History.

The palace, which also served as a Franciscan friary, was built during the reign of King John V (1707–1750), as consequence of a vow the king made in 1711, to build a convent if his wife, Queen Mariana, gave him offspring. The birth of his first daughter the Infanta Barbara of Portugal, prompted construction of the palace to begin. The palace was conveniently located near royal hunting preserves, and was usually a secondary residence for the royal family.  This vast complex, largely built of Lioz stone, is among the most sumptuous Baroque buildings in Portugal and at 40,000 m2, one of the largest royal palaces. Designed by the German architect João Frederico Ludovice, the palace was built symmetrically from a central axis, occupied by the basilica, and continues lengthwise through the main façade until two major towers. The structures of the convent are located behind the main façade. The building also includes a major library, with about 30,000 rare books. The basilica is decorated with several Italian statues and includes six historical pipe organs and two carillons, composed of 98 bells.

Construction.

The exact site was chosen in 1713 and purchased in 1716. Construction began by the laying of the first stone on November 17, 1717 with a grand ceremony in the presence of the king, his entire court and the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon.  Initially it was a relatively small project for a friary of 13 Capuchin friars, who were to observe strict poverty. However, when the flow of gold from the Portuguese colony of Brazil started to arrive in Lisbon in abundance, the king changed his plans and announced the construction of a sumptuous palace along with a much enlarged friary. This immense wealth allowed the king to be a generous patron of arts.  He appointed an architect João Frederico Ludovice as director of the royal works at Mafra. Ludwig had studied architecture in Rome and knew contemporary Italian art. The extent of Ludwig's responsibility is unclear, as several other architects were involved in this project: the Milanese builder Carlos Baptista Garbo, Custódio Vieira, Manuel da Maia and even his own son António. However the application of the same architectural style over the whole building suggests the work of Ludwig as the head-architect in charge of the Royal Office of Works ("Real Obra").  Construction lasted 13 years and mobilized a vast army of workers from the entire country (a daily average of 15,000 but at the end climbing to 30,000 and a maximum of 45,000), under the command of António Ludovice, the son of the architect.In addition 7,000 soldiers were assigned to preserve order at the construction site. They used 400 kg of gunpowder to blast through the bedrock for the laying of foundations. There was even a hospital for the sick or wounded workers. A total of 1,383 workers died during the construction.  The facade is 220 meters long. The whole complex covers 37,790 m2 with about 1,200 rooms, more than 4,700 doors and windows, and 156 stairways.  When complete the building consisted of a friary capable of sheltering 330 friars, along with a royal palace and a huge library of 30,000 books, embellished with marble, exotic woods and countless artworks taken from France, Flanders and Italy, which included six monumental pipe organs and the two carillons.  The basilica and the convent were inaugurated on the day of the King's 41st birthday on October 22, 1730. The festivities lasted for 8 days and were of a scale never seen before in Portugal. The basilica was dedicated to Our Lady and to St. Anthony.  However the building was not finished. The lantern on the cupola was completed in 1735. Work continued till 1755, when the work force was needed in Lisbon by the devastations of the Lisbon earthquake.

Later history.

The palace was not occupied permanently by the royalty, who considered the rooms too gloomy. Nonetheless, it was a popular destination for the members of the royal family who enjoyed hunting in the nearby game preserve, the "Tapada Nacional de Mafra". During the reign of King John VI the palace was inhabited for a whole year in 1807. The king was responsible for a partial renovation of the building by some well-known artists. However, with the French invasion of Portugal, in 1807, the royal family fled to Brazil, taking with them some of the best pieces of art and furniture in the building. Marshal Junot took up residence in the palace, to be driven out in turn by Wellington.  In 1834, after the Liberal Wars, Queen Maria II ordered the dissolution of the religious orders and the convent was abandoned by the Franciscans. During the last reigns of the House of Braganza, the palace was mainly used as a base for hunting. In 1849 the monastery part of the building was assigned to the military, a situation still in use today.  The last king of Portugal, Manuel II, following the proclamation of the republic, left on 5 October 1910 from the palace to the nearby coastal village of Ericeira on his way to exile. The palace was declared a national monument in 1907. At present, the building is conserved by the Portuguese Institute of the Architectonic Patrimony, which carried out several recovery programs, including the conservation of the main façade. A major restoration of the historical pipe organs began in 1998 with the collaboration of foreign experts and was finished in 2010. The restoration won the Europa Nostra 2012 award.

Description.

Façade.

The imposing façade, built of local limestone, is 220 m long and faces the town of Mafra. At each end of the façade stands a square tower with a bulbous dome, such as found in Central Europe. The church, built in white marble, is located in the centre of the main façade, symmetrically flanked on both sides by the royal palace. The king, wishing to rival the splendour of Rome, had sought architectural advice from his ambassador to the Vatican, who sent him small-scale models of important Roman religious buildings. The benedictial balcony at its centre is clearly mirrored on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. But this balcony is rather intended for the king, as a symbol of his power, than for the benedictions by a prelate.  The two church towers (68 m high) are inspired by the towers of Sant'Agnese in Agone (by the Roman Baroque architect Francesco Borromini). Their two carillons contain a total of 92 church bells, founded in Antwerp. The story goes that the Flemish bell-founders were so astonished by the size of their commission, that they asked to be paid in advance. The king retorted by doubling the offered amount. These carillons constitute the largest historical collection in the world.  The two towers are connected by two rows of Corinthian columns. The top row contains the statues of St. Dominic and St. Francis, sculpted from Carrara marble, standing in a niche on each side of the balcony. The lower row contains the statues of St. Clara and St. Elisabeth of Hungary.

Royal Palace.

The spacious royal apartments are situated on the second floor. The apartments of the king are situated at the end of the palace while the apartment of the queen is 200 m away at the other end. Such was this distance that, when the king left his apartment towards the apartment of the queen, this was announced to the queen by the sound of a trumpet.  As king John VI had taken with him some of the best pieces of art and furniture in the building when the royal family fled in 1808 for the advancing French troops to Brazil, most rooms had to be redecorated in the original style. The Hunting trophy room ("Sala dos Troféus") is decorated with numerous skulls of deer, the furniture is constructed of antlers and covered with deerskin and even the candleholders are made of deer antlers.  The Benediction Gallery ("Sala da Benção") borders at the upper level of the basilica. The royal family could here attend Mass, seated at a window opening unto the basilica. The bust of John V in this hall is a work of the Italian Alessandro Giusti. The Throne Room, the Guard Room and the Room of Goddess Diana are decorated with murals by artist such as Ciryllo Wolkmar Machado, Bernardo Oliveira Góis and Vieira Lusitano.

Basilica.

The church is built in the form of a Latin cross with a length of 63 m. It is rather narrow (16.5 m), an impression accentuated by the height of its nave (21.5 m). The vestibule (Galilee porch) contains a group of large sculptures in Carrara marble, representing the patron saints of several monastic orders.  The interior makes abundantly use of local rose-coloured marble, intermingled with white marble in different patterns. The multi-coloured designs of the floor are repeated on the ceiling. The barrel vault rests on fluted Corinthian semicolumns standing between the side chapels. The chapels in the transept contain altarpieces in jasper made by sculptors from the School of Mafra. The side aisles display 58 marble statues commissioned from the best Roman sculptors of their time. The All Saint's chapel in the transept is screened from the crossing by iron railings with bronze ornaments, made in Antwerp.  The choir has a magnificent giant candleholder with seven lamps sprouting from the mouth of seven rolled-up snakes. Above the main altar, inserting into the ceiling, is a gigantic jasper crucifix of 4.2 m, flanked by two kneeling angels, made by the School of Mafra. The cupola over the crossing was also inspired by the cupola of Sant'Agnese in Agone (by the Roman Baroque architect Francesco Borromini). This 70 m-high cupola with a small lantern atop, is carried by four finely sculpted arcs in rose and white marble.  There are six organs, four of which are located in the transept, constituting a rather uncommon ensemble. There were built by Joaquim Peres Fontanes and António Xavier Machado Cerveira between 1792 and 1807 (when the French troops occupied Mafra). They were made out of partially gilded Brazilian wood. The largest pipe is 6 m high and has a diameter of 0.28 m. King John V had commissioned liturgical vestments from master embroiderers from Genoa and Milan, such as Giuliano Saturni and Benedetto Salandri, and from France. They attest of superb quality and workmanship by their embroidering in gold technique and the use of silk thread in the same colour.  The religious paintings in the basilica and the convent constitute one of the most significant 18th century collections in Portugal. They include works by the Italians Agostino Masucci, Corrado Giaquinto, Francesco Trevisani, Pompeo Batoni and some Portuguese students in Rome such as Vieira Lusitano and Inácio de Oliveira Bernardes. The sculpture collection contains works by almost every major Roman sculptor from the first half of the 18th century. At that time, it represented the biggest single order done by a foreign power in Rome and still is amongst one of the biggest collections in existence.  The parish of Mafra ("Santo André de Mafra") and the Royal and Venerable Confraternity of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Mafra (Portuguese: "Real e Venerável Irmandade do Santíssimo Sacramento de Mafra") have their headquarters in the Basilica.

Library.

The Rococo library, situated at the back of the second floor, is truly the highlight of this palace, rivalling the grandeur of the library of the Melk Abbey in Austria. Built by Manuel Caetano de Sousa, this library is 88 m long, 9.5 m wide and 13 m high. The magnificent floor is covered with tiles of rose, grey and white marble. The wooden bookshelves in Rococo style are situated on the sidewalls in two rows, separated by a balcony with a wooden railing. They contain over 36,000 leather-bound volumes, attesting of the extent of western knowledge from the 14th to the 19th century. Among them, are many valuable bibliographical jewels, such as incunabula. These beautiful finished volumes were bound in the local workshop ("Livraria") in the "rocaille" style (also by Manuel Caetano de Sousa).  The library is known for homing bats which protect the books from insect damage.  The Library was used in "Gulliver's Travels" (1996) as the Great Chamber of War for the Emperor of Lilliput.

Convent.

The rectangle behind the church and the palace houses the friary of the Franciscan friars of Arrábida Order ("Ordem de São Francisco da Província da Arrábida") with cells for about 300 friars in long corridors on several floors. Between 1771 and 1791 this monastery was occupied by the Hermit Friars of St. Augustine.

Mafra School of Sculpture.

The Mafra School of Sculpture was founded during the reign of king Joseph I of Portugal, successor of king John V. As the Mafra National Palace had a great need for sculptors, local and from abroad, it became the location of a sculpture academy headed by the Italian Alessandro Giusti (1715–1799).  Among the teachers were several important sculptors, such as José de Almeida (1709–1769), Claude de Laprade (1682–1738) and Giovanni Antonio da Padova (who created most of the statues for the cathedral of Évora).  The academy was awarded many commissions by the Augustinians from the monastery, resulting in the many marble statues and retables in marble and jasper in the basilica. This academy produced several generations of Portuguese sculptors, such as Joaquim Machado de Castro (1731–1822).

Cultural influence.

A major reference to the construction of the palace is made in the book "Baltasar and Blimunda" ("Memorial do Convento"), written by the Portuguese Nobel laureate José Saramago. The main character, Baltasar, born in Mafra, works in the construction of the palace(He does not work in the construction of the palace. He was born in Mafra and during the events of the novel he returns to it and witnesses some of the early stages of the construction before leaving again to Lisbon). Saramago makes a detailed description of the building process, including the transport of a giant stone from the quarry to the building site, depicting it as a torture for those who helped build the palace.

See also.

Other : Institutions:

The Palace of Mafra (), also known as the Palace-Convent of Mafra and the Royal Building of Mafra ("Real Edifício de Mafra"), is a monumental Baroque and Neoclassical palace-monastery located in Mafra, Portugal, some 28 kilometres from Lisbon. Construction began in 1717 under King John V of Portugal and was completely concluded in 1755.

马夫拉宫()是一座巨大的巴洛克和意大利化的新古典主义宫殿-修道院,位于葡萄牙的马夫拉,由于其极为庞大的规模,使得小城相形见绌。据称葡萄牙修建这座宫殿是要与马德里郊外的西班牙王宫埃斯科里亚尔修道院竞争,但是更像是迎合梵蒂冈的权势,修道院类似教宗的官邸。2019年作为「马夫拉皇室建筑 – 宫殿、大教堂、修道院、塞尔科花园及塔帕达狩猎公园」的一部分获列入世界遗产。


Life.

Kathleen Mary Pearson was the daughter of a physician and was raised in a Georgian house at the end of the High Street in Leighton Buzzard. The house now forms part of Leighton Middle School, known within the school as The Old House, and was reportedly the setting of her novel "The Borrowers". She married Robert Charles Norton on 4 September 1927 and had four children, two boys and two girls; her son, also named Robert Norton, became a printer and Microsoft executive. Her second husband was Lionel Bonsey, whom she married in 1970.  She began working for the War Office in 1940 before the family moved temporarily to the United States. She began writing while working for the British Purchasing Commission in New York City during World War II. Her first book was "The Magic Bed Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons", published by J. M. Dent in 1945. Its sequel "Bonfires and Broomsticks" followed two years later and they were re-issued jointly as "Bed-Knob and Broomstick" in 1957. The stories became the basis for the 1971 Disney film "Bedknobs and Broomsticks".  During her latter years Norton lived with her husband in the village of Hartland in Devon. She died of a stroke in Bideford, Devon, England on 29 August 1992.

Works.

The British first editions of these works were hardcover books published by J. M. Dent. The first story had been previously published in the US as "The Magic Bed-Knob", a picture book illustrated with colour paintings by Waldo Peirce.  The first omnibus edition was "Bed-Knob and Broomstick" (Dent, 1957), with new illustrations by Erik Blegvad. The title "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" has also been used, after the 1971 Disney film adaptation. In the UK the first four "Borrowers" novels were illustrated by Diana Stanley and "The Borrowers Avenged" was illustrated by Pauline Baynes. In the U.S. all five novels were illustrated by Berta and Elmer Hader. They have also been illustrated by Ilon Wikland.

Film, TV and theatrical adaptations.

Norton's novels "The Magic Bed Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons" and "Bonfires and Broomsticks" were adapted into the 1971 Disney film "Bedknobs and Broomsticks", starring Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson.  There have been several screen adaptations of "The Borrowers":  There have also been numerous theatrical adaptations of "The Borrowers".

Kathleen Mary Norton (née Pearson, 10 December 1903 – 29 August 1992), known professionally as Mary Norton, was an English author of children's books. She is best known for "The Borrowers" series of low fantasy novels (1952 to 1982), which is named after its first book and, in turn, the tiny people who live secretly in the midst of contemporary human civilisation.

凯丝琳·玛丽·诺顿(英语:Kathleen Mary Norton,1903年-12月10日-1992年-8月29日)是一位英国儿童文学作家。旧姓:皮尔逊(Pearson)。代表作有《地板下的小矮人》(The Borrowers)。顺便一提,她不是美国作家安德烈·诺顿(Andre Norton),安德烈出生时的名字为爱丽丝·玛丽·诺顿(Alice Mary Norton)。


Development history.

Due to the inherent differences between standard written Chinese and written Cantonese, the Government of Hong Kong recognised the need for a standardised set of "proprietary" characters that would allow for the streamlining of electronic communication; at the time, the Big5 Chinese encoding scheme did not contain a vast majority of these characters (some were erroneously cross-listed with similar characters).  The Government Chinese Character Set () or GCCS was thus developed by the government. The character set consists of Chinese characters commonly used in Hong Kong. Some characters are Cantonese-specific, while some are alternative forms of characters. The set is not well-organised and the characters are not closely examined.  Subsequently, the HKSCS-1999 (HKSCS 1999 specification) was developed. Following its acceptance, newer revisions were released in 2001 (adding 116 new characters) and in 2004 (adding 123 new characters), totalling 4,941 characters. 106 GCCS characters were removed in HKSCS-1999 as a result of unification, and their Big5 code points are reserved for compatibility. Retired "not verifiable" GCCS characters are found in UTC Sources (UTC-00877–UTC-00898), where they are sourced from Adobe-CNS1-1, an Adobe-CNS1 supplement implemented to support GCCS.  The HKSCS is encoded in Big5 (Big5-HKSCS, big5hk) and ISO 10646. Starting from HKSCS-2004, all characters using to Private Use Area section of Unicode are remapped, with many of them reassigned to Extension B Block or Supplementary Ideographic Plane Compatibility Block. However, to preserve compatibility with programs that generated PUA code points, the allocated code points are reserved, and no new characters will be mapped to PUA.

Version history.

The HKSCS has gone through a few iterations.

Compatibility.

Operating systems.

Microsoft Windows.

In Microsoft Windows 98, NT 4.0, 2000, XP, HKSCS support can be enabled using Microsoft's patch. In Microsoft's implementation, application using code page 950 automatically uses a hidden code page 951 table for the Big5 encoding of the HKSCS extensions. The table supports all code points in HKSCS-2001, except for the compatibility code points specified by the standard. In addition, the MingLiU font is altered using Microsoft's patch. This patch is known to create conflicts in applications such as Microsoft Office, or any application using fonts supporting simplified Chinese characters (e.g.: Simsun). If the target environment contains custom font mapped to the code points affected by Microsoft's patch, the custom fonts can undo Microsoft's patch. Furthermore, the patch breaks EUDC Editor supplied with the affected versions of Windows.  Starting with Windows Vista, HKSCS-2004 characters are only supported as Unicode 4.1 or later. All characters are assigned standard, non-PUA codepoints. The characters are displayed with the MingLiU font, and these characters can be entered via the keyboard. The patch that provides Big5 encoding of HKSCS is unsupported in Windows Vista and later. A utility provided by Microsoft is available to convert HKSCS and Unicode PUA-encoded characters to Unicode 4.1 version.  In 2010, Microsoft published a HKSCS-2004 patch for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. It replaces Windows XP version of MingLiu, PMingLiu, and MingLiu_HKSCS (if HKSCS-2001 patch was applied) with Windows 7 version of MingLiu, PMingLiu and MingLiu_HKSCS. In addition, MingLiU-ExtB, MingLiU_HKSCS-ExtB and PMingLiU-ExtB fonts will be added onto target system. However, IME is not updated as it was in the case of HKSCS-2001 patch, and the fonts are from pre-release of Windows 7.  For earlier versions of the OS, HKSCS support requires the use of Microsoft's patch, or the Hong Kong government's Digital 21's utilities.

IBM.

IBM number the Big5 form of HKSCS-2001 as code page 5471.

Linux.

HKSCS support was added to glibc in 2000, but it has not been updated since then. HKSCS-2004 support is handled as Unicode 4.1 and later.  For freedesktop.org setup, "AR PL ShanHeiSun Uni" font fully supports HKSCS-2004 since 0.1-0.dot.1, with latest revision of HKSCS-2004 supported in version 0.1.20060903-1.  Modern desktop distributions (e.g. Ubuntu) include Arphic Technology's HKSCS-compliant UKai and UMing fonts out of the box when Traditional Chinese Language support is selected during installation. They can also be installed manually at a later time.

Mac OS.

Mac OS X 10.0–10.2 supports HKSCS-1999. 10.3–10.4 supports HKSCS-2001. Some of the letters added to HKSCS-2004 is supported via Unicode PUA in OS X 10.4. Starting with OS X 10.5, all the HKSCS-2004 characters are supported via standard Unicode 4.1 code points.

Applications.

Mozilla 1.5 and above supports HKSCS, with HKSCS-2004 support added into Gecko 1.8.1 code base. Unlike the above-mentioned patch, Mozilla uses its own code page table. However, the fix for bug 343129 does not support characters mapped to code points above Basic Multilingual Plane.  QT 3.x-based applications (e.g.: KDE) only support characters mapped to code points FFFF or lower. In QT4, characters outside BMP are supported via surrogates. Big5-HKSCS Text Codec supports HKSCS-1999 back in Qt-2.3.x, but it was too late in Qt development schedule to be officially included in the Qt-2.3.x series, so it was officially supported in Qt-3.0.1. HKSCS-2001 support was added in Qt-3.0.5.  GNOME supports HKSCS characters in Unicode ranges, except those mapped to the Basic Multilingual Plane compatibility block. Patches to support characters mapped to above Basic Multilingual Plane was introduced during Pango 1.1.  The WHATWG Encoding Standard includes HKSCS in decoding but not in encoding, and always does even with the plain Big5 label. Newer browsers follow the standard, including Firefox.

The Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set (; commonly abbreviated to HKSCS) is a set of Chinese characters – 4,702 in total in the initial release—used in Cantonese, as well as when writing the names of some places in Hong Kong (whether in written Cantonese or standard written Chinese sentences). It evolved from the preceding Government Chinese Character Set () or GCCS. GCCS is a set of supplementary Chinese characters coded in the user-defined areas of the Big5 character set. It was originally used within the Hong Kong Government and later used by the public. It later evolved into Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set when the characters in the set were submitted to ISO-10646 for coding.

香港增补字符集(英语:Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set,简称英语:HKSCS)是香港政府基于繁体中文电脑操作环境中最流行的大五码(Big5)之上扩展的字符集标准,是现时香港的中文资讯交换内码标准。


Explanation.

Chinese is a tonal language in which subtle changes in pronunciation could change the meaning. In Romanized script, the poem is an example of the antanaclasis in Chinese. The poem shows the flexibility of the Chinese language in many ways, including wording, syntax, punctuation and sentence structures, which gives rise to various explanations.  The poem could be misinterpreted as objection to the Romanization of Chinese. However, the 20th-century author Yuen Ren Chao was a major supporter for Romanization. He used this poem as an example to object to the use of Classical Chinese that is hardly used in daily life.  The poem is easy to understand when read in its written form in Chinese characters, due to each character being associated with a different core meaning, or in its spoken form in those Sinitic languages other than Mandarin. However, when it is in its transcribed Romanized form or in its spoken Mandarin form, it becomes confusing. Many words in the passage had distinct sounds in Middle Chinese. All of the variants of spoken Chinese have, over time, merged and split different sounds. For example, when the same passage is read in Cantonese (even modern Cantonese) there are seven distinct syllables—"ci", "sai", "sap", "sat", "sek", "si", "sik"—in six distinct tone contours, producing 22 distinct character pronunciations. In Southern Min, there are six distinct syllables—"se", "si", "su", "sek", "sip", "sit"—in seven distinct tone contours, producing fifteen character pronunciations. Therefore, the passage is barely comprehensible when read aloud in modern Mandarin without context, but easier to understand when read in other Sinitic languages, such as Cantonese.

The Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den () is a short narrative poem written in Classical Chinese that is composed of 92 characters in which every word is pronounced shi () when read in present-day Standard Mandarin, with only the tones differing.

《施氏食狮史》是一篇由中国语言学家赵元任所写的同音文章,全文共92字(连标题97字),每字之普通话拼音都为shi(注音符号为ㄕ),只是声调相异。


Breed characteristics.

The name "Haflinger" comes from the village of Hafling, which today is in northern Italy. The breed is also called the Avelignese, from the Italian name for Hafling, which is Avelengo or previously Aveligna. Haflingers are always chestnut in color and occur in shades ranging from a light gold to a rich golden chestnut or liver hue. The mane and tail are white or flaxen. The height of the breed has increased since the end of World War II, when it stood an average of. The desired height today is between. Breeders are discouraged from breeding horses under the minimum size, but taller individuals may pass inspection if they otherwise meet requirements of the breed registry. The breed has a refined head and light poll. The neck is of medium length, the withers are pronounced, the shoulders sloping, and the chest deep. The back is medium-long and muscular; the croup is long, slightly sloping, and well-muscled. The legs are clean, with broad, flat knees and powerful hocks showing clear definition of tendons and ligaments. The Haflinger has rhythmic, ground-covering gaits. The walk is relaxed but energetic. The trot and canter are elastic, energetic, and athletic with a natural tendency to be light on the forehand and balanced. Some knee action is seen, and the canter has a very distinct motion forwards and upwards. One important consideration in breeding during the second half of the 20th century was temperament. A requirement for a quiet, kind nature has become part of official breed standards and is checked during official inspections. Some sources recognize two types of Haflingers, a shorter, heavier type used for draft work, and a taller, lighter type used for pleasure riding, light driving, and under-saddle competition. The Food and Agriculture Organization recognizes both an "Avelignese" and an "Avelignese Tradizionale" as existing in Italy, although, as of 2007, only 13 of the latter existed, including only one breeding stallion. However, all breed organizations recognize and register only one type.

Stallion lines.

All Haflingers today trace their lineage through one of seven stallion lines to Folie, the foundation stallion of the breed. Usually, colts are given a name beginning with the letter or letters denoting their stallion line, and fillies are given a name beginning with the first letter of their dam's name. The exceptions are France, where foals are given a name beginning with a letter of the alphabet designated to be used for that year; and Italy, where colts' names must begin with the letter or letters designating the stallion line, while fillies' names begin with the letter designated for a given year. The seven stallion lines are:  Bolzano and Willi were great-great grandsons of Folie, while the rest were great-great-great grandsons. Especially in the early years of the breed's history, some inbreeding occurred, both by accident and design, which served to reinforce the breed's dominant characteristics. During the 1980s and 1990s, several studies were conducted to examine morphological differences among the breed lines. Significant differences were found in some characteristics, including height and proportions; these have been used to help achieve breeding objectives, especially in Italy during the 1990s.

History.

The history of the Haflinger horse traces to the Middle Ages. Origins of the breed are uncertain, but two main theories are given. The first is that Haflingers descend from horses abandoned in the Tyrolean valleys in central Europe by East Goths fleeing from Byzantine troops after the fall of Conza in 555 AD. These abandoned horses are believed to have been influenced by Oriental bloodlines and may help explain the Arabian physical characteristics seen in the Haflinger. A type of light mountain pony was first recorded in the Etsch Valley in 1282, and was probably the ancestor of the modern Haflinger. The second theory is that they descended from a stallion from the Kingdom of Burgundy sent to Margrave Louis of Brandenburg by his father, Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, when the Margrave married Princess Margarete Maultasch of the Tyrol in 1342. It has also been suggested that they descend from the prehistoric forest horse. Haflingers have close connections to the Noriker, a result of the overlapping geographic areas where the two breeds were developed. Whatever its origins, the breed developed in a mountainous climate and was well able to thrive in harsh conditions with minimal maintenance.  The breed as it is known today was officially established in the village of Hafling in the Etschlander Mountains, then located in Austria-Hungary. The Arabian influence was strongly reinforced in the modern Haflinger by the introduction of the stallion El Bedavi, imported to Austria in the 19th century. El-Bedavi's half-Arabian great-grandson, El-Bedavi XXII, was bred at the Austro-Hungarian stud at Radautz and was sire of the breed's foundation stallion, 249 Folie, born in 1874 in the Vinschgau. Folie's dam was a native Tyrolean mare of refined type. All Haflingers today must trace their ancestry to Folie through one of seven stallion lines (A, B, M, N, S, ST, and W) to be considered purebred. The small original gene pool, and the mountain environment in which most original members of the breed were raised, has resulted in a very fixed physical type and appearance. In the early years of the breed's development Oriental stallions such as Dahoman, Tajar and Gidran were also used as studs, but foals of these stallions lacked many key Haflinger traits and breeding to these sires was discontinued. After the birth of Folie in 1874, several Austrian noblemen became interested in the breed and petitioned the government for support and direction of organized breeding procedures. It was 1899 before the Austrian government responded, deciding to support breeding programs through establishment of subsidies; high-quality Haflinger fillies were among those chosen for the government-subsidized breeding program. Since then the best Haflinger fillies and colts have been chosen and selectively bred to maintain the breed's quality. Horses not considered to meet quality standards were used by the army as pack animals. By the end of the 19th century Haflingers were common in both South and North Tyrol, and stud farms had been established in Styria, Salzburg and Lower Austria. In 1904, the Haflinger Breeders' Cooperative was founded in Mölten, in South Tyrol, with the aim of improving breeding procedures, encouraging pure-breeding and establishing a studbook and stallion registry.

World Wars.

World War I resulted in many Haflingers being taken into military service and the interruption of breeding programs. After the war, under the terms of the Treaty of Saint Germain, South Tyrol (including Hafling) was ceded to Italy, while North Tyrol remained in Austria. This split was extremely detrimental to the Haflinger breed, as most of the brood mares were in South Tyrol in what was now Italy, while the high-quality breeding stallions had been kept at studs in North Tyrol and so were still in Austria. Little effort at cooperation was made between breeders in North and South Tyrol, and in the 1920s a new Horse Breeders' Commission was established in Bolzano in Italy, which was given governmental authority to inspect state-owned breeding stallions, register privately owned stallions belonging to Commission members, and give prize money for horse show competition. The Commission governed the breeding of the Italian population of both the Haflinger and the Noriker horse. In 1921, because of the lack of breeding stallions in Italy, a crossbred Sardinian-Arabian stallion was used for the Haflinger breeding program, as well as many lower-quality purebred Haflingers. If not for the presence of Haflinger stallions at a stud farm in Stadl-Paura in Upper Austria after World War I, the Haflinger might well not exist in Austria today. Despite these stallions, the Haflinger breeding programs were not on solid footing in Austria, with governmental focus on other Austrian breeds and private breeding programs not large enough to influence national breeding practices. During this time, the breed was kept alive through crosses to the Hucul, Bosnian, Konik and Noriker breeds. In 1919 and 1920, the remaining stallions were assigned throughout Austria, many to areas that had hosted private breeding farms before the war. In 1921, the North Tyrolean Horse Breeders' Cooperative was formed in Zams, and in 1922, the first Haflinger Breeders' Show was held in the same location. Many extant Austrian Haflinger mares were considered to be of too low quality to be used as brood mares, and every effort was made to import higher-quality brood mares from the South Tyrol herds now in Italy. In 1926, the first studbook was established in North Tyrol. In the late 1920s, other cooperatives were established for Haflinger breeders in Weer and Wildschönau, and were able to gain government permission to purchase 100 Haflinger mares from South Tyrol and split them between North Tyrol, Upper Austria and Styria. This single transaction represented one third of all registered mares in South Tyrol, and many others were sold through private treaty, leaving the two regions comparable in terms of breeding-stock populations. In 1931, another breeders' cooperative was established in East Tyrol in Austria, and Haflinger breeding spread throughout the entire Tyrolean province.  The Great Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s dampened horse prices and had an unfavorable effect on Haflinger breeding, but from 1938 onwards markets improved as a result of the buildup for World War II. All crossbred horses and colts not of breeding quality could be sold to the army, and higher subsidies were given by the government to Haflinger breeders. However, the demands of the war also meant that many unregistered mares of Haflinger type were covered by registered stallions, and the resulting progeny were registered, resulting in a degradation of breeding stock. In 1935 and 1936, a breeding program was begun in Bavaria through the cooperation of the German agricultural authorities, military authorities and existing stud farms. The first government-run German Haflinger stud farm was established in Oberaudorf with brood mares from North and South Tyrol, and several private stud farms were established elsewhere in the country. The combination of a high demand for pack horses and variable amounts of breed knowledge of the purchasers led to the purchase of both high- and low-quality horses, which had mixed results on breed quality. Purchases by Bavarians also resulted in a further depletion of Austrian and Italian stock, already low from the population depletions of both world wars. However, the German Armed Forces were ready purchasers, and the purchasing and breeding continued. Despite some claims that only purebred horses were registered, many well-known Bavarian studs had crossbred maternal lines. During World War II, Haflingers were bred to produce horses that were shorter and more draft-like for use as packhorses by the military. After the war, breeding emphasis changed to promote refinement and height.

Postwar period.

After World War II, Haflinger breeding programs almost collapsed as the military stopped buying horses and government-run breeding centers were closed. Breeders continued to emphasize those features necessary for pack horses (the largest use by the military), but neglected other key Haflinger characteristics. Haflinger breeding had to change to create a horse that better fit modern trends toward recreational use. Around this time, all small breed cooperatives were combined into the Haflinger Breeders' Association of Tyrol. Post-World War II Tyrol, including the breeding center at Zams, was under the control of American forces, who slaughtered many horses to provide meat for hospitals. However, the troops did allow the breeding director to choose 30 stallions to be kept for breeding purposes. Those horses were relocated to the French-occupied Kops Alm high pasture in Vorarlberg, but they were subsequently stolen and never seen again. In other areas of Tyrol, all one- to three-year-old colts had been requisitioned by military breeding centers, and therefore it was necessary to treat colts not even a year old as potential breeding stallions. In the years after World War II, some observers feared that the breed was dying out because of indiscriminate crossing with other breeds. At conferences in 1946 and 1947, the decision was made to breed Haflinger horses from pure bloodlines, creating a closed stud book with no new blood being introduced. The Tyrolean Haflinger Breeders' Association established its own stallion center and prohibited private breeders from keeping stallions, thus ensuring that the association maintained 100 percent control of breeding stallions. In Bavaria, several young stallions had been saved and breeders could privately own stallions. Bavarian and Tyrolean breeders maintained close ties and cooperated extensively. North Tyrolean breeders were also able to acquire several high-quality older stallions and lower-quality young stallions from South Tyrol. In 1947, the Federation of Austrian Haflinger Breeders was established as a governing organization for the provincial associations. At this time a large-scale breed show was held, attended by visitors from Switzerland, who soon after their return home sent a purchasing commission to Austria and were instrumental in founding the Haflinger population in Switzerland. Southern Tyrol had no difficulty in selling its horses, as all of Italy was in the market to purchase horses, and breeding populations spread as far south as Sicily.  Between 1950 and 1974, even as the overall European equine population was dropping due to increased mechanization, the Haflinger population was increasing. In that time period, the population of registered Haflinger brood mares rose from 1,562 to 2,043. This was mainly a result of the increased marketing of the breed, and happened even as Norwegian Fjord horses were exported to Germany, reducing the resources available for Haflinger breeding programs. Through well-planned marketing campaigns, the Haflinger became the dominant small-horse breed in the region. In 1954, Yugoslavia and Italy purchased breeding stock from North Tyrol to establish their own Haflinger programs and in 1956 the German Democratic Republic followed suit. The first Haflingers were exported to the United States from Austria in 1958 by Tempel Smith of Tempel Farms in Illinois and into Czechoslovakia in 1959. Tyrolean Haflingers were purchased by the Netherlands and Turkey in 1961. In Turkey they were both bred pure and crossed with the Karacabey breed. In 1963, the first Haflinger was exported to Great Britain, in 1969 two Haflinger mares were presented to Queen Elizabeth II upon her official visit to Austria, and in 1970, the Haflinger Society of Great Britain was established. The first Haflinger was exported to France in 1964, and they continued to be transferred to that country until 1975, when the breeding population became stable. Between 1980 and 2000, the population of Haflingers in France tripled. In 1965, the first international Haflinger show was held at Innsbruck, with horses from East and West Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland and Austria participating. Haflingers were first exported to Belgium in 1966, to Bhutan in 1968, and to Poland, Hungary and Albania in subsequent years. The importations to Bhutan encouraged interest in the breed in other parts of Asia. In 1974, the first Haflinger was imported to Australia. The first Canadian Haflinger was registered with the United States breed association in 1977, and a Canadian registry was formed in 1980. Between 1970 and 1975, Haflingers were also imported into Luxemburg, Denmark, Thailand, Columbia, Brazil, southwest Africa, Sweden and Ireland. They have also been imported into Japan. Haflingers maintained a population on every populated continent by the end of the 1970s. Worldwide breeding continued through the 1980s and 1990s, and population numbers increased steadily.

21st century.

Although the Haflinger is now found all over the world, the majority of breeding stock still comes from Austria, where state studs own the stallions and carefully maintain the quality of the breed. However, breeding farms are located in the United States, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and England. As of 2007, Italian Haflingers had the largest population of any breed in that country. Due to selective breeding during the 1990s aiming to increase height, some breed lines became favored over others in Italy. A 2007 study found little inbreeding within the Italian Haflinger population as a whole, although certain less popular lines had a higher incidence due to the existence of fewer breeding stallions. Haflingers are bred throughout France, especially in the provinces of Brittany, Burgundy, and Picardy, with between 350 and 400 foals born each year. Slovenia also has a small Haflinger population, with around 307 breeding mares and 30 breeding stallions as of 2008. A 2009 study found that although a very small amount of inbreeding occurred in the population, it was increasing slightly over the years. As of 2005, almost 250,000 Haflingers remained in the world.  On May 28, 2003, a Haflinger filly named Prometea became the first horse clone born. Bred by Italian scientists, she was cloned from a mare skin cell, and was a healthy foal. In 2008, Prometea herself gave birth to the first offspring of an equine clone, a colt named Pegaso sired by a Haflinger stallion through artificial insemination. The American Haflinger Registry does not allow horses born as a result of cloning to be registered, although as of 2010 other nations' registries have not yet entered a decision on the topic. In January 2012, Breyer Horses created a model horse of the Haflinger.

Uses.

Haflingers were bred to be versatile enough for many under-saddle disciplines, but still solid enough for draft and driving work. The Haflinger was originally developed to work in the mountainous regions of its native land, where it was used as a packhorse and for forestry and agricultural work. In the late 20th century Haflingers were used by the Indian Army in an attempt to breed pack animals for mountainous terrain, but the program was unsuccessful because of the Haflinger's inability to withstand the desert heat. The Austrian Army still uses Haflingers as packhorses in rough terrain. They are used most often in high Alpine terrain, with slopes up to 40% and steps of up to. Around 70 horses are in use, held by the 6th Infantry Brigade and based in Hochfilzen. The Haflinger is also used by the German army for rough terrain work and demonstration purposes.  Today, the breed is used in many activities that include draft and pack work, light harness and combined driving, and many under-saddle events, including western-style horse-show classes, trail and endurance riding, dressage, show jumping, vaulting, and therapeutic riding programs. They are used extensively as dressage horses for children, but are tall and sturdy enough to be suitable riding horses for adults. In the 1970s, British Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh competed with a driving team of four Haflingers. Several national shows for Haflingers are held, including those in Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. Despite the Austrian prohibitions against crossbreeding, other countries have practiced this to some extent. Good-quality animals have been produced out of crosses between Haflingers and both Arabians and Andalusians. British enthusiasts maintain a partbred registry for Haflinger crosses. In Germany, horses that are 75 percent Haflinger and 25 percent Arabian are popular and are called Arabo-Haflingers. In Italy, where horse meat consumption is at the highest among all European Community members, Haflingers provide a large percentage of national production. Most are either bred specifically for meat production and slaughtered between the ages of 10 and 18 months, or as a result of health problems, or age. The Haflinger also produces the majority of the horse milk consumed in Germany.

Registration.

Breed organizations exist in many countries to provide accurate documentation of Haflinger pedigrees and ownership, and to promote the Haflinger breed. Most are linked to each other through membership in the World Haflinger Federation (WHF), established in 1976. The WHF establishes international breeding guidelines, objectives and rules for studbook selection, and performance tests. They also authorize European and world shows and compile an annual list of Haflinger experts, or adjudicators. The WHF is the international umbrella organization, with 21 member organizations in 22 countries. Membership organizations include the Haflinger Horse Society of Australia, the Australian Haflinger Horse Breeders Association, the Canadian Haflinger Association, the Haflinger Pferdezuchtverband Tirol (Tyrolean Haflinger Breeding Association), the Italian Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Cavalli di Razza Haflinger Italia and the American Haflinger Registry, as well as a division for breeders in countries that are not already members. National organizations are allowed to become members of the WHF through agreeing to promote pure breeding and maintain the hereditary characteristics of the Haflinger breed. Member organizations must maintain both a purebred studbook and a separate part-bred studbook for animals with Arabian or other bloodlines. A strict system of inspection, started in Austria, has evolved to ensure that only good-quality stock meeting high standards are used for breeding. This is coupled with close maintenance of the studbook to maintain inspection validity. Mares must be inspected and registered with the stud book before they can be covered, and multiple forms are needed to prove covering and birth of a purebred Haflinger foal. Within six months of birth, foals are inspected, and those considered to have potential as breeding stock are given certificates of pedigree and branded. Horses are reinspected at three years old, checked against written association standards, and if they pass, are then entered into the studbook. After their final inspection, Haflingers from Austria and Italy are branded with a firebrand in the shape of an edelweiss. Horses from Austria and from South Tyrol have the letter "H" in the center of the brand, while horses from all other parts of Italy have the letters "HI". Horses are graded based on conformation, action, bone, height, temperament and color. Mares must have a fully registered purebred pedigree extending six generations back to be considered for stud-book acceptance. Stallions are registered separately. Colts must have a dam with a fully purebred pedigree, and are inspected based on hereditary reliability and likely breeding strength, as well as the other qualifications. Each stallion's registration certification must show a fully purebred pedigree extending back four generations, and records of mares covered, percentages of pregnancies aborted, still-born and live-born, and numbers and genders of foals born. This information is used to match stallions and mares for breeding. Tyrolean colts undergo an initial assessment, and those not chosen must be either gelded or sold out of the Tyrolean breeding area. The chosen colts are reassessed every six months until a final inspection at the age of three, when the best stallions are chosen for Tyrolean breeding, after which they are purchased by the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture and made available for breeding throughout the region. The others are either gelded or sold out of the region. Other countries base their registration and selection practices on Tyrolean ones, as is required by the WHF.

The Haflinger, also known as the Avelignese, is a breed of horse developed in Austria and northern Italy (namely Hafling in South Tyrol region) during the late 19th century. Haflinger horses are relatively small, are always chestnut with flaxen mane and tail, have distinctive gaits described as energetic but smooth, and are well-muscled yet elegant. The breed traces its ancestry to the Middle Ages; several theories for its origin exist. Haflingers, developed for use in mountainous terrain, are known for their hardiness. Their current conformation and appearance are the result of infusions of bloodlines from Arabian and various European breeds into the original native Tyrolean ponies. The foundation sire, 249 Folie, was born in 1874; by 1904, the first breeders' cooperative was formed. All Haflingers can trace their lineage back to Folie through one of seven bloodlines. World Wars I and II, as well as the Great Depression, had a detrimental effect on the breed, and lower-quality animals were used at times to save the breed from extinction. During World War II, breeders focused on horses that were shorter and more draft-like, favored by the military for use as packhorses. The emphasis after the war shifted toward animals of increased refinement and height.

哈福林格马(Haflinger)是一种1800年代后期在奥地利和意大利北部培育出来的马。它有多种用途,负载能力佳,可以驮物和拉车,并可以配上马鞍,进行耐力训练、技术训练等,适合马术表演。哈福林格马个头相当小,颜色通常为栗色,步态有力而平稳。其肌肉强壮但是外型优美。


Administrative Divisions.

The county is divided into 1 subdistrict and 8 towns.

Geography.

Wuqi is adjacent to Dingbian County in the northwest, Zhidan County in the southeast, Jingbian County in the northeast, and Huachi County in Gansu Province in the southwest. The county's two main rivers are the Wuding River and the Beiluo River. The region is largely hilly, with the terrain's altitude varying from 1,233 to 1,809 meters in height.

Climate.

The county has warm, wet summers, and cool, dry winters. The county's minimum recorded temperature was -25.1°C, maximum recorded temperature was 37.1°C, and has an average annual temperature of 7.8°C. The county's average annual precipitation is 483.4 millimeters.

History.

On October 19, 1935, forces belonging to the People's Republic of China captured the area. An account of Wuqi (Wu Ch'i, in Wade-Giles Romanization) in 1936 can be found in Edgar Snow's "Red Star over China". At the time, it was the main industrial center of the communist-controlled Shaanxi/Gansu/Ningxia borderlands area, This is where the Red Army's arsenal. cloth, uniform, shoe and stockings factories were at the time. As Edgar Snow noted, the arsenal's products were mostly used to arm the Red guerilla fighters, while the regular Red Army units mostly used weapons captured from the enemy (Kuomintang and warlord) troops. The area was a part of the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region.

Economy.

As of 2016, Wuqi County had a GDP of 10.8 billion Renminbi. The county's urban residents had a per capita disposable income of 32,883 Yuan, and its agrarian residents had one of 11,538 Yuan.

Natural Resources.

The county has deposits of a number of minerals, including coal, petroleum, and gypsum.

Transportation.

The county is home the Yan'an-Dingbian Road.

Wuqi County () is a county under the jurisdiction of Yan'an City, in the northwest of Shaanxi Province, China, bordering Gansu province to the southwest. The county spans an area of 3,788.5 square kilometers, and has a population of 145,600 as of 2012.

吴起县是中国陕西省延安市所辖的一个县。总面积为3791.5平方公里,2012年人口为14.56万人。


Early years and consolidation of power.

At age of 7, Galdan was sent to Lhasa to be educated as a lama under the 5th Dalai Lama at Tashilhunpo Monastery. He spent 20 years studying Buddhist canons, philosophy, astronomy, astrology and basics of medicine and pharmacology. In this sense, he was one of the best educated kings in Mongolian history.  He backed his brother Sengge's claim the title Khan of the Dzungars against the pretensions of their half-brothers Tseten and Tsodba Batur. With the support of Ochirtu Khan of the Khoshuud, Sengge's solidified his rule 1661. Nevertheless, the two brothers never gave up their royal aspirations and in 1670 Tsetsen murdered Sengge in a family coup. When Galdan's mother Amin-Dara arrived to Lhasa to inform Galdan of Sengge's death, Galdan immediately renounced his status as a lama and quickly returned to the Irtysh Valley to avenge him. After soundly defeating Tseten and Tsodba Batur in 1671, the Dalai Lama named Galdan Hongtaiji "Crown Prince".  After Sengge's death, Galdan took his widow Anu-Dara, granddaughter of Ochirtu, as his bride. Conflict within the family soon erupted again when Ochirtu, fearing Galdan's popularity, supported Galdan's uncle and rival Choqur Ubashi. In 1678 Galdan forced Ochirtu to flee to Kokonur and established hegemony over the Oirats. The following year, the Dalai Lama bestowed on him the highest title of Boshoghtu (or Boshughtu) Khan, or "Devine Khan".

Altishahr and the Kazakhs.

Imams of the Naqshbandi lineage had replaced the Chagatayid Khans in the early 17th century. After the defeat of the, their exiled ruler Afaq Khoja approached the 5th Dalai Lama for military assistance in 1677. By the request of the latter, Galdan overthrew the in the Dzungar conquest of Altishahr and installed Afaq as his client ruler there. Galdan decreed that the Turkestanis would be judged by their own law except in cases affecting the Dzungar Khanate. The Dzungars kept control over the Tarim Basin until 1757.  In 1680 the Black Kyrgyz raided Moghulistan and occupied Yarkant. The inhabitants of Yarkant appealed to Galdan Khan for help. The Dzungars conquered Kashgar and Yarkant and Galdan had its ruler chosen by its inhabitants. Then he invaded the north of Tengeri Mountain in modern Kazakhstan the next year; he defeated Tauke Khan's Kazakhs but failed to take Sayram. He conquered Turfan and Hami the next year. In 1683 Galdan's armies under Rabtan reached Tashkent and the Syr Darya and crushed two armies of the Kazakhs. After that Galdan subjugated the Black Khirgizs and ravaged the Fergana Valley. From 1685 Galdan's forces aggressively pushed the Kazakhs. While his general Rabtan took Taraz, and his main force forced the Kazakhs to migrate westwards.  In 1687, he besieged the City of Turkistan, an important religious pilgrimage center for the Muslim Kazakhs, but could not take it.

Rivalry with Khalkha.

At first the Khalkha and Oirat Mongols were allies, bound by the provisions of the Mongol-Oirat code. In order to cement this union, Galdan attempted to ally with Zasaghtu Khan Shira who lost part of his subjects to Tushiyetu Khan Chakhundorji, and moved his orda near the Altai Mountains. Tushiyetu Khan attacked the right wing of the Khalkhas and killed Shira in 1687. Galdan dispatched troops under his younger brother Dorji-jav against the Tushiyetu Khan the next year, but they were eventually defeated and Dorji-jav was killed in the ensuing battle. Chakhundorji murdered Degdeehei Mergen Ahai of the Zasaghtu Khan who was on the way to Galdan. The Qing court intervened and called all the Mongolian nobles to assemble a conference.  To avenge the death of his brother and expand his influence over other Mongol areas, Galdan prepared for war with the Khalkha of eastern Mongolia. Galdan established a friendly relationship with the Russians who were at war with Tushiyetu Khan over territories near Lake Baikal in northern Khalkha. Bonded by a common interest in defeating the Khalkha, both Galdan and the Russians simultaneously attacked and conquered most of the territories of Khalkha. Armed with superior firearms provided by the Russians, Galdan attacked the land of the late Zasaghtu Khan, and advanced to the dominion of Tushiyetu Khan. The Russian Cossacks meanwhile attacked and defeated the Khalkha's contingent of 10,000 near Lake Baikal. In 1688, after two bloody battles with the Dzungar in present-day central Mongolia, Erdene Zuu Monastery and Tomor, Tushiyetu Khan and his son Galdandorji fled to the Ongi River.  Acting in defiance of contrary orders from the Kangxi Emperor and the 5th Dalai Lama, he entered Khalkha territory in 1688. The Zunghars occupied the Khalkha homeland, and forced Jibzundamba Zanabazar to flee. The Qing court strengthened its northern border garrisons, and advised the Khalkhas to resist Galdan. After being reinforced by fresh troops, the Tushiyetu Khan Chakhundorji counterattacked the Zunghars, and fought with them near Olgoi Lake on August 3, 1688. The Oirats won after a 3-day battle. Galdan's conquest of Khalkha Mongolia made Zanabazar and Chakhundorji submit to the Qing dynasty in September.

War with Manchu.

By his victory in 1688, Galdan had driven the Khalkhas into the arms of the Qing and made himself a military threat to the Manchus. Unfortunately for Galdan, the Kangxi Emperor was unusually vigorous and warlike. While he was fighting in Eastern Mongolia, his nephew Tsewang Rabtan seized the Dzungarian throne in 1689. After a series of successful battles in the Khangai Mountains, at Lake Olgoi and Ulahui River, he approached the Great Wall of China. The Khalkha leaders retreated to Inner Mongolia with their troops and the Khalkha territory fell under Galdan's rule. The Qing deceived him to arrive near Beijing saying that they needed a treaty, but ambushed him at the battle of Ulan Butung, which was fought 350 kilometers directly north of Beijing near the western headwaters of the Liao River at the southern end of the Greater Khingan. Galdan's troops were seriously defeated by the Khalkha troops supported by the Qing army and Galdan retreated back to Khalkha.

Demise and death.

In 1696 Galdan was on the upper Kherlen River east of modern Ulaanbaatar. Kangxi's plan was to personally lead an army northwest to Galdan while sending a second army north from the Ordos Desert to block his escape. Kangxi reached the Kherlen, found Galdan gone, but was forced to turn back due to lack of supplies. On 12 June 1696, the same day Kangxi turned back, Galdan blundered into the western army and was disastrously defeated at Terelj's Zuunmod near the upper Tuul River east of Ulan Bator. Galdan's wife, Queen Anu, was killed during the battle and the Manchus captured 20,000 cattle and 40,000 sheep. Galdan fled with his remaining 40 or 50 men. He gathered a few thousand followers who later deserted due to hunger. Failing in his objectives of usurping the Khaan's throne of Mongolia and the dreams of achieving greatness and with nowhere to go but facing imminent threat of being captured by the Manchus or Tsewang Rabtan, he took his own life by taking poison on 4 April 1697 in the Altai Mountains near Khovd with only 300 of his followers staying with him. He was succeeded by Tsewang Rabtan who had revolted against him.  A son and a daughter of Galdan remained in Tsewang Araptan's household along with a lama wanted by the Kangxi Emperor for desertion and for assisting Galdan. In 1698, Tsewang Araptan was forced to deliver the three of them to Beijing along with Galdan's ashes, which were then scattered on the military parade ground in the city. Although the lama was executed, Kangxi spared the daughter and son, and Galdan's other son, Septen Bailsur, who had been in prison until this time. They were all pardoned and housed in Beijing where they died.

Choros Erdeniin Galdan (1644–1697,,, in Mongolian script: "Galdan bošoɣtu qaɣan") was a Dzungar-Oirat Khan of the Dzungar Khanate. As fourth son of Erdeni Batur, founder of the Dzungar Khanate, Galdan was a descendant of Esen Taishi, the powerful Oirat Khan of the Northern Yuan dynasty who united the western Mongols in the 15th century. Galdan's mother Yum Aga was a daughter of Güshi Khan, the first Khoshut-Oirat King of Tibet.

噶尔丹(,1644年-1697年),蒙古准噶尔部珲台吉(首领),巴图尔珲台吉之子,僧格弟。


History.

Beginnings.

Angel Stadium has been the home of the Angels since their move from Los Angeles. On August 31, 1964, ground was broken for Anaheim Stadium and in 1966, the then-California Angels moved into their new home after having spent four seasons renting Dodger Stadium (referred to in Angels games as Chávez Ravine Stadium) from the Dodgers.  The stadium was built on a parcel of about of flat land originally used for agricultural purposes by the Allec, Russell, and Knutzen families in the southeast portion of Anaheim. Consistent with many major-league sports stadiums built in the 1960s, it is located in a suburban area, though one that is host to major tourist attractions.  The field dimensions (333 feet instead of 347 or 350, for example) were derived from a scientific study conducted by the Angels. Based on the air density at normal game times (1:30 pm and 8 pm), the Angels tried to formulate dimensions that were fairly balanced between pitcher, hitter and average weather conditions. The Angels tinkered with those dimensions several times, expanding or contracting parts of the outfield by a few feet here and there, to try to refine that balance. is the shortest center-field in the American League, and tied for 2nd-shortest in the major leagues with Petco Park behind only Dodger Stadium's.  None of this seemed to matter to their Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, who threw two of his record seven no-hitters in this ballpark, and racked up 2,416 of his 5,714 career strikeouts in eight seasons with the Angels (Ryan stats from "The Sporting News Baseball Record Book"). One of the no-hitters, on June 1, 1975, was his fourth, which tied Sandy Koufax's career record, one Ryan would eventually surpass with seven by the end of his career in 1993.

The Rams move in.

In the late 1970s, Los Angeles Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom was looking for a more modern venue than the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and also wanted a stadium that would be small enough to keep Rams games from being blacked out on local television. The Coliseum seated almost 100,000 people, and the Rams had trouble filling it even in their best years. Rosenbloom brokered a deal by which the Rams would move from Los Angeles to an expanded Anaheim Stadium. To add more seats (eventually about 23,000) for football games, the mezzanine and upper decks were extended completely around the playing field, resulting in a roughly trapezoidal, completely enclosed stadium. An elevated bank of bleachers was built in right field, and temporary seats were placed underneath, to be pulled out for football games. Another bank of bleachers was built in left field. As a result, the view of the local mountains and State Highway 57 was lost.  Additionally, the Big A scoreboard support that stood in left field, and was the inspiration for the stadium's nickname, was moved to its present site in the parking lot, adjoining the Orange Freeway beyond the right-field stands; its usage changed from scoreboard to electronic marquee advertising upcoming events at the stadium. A black and white scoreboard/instant replay video board was installed above the newly constructed upper deck seats in left field, but was later deemed inadequate, especially during day games (in 1988 the scoreboard was replaced by a Sony Jumbotron color video board, with black and white matrix scoreboards installed above the right field upper deck and the infield upper deck). A triangular metal spire was added to the top of the Jumbotron to evoke the original emplacement of the "Big A".  The changes did not sit well with Angels fans. As originally built, no seat was further than from the field. However, as was the case nearly everywhere else where the multipurpose stadium concept was tried, most of the new center field seats were too far from the action. Also, while the expanded capacity allowed the Angels to set attendance records that still stand today, on most occasions even crowds of 40,000 were swallowed up by the environment. The expansion was completed in time for the 1980 NFL season, and the Rams played in Anaheim Stadium from then until their move to St. Louis after the 1994 season. The Rams would return to Los Angeles in 2016, playing their games at the Memorial Coliseum again for four seasons; the team is slated to move into SoFi Stadium in 2020.  The January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake caused the Sony Jumbotron to collapse onto the upper deck seats beneath it. No injuries were caused, as the stadium was unoccupied when the earthquake occurred in the predawn hours of a national holiday (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day). The damaged section was deconstructed and rebuilt with a new scoreboard structure and Jumbotron, eliminating the A-frame spire that evoked the Big A.

The Disney era.

In 1996, The Walt Disney Company, a minority owner of the team since its inception (the stadium is located less than 3 miles (5 km) east of Disneyland and across from the Honda Center, the home venue of the then Disney-owned Mighty Ducks of Anaheim), gained enough support on the board to effectively take control of the team. Soon afterward, the Angels and the city of Anaheim agreed to a new deal that would keep the Angels in Anaheim until 2031, with an option to leave the facility after the 2016 season. As part of the deal, the stadium underwent an extensive renovation, returning the stadium to its original role as a baseball-only facility. Before the 1997 baseball season, the section behind the outfield wall was demolished. Disney briefly considered moving the Big A scoreboard to its original location, but decided against such a move, citing costs, as well as the fact that the Big A had become a Southern California landmark in its parking lot location.  Despite the fact that much of the stadium was still a hard-hat zone, the demolition and construction being only half-completed, the Angels played their 1997 season in Anaheim. Fans were greeted by a restored view of the San Gabriel and Santa Ana Mountains, the Brea Hills, and the 57 freeway beyond the outfield.  Work that didn't interfere with game play continued throughout the 1997 season, with major renovations resuming in the winter of 1997. These included the installation of outfield bleacher pavilions, a video display board and an out-of-town scoreboard below the right field seats. All of the multicolored seats were replaced by green seats. The exterior of the stadium was also renovated. The concrete structure and ramps were painted a combination of green and sandstone. Much of the facade of the stadium was torn down to create a more open feeling for visitors.  The most notable feature of the entire renovation, however, was a "California Spectacular" in which geysers erupt and a stream cascades down a mountainside (Pride Rock) covered with real trees, artificial rocks behind the left-center field fence, and new bullpens. Fireworks shoot out of the display at the start of games, after every Angel home run and after every Angel win (they had been shot off from a parking garage before then).  The field dimensions of the renovated stadium became somewhat asymmetrical, with the high fence in right center field (which earlier hid the football-only bleacher section) replaced by a high wall which contains a scoreboard displaying out-of-town scores of other games. A plaza was built around the perimeter of the stadium, and inside are statues depicting longtime Angel owner and chairman Gene Autry and Michelle Carew, daughter of former Angel Rod Carew, who died of leukemia at the age of 18. The main entrance includes two giant Angels hats complete with New Era tags on the sweatband (including one indicating the hats' size: 6491⁄2). The hats were originally blue and featured the Angels' "winged" logo designed by Disney for the 1997 season, and were repainted red and decorated with the present-day halo insignia for the 2002 season. Also outside home plate gate is a full-sized brick infield complete with regulation pitcher's mound and lighted bases, with bricks at each player position engraved with the names of Angels players who played at that position on Opening Day of each season since the Angels began play in 1961. For a fee, the green infield bricks can be engraved with fans' names or personalized messages. The Angels opened their "new" stadium on April 1, 1998, with a 4–1 victory over the New York Yankees. The renovated stadium has 5,075 club seats and 78 luxury suites.  In 1998, the stadium was renamed Edison International Field of Anaheim after local utility Edison International reached a deal giving it naming rights over the stadium for 20 years, and during this time, the stadium was referred to as the "Big Ed". However, after the 2003 season, Edison International exercised its option to exit the sponsorship deal. On December 29, 2003, the Angels announced that from then on the stadium would be known as Angel Stadium (in full, Angel Stadium of Anaheim); Disney sold the Angels around this time as well. Some locals can still be caught calling the venue by its original name, Anaheim Stadium, as well. After the name change in 2004, its original nickname, "The Big A", was restored again. Despite efforts to cover them up with the Angels' halo insignia, Edison's insignia can still be found on the ends of seating rows throughout the ballpark.  In 2009, Brookings, South Dakota-based Daktronics installed light emitting diode (LED) displays at the stadium. The largest video display measures high by wide. Two smaller displays flank the large display, and a field-level display sits in the centerfield fence.  The stadium will host baseball and softball at the 2028 Summer Olympics.  During the 2017-2018 offseason, the Angels upgraded the existing video boards in left and right field. The new left field video board measures, while the new right field board measures, the fourth largest scoreboard in MLB. In addition to this, the out of town scoreboard was upgraded, new video ribbons stretch from foul pole to foul pole, and a new sound system was added. Because of the new out of town scoreboard, the Angels moved the home run line in right field down from to, though the right field wall remains the same height.  The Angels opted out of their lease in October 2018, largely to avoid a contractual provision which would have forced them to remain in the stadium until 2029. The club plans to stay in the stadium for the foreseeable future. In December 2019, the city of Anaheim agreed to sell the stadium and surrounding land to the team for $325 million, with the team committed to remain in Anaheim until at least 2050, with options to remain until at least 2065.

Notable events.

Baseball.

The stadium was host to the 1967 MLB All-Star Game, the first All-Star Game to be played on prime-time television. This was the first time an All-Star Game was held at night since World War II. Angel Stadium again hosted All-Star Games in 1989 and 2010.  It hosted seven American League Division Series (2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2014) and six American League Championship Series (1979, 1982, 1986, 2002, 2005, and 2009). Most notably, it hosted the 2002 World Series, which the Angels won in dramatic fashion over the San Francisco Giants, finally winning one for their late and long-time owner, "Singing Cowboy" Gene Autry (and for his widow and business partner Jackie, who is also honorary president of the American League).  Angel Stadium hosted several games during Round 2 of the 2006 World Baseball Classic.  Famous individual baseball milestones attained here include Mickey Mantle's last game-winning home run, Nolan Ryan's striking out of nine straight Boston Red Sox (and two of Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters), Reggie Jackson's 500th career home run, Rod Carew's 3,000th career base hit, Don Sutton's 300th career win, Vladimir Guerrero's 400th career home run, George Brett's 3,000th career base hit, and Albert Pujols' 600th career home run.  On Saturday, August 9, 2014, the stadium hosted its longest game ever: a 6-hour, 31-minute contest between the Angels and the Boston Red Sox. Albert Pujols led off the batting in the bottom of the 19th inning with a walk-off homer, giving the Angels the win, 5–4.  The stadium is currently designated to host softball and baseball events for the 2028 Summer Olympics along with Dodger Stadium.

Football.

Eric Dickerson broke the NFL single-season rushing record in game 15 of the 1984 season, finishing with 2,007 yards. (He would go on accumulate 2,105 yards that season.)  In December 2017, the Philadelphia Eagles used Angel Stadium as their practice field, as part of the Eagles’ two game west coast road trip.

Soccer.

Anaheim Stadium hosted five group stage matches of the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup, including two involving the United States national team.

Concerts.

Angel Stadium has played host to major recording acts in concert such as The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Osmonds, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, The Grateful Dead, Madonna, Eagles, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, and Toots and the Maytals.

Motion picture set.

Several major motion pictures have been shot at Angel Stadium. The final sequence of "" (1988) features an electronically manipulated Reggie Jackson trying to shoot Queen Elizabeth II. Exteriors were shot at the ballpark, but most baseball scenes were shot at Dodger Stadium. The 1988 sci-fi comedy "My Stepmother Is an Alien" features a scene shot in Angel Stadium of Kim Basinger speaking to an extraterrestrial counsel. The 1990 comedy "Taking Care of Business" featured a World Series matchup between the Angels and the Chicago Cubs, with the baseball scenes in the movie having been filmed in the stadium. The Disney remake of "Angels in the Outfield" (1994) prominently uses the ballpark; however, many of the interior shots were filmed at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. The stadium served as a stand-in for Candlestick Park in filming of "The Fan" (1996). Scenes from "" and "" were also filmed here.

Other events.

On November 16, 1979, Anaheim Stadium hosted Motorcycle speedway when it was the venue for the American Final, a qualifying round for the 1980 Speedway World Championship. Future dual World Champion Bruce Penhall won the Final from Scott Autrey and Dennis Sigalos. Penhall and Autrey qualified to the Intercontinental Final in England held over 6 months later. Penhall qualified through to his first World Final held at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden where he finished in 5th place.  Anaheim Stadium has hosted an AMA Supercross Championship round from 1976 to 1979, 1981 to 1987, 1989 to 1996, and 1999 to the present.  Angel Stadium has been the site of annual Christian Harvest Crusades since 1990. It has also hosted Muslim Eid el Fitr celebrations. In 2014, Barack Obama spoke at the commencement ceremony for the University of California, Irvine, which was held at the stadium to accommodate capacity and security concerns.

Angel Stadium of Anaheim, originally known as Anaheim Stadium and later Edison International Field of Anaheim, is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) from 1980 to 1994. The stadium is often referred to by its unofficial nickname The Big A, coined by "Herald Examiner" Sports Editor, Bud Furillo. It is the fourth-oldest active Major League Baseball stadium, behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and Dodger Stadium; it is also the second-oldest stadium in the American League. It hosted the 1967, 1989, and 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Games.

安那罕天使球场(Angel Stadium of Anaheim),一般称为天使球场,曾经先后使用过包括安那罕球场(Anaheim Stadium)以及安那罕艾迪生国际球场(Edison International Field of Anaheim)等名字,通常被暱称为「大A」(The Big-A)。这座球场位于加州的橘郡安那罕市,目前作为美国职棒大联盟洛杉矶天使队的主场。


Names and etymology.

The name "Opole" likely originated from the medieval Slavic term for a group of settlements.  Names for the city in other relevant languages include,,, or.

History.

In Medieval Poland.

Opole's history begins in the 8th century. At this time, according to the archeological excavations, the first settlement was founded on the Ostrówek – the northern part of the Pasieka Island in the middle of the Oder river. In the early 10th century it developed into one of the main "gords" of the West Slavic Opolans tribe.  At the end of the century Silesia became part of Poland and was ruled by the Piast dynasty; the land of the pagan Opolanie was conquered by Duke Mieszko I in 992. From the 11th–12th centuries it was also a castellany. After the death of Duke Władysław II the Exile, Silesia was divided in 1163 between two Piast lines – the Wrocław line in Lower Silesia and the Opole-Racibórz of Upper Silesia. Opole would become a duchy in 1172 and would share much in common with the Duchy of Racibórz, with which it was often combined. In 1281 Upper Silesia was divided further between the heirs of the dukes. The Duchy of Opole was temporarily reestablished in 1290.  In the early 13th century, Duke Casimir I of Opole decided to move the settlement from the Pasieka Island into the right shore of the Oder river (since the 17th century it is the old stream bed of Oder known as Młynówka). All of the inhabitants had to be moved in order to make place for the castle that was eventually built in the place of the old city. Former inhabitants of Ostrówek together with German merchants that immigrated here from the West, received first town rights probably as early as around 1217, although this date is disputed. Opole received German town law in 1254, which was expanded with Neumarkt law in 1327. Opole developed during the rule of duke Bolko I of Opole. In this time the castle was finally completed and new buildings, including the city walls and the Holy Cross Church, were constructed.  Along with most of Silesia, in 1327 the Duchy of Opole came under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Bohemia, itself part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1521 the Duchy of Racibórz ("Ratibor") was inherited by the Duchy of Opole, by then also known by its German equivalent – Oppeln. The second castle of Opole was probably founded in the 14th century by duke Vladislaus II, though some sources claim that it was originally a wooden stronghold of Opole's castellan dating into 12th century.

Austrian Habsburgs and Polish Vasas rule.

With the death of King Ludvík II of Bohemia at the Battle of Mohács, Silesia was inherited by Ferdinand I, placing Opole under the sovereignty of the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria. The Habsburgs took control of the region in 1532 after the last Piast duke of Opole – Jan II the Good died. In those days the city was still mainly Polish-speaking (around 63%), with other nationalities represented mainly by Germans, Czechs and Jews. The last two dukes of Opole, Nicholas II and Janusz II the Good, did not master the German language.  Beginning in 1532 the Habsburgs pawned the duchy to different rulers including several monarchs of Poland (see Dukes of Opole). After the Swedish invasion of Poland, in 1655 the King of Poland, John II Casimir Vasa, stayed with the entire court in Opole. In Opole in November 1655, the Universal of Opole ("Uniwersał opolski") was issued by the King, calling for Poles to rise against the Swedes, who at that time occupied a large part of Poland.  With the abdication of King John II Casimir of Poland as the last Duke of Opole in 1668, the region passed to the direct control of the Habsburgs. At the beginning of the 18th century the German population of Opole was estimated at around 20%.

In Prussian Silesia.

King Frederick II of Prussia conquered most of Silesia from Austria in 1740 during the Silesian Wars; Prussian control was confirmed in the Peace of Breslau in 1742. During the Prussian rule the ethnic structure of the city began to change. In the early 20th century the number of Polish and bilingual citizens of Opole, according to the official German statistics, varied from only 25% to 31%. Nonetheless, Opole remained an important cultural, social and political center for the Poles of Upper Silesia. From 1849 the Polish newspaper "Gazeta Wiejska dla Górnego Śląska" was published in Opole. Polish reporter and opponent of Germanisation Bronisław Koraszewski founded the newspaper "Gazeta Opolska" in 1890 and the People's Bank in Opole ("Opolski Bank Ludowy") in 1897. Another Polish newspaper, the "Nowiny" was founded by Franciszek Kurpierz in 1911.  From 1816–1945 Opole was the capital of Regierungsbezirk Oppeln within Prussia. The city became part of the German Empire during the unification of Germany in 1871.

After World War I.

After the defeat of Imperial Germany in World War I, a plebiscite was held on 20 March 1921 in Oppeln to determine if the city would be in the Weimar Republic or become part of the Second Polish Republic. 20,816 (94.7%) votes were cast for Germany, 1,098 (5.0%) for Poland, and 70 (0.3%) votes were declared invalid. Voter participation was 95.9%. Results of the plebiscite in the Oppeln-Land county were different, with 30% of the population voting for Poland.  Oppeln was the administrative seat of the Province of Upper Silesia from 1919–1939. In the years 1928–1931, by the decision of the German regional administration, the Piast Castle was demolished. Thanks to the strong opposition of the local Polish community and protests of the Union of Poles in Germany, at least the castle tower was saved from demolition. Nowadays called the "Piast Tower" it is one of the city's landmarks. In 1929, a Polish theatre from Katowice came to Opole for a performance of the opera "Halka" by Stanisław Moniuszko. After the performance, the actors were brutally beaten by a German militia with the silent consent of the German police.  With the defeat of Poland in the invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II in 1939, formerly Polish Eastern Upper Silesia was re-added to the Province of Upper Silesia and Oppeln lost its status as provincial capital to Katowice (renamed Kattowitz).  On 15 February 1941 and 26 February 1941, two deportation transports with 2,003 Jewish men, women and children on board left Vienna Aspang Station for the ghetto which had been set up in Oppeln. By March 1941, 8,000 Jews were deported to Oppeln. From May 1941, 800 men capable of work were deployed as forced labourers in Deblin. The "Liquidation" of the Oppeln ghetto began in the spring of 1942. A transport to Belzec extermination camp left on 31 March 1942 and deportations to Sobibor followed in May and October 1942. Of the 2,003 Viennese Jews, only twenty-eight are known to have survived.

In modern Poland.

After the end of the Second World War in 1945, Oppeln was transferred from Germany to Poland according to the Potsdam Conference, and given its original Slavic name of Opole. Opole became part of the Katowice Voivodeship from 1946–1950, after which it became part of the Opole Voivodeship. Unlike other parts of the so-called Recovered Territories, Opole and the surrounding region's indigenous population remained and was not forcibly expelled as elsewhere. Over 1 million Silesians who considered themselves Poles or were treated as such by the authorities due to their language and customs were allowed to stay after they were verified as Poles in a special verification process. It involved declaring Polish nationality and an oath of allegiance to the Polish nation.  In the later years however many of them left to West Germany to flee the communist Eastern Bloc (see Emigration from Poland to Germany after World War II). Today Opole, along with the surrounding region, is known as a centre of the German minority in Poland that recruits mainly from the descendants of the positively verified autochthons. In the city itself however only 2.46% of the inhabitants declared German nationality according to the last national census of 2002.  On January 1, 2017, Borki, Chmielowice, Czarnowąsy, Krzanowice, Sławice, Świerkle, Winów, Wrzoski, Żerkowice as well as parts of Brzezie, Dobrzeń Mały and Karczów became a part of Opole, enlargening its population by about 9,500, and its area by over 5,300 ha, despite the protests of inhabitants.

Historical population.

In the early 20th century the number of Polish and bilingual citizens of Opole, according to the official German statistics, varied from 25 to 31%.  1 First census of the city  2 8,320 German nationality (93.7%) and 557 Polish nationality (6.3%)  3 80% German-speaking, 16% Polish-speaking, and 4% bilingual Polish-German-speaking

German minority.

Alongside German and Polish, many citizens of Opole-Oppeln before 1945 used a strongly German-influenced Silesian dialect (sometimes called "wasserpolnisch" or "wasserpolak"). Because of this, the post-war Polish state administration after the annexation of Silesia in 1945 did not initiate a general expulsion of all former inhabitants of Opole, as was done in Lower Silesia, for instance, where the population almost exclusively spoke the German language. Because they were considered "autochthonous" (Polish), the Wasserpolak-speakers instead received the right to remain in their homeland after declaring themselves as Poles. Some German speakers took advantage of this decision, allowing them to remain in their Oppeln, even when they considered themselves to be of German nationality. The city surroundings currently contain the largest German and Upper Silesian minorities in Poland. However, Opole itself is only 2.46% German. (See also Germans of Poland.)

Main sights.

Opole hosts the annual National Festival of Polish Song. The city is also known for its 10th-century Church of St. Adalbert and the 14th-century Church of the Holy Cross. There is a zoo, the Ogród Zoologiczny w Opolu.  Structures and buildings  Museums  Cemeteries

Geography.

Opole is one of the warmest cities in Poland. The national all-time heat record was measured in Prószków, near Opole.

Politics.

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Opole constituency

Economy.

Opole is the Opole Voivodeship's centre for commerce, banking, industrial complexes and other major service sector industries.  Prior to World War II, due to major limestone deposits in Opole's vicinity, the city developed as a centre for cement production in Germany, with the "Cementownia "Odra"" being active till this day. The French building materials company Lafarge is also active in the area, having its roofing division, Lafarge Roofing, together with its German subsidiary Schiedel (chimney manufacturing) based in Opole.  Other companies in the city include: the German valve manufacturer Kludi; the German men's fashion manufacturer Ahlers and the American automotive manufacturer Tower Automative. As is the case with the entire Opole Voivodeship, there is a strong presence of food industry services in the city. The largest companies in the food sector include: Zott, the Dutch baby food and nutrition company Nutricia, part of the Danone food-products corporation.  Opole has branches of all major banks, including: PKO, Pekao, Deutsche Bank and Raiffeisen Zentralbank.  The retail sector in Opole includes major Metro AG brand stores: Metro Cash and Carry and Media-Saturn-Holding, as well as Real. The city has a plethora of other major supermarket chains, namely: the Polish supermarket chains Biedronka, Lidl, Aldi and Netto. Other major brand stores include the shoe retailer Deichmann and Rossmann drugstores.  Furthermore, the city has three major shopping centres. The Solaris Center, with a total of 86 shops, opened in May 2009 and is located in the centre of Mikołaj Kopernik Square. In the city's suburbs, by Wrocławska Street ("ul. Wrocławska") is the location of Karolinka Shopping Centre ("Centrum Handlowe Karolinka"). The shopping centre, which opened in September 2008, has a total area of 38,000 m2, with a total of 99 stores, including fashion, hardware and electronics stores. To the east of the city, by the National Road 46, is the smallest of the three shopping centres, Turawa Park, with a total of 50 stores. Other shopping centres include "Galeria Opolanin", built between 1974 and 1981 and upon its completion, was the largest shopping centre in Poland.

Sports.

Among the city's most popular sports team are:

Twin towns – sister cities.

Opole is twinned with:  <br

Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 128,137 (December 2018), it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (Opolskie province) and the seat of Opole County. With its long history dating back to the 8th century, Opole is one of the oldest cities in Poland. It is also the smallest city in Poland to be the largest city in the province.

奥波莱(,发音:[ɔ'pɔlɛ];;)是位于波兰西南部奥得河畔的一座城市,也是奥波莱省的首府。10世纪之后,斯拉夫人来到这里,城市是斯拉夫人的中心都市。二战前为德国领土。市内有2.46%的人口是德国人。在中世纪早期奥波莱曾是上西里西亚的主要都市。曾是奥波莱公国的首都。之后曾先后被奥地利和普鲁士统治。二战之后属于波兰。市内有多个铁路车站,有通往卡托维兹和华沙等城市的列车。是重要的工业都市。


2008 European (Long Course) Championships.

Bernard won the European (Long Course) Championships 2008 100 m freestyle final in a new world record time of 47.50 seconds on 22 March 2008. He had already beaten the world record the previous day, finishing in 47.60 seconds in the semi-finals. On 23 March 2008 Bernard broke Eamon Sullivan's 50 m freestyle world record in the semi-finals of the same championships, setting a new world record of 21.50 seconds. Bernard would go on to win the 50m freestyle final in 21.66 seconds. But Bernard's 21.50-second world record only stood for four days; it was reclaimed by Eamon Sullivan.

2008 Olympics.

At the French national championships, Bernard qualified for the Olympic Games in Beijing in the 50 m freestyle (with a time of 21.69 s) and 100 m freestyle (47.82 s).  Before the 4×100 m freestyle relay, Bernard taunted the American swim team. Bernard claimed to a newspaper that he and his French teammates, favorite to win the relay, "were going to smash the American team. That's what we came here for". But the French team ended up in second place behind the American team by.08 seconds. Bernard, who had a lead going into the final leg of slightly less than a body length, was caught in the final strokes by Jason Lezak, whose final leg of 46.06 seconds was the fastest relay leg in history.  The close defeat left Bernard "wounded," according to his coach. However, he rebounded to win the men's 100 metres freestyle gold medal. Bernard had one day earlier set a new 100 metres freestyle long course world record of 47.20 s in the semi-finals. Bernard became only the second Frenchman to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming, after Jean Boiteux, who won the 400 m freestyle at the 1952 Helsinki Games. He also finished third in the men's 50 metres freestyle final behind César Cielo Filho of Brazil and Amaury Leveaux of France, making it the first time in Olympic history that France had produced two medallists in a swimming final.

2012 Olympics.

Bernard failed to qualify for the 50 m freestyle and 100 m freestyle events of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London by finishing only fifth in both events during the French swimming championships in March 2012. He was in the French 4 × 100 m freestyle relay team in the heats at the Olympics, but was not included in the team for the final. France won the event which made Bernard a two-time Olympic gold medalist.  He announced his retirement from swimming shortly after the 2012 Olympic Games.

Argentina helicopter accident.

On 9 March 2015, as a part of a group of French sports stars participating in reality-television show "Dropped", Bernard was on the ground as ten people died when two helicopters collided in mid-air during the filming in northwestern Argentina.

Awards.

Bernard was chosen as the 2008 L'Équipe Champion of Champions(France category) by L'Équipe.  He was also chosen as the 2008 RTL Champion of Champions by RTL,a French commercial radio network. This annual sports award was inaugurated in 2008.  On 1 January 2013, Bernard was made an Officer (Officier) of the French National Order of Merit.

Personal bests.

The 100m long course time (46.94) was not admissible as a world record because it was swum in a non-approved swimsuit.

Service in the French Gendarmerie.

Alain Bernard has been a volunteer in the Gendarmerie since 2008 and was until recently attached to the "Groupement blindé de gendarmerie mobile" based in Versailles-Satory in the Yvelines department.

Alain Bernard (; born 1 May 1983) is a former French swimmer from Aubagne, Bouches-du-Rhône.

阿兰·贝尔纳(,1983年-5月1日),出生于欧巴涅,法国游泳运动员。