Stanton Township, Michigan

Stanton Township is a civil township of Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan.  The population was 1,268 at the 2000 census. Stanton Township has the distinction of having, at 47%, the highest concentration of people with Finnish ancestry of any place in the United States.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which  is land and  (1.00%) is water.

Communities
 Beacon Hill is an unincorporated community in the township. It was a center of the Trimountain Mining Company, largely backed by Boston financiers, and the settlement was named after Beacon Hill neighborhood in that city. It was a station on the Copper Range Railroad. A post office operated from December 11, 1901 until August 31, 1952.
 Craig Roy was platted as a village in 1903 but never developed.
 Coles Creek is located, in part, in the township; the rest is located in Adams Township.
 Freda is an unincorporated community in the township and was the site of the Champion stamp mill.
 Liminga is an unincorporated community in the township.
 Obenhoff is an unincorporated community in the township.
 Onnela is a Finnish name meaning "a place of happiness"; Onni = happiness. The first settler was Iisakki Tolonen from Matarenki, Finland, who settled in 1886. Two years later arrived Heikki Lampinen from Matarenki, Joonas Kovala from Suomussalmi, Finland, and Paul Räisänen from Pudasjoki, Finland.
 Oskar is an unincorporated community in the township. It was named for Oskar Eliasson (or Eliasen), a Finn who first came to Hancock Township about 1870 and became a charcoal tycoon. He was appointed the first postmaster of the settlement. A post office operated from February 2, 1888 until October 15, 1928.
 Redridge is an unincorporated community in the township.  The Redridge Steel Dam is a notable landmark in Redridge.  The area was also the site of the Atlantic and Baltic stamp mills.
 Schmidt Corner is an unincorporated community in the township

Parks
 North Canal Township Park at the north end of the Keweenaw Canal and is across from McLain State Park.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,268 people, 475 households, and 315 families residing in the township.  The population density was 10.4 per square mile (4.0/km²).  There were 695 housing units at an average density of 5.7 per square mile (2.2/km²).  The racial makeup of the township was 98.19% White, 0.24% African American, 0.55% Native American, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.55% of the population. Some 46.9% of Stanton Township residents report Finnish ancestry, the highest such percentage in the United States.

There were 475 households out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.36.

In the township the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 111.3 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.4 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $38,200, and the median income for a family was $41,771. Males had a median income of $35,455 versus $26,875 for females. The per capita income for the township was $16,338.  About 5.1% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.


Białka, Krasnystaw County

Białka  is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Krasnystaw, within Krasnystaw County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It lies approximately  west of Krasnystaw and  south-east of the regional capital Lublin.

Stallion Depo has around 100 Malapolski stallions and 120 Arabians.


Willie B (producer)

William Thomas Trenell Brown (born July 5), known professionally as Willie B or The Ichiban Don, is an American rapper and record producer from Los Angeles, California. He is an original member of production team Digi+Phonics of Top Dawg Entertainment.

Career
On January 6, 2011, Willie B released a mixtape titled I'm Not a Producer hosted by DJ Age & featuring guest appearances from Jay Rock, Talib Kweli, Busta Rhymes, Little Brother, Crooked I, Kendrick Lamar, Bishop Lamont, Glasses Malone, and Kurupt. He is best known for producing Kendrick Lamar's "Ignorance Is Bliss" and "Rigamortis" from Lamar's Overly Dedicated and Section 80, respectively. He has also produced Ab-Soul's "Black Lip Bastard", and Schoolboy Q's "Gangsta in Designer (No Concept)", from his second studio album Habits & Contradictions, among other songs for TDE. Outside of TDE he has produced for artists such as Freddie Gibbs, Childish Gambino, Wale and Apollo the Great, among others. On July 27, 2013, he released the first ever Instagram-only instrumental mixtape.

Discography

Mixtapes
 I'm Not a Producer (2011)

Guest appearances

Production discography

2009

 Bishop Lamont & Indef - Team America Fuck Yeah: Special Forces
 13. "B.O.B. (Barack Over Bad Guys)" (featuring Affion Crockett and Willie B)

2010
 Ab-Soul - Longterm 2: Lifestyles of the Broke & Almost Famous
 07. "Soul Cry"
 11. "Mayday"

 Kendrick Lamar - Overly Dedicated
 06. "Opposites Attract (Tomorrow W/O Her)" (featuring JaVonté)
 08. "Ignorance Is Bliss"

 Jay Rock - Black Friday
 01. "No Joke" (featuring Ab-Soul)

2011

 ScHoolboy Q - Setbacks
 02. "Kamikaze"

 Kendrick Lamar - Section.80
 08. "Poe Man's Dream (His Voice)" (featuring GLC)
 12. "Rigamortus" (produced with Sounwave)

 Jay Rock - Follow Me Home
 04. "No Joke" (featuring Ab-Soul)
 09. "All I Know Is"
 10. "I'm Thuggin'"
 11. "Kill or Be Killed" (featuring Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko)

2012
 ScHoolboy Q - Habits & Contradictions
 11. "Gangsta in Designer (No Concept)"

 Ab-Soul - Control System
 12. "Showin' Love"
 17. "Black Lip Bastard (Remix)" (featuring Black Hippy)

2013

 Freddie Gibbs - Evil Seeds Grow Naturally
 06. "Lay It Down"

 Raven Sorvino - Queen of HeArts
 07. "In My Mind" (featuring A$ton Matthews, Mike G and Maxo Kream)

 Eric Bellinger - Your Favorite Christmas Songs
 07. "Chestnuts Roasting"

2014

 ScHoolboy Q - Oxymoron
 07. "Prescription / Oxymoron" (produced with Sounwave)

 J. Cole - 2014 Forest Hills Drive
 04. "03' Adolescence"

2015

 Mickey Taelor - HiiGrade Vol. 2
 07. "Gemini 2.0 (featuring DJ Rhettmatic)
 09. "Love In Time (produced with DAE ONE)
 10. "Wassup" (Willie B Remix)

2016

 J. Cole - Forest Hills Drive: Live
 04. "03' Adolescence (Live)"

 Mickey Taelor - Essentials
 01. "Essentials (Intro)"
 02. "XYZ (Julie’s Song)"
 03. "This Iz 4 U" (produced with Don Parker)
 04. "3stacks"
 05. "Work It Out" (produced with J. Anthny)
 06. "Trainwreck"
 07. "Gemini 3.0" (featuring J. Anthny)
 09. "Complicated" (featuring Boogie)
 10. "Love Architects/Roll Up" (feat. Stoney Tha Dealer)

 ScHoolboy Q - Blank Face LP
 14. "Black Thoughts"

 J. Anthny - Two Sides EP
 02. "Where's Your Money" (produced with J. Anthny)
 03. "My NY Bitch"
 04. "Two Sides" (featuring Elle Pierre)
 05. "Down" (produced with J. Anthny)
 06. "What You Want" (featuring Jessica Jolia)
 07. "Risky (Interlude)"
 10. "100 Miles" (featuring Mickey Taelor and Chevy Jones) [produced with J. Anthny]

 Ab-Soul - Do What Thou Wilt.
 03. "Huey Knew THEN" (featuring Da$H)

 J.I.D - "BRUUUH - Single"
 1. "BRUUUH"

2017

 Daylyt & Willie B - "Let There B Lyt"
 01. "Let There B Lyt"
 02. "Finnessegawd" [produced with DJ Swish]
 03. "First Breath"
 04. "King of Thuh Dot" (featuring J.Anthny)
 05. "Ratchets"
 06. "Girl Shit" (featuring Mickey Taelor)
 07. "Day Electronica" (featuring Chevy Jones)
 08. "Queen"
 09. "Last Breath"

 J. Cole

00. "Want You to Fly"


Buddleja 'Monrell' = Strawberry Lemonade

Buddleja 'Monrell', selling name ™, is a cultivar which originated as a sport of 'Pink Delight', discovered by Philip Turrell in 1997 and introduced by the wholesale  Monrovia Nursery , Azusa, California.

Description
 grows to a height and spread of 2.5 × 2.5 m, the shrub distinguished by its variegated foliage, the leaves with cream margins, and terminal panicles, < 25 cm long, of rich pink flowers.

Cultivation
 is not known to be in cultivation beyond the USA.


Hester Burton

Hester Burton (6 December 1913 – 17 September 2000) was an English writer, mainly of historical fiction for children and young adults. She received the Carnegie Medal for her 1963 novel Time of Trial, which like many of her books was illustrated by Victor Ambrus.

Early life

She was born Hester Wood-Hill on 6 December 1913, in Beccles, Suffolk, where her father was elected town Mayor three times. From 1925 to 1936, she attended Headington School, Oxford and then St Anne's College, Oxford, where she received an honours degree in English. In 1937, she married Reginald W. B. Burton, a Classics don at Oriel College. They had three daughters.

Non-fiction
In 1949, Burton published a biography of Barbara Bodichon, the 19th-century feminist, artist and educationalist. She worked for Oxford University Press from 1956 to 1964, contributing two volumes to the Oxford Sheldonian English Series for secondary schoolchildren: Coleridge and the Wordsworths, 1953, and Tennyson in 1954. She worked as an assistant editor for the revised Oxford Junior Encyclopaedia, and edited two 1959 anthologies: A Book of Modern Stories and Her First Ball.

In addition, Burton edited works by friends and colleagues, including Thomas Hardy: Distracted Preacher? Hardy's Religious Biography and its Influence on his Novels by Timothy R. Hands and Mike Esbester.

Fiction
Her first children's novel was The Great Gale, published in 1960 and inspired by the devastation inflicted by the North Sea flood of 1953 on her home county of Suffolk. Her subject matter often reflected a radical approach first popularised by Geoffrey Trease. It included the slave trade in To Ravensrigg and the Captain Swing riots of the 1830s in No Beat of Drum and Otmoor for Ever. She sometimes covered similar themes for different age groups; Beyond the Weir Bridge was written for teens, while the same issues and events appear in Through the Fire, aimed at six-to-nine year olds. Several of her books are set in Suffolk, with many also having a maritime or naval setting.

Rather than seeking to balance diverging views, Burton presented her stories from the perspectives of an individual or group of individuals, which she viewed as more authentic. In a 1973 interview, she explained this as follows: "I am not all-wise or all-knowing... but neither were the people actually taking part.... It is a wise precaution for a writer of historical fiction to limit this range of vision... [and] also much better art."

Many of her books, including No Beat of Drum and A Time of Trial, reflect the impact of inequalities in society on her protagonists, their willingness to challenge these and the importance of education in that process. As shown by her biography of Victorian feminist Barbara Bodichon, Burton had an abiding interest in women's issues; her novels portrayed strong and independent heroines, with many of Ambrus' cover illustrations emphasising the female character.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature summarises her novels as "featuring heroines with strong opinions; class tensions and social justice are recurring themes. Her writing is unsentimental... and her books accounts of ordinary young people affected by national events."

In a letter written in February, 2006, one of Burton's daughters wrote; "I could always tell when Mum had another book on her mind, she would start to cook the meal while still wearing her overcoat and hat.Death
Hester Burton died on 17 September 2000 in Oxford, after a stroke suffered at the age of 86.

Bibliography
Fiction for older readersThe Great Gale (1960), also titled The Flood at Reedsmere; the North Sea flood of 1953; Castors Away! (1962) on the Napoleonic warsTime of Trial (1963) on free speech in the early 19th centuryA Seaman at the Time of Trafalgar (1963) on the Napoleonic wars at seaNo Beat of Drum (1966) on social unrest in 1830 and transportation to Van Diemen's Land, modern Tasmania;In Spite of All Terror (1968) on the beginning of the Second World War, Dunkirk and evacuationThomas (1969, in the US as Beyond the Weir Bridge) on the English Civil War and afterThe Henchmans at Home (1970), also titled The Day That Went Terribly Wrong: And Other Stories; family life in Victorian Suffolk;The Rebel (1971) on Revolutionary FranceRiders of the Storm (1972) on education and unrest in 18th-century EnglandKate Rider (1974) on the English Civil War: the Siege of ColchesterTo Ravensrigg (1976) on the Liverpool slave trade;A Grenville Goes to Sea (1977) on Nelson's navyWhen the Beacons Blazed (1978) on the Spanish Armada
 Five August Days (1981), a contemporary adventure;

Fiction for younger readers
These were published as part of the Antelope Series, intended for readers of six-nine years. Otmoor for Ever (1968);  Jake and his brother Seth resist as the common land of Otmoor is enclosed by the local land-owners using fences and hedges.Through the Fire (1969); covers many of the themes of Thomas including the persecution of the Quakers under the Restoration. Rachel and Will ride into London with their father to take food to their imprisoned friends but are trapped when the Great Fire of London breaks out.Tim at the Fur Fort (1977); in early 19th century Canada, Tim works as an accountant for the Hudson's Bay Company in what is now British Columbia but wants to be an explorer. When disease strikes Fort Frederick, he has to prove himself by making the most dangerous journey of his life.

Non-fictionBarbara Bodichon (1949), a short biography of the 19th century feminist, artist and educationalist Barbara BodichonColeridge and the Wordsworths (1953); Oxford Sheldonian English Series;Tennyson'' (1954); Oxford Sheldonian English Series;


Pomeranian Evangelical Church

The Pomeranian Evangelical Church (; PEK) was a Protestant regional church in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, serving the citizens living in Hither Pomerania. The Pomeranian Evangelical Church was based on the teachings brought forward by Martin Luther and other Reformators during the Reformation. It combined Lutheran and Reformed traditions (Prussian Union). The seat of the church was Greifswald, the bishop's preaching venue was the former Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas in Greifswald.

In May 2012, the Pomeranian Evangelical Church merged with the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany. The Pomeranian Evangelical Church was a full member of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) between 1950 and 1969 and again from 1991 to 2012, and of the Evangelical Church of the Union between 1950 and 2003, and thereafter of the Union of Evangelical Churches. The church was also a member of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe. Last bishop was Dr. Hans-Jürgen Abromeit since 2006.

History
At the time of the Reformation Pomerania within the Holy Roman Empire (Duchy of Pomerania) consisted of three separate states, the two branch duchies of Pomerania-Stettin (capital: Stettin, renamed as Szczecin as of 1945) and Pomerania-Wolgast (capital: Wolgast) as well as of the secular principality (capital: Kolberg, renamed as Kołobrzeg as of 1945) ruled by the Prince-Bishops of Cammin, who – in Roman Catholic respect – presided over the exempt Roman Catholic Cammin diocese (seat: Cammin, renamed as Kamień Pomorski as of 1945) comprising all the prince-episcopal state, Pomerania-Stettin, parts of eastern Mecklenburg, the New March and much of Pomerania-Wolgast. The latter's island Rügen formed part of the Roman Catholic diocese of Roskilde, converted to Lutheranism by the Danish king in 1537, the northern mainland area of Pomerania-Wolgast formed part of the Diocese of Schwerin.

Reformation and formation of Lutheran state churches
 On 13 December 1534 the Pomeranian Common Diet in Treptow an der Rega voted in favour of the introduction of Lutheranism in the branch duchies, so in the subsequent years most congregations and parishioners in Cammin diocese converted to Lutheranism. Only in Cammin's prince-episcopal state Bishop  could defend the Catholic faith. In 1535 the first Lutheran church order (Kirchenordnung; church constitution) for Pomerania was designed by the famous Pomeranian Reformator Johannes Bugenhagen, also called Doctor Pomeranus, but was only implemented in 1563. In 1535 the two Pomeranian branch duchies, Pomerania-Wolgast and Pomerania-Stettin, each appointed its own spiritual leader (called general superintendent as of 1563), seated in Greifswald for Pomerania-Wolgast and in Stettin for western Pomerania-Stettin, and, however, subordinate to Stettin, in Stolp (renamed as Słupsk) as of 1945) with subsidiary competence for the eastern part of Pomerania-Stettin.

In 1544 the Cammin diocesan cathedral chapter elected  as successor of Manteuffel, becoming the first Lutheran on the Cammin see, however, not confirmed by the Holy See. Suawe then introduced Lutheranism in the prince-episcopal state. His competence as spiritual Lutheran leader, however, was restricted to the prince-episcopal state (Hochstift), everywhere else in the former Cammin diocesan ambit superintendents, appointed by the respective ducal rulers, had taken Lutheran leadership. Protestantism had since been the prevailing Christian denomination in all of ducal and episcopal Pomerania.

The Lutheran churches in the three states of ducal and prince-episcopal Pomerania ranked as state churches. Temporary partitions without share in the Pomeranian governments, such as Pomerania-Barth (1569–1605; ecclesiastically under the general superintendent in Greifswald) and Pomerania-Rügenwalde (1569–1620; ecclesiastically under the superintendent in Stolp till 1604, then Stettin), had no effect on the structure of the two ducal state churches. The Administrators of Cammin prince-bishopric, elected in 1557 and later, lacked theological skills and did not serve as spiritual leaders of the prince-episcopal Lutheran state church any more, but superintendents (Stiftssuperintendenten; i.e. superintendent of the Hochstift) were appointed since 1558. In the same year the Cammin prince-bishopric also established a Lutheran consistory of its own. In 1556 Pomerania-Wolgast had established its own consistory (). Its ambit comprised Pomerania north of the river Randow and west of the rivers Swine and Oder. Between 1575 and 1815 Stralsund, a city in Pomerania-Wolgast, maintained an own consistory for the Lutheran congregations within the city boundary.

During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) Pomerania fell under Swedish occupation. In 1625 the Wolgast ducal branch was extinct in the male line and bequeathed to Stettin. With the extinction of the Stettin line too in 1637 the electors of Brandenburg inherited Pomerania, however, inhibited by the Swedish occupants. In 1653, after quarrels and negotiations Sweden and Brandenburg partitioned ducal Pomerania into Swedish Pomerania (comprising former Pomerania-Wolgast and the west of former Pomerania-Stettin), and Brandenburgian Pomerania (comprising the former Cammin prince-bishopric and central and eastern parts of former Pomerania-Stettin).

 As to the Lutheran state church of Swedish (Hither) Pomerania it took over the Wolgast-Pomeranian ecclesiastical institutions in Greifswald (consistory and general superintendency), whereas consistory and general superintendency in Stettin were closed down. The Lutheran state church of Brandenburgian (Farther) Pomerania reorganised Cammin's consistory as the  (till 1668 aka ) and took over the superintendency in Kolberg, elevated to general superintendency. The Pomeranian and Cammin spiritual Consistory, established as Cammin Consistory in 1558 in Cammin's capital Kolberg, was seated in that city (1558–1668, and again 1683–1686), in Stargard in Pomerania (1668–1683, and again 1686–1738) and afterwards in Stettin. With the Edict of Potsdam (1685) Huguenots founded Calvinist congregations in Stargard (1687), Stolp and Kolberg (1699). Swedish Pomerania did not allow the immigration of Calvinists.

After in 1713 Swedish Pomerania had ceded Stettin, in 1721 Calvinists founded a congregation there too. With the repeated cessions of Swedish Pomeranian territory to Brandenburgian Pomerania in the early 18th century also the ambit of the general superintendency in Greifswald shrank in favour of that for western Brandenburgian Pomerania. In 1738 the Pomeranian and Cammin spiritual Consistory moved to Stettin, however, due to the distance to remote eastern Farther Pomerania (the Hinterkreise; i.e. farther districts) it opened a subsidiary consistory for the east, the Farther Pomeranian Consistory of Köslin (aka ) in 1747. In 1750 the new Superior Consistory in Berlin (Lutherisches Oberconsistorium zu Berlin) became the superior authority for all Lutheran church bodies in Brandenburg-Prussia. The few Reformed (or Calvinist) congregations in Pomerania became subject to the Reformed Church Directorate in Berlin (Reformierte Kirchen-Direction).

Ecclesiastical Province of Pomerania within the Prussian Union of churches
In 1815 Swedish Pomerania became a pawn in the hands of the powerful, Sweden ceded it to Denmark which passed it on to Prussia in exchange for Saxe-Lauenburg. Swedish Pomerania was renamed as New Hither Pomerania (Neuvorpommern). In 1817 the supreme governor of the Lutheran State Church and the Reformed State Church in Prussia, Frederick William III, initiated the merger of both churches to form the Evangelical Church in Prussia, avoiding in its name the terms Lutheran or Reformed. This new state church, an administratively united umbrella comprising Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist) and United Protestant congregations, built up regional subdivisions, so-called ecclesiastical provinces (Kirchenprovinzen).

Its Ecclesiastical Province of Pomerania, comprising congregations within the borders of the Province of Pomerania, consisted of the Lutheran congregations within the state church of former Swedish Pomerania, of the Lutheran congregations previously subject to the Stettin general superintendent under the Lutheran Superior Consistory in Berlin, and of the Reformed (Calvinist) congregations located in Pomerania and previously subject to the Reformed Church Directorate in Berlin.

The King originally intended the merger of locally established Lutheran and Calvinist congregations into congregations of a United Protestant confession, and the adoption of the Union confession by all local congregations without an existing local partner of the other confession to merge with. His intention, however, failed due to strong Lutheran resistance throughout his monarchy, especially among Lutherans in Pomerania and Silesia.

This fight even caused the schism of the Old Lutherans. A number of Lutheran congregations refrained to join the new umbrella or seceded from it in the 1820s and 1830s, forming the independent Evangelical Lutheran Church in Prussia recognised in 1845, which was why the Evangelical Church in Prussia renamed as Evangelical State Church in Prussia (Evangelische Landeskirche in Preußen), indicating its privileged status. So finally the merger, not including all congregations, materialised as a mere administrative Union, including in Pomerania mostly Lutheran congregations, the traditionally prevailing denomination, and some few Reformed and United Protestant congregations.

Reformed congregations were usually found in cities or newly established or resettled villages in formerly Brandenburgian Pomerania, where Calvinist immigrants ensconced after 1685. United Protestant congregations usually emerged in cities, where Calvinists and Lutherans lived side by side and disliked the denominational split.

The ecclesiastical province had its headquarters, the 1815-founded Royal [or Evangelical (as of 1918)]  and general superintendent, domiciling in Stettin, taken over from the Brandenburgian Pomeranian Lutheran Church, the latter's local Köslin Consistory had been dissolved in 1815. The Swedish Pomeranian former Greifswald Consistory and the local  were stripped of their competences and dissolved in 1849 and 1815, respectively, the general superintendency in Greifswald was not restaffed after 1824. Since initially the office of general superintendent was not provided as a function in the new Evangelical Church in Prussia at all, the respective offices had not been restaffed when their previous incumbents retired, causing a vacancy. However, since the late 1820s the Evangelical Church in Prussia appointed general superintendents in all its ecclesiastical provinces.

Bismarck's church reforms strengthened the autonomy and self-rule of the state church, which in 1875 renamed as Evangelical State Church of Prussia's older Provinces (Evangelische Landeskirche der älteren Provinzen Preußens), since in Prussian provinces annexed since 1866 their regional Protestant church bodies had remained independent of the Evangelical State Church of Prussia. The reform laws strengthened the parishioners' participation through elected presbyteries and provincial synods in matters of the Ecclesiastical Province of Pomerania. In 1892 the Consistory of Pomerania Province moved into its new building on Elisabethstraße (today's ulica Kaszubska in Szczecin). With the end of the  the church lost its status as state church and assumed independence. With its new church order and name, Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union (as of 1922, Evangelische Kirche der altpreußischen Union; APU), it accounted for these changes.

The parishioners in the congregations elected synodals for their respective provincial synod – the legislative body – which again elected its governing board the provincial church council (Provinzialkirchenrat), which also included members delegated by the Evangelical Consistory of Pomerania Province. The consistory was the provincial administrative body, whose members were appointed by the Evangelical Supreme Church Council in Berlin, the central administrative body of the old-Prussian Union church. The consistory was chaired by the Stettin general superintendent, being the ecclesiastical, and a consistorial president (German: Konsistorialpräsident), being the administrative leader. In 1921 the Ecclesiastical Province of Pomerania was divided into two general superintendencies (Westsprengel and Ostsprengel), the western ambit seated again in Greifswald, the eastern ambit in Stettin. The provincial synods and the provincial church councils elected from their midst the Pomeranian synodals for the general synod, the legislative body of the overall Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union. In 1927 the general synod of the old-Prussian Union church legislated in favour of the ordination of women.

With the Nazi-imposed premature reelection of presbyteries and synods within the old-Prussian church in July 1933 the Nazi-submissive Protestant movement of German Christians gained majorities in most Pomeranian presbyteries and the Pomeranian provincial synod, like in most old-Prussian ecclesiastical provinces. In June 1933 the Nazi government of Prussia, ignoring religious autonomy, furloughed the then incumbent general superintendent  (western district, seated in Greifswald), whereas his colleague  (eastern district, seated in Stettin) retired in October the same year. This allowed the German Christians, dominating the provincial synod, to install their proponent  as provincial bishop (Provinzialbischof), combining the ambits of Westsprengel and Ostsprengel, self-aggrandising as Bishop of Cammin, claiming Führerprinzip-like authority over all the provincial clergy.

Especially among the many Pomeranian rural Pietists the opposition, forming the Confessing Church movement, found considerable support. Due to the Nazi regime's interference causing the violation and de facto abolition of the church order, new bodies emerged such as the provincial bishop (as of 1933) and the provincial ecclesiastical committee (Provinzialkirchenausschuss) since 1935 (dissolved in 1937, presided over by , a member of the Emergency Covenant of Pastors of the Confessing Church), depriving the extremist Thom of his power again in 1936. The provincial ecclesiastical committee provided for the ignoration of Thom, so that the constitutional two general superintendencies could be restaffed. In 1941, following the incorporation of Posen-West Prussia into Pomerania (1938), also the Ecclesiastical Province of Posen-West Prussia was dissolved and its ambit became a part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Pomerania. In 1941 about two million of the Pomeranians, then amounting to 2.394 million inhabitants, were parishioners of the Pomeranian ecclesiastical province.

On 22 December 1941 the official new umbrella, the pan-German Evangelical Church, called for suited actions by all Protestant church bodies to withhold baptised non-Aryans from all spheres of Protestant church life. Many German Christian-dominated congregations followed suit, whereas confessing congregations in the Ecclesiastical Province of Pomerania dared to hand in lists of signatures in protest against the exclusion of the stigmatised Protestants of Jewish descent.

By the East Pomeranian Offensive, February–April 1945, the Red Army advanced so speedily, that there was hardly a chance to rescue refugees, let alone archives of congregations in Farther Pomerania, as was recorded in a report about the situation in the ecclesiastical provinces (10 March 1945). By the end of the war hundred thousands of parishioners and hundreds of pastors were fleeing westwards. The Ecclesiastical Province of Pomerania tried to relocate its Stettin-based institutions, the consistory, general superintendency, and pertaining offices, to Greifswald. Between April and July 1945 the Soviets handed over all of Pomerania on both banks along the Oder and east thereof to Poland. Thus the east district (Ostsprengel) dropped into dissolution. With the simultaneous atrocities against and expulsion of the remaining Pomeranians and the systematic suppression of any kind of their organisations and associations the church life in Polish-annexed Pomerania came to an end. Chattel, such as archives and files of the ecclesiastical province and the congregations, could only be partially rescued to places in the west ambit. In August 1945 the three Allies of Potsdam approved these facts and agreed to house and feed the destitute Pomeranians expelled to their zones of occupation.

On the occasion of the first meeting of representatives of Germany's persisting Protestant church bodies in Treysa (a part of today's Schwalmstadt) on 31 August 1945, the representatives of the six surviving old-Prussian ecclesiastical provinces (March of Brandenburg, Pomerania, Rhineland, Saxony, Silesia, and Westphalia) and the central Evangelical Supreme Church Council took fundamental decisions about the future of the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union. They decided to assume the independent existence of each ecclesiastical province as Landeskirche (Protestant regional church body) and to reform the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union into a mere umbrella organisation ("Neuordnung der Evangelischen Kirche der altpreußischen Union"). In Treysa the representatives of all Protestant church bodies from Germany founded a new umbrella, the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD).

Most of the parishioners remaining in Polish-annexed Pomerania Province were expelled by Poland in the post-war period of expulsion of Germans between 1945 and 1948. With most of the territory, formerly comprised by the eastern ambit (Ostsprengel) of the Ecclesiastical Province of Pomerania, transferred to Poland, it expropriated all church property there, parochial and provincial alike, without compensation, with the church buildings mostly taken over by the Roman Catholic Church, and most Protestant cemeteries desecrated and devastated. The provincial church institutions were built up anew in Greifswald, while the Soviets handed over Stettin, the former seat, to Poland in July 1945.

The majority of the 1.5 million fled and expelled Pomeranian parishioners found refuge outside of the remaining territory of the Ecclesiastical Province of Pomerania and thus joined congregations within other Protestant regional church bodies, about 70,000 parishioners perished through war, flight and expulsion. But many stranded also in the west ambit (Westsprengel) with its original 500,000 inhabitants. The situation turned severe with a massive shortage of food and lodgement. However, since the Soviets had decided to keep most of Hither Pomerania, which included the Westsprengel, as part of their occupation zone refugees from Hither Pomerania, fled from there from March to May 1945, could return afterwards and congregational and provincial ecclesiastical structures were rebuilt. However, the position of general superintendent remained vacant after 1945. In October 1946 the 20th Pomeranian provincial synod elected Scheven general superintendent, and allowed him to adopt the new title of bishop.

Pomeranian Evangelical Church

The 20th Pomeranian provincial synod, 9–11 October 1946, had also decided to develop a new church order in order to reconstitute the Ecclesiastical Province of Pomerania as an independent regional Protestant church body. On 2 June 1950 the Pomeranian provincial synod adopted the prepared new church order and thus established the Pomeranian Evangelical Church, territorially comprising those parts of the former ecclesiastical province located in then East Germany (German Democratic Republic, GDR). By its new constitution its spiritual leader, titled bishop since late 1946, would continue to use that title. The Pomeranian Evangelical Church became a full member of the Evangelical Church in Germany and between 1950 and 2003 was a full member of the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union, now a mere umbrella. Under communist pressure the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union had to skip the term Prussian from its name and renamed as Evangelical Church of the Union (Evangelische Kirche der Union; EKU) on its general synod in December 1953. In 1956 the Pomeranian church counted 720,000 parishioners, about one third of them with refugee background.

Evangelical Church in Greifswald
Following the second constitution of the GDR, enacted on April 9, 1968 and accounting for its de facto transformation into a communist dictatorship, the Council of Ministers of the GDR demoted all church bodies from statutory "Public-law Corporations" () to mere "Civil Associations". Thus the Council could force the Pomeranian Evangelical Church to remove the term Pomerania from its name, because East German propaganda silenced about all terms recalling former German territory annexed by Poland or the Soviet Union. The church body then chose the new name Evangelical Church in Greifswald.

Along with the status as "Public-law Corporation" the new GDR constitution did away with the church tax, automatically collecting parishioners' contributions as a surcharge on the income tax. Now parishioners had to fix the level of their contributions and to transfer them again and again on their own. This together with ongoing discrimination of church members, which let many secede from the church, effectively eroded the adherence of parishioners and the financial situation of the Evangelical Church in Greifswald. In 1969 the church body, like all its East German fellows, seceded from the umbrella Evangelical Church in Germany and joined the .

Pomeranian Evangelical Church from 1990 to 2012
In 1990, after the end of the GDR dictatorship, the church body returned to its former name. With the dissolution of the GDR-Federation of Protestant Churches in 1991 the Pomeranian Evangelical Church reentered the EKD and remained its member until the merger in 2012. The blessing of same-sex unions was allowed. The number of parishioners continued to sink and reached 140,000 in 1997, somewhat more than 20% of the Hither Pomeranian population. On 28 March 2009 the synod voted in the merger with the two Lutheran church bodies of Mecklenburg and North Elbia, by 44 out of 58 synodals. The merger took effect on Pentecost, 27 May 2012.

Number of parishioners

Governors, governing bodies and chairpersons of the church
Historically the church was subdivided into districts (later called Sprengel in German), partially due to different secular rulers reigning different parts of Pomerania, or partially due to the mere extension of the territory. Thus originally these districts territorially resembled the political subdivisions of Pomerania at the time. Each ecclesiastical district had a consistory and a spiritual leader (usually called general superintendent). At times there were additional subordinate consistories and spiritual leaders with regional competence.

Supreme governors (1534–1918)
Between 1534 and 1918 the incumbents of the different Pomeranian thrones were simultaneously Supreme Governors (summus episcopus) of the State Church, like the English monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Since 1532 the ducal House of Griffins was divided into two lines, ruling in partitioned parts of the duchy (Pomerania-Stettin 1532–1637; Pomerania-Wolgast 1532–1620). Furthermore, the third political unit was the Prince-Bishopric of Cammin (1248–1650), a prince-bishopric in parts of Farther Pomerania, ruled by Catholic and later Lutheran bishops of Cammin or by administrators elected by its governing body, the collegial cathedral chapter of Cammin, since the Reformation mostly staffed with Lutheran capitular canons.

Two dependent branch duchies, Pomerania-Barth (1569–1605) and Pomerania-Rügenwalde (1569–1620) were without share in the government, thus also without competence as to the Lutheran state churches. After the extinction of the Griffins in 1637 Pomerania was divided into a Swedish and a Brandenburgian part, where the monarchs of Sweden and the Berlin-based Hohenzollern rulers, respectively, then wielded the summepiscopacy.

Spiritual leaders (1535–2012)

Notes

External links

 https://web.archive.org/web/20110518075042/http://www.pevk.de/ Pomeranian Evangelical Church
 http://www.ekd.de Evangelical Church in Germany

Evangelical


Palawan

Palawan (pronounced ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ; Hiligaynon: Kapuoran sang Palawan; Cebuano: Lalawigan sa Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of MIMAROPA. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. Its capital is the city of Puerto Princesa, but the city is governed independently from the province as a highly urbanized city.

The islands of Palawan stretch between Mindoro in the northeast and Borneo in the southwest. It lies between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. The province is named after its largest island, Palawan Island (), measuring  long, and  wide.

In 2019 Republic Act 11259 was passed providing for the division of Palawan into three separate provinces. Per the law, a plebiscite will be held in Palawan in May 2020 determining whether this division will be carried out. (See 'Contemporary period' section)

History and prehistory

Prehistoric times

The early history of Palawan was determined by a team of researchers led by Dr. Robert B. Fox. They found evidence in the Tabon Caves that humans have lived in Palawan for more than 50,000 years. They also found human bone fragments, from an individual known as Tabon Man, in the municipality of Quezon, as well as tools and other artifacts. Although the origin of the cave dwellers is not yet established, anthropologists believe they came from Borneo. The Tabon Caves are now known as the Cradle of Philippine Civilization.

Two articulated phalanx bones of a tiger, besides another phalanx piece, were found amidst an assemblage of other animal bones and stone tools in Ille Cave near the village of New Ibajay. The other animal fossils were ascribed to macaques, deer, bearded pigs, small mammals, lizards, snakes and turtles. From the stone tools, besides the evidence for cuts on the bones, and the use of fire, it would appear that early humans had accumulated the bones. Additionally, the condition of the tiger subfossils, dated to approximately 12,000 to 9,000 years ago, differed from other fossils in the assemblage, dated to the Upper Paleolithic. The tiger subfossils showed longitudinal fracture of the cortical bone due to weathering, which suggests that they had post-mortem been exposed to light and air. Tiger parts were commonly used as amulets in South and Southeast Asia, so it may be that the tiger parts were imported from elsewhere, as is the case with tiger canine teeth, which were found in Ambangan sites dating to the 10th to 12th centuries in Butuan, Mindanao. On the other hand, the proximity of Borneo and Palawan also makes it likely that the tiger had colonized Palawan from Borneo before the Early Holocene.

Using the work of Von den Driesch, all chosen anatomical features of appendicular elements' anatomical features which were chosen, besides molars, were measured to distinguish between taxa that had close relationships, and see morphometric changes over ages, though not for pigs or deer. For the latter two, cranial and mandibular elements, besides teeth of deer from Ille Cave were compared with samples of the Philippine brown deer (Cervus mariannus), Calamian hog deer (Axis calamianensis), and Visayan spotted deer (Cervus alfredi), and thus two taxa of deer have been identified from the fossils: Axis and Cervus. Remains of pigs were compared with the Eurasian (Sus scrofa) and Palawanese wild boar (Sus ahoenobarbus). It is known that the Eurasian wild boar was imported as a domesticate to the islands from mainland Southeast Asia to the islands during the Terminal Holocene.

Ancient times

The Palawano and Tagbanwa, are believed to be direct descendants of Palawan's earliest settlers. They developed an informal form of government, an alphabet, and a system of trading with seafaring merchants.

Surviving ancient tribal artwork include reliefs of elephants, sharks, and fish found at Tabon Caves. Approximately 5,000 years ago, a culturally distinct period characterised by jar burials is evident. This era lasted till AD 500. Over 1500 jars and a mural depicting a burial procession were found.

A more recent wave of migrants arrived between AD 220 and 263. This was during a period known as the Three Kingdoms. "Little, dark people" living in Anwei province in South China were driven South by Han People. Some settled in Thailand, others went farther south to Indonesia, Sumatra, Borneo. They were known as Aetas and Negritos from whom Palawan's Batak tribe descended.

Palawan, along with the rest of Philippines, was part of greater India and indosphere as evident by the discovery of a gold ornamental pendant from the Tabon caves in the island of Palawan. It is an image of Garuda, the eagle bird who is the mount of Hindu deity Vishnu. The discovery of sophisticated Hindu imagery and gold artifacts in Tabon caves has been linked to those found from Óc Eo archaeological site in Thoại Sơn District in southern An Giang Province of Vietnam in the Mekong River Delta. These archaeological evidence suggests an active trade of many specialized goods and gold between India and Philippines and coastal regions of Vietnam and China. Between 8th to 12th centuries, Philippines was part of Hindu-Buddhist Srivijaya kingdowm, which in turn was a vassal of the Indian Hindu kingdom of Chola dynasty. Several places in Malaysia and Indonesia were invaded by Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty. The Chola invasion furthered the expansion of Tamil merchant associations such as the Manigramam, Ayyavole and Ainnurruvar into Southeast Asia. The Chola invasion led to the fall of the Sailendra Dynasty of Srivijaya and the Chola invasion also coincides with return voyage of the great Buddhist scholar Atiśa from Sumatra to India and Tibet in 1025. The expedition of Rajendra Chola I is mentioned in the corrupted form as Raja Chulan in the medieval Malay chronicle Sejarah Melaya, and Malay princes have names ending with Cholan or Chulan, such as Raja Chulan of Perak. With the Maharaja Sangrama Vijayottunggavarman imprisoned and most of its cities destroyed, the leaderless Srivijaya mandala entered a period of chaos and confusion. The invasion marked the end of the Sailendra dynasty. According to the 15th-century Malay annals Sejarah Melayu, Rajendra Chola I after the successful naval raid in 1025 married Onang Kiu, the daughter of Vijayottunggavarman.

In AD 982, ancient Chinese traders regularly visited the islands. A Chinese author referred to these islands as Kla-ma-yan (Calamian), Palau-ye (Palawan), and Paki-nung (Busuanga). Pottery, china and other artifacts recovered from caves and waters of Palawan attest to trade relations that existed between Chinese and Malay merchants.

Classical period
In the 12th century, Malay immigrants arrived. Most of their settlements were ruled by Malay chieftains. These people grew rice, ginger, coconuts, sweet potatoes, sugarcane and bananas. They also raised swine, goats and chickens. Most of their economic activities were fishing, farming, and hunting by the use of bamboo traps and blowguns. The local people had a dialect consisting of 18 syllables. They were followed by the Indonesians of the Majapahit Empire in the 13th century, and they brought with them Buddhism and Hinduism.

Surviving Buddhist images and sculptures are primarily in and near Tabon Cave.

Because of Palawan's proximity to Borneo, southern portions of the island were under the control of the Sultanate of Brunei for more than two centuries, and Islam was introduced. During the same period, trade relations flourished, and intermarriages among the natives and the Chinese, Japanese, Arab and Hindu. The inter-mixing of blood resulted to a distinct breed of Palaweños, both in physical stature and features.

Spanish period

After Ferdinand Magellan's death, remnants of his fleet landed in Palawan where the bounty of the land saved them from starvation. Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan's chronicler named the place "Land of Promise."

The northern Calamianes Islands were the first to come under Spanish authority, and were later declared a province separate from the Palawan mainland. In the early 17th century, Spanish friars sent out missions in Cuyo, Agutaya, Taytay and Cagayancillo but they met resistance from Moro communities. Before the 18th century, Spain began to build churches enclosed by garrisons for protection against Moro raids in the town of Cuyo, Taytay, Linapacan and Balabac. In 1749, the Sultanate of Brunei ceded southern Palawan to Spain.

In 1818, the entire island of Palawan, or Paragua as it was called, was organized as a single province named Calamianes, with its capital in Taytay.  By 1858, the province was divided into two provinces, namely, Castilla, covering the northern section with Taytay as capital and Asturias in the southern mainland with Puerto Princesa as capital. It was later divided into three districts, Calamianes, Paragua and Balabac, with Principe Alfonso town as its capital. and During the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, Cuyo became the second capital of Palawan from 1873 to 1903.

American rule
In 1902, after the Philippine–American War, the Americans established civil rule in northern Palawan, calling it the province of Paragua. In 1903, pursuant to Philippine Commission Act No. 1363, the province was reorganized to include the southern portions and renamed Palawan, and Puerto Princesa declared as its capital.

Many reforms and projects were later introduced in the province. Construction of school buildings, promotion of agriculture, and bringing people closer to the government were among the priority plans during this era.

Japanese invasion

After the Japanese invasion, according to Stephen L. Moore, "Pro-Allied sentiment was strong, and it was later estimated that during the war as many as 1,154 Filipino guerrillas worked against the Japanese on the island. Those in the underground network would proudly refer to themselves as 'Palawan's Fighting One Thousand'." Early resistance leaders included Dr. Higinio Acosta Mendoza, his wife Triny, Thomas F. Loudon, and his son-in-law Nazario Mayor. Capt. Mayor organized Company D in Oct. 1943, and was responsible for the area encompassing Puerto Princesa south to Balabac Island. Capt. Mendoza covered the area north of Puerto Princesa to Caramay. Lt. Felipe Batul operated out of Danlig, while Capt. Carlos Amores operated out of Sibaltan. Overall command of the Palawan Special Battalion was under Maj. Pablo P. Muyco as part of the 6th Military District. The Palawan guerrillas helped any escaping American POWs, supported two coastwatcher groups sending regular radio broadcasts to General MacArthur on Japanese movements, helped rescue downed airmen, and survivors from the USS Flier submarine. Most importantly, they helped guide the 8th Army's troop landings.

Palawan Massacre

During World War II, in order to prevent the rescue of prisoners of war by the advancing allies, on 14 December 1944, units of the Japanese Fourteenth Area Army (under the command of General Tomoyuki Yamashita) herded the remaining 150 prisoners of war at Puerto Princesa into three covered trenches which were then set on fire using barrels of gasoline. Prisoners who tried to escape the flames were shot down. Only 11 men escaped the slaughter.

Liberation
During the first phase of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, just off the coast of Palawan, two United States Navy submarines,  and  attacked a Japanese cruiser task force led by Admiral Takeo Kurita, sinking his flagship (in which he survived) , and her sister ship . Darter later ran aground that afternoon and was scuttled by .

The island was liberated from the Japanese Imperial Forces February 28 and April 22, 1945 during the Invasion of Palawan.

Contemporary period
In 2005, Palawan was briefly made politically part of Western Visayas or Region VI through Executive Order 429 signed by then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as a political move to control the province and a response to getting more loans from China on May 23, 2005. This decree was later deferred on August 18 within the same year reportedly due to the opposition of the province's Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Council).

Proposed division

In April 2019, a bill dividing Palawan into three provinces was passed into law. The proposed three new provinces are Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur. A plebiscite will be held on May 2020 to decide on whether Palawan will be divided into three provinces or not. Some civil society groups and Puerto Princesa residents opposed the proposed division, claiming that there was no extensive public consultation.

Geography

The province is composed of the long and narrow Palawan Island, plus a number of other smaller islands surrounding it, totalling roughly 1,780 islands and islets. The Calamianes Group of Islands to the northeast consists of Busuanga, Coron, Culion, and Linapacan islands. Balabac Island is located off the southern tip, separated from Borneo by the Balabac Strait. In addition, Palawan covers the Cuyo Islands in the Sulu Sea. The disputed Spratly Islands, located a few hundred kilometres to the west, are considered part of Palawan by the Philippines, and is locally called the "Kalayaan Group of Islands".

Palawan's almost  of irregular coastline is lined with rocky coves and sugar-white sandy beaches. It also harbors a vast stretch of virgin forests that carpet its chain of mountain ranges. The mountain heights average  in altitude, with the highest peak rising to  at Mount Mantalingahan. The vast mountain areas are the source of valuable timber. The terrain is a mix of coastal plain, craggy foothills, valley deltas, and heavy forest interspersed with riverine arteries that serve as irrigation.

The province has a total land area of . When Puerto Princesa City is included for geographical purposes, its land area is . The land area is distributed to its mainland municipalities, comprising , and the island municipalities, which altogether measure . In terms of archipelagic internal waters, Palawan has the biggest marine resources that covers almost half of the Sulu Sea and a big chunk of the South China Sea that is within the municipal waters of Kalayaan Municipality which was official annexed to the Philippine jurisdiction by virtue of Presidential Decree 1596 dated June 11, 1978.

Climate
The province has two types of climate. The first, which occurs in the northern and southern extremities and the entire western coast, has two distinct seasons – six months dry and six months wet. The other, which prevails in the eastern coast, has a short dry season of one to three months and no pronounced rainy period during the rest of the year. The southern part of the province is virtually free from tropical depressions but northern Palawan experiences torrential rains during the months of July and August. Summer months serve as peak season for Palawan. Sea voyages are most favorable from March to early June when the seas are calm. The average maximum temperature is  with little variation all year.

Administrative divisions

Palawan comprises 433 barangays in 23 municipalities and the capital City of Puerto Princesa. As an archipelago, Palawan has 13 mainland municipalities and 10 island towns. There are three congressional districts, namely: the first district comprising five northern mainland municipalities and nine island towns; the second district composed of six southern mainland towns and the island municipality of Balabac; and the third district covering the capital City of Puerto Princesa and the town of Aborlan. Thirteen municipalities are considered as mainland municipalities, namely Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, Sofronio Española, Brooke's Point, Rizal, and Bataraza (located south); San Vicente, Roxas, Dumaran, El Nido, and Taytay (found in the north). The remaining island municipalities are: Busuanga, Coron, Linapacan and Culion (forming the Calamianes group of islands), Cuyo, Agutaya and Magsaysay (the Cuyo group of islands), Araceli, Cagayancillo, Balabac and Kalayaan (Spratly Islands). The capital, Puerto Princesa is a highly urbanized city that governs itself independently from the province, but it usually grouped with the province for statistical and geographic purposes.

If approved in the May 2020 plebiscite, Palawan will be divided into three provinces. The three provinces are Palawan del Norte (includes El Nido, Taytay, Coron, Linapacan, Culion, and Busuanga), Palawan Oriental (includes San Vicente, Roxas, Dumaran, Cuyo, Agutaya, Magsaysay, and Cagayancillo), and Palawan del Sur (includes Kalayaan, Aborlan, Narra, Sofronio Española, Brooke's Point, Rizal, Quezon, Bataraza and Balabac).

Region
In 2001, the residents of Palawan voted in a plebiscite to reject inclusion into an expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

On 17 May 2002, Executive Order No. 103 divided Region IV into Region IV-A (Calabarzon) and Region IV-B (Mimaropa), placing the province of Palawan into Mimaropa.

On 23 May 2005, Executive Order No. 429 directed that Palawan be transferred from Region IV-B to Region VI. However, Palaweños criticized the move, citing a lack of consultation, with most residents in Puerto Princesa City and all municipalities but one preferring to stay with Region IV-B. Consequently, Administrative Order No. 129 was issued on 19 August 2005 that the implementation of EO 429 be held in abeyance pending approval by the President of its implementation Plan. The Philippine Commission on Elections reported the 2010 Philippine general election results for Palawan as a part of the Region IV-B results. , the abeyance was still in effect and Palawan remained a part of Mimaropa.

Demographics

The population of Palawan in the  was  people, with a density of . When Puerto Princesa City is included for geographical purposes, the population is 1,104,585 people, with a density of .

The province is a melting pot of 87 different cultural groups and races. Basically, its culture bears a strong influence from China, India and the Middle East.  Influx of migrants from other parts of the Philippines, particularly from Muslim Mindanao, accounts for the high population growth rate of 3.98% annually. The native-born Palaweños still predominate the populace. Eighteen percent is composed of cultural minority groups such as the Tagbanwa, Palawano, Batak, and Molbog.

Religion

Christianity
The Members Church of God International popularly called Ang Dating Daan establishes three church districts namely Coron, Northern Palawan and Southern Palawan which signifies strong membership in the province.

Roman Catholicism

The predominant religion in Palawan is Roman Catholicism. In 2017, the Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Prinsesa  had a 68.8% adherence while the Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay (Northern Palawan) had an 91.6% adherence. One of the religious orders that had a significant mission in the islands is the Order of Augustinian Recollects.

The island of Palawan is divided into two Apostolic Vicariates: the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa in Southern Palawan and the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay in Northern Palawan.

Protestantism and other groups
Several Baptist and other Protestant denominations have a strong presence in Palawan as do the Church of the Foursquare Gospel in the Philippines, and the Seventh-day Adventists. Charismatic groups such as  Jesus is Lord (JIL), Jesus Touch Fellowship (JTF) and the Life Church (formerly known at the Life Renewal Center).

Other Christian denominations including the indigenous Iglesia ni Cristo has many local congregations in the province. The United Church of Christ in the Philippines or (UCCP), the Jesus Miracle Crusade, the Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ or PMCC (4th Watch) as well as the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (Philippine Independent Church or Aglipayan Church) which is standing as one diocese (The Diocese of Palawan). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a growing membership in the island province. Jehovah's Witnesses have an active membership of 181,236 in the Philippines as of 2012. Special pioneers from the Witnesses have been preaching to prisoners at the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan, and were permitted to build a small Kingdom Hall right on the premises.

Islam

A small minority of Palawan residents identify as Muslims, these being mostly the Molbogs who are concentrated in Balabac and Bataraza of the southern part of the island.   Muslims were reported by the Routledge Handbook of Southeast Asian Democratization as forming an "overwhelming majority" in Palawan, as well as the Sulu Archipelago. However, other sources had earlier reported a 50-50 split between Muslims and Christians—with Muslims concentrated mostly in the south of Palawan.

Animism
Most of the ethnic minorities such as Batak and Tagbanwa are animists, many of which have continued to preserve their ancient traditions passed on by their ancestors and onto the next generations. However, Christian missionaries have interfered in some communities, to an extent where traditional ways have been obliterated by foreign and foreign-inspired religions.

Other religions
There are Buddhists - mainly Vietnamese refugees  who settled in Palawan, as well as some ethnic Chinese Buddhists. One notable Vietnamese Buddhist Temple in Palawan is Chùa Vạn Pháp.

Language

There are 52 languages and dialects in the province, with Tagalog being spoken by more than 50 percent of the people. Languages native to the islands are Cuyonon (26.27 percent), and Palawano (4.0 percent). Kinaray-a is also present at 19 percent. Before mass immigration to Palawan by various groups of people from Southern Tagalog, Illocandia, and Central Luzon, and Panay, Cuyonon was an established lingua franca amongst many of its native peoples, i.e. the Agutaynen, Cagayanen, Tagbanua, Palawan, and others. The usage of Cuyonon significantly dropped during the approach of the new millennium being replaced by the now majority Tagalog. In the south of Palawan during the occupation of the Sulu Sultanate, Tausug was a lingua franca amongst the minority Islamfied ethnic groups i.e. Molbog, Tausug (non native), Muslim Palaw’an, and the migratory Sama. By the 19th century, Cuyonon had replaced Tausug as lingua franca.

Economy
Palawan's economy is basically agricultural. The three major crops are palay, corn and coconut. Mineral resources include nickel, copper, manganese, and chromite. Logging is also a major industry. Palawan has one of the richest fishing grounds in the country. About 45% of Manila's supply of fish comes from here. Having natural gas reserves of approximately 30,000 trillion cubic feet, the province is the only oil-producing province in the country. In addition, tourism is also a thriving sector, having received 1.8 million tourists in 2018, a 21% year-over-year increase from 2017.

Pearl diving used to be a significant economic activity for Palawan until the advent of plastics. The world's largest pearl, the  diameter Pearl of Lao Tzu, was found off Palawan in 1934.

The economic and agricultural business growth of province is at 20% per annum. Coconut, sugar, rice, lumber, and livestock are produced here.

Flora and fauna

Unlike most of the Philippines, Palawan is biogeographically part of Sundaland, with a fauna and flora
related to that found in Borneo.

Among the many endemic species are the Palawan peacock-pheasant, Philippine mouse-deer, Philippine pangolin, Palawan bearded pig, and Palawan birdwing. In the forests and grasslands, the air resonates with the songs of more than 200 kinds of birds. Over 600 species of butterflies flutter around the mountains and fields of Palawan, attracted to some 1500 hosts plants found here. Endangered sea turtles nest on white sand beaches. Dugong numbers have fallen seriously, although Palawan still has a larger population than any other part of the country, and organizations such as Community Centred Conservation (C3) are working to end the unsustainable use of marine resources in Palawan and in Philippines.

Total forest cover is about 56 percent of the total land area of the province while mangrove forest accounts for 3.35 percent based on the 1998 Landsat imagery. Grasslands dwindled from 19 percent in 1992 to 12.40 percent in 1998. This is an indication of improving soil condition as deteriorating soil is normally invaded by grass species. Brushlands increased to 25 percent of the total land area. Sprawled beneath the seas are nearly 11,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, representing more than 35% of the country's coral reefs.

Palawan, the only Philippine island cited, is rated by the Condé Nast Traveler Readers as the most beautiful island in the world and is also rated by the National Geographic Traveler magazine as the best island destination in East and Southeast Asia region in 2007, and the equal 27th best island in the world having "incredibly beautiful natural seascapes and landscapes. One of the most biodiverse (terrestrial and marine) islands in the Philippines. The island has had a Biosphere Reserve status since the early 1990s, showing local interest for conservation and sustainable development".

The province was also categorized as "doing well" in the 4th Destination Scorecard survey conducted by the National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations, and Conde Nast Traveler magazine voted its beaches, coves and islets as the tourist destination with the best beaches in Asia. Renowned underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau has described the province as having one of the most beautiful seascapes in the world. and Caril Ridley, founder of Palawan Environmental and Marine Studies Center (PEMS) says the Islands of northern Palawan are destined to become a future destination for Asia's growing economic and environmental conferencing.

In 2007, a "shrew-eating pitcher plant", named Nepenthes attenboroughii was discovered in Mount Victoria. There were many species of pitcher plants discovered in this wild mountain paradise, the most recent is named Nepenthes leonardoi. In 2012, the purple crab was discovered here along with four other species.

Attractions

Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary

A game reserve and wildlife sanctuary of exotic African animals and endangered endemic animals of Palawan. The reserve was established on August 31, 1976 by virtue of the Presidential Decree No. 1578,. This was initiated in response to the appeal of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature to help save African wildlife when former President Ferdinand Marcos attended the 3rd World Conference in Kenya. By virtue of the Republic Act 7611 (), administrative jurisdiction of DENR was given to the local government of Palawan, effective December 31, 1993. Management of the area is the responsibility of the Office of the Palawan Council of Sustainable Development (PCSD). It is located in Calauit Island in Busuanga.

Coron Reefs, Coron Bay, Busuanga

Seven lakes surrounded by craggy limestone cliffs attract hundreds of nature lovers to Coron Reefs in Northern Palawan, near the town of Coron. Busuanga Island, whose main town is Coron, is the jump-off point for numerous dive operators. The principal dive sites are 12 World War II Japanese shipwrecks sunk on September 24, 1944 by US Navy action. They range in depth from the surface to 40 meters. This large variety offers exciting wreck exploration for enthusiasts, from novice divers and snorkelers and recreational divers to experienced TEC divers.

The aquatic views from the sunken Japanese warships off Coron Island are listed in Forbes Traveler Magazines top 10 best scuba sites in the world.

El Nido Marine Reserve Park

The January 2008 issue of international magazine Travel + Leisure, published by the American Express Co. (which partnered with Conservation International) listed El Nido's sister hotel resorts El Nido Lagen Island and El Nido Miniloc Island in Miniloc and Lagen Islands as "conservation-minded places on a mission to protect the local environment". Travel + Leisures 20 Favorite Green Hotels scored El Nido Resort's protection of Palawan's giant clam  gardens and the re-introduction of endangered Philippine cockatoos. Guest cottages on stilts are set above the crystalline ocean. The resorts are active in both reef and island conservation."

Malampaya Sound Land and Seascape Protected Area

Located in the Municipality of Taytay, this important ecological and economic zone is a watershed and fishing ground, and the habitat of Bottle-nosed and Irrawaddy dolphins.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites
 Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park (1999)
This park features a large limestone karst landscape with an underground river. One of the river's distinguishing features is that it emerges directly into the sea, and its lower portion is subject to tidal influences. The area also represents a significant habitat for biodiversity conservation. The site contains a full 'mountain-to-sea' ecosystem and has some of the most important forests in Asia.
 Tubbataha Reef Marine Park (1993)
The Tubbataha Reef Marine Park covers 332 km2, including the North and South Reefs. It is a unique example of an atoll reef with a very high density of marine species; the North Islet serving as a nesting site for birds and marine turtles. The site is an excellent example of a pristine coral reef with a spectacular 100 m perpendicular wall, extensive lagoons and two coral islands.

Ursula Island
This game refuge and bird sanctuary is situated near the Municipality of Bataraza in southern Palawan. The islet is a migratory and wintering ground for shorebirds and seabirds.

Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary

This  protected area located in the municipality of Narra is a nesting ground of the endemic Philippine cockatoo or katala. It also harbors other rare bird species and marine turtles.

Security
The Armed Forces of the Philippines–Western Command in Canigaran and the Philippine National Police-Palawan Command with headquarters in Tiniguiban, Puerto Princesa, are responsible for maintenance of the peace and order. Military units in the province under the Western Command are the Naval Forces Northwest (Task Force 41 and 42), Philippine Air Force 4th Naval District IV, Delta Company and 10th Marine Battalion Landing Team located in Tiniguiban, Puerto Princesa. There has been discussion about dredging Ulugan Bay in order to build a larger naval base on Palawan, allowing the Philippines to project naval power into the South China Sea.

The U.S. Department of State issued a travel warning in May 2015, advising foreigners against travel to the southern part of Palawan. The warning continues to be in effect as of May 2017.

Infrastructure

Communication
Four telecommunication companies provide local and international direct distance dialing and fax services. Inter island communications is available through the government's telegraph network and the Provincial Radio Communication System. In addition, there are 19 post offices, a number of cargo forwarders provide air parcel and freight services.

The province has access to two satellite-linked television stations. Cable television in the City of Puerto Princesa offers dozens of foreign channels while smaller firms provide cable services in selected towns. Individual cable facility (Dream Cable) is available locally. Seven radio stations are based in Puerto Princesa, four on the AM and three on the FM bands. Community-based radio stations operate in some of the municipalities in the north and south of the province. Additional stations are expected to set up local affiliates in the capital city of Puerto Princesa.

Two mobile phone companies, Smart Communications and Globe Telecom, are operating in the province. Sun Cellular is expected to start operations in the province soon.

Health facilities

There are nine provincial government hospitals, two national government hospitals, one military hospital and nine private hospitals in the province. The Culion Sanitarium and General Hospital, Ospital ng Palawan, managed and administered by the Department of Health (DOH), MMG-PPC Cooperative Hospital, and the Palawan Adventist Hospital are located in Puerto Princesa.

Utilities
The National Power Corporation has 14 electric facilities all over Palawan. It operates with a total of 51.363 megawatts of electricity.

Water facilities in Palawan are classified as Level I (deepwell, handpump), Level II (communal faucet), or Level III (house connection). Among all of these types, Level I has the most number of units, accounting to 17,438; this is followed by Level III, with 1,688 units; and Level II, with only 94 units.

Transportation

Air
The Puerto Princesa International Airport is the only international airport in Palawan, serving as the main gateway to the province. Other airports include:

Domestic
 Francisco B. Reyes Airport, Coron, Busuanga Island
 El Nido Airport, El Nido
 San Vicente Airport, San Vicente
 Cuyo Airport, Magsaysay
 Taytay Airport, Taytay
 Del Pilar Airport, Roxas
 Bugsuk (Bonbon) Airport, Balabac (Bugsuk Island)
 Tagbita Airport, Rizal
 Balabac Airport, Balabac
 Rio Tuba Airport, Bataraza

Other
 Coron Airstrip, Coron
 Culion Airstrip, Culion
 Brooke's Point Airstrip, Brooke's Point
 Candaraman Airstrip, Balabac (Candaraman Island)
 Inandeng Airstrip, San Vicente (under construction)
 Pamalican (Amanpulo) Airstrip, Cuyo (Pamalican Island)
 Old Busuanga Airstrip, Busuanga
 Rancudo Airfield, Kalayaan (military)
 Tarumpitao Point Airfield, Rizal

Seaports
Port of Puerto Princesa is the main port on Palawan, serving both cargo and passenger traffic to the island. Scheduled passenger ferry services are running weekly from Manila to this port. The port is managed by the Philippine Ports Authority. Other ports include:

 Port of Coron
 Port of El Nido
 Port Of Mangingisda

Education
The literacy rate in Palawan is increasing by 2% annually because of expanding access to education. Among these programs are the establishment of schools in remote barangays, non-formal education, multi-grade mobile teaching and the drop-out intervention program.

Public schools in the province consist of 623 elementary schools, 126 secondary schools and two universities. Private schools are as follows: 26 elementary, 19 secondary, 4 private colleges, and 10 vocational schools.

Among the public institutions of higher education are the Western Philippines University with campuses in Aborlan and Puerto Princesa City, Coron College of Fisheries, Puerto Princesa School of Arts and Trade and the Palawan College of Arts and Trade in Cuyo, Palawan. Also Palawan State University located at Puerto Princesa.

Some of the private institutions are the Holy Trinity University run by the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena, Fullbright College, Palawan Polytechnical College Inc., in Roxas, San Vicente and Puerto Princesa City, Systems Technology Institute (STI), AMA Computer Learning Center (ACLC) in Puerto Princesa City, San Francisco Javier College run by the Augustinian Recollect Sisters in Narra, Loyola College in Culion run by the Jesuits, St. Joseph Academy in Cuyo, St. Augustine Academy in Coron, Coron Technical School, Sacred Heart of Jesus High School in Brooke's Point; Northern Palawan Christian Institute (owned and manage by the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, Palawan Diocese) and the unique educational institution called the St. Ezekiel Moreno Dormitory located in barangay Macarascas, Puerto Princesa City founded by Bishop Broderick Pabillo, the present auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Manila. The Palawanologist, Andrei Ustares Acosta of El Nido, Palawan, founded the new discipline on the studies of Palawan called the Palawanology.


Princess Marie of Croÿ

Princess Marie Élisabeth Louise of Croÿ (26 November 1875 – 20 June 1968) was a member of the Belgian aristocracy and a member of the Belgian Resistance during two world wars.

Early life
Princess Marie was born in London, the daughter of Prince Alfred Emmanuel de Croÿ-Solre and his wife Élisabeth Marie Parnell. Her brother, Prince Réginald of Croÿ, was also involved in anti-German activities during the First World War.

First World War
When the First World War broke out in 1914, the princess was visiting a friend, Violet Cavendish-Bentinck, at the home of her mother, Mrs Louisa Scott; she immediately set out for France. She worked as a nurse, at the family home of Chateau de Bellignies, which was in use as a hospital, and assisted Edith Cavell in helping allied servicemen to escape to Britain via the Netherlands. For this she was arrested in 1915 along with Nurse Cavell and a number of others, but escaped the death penalty. At their trial in October, she asked for clemency for her fellow prisoners, claiming that she and her brother were solely responsible. She was condemned to ten years' hard labour, and sent to a prison at Siegburg in Germany. The Kaiser, Wilhelm II, offered to free her, but she declined because she did not want to be given preferential treatment.

In 1917 the princess was admitted to hospital in Bonn, her health seriously affected by prison conditions. She was finally released on 13 November 1918. The Canadian journalist Elizabeth Montizambert, who had been in the occupied territory during the war, became a close friend of Marie and her brother.

Later life
During the Second World War, the princess was again involved in Resistance activities. Henri Giraud, who had been assisted by Nurse Cavell's team when he was a junior officer, once again received Princess Marie's help when he escaped from Königstein Castle in 1942. She was arrested at Lille.

In recognition of her war service, she was awarded the honours of Chevalier of the Order of Leopold and of the Légion d'honneur.

She wrote a memoir of her war experiences, titled War Memories, which was published by Macmillan in 1932. She did not marry, and died at Saint-Benin-d'Azy, aged 92.


Cashrewards

Cashrewards is an Australian cashback reward program, founded in 2014. It enables users to get a portion of their cash back when making a purchase online or in-store at over 1,200 retailers.

Cashrewards is partnered with over 1,200 brands, including Amazon, Myer, David Jones, Groupon, Coles, Agoda, Lenovo, Apple, Microsoft and Booking.com. Each participating partner pays a commission to Cashrewards, which is then shared with its members as a cashback offer. In the first five years the company has been operating, Cashrewards has generated AUD $1.5 billion in revenue for its partners, and AUD $65 million as cashback to its members.

In addition to offering cashback, Cashrewards also features a selection of discount coupons and exclusive deal codes.

History
Cashrewards was founded in 2014 by Andrew and Lorica Clarke after their son developed and survived a serious illness. Seeking a way to give back to those who supported them during this time, they set up Cashrewards as a business which aims to benefit consumers while also contributing to charitable organisations.

In 2017, Cashrewards joined the Salesforce charity initiative Pledge 1%, where one percent of the company's equity and one percent of cashback rewards are donated to a selected charity. Founders Andrew & Lorica chose the Starlight Children’s Foundation due to the support this organisation provided to their son while he was battling his illness.

In 2018, Cashrewards launched its In-Store Offers platform. Partnering with Visa, the platform allows members with a Visa credit card or debit card to earn cashback at hundreds of stores throughout Australia.

In 2019, Cashrewards founder Andrew Clarke stated that the company seeks to achieve an initial public offering (IPO) by 2020. October 2019 also saw Cashrewards expand its In-Store Offers platform by partnering with Mastercard, allowing members using this payment card provider to access cashback benefits from participating retailers.

Funding
In 2018, Cashrewards secured AUD $3 million in capital from Silicon Valley-based Partners for Growth (PFG) through a tailored debt funding facility.

In 2019, it acquired an additional AUD $5.25 million external equity funding round from Sydney-based Alium Capital.

Awards and Accolades

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| 2016
| Finalist: Best Fintech Startup
| StartCon
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| Australasian Startup Awards 2016
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| 2016
| Deloitte Tech Fast 50 Awards Australia
| Deloitte
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| Deloitte Technology Fast 500 2016
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| 2017
| Finalist: E-commerce Company of the Year
| StartCon
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| Australasian Startup Awards 2017
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| 2017
| Finalist: NSW Region
| Telstra
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| Telstra Business Awards 2017
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| 2017
| Finalist: Eastern Region
| Ernst & Young (EY)
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| Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award 2017
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| 2017
| Smart50 List (4th Place)
| SmartCompany
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| Smart50 Awards 2017
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| 2017
| Finalist: Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year
| Optus & MyBusiness
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| Optus My Business Awards 2017
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| 2017
| Media, Marketing and Advertising Business of the Year
| Optus & MyBusiness
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| Optus My Business Awards 2017
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| 2017
| Finalist: Deloitte Tech Fast 50 Awards Australia
| Deloitte
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| Deloitte Technology Fast 500 2017
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| 2017
| Businesses of Tomorrow Award
| Westpac
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| Westpac Businesses of Tomorrow 2017
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| 2018
| Fast 100 List (6th Place)
| The Australian Financial Review
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| Financial Review Fast 100 2018
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Czech Philharmonic

The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a Czech symphony orchestra based in Prague.  The orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum.

History
The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title of the orchestra of the Prague National Theatre. It played its first concert under its current name on January 4, 1896 when Antonín Dvořák conducted his own compositions, but it did not become fully independent from the opera until 1901. The first representative concert took place on October 15, 1901 conducted by Ludvík Čelanský, the first artistic director of the orchestra. In 1908, Gustav Mahler led the orchestra in the world premiere of his Symphony No. 7. The orchestra first became internationally known during the principal conductorship of Václav Talich, who held the post from 1919 to 1931, and again from 1933 to 1941. In 1941, Talich and the orchestra made a controversial journey to Germany, where they performed Bedřich Smetana's My Country in a concert enforced by the German offices.

Subsequent chief conductors included Rafael Kubelík (1942–1948), Karel Ančerl (1950–1968), Václav Neumann (1968–1989), Jiří Bělohlávek (1990–1992), Gerd Albrecht (1993–1996), Vladimir Ashkenazy (1996–2003), Zdeněk Mácal (2003–2007), and Eliahu Inbal (2009–2012).  In the wake of the Velvet Revolution, under new conditions of financial insecurity, the orchestra reorganised in 1991 and controversially voted to appoint Gerd Albrecht its new chief conductor and to dismiss Bělohlávek.  Instead of remaining until Albrecht's accession, Bělohlávek resigned from the orchestra in 1992.  In December 2010, the orchestra announced the reappointment of Bělohlávek as chief conductor, beginning in 2012, with an initial contract of 4 years.  In January 2017, the orchestra announced the extension of Bělohlávek's contract through the 2021–2022 season.  Bělohlávek continued to serve as the orchestra's chief conductor until his death on 31 May 2017.

In 2009, the orchestra performed the score for the film, The Final Destination, composed and conducted by Brian Tyler.

In 2013, Semyon Bychkov first guest-conducted the orchestra, which subsequently named him director of its Tchaikovsky Project.  In October 2017, the orchestra announced the appointment of Bychkov as its next chief conductor and music director, effective with the 2018–2019 season.

Past principal guest conductors of the orchestra have included Sir Charles Mackerras and Manfred Honeck.  Jakub Hrůša is the orchestra's current 'permanent guest conductor', as of the 2015–2016 season.  In October 2017, the orchestra announced the appointments of Hrůša and of Tomáš Netopil as joint principal guest conductors of the orchestra, effective with the 2018–2019 season.

The Czech Philharmonic's first phonograph recording dates from 1929, when Václav Talich recorded My Country for His Master's Voice. It recorded on the Supraphon label during the Soviet era.

The official English name changed from Czech Philharmonic Orchestra to Czech Philharmonic at the beginning of 2015.

Honours and awards
The Czech Philharmonic has won many awards, ten Grand Prix du Disque de l'Académie Charles Cros, five Grand Prix du disque de l'Académie française and several Cannes Classical Awards. The Czech Philharmonic was nominated for Grammy Awards in 2005, and also two Wiener Flötenuhr awards, with Pavel Štěpán, Zdeněk Mácal and Václav Neumann (1971 and 1982) (Supraphonline).  It was voted 20th place of the top 20 best orchestras in the world in a 2008 survey by Gramophone magazine.

11101 Českáfilharmonie, asteroid.

Chief Conductors


Dylan Moss

Dylan Moss is a Welsh rugby union player who plays for Ospreys as a winger.

Moss made his debut for the Ospreys in 2018 against Zebre having previously played for the Ospreys academy and Bridgend Ravens.


Jozef Mol

Jozef Mol (born 22 October 1950) is a Belgian volleyball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1968 Summer Olympics.