History of battleships.

Ships of the line.

A ship of the line was the dominant warship of its age. It was a large, unarmored wooden sailing ship which mounted a battery of up to 120 smoothbore guns and carronades. The ship of the line developed gradually over centuries and, apart from growing in size, it changed little between the adoption of line of battle tactics in the early 17th century and the end of the sailing battleship's heyday in the 1830s. From 1794, the alternative term 'line of battle ship' was contracted (informally at first) to 'battle ship' or 'battleship'.  The sheer number of guns fired broadside meant a ship of the line could wreck any wooden enemy, holing her hull, knocking down masts, wrecking her rigging, and

Ironclads.

The adoption of steam power was only one of a number of technological advances which revolutionized warship design in the 19th century. The ship of the line was overtaken by the ironclad: powered by steam, protected by metal armor, and armed with guns firing high-explosive shells.

Explosive shells.

Guns that fired explosive or incendiary shells were a major threat to wooden ships, and these weapons quickly became widespread after the introduction of 8-inch shell guns as part of the standard armament of French and American line-of-battle ships in 1841. In the Crimean War, six line-of-battle ships and two frigates of the Russian Black Sea Fleet destroyed seven Turkish frigates and three corvettes with explosive shells at

Iron armor and construction.

The development of high-explosive shells made the use of iron armor plate on warships necessary. In 1859 France launched, the first ocean-going ironclad warship. She had the profile of a ship of the line, cut to one deck due to weight considerations. Although made of wood and reliant on sail for most journeys, "Gloire" was fitted with a propeller, and her wooden hull was protected by a layer of thick iron armor. "Gloire" prompted further innovation from the Royal Navy, anxious to prevent France from gaining a technological lead.  The superior armored frigate followed "Gloire" by

Pre-dreadnought battleship.

The term "battleship" was officially adopted by the Royal Navy in the re-classification of 1892. By the 1890s, there was an increasing similarity between battleship designs, and the type that later became known as the 'pre-dreadnought battleship' emerged. These were heavily armored ships, mounting a mixed battery of guns in turrets, and without sails. The typical first-class battleship of the pre-dreadnought era displaced 15,000 to 17,000 tons, had a speed of, and an armament of four guns in two turrets fore and aft with a mixed-caliber secondary battery amidships

Dreadnought era.

In 1906, the British Royal Navy launched the revolutionary. Created as a result of pressure from Admiral Sir John ("Jackie") Fisher, HMS "Dreadnought" made existing battleships obsolete. Combining an "all-big-gun" armament of ten 12-inch (305 mm) guns with unprecedented speed (from steam turbine engines) and protection, she prompted navies worldwide to re-evaluate their battleship building programs. While the Japanese had laid down an all-big-gun battleship,, in 1904 and the concept of an all-big-gun ship had been in circulation for several years, it had yet to be validated in combat. "Dreadnought" sparked a new arms race, principally between Britain and Germany but reflected worldwide, as the new class of warships became a crucial element of national power.  Technical development continued rapidly through the dreadnought era, with steep changes in armament, armor and propulsion. Ten years after "Dreadnought"s commissioning, much more powerful ships, the super-dreadnoughts, were being built.

Origin.

In the first years of the 20th century, several navies worldwide experimented with the idea of a new type of battleship with a uniform armament of very heavy guns.  Admiral Vittorio Cuniberti, the Italian Navy's chief naval architect, articulated the concept of an all-big-gun battleship in 1903. When the "Regia Marina" did not pursue his ideas, Cuniberti wrote an article in "Janes" proposing an "ideal" future British battleship, a large armored warship of 17,000 tons, armed solely with a single calibre main battery (twelve 12-inch [305 mm] guns), carrying belt armor, and capable of 24 knots (44 km/h).

Arms race.

In 1897, before the revolution in design brought about by HMS Dreadnought, the Royal Navy had 62 battleships in commission or building, a lead of 26 over France and 50 over Germany. From the 1906 launching of Dreadnought, an arms race with major strategic consequences was prompted. Major naval powers raced to build their own dreadnoughts. Possession of modern battleships was not only seen as vital to naval power, but also, as with nuclear weapons after World War II, represented a nation's standing in the world. Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Austria, and the United States all began dreadnought programmes; while the Ottoman Empire, Argentina, Russia, Brazil, and Chile commissioned dreadnoughts to be built in British and American yards.

World War I.

By virtue of geography, the Royal Navy was able to use her imposing battleship and battlecruiser fleet to impose a strict and successful naval blockade of Germany and kept Germany's smaller battleship fleet bottled up in the North Sea: only narrow channels led to the Atlantic Ocean and these were guarded by British forces. Both sides were aware that, because of the greater number of British dreadnoughts, a full fleet engagement would be likely to result in a British victory. The German strategy was therefore to try to provoke an engagement on their terms: either to induce a part of the Grand Fleet to enter battle alone, or to fight a pitched battle near the German coastline, where friendly minefields, torpedo-boats and submarines could be used to even the odds. This did not happen however, due in large part to the necessity to keep submarines for the Atlantic campaign. Submarines were the

Inter-war period.

For many years, Germany simply had no battleships. The Armistice with Germany required that most of the High Seas Fleet be disarmed and interned in a neutral port; largely because no neutral port could be found, the ships remained in British custody in Scapa Flow, Scotland. The Treaty of Versailles specified that the ships should be handed over to the British. Instead, most of them were scuttled by their German crews on June 21, 1919 just before the signature of the peace treaty. The treaty also limited the German Navy, and prevented Germany from building or possessing any capital ships. The inter-war period saw the battleship subjected to strict international limitations to prevent a costly arms race breaking out. While the victors were not limited by the Treaty of Versailles, many of the major naval powers were crippled after the war. Faced with the

Rise of air power.

As early as 1914, the British Admiral Percy Scott predicted that battleships would soon be made irrelevant by aircraft. By the end of World War I, aircraft had successfully adopted the torpedo as a weapon. In 1921 the Italian general and air theorist Giulio Douhet completed a hugely influential treatise on strategic bombing titled "The Command of the Air", which foresaw the dominance of air power over naval units.  In the 1920s, General Billy Mitchell of the United States Army Air Corps, believing that air forces had rendered navies around the world obsolete, testified in front of Congress that "1,000 bombardment airplanes can be built and operated for about the price of one battleship" and that a squadron of these bombers

Rearmament.

The Royal Navy, United States Navy, and Imperial Japanese Navy extensively upgraded and modernized their World War I–era battleships during the 1930s. Among the new features were an increased tower height and stability for the optical rangefinder equipment (for gunnery control), more armor (especially around turrets) to protect against plunging fire and aerial bombing, and additional anti-aircraft weapons. Some British ships received a large block superstructure nicknamed the "Queen Anne's castle", such as in and, which would be used in the new conning towers of the fast battleships. External bulges were added to improve both buoyancy to counteract weight increase and provide underwater protection against mines and torpedoes. The Japanese rebuilt all of their battleships, plus their battlecruisers, with distinctive "pagoda" structures, though the received a more modern bridge tower that would influence the new. Bulges were fitted, including steel tube arrays to improve both underwater and vertical protection along the waterline. The U.S. experimented with cage masts and later tripod masts, though after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor some of the most severely damaged ships (such as and ) were rebuilt with tower masts, for an appearance similar to their contemporaries. Radar, which was effective beyond visual range and effective in complete darkness or adverse weather, was introduced to supplement optical fire control.  Even when war threatened again in the late 1930s, battleship construction did not regain the level of importance it had held in the years before World War I. The "building holiday" imposed by the naval treaties meant the capacity of dockyards worldwide had shrunk, and

World War II.

The —an obsolete pre-dreadnought—fired the first shots of World War II with the bombardment of the Polish garrison at Westerplatte; and the final surrender of the Japanese Empire took place aboard a United States Navy battleship,. Between those two events, it had become clear that aircraft carriers were the new principal ships of the fleet and that battleships now performed a secondary role.  Battleships played a part in major engagements in Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean theaters; in the Atlantic, the Germans used their battleships as independent commerce raiders. However, clashes between battleships were of little strategic importance. The Battle

Cold War.

After World War II, several navies retained their existing battleships, but they were no longer strategically dominant military assets. Indeed, it soon became apparent that they were no longer worth the considerable cost of construction and maintenance and only one new battleship was commissioned after the war,. During the war it had been demonstrated that battleship-on-battleship engagements like Leyte Gulf or the sinking of were the exception and not the rule, and with the growing role of aircraft engagement ranges were becoming longer and longer, making heavy gun armament irrelevant. The armor of a battleship was equally irrelevant in the face of a nuclear attack as tactical missiles with a range of

End of the battleship era.

After "Indiana" was stricken in 1962, the four "Iowa-class" ships were the only battleships in commission or reserve anywhere in the world. There was an extended debate when the four "Iowa" ships were finally decommissioned in the early 1990s. and were maintained to a standard whereby they could be rapidly returned to service as fire support vessels, pending the development of a superior fire support vessel. These last two battleships were finally stricken from the U.S. Naval Vessel Register in 2006. The Military Balance and Russian states the U.S. Navy listed one battleship in the reserve (Naval Inactive Fleet/Reserve 2nd Turn) in 2010. The Military Balance states the U.S. Navy listed no battleships in the reserve in 2014.  When the last "Iowa"-class ship was finally stricken from the Naval Vessel Registry, no

Strategy and doctrine.

Doctrine.

Battleships were the embodiment of sea power. For Alfred Thayer Mahan and his followers, a strong navy was vital to the success of a nation, and control of the seas was vital for the projection of force on land and overseas. Mahan's theory, proposed in "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783" of 1890, dictated the role of the battleship was to sweep the enemy from the seas. While the work of escorting, blockading, and raiding might be done by cruisers or smaller vessels, the presence of the battleship was a potential threat to any convoy escorted by any vessels other than capital ships. This concept of "potential threat" can be further generalized to the mere existence (as opposed to presence) of a powerful fleet tying the opposing fleet down. This concept came to be known as a "fleet in being"—an

Tactics.

While the role of battleships in both World Wars reflected Mahanian doctrine, the details of battleship deployment were more complex. Unlike ships of the line, the battleships of the late 19th and early 20th centuries had significant vulnerability to torpedoes and mines—because efficient mines and torpedoes did not exist before that—which could be used by relatively small and inexpensive craft. The "Jeune École" doctrine of the 1870s and 1880s recommended placing torpedo boats alongside battleships; these would hide behind the larger ships until gun-smoke obscured visibility enough for them to dart out and fire their torpedoes. While this tactic was vitiated by the development of smokeless propellant, the threat from more capable torpedo craft (later including submarines) remained. By the 1890s, the Royal Navy had developed the

Strategic and diplomatic impact.

The presence of battleships had a great psychological and diplomatic impact. Similar to possessing nuclear weapons today, the ownership of battleships served to enhance a nation's force projection.  Even during the Cold War, the psychological impact of a battleship was significant. In

Value for money.

Battleships were the largest and most complex, and hence the most expensive warships of their time; as a result, the value of investment in battleships has always been contested. As the French politician Etienne Lamy wrote in 1879, "The construction of battleships is so costly, their effectiveness so uncertain and of such short duration, that the enterprise of creating an armored fleet seems to leave fruitless the perseverance of a people". The "Jeune École" school of thought of the 1870s and 1880s

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries the battleship was the most powerful type of warship, and a fleet centered around the battleship was part of the command of the sea doctrine for several decades. By the time of World War II, however, the battleship was made obsolete as other ships, primarily the smaller and faster destroyers, the secretive submarines, and the more versatile aircraft carriers came to be far more useful in naval warfare. While a few battleships were repurposed as fire support ships and as platforms for guided missiles, few countries maintained battleships after the 1950s, with the last battleships being decommissioned in the early 1990s.

Zpětný ventil zajišťuje průtok média jedním směrem, respektive nepřipustí průtok směrem opačným. Konstrukční variantou je zpětná klapka. Zpětný ventil sestává z kuličky dosedající na sedlo. Kulička je k sedlu přitlačovaná většinou pružinou. Tlak média v propustném směru způsobí odtlačení kuličky od sedla, vzniklým průřezem pak proudí médium.


Derivation.

The word "critic" comes, which is a Greek derivation of the word "(krités)", meaning a person who offers reasoned judgment or analysis, value judgment, interpretation or observation. Early English meaning of criticism was based mainly on the criticism of literature and it was in the 17th century that more general forms of criticism began.

Critics' views of criticism.

Cultural critic Clement Greenberg wrote that a good critic excels through "insights into the evidence... and by... loyalty to the relevant"; poet and critic T.S. Eliot wrote "a critic must have a very highly developed sense of fact".  In 1971, Harold C. Schonberg, chief music critic of "The New York Times" from 1960 to 1980, said that he wrote for himself, <nowiki>"</nowiki>not necessarily for readers, not for musicians....It's not a critic's job to be right or wrong; it's his job to express an opinion in readable English.<nowiki>"</nowiki> Schonberg was the first music critic to receive the Pulitzer Prize for criticism.  Daniel Mendelsohn described the equation of criticism for critics as knowledge + taste = meaningful judgement.  Restaurant critic Terry Durack explained that from a critic "you hope for a thorough, objective and legitimate discussion" that puts "opera, art or book into context, so that it adds to your own body of knowledge"; in the context of a restaurant criticism, this means it is "not about me liking it or not; it's about me helping you decide whether you are going to like it or not."

Social and political critics.

Social and political critics have used various forms of art to express their criticism, including literature and music. Pierre Beaumarchais, for example, prior to the French Revolution, used his play "The Marriage of Figaro" to denounce aristocratic privilege. A critic's influence is enhanced by subsequent reworkings such as the operatic versions of Beaumarchais's play ("The Barber of Seville") by Rossini and ("The Marriage of Figaro") by Mozart. Among the most famous social/political criticism in literary form are Jonathan Swift's satire "Gulliver's Travels" and George Orwell's satire "Animal Farm". Some political critics, such as Ai Weiwei use visual art as their medium. Throughout history, political critics have faced higher risks, including the risk of imprisonment or death.

Online critics.

Several websites have developed for the purpose of compiling or publishing original critical reviews. Examples include "BlogCritics Magazine", Rotten Tomatoes, and Yelp. According to A. O. Scott, chief film critic for "The New York Times", everyone on the Internet is a critic. Some critics like Roger Ebert achieve iconic status in pop culture and become well regarded.

Cinematography and television.

The American film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel collaborated and appeared on television sometimes agreeing on their review of cinematographic works; sometimes they would differ.  Film critics may use star classification to qualify the reviewed works.  Characters depicting critics have been part of some movies, and have been represented in comedies, such as a food critic in the animated fantasy-comedy "Ratatouille", and as an art critic in one of the initial parts of the anthology comedy film "The History of the World Part I".

Responses to critics.

People whose work is the subject of criticism have a full range of responses to it. For example, they may be appreciative, offended, distressed, encouraged, amused or nonplussed.

A critic is a professional who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theatre, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or government policy. Critical judgments, whether derived from critical thinking or not, weigh up a range of factors, including an assessment of the extent to which the item under review achieves its purpose and its creator's intention and a knowledge of its context. They may also include a positive or negative personal response.

Kritik (z řeckého κριτικός, "kritikós" – ten, kdo rozlišuje, nebo též ze starořeckého κριτής, "krités" – soudce) je osoba, která dává k dispozici posouzení, analýzu, interpretaci, nebo pozorování určité skutečnosti. Kritikem může být také nazýván ten, který nesouhlasí s objektem kritiky, či mu oponuje.


Specifications.

The M3 half-track was long, wide, high and weighed. The wheelbase was long. The suspension consists of a leaf spring for the two front wheels, while the rear treads had vertical volute springs. With a fuel capacity of 60 US gallons (230 l), the M3 could carry its crew (one driver) and a squad of 12 soldiers before refueling, while protecting them from small arms with light armor (6–12 mm of armor). The vehicle was powered by a White 160AX, 386 in (6,330 cc), 6-cylinder gasoline engine, giving the vehicle a power-to-weight ratio of 15.8 hp/ton.

Design.

The design, which used many commercial components to improve reliability and the rate of production, was standardized in 1940 and built by the Autocar Company, Diamond T Motor Company, and the White Motor Company. With a White 160AX engine, the M3 was driven through a manual constant-mesh (non-synchromesh) transmission with four forward and one reverse gear, as well as a two-speed transfer case. The front suspension uses leaf springs, while the tracks use vertical volute springs. Braking was hydraulic assisted while steering was manual. Onboard electronics run on a 12-volt system. The vehicle uses two tracks made of molded rubber over steel cabling with metal track guides.  Infantry rifles were held in brackets behind the seats while ammunition and rations were generally stored underneath. In 1942, the vehicles were fitted with a small rack for land mines on the outside of the hull, just above the tracks. In combat, many squads found it necessary to stow additional rations, rucksacks and other crew stowage on the outside of the vehicle. Luggage racks were often added in the field, and later vehicles were fitted with rear-mounted racks for this purpose.  Early vehicles had a pintle mount, just behind the front seats, that mounted a.50-caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun. The later M3A1 adopted a raised, armored pulpit mount for the.50-caliber and additional.30-caliber (7.62 mm) machine guns mounted along the sides of the passenger compartment. Many M3s were later converted to M3A1s. The body was fully armored, with an adjustable armored shutter for the engine radiator and a bulletproof windscreen.

Development.

The development of an armored half-track began with ordnance directive OCM 14188 to convert a M3 Scout Car into a half-track. The prototype was built at Rock Island Arsenal with help from White Motor Company and was designated the T7. It had the same chassis and engine as the M3, but had larger front wheels and a shorter front clip. The armor consisted of 1/4 inch of hardened armor plate and it was armed with two M1919 machine guns and one M2 Browning machine gun operated by a crew of eight. Tests at Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1938 demonstrated unsatisfactory performance due to the front-wheel drive. The T7 was converted back into a scout car and returned to the Army.  Throughout 1939 and 1940, the M2 half-track car was prototyped and developed by the Army at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. The M3 was developed as a larger version of the M2 equipped with two M1919 machine guns and an M2 Browning machine gun for combat usage. The M3 also added a rear door and five additional seats in the rear. The M3 was tested at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in the summer of 1941 and was accepted into service soon after.

Service history.

In US service, it was intended that the M3 would be issued to armored infantry regiments. It was also quickly put into action with the Provisional Tank Group when the Japanese Army began their invasion of the Philippines. At first, there were multiple complaints due to several mechanical difficulties. These were rectified by the Ordnance Department after receiving field reports from the Philippines. The M3s first use in its intended role was during Operation Torch. Each armored division had 433 M2s or M3s, 200 in the armored regiments and 233 in the armored infantry regiment.  The half-tracks were initially unpopular and dubbed "Purple Heart boxes" (a grim reference to the US Army decoration for combat wounds) by American troops. The chief complaints centered on the complete lack of overhead protection from Air burst artillery shells and that the armor was inadequate against machine gun fire. Omar Bradley quoted in his report about half-tracks that it was "a competent and dependable contrivance. Its bad name resulted from the inexperience of our troops who attempted to use it for too many things". Another major issue with the M3 was its fixed rear idler, which often broke on rough terrain. Commanders in North Africa bought parts to build spring-loaded rear idlers that could handle the rough terrain, which the Ordnance Department then approved as an official fix. In 1943, the M3 served in Sicily and Italy and received positive reports of it in action. It operated in Operation Overlord and served in Europe for the remainder of the war.  Total production of the M3 and its variants ran to nearly 54,000 vehicles. To supply the Allied nations, International Harvester produced several thousand of a very similar vehicle, the M5 half-track, for Lend-Lease.

Variants.

Anti-aircraft variants.

40 mm experiments.

Various attempts were made to mate the 40 mm Bofors L/50 gun to the M3 chassis. In most cases the weapon's recoil was too severe or the mounting too heavy, and the attempts were finally stopped with the adoption of the M19 MGMC on the M24 light tank chassis.

The M3 half-track was an American armored personnel carrier half-track widely used by the Allies during World War II and in the Cold War. Derived from the M2 half-track car, the M3 was extensively produced, with about 15,000 standard M3s and more than 38,000 variant units manufactured.

M3 Half-track, oficiálně známý jako Carrier, Personnel Half-track M3, byl americký polopásový obrněný transportér používaný během druhé světové války. Byl u amerických vojáků populární stejně jako Universal carrier u britských. Byl to však multifunkčnější transportér, protože uvezl 10 mužů a dosahoval rychlosti kolem 72 km/h s dojezdem kolem 320 km. Používal se také jako stíhač tanků nebo nosič minometu či dělostřelecký tahač. V rámci dohody o půjčce a pronájmu byl dodáván i do SSSR.


History.

Pre-1933 link.

The two canals served by the wheel were previously connected by a series of 11 locks. With a difference in height, it required of water per run and took most of a day to pass through the flight.  By the 1930s these had fallen into disuse, and the locks were dismantled in 1933. The Forth and Clyde Canal closed at the end of 1962, and by the mid-1970s the Union Canal was filled in at both ends, rendered impassable by culverts in two places and run in pipes under a housing estate. The British Waterways Board (BWB) came into existence on 1 January 1963, the day the Forth and Clyde Canal was closed, with the objective of finding a broad strategy for the future of canals in the United Kingdom.  In 1976, the BWB decided after a meeting with local councils that the Forth and Clyde Canal, fragmented by various developments, was to have its remaining navigability preserved by building new bridges with sufficient headroom for boats and continuing to maintain the existing locks. Restoration of sea-to-sea navigation was deemed too expensive at the time, but there were to be no further restrictions on its use. A 1979 survey report documented 69 obstructions to navigation, and sought the opinions of twenty interested parties to present the Forth and Clyde Local (Subject) Plan in 1980.

Proposal.

The Lotteries Act 1993 resulted in the creation of the Millennium Commission to disseminate funds raised by the sale of lottery tickets for selected "good causes." In 1996, when sufficient funds had been accumulated, the Commission invited applications to "do anything they thought desirable... to support worthwhile causes which would mark the year 2000 and the start of the new millennium." The conditions were that the Commission would fund no more than half of the project, with the remaining balance being covered by project backers.  The BWB had made an earlier plan for the reopening of the canal link, which comprehensively covered the necessary work. In 1994, the BWB announced its plan to bid for funding, which was submitted in 1995 on behalf of the Millennium Link Partnership. The plans called for the canals to be opened to their original operating dimensions, with of headroom above the water. The whole project had a budget of £78 million.  On 14 February 1997, the Commission announced it would support the Link with £32 million of funding, 42% of the project cost. The Wheel and its associated basin was priced at £17 million, more than a fifth of the total budget. Another £46 million had to be raised in the next two years before construction could commence, with contributions from BWB, seven local councils, Scottish Enterprise, and private donations being augmented by £8.6 million from the European Regional Development Fund.

Design.

The Morrison-Bachy Soletanche Joint Venture Team submitted their original design, which resembled a Ferris wheel with four gondolas, in 1999. It was agreed by all parties that the design was functional, but not the showpiece the BWB were looking for. After being asked to reconsider, a 20-strong team of architects and engineers was assembled by British Waterways. Under the leadership of Tony Kettle from architects RMJM, the initial concepts and images were created with the mechanical concepts proposed by the design team from Butterley and M G Bennetts. This was an intense period of work with the final design concept completed in a three-week period during the summer of 1999. The final design was a cooperative effort between the British Waterways Board, engineering consultants Arup, Butterley Engineering and RMJM.  Diagrams of gear systems that had been proposed in the very first concepts were modelled by Kettle using his 8-year-old daughter's Lego. Drawings and artist impressions were shown to clients and funders. The visitor centre was designed by another RMJM architect, Paul Stallan.  Inspirations for the design include a double-headed Celtic axe, the propellor of a ship and the ribcage of a whale. Kettle described the Wheel as "a beautiful, organic flowing thing, like the spine of a fish," and the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland described it as "a form of contemporary sculpture."  Models and renderings of the Falkirk Wheel were displayed in a 2012 exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Since 2007, the Falkirk Wheel has been featured on the obverse of the new series of £50 notes issued by the Bank of Scotland. The series of notes commemorates Scottish engineering achievements with illustrations of bridges in Scotland such as the Glenfinnan Viaduct and the Forth Bridge.

Construction.

In March 1999 Donald Dewar, the Secretary of State for Scotland, cut the first sod of turf to begin work at lock 31 on the Forth and Clyde Canal. Over 1000 people were employed in the construction of the wheel, which has been designed to last for at least 120 years.  The wheel was fully constructed and assembled at the Butterley Engineering plant in Ripley, Derbyshire. The structure was then dismantled in the summer of 2001, and transported on 35 lorry loads to Falkirk, before being reassembled into five sections on the ground and lifted into place. Construction of the canal required of excavation, a canal tunnel of diameter, aqueducts of and, three sets of locks and a number of bridges, as well as of access roads. The Rough Castle Tunnel was driven in three stages, with the two upper quarters being drilled with a standard excavator before the lower half was dug using a modified road planer in layers. This technique was 15% cheaper and reduced the build time of the tunnel by two weeks.

Technical considerations.

The ground on which the wheel is built was previously used as an open cast fire clay mine, a coal mine, and a tar works, resulting in contamination of the canal with tar and mercury. of loosely packed backfill from the mining operations containing large sandstone boulders was not considered adequately solid foundation for the size of the structure, so deep foundations with thirty concrete piles socketed onto the bedrock were used.  Due to the changing load as the wheel rotates in alternating directions, some sections experience total stress reversals. In order to avoid fatigue that could lead to cracks, sections were bolted rather than welded, using over 14,000 bolts and 45,000 bolt holes.  The aqueduct, engineered by ARUP, was originally described as "unbuildable", but was eventually realised using rebar. The original plans also showed the canal being built straight through the Antonine Wall, but this was changed after a petition in favour of two locks and a tunnel under the wall.

Opening ceremony.

On 24 May 2002, Queen Elizabeth II opened the Falkirk Wheel as part of her Golden Jubilee celebrations. The opening was delayed a month due to flooding caused by vandals who forced open the wheel's gates. The damage, which cost £350,000 to repair, resulted in the dry well being flooded, damaging electrical and hydraulic equipment.

Operation.

Structure.

The wheel has an overall diameter of and consists of two opposing arms extending beyond the central axle and taking the shape of a Celtic-inspired, double-headed axe. Two sets of these axe-shaped arms are connected to a diameter central axle of length. Two diametrically opposed water-filled caissons, each with a capacity of, are fitted between the ends of the arms.  The caissons or gondolas always carry a combined weight of of water and boats, with the gondolas themselves each weighing. Care is taken to maintain the water levels on each side, thus balancing the weight on each arm. According to Archimedes' principle, floating objects displace their own weight in water, so when the boat enters, the amount of water leaving the caisson weighs exactly the same as the boat. This is achieved by maintaining the water levels on each side to within a difference of using a site-wide computer control system comprising water level sensors, automated sluices and pumps. It takes to power ten hydraulic motors, which consume per half-turn, roughly the same as boiling eight kettles of water.  Each of the two caissons is wide, and can hold up to four canal boats.

Watertight doors.

Watertight doors at each end match doors located on the upper structure and lower dock pit. Due to space concerns, where a normal hinged door would dramatically reduce the useful length of the caisson, vertically rising hinged doors were chosen. The doors are raised from a recess in the base of the caisson and powered by a hydraulic lance when docked.  After the wheel arms are moved into the vertical position, the locking mechanisms are activated. These include securing pins that are protruded into the caisson bases, and hydraulic clamps that are raised to hold the caissons in place. Additionally, a set of larger securing pins at the lower structure is used to hold the wheel. Although the door of the upper caisson and the door that holds the water at the upper aqueduct are aligned, there is a gap between them. The upper aqueduct door has a U-shape watertight frame which can be extended to push against the caisson door to seal the gap. The water is pumped into the gap to fill to the water level. Once the water in the gap is equalized, the door on the aqueduct side is lowered, followed by the door on the caisson side, allowing the boat to pass. On the reverse direction, when the boat is in the caisson, the caisson door is raised, followed by the upper aqueduct door. The water is pumped out of the gap. Then the U-shape watertight seal is recessed back closer to the upper aqueduct door. Finally, the locking mechanisms are removed before the wheel is turned. This process is similar for the door at the lower canal basin as well.

Engine room.

The area housing the machinery to drive the wheel is located in the final pillar of the aqueduct, and contains seven chambers connected by ladders. Access is by a door located at ground level or an entrance halfway up the tower with a gantry crane to facilitate the installation of equipment.  The ground floor houses the transformers for powering the wheel. When the wheel was flooded by vandals in April 2002, this room was filled to within of the 11 kV busbars. On the first floor is a standby generator and switchgear should the mains supply to the wheel fail. The second floor houses a pair of hydraulic pumps that drive the hydraulic motors in the chamber above. Power is supplied directly to the axle with 10 hydraulic motors, which also double as brakes. Connected to each motor is a 100:1 gear system to reduce the rotation speed.

Mechanism.

The caissons are required to turn with the wheel in order to remain level. Whilst the weight of the caissons on the bearings is generally sufficient to rotate them, a gearing mechanism using three large identically sized gears connected by two smaller ones ensures that they turn at precisely the correct speed and remain correctly balanced.  Each end of each caisson is supported on small wheels, which run on rails on the inside face of the diameter holes at the ends of the arms. The rotation is controlled by a train of gears: an alternating pattern of three diameter ring gears and two smaller idler gears, all with external teeth, as shown in the picture. The large central gear is fitted loosely over the axle at its machine-room end and fixed in place prevent it from rotating. The two smaller gears are fixed to each of the arms of the wheel at its machine-room end. When the motors rotate the central axle, the arms swing and the small gears engage the central gear, which results in the smaller gears rotating at a higher speed than the wheel but in the same direction. The smaller gears engage the large ring gears at the end of the caissons, driving them at the same speed as the wheel but in the opposite direction. This cancels the rotation due to the arms and keeps the caissons stable and perfectly level.

Docking-pit.

The docking-pit is a drydock-like port isolated from the lower canal basin by means of watertight gates and kept dry by means of water pumps. When the wheel stops with its arms in the vertical position it is possible for boats to enter and exit the lower caisson when the gates are open without flooding the docking-pit. The space below the caisson is empty.  Without the docking-pit, the caissons and extremities of the arms of the wheel would be immersed in water at the lower canal basin each time the wheel rotated. The buoyancy of the lower caisson would make it more difficult to turn the wheel.

Visitor centre.

A visitor centre is located on the east side of the lower basin. Boat trips on the wheel depart approximately once an hour. Since the wheel opened, around 4.4 million people have visited and 1.3 million have taken a boat trip, with around 400,000 people visiting the wheel annually.

The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The lift is named after Falkirk, the town in which it is located. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project.

Falkirk Wheel (česky někdy též Falkirkské kolo) je originální rotační lodní výtah, nacházející se nedaleko města Falkirk ve Skotsku. Propojuje průplavy Forth and Clyde Canal a Union Canal a překonává výškový rozdíl 24 m. Umožňuje vnitrozemské vodní spojení mezi městy Edinburgh a Glasgow.


Etymology and early history.

"Alan" is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is believed by scholars to have been brought to England by people from Brittany, in the 11th century; later the name spread north into Scotland and west into Ireland. In Ireland and Scotland there are Gaelic forms of the name which may, or may not, be etymologically related to the name introduced by the Bretons.  In Breton, "alan" is a colloquial term for a fox and may originally have meant "deer", making it cognate with Old Welsh "alan" (cf. "Canu Aneirin", B2.28, line 1125: ""gnaut i-lluru alan buan bithei"", "it was usual for him to be fleet like a deer"), Modern Welsh "elain" (plural "alanedd") "young deer" (and the plant name "alan" "coltsfoot, elecampane"), coming from a Brittonic root "*alan-" or "*elan" (also attested in Celtiberian in personal names such as "Elanus", "Elaesus", and "Ela"), ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European "*(H)el-Hn-" "deer, hind" (perhaps denoting an animal - generally cervids - with red or brown fur).  Another explanation of the name is that the modern English "Alan", and French "Alain", are derived from the name of the Alans. The Alans were an Iranian people who lived north of the Caucasus Mountains in what is today Russia, and who were known to Classical writers in the 1st century BC. According to historian Bernard Bachrach, the Alans settled in parts of what is today France, including Brittany, in the Early Middle Ages. Bachrach stated that the use of forms of the name in given names, surnames, and place names, are evidence of the continued influence of the Alans on the Gaulish, Breton and Frankish peoples.  The Breton name "Alan" can not be a direct loan from the ethnic name of the Alans (rendered as "Alānī" or "Halānī" in Latin, from Scytho-Sarmatian "*Al[l]ān-", derived from Old Iranian "*aryāna", "noble people") because the long vowel in the second syllable would produce Old Breton "-o-", Middle Breton "-eu-" and Modern Breton "-e-" and not the attested spelling with an "-a-".  In Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland, Alan may also be an Anglicization of an Irish word (with diminutive suffix) meaning "rock". For example, the modern Irish "ailín" means "little rock". Similarly, according to Patrick Woulfe, the Irish name "Ailín" is derived from diminutive "ail", which means "noble", "rock". Woulfe stated that this name is a pet form of some other name beginning with the first element "Ail-". Forms of the Gaelic name appear in early records British records; the Latin form "Ailenus" was recorded by Adomnán (died 704). Another similar-looking word in Irish is "álainn" and Scottish Gaelic "àlainn", which means "beautiful".

Variations of the name.

There are numerous variations of the name in English. The variants "Allan" and "Allen" are generally considered to be derived from the surnames "Allan" and "Allen". The form Allan is used mainly in Scotland and North America. In England, the given names "Allan" and "Allen" are considerably less popular than "Alan". However, in America all three are generally about the same in popularity.  "Alun" is an old masculine given name in the Welsh language; although it is not directly related to "Alan" (it is derived from Proto-Celtic "*alouno-" meaning either "nourishing" or "wandering"), today it is generally used as a variant form of the English name. An earlier bearer of this name is Alun of Dyfed, a character in the "Mabinogion". The name became popular in modern times when it was adopted as a bardic name by John Blackwell, a 19th-century Welsh poet.

Short forms.

The short form of "Alan" is "Al".  This name is a short form of numerous other etymologically unrelated names that begin with this syllable. Note also the Cornish hypocoristic form "Talan".

Feminine forms.

There are numerous feminine forms of "Alan". The form "Alana" is a Latinate feminisation of the name. Variant of "Alana" include: "Alanah", "Alanna", "Alannah", and "Allana". Another feminine form is "Alaina", derived from the French "Alain"; a variant of this feminine name is "Alayna". A variant form of Alaina is "Alaine", although it can also be a variant form of the etymologically unrelated "Elaine".

Popularity and use.

The name was brought to England by Bretons who took part in the Norman Invasion in the mid-11th century. Forms of the name were in use much earlier in what is today Brittany, France. An early figure who bore the name was St Alan, a 5th-century bishop of Quimper. This saint became a cult figure in the Brittany during the Middle Ages. Another early bearer of the name was St Alan, a 6th-century Cornish saint, who has a church dedicated to his memory in Cornwall (for example see St Allen, a civil parish in Cornwall named after this saint).  Today the use of the given name (and its variants) is due to its popularity among the Bretons who imported the name to England, to Cornwall, and later to Ireland. The Bretons formed a significant part of William, Duke of Normandy's army at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Later many Bretons were granted lands throughout William's freshly conquered kingdom. The most notable Breton Alan, Earl of Richmond, a cadet of the ducal house of Brittany, who was awarded with a large swath of lands in England - specifically lands in what is today Lincolnshire and East Anglia. The Breton character in many English counties can be traced through Breton personal names still in use in the 12th centuries. The name ranked 8th in popularity in Lincolnshire in the 12th century, where it was about even with "Simon" and more numerous than "Henry". Early occurrences of the name in British records include: "Alanus" in 1066 (in the "Domesday Book"); and "Alain" in 1183. The name became popular in Scotland in part through the Stewarts. This family descends from Alan fitz Flaad, an Anglo-Breton knight, who possessed lands in what is modern day Shropshire, England.

Alan is a masculine given name in the English language. There are numerous differing etymologies attributed to the name. The name was first introduced into England by Bretons who took part in the Norman Invasion in the 11th century. Today there are numerous variations of "Alan", a short form, and there are also numerous feminine forms of the name as well. "Alan" has many forms in other languages. "Alan" is also an Old Breton personal name (from which the modern English "Alan" is ultimately derived), as well as being a Norman French name.

Alan je mužské jméno keltského původu a vykládá se jako "svornost, soulad". Jméno Alena je podle některých výkladů jeho ženskou odvozeninou. Podle českého občanského kalendáře má jmeniny 14. srpna.


Executive branch.

The monarch is hereditary. Following legislative elections, the head of government is appointed by the prince and proposed and voted on by the parliament. Thus the government is usually composed of the members of the majority party. It is, however, also customary that the leader of the largest minority party in the Diet is appointed the deputy head of government by the monarch. According to the constitution of Liechtenstein, the government is a collegiate body and consists of the head of government and four governmental councilors.  Amendment to the constitution or new law have to be adopted by Parliament, signed by both the Prince and the head of government, and published in the Principality's Law Gazette.  Prince Hans Adam II is the current head of state. His constitutional powers include the power to veto any legislation, to be used at his discretion, as well as the dissolution of the parliament (this may be subject to a referendum). He represents the state vis-à-vis foreign states. He signs international treaties either in person or delegates this function to a plenipotentiary. Some treaties under international law only become valid when they have been ratified by Parliament. On the basis of the names put forward by Parliament, the Prince nominates the government, district and high court judges, the judges of the Supreme Court, and the presidents and their deputies of the Constitutional Court and of the Administrative Court of Appeal. The Prince's other authorities include exercising the right to mitigate and commute punishments that have been imposed with legal force and the abolition — i.e., the dismissal — of investigations that have been initiated. All judgments are issued in the name of the Prince. The Government of Liechtenstein is based on the principle of collegiality; namely, of colleagues collaborating with each other. The government consists of the head of government and four Councilors. The members of the government are proposed by the Parliament and are appointed by the Prince. Only men or women born in Liechtenstein, and who are eligible to be elected to Parliament, may be elected to the government committee. The two electoral areas of the country, the highlands and the lowlands, are entitled to at least two members of the government, and their respective deputies must come from the same area.

Legislative branch.

The Prince's involvement in legislation consists in a right to take initiatives in the form of government bills and in the right to veto parliamentary proposals. The Prince has the power to enact princely decrees. Emergency princely decrees are possible when the security and welfare of the country is at stake. A countersignature by the head of government is, nevertheless, required. The Prince has the right to convene and adjourn parliament and, for serious reasons, to adjourn it for 3 months or to dissolve it.  The Landtag of Liechtenstein has 25 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation in two multi-seat constituencies. Until 1989, 15 members represented the population of the two constituencies (six for the lowland area and nine for the highland area). Since 1989 the lowland constituency has been entitled to have 10 members and the highland area 15. The Landtag's main task is to discuss and adopt resolutions on constitutional proposals and draft government bills. It has the additional duties of giving its assent to important international treaties; of electing members of the government, judges, and board members of the Principality's institutions; setting the annual budget and approving taxes and other public charges; and supervising the administration of the state. The Landtag observes its rights and duties in the course of sessions of the whole Landtag and through the parliamentary commissions that it elects. All members of the Landtag exercise their mandates in addition to their normal professions or occupations. The President of the Landtag and his deputy are both elected at the opening meeting for the current year. The president convenes the individual meetings during the session, leads them, and represent the Landtag externally. During the parliamentary recess — normally from January to February/March — a "state committee" assumes Parliament's duties, and such a committee must also be elected in the case of any adjournment or dissolution of Parliament. A "state committee" consists of the president of Parliament and four other members. The duties and working procedures of Parliament are laid down in the constitution and in Parliament's standing orders.  Moreover, the people of Liechtenstein have very strong direct democratic rights. At least 1000 citizens can initiate a referendum on any law. Referendums can suspend parliament or change the constitution, but at least 1500 citizens must vote affirmative, so referendums to suspend parliament or change the constitution fail if they have low turnout even if the required percentage of total voters is met.

Political parties and elections.

The political parties are in practice politically decisive and are the moving forces with regard to the composition of the government. In the 2001-05 legislature period of office, one Councillor and three deputies were women.  From 1938 to 1997 Liechtenstein had a coalition government. Until recently there were only two parties in Parliament: the Patriotic Union and the Progressive Citizens' Party. Liechtenstein's distinctive form of coalition government came to an end in April 1997, when the Patriotic Union won an absolute majority of seats. It took sole responsibility for the government during the 1997 to 2001 Parliament, with its members filling all the positions on the government committee. Between 2001 and 2009, the Progressive Citizen's Party formed the government, winning an absolute majority in the 2001 elections and the most seats in the 2005 elections. The Patriotic Union once again won an absolute majority of seats in the February 2009 elections. Minority parties, as opposition parties, act as a check on the government in Parliament and on parliamentary commissions.

Judicial branch.

The Judiciary of Liechtenstein is made up of the Supreme Court (), the Princely Superior Court (), and the Princely Court ().

Administrative divisions.

Liechtenstein is divided in eleven communes (""); Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Planken, Ruggell, Schaan, Schellenberg, Triesen, Triesenberg, and Vaduz.

International organization participation.

Council of Europe, EBRD, U.N. Economic Commission for Europe, European Free Trade Association, International Atomic Energy Agency, International Criminal Court, ICRM, IFRCS, Intelsat, Interpol, International Olympic Committee, ITU, OPCW, Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe, PCA, United Nations, UNCTAD, Universal Postal Union, WCL, World Intellectual Property Organization, World Trade Organization

Liechtenstein is a principality governed under a constitutional monarchy. It has a form of mixed constitution in which political power is shared by the monarch and a democratically elected parliament. There is a two-party system (though there are two minor parties as well) and a form of representative democracy in which the prime minister and head of government is responsible to parliament. However the Prince of Liechtenstein is head of state and exercises considerable political powers.

Lichtenštejnské knížectví je podle ústavy z roku 1921 konstituční dědičnou monarchií na demokratických a parlamentních základech. Státní moc je rozdělena mezi knížete a lid.


History.

The party was formed on 5 July 1902 as the Social Democratic Party. Left-wing elements split in 1905 to create the Social Democratic Workers' Party. These were both re-united in 1912. In 1916, the party was renamed to 'Socialist Party', part of the Second International.  On 2 January 1921, communist elements split to create the Communist Party of Luxembourg. The Socialist Party was renamed the "Luxembourg Workers' Party" in 1924, and was a member of the Labour and Socialist International between 1923 and 1940. On 5 November 1937, the Party joined the government for the first time, in a coalition under Prime Minister Pierre Dupong.

Post-war.

The party was reformed after the Second World War as the 'Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party', in the mould of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom, where the government had been exiled. In the first election after the war, in 1945, the LSAP was the big loser, falling to 26% of the vote, but remained in the National Union Government, along with all other parties. In 1947, the party started its process of re-building itself, and it managed to join a coalition government (1951-1959 in the Dupong-Bodson and Bech Bodson governments, and 1964–1968 in the Werner-Cravatte government). The discussions over the party's direction split the LSAP again. On 2 May 1970, Henry Cravatte was ejected as President by a trades union-led coup. In March 1971, centrist elements, led by Cravatte, split to create the Social Democratic Party. Those who left included 6 Deputies and most of the party leadership.  However, the LSAP could recover by 1974 and joined the DP in a centre-left coalition (the Thorn-Vouel-Berg government), which enacted important social reforms: judicial system reforms (including a humanisation of the penal system), introduction of a fifth week of holiday, general introduction of the 40-hour week, the salary index, reform of unemployment benefits. This did not prevent an electoral defeat in 1979. In this legislative period, the LSAP held their famous energy conference, and decided a moratorium for the atomic power station of Remerschen. This was the definitive end of project.  In 1984, the LSAP were re-united with most of the Social Democratic Party (some members joined the Christian Social People's Party).

Recent history.

Following the 2004 general election, the LSAP served in the government of Luxembourg as junior partner to the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) under Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker in the first Juncker–Asselborn government, with the LSAP's Jean Asselborn serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs. The coalition with the CSV continued as the second Juncker–Asselborn government following the 2009 general election, which lasted until July 2013 when the LSAP withdrew its support from the government, necessitating early elections.  Following the 2013 general election, the LSAP has been in a three-party Bettel–Schneider government with the Democratic Party and The Greens, with the Democratic Party's Xavier Bettel serving as Prime Minister and Etienne Schneider of the LSAP as Deputy Prime Minister.

Election results.

Below are charts of the results that the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party has secured in the Chamber of Deputies at each election. Timelines showing the number of seats and percentage of votes won are on the right.

Presidents.

The formal leader of the party is the President. However, often, a government minister will be the most important member of the party, as Jean Asselborn is now. Below is a list of Presidents of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party since 1945.

The Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (,, ), abbreviated to LSAP or POSL, is a social-democratic, pro-European political party in Luxembourg.

Lëtzebuerger Sozialistesch Arbechterpartei (zkratka LSAP, "Lucemburská socialistická dělnická strana" nebo "Socialisticko-dělnická strana") je sociálně demokratická strana Lucemburska. Je to tradičně druhá největší lucemburská strana, v současné době se podílí spolu s CSV na koaliční vládě a je 14 hlasy zastoupena v šedesátičlenném lucemburském parlamentě. Předsedou strany LSAP je od 30. března 2014 Claude Haagen, který vystřídal na pozici stávajícího lídra Alexe Bodryho.


Reception.

Hypnotize received generally positive reviews. "Hypnotize" opened at #1 on the "Billboard" 200 with 320,000 copies the first week. The album debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 47,000 copies in its first week. The album was certified gold and platinum by the RIAA on December 13, 2005. Since its release, Hypnotize has sold 8 million copies worldwide.  "Entertainment Weekly" (No. 851, p. 100) - "[T]hey're flaunting a heretofore underexplored sensitive side, offsetting their trademark stampeding riffology with flashes of delicate lyricism." - Grade: B+  "Rolling Stone" (No. 988, p. 117) - 3.5 out of 5 stars - "Hell immediately runneth over on Malakian's scoured-staccato guitars and Dolmayan's furious hammering."  "Spin" (p. 62) - Ranked #20 in "Spin"s "40 Best Albums of 2005".  "Uncut" (p. 109) - 3 stars out of 5 - "System succeed through their skill at wielding complex, progressive heaviness in a pop context."

Track listing.

All lyrics written by Daron Malakian and Serj Tankian, except where noted. All music written by Malakian, except where noted. The album was initially going to start with a Middle Eastern style instrumental track entitled "Hezze", which Malakian stated was one of his favorite songs on the record prior to its release. It was dropped at the last minute because the group wanted to open the album with a heavy song, and because the band felt it was incongruous with the other songs on the album. However, during live performances of "Mr. Jack", Malakian would yell "Yalla hezze" (English translation: "Come on, shake!") after the first chorus. A funk/jazzy guitar instrumental, is then played after.  The Charade, originally titled "Charades", a song written and eventually released by Tankian in 2010, was being considered to appear on "Mezmerize" or "Hypnotize", as footage of the band rehearsing it exists on YouTube. The reasons it wasn't featured on neither Mezmerize nor Hypnotize remain unknown.

Personnel.

Vocal duties:

Hypnotize is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released on November 22, 2005, six months after the release of its companion album "Mezmerize". "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" both debuted at number #1 on the "Billboard" 200 albums chart, making the band one of the few to achieve this with two albums in the same year.

Hypnotize je páté studiové album americké alternative metalové kapely System of a Down. Bylo vydáno 22. listopadu 2005. Je to pokračování alba Mezmerize, které vyšlo o 6 měsíců dříve. Album Mezmerize začíná minutovou písní Soldier Side-Intro a album Hypnotize končí téměř čtyřminutovou písní Soldier Side.


Critical reception.

Contemporary reviews for "Black Celebration" in the British press were mixed. "Melody Maker"s Steve Sutherland lambasted the album and wrote that Depeche Mode came off as "pussycats desperate to appear perverted as an escape from the superficiality of teen stardom", and "Sounds" published a similar scathing review. While criticizing chief songwriter Martin Gore's "adolescent fragments of despair", Sean O'Hagan of "NME" nonetheless praised "Black Celebration"s "perfectly constructed jigsaw melodies" and concluded, "When the songs address topics other than the composer's state of mind – as on the evocative exploration of loneliness that is 'World Full of Nothing' – Depeche Mode sound like a lot more than just a high tech, low-life melodrama". Betty Page of "Record Mirror" felt that the band should be admired for their "refusal to follow anything but their own fashion" and "unswerving ability to come up with great, fresh melodies".  "Black Celebration" has since been reappraised in retrospective reviews. In 2007, Rob Sheffield of "Rolling Stone" referred to the album as an "instant classic for the band's fans" that at the time of its release had seemingly been "utterly ignored by everybody else".  Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails cited "Black Celebration", and its subsequent tour, as an influence and said it helped inspire him to write "Pretty Hate Machine".

Re-release.

In 2007, "Black Celebration" was re-released with a bonus DVD. It was released on 20 March 2007 in the United States, on 26 March in the United Kingdom and on 2 April in the rest of Europe, as a part of the third wave of re-issues (along with "Construction Time Again"). The first CD was remastered and (except in the US) released on a CD/SACD hybrid. The bonus DVD includes the B-sides in addition to the singles and B-sides for "Shake the Disease" and "It's Called a Heart", two songs that were recorded shortly before the album and were released too early to be put on the album. There are also several live versions of some of the songs from "Black Celebration". The album is released the way it was originally intended and ends with "New Dress" (not "Black Day" or "But Not Tonight").  Like the other reissues, the DVD includes a documentary on the album. The title—"The Songs Aren't Good Enough, There Aren't Any Singles and It'll Never Get Played on the Radio"—is Gore paraphrasing Daniel Miller about his demos for "Black Celebration" in the film. The double-documentary discusses both "The Singles 81→85" and "Black Celebration", its more challenging commercial success (especially the song "Stripped") and all five related singles. It also includes a plethora of behind-the-scenes footage of the making of "Black Celebration" and the ensuing tour. Highlights include the band meeting The Cure, and behind the scenes footage of several of the music videos. The documentary is nearly an hour long.  The remastered album was released on vinyl on 2 April 2007 in Europe and on 11 September 2007 in the United States.

Personnel.

Credits adapted from the liner notes of "Black Celebration".

Black Celebration is the fifth studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released on 17 March 1986 by Mute Records. The album further cemented the darkening sound created by Alan Wilder, which the band later used for their subsequent albums "Music for the Masses", "Violator", and "Songs of Faith and Devotion", a sound that was initially hinted towards on their albums "Construction Time Again" and "Some Great Reward".

Black Celebration je páté studiové album skupiny Depeche Mode, vydané Mute Records 17. března 1986. Dále utvrzuje v zřetelném ztemnění jejich hudby, které již lehce představilo album "Construction Time Again". Mnozí usuzují, že je to neobvyklá kombinace elektronické populární hudby a gotického rocku.


Origins.

Postmodern architecture emerged in the 1960s as a reaction against the perceived shortcomings of modern architecture, particularly its rigid doctrines, its uniformity, its lack of ornament, and its habit of ignoring the history and culture of the cities where it appeared. In 1966, Venturi formalized the movement in his book, "Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture". Venturi summarized the kind of architecture he wanted to see replace modernism:  I speak of a complex and contradictory architecture based on the richness and ambiguity of modern experience, including that experience which is inherent in art... I welcome the problems and exploit the uncertainties... I like elements which are hybrid rather than "pure", compromising rather than "clean",...accommodating rather than excluding... I am for messy vitality over obvious unity... I prefer "both-and" to "either-or", black and white, and sometimes gray, to black or white... An architecture of complexity and contradiction must embody the difficult unity of inclusion rather than the easy unity of exclusion.  In place of the functional doctrines of modernism, Venturi proposed giving primary emphasis to the façade, incorporating historical elements, a subtle use of unusual materials and historical allusions, and the use of fragmentation and modulations to make

Notable postmodern buildings and architects.

Robert Venturi.

Robert Venturi (born 1925) was both a prominent theorist of postmodernism and an architect whose buildings illustrated his ideas. After studying at the American Academy in Rome, he worked in the offices of the modernists Eero Saarinen and Louis Kahn until 1958, and then became a professor of architecture at

Michael Graves.

Michael Graves (1934–2015) designed two of the most prominent buildings in the postmodern style, the Portland Building and the Denver Public Library. He later followed up his landmark buildings by designing large, low-cost retail stores for chains such as Target and J.C. Penney in the United States, which had a major influence

Charles Moore.

The most famous work of architect Charles Moore is the Piazza d'Italia in New Orleans (1978), a public square composed of an exuberant collection of pieces of famous Italian Renaissance architecture. Drawing upon the Spanish Revival architecture of the city hall, Moore designed the Beverly

Philip Johnson.

Philip Johnson (1906–2005) began his career as a pure modernist. In 1935, he co-authored the famous catalog of the Museum of Modern Art exposition on the International Style, and studied with Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer at Harvard. His Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut (1949), inspired by a similar house by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe became an icon of the modernist movement. He worked with Mies on another iconic modernist project, the Seagrams Building in New York City. However, in the 1950s, he began to include certain playful and mannerist forms into his buildings, such as the Synagogue of Port Chester (1954–1956), with a vaulted plaster ceiling and narrow colored windows, and the Art Gallery of the University of Nebraska (1963). However, his major buildings in the 1970, such

Frank Gehry.

Frank Gehry (born 1929) was a major figure in postmodernist architecture, and is one of the most prominent figures in contemporary architecture. After studying at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and then the Harvard Graduate School of Design, he opened his own office in Los Angeles in 1962. Beginning in the 1970s, he began using prefabricated industrial materials to construct unusual forms on private houses in Los Angeles, including, in 1978, his own house in Santa Monica. He broke their traditional design giving them an unfinished and unstable look. His Schnabel House in Los Angeles (1986–1989) was broken into individual structures, with a different

César Pelli.

César Pelli (October 12, 1926 – July 19, 2019) was an Argentine architect who designed some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. Two of his most notable projects are the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the World Financial Center in New York City. The American Institute of Architects named him one of the ten most influential living American architects in 1991 and awarded him the AIA Gold Medal in 1995. In 2008, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat presented him with The Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1977, Pelli was selected to be the dean of the Yale School of Architecture in New Haven, Connecticut, and served in that post until 1984. Shortly after Pelli arrived at Yale, he won the commission to design the expansion and renovation of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which resulted in the establishment of his own firm, Cesar Pelli & Associates. The museum's expansion/renovation and the Museum of Modern Art Residential Tower were completed 1984; the World Financial Center in New York, which includes the grand public space of the Winter Garden,

Postmodernism in Europe.

While postmodernism was best known as an American style, notable examples also appeared in Europe. In 1991 Robert Venturi completed the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery in London, which was modern but harmonized with the neoclassical architecture in and around Trafalgar Square. The German-born architect Helmut Jahn constructed the Messeturm skyscraper in Frankfurt, Germany, a skyscraper adorned with the pointed spire of a medieval tower.  One of the early postmodernist architects in Europe was James Stirling (1926–1992). He was a first critic of modernist architecture, blaming modernism for the destruction of British cities in the years after World War II. He designed colorful public housing projects in the postmodern style, as well as the Neue Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart, Germany (1977–1983) and the Kammertheater in Stuttgart (1977–1982), as well as the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University in

Postmodernism in Japan.

The Japanese architects Tadao Ando (born 1941) and Isozaki Arata (born 1931) introduced the ideas of the postmodern movement to Japan. Before opening his studio in Osaka in 1969, Ando traveled widely in North America, Africa and Europe, absorbing European and American styles, and had no formal architectural education, though he taught later at Yale University (1987), Columbia University (1988) and Harvard University (1990). Most of his buildings were constructed of raw concrete in cubic forms, but had wide openings which brought in light and views of the nature outside. Beginning in the 1990s, he began using wood as a building material, and introduced elements of

Concert halls – Sydney Opera House and the Berlin Philharmonic.

The Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon (1918–2008), is one of the most recognizable of all works of postwar architecture, and spans the transition from modernism to postmodernism. Construction began in 1957, but it was not completed until 1973 due to difficult engineering problems and growing costs. The giant shells of concrete soar over the platforms which form the roof of the hall itself. The architect resigned before the structure was completed, and the interior was designed largely after he left the project. The influence of the Sydney Opera House, can be seen in later concert halls with soaring roofs made of undulating stainless steel.

Characteristics.

Complexity and contradiction.

Postmodern architecture first emerged as a reaction against the doctrines of modern architecture, as expressed by modernist architects including Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. In place of the modernist doctrines of simplicity as expressed by Mies in his famous "less is more;" and functionality, "form follows function" and the doctrine of Le Corbusier that "a house is a machine to live in," postmodernism, in the words Robert Venturi, offered complexity and contradiction. Postmodern

Fragmentation.

Postmodern architecture often breaks large buildings into several different structures and forms, sometimes representing different functions of those parts of the

Asymmetric and oblique forms.

Asymmetric forms are one of the trademarks of postmodernism. In 1968, the French architect Claude Parent and philosopher Paul Virilio designed the church Saint-Bernadette-du-Banlay in Nevers, France, in the form of a massive block of concrete leaning to one side. Describing the form, they wrote: "a diagonal line

Colour.

Colour is an important element in many postmodern buildings; to give the façades variety and personality, coloured

Humour and "camp".

Humour is a particular feature of many postmodern buildings, particularly in the United States. An example is the Binoculars Building in the Venice neighbourhood of Los Angeles, designed by Frank Gehry in collaboration with the sculptor Claes Oldenberg (1991–2001). The gateway of the building is in the form of an enormous pair of binoculars; cars enter the garage passing under the binoculars. "Camp" humor was popular during the postmodern period; it was an ironic humour based on the premise that something could appear so bad (such

Theories of postmodern architecture.

The characteristics of postmodernism allow its aim to be expressed in diverse ways. These characteristics include the use of sculptural forms, ornaments, anthropomorphism and materials which perform "trompe l'oeil". These physical characteristics are combined with conceptual characteristics of meaning. These characteristics of meaning include pluralism, double coding, flying buttresses and high ceilings, irony and paradox, and contextualism.  The sculptural forms, not necessarily organic, were created with much ardor. These can be seen in Hans Hollein's Abteiberg Museum (1972–1982). The building is made up of several building units, all very different. Each building's forms are nothing like the conforming rigid ones of Modernism. These forms are sculptural and are somewhat playful. These forms are not reduced to an absolute minimum; they are built and shaped for their own sake. The building units all fit together in a very organic way, which enhances the effect of the forms.  After many years of neglect, ornament returned. Frank Gehry's Venice Beach house, built in 1986, is littered with small ornamental details that would have been considered excessive and needless in Modernism. The Venice Beach House has an assembly of circular logs which exist mostly for decoration. The logs on top do have a minor purpose of holding up the window covers. However, the mere fact that they could have been replaced with a practically invisible nail, makes their exaggerated existence largely ornamental. The ornament in Michael Graves' Portland Municipal Services Building ("Portland Building") (1980) is even more prominent. The two obtruding triangular forms are largely ornamental. They exist for aesthetic or their own purpose.  Postmodernism, with its sensitivity to the building's context, did not exclude the needs of humans from the building. Carlo Scarpa's Brion Cemetery (1970–1972) exemplifies this. The human requirements of a cemetery is that it possesses a solemn nature, yet it must not cause the visitor to become depressed. Scarpa's cemetery achieves the solemn mood with the dull gray colors of the walls and neatly defined forms, but the bright green grass prevents this from being too overwhelming.  Postmodern buildings sometimes utilize "trompe l'oeil", creating the illusion of space or depths where none actually exist, as has been done by painters since the Romans. The Portland Building (1980) has pillars represented on the side of the building that to some extent appear to be real, yet they are not.  The Hood Museum of Art (1981–1983) has a typical symmetrical façade which was at the time prevalent throughout Postmodern Buildings.  Robert Venturi's Vanna Venturi House (1962–1964) illustrates the Postmodernist aim of communicating a meaning and the characteristic of symbolism. The façade is, according to Venturi, a symbolic picture of a house, looking back to the 18th century. This is partly achieved through the use of symmetry and the arch over the

Relationship to previous styles.

A new trend became evident in the last quarter of the 20th century as some architects started to turn away from modern functionalism which they viewed as boring, and which some of the public considered unwelcoming and even unpleasant. These architects turned toward the past, quoting past aspects of various buildings and melding them together (even sometimes in an inharmonious manner) to create a new means of designing buildings. A vivid example of this new approach was that Postmodernism saw the comeback of columns and other elements of premodern designs, sometimes adapting classical Greek and Roman examples. In Modernism, the traditional column (as a design feature) was treated as a cylindrical pipe form, replaced by other technological means such as cantilevers, or masked completely by curtain wall façades. The revival of the column was an aesthetic, rather than a technological necessity. Modernist high-rise buildings had become in

Roots of Postmodernism.

The Postmodernist movement is often seen (especially in the USA) as an American movement, starting in America around the 1960s–1970s and then spreading to Europe and the rest of the world, to remain right through to the present. In 1966, however, the architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner spoke of a revived Expressionism as being "a new style, successor to my International Modern of the 1930s, a post-modern style", and included as examples Le Corbusier's work at Ronchamp and Chandigarh, Denys Lasdun at the Royal College of Physicians in London, Richard Sheppard at Churchill College, Cambridge, and James Stirling's and James Gowan's Leicester Engineering Building, as well as Philip Johnson's own guest house at New Canaan, Connecticut. Pevsner disapproved of these buildings for their self-expression and irrationalism, but he acknowledged them as "the legitimate style of the 1950s and 1960s" and defined their characteristics. The job

Changing pedagogies.

Critics of the reductionism of modernism often noted the abandonment of the teaching of architectural history as a causal factor. The fact that a number of the major players in the shift away from modernism were trained at Princeton University's School of Architecture, where recourse to history continued to be a part of design training in the 1940s and 1950s, was significant. The increasing rise of interest in history had a profound impact on architectural education. History courses became more typical and regularized. With the demand for professors knowledgeable in the history of architecture, program were developed including the Advanced Masters-Level Course in the History and Theory of Architecture offered by Dalibor Vesely and Joseph Rykwert at the University of Essex in England between 1968 and 1978. It was the first of its kind.  Other programs followed suit, including several PhD programs in schools of architecture that arose to differentiate themselves from art history PhD programs, where architectural historians had previously trained. In the US, MIT and Cornell were the first, created in the mid-1970s, followed by Columbia, Berkeley, and Princeton. Among the founders of new architectural history programs were Bruno Zevi at the Institute for the History of Architecture

Subsequent movements.

Following the postmodern riposte against modernism, various trends in architecture established, though not necessarily following principles of postmodernism. Concurrently, the recent movements of New Urbanism and New Classical Architecture promote a sustainable approach toward construction, that appreciates and develops smart growth, architectural tradition and classical design. This in contrast to modernist and

Postmodern architects.

Some of the best-known and influential architects in the Postmodern style are:

Postmodern architecture is a style or movement which emerged in the 1960s as a reaction against the austerity, formality, and lack of variety of modern architecture, particularly in the international style advocated by Philip Johnson and Henry-Russell Hitchcock. The movement was introduced by the architect and urban planner Denise Scott Brown and architectural theorist Robert Venturi in their book "Learning from Las Vegas". The style flourished from the 1980s through the 1990s, particularly in the work of Scott Brown & Venturi, Philip Johnson, Charles Moore and Michael Graves. In the late 1990s, it divided into a multitude of new tendencies, including high-tech architecture, neo-futurism and deconstructivism.

Postmoderní architektura je pojem označující architektonický styl následující po období modernismu, tj. období po druhé světové válce, kdy se ve světě a zejména v USA stavěly mohutné kancelářské budovy s uniformními prosklenými stěnami, které dostávaly pro svou snadnou montáž přednost před jiným typem architektury. Samotná estetika uniformního modernismu šla stranou – budovy byly jednotvárné, odosobněné, po celém světě si podobné. Proto se pro tuto architekturu vžil i pojem architekta Philipa Johnsona - "mezinárodní styl". Je celkem přirozené, že se proti tomuto trendu brzy začaly objevovat protichůdné tendence – je paradoxem, že jako jeden z prvních reagoval Philip Johnson, který se předtím zasloužil o moderní architekturu v Severní Americe.


Name.

Asnières-sur-Seine was originally known simply as Asnières. The name was recorded for the first time in a papal bull of 1158 – as "Asnerias", from Medieval Latin "asinaria", meaning "donkey farm". The poor soil of Asnières, where heather grew in medieval times, was probably deemed suitable only for the breeding of donkeys. By the early 20th century it had become a favourite boating centre for Parisians, and its industries included boat building.  On 15 February 1968 the commune was officially renamed Asnières-sur-Seine to distinguish it from other French communes also called Asnières.

Departmental representation.

The commune is divided between two cantons (departmental constituencies):

Economy.

Lesieur – a major producer of cooking and table oils and part of the Avril Group – has its headquarters in Asnières.

Education.

Public schools.

(fully financed by the commune, department, or region):

Private schools.

(partly financed by the commune, department, or region) include:

Communications.

Public transport.

Asnières-sur-Seine is served by three stations on Paris Métro Line 13: Gabriel Péri, Les Agnettes, and Les Courtilles, the last named being the terminus of the line.  Line 1 of the Île-de-France tramway also serves the metro station at Les Courtilles, connecting it to Noisy-le-Sec.  Trains on Lines J (Gisors) and L (Cergy) of the Transilien Paris-Saint-Lazare suburban rail network call at Asnières-sur-Seine station, while those on Line L (Cergy) also serve Bois-Colombes station which lies just outside the western limit of the commune.  A number of bus routes – lines 140, 165, 175, 177, and 276 – run through Asnières and connect it to its neighbouring communes.

Roads.

Car traffic in Asnières is difficult. Most of the traffic is on the banks of the Seine around the city. The crossing of the Asnières bridge is extremely crowded and slow during peak hours. The Grand rue Charles-de-Gaulle then the Avenue d'Argenteuil are also difficult to pass because serving Bois-Colombes and northern towns. Moreover, the city has very few parking spaces, and garages and private parking spaces are scarce and expensive.  Between 2010 and 2013, there was a development plan to change the streets of the city being one-way and become practicable in both directions for bicycles.

Sport.

In addition to the Courtilles ice rink, the town has ten gyms, six stadiums, a shooting range, two tennis clubs (Azur Tennis Club and the Tennis Club du Ménil), a skate park, a Parisian boules court and a swimming pool.  The Asnières Volley 92 participates in Ligue B (2nd national level) and plays at the Courtilles gymnasium. The city also has a handball club in agreement with neighboring cities. For the 2017-2018 season, the first team evolves in Pool 2 in National 2. Finally, the city counts, with the Molosses, an American football club, created in 1992, evolving in Casque d'Or (D2), 2-time vice-champion of France of D1 (1999, and 2014).  A full-contact club, known as ABC (Asnieres Boxing Club) is also managed by a coaching team composed with ex-France and European champions. Around 100 members take part in trainings three times a Week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). The judo and jujitsu club Arts Martiaux d'Asnières uses several of the town's gyms.

Asnières in art.

Georges Seurat.

"Bathers at Asnières" by Georges Seurat depicts a scene of 19th century leisure and developing industry in this suburb of Paris.  Between 1884 and 1886 Seurat painted "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte", using a new technique – which came to be known as pointillism – of forming an image from patterns of tiny coloured dots.

Vincent van Gogh.

Vincent van Gogh made a series of paintings of Asnières. Influenced by impressionism and pointillism, he modified his traditional style and used vivid colour, shorter brushstrokes, and perspective to engage the viewer. His views of the banks of the Seine represent an important progression towards his later landscape paintings. In Asnières, within walking distance of his brother Theo's flat in Montmartre, van Gogh painted parks, cafés, restaurants, and the river.

Notable residents.

The old château was the death place of Anne Marie Victoire de Bourbon (1675–1700), daughter of Henri Jules de Bourbon and thus grand daughter of "le Grand Condé", cousin to Louis XIV.  Asnières was the birthplace of  The Franco-Irish composer and pianist George Alexandre O'Kelly died here in 1914.  The Hutu Rwandan businessman and suspected war criminal Félicien Kabuga was arrested here on 16 May 2020 after 26 years as a fugitive for crimes against humanity committed during the Rwandan genocide. Specifically, he is accused of funding the genocide as well as buying thousands of machetes and importing them into Rwanda for use as weapons to kill Tutsis during the genocide.

Asnières-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the River Seine, some eight kilometres from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of the French capital.

Asnières-sur-Seine je město v severozápadní části metropolitní oblasti Paříže ve Francii v departmentu Hauts-de-Seine a regionu Île-de-France. Od centra Paříže je vzdálené 7,9 km. Žije zde obyvatel.


Ptolemy's definition.

In his text of the "Geographia" (2nd century CE), Ptolemy defined geography as the study of the entire world, but chorography as the study of its smaller parts—provinces, regions, cities, or ports. Its goal was "an impression of a part, as when one makes an image of just an ear or an eye"; and it dealt with "the qualities rather than the quantities of the things that it sets down". Ptolemy implied that it was a "graphic" technique, comprising the making of views (not simply maps), since he claimed that it required the skills of a draftsman or landscape artist, rather than the more technical skills of recording "proportional placements". Ptolemy's most recent English translators, however, render the term as "regional cartography".

Renaissance revival.

Ptolemy's text was rediscovered in the west at the beginning of the fifteenth century, and the term "chorography" was revived by humanist scholars. An early instance is a small-scale map of Britain in an early fifteenth-century manuscript, which is labelled a "tabula chorographica". John Dee in 1570 regarded the practice as "an underling, and a twig of "Geographie"", by which the "plat" [plan or drawing] of a particular place would be exhibited to the eye. The term also came to be used, however, for "written" descriptions of regions. These regions were extensively visited by the writer, who then combined local topographical description, summaries of the historical sources, and local knowledge and stories, into a text. The most influential example (at least in Britain) was probably William Camden's "Britannia" (first edition 1586), which described itself on its title page as a "Chorographica descriptio". William Harrison in 1587 similarly described his own "Description of Britaine" as an exercise in chorography, distinguishing it from the historical/chronological text of Holinshed's "Chronicles" (to which the "Description" formed an introductory section). Peter Heylin in 1652 defined chorography as "the exact description of some Kingdom, Countrey, or particular Province of the same", and gave as examples Pausanias's "Description of Greece" (2nd century AD); Camden's "Britannia" (1586); Lodovico Guicciardini's "Descrittione di tutti i Paesi Bassi" (1567) (on the Low Countries); and Leandro Alberti's "Descrizione d'Italia" (1550).  Camden's "Britannia" was predominantly concerned with the history and antiquities of Britain, and, probably as a result, the term chorography in English came to be particularly associated with antiquarian texts. William Lambarde, John Stow, John Hooker, Michael Drayton, Tristram Risdon, John Aubrey and many others used it in this way, arising from a gentlemanly topophilia and a sense of service to one's county or city, until it was eventually often applied to the genre of county history. A late example was William Grey's "Chorographia" (1649), a survey of the antiquities of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. Even before Camden's work appeared, Andrew Melville in 1574 had referred to chorography and chronology as the "twa lights" [two lights] of history. However, the term also continued to be used for maps and map-making, particularly of sub-national or county areas. William Camden praised the county mapmakers Christopher Saxton and John Norden as "most skilfull (sic) Chorographers"; and Robert Plot in 1677 and Christopher Packe in 1743 both referred to their county maps as chorographies.  By the beginning of the eighteenth century the term had largely fallen out of use in all these contexts, being superseded for most purposes by either "topography" or "cartography". Samuel Johnson in his "Dictionary" (1755) made a distinction between geography, chorography and topography, arguing that geography dealt with large areas, topography with small areas, but chorography with intermediary areas, being "less in its object than geography, and greater than topography". In practice, however, the term is only rarely found in English by this date.

Modern usages.

In more technical geographical literature, the term had been abandoned as city views and city maps became more and more sophisticated and demanded a set of skills that required not only skilled draftsmanship but also some knowledge of scientific surveying. However, its use was revived for a second time in the late nineteenth century by the geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen. He regarded chorography as a specialization within geography, comprising the description through field observation of the particular traits of a given area.  The term is also now widely used by historians and literary scholars to refer to the early modern genre of topographical and antiquarian literature.

Chorography (from χῶρος "khōros", "place" and γράφειν "graphein", "to write") is the art of describing or mapping a region or district, and by extension such a description or map. This term derives from the writings of the ancient geographer Pomponius Mela and Ptolemy, where it meant the geographical description of regions. However, its resonances of meaning have varied at different times. Richard Helgerson states that "chorography defines itself by opposition to chronicle. It is the genre devoted to place, and chronicle is the genre devoted to time". Darrell Rohl prefers a broad definition of "the representation of space or place".

Chorografie (možno přeložit jako popis místa) pochází z dílny Klaudia Ptolemaia (89 – 165) jako rozlišení geografie. Ptolemaios se domníval, že je zapotřebí rozdělovat geografii a chorografii. Podle něj je v chorografii rozumné a užitečné uvádět i nejdetailnější zvláštnosti zemí, naproti tomu v geografii jen hrubé rysy. Chorografie se zabývá převážně kvalitou nikoli kvantitou; usiluje o podobnost, nikoli proporcionalitu poloh; geografie se spíše zajímá o kvantitu. Domnívá se, že geografii jde vždy o soulad vzdáleností, avšak o podobnost, shodnost pouze tehdy, když zobrazuje velké regiony a obecné, celkové obrysy. Polohu a obrysy zachycuje jen s pomocí linií a smluvených značek.