Life and career.

Early years.

Gounod was born on 17 June 1818 in the Latin Quarter of Paris, the second son of François Louis Gounod (1758–1823) and his wife Victoire, "née" Lemachois (1780–1858). François was a painter and art teacher; Victoire was a talented pianist, who had given lessons in her early years. The elder son, Louis Urbain (1807–1850), became a successful architect. Shortly after Charles's birth François was appointed official artist to the Duc de Berry, a member of the royal family, and the Gounods' home in Charles's early years was at the Palace of Versailles, where they were allotted an apartment.  After François's death in 1823, Victoire supported the family by returning to her old occupation as a piano teacher. The young Gounod attended a succession of schools in Paris, ending with the Lycée Saint-Louis. He was a capable scholar, excelling in Latin and Greek. His mother, the daughter of a magistrate, hoped Gounod would pursue a secure career as a lawyer, but his interests were in the arts: he was

Prix de Rome.

In 1839, at his third attempt, Gounod won France's most prestigious musical prize, the Prix de Rome for composition, for his cantata "Fernand". In doing so he was surpassing his father: François had taken the second prize in the Prix de Rome for painting in 1783. The Prix brought the winner two years' subsidised study at the French Institute in Rome and a further year in Austria and Germany. For Gounod this not only launched his musical career, but made impressions on him both spiritually and musically that stayed with him for the rest of his life. In the view of the musicologist Timothy Flynn,

Rising reputation.

Gounod arrived home in Paris in May 1843. He took up a post, which his mother had helped to secure, as chapel master of the church of the Missions étrangères. For a winner of the Prix de Rome it was not a distinguished position. The organ of the church was poor, and the choir consisted of two basses, a tenor and a choirboy. To compound Gounod's difficulties, the regular congregation was hostile to his attempts to improve the music of the church. He expressed his views to a colleague:  Despite his generally affable and compliant nature Gounod remained adamant; he gradually won his parishioners over, and served for most of the five-year term he had agreed to. During this period Gounod's religious feelings became increasingly strong. He was reunited with a childhood friend, now a

Operatic successes and failures.

In January 1856 Gounod was appointed a knight of the Legion of Honour. In June of that year he and his wife had the first of their two children, a son Jean (1856–1935). (Their daughter Jeanne (1863–1945) was born seven years later.) In 1858 Gounod composed his next opera, "Le Médecin malgré lui". With a good libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, faithful to the Molière comedy on which it is based, it gained excellent reviews, but its good reception was overshadowed for Gounod by the death of his mother the day after the premiere. At the time an initial run of 100 performances was considered a success; "Le Médecin malgré lui" achieved that and was revived in Paris and elsewhere during the rest of the 19th century

London.

After the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Gounod moved with his family from their home in Saint-Cloud, outside Paris, first to the countryside near Dieppe and then to England. The house in Saint-Cloud was wrecked by the advancing Prussians in the build-up to the Siege of Paris. To earn a living in London, Gounod wrote music for a British publisher; in Victorian Britain there was a great demand for religious and quasi-religious drawing room ballads, and he was

Later years.

The musical scene in France had altered considerably during Gounod's absence. After the death of Berlioz in 1869, Gounod had been generally regarded as France's leading composer. He returned to a France in which, though still well respected, he was no longer in the vanguard of French music. A rising generation, including members of the new Société Nationale de Musique such as Bizet, Emmanuel Chabrier, Gabriel Fauré and Jules Massenet, was establishing itself. He was not embittered, and was well disposed to younger composers, even when he did not enjoy their works.

Music.

Gounod is best known for his operas – in particular "Faust". Celebrated during his lifetime, Gounod's religious music became unfashionable in the 20th century and little of it is regularly heard. His songs, an important influence on later French composers, are less neglected, although only a few are well known. Michael Kennedy writes that Gounod's music has "considerable melodic charm and felicity, with admirable orchestration". He adds that Gounod was "not really a master of the large and imposing forms, in this way perhaps being a French parallel to Sullivan". There is wide agreement among commentators that he was at his finest more often in the earlier decades of his career than later. Robert Orledge judges that in the 1850s and 1860s Gounod introduced to French opera a combination of "tender, lyrical charm, consummate craftsmanship, and genuine musical characterization", but his later works tend to "sentimentality and banality... in his quest for inspired simplicity".  Cooper writes that as Gounod grew older he began to suffer from "what might be described as the same "cher grand maître" complex as infected Hugo and Tennyson". Huebner observes that the fact that Gounod's reputation began to wane even during his lifetime does not detract from his place among the most respected and prolific composers in France during the second half of the 19th century.

Operas.

Gounod wrote twelve operas, in a variety of the genres then prevailing in France. "Sapho" (1851) was an early example of opéra lyrique, smaller-scale and more intimate than grand opera but through-composed, without the spoken dialogue of opéra comique. Berlioz wrote of it, "Most of the choruses I found imposing and simple in accent; the whole third act seemed to me very beautiful... But the quartet in the first act, the duet and trio in the second, where the passions of the principal characters break out with such force, absolutely revolted me". A more recent reviewer remarks on Gounod's "genuine talent for music-drama... exercised in the Quartet of Act 1 where each character has an independent part, making effective counterpoint in dramatic as well as musical terms". Gounod revised the work in 1858 and again, more radically, in 1884, but it was never a success. The one fairly well known number from the score, Sapho's "O ma lyre immortelle", is a reworking of a song he had composed in 1841.  "La Nonne sanglante" (1854), a work on a larger scale than "Sapho", suffers

Orchestral and chamber music.

The two symphonies, in D major and E-flat major, cannot be precisely dated. The first was completed at some time before 1855 and the second by 1856. Like many other composers of the mid-19th-century Gounod found Beethoven's shadow daunting when contemplating the composition of a symphony, and there was even a feeling among the French musical public that composers could write operas or symphonies but not both. The influence of Beethoven is apparent in Gounod's two symphonies, and the musical scholar Roger Nichols and the composer's biographer Gérard Condé also find a debt to Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony in the slow movement of

Religious music.

Gounod's output of liturgical and other religious music was prolific, including 23 masses, more than 40 other Latin liturgical settings, more than 50 religious songs and part-songs, and seven cantatas or oratorios. During his lifetime his religious music was regarded in many quarters more highly than his most popular operas. Saint-Saëns wrote, "When, in the far-distant future, the operas of Gounod shall have been received into the dusty sanctuary of the libraries, the Mass of St Cecilia, the "Redemption", and "Mors et Vita", will still endure". In the 20th

Songs.

Gounod's songs are by far the most numerous of his compositions: he wrote more than a hundred French secular songs and thirty more in English or Italian for the British market. The songs come from every stage of his career, but most of the best are generally considered to be from the earlier years. Maurice Ravel called Gounod "the true founder of the "mélodie" in France". The pianist and musical scholar Graham Johnson, quoting this, adds that although Berlioz might be thought to have a claim to that title, it was Gounod who brought the "mélodie" widespread popularity in France:  Johnson adds that Gounod brought to the "mélodie" "those qualities of elegance, ingenuity, "sensibilité", and a concern for literature which together constitute the classic qualities of French song" in mélodies that display the composer's "melodic genius, his talent for creating long flowing lines (only surpassed by Fauré), and his instinct for the

Legacy.

Although only a comparatively small amount of Gounod's music endures in the regular musical repertoire, his influence on later French composers was important. In Cooper's words, "he was more than an individual composer: he was the voice of a deep and permanent strain in the French character... [A] whole range of emotion, which had been voiceless before, had found in him its ideal expression, and his influence will perhaps never quite disappear for that reason". Cooper suggests that the two sides of Gounod's music nature influenced later French composers as different as Fauré and Massenet, the first drawing on and refining Gounod's classical purity and refinement, and the latter drawing on his romantic and voluptuous side (so much so that he was dubbed ""la fille de Gounod""). Ravel's comment on Gounod's importance to "mélodie" is quoted above, and Debussy wrote, "Gounod, for all his weaknesses, is essential... the art of Gounod represents a moment in French sensibility. Whether one wants to or not, that kind of thing is not forgotten".

Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been "Faust" (1859); his "Roméo et Juliette" (1867) also remains in the international repertory. He composed a large amount of church music, many songs, and popular short pieces including his Ave Maria (an elaboration of a Bach piece), and "Funeral March of a Marionette".

Charles-François Gounod (17. června 1818, Paříž, Francie − 18. října 1893, Saint-Cloud) byl francouzský skladatel, který se proslavil zejména operami "Faust" (1859) a "Romeo a Julie" ("Roméo et Juliette"; 1867).


History.

Saint-Germain-en-Laye was founded in 1020 when King Robert the Pious (ruled 996–1031) founded a convent on the site of the present Church of Saint-Germain.  In 1688, James II, King of England and VII of Scotland, exiled himself to the city after being deposed from the throne in what has become known as the Glorious Revolution. He spent the remainder of his days there, and died on 16 September 1701.  Prior to the French Revolution in 1789, it had been a royal town and the Château de Saint-Germain the residence of numerous French monarchs. The old château was constructed in 1348 by King Charles V on the foundations of an old castle ("château-fort") dating from 1238 in the time of Saint Louis. Francis I was responsible for its subsequent restoration. In 1862, Napoleon III set up the "Musée des Antiquités Nationales" in the erstwhile royal château. This museum has exhibits ranging from Paleolithic to Celtic times. The "Dame de Brassempouy" sculpted on a mammoth's ivory tusk around 23,000 years ago is the most famous exhibit in the museum.  Kings Henry IV and Louis XIII left their mark on the town. Louis XIV was born in the château (the city's coat of arms consequently shows a cradle and the date of his birth), and established Saint-Germain-en-Laye as his principal residence from 1661 to 1681. Louis XIV turned over the château to James VII & II of Scotland and England after his exile from Britain after the Glorious Revolution in 1688. James lived in the Château for 13 years, and his daughter Louisa Maria Stuart was born in exile here in 1692. James II is buried in the Church of Saint-Germain.  Saint-Germain-en-Laye is famous for its long stone terrace built by André Le Nôtre from 1669 to 1673. The terrace provides a view over the valley of the Seine and, in the distance, Paris. During the French Revolution, the name was changed along with many other places whose names held connotations of religion or royalty. Temporarily, Saint-Germain-en-Laye became Montagne-du-Bon-Air. During his reign, Napoleon I established his cavalry officers training school in the Château-Vieux.  The Treaty of Saint-Germain was signed in 1919 and was applied on 16 July 1920. The treaty officially registered the breakup of the Habsburg empire, which recognized the independence of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia).  During the occupation from 1940 to 1944, the town was the headquarters of the German Army.  On 1 January 2019, the former commune Fourqueux was merged into Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

Transport.

Saint Germain en Laye is connected to other communes by the Résalys bus network operated by Transdev CSO. Saint-Germain-en-Laye is served by Saint-Germain-en-Laye station on Paris RER line A.  It is also served by two stations on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line: Saint-Germain – Bel-Air – Fourqueux and Saint-Germain – Grande Ceinture.  Saint-Germain-en-Laye is also served by Achères – Grand Cormier station on Paris RER line A and on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line. This station is located in the middle of the Forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, far away from the urbanized part of the commune.

Sport.

Football.

Saint-Germain-en-Laye has a proud footballing history. From 1904 to 1970 it was represented by Stade Saint-Germain which, following a 1970 merger with Paris FC, became Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). They are a top-flight football team who have won several French football cups and one C2 cup. PSG are the highest ranking team in France.

Sporting facilities.

There is one main sporting facility in Saint-Germain-en-Laye: the Stade Municipal Georges Lefèvre. It covers over 12 hectares and contains: – 5 football pitches – 3 stands – 1 athletic track – 22 tennis courts – 1 clubhouse – 1 multibeach terrain

Economy.

Capcom Entertainment France, a Capcom subsidiary, has its head office in Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

Education.

the schools in this commune had 20,581 students, with 7,300 of them living in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. There is a high ratio of overall students to town inhabitants. The municipal nursery and primary schools have 3,549 students. 1,026 students attend private schools in the commune. 522 students attend the Lycée International de Saint Germain-en-Laye nursery and primary divisions.

Schools.

the municipality operates ten nursery schools and nine primary schools.  The Lycée International de Saint Germain-en-Laye, a public school, is in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. It includes a section for Japanese students, and the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) lists that program in its group of European "hoshuko" (part-time Japanese educational programmes).  Other public high schools:  Private schools include:  The Institut d'études politiques de Saint-Germain-en-Laye is also located in the city.

Libraries.

There are two libraries:

People.

Saint-Germain-en-Laye was the birthplace of:  The town is also associated with:

Twin towns - sister cities.

Saint-Germain-en-Laye is twinned with:

Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris.

Saint-Germain-en-Laye je francouzské město v západní části metropolitní oblasti Paříže. Leží v departementu Yvelines v regionu Île-de-France. Roku 2009 zde žilo 38 124 obyvatel, plocha území činila 48,27 km2.


Location and description.

The Sistema Ibérico mountain range borders the Meseta Central on its western end and separates the Meseta Central from the Ebro valley and from the Mediterranean coast.  This system runs northwest-southeast between the Ebro plain and the Meseta Central for over 500 km, from the La Bureba corridor in Burgos Province close to the Cordillera Cantábrica to the Mediterranean sea close to Valencia in the south and close to Tortosa and the Ebro Delta in the east. The bulk of the Sistema Ibérico is located in the southern half of Aragon. The Prebaetic System rises south of the southernmost end of the Iberian System.  The geology of the Iberian System is complex, for it can hardly be defined as a homogeneous system. It is composed of a haphazard and motley series of mountain ranges, massifs, plateaus and depressions without a definite common petrologic composition and overall structure. Nummulite limestone, marble and sandstone are common throughout the area. Some of the parts of the system stand geologically isolated, interrupting the continuity of the whole, linked to the other parts through high plateaus of varying altitudes.

Ecology and human activity.

Population decline.

Large zones of the mountainous Iberian System have undergone heavy depopulation since the early 20th century. There are many ghost towns and abandoned villages scattered across different parts of the Iberian System, especially in Teruel Province. Currently a great number of surviving towns have only a residual population. In some cases many of the inhabitants are not natives anymore, but immigrants from Romania or the Maghreb working as contract laborers in agricultural activities.  The exodus from the rural mountainous areas in Spain rose after General Franco's "Plan de Estabilización" in 1959. The population declined steeply as people emigrated towards the industrial areas of the large cities and the coastal towns where the tourism industry was growing. Other causes of high emigration have been the abandonment by the local youth of traditional agricultural practices that were the mainstay of the village economy, such as sheep and goat rearing, as well as the lifestyle changes that swept over rural Spain during the second half of the 20th century.

Fauna.

The heavy depopulation has favored wildlife, so that one of the last colonies of griffon vultures in Europe is in the Iberian System. Wolves and eagles ("Aquila chrysaetos", "Hieraaetus fasciatus", "Hieraaetus pennatus", "Circaetus gallicus") are also relatively common in the lonely heights. Among the mammals, the Spanish ibex, roe deer, wild boar, European badgers, common genets, among others, have their habitat in many of these desolate mountain ranges.  The most common reptiles in the Iberian System are "Lacerta lepida", "Psammodromus algirus", "Psammodromus hispanicus", "Podarcis muralis" and "Podarcis hispanicus". "Chalcides chalcides", "Chalcides bedriagai" and "Anguis fragilis", are relatively rarer. The snakes present in these mountains are "Natrix maura", "Natrix natrix", "Malpolon monspessulanus", "Elaphe scalaris", "Coronella girondica", "Coronella austriaca" and "Vipera latastei".  Some amphibians are abundant in or near ponds and rivulets throughout the whole system, such as "Rana perezi", "Bufo bufo", "Bufo calamita", "Alytes obstetricans", "Triturus marmoratus" and "Lissotriton helveticus", the latter also at high altitude, whether in intermittent or permanent bodies of water. "Hyla arborea" and "Salamandra salamandra" are somewhat rarer, but still having a wide distribution, especially in humid forested zones. The Iberian ribbed newt "(Pleurodeles waltl)", however, is rarely found in the mountainous areas. Aquatic invertebrates, including the "Austropotamobius pallipes" crayfish, and certain fishes, such as "Salaria fluviatilis" and "Cobitis paludica" are common in the upper course of the Sistema Ibérico rivers. Some mountain streams have been stocked with trout.  Traditional cattle rearing activities, formerly so important in central Iberia, still survive on dry grasslands in certain villages around the system. There are also a number of hunters visiting some of the ranges, mainly those that are relatively closer to the urban areas and especially on weekends.

Vegetation.

Some ranges have forested patches, consisting mainly of "Pinus pinaster", "Pinus sylvestris" and "Pinus uncinata" pines and "Quercus rotundifolia", "Quercus pyrenaica" and "Quercus faginea" oaks, even "Fagus sylvatica" beeches and "Betula pendula" birches grow in some humid slopes, where "Pteridium aquilinum", "Polypodium vulgare" ferns may also be found.  Other ranges are rocky and quite bare with heath ("Erica arborea", "Erica vagans", "Calluna vulgaris"), broom as well as thyme and "Festuca" and "Nardus stricta" grasslands. Thin forest or shrubland may include "Juniperus communis", "Juniperus thurifera", "Cytisus purgans", "Erinacea anthyllis" and "Calluna vulgaris" shrub. Often the southern slopes are drier than the northern ones and may be subject to wildfires in periods of prolonged drought, especially in the summer.  Bogs are not common in the Iberian Peninsula, but high altitude bogs form in the few areas of the Sistema Ibérico where the water remains stagnant, such as near Orihuela del Tremedal, Bronchales and in the place known as "Fuente del Hierro", at an altitude between 1.400 and 1.550 m. The plants growing in these bogs are mainly "Polytrichum" mosses, "Potentilla erecta", "Pinguicula vulgaris", "Vaccinium myrtillus", "Calluna vulgaris", and also "Drosera rotundifolia", a carnivorous plant that doesn't grow further south in Western Europe.  "Centaurea pinnata" is an endangered species of plant present in the Sierra de Vicort and Sierra de Santa Cruz mountain ranges.

Mountain ranges.

The Sistema Ibérico comprises several mountain ranges and massifs:

Peaks.

The main peaks of the system are: Moncayo (2,313 m), Monte San Lorenzo (2,262 m), Pico de Urbión (2,228 m), Peña Cebollera (2,129 m), Javalambre (2,020 m) and Peñarroya (2,019 m). Other locally important summits are Cerro Calderón (1,837 m), Mont Caro (1,441 m), Tossal d'Orenga (1,144 m) and Montegordo (837 m),

Rivers.

The Sistema Ibérico is not as high as other mountain systems in Spain. It is, however, very significant from the hydrographic point of view for important rivers of the Iberian Peninsula have their source in its mountains, which divide the Atlantic from the Mediterranean watershed. The following rivers rise in the Sistema Ibérico:

The Iberian System (, ), is one of the major systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It consists of a vast and complex area of mostly relatively high and rugged mountain chains and massifs located in the central region of the Iberian Peninsula, but reaching almost the Mediterranean coast in the Valencian Community in the east.

Iberské pohoří či Iberské hory (španělsky "Sistéma Ibérico" či "Cordillera Ibérica") je jeden z hlavních horských systémů na Iberském poloostrově, na východě Španělska. Rozkládá se od severozápadu k jihovýchodu v délce okolo 350 km, maximální šířku má 200 km. Leží na území autonomních společenství Kastilie a León, Kastilie-La Mancha, La Rioja, Aragonie a Valencie. Vyskytují se zde vrcholy jejíž nadmořská výška přesahuje 2 000 m. Nejvyšší horou je s 2 314 metry Moncayo. Na západě Iberské pohoří sousedí s Kastilským pohořím a Mesetou, na východě s pánví řeky Ebro. Pohoří tvoří rozvodí mezi řekami vlévajícími se do Atlantského oceánu a Středozemního moře. Pramení zde řeky Duero, Júcar a Tajo.


Club career.

Halenár, a native of Trnava, moved to Bratislava at the age of 18, when he joined Slovakia's reigning champions, Inter Bratislava. He impressed in the 2004-05 campaign, in which he scored 12 goals for the club in the Corgoň Liga. Following the first game of the new season, in which he bagged two goals against Ružomberok, Halenár transferred to Artmedia for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in the region of 20 million Slovak crowns. In only his second game for Artmedia on 27 July 2005, he scored a hat-trick against Celtic Glasgow in the 2005 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round tie.  In summer 2008, Halenár was sold to Slovan Bratislava. The striker scored two goals on his debut for Slovan in a 4–1 victory against Tatran Prešov. He became the top all time scorer in the Slovak top flight on 10 August 2014, when he scored a brace against Košice, surpassing Róbert Semeník's record of 120 goals. In January 2015, Halenár left the Slovak league and signed for Hungarian team Nyíregyháza Spartacus, where he stayed until the end of the season. Afterwards, he joined Sigma Olomouc on 9 July 2015. In December 2015, he left the club due to family reasons.

International career.

Halenár played at two youth tournaments for his country, the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2002 and the Under-20 FIFA World Youth Championship in 2003. On 13 November 2007, he made his debut for Slovakia's senior team in a qualifying game for the 2008 European Championship against the Czech Republic. Halenár also played in next two matches of the national team, when he came on as a substitute against San Marino and Hungary.

Death.

On 30 June 2018, just two days after his 35th birthday, Halenár was found dead in the woods of Vrakuňa outside the Slovak capital of Bratislava. The first reports state that he committed suicide.

Juraj Halenár (28 June 1983 – 30 June 2018) was a Slovak football forward who was most famous for playing for Slovan Bratislava.

Juraj Halenár (28. června 1983, Trnava – 30. června 2018 Bratislava) byl slovenský fotbalista a bývalý reprezentant. Hrál na postu útočníka. Mezi jeho silné stránky patřilo mj. zahrávání přímých kopů. Mimo Slovensko působil na klubové úrovni v Maďarsku a České republice. Regionální ligu si zahrál v Rakousku.


Membership.

The original Andean Pact was founded in 1969 by Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. In 1973 the pact gained its sixth member, Venezuela. In 1976 however, its membership was again reduced to five when Chile withdrew. Venezuela announced its withdrawal in 2006, reducing the Andean Community to four member states.  Recently, with the new cooperation agreement with Mercosur, the Andean Community gained four new associate members: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. These four Mercosur members were granted associate membership by the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in an enlarged session with the Commission (of the Andean Community) on July 7, 2005. This moves reciprocates the actions of Mercosur which granted associate membership to all the Andean Community nations by virtue of the Economic Complementarity Agreements (Free Trade agreements) signed between the CAN and individual Mercosur members.

Relationship with other organizations.

The Andean Community and Mercosur comprise the two main trading blocs of South America. In 1999, these organizations began negotiating a merger with a view to creating a "South American Free Trade Area" (SAFTA). On December 8, 2004, the Andean Community (CAN) signed a cooperation agreement with Mercosur and they published a joint letter of intention for future negotiations towards integrating all of South America in a Union of South American Nations (USAN), patterned after the European Union. It was formally established by the May 23, 2008, Constitutive Treaty of the USAN signed in Brasília.  During 2005, Venezuela decided to join Mercosur. Venezuela's official position first appeared to be that, by joining Mercosur, further steps could be taken towards integrating both trade blocs. CAN Secretary General Allan Wagner stated that the Venezuelan Foreign Minister Alí Rodríguez had declared that Venezuela did not intend to leave the CAN, and its simultaneous membership to both blocs marked the beginning of their integration.  However some analysts interpreted that Venezuela might eventually leave the CAN in the process. As Colombia and Peru signed free trade agreements with the United States, in protest the Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez indeed announced in April 2006 his country's withdrawal from the CAN, stating that the Community is "dead". Officials in Colombia and Peru expressed their disagreement with this view, as did representatives from Venezuela's industrial sector (Conindustria).  In spite of this announcement, Venezuela still had not formally completed all the necessary withdrawal procedures. According to Venezuela's Commerce Minister María Cristina Iglesias, the entire process was going to take up five years. Until then, Venezuela and its partners would remain bound by the effects of the community's preexisting commercial agreements.  During a visit to Colombia in August 2007, President Hugo Chávez was asked by the presidents of Ecuador and Bolivia to rejoin the Andean Community, and he responded that he would agree. Meanwhile, at that time the Mercosur's relations with Venezuela were weakening as Mercosur was not agreeing with some of the Hugo Chávez's proposals.  Eventually Venezuela achieved the full membership of the Mercosur in 2012, making the Mercosur bigger in number of members than the CAN for the first time.  In addition to CAN, Bolivia is also a member of the WTO, UNASUR, and ALBA. Its attitude is considered crucial to relations between UNASUR and ALBA specifically, says Marion Hörmann, since Bolivia is traditionally seen as a mediator between the Andean countries and the rest of South America.  Furthermore, in December 7, 2012, the Bolivian nation was accepted by the Mercosur countries to start the incorporation protocols to achieve the Mercosur full membership in a matter of 4 years, receiving the proclamation of an "accessing member", and further consolidating itself as a strategic geopolitical nation.

Free flow of people.

Since January 1, 2005, the citizens of the member countries can enter the other Andean Community member states without the requirement of a visa. Travellers should present the authorities their national ID cards.  Visitors to Venezuela will have to present their passports; they will then receive the Andean Migration Card ("Tarjeta Andina de Migración"), in which the time of temporary residence in the country is stated.

Andean passport.

The Andean passport was created in June 2001 pursuant to "Decisión 504". This stipulates the issuing of a passport based on a standard model which contains harmonised features of nomenclature and security. The passport is effective in Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Colombia (Bolivia and Colombia since early 2006).

The Andean Community (, CAN) is a free trade area with the objective of creating a customs union comprising the South American countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The trade bloc was called the Andean Pact until 1996 and came into existence when the Cartagena Agreement was signed in 1969. Its headquarters are in Lima, Peru.

Andské společenství národů (španělsky "Comunidad Andina") je celní unie států v Jižní Americe. Byla založena Bolívií, Ekvádorem, Chile, Kolumbií a Peru tzv. Kartagenskou dohodou dne 26. května 1969 s úmyslem spolupracovat v oblasti ekonomické a sociální. Zpočátku se pro Andské společenství národů užívalo označení Andský pakt, Andská skupina či Kartagenská dohoda.


Family background.

Ferdinand was born on 26 February 1861 in Vienna, a German prince of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry. Princess Maria Antonia Koháry was a Hungarian Noble and heiress who married Ferdinand’s grandfather, Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Ferdinand’s mother, princess Clémentine, was a daughter of Louis-Philippe, King of the French. Ferdinand was raised in his patents’ Catholic faith and baptised in St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna on 27 February, having as godparents Archduke Maximilian of Austria and his wife Princess Charlotte of Belgium. He grew up in the cosmopolitan environment of Austro-Hungarian high nobility and also in their ancestral lands in Hungary and in Germany. The House of Koháry descended from an immensely wealthy Upper Hungarian noble family, who held the princely lands of Čabraď and Sitno in present-day Slovakia, among others. The family's property was augmented by Clémentine of Orléans' remarkable dowry.  The son of Prince August of Saxe-Coburg and his wife Clémentine of Orléans, daughter of King Louis Philippe I of the French, Ferdinand was a grandnephew of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and of Leopold I, first king of the Belgians. His father August was a brother of King Ferdinand II of Portugal, and also a first cousin to Queen Victoria, her husband Albert, Empress Carlota of Mexico and her brother Leopold II of Belgium. These last two, Leopold and Carlota, were also first cousins of Ferdinand I's through his mother, a princess of Orléans. This made the Belgian siblings his first cousins, as well as his first cousins once removed. Indeed, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha had contrived to occupy, either by marriage or by direct election, several European thrones in the course of the 19th century. Following the family trend, Ferdinand was himself to found the royal dynasty of Bulgaria.

Prince of Bulgaria.

The previous ruling prince of Bulgaria, Alexander of Battenberg, had abdicated in 1886 after a pro-Russian coup, only seven years after he had been elected. Ferdinand, who was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army, was elected Prince of autonomous Bulgaria by its Grand National Assembly on 7 July 1887 in the Gregorian calendar (the "New Style" used hereinafter). In desperate attempts to prevent Russian occupation of Bulgaria, the throne had been previously offered, before Ferdinand's acceptance, to princes from Denmark to the Caucasus and even to the King of Romania. The Russian tsar himself had nominated his aide, Nichols Dadian of Mingrelia, but his candidacy was rejected by the Bulgarians. Ferdinand's accession was greeted with disbelief in many of the royal houses of Europe; Queen Victoria, his father's first cousin, stated to her Prime Minister, "He is totally unfit... delicate, eccentric and effeminate... Should be stopped at once." To the amazement of his initial detractors, Ferdinand generally made a good account of himself during the first two decades of his reign.  Bulgaria's domestic political life was dominated during the early years of Ferdinand's reign by liberal party leader Stefan Stambolov, whose independent foreign policy saw a marked cooling in relations with Russia, formerly seen as Bulgaria's protector.  Stambolov's fall (May 1894) and subsequent assassination -likely planned by Ferdinand- (July 1895) paved the way for a reconciliation of Bulgaria with Russia, effected in February 1896 with Ferdinand's decision to convert his infant son, Prince Boris, from Roman Catholicism to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. However, this move earned him the animosity of his Catholic Austrian relatives, particularly that of his uncle, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.

Tsar of Bulgaria.

On 5 October 1908 (celebrated on 22 September), Ferdinand proclaimed Bulgaria's "de jure" independence from the Ottoman Empire (though the country had been "de facto" independent since 1878). He also proclaimed Bulgaria a kingdom, and assumed the title of "tsar"—a deliberate nod to the rulers of the earlier Bulgarian states. However, while the title "tsar" was translated as "emperor" in the First and Second Bulgarian empires, it was translated as "king" under Ferdinand and his successors. The Bulgarian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed by him at the Holy Forty Martyrs Church in Tarnovo, and was recognized by Turkey and the other European powers. The Tarnovo Constitution was retained, with the word "prince" replaced by the word "tsar."  Ferdinand was known for being quite a character. On a visit to German Emperor Wilhelm II, his second cousin once removed, in 1909, Ferdinand was leaning out of a window of the New Palace in Potsdam when the Emperor came up behind him and slapped him on the bottom. Ferdinand was affronted by the gesture but the Kaiser arrogantly refused to apologize. Ferdinand however exacted his revenge by awarding a valuable arms contract he had intended to give to the Krupp's factory in Essen to French arms manufacturer Schneider-Creusot. Another incident occurred on his journey to the funeral of his second cousin, King Edward VII in 1910. A tussle broke out over where his private railway carriage would be positioned in relation to the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The Archduke won out, having his carriage positioned directly behind the engine. Ferdinand's was placed directly behind. Realising the dining car of the train was behind his own carriage, Ferdinand obtained his revenge on the Archduke by refusing him entry through his own carriage to the dining car. On 15 July the same year during a visit to Belgium Ferdinand also became the first head of state to fly in an airplane.

Balkan Wars.

Like many other rulers before him, Ferdinand desired the creation of a "new Byzantium". In 1912, Ferdinand joined the other Balkan states in an assault on the Ottoman Empire to free occupied territories. He saw this war as a new crusade declaring it, "a just, great and sacred struggle of the Cross against the Crescent." Bulgaria contributed the most and also lost the greatest number of soldiers. The Great Powers insisted on the creation of an independent Albania. Though the Balkan League allies had fought together against the common enemy in the First Balkan War, that was not enough to overcome their mutual rivalries. In the original documents for the Balkan League, Serbia had been pressured by Bulgaria to hand over most of Vardar Macedonia after it had freed it from Turkish rule. However Serbia, in response to the new Albanian state receiving territory in the north that it had expected to gain for itself, said that it would keep possession of the areas that its forces had occupied. Soon after, Bulgaria began the Second Balkan War when it invaded its recent allies Serbia and Greece to seize disputed areas, before being attacked itself by Romania and the Ottoman Empire. Although Bulgaria was defeated, the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest granted the Kingdom some territorial gains. A tiny area of land giving access to the Aegean Sea was secured.

First World War and abdication.

On 11 October 1915, the Bulgarian army attacked Serbia after signing a treaty with Austria-Hungary and Germany stating that Bulgaria would gain the territory it sought at the expense of Serbia. While he was not an admirer of German Emperor Wilhelm II or Austrian Emperor Franz Josef I—whom he described as "that idiot, that old dotard of a Francis Joseph".—Ferdinand wanted additional territorial gains after the humiliation of the Balkan Wars. This also entailed forming an alliance with his former enemy, the Ottoman Empire. This ranging of his country with the Central Powers made him a de facto supporter of Germany’s war aims and was not well received by the Allies. Edmund Gosse wrote:  “In this war, where the ranks of the enemy present to us so many formidable, sinister, and shocking figures, there is one, and perhaps but one, which is purely ridiculous. If we had the heart to relieve our strained feelings by laughter, it would be at the gross Coburg traitor, with his bodyguard of assassins and his hidden coat-of-mail, his shaking hands and his painted face. The world has never seen a meaner scoundrel, and we may almost bring ourselves to pity the Kaiser, whom circumstances have forced to accept on equal terms a potentate so verminous.”  During the initial phase of World War I, the Tsardom of Bulgaria achieved several decisive victories over its enemies and laid claim to the disputed territories of Macedonia after Serbia's defeat. For the next two years, the Bulgarian army shifted its focus towards repelling Allied advances from nearby Greece. They were also partially involved in the 1916 conquest of neighboring Romania, now ruled by another Ferdinand I, who was also Ferdinand's second cousin once removed.  To save the Bulgarian monarchy after multiple military setbacks in 1918, Tsar Ferdinand abdicated in favour of his eldest son, who became Tsar Boris III on 3 October 1918. Under new leadership, Bulgaria surrendered to the Allies and, as a consequence, lost not only the additional territory it had fought for in the major conflict, but also the territory it had won after the Balkan Wars giving access to the Aegean Sea.

Personal life.

Ferdinand entered a marriage of convenience with Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Robert I, Duke of Parma and Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, on 20 April 1893 at the Villa Pianore in Lucca. The marriage produced four children:  Marie Louise died on 31 January 1899 after giving birth to her youngest daughter. Ferdinand did not think about remarriage until his mother, Princess Clémentine died in 1907. To satisfy dynastic obligations and to provide his children with a mother figure, Ferdinand married Princess Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz, on 28 February 1908. Neither romantic love or physical attraction played any role, and Ferdinand treated her as no more than a member of the household, and showed scant regard.  In his private relations, Ferdinand was a somewhat hedonistic individual. Bisexual throughout his life, up until early middle age his inclination was more towards women. He enjoyed affairs with a number of women of humble position, siring a number of illegitimate children whom he then supported financially. In his later life, rumours abounded of Ferdinand's trysts with lieutenants and valets. His regular holidays on Capri, then a popular holiday destination with wealthy epicenes, were common knowledge in royal courts throughout Europe. In 1895 an interview given by the embittered former Prime Minister, Stefan Stambolov to the "Frankfurter Zeitung" created a nine-day scandal across Europe, when he focused strongly on his personal witness of Ferdinand's homosexual interests.

Exile and death.

After his abdication, Ferdinand returned to live in Coburg, Germany. He had managed to salvage much of his fortune and was able to live in some style. He saw his being in exile simply as one of the hazards of kingship. He commented, "Kings in exile are more philosophic under reverses than ordinary individuals; but our philosophy is primarily the result of tradition and breeding, and do not forget that pride is an important item in the making of a monarch. We are disciplined from the day of our birth and taught the avoidance of all outward signs of emotion. The skeleton sits forever with us at the feast. It may mean murder, it may mean abdication, but it serves always to remind us of the unexpected. Therefore we are prepared and nothing comes in the nature of a catastrophe. The main thing in life is to support any condition of bodily or spiritual exile with dignity. If one sups with sorrow, one need not invite the world to see you eat." He was pleased that the throne could pass to his son. Ferdinand was not displeased with exile and spent much of his time devoted to artistic endeavors, gardening, travel and natural history.  However, he would live to see the collapse of everything he had held to be precious in life. His eldest son and successor, Boris III, died under mysterious circumstances after returning from a visit to Hitler in Germany in 1943. Boris' son, Simeon II, succeeded him only to be deposed in 1946, ending the Bulgarian monarchy. The Kingdom of Bulgaria was succeeded by the People's Republic of Bulgaria, under which Ferdinand's other son, Kyril, was executed. On hearing of Kyril's death he said, "Everything is collapsing around me."  Ferdinand died in Bürglass-Schlösschen on 10 September 1948 in Coburg, Germany, cradle of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty. He was the last surviving grandchild of Louis-Philippe of France. His final wish was to be buried in Bulgaria. However, the Communist authorities in Bulgaria would not allow it, so he was buried in the family crypt in St. Augustin's Catholic Church in Coburg.

Ferdinand I (; 26 February 1861 – 10 September 1948), born Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was the second monarch of the Third Bulgarian State, firstly as ruling prince ("knyaz") from 1887 to 1908, and later as king ("tsar") from 1908 until his abdication in 1918. Under his rule Bulgaria entered the First World War on the side of the Central Powers in 1915.

Ferdinand I., celý titul kníže Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria sasko-cobursko-gothajský (26. února 1861 Vídeň – 10. září 1948 Koburg), byl v letech 1887–1908 bulharský kníže a v letech 1908–1918 bulharský car. Byl také spisovatel, botanik a filatelista. Bulharsko pod jeho vedením na přelomu 19. a 20. století zažilo největší, dokonce nejrychlejší rozvoj oproti ostatním sousedním zemím. Velkou zásluhu na tom měla rychlá modernizace země, jejímž byl car Ferdinand zastáncem. Byl následníkem knížete, prince Alexandra I., kterého vystřídal na trůně právě ve chvíli, kdy se zdálo, že bulharský stát čeká velký rozvoj. Během jeho vlády země učinila značný pokrok v mnoha sférách – politické, ekonomické, kulturní, jakož i vojenské.


Design and development.

The Ka-60 has an estimated local military market of 200 units (Army aviation units, Border Police and the Ministry of Internal Affairs). The Ka-60 is to be used for aerial reconnaissance, for transporting air-assault forces, radio-electronic jamming, for special-operations missions and for various light-transport missions. Variations for foreign sale are expected. Manufacture is to take place at Ulan-Ude.  The development of the helicopter was long. The program started in 1984, but the first prototype Ka-60-01 flew in December 1998, and the second in 2007.  A civil version, the Ka-62, was initially proposed when the Ka-60 programme was launched, but no production followed owing to development problems with the Ka-60's Saturn RD-600V 1500 hp engines. Instead, an agreement was signed in April 2011 to use the Turbomeca Ardiden 3G turboshaft for a revised Ka-62. A five-bladed main rotor will be driven via a new transmission, while the helicopter will have a revised cabin with larger windows and new avionics. First flight of the Ka-62 was planned for May 2013, with certification in 2014. Four prototypes and an initial batch of 16 Ka-62s for the Russian Ministry of Defence were planned, with another 12 ordered by South American civilian customers. It has a fantail, a 30-minute run-dry gearbox by Zoerkler, and can operate on one engine up to 9,500 ft (2,900m). Development of the Ka-62, with its western systems and powerplant, has been slow, and the helicopter made several turns over the tarmac on 28 April 2016. On 25 May 2017 it made its maiden flight proper, a 15-minute flight at a speed of up to 110 km/h. Russian certification was expected in 2018, with European EASA certification following in 2020.

The Kamov Ka-60 "Kasatka" (, "Barn swallow") is a Russian medium twin-turbine military transport helicopter under development by Kamov. It performed its first flight on 24 December 1998.

Kamov Ka-60 "Kasatka" (: Камов Ка-60 Касатка, Kosatka) je ruský víceúčelový vrtulník z 90. let 20. století. Jde o první sériový typ konstrukční kanceláře Kamov, který nemá dva souosé nosné rotory. Let prvního civilního stroje označeného jako Ka-62 se datuje do roku 1993. První prototyp vojenské verze vzlétl 24. prosince 1998, sériová letadla byla zavedena do silových složek Ruska roku 2001.


Volcanic activity.

Ruapehu is largely composed of andesite and began erupting at least 250,000 years ago. In recorded history, major eruptions have been about 50 years apart, in 1895, 1945 and 1995–1996. Minor eruptions are frequent, with at least 60 since 1945. Some of the minor eruptions in the 1970s generated small ash falls and lahars (mudflows) that damaged skifields.  Between major eruptions, warm acidic Crater Lake forms, fed by melting snow. Major eruptions may completely expel the lake water. Where a major eruption has deposited a tephra dam across the lake's outlet, the dam may collapse after the lake has refilled and risen above the level of its normal outlet, the outrush of water causing a large lahar. In 2000, the Eastern Ruapehu Lahar Alarm and Warning System (ERLAWS) system was installed on the mountain to detect such a collapse and alert the relevant authorities.

1945 eruption and aftermath.

The 1945 eruption emptied Crater Lake and dammed the outlet with tephra. The crater slowly refilled with water, until on 24 December 1953 the tephra dam collapsed causing a lahar in the Whangaehu River. The lahar caused the Tangiwai disaster, with the loss of 151 lives, when the Tangiwai railway bridge across the Whangaehu River collapsed while the lahar was in full flood, just before an express train crossed it.  It was already known that the river had partially undermined one of the bridge piers and the lahar finished the job, causing the bridge to collapse. Although warned of the collapsed bridge, the train driver was unable to stop the train in time and six of the carriages fell into the river.

1995–1996 eruptions.

Spectacular eruptions occurred during 1995 and 1996. Ruapehu had been showing signs of increased activity since late November 1994, with elevated Crater Lake temperatures and a series of eruptions that increased in intensity over about nine months. Several lahars were observed, both in the Whangaehu River and other areas of the mountain, between 18 September and 25 September 1995, indicating Crater Lake was being emptied by the eruptions.  The Department of Conservation immediately issued hazard warnings and advised people to keep off the mountain, thus ending the ski season. The eruption cloud disrupted air travel, occasionally closing airports and the central North Island airspace. Black sand-like ash fell on surrounding farmland and stock had to be moved. The ash also entered streams and was washed into the pen stocks and turbines of the Rangipo power station causing rapid corrosion on the turbine blades which had to be rebuilt. Episodic eruptions continued until the end of November 1995.  Within hours of a major eruption during the night being reported on 25 September 1995, news media were trying to get live video of the eruption and amateur photographers had published eruption images on the World Wide Web. A web camera, dubbed the world's first "Volcano Cam", was set up. Since then Ruapehu has been monitored by at least one and sometimes several volcano cams. Another, smaller, eruption phase began on the morning of 17 June 1996. Despite a series of small eruptions that spread thin layers of ash across both Whakapapa and Turoa ski areas, the ski fields opened for the 1996 season. Turoa closed on 29 September – earlier than usual, while Whakapapa stayed open until Labour Weekend.  After the 1996 eruption it was recognised that a catastrophic lahar could again occur when Crater Lake bursts the volcanic ash dam blocking the lake outlet. This is the same mechanism that caused the 1953 lahar. The lake gradually filled with snowmelt and had reached the level of the hard rock rim by January 2005. The lahar finally occurred on 18 March 2007 (see below).

2006 eruption.

Ruapehu erupted at 10.30pm on 4 October 2006. The small eruption created a volcanic earthquake at a magnitude of 2.8, sending a water plume 200 m into the air and tall waves crashing into the wall of the crater.

2007 lahar.

On 18 March 2007, the tephra dam which had been holding back Crater Lake burst, sending a lahar down the mountain. An estimated 1.4 million cubic metres of mud, rock, and water travelled down the Whangaehu river. The Department of Conservation had received warning signals from ERLAWS at around 10:30 that morning and closed all major roads in the area, preventing thousands of motorists from travelling, and shut down the main rail system for the North Island. The river banks held and no spillovers occurred. There was no serious damage and no injuries. One family was trapped for around 24 hours after the lahar swept away the access route to their home.

2007 eruption.

At about 8:20 p.m. on 25 September 2007, a hydrothermal eruption occurred without warning. One man, a 22-year-old primary school teacher, had a leg crushed by a rock during the eruption and a rescue operation was mounted to rescue him from the Dome Shelter near the crater. The rock crashed into the Dome Shelter, landed on the man and was too heavy for his companion to lift off.  Two lahars that travelled down the mountain activated warning signals from the lahar warning system and prompted the evacuation of some ski lodges on the mountain and the closure of roads in the area. The eruption was accompanied by a 7-minute-long earthquake, measuring 2.9 on the Richter Scale.

Warnings post-2007.

On 2 May 2008, a level-1 warning was issued after GNS scientists who were monitoring the lake found irregular signs of volcanic activity. This included increased chemical changes, gases and temperature. The warning was used to let visitors know the potential of an explosion was higher than usual and could happen at any time. This could also be a follow-up to the previous year's 2007 eruption.  A GeoNet New Zealand Bulletin was released on 21 July 2008 stating that "the current phase of volcano unrest appears to be over, however Ruapehu remains an active volcano. Future eruptions may occur without warning." However the level has remained at 1, where it has been since 1997.  On 5 April 2011, Geonet changed Mount Ruapehu's Volcanic Aviation Colour Code from Green to Yellow (elevated unrest above the known background). Ruapehu's Volcanic Alert Level remained at level 1 (signs of volcanic unrest). The Volcanic Aviation Colour Code was changed because a sustained period of high water temperatures in the Crater Lake (approximately 38–39 °C) was observed and because changes were observed in volcanic gas output, seismic activity and Crater Lake water chemistry.  On 16 November 2012, GNS Science volcanologists warned that pressure was likely building up beneath Crater Lake, and that an eruption in the coming weeks or months was more likely than normal. The aviation colour code was raised from green to yellow.  On 29 April 2016, Geonet issued a volcanic alert reporting that Crater Lake's temperature had risen to, up from in mid-April. An earthquake swarm was also recorded under Crater Lake. On 11 May the volcanic alert level was raised to level 2 and the aviation colour code was changed from green to yellow.  On 10 April 2019, Geonet issued a new alert, stating that the lake temperature had been cycling between over the course of a year for the last decade, but that this trend had been broken in September 2018, with the lake staying above all summer. For the 2 weeks leading up to 10 April, the lake had warmed further, at a rate of around per day, reaching on 9 April, a temperature exceeded by only 1% of temperature measurements in the preceding decade, most recently in May 2016. While GeoNet retained the level 1 alert state, they added "it is a useful reminder that eruptions can occur with little or no warning". On the 29th of April the crater lake temperature dropped to.  On 26 Aug 2019 Crater Lake temperature rose to from.

Ski fields.

Ruapehu has two commercial ski fields, Whakapapa on the northern side and Turoa on the southern slope. They are the two largest ski fields in New Zealand, with Whakapapa the larger. The club Tukino field is on the east of the mountain and is open to the public. The season is generally from June to October but depends on snow and weather conditions.  Both ski fields are accessible by car and chairlifts, with beginners' to advanced skiing slopes. Whakapapa has five chair lifts with limited accommodation and refreshments available at Top o' the Bruce (the car park at the top of Bruce Road) and at the entry to Whakapapa, and elsewhere on the mountain. Alpine huts are provided for trampers and climbers. These are mainly owned by private clubs.

Weather.

Weather conditions can be changeable over the day, and mountain visitors are advised to be prepared and carry basic survival equipment. Although severe weather is unusual and generally forecast, it has claimed several lives over the years, including a party of five NZ Army soldiers and one RNZN naval rating, caught in a week-long storm while undergoing winter survival training in 1990. The same storm also trapped an experienced Japanese mountaineer when the weather unexpectedly closed in on him, but he built a snow cave and sheltered in it until he was rescued days later. On 5 July 2003, about 350 skiers and 70 skifield staff were trapped on the mountain overnight at Top o' the Bruce when a sudden snow storm blew up and within a few minutes made the access road too dangerous to descend. They spent the night in relative comfort and all descended safely the next morning. Such rapidly changing conditions are typical of the weather on New Zealand mountains. Again on Saturday 26 July 2008, skiers and staff were trapped on the mountain overnight when a fast approaching storm caused the skifield to be closed at 10:30 a.m. and made the road too dangerous for cars without chains or 4WD to leave the area. By 3 p.m. there were still over 100 cars in the Whakapapa car park and those who had not been able to leave by that point were told to settle in for the night. All cars were able to leave safely the next morning.

Climate.

The climate found is maritime polar or tundra (Köppen: "ET") for subpolar oceanic climate ("Cfc").

Glaciers.

The glaciers on Mount Ruapehu are the only glaciers in the North Island. They are all less than in length. There are eighteen glaciers including one within the crater; the largest are the Mangatoetoenui, Summit Plateau and Whangaehu Glaciers.

In popular culture.

Some scenes of the fictional Mordor and Mount Doom in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy were filmed on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu.

Mount Ruapehu (; ) is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand. It is northeast of Ohakune and southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupo, within Tongariro National Park. The North Island's major ski resorts and only glaciers are on its slopes.

Ruapehu (v překladu z maorštiny hlučná díra) je aktivní stratovulkán, který se nachází asi 40 km jihozápadně od jezera Taupo. Ruapehu je zároveň nejvyšší vrchol Severního ostrova a nejvyšší aktivní sopka na Novém Zélandu. Nachází se v národním parku Tongariro a patří mezi oblíbená místa lyžařů, turistů a horolezců. Na východním svahu hory pramení nejdelší novozélandská řeka Waikato.


Origins.

Amon Düül began in 1967 as a radical political art commune of Munich-based artists calling themselves, in part, after the Egyptian Sun God Amon. The word Düül originally had no intended meaning.  Led by Ulrich Leopold, Amon Düül included Ulrich's brother Peter Leopold (15 August 1945 - 8 November 2006), together with Austrian Rainer Bauer and Chris Karrer on guitars. Karrer has since claimed that, "the only original thing from that period which hasn't been released yet is a 1967 recording of the basic Amon Düül band." Later, the commune would add Bauer's sister Ella, Helge and Angelika Filanda, Uschi Obermeier, Wolfgang Krischke, Falk Rogner and Renate Knaup. The commune attained underground popularity for its free-form musical improvisations, performed around the happenings and demonstrations of the youth movement at the time. The commune had a liberal attitude to artistic freedom, valuing enthusiasm and attitude over artistic ability, and as a result, band membership was fluid; anyone who was part of the commune could be part of the group. They issued a declaration: "We are eleven adults and two children which are gathered to make all kinds of expressions, also musical." A faction within the commune was more ambitious, conventional and musically structured than the commune society overall. This led to a split within the collective, and in September 1968 they performed at the ""—Germany's first underground festival—as two groups, "Amon Düül" and "Amon Düül II", at the suggestion of drummer Peter Leopold.  Amon Düül engaged in exuberant open-ended experimentation that at times equalled their psychedelic rock equivalents in countries such as the USA or Brazil (e.g. Os Mutantes), with a focus on political activities. The members were close to Kommune 1 in Berlin and boasted, for a time, a prominent member in the model and activist Uschi Obermaier. Amon Düül signed a contract with the firm "Metronome Records", and continued for seven years with varying degrees of success and in various guises. They wound down in 1973 after releasing four official albums (and a posthumous fifth), though all except one were recorded at the 1968 sessions for their debut. Apparently, the man responsible was producer Peter Meisel, who released the albums without the band's approval in an attempt to capitalise on the success of Amon Düül II. The LPs are these days regarded as unique, if unessential, records in the history of German rock. In contrast, their "Paradieswärts Düül" album featured a pastoral, folk-influenced sound (produced by Julius Schittenhelm). The name 'Amon Düül' was trademarked by Chris Karrer and Peter Leopold of Amon Düül II, meaning that re-issues of Amon Düül's albums required to license the name from them.

Band members.

Four of the bands five album releases consist of jamming sessions recorded in late 1968 or early 1969. The musicians credited on these sessions are:  Peter Leopold joined Amon Düül II in time for their 1969 debut album; Wolfgang Krischke died around 1969, freezing to death while under the influence of LSD; and Uschi Obermaier moved on to Munich's "Highfisch-Kommune" (scene of Peter Green's notorious LSD experience) and Berlin's "Kommune 1". Guitarist Klaus Esser then joined the band line-up in time for the 'Eternal Flow' / 'Paramechanical World' single recorded in June 1970:  Rainer Bauer and Ulrich Leopold were guest musicians on one track on the Amon Düül II album "Yeti" released 1970, which also featured a photo of the deceased Wolfgang Krischke dressed as 'Der Schnitter' (The Harvester) or 'Der Sensenmann' (The Grim Reaper) on the album cover. On the band's final recording, "Paradieswärts Düül" (recorded in November and December 1970), the band were: with guests:

Amon Düül II and Amon Düül UK.

"Amon Düül II" were formed by the more professionally and technically inclined members of the original collective, with core members Chris Karrer, Falk Rogner, Renate Knaup-Kroetenschwanz, John Weinzierl, and Peter Leopold. They signed to the United Artists label and released a string of highly regarded albums with strong psychedelic and progressive flourishes. After 1975, the band changed labels and moved towards more accessible music, before finally disbanding in the late 1970s.  After a spell with Hawkwind, Amon Düül II's original bassist Dave Anderson formed a short-lived band called "Amon Din" with drummer John Lingwood, ex-Hawkwind guitarist Huw Lloyd-Langton and John Butler in 1971-2.  At the beginning of the 1980s, Amon Düül II's John Weinzierl, with Dave Anderson and various others, began releasing albums as "Amon Düül", though this band is commonly called Amon Düül UK to differentiate it from the original one. Between 1982 and 1989, they released five albums.  When the 1990s brought new exposure and audiences to the original krautrock groups, Chris, Renate, Falk and John reunited and continue to perform as Amon Düül II sporadically.

Legacy.

Amon Düül and Amon Düül II influenced such bands in late 70's like Hungarian psychedelic hardcore,'shaman punk' band Galloping Coroners.

Discography.

Amon Düül II.

Amon Düül II Discography

Amon Düül (UK).

Amon Düül (UK) Discography

Amon Düül was a German political art commune formed out of the student movement of the 1960s that became well known for its free-form musical improvisations. This spawned two rock groups, Amon Düül (sometimes referred to as "Amon Düül I") and the more famous Amon Düül II. After both groups disbanded in the 1970s, some of the original members reunited in the 1980s under the name Amon Düül again, though this incarnation is commonly referred to as Amon Düül (UK) to avoid confusion with the original one.

Amon Düül, byla německá rocková skupina, která se formovala během studentského hnutí v 60. letech a všeobecně je považována za zakladatele německé rockové scény a hudebního stylu krautrock (obdoba acid rocku).


Background.

The word "Asia" comes from the Greek word, originally only applied to the eastern shore of the Aegean Sea, known to the Lydians who occupied it as Assuwa. It came to be used by the Greeks for all of Lydia (the northwestern part of what is today Turkey), that shore being the closest part of Lydia to Greece. The Roman province of Asia occupied almost exactly the area of that Lydian kingdom. As time went on, the word came to be used by the far West to refer to an ever-more-vague area east of them, until it was used generically for the whole continent.  Antiochus III the Great had to give up Asia when the Romans crushed his army at the historic battle of Magnesia, in 190 BC. After the Treaty of Apamea (188 BC), the entire territory was surrendered to Rome and placed under the control of a client king at Pergamum.

Geography.

Asia province originally consisted of Mysia, the Troad, Aeolis, Lydia, Ionia, Caria, and the land corridor through Pisidia to Pamphylia. Aegean islands except Crete, were part of the Insulae (province) of Asiana. Part of Phrygia was given to Mithridates V Euergetes before it was reclaimed as part of the province in 116 BC. Lycaonia was added before 100 BC while the area around Cibyra was added in 82 BC. The southeast region of Asia province was later reassigned to the province of Cilicia. During the Empire, the province of Asia was bounded by Bithynia to the north, Lycia to the south, and Galatia to the east.

Annexation.

With no apparent heir, Attalus III of Pergamum having been a close ally of Rome, chose to bequeath his kingdom to Rome. Upon Attalus's passing in 133 BC, Attalid pretender Eumenes III staged a rebellion. He defeated one of the consuls of 131 BC, Crassus Mucianus. The following consul Marcus Perperna, however, soon brought the war to a close. He defeated Eumenes in the first engagement, and followed up his victory by laying siege to Stratonikeia, whither Eumenes had fled. The town was compelled by famine to surrender, and the king accordingly fell into the consul's hands. Manius Aquillius formally established the region as Asia province. The bequest of the Attalid kingdom to Rome presented serious implications for neighboring territories. It was during this period that Pontus rose in status under the rule of Mithridates VI. He would prove to be a formidable foe to Rome's success in Asia province and beyond.

Taxation.

Rome had always been very reluctant to involve itself in matters to the east. It typically relied on allies to arbitrate in the case of a conflict. Very rarely would Rome send delegations to the east, much less have a strong governmental presence. This apathy did not change much even after the gift from Attalus in 133 BC. In fact, parts of the Pergamene kingdom were voluntarily relinquished to different nations. For example, Great Phrygia was given to Mithridates V of Pontus.  While the Senate was hesitant in involving itself in Asian affairs, others had no such reluctance. A law passed by Gaius Gracchus in 123 BC gave the right to collect taxes in Asia to members of the equestrian order. The privilege of collecting taxes was almost certainly exploited by individuals from the Republic.  In case a community was unable to pay taxes, they borrowed from Roman lenders but at exorbitant rates. This more often than not resulted in default on said loans and consequently led Roman lenders to seize the borrower's land, their last remaining asset of value. In this way and by outright purchase, Romans dispersed throughout Asia province.

Mithridates and Sulla.

By 88 BC, Mithridates VI of Pontus had conquered virtually all of Asia. Capitalizing on the hatred of corrupt Roman practices, Mithridates instigated a mass revolt against Rome, ordering the slaughter of all Romans and Italians in the province. Contemporary estimates of casualties ranged from 80,000 up to 150,000.  Three years later, Lucius Cornelius Sulla defeated Mithridates in the First Mithridatic War and in 85 BC reorganized the province into eleven assize districts, each central to a number of smaller, subordinate cities. These assize centers, which developed into the Roman dioceses, included Ephesus, Pergamum - the old Attalid capital, Smyrna, Adramyttium, Cyzicus, Synnada, Apamea, Miletus, and Halicarnassus. The first three cities - Ephesus, Pergamum, and Smyrna - competed to be the dominant city-state in Asia province. Age-old inter-city rivalry continued to inhibit any sort of progress towards provincial unity.

Military presence.

Other than to quell occasional revolts, there was minimal military presence in Asia province, until forces led by Sulla set forth in their campaign against Mithridates VI. In fact, Asia province was unique in that it was one of the few ungarrisoned provinces of the empire. While no full legions were ever stationed inside the province, that is not to say that there was no military presence whatsoever.  Legionary detachments were present in the Phrygian cities of Apamea and Amorium. Auxiliary cohorts were stationed in Phrygian Eumeneia while smaller groups of soldiers regularly patrolled the mountainous regions. High military presence in rural regions around 3rd century AD caused great civil unrest in the province.

Augustus.

After Augustus came to power, he established a proconsulship for the province of Asia, embracing the regions of Mysia, Lydia, Caria, and Phrygia. To its east, the province of Galatia was established. The proconsul spent much of his year-long term traveling throughout the province hearing cases and conducting other judicial business at each of the assize centers. Rome's transition from the Republic to the early Empire saw an important change in the role of existing provincial cities, which evolved from autonomous city-states to Imperial administrative centers.  The beginning of the principate of Augustus also signaled the rise of new cities in Mysia, Lydia and Phrygia. The province grew to be an elaborate system of self-governing cities, each responsible for its own economics, taxes, and law in its territory. The reign of Augustus further signaled the start of urbanization of Asia province, as public building became the defining characteristic of a city.

Emperor worship.

Emperor worship was prevalent in provincial communities during the Roman empire. Soon after Augustus came to power, temples erected in his honor sprang up across Asia province. The establishment of provincial centers of emperor worship further spawned local cults. These sites served as models followed by other provinces throughout the empire.  Emperor worship served as a way for subjects of Asia province to come to terms with imperial rule within the framework of their communities. Religious practices were very much a public affair and involved citizens in all its aspects including prayer, sacrifice, and processions. Rituals held in honor of a particular emperor frequently outnumbered those of other gods. No other cult matched the imperial cult in terms of dispersion and commonality.

Decline.

The 3rd century AD marked a serious decline in Asia province stemming in part from epidemic disease, beginning with the Antonine plague, the indiscipline of local soldiers and also the diminishing instances of voluntary civic generosity. The Gothic invasions of the 250s and 260s, part of the Crisis of the Third Century, contributed to failing feelings of security. Furthermore, as political and strategic emphasis shifted away from Asia province, it lost much of its former prominence.  In the 4th century, Diocletian divided Asia province into seven smaller provinces. During the 5th century and, until the mid-6th century the cities and provinces of western Anatolia experienced an economic renaissance. But after the great plague of 543 many cities towards the interior of the province declined to the point where they were indistinguishable from common villages by the time of the Persian and Arab invasions of the 7th century. On the other hand, leading cities from the early empire including Ephesus, Sardis, and Aphrodisias retained much of their former glory and came to serve as the new provincial capitals. Asia remained a center of Roman and Hellenistic culture in the east for centuries. The territory remained part of the Byzantine Empire until the end of the 13th century when it was conquered by Ottoman Empire.

The Roman province of Asia or Asiana (), in Byzantine times called Phrygia, was an administrative unit added to the late Republic. It was a Senatorial province governed by a proconsul. The arrangement was unchanged in the reorganization of the Roman Empire in 211.

Římská provincie Asia zahrnovala západní část poloostrova Malá Asie v dnešním Turecku. Toto teritorium původně náleželo pergamskému království, které podle závěti svého posledního krále, Attala III., připadlo v roce 133 př. n. l. římské republice. Asie byla pokládána za jednu z nejvýznamnějších a nejbohatších provincií římské říše, především díky velikosti a prosperitě tamějších měst.


Overview.

Kṣitigarbha is one of the four principal bodhisattvas in East Asian Mahayana Buddhism. The others are Samantabhadra, Manjusri, and Avalokiteśvara.  At the pre-Tang dynasty grottos in Dunhuang and Longmen, he is depicted in a classical bodhisattva form. After the Tang, he became increasingly depicted as a monk carrying Buddhist prayer beads and a staff.  His full name in Chinese is "Dayuan Dizang Pusa" (), or "Bodhisattva King Kṣitigarbha of the Great Vow," pronounced "Daigan Jizō Bosatsu" in Japanese and "Jijang Bosal" in Korean. This name is a reference to his pledge, as recorded in the sutras, to take responsibility for the instruction of all beings in the six worlds in the era between the parinirvana of the Buddha and the rise of Maitreya. Because of this important role, shrines to Kṣitigarbha often occupy a central role in temples, especially within the memorial halls or mausoleums.

Sources.

As a Brahmin maiden.

The story of Kṣitigarbha was first described in the "Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Pūrvapraṇidhāna Sūtra", one of the most popular Mahayana sutras. This sutra is said to have been spoken by the Buddha towards the end of his life to the beings of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven as a mark of gratitude and remembrance for his beloved mother, Maya. The "Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Pūrvapraṇidhāna Sūtra" begins, "Thus have I heard. Once the Buddha was abiding in Trayastrimsas Heaven in order to expound the Dharma to his mother."  The "Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Pūrvapraṇidhāna Sūtra" was first translated from Sanskrit into Chinese between 695-700 CE, during the Tang dynasty, by the Tripiṭaka master Śikṣānanda, a Buddhist monk from Khotan who also provided a new translation of the "Avataṃsaka Sūtra" and the "Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra". However, some scholars have suspected that instead of being translated, this text may have originated in China, since no Sanskrit manuscripts of this text have been found. Part of the reason for suspicion is that the text advocates filial piety, which was stereotypically associated with Chinese culture. It stated that Kṣitigarbha practised filial piety as a mortal, which eventually led to making great vows to save all sentient beings. Since then, other scholars such as Gregory Schopen have pointed out that Indian Buddhism also had traditions of filial piety. Currently there is no definitive evidence indicating either an Indian or Chinese origin for the text.  In the "Kṣitigarbha Sūtra", the Buddha states that in the distant past eons, Kṣitigarbha was a maiden of the Brahmin caste by the name of "Sacred Girl". This maiden was deeply troubled upon the death of her mother - who had often been slanderous towards the Three Jewels. To save her mother from the great tortures of hell, the girl sold whatever she had and used the money to buy offerings that she offered daily to the Buddha of her time, known as the Buddha of the Flower of Meditation and Enlightenment. She prayed fervently that her mother be spared the pains of hell and appealed to the Buddha for help.  While she was pleading for help at the temple, she heard the Buddha telling her to go home, sit down, and recite his name if she wanted to know where her mother was. She did as she was told and her consciousness was transported to a Hell realm, where she met a guardian who informed her that through her fervent prayers and pious offerings, her mother had accumulated much merit and had already ascended to heaven. Sacred Girl was greatly relieved and would have been extremely happy, but the sight of the suffering she had seen in Hell touched her heart. She vowed to do her best to relieve beings of their suffering in her future lives for kalpas.

As a Buddhist monk.

There is a legend about how Kṣitigarbha manifested himself in China and chose his bodhimaṇḍa to be Mount Jiuhua, one of the Four Sacred Mountains of China.  During the reign of Emperor Ming of Han, Buddhism started to flourish, reaching its peak in the Tang and eventually spreading to Korea. At the time, monks and scholars arrived from those countries to seek the dharma in China. One of these pilgrims was a former prince from Silla named Kim Gyo-gak, who became a monk under the Chinese name Dizang "Kṣitigarbha," pronounced "Jijang" in Korean. He went to Mount Jiuhua in present-day Anhui. After ascending, he decided to build a hut in a deep mountain area so that he could cultivate the dharma.  According to records, Jijang was bitten by a poisonous snake but he did not move, thus letting the snake go. A woman happened to pass by and gave the monk medicines to cure him of the venom, as well as a spring on her son's behalf. For a few years, Jijang continued to meditate in his hut, until one day, a scholar named Chu-Ke led a group of friends and family to visit the mountain. Noticing the monk meditating in the hut, they went and took a look at his condition. They had noticed that his bowl did not contain any food, and that his hair had grown back.  Taking pity on the monk, Chu-Ke decided to build a temple as an offering to him. The whole group descended the mountain immediately to discuss plans to build the temple. Mount Jiuhua was also property of a wealthy person called Elder Wen-Ke, who obliged to build a temple on his mountain. Therefore, Wen-Ke and the group ascended the mountain once more and asked Jijang how much land he needed.  Jijang replied that he needed a piece of land that could be covered fully by his kasaya. Initially believing that a piece of sash could not provide enough land to build a temple, they were surprised when Jijang threw the kasaya in the air, and the robe expanded in size, covering the entire mountain. Elder Wen-Ke had then decided to renounce the entire mountain to Jijang, and became his protector. Sometime later, Wen-Ke's son also left secular life to become a monk.  Jijang lived in Mount Jiuhua for 75 years before passing away at the age of 99. Three years after his nirvana, his tomb was opened, only to reveal that the body had not decayed. Because Jijang led his wayplace with much difficulty, most people had the intuition to believe that he was indeed an incarnation of Kṣitigarbha.  Jijang's well-preserved, dehydrated body may still be viewed today at the monastery he built on Mount Jiuhua.

Iconography.

Traditional iconography.

In Buddhist iconography, Kṣitigarbha is typically depicted with a shaven head, dressed in a monk's simple robes (unlike most other bodhisattvas, who are dressed like Indian royalty).  In his left hand, Kṣitigarbha holds a tear-shaped jewel or cintamani ("nyoi hōju" 如意宝珠 in Japanese); in his right hand, he holds a staff ("shakujō" 錫杖 in Japanese), which is used to alert insects and small animals of his approach, so that he will not accidentally harm them. This staff is traditionally carried by Buddhist monks. In the Chinese tradition, Kṣitigarbha is sometimes depicted wearing a crown like the one worn by Vairocana. His image is similar to that of the fictional character Tang Sanzang from the classical novel "Journey to the West", so observers sometimes mistake Kṣitigarbha for the latter.  Like other bodhisattvas, Kṣitigarbha usually is seen standing on a lotus base, symbolising his release from rebirth. Kṣitigarbha's face and head are also idealised, featuring the third eye, elongated ears and the other standard attributes of a buddha.

Iconography in Japan.

Jizō statues are often adorned with bibs, kerchiefs or kasa hat on his head, and sometimes dressed with a haori.  Tōsen-ji in Katsushika, Tokyo, contains the "Bound Jizō" of Ōoka Tadasuke fame, dating from the Edo period. When petitions are requested before Jizō, the petitioner ties a rope about the statue. When the wish is granted, the petitioner unties the rope. At the new year, the ropes of the ungranted wishes are cut by the temple priest.

Kṣitigarbha as Lord of the Six Ways.

Another category of iconographic depiction is Kṣitigarbha as the Lord of the Six Ways, an allegorical representation of the Six Paths of Rebirth of the Desire realm (rebirth into hell, or as pretas, animals, asuras, men, and devas). The Six Paths are often depicted as six rays or beams radiating from the bodhisattva and accompanied by figurative representations of the Six Paths. Many of these depictions in China can be found in Shaanxi province, perhaps a result of Sanjie Jiao worship in the area.  A Japanese variation of this depiction is the Six Jizō, six full sculptural manifestations of the bodhisattva. An example of this can be found in Konjikidō, the ‘Hall of Gold,’ in the Chūson-ji temple.

In Buddhist traditions.

Chinese traditions.

Mount Jiuhua in Anhui is regarded as Kṣitigarbha's bodhimaṇḍa. It is one of the Four Sacred Buddhism Mountains in China, and at one time housed more than 300 temples. Today, 95 of these are open to the public. The mountain is a popular destination for pilgrims offering dedications to Kṣitigarbha.  In some areas, the admixture of traditional religions has led to Kṣitigarbha being also regarded as a Taoist deity, albeit his duties differ to what Kṣitigarbha does.

Japanese traditions.

In Japan, Kṣitigarbha, known as "Jizō", or respectfully as "Ojizō-sama", is one of the most loved of all Japanese divinities. His statues are a common sight, especially by roadsides and in graveyards.

Children's limbo legend.

In the common tradition associated with the or the banks of the Sanzu River, the Jizō is portrayed as the protector of the souls of children, who are condemned to stack piles of stones vainly, for these towers are repeatedly toppled. In a later version such as the one recorded by Lafcadio Hearn, the oni demons wreck the stone piles, and torment the children, and the children seek haven with Jizō who hide them inside his garment and comfort them. In an earlier version, found written in the, c. 1600 or earlier when the dead children pile stones at the Sai no Kawara ("Children’s Riverbed Hell"), winds and flames are the agents knocking down the stone tower, and the flame reduce the children into cremated bones, to be revived back to whole by the Jizō Bodhisattva (or by demons).  This concept of Sai no Kawara, or children's limbo first appeared in the "Otogizōshi" of the Muromachi Period, and in fact, the "Tale of the Fuji Cave" related above is one such work from the Otogizōshi. So the notion was developed quite late, in the post-medieval era, although it has been pretentiously associated with the priest Kūya (10th century). The Jizō and the Sai no Kawara legend was connected with the Kūya and his "wasan", or chantings probably some time in the 17th century, creating the "Jizō wasan". Also, as to the identification of certain geographic features as Sai no Kawara on Osorezan mountain in northern Japan, the establishment of the Jizō cult there is of late-Tokugawa Period vintage, early to mid 18th century, despite temple pamphlets ("engi", or account of the founding of temples) purporting origins dating back to the 9th century, with the priest Ennin alleged to have established the place of worship for the Jizō at Mt. Osore (in olden times styled "Mount Usori").

Lost pregnancies.

Jizō has been worshipped as the guardian of the souls of "mizuko", the souls of stillborn, miscarried, or aborted fetuses in the ritual of.

Splinter-remover.

One of the most well-known form is the cult of the centered at

Offerings.

Jizō statues are sometimes accompanied by a little pile of stones and pebbles, put there by people in the hope that it would shorten the time children have to suffer in the underworld. (The act is derived from the tradition of building stupas as an act of merit-making.) Traditionally, he is seen as the guardian of children, and in particular, children who died before their parents. The statues can sometimes be seen wearing tiny children's clothing or bibs, or with toys, put there by grieving parents to help their lost ones and hoping that Jizō would specially protect them. Sometimes the offerings are put there by parents to thank Jizō for saving their children from a serious illness. His features are commonly made more baby-like to resemble the children he protects.

Roadside god.

As Jizō is seen as the saviour of souls who have to suffer in the underworld, his statues are common in cemeteries. He is also believed to be one of the protective deities of travellers, the "dōsojin", and roadside statues of Jizō are a common sight in Japan. Firefighters are also believed to be under his protection.

Southeast Asian traditions.

In Theravada Buddhism, the story of a bhikkhu named Phra Malai with similar qualities to Kṣitigarbha is well known throughout Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand and Laos. Legend has it that he was an arhat from Sri Lanka who achieved great supernatural powers through his own merit and meditation. He is also honoured as a successor to Mahāmoggallāna, the Buddha's disciple foremost for his supernatural attainments. In the story, this pious and compassionate monk descends to Hell to give teachings & comfort the suffering hell-beings there. He also learns how the hell-beings are punished according to their sins in the different hells.

Mantra.

In Shingon Buddhism and other schools of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, the mantra of Kṣitigarbha comes from the "Treasury of Mantras" section of the "Mahavairocana Tantra". The effect of this mantra is producing the "Samadhi Realm of Adamantine Indestructible Conduct." This mantra is the following:  Om! Ha ha ha! O wondrous one! svāhā!

Kṣitigarbha (, ) is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism and usually depicted as a Buddhist monk. His name may be translated as "Earth Treasury", "Earth Store", "Earth Matrix", or "Earth Womb". Kṣitigarbha is known for his vow to take responsibility for the instruction of all beings in the six worlds between the death of Gautama Buddha and the rise of Maitreya, as well as his vow not to achieve Buddhahood until all hells are emptied. He is therefore often regarded as the bodhisattva of hell-beings, as well as the guardian of children and patron deity of deceased children and aborted fetuses in Japanese culture, where he is known as Jizō or Ojizō-sama.

Kšitigarbha je bódhisattva, který je uctíván jako ochránce pocestných, žen a dětí, zachránce z pekelných světů a průvodce dětí v posmrtných říších. V Japonsku je znám pod jménem Džizó a v Číně jako Ti-cchang.


Biography.

Born in East Orland, Maine, Clark grew up, graduated from Reno High School in 1926 and went to college at the University of Nevada, where his father, Walter Ernest Clark, was president of the University of Nevada. In 1933 Clark married Barbara Frances Morse and moved to Cazenovia, New York, where he taught high school English and began his fiction-writing career.  Clark's first published novel, "The Ox-Bow Incident" (1940), was successful and is often considered to be the first modern Western, without the usual clichés and formulaic plots of the genre. The novel is a story about a lynch mob mistaking three innocent travelers for cattle rustlers suspected of murder. After the travelers are hanged, the lynch mob finds that they killed the wrong suspects. The novel's themes include an examination of frontier law and order, as well as culpability. The novel was well-received, gave Clark literary acclaim that was unusual for a writer of Westerns, and in 1943 was adapted into a movie starring Henry Fonda and Harry Morgan.  Over the next decade, Clark published two more novels: "The City of Trembling Leaves" (1945) and "The Track of the Cat" (1949). In 1950, a collection of short stories, "The Watchful Gods and Other Stories", was released. Since they began appearing in national magazines during the 1940s, Clark's short stories gained national recognition and earned the O. Henry Prize five times, in quick succession, between 1941 and 1945. After this initial success in the short story format, some of these stories (notably "Hook" and "The Wind And The Snow Of Winter") have been repeatedly anthologized as classic examples of the genre. Clark's short story, "The Portable Phonograph" - a poignant depiction of survivors in the aftermath of nuclear war - is also well known. Two Hollywood films were inspired by Clark's writings, and one of these ("The Ox-Bow Incident") received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. The other film was "Track of the Cat", based on Clark's novel "The Track of the Cat". (Note that the film's title drops the definite article used in the novel's title).  Although he continued to write more sporadically after 1950, Clark published no more fiction works during the remaining two decades of his life. Thereafter, Clark devoted his creative energies to teaching and lecturing. From 1954 to 1956, he was a professor of creative writing at the University of Montana in Missoula, where he was noted by his students for his teaching skills and for his eccentric clothing which consisted of a blue turtleneck shirt, maroon corduroy jacket, grey slacks and blue socks which never varied throughout the term. Clark began teaching at a writer's workshop at San Francisco State University during the summer of 1955, moving to San Francisco in 1956 after he was hired there full-time to establish a formal Creative Writing Program. He remained there until 1962.  Clark would return to Reno to serve as the writer-in-residence at the university from 1962 until his death from cancer in Virginia City, Nevada on November 10, 1971 at aged 62. He spent the last ten years of his life editing "The Journals of Alfred Doten". He died almost two years to the day after the death of his wife Barbara (Frances Morse) Clark (December 16, 1906 - November 12, 1969). Both of them died of cancer, as Clark's biographer Jackson J. Benson noted in his biography of Clark, "The Ox-Bow Man". Clark was chosen, along with Robert Laxalt, to be the first writer inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame when it was established in 1988 by the Friends of the University of Nevada Libraries.

Walter Van Tilburg Clark (August 3, 1909 – November 10, 1971) was an American novelist, short story writer, and educator. He ranks as one of Nevada's most distinguished literary figures of the 20th century, and was the first inductee into the 'Nevada Writers Hall of Fame' in 1988, together with Robert Laxalt, Clark's mentee and Nevada's other heralded twentieth century author. Two of Clark's novels, "The Ox-Bow Incident" and "The Track of the Cat," were made into films. As a writer, Clark taught himself to use the familiar materials of the western saga to explore the human psyche and to raise deep philosophical issues.

Walter Van Tilburg Clark (3. srpna 1909, East Orland, Maine — 10. listopadu 1971, Reno, Nevada) byl americký spisovatel, který se proslavil především svým westernovým příběhem "Jízda do Ox-Bow (The Ox-Bow Incident)".