- and flat-owners. In 1975, housing supplements were extended to cover costs of housing improvements. In 1974, the work prohibiting periods before and after work birth were extended up to 8 weeks, and in 1976 the regulations were extended to adoptive mothers. A 1981 law adapted pension schemes to changes in the families' loads equalisation scheme, and introduced a widowers' pension equivalent to the widows' pension. In 1976, accident insurance for pupils and students was introduced, while an act passed that same year enabled people to undertake the care of close relatives who were ill. Under the Bankruptcy Wage Continuation Act of 1979, claims against bankrupt firms were paid from a special fund. In 1982, a maternity allowance payable for 16 weeks was introduced for self-employed women.  Kreisky played a prominent role in international affairs, promoting dialogue between North Korea and South Korea, and working with like-minded European leaders such as Willy Brandt and Olof Palme to promote peace and development. Although the 1955 State Treaty prevented Austria from joining the European Union, he supported European integration. Austria cast itself as a bridge between East and West, and Vienna was the site for some early rounds of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the United States and the Soviet Union.  Kreisky questioned Zionism as a solution to the problems faced by the Jewish people, claiming that Jews were not an ethnic group or race, but rather a religious group. He even equated claims of the existence of the Jewish people as a distinctive nationality to Nazi claims of a Jewish race, and suggested that such ideas raised questions about Jewish dual loyalty. However, he did not oppose the existence of Israel or question the legitimacy of Israeli patriotism, and developed friendly relations with the Israeli Labor Party and the Peace Now movement, though he harshly criticized the Israeli right-wing and the Likud party as fascists. Kreisky referred to Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin as a terrorist, and had a stormy relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir especially during the 1973 hostage taking. He once said that he was "the only politician in Europe Golda Meir can't blackmail." He cultivated friendly relations with Arab leaders such as Anwar Sadat and Muammar Gaddafi, and in 1980 Austria established relations with the Palestine Liberation Organisation. He tried to use his position as a European Jewish Socialist to act as a mediator between Israel and the Arabs.  Kreisky was notable for his allegedly apologetic approach to former Nazi party members and contemporary far-right Austrian politicians. For example, Kreisky described far-right populist Jörg Haider as "a political talent worth watching". Kreisky is alleged to have used coded anti-semitic language to attract right-wing voters in Austria. In 1967, neo-Nazi Austrian leader Norbert Burger declared that he had no objections to Kreisky despite his Jewish background, claiming that he was simply a "German" and neither a religious Jew nor a Zionist. Kreisky felt that he had never personally suffered as a Jew, but only as a socialist. While imprisoned for his socialist activities during the Dollfuss regime, many of his cellmates were active Nazis, and Kreisky accepted them as fellow political opponents. Following his election in 1970, Kreisky wanted to demonstrate that he was indeed "Chancellor of all Austrians", and appointed four politicians with Nazi backgrounds to his cabinet. When Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal reported that four members of Kreisky's cabinet were former Nazis, Kreisky did not remove them from the government, though one did resign. Kreisky responded that everybody had the right to make political mistakes in their youth. This incident marked the beginning of a bitter conflict, which did not end until Kreisky died. In 1986, Wiesenthal sued Kreisky for libel. Three years later the court found Kreisky guilty of defamation and forced him to pay a substantial fine.  In 1976, the Bruno Kreisky Foundation for Outstanding Achievements in the Area of Human Rights was founded to mark Kreisky's 65th birthday. Every two years, the Bruno Kreisky Human Rights Prize is awarded to an international figure who has advanced the cause of human rights.  Later in his life Kreisky tried to help some Soviet dissidents. In particular, in 1983 he sent a letter to the Soviet premier Yuri Andropov demanding the release of dissident Yuri Orlov, but Andropov left Kreisky's letter unanswered.

Legacy.

Today, Kreisky's premiership is the subject of both controversy and nostalgia. Many of his former supporters see in Kreisky the last socialist of the old school and look back admiringly at an era when the standard of living was noticeably rising, when the welfare state was in full swing and when, by means of a state-funded programme promoting equality of opportunity, working class children were encouraged to stay on at school and eventually receive higher education. All this resulted in a decade of prosperity and optimism about the future.  Conservatives criticise Kreisky's policy of deficit spending, expressed in his famous comment during the 1979 election campaign that he preferred that the state run up high debts rather than see people become unemployed. They hold Kreisky responsible for Austria's subsequent economic difficulties. Despite this criticism, Kreisky did much to transform Austria during his time in office, with considerable improvements in working conditions, a dramatic rise in the average standard of living, and a significant expansion of the welfare state, and arguably remains the most successful socialist Chancellor of Austria.

External links.

<BR>  <BR

Bruno Kreisky (22 January 1911 – 29 July 1990) was an Austrian social democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldest Chancellor after World War II. His 13-year tenure was the longest of any Chancellor in republican Austria.

Bruno Kreisky (22. ledna 1911, Vídeň – 29. července 1990) byl rakouský právník a politik židovského původu. Byl ministrem zahraničí (1959–1966), předsedou Sociálně demokratické strany Rakouska (SPÖ) (1967–1983) a kancléřem (1970–1983).


Background and early life.

Simeon was born in 864 or 865, as the third son of Knyaz Boris I of Krum's dynasty. As Boris was the ruler who Christianized Bulgaria in 865, Simeon was a Christian all his life. Because his eldest brother Vladimir was designated heir to the Bulgarian throne, Boris intended Simeon to become a high-ranking cleric, possibly Bulgarian archbishop, and sent him to the leading University of Constantinople to receive theological education when he was thirteen or fourteen. He took the name Simeon as a novice in a monastery in Constantinople. During the decade (ca. 878–888) he spent in the Byzantine capital, he received excellent education and studied the rhetoric of Demosthenes and Aristotle. He also learned fluent Greek, to the extent that he was referred to as "the half-Greek" in Byzantine chronicles. He is speculated to have been tutored by Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople, but this is not supported by any source.  Around 888, Simeon returned to Bulgaria and settled at the newly established royal monastery of Preslav "at the mouth of the Tiča", where, under the guidance of Naum of Preslav, he engaged in active translation of important religious works from Greek to Medieval Bulgarian (currently referred to as Church Slavonic), aided by other students from Constantinople. Meanwhile, Vladimir had succeeded Boris, who had retreated to a monastery, as ruler of Bulgaria. Vladimir attempted to reintroduce paganism in the empire and possibly signed an anti-Byzantine pact with Arnulf of Carinthia, forcing Boris to re-enter political life. Boris had Vladimir imprisoned and blinded, and then appointed Simeon as the new ruler. This was done at an assembly in Preslav which also proclaimed Bulgarian as the only language of state and church and moved the Bulgarian capital from Pliska to Preslav, to better cement the recent conversion. It is not known why Boris did not place his second son, Gavril, on the throne, but instead preferred Simeon.

Reign.

Trade War with Byzantium and Magyar invasions.

With Simeon on the throne, the long-lasting peace with the Byzantine Empire established by his father was about to end. A conflict arose when Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise, allegedly acting under pressure from his mistress Zoe Zaoutzaina and her father Stylianos Zaoutzes, moved the marketplace for Bulgarian goods from Constantinople to Thessaloniki, where the Bulgarian merchants were heavily taxed. The Bulgarians sought protection by Simeon, who in turn complained to Leo. However, the Byzantine emperor ignored his embassy. Unable to effectively respond to the Bulgarian campaign due to the engagement of their forces against the Arabs, the Byzantines convinced the Magyars to attack Bulgaria, promising to transport them across the Danube using the Byzantine navy. Leo VI may have also concluded an agreement with Arnulf to make sure that the Franks did not support Simeon against the Magyars. In addition, the talented commander Nikephoros Phokas was called back from southern Italy to lead a separate army against Bulgaria in 895 with the mere intention to overawe the Bulgarians. Simeon, unaware of the threat from the north, rushed to meet Phokas' forces, but the two armies did not engage in a fight. Instead, the Byzantines offered peace, informing him of both the Byzantine foot and maritime campaign, but intentionally did not notify him of the planned Magyar attack. Simeon did not trust the envoy and, after sending him to prison, ordered the Byzantine navy's route into the Danube closed off with ropes and chains, intending to hold it until he had dealt with Phokas.  Despite the problems they encountered because of the fencing, the Byzantines ultimately managed to ferry the Magyar forces led by Árpád's son Liüntika across the Danube, possibly near modern Galaţi, and assisted them in pillaging the nearby Bulgarian lands. Once notified of the surprise invasion, Simeon headed north to stop the Magyars, leaving some of his troops at the southern border to prevent a possible attack by Phokas. Simeon's two encounters with the enemy in Northern Dobruja resulted in Magyar victories, forcing him to retreat to Drǎstǎr. After pillaging much of Bulgaria and reaching Preslav, the Magyars returned to their lands, but not before Simeon had concluded an armistice with Byzantium towards the summer of 895. A complete peace was delayed, as Leo VI required the release of the Byzantine captives from the Trade War.

Anti-Magyar campaign and further wars with Byzantium.

Having dealt with the pressure from the Magyars and the Byzantines, Simeon was free to plan a campaign against the Magyars looking for retribution. He negotiated a joint force with the Magyars' eastern neighbours, the Pechenegs, and imprisoned the Byzantine envoy Leo Choirosphaktes in order to delay the release of the captives until after the campaign against the Magyars. This would allow him to renegotiate the peace conditions in his favour. In an exchange of letters with the envoy, Simeon refused to release the captives and ridiculed Leo VI's astrological abilities.  Using a Magyar invasion in the lands of the neighbouring Slavs in 896 as a "casus belli", Simeon headed against the Magyars together with his Pecheneg allies, defeating them completely in the Battle of Southern Buh and making them leave Etelköz forever and settle in Pannonia. Following the defeat of the Magyars, Simeon finally released the Byzantine prisoners in exchange for Bulgarians captured in 895.  Claiming that not all prisoners had been released, Simeon once again invaded Byzantium in the summer of 896, heading directly to Constantinople. He was met in Thrace by a hastily assembled Byzantine army, but annihilated the Byzantine forces in the Battle of Bulgarophygon (at modern Babaeski, Turkey). Arming Arab captives and sending them to fight with the Bulgarians as a desperate measure, Leo VI managed to repel the Bulgarians from Constantinople, which they had besieged. The war ended with a peace treaty which formally lasted until around Leo VI's death in 912 and under which Byzantium was obliged to pay Bulgaria an annual tribute. Under the treaty, the Byzantines also ceded an area between the Black Sea and Strandža to the Bulgarian Empire. Meanwhile, Simeon had also imposed his authority over Serbia in return for recognizing Petar Gojniković as their ruler.  Simeon often violated the peace treaty with Byzantium, attacking and conquering Byzantine territory on several occasions, such as in 904, when the Bulgarian raids were used by Arabs led by the Byzantine renegade Leo of Tripoli to undertake a maritime campaign and seize Thessaloniki. After the Arabs plundered the city, it was an easy target for Bulgaria and the nearby Slavic tribes. In order to dissuade Simeon from capturing the city and populating it with Slavs, Leo VI was forced to make further territorial concessions to the Bulgarians in the modern region of Macedonia. With the treaty of 904, all Slavic-inhabited lands in modern southern Macedonia and southern Albania were ceded to the Bulgarian Empire, with the border line running some 20 kilometres north of Thessaloniki.

Recognition as Emperor.

The death of Leo VI on 11 May 912 and the accession of his infant son Constantine VII under the guidance of Leo's brother Alexander, who expelled Leo's wife Zoe from the palace, constituted a great opportunity for Simeon to attempt another campaign against Constantinople, the conquest of which remained the dream of his life. In the spring of 913, Simeon's envoys, who had arrived in Constantinople to renew the peace of 896, were sent away by Alexander, who refused to pay the annual tribute, urging Simeon to prepare for war.  Before Simeon could attack, Alexander died on 6 June 913, leaving the empire in the hands of a regency council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos. Many residents of Constantinople did not recognize the young emperor and instead supported the pretender Constantine Doukas, which, exacerbated by revolts in southern Italy and the planned Arab invasion in eastern Anatolia, was all to Simeon's advantage. Nicholas Mystikos tried to discourage Simeon from invading Byzantium in a long series of pleading letters, but the Bulgarian ruler nevertheless attacked in full force in late July or August 913, reaching Constantinople without any serious resistance.  The anarchy in Constantinople had ceased after the murder of the pretender Constantine Doukas, however, and a government had promptly been formed with Patriarch Nicholas at the helm. This urged Simeon to raise his siege and enter peace negotiations, to the joy of the Byzantines. The protracted negotiations resulted in the payment of the arrears of Byzantine tribute, the promise that Constantine VII would marry one of Simeon's daughters, and, most importantly, Simeon's official recognition as Emperor of the Bulgarians by Patriarch Nicholas in the Blachernae Palace.  Shortly after Simeon visited Constantinople, Constantine's mother Zoe returned to the palace on the insistence of the young emperor and immediately proceeded to eliminate the regents. Through a plot, she managed to assume power in February 914, practically removing Patriarch Nicholas from the government, disowning and obscuring his recognition of Simeon's imperial title, and rejecting the planned marriage of her son to one of Simeon's daughters. Simeon had to resort to war to achieve his goals. He invaded Thrace in the summer of 914 and captured Adrianople. Zoe was quick to send Simeon numerous presents in order to conciliate him, and she managed to convince him to cede back Adrianople and withdraw his army. In the following years, Simeon's forces were engaged in the northwestern Byzantine provinces, around Drač (Durrës) and Thessaloniki, but did not make a move against Constantinople.

Victories at Acheloos and Katasyrtai.

By 917, Simeon was preparing for yet another war against Byzantium. He attempted to conclude an anti-Byzantine union with the Pechenegs, but his envoys could not match the financial resources of the Byzantines, who succeeded in outbidding them. The Byzantines hatched a large-scale campaign against Bulgaria and also tried to persuade the Serbian Prince Petar Gojniković to attack the Bulgarians with Magyar support.  In 917, a particularly strong Byzantine army led by Leo Phokas the Elder, son of Nikephoros Phokas, invaded Bulgaria accompanied by the Byzantine navy under the command of Romanos Lekapenos, which sailed to the Bulgarian Black Sea ports. En route to Mesembria (Nesebǎr), where they were supposed to be reinforced by troops transported by the navy, Phokas' forces stopped to rest near the river of Acheloos, not far from the port of Anchialos (Pomorie). Once informed of the invasion, Simeon rushed to intercept the Byzantines, and attacked them from the nearby hills while they were resting disorganized. In the Battle of Acheloos of 20 August 917, one of the largest in medieval history, the Bulgarians completely routed the Byzantines and killed many of their commanders, although Phokas managed to escape to Mesembria. Decades later, Leo the Deacon would write that "piles of bones can still be seen today at the river Acheloos, where the fleeing army of the Byzantines was then infamously slain".  The planned Pecheneg attack from the north also failed, as the Pechenegs quarrelled with admiral Lekapenos, who refused to transport them across the Danube to aid the main Byzantine army. The Byzantines were not aided by Serbs and Magyars either: the Magyars were engaged in Western Europe as Frankish allies, and the Serbs under Petar Gojniković were reluctant to attack Bulgaria because Michael of Zahumlje, an ally of Bulgaria, had notified Simeon of their plans.  Simeon's army quickly followed up the victory of Acheloos with another success. The Bulgarians sent to pursue the remnants of the Byzantine army approached Constantinople and encountered Byzantine forces under Leo Phokas, who had returned to the capital, at the village of Katasyrtai in the immediate proximity of Constantinople. The Bulgarian regiments attacked and again defeated the Byzantines, destroying some of their last units before returning to Bulgaria.

Suppression of Serbian unrest and late campaigns against Byzantium.

Immediately after that campaign, Simeon sought to punish the Serbian ruler Petar Gojniković who had attempted to betray him by concluding an alliance with the Byzantines. Simeon sent an army led by two of his commanders, Theodore Sigrica and Marmais, to Serbia. The two managed to persuade Petar to attend a personal meeting, during which he was enchained and carried off to Bulgaria, where he died in a dungeon. Simeon put Pavle Branović, prior to that an exile in Bulgaria, on the Serbian throne, thus restoring the Bulgarian influence in Serbia for a while.  Meanwhile, the Byzantine military failures forced another change of government in Constantinople: the admiral Romanos Lekapenos replaced Zoe as regent of the young Constantine VII in 919, forcing her back into a convent. Romanos betrothed his daughter Helena Lekapene to Constantine and advanced to the rank of co-emperor in December 920, effectively assuming the government of the empire, which was largely what Simeon had planned to do.  No longer able to climb to the Byzantine throne by diplomatic means, the infuriated Simeon once again had to wage war to impose his will. Between 920 and 922, Bulgaria increased its pressure on Byzantium, campaigning in the west through Thessaly reaching the Isthmus of Corinth and in the east in Thrace, reaching and crossing the Dardanelles to lay siege on the town of Lampsacus. Simeon's forces appeared before Constantinople in 921, when they demanded the deposition of Romanos and captured Adrianople, and 922, when they were victorious at Pigae, burned much of the Golden Horn and seized Bizye. In the meantime, the Byzantines attempted to ignite Serbia against Simeon, but he substituted Pavle with Zaharije Pribisavljević, a former refugee at Constantinople that he had captured.  Desperate to conquer Constantinople, Simeon planned a large campaign in 924 and sent envoys to the Fatimid caliph Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah, who possessed a powerful navy which Simeon needed. The caliph agreed and sent his own representatives back with the Bulgarians to arrange the alliance. However, the envoys were captured by the Byzantines at Calabria. Romanos offered peace to the Arabs, supplementing this offer with generous gifts, and ruined their union with Bulgaria.  In Serbia, Zaharije was persuaded by the Byzantines to revolt against Simeon. Zaharije was supported by many Bulgarians exhausted from Simeon's endless campaigns against Byzantium. The Bulgarian emperor sent his troops under Sigrica and Marmais, but they were routed and the two commanders beheaded, which forced Simeon to conclude an armistice with Byzantium in order to concentrate on the suppression of the uprising. Simeon sent an army led by Časlav Klonimirović in 924 to depose Zaharije. He was successful, as Zaharije fled to Croatia. After this victory, the Serbian nobility was invited to come to Bulgaria and bow to the new Prince. However, he did not appear at the supposed meeting and all of them were beheaded. Bulgaria annexed Serbia directly.  In the summer of 924, Simeon nevertheless arrived at Constantinople and demanded to see the patriarch and the emperor. He conversed with Romanos on the Golden Horn on 9 September 924 and arranged a truce, according to which Byzantium would pay Bulgaria an annual tax, but would be ceded back some cities on the Black Sea coast. During the interview of the two monarchs, two eagles are said to have met in the skies above and then to have parted, one of them flying over Constantinople and the other heading to Thrace, as a sign of the irreconcilability of the two rulers. In his description of this meeting, Theophanes Continuatus mentions that "the two "emperors"... conversed", which may indicate renewed Byzantine recognition of Simeon's imperial claims.

War with Croatia and death.

Most likely after (or possibly at the time of) Patriarch Nicholas' death in 925, Simeon raised the status of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to a patriarchate. This may be linked to Simeon's diplomatic relations with the Papacy between 924 and 926, during which he demanded and received Pope John X's recognition of his title as "Emperor of the Romans", truly equal to the Byzantine emperor, and possibly the confirmation of a patriarchal dignity for the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.  In 926, Simeon's troops under Alogobotur invaded Croatia, at the time a Byzantine ally, but were completely defeated by the army of King Tomislav in the Battle of the Bosnian Highlands. Fearing a Bulgarian retribution, Tomislav agreed to abandon his union with Byzantium and make peace on the basis of the "status quo", negotiated by the papal legate Madalbert. In the last months of his life, Simeon prepared for another conflict with Constantinople despite Romanos' desperate pleas for peace.  On 27 May 927, Simeon died of heart failure in his palace in Preslav. Byzantine chroniclers tie his death to a legend, according to which Romanos decapitated a statue which was Simeon's inanimate double, and he died at that very hour.  He was succeeded by his son Peter I, with George Sursubul, the new emperor's maternal uncle, initially acting as a regent. As part of the peace treaty signed in October 927 and reinforced by Peter's marriage to Maria (Eirene), Romanos' granddaughter, the existing borders were confirmed, as were the Bulgarian ruler's imperial dignity and the head of the Bulgarian Church's patriarchal status.

Culture and religion.

During Simeon's reign, Bulgaria reached its cultural apogee, becoming the literary and spiritual centre of Slavic Europe. In this respect, Simeon continued his father Boris' policy of establishing and spreading Slavic culture and attracting noted scholars and writers within Bulgaria's borders. It was in the Preslav Literary School and Ohrid Literary School, founded under Boris, that the main literary work in Bulgaria was concentrated during the reign of Simeon in the new Cyrillic alphabet which was developed there.  The late 9th and early 10th centuries constitute the earliest and most productive period of medieval Bulgarian literature. Having spent his early years in Constantinople, Simeon introduced Byzantine culture to the Bulgarian court, but eliminated its assimilative effect by means of military power and religious autonomy. The disciples of Cyril and Methodius, among whom were Clement of Ohrid, Naum and Constantine of Preslav, continued their educational work in Bulgaria, actively translating Christian texts, such as the Bible and the works of John Chrysostom, Basil of Caesarea, Cyril of Alexandria, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Athanasius of Alexandria, as well as historic chronicles such as those of John Malalas and George Hamartolus, to Bulgarian. The reign of Simeon also witnessed the production of a number of original theological and secular works, such as John Exarch's "Six Days" ("Šestodnev"), Constantine of Preslav's "Alphabetical Prayer" and "Proclamation of the Holy Gospels", and Černorizec Hrabǎr's "An Account of Letters". Simeon's own contribution to this literary blossoming was praised by his contemporaries, for example in the "Praise to Tsar Simeon" preserved in the "Zlatostruj" collection and "Simeon's Collection", to which the tsar personally wrote an addendum.  Simeon turned the new Bulgarian capital Preslav into a magnificent religious and cultural centre, intended more as a display of his realm's heyday and as a royal residence than as a military fortress. With its more than twenty cross-domed churches and numerous monasteries, its impressive royal palace and the Golden (or Round) Church, Preslav was a true imperial capital. The development of Bulgarian art in the period is demonstrated by a ceramic icon of Theodore Stratelates and the Preslav-style illustrated ceramics.

Family.

Simeon was married twice. By his first wife, whose identity is unknown, Simeon had a son called Michael. Possibly because his mother was of inferior birth, he was excluded from the succession and sent to a monastery.  By his second wife, the sister of the influential noble George Sursubul, he had three sons: Peter, who succeeded as Emperor of Bulgaria in 927 and ruled until 969; Ivan, who unsuccessfully conspired against Peter in 929 and then fled to Byzantium; and Benjamin (Bajan), who, according to Lombard historian Liutprand of Cremona, "possessed the power to transform himself suddenly into a wolf or other strange animal".  Simeon also had several daughters, including one who was arranged to marry Constantine VII in 913. The marriage was annulled by Constantine's mother Zoe once she had returned to the court.

Legacy and popular culture.

Tsar Simeon I has remained among the most highly valued Bulgarian historical figures, as indicated by popular vote in the "Velikite Bǎlgari" (a spin-off of "100 Greatest Britons") television programme, which in February 2007 placed him fourth among the greatest Bulgarians ever. Simeon the Great has been regularly featured in fiction. Bulgarian national writer Ivan Vazov dedicated a children's patriotic poem to him, "Tsar Simeon", and it was later arranged as a song, "Kray Bosfora šum se vdiga" ("A Clamour Rises by the Bosphorus"). An eleven-episode drama series filmed in 1984, "Zlatniyat vek" ("The Golden Age"), retells the story of Simeon's reign. In the series, the tsar is played by Marius Donkin. A historical drama play called "Tsar Simeon Veliki – Zlatniyat vek" produced by Stefan Staychev, director of the Silistra Theatre, premiered in December 2006. Ivan Samokovliev stars in the part of Simeon.  The painting, "The Bulgarian Tsar Simeon" is part of the 20-canvas work by Alfons Mucha, "The Slav Epic".  The last Bulgarian monarch, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was named after Simeon I. A brand of high-quality grape rakija, "Car Simeon Veliki", also bears his name, and an Antarctic peak on Livingston Island of the South Shetland Islands was named Simeon Peak in his honour by the Antarctic Place-names Commission.

Tsar Simeon (also Symeon) I the Great ( ) ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern and Southeast Europe. His reign was also a period of unmatched cultural prosperity and enlightenment later deemed the Golden Age of Bulgarian culture.

Simeon I. (864 nebo 865 – 27. května 927) byl bulharský kníže, později první bulharský car, jeden z nejvýznamnějších panovníků staré bulharské říše, za jehož vlády dosáhl bulharský stát největšího rozmachu a politického významu; dokončil poslovanštění Bulharů; třetí (nejmladší) syn Borise I.


Life.

1890–1923: Polička and Prague.

The setting of Martinů's birth was unusual. He was born in the tower of the St. Jakub Church in Polička, a town in Bohemia, close to the Moravian border. His father Ferdinand, a shoemaker, also worked as the church sexton and town fire watchman. For this, he and his family were allowed to live in the tower apartment. As a small boy Bohuslav was sickly, and frequently had to be carried up the 193 steps to the tower on the back of his father or his older sister. In school he was known to be very shy, and did not participate in the plays or pageants with his classmates. But as violinist, he excelled and developed a strong reputation, giving his first public concert in his hometown in 1905. The townspeople raised enough money to fund his schooling, and in 1906 he left the countryside to begin studies at the Prague Conservatory. Whilst there he fared poorly as a student, showing little interest in the rigid pedagogy, nor the hours of violin practice required. He was far more interested in exploring Prague and learning on his own, attending concerts and reading books on many subjects. This was in contrast to his roommate, Stanislav Novák, who was an excellent student and a brilliant violinist. They frequently attended concerts together at which Martinů became engrossed in analysing new music, particularly French impressionist works. He could memorize much of it, to the extent that when back in their room, he could write out large parts of the score almost perfectly. Novák became astonished at how meticulously Martinů could do this. He became convinced that his roommate, while lacking in other subjects, possessed an incredible brain for analysing and memorizing music. They became friends for life. Dropped from the violin program, Martinů was moved to the organ department that taught composition, but he was finally dismissed in 1910 for "incorrigible negligence".  Martinů spent the next several years living back home in Polička, attempting to gain some standing in the musical world. He had written several compositions by this time, including the "Elegie" for violin and piano, and the symphonic poems "Angel of Death" ("Anděl smrti") and "Death of Tintagiles" ("Smrt Tintagilova"), and submitted samples of his work to Josef Suk, a leading Czech composer. Suk encouraged him to pursue formal composition training, but this would not be possible until years later. In the meantime, he passed the state teaching examination and maintained a studio in Polička throughout World War I, while continuing to compose and study on his own. It was during this time that he studied the ancient choral hymns of the Bohemian Brethren, which would influence his style and musical scope.  As World War I drew to a close and Czechoslovakia was declared an independent republic, Martinů composed the celebratory cantata "Czech Rhapsody" ("Česká rapsodie"), which was premiered in 1919 to great acclaim. He toured Europe as a violinist with the National Theatre Orchestra, and in 1920 became a full member of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra that was led by the inspired young conductor Václav Talich, who was the first major conductor to promote Martinů. He also began formal composition study under Suk. During these last years in Prague he completed his first string quartet and two ballets: "Who is the Most Powerful in the World?" ("Kdo je na světě nejmocnější?") and "Istar".

1923–40: Paris.

Martinů finally departed for Paris in 1923, having received a small scholarship from the Czechoslovak Ministry of Education. He sought out Albert Roussel, whose individualistic style he respected, and began a series of informal lessons with him. Roussel would teach Martinů until his death in 1937 by helping him focus and bring order to his compositions, rather than instructing him in a specific style. During his first years in Paris, Martinů incorporated many of the trends at the time, including jazz, neoclassicism, and surrealism. He was particularly attracted to Stravinsky, whose novel, angular, propulsive rhythms and sonorities reflected the industrial revolution, sports events and motorised transportation. Ballets were his favorite medium for experimentation, including "The Revolt" (1925), "The Butterfly That Stamped" (1926), "Le raid merveilleux" (1927), "La revue de cuisine" (1927), and "Les larmes du couteau" (1928). Martinů found friends in the Czechoslovak artistic community in Paris and would always retain close ties to his homeland, frequently returning during the summer. He continued to look to his Bohemian and Moravian roots for musical ideas. His best-known work from this time is the ballet "Špalíček" (1932–33), which incorporates Czech folk tunes and nursery rhymes.  The prime leader of new symphonic music in Paris at this time was Serge Koussevitzsky, who presented the biannual Concerts Koussevitzsky (1921–29). He became the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1924, but still returned to Paris each summer to conduct his Concerts. In 1927, Martinů happened to see him at a café, introduced himself, and gave him the score of a symphonic triptych, "La bagarre", that was inspired by Charles Lindbergh's recent landing. The maestro was impressed, and scheduled its premiere with the Boston Symphony in November 1927.  In 1926, Martinů met Charlotte Quennehen (1894–1978), a French seamstress from Picardy. She was employed at a large garment factory and, after their romance began, she moved into his small flat and helped to support him. She would become an important force in his life, handling the cuisine and business matters that he found trying. They married in 1931. Culturally, however, the two were quite different, a fact that would cause problems in their marriage over the years.  By 1930, Martinů had withdrawn from his seven years of experimentation to settle on a neo-classical style. In 1932, he won the Coolidge prize for the best of 145 chamber music works for his String Sextet with Orchestra. This was performed by Koussevitzsky with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1932. Martinu finished his opera "Julietta" in 1936; this was based upon a surrealistic play by Georges Neveux that he had seen in 1927. Its premiere was given in Prague under Václav Talich on 14 March 1938.  In 1937, Martinů became acquainted with a young Czech woman, Vítězslava Kaprálová. Born in Brno in 1915, she was already a highly accomplished musician when she arrived in Paris, supported by a small Czech government grant to study conducting with Charles Munch and composition with Martinů. Their relationship soon developed beyond that of student-teacher as he fell madly in love with her. After she returned to Czechoslovakia, Martinů wrote her many long, passionate letters. In one of these, he proposed that he would divorce Charlotte and then take her to America. It was while he was in this distraught, frenzied state that Martinů composed one of his greatest works, the Double Concerto for two string orchestras, piano and timpani. It was finished just a few days before the Munich Agreement was sealed between Hitler and Chamberlain (30 September 1938).  After the Munich Agreement, President Edvard Beneš began to form a Czechoslovak government in exile set up in France and England. As a significant number of troops became organized into a Czech resistance force, Martinů tried to join them but was rejected because of his age. However, in 1939, he composed a tribute to this force, the "Field Mass" for baritone, chorus and orchestra. It was broadcast from England and was picked up in occupied Czechoslovakia. For this, Martinů was blacklisted by the Nazis and sentenced "in absentia". In 1940, as the German army approached Paris, the Martinůs fled. They were sheltered by Charles Munch who had a place near Limoges. Soon, they journeyed on to Aix-en-Provence, where they stayed for six months while trying to find transit out of Vichy France. He was helped by the Czech artistic community, particularly Rudolf Kundera, along with Edmonde Charles-Roux and the Countess Lily Pastré. Despite the harsh conditions, he found inspiration in Aix and composed several works, notably the "Sinfonietta giocosa". Charlotte wrote: "We fell in love with Aix: the delicate murmur of its fountains calmed our agitated feelings and later Bohus was inspired by them." Finally, on 8 January 1941, they left Marseilles for Madrid and Portugal, eventually reaching the United States in 1941 with the help of his friend, the diplomat Miloš Šafránek, and especially from Martinů's Swiss benefactor, Paul Sacher, the conductor of the Basel Chamber Orchestra, who arranged and paid for their passages.

1941–53: US.

Life in the United States was difficult for him initially, just as it was for many other artist émigrés in similar circumstances. Lack of knowledge of English, of funds, and of opportunities to use their talents were common to them. When they first arrived in New York, the Martinůs rented a studio apartment at the Great Northern Hotel on 57th St. They were helped by several musician friends, including pianist Rudolf Firkušný, violinist Samuel Dushkin, cellist Frank Rybka, diplomat Miloš Šafránek, and multi-lingual lawyer Jan Löwenbach. Martinů soon found that he was unable to resume composing in noisy Manhattan, so for the following season they leased a small apartment in Jamaica Estates, Queens, close to the Rybkas. This leafy, residential neighborhood was conducive for him to take long solitary walks at night, during which he would work out music scores in his head. On several occasions he would "zone out" in deep concentration about the music, becoming oblivious of his surroundings and getting lost, and would then call a friend with a car to come find him and take him back home. Thereafter, he began to compose actively. When he contacted Serge Koussevitzsky, the conductor told him that his Concerto Grosso would receive its premiere in Boston the following season. One of the first compositions Martinů wrote in New York was the "Concerto da Camera" for violin and small orchestra, in fulfillment of a commission he had been awarded before the war by Paul Sacher. The following year, they moved back to Manhattan into an apartment in a brownstone on 58th St, across from the Hotel Plaza. That was where they lived for the rest of their years in America. Composer David Diamond, who sub-leased this apartment in 1954, has described it in an interview.  As the War was coming to an end, the Martinůs encountered marital difficulties. Charlotte, who never did like America, wanted strongly to return to France. He did not, so when he accepted Koussevitzky's offer to teach at the Berkshire Music School for the summer of 1946, she went to France alone for a prolonged visit. In Great Barrington, Massachusetts, he was lodged with the students in Searles Castle, and his magnificent master bedroom opened onto a terrace. One night, Martinů took his customary walk on the terrace, a section of which had no railing, and he fell off, landing on concrete, and was hospitalized with a fractured skull and concussion. He drifted in and out of a coma, but survived. After several weeks he was released to recuperate with friends. By this time, Roe Barstow had entered his life. She was an attractive divorcee of independent means, who lived alone in Greenwich Village. With Charlotte away in France, she was at Martinů's side, assisting in his recovery, during which their relationship deepened. After Charlotte returned in the late fall, she found that her husband was a different man: gaunt, irritable, crippled and in pain from the accident. It required a few years before he was able to return to his former state as a solid composer.  Apart from his domestic problems, Martinů was unsure about which country he would live in. He had considered returning to Czechoslovakia as a teacher, despite having a powerful enemy there in the communist politician Zdeněk Nejedlý. Any plans to return were further hampered by the 1948 Czechoslovak "coup d'état". With the communists' seizure of power, music, along with the other arts, became an instrument of propaganda along Soviet ideological lines. Martinů was branded as a formalist and émigré traitor, and he chose wisely not to pursue any kind of professional engagement in his native land from this time forward.  Martinů was indeed reluctant to leave America which had been very supportive of him. He taught at the Mannes College of Music for most of the period from 1948 to 1956. He also taught at Princeton University and the Berkshire Music School (Tanglewood). At Princeton he was warmly received by faculty and students. His six symphonies were written in the eleven-year period 1942–1953, the first five being produced between 1942 and 1946. In addition, he composed the Violin Concerto No. 2, "Memorial to Lidice" "(Památník Lidicím)" for orchestra, Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, Piano Concerto No. 3, "Concerto da Camera" for violin and small orchestra, "Sinfonietta La Jolla" for piano and small orchestra, Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3 for cello and piano, many chamber compositions, and a television opera, "The Marriage (Ženitba)". His symphonic scores were performed by most of the major orchestras: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, and he generally received fine reviews from the leading critics.  Owing to the extraordinary volume of Martinů's oeuvre, some critics who never knew the man have stated that he composed too much, too fast, and therefore must have been careless in quality. However, he has been defended strongly by musicians and critics who did know him. Olin Downes knew Martinů better. For his interviews of Martinů, he had the benefit of having Jan Löwenbach, a friend of both men, present as an interpreter. Downes' defense of the composer came out in an article, "Martinu at 60". "Martinu [...] is incapable of an unthorough or conscienceless job. He works very hard, systematically, scrupulously, modestly. He produces so much music because in the first place, his nature necessitates this. He has to write music. In the second place, he knows his business and loves it." The composer David Diamond knew Martinů both in Paris and New York. In an interview years later, he expressed amazement at how extraordinary Martinů's mind was in developing a whole orchestral score while taking a walk.  Martinů's notable students include Burt Bacharach, Alan Hovhaness, Vítězslava Kaprálová, Louis Lane, Jan Novák, H. Owen Reed, Howard Shanet and Chou Wen-chung.

1953–59: Europe.

In 1953, Martinů left the United States for France and settled in Nice, returning in 1955. In 1956, he took up an appointment as composer-in-residence at the American Academy in Rome. He died at a clinic in Liestal, Switzerland, on 28 August 1959. His remains were moved and buried in Polička, Czechoslovakia, in 1979.  Minor planet 3081 Martinůboh discovered by Luboš Kohoutek is named after him.

Music.

Martinů was a prolific composer who wrote almost 400 pieces. Many of his works are regularly performed or recorded, among them his oratorio "The Epic of Gilgamesh" (1955, "Epos o Gilgamešovi"), his six symphonies, concertos (these number almost thirty – four violin concertos, eight compositions for solo piano, four cello concertos, one of each for harpsichord, viola, and oboe, five double concertos, two triple concertos, and two concertos for four solo instruments and orchestra), an anti-war opera "Comedy on the Bridge (Veselohra na mostě)", chamber music (including eight string quartets), three piano quintets, a piano quartet, a flute sonata, a clarinet sonatina and many others. A characteristic feature of his orchestral writing is the near-omnipresent piano; many of his orchestral works include a prominent part for piano, including his small Concerto for harpsichord and chamber orchestra. The bulk of his writing from the 1930s into the 1950s was in a neoclassical vein, but with his last works he opened up his style to include more rhapsodic gestures and a looser, more spontaneous sense of form. This is easiest to hear by comparing his "Fantaisies symphoniques" (Symphony No. 6), H 343, with its five predecessors, all from the 1940s.  One of Martinů's lesser known works features the theremin. Martinů started working on his Fantasia for theremin, oboe, string quartet and piano in the summer of 1944, and finished it on October 1. He dedicated it to Lucie Bigelow Rosen, who had commissioned it and was the theremin soloist at its premiere at New York's Town Hall on 3 November 1945, joined by the Koutzen Quartet, Robert Bloom (oboe), and Carlos Salzedo (piano).  His opera "The Greek Passion" is based on the novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis, and his orchestral work "Memorial to Lidice" (Památník Lidicím) was written in remembrance of the village of Lidice that was destroyed by the Nazis in reprisal for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in the late spring of 1942. It was completed in August 1943 whilst he was in New York, and premiered there in October of that year.

Personality.

There has been many discussions about Martinů's personality, manners and possible Asperger syndrome. Frank James Rybka has promoted the idea that Martinů suffered from this kind of autism spectrum disorder. He met Martinů in 1941, when the composer was 51 and Rybka was only six years old; later on he met him in 1951 and then in 1959, a month before the composer died.  According to Rybka, Martinů was quiet, introverted, and emotionally stolid when meeting persons he did not know well. He typically answered questions very slowly, even when conversing in his native Czech. He might fail to reciprocate socially when people would compliment his music, or do favors for him. Close friends found him to be a kind, gentle, self-effacing, unbiased person. In 2009, Rybka launched a retrospective study of the composer's unusual personality, based upon interviews of people who knew him, as well as a study of letters he had written to his family and friends. Evidence of his having an autism spectrum disorder was compiled and evaluated, using the established criteria found in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disease "(DSM-IV). This evidence was reviewed by a well-known autism neuroscientist who concurred that the composer had good evidence of having had an autistic spectrum disorder, most likely Asperger syndrome. This was described in their publication. In 2011, Rybka published a Martinů biography, in which such traits are reviewed, such as his failure of social reciprocity, his flat affect and stolidity, his phobias and extreme stage fright, his strict adherence to a ritualized schedule, and his zoning out into an aura, while walking with his mind deeply engrossed in composing. The biography concludes that there were both positive and negative ways how Asperger's affected his life. It seems to have facilitated his extraordinary memory for music, and his ability to compose prolifically and skillfully, but it also left him unable to promote or showcase his music in public.  Against this, Eric Entwistle in his review of Rybka's publication emphasized three main points contradicting Rybka's conclusions. These are: firstly, that it is impossible to diagnose someone so many years after his death; secondly, that Asperger syndrome officially does not exist as a separate syndrome; and finally, that according to Entwistle, Rybka became obsessed with the idea of Martinů's disorder, finding evidence for his claim everywhere.

Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and briefly studied under Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk. After leaving Czechoslovakia in 1923 for Paris, Martinů deliberately withdrew from the Romantic style in which he had been trained. During the 1930s he experimented with expressionism and constructivism, and became an admirer of current European technical developments, exemplified by his orchestral works "Half-time" and "La Bagarre". He also adopted jazz idioms, for instance in his "Kitchen Revue" ("Kuchyňská revue").

Bohuslav Martinů (8. prosince 1890 Polička – 28. srpna 1959 Liestal, Švýcarsko) je jedním z nejvýznamnějších českých hudebních skladatelů, vedle Antonína Dvořáka ve světě nejhranějším.


Early life.

Jeanne Bécu was born at Vaucouleurs, in the present-day Meuse department in Lorraine, France, as the illegitimate daughter of Anne Bécu, a seamstress. Jeanne's father was possibly Jean Jacques Gomard, a friar known as "frère Ange".  During her childhood, one of her mother's acquaintances (possibly briefly a lover), Monsieur Billiard-Dumonceaux, and possibly father of Jeanne's half-brother Claude (who died in infancy when only ten months old) took both Anne and three-year-old Jeanne into his care when they traveled from Vaucouleurs to Paris and installed Anne as a cook in his Italian mistress's household. Little Jeanette was well liked by Dumonceaux's mistress Francesca (known in French as "Madame" or "La Frédérique"), who pampered her in all luxury. Dumonceaux funded Jeanette's education at the Couvent (convent) de Saint-Aure.  At the age of fifteen, Jeanne left the convent, for she had "come of age". For some reason – possibly either due to La Frédérique's jealousy of Jeanne's beauty and youth, or because Dumonceaux's passion for Anne revived – both mother and daughter were thrown out. They then moved into the very small household of Anne's husband, Nicolas Rançon. Jeanne had to find some sort of income to help herself live, and thus traveled the dingy streets of Paris carrying a box full of trinkets for sale. Over time she worked at different occupations; she was first offered a post as assistant to a young hairdresser named Lametz; Jeanne had a brief relationship with him that may have produced a daughter, although it is highly improbable. On the instigation of a Gomard (possibly the brother of her supposed father), Jeanne was then employed as a companion ("dame de compagnie") to an elderly widow, Madame de la Garde, but was sent away when again, her youth and beauty went against her. Jeanne's presence began to meddle in the marital affairs of both la Garde's two sons. Later, Jeanne worked as a milliner's assistant (known as a "grisette") in a haberdashery shop named 'À la Toilette', owned by Madame Labille, and run by her husband. Labille's daughter, the future famed painter Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, became a good friend of Jeanne.  As reflected in art from the time, Jeanne was a remarkably attractive blonde woman with thick golden ringlets and almond-shaped blue eyes. Her beauty came to the attention of Jean-Baptiste du Barry, a high-class pimp/procurer nicknamed "le roué". Du Barry owned a casino, and Jeanne came to his attention in 1763 when she was entertaining in Madame Quisnoy's brothel-casino. She introduced herself as Jeanne Vaubernier. Du Barry installed her in his household and made her his mistress. Giving her the appellation of "Mademoiselle Lange", Du Barry helped establish Jeanne's career as a courtesan in the highest circles of Parisian society; this enabled her to take several aristocratic men, even courtiers, as brief lovers or clients.

Life as a courtesan and official mistress of Louis XV.

As Mademoiselle Lange, Jeanne immediately became a sensation in Paris, building up a large aristocratic clientele. She had many lovers from the king's ministers to his courtiers. The dashing yet old Maréchal de Richelieu became one of her recurring lovers. Because of this, Jean du Barry saw her as a means of influence over Louis XV, who became aware of her in 1768 while she was on an errand at Versailles. The errand involved the duc de Choiseul, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who found her rather ordinary, in contrast to what most other men thought of her. The king took a great interest in her and founds means in obtaining her identity with the help of his personal valet and procurer, Dominique Guillaume Lebel. Jeanne was escorted to the royal boudoir frequently, and it was soon becoming a worrying issue to Lebel when this liaison was seemingly becoming more than just a passing fling. In any case, Jeanne could not qualify as a maîtresse-en-titre unless she had a title; however after divulging with the king that Jeanne was nothing but a harlot, the king ordered that Jeanne be wedded to a man of strong lineage so she may be brought to court as per protocol. This was solved by her marriage on 1 September 1768 to du Barry's brother, Comte Guillaume du Barry. The marriage ceremony included a false birth certificate created by Jean du Barry himself, making Jeanne younger by three years and of fictitious noble descent.  Jeanne was now installed above the King's quarters in Lebel's former rooms. She lived a lonely life, unable to be seen with the King since no formal presentation had taken place as yet. Very few if any of the nobility at court deigned to become acquainted with her, for none could accept the fact that a woman of the street had the audacity to mingle with those above her station and thrive in trying to become like them. Comte du Barry constantly pestered Jeanne and urged her to speak of presentation with the king. Louis XV, in turn, asked her to find a proper sponsor to be able to have one. Richelieu took responsibility of doing so, and after those women approached asked too high a price to take the role, her official sponsor, Madame de Béarn, was found after having her huge gambling debts paid off.  On the first occasion when the presentation was to take place, de Béarn was panicked by fear and feigned a sprained ankle. On a second occasion, the king was badly hurt when he fell off his horse during a hunt and broke his arm. Finally, Jeanne was presented to the Court at Versailles on 22 April 1769; an occasion which was long-awaited for by the gathering crowds outside the palace gates, and by the gossiping courtiers within the Hall of Mirrors. Jeanne was described as wearing a queenly silvery white gown brocaded with gold, bedecked in jewels sent by the king the night before, and with huge panniers at the sides. The dress had been specifically ordered by Richelieu especially for Jeanne; many courtiers claimed that its like had never been seen before. Her hairdo was also noticeably spectacular, being the cause of her late arrival.  Jeanne first befriended Claire Françoise, better known as 'Chon', brought from Languedoc by her brother Jean du Barry to accompany her then-friendless sister-in-law, being also a means of companionship and tutor in helping Jeanne let go of her peasant past and take a more court-like demeanour. Later on, she also befriended the Maréchale de Mirepoix. Other women of nobility were bribed into forming her entourage.  Jeanne quickly accustomed herself to living in luxury (to which she had already been introduced whilst living with Dumonceaux). Louis XV had also given her a young Bengali slave, Zamor, whom she dressed in elegant clothing to show him off. According to Stanley Loomis’ biography ‘Du Barry’, Jeanne's everyday routine began at 9am, when Zamor would bring her morning cup of chocolate. Later she would be dressed in a fine gown of choice and dressed in her jewellery. Accordingly, either hairdresser Nokelle for special occasions, or Berline for everyday styles, would come to do her hair in powders and curls. She would then receive friends, dressmakers, jewellers and artists showing off their new stock hoping she would be interested in buying something of their offers. She was indeed extravagant, but her good nature was not spoiled. When the old Comte and Comtesse de Lousene were forcibly evicted from their château due to heavy debts, they were sentenced to beheading because the Comtesse had shot dead a bailiff and a police officer while resisting. To their great fortune, they were good friends with Madame de Béarn, who told Jeanne of their situation. Though warned by Richelieu of her possible failure, she asked the king to pardon them, refusing to rise from her kneeling posture if he did not accept her request. Louis XV was astounded and his heart thawed, saying, "Madame, I am delighted that the first favour you should ask of me should be an act of mercy!" A second similar act happened when Jeanne was visited by a certain Monsieur Mandeville who asked pardon in the name of a young girl condemned to the gallows convicted of infanticide for giving birth to a still-born and not informing the authorities. Jeanne wrote a letter to the Chancellor of France, who granted the pardon.  Jeanne was a tremendous triumph. She now wore extravagant gowns of great proportions both in creation and cost, exhausting the treasury all the more. With diamonds covering her delicate neck and ears, she was now the king's "maîtresse déclarée". Due to her new position at Court, she made both friends and enemies. Her most bitter rival was the Duchesse de Gramont, Choiseul's sister, who had in vain tried her best to acquire the place of the late Marquise de Pompadour, and according to Diane Adélaïde de Mailly, Béatrix de Gramont would have disdained the comtesse no matter what. She had, since the beginning, plotted with her brother for the removal of Jeanne, even going to the extent of slandering her name as well as the king's on gutter pamphlets.  In time Jeanne became acquainted with the Duc d’ Aiguillon, nephew of Richelieu, who sided with her against the opposing Duc de Choiseul. As Jeanne's power in court grew stronger, Choiseul began feeling his was waning, and against the king's wishes after the terrible Seven Years' War incident, he decided France was capable of war again and sided with the Spanish against the British for possession of the Falkland Islands. When this plot came to light to the du Barry clan, the mistress exposed all to the king and, on Christmas Eve of 1771, Choiseul was dismissed of his ministerial role and from court, ordered by his majesty to exile to his Chanteloup property along with his wife and sister.  Jeanne's golden age had finally truly arrived. She was rid of Choiseul and Grammont, comte Jean du Barry was dealt with and her family had the benefits they deserved as relations to the mistress. Her mother, Anne, was now Marquise de Montrabé, residing in a luxurious apartment in the Couvent (convent) de Sainte-Elisabeth. While Jeanne was part of the faction that brought down the duc de Choiseul, she was unlike her late predecessor, Madame de Pompadour, in that she had little interest in politics, preferring rather to pass her time ordering new ravishing gowns and all sorts of complementary jewellery. However, the king went so far as to let her participate in state councils. A note in a modern edition of the Souvenirs of Mme. Campan recalls an anecdote: the king said to the duc de Noailles, that with Madame du Barry he had discovered new pleasures; "Sire" – answered the duke – "that's because your Majesty has never been in a brothel." While Jeanne was known for her good nature and support of artists, she grew increasingly unpopular because of the king's financial extravagance towards her. She was forever in debt despite her huge monthly income from the king – at one point three hundred thousand livres.  She remained in her position until the death of the king, and the attempt to depose her made by duc de Choiseul and d'Aiguillon by trying to arrange a secret marriage between the king and Mme Pater was unsuccessfull.

Relationship with Marie Antoinette.

Her relationship with Marie Antoinette, who was married to the Dauphin of France (the future Louis XVI), was contentious. The first meeting of the two was during a family supper at the Château of La Muette on 15 May 1770, a day before the great wedding. Jeanne had only been official mistress a little over a year, and many thought she would not be included in the list of guests for the occasion. It ended up being otherwise, to the disgust of most of those present. Marie Antoinette noticed Jeanne, who stood out from the rest of the crowd with her attractive extravagant appearance and a high talkative voice. The Comtesse de Noailles informed Marie Antoinette that the role of that woman was to give pleasure to the king, and the innocent 14-year-old archduchess added that she would thus be her rival at such a role. The Comte de Provence soon after divulged the true nature of such pleasure, causing instant hatred in Antoinette towards Du Barry for such immorality. This rivalry kept on for quite some time, especially since also the dauphine supported Choiseul as the proponent of the alliance with Austria. Marie Antoinette defied court protocol by refusing to speak to Madame du Barry, owing not only to her disapproval of the latter's background, but also after hearing from the Comte de Provence of Du Barry's amused reaction to a story told by the Prince de Rohan during one of her dinner parties, in which Marie Antoinette's mother, Maria Theresa, was slandered, adding therefore yet another foe to her list. Madame du Barry furiously complained to the king, who in turn complained to the Austrian ambassador Mercy, who in turn did his best in convincing Marie Antoinette to ease her ways. Eventually, during a ball on New Year's Day 1772, Marie Antoinette spoke indirectly to Du Barry by casually observing "There are many people at Versailles today," giving her the option to respond or not.

Diamond necklace.

In 1772, the infatuated Louis XV requested that Parisian jewellers Boehmer and Bassenge create an elaborate and spectacular jeweled necklace for du Barry, one that would surpass all known others in grandeur, at an estimated cost of two million livres. The necklace, still not completed nor paid for when Louis XV died, would eventually trigger a scandal involving Jeanne de la Motte-Valois, in which Queen Marie Antoinette would be wrongly accused of bribing the Cardinal de Rohan, Archbishop of Strasbourg, Alsace, to purchase it for her, accusations which would figure prominently in the onset of the French Revolution.

Death of Louis XV and exile.

In time, the king started to show his age by constantly thinking of death and repentance, and began missing appointments in Jeanne's boudoir. During a stay at the "Petit Trianon" with her, Louis XV felt the first symptoms of smallpox. He was brought back to the palace at night and put to bed, where his three daughters and Madame du Barry stayed beside him. On 4 May 1774, the king suggested to Madame du Barry that she leave Versailles, both to protect her from infection and so that he could prepare for confession and last rites. She was relieved of her duties by Doctor Lemonnier and immediately retired to Aiguillon's estate near Rueil, as were his wishes. Following the death of Louis XV and his grandson's ascension to the throne, Marie Antoinette had her husband exile Jeanne to the Abbey du Pont-aux-Dames near Meaux-en-Brie. At first she was not met warmly by the nuns, who knew that in their midst they had the thirty-one-year-old former royal mistress, but soon enough they grew accustomed to her timid ways and opened up to her, most of all the Abbess Madame de la Roche-Fontenelle.

Life after Louis XV.

After a year at the convent, Jeanne was granted permission to visit the surrounding countryside on the condition she returned by sundown. A month later, she was given permission to leave the abbey but not to venture closer than ten miles towards Versailles, thus cancelling her idea of going to her beloved Château de Louveciennes. She then managed to purchase property belonging to the family of the wife of Madame de la Garde's younger son, whom she knew from her teen-age years. Two years later, she moved to Louveciennes. In the following years, she had a liaison with Louis Hercule Timoléon de Cossé-Brissac. She later also fell in love with Henry Seymour (of Redland), whom she met when he moved with his family to the neighbourhood of the Château. In time, Seymour became fed up with his secret love affair and sent a painting to Madame du Barry with the words 'leave me alone' written in English at the bottom, which the painter Lemoyne copied in 1796. The duc de Brissac proved the more faithful in this ménage-a-trois, having kept Madame du Barry in his heart even though he knew of her affair with Seymour. During the French Revolution, Brissac was captured while visiting Paris, and was slaughtered by a mob. Late one night, Jeanne heard the sound of a small drunken crowd approaching the château, and into the opened window where she looked out someone threw a blood-stained cloth. To Jeanne's horror, it contained Brissac's head, at which sight she fainted.

Imprisonment, trial and execution.

Du Barry's Bengali slave Zamor, along with another member of du Barry's domestic staff, had joined the Jacobin club. He became a follower of the revolutionary George Grieve and then an office-bearer in the Committee of Public Safety. Du Barry found out about this and questioned Zamor about his connections with Grieve. Upon realizing the depth of his involvement, she gave him three days’ notice to quit her service. This Zamor did without hesitation, and promptly proceeded to denounce his mistress to the Committee.  Based largely on Zamor's testimony, Madame du Barry was suspected of financially assisting "émigrés" who had fled the French Revolution. The denunciation by Zamor happened in 1792, and Madame du Barry was finally arrested in 1793. In 1792, when the Revolutionary Tribunal of Paris accused her of treason and condemned her to death, she vainly attempted to save herself by revealing the hiding places of the gems she had hidden. During the ensuing trial, Zamor gave Chittagong as his birthplace; he was likely of Siddi origin. His testimony sent the Comtesse to the guillotine, along with many others.  On 8 December 1793, Madame du Barry was beheaded by the guillotine on the Place de la Révolution (now the "Place de la Concorde"). On the way to the guillotine, she collapsed in the tumbrel and cried "You are going to hurt me! Why?!" Terrified, she screamed for mercy and begged the watching crowd for help. Her last words to the executioner are said to have been: «De grâce, monsieur le bourreau, encore un petit moment!» - "One more moment, Mr. Executioner, I beg you!" She was buried in the Madeleine Cemetery, like many other executed during the Terror—including Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.  Although her French estate went to the "Tribunal de Paris", the jewels she had smuggled out of France to England were sold by auction at Christie's in London in 1795. Colonel Johann Keglevich, the brother of Major General Stephan Bernhard Keglevich, took part in the Battle of Mainz in 1795 with Hessian mercenaries who were financed by the British Empire with the money from this sale.

In popular culture.

Food<br>  Many dishes are named after du Barry. All dishes "du Barry" have a creamy white sauce, and many have cauliflower in them. The cauliflower may be an allusion to her powdered wigs, which had curls piled high on top of each other like cauliflower curds.  Film  Du Barry was portrayed in film by:  Literature

Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 – 8 December 1793) was the last "Maîtresse-en-titre" of Louis XV of France and one of the victims of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.

Madame du Barry (za svobodna Jeanne Bécu de Cantigny, zvaná též "Mademoiselle de Vaubernier", po sňatku hraběnka du Barry, 19. srpna 1743 – 8. prosince 1793) byla milenka francouzského krále Ludvíka XV. v letech 1769 – 1774.


Etymology.

Enfield was recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as "Enefelde", and as "Einefeld" in 1214, "Enfeld" in 1293, and "Enfild" in 1564: that is 'open land of a man called Ēana', or 'where lambs are reared', from the Old English "feld" with an Old English personal name or with Old English "ēan" 'lamb'. The "feld" would have been a reference to an area cleared of trees within woodland that would later become known as Enfield Chase.

Historical.

Enfield Town used to be a small market town in the county of Middlesex, on the edge of the forest, about a day's walk north of London. As London grew, Enfield Town and its surrounds eventually became a residential suburb, with fast transport links into central London.  The current borough was created in 1965 from the former areas of the Municipal Borough of Southgate, the Municipal Borough of Enfield and the Municipal Borough of Edmonton. The armorial bearings of these three boroughs were also merged. The heraldic beast on the shield of the Enfield coat of arms is known in heraldry as an "Enfield" (or colloquially as the Enfield beast), and is used extensively as a logo representing Enfield, particularly by the borough council.  In Roman times, Enfield was connected to Londinium by Ermine Street, the great Roman road which stretched all the way up to York. Artefacts found in the early 1900s reveal that there were Roman settlements in the areas that are now Edmonton and Bush Hill Park.  In 790 King Offa of Mercia was recorded as giving the lands of Edmonton to St Albans Abbey. The area became strategically important as East Anglia was taken over by the Danes. In the 790s strongholds were built by men loyal to King Alfred the Great, in order to keep the Danes to the east of the River Lea.  After the Norman Conquest, both Enfield and Edmonton were mentioned in Domesday Book. Both had churches, and Enfield had 400 inhabitants, Edmonton 300. Enfield is also described as having a "parc". This parc—a heavily forested area for hunting—was key to Enfield's existence in the Middle Ages (see Enfield Old Park). Wealthy Londoners came to Enfield first to hunt, and then to build houses in the green, wooded surroundings. In 1303, Edward I of England granted Enfield a charter to hold a weekly market, which has continued up to this day. The old market cross was removed in the early 20th century to make way for a monument to the coronation of King Edward VII, but was preserved by the horticulturalist E. A. Bowles for his garden at nearby Myddelton House, where it remains today.  Enfield Grammar School with its Tudor Old Hall stands next to the Enfield Town Market Place and St. Andrew's Church, the school having been extended several times since 1586. A new hall and further additions were completed shortly before World War II.  Nearby historically was the palace of Edward VI, where Elizabeth I lived while a princess, including during the final illness of Henry VIII. Edward was taken there to join her, so that in the company of his sister, Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford could break the news to Edward, formally announcing the death of their royal father in the presence chamber at Enfield, on his knees to make formal obeisance to the boy as King. Later Elizabeth held court there when she was queen (this was remembered in the name Palace Gardens that was a street running behind Pearsons department store and is still recalled in the name of Enfield's shopping centre).

Industry.

Enfield has a history of armaments manufacture—see Royal Small Arms Factory. The Lee–Enfield.303 rifle was standard issue for the British Army until 1957, although its usage carried on afterwards for some time. Other firearms manufactured there include the Bren and Sten machine guns—the "en" in both cases denoting the place of manufacture.  The world's first solid state circuitry colour televisions were manufactured by Ferguson at their now closed plant in Enfield.  The first mass-produced dishwasher was manufactured in Hotpoint's now closed Enfield plant.  The Barclays Bank branch in Enfield was the first place in the world to have an ATM or cash machine; it was officially opened in June 1967 by Reg Varney, a television actor and personality most famous for his lead role in the comedy series "On the Buses". This historical event was marked by a silver plaque on the wall of the bank, and later by an English Heritage Blue plaque.  A fine example of a grade II listed art deco factory building can be found along Southbury Road, with the former Ripaults Factory, now an office building for Travis Perkins.

Enfield today.

The borough's Civic Centre is in Silver Street, Enfield Town, and is home to the council. Enfield Town is also home to the local credit union, North London Credit Union.  In 2007, Enfield Town centre completed a major redevelopment project under the name PalaceXchange while retaining the Palace Gardens Shopping Centre. An extension was added to the existing retail area with many new shops, and a second multi-storey car park was built along with a new road layout.  A major redevelopment of Edmonton Green including the shopping centre, and adjacent municipal housing over a wide area, started in 1999. This is still on-going, and provides new housing, health facilities, a new leisure centre, a supermarket, and many other civic features.  Many local activities are located around the A10 road, on the sites of former industrial enterprises, which has a number of large retail outlets and a large multiplex Cineworld cinema. The cinema also plays host to Jubilee Church on a Sunday morning; whilst cinemagoers continue to watch films in the other screens, a charismatic church which draws its worshippers from a wide area, hiring several auditoria for worship.  The western part of Enfield is largely residential, with shopping centres in Southgate, Palmers Green and Cockfosters.  Parts of Enfield experienced rioting in August 2011, in which a private car and a van were set alight and completely destroyed, a police car vandalised (smashed windows) and a number of shops in Enfield Town Centre (HMV, G. Mantella, Pearsons, Argos etc.) as well as others in the Enfield Retail Park being broken into and looted. The Sony Distribution Centre in the Innova Business Park, near Waltham Cross, was burnt to the ground. Although early reports questioned whether this was an arson or a coincidental incident arrests were later made in connection. In September 2012, a year after the attack, a rebuilt Sony Distribution Centre was opened by the prime minister, David Cameron.

Governance.

Elections to Enfield Council take place every four years, there are 21 wards in the borough and three councillors are returned to each ward. Of the current 63 councillors there are 46 Labour members, 17 Conservatives meaning the Labour Group currently controls the council. The next Local Government Elections affecting Enfield will take place in 2022.

London Fire Brigade.

The London Borough of Enfield has three fire stations; Edmonton, Enfield and Southgate. However, if an incident requires a higher attendance, appliances from throughout London can be mobilised to meet the needs of the area if required.  The three fire stations operate a total of five pumping appliances, one rescue tender, a command unit and a USAR unit.  Of the three fire stations within the borough, Enfield is mobilised to the most incidents and has the largest station ground (the area of which Enfield is the first appliance to attend).

Health.

Two major NHS hospitals, Chase Farm Hospital operated by the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and North Middlesex Hospital operated by the North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, are located in the borough. NHS Enfield Clinical Commissioning Group is responsible for local primary health care, taking over this role from Enfield Primary Care NHS Trust in 2013. Another hospital in the borough, Highlands, was closed in 1993.

Education.

Schools.

The London Borough of Enfield is the education authority for the district. Education is provided in a mix of community and voluntary aided schools. A number of private schools are also located in the borough.  The borough is home to the renowned Enfield Grammar School, founded in 1558, which since the 1960s has been a boys' comprehensive, but has retained its original name, and still uses its Tudor building which is now often referred to as the Old Hall. Enfield Grammar School is based in the center of Enfield Town. St Ignatius' College is the borough's largest Catholic school and one of the best-performing non-selective schools in the borough, at both GCSE and A-Level. Bishop Stopford's School is Enfield's largest school, and The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London also has a campus in the borough. In 2007 a new school named Oasis Academy Enfield was opened, following the takeover of Albany by the Oasis Company as Oasis Academy Hadley. The Latymer School is the only surviving Grammar school in the borough, and is based in the Edmonton area. Enfield county school is an all girls comprehensive school which sits opposite Enfield grammar boys school in Enfield town. It is a split site school with the lower years situated towards the area of Forty Hall.

University.

Middlesex University, the former polytechnic, used to have two campuses in Enfield: Cat Hill and Trent Park. These sites both closed in 2011 and courses were relocated to the Hendon campus.  Oak Hill Theological College, an associate college of Middlesex University, is located in the borough.  Capel Manor College also offers various courses.

Sport and recreation.

Enfield's King George's Field, named in memory of King George V, includes the Queen Elizabeth II athletics stadium, the Enfield Ignatians Rugby Club and numerous football, rugby and baseball diamonds. The playing fields were used as a POW camp for Italians during World War II.  The second largest playing fields are at Firs Farm on Firs Lane. There are a handful of rugby pitches along with more than a dozen football pitches. These are used by local amateur football clubs including Winchmore Hill FC, Mayfield Athletic FC and Southgate County FC. The pitches drain reasonably well but are generally in poor condition with old, rusted goalposts. The changing facilities are also very dilapidated, with some changing rooms being no more than concrete sheds with corrugated roofs.  Many sports teams and clubs are located in Enfield; Enfield Town F.C., Enfield 1893 F.C., Cockfosters F.C. Futsal Club Enfield and Winchmore Hill FC are the most prominent. The once successful football club, Enfield FC, were forced into a nomadic existence after the sale of their Southbury Road ground and became defunct at the end of the 2006/2007 season after years of ground sharing at many Hertfordshire based clubs. Enfield 1893 were formed after Enfield FC's demise and have spent time groundsharing at Ware FC and Broxbourne Borough FC. They finally found a ground in the borough when they merged with Brimsdown Rovers for the start of the 2011/2012 season. Saracens Rugby Football Club used to play in Enfield and still train at Bramley Road sports ground near Cockfosters. Enfield Ignatians R.F.C are currently the area's most successful Rugby club.  The principal cricket clubs in the area are Enfield, Winchmore Hill, Edmonton and Southgate, with many others playing cricket in and around the borough such as, Enfield Invicta, Mayfield CC, Myddleton House, North Enfield CC, Botany Bay and Holtwhites Trinibis CC. Many clubs play in either the Middlesex Cricket League or the Hertfordshire League. Enfield, Southgate, and Winchmore Hill have long been the area's most successful cricket clubs, regularly competing in the Middlesex Premier League. Enfield (in 1988) and Southgate (in 1977) are both past winners of the ECB National Club Cricket Championship  Swimming clubs include Edmonton Phoenix S.C., Enfield S.C. and Griffins S.C. of Enfield.  Futsal is also played in the area with Futsal Club Enfield who were founded in 2007 playing in the National Futsal League Premiership South Division for 2019/20.  Gaelic Football is also played in the area. The club North London Shamrocks play at Enfield Playing Fields.  Enfield Phoenix is the local basketball club with teams playing in the National League and the Central London League. The team play at the Edmonton Leisure Centre, Edmonton Green with seating for 400 spectators.  Theatre goers are catered for by the Intimate Theatre, the Millfield Theatre, the Dugdale Centre and the Chickenshed Theatre Company, with amateur and professional shows, dance pieces, musicals and live music on show. Amateur dramatic companies include Saint Monica's Players, The Capel Players and The London Pantomimers. Talkies Community Cinema screens British Independent and specialist films in a range of venues across the borough.  Tottenham Hotspur Football Club's new training ground is located in Enfield at Bulls Cross. Enfield is the home to the annual Livestock Music Festival It is also home to Cheerleading squads- Sapphire Elite Cheerleaders, North London Wildcats and Enfield Blaze All-star Cheerleaders.  Croquet is played at Enfield Croquet Club in Bush Hill Park.  The first international branch of the WWE Performance Center was opened in Enfield's Great Cambridge Industrial Estate on 11 January 2019. The center is used by the WWE as a professional wrestling school to train potential future wrestlers from across the globe, as well as a training centre for current WWE wrestlers.

Transport.

In 1840 the first section of the Northern and Eastern Railway was opened from Stratford to Broxbourne, with stations at Water Lane (Angel Road) and Ponders End. Further stations were added in 1855 at Enfield Lock (Royal Small Arms Factory) and 1884 at Brimsdown. A branch line from Water Lane to Enfield Town was opened in 1849 serving Edmonton Low Level and Enfield Town. A further station was added in 1880 at Bush Hill Park. The direct line from London to Enfield Town was opened in 1872 with stations at Silver Street and Lower Edmonton (now called Edmonton Green). In 1891, a loop from Edmonton serving Southbury (Churchbury) and Turkey Street (Forty Hill) to Cheshunt on the main line was added. The Cheshunt and Enfield Town services are currently served by London Overground.  In 1871 the Great Northern Railway opened its station on Windmill Hill. This was later replaced in 1910 when the line was extended to Cuffley. This section of railway is now part of the line commonly known as the Hertford Loop. Enfield is served by the Piccadilly line of the London Underground with stations at Arnos Grove, Southgate, Oakwood (named as Enfield West when it first opened) and Cockfosters (where the line terminates). Suburban London Overground and National Rail Great Northern services also run within the borough.  There are numerous bus services throughout the borough run by Transport for London.  The main roads running through the borough include the North Circular Road, the M25, Green Lanes, the A10 and the old Hertford Road (A1010).  In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: driving a car or van, 26.1% of all residents aged 16–74; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 8.2%; bus, minibus or coach, 8.2%; train, 7.3%; on foot, 4.0%; work mainly at or from home, 2.7%; passenger in a car or van, 1.6%.

Museums.

The borough's museums include Forty Hall and the garden exhibitions at Capel Manor, Myddleton House (part of the Lee Valley Park) and the Whitewebbs Museum of Transport. The Borough's own museum is based in Thomas Hardy House, 39 London Road.

Youth activities.

Scouting and Guiding have many groups within Enfield. The annual St George's Day Parade has around a thousand young people marching through Enfield Town, led by the Enfield District Scout Band.  The Boys' and Girls' Brigade are also quite active within the borough, participating in various ceremonies and events throughout the year, including the Enfield Town Show, St Georges Day Parade and on Remembrance Day Parade.  The Air Training Corps has three units in the area, No.85 (Enfield & Southgate) Squadron based in Winchmore Hill & Enfield Town, No.1159 (Edmonton) Squadron based in Edmonton, No.1571 (Ayleward) Squadron based in Aylward School and No.2473 (Highlands & Southgate) Squadron in Highlands School, Southgate.  The Red Room music and film project ran from 2008 - 2014 based in Ponders End, aimed at 13 - 19 year olds supported and funded by Enfield Council.

Town twinning.

Enfield is twinned with:

The London Borough of Enfield () is a London borough in North London. It borders the London Borough of Barnet to the west, the London Borough of Haringey to the south and the London Borough of Waltham Forest to the southeast, as well as the districts of Hertsmere to the northwest, both Welwyn Hatfield and Broxbourne to the north (in Hertfordshire) and Epping Forest to the east (in Essex). The local authority is Enfield London Borough Council. The main towns in the borough are Edmonton, Enfield Town, Southgate and Palmers Green.

Londýnská městská část Enfield, oficiální název "London Borough of Enfield", je městský obvod na severu Londýna, který je součástí Vnějšího Londýna.