History.

Native American history.

The tribes in what is now New York were predominantly Haudenosaunee and Algonquian. Long Island was divided roughly in half between the Wampanoag and Lenape. The Lenape also controlled most of the region surrounding New York Harbor. North of the Lenape was a third Algonquian nation, the Mohicans. Starting north of them, from east to west, were three Iroquoian nations: the Mohawk, the original Iroquois and the Petun. South of them, divided roughly along Appalachia, were the Susquehannock and the Erie.  Many of the Wampanoag

16th century.

In 1524, Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian explorer in the service of the French crown, explored the Atlantic coast of North America between the Carolinas and Newfoundland, including New York Harbor and Narragansett Bay. On April 17, 1524, Verrazzano entered New York Bay, by way of the strait now called the Narrows into the northern bay which he named Santa Margherita, in honor of the King of France's sister. Verrazzano described it as "a vast coastline with a deep delta in which every kind of ship could pass" and he adds: "that it extends inland for a league and opens up

17th century.

Henry Hudson's 1609 voyage marked the beginning of European involvement with the area. Sailing for the Dutch East India Company and looking for a passage to Asia, he entered the Upper New York Bay on September 11 of that year. Word of his findings encouraged Dutch merchants to explore the coast in search for profitable fur trading with local Native American tribes.  During the 17th century, Dutch trading posts established for the trade of pelts from the Lenape, Iroquois, and other tribes were founded in the colony of New Netherland. The first of these trading posts

18th century, the American Revolution, and statehood.

The Sons of Liberty were organized in New York City during the 1760s, largely in response to the oppressive Stamp Act passed by the British Parliament in 1765. The Stamp Act Congress met in the city on October 19 of that year, composed of representatives from across the Thirteen Colonies who set the stage for the Continental Congress to follow. The Stamp Act Congress resulted in the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which was the first written expression by representatives of the Americans of many of the rights and complaints later expressed in the United States Declaration of Independence. This included the right to representative government. At the same time, given strong commercial, personal and sentimental links to Britain, many New York residents were Loyalists. The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga provided the cannon and gunpowder necessary to force a British withdrawal from the Siege of Boston in 1775.

19th century.

Transportation in western New York was by expensive wagons on muddy roads before canals opened up the rich farm lands to long-distance traffic. Governor DeWitt Clinton promoted the Erie Canal, which connected New York City to the Great Lakes by the Hudson River, the new canal, and the rivers and lakes. Work commenced in 1817, and the Erie Canal opened in 1825. Packet boats pulled by horses on tow paths traveled slowly over the canal carrying passengers and freight. Farm products came in from the Midwest, and finished manufactured goods moved west. It was an engineering marvel which opened up vast areas of New York to commerce and settlement. It enabled Great Lakes port cities

Immigration.

Since the early 19th century, New York City has been the largest port of entry for legal immigration into the United States. In the United States, the federal government did not assume direct jurisdiction for immigration until 1890. Prior to this time, the matter was delegated to the individual states, then via contract between the states and the federal government. Most immigrants to New York would disembark at the bustling docks along the Hudson and East Rivers, in the eventual Lower Manhattan. On

September 11, 2001.

On September 11, 2001, two of four hijacked planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, and the towers collapsed. 7 World Trade Center also collapsed due to damage from fires. The other buildings of the World Trade Center complex were damaged beyond repair and demolished soon thereafter. The collapse of the Twin Towers caused extensive damage and resulted in the deaths of 2,753 victims,

Hurricane Sandy, 2012.

On October 29 and 30, 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused extensive destruction of the state's shorelines, ravaging portions of New York City, Long Island, and southern Westchester with record-high storm surge, with severe flooding and high winds causing power outages for hundreds of thousands

Coronavirus, 2020.

As of March 28, New York has the highest number of confirmed cases of any state in

Geography.

New York covers and ranks as the 27th largest state by size. The highest elevation in New York is Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks, at above sea level; while the state's lowest point is at sea level, on the Atlantic Ocean.  In contrast with New York City's urban landscape, the vast majority of the state's geographic area is dominated by meadows, forests, rivers, farms, mountains, and lakes. Most of the southern part of the state rests on the Allegheny Plateau, which extends from the southeastern United States to the Catskill Mountains; the section in New York State is known as the Southern Tier. The rugged Adirondack Mountains, with vast tracts of wilderness, lie west of the Lake Champlain Valley. The Great Appalachian Valley dominates eastern New York and contains the Lake Champlain Valley as its northern half and the Hudson Valley as its southern half within the state. The Tug Hill region arises as a cuesta east of Lake Ontario.  "Upstate" and "downstate" are often used informally to distinguish New York City or its greater metropolitan area from the rest of New York State. The placement of a boundary between the two is a matter of great contention. Unofficial and loosely defined regions of Upstate New York include the Southern Tier, which often includes the counties along the border with Pennsylvania, and the North Country, which can mean anything from the strip along the Canada–U.S. border to everything north of the Mohawk River.  New York contains a part of the Marcellus shale, which extends into Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Water.

Borders.

Of New York State's total area, 13.6% consists of water. Much of New York's boundaries are in water, as is true for New York City: four of its five boroughs are situated on three islands at the mouth of the Hudson River: Manhattan Island; Staten Island; and Long Island, which contains Brooklyn and Queens at its western end. The state's borders include a water boundary in (clockwise from the west) two Great Lakes (Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, which are connected by the Niagara River);

Drainage.

The Hudson River begins near Lake Tear of the Clouds and flows south through the eastern part of the state, without draining Lakes George or Champlain. Lake George empties at its north end into Lake Champlain, whose northern end extends into Canada, where it drains into the Richelieu River and then ultimately the Saint Lawrence River. The western section of the state is drained by the Allegheny River and rivers of the Susquehanna and Delaware River systems. Niagara Falls is shared between New York and Ontario as it flows on the Niagara River from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. The Delaware River Basin Compact, signed in 1961 by New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the federal government, regulates the utilization of water of the Delaware system.

Climate.

In general, New York has a humid continental climate, though under the Köppen climate classification, New York City has a humid subtropical climate. Weather in New York is heavily influenced by two continental air masses: a warm, humid one from the southwest and a cold, dry one from the northwest.  Downstate New York, comprising New York City, Long Island, and lower portions of the Hudson Valley, has rather hot summers with some periods of high humidity and cold, damp winters which are relatively mild compared to temperatures in Upstate New York due to downstate region's lower elevation, proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, and relatively lower latitude. Upstate New York experiences warm

Flora and fauna.

Flora.

Some species that can be found in this state are american ginseng,

Fauna.

There are more than 20 mammal species, more than 20 bird species, some species of amphibians, and several reptile species.  Species of mammals that are part of New York are white-footed mouse, North American least shrew, little brown bat, muskrat, eastern gray squirrel, eastern cottontail, stoat, groundhog, striped skunk, fisher, North American river otter, raccoon, bobcat, coyote, red fox, white-tailed deer, moose, and American black bear.  Some species of birds in New York are the ring-necked pheasant, northern bobwhite, ruffed grouse, wild turkey, blue jay, eastern bluebird, American robin, and black-capped chickadee. Birds of

Regions.

Due to its long history, New York has several overlapping and often conflicting definitions of regions within the state. The regions are also not fully definable due to colloquial use

State parks.

New York has many state parks and two major forest preserves. Niagara Falls State Park, established in 1885, is the oldest state park in the United States and the first to be created via eminent domain. In 1892, Adirondack Park, roughly the size of the state of Vermont and the largest state park in the United States, was established and given state constitutional protection to remain "forever wild" in 1894. The park is larger than Yellowstone, Everglades, Glacier, and Grand Canyon national parks combined. It is

National parks, monuments, and historic landmarks.

The State of New York is well represented in the National Park System with 22 national parks, which received 16,349,381

Administrative divisions.

New York is divided into 62 counties. Aside from the five counties of New York City, each of these counties is subdivided into towns and cities, incorporated under state law. Towns can contain incorporated villages or unincorporated hamlets. New York City is divided into five boroughs, each coterminous with a county.

Cities and towns.

There are 62 cities in New York. The largest city in the state and the most populous city in the United States is New York City, which comprises five counties (each coextensive with a borough): Bronx, New York County (Manhattan), Queens, Kings County (Brooklyn), and Richmond County (Staten Island). New York City is home to more than two-fifths of

Demographics.

Population.

The nation's most populous state until the 1960s, New York is now the fourth most-populous state. The distribution of change in population growth is uneven in New York State; the New York City metropolitan area is growing, along with Saratoga County, while cities such as Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse and several others having been losing population for decades. New York City gained more residents between April 2010 and July 2018 (223,615) than any other U.S. city. Conversely, outside of the Ithaca area, population growth in much of Western New York is nearly stagnant. According to immigration statistics, the state is a leading recipient of migrants from around the globe. Between 2000 and 2005, immigration failed to surpass out-migration to other parts of the United States, a trend that has been reversing since 2006. New York State lost two House seats in the 2011 congressional reapportionment, secondary to relatively slow growth when compared to the rest of the United States. In 2000 and 2005, more people moved

Race and ethnicity.

Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.6% of the population in 2010: 2.4% were of Mexican, 5.5% Puerto Rican, 0.4% Cuban, and 9.4% other Hispanic or Latino origin. According to the 2010–2015 American Community Survey, the largest ancestry groups were Italian (13.0%), Irish (12.1%), German (10.3%), American (5.4%), and English (5.2%).  The state's most populous racial group, non-Hispanic white, has declined as a proportion of the state population from 94.6% in 1940 to 58.3% in 2010., 55.6% of New York's population younger than age1 were minorities. New York's robustly increasing Jewish population, the

Languages.

In 2010, the most common American English dialects spoken in New York, besides General American English, were the New York City area dialect (including New York Latino English and North Jersey English), the Western New England accent around Albany, and Inland Northern American English in Buffalo and western New York State. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York City,

Religion.

In 2010, the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) reported that the largest denominations were the Catholic Church with 6,286,916; Orthodox Judaism with 588,500; Islam with 392,953; and the United Methodist Church with 328,315 adherents.  Before the 1800s, Protestant sects dominated the

LGBT.

Roughly 3.8 percent of the state's adult population self-identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. This constitutes a total LGBT adult population of 570,388 individuals. In 2010, the number of same-sex couple households stood at roughly 48,932. New York was the fifth state to license same-sex marriages, after New Hampshire. Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York City, stated that "same-sex marriages in New York City have generated an estimated $259 million in economic impact and $16 million in City revenues" in the first year after the enactment of the Marriage Equality Act". Same-sex marriages in New York were legalized on June 24, 2011, and were authorized to take place beginning 30 days thereafter. New York City is also home to the largest transgender population in the United States, estimated at 25,000 in 2016. The annual New York City Pride March (or gay pride parade) traverses southward down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, ending at Greenwich Village, and rivals the Sao Paulo Gay Pride Parade as the largest pride parade in the world, attracting tens of thousands of participants and millions of sidewalk spectators each June. The Stonewall riots

Economy.

New York's gross state product in 2018 was $1.7 trillion. If New York State were an independent nation, it would rank as the 11th largest economy in the world. However, in 2013, the multi-state, New York City-centered metropolitan statistical area produced a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of nearly $1.4 trillion, while in 2012, the corresponding combined statistical area generated a GMP of over $1.7 trillion, both ranking first nationally by a wide margin and behind the GDP of only nine nations.

Wall Street.

Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City has been called both the most economically powerful city and the leading financial center of the world. Lower Manhattan is the third-largest central business district in the United States and is home to the New York Stock Exchange, on Wall Street, and the NASDAQ, at 165 Broadway, representing the world's largest and second largest stock exchanges, respectively, as measured both by overall average daily trading volume and by total market capitalization of their listed companies in 2013. Investment banking fees on Wall Street totaled approximately $40 billion in 2012, while in 2013, senior New

Silicon Alley.

Silicon Alley, centered in New York City, has evolved into a metonym for the sphere encompassing the New York City metropolitan region's high technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem; in 2015, Silicon Alley generated over $7.3 billion in venture capital investment. High tech industries including digital media, biotechnology, software development, game design, and other fields in information technology are growing, bolstered by New York City's position at the terminus of several transatlantic

Tech Valley.

Albany, Saratoga County, Rensselaer County, and the Hudson Valley, collectively recognized as eastern New York's Tech Valley, have experienced significant growth in the computer hardware side of the high-technology industry, with great strides in the nanotechnology sector, digital electronics design, and water- and electricity-dependent integrated microchip circuit manufacturing, involving companies including IBM and its Thomas J. Watson Research Center, and the three foreign-owned firms, GlobalFoundries, Samsung, and Taiwan Semiconductor, among others. The area's high technology

Media and entertainment.

Creative industries, which are concerned with generating and distributing knowledge and information, such as new media, digital media, film and television production, advertising, fashion, design, and architecture, account for a growing share of employment, with New York City possessing a strong competitive advantage in these industries., New York State was

Tourism.

"I Love New York" (stylized "I ❤ NY") is a slogan, a logo and a song that are the basis of an advertising campaign and has been used since 1977 to promote tourism in the state of New York, including New York City. The trademarked

Exports.

New York exports a wide variety of goods such as prepared foods, computers and electronics, cut diamonds, and other commodities. In 2007, the state exported a total of $71.1 billion worth of goods, with the five largest foreign export markets being Canada ($15 billion), the United Kingdom ($6 billion), Switzerland ($5.9 billion), Israel ($4.9 billion), and Hong Kong ($3.4 billion). New York's largest imports are oil, gold, aluminum, natural gas, electricity, rough diamonds, and lumber. The state also has a large manufacturing sector that includes printing and the production of garments, mainly in New York City; and furs, railroad equipment, automobile parts, and bus line vehicles, concentrated in Upstate regions.  New York is the nation's third-largest grape producing state, and second-largest wine producer by volume, behind California. The southern

Energy.

In 2017, New York State consumed 156,370-gigawatthours (GWh) of electrical energy. Downstate regions (Hudson Valley, New York City, and Long Island) consumed 66% of that amount. Upstate regions produced 50% of that

Education.

At the level of post-secondary education, the statewide public university system is the State University of New York (SUNY). The SUNY system consists of 64 community colleges, technical colleges, undergraduate colleges, and doctoral-granting institutions, including several universities. New York's flagship university is the University at Buffalo, which was founded by U.S. President Millard Fillmore. Along with the University at Buffalo, Binghamton University also ranks highly in the rankings of top public universities in the United States. New York City has its own City University of New York (CUNY) system, which is funded by the city.  Columbia University, Cornell University and New York University are among the most prominent of the larger higher education institutions in New York, all of them leading, world-renowned private universities and members of the Association of American Universities, the pre-eminent group of research universities in the United States. Other notable large private universities include Syracuse University and Fordham University. Smaller notable private institutions of higher education include Rockefeller University, Mercy College, New York Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Yeshiva University, and Hofstra University. There are also a multitude of postgraduate-level schools in New York State, including medical, law, and engineering schools.  West Point, the service

Transportation.

New York has one of the most extensive and one of the oldest transportation infrastructures in the country. Engineering challenges posed by the complex terrain of the state and the unique infrastructural issues of New York City brought on by urban crowding have had to be overcome perennially. Population expansion of the state has followed the path of the early waterways, first the Hudson River and Mohawk River, then the Erie Canal. In the 19th century, railroads were constructed along the river valleys, followed by the New York State Thruway in the 20th century.  The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is the department of the government of New York responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways, and aviation facilities within New York State. The NYSDOT is headquartered at 50 Wolf Road in Colonie, Albany County. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) is a joint venture between the States of New York and New Jersey and authorized by the US Congress, established in 1921 through an interstate compact, that oversees much of the regional transportation infrastructure, including bridges, tunnels, airports, and seaports, within the geographical jurisdiction of the Port of New York and New Jersey. This port district is generally encompassed within

Government.

The Government of New York embodies the governmental structure of the State of New York as established by the New York State Constitution. It is composed of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.  The Governor is the State's chief executive and is assisted by the Lieutenant Governor. Both are elected on the same ticket. Additional elected officers include the Attorney General, and the Comptroller. The Secretary of State, formerly an elected officer, is currently appointed by the Governor.  The New York State Legislature is bicameral and consists of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Assembly consists of 150 members, while the Senate varies in its number of members, currently having 63. The Legislature is empowered to make laws, subject to the Governor's power to veto a bill. However, the veto may be overridden by the Legislature if there is a two-thirds majority in favor of overriding in each House. The permanent laws of a general nature are codified in the "Consolidated Laws of New York".  The highest court of appeal in the Unified Court System is the Court of Appeals whereas the primary felony trial court is the County Court (or the Supreme Court in New York City). The Supreme Court also acts as the intermediate appellate court for many cases, and the local courts handle a variety of other matters including small claims, traffic ticket cases, and local zoning matters, and are the starting point for all criminal cases. The New York City courts make up the largest local court system.  The state is divided into counties, cities, towns, and villages, all of which are municipal corporations with respect to their own governments, as well as various corporate entities that serve single purposes that are also local governments, such as school districts, fire districts, and New York state public-benefit corporations, frequently known as "authorities" or "development corporations". Each municipal corporation is granted varying home rule powers as provided by the New York Constitution. The state also has 10 Indian reservations. There have been several movements regarding secession from the state of New York. Proposals have included a state of Long Island, consisting of everything on the island outside New York City; a state called Niagara, the western counties of New York state; the northern counties of New York state called Upstate New York; making the city of New York a state; a proposal for a new Peconic County on eastern Long Island; and for the borough of Staten Island to secede from New York City.

Politics.

As of April 2016, Democrats represented a plurality of voters in New York State, constituting more than twice as many registered voters as any other political party affiliation or lack thereof. Since the second half of the 20th century, New York has generally supported candidates belonging to the Democratic Party in national elections. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama won New York State by over 25 percentage points in both 2012 and 2008. New York City, as well as the state's other major urban locales, including Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, are significant Democratic strongholds, with liberal politics. Rural portions of upstate New York, however, are generally more conservative than the cities and tend to favor Republicans. Heavily populated suburban areas downstate, such as Westchester County and Long Island, have swung between the major parties since the 1980s, but more often than not

Sports.

New York State is geographically home to one National Football League team, the Buffalo Bills, based in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park. Although the New York Giants and New York Jets represent the New York metropolitan area and were previously located in New York City, they play in MetLife Stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey. New York also has two Major League Baseball teams, the New York Yankees (based in the Bronx) and the New York Mets (based in Queens). Minor league baseball teams also play in the State of New York, including the Long Island Ducks, the Brooklyn Cyclones, and the Staten Island Yankees downstate, and the Rochester Red Wings, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the Syracuse Mets, the Auburn Doubledays, the Batavia Muckdogs, the Hudson Valley Renegades and the Buffalo Bisons upstate. New York is home to three National Hockey League franchises: the New York Rangers in Manhattan, the New York Islanders in Brooklyn and Nassau County in Long Island, and the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo. New York has two National Basketball Association teams, the New York Knicks in Manhattan, and the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn. New York is the home of a Major League Soccer franchise, New York City FC, currently playing in the Bronx. Although the New York Red Bulls represent the New York metropolitan area, they play in Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.  New York hosted the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid. The 1980 Games are known for the USA–USSR ice hockey match dubbed the "Miracle on Ice", in which a group of American college students and amateurs defeated the heavily favored Soviet national ice hockey team 4–3 and went on to win the gold medal against Finland. Along with St. Moritz, Switzerland and Innsbruck, Austria, Lake Placid is one of the three cities to have hosted the Winter Olympic Games twice. New York City bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics but lost to London.  Several U.S. national sports halls of fame are or have been situated in New York. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Cooperstown, Otsego County. The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, honors achievements in the sport of thoroughbred horse racing. The physical facility of the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, also in Otsego County, closed in 2010, although the organization itself has continued inductions. The annual United States Open Tennis Championships is one of the world's four Grand Slam tennis tournaments and is held at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens.  New York state is also home to many intercollegiate division 1 sports programs. The State University of New York's flagship University at Buffalo are the Buffalo Bulls. Syracuse University's intercollegiate teams are the Syracuse Orange.

New York is a state located in the northeastern United States. New York was one of the original thirteen colonies that formed the United States. With more than 19 million residents in 2019, it is the fourth most populous state. In order to distinguish the state from its city with the same name which is located within the state, it is sometimes referred to as New York State.

New York (anglická výslovnost, oficiálně ) je stát nacházející se na východním pobřeží Spojených států amerických, ve Středoatlantské oblasti severovýchodního regionu USA. New York hraničí na jihu s New Jersey a Pensylvánií a na východě s Connecticutem, Massachusetts a Vermontem. Na severu sousedí s kanadskou provincií Québec a celá severozápadní hranice s provincií Ontario je vedena po vodní hladině (mj. Erijské jezero, jezero Ontario). Jihovýchodní ohraničení státu tvoří Atlantský oceán.


Historical sources.

Most modern knowledge of the medieval history of the Waldensians originates almost exclusively from the records and writings of the Roman Catholic Church, the same body that was condemning them as heretics. Because of "the documentary scarcity and unconnectedness from which we must draw the description of Waldensian beliefs," much of what is known about the early Waldensians comes from reports like

Teachings.

Waldensians held and preached a number of truths as they read from the Bible. These included:  They also rejected a number of concepts that were widely held in Christian Europe of the era. For example, the Waldensians held that temporal offices and dignities were not meant for preachers of the Gospel; that relics were no different from any other bones and should not be regarded as special or holy; that pilgrimage served only to spend one's money; that flesh might be eaten any day if one's appetite served one; that holy water was

History.

Origins.

According to legend, Peter Waldo renounced his wealth as an encumbrance to preaching, which led other members of the Catholic clergy to follow his example. Because of this shunning of wealth, the movement was early known as The Poor of Lyon and The Poor of Lombardy.  The Waldensian movement was characterized from the beginning by lay preaching, voluntary poverty, and strict adherence to the Bible. Between 1175 and 1185, Waldo either commissioned a cleric from Lyon to translate the New Testament into the vernacular—the Arpitan (Franco-Provençal) language —or was himself involved in this translation work.  In 1179, Waldo and one of his disciples went to Rome, where Pope Alexander III and the Roman Curia welcomed them. They had to explain their faith before a panel of three clergymen, including issues that were then debated within the Church, such as the universal priesthood,

Catholic response.

The Catholic Church viewed the Waldensians as unorthodox, and in 1184 at the Synod of Verona, under the auspices of Pope Lucius III, they were excommunicated. Pope Innocent III went even further during the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, officially denouncing the Waldensians as heretics. In 1211 more than 80 Waldensians were burned as heretics at Strasbourg; this action launched several centuries of persecution that nearly destroyed the movement. Waldensians briefly ruled Buda, the capital of Hungary from 1304 to 1307. The Waldensians in

Reformation.

When the news of the Reformation reached the Waldensian Valleys, the Tavola Valdese decided to seek fellowship with the nascent Protestantism. At a meeting held in 1526 in Laus, a town in the Chisone valley, it was decided to send envoys to examine the new movement. In 1532, they met with German and Swiss Protestants and ultimately adapted their beliefs to those of the Reformed Church.  The Swiss and French Reformed churches sent William Farel and Anthony Saunier to attend the meeting of Chanforan, which convened on 12October 1532. Farel invited them to join the Reformation and to emerge from secrecy. A Confession of Faith, with Reformed doctrines, was formulated and the Waldensians decided to worship openly in French.  The French Bible, translated by Pierre Robert Olivétan with the help of Calvin and published at Neuchâtel in 1535, was based in part on a New Testament in the Waldensian vernacular. The churches in Waldensia collected 1500 gold crowns to cover the cost of its publication.

Massacre of Mérindol (1545).

Outside the Piedmont, the Waldenses joined the local Protestant churches in Bohemia, France, and Germany. After they came out of seclusion and reports were made of sedition on their part, French King FrancisI on 1January 1545 issued the "Arrêt de Mérindol", and assembled an army against the Waldensians of Provence. The leaders in the 1545 massacres were Jean Maynier d'Oppède, First President of the parliament of Provence, and the military commander Antoine Escalin des Aimars, who was returning from the Italian Wars with 2,000 veterans, the "Bandes de Piémont". Deaths in the Massacre of Mérindol ranged from hundreds to thousands, depending on the estimates, and several

Piedmont Easter.

In January 1655, the Duke of Savoy commanded the Waldensians to attend Mass or remove to the upper valleys of their homeland, giving them twenty days in which to sell their lands. Being in the midst of winter, the order was intended to persuade the Vaudois to choose the former; however, the bulk of the populace instead chose the latter, abandoning their homes and lands in the lower valleys and removing to the upper valleys. It was written that these targets of persecution, including old men, women, little children and the sick "waded through the icy waters, climbed the frozen peaks, and at length reached the homes of their impoverished brethren of the upper Valleys, where they were warmly received."  By mid-April, when it became clear that the Duke's efforts to force the Vaudois to conform to Catholicism had failed, he tried another approach. Under the guise of false reports of Vaudois uprisings, the Duke sent troops into the upper valleys to quell the

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes and the "Glorious Return".

In 1685 Louis XIV revoked the 1598 Edict of Nantes, which had guaranteed freedom of religion to his Protestant subjects in France. French troops sent into the French Waldensian areas of the Chisone and Susa Valleys in the Dauphiné forced 8,000 Vaudois to convert to Catholicism and another 3,000 to leave for Germany.  In the Piedmont, the cousin of Louis, the newly ascended Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II, followed his uncle in removing the protection of Protestants in the Piedmont. In the renewed persecution, and in an echo of the Piedmont Easter Massacre of only three decades earlier, the Duke issued an edict on 31 January 1686 that decreed the destruction of all the Vaudois churches and that all inhabitants of the

Religious freedom after the French Revolution.

After the French Revolution, the Waldenses of Piedmont were assured liberty of conscience and, in 1848, the ruler of Savoy, King Charles Albert of Sardinia granted them civil rights.  Enjoying religious freedom, the Waldensians began migrating outside their valleys. By the time of Italian unification, the Waldensian had congregations throughout the peninsula, some originated by preaching, others by migration. However, poverty, societal discrimination, and demographic pressure led the Waldensians to emigrate, first as seasonal workers to the French Riviera and Switzerland, and later to Colonia Valdense in Uruguay, Jacinto Arauz in La Pampa, Argentina and ultimately, to the United States. Those who remained in Italy have

Apology of Pope Francis.

In 2015, after a historic visit to a Waldensian Temple in Turin, Pope Francis, in the name

Characteristics of the modern Waldensian Church.

The present Waldensian Church considers itself to be a Protestant church of the Reformed tradition originally framed by Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin. It recognizes as its doctrinal standard the confession of faith published in 1655 and based on the Reformed confession of 1559. It admits only two ceremonies, baptism and the Lord's Supper. Supreme authority in the body is exercised by an annual synod, and the affairs of the individual congregations

Appraisal by Protestants.

Some early Protestants felt a spiritual kinship to the Waldensians and wrote positively about them. John Milton, for example, wrote in his sonnet "On the Late Massacre in Piedmont" of the 1655 massacre and persecution of the Waldensians.  It was once held that the Waldenses were first taught by Paul the Apostle who visited Spain and then allegedly traveled on to the Piedmont. As the Catholic Church indulged in excesses in the time of Constantine (Roman Emperor from 306 to 337) - the account tells - the Waldenses held true to their apostolic faith of poverty and piety. These claims were discounted in the nineteenth century.  There were also other claims that the Waldensians predated Peter Waldo's activities in the late 12th century. In his "A History of the Vaudois Church" (1859), Antoine Monastier quotes Bernard, abbot of Foncald, who wrote at the end of the 12th century that the Waldensians arose during the papacy of Lucius. Monastier takes Bernard to mean Lucius II, in office from 1144 to 1145, and concludes that the Waldenses were active before 1145. Bernard also says that the same Pope Lucius condemned them as heretics, but they were condemned by Pope Lucius III in 1184.  Monastier also says that Eberard de Béthune, writing in 1210 (although Monastier says 1160), claimed that the name "Vaudois" meant "valley dwellers" or those who "dwell in a vale of sorrow and tears", and was in use before the times of Peter Waldo.  Waldensians feature in the theories of Baptist successionism and Landmarkism concerning an alleged continuous tradition of practices and beliefs from John the Baptist onwards.  Some historical writers suggest Waldensian beliefs came from missionaries from the early church and that their history may have its origins in the apostolic age, though this idea itself stems from Baptist Successionism, an idea that was very popular among some 19thcentury Church historians but has been largely rejected by modern scholars in the field. The Roman Inquisitor Reinerus Sacho, writing c.1230, held

Waldensians by region.

Italy.

In 1848, after many centuries of harsh persecution, the Waldensians acquired legal freedom in the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia as a result of the liberalising reforms which followed Charles Albert of Sardinia's granting a constitution (the Statuto Albertino). Subsequently, the Waldensian Evangelical Church, as it became known, developed and spread through the Italian peninsula.  The Waldensian church was able to gain converts by building schools in some of the poorer regions of Italy, including Sicily. There is still a Waldensian church in the town of Grotte, at the southwest of the island. German Protestants have been supportive of the Waldesians in Italy since the 17th century.  During the Nazi occupation of North Italy in the Second World War, Italian Waldensians were active in saving Jews faced with imminent extermination, hiding many of them in the same mountain valley where their own Waldensian ancestors had found refuge in earlier generations.  After 1945, the Evangelical Church in Germany led by Theophil Wurm (who was also Bishop of Württemberg) issued the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt and actively contributed to reconciliation efforts with Italy (and France) based on relationships with the diaspora. The 1948 centenary festivities of the Savoy civil

South America.

The first Waldensian settlers from Italy arrived in South America in 1856. From that date there have been several migrations, especially to Argentina, such as the town of Jacinto Aráuz in the southern part of the province of LaPampa, where they arrived around 1901. the Waldensian Church of the Río de La Plata (which forms a united church with the Waldensian Evangelical Church) has approximately 40

United States.

Since colonial times there have been Waldensians who sailed to America, as marked by the presence of them in New Jersey and Delaware. Many Waldensians, having escaped persecution in their homelands by making their way to the tolerant Dutch Republic, crossed the Atlantic to start anew in the New Netherland colony, establishing the first church in North America on Staten Island in 1670.  In the late 19th century many Italians, among them Waldensians, emigrated to the United States. They founded communities in New York City; Boston; Chicago; Monett, Missouri; Galveston, Texas; Rochester, New York; Hunter, Utah; and Ogden, Utah. The Monett congregation was among the first to be established in the United States, in 1875, by some 40 settlers who had formed the original South American settlement in Uruguay in the 1850s. With the outbreak of the Uruguayan Civil War they had fled violence in the Uruguayan countryside, traveling first back to Europe then across the Northern Atlantic to New York and by train to southern Missouri. Waldensians living in the Cottian Alps region of Northern Italy continued to migrate to Monett until the early 1900s, augmenting the original colony, and founded another, larger settlement in Valdese, North Carolina, in 1893. The first Waldenses settled in North Carolina in 1893. Both the Monett and Valdese congregations use the name Waldensian Presbyterian Church.  In 1853 a group of approximately 70 Waldensians, including men, women, and children left their homes in the Piedmont Valleys and migrated to Pleasant Green, Hunter, and Ogden, Utah, after

Germany.

Several thousand Waldenses fled from Italy and France to Germany. Henri Arnaud (1641–1721), pastor and leader of the Piedmont Waldensians, rescued his co-religionists from their dispersion under the persecution of Victor Amadeus II the Duke of Savoy. Eberhard Louis, Duke of Württemberg invited the Waldensians to his territory. When the Waldensians were exiled a second time, Arnaud accompanied them in their exile to Schönenberg, and continued to act as their pastor until his death. Those who remained in Germany were soon assimilated by the State Churches (Lutheran and Reformed) and they are a part of various Landeskirchen in the Evangelical Church in Germany. The new settlers were free in their religious services, and kept holding them in French till the 19th century. The Waldensian community is often overlooked, as the Hugenots were larger in count. Henri Arnaud's home in Schönenberg close to Ötisheim is a

The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are an ascetic movement within Christianity. Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in the late twelfth century, the movement spread to the Cottian Alps in what is today France and Italy. The founding of the Waldensians is attributed to Peter Waldo, a wealthy merchant who gave away his property around 1173, preaching apostolic poverty as the way to perfection. Waldensian teachings came into conflict with the Catholic Church and by 1215 the Waldensians were declared heretical. Subjected to intense persecution, they were nearly annihilated in the 17th century and were confronted with organised and general discrimination in the centuries that followed. In the 16th century, the Waldensians influenced early Swiss reformer Heinrich Bullinger. Upon finding the ideas of other reformers similar to their own, they merged into the larger Protestant Reformation and, with the Resolutions of Chanforan on 12 September 1532, they formally became a part of the Calvinist tradition.

Valdenští (francouzsky: "vaudois") nebo valdenství bylo středověké náboženské hnutí směřující k reformě křesťanského života inspirované původně bohatým lyonským obchodníkem Petrem Valdesem. Franko-provensálská forma jeho jména není známa, byla rekonstruována jako Pierre Vaudès nebo de Vaux, italská forma Valdo, ale jinde i jako Waldo nebo Waldes. Jméno Petr mu bylo přiřazeno až pozdější tradicí, jeho skutečné osobní jméno známo není.


Names.

The Latin name'derives from Ancient Greek'(). This is ostensibly a Greek toponym based on a personal name, although it may be a Hellenized form of a local name, reconstructed as "Tisfōn" or "Tisbōn". In Iranian-language texts of the Sasanian era, it is spelled as "tyspwn", which can be read as "Tīsfōn", "Tēsifōn", etc. in Manichaean Parthian 𐫤𐫏𐫘𐫛𐫇𐫗, in Middle Persian 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 and in Christian Sogdian (in Syriac alphabet) languages. The New Persian form is "Tisfun" ().  Texts from the Church of the East's synods referred to the city as'() or some times'() when referring to the metropolis of Seleucia-Ctesiphon.  In modern Arabic, the name is usually "Ṭaysafūn" () or "Qaṭaysfūn" () or as "al-Mada'in" ( "The Cities", referring to Greater Ctesiphon). "According to Yāqūt [...], quoting Ḥamza, the original form was Ṭūsfūn or Tūsfūn, which was arabicized as Ṭaysafūn." The Armenian name of the city was "Tizbon" (). Ctesiphon is first mentioned in the Book of Ezra of the Old Testament as Kasfia/Casphia (a derivative of the ethnic name, Cas, and a cognate of Caspian and Qazvin). It is also mentioned in the Talmud as Aktisfon.

Location.

Ctesiphon is located approximately at Al-Mada'in, southeast of the modern city of Baghdad, Iraq, along the river Tigris. Ctesiphon measured 30 square kilometers, more than twice the surface of 13.7-square-kilometer fourth-century imperial Rome.  The archway of Chosroes ("Taq Kasra") was once a part of the royal palace in Ctesiphon and is estimated to date between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD. It is located in what is now the Iraqi town of Salman Pak.

History.

Parthian period.

Ctesiphon was founded in the late 120s BC. It was built on the site of a military camp established across from Seleucia by Mithridates I of Parthia. The reign of Gotarzes I saw Ctesiphon reach a peak as a political and commercial center. The city became the Empire's capital circa 58 BC during the reign of Orodes II. Gradually, the city merged with the old Hellenistic capital of Seleucia and other nearby settlements to form a cosmopolitan metropolis.  The reason for this westward relocation of the capital could have been in part due to the proximity of the previous capitals (Mithradatkirt, and Hecatompylos at Hyrcania) to the Scythian incursions.  Strabo abundantly describes the foundation of Ctesiphon:  In ancient times Babylon was the metropolis of Assyria; but now Seleucia is the metropolis, I mean the Seleucia on the Tigris, as it is called. Nearby is situated a village called Ctesiphon, a large village. This village the kings of the Parthians were wont to make their winter residence, thus sparing the Seleucians, in order that the Seleucians might not be oppressed by having the Scythian folk or soldiery quartered amongst them. Because of the Parthian power, therefore, Ctesiphon is a city rather than a village; its size is such that it lodges a great number of people, and it has been equipped with buildings by the Parthians themselves; and it has been provided by the Parthians with wares for sale and with the arts that are pleasing to the Parthians; for the Parthian kings are accustomed to spend the winter there because of the salubrity of the air, but they summer at Ecbatana and in Hyrcania because of the prevalence of their ancient renown.  Because of its importance, Ctesiphon was a major military objective for the leaders of the Roman Empire in their eastern wars. The city was captured by Rome five times in its history – three times in the 2nd century alone. The emperor Trajan captured Ctesiphon in 116, but his successor, Hadrian, decided to willingly return Ctesiphon in 117 as part of a peace settlement. The Roman general Avidius Cassius captured Ctesiphon in 164 during another Parthian war, but abandoned it when peace was concluded. In 197, the emperor Septimius Severus sacked Ctesiphon and carried off thousands of its inhabitants, whom he sold into slavery.

Sasanian period.

By 226, Ctesiphon was in the hands of the Sasanian Empire, who also made it their capital and had laid an end to the Parthian dynasty of Iran. Ctesiphon was greatly enlarged and flourished during their rule, thus turning into a metropolis, which was known by in Arabic as al-Mada'in, and in Aramaic as Mahoze. The oldest inhabited places of Ctesiphon were on its eastern side, which in Islamic Arabic sources is called "the Old City" ( "Madīnah al-'Atīqah"), where the residence of the Sasanians, known as the White Palace (), was located. The southern side of Ctesiphon was known as Asbānbar or Aspānbar, which was known by its prominent halls, riches, games, stables, and baths. Taq Kasra was located in the latter.  The western side was known as Veh-Ardashir (meaning "the good city of Ardashir" in Middle Persian), known as Mahoza by the Jews, Kokhe by the Christians, and Behrasir by the Arabs. Veh-Ardashir was populated by many wealthy Jews, and was the seat of the church of the Nestorian patriarch. To the south of Veh-Ardashir was Valashabad. Ctesiphon had several other districts which were named Hanbu Shapur, Darzanidan, Veh Jondiu-Khosrow, Nawinabad and Kardakadh.  Severus Alexander advanced towards Ctesiphon in 233, but as corroborated by Herodian, his armies suffered a humiliating defeat against Ardashir I. In 283, emperor Carus sacked the city uncontested during a period of civil upheaval. In 295, emperor Galerius was defeated outside the city. However, he returned a year later with a vengeance and won a victory which ended in the fifth and final capture of the city by the Romans in 299. He returned it to the Persian king Narses in exchange for Armenia and western Mesopotamia. In c. 325 and again in 410, the city, or the Greek colony directly across the river, was the site of church councils for the Church of the East. After the conquest of Antioch in 541, Khosrau I built a new city near Ctesiphon for the inhabitants he captured. He called this new city "Weh Antiok Khusrau", or literally, "better than Antioch Khosrau built this." Local inhabitants of the area called the new city "Rumagan", meaning "town of the Romans" and Arabs called the city "al-Rumiyya". Along with Weh Antiok, Khosrau built a number of fortified cities. Khosrau I deported 292,000 citizens, slaves, and conquered people to this new city in 542.  In 590, a member of the House of Mihran, Bahram Chobin repelled the newly ascended Sasanian ruler Khosrau II from Iraq, and conquered the region. One year later, Khosrau II, with aid from the Byzantine Empire, reconquered his domains. During his reign, some of the great fame of al-Mada'in decreased, due to the popularity of Khosrau's new winter residence, Dastagerd. In 627, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius surrounded the city, the capital of the Sassanid Empire, leaving it after the Persians accepted his peace terms. In 628, a deadly plague hit Ctesiphon, al-Mada'in and the rest of the western part of the Sasanian Empire, which even killed Khosrau's son and successor, Kavadh II.  In 629, Ctesiphon was briefly under the control of Mihranid usurper Shahrbaraz, but the latter was shortly assassinated by the supporters of Khosrau II's daughter Borandukht. Ctesiphon then continued to be involved in constant fighting between two factions of the Sasanian Empire, the Pahlav (Parthian) faction under the House of Ispahbudhan and the Parsig (Persian) faction under Piruz Khosrow.

Downfall of the Sasanians and the Islamic conquests.

In the mid-630s, the Muslim Arabs, who had invaded the territories of the Sasanian Empire, defeated them during a great battle known as the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah. The Arabs then attacked Ctesiphon, and occupied it in early 637.  The Muslim military officer Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas quickly seized Valashabad and made a peace treaty with the inhabitants of Weh Antiok Khusrau and Veh-Ardashir. The terms of the treaty were that the inhabitants of Weh Antiok Khusrau were allowed to leave if they wanted to, but if they did not, they were forced to acknowledge Muslim authority, and also pay tribute ("jizya"). Later on, when the Muslims arrived at Ctesiphon, it was completely desolated, due to flight of the Sasanian royal family, nobles, and troops. However, the Muslims had managed to take some of troops captive, and many riches were seized from the Sasanian treasury and were given to the Muslim troops. Furthermore, the throne hall in Taq Kasra was briefly used as a mosque.  Still, as political and economic fortune had passed elsewhere, the city went into a rapid decline, especially after the founding of the Abbasid capital at Baghdad in the 8th century, and soon became a ghost town. Caliph Al-Mansur took much of the required material for the construction of Baghdad from the ruins of Ctesiphon. He also attempted to demolish the palace and reuse its bricks for his own palace, but he desisted only when the undertaking proved too vast. Al-Mansur also used the al-Rumiya town as the Abbasid capital city for a few months.  It is believed to be the basis for the city of Isbanir in "One Thousand and One Nights".

Modern era.

The ruins of Ctesiphon were the site of a major battle of World War I in November 1915. The Ottoman Empire defeated troops of Britain attempting to capture Baghdad, and drove them back some before trapping the British force and compelling it to surrender.

Population and religion.

Under Sasanian rule, the population of Ctesiphon was heavily mixed: it included Arameans, Persians, Greeks and Assyrians. Several religions were also practiced in the metropolis, which included Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism. In 497, the first Nestorian patriarch Mar Babai I, fixed his see at Seleucia-Ctesiphon, supervising their mission east, with the Merv metropolis as pivot. The population also included Manicheans, a Dualist church, who continued to be mentioned in Ctesiphon during Umayyad rule fixing their 'patriarchate of Babylon' there. Much of the population fled from Ctesiphon after the Arab capture of the metropolis. However, a portion of Persians remained there, and some important figures of these people are known to have provided Ali with presents, which he, however, refused to take. In the ninth century, the surviving Manicheans fled and displaced their patriarchate up the Silk road, in Samarkand.

Archaeology.

A German Oriental Society led by Oscar Reuther excavated at Ctesiphon in 1928–29 mainly at Qasr bint al-Qadi on the western part of the site. In winter of 1931–1932 a joint expedition of the German State Museums (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art continued excavations at the site, focusing on the areas of Ma'aridh, Tell Dheheb, the Taq-i Kisra, Selman Pak and Umm ez-Za'tir under the direction of Ernst Kühnel.  In the late 1960s and early 1970s, an Italian team from the University of Turin directed by Antonio Invernizzi and worked at the site, which they identified not as Ctesiphon but as Veh Ardashir. Work mainly concentrated on restoration at the palace of Khosrau II. In 2013, the Iraqi government contracted to restore the Taq Kasra, as a tourist attraction.

Ctesiphon ( ; ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 "tyspwn" or "tysfwn",,,, was an ancient city, located on the eastern bank of the Tigris, and about southeast of present-day Baghdad. Ctesiphon served as a royal capital of the Persian Empire in the Parthian and Sasanian eras for over eight hundred years. Ctesiphon remained the capital of the Sasanian Empire until the Muslim conquest of Persia in 651 AD.

Ktésifón (arabsky spolu s protilehlou Seleukií nad Tigridem "al-Madá’in" = města, persky "Tisfún" nebo "Veh-Ardašír") je název starověkého města na levém břehu Tigridu, asi 30 km jihovýchodně od dnešního Bagdádu (Irák). V dobách Parthů a Sásánovců byl Ktésifón metropolí parthské a perské říše a administrativním centrem Předního východu.


Types of harvests.

The main aim of the Webarchiv project is to implement a comprehensive solution in the field of archiving of the national web, i.e. bohemical online-born documents. That includes tools and methods for collecting, archiving and preserving web resources as well as providing long-term access to them. Both large-scale automated harvesting of the entire national web and selective archiving are being carried out, including thematic „event-based“ collections. At present these methods are tested and are a subject of further research. To run all operations in a routine way, two conditions must be met: long-term funding has to be provided and the current legal issues have to be solved (primarily the legal deposit legislation).  Webarchiv have two collections of archived websites. One is available via online access. And its a limited dataset whose content is covered by agreements with its original publishers. Second collection can only be accessed in the Library. According to Czech copyright law online access to archived websites is based on agreement with website owner or on Creative Commons licence. Website without this agreement are blocked from our online archive and they are accessible only from the library terminals.

Comprehensive harvests.

The main focus of comprehensive crawls is to automatically harvest the biggest number of Czech web resources. The list of URLs is from organisation CZ.NIC.

Selective harvests.

Collection of resources with historical, scientific or cultural value manually selected. Collection is accessible online due to contracts with publishers.  The main focus of comprehensive crawls is to automatically harvest the biggest number of Czech web resources. The requirements of comprehensive crawls are:  Domain – Czech domain (.cz) web resources are collected. Resources with other domains can be also harvested, but they have to meet the optional requirements:  Other requirements are optional:  Format – harvesting different formats of resources depends on a technical settings of the harvester  Access – only freely accessible resources are harvested  Number of files – maximum 5000 files from one domain

Topic harvests.

Topic collections are collections of resources which are related to certain event of topic, for example elections.

Webarchiv is a digital archive of important Czech web resources, (i.e. published on the Internet) which are collected with the aim of their long-term preservation.

Webarchiv NK ČR je digitální archiv „českých“ webových zdrojů, které jsou zde shromažďovány za účelem jejich dlouhodobého uchování. Ochranu a uchování těchto dokumentů zajišťuje od roku 2000 Národní knihovna České republiky ve spolupráci s dalšími institucemi. Smyslem archivu je zachování kulturní, vědecké či dokumentační hodnoty současných webových stránek pro budoucí generace. Webarchiv je vedle Manuscriptoria a Krameria jeden z pilířů projektu Národní digitální knihovny.


Etymology.

The country was named Moçambique by the Portuguese after the Island of Mozambique, derived from "Mussa Bin Bique" or "Musa Al Big" or "Mossa Al Bique" or

History.

Bantu migrations.

Bantu-speaking people's migration into Mozambique dates as far back as the 4th century BC. It's believed between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, waves of migration from the

Swahili Coast.

From the late first millennium AD, vast Indian Ocean trade networks extended as far south into Mozambique as evidenced by the ancient port town of Chibuene. Beginning in the 9th century, a growing involvement in Indian Ocean trade led to the development of numerous port towns along the entire East African coast, including modern day Mozambique. Largely autonomous, these

Portuguese Mozambique (1498–1975).

After the Portuguese invaded Mozambique in about 1500, Portuguese trading posts and forts displaced the Arabic commercial and military hegemony, becoming regular ports of call on the new European sea route to the east.  The voyage of Vasco da Gama around the Cape of Good Hope in 1498 marked the Portuguese entry into trade, politics, and society of the region. The Portuguese gained control of the Island of Mozambique and the port city of Sofala in the early 16th century, and by the 1530s, small groups of Portuguese traders and prospectors seeking gold penetrated the interior regions, where they set up garrisons

Mozambican War of Independence (1964–1974).

As communist and anti-colonial ideologies spread out across Africa, many clandestine political movements were established in support of Mozambican independence. These movements claimed that since policies and development plans were primarily designed by the ruling authorities for the benefit of Mozambique's Portuguese population, little attention was paid to Mozambique's tribal integration and the development of its native communities.  According to the official guerrilla statements, this affected a majority of the indigenous population who suffered both state-sponsored discrimination and enormous social pressure. Many felt they had received too little opportunity or resources to upgrade their skills and improve their economic and social situation

Independence (1975).

FRELIMO took control of the territory after ten years of sporadic warfare, as well as Portugal's own return to democracy after the fall of the authoritarian Estado Novo regime the Carnation Revolution of April 1974, and the failed coup of 25 November 1975. Within a year, most of the

Mozambican Civil War (1977–1992).

The new government under president Samora Machel established a one-party state based on Marxist principles. It received diplomatic and some military support from Cuba and the Soviet Union and proceeded to crack down on opposition. Starting shortly after the independence, the country was plagued from 1977 to 1992 by a long and violent civil war between the opposition forces of anti-communist Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) rebel militias and the FRELIMO regime. This conflict characterised the first decades of Mozambican independence, combined with sabotage from the neighbouring states of Rhodesia and South Africa,

Democratic era (1993–present).

Mozambique held elections in 1994, which were accepted by most political parties as free and fair although still contested by many nationals and observers alike. FRELIMO won, under Joaquim Chissano, while RENAMO, led by Afonso Dhlakama, ran as the official opposition.  In 1995, Mozambique joined the Commonwealth of Nations, becoming, at the time, the only member nation that had never been part of the British Empire.  By mid-1995, over 1.7 million refugees who had sought asylum in neighbouring countries had returned to Mozambique, part of the largest repatriation witnessed in sub-Saharan Africa. An additional four million internally displaced persons had returned to their homes.  In December 1999, Mozambique held elections for a second time since the civil war, which were again won by FRELIMO. RENAMO accused FRELIMO of fraud, and threatened to return to civil war, but backed down after taking the matter to the Supreme Court and losing.  In early 2000, a cyclone caused widespread flooding in the country, killing hundreds and devastating the already precarious infrastructure. There were widespread suspicions that foreign aid resources had been diverted by powerful leaders of FRELIMO. Carlos Cardoso, a journalist investigating these allegations, was murdered, and

Geography and climate.

At, Mozambique is the world's 36th-largest country. It is comparable in size to Turkey. Mozambique is located on the southeast coast of Africa. It is bound by Swaziland to the south, South Africa to the southwest, Zimbabwe to the west, Zambia and Malawi to the northwest, Tanzania to the north and the Indian Ocean to the east. Mozambique lies between latitudes 10° and 27°S, and longitudes 30° and 41°E.  The country is divided into two topographical regions by the Zambezi River. To the north of the Zambezi River, the narrow coastal strip gives way to inland hills and low plateaus. Rugged highlands are further west; they include the Niassa highlands, Namuli or Shire highlands, Angonia highlands, Tete highlands and the Makonde plateau, covered with miombo woodlands. To the south of the Zambezi River, the lowlands are broader with the Mashonaland plateau and Lebombo Mountains located in the deep south.  The country is drained by five principal rivers and several smaller ones with the largest and most important the Zambezi. The country has four notable lakes: Lake Niassa (or Malawi), Lake Chiuta, Lake Cahora Bassa and Lake Shirwa, all in the north. The major cities are Maputo, Beira, Nampula, Tete, Quelimane, Chimoio, Pemba, Inhambane, Xai-Xai and Lichinga.

Climate.

Mozambique has a tropical climate with two seasons, a wet season from October to March and a dry season from April to September. Climatic conditions, however, vary depending on altitude. Rainfall is heavy along the coast and decreases in the north and south.

Wildlife.

There are known to be 740 bird species in Mozambique, including 20 globally threatened species and two introduced species, and over 200 mammal species endemic to Mozambique,

Politics.

Mozambique is a multi-party democracy under the 1990 constitution. The executive branch comprises a President, Prime Minister, and Council of Ministers. There is a National Assembly and municipal assemblies. The judiciary comprises a Supreme Court and provincial, district, and municipal courts. Suffrage is universal at eighteen. In the 1994 elections, Joaquim Chissano was elected president with 53% of the vote, and a 250-member National Assembly was voted in with 129 Liberation Front of Mozambique (FRELIMO) deputies, 112 Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) deputies, and nine representatives of three smaller parties that formed the Democratic Union (UD). Since its formation in 1994, the National Assembly has made progress in becoming a body increasingly more independent of the executive. By 1999, more than one-half (53%) of the legislation passed originated in the Assembly.  After some delays, in 1998 the country held its first local elections to provide for local representation and some budgetary authority at the municipal level. The principal opposition party, RENAMO, boycotted the local elections, citing flaws in the registration process. Independent slates contested the elections and won seats in municipal assemblies. Turnout was very low.  In the aftermath of the 1998 local elections, the government resolved to make more accommodations to the opposition's procedural concerns for the second round of multiparty national elections in 1999. Working through the National Assembly, the electoral law was rewritten and passed by consensus in December 1998. Financed largely by international donors, a very successful voter registration was conducted from July to September 1999, providing voter registration cards to 85% of the potential electorate (more than seven million voters).  The second general elections were held 3–5 December 1999, with high voter turnout. International and domestic observers agreed that the voting process was well organised and went smoothly. Both the opposition and observers subsequently cited flaws in the tabulation process that, had they not occurred, might have changed the outcome. In the end, however, international and domestic observers concluded that the close result of the vote reflected the will of the people. President Chissano won the presidency with a margin of 4% over the RENAMO-Electoral Union coalition candidate, Afonso Dhlakama, and began his five-year term in January 2000. FRELIMO increased its majority in the National Assembly with 133 out of 250 seats. RENAMO-UE coalition won 116 seats, one went independent, and no third parties are represented.  The opposition coalition did not accept the National Election Commission's results of the presidential vote and filed a formal complaint to the Supreme Court. One month after the voting, the court dismissed the opposition's challenge and validated the election results. The opposition did not file a complaint about the results of the legislative vote.  The second local elections, involving thirty-three municipalities with some 2.4 million registered voters, took place in November 2003. This was the first time that FRELIMO, RENAMO-UE, and independent parties competed without significant boycotts. The 24% turnout was well above the 15% turnout in the first municipal elections. FRELIMO won twenty-eight mayoral positions and the majority in twenty-nine municipal assemblies, while RENAMO won five mayoral positions and the majority in four municipal assemblies. The voting was conducted in an orderly fashion without violent incidents. However, the period immediately after the elections was marked by objections about voter and candidate registration and vote tabulation, as well as calls for greater transparency. The government would go on to approve a new general elections law in May 2009 that contained innovations based on the experience of the 2003 municipal elections.  Presidential and National Assembly elections took place on 1–2 December 2004. FRELIMO candidate Armando Guebuza won with 64% of the popular vote. His opponent, Afonso Dhlakama of RENAMO, received 32% of the popular vote. FRELIMO won 160 seats in Parliament. A coalition of RENAMO and several small parties won the 90 remaining seats. Armando Guebuza was inaugurated as the President of Mozambique on 2 February 2005.  RENAMO and some other opposition parties made claims of election fraud and denounced the result. These claims were supported by international observers (among others by the European Union Election Observation Mission to Mozambique and the Carter Centre) to the elections who criticised the fact that the National Electoral Commission (CNE) did not conduct fair and transparent elections. They listed a whole range of shortcomings by the electoral authorities that benefited the ruling party FRELIMO.  According to EU observers, the election’s shortcomings probably did not affected the final result in the presidential election. On the other hand, the observers have declared that the outcome of the parliamentary election and thus the distribution of seats in the National Assembly does not reflect the will of the Mozambican people and is clearly to the disadvantage of RENAMO.  After clashes between RENAMO guards and the police in Muxungue and Gondola in April 2013, RENAMO said it would boycott and disrupt local elections in November 2013. Since the end of the civil war in 1992, about 300 RENAMO guards had remained armed and refused to join the national army or the police force.

Economy.

Mozambique is one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world, even though between 1994 and 2006 its average annual GDP growth was approximately 8%. The IMF classifies Mozambique as a Heavily Indebted Poor Country. In a 2006 survey, three-quarters of Mozambicans said that in the past five years their economic position had remained the same or become worse.  Mozambique's official currency is the New Metical (as of March 2018, US$1 is roughly equivalent to 62 New Meticals), which replaced old Meticals at the rate of a thousand to one. The old currency was redeemable at the Bank of Mozambique until the end of 2012. The US$, South African rand, and recently the euro are also widely accepted and used in business transactions. The minimum legal salary is around US$60 per month. Mozambique is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The SADC free trade protocol is aimed at making the Southern African region more competitive by eliminating tariffs and other trade barriers. The World Bank in 2007 talked of Mozambique's 'blistering pace of economic growth'. A joint donor-government study in early 2007 said 'Mozambique is generally considered an aid success story.'

Rebounding growth.

The resettlement of civil war refugees and successful economic reform have led to a high growth rate: the country enjoyed a remarkable recovery, achieving an average annual rate of economic growth of 8% between 1996 and 2006 and between 6–7% from 2006 to 2011. The devastating floods of early 2000 slowed GDP growth to 2.1%, but a full recovery was achieved in 2001 with growth of 14.8%..

Economic reforms.

More than 1,200 mostly small state-owned enterprises have been privatised. Preparations for privatisation and/or sector liberalisation were made for the remaining parastatal enterprises, including telecommunications, energy, ports, and railways. The government frequently selected a strategic foreign investor when privatising a parastatal. Additionally, customs duties

Corruption.

Mozambique's economy has been shaken by a number of corruption scandals. In July 2011, the government proposed new anti-corruption laws to criminalise embezzlement, influence peddling and graft, following numerous instances of the theft of public money. This has been endorsed by the country's Council of Ministers. Mozambique has convicted two former ministers for graft in the past two years.  Mozambique was ranked 116 of 178 countries in anti-graft watchdog Transparency International's latest

Natural resources.

In 2010–2011, Anadarko Petroleum and Eni discovered the Mamba South gas field, recoverable reserves of 4,200 billion cubic metres (150 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas in the Rovuma Basin, off the coast of northern Cabo Delgado Province. Once developed, this could

Tourism.

The country's natural environment, wildlife, and historic heritage provide opportunities for beach, cultural, and eco-tourism. Mozambique has a great potential for growth in its gross domestic product (GDP), although its current contribution is only 5.6%.  The north beaches with clean water are suitable for tourism, especially those that are

Transport.

Modes of transport in Mozambique include rail, road, water, and air.  There are over of roads, but much of the network is unpaved. Like its Commonwealth neighbours, traffic circulates on the left.  There is an international airport at Maputo, 21 other paved airports, and over 100 airstrips with unpaved runways.  On the Indian Ocean coast are several large seaports, including Nacala, Beira and Maputo, with further ports being developed. There are 3,750 km of navigable inland waterways. There are

Water supply and sanitation.

Water supply and sanitation in Mozambique is characterised by low levels of access to an improved water source (estimated to be 51% in 2011), low levels of access to adequate sanitation (estimated to be 25% in 2011) and mostly poor service quality. In 2007 the government has defined a strategy for water supply and sanitation in rural areas, where 62% of the population lives. In urban areas, water is supplied by informal small-scale providers and by formal providers.  Beginning in 1998, Mozambique has reformed the formal part of the urban water supply

Demographics.

The north-central provinces of Zambezia and Nampula are the most populous, with about 45% of the population. The estimated four million Macua are the dominant group in the northern part of the country; the Sena and Shona (mostly Ndau) are prominent in the Zambezi valley, and the Tsonga and Shangaan people dominate in southern Mozambique. Other groups include Makonde, Yao, Swahili, Tonga, Chopi, and Nguni (including Zulu). Bantu people comprise 97.8% of the population, with the rest made up of Portuguese ancestry, Euro-Africans ("mestiço" people of mixed Bantu and Portuguese ancestry), and Indians. Roughly 45,000 people of Indian descent reside in Mozambique.  During Portuguese colonial rule, a large minority of people of Portuguese descent lived permanently in almost all areas of the country, and Mozambicans with Portuguese heritage at the time of independence numbered about 360,000. Many of these left the country after independence from Portugal in 1975. There are various estimates for the size of Mozambique's Chinese community, ranging from 7,000 to 12,000.  According to a 2011 survey, the total fertility rate was 5.9 children per woman, with 6.6 in rural areas and 4.5 in urban areas.

Languages.

Portuguese is the official and most widely spoken language of the nation, spoken by 50.3% of the population.  The Bantu-group languages of Mozambique that are indigenous to the country vary greatly in their groupings and in some cases are rather poorly appreciated and documented. Apart from its lingua franca uses in the north of the country, Swahili is spoken in a small area of the coast next to the Tanzanian border; south of this, towards Moçambique Island, Kimwani, regarded as a dialect of Swahili, is used. Immediately inland of the Swahili area, Makonde is used, separated farther inland by a small strip of Makhuwa-speaking territory from an area where Yao or ChiYao is used. Makonde and Yao belong to a different group, Yao being very close to the Mwera language of the Rondo Plateau area in Tanzania.  Prepositions appear in these languages as locative prefixes prefixed to the noun and declined according to their own noun-class. Some Nyanja is used at the coast of Lake Malawi, as well as on the other side of the Lake.  Somewhat different from all of these are the languages of the eMakhuwa group, with a

Religion.

The 2017 census found that Christians made up 59.2% of Mozambique's population and Muslims comprised 18.9% of the population. 7.3% of the people held other beliefs, mainly animism, and 13.9% had no religious beliefs. A more recent government survey conducted by the Demographic and Health Surveys Program in 2015 indicated that Catholicism had increased to 30.5% of the population, Muslims constituted 19.3%, and various Protestant groups a total of 44%. According to 2018 estimates from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, 28% of the population is Catholic, 18% are Muslim (mostly Sunni), 15% are Zionist Christians, 12% are Protestants, 7% are members of other religious groups, and 18% have no religion.  The Roman Catholic Church has established twelve dioceses (Beira, Chimoio, Gurué, Inhambane, Lichinga, Maputo, Nacala, Nampula, Pemba, Quelimane, Tete, and Xai-Xai; archdioceses are Beira, Maputo and Nampula). Statistics for the dioceses range from a low 5.8% Catholics in the population in the Diocese of Chimoio, to 32.50% in Quelimane diocese (Anuario catolico de Mocambique 2007).  The work of Methodism in Mozambique started in 1890. The Rev. Dr. Erwin Richards began a Methodist mission at Chicuque in Inhambane Province. A Igreja Metodista Unida em Moçambique

Health.

The fertility rate is at about 5.5 births per woman. Public expenditure on health was at 2.7% of the GDP in 2004, whereas private expenditure on health was at 1.3% in the same year. Health expenditure per capita was 42 US$ (PPP) in 2004. In the early 21st century there were 3 physicians per 100,000 people in the country. Infant mortality was at 100 per 1,000 births in 2005.  The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Mozambique is 550. This is compared with 598.8 in 2008 and 385 in 1990. The under 5 mortality rate,

Education.

Portuguese is the primary language of instruction in all of the Mozambican schools. All Mozambicans are required by law to attend school through the primary level; however, a lot of children in Mozambique do not go to primary school because they have to work for their families' subsistence farms for a living. In 2007, one million children still did not go to school, most of them from poor rural families, and almost half of all teachers in Mozambique were still unqualified. Girls’ enrolment increased from 3 million in 2002 to 4.1 million in 2006 while the completion rate increased from 31,000 to 90,000,

Culture.

Cultural identity.

Mozambique was ruled by Portugal, and they share a main language (Portuguese) and main religion (Roman Catholicism). But since most

Arts.

The Makonde are known for their wood carving and elaborate masks, that are commonly used in traditional dances. There are two different kinds of wood carvings: shetani, (evil spirits), which are mostly carved in heavy ebony, tall, and elegantly curved with symbols and nonrepresentational faces; and ujamaa, which are totem-type carvings which illustrate lifelike faces of people and various figures. These sculptures are usually referred to as "family trees", because they tell stories of many generations.  During the last years of the colonial period, Mozambican art reflected the oppression by the

Cuisine.

With a nearly 500-year presence in the country, the Portuguese have greatly influenced Mozambique's cuisine. Staples and crops such as cassava (a starchy root of Brazilian origin) and cashew nuts (also of Brazilian origin, though Mozambique was once the largest producer of these nuts), and "pãozinho" (pronounced, Portuguese-style

Media.

Mozambican media is heavily influenced by the government.  Newspapers have relatively low circulation rates, due to high newspaper prices and low literacy rates. Among the most highly circulated newspapers are state-controlled dailies, such as "Noticias" and "Diário de Moçambique", and the weekly "Domingo". Their circulation is mostly confined to Maputo. Most funding and advertising revenue is given to pro-government newspapers. However, the number of

Music.

The music of Mozambique serves many purposes, ranging from religious expression to traditional ceremonies. Musical instruments are usually handmade. Some of the instruments used in Mozambican musical expression include drums made of wood and animal skin; the "lupembe", a woodwind instrument made from animal horns or wood; and the marimba,

Sport.

Football () is the most popular sport in Mozambique. The national team is the Mozambique national football team. Roller hockey is also

Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( or, ; ; ; ), is a country located in Southern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini (Swaziland) and South Africa to the southwest. The sovereign state is separated from the Comoros, Mayotte and Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel to the east. The capital and largest city of Mozambique is Maputo (formerly known as "Lourenço Marques" from 1876 to 1976).

Mosambik, oficiálně Mosambická republika (: "Moçambique" nebo "República de Moçambique", ) je republika v jihovýchodní Africe, sousedící na severu s Tanzanií, na severozápadě s Malawi a Zambií, na západě se Zimbabwe, na jihu se Svazijskem a Jihoafrickou republikou a na východě s Indickým oceánem. Území dnešního Mosambiku objevil v roce 1498 mořeplavec Vasco da Gama a v roce 1505 bylo toto území kolonizováno Portugalskem. V roce 1510 měli Portugalci kontrolu nad všemi bývalými svazijskými sultanáty na pobřeží východní Afriky. Mosambik získal nezávislost v roce 1975, kdy byla vyhlášena Mosambická lidová republika. Nově vzniklý stát byl dějištěm intenzivní občanské války, která probíhala od roku 1977 do roku 1992. Země je členem Společenství portugalsky mluvících zemí, Commonwealthu a je pozorovatelem ve Frankofonii. Demografické ukazatele, jako střední délka života a dětská úmrtnost, patří k nejhorším na světě. Index lidského rozvoje (HDI) patří k nejnižším na světě.


Geography.

Le Vigan is located at the south of the Massif Central and near the Mont Aigoual, in the Arre valley. The town is on the southern edge of the Cévennes National Park and is the most populous town within the park.

History.

On a river at the southern edge of the Massif Central, Le Vigan is situated on a natural boundaryline. In the 2nd-3rd centuries BCE, it was situated between the territories occupied by the Volcae Arecomici, the Averni, and the Gabali tribes. In 121 BCE the Romans gained control of much of southern France including the area around Le Vigan. The Volcae Arecomici voluntarily surrendered their territory, and the Arverni gave up much territory in a treaty that nevertheless preserve their independence. Under Roman control, Le Vigan was part of the Roman "Provincia," (hence Provence) called Gallia Narbonensis. The Visigoths took control of the western half of Gallia Narbonensis in 462 CE, a part known as Septimania which included Le Vigan, and they retained control despite attempts in 586 and 589 by the Frankish (Merovingian) King Guntram to conquer the area from the north. In 587 the region came under Catholic rule with the conversion of the Visigoth king Reccared I. In 719, the Moor Al-Samh conquered Septimania and the Franks struggled to take it back over the next several decades. By 780, Charlemagne had conquered the entire territory. Le Vigan is on the site of an ancient Roman town which may be "Vindomagus", but it is not certain. There is a spring called "la source d'Isis," which has provided water to the city since at least 1069 and which was named in honor of the Roman goddess. The town was destroyed during the Moorish invasion of Provence.

Economy.

As with many towns in the Cévennes, there were many textile industries there in the past. Several quarries south of town above Montdardier were formerly important sources of lithographic limestone. Stone from these quarries earned an honorable mention in the Great Exhibition of 1851.  Le Vigan is a tourist destination during summer time.

Le Vigan (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.

Le Vigan je město v jižní Francii v departamentu Gard regionu Languedoc-Roussillon. Blízko Mont Aigoual. Vzdálenost od Paříže 860 km.


Early life.

Arp was born in Straßburg (now Strasbourg), the son of a French mother and a German father, during the period following the Franco-Prussian War when the area was known as Alsace-Lorraine ("Elsass-Lothringen" in German) after France had ceded it to Germany in 1871. Following the return of Alsace to France at the end of World War I, French law determined that his name become "Jean". Arp would continue referring to himself as "Hans" when he spoke German.  In 1904, after leaving the École des Arts et Métiers in Straßburg, he went to Paris where he published his poetry for the first time. From 1905 to 1907, Arp studied at the Kunstschule in Weimar, Germany, and in 1908 went back to Paris, where he attended the Académie Julian. Arp was a founder-member of the Moderne Bund in Lucerne, participating in their exhibitions from 1911 to 1913.  In 1912, he went to Munich, called on Wassily Kandinsky, the influential Russian painter and art theorist, was encouraged by him in his researches and exhibited with the "Der Blaue Reiter" group. Later that year, he took part in a major exhibition in Zürich, along with Henri Matisse, Robert Delaunay and Kandinsky. In Berlin in 1913, he was taken up by Herwarth Walden, the dealer and magazine editor who was at that time one of the most powerful figures in the European avant-garde.  In 1915, he moved to Switzerland to take advantage of Swiss neutrality. Arp later told the story of how, when he was notified to report to the German consulate in Zurich, he pretended to be mentally ill in order to avoid being drafted into the German Army: after crossing himself whenever he saw a portrait of Paul von Hindenburg, Arp was given paperwork on which he was told to write his date of birth on the first blank line. Accordingly, he wrote "16/9/87"; he then wrote "16/9/87" on every other line as well, then drew one final line beneath them and, "without worrying too much about accuracy", calculated their sum. Hans Richter, describing this story, noted that "they [the German authorities] believed him." Career  In 1916, Hugo Ball opened the Cabaret Voltaire, which was to become the center of Dada activities in Zurich for a group that included Arp, Marcel Janco, Tristan Tzara, and others. In 1920, as Hans Arp, along with Max Ernst and the social activist Alfred Grünwald, he set up the Cologne Dada group. However, in 1925, his work also appeared in the first exhibition of the surrealist group at the Galérie Pierre in Paris.  In 1926, Arp moved to the Paris suburb of Meudon. In 1931, he broke with the Surrealist movement to found Abstraction-Création, working with the Paris-based group Abstraction-Création and the periodical, "Transition". Beginning in the 1930s, the artist expanded his efforts from collage and bas-relief to include bronze and stone sculptures. He produced several small works made of multiple elements that the viewer could pick up, separate, and rearrange into new configurations. Throughout the 1930s and until the end of his life, he wrote and published essays and poetry. In 1942, he fled from his home in Meudon to escape German occupation and lived in Zürich until the war ended. Arp visited New York City in 1949 for a solo exhibition at the Buchholz Gallery. In 1950, he was invited to execute a relief for the Harvard University Graduate Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts and would also be commissioned to do a mural at the UNESCO building in Paris. Arthur and Madeleine Lewja, of Galerie Chalette, who had known Arp in Europe, became his gallery representatives in New York in the late 1950s, and were instrumental in establishing his reputation on the American side of the Atlantic.

Exhibitions.

In 1958, a retrospective of Arp's work was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, followed by an exhibition at the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, France, in 1962. In 1972, the Metropolitan Museum of Art showcased Jean Arp's work from the Lejwa's collection and a few works lent by Arp's widow, Marguerite Arp. The exhibition was expanded and traveled as "Arp 1877–1966," first exhibited at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and then shown in seven museums in the United States and six in Australia. Organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Wurttembergischer Kunstverein of Stuttgart, a 150-piece exhibition titled "The Universe of Jean Arp" concluded an international six-city tour at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1986.  The Musée d'art moderne et contemporain of Strasbourg houses many of his paintings and sculptures.

Recognition.

Arp's career was distinguished with many awards including the Grand Prize for sculpture at the 1954 Venice Biennale, a sculpture prizes at the 1964 Pittsburgh International, the 1963 Grand Prix National des Arts, the 1964 Carnegie Prize, the 1965 Goethe Prize from the University of Hamburg, and then the Order of Merit with a Star of the German Republic.

Personal life and death.

Arp and his first wife, the artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp, became French nationals in 1926. In the 1930s, they bought a piece of land in Clamart and built a house at the edge of a forest. Influenced by the Bauhaus, Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand, Taeuber designed it. She died in Zürich in 1943. After living in Zürich, Arp was to make Meudon his primary residence again in 1946.  Arp married the collector Marguerite Hagenbach (1902–1994), his long-time companion, in 1959. He died in 1966, in Basel, Switzerland.

Legacy.

There are three Arp foundations in Europe: The Fondation Arp in Clamart preserves the atelier where Arp lived and worked for most of his life; about 2,000 visitors tour the house each year. The Fondazione Marguerite Arp-Hagenbach in Locarno, Switzerland, was founded by Arp's second wife, Marguerite Arp-Hagenbach. A foundation dedicated to Arp, named Stiftung Hans Arp und Sophie Taeuber-Arp e.V., was established in 1977 by the dealer Johannes Wasmuth in consultation with Marguerite Arp-Hagenbach and owns the largest collection of works by Arp and holds the copyright of all his works. It has research centre and office in Berlin, and an office in Rolandseck, Germany.

Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter, and poet, and worked in other media such as torn and pasted paper. He was known as Dadaist and abstract artist.

Hans (Jean) Arp (16. září 1886 Štrasburk – 7. června 1966 Basilej) byl sochař, malíř, ilustrátor a básník. Byl členem uměleckého směru, zvaného dadaismus.