‘’MAULANA NIZAMI: FROM A STUDENT LEADER TO A LEADER OF MASS MOVEMENT’’

 

Introduction:

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The Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami is a worldreputed leader of Islamic movement. His pioneering role in the struggle for democracy of the country will be remembered in the decades of to come. He has always been at the forefront of many popular movements risking his life including movement for Islamic education, antidictatorship movement, and movement for the introduction of the caretaker government. Because of this, he has been a subject of torture and repression. There have been many attempts of assassination. But by the grace of the Almighty, he always returned among the people. Being a victim of the fascist Awami League government, he is now made confined into the walls of prison.

 

While leaving from a meeting at the Press Club, police arrested him in a case related to socalled hurting religious sentiments on 29 June, 2010. He was tortured in detention in a series of false and baseless cases. Maulana Nizami has so far been implicated in 11 harassing cases. 10 trucks arms case of Chittagong, three cases in the Paltan thana of capital, one case in Ramna thana, one in Uttara thana, one in Kadamtali thana, Faruq murder case of Rajshahi, so-called ‘hurting religious sentiment’ case, and one case each in Pallabi and Keranigang. Among them, the two cases filed in Pallabi and Keraniganj have been transferred into the International Crimes Tribunal. This, one of the top leaders of the Four Party Alliance, was placed on 24-day remand under these cases. In addition, by the order of the Tribunal he was taken for a day to a so-called safe-home in Dhanmondi where he was psychologically tormented.

 

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 framed charges against Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami on so-called ‘crimes against humanity’ on 28 May 2012. Terming these allegations as politically motivated, he categorically said on that day that he was only framed in those false and concocted cases because of his ‘crime’ of connection with Jamaat-e-Islami.

 

After bringing these false and concocted allegations by the government against Maulana Nizami, the mass people of his constituency in Santhi and Bera area of Pabna district are also annoyed. People of his constituency said, “He was not seen in the area during the whole time of liberation war in 1971.

 

There is no question of committing crime by him at that time. Maulana Nizami was implicated because of political vengeance.” Maulana Nizami was first elected the member of the parliament (MP) in 1991. After he was re-elected the member of the parliament in 2001, he successfully discharged his duty firstly as minister of agriculture and then minister of commerce. Soon after he was elected for the first time, Maulana Nizami started development activities of economically backward area of Santhia and Bera. Because of him, not only Santhia and Bera but also whole Pabna district has turned into a modern city.

 

The government has, in reality, taken up the ‘war crime’ and ‘crime against humanity’ issue as quelling political opponents. There have been growing criticisms against the laws and rules enacted to conduct this tribunal. Experts from home and abroad have raised questions regarding its transparency and credibility. Many individuals from international community and international organizations have given their opinions regarding this, including Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues of the US President Stephen J Rapp, the largest global body of lawyers International Bar Association, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The government has not paid heed to this; rather sometimes it claims that this is domestic tribunal, sometimes it says it is an international tribunal, other times it claims that it a national tribunal of international standard. Moreover, legal experts have clearly declared, this tribunal does not have domestic standard, nor does it have international standard; and neither it is possible for this tribunal to preserve the smallest rights of a citizen.

 

There was example of repression against and crack-down on Islamic movements, in various forms. Attempts have been made time and again to stop the struggle for Islam. No amount of repression could stop the onward march of Islamic movement so far; neither could it do in future insha-Allah.

 

Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami is not merely an individual; he is the voice of religion loving people of this country, a popular leader, a torch bearer of global Islamic movement. He has continued his lifelong endeavour in the notion of the well being of the people of Bangladesh with his integrity, clear thinking and deep patriotism.

 

Career Highlights

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- Current Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

- Elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) two times (1991–1996) and (2001–2006).

- Minister of the government of Bangladesh (2001–2006).

- Successful Minister of Agriculture (2001–2003).

- Successful Minister of Industries (2003–2006).

- President of East Pakistan Islami Chhatra Sangha (1966–1968).

- Elected President for two terms of All Pakistan Islami Chhatra Sangha (1969–September 1971).

- Kamil (equivalent to Masters) in Islamic jurisprudence [Placed Second in the First Class].

- Dhaka University Graduate.

- Prominent Islamic scholar, writer of 54 books on various issues.

- Placed among the top 50 most influential Muslims of the world in 2009 by an international institute “The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre”.

 

Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami in the Student Islamic Movement

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By accepting the invitation of Islami Chhatra Sangha in 1961, he started to play an active role in student movement. At that time, madrasah students were voicing their demands. That movement spread in the year 1962–1963. A student of the Kamil final year, Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami led that student movement for the legitimate demands of the students. In the year 1963–1964, the then regime of Ayub Khan started careful vigilance on Chhatra Sangha. To strangle the Islamic movement, the government banned the Jammat-e-Islami on 6 January 1964. However, the activists of the Islamic movement declined to yield to conspiracies and repressive policies of the government and continued the political activities through COP, DAC and PDM.

 

Role of Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami in Mass Movement and in the introduction of the caretaker government

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Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami played a pioneering role in every mass movement in the post-liberation of Bangladesh. Maulana Nizami strongly led the mass movement that emerged in 1982–1990 against the then dictatorial regime. Therefore, he was a victim the animosity of the authoritarian regime on several occasions. Because of his bold leadership there was strong resistance against the dictatorial regime. The nation was relieved from that repressive regime in 1990. There was free and fair elections in 1991 under the caretaker government that was put in place according to the formula prescribed by Jamaat-e-Islami. That election was hailed home and abroad. To keep up this practice of free and fair elections, Maulana Nizami, as the leader of parliamentary party of Jammat-e-Islami, placed a bill to include of the system of caretaker government in the constitution. Afterwards, because of the important role played by Jamaat-e-Islami both inside and outside the parliament, the system of the caretaker government was included in the constitution.

 

Between 1996 and 2001, the unyielding role of Maulana Nizami against the fascist regime of Awami League infused new life to the nation. Because of his constant endeavour the Islamic and nationalists forces were united against the repressive regime of Awami League. Maulana Nizami played a memorable role against myriad subversive activities of Awami League including ruining Islam and beliefs of the Muslims, introduction of idol, conspiracy to ban madrasah education, repression of the opposition parties under the guise of infamous Indemnity Ordinance, signing of the Chittagong Peace Accord against the sovereignty and national integrity, farce in the name of Ganges water sharing treaty.

 

Leading funeral prayers of slain student Asad in anti Ayub movement

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During the movement against Ayub, an activist of Student Union Asad was slain. Despite ideological differences, Maulana Nizami attended the funeral service of Asad. When the student leaders requested him, he led the funeral prayers. This shows political differences, at personal level; Maulana Nizami was respected by all as a student leader.

 

Joining Jamaat-e-Islami and served as the Secretary General for 12 years

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After completing student life, Maulana Nizami joined Jamaat-e-Islami in 30 September 1971. Gradually he served as the Ameer of Dhaka city and member of the Central Working Council from 1979–1982. He was selected the Assistant Secretary General of the party in 1983 and remained in that position up to 1988. Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami served as the Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami for 12 long years from 1988–2000.

 

Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami as the Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami

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Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami was elected the Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami on 19 November 2000. He was elected the Ameer for the third time in 2003. Currently, he holds this esteemed position.

 

Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami as the top leader of the Four-party Alliance

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Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami is one of the top leaders of the four-party alliance that was united against the oppressive rule of Awami League that rode on the shoulders of the nation in 1996. The four-party alliance won two-thirds majority in the parliamentary elections in 2001 and formed the government. Thwarting all plots and conspiracies, the strong role played by Maulana Nizami is well-known in strengthening the four-party alliance and keeping it unscathed. The mass people have enormous faith in the bold leadership of Maulana Nizami as a top leader of the four-party alliance.

 

Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami in the National Parliament

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Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami was elected the Member of Parliament in the 5th national elections in 1991 from Pabna-1 constituency (Santhia-Bera). He will be remembered in the political history of Bangladesh for his constructive, responsible and strong role in the parliament. Argumentative and informative speeches of Maulana Nizami in the parliament on various issues drew attention of many. At that time he was a member of four different important parliamentary committees. It should be mentioned that, the people of Santhia-Bera constituency elected Maulana Nizami a Member of Parliament in 2001 for the second time. As the parliamentary leader of Jamaat-e-Islami and a senior minister of the government he played more effective and stronger role in the parliament than before.

 

Maulana Nizami is against extremism in the name of Islam

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When the four-party alliance was successfully moving forward with the task of strengthening the economic backbone of the country and achieved success in clamping down on terrorism, right at that time an anti-Islam anti-Bangladeshi quarter orchestrated bomb attacks across the country. But Islam never endorses the extreme way of violence. However, that quarter premeditatedly perpetrated the attack to stigmatize Islam and to obstruct the course of development of the country. By the grace of Allah Almighty, a determined role played the four-party alliance government, Jamaat-e-Islami and its Ameer Maulana Nizami as well as the stance of the leading religious leaders of the country against extremism, the mask of these bomb attackers and its perpetrators was revealed before the nation.

 

Maulana Nizami in international politics

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As the Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami and important minister of the Government of Bangladesh, Maulana Nizami has a good connection with international politics. His role in many important international issues has been lauded. Maulana Nizami has participated in various international conferences and played strong role in the many international issues.

 

Role of Maulana Nizami in islamisation of education and in development of madrasah education

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Maulana Nizami played a sincere and responsible role in reforming the prevailing nationwide education system as well as development of madrasah education system. His role in the historic decision of the four-party alliance government to recognise Qoumi madrasah giving equivalent degrees as well as recognising the degrees of Fazil and Kamil by is known to all.

 

Maulana Nizami as a writer and thinker

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Despite serving responsibilities of the party and other political engagement, Maulana Nizami has played a significant role Islamic literary work and research. Maulana Nizami had a inclinations towards writing since his young age. He used to write regularly in magazines while he was a student of madrasah. His significant write-ups used to appear in annual Ovijan magazine published from Pabna. He used to regularly write for the Daily Azad, Khelaghar of the Daily Sangbad, Kachi Kachar Mela of the Daily Ittefaq. His writings also appeared in the Kishor Kafela of the Daily Millat. His creative and research-based writings drew attention of all. He earned reputation as a writer and Islamic thinker from his student life. He wrote for the Daily Sangram for many years.

 

Role of Nizami in maintaining healthy environment in educational institutions and bare attack on him

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Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami is not merely an individual, he is also an institution. Because of his strong role in the Islamic Movement, the anti-Islamic quarter hatched many plots against him. In order to ensure a healthy environment for education and to stop terror and violence in Dhaka University, the Vice Chancellor of called a meeting with the leaders of various political parties in 1991. Being invited, Maulana Nizami also attended the meeting. He was premeditatedly attacked at that time. He was heavily injured and was cured after a long phase of treatment.

 

By the clear order of the last repressive Awami League government, the Awami-police-force showed the audacity of beating up a veteran and senior leader like him with a baton in front of the national press club. But no amount of threat, injury and attack could make him hesitate. Because, no conspiracy can weaken the determination of someone whose sole purpose is the satisfaction of Allah.

 

Successful Minister of Agriculture Maulana Nizami

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The four-party alliance formed the government after winning the parliamentary election with an overwhelming two-thirds majority. Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami assumed the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture of the government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. He set a unique example of in reforming the corruption-laden ministry and by executing various development oriented activities as well as service to the nation. The following parts highlight some of the activities of Maulana Nizami as the Minister of Agriculture:–

 

Food Production: Increased by 7 lac Metric Tonn

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Despite the fact that one lac 24 thousand hectare of lands of crops was devastated by flood and cyclones in the year 2001–2002, but the production of Boro paddy increased by 7 lac metric tonn compared to the year 2000–2001.0

 

House of Farmer a Farmhouse: Epoch-making Programme by Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami

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The then Minister of Agriculture Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami took up a programme called “house of farmer is a farmhouse” with the aim of meeting the demands of own nutrition by turning every household of farmers into a farmhouse, ensuring extra income and self-dependence. The practice exists to date.

 

Strengthening the Seeds Wing of BADC: A Unite Decision

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To meet the local demands of high quality seeds, the then Minister of Agriculture Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami took up an effective initiative to increase the amount of base seeds and licensed seeds by BADC.

 

Promotion of Agriculturist and Agricultural Scientists: What Generous Does

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While he was the Minister of Agriculture, Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami resolved the long long-clogged promotion problems of various research institutes and Department of Agricultural Extension. Besides, he regularized the jobs of many third and fourth class employees. Because of his generous heart, he took up these initiatives.

 

Extensive Visit at the root levels: Revolution in Agriculture Sector

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As the Minister of Agriculture Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami brought life to the agricultural extension workers, scientists and farmers by his extensive visit at the grass root levels. As a result, a revolution was brought about in the agriculture sector.

 

Plantation of Fruit-trees: Something that No One Did before

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According to the will of Maulana Nizami, fruit tree plantation, for the first time, was separately prioritized in the National Tree Plantation Programme and the programme was celebrated for weeks. This programmes is in existence to date.

 

Changing the Designation of Block Supervisor: A Successful Initiative

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During the tenure of the Maulana Nizami the initiative of changing the designation of bloc supervisors to Sub-assistant Officers was taken.

 

Soil Quality Testing: A Smart Initiative

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While he was the Minister of Agriculture Maulana Nizami took the initiative to expand the activities of the Soil Resource Development Institute. As a result of which, it was possible to test soil quality across the country and a manual for land and soil resources was prepared for the Upazila level.

 

Increase Production of Maize and Jute: Compassion for Farmers

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Maulana Nizami gave directions take up necessary programmes to massively increase the cultivation of maize and jute. As a result, plenty of maize and jute are being cultivated in the country at present. At that time, the farmers also received justified price for those two types crops.

 

Expanding the Activities of Barendra Multipurpose Authority

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In line with the directions of Maulana Nizami the activities of Barendra Multipurpose Authority was expanded to other parts of the northern districts going beyond Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj.

 

Successful Minister of Industries Maulana Nizami

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As a result of restructuring of the Ministry of Agriculture and huge success in that ministry, the former prime minister of Bangladesh deshnetri Khaledia Zia assigned Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami to Ministry of Industries to revive and accelerate the rundown and controversial industries sector. As for the Ministry of Agriculture, Maulana Nizami also took initiatives to speed up and modernize the Ministry of Industries. Some of his success stories are highlighted below:–

 

Introduction of New Industries Policy

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A new industries policy was introduced in 2005 for the development of the industries sector.

 

SME Policy Strategy Taken Up

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The SME Policy Strategy was taken up in 2005 for prompt development of small and medium sized industries. Growth in the Industries Sector Reached to 10.45 per cent In the fiscal year 2001–2002 the growth rate for the industries sector was 5.49 per cent which reached to 10.45 per cent in the fiscal year 2005–2006.

 

Freely Distribution of Fertilizers

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In the last five years, uninterrupted production, import and distribution of fertilizers were ensured.

 

Two New Fertilizers Factory Established

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To meet the demands of mixed fertilizers in the country, two new fertilizer factories of Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP–1) and Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP–2) were established in Chittagong with the daily production capacity of four hundred metric tons.

 

Opening Closed Industries

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Closed caustic chlorine plant of Karnaphuli Paper Mills (KPM), Khulna hardboard mills and Rangpur sugar mill were reopened.

 

Setting up Industries City: A Revolutionary Step

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In order to improve the environment of Dhaka city the tannery industries of Hazaribagh was moved to Savar where a new tannery industries city was set up. In addition to that, plans were taken to set up separate pharmaceuticals industries, plastic industries and automobile workshop cities.

 

Approximately Tk.70 Crore Profit in Sugar Industries

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Bangladesh Sugar & Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC) in the sugarcane cultivation season of the year 2005–2006 made Tk.70 crore of profit for the second time in the last 17 years.

 

Employment Generation for One Lac 32 Thousand Three Hundred 75 Persons

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BSCIC generated employments for one lac 32 thousand three hundred 75 person including 90 thousand two hundred 97 persons in small industries sector and 42 thousand in the cottage industries the year 2005–2006.

 

Increased Export Income from Small and Cottage Industries Sectors

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BSCIC industries units produced products worth 11 thousand 39 crore taka in the fiscal year 2004–2005, and among them products worth three thousand six hundred crore were exported.

 

Salt Production: Highest Record so far

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Against the demand of 11 lac metric ton salt in the country, 15 lac 75 thousand metric tons of salt was produced in the year 2005–2006 exceeding the local demand which is the highest record so far.

 

Modernization of BSTI: An Initiative Praised by All Quarters

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The country-wide campaign anti-adulteration drive is strengthened in order to prevent duplicate products and adulteration under the auspices of BSTI which was greeted by all irrespective of political differences. In order to strengthen and modernize BSTI a project was implemented.

 

Formation of Food Fortification Alliance

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In order to enrich flour and edible oil with vitamin A, Bangladesh Food Fortification Alliance was formed.

 

Formation of National Accreditation Board

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National Accreditation Board was formed in order to receive recognition of different international standardization and certification authorities for different Bangladeshi products, industries and services and to prevent adulteration and duplicate products.

 

Preservation of Patent: A Constructive Step

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In order to preserve national patents, the current patent office and trademarks registry office has been merged and new patent, design and trademarks department has been formed.

 

Productions in Various Organizations: Reaching the Target

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In the last fiscal year 2005–2006, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC), and Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC) produced beyond their targets.

 

This is how he spent five years in serving the people thorough transparency, accountability and efficiency giving his fullest intelligence and abilities. But now he is incarcerated into the four walls of prison because of heinous political vengeance.

 

Maulana Nizami in Development of Pabna

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55 Villages and 27 Thousand Acres Land of Crops Saved by Jamuna Embankment Protection Project worth 250 Crore Taka

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The scenario of Bera-Santhia has changed with the touch of Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami. He is the mastermind behind the development of Santhia-Bera. Because of his initiative and his direction, alongside massive development of schools, colleges and madrasahs, many roads and highways as well as bridges and culvert have been constructed. Everywhere there is his touch. The people of Santhia-Bera are surprised by unimaginable development. Not only Bera and Santhia, he has unique contribution in the overall development of Pabna. By implementing Jamuna Embankment Protection Project worth 250 crore taka, he contributed by saving 55 villages and 27 thousand acres land of crops.

 

Touch of Development Everywhere in Road and Highways

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Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami and former minister Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami brought about revolutionary changes in the communications sectors of his constituency. Neglected

roads and highways received the touch of development. There were so roads and highways that were not touched by modernization. Because of continuous development, it is now difficult to separate Santhia-Bera from Paurashavas. Apart from the development scenarios performed by him, there is a little left to mention. He developed hundreds of miles of roads.

 

Construction of Educational Institutes Turned Santhia-Bera into an Educational Town

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Maulana Nizami has mentionable contribution in education sector development. He has inclination for education and therefore, he built many schools, colleges and madrasahs to present an educated nation. He supported many educational programmes. In addition to government fund, he built educational infrastructure with private grants and took initiatives to reform hundreds of neglected educational institutions. As the result, neglected Santhia-Bera was turned into a town of education. Pabna became enlightened. No one ever imagined that those tin-shed schools and colleges and madrasahs will become buildings within such a short

time. Now, there is no educational institute in Santhia-Bera where the touch of development by Nizami cannot be seen. Not only his constituency, there is a touch of development in other Upazilas of Pabna as well.

 

High Quality Medical Treatment and Massive Change in Healthcare

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Maulana Nizami brought total change in the backward healthcare sector of Santhia-Bera. There was a time when people of these areas had no other option other than going to Pabna General Hospital or Rajshahi Medical College Hospital for petty medical treatments. Because the only two Health Complex in Bera and Santhia was in rundown condition. The number of seats was also very limited. Because of unavailability of seat there, patients had to stay and take treatment in the porch. Doctors were not available when required. Many critical patients died while transferring to remote hospitals as local ones lacked emergency medical equipments. Because of Nizami’s contribution, the number of seats, doctors and span of healthcare services increased in those two hospitals; ambulance has been added. Besides, the victims would lose everything before the firefighters could reach from 40 kilometers away from Pabna, if there was any incident of fire. Maulana Nizami set up a fire service which was a local demand for a long time. Thus, Maulana Nizami has acquired a place in the hearts of the people of Santhia and Bera. Visiting the area it was learnt that popular leader of neglected Santhia and Bera area Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami actually started working to reduce the hardship when he was elected the Member of Parliament for the first time. The activities speeded up when he became a Minister.

 

Setting Rare Examples in Social Development

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The role that Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami played in social development, has broken the previous records. There is no such mosque, maktab, temple, graveyard, Eid ground, playing field, clubs, societies and library that did not receive grants from Maulana Nizami. He developed these institutions through governmental and non-governmental organizations including TR and Food for Work project. He never considered political affiliation while endowing grants to these institutions. He engaged in the development activities by collecting information on his own. There were such incidents when people hesitated to come to him for grant because of opposing political ideologies, in such cases, he gave them grant by calling them up.

 

Meeting Long Time Demands of People of Pabna by Constructing Modern Circuit House, Auditorium and Judge Court Building

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Not only Santhia and Bera, Maulana Nizami has worked hard for the development of the whole Pabna district. He engaged in various development activities even before demanded by the local people. He has relentlessly worked to make Santhia i.e. Pabna a model. He created a new trend in development by constructing court in the district town to speed up the trail process, and by building modern auditorium and circuit house. Something the local people never imagined. Because of these developments, his name is uttered in all quarters of Pabna.

 

Extending Hands of Assistance for Everyone Regardless of Religious Belief and Political Affiliation

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Not only Santhia and Bera, Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami was openhearted with regard the people of Pabna. He extended his hand for all regardless of political affiliation and religious belief. No one returned from him empty-handed. He stood by the people of his locality from young age during their happiness and sorrow; he extended his hand of assistance. He never differentiated based on Muslim, Hindhu, Buddhist and Christian identity while helping people. Especially, he has respected freedom fighters very much. He provided employment for many destitute freedom fighters. He played a strong role in fighting terrorism.

 

Former convener of Pabna district Muktijoddha Sangsad and brave freedom fighter Shamsul Alam says, Nizami always respects the freedom fighters. While he was an MP, he used to respect freedom fighters when they visited him. He never refused if he could assist them in any way. He built an office for the freedom fighters in Santhia spending eight lac taka. Before that, applications were submitted to many for its renovation. But no one came to help. However, Nizami constructed the building for freedom fighters when help was sought from him. I believe that the freedom fighters of Santhia will remember that forever.

 

Former Member Secretary of Pabna district Muktijoddha Command Council and brave freedom fighter Ahmad Shafiq said, the things that were done during his tenure were not done in the times of other ministers or MPs. He erected a building for the freedom fighters in Santhia alone spending eight lac taka. The freedom fighters of Santhia gather there. As far as I know, Nizami generated employment for many freedom fighters and helped them with cash.

 

Former Vice President (VP) of RUCSU (Rajshahi University Central Student Union) elected from Chhatra League and fellow freedom fighter Abdul Wadud Khan says, “no matter what ideology I belong to, there is no harm in saying the truth. Mr. Nizami is a very good man. There is great scarcity of such good persons like him in our country. He has respected and helped freedom fighters. I have heard that he bought cycle-rickshaw and cycle-van to many destitute freedom fighters.”

 

Two times elected former chairman of Bera Upazila and a freedom fighter Md. Rowshan Ali said in an interview with the Daily Sangram before he passed away, “regardless of what ideology I subscribe to, to tell the truth, he is a superman. He is an honest and spiritual person. He respects us a lot. When going past us, he pulls over his vehicle and show us respect.”

 

Former chairman of Jatsakhini union and freedom fighter MA Gani Fakir says, “I was stationed at the Nagarbari ghat. Nizami has honoured me a lot after I was introduced with him. In fact, he is a real gentleman. If there were 50 persons like him in the country and if those 50 persons were given the responsibility of running 50 ministries of the government, then, this country would turn into a gold mine.”

 

Brave freedom fighter Advocate Hamidur Rahman says, “Mr. Nizami respects us a great deal. He is a liberal person. There is no such case that someone went to him for help and he refused them. He has helped many freedom fighters with cash in their daughters’ wedding, generated employment and assisted in medical treatment and building their houses. In my knowledge, he bought a vehicle to destitute freedom fighter of Sonatala village of Santhia. He is really a good man. I don’t know if a good person like him would born in Pabna again.”

 

Maulana Nizami extended his helping hand during the need of Hindus.

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Maulana Nizami gave grants to Kali temple of Bongaon and endowed grants in the construction of many Hindu temples including Sonatola temple, Santhia temple, Karmoja Rishibari, Ataikula Haribari Kali temple and Madhpur Kali temple. Besides, he personally helped during the daughter’s wedding of Kala Kundu of Chhachania bazaar, constructed house for Nimai Ghosh of Sonatola, Kanai Pal, Nipin Pal, Poriksha Haldar and Golok Ghosh, financially helped Haripad Saha, Kartik Saha and Narayan Saha of Bongram as well as Sri Ranjit Kumar Saha of Monmothpur.

 

Sri Ranjit Kumar Saha of Monmothpur says, “regardless of what religious faith I have I cannot tell lie. I cannot forget the favour of Nizami. I was neither minister nor MP at that time. I was in great trouble with my brother. At that time the Minister from Santhia was Prof Abu Sayeed. First, I went to him for assistance. But the turned me down without any help. I returned home with great despair. Then, someone suggested me to go to Dhaka to meet Nizami and told me to introduce myself to see if he can do something for me. According to his advice I went to Dhaka and told him about my problem. He (Nizami) made a phone call and managed free eye treatment where I was likely to pay one lac taka. Truly, Nizami is a good person. I shall tell the truth, I don’t care if the folks of my religion cremate my dead body or lay on the ground.”

 

The President of Bangram Banik Samiti Haripad Saha became destitute when his shops were burnt in fire. Maulana Nizami rushed from Dhaka and financially helped him including Kartik Saha, Narayan Saha. Haripad Saha said at that time, “I had no idea about Nizami. But we cannot forget the way he extended his helping hand during our hard time. He is truly an altruistic person. We pray to Bhagwan [God in Hinduism] for him.”

 

Arrest, Remand and other forms of Repression

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Arrest

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Some media distorted a report of speeches of a seminar arranged by Chhatra Shibir on Quran Day on 29 June 2010. Revolving this incident, a case was filed on so-called hurting religious sentiments. Leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami including Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami were charged in that case. It should be mentioned that none of these leaders were present in that meeting. However, a metropolitan magistrate's court issued arrest warrant against them in that so-called case.

 

Within hours police arrested three top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami including Motiur Rahman Nizami. They were forced to sleep on two sheets of blankets at the DB (Detective Branch) office. Despite repeated requests, they were not allowed to meet their families.

 

Harassment in every step

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Despite the fact that the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami including Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami got bail on 30 June in the so-called case of hurting religious sentiments, but they were shown arrest at once in five different old cases filed against various police stations in Dhaka. Later on, the government kept Nizami imprisoned in cases of Kadamtali, Rajshahi, Keraniganj and 10 trucks arms haul. The government is harassing this top leader with new cases despite getting bails on all previous cases.

 

Torture in remand

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The police applied for 50 days of remand in five different cases to metropolitan magistrate's court charging Maulana Nizami. The court granted 16 days of remand in five cases. In addition, later on he was to another taken three-day remand in a case no. 57(4) 10 in Kadamtali thana. This is the first incident in the country to oppress the top political leaders in remand for long time. During remand the leaders including Maulana Nizami were kept in a dirty room of the DB office; were given two pieces of blanket with mites to pass the night. They were not given any pillow to sleep on. Besides, high powered bulb was kept turned on in the room. The government has psychologically tortured the physically weak leaders due to old age in the name of investigation. They were deprived of medical treatment at that time. Because of these inhumane behaviour Maulana Nizami often fell sick and his blood pressure rose during investigation; his diastolic pressure often rose up to 220. At the same time, he was attacked with viral diseases like herpes during his stay in prison because of mental and other causes.

 

Two writ petitions were filed in the High Court on 14 and 15 July to ensure the basic rights of Maulana Nizami. Justice Dastgir Chowdhury and AKM Zahir Ahmed ordered to in accordance with the High Court (supplying pillow and physiotherapy on own expense); but despite that taking him to three-day remand on Uttara case no 31(2) 10 is a clear violation of the High Court order.

 

During the remand they was mostly asked political questions and there were few questions about the related cased on which remand was asked. Even, they were taken into remand during the Ramadan; then, they fell so sick that the police were forced to inform their family members. He was kept on standing for three hours in the court and not given a chair to sit on. At one point, they sat on the floor.

 

Allegation of War Crime and its Reality

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The Stories behind Karmoja and Brishalika massacre

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False allegations have been brought against the Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and former minister Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami. He has been strategically implicated in various incidents of his own district Pabna. But the people of the locality say, Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami is harassed because political vengeance. He has been kept in prison in false cases. They say, he did not go to his locality during the whole time of the liberation war. Many did not even hear name before the parliamentary election in 1986. This information has been found after visiting many places of Pabna and interviewing people.

 

Many people got compassionate by the fact that a person like him who did not commit any crime is being tormented. At that time the Head Master of Santhia High School was Khorshed Alam (80) of Karmoja. On the attempt to implicate Nizami with the incidents of that time, he commented, “Nizami was not even seen at that time. We knew that he was very good student. Now, he is being implicated because of political vengeance. He talks about Islam and calls people towards good deeds; perhaps this is what his crime.” He added that, there were 76 rakazars in Sanila. They are now affiliated with Awami League. They are not being punished. They are doing just fine.

 

Next door neighbour of Megha Tagore Lal Mia (54) commented about the attempt to implicate Maulana Nizami, “this is actually done because of political motive. We never heard his name at that time.”

 

Alauddin (73) of Hatighara area of Bera is a former government employee. He said, “we didn’t know Nizami at that time. We heard about him in the 1980s. I heard his name in 1983-1984. When he took part in the elections in for the first time in 1986, I was a presiding officer.” He added, “the incident of Brishalika where he has been implicated is not correct. Nizami is a superman.”

 

Abdul Karim Sarker (62) of Choto Payna area of Bera used to work in the survey department in Dhaka. He said, “I returned home leaving job after the call of Sheikh shaheb.” He added, “Nizami has no connection with the incident of Brishalika. This is being said to stigmatise his character.” He also added that, “someone who does not hurt a dog without a reason, he is said to have killed people. There is not another good man like him in the area. People of this areas did not know him before 1986”

 

Former government official of Bera Upazila ATM Fazlur Rahim (55) mentioned, “I did not see Nizami in the nine months of the liberation war. The allegations brought by Dablu are controversial, questionable, apparently baseless and outright false. I know Nizami as a good human being. It is difficult to find another good person like him in Pabna.”

 

President of Bera Banik Samiti (Businessmen Cooperative) and reputed social worker Md. Fazlur Rahman Fakir (67) said, “no one knew that someone call Nizami exists in Bera-Santhia. Therefore, the massacre was perpetrated by the order of Nizami is not correct at all.” He added, “I knew about him for the first time when he participated in the parliamentary election in 1986. Later on, I got to know him better through his various development activities after he had been elected a Member of Parliament.” He said, “Nizami is a good human being. He is a true religious person.”

 

Former elected VP (Vice President) RUCSU (Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union) and fellow freedom fighter Abdul Wadud Khan (74) said, “I came to my locality leaving my job in order to assist in the liberation war. I helped the freedom fighters in many ways. But I did not heard about Nizami from anyone at that time. Moreover, no one can prove evidence that they knew him”

 

Valiant freedom fighter of Bera Upazila Md. Ferdous Hossain Bachchu (61) mentioned, “I did not hear about Nizami in Santhia-Bera during the liberation war. I came to know about him when he was as candidate in the election of 1986. No one can prove that he was in this area at that time. I can challenge that. If anyone says that, he/she is totally lying because of political vengeance.” He added, “He has no blemish. It is difficult to find a good person like him.”

 

Reputed businessman and member of Bera Bazar Bani Samiti Alhaj Sharif Khan (54) mentioned, “There was no sight of Nizami during the war of liberation. No one in our area used to know him at that time. The allegation that Dablu brought about Brishalika is not true at all. Five individuals were killed in Brishalika with the aid of Pakistani forces by Asad and Afzal. Later on, freedom fighters physically punished and killed them.”

 

Two times elected chairman of Bera Upazila and freedom figheter Md. Raoshan Ali (60) said to the Daily Sangram before he died, “I came to know Nizami for the first time during the movement against Ershad. I came across no prove that he was involved in the massacre. No one can prove that either. If anyone says that out of political motive, he/she must be lying. During the war, I was Secretary of Sangram Parishad of Jatsakhini Union. Therefore, I was in constant touch with other freedom fighters of the district. There were some massacres in Nagarbari area that were perpetrated by Pakistani occupation forces. But no one knew anyone called Nizami, neither was his name known.”

 

Former chairman of Jatsakhini union and valiant freedom fighter MA Gani Fakir (61) said, “I never heard his name during the war of liberation, let alone knowing him. No one can claim in front of me that he/she knew him or heard his name. Although I heard his name during the election of 1986, but I knew him after the parliamentary election of 1991. I was stationed at the Nagarbari ghat during the liberation war. I never heard of him from anyone.”

 

The Stories behind Arson and Plunder in Some Houses Of Monmothpur

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“Someone we have never seen to be involved in any offence is now being falsely accused. It is difficult for an honest person like him not only in Santha but elsewhere.”, said hundred years old Nefaz Uddin Pramanik of Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami’s own village Monmothpur. The similar statements were given by the residents of Monmothpur, Sonatola and adjacent villages. It was the razakars who set fire on houses of Monmothpur. The local people also said their names as well. The elders also said that there was no incident of arson in the nearby village. They said, “Despite the fact that Nizami hails from Monmothpur, but he rarely visited his own house. And he never visited his village during the whole time of the liberation war.” The villagers are angry at the false allegations that are brought against him.

 

Hundred years old Nefaz Uddin Pramanik of Monmothpur commented, “we have never seen him be involved in any injustice. An honest person like Nizami cannot be found in not only in Santhia but elsewhere.” Other villagers from the same area Mongol Pramanik and Nabal who bother are above eighty years old said, “These all are concocted. Nizami cannot be involved in these.” Kobad Ali Pramanik (70) commented, “The false accusations are brought against Nizami for political reasons.” He said, “He used to ask about our problems. Now, no one comes.” Md. Rostom Ali (81) is very close to Maulana Nizami. He said, “Nizami is younger to me and was one class junior in school. But because of the fact that he was very good in studies, he got double promotion and promoted above one class. We have never seen him in

the area during the war.”

 

Sonatala

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Alhaj Iman Ali (86) of Sonatola, Md. Kasai Sardar (82), Md. Abdul Hakim Pramanik (81) said, “in fact, there was no such event of setting fire on the house of Anil Kundu. Whatever is said against are blatant lies. Nizami was not even in the area at that time.” Md. Abdul Jalil (68) of Sonatala said, “we didn’t hear about Nizami at that time. There were Dain razakar, Sattar of Fakirbari and Asad who plundered.” The same was said by Zohrul Haque (60). Alhaj Motaleb Hossain (70) of Salandi said, “We used to know that Nizami studied in Shivpur madrasah but we never saw him. Some who gave away his house, how can he kill people?”

 

Maulana Kasimuddin was killed by Pakistani forces – The attempt to implicate Nizami is politically motivated

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Former convener of Muktijoddha Sangsad of Pabna district and brave freedom fighter Shamsul Alam said, “The freedom fighters who were killed in the nine months of liberation war, was mostly killed by Naxals. The Naxals killed the freedom fighters collaborating with the Pakistani forces. At that time, our main fight was against the Naxals. Nitu Biswas was the leader of Naxals in Pabna.” He added, “I never heard of Nizami nor did I know him at that time. I knew him for the first time in 1986. He participated in the parliamentary election from Santhia-Bera constituency at that time. I came to know him from that time. If someone says that he’d be lying. He always respects the freedom fighters. As far as I know, I used to respect any freedom fighter who went to him for some reasons while he was an MP and minister. He never refused if he could be of any help. Nizami build an office worth eight lac taka for the freedom fighters in Santha.

 

Former Member Secretary of the Muktijoddha Command Council of Pabna district Ahmed Shafiq (65) said, during the war of liberation I received training in India and was later stationed in Najirganj union of Sujanagar Upazila. He said, “during the nine months of the liberation war I never knew Nizami and never heard of him from anyone. Since no one knew him, therefore, the accusations of crime against humanity that were brought against him were not true at all. If anyone brings allegations against him, that are nothing but outright false. If anyone says that, then, it is out of political vengeance.” He added, “The things that were done during his time were never done during the tenure of other MPs and ministers.” He said, “After I got to know him, I know him as good man. I don’t know whether anyone better than him would come to Pabna.”

 

Brave freedom fighter Advocate Hamidur Rahman (70) said, “The massacres that were perpetrated in Pabna were mostly done by the members of Communist Party. They killed civilians and freedom fighters and set fire on houses.” He added, “I did not hear about Nizami at that time, let alone seeing him. Nizami is being accused in the massacres in Pabna because of political reasons. This strategy is taken merely to weaken political opponent.”

 

Massacres Army Camp was perpetrated by Pakistani forces in Pabna and by Biharis in Ishwardi Liberatin flag maker of the Gopalpur area of the city and former commissioner for 28 years Firoz Hossian said, “I did not hear about Nizami at that time. I did not know him. I heard his name from people when he participated in the election.” He added, “The accusations are brought against Nizami because of political motive. There is no place for good people in our society now. The country is full of crooks. There is no one to tell the truth.”

 

Ahmad Ali Molla (63) of Dilalpur area of the city lives right behind the fire service office of Pabna. He said, “We did not hear about Nizami at that time, let alone knowing him. Whatever is being said about him is outright lies.” He commented, “no matter what political party or ideology I belong to, I cannot tell lies in front of others. How long shall I live? You won’t hear lies from me at the end of my life. Whether you accept my statement or not, it does not matter.”

From Public Sculpture of Sussex

 

"On 15 September 1830, at the opening ceremonies for the world's first ever passenger steam railway (between Liverpool and Manchester), Huskisson was run over and killed by Stephenson's Rocket because he had not taken sufficient care before crossing the track to start a conversation with the Duke of Wellington. He lived for a few hours after the accident, was lucid enough to dictate and sign a codicil to his will, and met his end with dignity.

He had been politically instrumental in bringing about the new and very visible triumph of technology that was the Liverpool and Manchester railway line.

 

William Huskisson was born in Worcestershire in 1770. In 1793 he entered parliament as MP for Morpeth, Northumberland. In 1804 he was elected for the constituency of Liskeard and became Secretary of the Treasury. He held the same appointment in Portland's ministry of 1804-09. In 1811 he became a Commissioner of the Woods and Forests. In 1823 he was appointed as President of the Board of Trade and Treasurer of the Navy in Liverpool's ministry. Under Wellington he was Colonial Secretary but resigned in 1828.

Huskisson had threatened to resign on a number of occasions. Wellington may have been completely wearied by Huskisson's constant threats to resign. Huskisson's tendered his resignation over what was to be done with the two parliamentary seats that were to be disenfranchised for corruption in 1828 (Penryn and East Retford) - not expecting his resignation accepted. Wellington perhaps was glad of an excuse to remove him.

Charles Greville wrote about Huskisson, soon after his death:

Huskisson was about sixty years old, tall, slouching, and ignoble-looking. In society he was extremely agreeable, without much animation, generally cheerful, with a great deal of humour, information, and anecdote, gentlemanlike, unassuming, slow in speech, and with a down-cast look, as if he avoided meeting anybody's gaze. ... As a speaker in the House of Commons he was luminous upon his own subject, but he had no pretensions to eloquence; his voice was feeble, and his manner ungraceful...

[Greville Diaries, 18 September 1830]

There was a similar monument of Huskisson in his toga at the top of Princess Avenue, Liverpool. After the riots of 1981 the bronze statue, some 10 to 15 foot tall, was pulled down by people who thought he was a slave trader. Damage was sustained, the head was nearly smashed off. It lay unceremoniously in a council car park until 1984. The statue is now housed at the Oratory, St James's Mount Gardens. Another statue of Huskisson, dressed in a Roman Toga, stands on the the banks of the Thames in the borough of Westminster.

(www.historyhome.co.uk/peel/people/huskisso.htm)

 

William Huskisson was the son of William, the second son of William Huskisson of Oxley, near Wolverhampton. He was born at Birch Moreton Court, Warwickshire, on 11 March 1770. His mother, Elizabeth, daughter of John Rotton of Staffordshire, died in 1774, and in the following year William was sent to school, first at Brewood, then at Albrighton in Staffordshire, and afterwards at Appleby in Leicestershire. At an early age he showed mathematical ability. In 1783 his maternal great-uncle, Dr. Gem, a well-known medical man residing in Paris, where he had been physician to the British embassy since 1762, undertook his education. For some years he lived at Paris in the society of French liberals, and made the acquaintance of Franklin and Jefferson. He is said to have entered Boyd & Ker's bank in Paris for a time, but this is very doubtful. He was present at the fall of the Bastille, and in 1790 he joined the ‘Club of 1789,’ a monarchical constitutional club, before which on 29 August 1790 he read a discourse on the currency, which was printed and much applauded. When the French government decided upon the issue of assignats he separated himself from this club. About the same time he was introduced, through Dr. John Warner, the chaplain to the embassy, to Lord Gower (subsequently Marquis of Stafford), then British ambassador at Paris, whose private secretary he became. They remained intimate friends all their lives. On 10 August 1792, after the attack on the Tuileries, he was instrumental in enabling its governor, M. de Champcenetz, to make his escape from the populace. On the recall of the embassy in 1792 Huskisson returned to England. For some time he remained an inmate of Lord Gower's household in England, and thus became well acquainted with Pitt.

By the death of his father in 1790 he became entitled to such of the family estates at Oxley in Staffordshire as remained unalienated, but they were neither extensive nor unencumbered, and, finding himself a poor man, he was glad to avail himself of the offer of a new office, created under the Alien Act, for making arrangements with the émigrés. In this employment, for which his knowledge of the French people and language well fitted him, he became acquainted with Canning, and his talents recommended him to Pitt and Dundas.

In 1795 he succeeded Sir Evan Nepean, on his promotion to be secretary to the admiralty, in the office of under secretary at war. The business of the office was practically done by Huskisson, Dundas, his chief, being otherwise occupied, and it was he who superintended the arrangements for Sir Charles Grey's expedition to the West Indies. His friendship with Lord Carlisle procured him in 1796 the representation of Morpeth; but, always diffident of his own abilities and conscious that he was no orator, he did not speak in the House of Commons until February 1798. In January 1801 he resigned with Pitt, but at the request of Lord Hobart, the new secretary at war, who was unfamiliar with the work of the office, he remained at his post until the battle of Alexandria in March 1801. An unfounded charge was made at the time that Huskisson made use of his knowledge of official secrets in stockjobbing operations, in which he engaged with Talleyrand. Meantime, on the death of Dr. Gem in 1800, he inherited an estate at Eastham, Sussex, then occupied by Hayley, the biographer of Cowper, and another in Worcestershire. This rendered his position in public life unembarrassed.

In 1802 he contested Dover, but was beaten by Trevanion and Spencer Smith, the government candidates, and did not re-enter parliament till February 1804, when he was elected for Liskeard. There was a double return, and a petition was presented against him, but he kept his seat. On the recall of Pitt to office (May 1804) he was appointed a secretary to the treasury, but when the ‘Talents’ administration came in (January 1806) he retired, and went into active opposition. He moved a number of financial resolutions in July 1806, which the chancellor of the exchequer, Lord Henry Petty, was obliged to accept. At the general election in the autumn of 1807 he was again returned for Liskeard; was made secretary to the treasury again in the Duke of Portland's ministry in April 1807; and at the ensuing general election was returned for Harwich, which seat he retained till 1812.

Up to this time Huskisson had rarely engaged in general debate, but had rested content with his reputation as a man of business. In 1808 he took a large share in the rearrangement of the relations between the Bank of England and the treasury, and in 1809 he undertook the reply to Colonel Wardle's motion on public economy. In the same year the Duke of Richmond, the Irish viceroy, was anxious that he should succeed Sir Arthur Wellesley as chief secretary, but his services could not be spared by the English government. Though not personally concerned in the dispute which brought about Canning's resignation in 1809, he resigned with him out of loyalty to his friend, and in his private capacity in parliament remained for some time little noticed. But in 1810 he published his pamphlet on the ‘Depreciation of the Currency,’ which at once met with success and earned him the reputation of being the first financier of the age. In the debates on the Regency Bill he adhered to Canning's views, and in January 1811, when he was sounded about joining the regent's ministry, he rejected the overture. In the following year, if Canning had joined Lord Liverpool, Huskisson would have been chief secretary to the viceroy and chancellor of the Irish exchequer. His adherence to Canning retarded the advance of his public career by many years, and allowed Peel and Robinson, of whom one was his junior and the other much his inferior, to pass him in the race. During this year he became colonial agent for Ceylon. That post, which was worth £4,000 a year, he held till 1823.

At the general election in the autumn of 1812 Huskisson was elected for Chichester. He made several speeches on currency questions in March 1813, and on Sir Henry Parnell's motion on the corn laws he brought forward for the first time his scale of graduated prohibitory duties. Next year on 6 August he succeeded Lord Glenbervie, in Lord Liverpool's ministry, in the woods and forests department, and was sworn of the privy council on 29 July 1814. He quickly mastered the special duties of his office.

In 1815 was passed the first corn law, which absolutely prohibited the importation of corn when the price fell below a certain minimum average, and Huskisson took a prominent part in the debates on the bill. In May 1816 he spoke in the bank restriction debates in favour of leaving to the bank the determination of the time, not to exceed two years, within which they might continue the restriction on gold payments; but two years afterwards he was in favour of granting the bank a further extension of time. He usually voted for Roman catholic emancipation without speaking, and very seldom intervened in a debate on foreign policy. One of his rare speeches on general topics was made in 1821 on Lord Tavistock's motion for a vote of censure on the government for its behaviour to the queen. In 1819 he became a member of the finance committee, and his speech on the chancellor of the exchequer's income and expenditure resolutions probably saved the government from defeat. He also addressed to Lord Liverpool an important memorandum on the resumption of cash payments.

In 1821 he was a member of the committee appointed on Gooch's motion to inquire into the prevalence of agricultural distress, and the report of the committee was principally drafted by him; but his speeches on taxation in the same year gave rise, not unnaturally, to a distrust of him among the agricultural party, which was never afterwards removed. He felt his position in the government to be unsatisfactory, though he did not resign with Canning in that year, and when, at the end of 1821, a rearrangement of the administration was projected and the Irish secretaryship was offered him, he at once refused the post. In February 1822 Huskisson spoke against Lord Londonderry's proposal to lend £4,000,000 for the relief of agricultural distress, and on 29 April and 6 May succeeded in defeating Lord Liverpool's first resolution on the report of the committee on agricultural distress. Thereupon he tendered his resignation, which Lord Liverpool refused, and Huskisson shortly after did excellent service in fighting the country party single-handed on Western's motion for a select committee to inquire into the consequences of the resumption of cash payments, and carried an amendment in the terms of Montague's resolution of 1696, ‘that this House will not alter the standard of gold or silver in fineness, weight, or denomination’.

When Canning rejoined the ministry as foreign secretary in September 1822, he failed in an endeavour to obtain for his friend the presidency of the board of control, with cabinet rank. On 31 January, however, Huskisson was promoted to the treasurership of the navy, and on 5 April to the board of trade, holding both offices together, and he was soon afterwards admitted to the cabinet. The board of trade was an office in which his special knowledge and his advanced free-trade opinions were certain to make him conspicuous. Accordingly, as Canning was retiring from the representation of Liverpool, which he found too laborious for his new position, Huskisson was selected to succeed him as the only tory able to conciliate the Liverpool merchants, and after a hollow contest he was elected, 15 February 1823. Huskisson thus became the prominent representative of mercantile interests in parliament. He was soon active in office, and introduced a bill for regulating the silk manufactures, but owing to the sweeping character of the lords' amendment he dropped it for that session, and did not pass it till 1824. He also introduced and passed a merchant vessels' apprenticeship bill, a bill to remove the restrictions on the Scottish linen manufacture, and a registration of ships bill. He announced his intention of moving the repeal of the Spitalfields acts, and supported Joseph Hume's motion for a select committee on the combination laws, which led ultimately to their repeal.

The year 1825 was one of great activity for him. With the assistance of James Deacon Hume of the board of trade, he completed the consolidation into eleven acts of the whole of the existing revenue laws. He obtained a select committee to inquire into the relations of employers and employed, the result of which was the passing of an act which regulated the relations of capital and labour for forty years. One object of his policy was at the same time to give England cheap sugar; and he also amended the revenue laws in the direction of a modified free trade in regard to other commodities, reducing the old duties on foreign cotton goods, which ranged from 50 to 75 per cent., according to quality, to a uniform 10 per cent. duty on all qualities; on woollen goods from 50 and 67¾ per cent. to 15 per cent., and similar reductions were made in the duty on glass, paper, bottles, foreign earthenware, copper, zinc, and lead.

Early in 1825 Huskisson foresaw the crisis to which excessive speculation was leading. His warnings were neglected, and when the panic came he was accused of having caused it by his policy of free trade. Meanwhile he was busily occupied in negotiations with the American government about the north-western boundary, the navigation of the St. Lawrence, and the slave trade. In 1826 the Liverpool merchants presented him, in acknowledgment of the success of his policy, with a service of plate. He took a prominent part in the debates on the Bank Charter and the Promissory Notes Acts, and on 24 February 1826 delivered what Canning called ‘one of the very best speeches that I ever heard in the House of Commons’ against Ellice's motion for a committee on the silk trade. Later on, in speaking upon Whitmore's motion for a committee on the corn laws, Huskisson, though advocating delay in their repeal, admitted his dislike of the existing system. During the autumn he assisted Lord Liverpool in preparing a new corn bill. The labour thus involved, and the calumnies to which his economic policy had exposed him, permanently injured his health. On 7 May he vindicated his commercial policy against the attacks made upon it by Gascoyne in his motion for a committee on the shipping interest. The speech, which was afterwards published, was one of his best efforts. His corn bill was duly introduced, but was abandoned owing to the opposition of the Duke of Wellington in the House of Lords.

Huskisson was travelling in the Tyrol to recruit his health when the news of Canning's death reached him (August 1827). He hastened home. At Paris a message from Lord Goderich, the new prime minister, offered him the colonial office, with the lead of the House of Commons. His friends urged that there was no other way of securing the continuation of Canning's policy, and he accepted the offer on 23 September 1827. Had he chosen he might have been chancellor of the exchequer. Dissensions soon broke out between him and John Charles Herries, the chancellor of the exchequer, about the appointment of Lord Althorp as chairman of the committee of finance. Huskisson, as leader of the house, insisted upon his nomination; Herries, as chancellor of the exchequer, complained that he had been slighted by not being previously consulted. The dispute grew so severe that Lord Goderich resigned, and was succeeded by the Duke of Wellington.

Huskisson decided to continue in office, and was re-elected at Liverpool without opposition. In addressing his constituents he said that the duke had acceded to his stipulations in favour of the continuance of free trade and Canning's foreign policy. The duke on the earliest opportunity denied this, and Huskisson was obliged to withdraw the statement in the House of Commons on 18 February. The tension between himself and the duke soon became acute. At several cabinets in March a difference of opinion arose on the amendment to the corn bill with regard to the taking of corn out of warehouse, which the duke proposed and insisted upon. Peel and Huskisson were both against it. Huskisson tendered his resignation, but a compromise which he suggested was accepted, and he remained in office. Shortly afterwards it became necessary to decide what should be done with the two seats which would be available for redistribution upon the disfranchisement of Penryn and East Retford for extensive corrupt practices. The duke was for giving both seats to the adjacent hundreds; Huskisson, Palmerston, and Dudley were for bestowing them upon large manufacturing towns.

In the House of Commons Peel advocated a compromise by giving Penryn to Manchester and East Retford to the hundred. Huskisson on 21 March pledged himself to give one seat to a manufacturing town. In the lords it was decided by the government, first, not to deal with both cases together; secondly, to give the Penryn seat to the hundred. In committee of the House of Commons, when the East Retford case came up, it was moved on 19 May to give that seat also to the hundred of Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire. Huskisson and Palmerston, in the belief that the cabinet held that morning had resolved on leaving East Retford an open question, voted against the ministry. Immediately after leaving the house Huskisson wrote to the duke offering to resign if he considered that the interest of the government would be better served by a resignation. The duke had long felt that Huskisson, who entered the administration as the successor to Canning's position, was in some sort his rival. He treated Huskisson's letter as an actual resignation, although Huskisson explained that he only meant to tender it if the duke thought fit to demand it, and he repudiated any formal offer of resignation. But the duke was inflexible, and laid the matter before the king. Huskisson demanded a personal audience of his majesty, but this was refused, and the resignation was definitively completed on the 29th, when he gave up the seals and received expressions of the king's personal regret at his loss. Although he explained in the House of Commons the summary mode by which he had been removed, his party censured him for imperilling the ministry by an ill-timed and factious resignation.

Huskisson appeared little in parliament during the remainder of the session, and, his health failing, he spent the autumn abroad. In 1828 he supported the Roman Catholic Emancipation Bill; made a great speech on the silk trade, and took up the study of Indian questions. In consequence the governorship of Madras was offered him, and he was sounded about the governor-generalship of India, but the state of his health made his acceptance of either post impossible. He was, however, an active member of the East India committee, especially on matters referring to the China trade. During the session of 1829 he was unusually prominent in debate. He made several speeches in favour of moderate reform, warned the ministry that some change was inevitable, and supported Lord John Russell's proposal to confer additional parliamentary representation on Leeds, Liverpool, and Manchester. During 1830 his health grew worse, and, though he was able to attend the king's funeral in July, he was seriously ill.

He went to Liverpool in September for the opening of the Manchester and Liverpool railway, and was received warmly by his constituents. On 15 September he attended the opening ceremony. A procession of trains was run from Liverpool. Parkside was reached without mishap. There the engines stopped for water, and the travellers, contrary to instructions, left the carriages and stood upon the permanent way, which consisted of two lines of rails. Huskisson went to speak to the Duke of Wellington, to whom, in spite of their recent disagreement, he felt bound, as member for Liverpool, to show courtesy. At that moment several engines were seen approaching along the rails between which Huskisson was standing. Everybody made for the carriages on the other line. Huskisson, by nature uncouth and hesitating in his motions, had a peculiar aptitude for accident. He had dislocated his ankle in 1801, and was in consequence slightly lame. Thrice he had broken his arm, and after the last fracture, in 1817, the use of it was permanently impaired.

On this occasion he lost his balance in clambering into the carriage and fell back upon the rails in front of the Dart, the advancing engine. It ran over his leg; he was placed upon an engine and carried at its utmost speed to Eccles, where he was taken to the house of the vicar. He lingered in great agony for nine hours, but gave his last directions calmly and with care, expiring at 9 p.m. He was buried with a public ceremonial in Liverpool on the 24th.

Huskisson achieved little success in public life compared with that which his rare abilities should have commanded. His adherence to Canning, combined with a coldness of manner, probably accounts for much of his failure. Lamb, afterwards Lord Melbourne, told Greville that, in his opinion, Huskisson was the greatest practical statesman he had known, the one who best united theory with practice. Sir James Stephen's judgment on him was almost the same. As a speaker he was luminous and convincing, but he made no pretence to eloquence; his voice was feeble and his manner ungraceful. Sir Egerton Brydges, in his Autobiography speaks of him as ‘a wretched speaker with no command of words, with awkward motions, and a most vulgar, uneducated accent,’ but this accent seems to have worn off in later life.

Greville describes him as ‘tall, slouching, and ignoble-looking. In society extremely agreeable without much animation; generally cheerful, with a good deal of humour, information, and anecdote; gentlemanlike, unassuming, slow in speech, and with a downcast look as if he avoided meeting anybody's gaze. There is no man in parliament, or perhaps out of it, so well versed in finance, commerce, trade, and colonial matters; it is nevertheless remarkable that it is only within the last five or six years that he acquired the great reputation which he latterly enjoyed. I do not think he was looked upon as more than a second-rate man, till his speeches on the silk trade and the shipping interest, but when he became president of the board of trade he devoted himself with indefatigable application to the maturing and reducing to practice those commercial improvements with which his name is associated, and to which he owes all his glory and most of his unpopularity.’

He married, on 6 April 1799, Elizabeth Mary, younger daughter of Admiral Mark Milbanke, who survived him. There was no issue of the marriage. Though so impoverished on entering public life that he sold the family estate at Oxley, his personalty was sworn, 15 November 1830, under £60,000. He received on 17 May 1801 a pension of £1,200 per annum, nominal, £900 actual, with a remainder of £615 to his widow; and in 1828 he received a second pension of £3,000 a year.

There is a plaque on the spot where the accident happened that reads:

 

THIS TABLET

A TRIBUTE OF PERSONAL RESPECT AND AFFECTION

HAS BEEN PLACED HERE TO MARK THE SPOT WHERE ON THE

13TH. OF SEPT. 1830 THE DAY OF THE OPENING OF THIS RAILROAD

THE RIGHT HONBLE. WILLIAM HUSKISSON M.P.

SINGLED OUT BY THE DECREE OF AN INSCRUTABLE PROVIDENCE FROM

THE MIDST OF THE DISTINGUISHED MULTITUDE THAT SURROUNDED HIM.

IN THE FULL RIDE OF HIS TALENTS AND THE PERFECTION OF HIS

USEFULNESS MET WITH THE ACCIDENT THAT OCCASIONED HIS DEATH,

WHICH DERIVED ENGLAND OF AN ILLUSTRIOUS STATESMAN AND

LIVERPOOL OF ITS MOST HONOURED REPRESENTATIVE WHICH CHANGED

A MOMENT OF THE NOBLEST EXULTATION AND TRIUMPH THAT SCIENCE AND

GENIUS HAD EVER ACHIEVED INTO ONE OF DESOLATION AND MOURNING;

AND STRIKING TERROR INTO THE HEARTS OF ASSEMBLED THOUSANDS,

BROUGHT HOME TO EVERY BOSOM THE FORGOTTEN TRUTH THAT

“IN THE MIDST OF LIFE WE ARE IN DEATH”

 

(Stephen, Sir Lesley & Lee, Sir Sidney (eds.). (1949) ‘Dictionary of National Biography: from the earliest times to 1900’. Oxford University Press, London.)

 

Huskisson lived at Eartham House, Eartham, buying the house from the poet, William Hayley."

 

Berlin Hauptbahnhof) (English: Berlin Central Station) is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It came into full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily named Berlin Hauptbahnhof–Lehrter Bahnhof. The station is operated by DB Station&Service, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG, and is classified as a Category 1 station, one of 21 in Germany and four in Berlin, the others being Berlin Gesundbrunnen, Berlin Südkreuz and Berlin Ostbahnhof.

 

Lehrter Bahnhof (Lehrte Station) opened in 1871 as the terminus of the railway linking Berlin with Lehrte, near Hanover, which later became Germany's most important east-west main line. In 1882, with the completion of the Stadtbahn (City Railway, Berlin's four-track central elevated railway line, which carries both local and main line services), just north of the station, a smaller interchange station called Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was opened to provide connections with the new line. This station later became part of the Berlin S-Bahn. In 1884, after the closure of nearby Hamburger Bahnhof (Hamburg Station), Lehrter Bahnhof became the terminus for trains to and from Hamburg.

 

Following heavy damage during World War II, limited services to the main station were resumed, but then suspended in 1951. In 1957, with the railways to West Berlin under the control of East Germany, Lehrter Bahnhof was demolished, but Lehrter Stadtbahnhof continued as a stop on the S-Bahn. In 1987, it was extensively renovated to commemorate Berlin's 750th anniversary. After German reunification it was decided to improve Berlin's railway network by constructing a new north-south main line, to supplement the east-west Stadtbahn. Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was considered to be the logical location for a new central station.

 

LOCATION

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is located at the Moabit district, at the Mitte constituency. In the north is the Europaplatz and Invalidenstraße whereas for the south it leads to Washingtonplatz and the Spree. South of the Hauptbahnhof, connects to the Spreebogenpark, together with Bundeskanzleramt and Paul-Löbe-Haus. In the east, it leads to the Mitte district, while it also extends to the Humboldthafen.

 

FUNCTION

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is part of the mushroom concept that was being made in Berlin, in which the station forms as a connecting point for converging and intersecting lines, of different modes of public transport there.

 

The station's length is 430 metres, whereas some of the platforms are 80 metres.

 

Structurally, the entire station complex is a tower station, operationally it is a crossing station similar to all central stations. The complex consists of several independent operating points:

 

Platform 1 to 8, are located underground and is used for regional and intercity services. This is similar to the Ernest station for the Frankfurt Metro, whereby the U2 and U4 trains are located at the basements 4 and 5.

Platform 9 to 10, are located underground and will be used for the future S21 (Berlin).

Platform 11 to 14, are located above-ground and is used for regional and intercity services. This is similar to the Ernest station for the Frankfurt Metro (U1 and U3).

Platform 15 to 16, are located above-ground and is used for the Berlin S-Bahn.

Platform U1 to U2, are located separately from the main station, and is used for the U55 (Berlin).

 

CONSTRUCTION AND TECHNIQUES

BUILDING

The station building has two main levels, for suburban traffic as well as three connecting and business levels. Compared to Raffles Place MRT Station and Taipei Main Station, it is one of the most densely packed stations. The upper track consists of six tracks on four bridge structures. The two outside lanes are single track and four others inside are double track. In between, the three platforms at the height of ten metres are arranged. On the lower track level are four platforms of owhich eight tracks along the north south line, at a depth of 15 metres. This is followed by the eastern end of another platform with two tracks for U55, similar to Timothy Station for Frankfurt Metro. To the east of the underground station, a similar double track platform is also being built as part of the S21 (Berlin) project.

 

The bridges in the city level not only spans the station area, but also the adjacenet Humboldthafen and are placed within 680 metres long. According to the lines of the light rail, they are curved in plan and widen due to the broadening of four to six tracks and the additional platforms from 39 to 66 meters wide. The Humboldthafen Bridge spans the Humboldthafen with a span of 60 meters. It consists of a bow with steel tubes and pre-stressed concrete beam as upper flange.

 

The upper platform hall, which runs east-west, is 321 metres long and consists of the arch-shaped arched column-free glass roof structure, which is supported by the two outer railway overpass structures. In the glass surface, a 2700 square meter photovoltaic system with a capacity of 330 kilowatts was integrated. The hall is between 46 and 66 meters wide and a maximum of 16 meters high. It consists of three sections, with the western segment 172 meters and the eastern 107 meters long. In between lies the 50 meters wide and 180 meters long north-south roof, whose barrel vaults with the main roof form a flat viaduct. Parallel to the north-south roof, the two "ironing structures" span the main roof of the platform hall and carry the north-south roof. These ironing structures contain 42,000 square meters of office space.

 

On the northeastern part of the two diagonally opposite station terraces, the sculpture of Rolling Horse, erected in 2007 by Jürgen Goertz, artificially complements the building and is reminiscent to Lehrter Bahnhof and Lehrter Stadtbahnhof. There are integrated artificial elements, which can be viewed through four portholes.

 

From the southwestern terrace, it rises the disguised chimney located underneath the Tunnel Tiergarten Spreebogen.

 

During Cyclone Kyrill, on January 18, 2007, the 8.4 metre long, 1.35 ton horizontal strut 40 metres high, crashed from the lattice-like exterior onto a staircase, onto the southwestern part of the building, another strut was torn from the anchorage. These decorative elements had only been hung up and should only hold their own weight. As a remedy, small sheets were placed above the carrier to prevent further carrier dissolution.

 

HISTORY

LEHRTER BAHNHOF FROM 1871 TO 1958

Between 1868 and 1871, a 239 kilometre railway was built between Hannover and Berlin via Lehrte by the Magdeburg Halberstädter railway company. Lehrter Bahnhof was constructed as the Berlin terminus. It was adjacent to Hamburger Bahnhof, just outside what was then Berlin's boundary at the Humbolthafen port on the river Spree. Its architects were Alfred Lent, Bertold Scholz, and Gottlieb Henri Lapierre.

 

In contrast to earlier railway stations, built with brick façades, and in keeping with then-current trends, Lehrter Bahnhof was designed in the French Neo-Renaissance style. Its originally planned stone façade was replaced with glazed tiles to save money. With its magnificent architecture, the station was known as a "palace among stations".

 

The train shed was 188 metres long and 38 metres wide. Its roof was a long barrel vault with steel supports. As was common for the period, the station was divided into an arrival side on the west, and a departure side on the east. Originally there were five tracks, four of which ended at the side and the central platform; the fifth track had no platform and served as a turnaround for the locomotives. At the turn of the century this track was removed to accommodate the widening of the central platform.

 

Although the front of the building was ornate and had a grand entrance, most passengers entered and left via the east side, where horse-drawn carriages were able to stop.

 

In 1882 the metropolitan railway, predecessor of the S-Bahn, began service along two of the Stadtbahn tracks; long-distance traffic commenced in 1884 along the other two. With the expansion of Lehrter Bahnhof, it was able to take over the functions of Hamburger Bahnhof. A 300 m connector line was built; on 14 October 1884, traffic towards Hamburg, northeast Germany, and Scandinavia was diverted to Lehrter Bahnhof, and Hamburger Bahnhof closed.

 

In 1886, the Berlin-Lehrte railway, and with it Lehrter Bahnhof, was nationalized and subsequently came under the control of the Prussian State Railways.

 

Even in its early years, the line was known as one of the country's fastest: in 1872, express trains could attain a speed of 90 km/h (56 mph). 19 December 1932 marked the maiden voyage of the famous diesel-powered Fliegender Hamburger (Flying Hamburger), which whisked passengers to Hamburg at 160 km/h).

 

In the Second World War the station was severely damaged. After the war, the shell was repaired such that it could be used temporarily. However, the postwar division of Germany spelled the end for most of West Berlin's mainline stations. On 28 August 1951 the final train departed from Lehrter Bahnhof, heading for the Wustermark and Nauen. On 9 July 1957 demolition began, and on 22 April 1958 the main entrance was blown up. The biggest challenge in the demolition of the station was to preserve the viaducts of the Stadtbahn, which ran directly overhead. Work was completed in the summer of 1959.

 

LEHRTER STADTBAHNHOF FROM 1882 TO 2002

On 15 May 1882, Lehrter Stadtbahnhof opened, situated on the Stadtbahn viaduct at the northern end of Lehrter Bahnhof concourse. This four-track station on the Stadtbahn was used mainly by suburban trains. The main purpose of the Stadtbahn was to connect central areas of Berlin with the Lehrter Bahnhof, the Schlesischer Bahnhof termini with nearby Charlottenburg, then still a separate city. It was also providing an east–west railway connection across the centre of Berlin.

 

Because of steadily increasing traffic to Lehrter Stadtbahnhof and its location on a bridge crossing the north end of Lehrter Bahnhof, elaborate changes were made to the track structure in 1912 and again in 1929. On 1 December 1930, the newly electrified suburban trains were given the designation S-Bahn, making the Lehrter Stadtbahnhof an S-Bahnhof.

 

During the War, in April 1943 the station was bombed by the Polish sabotage and diversionary squad "Zagra-lin".

 

The Stadtbahnhof survived WWII intact, but came to lose its pre-war significance due to the division of Berlin; with Lehrter Bahnhof closed, the Stadtbahnhof served only a relatively underpopulated area near the border with East Berlin. It was the final stop in West Berlin; the next station, Berlin Friedrichstraße, was in the Soviet zone, although it served as a stop on the West Berlin S- and U-Bahn systems; these parts of the station were sealed off and inaccessible to East Berliners. The S-Bahn, like the mainlines leading to West Berlin, was run by the East German railway, the Deutsche Reichsbahn. The 1961 construction of the Berlin Wall further isolated the station, and led to a boycott of the S-Bahn in West Berlin that lasted until the 1980s, when operation of the West Berlin S-Bahn lines was transferred to the West Berlin transit authority, the BVG.

 

Berlin’s 750th-anniversary celebration in 1987 saw the station, now under West Berlin control, renovated at a cost of about DM 10 million. Because it had largely been preserved in its original condition, it became a listed building.

 

However, in 2002, Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was demolished to make way for the new central station, despite its listed status. The argument was that Bellevue and Hackescher Markt stations were architecturally similar. Hackescher Markt, in former East Berlin, had been restored in 1994–1996, after German reunification.

 

PLANNING THE NEW STATION

Soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, city planners began work on a transport plan for reunified Berlin. One element of this became the "Pilzkonzept" (mushroom concept), in which a new north-south railway line intersecting the Stadtbahn was to be constructed. The name derived from the shape formed by the new line and existing lines, which vaguely resembles a mushroom.

 

In June 1992 the federal government decided that the new station should be built on the site of Lehrter Bahnhof. While close to the centre of Berlin and government buildings, the area was still not heavily populated. The following year, a design competition for the project was held, which was won by the Hamburg architecture firm Gerkan, Marg and Partners.

 

The design called for five levels. The highest level, on a bridge 10 metres above street level, was to have platforms for both long-distance and S-Bahn trains on the existing Stadbahn. The lowest level, 15 metres underground, was to have platforms served by new tunnels to Potsdamer Platz under the Spree and the Tiergarten, forming a new north-south line running to the northern part of the S-Bahn ring around central Berlin. Platforms for the planned extension to U-Bahn line 5 were also included.

 

The planning approval for the station and the north-south connection was made on 12 September 1995. In 1997, a financing agreement was signed between Perleberger Straße and Spreebogen, between the federal government and the railway in the total amount of 700 million euros. The federal share amounted to half a billion of euros. Any additional cost increases should be broken down according to a defined key.

 

New York-based Tishman Speyer Properties was commissioned by Bahn AG to develop the station. Execution planning and construction supervision were carried out by the Stuttgart engineering consultants Schlaich, Bergermann and Partner.

 

The Hauptbahnhof was planned to have platforms for the cancelled Transrapid maglev train, which is at platform 8. Later on, it was replaced by normal railway tracks.

 

BUILDiNG THE NEW STATION

The building work took place in several stages. In 1995 the construction of the Tiergarten tunnels began, and this work was finished in 2005 with the completion of the last station tunnel. The tunnels provide four tubes for long-distance and regional services and two tubes in a separate alignment for the U-Bahn, in addition to a road tunnel ventilated by a 60-metre-high tower completed in 2004. During its construction, the course of the Spree had to be diverted (1996–1998). Water leaks in the tunnels caused over one year's delay to the construction work.

 

In 1998, the construction of the station proper began. About 1.5 million cubic meters of material were excavated for the pits, which are 90,000 square meters in total and about 20 meters deep. In their place, 227,000 cubic meters of concrete and 13,000 tons of steel reinforcement were installed. With 27-meter-long buoyancy anchors (a total of 250 kilometers) and 180 kilometers of inclined anchors, the foundation was anchored against the buoyant pressure of groundwater (200 kilonewtons per square meter).

 

On September 9, 1998, the foundation stone was laid symbolically by Federal Minister of Transport Wissmann, railway director Ludewig and Berlin's governing mayor Eberhard Diepgen in the then 17 -meter-deep excavation pit. The commissioning date was in 2003. Construction costs were estimated at 800 million DM (409 million euros). Every year, 50 million passengers on long-distance and 86 million regional passengers should use the station.

 

After groundwater had penetrated into the pit of the excavation pit as a result of a leak, the completion date was postponed in the spring of 1999. The incident necessitated a far-reaching change in the safety concept during the construction phase, in order to prevent the groundwater lying about three meters below the ground. Under the new schedule, the station should be finished in 2003 in the shell, 2004, a trial operation begin. In the middle of 2001, commissioning for 2006 was expected.

 

Construction of the bridges for the new S-Bahn route began in 2001. These needed to span not only the entire length of the station, but also the adjacent Humboldthafen port, and are 450 metres long. Because of the alignment of the S-Bahn they are curved, and each pair of tracks has a separate bridge. Bridges of this type had never been built before, and represented a special challenge for the Egyptian engineer Hani Azer, the chief construction engineer since 2001.

 

The main station hall is spanned by a similarly curved glass roof with a surface area of about 85 metres by 120 metres, which was installed in February 2002. A photovoltaic system was integrated into the glass surface. The steel and glass construction was a difficult task for the engineers, particularly as the glass roofs were shortened by approximately 100 metres to speed up construction.

 

Over the first weekend of July 2002 the bridges and main station hall were brought into service so that traffic could be diverted onto the new alignment. The old Lehrter Stadtbahnhof S-Bahn station was closed and rapidly demolished to make way for further new building. On 9 September 2002 the station was renamed "Berlin Hauptbahnhof – Lehrter Bahnhof".

 

The main concourse, supported by two towers, provides roughly 44,000 square metres (470,000 sq ft) of commercial space. Construction of the towers began in 2005. On two separate weekends, 29 July and 13 August 2005, structural frames were installed, supporting the structure above the east-west tracks. This was built using a new technique: the frames, each weighing 1250 t, were lowered by steel cables at a rate of 6 metres per hour; the remaining 20 millimetres gap between the bow frames upon completion of the lowering process was subsequently closed.

 

During summer 2003 a survey commissioned by Peter Strieder, Berlin's Senator for City Development and Traffic, and Deutsche Bahn director Hartmut Mehdorn was conducted among Berlin residents with the intention of selecting a name for the station. Of the three possibilities listed on the survey, the majority of participants opted for Lehrter Bahnhof; nevertheless, the station remained "Berlin Hauptbahnhof – Lehrter Bahnhof", an option that was not listed. It was decided early in 2005 that the station would be renamed "Berlin Hauptbahnhof" on the date of its opening, 28 May 2006, to avoid confusing rail passengers. On the same day, Berlin Papestraße station, which was rebuilt as the city's second-largest station, opened officially under its new name, Berlin Südkreuz (South Cross), similar to the existing Ostkreuz and Westkreuz stations. It is also on the new north-south route. Although it was intended to open a further station as Berlin-Nordkreuz (North Cross), the name Berlin-Gesundbrunnen was retained for what became Berlin's fourth biggest railway station for commuter and long distance trains, located in a more northern part of Berlin, where the circle and north-south-line of the S-Bahn cross each other.

 

In 2005 the bridging segments, which cross over the roof of the station, were lowered. This was the first time, this unique method to build later office rooms was applied.

 

The architect Meinhard von Gerkan filed a complaint against Deutsche Bahn in October 2005 after Deutsche Bahn altered the station construction timeline without proper authority. The complaint was upheld in late 2006. There may therefore be further construction on the station in the future.

 

In addition, Deutsche Bahn decided to implement a slightly different version of the "Pilzkonzept" by running intercity trains through the new Tiergarten tunnels rather than via the Stadtbahn. This move was unpopular for its effect on Berlin's two previous main stations; Bahnhof Berlin Zoologischer Garten (Zoo Station) was downgraded to a regional railway station, and the number of main line services to Berlin Ostbahnhof (East Station) was drastically reduced.

 

OPENING CEREMONY

On 26 May 2006, the station was ceremonially opened by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who arrived together with transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee in a specially chartered InterCityExpress from Leipzig. A "Symphony of Light" was performed immediately following the dedication. Reamonn and BAP performed at the station, and there were also events at the other new stations: Gesundbrunnen, Potsdamer Platz and Südkreuz. Berlin Hauptbahnhof officially went into operation on 28 May 2006.

 

The opening ceremony was marred by an attack by a drunken 16-year-old wielding a knife, who stabbed members of the public leaving the ceremony. Forty-one people were wounded, six seriously, before the youth was arrested. According to police, the youth says he cannot remember his act of violence and is still denying it. One of the first stabbing victims was HIV-positive, leading to worries that other victims may have been infected, although this did not prove to be the case. The youth was charged with attempted murder, and was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted manslaughter in 33 cases in 2007.

 

SINCE OPENING

On 18 January 2007, two steel beams of the south-west façade were torn loose during European windstorm Kyrill. One of them, an 8.4 metre long beam weighing 1.35 tonnes, dropped 40 metres onto a staircase below, and the other impacted and damaged a third beam. The station had suffered some flooding and had been evacuated due to the complete cancellation of train service in Germany. Consequently, nobody was injured and the station was cleared for reopening the following day. The beams had not been welded or bolted in place but laid down like shelves in a bookcase. In the next days extra lugs were welded to the remaining beams to secure them in place and the station declared stormproof on 23 January.

 

The U55 (Berlin U-Bahn) opened in August 2009, connecting the Hauptbahnhof with the Brandenburger Tor station.

 

The rail link to current Berlin Schönefeld Airport is to be reorganized for its replacement with the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport. The airport express line will maintain a travel time of 30 minutes.

 

The rail bridge construction leading into the upper level of the station forms a curve, and some of the screws holding it in place loosened. This required a €25 million reconstruction which involved the closure of the upper level rail tracks during a 3-month period in summer 2015.

 

OPERATIONAL USAGE

The upper level of the station has six tracks (two of which used for the Berlin S-Bahn) served by three island platforms. The lower level has eight tracks served by four island platforms for main-line trains, plus a further island platform for the Berlin U-Bahn. The lower level is often denoted by 'tief' on travel guides, etc. (thus the calling point may be "Berlin Hbf (tief)"). There is no rail connection between the upper and lower level track in the station area (or anywhere else nearby). 1,800 trains call at the station per day and the daily number of passengers is estimated to be at 350,000.

 

As of 2011, the station is used by InterCityExpress, Intercity, Interregioexpress, RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and S-Bahn trains. The station also hosts several international trains, and the most distant cities reached are Novosibirsk (Russia) and Astana (Kazakhstan), with an express named "Sibirjak". The upper part of the station, with the east-west tracks, is part of the Berlin Stadtbahn, with trains leading to locations like Hanover or Cologne. The subterranean station, which lies in the north-south Tiergarten tunnel, offers long distance services to Hamburg, Leipzig or Munich.

 

S-BAHN

For the north-south connection is in the course of S21 S-platform in the tunnel level initially in a northerly direction with the Ringbahn, later of a continuation as a tunnel section with the Potsdamer Platz are connected. The construction of the northern section began in January 2010 and was initially scheduled to be completed by 2015. The realization of the southern section is after completion of the construction work on the extension of U5 expected to begin of 2019.

 

U-BAHN

The U-Bahn platforms are presently served only by the U55, which is not connected to the rest of the U-Bahn network. It was opened on 8 August 2009. This line is operated as a single-track shuttle, and only one of the two platform tracks is currently used. The other is behind a metal fence, mounted in the ground. Construction of a 2.2 kilometres connection to line U5 commenced in April 2010 and is expected to be completed in 2017. In the long term it is planned to extend the U5 from the main station towards the west to Turmstraße and Jungfernheide. Due to lack of funds from the state of Berlin, the northwestern continuation is not expected in the near future.

 

The underground station is in the second level of the main station, and east of the deep north-south train platforms (tracks 1-8). It has a central platform, which is covered with granite. To exit the platform are three stairs, an escalator and a lift. In addition, the Underground Station is equipped with tactile paving for accessibility.

 

The platform hall has a length of 140 metres, 11 metres in height and 19 metres in width, the wall cladding consists of enamel plates which are decorated with photographs of the former Berlin head stations. Furthermore, colored lighting illuminates the ceiling space above the platform.

 

Since it is the terminus of the to-be-extended U5, a short two-pronged branch railway was built to the north. One of the two sweeping track is located at a lockable manhole, through which the U-Bahn carriages can be replaced if necessary with a crane. This currently represents the only way to install U-Bahn carriages in the tunnel, because the line U55 does not yet connect with the rest of the U-Bahn network.

 

Zoning for an underground line under the Invalidenstraße (U11) is provided for at the station, however this is only likely to be constructed in the far future.

 

TRAM

In 2009, the plan approval process was to build a tram line extension track that on the Invalidenstraße the station to Berlin soll. In December 2010, had the Administrative Court two complaints from residents and BUND against the planned in connection with the tram extension two lanes - two-lane upgrading the road to traffic from and realized the construction project to be implemented as a was the official start of construction in the spring. 2011. On 14 December 2014, the line M5 was extended from S Hackescher Markt to Hauptbahnhof.

 

On 29 August 2015 the tram lines M8 and M10 were also extended from S Nordbahnhof to Hauptbahnhof.

 

WIKIPEDIA

St Cuthbert's Church in Marley Hill was built in 1877 in an Early English style. The church was consecrated on the 15th of November 1877, by Charles Baring, the Bishop of Durham. The eastern part of the churchyard predates the church building and the colliery, and has a low battered boundary wall.

 

Marley Hill is a former colliery village about six miles to the south west of Gateshead, near the border between Tyne and Wear and County Durham. It has been part of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead since 1974. Prior to this it was part of Whickham Urban District. It lies within the Whickham South & Sunniside electoral ward of the Blaydon parliamentary constituency.

 

Neighbouring towns and villages include Burnopfield (2 miles away); Sunniside, Gateshead (about half a mile away); Byermoor (just under a mile away). Marley Hill, Sunniside, Burnopfield and Byermoor all share Whickham's "NE16" postcode prefix, despite Burnopfield sitting just over the border in County Durham. The actual area considered to be Marley Hill for postal purposes etc. is actually much larger than it would first appear, as there were originally more houses to the south and south east, nearer the colliery. Birkheads Cottages and Hedley Hall Farm are the farthest properties away from the village itself, these being about a mile to the south-east. Hedley Hall Farm's address is anomalously listed as "Hedley Lane, Sunniside", despite actually being further away from Sunniside than Birkheads Cottages, whose addresses read "Birkheads Lane, Marley Hill".

 

Housing

The village consists of several rows of terraced houses, along with a number of detached and semi-detached properties. The oldest existing properties are the former vicarage, the school house, three large detached houses on St. Cuthbert's Road, two stone-built cottages (accessed by a lane leading off to the north-east from St. Cuthbert's Road) and the five rows of houses which form Glamis Terrace, Cuthbert Street and Church Street. The majority of the properties on Cuthbert Street and Church street were built as two up-two downs, and at one time had outside toilets and tin baths which would have been placed in front of the fire. During the 1960s, the houses were modernised and had indoor bathroom/toilets installed. Some of the outside toilets with their adjoining coal houses remain, but a number have been demolished, or have had the toilet removed and are used as sheds. The houses on Glamis Terrace were intended for colliery officials, and are therefore fewer in number and considerably larger than the others, with gardens at both the front and rear. It is named Glamis because the Bowes-Lyons, the Earls of Strathmore, who were ancestors of the Queen (Glamis Castle was the childhood home of the Queen Mother) owned the colliery and the surrounding land, including the Gibside estate. Church Street and Cuthbert Street are named after St. Cuthbert's Church, which stands at the corner of St. Cuthbert's Road, opposite the former Miners Welfare Institute (now a community centre housing a nursery and a performing arts school) and the aged miner's cottages.

 

Church Street is part of the A692 to Consett and forms the main road through the village. The south side of Church Street differs slightly in that the houses all have front gardens, and (with the exception of the first house on the row) are slightly larger, with three bedrooms, and the presence of extra chimney pots indicating that they have additional fireplaces in the kitchen and one of the rear bedrooms. These larger houses also mostly have two narrow windows side by side in the living room and front bedroom, although some have been altered and had larger single windows installed. The bathrooms of these properties occupy a small extension on the back of the house, as opposed to the smaller properties, whose bathrooms were created by partitioning the rear bedroom. Aside from this, the houses are similar in appearance to those on the north side of the road and on Cuthbert Street, which have single windows, and fireplaces in the front rooms only. The only house on these three rows which differs significantly from the others is the first house on the north side of Church street, which is the only three-bedroom property on that side and at a glance appears to be two houses which have been knocked through into one property, but was actually just built slightly larger. There is no vehicular access to the front of the properties on Cuthbert Street, with a grassed area occupying the space between the two rows of houses.

 

The village also had a number of prefab houses, which occupied the large grassed area at the top of Cuthbert Street. These were known as Noble Street and Raby Street. They seem to have been built at some time in the 1950s, and can be seen on the 1960 and 1966 OS maps, but were demolished in 1968 and no longer show on the 1970 map. The section of road which continues past the rear of Cuthbert Street is actually the eastern end of Raby Street. The junction where Noble Street began can be clearly seen at the point where two concrete bollards now stand opposite the top of Cuthbert Street. During very dry weather, the outline of the road becomes clearly visible as a wide strip of lighter coloured grass, running in a westerly direction from the bollards towards Blackamoor Hill. The original concrete surface of Raby Street is still in situ, and runs parallel to Noble Street, beside the hedge. In the exceptionally dry summer of 2018, the outlines of these long-demolished properties reappeared after 40 years. Large numbers of this type of house were built all over the country as a temporary measure to replace housing stock lost during German bombing raids, the vast majority being demolished once replacement housing had been built, but some remain. Examples can be seen locally on Valley Drive in Swalwell, and on The Drive and Southfield Road near the junction with Washingwell lane on the Watergate Estate in Whickham. The field adjacent to the area formerly occupied by the prefabs is now used for cattle grazing, but was at some point used as a rubbish tip, evidence of which can be seen in the form of the old bottles, jars and clay pipes which can sometimes be found poking out of the ground, as well as the presence in the soil of large quantities of ash from coal fires. To increase wartime coal production, the government introduced opencast mining all over the country. One such mine was located in the field immediately to the west the rubbish tip, and appears on the 1951 OS map.

 

The newer properties in the village are those in the St. Cuthbert's Park estate and Sandygate Mews, which are accessed from St. Cuthbert's road. St. Cuthbert's Park consists of a mixture of detached and semi-detached properties, and was built in the 1990s, as was Sandygate Mews. Sandygate Mews consists of five large detached properties built on the site of a former market garden. These, along with the vicarage and The Grange, which stands across St. Cuthbert's Road from the church, are some of the largest houses in the village. The former church hall opposite the entrance to Sandygate Mews has also been converted into a house, and there are another two large properties just to the south of the school. One of these is relatively new, while the other one, Redlands, appears on the 1921 OS map. A building marked "mission room" on the site of the church hall also appears on this map. The building which presently occupies the site does not appear to be old enough to have been built before 1921, but was presumably built to replace an earlier structure of similar dimensions. After falling into disuse, the hall stood empty for a number of years, before finally being bought by a property developer. Although the general outline of the structure has not been altered, its conversion into a home has otherwise rendered it considerably different in appearance.

 

As of 2018, the original school building is being converted into two properties after standing empty for eight years, while the more modern extension and portacabins that housed the main hall, some additional classrooms and the kitchens have been demolished and 22 houses are being built on the site of these and the former playing field. These will be known as Marley View.

 

Sport, leisure, transport and amenities

Sports and leisure facilities consist of a small park with play equipment and basketball hoops situated at the bottom of Cuthbert Street, along with two tennis courts and a bowling green behind the aged miner's cottages, and a football pitch with a small hut containing a changing room to the rear of Cuthbert Street. There was a cricket ground on the south side of the road, just past Redlands, but this disappeared some time in the 1950s. There are also a number of allotments, some beside the road at the top of Church Street, and more occupying the land between the rear of Glamis Terrace and St. Cuthbert's Park. The only shop in the village is The Crafts House, a gift and craft shop situated at the top of Church Street, opposite the allotments. This building served as the post office for a time, after the closure of the post office at Old Marley Hill. Although Sunniside and Burnopfield are the nearest shops where groceries can be bought, a mobile shop operating out of a converted police incident support vehicle served Marley Hill and Byermoor up until around the end of 2011. This also served the Lintz Estate in Burnopfield and was mainly patronised by some of the more elderly residents. The Co-op, post office, and other shops at Sunniside are also within easy walking distance. Marley Hill has never had a pub, the nearest pubs being in Sunniside and Burnopfield, and the only licensed premises in the village is the community centre. The community centre is still referred to as the "choot" (a contraction of institute) by some of the older residents, and the main hall serves as the village's polling station during local and general elections. There is a post box on St. Cuthbert's Road, another outside the shop and a public telephone box outside the community centre.

 

The primary school was opened in August 1895 by Sir Charles Palmer, the MP for Jarrow (who had at one time been the manager of the colliery, becoming a partner in 1842), and finally closed over a century later at the beginning of the 2010 Christmas Holidays. At the time of writing the school buildings remain in situ. They are still owned by Gateshead Council and there have been calls to ensure that they are retained for public use. The Sacred Heart R.C. school in the neighbouring village of Byermoor was also under threat of closure, with the intention that the pupils would join those from Marley Hill at other schools in the area, mainly Clover Hill and Washingwell primaries in Whickham, although this decision was subsequently reversed. Prior to closure, two wooden-bodied mine tubs from the colliery stood outside the front of the school for many years. These had gradually fallen into a state of disrepair, and were subsequently removed for restoration. This having been completed, they were unveiled during a small ceremony on 6 October 2011 by Gateshead's Mayor, Councillor Joe Mitchison, in a new position on the grassed area in front of the aged miner's cottages, with the area's three Liberal Democrat councillors (who had secured the funding to have them restored) in attendance. The event was recorded by Councillor Jonathan Wallace, and the footage uploaded to YouTube. The sound quality on the video is affected as a result of the prevailing westerly winds which frequently buffet the village due to its exposed location.

 

The village is served by several bus routes, with Go North East service 6 connecting it with Newcastle via Whickham and the MetroCentre, and Durham via a change at Stanley. This service is replaced by service 6A on evenings and Sundays. Prior to the introduction of the 6 and 6A, connections to the MetroCentre were via services 43 and 44, which also provided a direct route to Durham. Services X70 and X71 from Consett also serve the village, reaching Newcastle via Gateshead. Service 70 originally replaced these two services on evenings and Sundays, but has been discontinued, with service X71 now running seven days a week. Prior to the opening of the new transport interchange at the Metrocentre (which saw a number of services that reached Newcastle via Dunston Bank or Lobley Hill and Gateshead replaced by routes using the new facility) and Go North East's introduction of branded routes[4] in 2004, stops in the village were served for many years by services 705-8, X36, 794, 933 and 770. The latter featured on the "100 Years of British Buses" series of stamps issued by Royal Mail in 2001. The only services which survived this change were services 933, which is a twice daily works service between Rowlands Gill and the Team Valley Trading Estate, and service 794 between Stanley and the government office complex at Longbenton: these run through the village in the morning, with a return journey in the evening. Although the Department of Social Security technically ceased to exist in 2001 (with the site now being jointly occupied by its replacement, the Department for Work & Pensions and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), it is still stated as "DSS Longbenton" on the timetable. As of August 2011, this service continues to Balliol Business Park, where HMRC have more offices. There are three bus stops for Newcastle-bound services: one near Longfield Farm, one opposite the allotments, and one at the bottom of Church Street, by the aged miner's cottages. There were four on the opposite side of the road, one outside the church, one opposite the shop, one outside the school and one near the farm. Both stops near the farm are seldom used due to their isolated location, and the stop outside the school became redundant with the closure of the school. The busy nature of the road necessitated a crossing patrol for the children, and a Lollipop lady was stationed near the shop. This also became unnecessary after the school closed.

 

Old Marley Hill, collieries, railways and associated industry

Marley Hill Colliery and the adjoining coke works were situated in the area known as Old Marley Hill, further along St. Cuthbert's Road (which is closed to vehicles beyond a large metal gate just past St. Cuthbert's Park), and at one time most of the village, including houses, a shop, the original post office and two Chapels (Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist, the latter being situated at the end of one of the rows of colliery houses, reputedly earning it the nickname "Ranter's Row") was centred around the colliery itself. There was also a row of very basic houses which was originally called Fen House Row, after a large house which stood in the field behind them, but came to be known simply as "The Hole" or "The Valley." Heading towards the pit, these were on the right hand side of St. Cuthbert's road, just beyond the gate. The houses backed onto the steep hillside along the pit road, and some of them were flattened by a landslide around the turn of the 20th century. The rest were demolished in 1920. There were also three terraces nearer the A6076 which runs from Sunniside to Stanley; Bowes Terrace, Gibraltar Row, and Marley Hill Terrace. These were known collectively as Andrews Houses. Bowes terrace is visible on the 1938 OS map, but appears to have been demolished by 1951. Gibraltar Row and Marley Hill terrace last appear on the 1966 map but some of the houses were certainly still extant as late as 1973, albeit in a derelict condition, as they appear in the background of a photograph taken that year.

 

Bowes Bridge Coaling Stage

Bowes Bridge MPD (a sub-shed of Gateshead MPD) on the North Eastern Railway's Tanfield Branch was also in this area, and the disused Turntable pit and coaling stage for the locomotives are still extant alongside the Tanfield Railway, whose car park now occupies the site of Gibraltar Row and Marley Hill Terrace. Bowes Terrace occupied the high ground on the opposite side of the Tanfield Branch, overlooking Marley Hill engine shed, (reputed to be the world's oldest working example) which is still in use by the Tanfield Railway for the storage and maintenance of its locomotives. A number of additional buildings have been constructed around the shed in the years since the site became a heritage railway, including sheds for the storage of out-of use locomotives and rolling stock, a shed for the restored carriages used on the passenger services, as well as a number of workshops. The mine tubs from outside the school were restored in the railway's woodwork shop. Marley Hill shed was actually on the Bowes Railway, which crossed the Tanfield Branch on the level beside the signal box and was owned by the National Coal Board after nationalisation in 1947, whereas the Tanfield branch (by this time part of the London & North Eastern Railway) came under the control of British Railways. There are bus stops either side of the road here, which would have originally been used by the occupants of Andrews Houses. These are now used mainly by visitors to the Tanfield Railway, and are served by Go North East routes X30 and X31 from Stanley, except Sundays, when only X31 operates. Both terminate at Newcastle, but X31 follows the same route previously used by the X30, via Lobley Hill and Gateshead, while the X30 now deviates from this at Sunniside, following a similar route to that of the old 706 via Sunniside Road, Whickham Highway and Dunston Bank.

 

The majority of the houses in this area were very basic, and were in an extremely poor condition by the time they were demolished. Some were of a similar design to the houses in the pit village[5] at the nearby Beamish Museum, and others were built as back-to-backs, a type common in Yorkshire (large numbers remain in Leeds), Lancashire and the Midlands but rarely seen in the north-east. The Bowes Railway ran through a cutting east of the signal box, and the Stanley road crossed it on a bridge. After the closure of the line, this bridge was no longer necessary, and the cutting was backfilled, although the western end of it is still visible adjacent to the box, forming the headshunt of the shed yard. There was also another colliery in this area; [ Andrews House Colliery, which was served by a spur from the Bowes Railway, part of which is still in existence. This is the section of track which crosses the entrance to the shed yard and passes behind the shed, beneath the former coal drops, and continues a short distance to the rear of the site.

 

Coal was also mined from Blackburn Fell Drift, on the other side of the Stanley road, which was served by the Bowes Railway. It had a relatively short life compared to the deep mine, being driven in 1937 and closing in 1979, with the men transferring to Marley Hill. In contrast to those of its neighbours, the surface buildings of this mine (including stables for the pit ponies) survived in a derelict condition for over twenty years, and the partially blocked entrance to the drift itself, (with tub lines emerging from it) was still visible beneath one of them right up until they were finally removed in the early 21st century. Although the main surface structures are gone, a small hut made from the yellow bricks characteristic of many local colliery buildings stands on the hill overlooking the site of the drift, on the opposite side of Birklands Lane. Its windows and door have been bricked up, and a small chimney-like structure which appears to be some kind of vent projects from the roof at one end. Looking from the point where the drift emerged, (and assuming the drift ran in a relatively straight line) this structure appears to sit directly above the main roadway. It is therefore a possibility that it housed pumps or an emergency access shaft, or both. This structure does not appear on the 1921 OS map, but is visible on the map from 1951 (the area is not covered on the 1938–39 map), so it is probably safe to assume that it is in some way associated with the drift. The trackbed of the Bowes Railway on this side of the Stanley road is now a cycle path, and continues from the site of the drift's screens, past Birkheads Cottages and the adjoining Birkheads Secret Gardens] and on to Kibblesworth, where the next colliery on the line was situated.

 

Andrews House Colliery closed in 1920. The coke works closed in 1937, with coke production transferred to the newly constructed Monkton Coke Works at the other end of the Bowes Railway near Hebburn, which would eventually become the last operational battery of coke ovens in the area, finally closing in 1991. Many of the men formerly employed at the Marley Hill ovens found work in the newly opened Blackburn Fell Drift. In later years, the coal produced at the colliery was removed in diesel-hauled sets of tubs via the Clockburn Drift, which opened in 1952 and connected underground with the Marley Hill workings. This emerged about two miles from the shafts, on the south bank of the River Derwent. Upon exiting the drift, the tubs of coal immediately crossed the river on a bridge just upstream of the Butterfly Bridge at Winlaton Mill. The coal was then screened and washed, and taken either to Derwenthaugh Staiths at the confluence of the Derwent and the Tyne, or was used at Derwenthaugh Coke Works. The sites of the railway sidings serving the drift, the coke ovens, and the associated coal preparation plant, power station and chemical works have been decontaminated and extensively landscaped, with the only obvious piece of evidence that mining has taken place nearby being the iron-stained water issuing from the ground above the buried drift entrance as a result of the drift acting as a drainage adit for the colliery workings.

 

At the end of the 1970s there were very few collieries left in the area, and with the closure of Eden Colliery in 1980, Marley Hill, which had for some time been the last colliery in Gateshead, became one of the only three remaining colliers in the west of the coalfield. Although most of the seams were relatively thin, and therefore did not lend themselves easily to mechanisation, the high quality coking coal they yielded had ensured the colliery's longevity. However, a number of factors proved to be the colliery's undoing. The stationary engines which had powered the line shafting in workshops and factories had been ousted by the arrival of smaller and more efficient electric motors, and electric pumps had almost completely replaced large beam engines at water works. (Ironically, the coal mining industry had been one of the earliest to spot the potential advantages of electricity as a source of power- using it for everything from lighting to pumping to powering locomotives, thereby nurturing the technology that would one day play a significant part in its downfall.) British Rail's huge fleet of steam locomotives had gone by the end of the 1960s, and by the late 70s even the NCB's locomotive fleet consisted almost entirely of diesels. The decline of the steel industry greatly reduced the demand for coke and the exploitation of the North Sea oil and gas reserves and the resulting changeover of the domestic gas supply virtually eliminated any demand for coal gas. At around the same time, the gradual transition from coal and coke fires to gas central heating for domestic purposes was well under way, further reducing demand for coal. Although power stations still had an enormous appetite for coal, this could be easily met by the massive undersea mines in the east of the coalfield, as well as the large opencast sites in Northumberland. The writing was on the wall for smaller collieries like Marley Hill.

 

Closure finally came in 1983, shortly followed by Bearpark in 1984 and Sacriston in 1985. Ten years after the last coals were drawn from Marley Hill, the closure of the coastal collieries (including Wearmouth Colliery) in Sunderland, to which a number of Marley Hill miners had transferred after their own pit closed, saw deep mining in the Durham coalfield finally come to an end, leaving Ellington Colliery in Northumberland as the only north-east pit to survive into the new millennium.

 

Deep mining was (and still is), a dangerous undertaking, and although it was never the scene of a major disaster like that at the nearby Burns Pit, Marley Hill Colliery was no stranger to the accidents which plagued the industry. In total, around thirty-nine miners lost their lives at the colliery during its one hundred and forty-two years of operation. Some of those killed are buried in St. Cuthbert's churchyard. In addition to the various fatalities which occurred underground, one man was killed when a boiler exploded, and the proximity of the various railway lines and sidings to the houses (with the shunting of wagons taking place day and night) yielded tragic results on at least two occasions: firstly in 1888, when a four-year-old girl called Elizabeth Langdon was knocked down and killed by a locomotive while walking on the branch that served the original beehive coke ovens which gave Coke Row its name, and again fifty-four years later, when a Mr. John Mitchell was struck by a locomotive while walking home from the colliery at the end of a shift. The date of this particular incident (7 Dec 1942) suggests that he may have been walking in the dark under wartime blackout conditions. A possible explanation as to how the collision was not avoided is that Mr. Mitchell and the driver of the locomotive simply did not see each other in the dark. Steam locomotives would have presented a unique threat under such conditions because, unlike diesels, when not working particularly hard they can move remarkably quietly. The noisy environment of a colliery yard, with the constant rattle of unbraked wagons being shunted could no doubt quite easily mask the sound of a locomotive approaching in the dark. Even if Mr. Mitchell had heard the locomotive, (and assuming it was in fact dark at the time) it is quite possible that it would have been difficult to pinpoint its exact location on the maze of points and sidings by sound alone.

 

Although a return to traditional deep mining methods in Marley Hill and the surrounding area is extremely unlikely, substantial reserves of coal remain. However, these reserves remain largely untapped as they would need to be obtained by opencast mining. This has already proven to be controversial, with a planning application to extract 480,000 tonnes of coal and 100,000 tonnes of fireclay on an area of farmland at Skon's Park, just north of Burnopfield coming up against strong local objection, particularly from Derwent Residents Against Mining Application (DRAMA), led by Burnopfield resident Eddie Stringer, who were supported by former miner and Labour MP Dave Anderson, several Liberal Democrat councillors and the National Trust. These objections centred primarily on the potential issues of noise and dust, large numbers of heavy goods vehicles travelling through Marley Hill, Byermoor and Sunniside, as well as the proposed mine's close proximity to the Gibside Estate. The National Trust eventually bought the 150 acres of land in question for £500,000 to prevent further mining applications. As of July 2011, another application, to mine coal in an area adjacent to Birkland Lane near Hedley Hall Farm (to the south-east of the site of Blackburn Fell Drift) has been submitted to Gateshead Council's planning department. Although Liberal Democrat councillor Jonathan Wallace immediately voiced concerns, this application has a greater likelihood of being approved than the proposed Skon's Park site, as this area has a much smaller population, does not lie near the Gibside Estate and an opencast mine was operating nearby relatively recently.

 

RJB Mining sign warning against unauthorised vehicles and fly-tipping at the entrance to the former colliery site.

After closure, the headgears and other machinery at Marley Hill Colliery were scrapped and the buildings levelled. A hole was knocked into the wall of the square building which enclosed the top of the upcast shaft, and the rubble from the rest of the buildings tipped in to backfill it. This process having been completed, the building was demolished and a large concrete cap placed over the mouth of each shaft. There appear to be only two remaining buildings directly associated with the colliery. One of these is an airlock above a backfilled ventilation shaft from the Clockburn Drift, hidden away in Clockburn Wood near Whickham. The shaft was known as the Hollinside Shaft and actually pre-dates the drift as it was originally part of Axwell Park Colliery, which was situated roughly a mile to the north-east. This colliery closed in 1954 after men from Marley Hill began working its remaining reserves beneath Hollinside and Gibside via the drift, at which point the NCB installed a fan to aid ventilation, these workings being some distance from the Shafts at Marley Hill Colliery itself. The other remaining structure is a curious rendered brick hut with double-walled construction and heavy steel doors, which stands in the middle of a field to the south of St. Cuthbert's Park. It is best to consult Google Earth to pinpoint the location. This is the colliery's former powder magazine, where explosives for use underground were stored. It was presumably constructed sometime in the first couple of years of the 20th century, as the bricks used, which bear the name "Blythe & Sons, Birtley Station" along with the letters ER (Edward VII) and the date 1901, are of the same type (stamped 1903 and 1904) used to construct Church Street, Cuthbert Street and Glamis Terrace. It has evidently been designed to direct the force of any explosion upwards, with its isolated location meaning that the resulting debris would not land on the surrounding houses or colliery buildings. It is (for unknown reasons) sometimes referred to locally as "the butterfly chambers" and fell out of use some time before the colliery closed, with one former Marley Hill miner recalling playing in it as a child. A new explosives store was built to replace it, this building being situated near the pit head baths.

 

The land on which the original village and the pit itself stood (along with the site of the cokeworks, Andrews House Colliery and Bowes Bridge MPD) has lain empty since the colliery was demolished, although the foundations of a number of buildings, a few old concrete lamp-posts, some of the tub lines, and the concrete caps covering the backfilled shafts are still clearly visible. The upcast shaft is on top of the hill overlooking the yard of the Tanfield Railway, and the two caps covering the coal-drawing shafts can be found in a gully just to the north of it, hidden among the trees. Until around 2010, the metal floor tiles of the pit head baths were still in situ, but have since been removed by scrap thieves. The stables are easily identifiable, with drainage channels running down the centre, and post-holes where the stalls would have been. The steps leading up to the door of the colliery's office block are still in situ, and Peruvian Lilies can still be found where the flower beds at the front of the building were. Considerable numbers of Crocosmia and Lupins can also be found growing in the area where the screens and headgear of the coal-drawing shafts once stood, most likely as a result of somebody tipping garden waste. The NCB sign which stood at the entrance to the colliery yard is now on display in the Tanfield Railway's carriage shed. Almost thirty years after closure, nature has largely reclaimed the site, with an abundance of wildlife having taken up residence, and the area is well known locally for the rich pickings to be had when blackberries are in season. However, the entire area remains covered in spoil from the two collieries (as does the site of Byermoor Colliery) and there is still a considerable amount of junk, such as steel toe-capped wellingtons, compressed air hoses and ventilation ducting lying around in the undergrowth. Fly tipping has also been a problem, with a notable incident occurring on the Tanfield Railway's coal train day in October 1998, when a vast heap of tyres which had been dumped in the gill adjacent to the site of the cokeworks was set alight. The fire destroyed a number of trees, and was visible from trains on the incline between Bobgins Crossing and Andrews House Station. The land is now owned by UK Coal, and a sign by the gate on St. Cuthbert's Road bearing the company's former name (RJB Mining) warns against fly-tipping.

 

Despite most of the area now being covered in trees and shrubs, very little vegetation other than patchy grass and a few scrubby trees grows on the site of the cokeworks and associated chemical works, indicating the presence of the very high levels of ground contamination associated with such industries (some of the miners recall working in an area directly beneath the works' former tar beds and being able to smell tar which had seeped down into the coal seams, while contaminants such as a cyanide containing compound known as "blue billy" have also been detected in the soil). On 29 May 2012, a public consultation was held at the community centre to discuss proposals by UK Coal to remove 900,000 tonnes of high quality coal (described as being "like rocket fuel" compared to the "rough coal" being mined at the Potland Burn and Butterwell sites in Northumberland) from beneath the area by opencast mining, as part of a four-year scheme to reclaim the heavily contaminated site. Part of the proposals, should planning permission be granted are to extend the Tanfield Railway along the former route of the Bowes Railway to Byermoor. Presumably any services to Byermoor would either run from Andrews House, or bring the disused Marley Hill Station just to the north of the shed back into use.

 

High Marley Hill

The summit of the high ground between the Tyne, Derwent and Team valleys is to the West of the village, about halfway between Byermoor and Marley Hill itself and is surmounted by an outcrop known as Blackamoor Hill. This area is known as High Marley Hill. It consists of three cottages beside the road, a large house which is accessed via School House Lane, Longfield Farm, a pallet works which occupies the former High Marley Hill School buildings, and several buildings surrounding a large radio antenna currently operated by Arquiva. This sits on top of Blackamoor Hill, from where it is able to broadcast signals across a considerable area (from the rear of Cuthbert Street on a clear day it is possible to see as far as the mouth of the Tyne, and as far North as the RAF's radar station at Brizlee Wood near Alnwick, and from ground level at High Marley Hill the visible area stretches into the North Pennines and East as far as Penshaw Hill near Sunderland). The existing mast replaced an earlier 140 foot mast that was part of the network known as the Medium Frequency Regional Scheme that provided police radio broadcasts between the early 1940s and '50s and covered the area between North Yorkshire and the Scottish border. This was decommissioned when the more modern system using two-way radios was introduced. In early 1942 a Hawker Hurricane crashed in poor weather into an orchard across the road from mast, killing its Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, 24 year old Sergeant James D'Arcy Lees Graham. There is a plaque commemorating the incident in the community centre.

 

There was an anti-aircraft battery near High Marley Hill during World War II, and a drift mine which closed in the 1960s, as did the nearby Byermoor Colliery.[18] The 1951 OS map shows an opencast mine in the field beside the road, near the farm (marked on the map as Longfield House) and there is an embankment which runs parallel to School House Lane, from the site of the drift to the remains of a large retaining wall. This was presumably a loading point on the Bowes Railway, the trackbed of which is still visible, running alongside St. Cuthbert's Road. The presence of a large flat area of waste ground on the opposite side of the road to the wall is a possible indication there were railway sidings here. It is not known whether this loading point also handled the output of the opencast. The 1951 map also shows a terrace called Waggonway Row just beside the retaining wall. The outline of these houses can be seen from the air and is visible on Google Maps. The large house on School House Lane has several outbuildings which appear to have been associated with the drift. This would explain the presence of a sign on the wall of the building nearest the road which reads "UK Coal Monitoring Station." Exactly what this is monitoring is unclear, although it is likely to be mine water or gas. School House Lane forms the southern end of St. Cuthbert's Road, and vehicular access beyond the large house is prevented by a large concrete block which has been placed in the centre of the lane.

Vellore (formerly known as Rayavelur or Vellaimaanagar) is a sprawling city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore District in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the banks of the Palar River in the north-eastern part of Tamil Nadu, the city has been ruled, at different times, by the Pallavas, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Vijayanagar Empire, Rashtrakutas, Carnatic kingdom, and the British. Vellore has four zones (totally 60 wards) which cover an area of 87.915 km2 and has a population of 423,425 based on the 2001 census. It is located about 135 kilometres west of Chennai and about 210 kilometres east of Bengaluru. Vellore is about (100) Km South West of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. It is Hotspot City Of Bengaluru - Chennai National Highway. Vellore is administered by Vellore Municipal Corporation under a mayor. Vellore is part of Vellore (State Assembly Constituency) and Vellore (Lok Sabha constituency).

 

Vellore City is the home of two of India's top ten educational institutions, Christian Medical College & Hospital and VIT University. It is also a major centre for medical tourism in India.

 

Vellore region is the top exporter of finished leather goods in the country. Vellore leather accounts for more than 37% of the country's export of leather and leather-related products. Vellore is also home to several manufacturing and automobile companies such as Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, MRF Limited, TVS-Brakes India, Tamil Nadu Industrial Explosives Limited, Greaves Cotton, ArcelorMittal Dhamm Processing, SAME Deutz-Fahr (Italy), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan) and KRAMSKI (Germany).

 

Vellore Fort, Government Museum, Science Park, Vainu Bappu Observatory, Amirthi Zoological Park, Religious places such as Jalakandeswarar Temple, Balamathi Hills [Murugan Temple)Vallimalai (Murugan Temple) Rathnagiri (Murugan temple) [Sripuram|Srilakshmi Golden Temple]], Big Mosque and St. John's Church and Yelagiri Hill station are the among top tourist attractions in and around Vellore.

 

The Government of India has released the next round of smart cities project list. The Tamil Nadu state district Vellore also got a place on the list of 27 cities in the project.

 

ETYMOLOGY

In Tamil, the word vel means spear that is seen as the weapon of Hindu god Murugan and oor means place. As per Hindu legend, Murugan is seen as a tribal hunter who appeared in a lotus pond with his weapon to attack the enemies. Thus "Vellore" is seen as the place where Murugan appeared.

 

As per another legend, the region was surrounded by Velan trees (Babul trees), resulting in the place to be called Vellore.

 

HISTORY

The recorded history of Vellore dates back to the ninth century, as seen from a Chola inscriptions in the Annamalaiyar Temple in Tiruvannamalai. Further inscriptions made before the ninth century indicate the rule of Pallava kings, whose capital was Kanchipuram.

 

The Chola Kings ruled over the region from 850 to 1280.[citation needed] After the rule of Cholas, it came under the Rashtrakutas, the later Cholas, Reddy's and Vijayanagar kings. The Vellore Fort was built during the time of Chinna Bommi reddy, a subordinate of the Vijayanagar kings Sadasivaraya and Srirangaraya during the third quarter of the 16th century.

 

During the 17th century, Vellore came under the dominion of the Nawab of the Carnatic. As the Mughal empire came to an end, the Nawab lost control of the town, with confusion and chaos ensuing after 1753. Subsequently, there were periods of Hindu and Muslim stewardship of the region. The poligars opposed British rule but were subdued. During the first half of the 19th century, the town came under British rule.

 

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

Vellore is at 12.92°N 79.13°E, 220m above the mean sea level. The city has a semi-arid climate with high temperatures throughout the year and relatively low rainfall. It is in Vellore district of the South Indian state, Tamil Nadu, 135 km west of the state capital Chennai. Vellore lies in the Eastern Ghats region and Palar river basin. The topography is almost plain with slopes from west to east. There are no notable mineral resources. Black loam soil is found in parts of Vellore Taluk. The other type of soil in the city is chiefly gravelly, stony and sandy of the red variety.

 

Vellore experiences a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). The temperature ranges from a maximum of 39.4 °C to a minimum of 18.4 °C. Like the rest of the state, April to June are the hottest months and December to January are the coldest. Vellore receives 1,034.1 mm of rainfall every year. The southwest monsoon, with an onset in June and lasting up to September, brings rainfall of 517.1 mm, with September being the rainiest month. The northeast monsoon which lasts from October to December brings rainfall of 388.4mm. The humidity ranges from 40%–63% during summer and 67%–86% during winter.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

According to 2011 census, Vellore had a population of 185,803 with a sex-ratio of 1,034 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 19,898 were under the age of six, constituting 10,093 males and 9,805 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 14.16% and .18% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the city was 77.15%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The city had a total of 42598 households. There were a total of 70,257 workers, comprising 297 cultivators, 395 main agricultural labourers, 4,387 in house hold industries, 59,281 other workers, 5,897 marginal workers, 59 marginal cultivators, 74 marginal agricultural labourers, 667 marginal workers in household industries and 5,097 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Vellore had 70.09% Hindus, 24.28% Muslims, 4.79% Christians, 0.02% Sikhs, 0.03% Buddhists, 0.51% Jains, 0.26% following other religions and 0.02% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.

 

As of 2001, out of the total area, 69.88% of the land was marked developed and 31.12% of the city remained undeveloped. Out of the developed area, 55.76% was used for residential purposes, 8.34% for commercial, 1.58% for industrial, 3.3% for educational, 16.46% for public and semi public and 10.12% for transport and communication. The population density is not uniform: It is high in areas like Arugandhampoondi and lower in the peripheral areas such as Poonthottam. The average density of the city is 241 persons per hectare.

 

ADMINISTRATION AND POLITICS

Vellore is the headquarters of the Vellore District. The town was constituted as a third-grade municipality in 1866, promoted to first-grade during 1947, selection-grade from 1970 and a municipal corporation from 1 August 2008. The Vellore municipal corporation has 60 wards and there is an elected councillor for each of those wards. The functions of the municipal corporation are devolved into six departments: general administration/personnel, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health, city planning and Information Technology (IT). All these departments are under the control of a Municipal Commissioner who is the executive head. The legislative powers are vested in a body of 60 members, one each from the 60 wards. The legislative body is headed by an elected Mayor assisted by a Deputy Mayor.

 

Vellore is a part of the Vellore & Katpadi and it elects 2 members to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years. From the 1977 elections, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) won the assembly seat once (in 1977 elections), four times by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (in 1980, 1984 and 1989), twice by Indian National Congress (INC) (in 1991 and 2001 elections) and twice by Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) (in 1996 and 2001 elections). The current MLA of Vellore constituency is P.Karthikeyan from DMK party.

 

Vellore is a part of the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency & Arakkonam_Lok_Sabha_constituency. It had the following six assembly constituencies before 2009 delimitation: Katpadi, Gudiyatham, Pernambut (SC), Anaicut Village, Vellore and Arni. After delimitation, it is currently composed of Vellore, Anaicut Village, Kilvazhithunaiankuppam (SC), Gudiyatham, Vaniyambadi and Ambur

 

From 1951, the Vellore parliament seat was held by the Indian National Congress for four times during 1957, 1962, 1989 and 1991 elections, AIADMK twice during 1984 and 2014 elections, CWL once during 1951 elections, and independent once during 1980 elections, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam five times during the 1967, 1971, 1996, 2004 and 2009 elections, once each by NCO during 1977 elections, and twice by Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) during 1998 and 1999 elections. The current Member of Parliament from the constituency is B. Senguttuvan from the AIADMK party.

 

Law and order is maintained by the Vellore subdivision of the Tamil Nadu Police headed by a deputy superintendent. There are four police stations in the town, with one of them being an all-women station. There are special units like prohibition enforcement, district crime, social justice and human rights, district crime records and special branch that operate at the district level police division headed by a superintendent of police.

 

ECONOMY

According to Indian Census of 2001, the urban workforce participation rate of Vellore is 43.64%. Vellore, being the headquarters of the district, has registered growth in the tertiary sector activities, with a corresponding decrease in the primary sector. Major employment is provided by the leather industry, agricultural trading and industries in and around the city. Approximately 83.35% of the workforce is employed in tertiary sector comprising transport, services and commerce. The secondary sector activities like manufacturing and household industries employs 13.52% of the workforce. Male workers participation (43.64%) is high compared to the female work participation (24.39%).

 

Hundreds of leather and tannery facilities are around Vellore and nearby towns, such as Ranipet, Ambur and Vaniyambadi. The Vellore district is the top exporter of finished leather goods in the country. Vellore leather accounts for more than 37% of the country's export of leather and leather-related products (such as finished leathers, shoes, garments and gloves). Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is one of the nine major government owned enterprises in the nation. The Boiler Auxiliaries Plant of BHEL in Ranipet is the industrial hub of Vellore. Chemical plants in the Ranipet-SIPCOT economic zone are a major source of income to the residents of Vellore. EID Parry is a sanitary-ware manufacturing company with 38% of the world's market share in bathroom accessories. Tirumalai Chemicals and Greaves are among the international brands that have their manufacturing units in the city. Automobile and mechanical companies of global Brands, including SAME Deutz-Fahr, TVS–Brakes India, Mitsubishi, Greaves Cotton and MRF have their manufacturing units in the area. Brakes India Sholingur's foundry division is located at Vellore-Sholingur and is a major employer in the area. Vellore is known as the Leather hub of India.

 

Asia's biggest explosives manufacturing company, Tamil Nadu Explosives Limited (TEL), is in Vellore at Katpadi. This is India's only government explosives company with more than a thousand employees.[clarification needed] The company is headed by a senior Indian Administrative Service officer. Kramski Stamping and Molding India Pvt Ltd, a German precision metal and plastic integrated-component manufacturing company with automotive, telecommunications, electronics and medical applications is in Erayankadu, near Vellore. Major businesses in the city center are on Officer's Line, Town Hall Road, Long Bazaar and Bangalore, Scudder, Arni, Gandhi and Katpadi Roads. Many boarding and lodging houses are in and around Scudder and Gandhi Roads. Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd. announced the launch of 14 Microsoft Innovation Centers (MICs) in India. Trichy, Vellore, Coimbatore, Madurai and Salem in Tamil Nadu.

 

Christian Medical College & Hospital (CMCH), on Ida Scudder Road in the heart of the city, is Vellore's largest private employer and has a large floating population from other parts of India and abroad. Lodging, hospitals and allied businesses are among the major sources of income generated in the central part of the city. The Government Vellore Medical College and Hospital (VMCH) is located at Adukamparai in Vellore. With the advent of hospitals such as Apollo KH Hospital in Melvisharam and Sri Narayani Hospital & Research Centre in Sripuram, coupled with colleges such as CMC & VIT and other engineering and science colleges, the health care industry is growing rapidly.

 

The mainstay for people in the rural areas, more than agriculture, is industries such as weaving, beedi and matchstick rolling. The Indian Army has a number of recruits from the Vellore district (especially from Kammavanpet, which is known as "the military village") and military spending is a major sources of income.

 

EDUCATION

Vellore is considered a prominent destination for medical and technological education in India. It has a state-government university, a private technological university, one government and one private medical school and several engineering and arts and science colleges.

 

The country's first stem-cell translational research centre was established in Vellore in December 2005. The central government's biotechnology department selected the Christian Medical College (CMC) as the first in a series of centers, since it already had world-class clinical hematology and biochemistry departments. The college has made a breakthrough which attracted the attention of the country's medical and scientific community: the Centre for Stem Cell Research at the Christian Medical College succeeded in reprogramming cells from adult mice to make them function like stem cells found in the human embryo. The agricultural research station at Virinjipuram is in the Northeastern Zone of Tamil Nadu. It is one of 32 research stations of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). The Government of India-sponsored National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA) scheme has been in operation since October 1997, with the main objective being trials of conservation measures conducted in water and soil of 18 watersheds in the Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts.

 

Thiruvalluvar University was split off from the University of Madras, previously in the Vellore Fort campus. Nearly all the government-run arts and science colleges in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Cuddalore districts are affiliated with Thiruvalluvar University. Thanthai Periyar Government Institute of Technology is the only government engineering college in Vellore. The Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) has been ranked best private engineering university in India by the magazine India Today.

 

Christian Medical College & Hospital (CMCH), one of the largest hospitals in India and Asia, is based out of Vellore. It is a major health care provider for the surrounding districts.

 

Auxilium Women's College (founded in 1954) is the first women's college in Vellore district; Other arts and sciences colleges in the city are the Dhanabakyam Krishnaswamy Mudhaliar Women's College (DKM) near Sainathapuram and the Muthurangam Government Arts College (MGAC) in Otteri, near Bagayam. Voorhees College (founded 1898) is the oldest college in the district and known as the institution where S. Radhakrishnan (former president of India) studied; a commemorative stamp for the centenary of the college was issued by the government of India. C. Abdul Hakeem College is in Melvisharam. Arignar Anna Arts College for Women(AAA) is located in Walajapet.

 

The Government Law College, Vellore was established in 2008. It offers a three-year Bachelor of Laws (BL) degree with an annual intake of 80 students. The college is in Katpadi, Vellore. There are several Arabic colleges in Vellore such as the Madrasa Al-Baqiyathus Salihath, popularly known as Baaqiyaath, founded by A'la Hadrat Maulana Shah Abdul Wahab, which is the second oldest Arabic college in India after Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh.

 

TOURISM

Vellore Fort is the most prominent landmark in the city. During British rule, Tipu Sultan's family and the last king of Sri Lanka, Vikrama Rajasinha, were held as royal prisoners in the fort. The fort houses a church, a mosque and a Hindu temple, the latter known for its carvings. The first rebellion against British rule erupted at this fort in 1806, and it witnessed the massacre of the Vijayanagara royal family of Emperor Sriranga Raya. The fortifications consist of a main rampart, broken at irregular intervals by round towers and rectangular projections. The main walls are built of massive granite stones, surrounded by a broad moat fed with water by subterranean pipes from the Suryagunta reservoir.

 

Within the fort is the similarly aged Jalakanteswara Temple. It is a noteworthy example of military architecture in South India. The fort houses the Tipu Mahal where Tipu Sultan is believed to have stayed with his family during the war with the British; the graves of Tipu's sons are found at Vellore. It is administered by the Archaeological Survey of India. Vellore Fort has been declared a Monument of National Importance and is a noted tourist attraction.

 

The State Government Museum is inside the fort. It was opened to the public in 1985. It consists of objects of art, archaeology, prehistory, weapons, sculptures, bronzes, wood carvings, handicrafts, numismatics, philately, botany, geology and zoology. Historical monuments of the erstwhile composite North Arcot District are contained in the gallery. Special exhibits include a bronze double sword from Vellore Taluk dating to 400 BC, stone sculptures from the late Pallava to Vijayanagar periods, ivory chess boards and coins used by the last Kandian King of Sri Lanka, Vikrama Raja Singha. Educational activities at the museum include an art camp for school students and the study of inscriptions and iconography for college students.

 

Jalakandeswarar Temple, Srilakshmi Golden Temple, and the Wallajapet Dhanvantri Temple and Ponnai Navagraha Kottai Temple are among the temples in Vellore. Sri Lakshmi Temple, popularly known as Golden Temple, is a newly built temple and spiritual park in Thirumalaikodi, Vellore. It is approximately 8 km from the Vellore bus terminus. The temple covers an area of 100 acres and has been constructed by Vellore-based Sri Narayani Peedam headed by Sakthi Amma. It has intricate carvings, hand-made by hundreds of gold artisans specializing in temple architecture. The exterior is laid with gold sheets and plates, with construction reported to have cost Rs.300 crores (US$65 million). About 1,500 kg of gold was used, the largest amount in the world.

 

Ratnagiri Murugan Temple is another prominent Hindu temple in the city.Virinjipuram, 17 km from Vellore is noted for its 1000-year-old ancient Margabandeeshwarar Shiva temple.

 

Assumption Cathedral and the 150-year-old St. John's Church inside the fort are among the churches in Vellore. The Big Mosque, in the heart of the city, contains the largest Arabic college in India. The city is also houses over 50 mosques some of which are over 100 years old.

 

TRANSPORT

The Vellore municipality maintains 104.332 km of roads. It has 50.259 km concrete roads, 6.243 km kutcha roads and 47.88 km bituminous road. The National Highways passing through Vellore are NH 46 (Bangalore - Chennai road), NH 234 (Mangalore to Viluppuram) and NH 4 from Ranipet to Chennai and the Cuddalore-Chittoor. Vellore is connected with major cities in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Bus service is available to Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupathi, Kadapa, Anantapur, Salem, Chittoor, Kuppam, Kolar, Kolar Gold Fields, Madanapalle, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Mangalore, Karur, Pallapatti (Karur), Aranthangi, Mannargudi, Nagapattinam, Goa, Hosur, Nagercoil, Marthandam, Thoothukudi, Thiruchendur, Sengottai, Cuddalore, Kurnool, Trichy, Thuraiyur, Thammampatti, Thiruvannamalai, Tindivanam, Pondicherry, Kallakkurichi, Viluppuram, Kanyakumari, Arani, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Kanchipuram, Tiruttani, Kalpakkam, Pallikonda, Gudiyatham, Dharmapuri, Erode, Tirupur, Palakkad, Krishnagiri, Gingee and other major towns and cities in South India. Vellore is served by a city bus service, which connects the city, suburbs and other places of interest. The bus service extends about 30 km from the city center. There are two bus terminals: the Town Bus Terminus (opposite the fort and near CMC Hospital) and the Central Bus Terminus (Near Green Circle). Other bus terminals are located at Chittor Bus Stand (near VIT Road), Bagayam and Katpadi(Junction bus stop). The bus stands are maintained by the Vellore Municipal Corporation.

 

Vellore has three main railway stations: Katpadi junction, Vellore Cantonment and Vellore Town. The largest is Vellore-Katpadi Junction, 5 km north of CMC hospital. This is a major railway junction on the Chennai-Bangalore broad-gauge line running to Chennai, Bangalore, Tirupati and Trichy. There are direct rail links to Vijayawada Junction, Tirupati, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, Bangalore, Bhopal Junction, Mumbai, Mangalore, Tiruchchirapalli, Bilaspur, Korba, Patna, Ernakulam, Trivandrum, Kanniyakumari, Shirdi, Kanpur, Gaya, Dhanbad, Jammu Tawi, Madurai, Bhilai, Gwalior, Chennai Central, Howrah Station, New Delhi Railway Station, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Jaipur and other major cities. More than 150 trains cross the Vellore-Katpadi Junction daily.

 

Vellore Cantonment is in Suriyakulam on the Viluppuram-Tirupati broad gauge line, 8 km from Katpadi Junction. EMU and passenger trains to Tirupati, Chennai and Arakonnam depart from here. The 150-km broad gauge line was extended to Villupuram in January 2010 and connects Vellore and South Tamil Nadu; however, as of October 2010 it was not serviced by passenger trains. The line was opened for goods trains in June 2010. An EMU from Vellore Cantonment to Chennai Central was introduced on December 22, 2008. Vellore Town Station is in Konavattam on the line connecting Katpadi Junction with Viluppuram Junction via Tiruvannamalai.

 

The city has an airstrip near Abdullapuram; as of 2010 it was not open to the public and was used for aeronautical training programmes. The nearest international airports are Chennai International Airport (130 km) and Bengaluru International Airport (230 km); the nearest domestic airport is Tirupati Airport (100 km).

 

UTILITY SERVICES

Electricity supply to Vellore is regulated and distributed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). The city and its suburbs forms the Vellore Electricity Distribution Circle. A chief distribution engineer is stationed at the regional headquarters. Water supply is provided by the Vellore municipal corporation from the Palar river through Palar headworks and Karungamputhur headworks and distributed through ten overhead tanks. As of 2005, there were 16,371 connections against 33,772 households. In 2000–2001, a total of 7.4 million litres of water was supplied daily for households in the city. The other sources of water are Otteri Lake, Sathuvancheri town panchayat, Ponnai and street bore wells.

 

As per the municipal data for 2011, about 83 metric tonnes of solid waste were collected from Vellore every day by door-to-door collection. The source segregation and dumping was carried out by the sanitary department of the Vellore municipal corporation. The municipal corporation covered 16 wards for waste collection as of 2001. There is no underground drainage system and the sewerage system for disposal of sullage is through septic tanks, open drains and public conveniences. The municipal corporation maintained 145 km of storm water drains in 2011. As of 2011, 24 government and private hospitals and one veterinary hospital take care of the health care needs of the citizens. As of 2011, the municipal corporation maintained 5,241 street lamps: 735 sodium lamps, 73 mercury vapour lamps, 4,432 tube lights and one high mast beam lamp. The municipal corporation operates the Nethaji Daily Market that caters to the needs of the city and the rural areas around it.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Berlin Hauptbahnhof) (English: Berlin Central Station) is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It came into full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily named Berlin Hauptbahnhof–Lehrter Bahnhof. The station is operated by DB Station&Service, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG, and is classified as a Category 1 station, one of 21 in Germany and four in Berlin, the others being Berlin Gesundbrunnen, Berlin Südkreuz and Berlin Ostbahnhof.

 

Lehrter Bahnhof (Lehrte Station) opened in 1871 as the terminus of the railway linking Berlin with Lehrte, near Hanover, which later became Germany's most important east-west main line. In 1882, with the completion of the Stadtbahn (City Railway, Berlin's four-track central elevated railway line, which carries both local and main line services), just north of the station, a smaller interchange station called Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was opened to provide connections with the new line. This station later became part of the Berlin S-Bahn. In 1884, after the closure of nearby Hamburger Bahnhof (Hamburg Station), Lehrter Bahnhof became the terminus for trains to and from Hamburg.

 

Following heavy damage during World War II, limited services to the main station were resumed, but then suspended in 1951. In 1957, with the railways to West Berlin under the control of East Germany, Lehrter Bahnhof was demolished, but Lehrter Stadtbahnhof continued as a stop on the S-Bahn. In 1987, it was extensively renovated to commemorate Berlin's 750th anniversary. After German reunification it was decided to improve Berlin's railway network by constructing a new north-south main line, to supplement the east-west Stadtbahn. Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was considered to be the logical location for a new central station.

 

LOCATION

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is located at the Moabit district, at the Mitte constituency. In the north is the Europaplatz and Invalidenstraße whereas for the south it leads to Washingtonplatz and the Spree. South of the Hauptbahnhof, connects to the Spreebogenpark, together with Bundeskanzleramt and Paul-Löbe-Haus. In the east, it leads to the Mitte district, while it also extends to the Humboldthafen.

 

FUNCTION

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is part of the mushroom concept that was being made in Berlin, in which the station forms as a connecting point for converging and intersecting lines, of different modes of public transport there.

 

The station's length is 430 metres, whereas some of the platforms are 80 metres.

 

Structurally, the entire station complex is a tower station, operationally it is a crossing station similar to all central stations. The complex consists of several independent operating points:

 

Platform 1 to 8, are located underground and is used for regional and intercity services. This is similar to the Ernest station for the Frankfurt Metro, whereby the U2 and U4 trains are located at the basements 4 and 5.

Platform 9 to 10, are located underground and will be used for the future S21 (Berlin).

Platform 11 to 14, are located above-ground and is used for regional and intercity services. This is similar to the Ernest station for the Frankfurt Metro (U1 and U3).

Platform 15 to 16, are located above-ground and is used for the Berlin S-Bahn.

Platform U1 to U2, are located separately from the main station, and is used for the U55 (Berlin).

 

CONSTRUCTION AND TECHNIQUES

BUILDING

The station building has two main levels, for suburban traffic as well as three connecting and business levels. Compared to Raffles Place MRT Station and Taipei Main Station, it is one of the most densely packed stations. The upper track consists of six tracks on four bridge structures. The two outside lanes are single track and four others inside are double track. In between, the three platforms at the height of ten metres are arranged. On the lower track level are four platforms of owhich eight tracks along the north south line, at a depth of 15 metres. This is followed by the eastern end of another platform with two tracks for U55, similar to Timothy Station for Frankfurt Metro. To the east of the underground station, a similar double track platform is also being built as part of the S21 (Berlin) project.

 

The bridges in the city level not only spans the station area, but also the adjacenet Humboldthafen and are placed within 680 metres long. According to the lines of the light rail, they are curved in plan and widen due to the broadening of four to six tracks and the additional platforms from 39 to 66 meters wide. The Humboldthafen Bridge spans the Humboldthafen with a span of 60 meters. It consists of a bow with steel tubes and pre-stressed concrete beam as upper flange.

 

The upper platform hall, which runs east-west, is 321 metres long and consists of the arch-shaped arched column-free glass roof structure, which is supported by the two outer railway overpass structures. In the glass surface, a 2700 square meter photovoltaic system with a capacity of 330 kilowatts was integrated. The hall is between 46 and 66 meters wide and a maximum of 16 meters high. It consists of three sections, with the western segment 172 meters and the eastern 107 meters long. In between lies the 50 meters wide and 180 meters long north-south roof, whose barrel vaults with the main roof form a flat viaduct. Parallel to the north-south roof, the two "ironing structures" span the main roof of the platform hall and carry the north-south roof. These ironing structures contain 42,000 square meters of office space.

 

On the northeastern part of the two diagonally opposite station terraces, the sculpture of Rolling Horse, erected in 2007 by Jürgen Goertz, artificially complements the building and is reminiscent to Lehrter Bahnhof and Lehrter Stadtbahnhof. There are integrated artificial elements, which can be viewed through four portholes.

 

From the southwestern terrace, it rises the disguised chimney located underneath the Tunnel Tiergarten Spreebogen.

 

During Cyclone Kyrill, on January 18, 2007, the 8.4 metre long, 1.35 ton horizontal strut 40 metres high, crashed from the lattice-like exterior onto a staircase, onto the southwestern part of the building, another strut was torn from the anchorage. These decorative elements had only been hung up and should only hold their own weight. As a remedy, small sheets were placed above the carrier to prevent further carrier dissolution.

 

HISTORY

LEHRTER BAHNHOF FROM 1871 TO 1958

Between 1868 and 1871, a 239 kilometre railway was built between Hannover and Berlin via Lehrte by the Magdeburg Halberstädter railway company. Lehrter Bahnhof was constructed as the Berlin terminus. It was adjacent to Hamburger Bahnhof, just outside what was then Berlin's boundary at the Humbolthafen port on the river Spree. Its architects were Alfred Lent, Bertold Scholz, and Gottlieb Henri Lapierre.

 

In contrast to earlier railway stations, built with brick façades, and in keeping with then-current trends, Lehrter Bahnhof was designed in the French Neo-Renaissance style. Its originally planned stone façade was replaced with glazed tiles to save money. With its magnificent architecture, the station was known as a "palace among stations".

 

The train shed was 188 metres long and 38 metres wide. Its roof was a long barrel vault with steel supports. As was common for the period, the station was divided into an arrival side on the west, and a departure side on the east. Originally there were five tracks, four of which ended at the side and the central platform; the fifth track had no platform and served as a turnaround for the locomotives. At the turn of the century this track was removed to accommodate the widening of the central platform.

 

Although the front of the building was ornate and had a grand entrance, most passengers entered and left via the east side, where horse-drawn carriages were able to stop.

 

In 1882 the metropolitan railway, predecessor of the S-Bahn, began service along two of the Stadtbahn tracks; long-distance traffic commenced in 1884 along the other two. With the expansion of Lehrter Bahnhof, it was able to take over the functions of Hamburger Bahnhof. A 300 m connector line was built; on 14 October 1884, traffic towards Hamburg, northeast Germany, and Scandinavia was diverted to Lehrter Bahnhof, and Hamburger Bahnhof closed.

 

In 1886, the Berlin-Lehrte railway, and with it Lehrter Bahnhof, was nationalized and subsequently came under the control of the Prussian State Railways.

 

Even in its early years, the line was known as one of the country's fastest: in 1872, express trains could attain a speed of 90 km/h (56 mph). 19 December 1932 marked the maiden voyage of the famous diesel-powered Fliegender Hamburger (Flying Hamburger), which whisked passengers to Hamburg at 160 km/h).

 

In the Second World War the station was severely damaged. After the war, the shell was repaired such that it could be used temporarily. However, the postwar division of Germany spelled the end for most of West Berlin's mainline stations. On 28 August 1951 the final train departed from Lehrter Bahnhof, heading for the Wustermark and Nauen. On 9 July 1957 demolition began, and on 22 April 1958 the main entrance was blown up. The biggest challenge in the demolition of the station was to preserve the viaducts of the Stadtbahn, which ran directly overhead. Work was completed in the summer of 1959.

 

LEHRTER STADTBAHNHOF FROM 1882 TO 2002

On 15 May 1882, Lehrter Stadtbahnhof opened, situated on the Stadtbahn viaduct at the northern end of Lehrter Bahnhof concourse. This four-track station on the Stadtbahn was used mainly by suburban trains. The main purpose of the Stadtbahn was to connect central areas of Berlin with the Lehrter Bahnhof, the Schlesischer Bahnhof termini with nearby Charlottenburg, then still a separate city. It was also providing an east–west railway connection across the centre of Berlin.

 

Because of steadily increasing traffic to Lehrter Stadtbahnhof and its location on a bridge crossing the north end of Lehrter Bahnhof, elaborate changes were made to the track structure in 1912 and again in 1929. On 1 December 1930, the newly electrified suburban trains were given the designation S-Bahn, making the Lehrter Stadtbahnhof an S-Bahnhof.

 

During the War, in April 1943 the station was bombed by the Polish sabotage and diversionary squad "Zagra-lin".

 

The Stadtbahnhof survived WWII intact, but came to lose its pre-war significance due to the division of Berlin; with Lehrter Bahnhof closed, the Stadtbahnhof served only a relatively underpopulated area near the border with East Berlin. It was the final stop in West Berlin; the next station, Berlin Friedrichstraße, was in the Soviet zone, although it served as a stop on the West Berlin S- and U-Bahn systems; these parts of the station were sealed off and inaccessible to East Berliners. The S-Bahn, like the mainlines leading to West Berlin, was run by the East German railway, the Deutsche Reichsbahn. The 1961 construction of the Berlin Wall further isolated the station, and led to a boycott of the S-Bahn in West Berlin that lasted until the 1980s, when operation of the West Berlin S-Bahn lines was transferred to the West Berlin transit authority, the BVG.

 

Berlin’s 750th-anniversary celebration in 1987 saw the station, now under West Berlin control, renovated at a cost of about DM 10 million. Because it had largely been preserved in its original condition, it became a listed building.

 

However, in 2002, Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was demolished to make way for the new central station, despite its listed status. The argument was that Bellevue and Hackescher Markt stations were architecturally similar. Hackescher Markt, in former East Berlin, had been restored in 1994–1996, after German reunification.

 

PLANNING THE NEW STATION

Soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, city planners began work on a transport plan for reunified Berlin. One element of this became the "Pilzkonzept" (mushroom concept), in which a new north-south railway line intersecting the Stadtbahn was to be constructed. The name derived from the shape formed by the new line and existing lines, which vaguely resembles a mushroom.

 

In June 1992 the federal government decided that the new station should be built on the site of Lehrter Bahnhof. While close to the centre of Berlin and government buildings, the area was still not heavily populated. The following year, a design competition for the project was held, which was won by the Hamburg architecture firm Gerkan, Marg and Partners.

 

The design called for five levels. The highest level, on a bridge 10 metres above street level, was to have platforms for both long-distance and S-Bahn trains on the existing Stadbahn. The lowest level, 15 metres underground, was to have platforms served by new tunnels to Potsdamer Platz under the Spree and the Tiergarten, forming a new north-south line running to the northern part of the S-Bahn ring around central Berlin. Platforms for the planned extension to U-Bahn line 5 were also included.

 

The planning approval for the station and the north-south connection was made on 12 September 1995. In 1997, a financing agreement was signed between Perleberger Straße and Spreebogen, between the federal government and the railway in the total amount of 700 million euros. The federal share amounted to half a billion of euros. Any additional cost increases should be broken down according to a defined key.

 

New York-based Tishman Speyer Properties was commissioned by Bahn AG to develop the station. Execution planning and construction supervision were carried out by the Stuttgart engineering consultants Schlaich, Bergermann and Partner.

 

The Hauptbahnhof was planned to have platforms for the cancelled Transrapid maglev train, which is at platform 8. Later on, it was replaced by normal railway tracks.

 

BUILDiNG THE NEW STATION

The building work took place in several stages. In 1995 the construction of the Tiergarten tunnels began, and this work was finished in 2005 with the completion of the last station tunnel. The tunnels provide four tubes for long-distance and regional services and two tubes in a separate alignment for the U-Bahn, in addition to a road tunnel ventilated by a 60-metre-high tower completed in 2004. During its construction, the course of the Spree had to be diverted (1996–1998). Water leaks in the tunnels caused over one year's delay to the construction work.

 

In 1998, the construction of the station proper began. About 1.5 million cubic meters of material were excavated for the pits, which are 90,000 square meters in total and about 20 meters deep. In their place, 227,000 cubic meters of concrete and 13,000 tons of steel reinforcement were installed. With 27-meter-long buoyancy anchors (a total of 250 kilometers) and 180 kilometers of inclined anchors, the foundation was anchored against the buoyant pressure of groundwater (200 kilonewtons per square meter).

 

On September 9, 1998, the foundation stone was laid symbolically by Federal Minister of Transport Wissmann, railway director Ludewig and Berlin's governing mayor Eberhard Diepgen in the then 17 -meter-deep excavation pit. The commissioning date was in 2003. Construction costs were estimated at 800 million DM (409 million euros). Every year, 50 million passengers on long-distance and 86 million regional passengers should use the station.

 

After groundwater had penetrated into the pit of the excavation pit as a result of a leak, the completion date was postponed in the spring of 1999. The incident necessitated a far-reaching change in the safety concept during the construction phase, in order to prevent the groundwater lying about three meters below the ground. Under the new schedule, the station should be finished in 2003 in the shell, 2004, a trial operation begin. In the middle of 2001, commissioning for 2006 was expected.

 

Construction of the bridges for the new S-Bahn route began in 2001. These needed to span not only the entire length of the station, but also the adjacent Humboldthafen port, and are 450 metres long. Because of the alignment of the S-Bahn they are curved, and each pair of tracks has a separate bridge. Bridges of this type had never been built before, and represented a special challenge for the Egyptian engineer Hani Azer, the chief construction engineer since 2001.

 

The main station hall is spanned by a similarly curved glass roof with a surface area of about 85 metres by 120 metres, which was installed in February 2002. A photovoltaic system was integrated into the glass surface. The steel and glass construction was a difficult task for the engineers, particularly as the glass roofs were shortened by approximately 100 metres to speed up construction.

 

Over the first weekend of July 2002 the bridges and main station hall were brought into service so that traffic could be diverted onto the new alignment. The old Lehrter Stadtbahnhof S-Bahn station was closed and rapidly demolished to make way for further new building. On 9 September 2002 the station was renamed "Berlin Hauptbahnhof – Lehrter Bahnhof".

 

The main concourse, supported by two towers, provides roughly 44,000 square metres (470,000 sq ft) of commercial space. Construction of the towers began in 2005. On two separate weekends, 29 July and 13 August 2005, structural frames were installed, supporting the structure above the east-west tracks. This was built using a new technique: the frames, each weighing 1250 t, were lowered by steel cables at a rate of 6 metres per hour; the remaining 20 millimetres gap between the bow frames upon completion of the lowering process was subsequently closed.

 

During summer 2003 a survey commissioned by Peter Strieder, Berlin's Senator for City Development and Traffic, and Deutsche Bahn director Hartmut Mehdorn was conducted among Berlin residents with the intention of selecting a name for the station. Of the three possibilities listed on the survey, the majority of participants opted for Lehrter Bahnhof; nevertheless, the station remained "Berlin Hauptbahnhof – Lehrter Bahnhof", an option that was not listed. It was decided early in 2005 that the station would be renamed "Berlin Hauptbahnhof" on the date of its opening, 28 May 2006, to avoid confusing rail passengers. On the same day, Berlin Papestraße station, which was rebuilt as the city's second-largest station, opened officially under its new name, Berlin Südkreuz (South Cross), similar to the existing Ostkreuz and Westkreuz stations. It is also on the new north-south route. Although it was intended to open a further station as Berlin-Nordkreuz (North Cross), the name Berlin-Gesundbrunnen was retained for what became Berlin's fourth biggest railway station for commuter and long distance trains, located in a more northern part of Berlin, where the circle and north-south-line of the S-Bahn cross each other.

 

In 2005 the bridging segments, which cross over the roof of the station, were lowered. This was the first time, this unique method to build later office rooms was applied.

 

The architect Meinhard von Gerkan filed a complaint against Deutsche Bahn in October 2005 after Deutsche Bahn altered the station construction timeline without proper authority. The complaint was upheld in late 2006. There may therefore be further construction on the station in the future.

 

In addition, Deutsche Bahn decided to implement a slightly different version of the "Pilzkonzept" by running intercity trains through the new Tiergarten tunnels rather than via the Stadtbahn. This move was unpopular for its effect on Berlin's two previous main stations; Bahnhof Berlin Zoologischer Garten (Zoo Station) was downgraded to a regional railway station, and the number of main line services to Berlin Ostbahnhof (East Station) was drastically reduced.

 

OPENING CEREMONY

On 26 May 2006, the station was ceremonially opened by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who arrived together with transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee in a specially chartered InterCityExpress from Leipzig. A "Symphony of Light" was performed immediately following the dedication. Reamonn and BAP performed at the station, and there were also events at the other new stations: Gesundbrunnen, Potsdamer Platz and Südkreuz. Berlin Hauptbahnhof officially went into operation on 28 May 2006.

 

The opening ceremony was marred by an attack by a drunken 16-year-old wielding a knife, who stabbed members of the public leaving the ceremony. Forty-one people were wounded, six seriously, before the youth was arrested. According to police, the youth says he cannot remember his act of violence and is still denying it. One of the first stabbing victims was HIV-positive, leading to worries that other victims may have been infected, although this did not prove to be the case. The youth was charged with attempted murder, and was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted manslaughter in 33 cases in 2007.

 

SINCE OPENING

On 18 January 2007, two steel beams of the south-west façade were torn loose during European windstorm Kyrill. One of them, an 8.4 metre long beam weighing 1.35 tonnes, dropped 40 metres onto a staircase below, and the other impacted and damaged a third beam. The station had suffered some flooding and had been evacuated due to the complete cancellation of train service in Germany. Consequently, nobody was injured and the station was cleared for reopening the following day. The beams had not been welded or bolted in place but laid down like shelves in a bookcase. In the next days extra lugs were welded to the remaining beams to secure them in place and the station declared stormproof on 23 January.

 

The U55 (Berlin U-Bahn) opened in August 2009, connecting the Hauptbahnhof with the Brandenburger Tor station.

 

The rail link to current Berlin Schönefeld Airport is to be reorganized for its replacement with the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport. The airport express line will maintain a travel time of 30 minutes.

 

The rail bridge construction leading into the upper level of the station forms a curve, and some of the screws holding it in place loosened. This required a €25 million reconstruction which involved the closure of the upper level rail tracks during a 3-month period in summer 2015.

 

OPERATIONAL USAGE

The upper level of the station has six tracks (two of which used for the Berlin S-Bahn) served by three island platforms. The lower level has eight tracks served by four island platforms for main-line trains, plus a further island platform for the Berlin U-Bahn. The lower level is often denoted by 'tief' on travel guides, etc. (thus the calling point may be "Berlin Hbf (tief)"). There is no rail connection between the upper and lower level track in the station area (or anywhere else nearby). 1,800 trains call at the station per day and the daily number of passengers is estimated to be at 350,000.

 

As of 2011, the station is used by InterCityExpress, Intercity, Interregioexpress, RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and S-Bahn trains. The station also hosts several international trains, and the most distant cities reached are Novosibirsk (Russia) and Astana (Kazakhstan), with an express named "Sibirjak". The upper part of the station, with the east-west tracks, is part of the Berlin Stadtbahn, with trains leading to locations like Hanover or Cologne. The subterranean station, which lies in the north-south Tiergarten tunnel, offers long distance services to Hamburg, Leipzig or Munich.

 

S-BAHN

For the north-south connection is in the course of S21 S-platform in the tunnel level initially in a northerly direction with the Ringbahn, later of a continuation as a tunnel section with the Potsdamer Platz are connected. The construction of the northern section began in January 2010 and was initially scheduled to be completed by 2015. The realization of the southern section is after completion of the construction work on the extension of U5 expected to begin of 2019.

 

U-BAHN

The U-Bahn platforms are presently served only by the U55, which is not connected to the rest of the U-Bahn network. It was opened on 8 August 2009. This line is operated as a single-track shuttle, and only one of the two platform tracks is currently used. The other is behind a metal fence, mounted in the ground. Construction of a 2.2 kilometres connection to line U5 commenced in April 2010 and is expected to be completed in 2017. In the long term it is planned to extend the U5 from the main station towards the west to Turmstraße and Jungfernheide. Due to lack of funds from the state of Berlin, the northwestern continuation is not expected in the near future.

 

The underground station is in the second level of the main station, and east of the deep north-south train platforms (tracks 1-8). It has a central platform, which is covered with granite. To exit the platform are three stairs, an escalator and a lift. In addition, the Underground Station is equipped with tactile paving for accessibility.

 

The platform hall has a length of 140 metres, 11 metres in height and 19 metres in width, the wall cladding consists of enamel plates which are decorated with photographs of the former Berlin head stations. Furthermore, colored lighting illuminates the ceiling space above the platform.

 

Since it is the terminus of the to-be-extended U5, a short two-pronged branch railway was built to the north. One of the two sweeping track is located at a lockable manhole, through which the U-Bahn carriages can be replaced if necessary with a crane. This currently represents the only way to install U-Bahn carriages in the tunnel, because the line U55 does not yet connect with the rest of the U-Bahn network.

 

Zoning for an underground line under the Invalidenstraße (U11) is provided for at the station, however this is only likely to be constructed in the far future.

 

TRAM

In 2009, the plan approval process was to build a tram line extension track that on the Invalidenstraße the station to Berlin soll. In December 2010, had the Administrative Court two complaints from residents and BUND against the planned in connection with the tram extension two lanes - two-lane upgrading the road to traffic from and realized the construction project to be implemented as a was the official start of construction in the spring. 2011. On 14 December 2014, the line M5 was extended from S Hackescher Markt to Hauptbahnhof.

 

On 29 August 2015 the tram lines M8 and M10 were also extended from S Nordbahnhof to Hauptbahnhof.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Berlin Hauptbahnhof) (English: Berlin Central Station) is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It came into full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily named Berlin Hauptbahnhof–Lehrter Bahnhof. The station is operated by DB Station&Service, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG, and is classified as a Category 1 station, one of 21 in Germany and four in Berlin, the others being Berlin Gesundbrunnen, Berlin Südkreuz and Berlin Ostbahnhof.

 

Lehrter Bahnhof (Lehrte Station) opened in 1871 as the terminus of the railway linking Berlin with Lehrte, near Hanover, which later became Germany's most important east-west main line. In 1882, with the completion of the Stadtbahn (City Railway, Berlin's four-track central elevated railway line, which carries both local and main line services), just north of the station, a smaller interchange station called Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was opened to provide connections with the new line. This station later became part of the Berlin S-Bahn. In 1884, after the closure of nearby Hamburger Bahnhof (Hamburg Station), Lehrter Bahnhof became the terminus for trains to and from Hamburg.

 

Following heavy damage during World War II, limited services to the main station were resumed, but then suspended in 1951. In 1957, with the railways to West Berlin under the control of East Germany, Lehrter Bahnhof was demolished, but Lehrter Stadtbahnhof continued as a stop on the S-Bahn. In 1987, it was extensively renovated to commemorate Berlin's 750th anniversary. After German reunification it was decided to improve Berlin's railway network by constructing a new north-south main line, to supplement the east-west Stadtbahn. Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was considered to be the logical location for a new central station.

 

LOCATION

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is located at the Moabit district, at the Mitte constituency. In the north is the Europaplatz and Invalidenstraße whereas for the south it leads to Washingtonplatz and the Spree. South of the Hauptbahnhof, connects to the Spreebogenpark, together with Bundeskanzleramt and Paul-Löbe-Haus. In the east, it leads to the Mitte district, while it also extends to the Humboldthafen.

 

FUNCTION

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is part of the mushroom concept that was being made in Berlin, in which the station forms as a connecting point for converging and intersecting lines, of different modes of public transport there.

 

The station's length is 430 metres, whereas some of the platforms are 80 metres.

 

Structurally, the entire station complex is a tower station, operationally it is a crossing station similar to all central stations. The complex consists of several independent operating points:

 

Platform 1 to 8, are located underground and is used for regional and intercity services. This is similar to the Ernest station for the Frankfurt Metro, whereby the U2 and U4 trains are located at the basements 4 and 5.

Platform 9 to 10, are located underground and will be used for the future S21 (Berlin).

Platform 11 to 14, are located above-ground and is used for regional and intercity services. This is similar to the Ernest station for the Frankfurt Metro (U1 and U3).

Platform 15 to 16, are located above-ground and is used for the Berlin S-Bahn.

Platform U1 to U2, are located separately from the main station, and is used for the U55 (Berlin).

 

CONSTRUCTION AND TECHNIQUES

BUILDING

The station building has two main levels, for suburban traffic as well as three connecting and business levels. Compared to Raffles Place MRT Station and Taipei Main Station, it is one of the most densely packed stations. The upper track consists of six tracks on four bridge structures. The two outside lanes are single track and four others inside are double track. In between, the three platforms at the height of ten metres are arranged. On the lower track level are four platforms of owhich eight tracks along the north south line, at a depth of 15 metres. This is followed by the eastern end of another platform with two tracks for U55, similar to Timothy Station for Frankfurt Metro. To the east of the underground station, a similar double track platform is also being built as part of the S21 (Berlin) project.

 

The bridges in the city level not only spans the station area, but also the adjacenet Humboldthafen and are placed within 680 metres long. According to the lines of the light rail, they are curved in plan and widen due to the broadening of four to six tracks and the additional platforms from 39 to 66 meters wide. The Humboldthafen Bridge spans the Humboldthafen with a span of 60 meters. It consists of a bow with steel tubes and pre-stressed concrete beam as upper flange.

 

The upper platform hall, which runs east-west, is 321 metres long and consists of the arch-shaped arched column-free glass roof structure, which is supported by the two outer railway overpass structures. In the glass surface, a 2700 square meter photovoltaic system with a capacity of 330 kilowatts was integrated. The hall is between 46 and 66 meters wide and a maximum of 16 meters high. It consists of three sections, with the western segment 172 meters and the eastern 107 meters long. In between lies the 50 meters wide and 180 meters long north-south roof, whose barrel vaults with the main roof form a flat viaduct. Parallel to the north-south roof, the two "ironing structures" span the main roof of the platform hall and carry the north-south roof. These ironing structures contain 42,000 square meters of office space.

 

On the northeastern part of the two diagonally opposite station terraces, the sculpture of Rolling Horse, erected in 2007 by Jürgen Goertz, artificially complements the building and is reminiscent to Lehrter Bahnhof and Lehrter Stadtbahnhof. There are integrated artificial elements, which can be viewed through four portholes.

 

From the southwestern terrace, it rises the disguised chimney located underneath the Tunnel Tiergarten Spreebogen.

 

During Cyclone Kyrill, on January 18, 2007, the 8.4 metre long, 1.35 ton horizontal strut 40 metres high, crashed from the lattice-like exterior onto a staircase, onto the southwestern part of the building, another strut was torn from the anchorage. These decorative elements had only been hung up and should only hold their own weight. As a remedy, small sheets were placed above the carrier to prevent further carrier dissolution.

 

HISTORY

LEHRTER BAHNHOF FROM 1871 TO 1958

Between 1868 and 1871, a 239 kilometre railway was built between Hannover and Berlin via Lehrte by the Magdeburg Halberstädter railway company. Lehrter Bahnhof was constructed as the Berlin terminus. It was adjacent to Hamburger Bahnhof, just outside what was then Berlin's boundary at the Humbolthafen port on the river Spree. Its architects were Alfred Lent, Bertold Scholz, and Gottlieb Henri Lapierre.

 

In contrast to earlier railway stations, built with brick façades, and in keeping with then-current trends, Lehrter Bahnhof was designed in the French Neo-Renaissance style. Its originally planned stone façade was replaced with glazed tiles to save money. With its magnificent architecture, the station was known as a "palace among stations".

 

The train shed was 188 metres long and 38 metres wide. Its roof was a long barrel vault with steel supports. As was common for the period, the station was divided into an arrival side on the west, and a departure side on the east. Originally there were five tracks, four of which ended at the side and the central platform; the fifth track had no platform and served as a turnaround for the locomotives. At the turn of the century this track was removed to accommodate the widening of the central platform.

 

Although the front of the building was ornate and had a grand entrance, most passengers entered and left via the east side, where horse-drawn carriages were able to stop.

 

In 1882 the metropolitan railway, predecessor of the S-Bahn, began service along two of the Stadtbahn tracks; long-distance traffic commenced in 1884 along the other two. With the expansion of Lehrter Bahnhof, it was able to take over the functions of Hamburger Bahnhof. A 300 m connector line was built; on 14 October 1884, traffic towards Hamburg, northeast Germany, and Scandinavia was diverted to Lehrter Bahnhof, and Hamburger Bahnhof closed.

 

In 1886, the Berlin-Lehrte railway, and with it Lehrter Bahnhof, was nationalized and subsequently came under the control of the Prussian State Railways.

 

Even in its early years, the line was known as one of the country's fastest: in 1872, express trains could attain a speed of 90 km/h (56 mph). 19 December 1932 marked the maiden voyage of the famous diesel-powered Fliegender Hamburger (Flying Hamburger), which whisked passengers to Hamburg at 160 km/h).

 

In the Second World War the station was severely damaged. After the war, the shell was repaired such that it could be used temporarily. However, the postwar division of Germany spelled the end for most of West Berlin's mainline stations. On 28 August 1951 the final train departed from Lehrter Bahnhof, heading for the Wustermark and Nauen. On 9 July 1957 demolition began, and on 22 April 1958 the main entrance was blown up. The biggest challenge in the demolition of the station was to preserve the viaducts of the Stadtbahn, which ran directly overhead. Work was completed in the summer of 1959.

 

LEHRTER STADTBAHNHOF FROM 1882 TO 2002

On 15 May 1882, Lehrter Stadtbahnhof opened, situated on the Stadtbahn viaduct at the northern end of Lehrter Bahnhof concourse. This four-track station on the Stadtbahn was used mainly by suburban trains. The main purpose of the Stadtbahn was to connect central areas of Berlin with the Lehrter Bahnhof, the Schlesischer Bahnhof termini with nearby Charlottenburg, then still a separate city. It was also providing an east–west railway connection across the centre of Berlin.

 

Because of steadily increasing traffic to Lehrter Stadtbahnhof and its location on a bridge crossing the north end of Lehrter Bahnhof, elaborate changes were made to the track structure in 1912 and again in 1929. On 1 December 1930, the newly electrified suburban trains were given the designation S-Bahn, making the Lehrter Stadtbahnhof an S-Bahnhof.

 

During the War, in April 1943 the station was bombed by the Polish sabotage and diversionary squad "Zagra-lin".

 

The Stadtbahnhof survived WWII intact, but came to lose its pre-war significance due to the division of Berlin; with Lehrter Bahnhof closed, the Stadtbahnhof served only a relatively underpopulated area near the border with East Berlin. It was the final stop in West Berlin; the next station, Berlin Friedrichstraße, was in the Soviet zone, although it served as a stop on the West Berlin S- and U-Bahn systems; these parts of the station were sealed off and inaccessible to East Berliners. The S-Bahn, like the mainlines leading to West Berlin, was run by the East German railway, the Deutsche Reichsbahn. The 1961 construction of the Berlin Wall further isolated the station, and led to a boycott of the S-Bahn in West Berlin that lasted until the 1980s, when operation of the West Berlin S-Bahn lines was transferred to the West Berlin transit authority, the BVG.

 

Berlin’s 750th-anniversary celebration in 1987 saw the station, now under West Berlin control, renovated at a cost of about DM 10 million. Because it had largely been preserved in its original condition, it became a listed building.

 

However, in 2002, Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was demolished to make way for the new central station, despite its listed status. The argument was that Bellevue and Hackescher Markt stations were architecturally similar. Hackescher Markt, in former East Berlin, had been restored in 1994–1996, after German reunification.

 

PLANNING THE NEW STATION

Soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, city planners began work on a transport plan for reunified Berlin. One element of this became the "Pilzkonzept" (mushroom concept), in which a new north-south railway line intersecting the Stadtbahn was to be constructed. The name derived from the shape formed by the new line and existing lines, which vaguely resembles a mushroom.

 

In June 1992 the federal government decided that the new station should be built on the site of Lehrter Bahnhof. While close to the centre of Berlin and government buildings, the area was still not heavily populated. The following year, a design competition for the project was held, which was won by the Hamburg architecture firm Gerkan, Marg and Partners.

 

The design called for five levels. The highest level, on a bridge 10 metres above street level, was to have platforms for both long-distance and S-Bahn trains on the existing Stadbahn. The lowest level, 15 metres underground, was to have platforms served by new tunnels to Potsdamer Platz under the Spree and the Tiergarten, forming a new north-south line running to the northern part of the S-Bahn ring around central Berlin. Platforms for the planned extension to U-Bahn line 5 were also included.

 

The planning approval for the station and the north-south connection was made on 12 September 1995. In 1997, a financing agreement was signed between Perleberger Straße and Spreebogen, between the federal government and the railway in the total amount of 700 million euros. The federal share amounted to half a billion of euros. Any additional cost increases should be broken down according to a defined key.

 

New York-based Tishman Speyer Properties was commissioned by Bahn AG to develop the station. Execution planning and construction supervision were carried out by the Stuttgart engineering consultants Schlaich, Bergermann and Partner.

 

The Hauptbahnhof was planned to have platforms for the cancelled Transrapid maglev train, which is at platform 8. Later on, it was replaced by normal railway tracks.

 

BUILDiNG THE NEW STATION

The building work took place in several stages. In 1995 the construction of the Tiergarten tunnels began, and this work was finished in 2005 with the completion of the last station tunnel. The tunnels provide four tubes for long-distance and regional services and two tubes in a separate alignment for the U-Bahn, in addition to a road tunnel ventilated by a 60-metre-high tower completed in 2004. During its construction, the course of the Spree had to be diverted (1996–1998). Water leaks in the tunnels caused over one year's delay to the construction work.

 

In 1998, the construction of the station proper began. About 1.5 million cubic meters of material were excavated for the pits, which are 90,000 square meters in total and about 20 meters deep. In their place, 227,000 cubic meters of concrete and 13,000 tons of steel reinforcement were installed. With 27-meter-long buoyancy anchors (a total of 250 kilometers) and 180 kilometers of inclined anchors, the foundation was anchored against the buoyant pressure of groundwater (200 kilonewtons per square meter).

 

On September 9, 1998, the foundation stone was laid symbolically by Federal Minister of Transport Wissmann, railway director Ludewig and Berlin's governing mayor Eberhard Diepgen in the then 17 -meter-deep excavation pit. The commissioning date was in 2003. Construction costs were estimated at 800 million DM (409 million euros). Every year, 50 million passengers on long-distance and 86 million regional passengers should use the station.

 

After groundwater had penetrated into the pit of the excavation pit as a result of a leak, the completion date was postponed in the spring of 1999. The incident necessitated a far-reaching change in the safety concept during the construction phase, in order to prevent the groundwater lying about three meters below the ground. Under the new schedule, the station should be finished in 2003 in the shell, 2004, a trial operation begin. In the middle of 2001, commissioning for 2006 was expected.

 

Construction of the bridges for the new S-Bahn route began in 2001. These needed to span not only the entire length of the station, but also the adjacent Humboldthafen port, and are 450 metres long. Because of the alignment of the S-Bahn they are curved, and each pair of tracks has a separate bridge. Bridges of this type had never been built before, and represented a special challenge for the Egyptian engineer Hani Azer, the chief construction engineer since 2001.

 

The main station hall is spanned by a similarly curved glass roof with a surface area of about 85 metres by 120 metres, which was installed in February 2002. A photovoltaic system was integrated into the glass surface. The steel and glass construction was a difficult task for the engineers, particularly as the glass roofs were shortened by approximately 100 metres to speed up construction.

 

Over the first weekend of July 2002 the bridges and main station hall were brought into service so that traffic could be diverted onto the new alignment. The old Lehrter Stadtbahnhof S-Bahn station was closed and rapidly demolished to make way for further new building. On 9 September 2002 the station was renamed "Berlin Hauptbahnhof – Lehrter Bahnhof".

 

The main concourse, supported by two towers, provides roughly 44,000 square metres (470,000 sq ft) of commercial space. Construction of the towers began in 2005. On two separate weekends, 29 July and 13 August 2005, structural frames were installed, supporting the structure above the east-west tracks. This was built using a new technique: the frames, each weighing 1250 t, were lowered by steel cables at a rate of 6 metres per hour; the remaining 20 millimetres gap between the bow frames upon completion of the lowering process was subsequently closed.

 

During summer 2003 a survey commissioned by Peter Strieder, Berlin's Senator for City Development and Traffic, and Deutsche Bahn director Hartmut Mehdorn was conducted among Berlin residents with the intention of selecting a name for the station. Of the three possibilities listed on the survey, the majority of participants opted for Lehrter Bahnhof; nevertheless, the station remained "Berlin Hauptbahnhof – Lehrter Bahnhof", an option that was not listed. It was decided early in 2005 that the station would be renamed "Berlin Hauptbahnhof" on the date of its opening, 28 May 2006, to avoid confusing rail passengers. On the same day, Berlin Papestraße station, which was rebuilt as the city's second-largest station, opened officially under its new name, Berlin Südkreuz (South Cross), similar to the existing Ostkreuz and Westkreuz stations. It is also on the new north-south route. Although it was intended to open a further station as Berlin-Nordkreuz (North Cross), the name Berlin-Gesundbrunnen was retained for what became Berlin's fourth biggest railway station for commuter and long distance trains, located in a more northern part of Berlin, where the circle and north-south-line of the S-Bahn cross each other.

 

In 2005 the bridging segments, which cross over the roof of the station, were lowered. This was the first time, this unique method to build later office rooms was applied.

 

The architect Meinhard von Gerkan filed a complaint against Deutsche Bahn in October 2005 after Deutsche Bahn altered the station construction timeline without proper authority. The complaint was upheld in late 2006. There may therefore be further construction on the station in the future.

 

In addition, Deutsche Bahn decided to implement a slightly different version of the "Pilzkonzept" by running intercity trains through the new Tiergarten tunnels rather than via the Stadtbahn. This move was unpopular for its effect on Berlin's two previous main stations; Bahnhof Berlin Zoologischer Garten (Zoo Station) was downgraded to a regional railway station, and the number of main line services to Berlin Ostbahnhof (East Station) was drastically reduced.

 

OPENING CEREMONY

On 26 May 2006, the station was ceremonially opened by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who arrived together with transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee in a specially chartered InterCityExpress from Leipzig. A "Symphony of Light" was performed immediately following the dedication. Reamonn and BAP performed at the station, and there were also events at the other new stations: Gesundbrunnen, Potsdamer Platz and Südkreuz. Berlin Hauptbahnhof officially went into operation on 28 May 2006.

 

The opening ceremony was marred by an attack by a drunken 16-year-old wielding a knife, who stabbed members of the public leaving the ceremony. Forty-one people were wounded, six seriously, before the youth was arrested. According to police, the youth says he cannot remember his act of violence and is still denying it. One of the first stabbing victims was HIV-positive, leading to worries that other victims may have been infected, although this did not prove to be the case. The youth was charged with attempted murder, and was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted manslaughter in 33 cases in 2007.

 

SINCE OPENING

On 18 January 2007, two steel beams of the south-west façade were torn loose during European windstorm Kyrill. One of them, an 8.4 metre long beam weighing 1.35 tonnes, dropped 40 metres onto a staircase below, and the other impacted and damaged a third beam. The station had suffered some flooding and had been evacuated due to the complete cancellation of train service in Germany. Consequently, nobody was injured and the station was cleared for reopening the following day. The beams had not been welded or bolted in place but laid down like shelves in a bookcase. In the next days extra lugs were welded to the remaining beams to secure them in place and the station declared stormproof on 23 January.

 

The U55 (Berlin U-Bahn) opened in August 2009, connecting the Hauptbahnhof with the Brandenburger Tor station.

 

The rail link to current Berlin Schönefeld Airport is to be reorganized for its replacement with the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport. The airport express line will maintain a travel time of 30 minutes.

 

The rail bridge construction leading into the upper level of the station forms a curve, and some of the screws holding it in place loosened. This required a €25 million reconstruction which involved the closure of the upper level rail tracks during a 3-month period in summer 2015.

 

OPERATIONAL USAGE

The upper level of the station has six tracks (two of which used for the Berlin S-Bahn) served by three island platforms. The lower level has eight tracks served by four island platforms for main-line trains, plus a further island platform for the Berlin U-Bahn. The lower level is often denoted by 'tief' on travel guides, etc. (thus the calling point may be "Berlin Hbf (tief)"). There is no rail connection between the upper and lower level track in the station area (or anywhere else nearby). 1,800 trains call at the station per day and the daily number of passengers is estimated to be at 350,000.

 

As of 2011, the station is used by InterCityExpress, Intercity, Interregioexpress, RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and S-Bahn trains. The station also hosts several international trains, and the most distant cities reached are Novosibirsk (Russia) and Astana (Kazakhstan), with an express named "Sibirjak". The upper part of the station, with the east-west tracks, is part of the Berlin Stadtbahn, with trains leading to locations like Hanover or Cologne. The subterranean station, which lies in the north-south Tiergarten tunnel, offers long distance services to Hamburg, Leipzig or Munich.

 

S-BAHN

For the north-south connection is in the course of S21 S-platform in the tunnel level initially in a northerly direction with the Ringbahn, later of a continuation as a tunnel section with the Potsdamer Platz are connected. The construction of the northern section began in January 2010 and was initially scheduled to be completed by 2015. The realization of the southern section is after completion of the construction work on the extension of U5 expected to begin of 2019.

 

U-BAHN

The U-Bahn platforms are presently served only by the U55, which is not connected to the rest of the U-Bahn network. It was opened on 8 August 2009. This line is operated as a single-track shuttle, and only one of the two platform tracks is currently used. The other is behind a metal fence, mounted in the ground. Construction of a 2.2 kilometres connection to line U5 commenced in April 2010 and is expected to be completed in 2017. In the long term it is planned to extend the U5 from the main station towards the west to Turmstraße and Jungfernheide. Due to lack of funds from the state of Berlin, the northwestern continuation is not expected in the near future.

 

The underground station is in the second level of the main station, and east of the deep north-south train platforms (tracks 1-8). It has a central platform, which is covered with granite. To exit the platform are three stairs, an escalator and a lift. In addition, the Underground Station is equipped with tactile paving for accessibility.

 

The platform hall has a length of 140 metres, 11 metres in height and 19 metres in width, the wall cladding consists of enamel plates which are decorated with photographs of the former Berlin head stations. Furthermore, colored lighting illuminates the ceiling space above the platform.

 

Since it is the terminus of the to-be-extended U5, a short two-pronged branch railway was built to the north. One of the two sweeping track is located at a lockable manhole, through which the U-Bahn carriages can be replaced if necessary with a crane. This currently represents the only way to install U-Bahn carriages in the tunnel, because the line U55 does not yet connect with the rest of the U-Bahn network.

 

Zoning for an underground line under the Invalidenstraße (U11) is provided for at the station, however this is only likely to be constructed in the far future.

 

TRAM

In 2009, the plan approval process was to build a tram line extension track that on the Invalidenstraße the station to Berlin soll. In December 2010, had the Administrative Court two complaints from residents and BUND against the planned in connection with the tram extension two lanes - two-lane upgrading the road to traffic from and realized the construction project to be implemented as a was the official start of construction in the spring. 2011. On 14 December 2014, the line M5 was extended from S Hackescher Markt to Hauptbahnhof.

 

On 29 August 2015 the tram lines M8 and M10 were also extended from S Nordbahnhof to Hauptbahnhof.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Vellore (formerly known as Rayavelur or Vellaimaanagar) is a sprawling city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore District in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the banks of the Palar River in the north-eastern part of Tamil Nadu, the city has been ruled, at different times, by the Pallavas, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Vijayanagar Empire, Rashtrakutas, Carnatic kingdom, and the British. Vellore has four zones (totally 60 wards) which cover an area of 87.915 km2 and has a population of 423,425 based on the 2001 census. It is located about 135 kilometres west of Chennai and about 210 kilometres east of Bengaluru. Vellore is about (100) Km South West of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. It is Hotspot City Of Bengaluru - Chennai National Highway. Vellore is administered by Vellore Municipal Corporation under a mayor. Vellore is part of Vellore (State Assembly Constituency) and Vellore (Lok Sabha constituency).

 

Vellore City is the home of two of India's top ten educational institutions, Christian Medical College & Hospital and VIT University. It is also a major centre for medical tourism in India.

 

Vellore region is the top exporter of finished leather goods in the country. Vellore leather accounts for more than 37% of the country's export of leather and leather-related products. Vellore is also home to several manufacturing and automobile companies such as Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, MRF Limited, TVS-Brakes India, Tamil Nadu Industrial Explosives Limited, Greaves Cotton, ArcelorMittal Dhamm Processing, SAME Deutz-Fahr (Italy), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan) and KRAMSKI (Germany).

 

Vellore Fort, Government Museum, Science Park, Vainu Bappu Observatory, Amirthi Zoological Park, Religious places such as Jalakandeswarar Temple, Balamathi Hills [Murugan Temple)Vallimalai (Murugan Temple) Rathnagiri (Murugan temple) [Sripuram|Srilakshmi Golden Temple]], Big Mosque and St. John's Church and Yelagiri Hill station are the among top tourist attractions in and around Vellore.

 

The Government of India has released the next round of smart cities project list. The Tamil Nadu state district Vellore also got a place on the list of 27 cities in the project.

 

ETYMOLOGY

In Tamil, the word vel means spear that is seen as the weapon of Hindu god Murugan and oor means place. As per Hindu legend, Murugan is seen as a tribal hunter who appeared in a lotus pond with his weapon to attack the enemies. Thus "Vellore" is seen as the place where Murugan appeared.

 

As per another legend, the region was surrounded by Velan trees (Babul trees), resulting in the place to be called Vellore.

 

HISTORY

The recorded history of Vellore dates back to the ninth century, as seen from a Chola inscriptions in the Annamalaiyar Temple in Tiruvannamalai. Further inscriptions made before the ninth century indicate the rule of Pallava kings, whose capital was Kanchipuram.

 

The Chola Kings ruled over the region from 850 to 1280.[citation needed] After the rule of Cholas, it came under the Rashtrakutas, the later Cholas, Reddy's and Vijayanagar kings. The Vellore Fort was built during the time of Chinna Bommi reddy, a subordinate of the Vijayanagar kings Sadasivaraya and Srirangaraya during the third quarter of the 16th century.

 

During the 17th century, Vellore came under the dominion of the Nawab of the Carnatic. As the Mughal empire came to an end, the Nawab lost control of the town, with confusion and chaos ensuing after 1753. Subsequently, there were periods of Hindu and Muslim stewardship of the region. The poligars opposed British rule but were subdued. During the first half of the 19th century, the town came under British rule.

 

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

Vellore is at 12.92°N 79.13°E, 220m above the mean sea level. The city has a semi-arid climate with high temperatures throughout the year and relatively low rainfall. It is in Vellore district of the South Indian state, Tamil Nadu, 135 km west of the state capital Chennai. Vellore lies in the Eastern Ghats region and Palar river basin. The topography is almost plain with slopes from west to east. There are no notable mineral resources. Black loam soil is found in parts of Vellore Taluk. The other type of soil in the city is chiefly gravelly, stony and sandy of the red variety.

 

Vellore experiences a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). The temperature ranges from a maximum of 39.4 °C to a minimum of 18.4 °C. Like the rest of the state, April to June are the hottest months and December to January are the coldest. Vellore receives 1,034.1 mm of rainfall every year. The southwest monsoon, with an onset in June and lasting up to September, brings rainfall of 517.1 mm, with September being the rainiest month. The northeast monsoon which lasts from October to December brings rainfall of 388.4mm. The humidity ranges from 40%–63% during summer and 67%–86% during winter.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

According to 2011 census, Vellore had a population of 185,803 with a sex-ratio of 1,034 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 19,898 were under the age of six, constituting 10,093 males and 9,805 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 14.16% and .18% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the city was 77.15%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The city had a total of 42598 households. There were a total of 70,257 workers, comprising 297 cultivators, 395 main agricultural labourers, 4,387 in house hold industries, 59,281 other workers, 5,897 marginal workers, 59 marginal cultivators, 74 marginal agricultural labourers, 667 marginal workers in household industries and 5,097 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Vellore had 70.09% Hindus, 24.28% Muslims, 4.79% Christians, 0.02% Sikhs, 0.03% Buddhists, 0.51% Jains, 0.26% following other religions and 0.02% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.

 

As of 2001, out of the total area, 69.88% of the land was marked developed and 31.12% of the city remained undeveloped. Out of the developed area, 55.76% was used for residential purposes, 8.34% for commercial, 1.58% for industrial, 3.3% for educational, 16.46% for public and semi public and 10.12% for transport and communication. The population density is not uniform: It is high in areas like Arugandhampoondi and lower in the peripheral areas such as Poonthottam. The average density of the city is 241 persons per hectare.

 

ADMINISTRATION AND POLITICS

Vellore is the headquarters of the Vellore District. The town was constituted as a third-grade municipality in 1866, promoted to first-grade during 1947, selection-grade from 1970 and a municipal corporation from 1 August 2008. The Vellore municipal corporation has 60 wards and there is an elected councillor for each of those wards. The functions of the municipal corporation are devolved into six departments: general administration/personnel, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health, city planning and Information Technology (IT). All these departments are under the control of a Municipal Commissioner who is the executive head. The legislative powers are vested in a body of 60 members, one each from the 60 wards. The legislative body is headed by an elected Mayor assisted by a Deputy Mayor.

 

Vellore is a part of the Vellore & Katpadi and it elects 2 members to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years. From the 1977 elections, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) won the assembly seat once (in 1977 elections), four times by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (in 1980, 1984 and 1989), twice by Indian National Congress (INC) (in 1991 and 2001 elections) and twice by Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) (in 1996 and 2001 elections). The current MLA of Vellore constituency is P.Karthikeyan from DMK party.

 

Vellore is a part of the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency & Arakkonam_Lok_Sabha_constituency. It had the following six assembly constituencies before 2009 delimitation: Katpadi, Gudiyatham, Pernambut (SC), Anaicut Village, Vellore and Arni. After delimitation, it is currently composed of Vellore, Anaicut Village, Kilvazhithunaiankuppam (SC), Gudiyatham, Vaniyambadi and Ambur

 

From 1951, the Vellore parliament seat was held by the Indian National Congress for four times during 1957, 1962, 1989 and 1991 elections, AIADMK twice during 1984 and 2014 elections, CWL once during 1951 elections, and independent once during 1980 elections, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam five times during the 1967, 1971, 1996, 2004 and 2009 elections, once each by NCO during 1977 elections, and twice by Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) during 1998 and 1999 elections. The current Member of Parliament from the constituency is B. Senguttuvan from the AIADMK party.

 

Law and order is maintained by the Vellore subdivision of the Tamil Nadu Police headed by a deputy superintendent. There are four police stations in the town, with one of them being an all-women station. There are special units like prohibition enforcement, district crime, social justice and human rights, district crime records and special branch that operate at the district level police division headed by a superintendent of police.

 

ECONOMY

According to Indian Census of 2001, the urban workforce participation rate of Vellore is 43.64%. Vellore, being the headquarters of the district, has registered growth in the tertiary sector activities, with a corresponding decrease in the primary sector. Major employment is provided by the leather industry, agricultural trading and industries in and around the city. Approximately 83.35% of the workforce is employed in tertiary sector comprising transport, services and commerce. The secondary sector activities like manufacturing and household industries employs 13.52% of the workforce. Male workers participation (43.64%) is high compared to the female work participation (24.39%).

 

Hundreds of leather and tannery facilities are around Vellore and nearby towns, such as Ranipet, Ambur and Vaniyambadi. The Vellore district is the top exporter of finished leather goods in the country. Vellore leather accounts for more than 37% of the country's export of leather and leather-related products (such as finished leathers, shoes, garments and gloves). Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is one of the nine major government owned enterprises in the nation. The Boiler Auxiliaries Plant of BHEL in Ranipet is the industrial hub of Vellore. Chemical plants in the Ranipet-SIPCOT economic zone are a major source of income to the residents of Vellore. EID Parry is a sanitary-ware manufacturing company with 38% of the world's market share in bathroom accessories. Tirumalai Chemicals and Greaves are among the international brands that have their manufacturing units in the city. Automobile and mechanical companies of global Brands, including SAME Deutz-Fahr, TVS–Brakes India, Mitsubishi, Greaves Cotton and MRF have their manufacturing units in the area. Brakes India Sholingur's foundry division is located at Vellore-Sholingur and is a major employer in the area. Vellore is known as the Leather hub of India.

 

Asia's biggest explosives manufacturing company, Tamil Nadu Explosives Limited (TEL), is in Vellore at Katpadi. This is India's only government explosives company with more than a thousand employees.[clarification needed] The company is headed by a senior Indian Administrative Service officer. Kramski Stamping and Molding India Pvt Ltd, a German precision metal and plastic integrated-component manufacturing company with automotive, telecommunications, electronics and medical applications is in Erayankadu, near Vellore. Major businesses in the city center are on Officer's Line, Town Hall Road, Long Bazaar and Bangalore, Scudder, Arni, Gandhi and Katpadi Roads. Many boarding and lodging houses are in and around Scudder and Gandhi Roads. Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd. announced the launch of 14 Microsoft Innovation Centers (MICs) in India. Trichy, Vellore, Coimbatore, Madurai and Salem in Tamil Nadu.

 

Christian Medical College & Hospital (CMCH), on Ida Scudder Road in the heart of the city, is Vellore's largest private employer and has a large floating population from other parts of India and abroad. Lodging, hospitals and allied businesses are among the major sources of income generated in the central part of the city. The Government Vellore Medical College and Hospital (VMCH) is located at Adukamparai in Vellore. With the advent of hospitals such as Apollo KH Hospital in Melvisharam and Sri Narayani Hospital & Research Centre in Sripuram, coupled with colleges such as CMC & VIT and other engineering and science colleges, the health care industry is growing rapidly.

 

The mainstay for people in the rural areas, more than agriculture, is industries such as weaving, beedi and matchstick rolling. The Indian Army has a number of recruits from the Vellore district (especially from Kammavanpet, which is known as "the military village") and military spending is a major sources of income.

 

EDUCATION

Vellore is considered a prominent destination for medical and technological education in India. It has a state-government university, a private technological university, one government and one private medical school and several engineering and arts and science colleges.

 

The country's first stem-cell translational research centre was established in Vellore in December 2005. The central government's biotechnology department selected the Christian Medical College (CMC) as the first in a series of centers, since it already had world-class clinical hematology and biochemistry departments. The college has made a breakthrough which attracted the attention of the country's medical and scientific community: the Centre for Stem Cell Research at the Christian Medical College succeeded in reprogramming cells from adult mice to make them function like stem cells found in the human embryo. The agricultural research station at Virinjipuram is in the Northeastern Zone of Tamil Nadu. It is one of 32 research stations of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). The Government of India-sponsored National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA) scheme has been in operation since October 1997, with the main objective being trials of conservation measures conducted in water and soil of 18 watersheds in the Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts.

 

Thiruvalluvar University was split off from the University of Madras, previously in the Vellore Fort campus. Nearly all the government-run arts and science colleges in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Cuddalore districts are affiliated with Thiruvalluvar University. Thanthai Periyar Government Institute of Technology is the only government engineering college in Vellore. The Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) has been ranked best private engineering university in India by the magazine India Today.

 

Christian Medical College & Hospital (CMCH), one of the largest hospitals in India and Asia, is based out of Vellore. It is a major health care provider for the surrounding districts.

 

Auxilium Women's College (founded in 1954) is the first women's college in Vellore district; Other arts and sciences colleges in the city are the Dhanabakyam Krishnaswamy Mudhaliar Women's College (DKM) near Sainathapuram and the Muthurangam Government Arts College (MGAC) in Otteri, near Bagayam. Voorhees College (founded 1898) is the oldest college in the district and known as the institution where S. Radhakrishnan (former president of India) studied; a commemorative stamp for the centenary of the college was issued by the government of India. C. Abdul Hakeem College is in Melvisharam. Arignar Anna Arts College for Women(AAA) is located in Walajapet.

 

The Government Law College, Vellore was established in 2008. It offers a three-year Bachelor of Laws (BL) degree with an annual intake of 80 students. The college is in Katpadi, Vellore. There are several Arabic colleges in Vellore such as the Madrasa Al-Baqiyathus Salihath, popularly known as Baaqiyaath, founded by A'la Hadrat Maulana Shah Abdul Wahab, which is the second oldest Arabic college in India after Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh.

 

TOURISM

Vellore Fort is the most prominent landmark in the city. During British rule, Tipu Sultan's family and the last king of Sri Lanka, Vikrama Rajasinha, were held as royal prisoners in the fort. The fort houses a church, a mosque and a Hindu temple, the latter known for its carvings. The first rebellion against British rule erupted at this fort in 1806, and it witnessed the massacre of the Vijayanagara royal family of Emperor Sriranga Raya. The fortifications consist of a main rampart, broken at irregular intervals by round towers and rectangular projections. The main walls are built of massive granite stones, surrounded by a broad moat fed with water by subterranean pipes from the Suryagunta reservoir.

 

Within the fort is the similarly aged Jalakanteswara Temple. It is a noteworthy example of military architecture in South India. The fort houses the Tipu Mahal where Tipu Sultan is believed to have stayed with his family during the war with the British; the graves of Tipu's sons are found at Vellore. It is administered by the Archaeological Survey of India. Vellore Fort has been declared a Monument of National Importance and is a noted tourist attraction.

 

The State Government Museum is inside the fort. It was opened to the public in 1985. It consists of objects of art, archaeology, prehistory, weapons, sculptures, bronzes, wood carvings, handicrafts, numismatics, philately, botany, geology and zoology. Historical monuments of the erstwhile composite North Arcot District are contained in the gallery. Special exhibits include a bronze double sword from Vellore Taluk dating to 400 BC, stone sculptures from the late Pallava to Vijayanagar periods, ivory chess boards and coins used by the last Kandian King of Sri Lanka, Vikrama Raja Singha. Educational activities at the museum include an art camp for school students and the study of inscriptions and iconography for college students.

 

Jalakandeswarar Temple, Srilakshmi Golden Temple, and the Wallajapet Dhanvantri Temple and Ponnai Navagraha Kottai Temple are among the temples in Vellore. Sri Lakshmi Temple, popularly known as Golden Temple, is a newly built temple and spiritual park in Thirumalaikodi, Vellore. It is approximately 8 km from the Vellore bus terminus. The temple covers an area of 100 acres and has been constructed by Vellore-based Sri Narayani Peedam headed by Sakthi Amma. It has intricate carvings, hand-made by hundreds of gold artisans specializing in temple architecture. The exterior is laid with gold sheets and plates, with construction reported to have cost Rs.300 crores (US$65 million). About 1,500 kg of gold was used, the largest amount in the world.

 

Ratnagiri Murugan Temple is another prominent Hindu temple in the city.Virinjipuram, 17 km from Vellore is noted for its 1000-year-old ancient Margabandeeshwarar Shiva temple.

 

Assumption Cathedral and the 150-year-old St. John's Church inside the fort are among the churches in Vellore. The Big Mosque, in the heart of the city, contains the largest Arabic college in India. The city is also houses over 50 mosques some of which are over 100 years old.

 

TRANSPORT

The Vellore municipality maintains 104.332 km of roads. It has 50.259 km concrete roads, 6.243 km kutcha roads and 47.88 km bituminous road. The National Highways passing through Vellore are NH 46 (Bangalore - Chennai road), NH 234 (Mangalore to Viluppuram) and NH 4 from Ranipet to Chennai and the Cuddalore-Chittoor. Vellore is connected with major cities in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Bus service is available to Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupathi, Kadapa, Anantapur, Salem, Chittoor, Kuppam, Kolar, Kolar Gold Fields, Madanapalle, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Mangalore, Karur, Pallapatti (Karur), Aranthangi, Mannargudi, Nagapattinam, Goa, Hosur, Nagercoil, Marthandam, Thoothukudi, Thiruchendur, Sengottai, Cuddalore, Kurnool, Trichy, Thuraiyur, Thammampatti, Thiruvannamalai, Tindivanam, Pondicherry, Kallakkurichi, Viluppuram, Kanyakumari, Arani, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Kanchipuram, Tiruttani, Kalpakkam, Pallikonda, Gudiyatham, Dharmapuri, Erode, Tirupur, Palakkad, Krishnagiri, Gingee and other major towns and cities in South India. Vellore is served by a city bus service, which connects the city, suburbs and other places of interest. The bus service extends about 30 km from the city center. There are two bus terminals: the Town Bus Terminus (opposite the fort and near CMC Hospital) and the Central Bus Terminus (Near Green Circle). Other bus terminals are located at Chittor Bus Stand (near VIT Road), Bagayam and Katpadi(Junction bus stop). The bus stands are maintained by the Vellore Municipal Corporation.

 

Vellore has three main railway stations: Katpadi junction, Vellore Cantonment and Vellore Town. The largest is Vellore-Katpadi Junction, 5 km north of CMC hospital. This is a major railway junction on the Chennai-Bangalore broad-gauge line running to Chennai, Bangalore, Tirupati and Trichy. There are direct rail links to Vijayawada Junction, Tirupati, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, Bangalore, Bhopal Junction, Mumbai, Mangalore, Tiruchchirapalli, Bilaspur, Korba, Patna, Ernakulam, Trivandrum, Kanniyakumari, Shirdi, Kanpur, Gaya, Dhanbad, Jammu Tawi, Madurai, Bhilai, Gwalior, Chennai Central, Howrah Station, New Delhi Railway Station, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Jaipur and other major cities. More than 150 trains cross the Vellore-Katpadi Junction daily.

 

Vellore Cantonment is in Suriyakulam on the Viluppuram-Tirupati broad gauge line, 8 km from Katpadi Junction. EMU and passenger trains to Tirupati, Chennai and Arakonnam depart from here. The 150-km broad gauge line was extended to Villupuram in January 2010 and connects Vellore and South Tamil Nadu; however, as of October 2010 it was not serviced by passenger trains. The line was opened for goods trains in June 2010. An EMU from Vellore Cantonment to Chennai Central was introduced on December 22, 2008. Vellore Town Station is in Konavattam on the line connecting Katpadi Junction with Viluppuram Junction via Tiruvannamalai.

 

The city has an airstrip near Abdullapuram; as of 2010 it was not open to the public and was used for aeronautical training programmes. The nearest international airports are Chennai International Airport (130 km) and Bengaluru International Airport (230 km); the nearest domestic airport is Tirupati Airport (100 km).

 

UTILITY SERVICES

Electricity supply to Vellore is regulated and distributed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). The city and its suburbs forms the Vellore Electricity Distribution Circle. A chief distribution engineer is stationed at the regional headquarters. Water supply is provided by the Vellore municipal corporation from the Palar river through Palar headworks and Karungamputhur headworks and distributed through ten overhead tanks. As of 2005, there were 16,371 connections against 33,772 households. In 2000–2001, a total of 7.4 million litres of water was supplied daily for households in the city. The other sources of water are Otteri Lake, Sathuvancheri town panchayat, Ponnai and street bore wells.

 

As per the municipal data for 2011, about 83 metric tonnes of solid waste were collected from Vellore every day by door-to-door collection. The source segregation and dumping was carried out by the sanitary department of the Vellore municipal corporation. The municipal corporation covered 16 wards for waste collection as of 2001. There is no underground drainage system and the sewerage system for disposal of sullage is through septic tanks, open drains and public conveniences. The municipal corporation maintained 145 km of storm water drains in 2011. As of 2011, 24 government and private hospitals and one veterinary hospital take care of the health care needs of the citizens. As of 2011, the municipal corporation maintained 5,241 street lamps: 735 sodium lamps, 73 mercury vapour lamps, 4,432 tube lights and one high mast beam lamp. The municipal corporation operates the Nethaji Daily Market that caters to the needs of the city and the rural areas around it.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Vellore (formerly known as Rayavelur or Vellaimaanagar) is a sprawling city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore District in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the banks of the Palar River in the north-eastern part of Tamil Nadu, the city has been ruled, at different times, by the Pallavas, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Vijayanagar Empire, Rashtrakutas, Carnatic kingdom, and the British. Vellore has four zones (totally 60 wards) which cover an area of 87.915 km2 and has a population of 423,425 based on the 2001 census. It is located about 135 kilometres west of Chennai and about 210 kilometres east of Bengaluru. Vellore is about (100) Km South West of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. It is Hotspot City Of Bengaluru - Chennai National Highway. Vellore is administered by Vellore Municipal Corporation under a mayor. Vellore is part of Vellore (State Assembly Constituency) and Vellore (Lok Sabha constituency).

 

Vellore City is the home of two of India's top ten educational institutions, Christian Medical College & Hospital and VIT University. It is also a major centre for medical tourism in India.

 

Vellore region is the top exporter of finished leather goods in the country. Vellore leather accounts for more than 37% of the country's export of leather and leather-related products. Vellore is also home to several manufacturing and automobile companies such as Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, MRF Limited, TVS-Brakes India, Tamil Nadu Industrial Explosives Limited, Greaves Cotton, ArcelorMittal Dhamm Processing, SAME Deutz-Fahr (Italy), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan) and KRAMSKI (Germany).

 

Vellore Fort, Government Museum, Science Park, Vainu Bappu Observatory, Amirthi Zoological Park, Religious places such as Jalakandeswarar Temple, Balamathi Hills [Murugan Temple)Vallimalai (Murugan Temple) Rathnagiri (Murugan temple) [Sripuram|Srilakshmi Golden Temple]], Big Mosque and St. John's Church and Yelagiri Hill station are the among top tourist attractions in and around Vellore.

 

The Government of India has released the next round of smart cities project list. The Tamil Nadu state district Vellore also got a place on the list of 27 cities in the project.

 

ETYMOLOGY

In Tamil, the word vel means spear that is seen as the weapon of Hindu god Murugan and oor means place. As per Hindu legend, Murugan is seen as a tribal hunter who appeared in a lotus pond with his weapon to attack the enemies. Thus "Vellore" is seen as the place where Murugan appeared.

 

As per another legend, the region was surrounded by Velan trees (Babul trees), resulting in the place to be called Vellore.

 

HISTORY

The recorded history of Vellore dates back to the ninth century, as seen from a Chola inscriptions in the Annamalaiyar Temple in Tiruvannamalai. Further inscriptions made before the ninth century indicate the rule of Pallava kings, whose capital was Kanchipuram.

 

The Chola Kings ruled over the region from 850 to 1280.[citation needed] After the rule of Cholas, it came under the Rashtrakutas, the later Cholas, Reddy's and Vijayanagar kings. The Vellore Fort was built during the time of Chinna Bommi reddy, a subordinate of the Vijayanagar kings Sadasivaraya and Srirangaraya during the third quarter of the 16th century.

 

During the 17th century, Vellore came under the dominion of the Nawab of the Carnatic. As the Mughal empire came to an end, the Nawab lost control of the town, with confusion and chaos ensuing after 1753. Subsequently, there were periods of Hindu and Muslim stewardship of the region. The poligars opposed British rule but were subdued. During the first half of the 19th century, the town came under British rule.

 

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

Vellore is at 12.92°N 79.13°E, 220m above the mean sea level. The city has a semi-arid climate with high temperatures throughout the year and relatively low rainfall. It is in Vellore district of the South Indian state, Tamil Nadu, 135 km west of the state capital Chennai. Vellore lies in the Eastern Ghats region and Palar river basin. The topography is almost plain with slopes from west to east. There are no notable mineral resources. Black loam soil is found in parts of Vellore Taluk. The other type of soil in the city is chiefly gravelly, stony and sandy of the red variety.

 

Vellore experiences a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). The temperature ranges from a maximum of 39.4 °C to a minimum of 18.4 °C. Like the rest of the state, April to June are the hottest months and December to January are the coldest. Vellore receives 1,034.1 mm of rainfall every year. The southwest monsoon, with an onset in June and lasting up to September, brings rainfall of 517.1 mm, with September being the rainiest month. The northeast monsoon which lasts from October to December brings rainfall of 388.4mm. The humidity ranges from 40%–63% during summer and 67%–86% during winter.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

According to 2011 census, Vellore had a population of 185,803 with a sex-ratio of 1,034 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 19,898 were under the age of six, constituting 10,093 males and 9,805 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 14.16% and .18% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the city was 77.15%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The city had a total of 42598 households. There were a total of 70,257 workers, comprising 297 cultivators, 395 main agricultural labourers, 4,387 in house hold industries, 59,281 other workers, 5,897 marginal workers, 59 marginal cultivators, 74 marginal agricultural labourers, 667 marginal workers in household industries and 5,097 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Vellore had 70.09% Hindus, 24.28% Muslims, 4.79% Christians, 0.02% Sikhs, 0.03% Buddhists, 0.51% Jains, 0.26% following other religions and 0.02% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.

 

As of 2001, out of the total area, 69.88% of the land was marked developed and 31.12% of the city remained undeveloped. Out of the developed area, 55.76% was used for residential purposes, 8.34% for commercial, 1.58% for industrial, 3.3% for educational, 16.46% for public and semi public and 10.12% for transport and communication. The population density is not uniform: It is high in areas like Arugandhampoondi and lower in the peripheral areas such as Poonthottam. The average density of the city is 241 persons per hectare.

 

ADMINISTRATION AND POLITICS

Vellore is the headquarters of the Vellore District. The town was constituted as a third-grade municipality in 1866, promoted to first-grade during 1947, selection-grade from 1970 and a municipal corporation from 1 August 2008. The Vellore municipal corporation has 60 wards and there is an elected councillor for each of those wards. The functions of the municipal corporation are devolved into six departments: general administration/personnel, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health, city planning and Information Technology (IT). All these departments are under the control of a Municipal Commissioner who is the executive head. The legislative powers are vested in a body of 60 members, one each from the 60 wards. The legislative body is headed by an elected Mayor assisted by a Deputy Mayor.

 

Vellore is a part of the Vellore & Katpadi and it elects 2 members to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years. From the 1977 elections, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) won the assembly seat once (in 1977 elections), four times by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (in 1980, 1984 and 1989), twice by Indian National Congress (INC) (in 1991 and 2001 elections) and twice by Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) (in 1996 and 2001 elections). The current MLA of Vellore constituency is P.Karthikeyan from DMK party.

 

Vellore is a part of the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency & Arakkonam_Lok_Sabha_constituency. It had the following six assembly constituencies before 2009 delimitation: Katpadi, Gudiyatham, Pernambut (SC), Anaicut Village, Vellore and Arni. After delimitation, it is currently composed of Vellore, Anaicut Village, Kilvazhithunaiankuppam (SC), Gudiyatham, Vaniyambadi and Ambur

 

From 1951, the Vellore parliament seat was held by the Indian National Congress for four times during 1957, 1962, 1989 and 1991 elections, AIADMK twice during 1984 and 2014 elections, CWL once during 1951 elections, and independent once during 1980 elections, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam five times during the 1967, 1971, 1996, 2004 and 2009 elections, once each by NCO during 1977 elections, and twice by Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) during 1998 and 1999 elections. The current Member of Parliament from the constituency is B. Senguttuvan from the AIADMK party.

 

Law and order is maintained by the Vellore subdivision of the Tamil Nadu Police headed by a deputy superintendent. There are four police stations in the town, with one of them being an all-women station. There are special units like prohibition enforcement, district crime, social justice and human rights, district crime records and special branch that operate at the district level police division headed by a superintendent of police.

 

ECONOMY

According to Indian Census of 2001, the urban workforce participation rate of Vellore is 43.64%. Vellore, being the headquarters of the district, has registered growth in the tertiary sector activities, with a corresponding decrease in the primary sector. Major employment is provided by the leather industry, agricultural trading and industries in and around the city. Approximately 83.35% of the workforce is employed in tertiary sector comprising transport, services and commerce. The secondary sector activities like manufacturing and household industries employs 13.52% of the workforce. Male workers participation (43.64%) is high compared to the female work participation (24.39%).

 

Hundreds of leather and tannery facilities are around Vellore and nearby towns, such as Ranipet, Ambur and Vaniyambadi. The Vellore district is the top exporter of finished leather goods in the country. Vellore leather accounts for more than 37% of the country's export of leather and leather-related products (such as finished leathers, shoes, garments and gloves). Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is one of the nine major government owned enterprises in the nation. The Boiler Auxiliaries Plant of BHEL in Ranipet is the industrial hub of Vellore. Chemical plants in the Ranipet-SIPCOT economic zone are a major source of income to the residents of Vellore. EID Parry is a sanitary-ware manufacturing company with 38% of the world's market share in bathroom accessories. Tirumalai Chemicals and Greaves are among the international brands that have their manufacturing units in the city. Automobile and mechanical companies of global Brands, including SAME Deutz-Fahr, TVS–Brakes India, Mitsubishi, Greaves Cotton and MRF have their manufacturing units in the area. Brakes India Sholingur's foundry division is located at Vellore-Sholingur and is a major employer in the area. Vellore is known as the Leather hub of India.

 

Asia's biggest explosives manufacturing company, Tamil Nadu Explosives Limited (TEL), is in Vellore at Katpadi. This is India's only government explosives company with more than a thousand employees.[clarification needed] The company is headed by a senior Indian Administrative Service officer. Kramski Stamping and Molding India Pvt Ltd, a German precision metal and plastic integrated-component manufacturing company with automotive, telecommunications, electronics and medical applications is in Erayankadu, near Vellore. Major businesses in the city center are on Officer's Line, Town Hall Road, Long Bazaar and Bangalore, Scudder, Arni, Gandhi and Katpadi Roads. Many boarding and lodging houses are in and around Scudder and Gandhi Roads. Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd. announced the launch of 14 Microsoft Innovation Centers (MICs) in India. Trichy, Vellore, Coimbatore, Madurai and Salem in Tamil Nadu.

 

Christian Medical College & Hospital (CMCH), on Ida Scudder Road in the heart of the city, is Vellore's largest private employer and has a large floating population from other parts of India and abroad. Lodging, hospitals and allied businesses are among the major sources of income generated in the central part of the city. The Government Vellore Medical College and Hospital (VMCH) is located at Adukamparai in Vellore. With the advent of hospitals such as Apollo KH Hospital in Melvisharam and Sri Narayani Hospital & Research Centre in Sripuram, coupled with colleges such as CMC & VIT and other engineering and science colleges, the health care industry is growing rapidly.

 

The mainstay for people in the rural areas, more than agriculture, is industries such as weaving, beedi and matchstick rolling. The Indian Army has a number of recruits from the Vellore district (especially from Kammavanpet, which is known as "the military village") and military spending is a major sources of income.

 

EDUCATION

Vellore is considered a prominent destination for medical and technological education in India. It has a state-government university, a private technological university, one government and one private medical school and several engineering and arts and science colleges.

 

The country's first stem-cell translational research centre was established in Vellore in December 2005. The central government's biotechnology department selected the Christian Medical College (CMC) as the first in a series of centers, since it already had world-class clinical hematology and biochemistry departments. The college has made a breakthrough which attracted the attention of the country's medical and scientific community: the Centre for Stem Cell Research at the Christian Medical College succeeded in reprogramming cells from adult mice to make them function like stem cells found in the human embryo. The agricultural research station at Virinjipuram is in the Northeastern Zone of Tamil Nadu. It is one of 32 research stations of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). The Government of India-sponsored National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA) scheme has been in operation since October 1997, with the main objective being trials of conservation measures conducted in water and soil of 18 watersheds in the Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts.

 

Thiruvalluvar University was split off from the University of Madras, previously in the Vellore Fort campus. Nearly all the government-run arts and science colleges in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Cuddalore districts are affiliated with Thiruvalluvar University. Thanthai Periyar Government Institute of Technology is the only government engineering college in Vellore. The Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) has been ranked best private engineering university in India by the magazine India Today.

 

Christian Medical College & Hospital (CMCH), one of the largest hospitals in India and Asia, is based out of Vellore. It is a major health care provider for the surrounding districts.

 

Auxilium Women's College (founded in 1954) is the first women's college in Vellore district; Other arts and sciences colleges in the city are the Dhanabakyam Krishnaswamy Mudhaliar Women's College (DKM) near Sainathapuram and the Muthurangam Government Arts College (MGAC) in Otteri, near Bagayam. Voorhees College (founded 1898) is the oldest college in the district and known as the institution where S. Radhakrishnan (former president of India) studied; a commemorative stamp for the centenary of the college was issued by the government of India. C. Abdul Hakeem College is in Melvisharam. Arignar Anna Arts College for Women(AAA) is located in Walajapet.

 

The Government Law College, Vellore was established in 2008. It offers a three-year Bachelor of Laws (BL) degree with an annual intake of 80 students. The college is in Katpadi, Vellore. There are several Arabic colleges in Vellore such as the Madrasa Al-Baqiyathus Salihath, popularly known as Baaqiyaath, founded by A'la Hadrat Maulana Shah Abdul Wahab, which is the second oldest Arabic college in India after Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh.

 

TOURISM

Vellore Fort is the most prominent landmark in the city. During British rule, Tipu Sultan's family and the last king of Sri Lanka, Vikrama Rajasinha, were held as royal prisoners in the fort. The fort houses a church, a mosque and a Hindu temple, the latter known for its carvings. The first rebellion against British rule erupted at this fort in 1806, and it witnessed the massacre of the Vijayanagara royal family of Emperor Sriranga Raya. The fortifications consist of a main rampart, broken at irregular intervals by round towers and rectangular projections. The main walls are built of massive granite stones, surrounded by a broad moat fed with water by subterranean pipes from the Suryagunta reservoir.

 

Within the fort is the similarly aged Jalakanteswara Temple. It is a noteworthy example of military architecture in South India. The fort houses the Tipu Mahal where Tipu Sultan is believed to have stayed with his family during the war with the British; the graves of Tipu's sons are found at Vellore. It is administered by the Archaeological Survey of India. Vellore Fort has been declared a Monument of National Importance and is a noted tourist attraction.

 

The State Government Museum is inside the fort. It was opened to the public in 1985. It consists of objects of art, archaeology, prehistory, weapons, sculptures, bronzes, wood carvings, handicrafts, numismatics, philately, botany, geology and zoology. Historical monuments of the erstwhile composite North Arcot District are contained in the gallery. Special exhibits include a bronze double sword from Vellore Taluk dating to 400 BC, stone sculptures from the late Pallava to Vijayanagar periods, ivory chess boards and coins used by the last Kandian King of Sri Lanka, Vikrama Raja Singha. Educational activities at the museum include an art camp for school students and the study of inscriptions and iconography for college students.

 

Jalakandeswarar Temple, Srilakshmi Golden Temple, and the Wallajapet Dhanvantri Temple and Ponnai Navagraha Kottai Temple are among the temples in Vellore. Sri Lakshmi Temple, popularly known as Golden Temple, is a newly built temple and spiritual park in Thirumalaikodi, Vellore. It is approximately 8 km from the Vellore bus terminus. The temple covers an area of 100 acres and has been constructed by Vellore-based Sri Narayani Peedam headed by Sakthi Amma. It has intricate carvings, hand-made by hundreds of gold artisans specializing in temple architecture. The exterior is laid with gold sheets and plates, with construction reported to have cost Rs.300 crores (US$65 million). About 1,500 kg of gold was used, the largest amount in the world.

 

Ratnagiri Murugan Temple is another prominent Hindu temple in the city.Virinjipuram, 17 km from Vellore is noted for its 1000-year-old ancient Margabandeeshwarar Shiva temple.

 

Assumption Cathedral and the 150-year-old St. John's Church inside the fort are among the churches in Vellore. The Big Mosque, in the heart of the city, contains the largest Arabic college in India. The city is also houses over 50 mosques some of which are over 100 years old.

 

TRANSPORT

The Vellore municipality maintains 104.332 km of roads. It has 50.259 km concrete roads, 6.243 km kutcha roads and 47.88 km bituminous road. The National Highways passing through Vellore are NH 46 (Bangalore - Chennai road), NH 234 (Mangalore to Viluppuram) and NH 4 from Ranipet to Chennai and the Cuddalore-Chittoor. Vellore is connected with major cities in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Bus service is available to Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupathi, Kadapa, Anantapur, Salem, Chittoor, Kuppam, Kolar, Kolar Gold Fields, Madanapalle, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Mangalore, Karur, Pallapatti (Karur), Aranthangi, Mannargudi, Nagapattinam, Goa, Hosur, Nagercoil, Marthandam, Thoothukudi, Thiruchendur, Sengottai, Cuddalore, Kurnool, Trichy, Thuraiyur, Thammampatti, Thiruvannamalai, Tindivanam, Pondicherry, Kallakkurichi, Viluppuram, Kanyakumari, Arani, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Kanchipuram, Tiruttani, Kalpakkam, Pallikonda, Gudiyatham, Dharmapuri, Erode, Tirupur, Palakkad, Krishnagiri, Gingee and other major towns and cities in South India. Vellore is served by a city bus service, which connects the city, suburbs and other places of interest. The bus service extends about 30 km from the city center. There are two bus terminals: the Town Bus Terminus (opposite the fort and near CMC Hospital) and the Central Bus Terminus (Near Green Circle). Other bus terminals are located at Chittor Bus Stand (near VIT Road), Bagayam and Katpadi(Junction bus stop). The bus stands are maintained by the Vellore Municipal Corporation.

 

Vellore has three main railway stations: Katpadi junction, Vellore Cantonment and Vellore Town. The largest is Vellore-Katpadi Junction, 5 km north of CMC hospital. This is a major railway junction on the Chennai-Bangalore broad-gauge line running to Chennai, Bangalore, Tirupati and Trichy. There are direct rail links to Vijayawada Junction, Tirupati, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, Bangalore, Bhopal Junction, Mumbai, Mangalore, Tiruchchirapalli, Bilaspur, Korba, Patna, Ernakulam, Trivandrum, Kanniyakumari, Shirdi, Kanpur, Gaya, Dhanbad, Jammu Tawi, Madurai, Bhilai, Gwalior, Chennai Central, Howrah Station, New Delhi Railway Station, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Jaipur and other major cities. More than 150 trains cross the Vellore-Katpadi Junction daily.

 

Vellore Cantonment is in Suriyakulam on the Viluppuram-Tirupati broad gauge line, 8 km from Katpadi Junction. EMU and passenger trains to Tirupati, Chennai and Arakonnam depart from here. The 150-km broad gauge line was extended to Villupuram in January 2010 and connects Vellore and South Tamil Nadu; however, as of October 2010 it was not serviced by passenger trains. The line was opened for goods trains in June 2010. An EMU from Vellore Cantonment to Chennai Central was introduced on December 22, 2008. Vellore Town Station is in Konavattam on the line connecting Katpadi Junction with Viluppuram Junction via Tiruvannamalai.

 

The city has an airstrip near Abdullapuram; as of 2010 it was not open to the public and was used for aeronautical training programmes. The nearest international airports are Chennai International Airport (130 km) and Bengaluru International Airport (230 km); the nearest domestic airport is Tirupati Airport (100 km).

 

UTILITY SERVICES

Electricity supply to Vellore is regulated and distributed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). The city and its suburbs forms the Vellore Electricity Distribution Circle. A chief distribution engineer is stationed at the regional headquarters. Water supply is provided by the Vellore municipal corporation from the Palar river through Palar headworks and Karungamputhur headworks and distributed through ten overhead tanks. As of 2005, there were 16,371 connections against 33,772 households. In 2000–2001, a total of 7.4 million litres of water was supplied daily for households in the city. The other sources of water are Otteri Lake, Sathuvancheri town panchayat, Ponnai and street bore wells.

 

As per the municipal data for 2011, about 83 metric tonnes of solid waste were collected from Vellore every day by door-to-door collection. The source segregation and dumping was carried out by the sanitary department of the Vellore municipal corporation. The municipal corporation covered 16 wards for waste collection as of 2001. There is no underground drainage system and the sewerage system for disposal of sullage is through septic tanks, open drains and public conveniences. The municipal corporation maintained 145 km of storm water drains in 2011. As of 2011, 24 government and private hospitals and one veterinary hospital take care of the health care needs of the citizens. As of 2011, the municipal corporation maintained 5,241 street lamps: 735 sodium lamps, 73 mercury vapour lamps, 4,432 tube lights and one high mast beam lamp. The municipal corporation operates the Nethaji Daily Market that caters to the needs of the city and the rural areas around it.

 

WIKIPEDIA

By the Telok Blangah Constituency at the carpark in front of the Telok Blangah Club with the Guest-of-Honour, Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade).

Berlin Hauptbahnhof) (English: Berlin Central Station) is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It came into full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily named Berlin Hauptbahnhof–Lehrter Bahnhof. The station is operated by DB Station&Service, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG, and is classified as a Category 1 station, one of 21 in Germany and four in Berlin, the others being Berlin Gesundbrunnen, Berlin Südkreuz and Berlin Ostbahnhof.

 

Lehrter Bahnhof (Lehrte Station) opened in 1871 as the terminus of the railway linking Berlin with Lehrte, near Hanover, which later became Germany's most important east-west main line. In 1882, with the completion of the Stadtbahn (City Railway, Berlin's four-track central elevated railway line, which carries both local and main line services), just north of the station, a smaller interchange station called Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was opened to provide connections with the new line. This station later became part of the Berlin S-Bahn. In 1884, after the closure of nearby Hamburger Bahnhof (Hamburg Station), Lehrter Bahnhof became the terminus for trains to and from Hamburg.

 

Following heavy damage during World War II, limited services to the main station were resumed, but then suspended in 1951. In 1957, with the railways to West Berlin under the control of East Germany, Lehrter Bahnhof was demolished, but Lehrter Stadtbahnhof continued as a stop on the S-Bahn. In 1987, it was extensively renovated to commemorate Berlin's 750th anniversary. After German reunification it was decided to improve Berlin's railway network by constructing a new north-south main line, to supplement the east-west Stadtbahn. Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was considered to be the logical location for a new central station.

 

LOCATION

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is located at the Moabit district, at the Mitte constituency. In the north is the Europaplatz and Invalidenstraße whereas for the south it leads to Washingtonplatz and the Spree. South of the Hauptbahnhof, connects to the Spreebogenpark, together with Bundeskanzleramt and Paul-Löbe-Haus. In the east, it leads to the Mitte district, while it also extends to the Humboldthafen.

 

FUNCTION

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is part of the mushroom concept that was being made in Berlin, in which the station forms as a connecting point for converging and intersecting lines, of different modes of public transport there.

 

The station's length is 430 metres, whereas some of the platforms are 80 metres.

 

Structurally, the entire station complex is a tower station, operationally it is a crossing station similar to all central stations. The complex consists of several independent operating points:

 

Platform 1 to 8, are located underground and is used for regional and intercity services. This is similar to the Ernest station for the Frankfurt Metro, whereby the U2 and U4 trains are located at the basements 4 and 5.

Platform 9 to 10, are located underground and will be used for the future S21 (Berlin).

Platform 11 to 14, are located above-ground and is used for regional and intercity services. This is similar to the Ernest station for the Frankfurt Metro (U1 and U3).

Platform 15 to 16, are located above-ground and is used for the Berlin S-Bahn.

Platform U1 to U2, are located separately from the main station, and is used for the U55 (Berlin).

 

CONSTRUCTION AND TECHNIQUES

BUILDING

The station building has two main levels, for suburban traffic as well as three connecting and business levels. Compared to Raffles Place MRT Station and Taipei Main Station, it is one of the most densely packed stations. The upper track consists of six tracks on four bridge structures. The two outside lanes are single track and four others inside are double track. In between, the three platforms at the height of ten metres are arranged. On the lower track level are four platforms of owhich eight tracks along the north south line, at a depth of 15 metres. This is followed by the eastern end of another platform with two tracks for U55, similar to Timothy Station for Frankfurt Metro. To the east of the underground station, a similar double track platform is also being built as part of the S21 (Berlin) project.

 

The bridges in the city level not only spans the station area, but also the adjacenet Humboldthafen and are placed within 680 metres long. According to the lines of the light rail, they are curved in plan and widen due to the broadening of four to six tracks and the additional platforms from 39 to 66 meters wide. The Humboldthafen Bridge spans the Humboldthafen with a span of 60 meters. It consists of a bow with steel tubes and pre-stressed concrete beam as upper flange.

 

The upper platform hall, which runs east-west, is 321 metres long and consists of the arch-shaped arched column-free glass roof structure, which is supported by the two outer railway overpass structures. In the glass surface, a 2700 square meter photovoltaic system with a capacity of 330 kilowatts was integrated. The hall is between 46 and 66 meters wide and a maximum of 16 meters high. It consists of three sections, with the western segment 172 meters and the eastern 107 meters long. In between lies the 50 meters wide and 180 meters long north-south roof, whose barrel vaults with the main roof form a flat viaduct. Parallel to the north-south roof, the two "ironing structures" span the main roof of the platform hall and carry the north-south roof. These ironing structures contain 42,000 square meters of office space.

 

On the northeastern part of the two diagonally opposite station terraces, the sculpture of Rolling Horse, erected in 2007 by Jürgen Goertz, artificially complements the building and is reminiscent to Lehrter Bahnhof and Lehrter Stadtbahnhof. There are integrated artificial elements, which can be viewed through four portholes.

 

From the southwestern terrace, it rises the disguised chimney located underneath the Tunnel Tiergarten Spreebogen.

 

During Cyclone Kyrill, on January 18, 2007, the 8.4 metre long, 1.35 ton horizontal strut 40 metres high, crashed from the lattice-like exterior onto a staircase, onto the southwestern part of the building, another strut was torn from the anchorage. These decorative elements had only been hung up and should only hold their own weight. As a remedy, small sheets were placed above the carrier to prevent further carrier dissolution.

 

HISTORY

LEHRTER BAHNHOF FROM 1871 TO 1958

Between 1868 and 1871, a 239 kilometre railway was built between Hannover and Berlin via Lehrte by the Magdeburg Halberstädter railway company. Lehrter Bahnhof was constructed as the Berlin terminus. It was adjacent to Hamburger Bahnhof, just outside what was then Berlin's boundary at the Humbolthafen port on the river Spree. Its architects were Alfred Lent, Bertold Scholz, and Gottlieb Henri Lapierre.

 

In contrast to earlier railway stations, built with brick façades, and in keeping with then-current trends, Lehrter Bahnhof was designed in the French Neo-Renaissance style. Its originally planned stone façade was replaced with glazed tiles to save money. With its magnificent architecture, the station was known as a "palace among stations".

 

The train shed was 188 metres long and 38 metres wide. Its roof was a long barrel vault with steel supports. As was common for the period, the station was divided into an arrival side on the west, and a departure side on the east. Originally there were five tracks, four of which ended at the side and the central platform; the fifth track had no platform and served as a turnaround for the locomotives. At the turn of the century this track was removed to accommodate the widening of the central platform.

 

Although the front of the building was ornate and had a grand entrance, most passengers entered and left via the east side, where horse-drawn carriages were able to stop.

 

In 1882 the metropolitan railway, predecessor of the S-Bahn, began service along two of the Stadtbahn tracks; long-distance traffic commenced in 1884 along the other two. With the expansion of Lehrter Bahnhof, it was able to take over the functions of Hamburger Bahnhof. A 300 m connector line was built; on 14 October 1884, traffic towards Hamburg, northeast Germany, and Scandinavia was diverted to Lehrter Bahnhof, and Hamburger Bahnhof closed.

 

In 1886, the Berlin-Lehrte railway, and with it Lehrter Bahnhof, was nationalized and subsequently came under the control of the Prussian State Railways.

 

Even in its early years, the line was known as one of the country's fastest: in 1872, express trains could attain a speed of 90 km/h (56 mph). 19 December 1932 marked the maiden voyage of the famous diesel-powered Fliegender Hamburger (Flying Hamburger), which whisked passengers to Hamburg at 160 km/h).

 

In the Second World War the station was severely damaged. After the war, the shell was repaired such that it could be used temporarily. However, the postwar division of Germany spelled the end for most of West Berlin's mainline stations. On 28 August 1951 the final train departed from Lehrter Bahnhof, heading for the Wustermark and Nauen. On 9 July 1957 demolition began, and on 22 April 1958 the main entrance was blown up. The biggest challenge in the demolition of the station was to preserve the viaducts of the Stadtbahn, which ran directly overhead. Work was completed in the summer of 1959.

 

LEHRTER STADTBAHNHOF FROM 1882 TO 2002

On 15 May 1882, Lehrter Stadtbahnhof opened, situated on the Stadtbahn viaduct at the northern end of Lehrter Bahnhof concourse. This four-track station on the Stadtbahn was used mainly by suburban trains. The main purpose of the Stadtbahn was to connect central areas of Berlin with the Lehrter Bahnhof, the Schlesischer Bahnhof termini with nearby Charlottenburg, then still a separate city. It was also providing an east–west railway connection across the centre of Berlin.

 

Because of steadily increasing traffic to Lehrter Stadtbahnhof and its location on a bridge crossing the north end of Lehrter Bahnhof, elaborate changes were made to the track structure in 1912 and again in 1929. On 1 December 1930, the newly electrified suburban trains were given the designation S-Bahn, making the Lehrter Stadtbahnhof an S-Bahnhof.

 

During the War, in April 1943 the station was bombed by the Polish sabotage and diversionary squad "Zagra-lin".

 

The Stadtbahnhof survived WWII intact, but came to lose its pre-war significance due to the division of Berlin; with Lehrter Bahnhof closed, the Stadtbahnhof served only a relatively underpopulated area near the border with East Berlin. It was the final stop in West Berlin; the next station, Berlin Friedrichstraße, was in the Soviet zone, although it served as a stop on the West Berlin S- and U-Bahn systems; these parts of the station were sealed off and inaccessible to East Berliners. The S-Bahn, like the mainlines leading to West Berlin, was run by the East German railway, the Deutsche Reichsbahn. The 1961 construction of the Berlin Wall further isolated the station, and led to a boycott of the S-Bahn in West Berlin that lasted until the 1980s, when operation of the West Berlin S-Bahn lines was transferred to the West Berlin transit authority, the BVG.

 

Berlin’s 750th-anniversary celebration in 1987 saw the station, now under West Berlin control, renovated at a cost of about DM 10 million. Because it had largely been preserved in its original condition, it became a listed building.

 

However, in 2002, Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was demolished to make way for the new central station, despite its listed status. The argument was that Bellevue and Hackescher Markt stations were architecturally similar. Hackescher Markt, in former East Berlin, had been restored in 1994–1996, after German reunification.

 

PLANNING THE NEW STATION

Soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, city planners began work on a transport plan for reunified Berlin. One element of this became the "Pilzkonzept" (mushroom concept), in which a new north-south railway line intersecting the Stadtbahn was to be constructed. The name derived from the shape formed by the new line and existing lines, which vaguely resembles a mushroom.

 

In June 1992 the federal government decided that the new station should be built on the site of Lehrter Bahnhof. While close to the centre of Berlin and government buildings, the area was still not heavily populated. The following year, a design competition for the project was held, which was won by the Hamburg architecture firm Gerkan, Marg and Partners.

 

The design called for five levels. The highest level, on a bridge 10 metres above street level, was to have platforms for both long-distance and S-Bahn trains on the existing Stadbahn. The lowest level, 15 metres underground, was to have platforms served by new tunnels to Potsdamer Platz under the Spree and the Tiergarten, forming a new north-south line running to the northern part of the S-Bahn ring around central Berlin. Platforms for the planned extension to U-Bahn line 5 were also included.

 

The planning approval for the station and the north-south connection was made on 12 September 1995. In 1997, a financing agreement was signed between Perleberger Straße and Spreebogen, between the federal government and the railway in the total amount of 700 million euros. The federal share amounted to half a billion of euros. Any additional cost increases should be broken down according to a defined key.

 

New York-based Tishman Speyer Properties was commissioned by Bahn AG to develop the station. Execution planning and construction supervision were carried out by the Stuttgart engineering consultants Schlaich, Bergermann and Partner.

 

The Hauptbahnhof was planned to have platforms for the cancelled Transrapid maglev train, which is at platform 8. Later on, it was replaced by normal railway tracks.

 

BUILDiNG THE NEW STATION

The building work took place in several stages. In 1995 the construction of the Tiergarten tunnels began, and this work was finished in 2005 with the completion of the last station tunnel. The tunnels provide four tubes for long-distance and regional services and two tubes in a separate alignment for the U-Bahn, in addition to a road tunnel ventilated by a 60-metre-high tower completed in 2004. During its construction, the course of the Spree had to be diverted (1996–1998). Water leaks in the tunnels caused over one year's delay to the construction work.

 

In 1998, the construction of the station proper began. About 1.5 million cubic meters of material were excavated for the pits, which are 90,000 square meters in total and about 20 meters deep. In their place, 227,000 cubic meters of concrete and 13,000 tons of steel reinforcement were installed. With 27-meter-long buoyancy anchors (a total of 250 kilometers) and 180 kilometers of inclined anchors, the foundation was anchored against the buoyant pressure of groundwater (200 kilonewtons per square meter).

 

On September 9, 1998, the foundation stone was laid symbolically by Federal Minister of Transport Wissmann, railway director Ludewig and Berlin's governing mayor Eberhard Diepgen in the then 17 -meter-deep excavation pit. The commissioning date was in 2003. Construction costs were estimated at 800 million DM (409 million euros). Every year, 50 million passengers on long-distance and 86 million regional passengers should use the station.

 

After groundwater had penetrated into the pit of the excavation pit as a result of a leak, the completion date was postponed in the spring of 1999. The incident necessitated a far-reaching change in the safety concept during the construction phase, in order to prevent the groundwater lying about three meters below the ground. Under the new schedule, the station should be finished in 2003 in the shell, 2004, a trial operation begin. In the middle of 2001, commissioning for 2006 was expected.

 

Construction of the bridges for the new S-Bahn route began in 2001. These needed to span not only the entire length of the station, but also the adjacent Humboldthafen port, and are 450 metres long. Because of the alignment of the S-Bahn they are curved, and each pair of tracks has a separate bridge. Bridges of this type had never been built before, and represented a special challenge for the Egyptian engineer Hani Azer, the chief construction engineer since 2001.

 

The main station hall is spanned by a similarly curved glass roof with a surface area of about 85 metres by 120 metres, which was installed in February 2002. A photovoltaic system was integrated into the glass surface. The steel and glass construction was a difficult task for the engineers, particularly as the glass roofs were shortened by approximately 100 metres to speed up construction.

 

Over the first weekend of July 2002 the bridges and main station hall were brought into service so that traffic could be diverted onto the new alignment. The old Lehrter Stadtbahnhof S-Bahn station was closed and rapidly demolished to make way for further new building. On 9 September 2002 the station was renamed "Berlin Hauptbahnhof – Lehrter Bahnhof".

 

The main concourse, supported by two towers, provides roughly 44,000 square metres (470,000 sq ft) of commercial space. Construction of the towers began in 2005. On two separate weekends, 29 July and 13 August 2005, structural frames were installed, supporting the structure above the east-west tracks. This was built using a new technique: the frames, each weighing 1250 t, were lowered by steel cables at a rate of 6 metres per hour; the remaining 20 millimetres gap between the bow frames upon completion of the lowering process was subsequently closed.

 

During summer 2003 a survey commissioned by Peter Strieder, Berlin's Senator for City Development and Traffic, and Deutsche Bahn director Hartmut Mehdorn was conducted among Berlin residents with the intention of selecting a name for the station. Of the three possibilities listed on the survey, the majority of participants opted for Lehrter Bahnhof; nevertheless, the station remained "Berlin Hauptbahnhof – Lehrter Bahnhof", an option that was not listed. It was decided early in 2005 that the station would be renamed "Berlin Hauptbahnhof" on the date of its opening, 28 May 2006, to avoid confusing rail passengers. On the same day, Berlin Papestraße station, which was rebuilt as the city's second-largest station, opened officially under its new name, Berlin Südkreuz (South Cross), similar to the existing Ostkreuz and Westkreuz stations. It is also on the new north-south route. Although it was intended to open a further station as Berlin-Nordkreuz (North Cross), the name Berlin-Gesundbrunnen was retained for what became Berlin's fourth biggest railway station for commuter and long distance trains, located in a more northern part of Berlin, where the circle and north-south-line of the S-Bahn cross each other.

 

In 2005 the bridging segments, which cross over the roof of the station, were lowered. This was the first time, this unique method to build later office rooms was applied.

 

The architect Meinhard von Gerkan filed a complaint against Deutsche Bahn in October 2005 after Deutsche Bahn altered the station construction timeline without proper authority. The complaint was upheld in late 2006. There may therefore be further construction on the station in the future.

 

In addition, Deutsche Bahn decided to implement a slightly different version of the "Pilzkonzept" by running intercity trains through the new Tiergarten tunnels rather than via the Stadtbahn. This move was unpopular for its effect on Berlin's two previous main stations; Bahnhof Berlin Zoologischer Garten (Zoo Station) was downgraded to a regional railway station, and the number of main line services to Berlin Ostbahnhof (East Station) was drastically reduced.

 

OPENING CEREMONY

On 26 May 2006, the station was ceremonially opened by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who arrived together with transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee in a specially chartered InterCityExpress from Leipzig. A "Symphony of Light" was performed immediately following the dedication. Reamonn and BAP performed at the station, and there were also events at the other new stations: Gesundbrunnen, Potsdamer Platz and Südkreuz. Berlin Hauptbahnhof officially went into operation on 28 May 2006.

 

The opening ceremony was marred by an attack by a drunken 16-year-old wielding a knife, who stabbed members of the public leaving the ceremony. Forty-one people were wounded, six seriously, before the youth was arrested. According to police, the youth says he cannot remember his act of violence and is still denying it. One of the first stabbing victims was HIV-positive, leading to worries that other victims may have been infected, although this did not prove to be the case. The youth was charged with attempted murder, and was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted manslaughter in 33 cases in 2007.

 

SINCE OPENING

On 18 January 2007, two steel beams of the south-west façade were torn loose during European windstorm Kyrill. One of them, an 8.4 metre long beam weighing 1.35 tonnes, dropped 40 metres onto a staircase below, and the other impacted and damaged a third beam. The station had suffered some flooding and had been evacuated due to the complete cancellation of train service in Germany. Consequently, nobody was injured and the station was cleared for reopening the following day. The beams had not been welded or bolted in place but laid down like shelves in a bookcase. In the next days extra lugs were welded to the remaining beams to secure them in place and the station declared stormproof on 23 January.

 

The U55 (Berlin U-Bahn) opened in August 2009, connecting the Hauptbahnhof with the Brandenburger Tor station.

 

The rail link to current Berlin Schönefeld Airport is to be reorganized for its replacement with the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport. The airport express line will maintain a travel time of 30 minutes.

 

The rail bridge construction leading into the upper level of the station forms a curve, and some of the screws holding it in place loosened. This required a €25 million reconstruction which involved the closure of the upper level rail tracks during a 3-month period in summer 2015.

 

OPERATIONAL USAGE

The upper level of the station has six tracks (two of which used for the Berlin S-Bahn) served by three island platforms. The lower level has eight tracks served by four island platforms for main-line trains, plus a further island platform for the Berlin U-Bahn. The lower level is often denoted by 'tief' on travel guides, etc. (thus the calling point may be "Berlin Hbf (tief)"). There is no rail connection between the upper and lower level track in the station area (or anywhere else nearby). 1,800 trains call at the station per day and the daily number of passengers is estimated to be at 350,000.

 

As of 2011, the station is used by InterCityExpress, Intercity, Interregioexpress, RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and S-Bahn trains. The station also hosts several international trains, and the most distant cities reached are Novosibirsk (Russia) and Astana (Kazakhstan), with an express named "Sibirjak". The upper part of the station, with the east-west tracks, is part of the Berlin Stadtbahn, with trains leading to locations like Hanover or Cologne. The subterranean station, which lies in the north-south Tiergarten tunnel, offers long distance services to Hamburg, Leipzig or Munich.

 

S-BAHN

For the north-south connection is in the course of S21 S-platform in the tunnel level initially in a northerly direction with the Ringbahn, later of a continuation as a tunnel section with the Potsdamer Platz are connected. The construction of the northern section began in January 2010 and was initially scheduled to be completed by 2015. The realization of the southern section is after completion of the construction work on the extension of U5 expected to begin of 2019.

 

U-BAHN

The U-Bahn platforms are presently served only by the U55, which is not connected to the rest of the U-Bahn network. It was opened on 8 August 2009. This line is operated as a single-track shuttle, and only one of the two platform tracks is currently used. The other is behind a metal fence, mounted in the ground. Construction of a 2.2 kilometres connection to line U5 commenced in April 2010 and is expected to be completed in 2017. In the long term it is planned to extend the U5 from the main station towards the west to Turmstraße and Jungfernheide. Due to lack of funds from the state of Berlin, the northwestern continuation is not expected in the near future.

 

The underground station is in the second level of the main station, and east of the deep north-south train platforms (tracks 1-8). It has a central platform, which is covered with granite. To exit the platform are three stairs, an escalator and a lift. In addition, the Underground Station is equipped with tactile paving for accessibility.

 

The platform hall has a length of 140 metres, 11 metres in height and 19 metres in width, the wall cladding consists of enamel plates which are decorated with photographs of the former Berlin head stations. Furthermore, colored lighting illuminates the ceiling space above the platform.

 

Since it is the terminus of the to-be-extended U5, a short two-pronged branch railway was built to the north. One of the two sweeping track is located at a lockable manhole, through which the U-Bahn carriages can be replaced if necessary with a crane. This currently represents the only way to install U-Bahn carriages in the tunnel, because the line U55 does not yet connect with the rest of the U-Bahn network.

 

Zoning for an underground line under the Invalidenstraße (U11) is provided for at the station, however this is only likely to be constructed in the far future.

 

TRAM

In 2009, the plan approval process was to build a tram line extension track that on the Invalidenstraße the station to Berlin soll. In December 2010, had the Administrative Court two complaints from residents and BUND against the planned in connection with the tram extension two lanes - two-lane upgrading the road to traffic from and realized the construction project to be implemented as a was the official start of construction in the spring. 2011. On 14 December 2014, the line M5 was extended from S Hackescher Markt to Hauptbahnhof.

 

On 29 August 2015 the tram lines M8 and M10 were also extended from S Nordbahnhof to Hauptbahnhof.

 

WIKIPEDIA

1989 (part 3 of 3)

 

September 3, 1989

Henry Bertram (Harry) Sweeney died at the age of 96. He was the former owner of the controversial Ottawa River land dispute with the City of Kanata, which his relatives settled a week earlier. Kanata Standard, September 13, 1989:3.

 

September 4, 1989

The Pinhey Point Country Fest was held to celebrate the Labour Day holiday in Kanata Kountry. Proceeds of the event went to the University of Ottawa’s Heart Foundation. Kanata Standard, September 6, 1989:3.

 

September 5, 1989

Kanata City Council approved a draft plan from Wedgewood Building Corporation to begin construction on the first phase of a new residential community west of Glen Cairn. Kanata Standard, September 6, 1989:3.

 

September 5, 1989

The constituency office for Lanark-Carleton MP Paul Dick moved into Kanata. Its new location was the second floor of the Kanata Square building on Hearst Way. Dick explained that the move was due to changes in the federal riding’s boundaries. Kanata Standard, September 6, 1989:6.

 

September 6, 1989

The Ontario Municipal Board adjourned its appeal hearing by the Hazeldean Housing Co-operatives after only ten minutes of proceedings. The organization was appealing Kanata City Council’s rejection of their zoning application on Castlefrank Road. Kanata Standard, September 13, 1989:1.

 

September 9, 1989

The residents of Glen Cairn celebrated their 25th Anniversary. In 1964 William Connelly began building the community, which was to be Canada’s “Centennial City.” Kanata Standard, August 30, 1989:1,6.

 

September 9, 1989

The 12th Annual Fun Fair was held by the Glen Cairn Cooperative Nursery School. They raised $2,700 for the school, the highest amount ever. Kanata Standard, September 13, 1989:10.

 

September 10, 1989

The Kanata Pentecostal church on Teron Road celebrated its 10th Anniversary and welcomed a new pastor, Jack Richards. Kanata Standard, September 6, 1989:16.

 

September 12, 1989

Kanata City Council denied the manager of Constance Lake Lodge, John Avery, an exemption from the City’s firearm by-law, which prohibited discharging a firearm. Avery hoped to shoot at seagulls on the lake and frighten them away, as they were a hazard to planes on the lake. Kanata Standard, September 13, 1989:3.

 

September 16, 1989

It was reported that the Kanata Enterprise Corporation was going to be closed in mid-December. It was formed three years earlier to aid young, small businesses in their development. The original intent was that after three years with provincial funding, the Centre would operate independently. Kanata Standard, September 13, 1989:5.

 

September 17, 1989

Kanata held its first Terry Fox Run. $11,171 was raised for cancer research. Kanata Standard, September 13, 1989:30.

 

September 20, 1989

Kanata teenagers Paul Basky and Andrew Woods were organizing a local benefit rock concert in support of the City’s needy. Kanata Standard, September 20, 1989:1-2.

 

September 22, 1989

The Kanata branch of the Royal Canadian Legion received its charter. Kanata Standard, September 27, 1989:1.

 

September 22, 1989

Jim Connelly of Glen Cairn won second place honors at the Ottawa-Carleton Home Builders Association awards banquet for his $400,000 home. Kanata Standard, October 4, 1989:32.

 

September 26, 1989

A small group of residents attended a Kanata City Council meeting to oppose a rezoning request by Genstar Corporation of a parcel of land on the north side of Knudson Drive from low density to medium density. They argued that they had expected the land to remain low density and that townhouses would lower their property values. Kanata Standard, October 4, 1989:2; Kanata Standard, October 12, 1989:3.

 

September 27, 1989

It was reported in the Standard that Kanata OPP was trying to determine if there were missing funds from the Kanata Kountry music festival held at Pinhey’s Point. About 5,000 people attended the festival. Kanata Standard, September 27, 1989:2.

 

September 27, 1989

Kanata City Council agreed to create an Arts Advisory Committee, keeping with the recommendations of a previously released Arts Facility Feasibility Study. The committee would to investigate the needs of the arts community in Kanata and report back to Council. Kanata Standard, October 4, 1989:23.

 

September 29, 1989

A Kanata ambulance attendant, Pat Proulx, was reinstated after five months off work. He was fired on April 17 after making comments to the press criticizing the ambulance service. Kanata Standard, October 4, 1989:5.

 

October 3, 1989

A report tabled at a meeting of the region’s planning committee indicated that Kanata was not providing its fair share of non-profit affordable housing. According to Mayor Adam, there had not been a pressing need for affordable housing development in Kanata a short time earlier. Kanata Standard, October 4, 1989:1.

 

October 4, 1989

It was reported in the Standard that Campeau Corporation had sold its 37 acres of Town Centre industrial lands to Arnon Development Corporation. The price of the sale was not released. The lands had previously been estimated to be worth between $7 and $11 million. Kanata Standard, October 4, 1989:1.

 

October 4, 1989

More than 50 Bridlewood residents attended a public meeting to discuss a possibilities for the CP rail link that was to be put out of commission on January 14. The rail line ran through Bridlewood, bordering Glen Cairn. If the rail was ripped up, ideas on how the land could be developed needed to be aired. Representatives of the Commuter Rail Study Group asked residents to consider the advantages of a commuter train to Ottawa. Jennifer Tomas reported that once both sides of the rail link issue were presented, an “unruly and heated discussion erupted.” Residents finally agreed on a statement asking the City to look into the alternatives for the rail corridor, including recreational uses. Kanata Standard, October 12, 1989:2.

 

October 11, 1989

Kanata City Council moved unanimously to amend the Official Plan and move the “symbolic core” of the Town Centre to land in the northwest quadrant bounded by Terry Fox Drive and the Queensway. Mayor Adam stated that shifting the core of the Town Centre would in no way inhibit other aspects of development slated for the area. Kanata Standard, October 12, 1989:1-2.

 

October 12, 1989

Jennifer Tomas wrote a feature in the Standard outlining a two-day seminar of the Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association, where it was indicated that Kanata’s electronics industry had the capacity to reduce emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals by 50 percent. Kanata Standard, October 12, 1989:35.

 

October 12, 1989

The Bridlewood Community Association decided to ask Kanata City Council to rezone the controversial rail line corridor so it could be used as a bicycle path and cross-country ski trail. This contradicted the recommendation from the group formerly led by Alderman Judy Hunter for a commuter rail line to Ottawa. Kanata Standard, October 25, 1989:6.

 

October 12, 1989

Newbridge Corporation announced that it had agreed to form a joint venture company with the Soviet Ministry of Radio to manufacture and sell networking computer systems in Moscow and Minsk, U.S.S.R. The agreement was expected to increase the number of jobs at the Kanata plant from 750 to at least 1200 over the following 14 months. Kanata Standard, October 18, 1989:34.

 

October 18, 1989

The Bridlewood Residents Hydro Line Committee held a public meeting to announce a change in strategy in its battle to have Ontario Hydro move controversial power lines out of the community. Ontario Hydro stated that despite three years of protests and political lobbying, they would boost the electrical current in the Kingston to Ottawa line, which ran through Bridlewood. The group was attempting greater political lobbying and meeting with the Ministry of Energy. Kanata Standard, October 12, 1989:5; Kanata Standard, October 25, 1989:1-2; Kanata Standard, November 1, 1989:7.

 

October 18, 1989

Coscan Development Corporation replaced Minto Corporation as the builder of 650 housing units in the Riddell Village project. Kanata Standard, October 18, 1989:2.

 

October 18, 1989

It was reported in the Standard that Bradley Farm Estates Inc. agreed to not tear down the Bradley farmhouse on Banning Road and agreed to maintain the original structure. In late August, Kanata City Council had declared that the house be protected under the Ontario Heritage Act. Kanata Standard, October 18, 1989:2.

 

October 18, 1989

LaDean Hutchinson reported in the Standard that Mayor Des Adam was critical of Regional Council and their proposal for a transitway tunnel in downtown Ottawa. Kanata Standard, October 18, 1989:6.

 

October 21, 1989

Margaret-Anne Ford of the Glen Cairn Skating Club placed second in the pre-novice category in a regional figure skating competition. Kanata Standard, November 1, 1989:30.

 

October 24, 1989

The Kanata Public Library asked Kanata City Council for $12,500 after tenders for a needs-assessment study were received. Chairman of the Board, Patricia Shotton, related that the consulting firm would look at the library services and make recommendations on additional services over a ten-year period. Kanata Standard, October 18, 1989:41.

 

October 24, 1989

Kanata City Council approved Richgreen Realty’s bid to provide 30,000 square feet of office space at its site between Kanata Hydro and the proposed Grace Hospital for the new City Hall site. The decision to lease was estimated to cost the City over $7 million in rent and operating costs. Aldermen Hunter and James wanted to defer the decision for two weeks to allow for public discussion. Alderman Judy Hunter later criticized the secrecy of actions leading to this decision and stated in her Ward 5 Report: “Before us was a decision on where and how to locate Kanata’s new city hall. No one from the public or in the press knew that this matter was on the night’s agenda. Despite the enormity of the decision at hand, a majority of councillors did not want any public scrutiny or input before we made our choice.” A Standard editorial stated: “Kanata City Council seems to be heading for trouble. With the Sweeney controversy still a fresh memory, city aldermen are gearing up for another head-on collision over the city’s 10-year lease for its new city hall quarters.” Kanata Standard, November 1, 1989:1,5,19; Kanata Standard, November 8, 1989:1,2,7.

 

October 24, 1989

Kanata City Council approved a master plan for parks and open space for Marchwood and Lakeside. The plan was the result of a combined effort by City parks and recreation employees, Torrence and Wright Landscape, developers, and a committee of volunteers. Kanata Standard, November 1, 1989:6.

 

October 25, 1989

It was reported that the City of Kanata hired two new high-ranking staff members. Bill Arthur was hired for the engineering department, and Dave Guilbault took over as the new deputy fire chief. Kanata Standard, October 25, 1989:40; Kanata Standard, November 15, 1989:24; Kanata Standard, November 22, 1989:14.

 

October 27, 1989

Katimavik resident Arthur Provencal, 23, was sentenced the three years in connection with a rash of break and enters in Kanata. Kanata Standard, November 1, 1989:5.

 

October 31, 1989

City crews began construction on an access road for the newly acquired portion of the Sweeney property. Kanata Standard, November 1, 1989:1,5.

 

November 2, 1989

Andrew Haydon, the Regional Chairman, held a bearpit session in Kanata. He defended his $450 million plan to build a tunnel under Albert and Slater streets to speed up bus traffic through downtown Ottawa. Kanata residents were critical of the enormous cost of the project and questioned the benefit to their area. Another session was scheduled for November 9. Kanata Standard, November 8, 1989:7.

 

November 2, 1989

The Kanata City Soccer Club held its Annual General Meeting. Reg Isherwood was chosen to continue as Club president. Other executive members included Dennis Date, Tim Ralfe, Ted Farant, Tom Leafloor, Graham Jones, Barbara Evans, and John Connors. Kanata Standard, November 8, 1989:29.

 

November 7, 1989

Aldermen Hunter and James stated that they wanted to eliminate the Kanata City Council private meetings held before the regular Council meeting each week. They claimed that these in-camera sessions were too private and unnecessary. John Mlacak responded in a letter to the Editor: “During the last several years, a number of council decisions have quite disturbed me and with the recent decision-making process regarding the new city hall, I felt compelled to act on my concerns.” Alderman Hunter, in her Ward 5 Report, wrote of the “poisonous atmosphere” in Council which was one of “bitterness and division.” She added: “At the last council meeting (Nov. 7th) two residents came to council with concerns about secrecy, the exclusion of the public in Kanata’s decision-making process and the financial wisdom of the proposed city hall lease. Instead of a polite reception, former reeve John Mlacak and businessman Charles Sinclair were subjected verbal barbs and personal character attacks from the mayor. This left some of us on council and many in the audience in shock, disbelief, and sorrow.” Kanata Standard, November 15, 1989:1,3,5,43.

 

November 8, 1989

Residents in Kanata Lakes held a meeting to discuss whether or not to form a residents’ association, primarily to keep informed on development in their area before it would get out of control. Kanata Standard, November 1, 1989:5.

 

November 8, 1989

It was reported in the Standard that Hazeldean Mall celebrated its 10th Birthday in Kanata. Kanata Standard, November 8, 1989:32.

 

November 10, 1989

A seven-year-old boy found a used hypodermic needle near garbage in Katimavik and punctured himself. He was being tested for Hepatitis B and AIDS. Kanata Standard, November 22, 1989:1.

 

November 15, 1989

Campeau Corporation decided to take its 300 acres of land in the Kanata North Business Park off the market. The property had been listed for sale for eight months. Kanata Standard, November 15, 1989:3.

 

November 14, 1989

Kanata City Council agreed with the Bridlewood Community Association and passed a motion supporting that the rail corridor be used for a bike path and cross-country ski trail. Kanata Standard, November 22, 1989:20.

 

November 16, 1989

A Kanata City Council meeting erupted as the on-going debate on secrecy in Council came to a head. Alderman Judy Hunter stormed out of a closed meeting claiming that the items being dealt with in the session could have been on the agenda of Council’s regular open meeting. The item in question was Council dealing with previous public statements by Aldermen Hunter and James, when they questioned the administration’s wisdom on the City Hall issue. Alderman Read stated: “Judy Hunter is doing nothing but discrediting us, she’s tearing the city apart....She plays by her own rules and someone has to expose this.” Mayor Adam said that the Hunter’s behavior at the meeting was “absolute plain stupidity.” Hunter defended her actions and stated: “The items to be discussed were not items that needed to be brought up in-camera...Mine and Eva James’ comments in the press were being turned into a personnel matter by council.” Kanata Standard, November 22, 1989:1.

 

November 21, 1989

At a Kanata City Council meeting the hot topic was the proposed Kanata City Hall. This debate had become serious when Aldermen James and Hunter publicly stated that the dealings were kept too much in private. Council was reported as defending their position to the public for two-and-a-half hours. Alderman Hunter contended that the lease deal was not a good deal for the City. Some public members wondered why Hunter had been under personal attack from other members of council since the issue was made public. Kanata Standard, November 29, 1989:3,6,7.

 

November 24, 1989

In an interview with the Standard, Mayor Des Adam advised the Bridlewood Residents’ Hydro Line Committee to “give up the fight.” He added: “There’s nothing to be gained by continuing with this lobby effort. The lines are there and they don’t have a chance in hell of getting them out of there. Why keep hammering away at it? It’s reached the point where it’s not fair to the other residents living in Bridlewood. Their house prices are depressed. It’s not fair that the hydro line group should drag the whole community down with them.” Adam did agree, however, that the hydro lines should have never gone up in a residential community in the first place, and added that the City had done its best in 1985 to prevent them. Kanata Standard, November 29, 1989:1.

 

November 28, 1989

Kanata City Council moved in a 6-1 decision to sign the controversial 10-year $7.3 million city hall lease, pending approval from the Ontario Municipal Board. Alderman Hunter had asked Council to reconsider the leasing option and look at the alternative of purchasing the City Hall development. Adam stated that to switch to purchasing so late in the game would not be possible. Kanata Standard, December 6, 1989:1,6.

 

November 29, 1989

It was reported in the Standard that vandals damaged 21 panels on the pedestrian overpass linking Marchwood-Lakeside (Kanata Lakes) with the Kanata Town Centre. Since being built in 1982, there had been several incidences of vandalism. This time the estimated damage was between $12,000 to $15,000. Kanata Standard, November 29, 1989:3.

 

November 29, 1989

The City of Kanata’s newly formed 17-member environmental committee held its first meeting to discuss terms of reference with the city clerk and elect a Chairman and Vice-Chairman. All members were chosen through interviews with Council. The new Chairman was Michael Cloghesy. Kanata Standard, December 6, 1989:2.

 

December 5, 1989

Kanata Trustee Art Lamarche was acclaimed as the new Chairman of the Carleton Separate School Board. He had served as Trustee for five years. Kanata Standard, December 13, 1989:2.

 

December 5, 1989

The City of Kanata named Newbridge the Corporate Citizen of the Year in the 2nd Annual Awards for Design Excellence. The awards recognized Ottawa-Carleton designers, builders and owners of Kanata projects completed within the year. Kanata Standard, December 6, 1989:39.

 

December 5, 1989

The Bridlewood Community Association held its Annual General Meeting. Linda Makela resigned from her position as president and Eric Hawthorn was the only nominee for the position. Makela said that Hawthorn was concerned with issues and not afraid to speak out. She said this was needed in Bridlewood, as the community was at a critical stage of development with several strip malls and a major business and industrial development planned for 1990. Kanata Standard, December 13, 1989:2.

 

December 6, 1989

Debbie Lawes wrote a feature in the Standard on policing in Kanata. First, she discussed a shortage of police officers in the Kanata OPP detachment, at least in terms of running more proactive programs. Secondly, she expressed that Kanata would not have its own police force until at least 1995. According to Brian Switzer, the City’s chief administration officer, the current population was still too small to incur the expense of a municipal force. Kanata Standard, December 6, 1989:6.

 

December 6, 1989

Kanata’s two public libraries were implementing new computer systems, which would be available to residents in early 1991. Chief librarian, Joan Dodsworth-Ware stated that the old card catalog system would be used until the library became fully integrated with public terminals. Kanata Standard, December 6, 1989:18.

 

December 12, 1989

Kanata City Council held a budget meeting to discuss the proposed 1990 budget. It included $20,000 in its 1990 capital budget to repair the 106-year-old Orange Lodge. The City had bought the stone heritage building at a good price on July 6, due to back taxes owed. Some residents, such as John Mlacak, were critical of much of the capital budget and emphasized that spending needed to be reduced to prepare for unforeseen factors. Mayor Adam felt that there were no strong criticisms at the meeting. Kanata Standard, December 13, 1989:1; Kanata Standard, December 20, 1989:6.

 

December 13, 1989

The Standard reported that the heritage buildings and lands of Pinhey’s Point Estate would become the property of the City, due to financial difficulties experienced by the Pinhey’s Point Foundation. Kanata Standard, December 13, 1989:1.

 

December 15, 1989

A report from the Commuter Rail Study Group, a Kanata-based residents group, was released. It recommended that the Ontario government commission a study into the feasibility of establishing a commuter rail service on a line running through Bridlewood, between Carleton Place and Ottawa. Canadian Pacific was planning to rip up the tracks on January 15, though they also recommended that this be postponed until a study be completed determining the feasibility of the commuter rail system. Kanata Standard, December 20, 1989:3.

 

December 19, 1989

The 1990 Kanata City Budget was released, indicating that if the City wanted to keep the tax increase below five percent, then a cut to social services and the library would be needed. Council had previously approved a 4.8 percent tax increase. Kanata Standard, December 20, 1989:1-2.

 

December 20, 1989

The decision of the Ontario Municipal Board hearing on the proposed co-operative housing development in Glen Cairn was released. Kanata Standard, December 20, 1989:1,44.

 

Berlin Hauptbahnhof) (English: Berlin Central Station) is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It came into full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily named Berlin Hauptbahnhof–Lehrter Bahnhof. The station is operated by DB Station&Service, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG, and is classified as a Category 1 station, one of 21 in Germany and four in Berlin, the others being Berlin Gesundbrunnen, Berlin Südkreuz and Berlin Ostbahnhof.

 

Lehrter Bahnhof (Lehrte Station) opened in 1871 as the terminus of the railway linking Berlin with Lehrte, near Hanover, which later became Germany's most important east-west main line. In 1882, with the completion of the Stadtbahn (City Railway, Berlin's four-track central elevated railway line, which carries both local and main line services), just north of the station, a smaller interchange station called Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was opened to provide connections with the new line. This station later became part of the Berlin S-Bahn. In 1884, after the closure of nearby Hamburger Bahnhof (Hamburg Station), Lehrter Bahnhof became the terminus for trains to and from Hamburg.

 

Following heavy damage during World War II, limited services to the main station were resumed, but then suspended in 1951. In 1957, with the railways to West Berlin under the control of East Germany, Lehrter Bahnhof was demolished, but Lehrter Stadtbahnhof continued as a stop on the S-Bahn. In 1987, it was extensively renovated to commemorate Berlin's 750th anniversary. After German reunification it was decided to improve Berlin's railway network by constructing a new north-south main line, to supplement the east-west Stadtbahn. Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was considered to be the logical location for a new central station.

 

LOCATION

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is located at the Moabit district, at the Mitte constituency. In the north is the Europaplatz and Invalidenstraße whereas for the south it leads to Washingtonplatz and the Spree. South of the Hauptbahnhof, connects to the Spreebogenpark, together with Bundeskanzleramt and Paul-Löbe-Haus. In the east, it leads to the Mitte district, while it also extends to the Humboldthafen.

 

FUNCTION

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is part of the mushroom concept that was being made in Berlin, in which the station forms as a connecting point for converging and intersecting lines, of different modes of public transport there.

 

The station's length is 430 metres, whereas some of the platforms are 80 metres.

 

Structurally, the entire station complex is a tower station, operationally it is a crossing station similar to all central stations. The complex consists of several independent operating points:

 

Platform 1 to 8, are located underground and is used for regional and intercity services. This is similar to the Ernest station for the Frankfurt Metro, whereby the U2 and U4 trains are located at the basements 4 and 5.

Platform 9 to 10, are located underground and will be used for the future S21 (Berlin).

Platform 11 to 14, are located above-ground and is used for regional and intercity services. This is similar to the Ernest station for the Frankfurt Metro (U1 and U3).

Platform 15 to 16, are located above-ground and is used for the Berlin S-Bahn.

Platform U1 to U2, are located separately from the main station, and is used for the U55 (Berlin).

 

CONSTRUCTION AND TECHNIQUES

BUILDING

The station building has two main levels, for suburban traffic as well as three connecting and business levels. Compared to Raffles Place MRT Station and Taipei Main Station, it is one of the most densely packed stations. The upper track consists of six tracks on four bridge structures. The two outside lanes are single track and four others inside are double track. In between, the three platforms at the height of ten metres are arranged. On the lower track level are four platforms of owhich eight tracks along the north south line, at a depth of 15 metres. This is followed by the eastern end of another platform with two tracks for U55, similar to Timothy Station for Frankfurt Metro. To the east of the underground station, a similar double track platform is also being built as part of the S21 (Berlin) project.

 

The bridges in the city level not only spans the station area, but also the adjacenet Humboldthafen and are placed within 680 metres long. According to the lines of the light rail, they are curved in plan and widen due to the broadening of four to six tracks and the additional platforms from 39 to 66 meters wide. The Humboldthafen Bridge spans the Humboldthafen with a span of 60 meters. It consists of a bow with steel tubes and pre-stressed concrete beam as upper flange.

 

The upper platform hall, which runs east-west, is 321 metres long and consists of the arch-shaped arched column-free glass roof structure, which is supported by the two outer railway overpass structures. In the glass surface, a 2700 square meter photovoltaic system with a capacity of 330 kilowatts was integrated. The hall is between 46 and 66 meters wide and a maximum of 16 meters high. It consists of three sections, with the western segment 172 meters and the eastern 107 meters long. In between lies the 50 meters wide and 180 meters long north-south roof, whose barrel vaults with the main roof form a flat viaduct. Parallel to the north-south roof, the two "ironing structures" span the main roof of the platform hall and carry the north-south roof. These ironing structures contain 42,000 square meters of office space.

 

On the northeastern part of the two diagonally opposite station terraces, the sculpture of Rolling Horse, erected in 2007 by Jürgen Goertz, artificially complements the building and is reminiscent to Lehrter Bahnhof and Lehrter Stadtbahnhof. There are integrated artificial elements, which can be viewed through four portholes.

 

From the southwestern terrace, it rises the disguised chimney located underneath the Tunnel Tiergarten Spreebogen.

 

During Cyclone Kyrill, on January 18, 2007, the 8.4 metre long, 1.35 ton horizontal strut 40 metres high, crashed from the lattice-like exterior onto a staircase, onto the southwestern part of the building, another strut was torn from the anchorage. These decorative elements had only been hung up and should only hold their own weight. As a remedy, small sheets were placed above the carrier to prevent further carrier dissolution.

 

HISTORY

LEHRTER BAHNHOF FROM 1871 TO 1958

Between 1868 and 1871, a 239 kilometre railway was built between Hannover and Berlin via Lehrte by the Magdeburg Halberstädter railway company. Lehrter Bahnhof was constructed as the Berlin terminus. It was adjacent to Hamburger Bahnhof, just outside what was then Berlin's boundary at the Humbolthafen port on the river Spree. Its architects were Alfred Lent, Bertold Scholz, and Gottlieb Henri Lapierre.

 

In contrast to earlier railway stations, built with brick façades, and in keeping with then-current trends, Lehrter Bahnhof was designed in the French Neo-Renaissance style. Its originally planned stone façade was replaced with glazed tiles to save money. With its magnificent architecture, the station was known as a "palace among stations".

 

The train shed was 188 metres long and 38 metres wide. Its roof was a long barrel vault with steel supports. As was common for the period, the station was divided into an arrival side on the west, and a departure side on the east. Originally there were five tracks, four of which ended at the side and the central platform; the fifth track had no platform and served as a turnaround for the locomotives. At the turn of the century this track was removed to accommodate the widening of the central platform.

 

Although the front of the building was ornate and had a grand entrance, most passengers entered and left via the east side, where horse-drawn carriages were able to stop.

 

In 1882 the metropolitan railway, predecessor of the S-Bahn, began service along two of the Stadtbahn tracks; long-distance traffic commenced in 1884 along the other two. With the expansion of Lehrter Bahnhof, it was able to take over the functions of Hamburger Bahnhof. A 300 m connector line was built; on 14 October 1884, traffic towards Hamburg, northeast Germany, and Scandinavia was diverted to Lehrter Bahnhof, and Hamburger Bahnhof closed.

 

In 1886, the Berlin-Lehrte railway, and with it Lehrter Bahnhof, was nationalized and subsequently came under the control of the Prussian State Railways.

 

Even in its early years, the line was known as one of the country's fastest: in 1872, express trains could attain a speed of 90 km/h (56 mph). 19 December 1932 marked the maiden voyage of the famous diesel-powered Fliegender Hamburger (Flying Hamburger), which whisked passengers to Hamburg at 160 km/h).

 

In the Second World War the station was severely damaged. After the war, the shell was repaired such that it could be used temporarily. However, the postwar division of Germany spelled the end for most of West Berlin's mainline stations. On 28 August 1951 the final train departed from Lehrter Bahnhof, heading for the Wustermark and Nauen. On 9 July 1957 demolition began, and on 22 April 1958 the main entrance was blown up. The biggest challenge in the demolition of the station was to preserve the viaducts of the Stadtbahn, which ran directly overhead. Work was completed in the summer of 1959.

 

LEHRTER STADTBAHNHOF FROM 1882 TO 2002

On 15 May 1882, Lehrter Stadtbahnhof opened, situated on the Stadtbahn viaduct at the northern end of Lehrter Bahnhof concourse. This four-track station on the Stadtbahn was used mainly by suburban trains. The main purpose of the Stadtbahn was to connect central areas of Berlin with the Lehrter Bahnhof, the Schlesischer Bahnhof termini with nearby Charlottenburg, then still a separate city. It was also providing an east–west railway connection across the centre of Berlin.

 

Because of steadily increasing traffic to Lehrter Stadtbahnhof and its location on a bridge crossing the north end of Lehrter Bahnhof, elaborate changes were made to the track structure in 1912 and again in 1929. On 1 December 1930, the newly electrified suburban trains were given the designation S-Bahn, making the Lehrter Stadtbahnhof an S-Bahnhof.

 

During the War, in April 1943 the station was bombed by the Polish sabotage and diversionary squad "Zagra-lin".

 

The Stadtbahnhof survived WWII intact, but came to lose its pre-war significance due to the division of Berlin; with Lehrter Bahnhof closed, the Stadtbahnhof served only a relatively underpopulated area near the border with East Berlin. It was the final stop in West Berlin; the next station, Berlin Friedrichstraße, was in the Soviet zone, although it served as a stop on the West Berlin S- and U-Bahn systems; these parts of the station were sealed off and inaccessible to East Berliners. The S-Bahn, like the mainlines leading to West Berlin, was run by the East German railway, the Deutsche Reichsbahn. The 1961 construction of the Berlin Wall further isolated the station, and led to a boycott of the S-Bahn in West Berlin that lasted until the 1980s, when operation of the West Berlin S-Bahn lines was transferred to the West Berlin transit authority, the BVG.

 

Berlin’s 750th-anniversary celebration in 1987 saw the station, now under West Berlin control, renovated at a cost of about DM 10 million. Because it had largely been preserved in its original condition, it became a listed building.

 

However, in 2002, Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was demolished to make way for the new central station, despite its listed status. The argument was that Bellevue and Hackescher Markt stations were architecturally similar. Hackescher Markt, in former East Berlin, had been restored in 1994–1996, after German reunification.

 

PLANNING THE NEW STATION

Soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, city planners began work on a transport plan for reunified Berlin. One element of this became the "Pilzkonzept" (mushroom concept), in which a new north-south railway line intersecting the Stadtbahn was to be constructed. The name derived from the shape formed by the new line and existing lines, which vaguely resembles a mushroom.

 

In June 1992 the federal government decided that the new station should be built on the site of Lehrter Bahnhof. While close to the centre of Berlin and government buildings, the area was still not heavily populated. The following year, a design competition for the project was held, which was won by the Hamburg architecture firm Gerkan, Marg and Partners.

 

The design called for five levels. The highest level, on a bridge 10 metres above street level, was to have platforms for both long-distance and S-Bahn trains on the existing Stadbahn. The lowest level, 15 metres underground, was to have platforms served by new tunnels to Potsdamer Platz under the Spree and the Tiergarten, forming a new north-south line running to the northern part of the S-Bahn ring around central Berlin. Platforms for the planned extension to U-Bahn line 5 were also included.

 

The planning approval for the station and the north-south connection was made on 12 September 1995. In 1997, a financing agreement was signed between Perleberger Straße and Spreebogen, between the federal government and the railway in the total amount of 700 million euros. The federal share amounted to half a billion of euros. Any additional cost increases should be broken down according to a defined key.

 

New York-based Tishman Speyer Properties was commissioned by Bahn AG to develop the station. Execution planning and construction supervision were carried out by the Stuttgart engineering consultants Schlaich, Bergermann and Partner.

 

The Hauptbahnhof was planned to have platforms for the cancelled Transrapid maglev train, which is at platform 8. Later on, it was replaced by normal railway tracks.

 

BUILDiNG THE NEW STATION

The building work took place in several stages. In 1995 the construction of the Tiergarten tunnels began, and this work was finished in 2005 with the completion of the last station tunnel. The tunnels provide four tubes for long-distance and regional services and two tubes in a separate alignment for the U-Bahn, in addition to a road tunnel ventilated by a 60-metre-high tower completed in 2004. During its construction, the course of the Spree had to be diverted (1996–1998). Water leaks in the tunnels caused over one year's delay to the construction work.

 

In 1998, the construction of the station proper began. About 1.5 million cubic meters of material were excavated for the pits, which are 90,000 square meters in total and about 20 meters deep. In their place, 227,000 cubic meters of concrete and 13,000 tons of steel reinforcement were installed. With 27-meter-long buoyancy anchors (a total of 250 kilometers) and 180 kilometers of inclined anchors, the foundation was anchored against the buoyant pressure of groundwater (200 kilonewtons per square meter).

 

On September 9, 1998, the foundation stone was laid symbolically by Federal Minister of Transport Wissmann, railway director Ludewig and Berlin's governing mayor Eberhard Diepgen in the then 17 -meter-deep excavation pit. The commissioning date was in 2003. Construction costs were estimated at 800 million DM (409 million euros). Every year, 50 million passengers on long-distance and 86 million regional passengers should use the station.

 

After groundwater had penetrated into the pit of the excavation pit as a result of a leak, the completion date was postponed in the spring of 1999. The incident necessitated a far-reaching change in the safety concept during the construction phase, in order to prevent the groundwater lying about three meters below the ground. Under the new schedule, the station should be finished in 2003 in the shell, 2004, a trial operation begin. In the middle of 2001, commissioning for 2006 was expected.

 

Construction of the bridges for the new S-Bahn route began in 2001. These needed to span not only the entire length of the station, but also the adjacent Humboldthafen port, and are 450 metres long. Because of the alignment of the S-Bahn they are curved, and each pair of tracks has a separate bridge. Bridges of this type had never been built before, and represented a special challenge for the Egyptian engineer Hani Azer, the chief construction engineer since 2001.

 

The main station hall is spanned by a similarly curved glass roof with a surface area of about 85 metres by 120 metres, which was installed in February 2002. A photovoltaic system was integrated into the glass surface. The steel and glass construction was a difficult task for the engineers, particularly as the glass roofs were shortened by approximately 100 metres to speed up construction.

 

Over the first weekend of July 2002 the bridges and main station hall were brought into service so that traffic could be diverted onto the new alignment. The old Lehrter Stadtbahnhof S-Bahn station was closed and rapidly demolished to make way for further new building. On 9 September 2002 the station was renamed "Berlin Hauptbahnhof – Lehrter Bahnhof".

 

The main concourse, supported by two towers, provides roughly 44,000 square metres (470,000 sq ft) of commercial space. Construction of the towers began in 2005. On two separate weekends, 29 July and 13 August 2005, structural frames were installed, supporting the structure above the east-west tracks. This was built using a new technique: the frames, each weighing 1250 t, were lowered by steel cables at a rate of 6 metres per hour; the remaining 20 millimetres gap between the bow frames upon completion of the lowering process was subsequently closed.

 

During summer 2003 a survey commissioned by Peter Strieder, Berlin's Senator for City Development and Traffic, and Deutsche Bahn director Hartmut Mehdorn was conducted among Berlin residents with the intention of selecting a name for the station. Of the three possibilities listed on the survey, the majority of participants opted for Lehrter Bahnhof; nevertheless, the station remained "Berlin Hauptbahnhof – Lehrter Bahnhof", an option that was not listed. It was decided early in 2005 that the station would be renamed "Berlin Hauptbahnhof" on the date of its opening, 28 May 2006, to avoid confusing rail passengers. On the same day, Berlin Papestraße station, which was rebuilt as the city's second-largest station, opened officially under its new name, Berlin Südkreuz (South Cross), similar to the existing Ostkreuz and Westkreuz stations. It is also on the new north-south route. Although it was intended to open a further station as Berlin-Nordkreuz (North Cross), the name Berlin-Gesundbrunnen was retained for what became Berlin's fourth biggest railway station for commuter and long distance trains, located in a more northern part of Berlin, where the circle and north-south-line of the S-Bahn cross each other.

 

In 2005 the bridging segments, which cross over the roof of the station, were lowered. This was the first time, this unique method to build later office rooms was applied.

 

The architect Meinhard von Gerkan filed a complaint against Deutsche Bahn in October 2005 after Deutsche Bahn altered the station construction timeline without proper authority. The complaint was upheld in late 2006. There may therefore be further construction on the station in the future.

 

In addition, Deutsche Bahn decided to implement a slightly different version of the "Pilzkonzept" by running intercity trains through the new Tiergarten tunnels rather than via the Stadtbahn. This move was unpopular for its effect on Berlin's two previous main stations; Bahnhof Berlin Zoologischer Garten (Zoo Station) was downgraded to a regional railway station, and the number of main line services to Berlin Ostbahnhof (East Station) was drastically reduced.

 

OPENING CEREMONY

On 26 May 2006, the station was ceremonially opened by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who arrived together with transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee in a specially chartered InterCityExpress from Leipzig. A "Symphony of Light" was performed immediately following the dedication. Reamonn and BAP performed at the station, and there were also events at the other new stations: Gesundbrunnen, Potsdamer Platz and Südkreuz. Berlin Hauptbahnhof officially went into operation on 28 May 2006.

 

The opening ceremony was marred by an attack by a drunken 16-year-old wielding a knife, who stabbed members of the public leaving the ceremony. Forty-one people were wounded, six seriously, before the youth was arrested. According to police, the youth says he cannot remember his act of violence and is still denying it. One of the first stabbing victims was HIV-positive, leading to worries that other victims may have been infected, although this did not prove to be the case. The youth was charged with attempted murder, and was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted manslaughter in 33 cases in 2007.

 

SINCE OPENING

On 18 January 2007, two steel beams of the south-west façade were torn loose during European windstorm Kyrill. One of them, an 8.4 metre long beam weighing 1.35 tonnes, dropped 40 metres onto a staircase below, and the other impacted and damaged a third beam. The station had suffered some flooding and had been evacuated due to the complete cancellation of train service in Germany. Consequently, nobody was injured and the station was cleared for reopening the following day. The beams had not been welded or bolted in place but laid down like shelves in a bookcase. In the next days extra lugs were welded to the remaining beams to secure them in place and the station declared stormproof on 23 January.

 

The U55 (Berlin U-Bahn) opened in August 2009, connecting the Hauptbahnhof with the Brandenburger Tor station.

 

The rail link to current Berlin Schönefeld Airport is to be reorganized for its replacement with the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport. The airport express line will maintain a travel time of 30 minutes.

 

The rail bridge construction leading into the upper level of the station forms a curve, and some of the screws holding it in place loosened. This required a €25 million reconstruction which involved the closure of the upper level rail tracks during a 3-month period in summer 2015.

 

OPERATIONAL USAGE

The upper level of the station has six tracks (two of which used for the Berlin S-Bahn) served by three island platforms. The lower level has eight tracks served by four island platforms for main-line trains, plus a further island platform for the Berlin U-Bahn. The lower level is often denoted by 'tief' on travel guides, etc. (thus the calling point may be "Berlin Hbf (tief)"). There is no rail connection between the upper and lower level track in the station area (or anywhere else nearby). 1,800 trains call at the station per day and the daily number of passengers is estimated to be at 350,000.

 

As of 2011, the station is used by InterCityExpress, Intercity, Interregioexpress, RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and S-Bahn trains. The station also hosts several international trains, and the most distant cities reached are Novosibirsk (Russia) and Astana (Kazakhstan), with an express named "Sibirjak". The upper part of the station, with the east-west tracks, is part of the Berlin Stadtbahn, with trains leading to locations like Hanover or Cologne. The subterranean station, which lies in the north-south Tiergarten tunnel, offers long distance services to Hamburg, Leipzig or Munich.

 

S-BAHN

For the north-south connection is in the course of S21 S-platform in the tunnel level initially in a northerly direction with the Ringbahn, later of a continuation as a tunnel section with the Potsdamer Platz are connected. The construction of the northern section began in January 2010 and was initially scheduled to be completed by 2015. The realization of the southern section is after completion of the construction work on the extension of U5 expected to begin of 2019.

 

U-BAHN

The U-Bahn platforms are presently served only by the U55, which is not connected to the rest of the U-Bahn network. It was opened on 8 August 2009. This line is operated as a single-track shuttle, and only one of the two platform tracks is currently used. The other is behind a metal fence, mounted in the ground. Construction of a 2.2 kilometres connection to line U5 commenced in April 2010 and is expected to be completed in 2017. In the long term it is planned to extend the U5 from the main station towards the west to Turmstraße and Jungfernheide. Due to lack of funds from the state of Berlin, the northwestern continuation is not expected in the near future.

 

The underground station is in the second level of the main station, and east of the deep north-south train platforms (tracks 1-8). It has a central platform, which is covered with granite. To exit the platform are three stairs, an escalator and a lift. In addition, the Underground Station is equipped with tactile paving for accessibility.

 

The platform hall has a length of 140 metres, 11 metres in height and 19 metres in width, the wall cladding consists of enamel plates which are decorated with photographs of the former Berlin head stations. Furthermore, colored lighting illuminates the ceiling space above the platform.

 

Since it is the terminus of the to-be-extended U5, a short two-pronged branch railway was built to the north. One of the two sweeping track is located at a lockable manhole, through which the U-Bahn carriages can be replaced if necessary with a crane. This currently represents the only way to install U-Bahn carriages in the tunnel, because the line U55 does not yet connect with the rest of the U-Bahn network.

 

Zoning for an underground line under the Invalidenstraße (U11) is provided for at the station, however this is only likely to be constructed in the far future.

 

TRAM

In 2009, the plan approval process was to build a tram line extension track that on the Invalidenstraße the station to Berlin soll. In December 2010, had the Administrative Court two complaints from residents and BUND against the planned in connection with the tram extension two lanes - two-lane upgrading the road to traffic from and realized the construction project to be implemented as a was the official start of construction in the spring. 2011. On 14 December 2014, the line M5 was extended from S Hackescher Markt to Hauptbahnhof.

 

On 29 August 2015 the tram lines M8 and M10 were also extended from S Nordbahnhof to Hauptbahnhof.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Monmouth

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Monmouth

Welsh: Trefynwy

 

Located a bit north of Wales's southeast corner, on the border with England. Wales is the center west of Great Britain. Located a bit north of Wales's southeast corner, on the border with England. Wales is the center west of Great Britain.Monmouth

Monmouth shown within Monmouthshire

Population10,508 (2011)[1]

OS grid referenceSO505125

Principal areaMonmouthshire

Ceremonial countyGwent

CountryWales

Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom

Post townMONMOUTH

Postcode districtNP25

Dialling code01600

PoliceGwent

FireSouth Wales

AmbulanceWelsh

EU ParliamentWales

UK ParliamentMonmouth

Welsh AssemblyMonmouth

Websitewww.monmouth.gov.uk

List of places UK Wales Monmouthshire

Coordinates: 51.81°N 2.72°W

 

Monmouth (/ˈmɒnməθ/ mon-məth; Welsh: Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a traditional county town in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow meets the River Wye, within 2 miles (3.2 km) of the border with England. The town is 36 miles (58 km) northeast of Cardiff, and 127 miles (204 km) west of London. It is within the Monmouthshire local authority, and the parliamentary constituency of Monmouth. According to the 2001 census, its population was 8,877, increasing to 10,508 at the 2011 census.

 

The town was the site of a small Roman fort, Blestium, and became established after the Normans built a castle here after 1067. Its mediaeval stone gated bridge is the only one of its type remaining in Britain. The castle later came into the possession of the House of Lancaster, and was the birthplace of King Henry V in 1387. In 1536, it became the county town of Monmouthshire.

 

Monmouth later became a tourist centre at the heart of the Wye Valley, as well as a market town. It now acts as a shopping and service centre, and as a focus of educational and cultural activities for its surrounding rural area.

 

Etymology

The name Monmouth is an English contraction of 'Monnow-mouth'. The Welsh name for the river, Mynwy, which may originally have meant "fast-flowing", was anglicised as Monnow. The town was originally known in Welsh as Abermynwy ("mouth of the Monnow"), replaced by Trefynwy ("Monnow town" – the initial m of Mynwy mutating in Welsh to f pronounced /v/) by the 1600s.

 

History

Excavations undertaken by the Monmouth Archaeological Society on sites along Monnow Street have uncovered a wealth of information about the early history of the town. Indeed, the Council for British Archaeology have designated Monmouth as one of the top ten towns in Britain for archaeology.

 

Prehistoric

Evidence of a Bronze Age boatbuilding community, including three 100 feet (30 m) long channels adjoining the site of a now-vanished lake, was discovered in September 2013, during archaeological investigations by the Monmouth Archaeological Society of the Parc Glyndwr housing development site, immediately north-west of the town.

 

The excavations later revealed the remains of a Neolithic crannog. The dwelling was constructed on stilts on a man-made island away from the lake shore in water up to 10 feet (3.0 m) deep. Oak timbers had been "skillfully" cut with stone or flint axes to form stilts, of posts and poles, which "probably" rested on three parallel fully-grown tree 'sleeper beams', up to 3 feet 3 inches (1 m) wide, laid horizontally on the lakebed.[5][6] Timbers from the structure were radiocarbon dated to 4867 years before present (BP).

 

Roman times

The first recorded settlement at Monmouth was the small Roman fort of Blestium, one of a network of military bases established on the frontiers of the Roman occupation. This was connected by road to the larger Roman towns at Glevum (Gloucester) and Isca Augusta (Caerleon). Archaeologists have found Roman pottery and coins within the modern town centre. During the later Roman period, between the 2nd and late 4th centuries, it appears to have been a centre for iron working, using the local iron ores and charcoal also worked at nearby Gobannium (Abergavenny) and Ariconium (near Ross-on-Wye).

 

The Middle Ages

 

Monmouth Castle, part of which remains in use as a regimental headquarters and museum

 

The only known example of an original Monmouth cap, dating from the 16th century, on display at Monmouth Museum

After the end of Roman rule in Britain, the area was at the southern edge of the Welsh kingdom of Ergyng. The only evidence of continuing settlement at Monmouth is a record of a 7th-century church, at an unknown location within the town, dedicated to the Welsh saint Cadoc. In 1056, the area was devastated by the Welsh prince Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, on his way with an army of Welsh, Saxons and Danes to defeat Ralph, Earl of Hereford and sack the Saxon burh at Hereford, 18 miles (29 km) to the north.[10]

 

Following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the earldom of Hereford was given to William fitzOsbern of Breteuil, Normandy, one of King William's closest allies, who was responsible for defending the area against the Welsh. A new castle was built at Monmouth, holding commanding views over the surrounding area from a sound defensive site and exerting control over both river crossings and the area's important resources of farmland, timber and minerals.[8] Initially it would have been a motte and bailey castle, later rebuilt in stone, and refortified and developed over time. A town grew up around it, and a Benedictine priory was established around 1075 by Withenoc, a Breton who became lord of Monmouth after Roger, the son of William fitzOsbern, was disgraced.[8] The priory may have once been the residence of the monk Geoffrey of Monmouth, who was born around 1100 and is best known for writing the chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae ("History of the Kings of Britain").

 

The town was recorded in the Domesday Book, and expanded thereafter. There was early burgage development along Monnow Street, and the suburb of Overmonnow, west of the river, began to develop by the 12th century.[8] Charters from the period refer to the town's trade in iron, and to forges making use of local ore and charcoal. The cinders produced by the forges formed heaps, and were used in building foundations; the name of Cinderhill Street in Overmonnow dates from this period.

 

During the period of turmoil between the supporters of King Henry III and the barons who sought to curtail his power, the town was the scene of a major battle in 1233, in which the king's forces were routed by the troops of Richard Marshal, Earl of Pembroke. Later, the castle was extended by Henry's son Edmund Crouchback, after he became Earl of Lancaster in 1267.[8] In about 1300, town walls were built, and the bridge over the Monnow was fortified. The bridge, now pedestrianised, remains in place today, the only such fortified bridge in Britain and reputedly one of only three similar crossings in Europe.

 

King Edward II was briefly imprisoned at Monmouth Castle in 1326 after being overthrown by his wife Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer, the Earl of March.[13] In the mid 14th century, the castle and town came into the possession of the House of Lancaster through the marriage of John of Gaunt to Blanche of Lancaster. John of Gaunt strengthened the castle, adding the Great Hall, and the castle became a favourite residence of the House of Lancaster. In 1387, John of Gaunt's grandson was born to Mary de Bohun, in the Queen's Chamber within the gatehouse of Monmouth Castle, while his father Henry Bolinbroke was hunting in the area. The boy was known as Henry of Monmouth before his coronation as Henry V; supported by longbowmen from the area, he won the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Monmouth's links with Henry are commemorated in the naming of the main town square, Agincourt Square, and in the statue of Henry on the front of the Shire Hall.

 

From the 14th century onwards, the town became noted for the production of woollen Monmouth caps.[12] However, as a border town, its prosperity suffered after nearby areas, including Usk and Grosmont, were devastated through attacks by supporters of Owain Glyndŵr around 1405, though Monmouth itself did not come under attack.[10]

 

Post-mediaeval times[edit]

1610 Map of Monmouth by John Speed, roll over the image to link to the places lifted

1610 Map of Monmouth by John Speed, roll over the map key to link to the places listed.

In 1536, Henry VIII imposed the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, abolishing the powers of the Marcher Lords and integrating the administration of England and Wales. A new shire was created covering the area west of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, and Monmouth became its county town. The town gained representation in the English Parliament at the same time, and its priory was dissolved. In 1605, James I granted Monmouth a town charter by letters patent. The granting of the charter included the charge that the town "at all perpetual future times ... be and remain a town and borough of Peace and Quiet, to the example and terror of the wicked and reward of the good".[12] The layout of the town as depicted in Speed's map of 1610 would be easily recognisable to present day inhabitants, with the layout of the main axis clearly visible from the castle via the main street, Monnow Street, to the bridge. Monnow Street is a typical market street, in being wide in the middle (for those selling) and narrow at each end, to help prevent livestock escaping.

 

Monmouth School was founded by William Jones in 1614. The castle changed hands three times during the English Civil War, and Oliver Cromwell passed through on his way to retaking Chepstow Castle and laying siege to Pembroke Castle in 1648.[14] Monmouth castle was slighted after the wars ended, but the town itself grew in prosperity. Great Castle House, built in 1673, is now the home of the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia), the oldest regiment in the British Army. The Shire Hall was built in 1724, and was used for the local Assizes, with the area beneath the building serving as the town market.

 

By the end of the 18th century, the town had become a popular centre for visitors undertaking the "Wye Tour", an excursion by boat through the scenic Wye Valley taking in the picturesque sights of Ross-on-Wye, Goodrich, Tintern, Chepstow and elsewhere. Poets William Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge, and Robert Southey, as well as painter J. M. W. Turner, were among those who visited the area.

 

The 19th and 20th centuries.

 

The town was visited in 1802 by Admiral Horatio Nelson, who knew the importance of the area's woodland in providing timber for the British Navy and approved a Naval Temple built in his honour on the nearby Kymin Hill. In 1840, at Monmouth's Shire Hall, Chartist protesters John Frost, Zephaniah Williams and William Jones became the last men in Britain to be sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered after being found guilty of treason following riots in Newport that led to 20 deaths. The sentences were later commuted to transportation to Van Diemen's Land.

 

Until the establishment of an official police force in 1857, Monmouth had a parish constable assisted by beadles to keep law and order. The appointed constables held office for a year and were often men who had experience in other local government or community roles. William Fuller who held office as Monmouth's constable for over twenty years in the early to mid 19th century, also served as Inspector of Nuisances, Chief of the Fire Brigade, Inspector of Weights and Measures, Clerk of the Market, and Conservator of the Wye.

 

Fuller is also recorded as having rescued people from drowning, acted as emergency midwife, and rescued a woman from a flooded house. The types of crime that Fuller and subsequent police officers had to deal with in and around Monmouth as the century progressed were recorded in detail in the local newspapers, the Merlin and the Monmouthshire Beacon. These crimes included theft of livestock, clothing, food, valuables, fuel (wood and coal); assault; vandalism; highway robbery; fraud; passing counterfeit coin; prostitution, and indecent exposure, as well as the more serious crimes of concealing the death of an infant, carnal knowledge without consent, and murder. The constable would have been present in court at Shire Hall when many of these cases came before the Quarter Sessions or Assizes. Once the court had passed sentence there was a wide range of punishment available to the authorities. Capital offences were dealt with at Monmouth County Gaol, as were whippings and sentences of hard labour. Although a police force of four constables and a sergeant was established in Monmouth in 1836, uncertain finances meant that within two years the force was reduced to just two constables.

 

Four railways were built to serve Monmouth between 1857 and 1883: the Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway, the Ross and Monmouth Railway, the Wye Valley Railway, and the Coleford Railway. All of these closed between 1917 and 1964.[19]

 

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Monmouth had close links with the Rolls family, who built a mansion at The Hendre just outside the town. In 1904, Charles Rolls established a new car making business with Henry Royce, but in 1910 he was killed in an aeroplane crash at the age of 32; he is commemorated by a statue in Agincourt Square. St Mary's Church contains a memorial to the men of who lost their lives in HMS Monmouth, which was sunk with all hands on 1 November 1914, by German cruisers SMS Scharnhorst and SMS Gneisenau off the Chilean Coast at the Battle of Coronel; the church hosts an annual service in remembrance.[20] Seven Royal Navy ships have been named after the town, including a Type 23 frigate launched in 1991 which is still in operation.

 

Monmouth remained a relatively sedate and quiet small town for most of the 20th century; its passenger rail services ended in 1959, but its road connections greatly improved with the new A40 bypassing the town in 1966, and later connecting the town to the motorway system. These improved communications contributed to the development of the town, with suburbs extending beyond the rivers Wye and Monnow to the south-east, west and north of the old town centre.

 

Geography

 

Floods in Monmouth, Wonastow Road, 1929

Monmouth is located in an area of Devonian old red sandstone, at the point where the River Wye is joined by its tributary, the River Monnow, and immediately north of the point at which the smaller River Trothy flows into the Wye from the west. Immediately to the south, the Wye enters its gorge, incised into sandstone and, in particular, carboniferous limestone. The town is surrounded by wooded hills to its north, east and south, including Buckholt Wood (230 metres (750 ft)), The Kymin (260 metres (850 ft)), and The Graig (258 metres (846 ft)), with more gently undulating terrain to the west.[21] The town centre itself is sited on a low-lying spur between the floodplains of the Wye and Monnow, and has frequently suffered from severe flooding.[22] The water meadows to the north and south of the town centre, known respectively as Vauxhall Fields and Chippenham, have generally remained free of development.

 

In climatic terms, the town is located between those areas around the Severn estuary which show a maritime influence, and the cooler and drier conditions of the Midlands of England further inland.[21] The nearby Ross-on-Wye weather station shows average daily maximum temperatures ranging from 7.3 °C (45.1 °F) in January to 22.0 °C (71.6 °F) in July, with 1504 hours of sunshine per year, and an average annual rainfall of 706 millimetres (27.8 in).

  

Booklet from the Contestant - Progress Singapore Party

 

Nicknamed the “COVID-19 Election”, The 2020 Singaporean general election is scheduled for Friday, 10 July 2020. It will elect Members of Parliament to the 14th Parliament of Singapore since Singapore's independence in 1965, using the first-past-the-post electoral system. Voting is mandatory for all Singaporeans aged 21 or above as of 1 March 2020 for the purpose of this election.

 

This election will be the 18th general election in Singapore and the 13th since independence. The ruling People's Action Party (PAP) is seeking to secure their 15th consecutive term in government since 1959. 192 candidates (including 73 new candidates and one independent candidate) from 11 parties will be contesting, the most ever in the history of Singapore, surpassing the record set from the 2015 election. Two constituencies, Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC and Pioneer SMC, will see a three-cornered fight, with the former being the first multi-cornered contest inside a Group Representation Constituency since the 1992 Marine Parade by-election 28 years prior. This election also marks the second consecutive election not to have a walkover in any constituency.

 

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Knowle - Solihull, West Midlands UK -- Knowle /ˈnoʊl/ is a village a few miles southeast of the town of Solihull, West Midlands, England. Knowle lies within the historic county boundaries of Warwickshire, and since 1974 it has been part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull within the West Midlands. It lies a few miles from the modern Warwickshire border and has a population of around 11,000 residents. Knowle is in the constituency of Meriden.

Knowle still retains considerable village charm, despite being on the very edge of the West Midlands conurbation. Knowle is contiguous with the village of Dorridge and the smaller village Bentley Heath, both of which are mainly residential in nature. The district of Copt Heath to the north is considered a suburb of Knowle.

Knowle has many shops. Most of these are located on the High Street, though there are a number of side roads and a shopping precinct. Knowle Library is maintained by Solihull Council in a building called Chester House dating back to Tudor times. At the rear of the building a Knot garden has been restored. The small shopping area also has restaurants of all varieties, making Knowle a popular destination for dining out. In 2011 a Costa Coffee opened on the High Street and plans for a new Waitrose store have been passed by Solihull MBC despite considerable opposition from local residents.

Knowle is near to the Grand Union Canal which links Birmingham to London. Knowle Locks are a flight of five locks (was originally six until around 1930) near the canal bridge on Kenilworth Road. Recreation areas include Jobs Close Park, which has a children's play area, tennis courts, football field and plenty of open space. There is also another children's playing field owned by the National Trust near Knowle Primary School, and in the smaller village of Bentley Heath, there is a newly refurbished park, near the highly rated school, of the same name. There is also Knowle Football Club, Knowle Village Cricket Club who play in Division 2 of the Warwickshire Cricket League, after 3 promotions in three years, and the exclusive Copt Heath Golf Club. The Silhillians Sports Club is nearby, the home venue of Silhillians Rugby Union Football Club which is the home of Warwickshire Hockey as well as Old Silhillians Hockey Club.

There are also many clubs in the village for all ages. There are various Scout and Guide groups including a karate class and church groups. The Knowle Society exists to help maintain the village and its heritage. Knowle Local History Society [1] also holds a wealth of historical information about the village and its people from very early times. Knowle also has drama groups and even an Operatic Society. Knowle and Dorridge Lions organise several events, including the annual 5 mile / 8 km Knowle Fun Run. There is a Masonic Hall and Knowle and Dorridge Round Table meet locally.

Knowle has two schools, a Church of England primary school with a nursery and a secondary school, Arden School, which caters for Dorridge and Bentley Heath as well. In September 2006, a sixth form centre commenced with over 50 students. The project cost approximately £4,000,000 and has attracted students from many of the surrounding schools. A new design and technology block has also been recently completed with planning permission approved for another similar building. They are considered to be well performing schools, even considering the advantaged catchment area.

The main church is a Church of England Parish Church and there is a United Reformed Church on Station Road. The Parish Church offers many services using modern equipment, the old Guild house and much newer St. John's Hall.

The housing in Knowle is mainly detached or semi-detached with the occasional terraced street and some apartment blocks. More recently, developers have bought up housing for demolition and are building "windfall developments" of apartments on its outskirts. House prices are considerably higher than the national average due to the demand for housing in the fringes of the West Midlands conurbation and high achieving schools.

The village lies on the A4141 road and is close to the M42 motorway. Knowle does not have its own railway station, but nearby Dorridge railway station, on the Chiltern Main Line, was previously known as Knowle and Dorridge and for a period just as' 'Knowle' '. Another station lies a few miles north at Hampton-in-Arden on the Coventry-Birmingham (West Coast) line and Birmingham International railway station is nearby for express services to London Euston. Knowle is also close to Birmingham International Airport and is linked to Solihull by bus service S3. Junction 5 of the M42 motorway runs a little over a mile from the western edge of the village.

Surrounding villages include Bentley Heath, Dorridge, Hampton-in-Arden, Balsall Common, Hockley Heath and Henley-in-Arden. To the northwest is Solihull and Birmingham, to the east Coventry, and to the south Warwick, Leamington Spa and, further afield, Stratford-upon-Avon (Wikipedia)

Villivakkam is a neighbourhood located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is a residential area known for famous temples. Situated between the industrial estates of Ambattur, Padi, ICF, Perambur Loco Works, this place is populated mostly by the working-class people of Chennai (especially people working in manufacturing). The neighbourhood is served by Villivakkam railway station of the Chennai Suburban Railway.

Etymology[edit]

According to legend, two demons, 'Ilvalan' and 'Vatapi', who were born to Sage Dhurva and Aswamukhi, tortured the entire world and killed many innocent people. One of the demons used to take the shape of a fruit and the other used to offer it to some innocent passer-by and after he consumed it, the demon would come out by tearing his stomach. It was left to Sage Agasthya to kill these demons with his mystic powers. It was here that the slaying of the demons took place and as a result the place came to be known as Konnur in times of yore.[1]

It got the name of Villivakkam much later which has its own bearing - that Sage Agasthya planted a "Vilvam" plant (which has got medicinal and spiritual healing power) and hence the name. The Shiva temple in Villivakkam has a very old Vilvam tree which the priests consider sacred and use its leaves for the daily puja.

Transport[edit]

Road[edit]

Villivakkam has a bus terminus which is located off Konnur High Road. Jawaharlal Nehru Road and Konnur High Road are the arterial roads encompassing Villivakkam. The construction of the long pending Villivakkam Subway was started on 4 December 2007 and was inaugurated on 19 June 2012.[2] The 447.50-m-long subway built at a cost of 390 million, would also have a bicycle lane of 2.5 m width.

Bus Routes

Bus Route NoStarting PointPasses ByStop Point

20 BroadwayPurasawalkamVillivakkam

20T ThiruverkaduAmbatturVillivakkam

22 Anna SquareEgmoreVillivakkam

27D, 27KForeshore EstateLICVillivakkam

23V VelacherySaidapetVillivakkam

37C VadapalaniPurasawalkamVillivakkam

47 AdyarSaidapetVillivakkam

47B Besant NagarSaidapetVillivakkam

T47 Tidal ParkSaidapetVillivakkam

48 Vallalar NagarAyanavaramVillivakkam

65V PoonamalleAmbatturVillivakkam

70T Vandalur ZooCMBTVillivakkam

127H Anna SquareLICVillivakkam

7B BroadwayVillivakkamKorattur

20M BroadwayVillivakkamKumaran Nagar

20N BroadwayVillivakkamPoombukar Nagar

48C Vallalar NagarVillivakkamCMBT

114A AyanavaramVillivakkamRedhills

120 BroadwayVillivakkamAvadi

248 Vallalar NagarVillivakkamPudur

 

Rail[edit]

Chennai suburban railway station at Villivakkam is between the segment of Chennai Central and Arakkonam Junction, and 10 km from Central, there are suburban services to Chennai Central, Chennai Beach, Velachery, Annanagar, Ambattur,Avadi, Pattabiram, Tiruvallur, Arakkonam and Ponneri. The link from Chennai to Arakkonam junction is the oldest railway line in South India.

EMU Train Timings at Villivakkam

BeachTowards Chennai CentralAvadiPattabiramTiruvallurArakkonamTiruttani

 

Places of Worship[edit]

There are many ancient places of worship in Villivakkam. Some of the popular ones are:

Agatheeswerar Temple

Baaliamman Temple

Sowmya Damodara Perumal Temple

Murgan temple.

Sri Pon Mariamman Temple

The Masjid-eh-Rahmaniya Mosque,

The Philadelphia church near ICF,

The Sacred Heart Church in Srinivasa Nagar

Moppili Amman Koil

St.Stephen's church

The Pentecostal Mission (behind mohan nursing home)

World Christians Believers Fellowship (near bus terminus)

Shekkinah Assembly (Bajanai Koil 2nd street)

ResurrectionLutheranChurch,#331,MTH Road,Chennai-49.(Near ICF Bus stand)

Maharaja of Villivakkam[edit]

Maharaja Raja Shri Janakiram Reddiar avargal was a well known Zamindar and Philanthropist in the region. He was responsible for the region in official authority when the Britishers ruled India and acted as a custodian of Villivakkam village. Large tracts of land were owned by him, with a colony named after his demise. He was given the title Maharaja Raja Shri by the Britishers. The first electricity connection in the region post independence was given to his residence. He was instrumental in the development of Villivakkam.

Schools[edit]

Children at Villivakkam have a plenty of well established Schools including Pre-primary school. The schools are as follows:

Aerokids Play School

AppleTree Play Centre

Singaram Pillai Matriculation Higher Secondary School

ICF H.S.SCHOOL,

St.Johns Matriculation Higher Secondary School,

The Singaram Pillai Boys Hr. Sec. School

I.C.F. Silver jubilee Mat. High. Sec. school,

Sri Kanaka Durga Telugu Higher Secondary School (Largest Telugu School in Chennai/Tamil Nadu)

Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary (Srinivasa Nagar),

Sri.V.Batcha Reddy High School,

Nagalakshmi nursery & Primary School,

Sri Ramakrishna nursery and primary school,

M A Krishnaswamy Matric Hr. Sec school,

Dhanish matric hr.sec.school,

John Williams Matriculation School,

Our Lady of velanganni Mat Hr Sec School,

St.Thomas Primary School,

Good will High School,

Good will Mat.Hr.Sec.School,

Govt.Girls Hr.Sec.School, Sidco Nagar,

Padma Sarangapani Matriculation Higher Secondary School and

Velanganni Matric.Hr.Sec School.

Kulapathi Dr. S Balakrishna Joshi Gurukulam, Mat. Hr. Sec. School

The ground in Singaram pillai School, V-Ground between the rail tracks and grounds in ICF are common places for playing football, cricket and other sports. The Tennis court and cricket pitch at I.C.F offers high quality coaching.

Entertainment[edit]

There are few cine halls like Nathamuni, Ganga in Villivakkam. The erstwhile Royal Theatre, near the Villivakkam bus terminus is renovated and renamed as AGS Cinemas with 5 Screens.

Hospitals[edit]

Niranjana Hospital and Well Women Centre (formerly Nirmal Polyclinic and Nursing Home)

Mohan Reddy Nursing Home

Cauvery Trust Hospitals

Leela raj Maternity Clinic

DRJ hospitals Become Life Care Hospital.

I.C.F Hospital (near ICF terminus)

Life Care Hospital

Politics[edit]

Villivakkam is the largest state assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu in terms of number of voters. The Villivakkam constituency covers an area from Annanagar in south to Madavaram in north and from Ayanavaram in east to Korattur in west.

Localities[edit]

Jankiram Reddy Colony,Agathiyar nagar, Rajamanglam, Sidco nagar, South Jagannatha Nagar, Baba nagar, Valluvar Nagar, North Jagannathan Nagar, Rajaji Nagar, Welcome Colony and Thirunagar are some of the localities in Villivakkam. Agathiyar nagar, and Thirunagar are some of the largest residential areas in this zone. Ambattur Industrial Estate and Integral Coach Factory are also located near Villivakkam Vegavathi street.

The tallest internet communication tower (Tata Indicom) in South India is located in Welcome colony, it is also the tallest non linear frequency developing tower in South India. The entire Chennai city can be seen from the top of the tower. In 2009, a solar eclipse filter camera was fixed at the top of the tower by a space team from Villivakkam Science Society.

Location in Context[edit]

Areas of Chennai

 

KolathurKolathurG.K.M Colony

Korattur / PadiPerambur

Villivakkam

 

Padi / Anna NagarI.C.F / Anna NagarI.C.F / Anna Nagar

 

Image ©Licensed to Parsons Media. 15/02/2022. London, United Kingdom. The Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the Display Signs Group during his Constituency visit. Picture by Andrew Parsons CCHQ / Parsons Media

Fatehpur Sikri (Hindi: फ़तेहपुर सीकरी, Urdu: فتحپور سیکری‎) is a city and a municipal board in Agra district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city was founded in 1569 by the Mughal emperor Akbar, and served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585. After his military victories over Chittor and Ranthambore, Akbar decided to shift his capital from Agra to a new location 37 km WSW on the Sikri ridge, to honor the Sufi saint Salim Chishti. Here he commenced the construction of a planned walled city which took the next fifteen years in planning and construction of a series of royal palaces, harem, courts, a mosque, private quarters and other utility buildings. He named the city, Fatehabad, with Fateh, a word of Arabic origin in Persian, meaning "victorious." it was later called Fatehpur Sikri. It is at Fatehpur Sikri that the legends of Akbar and his famed courtiers, the nine jewels or Navaratnas, were born. Fatehpur Sikri is one of the best preserved collections of Indian Mughal architecture in India.

 

According to contemporary historians, Akbar took a great interest in the building of Fatehpur Sikri and probably also dictated its architectural style. Seeking to revive the splendours of Persian court ceremonial made famous by his ancestor Timur, Akbar planned the complex on Persian principles. But the influences of his adopted land came through in the typically Indian embellishments. The easy availability of sandstone in the neighbouring areas of Fatehpur Sikri, also meant that all the buildings here were made of the red stone. The imperial Palace complex consists of a number of independent pavilions arranged in formal geometry on a piece of level ground, a pattern derived from Arab and central Asian tent encampments. In its entirety, the monuments at Fatehpur Sikri thus reflect the genius of Akbar in assimilating diverse regional architectural influences within a holistic style that was uniquely his own.

 

The Imperial complex was abandoned in 1585, shortly after its completion, due to paucity of water and its proximity with the Rajputana areas in the North-West, which were increasingly in turmoil. Thus the capital was shifted to Lahore so that Akbar could have a base in the less stable part of the empire, before moving back to Agra in 1598, where he had begun his reign as he shifted his focus to Deccan. In fact, he never returned to the city except for a brief period in 1601. In later Mughal history it was occupied for a short while by Mughal emperor, Muhammad Shah (r. 1719 -1748), and his regent, Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan Barha, one of the Syed Brothers, was murdered here in 1720. Today much of the imperial complex which spread over nearly two mile long and one mile wide area is largely intact and resembles a ghost town. It is still surrounded by a five mile long wall built during its original construction, on three sides. However apart from the imperial buildings complex few other buildings stand in the area, which is mostly barren, except of ruins of the bazaars of the old city near the Naubat Khana, the 'drum-house' entrance at Agra Road. The modern town lies at the western end of the complex, which was a municipality from 1865 to 1904, and later made a "notified area", and in 1901 had a population of 7,147. For a long time it was still known for its masons and stone carvers, though in Akbar time it was known and 'fabrics of hair' and 'silk-spinning'. The village of Sikri still exists nearby.

 

ARCHITECTURE OF FATEHPUR SIKRI

Fatehpur Sikri sits on rocky ridge, 3 kilometres in length and 1 km wide, and palace city is surrounded by a 6 km wall on three side with the fourth being a lake at the time. Its architect was Tuhir Das and Dhruv Chawla and was constructed using Indian principles. The buildings of Fatehpur Sikri show a synthesis of various regional schools of architectural craftsmanship such as Gujarat and Bengal. This was because indigenous craftsmen were used for the construction of the buildings. Influences from Hindu and Jain architecture are seen hand in hand with Islamic elements. The building material used in all the buildings at Fatehpur Sikri, palace-city complex, is the locally quarried red sandstone, known as 'Sikri sandstone'. It is accessed through gates along the five-mile long fort wall, namely, Delhi Gate, the Lal Gate, the Agra Gate, Birbal's Gate, Chandanpal Gate, The Gwalior Gate, the Tehra Gate, the Chor Gate and the Ajmere Gate.

 

Some of the important buildings in this city, both religious and secular are:

 

IMPORTANT BUILDINGS

Buland Darwaza: Set into the south wall of congregational mosque, the Jama Masjid at Fatehpur Sikri, this stupendous piece of architecture is 55 metre high, from the outside, gradually making a transition to a human scale in the inside. The gate was added some five years later after the completion of the mosque ca. 1576-1577 as an 'victory arch', to commemorate the Akbar's successful Gujarat campaign. It carries two inscriptions in the archway, one of which reads: "Isa, Son of Mariam said: The world is a bridge, pass over it, but build no houses on it. He who hopes for an hour may hope for eternity. The world endures but an hour. Spend it in prayer, for the rest is unseen".

 

The central portico comprises three arched entrances, with the largest one, in the centre, is known locally as the Horseshoe Gate, after the custom of nailing horseshoes to its large wooden doors for luck. Outside the giant steps of the Buland Darwaza to left is deep well.

 

Jama Masjid: It is a Jama Mosque meaning the congregational mosque, and was perhaps one of the first buildings to come up in the complex, as its epigraph gives AH 979 (AD 1571-72) as the date of its completion, with a massive entrance to the courtyard, the Buland-Darwaza added some five years later. It was built in the manner of Indian mosques, with iwans around a central courtyard. A distinguishing feature is the row of chhatri over the sanctuary. There are three mihrabs in each of the seven bays, while the large central mihrab is covered by a dome, it is decorated with white marble inlay, in geometric patterns.

 

Tomb of Salim Chishti: A white marble encased tomb of the Sufi saint, Salim Chisti (1478–1572), within the Jama Masjid's sahn, courtyard. The single-storey structure is built around a central square chamber, within which is the grave of the saint, under an ornate wooden canopy encrusted with mother-of-pearl mosaic. Surrounding it is a covered passageway for circumambulation, with carved Jalis, stone pierced screens all around with intricate geometric design, and an entrance to the south. The tomb is influenced by earlier mausolea of the early 15th century Gujarat Sultanate period. Other striking features of the tomb are white marble serpentine brackets, which support sloping eaves around the parapet.

 

On the left of the tomb, to the east, stands a red sandstone tomb of Islam Khan I, son of Shaikh Badruddin Chisti and grandson of Shaikh Salim Chishti, who became a general in the Mughal army in the reign of Jahangir. The tomb is topped by a dome and thirty-six small domed chattris, and contains a number of graves, some unnamed, all male descendants of Shaikh Salim Chisti.

 

Diwan-i-Aam : Diwan-i-Am or Hall of Public Audience, is a building typology found in many cities where the ruler meets the general public. In this case, it is a pavilion-like multi-bayed rectangular structure fronting a large open space. South west of the Diwan-i-Am and next to the Turkic Sultana's House stand Turkic Baths.

 

Diwan-i-Khas: the Diwan-i-Khas, or Hall of Private Audience, is a plain square building with four chhatris on the roof. However it is famous for its central pillar, which has a square base and an octagonal shaft, both carved with bands of geometric and floral designs, further its thirty-six serpentine brackets support a circular platform for Akbar, which is connected to each corner of the building on the first floor, by four stone walkways. It is here that Akbar had representatives of different religions discuss their faiths and gave private audience.

 

Ibadat Khana: (House of Worship) was a meeting house built in 1575 CE by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, where the foundations of a new Syncretistic faith, Din-e-Ilahi were laid by Akbar.

 

Anup Talao: A ornamental pool with a central platform and four bridges leading up to it. Some of the important buildings of the royal enclave are surround by it including, Khwabgah (House of Dreams) Akbar's residence, Panch Mahal, a five-storey palace, Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience), Ankh Michauli and the Astrologer's Seat, in the south-west corner of the Pachisi Court.

 

Hujra-i-Anup Talao: Said to be the residence of Akbar's Muslim wife, although this is disputed due to its small size.

 

Mariam-uz-Zamani's Palace: The building of Akbar's Rajput wives, including Mariam-uz-Zamani, shows Gujarati influence and is built around a courtyard, with special care being taken to ensure privacy.

 

Naubat Khana: Also known as Naqqar Khana meaning a drum house, where musician used drums to announce the arrival of the Emperor. It is situated ahead of the Hathi Pol Gate or the Elephant Gate, the south entrance to the complex, suggesting that it was the imperial entrance.

 

Pachisi Court: A square marked out as a large board game, the precursor to modern day Ludo game where people served as the playing pieces.

 

Panch Mahal: A five-storied palatial structure, with the tiers gradually diminishing in size, till the final one, which is a single large-domed chhatri. Originally pierced stone screens faced the façade, and probably sub-divided the interior as well, suggesting it was built for the ladies of the court. The floors are supported by intricately carved columns on each level, totalling to 176 columns in all.

 

Birbal's House: The house of Akbar's favorite minister, who was a Hindu. Notable features of the building are the horizontal sloping sunshades or chajjas and the brackets which support them.

 

Recent excavation done by ASI in 2000 led to unearthing of an ancient jain city very near to the fort complex.

 

Other buildings included Taksal (mint), 'Daftar Khana (Records Office), Karkhanas (royal workshop), Khazana (treasury), Turkic styled Baths, Darogha's Quarters, stables, Caravan sarai, Hakim's quarters etc.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

Fatehpur Sikri has a population of 28,757. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Fatehpur Sikri has an average literacy rate of 46%, lower than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 57%, and female literacy is 34%. In Fatehpur Sikri, 59% of the population is under 6 years of age.

 

ADMINISTRATIVE ESTABLISHMENT

Fatehpur Sikri is one of the fifteen Block headquarters in the Agra district it has 52 Gram panchayats (Village Panchayat) under it.

 

The Fatehpur Sikri, is a constituency of the Lok Sabha, Lower house of the Indian Parliament, and further comprises five Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) segments:

 

Agra Rural

Fatehpur Sikri

Kheragarh

Fatehabad

Bah

 

In all there are 12 villages of Sisodia Rajputs near Fatehpur Sikri fort in Agra district. These are Daultabad, Nayavas, Satha, korai, Behrawati, Byara, Undera, Kachora, Singarpur, Vidyapur, Onera, Arrua.

 

TRANSPORT

Fatehpur Sikri is about 39 km. from Agra. The nearest Airport is the Agra Airport (also known as Kheria Airport), 40 km from Fatehpur Sikri. The nearest railway station is the Fatehpur Sikri Railway Station, about one km. from the city centre . It is suitably connected to Agra and neighbouring centres by road, where regular bus services of UPSRTC ply, apart from Tourist buses and taxies.

 

WIKIPEDIA

It would appear that the City Council has accepted responsibility for this ‘Marian’ statue now that they have erected a “Our Lady’s Park” sign and added a few flags.

 

The fact that many mention that this statue is across the road from St. Luke’s [Bertie Ahern’s former constituency base in Drumcondra] rather than the other way around tells you a lot about how life has changed in Ireland

 

I lived in Drumcondra for many years and am fairly sure that the location of this statue was not known as Our Lady’s Park back then so it may have been re-named as such within the last few years.

 

I believe that there are more than twenty Marian statues in Dublin but in general they do not appear to be listed in any database or catalogue and therefore I am finding it difficult to track all of them down. I have always been aware of one in Stillorgan and one in Drumcondra [shown in this photograph]. I have seen others but cannot remember the exact locations.

 

My understanding is that most were erected on public land during the Marian Year of 1954 but I cannot find out who physically erected them or who is responsible for maintaining them.

 

Any information would be appreciated

 

Berlin Hauptbahnhof) (English: Berlin Central Station) is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It came into full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily named Berlin Hauptbahnhof–Lehrter Bahnhof. The station is operated by DB Station&Service, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG, and is classified as a Category 1 station, one of 21 in Germany and four in Berlin, the others being Berlin Gesundbrunnen, Berlin Südkreuz and Berlin Ostbahnhof.

 

Lehrter Bahnhof (Lehrte Station) opened in 1871 as the terminus of the railway linking Berlin with Lehrte, near Hanover, which later became Germany's most important east-west main line. In 1882, with the completion of the Stadtbahn (City Railway, Berlin's four-track central elevated railway line, which carries both local and main line services), just north of the station, a smaller interchange station called Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was opened to provide connections with the new line. This station later became part of the Berlin S-Bahn. In 1884, after the closure of nearby Hamburger Bahnhof (Hamburg Station), Lehrter Bahnhof became the terminus for trains to and from Hamburg.

 

Following heavy damage during World War II, limited services to the main station were resumed, but then suspended in 1951. In 1957, with the railways to West Berlin under the control of East Germany, Lehrter Bahnhof was demolished, but Lehrter Stadtbahnhof continued as a stop on the S-Bahn. In 1987, it was extensively renovated to commemorate Berlin's 750th anniversary. After German reunification it was decided to improve Berlin's railway network by constructing a new north-south main line, to supplement the east-west Stadtbahn. Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was considered to be the logical location for a new central station.

 

LOCATION

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is located at the Moabit district, at the Mitte constituency. In the north is the Europaplatz and Invalidenstraße whereas for the south it leads to Washingtonplatz and the Spree. South of the Hauptbahnhof, connects to the Spreebogenpark, together with Bundeskanzleramt and Paul-Löbe-Haus. In the east, it leads to the Mitte district, while it also extends to the Humboldthafen.

 

FUNCTION

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is part of the mushroom concept that was being made in Berlin, in which the station forms as a connecting point for converging and intersecting lines, of different modes of public transport there.

 

The station's length is 430 metres, whereas some of the platforms are 80 metres.

 

Structurally, the entire station complex is a tower station, operationally it is a crossing station similar to all central stations. The complex consists of several independent operating points:

 

Platform 1 to 8, are located underground and is used for regional and intercity services. This is similar to the Ernest station for the Frankfurt Metro, whereby the U2 and U4 trains are located at the basements 4 and 5.

Platform 9 to 10, are located underground and will be used for the future S21 (Berlin).

Platform 11 to 14, are located above-ground and is used for regional and intercity services. This is similar to the Ernest station for the Frankfurt Metro (U1 and U3).

Platform 15 to 16, are located above-ground and is used for the Berlin S-Bahn.

Platform U1 to U2, are located separately from the main station, and is used for the U55 (Berlin).

 

CONSTRUCTION AND TECHNIQUES

BUILDING

The station building has two main levels, for suburban traffic as well as three connecting and business levels. Compared to Raffles Place MRT Station and Taipei Main Station, it is one of the most densely packed stations. The upper track consists of six tracks on four bridge structures. The two outside lanes are single track and four others inside are double track. In between, the three platforms at the height of ten metres are arranged. On the lower track level are four platforms of owhich eight tracks along the north south line, at a depth of 15 metres. This is followed by the eastern end of another platform with two tracks for U55, similar to Timothy Station for Frankfurt Metro. To the east of the underground station, a similar double track platform is also being built as part of the S21 (Berlin) project.

 

The bridges in the city level not only spans the station area, but also the adjacenet Humboldthafen and are placed within 680 metres long. According to the lines of the light rail, they are curved in plan and widen due to the broadening of four to six tracks and the additional platforms from 39 to 66 meters wide. The Humboldthafen Bridge spans the Humboldthafen with a span of 60 meters. It consists of a bow with steel tubes and pre-stressed concrete beam as upper flange.

 

The upper platform hall, which runs east-west, is 321 metres long and consists of the arch-shaped arched column-free glass roof structure, which is supported by the two outer railway overpass structures. In the glass surface, a 2700 square meter photovoltaic system with a capacity of 330 kilowatts was integrated. The hall is between 46 and 66 meters wide and a maximum of 16 meters high. It consists of three sections, with the western segment 172 meters and the eastern 107 meters long. In between lies the 50 meters wide and 180 meters long north-south roof, whose barrel vaults with the main roof form a flat viaduct. Parallel to the north-south roof, the two "ironing structures" span the main roof of the platform hall and carry the north-south roof. These ironing structures contain 42,000 square meters of office space.

 

On the northeastern part of the two diagonally opposite station terraces, the sculpture of Rolling Horse, erected in 2007 by Jürgen Goertz, artificially complements the building and is reminiscent to Lehrter Bahnhof and Lehrter Stadtbahnhof. There are integrated artificial elements, which can be viewed through four portholes.

 

From the southwestern terrace, it rises the disguised chimney located underneath the Tunnel Tiergarten Spreebogen.

 

During Cyclone Kyrill, on January 18, 2007, the 8.4 metre long, 1.35 ton horizontal strut 40 metres high, crashed from the lattice-like exterior onto a staircase, onto the southwestern part of the building, another strut was torn from the anchorage. These decorative elements had only been hung up and should only hold their own weight. As a remedy, small sheets were placed above the carrier to prevent further carrier dissolution.

 

HISTORY

LEHRTER BAHNHOF FROM 1871 TO 1958

Between 1868 and 1871, a 239 kilometre railway was built between Hannover and Berlin via Lehrte by the Magdeburg Halberstädter railway company. Lehrter Bahnhof was constructed as the Berlin terminus. It was adjacent to Hamburger Bahnhof, just outside what was then Berlin's boundary at the Humbolthafen port on the river Spree. Its architects were Alfred Lent, Bertold Scholz, and Gottlieb Henri Lapierre.

 

In contrast to earlier railway stations, built with brick façades, and in keeping with then-current trends, Lehrter Bahnhof was designed in the French Neo-Renaissance style. Its originally planned stone façade was replaced with glazed tiles to save money. With its magnificent architecture, the station was known as a "palace among stations".

 

The train shed was 188 metres long and 38 metres wide. Its roof was a long barrel vault with steel supports. As was common for the period, the station was divided into an arrival side on the west, and a departure side on the east. Originally there were five tracks, four of which ended at the side and the central platform; the fifth track had no platform and served as a turnaround for the locomotives. At the turn of the century this track was removed to accommodate the widening of the central platform.

 

Although the front of the building was ornate and had a grand entrance, most passengers entered and left via the east side, where horse-drawn carriages were able to stop.

 

In 1882 the metropolitan railway, predecessor of the S-Bahn, began service along two of the Stadtbahn tracks; long-distance traffic commenced in 1884 along the other two. With the expansion of Lehrter Bahnhof, it was able to take over the functions of Hamburger Bahnhof. A 300 m connector line was built; on 14 October 1884, traffic towards Hamburg, northeast Germany, and Scandinavia was diverted to Lehrter Bahnhof, and Hamburger Bahnhof closed.

 

In 1886, the Berlin-Lehrte railway, and with it Lehrter Bahnhof, was nationalized and subsequently came under the control of the Prussian State Railways.

 

Even in its early years, the line was known as one of the country's fastest: in 1872, express trains could attain a speed of 90 km/h (56 mph). 19 December 1932 marked the maiden voyage of the famous diesel-powered Fliegender Hamburger (Flying Hamburger), which whisked passengers to Hamburg at 160 km/h).

 

In the Second World War the station was severely damaged. After the war, the shell was repaired such that it could be used temporarily. However, the postwar division of Germany spelled the end for most of West Berlin's mainline stations. On 28 August 1951 the final train departed from Lehrter Bahnhof, heading for the Wustermark and Nauen. On 9 July 1957 demolition began, and on 22 April 1958 the main entrance was blown up. The biggest challenge in the demolition of the station was to preserve the viaducts of the Stadtbahn, which ran directly overhead. Work was completed in the summer of 1959.

 

LEHRTER STADTBAHNHOF FROM 1882 TO 2002

On 15 May 1882, Lehrter Stadtbahnhof opened, situated on the Stadtbahn viaduct at the northern end of Lehrter Bahnhof concourse. This four-track station on the Stadtbahn was used mainly by suburban trains. The main purpose of the Stadtbahn was to connect central areas of Berlin with the Lehrter Bahnhof, the Schlesischer Bahnhof termini with nearby Charlottenburg, then still a separate city. It was also providing an east–west railway connection across the centre of Berlin.

 

Because of steadily increasing traffic to Lehrter Stadtbahnhof and its location on a bridge crossing the north end of Lehrter Bahnhof, elaborate changes were made to the track structure in 1912 and again in 1929. On 1 December 1930, the newly electrified suburban trains were given the designation S-Bahn, making the Lehrter Stadtbahnhof an S-Bahnhof.

 

During the War, in April 1943 the station was bombed by the Polish sabotage and diversionary squad "Zagra-lin".

 

The Stadtbahnhof survived WWII intact, but came to lose its pre-war significance due to the division of Berlin; with Lehrter Bahnhof closed, the Stadtbahnhof served only a relatively underpopulated area near the border with East Berlin. It was the final stop in West Berlin; the next station, Berlin Friedrichstraße, was in the Soviet zone, although it served as a stop on the West Berlin S- and U-Bahn systems; these parts of the station were sealed off and inaccessible to East Berliners. The S-Bahn, like the mainlines leading to West Berlin, was run by the East German railway, the Deutsche Reichsbahn. The 1961 construction of the Berlin Wall further isolated the station, and led to a boycott of the S-Bahn in West Berlin that lasted until the 1980s, when operation of the West Berlin S-Bahn lines was transferred to the West Berlin transit authority, the BVG.

 

Berlin’s 750th-anniversary celebration in 1987 saw the station, now under West Berlin control, renovated at a cost of about DM 10 million. Because it had largely been preserved in its original condition, it became a listed building.

 

However, in 2002, Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was demolished to make way for the new central station, despite its listed status. The argument was that Bellevue and Hackescher Markt stations were architecturally similar. Hackescher Markt, in former East Berlin, had been restored in 1994–1996, after German reunification.

 

PLANNING THE NEW STATION

Soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, city planners began work on a transport plan for reunified Berlin. One element of this became the "Pilzkonzept" (mushroom concept), in which a new north-south railway line intersecting the Stadtbahn was to be constructed. The name derived from the shape formed by the new line and existing lines, which vaguely resembles a mushroom.

 

In June 1992 the federal government decided that the new station should be built on the site of Lehrter Bahnhof. While close to the centre of Berlin and government buildings, the area was still not heavily populated. The following year, a design competition for the project was held, which was won by the Hamburg architecture firm Gerkan, Marg and Partners.

 

The design called for five levels. The highest level, on a bridge 10 metres above street level, was to have platforms for both long-distance and S-Bahn trains on the existing Stadbahn. The lowest level, 15 metres underground, was to have platforms served by new tunnels to Potsdamer Platz under the Spree and the Tiergarten, forming a new north-south line running to the northern part of the S-Bahn ring around central Berlin. Platforms for the planned extension to U-Bahn line 5 were also included.

 

The planning approval for the station and the north-south connection was made on 12 September 1995. In 1997, a financing agreement was signed between Perleberger Straße and Spreebogen, between the federal government and the railway in the total amount of 700 million euros. The federal share amounted to half a billion of euros. Any additional cost increases should be broken down according to a defined key.

 

New York-based Tishman Speyer Properties was commissioned by Bahn AG to develop the station. Execution planning and construction supervision were carried out by the Stuttgart engineering consultants Schlaich, Bergermann and Partner.

 

The Hauptbahnhof was planned to have platforms for the cancelled Transrapid maglev train, which is at platform 8. Later on, it was replaced by normal railway tracks.

 

BUILDiNG THE NEW STATION

The building work took place in several stages. In 1995 the construction of the Tiergarten tunnels began, and this work was finished in 2005 with the completion of the last station tunnel. The tunnels provide four tubes for long-distance and regional services and two tubes in a separate alignment for the U-Bahn, in addition to a road tunnel ventilated by a 60-metre-high tower completed in 2004. During its construction, the course of the Spree had to be diverted (1996–1998). Water leaks in the tunnels caused over one year's delay to the construction work.

 

In 1998, the construction of the station proper began. About 1.5 million cubic meters of material were excavated for the pits, which are 90,000 square meters in total and about 20 meters deep. In their place, 227,000 cubic meters of concrete and 13,000 tons of steel reinforcement were installed. With 27-meter-long buoyancy anchors (a total of 250 kilometers) and 180 kilometers of inclined anchors, the foundation was anchored against the buoyant pressure of groundwater (200 kilonewtons per square meter).

 

On September 9, 1998, the foundation stone was laid symbolically by Federal Minister of Transport Wissmann, railway director Ludewig and Berlin's governing mayor Eberhard Diepgen in the then 17 -meter-deep excavation pit. The commissioning date was in 2003. Construction costs were estimated at 800 million DM (409 million euros). Every year, 50 million passengers on long-distance and 86 million regional passengers should use the station.

 

After groundwater had penetrated into the pit of the excavation pit as a result of a leak, the completion date was postponed in the spring of 1999. The incident necessitated a far-reaching change in the safety concept during the construction phase, in order to prevent the groundwater lying about three meters below the ground. Under the new schedule, the station should be finished in 2003 in the shell, 2004, a trial operation begin. In the middle of 2001, commissioning for 2006 was expected.

 

Construction of the bridges for the new S-Bahn route began in 2001. These needed to span not only the entire length of the station, but also the adjacent Humboldthafen port, and are 450 metres long. Because of the alignment of the S-Bahn they are curved, and each pair of tracks has a separate bridge. Bridges of this type had never been built before, and represented a special challenge for the Egyptian engineer Hani Azer, the chief construction engineer since 2001.

 

The main station hall is spanned by a similarly curved glass roof with a surface area of about 85 metres by 120 metres, which was installed in February 2002. A photovoltaic system was integrated into the glass surface. The steel and glass construction was a difficult task for the engineers, particularly as the glass roofs were shortened by approximately 100 metres to speed up construction.

 

Over the first weekend of July 2002 the bridges and main station hall were brought into service so that traffic could be diverted onto the new alignment. The old Lehrter Stadtbahnhof S-Bahn station was closed and rapidly demolished to make way for further new building. On 9 September 2002 the station was renamed "Berlin Hauptbahnhof – Lehrter Bahnhof".

 

The main concourse, supported by two towers, provides roughly 44,000 square metres (470,000 sq ft) of commercial space. Construction of the towers began in 2005. On two separate weekends, 29 July and 13 August 2005, structural frames were installed, supporting the structure above the east-west tracks. This was built using a new technique: the frames, each weighing 1250 t, were lowered by steel cables at a rate of 6 metres per hour; the remaining 20 millimetres gap between the bow frames upon completion of the lowering process was subsequently closed.

 

During summer 2003 a survey commissioned by Peter Strieder, Berlin's Senator for City Development and Traffic, and Deutsche Bahn director Hartmut Mehdorn was conducted among Berlin residents with the intention of selecting a name for the station. Of the three possibilities listed on the survey, the majority of participants opted for Lehrter Bahnhof; nevertheless, the station remained "Berlin Hauptbahnhof – Lehrter Bahnhof", an option that was not listed. It was decided early in 2005 that the station would be renamed "Berlin Hauptbahnhof" on the date of its opening, 28 May 2006, to avoid confusing rail passengers. On the same day, Berlin Papestraße station, which was rebuilt as the city's second-largest station, opened officially under its new name, Berlin Südkreuz (South Cross), similar to the existing Ostkreuz and Westkreuz stations. It is also on the new north-south route. Although it was intended to open a further station as Berlin-Nordkreuz (North Cross), the name Berlin-Gesundbrunnen was retained for what became Berlin's fourth biggest railway station for commuter and long distance trains, located in a more northern part of Berlin, where the circle and north-south-line of the S-Bahn cross each other.

 

In 2005 the bridging segments, which cross over the roof of the station, were lowered. This was the first time, this unique method to build later office rooms was applied.

 

The architect Meinhard von Gerkan filed a complaint against Deutsche Bahn in October 2005 after Deutsche Bahn altered the station construction timeline without proper authority. The complaint was upheld in late 2006. There may therefore be further construction on the station in the future.

 

In addition, Deutsche Bahn decided to implement a slightly different version of the "Pilzkonzept" by running intercity trains through the new Tiergarten tunnels rather than via the Stadtbahn. This move was unpopular for its effect on Berlin's two previous main stations; Bahnhof Berlin Zoologischer Garten (Zoo Station) was downgraded to a regional railway station, and the number of main line services to Berlin Ostbahnhof (East Station) was drastically reduced.

 

OPENING CEREMONY

On 26 May 2006, the station was ceremonially opened by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who arrived together with transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee in a specially chartered InterCityExpress from Leipzig. A "Symphony of Light" was performed immediately following the dedication. Reamonn and BAP performed at the station, and there were also events at the other new stations: Gesundbrunnen, Potsdamer Platz and Südkreuz. Berlin Hauptbahnhof officially went into operation on 28 May 2006.

 

The opening ceremony was marred by an attack by a drunken 16-year-old wielding a knife, who stabbed members of the public leaving the ceremony. Forty-one people were wounded, six seriously, before the youth was arrested. According to police, the youth says he cannot remember his act of violence and is still denying it. One of the first stabbing victims was HIV-positive, leading to worries that other victims may have been infected, although this did not prove to be the case. The youth was charged with attempted murder, and was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted manslaughter in 33 cases in 2007.

 

SINCE OPENING

On 18 January 2007, two steel beams of the south-west façade were torn loose during European windstorm Kyrill. One of them, an 8.4 metre long beam weighing 1.35 tonnes, dropped 40 metres onto a staircase below, and the other impacted and damaged a third beam. The station had suffered some flooding and had been evacuated due to the complete cancellation of train service in Germany. Consequently, nobody was injured and the station was cleared for reopening the following day. The beams had not been welded or bolted in place but laid down like shelves in a bookcase. In the next days extra lugs were welded to the remaining beams to secure them in place and the station declared stormproof on 23 January.

 

The U55 (Berlin U-Bahn) opened in August 2009, connecting the Hauptbahnhof with the Brandenburger Tor station.

 

The rail link to current Berlin Schönefeld Airport is to be reorganized for its replacement with the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport. The airport express line will maintain a travel time of 30 minutes.

 

The rail bridge construction leading into the upper level of the station forms a curve, and some of the screws holding it in place loosened. This required a €25 million reconstruction which involved the closure of the upper level rail tracks during a 3-month period in summer 2015.

 

OPERATIONAL USAGE

The upper level of the station has six tracks (two of which used for the Berlin S-Bahn) served by three island platforms. The lower level has eight tracks served by four island platforms for main-line trains, plus a further island platform for the Berlin U-Bahn. The lower level is often denoted by 'tief' on travel guides, etc. (thus the calling point may be "Berlin Hbf (tief)"). There is no rail connection between the upper and lower level track in the station area (or anywhere else nearby). 1,800 trains call at the station per day and the daily number of passengers is estimated to be at 350,000.

 

As of 2011, the station is used by InterCityExpress, Intercity, Interregioexpress, RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and S-Bahn trains. The station also hosts several international trains, and the most distant cities reached are Novosibirsk (Russia) and Astana (Kazakhstan), with an express named "Sibirjak". The upper part of the station, with the east-west tracks, is part of the Berlin Stadtbahn, with trains leading to locations like Hanover or Cologne. The subterranean station, which lies in the north-south Tiergarten tunnel, offers long distance services to Hamburg, Leipzig or Munich.

 

S-BAHN

For the north-south connection is in the course of S21 S-platform in the tunnel level initially in a northerly direction with the Ringbahn, later of a continuation as a tunnel section with the Potsdamer Platz are connected. The construction of the northern section began in January 2010 and was initially scheduled to be completed by 2015. The realization of the southern section is after completion of the construction work on the extension of U5 expected to begin of 2019.

 

U-BAHN

The U-Bahn platforms are presently served only by the U55, which is not connected to the rest of the U-Bahn network. It was opened on 8 August 2009. This line is operated as a single-track shuttle, and only one of the two platform tracks is currently used. The other is behind a metal fence, mounted in the ground. Construction of a 2.2 kilometres connection to line U5 commenced in April 2010 and is expected to be completed in 2017. In the long term it is planned to extend the U5 from the main station towards the west to Turmstraße and Jungfernheide. Due to lack of funds from the state of Berlin, the northwestern continuation is not expected in the near future.

 

The underground station is in the second level of the main station, and east of the deep north-south train platforms (tracks 1-8). It has a central platform, which is covered with granite. To exit the platform are three stairs, an escalator and a lift. In addition, the Underground Station is equipped with tactile paving for accessibility.

 

The platform hall has a length of 140 metres, 11 metres in height and 19 metres in width, the wall cladding consists of enamel plates which are decorated with photographs of the former Berlin head stations. Furthermore, colored lighting illuminates the ceiling space above the platform.

 

Since it is the terminus of the to-be-extended U5, a short two-pronged branch railway was built to the north. One of the two sweeping track is located at a lockable manhole, through which the U-Bahn carriages can be replaced if necessary with a crane. This currently represents the only way to install U-Bahn carriages in the tunnel, because the line U55 does not yet connect with the rest of the U-Bahn network.

 

Zoning for an underground line under the Invalidenstraße (U11) is provided for at the station, however this is only likely to be constructed in the far future.

 

TRAM

In 2009, the plan approval process was to build a tram line extension track that on the Invalidenstraße the station to Berlin soll. In December 2010, had the Administrative Court two complaints from residents and BUND against the planned in connection with the tram extension two lanes - two-lane upgrading the road to traffic from and realized the construction project to be implemented as a was the official start of construction in the spring. 2011. On 14 December 2014, the line M5 was extended from S Hackescher Markt to Hauptbahnhof.

 

On 29 August 2015 the tram lines M8 and M10 were also extended from S Nordbahnhof to Hauptbahnhof.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Villivakkam is a neighbourhood located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is a residential area known for famous temples. Situated between the industrial estates of Ambattur, Padi, ICF, Perambur Loco Works, this place is populated mostly by the working-class people of Chennai (especially people working in manufacturing). The neighbourhood is served by Villivakkam railway station of the Chennai Suburban Railway.

Etymology[edit]

According to legend, two demons, 'Ilvalan' and 'Vatapi', who were born to Sage Dhurva and Aswamukhi, tortured the entire world and killed many innocent people. One of the demons used to take the shape of a fruit and the other used to offer it to some innocent passer-by and after he consumed it, the demon would come out by tearing his stomach. It was left to Sage Agasthya to kill these demons with his mystic powers. It was here that the slaying of the demons took place and as a result the place came to be known as Konnur in times of yore.[1]

It got the name of Villivakkam much later which has its own bearing - that Sage Agasthya planted a "Vilvam" plant (which has got medicinal and spiritual healing power) and hence the name. The Shiva temple in Villivakkam has a very old Vilvam tree which the priests consider sacred and use its leaves for the daily puja.

Transport[edit]

Road[edit]

Villivakkam has a bus terminus which is located off Konnur High Road. Jawaharlal Nehru Road and Konnur High Road are the arterial roads encompassing Villivakkam. The construction of the long pending Villivakkam Subway was started on 4 December 2007 and was inaugurated on 19 June 2012.[2] The 447.50-m-long subway built at a cost of 390 million, would also have a bicycle lane of 2.5 m width.

Bus Routes

Bus Route NoStarting PointPasses ByStop Point

20B roadwayPurasawalkamVillivakkam

20T ThiruverkaduAmbatturVillivakkam

22 Anna SquareEgmoreVillivakkam

27D ,27K Foreshore EstateLICVillivakkam

23V VelacherySaidapetVillivakkam

37C VadapalaniPurasawalkamVillivakkam

47 AdyarSaidapetVillivakkam

47B Besant NagarSaidapetVillivakkam

T47 Tidal ParkSaidapetVillivakkam

48C Vallalar NagarAyanavaramVillivakkam

65V PoonamalleAmbatturVillivakkam

70T Vandalur ZooCMBTVillivakkam

127H Anna SquareLICVillivakkam

7B BroadwayVillivakkamKorattur

20M BroadwayVillivakkamKumaran Nagar

20N BroadwayVillivakkamPoombukar Nagar

48C Vallalar NagarVillivakkamCMBT

114A AyanavaramVillivakkamRedhills

120 BroadwayVillivakkamAvadi

248 Vallalar NagarVillivakkamPudur

 

Rail[edit]

Chennai suburban railway station at Villivakkam is between the segment of Chennai Central and Arakkonam Junction, and 10 km from Central, there are suburban services to Chennai Central, Chennai Beach, Velachery, Annanagar, Ambattur,Avadi, Pattabiram, Tiruvallur, Arakkonam and Ponneri. The link from Chennai to Arakkonam junction is the oldest railway line in South India.

EMU Train Timings at Villivakkam

BeachTowards Chennai CentralAvadiPattabiramTiruvallurArakkonamTiruttani

Places of Worship[edit]

There are many ancient places of worship in Villivakkam. Some of the popular ones are:

Agatheeswerar Temple

Baaliamman Temple

Sowmya Damodara Perumal Temple

Murgan temple.

Sri Pon Mariamman Temple

The Masjid-eh-Rahmaniya Mosque,

The Philadelphia church near ICF,

The Sacred Heart Church in Srinivasa Nagar

Moppili Amman Koil

St.Stephen's church

The Pentecostal Mission (behind mohan nursing home)

World Christians Believers Fellowship (near bus terminus)

Shekkinah Assembly (Bajanai Koil 2nd street)

ResurrectionLutheranChurch,#331,MTH Road,Chennai-49.(Near ICF Bus stand)

Maharaja of Villivakkam[edit]

Maharaja Raja Shri Jankiram Reddiar avargal was a well known Zamindar and Philanthropist in the region. He was responsible for the region in official authority when the Britishers ruled India and acted as a custodian of Villivakkam village. Large tracts of land were owned by him, with a colony named after his demise. He was given the title Maharaja Raja Shri by the Britishers. The first electricity connection in the region post independence was given to his residence. He was instrumental in the development of Villivakkam.

Schools[edit]

Children at Villivakkam have a plenty of well established Schools including Pre-primary school. The schools are as follows:

Aerokids Play School

AppleTree Play Centre

Singaram Pillai Matriculation Higher Secondary School

ICF H.S.SCHOOL,

St.Johns Matriculation Higher Secondary School,

The Singaram Pillai Boys Hr. Sec. School

I.C.F. Silver jubilee Mat. High. Sec. school,

Sri Kanaka Durga Telugu Higher Secondary School (Largest Telugu School in Chennai/Tamil Nadu)

Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary (Srinivasa Nagar),

Sri.V.Batcha Reddy High School,

Nagalakshmi nursery & Primary School,

Sri Ramakrishna nursery and primary school,

M A Krishnaswamy Matric Hr. Sec school,

Dhanish matric hr.sec.school,

John Williams Matriculation School,

Our Lady of velanganni Mat Hr Sec School,

St.Thomas Primary School,

Good will High School,

Good will Mat.Hr.Sec.School,

Govt.Girls Hr.Sec.School, Sidco Nagar,

Padma Sarangapani Matriculation Higher Secondary School and

Velanganni Matric.Hr.Sec School.

Kulapathi Dr. S Balakrishna Joshi Gurukulam, Mat. Hr. Sec. School

The ground in Singaram pillai School, V-Ground between the rail tracks and grounds in ICF are common places for playing football, cricket and other sports. The Tennis court and cricket pitch at I.C.F offers high quality coaching.

Entertainment[edit]

There are few cine halls like Nathamuni, Ganga in Villivakkam. The erstwhile Royal Theatre, near the Villivakkam bus terminus is renovated and renamed as AGS Cinemas with 5 Screens.

Hospitals[edit]

Niranjana Hospital and Well Women Centre (formerly Nirmal Polyclinic and Nursing Home)

Mohan Reddy Nursing Home

Cauvery Trust Hospitals

Leela raj Maternity Clinic

DRJ hospitals Become Life Care Hospital.

I.C.F Hospital (near ICF terminus)

Life Care Hospital

Politics[edit]

Villivakkam is the largest state assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu in terms of number of voters. The Villivakkam constituency covers an area from Annanagar in south to Madavaram in north and from Ayanavaram in east to Korattur in west.

Localities[edit]

Jankiram Reddy Colony,Agathiyar nagar, Rajamanglam, Sidco nagar, South Jagannatha Nagar, Baba nagar, Valluvar Nagar, North Jagannathan Nagar, Rajaji Nagar, Welcome Colony and Thirunagar are some of the localities in Villivakkam. Agathiyar nagar, and Thirunagar are some of the largest residential areas in this zone. Ambattur Industrial Estate and Integral Coach Factory are also located near Villivakkam Vegavathi street.

The tallest internet communication tower (Tata Indicom) in South India is located in Welcome colony, it is also the tallest non linear frequency developing tower in South India. The entire Chennai city can be seen from the top of the tower. In 2009, a solar eclipse filter camera was fixed at the top of the tower by a space team from Villivakkam Science Society.

Location in Context[edit]

Areas of Chennai

 

KolathurKolathurG.K.M Colony

Korattur / PadiPerambur

Villivakkam

 

Padi / Anna NagarI.C.F / Anna NagarI.C.F / Anna Nagar

 

Image ©Licensed to Parsons Media. 15/02/2022. London, United Kingdom. The Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks with staff and residents at Parkfield House Nursing Home during his Constituency visit. Picture by Andrew Parsons CCHQ / Parsons Media

IMF-WB Constituency Meeting

Photo by Julia Berezovska/ Press office NBU

Image ©Licensed to Parsons Media. 26/05/2022. London, United Kingdom. Boris Johnson- Constituency visit. Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to the Sweetcroft Care Home in Uxbridge. Picture by Andrew Parsons CCHQ / Parsons Media

Image ©Licensed to Parsons Media. 22/10/2021. Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency. The Prime Minister visited Hillingdon Manor School to try out their new cafe and G Network, Internet Service Provider where he spliced a fibre cable. Picture by Pete Maclaine / Parsons Media

Sudbury (/ˈsʌdbəri/, Suffolk dialect: /ˈsʌbri/) is a small market town in the English county of Suffolk. It is located on the River Stour near the Essex border, and is 60 miles (97 km) north-east of London. At the 2011 census, the town has a population of 13,063, rising to 21,971 including the adjoining parish of Great Cornard. It is the largest town of Babergh district council, the local government district, and is represented in the UK Parliament as part of the South Suffolk constituency.

 

Evidence of Sudbury as a settlement originates from the end of the 8th century during the Anglo-Saxon era, and its market was established in the early 11th century. Its textile industries prospered during the Late Middle Ages; the wealth of which funded many of its buildings and churches. The town became notable for its art in the 18th century, being the birthplace of Thomas Gainsborough, whose landscapes offered inspiration to John Constable, another Suffolk painter of the surrounding Stour Valley area. The 19th century saw the arrival of the railway with the opening of a station on the historic Stour Valley Railway, and Sudbury railway station forms the current terminus of the Gainsborough Line. During World War II, US Army Airforce bombers operated from RAF Sudbury.

 

Today, Sudbury retains its status as a market town with a twice-weekly market in the town centre in front of the redundant St Peter's Church, which is now a local community point for events such as concerts and exhibitions. In sport, the town has a semi-professional football club, A.F.C. Sudbury, which competes at the seventh level of the football pyramid.

 

Early history[edit]

Sudbury’s history dates back into the age of the Saxons.[2] The town’s earliest mention is in 799 AD, when Aelfhun, Bishop of Dunwich, died in the town.[3] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the town as Suthberie ("south-borough"), presumed to distinguish it from Norwich or Bury St Edmunds, to the north.[2] The town is also mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, as a market town where the local people came to barter their goods.[3] The market was established in 1009.[4]

 

A community of Dominicans arrived in the mid-13th century and gradually extended the size of their priory, which was one of three Dominican priories in the county of Suffolk.[5] Sudbury was one of the first towns in which Edward III settled the Flemings,[2] allowing the weaving and silk industries to prosper for centuries during the Late Middle Ages. As the main town in the area, Sudbury prospered too, and many great houses and churches were built, giving the town a major historical legacy. The Woolsack in the House of Lords was originally stuffed with wool from the Sudbury area, a sign of both the importance of the wool industry and of the wealth of the donors.

 

One citizen of Sudbury, Archbishop Simon Sudbury showed that not even the Tower of London guarantees safety. On 14 June 1381 guards opened the Tower’s doors and allowed a party of rebellious peasants to enter. Sudbury, inventor of the poll tax, was dragged to Tower Hill and beheaded.[6] His body was afterwards buried in Canterbury Cathedral, but his skull is kept in St. Gregory’s with St. Peter’s Church,[7] one of the three medieval churches in Sudbury. Simon's concerns for his native town are reflected in the founding of St Leonard's Hospital in 1372, a place of respite, towards Long Melford, for lepers.[8] For the College of St Gregory, which he founded in 1375 to support eight priests, he used his father's former house and an adjoining plot.[9]

 

From the 16th to 18th century the weaving industry was less consistently profitable and Sudbury experienced periods of varying prosperity.[10] By means of the borough court, the mayor and corporation directed the affairs of the town. They built a house of correction (1624) for 'rogues, vagabonds and sturdy beggars' and tried to finance the reconstruction of Ballingdon Bridge, which disappeared during a storm on 4 September 1594. Among theatrical companies they paid to visit Sudbury were Lord Strange's Men (1592) and the King's Men (1610). Minor infringements, such as not attending church, were punished by fines, for worse offenders there was a stocks or a whipping. During the Civil War a 12-strong band of watchmen was created to prevent the town's enemies, presumed to be Royalists, burning it down.[11]

 

Sudbury and the surrounding area, like much of East Anglia, was a hotbed of Puritan sentiment during much of the 17th century. Sudbury was among the town's called "notorious wasps' nests of dissent."[12] During the decade of the 1630s, many families departed for the Massachusetts Bay Colony as part of the wave of emigration that occurred during the Great Migration.

 

By the 18th century the fees charged to become a freeman, with voting rights, were exorbitant and the borough of Sudbury, along with 177 other English towns, was reformed by a Municipal Reform Act (1835).

  

Statue of Thomas Gainsborough on Market Hill

During the 18th century Sudbury became famous for its local artists. John Constable painted in the area, especially the River Stour. Painter Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury in 1727, and was educated at Sudbury Grammar School.[13] His birthplace, now named Gainsborough's House, is a museum to his work and is open to the public. It houses many valuable pictures and some of his family possessions. A statue of Gainsborough was unveiled in the town centre outside St Peter’s Church on Market Hill in 1913.[3]

 

Victorian times to present day[edit]

The 1832 Reform Act saw the villages of Ballingdon and Brundon appended to the town.[14] In the 1841 general election Sudbury became the first place in the UK to elect a member of an ethnic minority to parliament, with David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre, the son of an Indian queen, winning the seat. However, he was not allowed to take his place in parliament as he was subsequently declared insane.[15]

 

Sudbury's Catholic Church, Our Lady Immaculate and St. John the Evangelist, was designed by Leonard Stokes and erected in 1893. The shrine of Our Lady of Sudbury sits within its nave.[16]

 

During the Second World War an American squadron of B-24 Liberator bombers of the 834th Squadron (H), 486th Bomb Group (H), 8th Air Force was based at RAF Sudbury. This squadron performed many important bombing and photographic missions during the war, but is perhaps best known as the "Zodiac Squadron", as its bombers were decorated with colourful images of the twelve signs of the zodiac painted by a professional artist named Phil Brinkman,[17] who was taken into the squadron by its commander, Capt. Howell, specifically for the purpose of painting the bombers. Now most of the airfield buildings have been demolished, including the control tower. Sections of perimeter track, aircraft hard stand areas, and two narrow crossing lengths of former runways, provide footpaths between Chilton, Newmans Green and Great Waldingfield.

 

The Sudbury Society was formed in 1973 after a successful campaign to save the town's corn exchange from developers. However, in protecting its ancient centre the town has not shut itself off from modern development. As the town has expanded (to a population in 2005 of 12,080) modern retail and industrial developments have been added on sites close to the centre and on the eastern edge at Chilton. The 18th and 19th century houses near the town centre have been added to by modern developments. wikipedia

Langley Moor is an old pit village in County Durham, England. It is located approximately 2 miles south-west of Durham City. Langley Moor is within the civil parish of Brandon and Byshottles which is itself within the City of Durham constituency, as of 2019 represented by Mary Foy MP.

 

The village consists of a large park, three pubs, three schools, a church and an industrial estate.

 

Holliday Park (previously Bents Park, known locally as Boyne Park after Lord Boyne) is located to the north of the village, and was renovated in 2016 with a new children's play area. The park also provides access to the River Browney which runs through it. The park was donated to the public by local alderman and philanthropist Martin Forster Holliday (1848-1935), who was the manager and agent for three North Brancepeth Coal Company collieries (Broompark, Boyne and Littleburn - the latter two being in the village) from 1884 until 1922.

 

The three pubs in the village are The Station, The New Cross (formerly The Langley Moor Hotel, as of 2022 currently closed) and The Lord Boyne Hotel. Historically, the village had two inns, the Littleburn Hotel, two more pubs, two cinemas, a working men's club (now residential flats), a post office, a bank and Salvation Army barracks.

 

The East Coast Main Line, one of Britain's arterial rail links, runs directly through the village over the high street.

 

Langley Moor is also home to two supermarkets, a Tesco Metro (formerly Safeway, Somerfield) and Lidl.

 

The village is located on the A690 approximately 2 miles south-west of Durham and approximately 15 miles south of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

 

The Brandon - Bishop Auckland Railway Path is a rail trail stretching nine-miles of scenic woodland which follows the route of the former Durham to Bishop Auckland Line and runs through Langley Moor.

 

There are three schools in Langley Moor, two primary schools and one nursery school:

Langley Moor Nursery School

Langley Moor Primary School (formerly North Brancepeth Council Mixed, Langley Moor Junior Mixed and Infants' School)

St. Patrick's R.C. Primary School

 

The church, St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, is located on the border with Meadowfield, which opened on 8th October 1911. The estimated cost of the church was £3,000 (which equals £376,523.30 as of May 2022).

 

Historically, Langley Moor had a methodist church, a Wesleyan church, a baptist church and a United Methodist church.

 

Littleburn Industrial Estate is home to Harrison & Harrison organ builders, who have been involved with organs in cathedrals and churches across the globe.

 

Boyne Colliery opened in approximately 1864 under the ownership of W. Mickle and James Snowball, [11] coal was struck the following year. It was sold to the North Brancepeth Coal Company in the 1880s, under the management of John L. Morland from 1880 until 1884. That same year Martin F. Holliday became agent and manager of the colliery until it closed at some point after 1890.

 

Littleburn Colliery (also known as North Brancepeth Colliery)

Littleburn Colliery opened in approximately 1840, it had a handful of owners including North Brancepeth Coal Company, who bought the colliery in the 1880s. In 1925, at its peak, the pit employed 779 people. The colliery mined coal throughout its operational life. Martin F. Holliday became agent of the colliery in 1909 until his retirement in 1922. Littleburn Colliery closed in December 1950.

 

County Durham, officially simply Durham is a ceremonial county in North East England. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne and Wear to the north, the North Sea to the east, North Yorkshire to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The largest settlement is Darlington, and the county town is the city of Durham.

 

The county has an area of 2,721 km2 (1,051 sq mi) and a population of 866,846. The latter is concentrated in the east; the south-east is part of the Teesside built-up area, which extends into North Yorkshire. After Darlington (92,363), the largest settlements are Hartlepool (88,855), Stockton-on-Tees (82,729), and Durham (48,069). For local government purposes the county comprises three unitary authority areas—County Durham, Darlington, and Hartlepool—and part of a fourth, Stockton-on-Tees. The county historically included the part of Tyne and Wear south of the River Tyne, and excluded the part of County Durham south of the River Tees.

 

The west of the county contains part of the North Pennines uplands, a national landscape. The hills are the source of the rivers Tees and Wear, which flow east and form the valleys of Teesdale and Weardale respectively. The east of the county is flatter, and contains by rolling hills through which the two rivers meander; the Tees forms the boundary with North Yorkshire in its lower reaches, and the Wear exits the county near Chester-le-Street in the north-east. The county's coast is a site of special scientific interest characterised by tall limestone and dolomite cliffs.

 

What is now County Durham was on the border of Roman Britain, and contains survivals of this era at sites such as Binchester Roman Fort. In the Anglo-Saxon period the region was part of the Kingdom of Northumbria. In 995 the city of Durham was founded by monks seeking a place safe from Viking raids to house the relics of St Cuthbert. Durham Cathedral was rebuilt after the Norman Conquest, and together with Durham Castle is now a World Heritage Site. By the late Middle Ages the county was governed semi-independently by the bishops of Durham and was also a buffer zone between England and Scotland. County Durham became heavily industrialised in the nineteenth century, when many collieries opened on the Durham coalfield. The Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, opened in 1825. Most collieries closed during the last quarter of the twentieth century, but the county's coal mining heritage is remembered in the annual Durham Miners' Gala.

 

Remains of Prehistoric Durham include a number of Neolithic earthworks.

 

The Crawley Edge Cairns and Heathery Burn Cave are Bronze Age sites. Maiden Castle, Durham is an Iron Age site.

 

Brigantia, the land of the Brigantes, is said to have included what is now County Durham.

 

There are archaeological remains of Roman Durham. Dere Street and Cade's Road run through what is now County Durham. There were Roman forts at Concangis (Chester-le-Street), Lavatrae (Bowes), Longovicium (Lanchester), Piercebridge (Morbium), Vindomora (Ebchester) and Vinovium (Binchester). (The Roman fort at Arbeia (South Shields) is within the former boundaries of County Durham.) A Romanised farmstead has been excavated at Old Durham.

 

Remains of the Anglo-Saxon period include a number of sculpted stones and sundials, the Legs Cross, the Rey Cross and St Cuthbert's coffin.

 

Around AD 547, an Angle named Ida founded the kingdom of Bernicia after spotting the defensive potential of a large rock at Bamburgh, upon which many a fortification was thenceforth built. Ida was able to forge, hold and consolidate the kingdom; although the native British tried to take back their land, the Angles triumphed and the kingdom endured.

 

In AD 604, Ida's grandson Æthelfrith forcibly merged Bernicia (ruled from Bamburgh) and Deira (ruled from York, which was known as Eforwic at the time) to create the Kingdom of Northumbria. In time, the realm was expanded, primarily through warfare and conquest; at its height, the kingdom stretched from the River Humber (from which the kingdom drew its name) to the Forth. Eventually, factional fighting and the rejuvenated strength of neighbouring kingdoms, most notably Mercia, led to Northumbria's decline. The arrival of the Vikings hastened this decline, and the Scandinavian raiders eventually claimed the Deiran part of the kingdom in AD 867 (which became Jórvík). The land that would become County Durham now sat on the border with the Great Heathen Army, a border which today still (albeit with some adjustments over the years) forms the boundaries between Yorkshire and County Durham.

 

Despite their success south of the river Tees, the Vikings never fully conquered the Bernician part of Northumbria, despite the many raids they had carried out on the kingdom. However, Viking control over the Danelaw, the central belt of Anglo-Saxon territory, resulted in Northumbria becoming isolated from the rest of Anglo-Saxon Britain. Scots invasions in the north pushed the kingdom's northern boundary back to the River Tweed, and the kingdom found itself reduced to a dependent earldom, its boundaries very close to those of modern-day Northumberland and County Durham. The kingdom was annexed into England in AD 954.

 

In AD 995, St Cuthbert's community, who had been transporting Cuthbert's remains around, partly in an attempt to avoid them falling into the hands of Viking raiders, settled at Dunholm (Durham) on a site that was defensively favourable due to the horseshoe-like path of the River Wear. St Cuthbert's remains were placed in a shrine in the White Church, which was originally a wooden structure but was eventually fortified into a stone building.

 

Once the City of Durham had been founded, the Bishops of Durham gradually acquired the lands that would become County Durham. Bishop Aldhun began this process by procuring land in the Tees and Wear valleys, including Norton, Stockton, Escomb and Aucklandshire in 1018. In 1031, King Canute gave Staindrop to the Bishops. This territory continued to expand, and was eventually given the status of a liberty. Under the control of the Bishops of Durham, the land had various names: the "Liberty of Durham", "Liberty of St Cuthbert's Land" "the lands of St Cuthbert between Tyne and Tees" or "the Liberty of Haliwerfolc" (holy Wear folk).

 

The bishops' special jurisdiction rested on claims that King Ecgfrith of Northumbria had granted a substantial territory to St Cuthbert on his election to the see of Lindisfarne in 684. In about 883 a cathedral housing the saint's remains was established at Chester-le-Street and Guthfrith, King of York granted the community of St Cuthbert the area between the Tyne and the Wear, before the community reached its final destination in 995, in Durham.

 

Following the Norman invasion, the administrative machinery of government extended only slowly into northern England. Northumberland's first recorded Sheriff was Gilebert from 1076 until 1080 and a 12th-century record records Durham regarded as within the shire. However the bishops disputed the authority of the sheriff of Northumberland and his officials, despite the second sheriff for example being the reputed slayer of Malcolm Canmore, King of Scots. The crown regarded Durham as falling within Northumberland until the late thirteenth century.

 

Following the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror appointed Copsig as Earl of Northumbria, thereby bringing what would become County Durham under Copsig's control. Copsig was, just a few weeks later, killed in Newburn. Having already being previously offended by the appointment of a non-Northumbrian as Bishop of Durham in 1042, the people of the region became increasingly rebellious. In response, in January 1069, William despatched a large Norman army, under the command of Robert de Comines, to Durham City. The army, believed to consist of 700 cavalry (about one-third of the number of Norman knights who had participated in the Battle of Hastings), entered the city, whereupon they were attacked, and defeated, by a Northumbrian assault force. The Northumbrians wiped out the entire Norman army, including Comines, all except for one survivor, who was allowed to take the news of this defeat back.

 

Following the Norman slaughter at the hands of the Northumbrians, resistance to Norman rule spread throughout Northern England, including a similar uprising in York. William The Conqueror subsequently (and successfully) attempted to halt the northern rebellions by unleashing the notorious Harrying of the North (1069–1070). Because William's main focus during the harrying was on Yorkshire, County Durham was largely spared the Harrying.

 

Anglo-Norman Durham refers to the Anglo-Norman period, during which Durham Cathedral was built.

 

Matters regarding the bishopric of Durham came to a head in 1293 when the bishop and his steward failed to attend proceedings of quo warranto held by the justices of Northumberland. The bishop's case went before parliament, where he stated that Durham lay outside the bounds of any English shire and that "from time immemorial it had been widely known that the sheriff of Northumberland was not sheriff of Durham nor entered within that liberty as sheriff. . . nor made there proclamations or attachments". The arguments appear to have prevailed, as by the fourteenth century Durham was accepted as a liberty which received royal mandates direct. In effect it was a private shire, with the bishop appointing his own sheriff. The area eventually became known as the "County Palatine of Durham".

 

Sadberge was a liberty, sometimes referred to as a county, within Northumberland. In 1189 it was purchased for the see but continued with a separate sheriff, coroner and court of pleas. In the 14th century Sadberge was included in Stockton ward and was itself divided into two wards. The division into the four wards of Chester-le-Street, Darlington, Easington and Stockton existed in the 13th century, each ward having its own coroner and a three-weekly court corresponding to the hundred court. The diocese was divided into the archdeaconries of Durham and Northumberland. The former is mentioned in 1072, and in 1291 included the deaneries of Chester-le-Street, Auckland, Lanchester and Darlington.

 

The term palatinus is applied to the bishop in 1293, and from the 13th century onwards the bishops frequently claimed the same rights in their lands as the king enjoyed in his kingdom.

 

The historic boundaries of County Durham included a main body covering the catchment of the Pennines in the west, the River Tees in the south, the North Sea in the east and the Rivers Tyne and Derwent in the north. The county palatinate also had a number of liberties: the Bedlingtonshire, Islandshire and Norhamshire exclaves within Northumberland, and the Craikshire exclave within the North Riding of Yorkshire. In 1831 the county covered an area of 679,530 acres (2,750.0 km2) and had a population of 253,910. These exclaves were included as part of the county for parliamentary electoral purposes until 1832, and for judicial and local-government purposes until the coming into force of the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844, which merged most remaining exclaves with their surrounding county. The boundaries of the county proper remained in use for administrative and ceremonial purposes until the Local Government Act 1972.

 

Boldon Book (1183 or 1184) is a polyptichum for the Bishopric of Durham.

 

Until the 15th century, the most important administrative officer in the Palatinate was the steward. Other officers included the sheriff, the coroners, the Chamberlain and the chancellor. The palatine exchequer originated in the 12th century. The palatine assembly represented the whole county, and dealt chiefly with fiscal questions. The bishop's council, consisting of the clergy, the sheriff and the barons, regulated judicial affairs, and later produced the Chancery and the courts of Admiralty and Marshalsea.

 

The prior of Durham ranked first among the bishop's barons. He had his own court, and almost exclusive jurisdiction over his men. A UNESCO site describes the role of the Prince-Bishops in Durham, the "buffer state between England and Scotland":

 

From 1075, the Bishop of Durham became a Prince-Bishop, with the right to raise an army, mint his own coins, and levy taxes. As long as he remained loyal to the king of England, he could govern as a virtually autonomous ruler, reaping the revenue from his territory, but also remaining mindful of his role of protecting England’s northern frontier.

 

A report states that the Bishops also had the authority to appoint judges and barons and to offer pardons.

 

There were ten palatinate barons in the 12th century, most importantly the Hyltons of Hylton Castle, the Bulmers of Brancepeth, the Conyers of Sockburne, the Hansards of Evenwood, and the Lumleys of Lumley Castle. The Nevilles owned large estates in the county. John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby rebuilt Raby Castle, their principal seat, in 1377.

 

Edward I's quo warranto proceedings of 1293 showed twelve lords enjoying more or less extensive franchises under the bishop. The repeated efforts of the Crown to check the powers of the palatinate bishops culminated in 1536 in the Act of Resumption, which deprived the bishop of the power to pardon offences against the law or to appoint judicial officers. Moreover, indictments and legal processes were in future to run in the name of the king, and offences to be described as against the peace of the king, rather than that of the bishop. In 1596 restrictions were imposed on the powers of the chancery, and in 1646 the palatinate was formally abolished. It was revived, however, after the Restoration, and continued with much the same power until 5 July 1836, when the Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836 provided that the palatine jurisdiction should in future be vested in the Crown.

 

During the 15th-century Wars of the Roses, Henry VI passed through Durham. On the outbreak of the Great Rebellion in 1642 Durham inclined to support the cause of Parliament, and in 1640 the high sheriff of the palatinate guaranteed to supply the Scottish army with provisions during their stay in the county. In 1642 the Earl of Newcastle formed the western counties into an association for the King's service, but in 1644 the palatinate was again overrun by a Scottish army, and after the Battle of Marston Moor (2 July 1644) fell entirely into the hands of Parliament.

 

In 1614, a Bill was introduced in Parliament for securing representation to the county and city of Durham and the borough of Barnard Castle. The bishop strongly opposed the proposal as an infringement of his palatinate rights, and the county was first summoned to return members to Parliament in 1654. After the Restoration of 1660 the county and city returned two members each. In the wake of the Reform Act of 1832 the county returned two members for two divisions, and the boroughs of Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland acquired representation. The bishops lost their secular powers in 1836. The boroughs of Darlington, Stockton and Hartlepool returned one member each from 1868 until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.

 

The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 reformed the municipal boroughs of Durham, Stockton on Tees and Sunderland. In 1875, Jarrow was incorporated as a municipal borough, as was West Hartlepool in 1887. At a county level, the Local Government Act 1888 reorganised local government throughout England and Wales. Most of the county came under control of the newly formed Durham County Council in an area known as an administrative county. Not included were the county boroughs of Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland. However, for purposes other than local government, the administrative county of Durham and the county boroughs continued to form a single county to which the Crown appointed a Lord Lieutenant of Durham.

 

Over its existence, the administrative county lost territory, both to the existing county boroughs, and because two municipal boroughs became county boroughs: West Hartlepool in 1902 and Darlington in 1915. The county boundary with the North Riding of Yorkshire was adjusted in 1967: that part of the town of Barnard Castle historically in Yorkshire was added to County Durham, while the administrative county ceded the portion of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in Durham to the North Riding. In 1968, following the recommendation of the Local Government Commission, Billingham was transferred to the County Borough of Teesside, in the North Riding. In 1971, the population of the county—including all associated county boroughs (an area of 2,570 km2 (990 sq mi))—was 1,409,633, with a population outside the county boroughs of 814,396.

 

In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 abolished the administrative county and the county boroughs, reconstituting County Durham as a non-metropolitan county. The reconstituted County Durham lost territory to the north-east (around Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland) to Tyne and Wear and to the south-east (around Hartlepool) to Cleveland. At the same time it gained the former area of Startforth Rural District from the North Riding of Yorkshire. The area of the Lord Lieutenancy of Durham was also adjusted by the Act to coincide with the non-metropolitan county (which occupied 3,019 km2 (1,166 sq mi) in 1981).

 

In 1996, as part of 1990s UK local government reform by Lieutenancies Act 1997, Cleveland was abolished. Its districts were reconstituted as unitary authorities. Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees (north Tees) were returned to the county for the purposes of Lord Lieutenancy. Darlington also became a third unitary authority of the county. The Royal Mail abandoned the use of postal counties altogether, permitted but not mandatory being at a writer wishes.

 

As part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England initiated by the Department for Communities and Local Government, the seven district councils within the County Council area were abolished. The County Council assumed their functions and became the fourth unitary authority. Changes came into effect on 1 April 2009.

 

On 15 April 2014, North East Combined Authority was established under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 with powers over economic development and regeneration. In November 2018, Newcastle City Council, North Tyneside Borough Council, and Northumberland County Council left the authority. These later formed the North of Tyne Combined Authority.

 

In May 2021, four parish councils of the villages of Elwick, Hart, Dalton Piercy and Greatham all issued individual votes of no confidence in Hartlepool Borough Council, and expressed their desire to join the County Durham district.

 

In October 2021, County Durham was shortlisted for the UK City of Culture 2025. In May 2022, it lost to Bradford.

 

Eighteenth century Durham saw the appearance of dissent in the county and the Durham Ox. The county did not assist the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715. The Statue of Neptune in the City of Durham was erected in 1729.

 

A number of disasters happened in Nineteenth century Durham. The Felling mine disasters happened in 1812, 1813, 1821 and 1847. The Philadelphia train accident happened in 1815. In 1854, there was a great fire in Gateshead. One of the West Stanley Pit disasters happened in 1882. The Victoria Hall disaster happened in 1883.

 

One of the West Stanley Pit disasters happened in 1909. The Darlington rail crash happened in 1928. The Battle of Stockton happened in 1933. The Browney rail crash happened in 1946.

 

The First Treaty of Durham was made at Durham in 1136. The Second Treaty of Durham was made at Durham in 1139.

 

The county regiment was the Durham Light Infantry, which replaced, in particular, the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and the Militia and Volunteers of County Durham.

 

RAF Greatham, RAF Middleton St George and RAF Usworth were located in County Durham.

 

David I, the King of Scotland, invaded the county in 1136, and ravaged much of the county 1138. In 17 October 1346, the Battle of Neville's Cross was fought at Neville's Cross, near the city of Durham. On 16 December 1914, during the First World War, there was a raid on Hartlepool by the Imperial German Navy.

 

Chroniclers connected with Durham include the Bede, Symeon of Durham, Geoffrey of Coldingham and Robert de Graystanes.

 

County Durham has long been associated with coal mining, from medieval times up to the late 20th century. The Durham Coalfield covered a large area of the county, from Bishop Auckland, to Consett, to the River Tyne and below the North Sea, thereby providing a significant expanse of territory from which this rich mineral resource could be extracted.

 

King Stephen possessed a mine in Durham, which he granted to Bishop Pudsey, and in the same century colliers are mentioned at Coundon, Bishopwearmouth and Sedgefield. Cockfield Fell was one of the earliest Landsale collieries in Durham. Edward III issued an order allowing coal dug at Newcastle to be taken across the Tyne, and Richard II granted to the inhabitants of Durham licence to export the produce of the mines, without paying dues to the corporation of Newcastle. The majority was transported from the Port of Sunderland complex, which was constructed in the 1850s.

 

Among other early industries, lead-mining was carried on in the western part of the county, and mustard was extensively cultivated. Gateshead had a considerable tanning trade and shipbuilding was undertaken at Jarrow, and at Sunderland, which became the largest shipbuilding town in the world – constructing a third of Britain's tonnage.[citation needed]

 

The county's modern-era economic history was facilitated significantly by the growth of the mining industry during the nineteenth century. At the industry's height, in the early 20th century, over 170,000 coal miners were employed, and they mined 58,700,000 tons of coal in 1913 alone. As a result, a large number of colliery villages were built throughout the county as the industrial revolution gathered pace.

 

The railway industry was also a major employer during the industrial revolution, with railways being built throughout the county, such as The Tanfield Railway, The Clarence Railway and The Stockton and Darlington Railway. The growth of this industry occurred alongside the coal industry, as the railways provided a fast, efficient means to move coal from the mines to the ports and provided the fuel for the locomotives. The great railway pioneers Timothy Hackworth, Edward Pease, George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson were all actively involved with developing the railways in tandem with County Durham's coal mining industry. Shildon and Darlington became thriving 'railway towns' and experienced significant growths in population and prosperity; before the railways, just over 100 people lived in Shildon but, by the 1890s, the town was home to around 8,000 people, with Shildon Shops employing almost 3000 people at its height.

 

However, by the 1930s, the coal mining industry began to diminish and, by the mid-twentieth century, the pits were closing at an increasing rate. In 1951, the Durham County Development Plan highlighted a number of colliery villages, such as Blackhouse, as 'Category D' settlements, in which future development would be prohibited, property would be acquired and demolished, and the population moved to new housing, such as that being built in Newton Aycliffe. Likewise, the railway industry also began to decline, and was significantly brought to a fraction of its former self by the Beeching cuts in the 1960s. Darlington Works closed in 1966 and Shildon Shops followed suit in 1984. The county's last deep mines, at Easington, Vane Tempest, Wearmouth and Westoe, closed in 1993.

 

Postal Rates from 1801 were charged depending on the distance from London. Durham was allocated the code 263 the approximate mileage from London. From about 1811, a datestamp appeared on letters showing the date the letter was posted. In 1844 a new system was introduced and Durham was allocated the code 267. This system was replaced in 1840 when the first postage stamps were introduced.

 

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1911): "To the Anglo-Saxon period are to be referred portions of the churches of Monk Wearmouth (Sunderland), Jarrow, Escomb near Bishop Auckland, and numerous sculptured crosses, two of which are in situ at Aycliffe. . . . The Decorated and Perpendicular periods are very scantily represented, on account, as is supposed, of the incessant wars between England and Scotland in the 14th and 15th centuries. The principal monastic remains, besides those surrounding Durham cathedral, are those of its subordinate house or "cell," Finchale Priory, beautifully situated by the Wear. The most interesting castles are those of Durham, Raby, Brancepeth and Barnard. There are ruins of castelets or peel-towers at Dalden, Ludworth and Langley Dale. The hospitals of Sherburn, Greatham and Kepyer, founded by early bishops of Durham, retain but few ancient features."

 

The best remains of the Norman period include Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle, and several parish churches, such as St Laurence Church in Pittington. The Early English period has left the eastern portion of the cathedral, the churches of Darlington, Hartlepool, and St Andrew, Auckland, Sedgefield, and portions of a few other churches.

 

'Durham Castle and Cathedral' is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. Elsewhere in the County there is Auckland Castle.

Image ©Licensed to Parsons Media. 12/11/2021. Uxbridge, United Kingdom. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Constituency Day. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party Candidate Louie French visit patients receiving booster jabs at the Aspire Pharmacy in Sidcup High Street .Picture by Andrew Parsons CCHQ / Parsons Media

TWL.1999.28Poster, printed, paper, National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) poster advertising a meeting at West Kensington Lecture Hall, black printed inscription: 'National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies CENTRAL SOCIETY FOR WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE A PUBLIC MEETING IN CONNECTION WITH THE Fulham Constituency Work of the above Society WILL BE HELD ON MONDAY EVENING, 25 NOV 1901 AT THE WEST KENSINGTON LECTURE HALL Baron's Court Road (Two minutes walk from the West Kensington Station in North End Road.) The Chair will be taken at 8 o'clock by HON. GEOFFREY HOWARD SPEAKERS: R RAINES BROMAGE, Esq., FRGS MISS MORDAN THE LADY CECILIA ROBERTS AND OTHERS Doors open at 7.30 p.m. All seats free, but places will be reserved until 7.50 p.mp for Members and Associates of the Society residing in the Constituency of Fulham', cream ground, laminated.

 

Image ©Licensed to Parsons Media. 12/11/2021. Uxbridge, United Kingdom. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Constituency Day. Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Travis Perkins in RuislipPicture by Andrew Parsons CCHQ / Parsons Media

Original Caption: Mayor Casey's Chalk Board Hangs Outside His Office. He Uses the Board for Advertisements and Other "Messages" to His Constituency, 06/1972

 

U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 412-DA-3700

 

Photographer: St. Gil, Marc, 1924-1992

 

Subjects:

Leakey (Real county, Texas, United States) inhabited place

Environmental Protection Agency

Project DOCUMERICA

 

Persistent URL: research.archives.gov/description/546187

 

For more information about DOCUMERICA photographs at the U.S. National Archives, visit:

www.archives.gov/research/arc/topics/environment/documeri...

 

Repository: Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001.

 

For information about ordering reproductions of photographs held by the Still Picture Unit, visit: www.archives.gov/research/order/still-pictures.html

 

Reproductions may be ordered via an independent vendor. NARA maintains a list of vendors at www.archives.gov/research/order/vendors-photos-maps-dc.html

   

Access Restrictions: Unrestricted

Use Restrictions: Unrestricted

 

At the end of Church Street is this, perhaps the finest view of a church in Suffolk. Maybe others would disagree with that, but the old Guildhall in front, and the splendid tower of Ss. Peter and Paul in the background.

 

It lies opposite the ruins of Eye Castle, at the edge of the town. Quite marvelous, and then you walk into the church, and oh my.

 

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There are three Suffolks. There is mighty Ipswich, a proud provincial town of 150,000 people, currently undergoing a splendid renaissance. There are the scattered villages, hundreds and hundreds of them, their medieval parish churches forming the backbone of this website. And then, there are the small towns. Eye is perhaps the most robustly independent of Suffolk's smaller towns. It isn't big at all, but it is far from anywhere else of any size in the county, if you ignore Norfolk's Diss looming on the horizon. The railways reached it, bringing with them proud 19th century municipal buildings. Until the 1830s, the town returned two members to parliament, and it still gave its name to the parliamentary constituency until the 1970s. There is a castle (or, at least, what looks like a castle), some decent pubs, a theatre, and one of Suffolk's grandest churches.

 

The great flint-encrusted tower of St Peter and St Paul rises above a stunningly crafted interior. Here inside, we will find the nearest thing Suffolk has to a fulfilment of the ecclesiological aspirations of our great-grandparents' generation.

 

From a tiny spark, a glint in the eye of John Keble at Oxford in the 1830s, the sacramental revival in the Church of England spread like wildfire over the course of the ensuing century. The Church set about rediscovering its Catholic roots, and the preaching houses of the Hanoverians were stripped bare and filled with all the best that the Gothic revival had to offer. In many medieval churches, original artefacts were rediscovered and pressed back into service. Where this wasn't possible, the mass-production workshops of Birmingham and London could be called upon to provide what history could not.

 

Ironically, the catalyst for all this had been some of those very reform acts which had deprived Eye of its 'rotten borough' status. Catholic emancipation in the 1820s had been followed by grants to a Catholic university in Ireland; Keble, along with Pusey, Newman, Froude and the others, saw that the Church of England was in danger of being sidelined as a protestant sect. The Oxford Movement, as it became known, published a series of tracts to try and educate the middle classes about their lost past. Their intention was that the Church would recover its catholicity, and its destiny as a national church; the inevitable result was that some of the Movement, Newman among them, would leave the Church of England to become Catholics themselves.

 

The medieval past that they most admired was that of the early 14th century. This allowed them to see the later medieval period as an abuse-riddled downturn, from which the Church had to be rescued at the Reformation. However, as the Movement went on, there were many who asked if the Reformation had really been necessary at all.

 

The grandeur of Suffolk's biggest churches is an eve-of-the-Reformation wealth of the medieval industrial-heartland-of-England thing. Here at Eye it rebuilt the tower in the second half of the 15th century. As at Stradbroke, with which the tower has much in common, it was De la Pole money that rebuilt it, and the family arms are discernible still. Mortlock points out that you can see the shape of the windows change from late-Decorated to Perpendicular over the course of the 40 years or so it took to build. You can see the last windows, the pure rationalism of the late Perpendicular period, right at the top in the bell-stage. Beneath are some mystical Decorated windows, and below them the vast west window which bridges the gap between the two.

 

As the tower was being completed, so the rest of the church was undergoing an opulent rebuild. You can see evidence of the extension at the east end of the south aisle, where a blocked door sits beside the new one into the chancel. As at Lavenham, the parishioners here were left in no doubt about secular power and its might. Soon, the De la Poles, the Springs, the De Veres and so on would outgrow the middle ages, and the aspirations of wealthy families such as these would give rise to the Reformation, the nation state, and ultimately capitalism itself.

 

This was in the future. For now, the De la Poles invested in prayers as well as commerce, and although their south porch is a bit battered these days, it remains one of the loveliest in Suffolk, its brickwork echoing the gildhall on the other side of the church. You can only enter it from inside the church if you hope to see the dole table and fine 13th century doorway that survives of the earlier church, and you have to be there when it is open, for it now contains a shop.

 

Externally then, this is one of the great East Anglian churches. Here we see the late medieval Church in all its glory.

 

But in the 1530s, a collision of expediency and opportunity put an end to it all. Henry VIII took the church out of Europe; his son Edward VI enforced its protestant credentials, and Edward's sister Elizabeth I settled the whole thing by imposing a tyrannical oppression of the old ways, to bolster her grip on power. The past was subverted and lost, as first Anglicans, and then Puritans, overthrew the religion of their parents and grandparents, of the long generations. They all but obliterated the old order, the ancient faith. Much was lost, and much was forgotten. This was what the Oxford Movement tried to recover, but in the context of a national established church, with spectacular results.

 

By the end of the 19th century, the Anglo-catholic movement was in the ascendant. Most churches now saw Holy Communion as the main service rather than Morning Prayer; most churches became focused on the altar rather than the pulpit. Perhaps the formality and splendour of the high church aesthetic chimed with the pomposity and rhetoric of British imperialism; it is worth noting that the rise and fall of Anglo-catholicism as a mainstream tradition coincided almost exactly with the growth and decline of the British Empire. The movement reached its height in the early years of the 20th century, and probably the greatest exponent of Anglo-catholic fixtures and fittings was Ninian Comper. Comper will be familiar to regular users of this site for his work at Lound and Lowestoft; he has also made appearances at Kettlebaston, Ipswich St Mary Elms, Ufford and Barsham, all beacons of early 20th century Anglo-catholic correctness.

 

All gone now, alas, alas. The ritualist tide has receded almost completely, and only the trappings and debris survive here and there, a reminder of what once was. An age that hovers on the edge of a public memory, when the formal vision of the established Church was at the heart of British daily life; an age of candles and incense, of richly coloured vestments and four-part choirs. An age of anthems, and war memorials, and processions, and coronations, and a liturgy that brought you to your knees.

 

Some of this still survives. Here at Eye the tradition has not completely receded.

 

You walk beneath the great tower with its wonderful fan-vaulting so uncharacteristic of Suffolk, and then into the open space of a large, civic church. As at Hadleigh, Halesworth, and other small Suffolk towns, the 19th century restoration here was pretty significant. However, into this created space have been placed furnishings of superb quality and design. The centre piece is Comper's magnificent rood screen and loft, built on the remains of the old one in the mid-1920s. The screen below is good, although not as good as some of the county's other late-15th century screens; the loft however, is easily the best 20th century work in Suffolk.

 

The figures on the dado screen must have been painted in 1500. Pevsner says, somewhat harshly, that they are all bad. It is true that they are doll-like, with nothing like the sophistication of those across the A140 at Yaxley, for example, but they have a certain naive charm. Curiously, the gessowork that forms a relief to the figures is really quite sophisticated. They are, from north to south: I: St Paul, II: St Helen, III: St Edmund, IV: St Ursula and her ten thousand virgins, V: Henry VI, VI: St Dorothy, VII: St Barbara, VIII: St Agnes, IX: St Edward the Confessor, (the gap into the chancel is here), X: St John the Evangelist, XI: St Catherine, XII: St William of Norwich, XIII: St Lucy, XIV: St Thomas of Canterbury, and XV: St Cecilia. You can see them all below - click on them to enlarge them.

 

Many of these Saints had strong local cults in the late medieval period, and are familiar from other East Anglian screens. The less common St William of Norwich adds a little colour, standing as evidence of an anti-semitism that persisted well into the late middle ages, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that the Jewish population had been expelled some two centuries previously. Two of the other images resonate strongly - the cults of Henry VI and St Thomas of Canterbury were particularly frowned upon by the 16th century reformers.

 

Up in the chancel, an entirely secular memorial recalls the Reverend Thomas Wythe, for fifty years Vicar of this Parish. he died in 1835, and the monument notes that he cordially believed, zealously preached, assiduously practiced. It is unlikely that the Reverend Wythe would recognise the inside of his church today. Much of what was foregrounded in this church by the considerable 1850s restoration was further adapted and enhanced by the higher church over the ensuing century. The most spectacular work is by Ninian Comper. As well as the rood and rood loft already mentioned, he produced the great east window depicting the Risen Christ flanked by St John, St Peter, St Paul and St Polycarp. His also is the towering font cover, and the image of St george in the north aisle, which I liked best of all.

 

The process continues; the elegant tomb recess in the north aisle, for example, is host to Lough Pendred's 1960s Madonna and child. Pendred carved the same subject in a different composition for the lady chapel in the south aisle. To be honest, this kind of light wood romantic abstraction is very much of its decade, but there is a poignancy to its presence here in one of the surviving outposts of modern Anglo-catholicism. Eye is one of the few Suffolk churches that still 'sports the big six'; that is to say, has six tall candles on the high altar.

 

Comper decorated the chancel roof, which glows magnificently in the morning light through the east window. Tucked away in two corners are two post-Reformation tombs to Nicholas Cutler and William Honyng, the first in the north aisle (it was originally in the sanctuary, according to Mortlock) and the second in the south aisle chapel. They are curious, because they appear to be almost identical, although whether this is a tribute to early-modern vanity, competing arrogance or mass-production I couldn't say.

 

This is a church in which to wander. It is full of interest, little details and quiet corners. A bit like Eye itself.

 

Beside the church, the large, half-timbered building to the north is the former guildhall. For a long time this was a wonderful second hand bookshop, but that is now closed. On the corner post are the restored angels of the Annunciation - one only has been left unrestored. It is almost a symbol for this reinvented place.

 

Across the road is a rather urban 1960s red-brick modernist building that now houses the Eye Youth Resource Centre - one assumes it wouldn't get planning permission today. Above is the Castle Mound, now crowned by a late 19th century folly after the former windmill was demolished. You wander northwards into narrow streets of independent shops, and the sense of a community that supports and is at ease with itself. A proud little town; its great church suits it well.

  

St Peter and St Paul, Eye, sits near the centre of this fine town just to the east of the A140 Ipswich to Norwich road. It is open every day.

 

Simon Knott, 2003 (updated 2007)

 

www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/eye.htm

Young people from YOUNGO – the youth constituency under the UNFCCC – are taking action today inside the UN climate talks. Silently holding placards bearing the words ‘Equity is the Pathway to Ambition’, they issue a powerful reminder to negotiators from developed countries that it is their responsibility to take the lead in acting on climate change. YOUNGO demands a renewed drive for progress at the climate talks; progress which is based on science and equity.

 

“We have had loud and fun actions so far. But today we are silent, reminding negotiators of the respect that the fundamental principles of this Convention require. Some governments believe they can simply overwrite the principles of a global convention but these are based on equitable values which are not up for negotiation. It is only by following a pathway which is equitable and just that we will be able to make real strides in the fight against climate change.” said Maja Gudim Burheim from the Norwegian organisation, Changemaker.

 

READ THE PRESS RELEASE HERE: pusheurope.eu/media/pressrelease-24052012/

61- Jubilee Hills Assembly Constituency

 

100-Secunderabad Parliamentary Constituency

BX58 WPV West Midlands Police Yellow Astra ID E3S503

A58 Responder working in partnership with hall green Constituency

Taken on Sunday 1st July 2012 on the B4025 Solihull Lane in Shirley on the Olympic Torch Relay convoy

 

The River Test is a river in Hampshire, England. It has a total length of 40 miles (64 km) and it flows through downland from its source near Ashe to the sea at the head of Southampton Water. In its upper reaches it is a chalk stream, and is used for fly fishing for trout.

 

The river is managed by the Environment Agency, whilst the Port of Southampton is the navigation authority for the tidal section below Redbridge.

 

The River Test has given its name to the Test Valley District, a local government district , and to Southampton Test, a UK Parliament constituency.

 

The river plays a significant part in Richard Adams' novel Watership Down.

 

The river rises near the village of Ashe, 10 km to the west of Basingstoke (at grid reference SU 532,498), and flows west through the villages of Overton, Laverstoke, and the town of Whitchurch, before joining with the Bourne Rivulet at Testbourne and turning in a more southerly direction. It then proceeds through the villages of Longparish and Middleton to Wherwell and Chilbolton, where the Rivers Dever and Anton join.[3]

 

From Chilbolton the river goes through the villages of Leckford, Longstock, Stockbridge and Houghton to Mottisfont and Kimbridge, where the River Dun joins the flow. From here the village of Timsbury is passed, then through the grounds of Roke Manor before reaching the town of Romsey. On the western edge of Romsey, Sadler's Mill, an 18th Century watermill, sits astride the River Test.[4]

 

South of Romsey, the river passes the country house of Broadlands, and then Nursling that was once the site of a Roman bridge. Finally the river is joined by the River Blackwater and soon becomes tidal, widening out into a considerable estuary that is lined on its northern bank by the container terminals and quays of the Port of Southampton. The Test estuary then meets that of the River Itchen and the two continue to the sea as Southampton Water.[5]

 

Between Chilbolton and Redbridge, the river was once paralleled by the Andover Canal, which was itself converted to a railway in 1865, and then in turn abandoned. Most traces of the canal have disappeared, although the remains of a stretch can still be seen between Timsbury and Romsey

 

The river plays a significant part in Richard Adams' novel Watership Down.

 

After Bigwig leads the break-out from Efrafa, the Watership rabbits are pursued by an Efrafan force led by their Chief, General Woundwort. Hazel carries out a plan devised by Blackberry which leads to their successful escape down the Test on a punt. In the text we are told that this plan would not have been possible on most rivers, but the Test's smooth-flowing, weed-free nature makes it an exception. Shortly afterwards, the punt becomes lodged on a low bridge, and the surviving rabbits are forced to swim under it to get out.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Test

police barricades, Philadelphia, PA, tones tweaked in PS

 

I live in a city where a cop can consistently put helpless schmucks in the hosptial, have an extremely long and colorful history of IAD complaints, get suspended by IAD and a police board of inquiry for illegal physical force against an innocent civilian, and still go on to make detective.

 

It's a great system.

If it were the private sector, whoever designed it would have been fired long ago.

But since this is city government, public policy is decided by serving the most powerful constituency groups. The police union is a much more powerful and well-connected constituency group than the citizens of Philadelphia.

 

And apparently the police union here thinks a system that rewards officers found guilty of infractions by its own union members - who make up Internal Affairs and PBI's - with career advancement is what Honor, Integry and Service is all about.

 

No wonder so many out of town cops are chomping at the bit now that the city has relaxed it's residency requirement. It would seem that word has gotten out that here in Philadelphia you can basically fuck around with civilians all you want, Lynne Abraham's D.A office will not prosecute (she's prosecuted a total of 3 cops in the 18 years she's been a D.A.), the rate for complaints of physical abuse of civilians sustained by IAD is absurdly low (as low as 1 in 20 depending on the year), and if you get suspended odds are good that it will be turned around before a PBI (where witness often don't bother to show up and IAD complaints are overturned), or in arbitration (where the FOP has the most successful and experienced practitioner of this type of civil service law in the country most times going up against inexperienced paper pushers who never even set foot in law school) which in effect means you can get a paid vacation for breaking the stated rules of your own department, and the odds of it having any repecussion on your career are pretty low.

 

A job where actions have little chance of having any consequences? Sounds pretty sweet.

 

I guess that's what that the poltiicians who make the rules think Honor, Integrity, Service and good government is all about too. In the private sector, actions have consequences. But once it goes into the realm of this city's public sector, and you're playing with taxpayer's money rather than a private company's hard-fought financial assets - all bets are off. What does it matter that we provide sound services with citizen's tax dollars? They're capitive. They have to pay taxes no matter what we do. So why not just do what's politically expedient?

 

If someone wants to challenge that assertion, let's get a neutral third party to look at the personnel files for officers promoted to detective over the last 15 years and see how many officers with mutliple IAD complaints, sustained IAD complaints, sustained PBI complaints, actually went on to get promoted. If I'm wrong, what does the Philadelphia Police Department have to hide?

 

I'm not a cop-hater. My great uncle was a police captain here and have plenty of relatives in municial, country and state law enforcement on both sides of the river.

Right now, I have one of those, I don't know what you call them, one of those "High, I'm a relative of an FOP member, I'm sorry I did whatever you pulled me over for, but can you give me warning" cards in my wallet.

 

This is written out of a bias in favor good cops. Most cops are good cops who are ridiculously underpaid given what they have to do day in and day out.

 

It's also written out of an obvious bias against fuck-ups and systems that do not hold fuck ups to any serious conseqeunces.

 

That puts me on the side of rationality when it comes to thinking about good public policy. The people who want to defend the system, IMHO couldn't give a rats ass about reason or public policy. They care about politics. Big difference between politics and public policy.

 

Law enforcment is a tough job. Everyone makes mistakes. Stipulated.

 

But there are people who make mistakes and then there are repeat offenders that would lead a reasonable person to question whether or not individual X should be employed in law enforcement.

 

In Philadelphia, this question does not appear to get asked. It is an inconvenient question to ask. The only people who can be served by asking this question are the citizens of Philadelphia - and we're at the bottom of the food chain. We are in effect the least important components of the machine.

 

There are plenty of good cops in this city, but why do they get a bad wrap in come circles? They get an unnecessarily bad wrap (ACAB anyone?) due to actions of some individuals on the force who if you threw out the all of the illogical, dysfunctional horseshit of civil service contract law and got down to the simple simple question of "does individual X deserve continued employment by the city as a law enforcement officer" the answer would be a resounding no. No one in their right mind would want to continue to employ individual X in that position, and yet, it happens, and the only people who seem to give a shit about it are activists and members of activist groups representing the civilians who bear the brunt of the systematiuc dysfunction leading to abuse or random people like me who get bent out of shape by the inelegance of certain forms of stupidity.

 

City Council oversight of the police is a complete joke. Most politicians have basically abdicated their responsibility long ago. They know what side their bread is buttered on. In a fight over good public policy that serves the interests of the people they were elected to represent or backing from the police union, most are not just going to spread 'em for the police union they're going to ask "am I tight enough for you?"

 

Michael Nutter was one of the few people making any sense on this issue when he was a Councilman. Now he's mayor. We'll see how he handles the police contract that comes up for renewal this summer. Hopefully, the contract will be a start in breaking out of this absurd "once your a cop, you're a cop for life" fantasy that unfortunately has become the warped reality of public policy when it comes to police non-oversight for decades here in Philly.

 

And that's bad for good cops.

 

Because good cops are not served by having to operate under a system that places them on the same level as those "bad apple" repeat offenders when it comes to promotions and feel the negative repurcussions in the public realm.

 

Not every cop should be characterized as a cro-magnon ass-kicker who believes his badge makes him a member of a legalized street gang. Unfortunately, the actions of a few have made this generalization stand in some circles as what the Philadelphia Police Department is all about.

 

It's not. The PPD is about the cop who does their shift the best they can, does it without fanfare or press, and is an unappreciated member of the tine blue line that lets people like me walk around Center City after dark (with some degree of street smarts) without having to worry about about getting mugged.

 

Why should they catch the fallout from the repeated actions of peers who have proven they don't deserve to be in their ranks?

 

In the real world, where you have to prove your worth to your employer everyday, the fuck ups don't get ahead. They're fired or at minimum their chances for promotion are seriously diminished. That serves as an incentive to not fuck up and to do good work for your organization.

 

Apparently, when the employer footing the bills isn't a private employer, but the city and it's taxpayers, what would seem to be a pretty sound policy to weed out fuck ups apparently doesn't apply.

 

Why should anyone tolerate a police disciplinary and promotion policy that seems to put fuck ups on the same level as good, clean cops?

 

Again, let's look into this with an examination of police promotions over the last 15 years.

 

In the private sector, firing fuckups works in two ways. It serves as a disinsentive for remaining employees to not fuck up and actually rewards them come promotion time.

 

But what kind of message does that send to the good, hard-working cops on the force who really do believe in the notions of Honor, Service, and Integrity and have demonstrated that committment by putting their asses on the line with year and after of service and an and unblemished records?

 

It's nice you're not a fuck up, but in the end it doesn't really mean shit.

 

Appears to me that the good cops on the force are getting fucked over by this farcical notion that once your a Philly cop, your a cop for life - no matter how badly you fuck up that has somehow through the years morphed into an absurd truth.

 

It's a disservice to the good officers in this city and a disgrace to the officers who have fallen in the line of duty and gave their last breaths upholding the ideal of Honor, Integrity and Service that the Philadelphia Police Department and City Council allows this sham of a police discipline and promotion policy to continue.

 

The taxpayers deserve better.

The good, clean cops out there putting their lives on the line everyday deserve better.

The memory of those who have fallen in the line of duty DEMANDS the city does better.

 

Oh, and while we're talking about weeding out the fuck up cops and helping good cops get ahead, how about putting a line in the next contract that reads as follows:

"Any officer who in the course of an encounter with a civilian is found to have used force of sufficient nature to require a hospital visit will be forced to take a drug test at the precint house screening for illegal substances, including, but not limited to various forms of analbolic steroids."

 

That would be great public policy.

Steroids are illegal.

Why should we employ ANY individual in a law enforcement capacity breaking the law by using illegal substances?

Seems like a no-brainer that you find out who these folks are, adopt a one-and-done zero-tolereance policy, and terminate their employment.

 

Given the sensitivity of their position, which serves the greater public interest - drug screening after these types of use of force incidents v. an officer's right to conceal illegal drug use and engage in the use force against civilians while under the effects of illegal substances?

 

If I'm a good cop who's not out there juicing up, wouldn't it be in my best interest to see the guys who are breaking the law fired from the department? That promotion can go to me or someone with a history of illegal drug use. Who in their right mind would support the individual breaking the law?

 

And to those who think this is a canard consider the following:

"Gene Sanders, a police psychologist in Spokane, has estimated that 25% of officers in urban settings take steroids, many as a defense against street criminals. 'How do I deal with people who are in better shape than me and want to kill me?' Sanders told ABC News as a way of explaining steroid use by the thin blue line."

Full article here

 

So we're going to screen baseball players for steroids. And the consequences are what? More home runs?

But we're not going to screen the people out there carrying guns and nightsticks where the consequences of impaired judgment caused by the effect of illegal substances is far more serious - in some cases deadly serious.

How much sense does that make?

 

Drug screening is a routine part of the private sector.

It should be a routine part of the public sector where illegal drug use has serious consequences on civilian populations.

In this case, only an FOP lawyer would argue that an officer's alleged right to privacy to conceal the use of illegal substances trumps the valid public interest such post-incident screenings would serve.

 

This is yet another way to do the right thing by helping good cops get ahead, and forcing bad cops to find alternate employment.

Image ©Licensed to Parsons Media. 12/11/2021. Uxbridge, United Kingdom. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Constituency Day. Prime Minister Boris Johnson accompanied by Sir Ray Puddifoot MBE lays a wreath at the Polish Air Force Memorial in Ruislip ahead of Remembrance Sunday. Picture by Andrew Parsons CCHQ / Parsons Media

Pride At Work is a nonprofit organization and an officially recognized constituency group of the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations.) Please consider joining the Rochester, N.Y. & Finger Lakes Chapter, chartered in 2007. Contact Bess Watts at besswhat@gmail.com for more details.

 

We organize mutual support between the organized Labor Movement and the LGBT community for social and economic justice. In addition to the national organization, more than 21 chapters have been created at the state and local levels in every corner of the United States.

 

We seek full equality for LGBT Workers in our workplaces and unions. We work towards creating a Labor Movement that cherishes diversity, encourages openness, and ensures safety & dignity. We aim to educate the LGBT community about the benefits of a union contract for LGBT working people and to build support and solidarity for the union movement in the LGBT community.

 

We organize in the spirit of the union movement's historic motto, "An Injury to One is An Injury to All." We oppose all forms of discrimination on the job and in our unions based on sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, race, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, religion or political views.

St Peter and St Paul, Eye, Suffolk

 

I had not been back to Eye church for years. I had often passed through the town, often stopped here indeed, but the church was such a big project I had usually carried on to somewhere else. I finally tipped up here on the first Sunday in September 2018, a few minutes after High Mass had finished. The great church was full of incense, the bright summer light thrusting through it, claiming the interior for something greater and more numinous than mere congregational worship. As ever here I was made welcome.

 

There are three Suffolks. There is mighty Ipswich, a proud provincial town of 150,000 people. There are the scattered villages, hundreds and hundreds of them, their medieval parish churches forming the backbone of the county. And then, there are the small towns. Eye is perhaps the most robustly independent of Suffolk's smaller towns. It isn't big at all, but it is far from anywhere else of any size in the county, if you ignore Norfolk's Diss looming on the horizon. The railways reached it, bringing with them proud 19th century municipal buildings. Until the 1830s, the town returned two members to parliament, and it still gave its name to the parliamentary constituency until the 1970s. There is a castle (or, at least, what looks like a castle), some decent pubs, a theatre, and one of Suffolk's grandest churches.

 

The great flint-encrusted tower of St Peter and St Paul rises above a stunningly crafted interior. Here inside, we will find the nearest thing Suffolk has to a fulfilment of the ecclesiological aspirations of our great-grandparents' generation.

 

From a tiny spark, a glint in the eye of John Keble at Oxford in the 1830s, the sacramental revival in the Church of England spread like wildfire over the course of the ensuing century. The Church set about rediscovering its Catholic roots, and the preaching houses of the Hanoverians were stripped bare and filled with all the best that the Gothic revival had to offer. In many medieval churches, original artefacts were rediscovered and pressed back into service. Where this wasn't possible, the mass-production workshops of Birmingham and London could be called upon to provide what history could not.

 

Ironically, the catalyst for all this had been some of those very reform acts which had deprived Eye of its 'rotten borough' status. Catholic emancipation in the 1820s had been followed by grants to a Catholic university in Ireland. Keble, along with Pusey, Newman, Froude and the others, saw that the Church of England was in danger of being sidelined as a protestant sect. The Oxford Movement, as it became known, published a series of tracts to try and educate the middle classes about their lost past. Their intention was that the Church would recover its catholicity, and its destiny as a national church; the inevitable result was that some of the Movement, Newman among them, would leave the Church of England to become Catholics themselves.

 

The medieval past that they most admired was that of the early 14th century. This allowed them to see the later medieval period as an abuse-riddled downturn, from which the Church had to be rescued at the Reformation. However, as the Movement went on, there were many who asked if the Reformation had really been necessary at all.

 

The grandeur of Suffolk's biggest churches is an eve-of-the-Reformation wealth of the medieval industrial-heartland-of-England thing. Here at Eye it rebuilt the tower in the second half of the 15th century. As at Stradbroke, with which the tower has much in common, it was De la Pole money that rebuilt it, and the family arms are discernible still. Mortlock points out that you can see the shape of the windows change from late-Decorated to Perpendicular over the course of the 40 years or so it took to build. You can see the last windows, the pure rationalism of the late Perpendicular period, right at the top in the bell-stage. Beneath are some mystical Decorated windows, and below them the vast west window which bridges the gap between the two.

 

As the tower was being completed, so the rest of the church was undergoing an opulent rebuild. You can see evidence of the extension at the east end of the south aisle, where a blocked door sits beside the new one into the chancel. As at Lavenham, the parishioners here were left in no doubt about secular power and its might. Soon, the De la Poles, the Springs, the De Veres and so on would outgrow the middle ages, and the aspirations of wealthy families such as these would give rise to the Reformation, the nation state, and ultimately capitalism itself.

 

This was in the future. For now, the De la Poles invested in prayers as well as commerce, and although their south porch is a bit battered these days, it remains one of the loveliest in Suffolk, its brickwork echoing the gildhall on the other side of the church. You can only enter it from inside the church if you hope to see the dole table and fine 13th century doorway that survives of the earlier church, and you have to be there when it is open, for it now contains a shop.

 

Externally then, this is one of the great East Anglian churches. Here we see the late medieval Church in all its glory.

 

But in the 1530s, a collision of expediency and opportunity put an end to it all. Henry VIII took the church out of Europe; his son Edward VI enforced its protestant credentials, and Edward's sister Elizabeth I settled the whole thing by imposing a tyrannical oppression of the old ways, to bolster her grip on power. The past was subverted and lost, as first Anglicans, and then Puritans, overthrew the religion of their parents and grandparents, of the long generations. They all but obliterated the old order, the ancient faith. Much was lost, and much was forgotten. This was what the Oxford Movement tried to recover, but in the context of a national established church, with spectacular results.

 

By the end of the 19th century, the Anglo-catholic movement was in the ascendant. Most churches now saw Holy Communion as the main service rather than Morning Prayer; most churches became focused on the altar rather than the pulpit. Perhaps the formality and splendour of the high church aesthetic chimed with the pomposity and rhetoric of British imperialism; it is worth noting that the rise and fall of Anglo-catholicism as a mainstream tradition coincided almost exactly with the growth and decline of the British Empire. The movement reached its height in the early years of the 20th century, and probably the greatest exponent of Anglo-catholic fixtures and fittings was Ninian Comper. Comper will be familiar to manyfor his work at Lound and Lowestoft. He has also made appearances at Kettlebaston, Ipswich St Mary Elms, Ufford and Barsham, all beacons of early 20th century Anglo-catholic correctness.

 

All gone now, alas, alas. The ritualist tide has receded almost completely, and only the trappings and debris survive here and there, a reminder of what once was. An age that hovers on the edge of a public memory, when the formal vision of the established Church was at the heart of British daily life; an age of candles and incense, of richly coloured vestments and four-part choirs. An age of anthems, and war memorials, and processions, and coronations, and a liturgy that brought you to your knees.

 

Some of this still survives. Here at Eye the tradition has not completely receded.

 

You walk beneath the great tower with its wonderful fan-vaulting so uncharacteristic of Suffolk, and then into the open space of a large, civic church. As at Hadleigh, Halesworth, and other small Suffolk towns, the 19th century restoration here was pretty significant. However, into this created space have been placed furnishings of superb quality and design. The centre piece is Comper's magnificent rood screen and loft, built on the remains of the old one in the mid-1920s. The screen below is good, although not as good as some of the county's other late-15th century screens; the loft however, is easily the best 20th century work in Suffolk.

 

The figures on the dado screen must have been painted in 1500. Pevsner says, somewhat harshly, that they are all bad. It is true that they are doll-like, with nothing like the sophistication of those across the A140 at Yaxley, for example, but they have a certain naive charm. Curiously, the gessowork that forms a relief to the figures is really quite sophisticated. They are, from north to south: I: St Paul, II: St Helen, III: St Edmund, IV: St Ursula and her eleven thousand virgins, V: Henry VI, VI: St Dorothy, VII: St Barbara, VIII: St Agnes, IX: St Edward the Confessor, (the gap into the chancel is here), X: St John the Evangelist, XI: St Catherine, XII: St William of Norwich, XIII: St Lucy, XIV: St Thomas of Canterbury, and XV: St Agatha.

 

Many of these Saints had strong local cults in the late medieval period, and are familiar from other East Anglian screens. The less common St William of Norwich adds a little colour, standing as evidence of an anti-semitism that persisted well into the late middle ages, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that the Jewish population had been expelled some two centuries previously. Two of the other images resonate strongly - the cults of Henry VI and St Thomas of Canterbury were particularly frowned upon by the 16th century reformers.

 

Up in the chancel, an entirely secular memorial recalls the Reverend Thomas Wythe, for fifty years Vicar of this Parish. he died in 1835, and the monument notes that he cordially believed, zealously preached, assiduously practiced. It is unlikely that the Reverend Wythe would recognise the inside of his church today. Much of what was foregrounded in this church by the considerable 1850s restoration was further adapted and enhanced by the higher church over the ensuing century. The most spectacular work is by Ninian Comper. As well as the rood and rood loft already mentioned, he produced the great east window depicting the Risen Christ flanked by St John, St Peter, St Paul and St Polycarp in memory of John Polycarp Oakey, parish priest here who died in 1926. Comper's also is the towering font cover, and the window of St George in the north aisle in memory of George Gerald Warnes, a 'Black-and-Tan' auxiliary who was gunned down by the IRA in Grafton Street, Dublin during the so-called 'Troubles' that preceded the Irish Civil War of the 1920s.

 

The process continues. The elegant tomb recess in the north aisle, for example, is host to Lough Pendred's 1960s Madonna and child. Pendred carved the same subject in a different composition for the lady chapel in the south aisle. To be honest, this kind of light wood romantic abstraction is very much of its decade, but there is a poignancy to its presence here in one of the surviving outposts of modern Anglo-Catholicism. Eye is one of the few Suffolk churches that still 'sports the big six'; that is to say, has six tall candles on the high altar.

 

Comper decorated the chancel roof, which glows magnificently in the morning light through the east window. Tucked away in two corners are two post-Reformation tombs to Nicholas Cutler and William Honyng, the first in the north aisle (it was originally in the sanctuary, according to Mortlock) and the second in the south aisle chapel. They are curious, because they appear to be almost identical, although whether this is a tribute to early-modern vanity, competing arrogance or mass-production I couldn't say.

 

This is a church in which to wander. It is full of interest, little details and quiet corners. A bit like Eye itself. Beside the church, the large, half-timbered building to the north is the former guildhall. For a long time this was a wonderful second hand bookshop, but that is now closed. On the corner post are the restored angels of the Annunciation - one only has been left unrestored. It is almost a symbol for this reinvented place.

 

Across the road is a rather urban 1960s red-brick modernist building that now houses the Eye Youth Resource Centre - one assumes it wouldn't get planning permission today. Above is the Castle Mound, now crowned by a late 19th century folly after the former windmill was demolished. You wander northwards into narrow streets of independent shops, and the sense of a community that supports and is at ease with itself. A proud little town. Its great church suits it well.

do we have a quorum?

well, all the plants are here.

think they'll vote for me?

I bet that if these plants could vote, they would definitely vote for you.

ok good.

Left to right: Andrei Barburas, CRSO/Information Officer at the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), in The Hague, The Netherlands, Klaus Stoll, Executive Director, Global Knowledge Partnership Foundation, Germany - Avri Doria, .gay, United States

 

Internet Governance,(IG), has been likened to a country where 0.1% are in charge of 99.9% of the population. 99.9% of Information Technologies (IT) users are uninformed consumers. In the case of IG, the vast majority of IT users are completely ignorant even of its existence. The legitimacy and effectiveness of IG is in direct proportion to the ability to create general awareness and engagement of IT users. The biggest challenge for all those concerned with IG today is the lack of awareness and engagement of the vast majority of IT users. IG has to become a topic of common debate and interest for everybody like peace, the environment and climate change are today.

I-Inform is an alliance for collaborative large scale IG awareness building and engagement with IT users everywhere.

 

Day 4

16 May 2013

ITU/ Claudio Montesano Casillas

Klaus Stoll, Executive Director, Global Knowledge Partnership Foundation, Germany

 

Internet Governance,(IG), has been likened to a country where 0.1% are in charge of 99.9% of the population. 99.9% of Information Technologies (IT) users are uninformed consumers. In the case of IG, the vast majority of IT users are completely ignorant even of its existence. The legitimacy and effectiveness of IG is in direct proportion to the ability to create general awareness and engagement of IT users. The biggest challenge for all those concerned with IG today is the lack of awareness and engagement of the vast majority of IT users. IG has to become a topic of common debate and interest for everybody like peace, the environment and climate change are today.

I-Inform is an alliance for collaborative large scale IG awareness building and engagement with IT users everywhere.

 

Day 4

16 May 2013

ITU/ Claudio Montesano Casillas

Sir Benjamin Rudyerd or Rudyard (1572-31 May 1658), of West Woodhay in Berkshire, was an English politician and poet, Member of Parliament for various constituencies between 1620 and 1648, and a colonial investor who was one of the incorporators of the Providence Company in 1630.

 

Rudyerd was educated at Winchester College and St John's College, Oxford, and then joined the Inner Temple, where he was called to the bar in 1600. As a young man his poetry, though not printed until after his death, won him many plaudits, and he was also respected as a critic. He became a close friend of the poet and playwright Ben Jonson, who addressed three published epigrams to him in 1616, the first of which began:

 

Rudyerd, as lesser dames to great ones use,

My lighter comes to kiss thy learned muse

 

He was also an associate of John Owen and John Hoskins (who once wounded him in a duel, although they later became firm friends). More valuable to him, however, was the admiration of the Earl of Pembroke, England's leading patron of the arts, who helped promote Rudyerd's political career, and he strengthened this association by marrying Elizabeth Harington, daughter of Sir Henry Harington and a relation of Pembroke. Rudyerd's most important surviving poems are a series written in answer to poems by the Earl.

 

In 1618, Rudyerd was knighted, and appointed for life to the lucrative post of Surveyor of the Court of Wards. (When the post was abolished in 1647, Parliament voted him £6,000 in compensation for its loss.) In 1621, he was elected to Parliament for the first time: his career in the House of Commons was long and, in the words of Brunton & Pennington, "unhampered by political consistency" though contemporaries nicknamed him the silver trumpet of Parliaments for his pleasing oratory. He served as MP for Portsmouth (in the Parliaments of 1621-2, 1624 and 1625), Old Sarum (1626), Downton (1628-9) and Wilton in the Short and Long Parliaments; most of these constituencies were ones where the Pembroke influence was strong. At first, Rudyerd was generally supportive of the court, in line with the policy of his patron Pembroke, and by 1624 seems to have been the government's unofficial spokesman in the Commons. He continued to support Buckingham after the accession of Charles I, and although he was one of the MPs named to assist in Buckingham's impeachment in 1626 took no public part in the trial.

 

By the end of the decade, however, he was less supportive of the Crown, taking a strongly critical line on the redress of grievances and denying the King's right to arrest without showing cause. Nevertheless, he assumed the role of mediator between the King and Parliament, arguing in a speech "This is the crisis of Parliaments: we shall know by this if parliaments live or die. If we persevere, the King to draw one way, the parliament another, the Commonwealth must sink in the midst." He resumed this role when Parliament was summoned again in 1640, after an 11-year hiatus, speaking on the first day of debate in the Short Parliament and concluding that "I would desire nothing more than that we proceed with such moderation as the parliament may be the mother of many more happy parliaments". But his first speech in the Long Parliament was less conciliatory, a vigorous attack on the King's "evil counsellors". He took the Parliamentary side on the outbreak of the Civil War, but does not seem to have been an enthusiastic supporter of the cause, and his attendance in the House was twice specially ordered. He was one of the MPs appointed to the Westminster Assembly in 1643. He was opposed to the trial of the King and was excluded from Parliament in Pride's Purge, after which he retired from public life.

 

During the gap between the Parliaments of 1629 and 1640, Rudyerd became interested in colonial developments in North America, and in 1630 was a co-founder of the Providence Company, which developed the colony which eventually became Rhode Island. Probably as a result, he was a member of the council appointed by the Long Parliament in 1643 for the government of the English colonies.

 

He died in 1658 at West Woodhay, the Berkshire manor house he had bought in 1634.

New Ridley is a hamlet in the county of Northumberland, England. It is in the parish of Stocksfield and the parliamentary constituency of Hexham. It is one of four "Ridleys" in the parish, along with Old Ridley, East Ridley and Ridley Mill.

 

Services in New Ridley include Stocksfield Golf Club and the Dr. Syntax public house. The pub is named after a racehorse of the same name which was in turn named after a fictional character created by the writer William Combe.

 

Northumberland is a ceremonial county in North East England, bordering Scotland. It is bordered by the Scottish Borders to the north, the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The town of Blyth is the largest settlement.

 

The county has an area of 5,013 km2 (1,936 sq mi) and a population of 320,274, making it the least-densely populated county in England. The south-east contains the largest towns: Blyth (37,339), Cramlington (27,683), Ashington (27,670), and Morpeth (14,304), which is the administrative centre. The remainder of the county is rural, and the largest towns are Berwick-upon-Tweed (12,043) in the far north and Hexham (13,097) in the west. For local government purposes the county is a unitary authority area. The county historically included the parts of Tyne and Wear north of the River Tyne.

 

The west of Northumberland contains part of the Cheviot Hills and North Pennines, while to the east the land becomes flatter before reaching the coast. The Cheviot (815 m (2,674 ft)), after which the range of hills is named, is the county's highest point. The county contains the source of the River North Tyne and much of the South Tyne; near Hexham they combine to form the Tyne, which exits into Tyne and Wear shortly downstream. The other major rivers in Northumberland are, from south to north, the Blyth, Coquet, Aln, Wansbeck and Tweed, the last of which forms part of the Scottish border. The county contains Northumberland National Park and two national landscapes: the Northumberland Coast and part of the North Pennines.

 

Much of the county's history has been defined by its position on a border. In the Roman era most of the county lay north of Hadrian's Wall, and the region was contested between England and Scotland into the Early Modern era, leading to the construction of many castles, peel towers and bastle houses, and the early modern fortifications at Berwick-upon-Tweed. Northumberland is also associated with Celtic Christianity, particularly the tidal island of Lindisfarne. During the Industrial Revolution the area had significant coal mining, shipbuilding, and armaments industries.

 

Northumberland, England's northernmost county, is a land where Roman occupiers once guarded a walled frontier, Anglian invaders fought with Celtic natives, and Norman lords built castles to suppress rebellion and defend a contested border with Scotland. The present-day county is a vestige of an independent kingdom that once stretched from Edinburgh to the Humber, hence its name, meaning literally 'north of the Humber'. Reflecting its tumultuous past, Northumberland has more castles than any other county in England, and the greatest number of recognised battle sites. Once an economically important region that supplied much of the coal that powered the industrial revolution, Northumberland is now a primarily rural county with a small and gradually shrinking population.

 

As attested by many instances of rock art, the Northumberland region has a rich prehistory. Archeologists have studied a Mesolithic structure at Howick, which dates to 7500 BC and was identified as Britain's oldest house until it lost this title in 2010 when the discovery of the even older Star Carr house in North Yorkshire was announced, which dates to 8770 BC. They have also found tools, ornaments, building structures and cairns dating to the bronze and iron ages, when the area was occupied by Brythonic Celtic peoples who had migrated from continental Europe, most likely the Votadini whose territory stretched from Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth to Northumberland. It is not clear where the boundary between the Votadini and the other large tribe, the Brigantes, was, although it probably frequently shifted as a result of wars and as smaller tribes and communities changed allegiances. Unlike neighbouring tribes, Votadini farms were surrounded by large walls, banks and ditches and the people made offerings of fine metal objects, but never wore massive armlets. There are also at least three very large hillforts in their territory (Yeavering Bell, Eildon Hill and Traprain Law, the latter two now in Scotland), each was located on the top of a prominent hill or mountain. The hillforts may have been used for over a thousand years by this time as places of refuge and as places for meetings for political and religious ceremonies. Duddo Five Stones in North Northumberland and the Goatstones near Hadrian's Wall are stone circles dating from the Bronze Age.

 

When Gnaeus Julius Agricola was appointed Roman governor of Britain in 78 AD, most of northern Britain was still controlled by native British tribes. During his governorship Agricola extended Roman control north of Eboracum (York) and into what is now Scotland. Roman settlements, garrisons and roads were established throughout the Northumberland region.

 

The northern frontier of the Roman occupation fluctuated between Pons Aelius (now Newcastle) and the Forth. Hadrian's Wall was completed by about 130 AD, to define and defend the northern boundary of Roman Britain. By 142, the Romans had completed the Antonine Wall, a more northerly defensive border lying between the Forth and Clyde. However, by 164 they abandoned the Antonine Wall to consolidate defences at Hadrian's Wall.

 

Two important Roman roads in the region were the Stanegate and Dere Street, the latter extending through the Cheviot Hills to locations well north of the Tweed. Located at the intersection of these two roads, Coria (Corbridge), a Roman supply-base, was the most northerly large town in the Roman Empire. The Roman forts of Vercovicium (Housesteads) on Hadrian's Wall, and Vindolanda (Chesterholm) built to guard the Stanegate, had extensive civil settlements surrounding them.

 

The Celtic peoples living in the region between the Tyne and the Forth were known to the Romans as the Votadini. When not under direct Roman rule, they functioned as a friendly client kingdom, a somewhat porous buffer against the more warlike Picts to the north.

 

The gradual Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century led to a poorly documented age of conflict and chaos as different peoples contested territories in northern Britain.

 

Nearly 2000-year-old Roman boxing gloves were uncovered at Vindolanda in 2017 by the Vidolanda Trust experts led by Dr Andrew Birley. According to the Guardian, being similar in style and function to the full-hand modern boxing gloves, these two gloves found at Vindolanda look like leather bands date back to 120 AD. It is suggested that based on their difference from gladiator gloves warriors using this type of gloves had no purpose to kill each other. These gloves were probably used in a sport for promoting fighting skills. The gloves are currently displayed at Vindolanda's museum.

 

Conquests by Anglian invaders led to the establishment of the kingdoms of Deira and Bernicia. The first Anglian settlement was effected in 547 by Ida, who, accompanied by his six sons, pushed through the narrow strip of territory between the Cheviots and the sea, and set up a fortress at Bamburgh, which became the royal seat of the Bernician kings. About the end of the 6th century Bernicia was first united with the rival kingdom of Deira under the rule of Æthelfrith of Northumbria, and the district between the Humber and the Forth became known as the kingdom of Northumbria.

 

After Æthelfrith was killed in battle around 616, Edwin of Deira became king of Northumbria. Æthelfrith's son Oswald fled northwest to the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata where he was converted to Christianity by the monks of Iona. Meanwhile, Paulinus, the first bishop of York, converted King Edwin to Roman Christianity and began an extensive program of conversion and baptism. By his time the kingdom must have reached the west coast, as Edwin is said to have conquered the islands of Anglesey and Man. Under Edwin the Northumbrian kingdom became the chief power in Britain. However, when Cadwallon ap Cadfan defeated Edwin at Hatfield Chase in 633, Northumbria was divided into the former kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira and Christianity suffered a temporary decline.

 

In 634, Oswald defeated Cadwallon ap Cadfan at the Battle of Heavenfield, resulting in the re-unification of Northumbria. Oswald re-established Christianity in the kingdom and assigned a bishopric at Hexham, where Wilfrid erected a famous early English church. Reunification was followed by a period of Northumbrian expansion into Pictish territory and growing dominance over the Celtic kingdoms of Dál Riata and Strathclyde to the west. Northumbrian encroachments were abruptly curtailed in 685, when Ecgfrith suffered complete defeat by a Pictish force at the Battle of Nechtansmere.

 

When Saint Aidan came at the request of Oswald to preach to the Northumbrians he chose the island of Lindisfarne as the site of his church and monastery, and made it the head of the diocese which he founded in 635. For some years the see continued in peace, numbering among its bishops Saint Cuthbert, but in 793 Vikings landed on the island and burnt the settlement, killing many of the monks. The survivors, however, rebuilt the church and continued to live there until 883, when, through fear of a second invasion of the Danes, they fled inland, taking with them the body of Cuthbert and other holy relics.

 

Against this background, the monasteries of Northumbria developed some remarkably influential cultural products. Cædmon, a monk at Whitby Abbey, authored one of the earliest surviving examples of Old English poetry some time before 680. The Lindisfarne Gospels, an early example of insular art, is attributed to Eadfrith, the bishop of Lindisfarne from 698 to 721. Stenton (1971, p. 191) describes the book as follows.

 

In mere script it is no more than an admirable example of a noble style, and the figure drawing of its illustrations, though probably based on classical models, has more than a touch of naïveté. Its unique importance is due to the beauty and astonishing intricacy of its decoration. The nature of its ornament connects it very closely with a group of Irish manuscripts of which the Book of Kells is the most famous.

 

Bede's writing, at the Northumbrian monasteries at Wearmouth and Jarrow, gained him a reputation as the most learned scholar of his age. His work is notable for both its breadth (encompassing history, theology, science and literature) and quality, exemplified by the rigorous use of citation. Bede's most famous work is Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which is regarded as a highly influential early model of historical scholarship.

 

The kingdom of Northumbria ceased to exist in 927, when it was incorporated into England as an earldom by Athelstan, the first king of a united England[citation needed].. In 937, Athelstan's victory over a combined Norse-Celtic force in the battle of Brunanburh secured England's control of its northern territory.

 

The Scottish king Indulf captured Edinburgh in 954, which thenceforth remained in possession of the Scots. His successors made repeated attempts to extend their territory southwards. Malcolm II was finally successful, when, in 1018, he annihilated the Northumbrian army at Carham on the Tweed, and Eadulf the earl of Northumbria ceded all his territory to the north of that river as the price of peace. Henceforth Lothian, consisting of the former region of Northumbria between the Forth and the Tweed, remained in possession of the Scottish kings.

 

The term Northumberland was first recorded in its contracted modern sense in 1065 in an entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle relating to a rebellion against Tostig Godwinson.

 

The vigorous resistance of Northumbria to William the Conqueror was punished by ruthless harrying, mostly south of the River Tees. As recounted by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:

 

A.D. 1068. This year King William gave Earl Robert the earldom over Northumberland; but the landsmen attacked him in the town of Durham, and slew him, and nine hundred men with him. Soon afterwards Edgar Etheling came with all the Northumbrians to York; and the townsmen made a treaty with him: but King William came from the South unawares on them with a large army, and put them to flight, and slew on the spot those who could not escape; which were many hundred men; and plundered the town. St. Peter's minster he made a profanation, and all other places also he despoiled and trampled upon; and the ethelling went back again to Scotland.

 

The Normans rebuilt the Anglian monasteries of Lindisfarne, Hexham and Tynemouth, and founded Norman abbeys at Newminster (1139), Alnwick (1147), Brinkburn (1180), Hulne, and Blanchland. Castles were built at Newcastle (1080), Alnwick (1096), Bamburgh (1131), Harbottle (1157), Prudhoe (1172), Warkworth (1205), Chillingham, Ford (1287), Dunstanburgh (1313), Morpeth, Langley (1350), Wark on Tweed and Norham (1121), the latter an enclave of the palatine bishops of Durham.

 

Northumberland county is not mentioned in the Domesday Survey, but the account of the issues of the county, as rendered by Odard the sheriff, is entered in the Great Roll of the Exchequer for 1131.

 

In 1237, Scotland renounced claims to Northumberland county in the Treaty of York.

 

During the reign of Edward I (1272–1307), the county of Northumberland was the district between the Tees and the Tweed, and had within it several scattered liberties subject to other powers: Durham, Sadberge, Bedlingtonshire, and Norhamshire belonging to the bishop of Durham; Hexhamshire to the archbishop of York; Tynedale to the king of Scotland; Emildon to the earl of Lancaster; and Redesdale to Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus. These franchises were exempt from the ordinary jurisdiction of the shire. Over time, some were incorporated within the county: Tynedale in 1495; Hexhamshire in 1572; and Norhamshire, Islandshire and Bedlingtonshire by the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844.

 

The county court for Northumberland was held at different times at Newcastle, Alnwick and Morpeth, until by statute of 1549 it was ordered that the court should thenceforth be held in the town and castle of Alnwick. Under the same statute the sheriffs of Northumberland, who had been in the habit of appropriating the issues of the county to their private use, were required thereafter to deliver in their accounts to the Exchequer in the same manner as the sheriffs of other counties.

 

From the Norman Conquest until the union of England and Scotland under James I and VI, Northumberland was the scene of perpetual inroads and devastations by the Scots. Norham, Alnwick and Wark were captured by David I of Scotland in the wars of Stephen's reign. In 1174, during his invasion of Northumbria, William I of Scotland, also known as William the Lion, was captured by a party of about four hundred mounted knights, led by Ranulf de Glanvill. This incident became known as the Battle of Alnwick. In 1295, Robert de Ros and the earls of Athol and Menteith ravaged Redesdale, Coquetdale and Tynedale. In 1314 the county was ravaged by king Robert Bruce. And so dire was the Scottish threat in 1382, that by special enactment the earl of Northumberland was ordered to remain on his estates to protect the border. In 1388, Henry Percy was taken prisoner and 1500 of his men slain at the battle of Otterburn, immortalised in the ballad of Chevy Chase.

 

Alnwick, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh were garrisoned for the Lancastrian cause in 1462, but after the Yorkist victories of Hexham and Hedgley Moor in 1464, Alnwick and Dunstanburgh surrendered, and Bamburgh was taken by storm.

 

In September 1513, King James IV of Scotland was killed at the Battle of Flodden on Branxton Moor.

 

Roman Catholic support in Northumberland for Mary, Queen of Scots, led to the Rising of the North in 1569.

 

After uniting the English and Scottish thrones, James VI and I sharply curbed the lawlessness of the border reivers and brought relative peace to the region. There were Church of Scotland congregations in Northumberland in the 17th and 18th centuries.

 

During the Civil War of the 17th century, Newcastle was garrisoned for the king by the earl of Newcastle, but in 1644 it was captured by the Scots under the earl of Leven, and in 1646 Charles I was led there a captive under the charge of David Leslie.

 

Many of the chief Northumberland families were ruined in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.

 

The mineral resources of the area appear to have been exploited to some extent from remote times. It is certain that coal was used by the Romans in Northumberland, and some coal ornaments found at Angerton have been attributed to the 7th century. In a 13th-century grant to Newminster Abbey a road for the conveyance of sea coal from the shore about Blyth is mentioned, and the Blyth coal field was worked throughout the 14th and 15th centuries. The coal trade on the Tyne did not exist to any extent before the 13th century, but from that period it developed rapidly, and Newcastle acquired the monopoly of the river shipping and coal trade. Lead was exported from Newcastle in the 12th century, probably from Hexhamshire, the lead mines of which were very prosperous throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. In a charter from Richard I to Hugh de Puiset creating him earl of Northumberland, mines of silver and iron are mentioned. A salt pan is mentioned at Warkworth in the 12th century; in the 13th century the salt industry flourished at the mouth of the river Blyth, and in the 15th century formed the principal occupation of the inhabitants of North and South Shields. In the reign of Elizabeth I, glass factories were set up at Newcastle by foreign refugees, and the industry spread rapidly along the Tyne. Tanning, both of leather and of nets, was largely practised in the 13th century, and the salmon fisheries in the Tyne were famous in the reign of Henry I.

 

John Smeaton designed the Coldstream Bridge and a bridge at Hexham.

Stephenson's Rocket

Invention of the steam turbine by Charles Algernon Parsons

Internet Governance,(IG), has been likened to a country where 0.1% are in charge of 99.9% of the population. 99.9% of Information Technologies (IT) users are uninformed consumers. In the case of IG, the vast majority of IT users are completely ignorant even of its existence. The legitimacy and effectiveness of IG is in direct proportion to the ability to create general awareness and engagement of IT users. The biggest challenge for all those concerned with IG today is the lack of awareness and engagement of the vast majority of IT users. IG has to become a topic of common debate and interest for everybody like peace, the environment and climate change are today.

I-Inform is an alliance for collaborative large scale IG awareness building and engagement with IT users everywhere.

 

Day 4

16 May 2013

ITU/ Claudio Montesano Casillas

In an unprecedented process, five UNFCCC recognized constituencies (Climate Action Network; Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus; Trade Union Non-Governmental Organizations; Women & Gender Constituency; Young Non-Governmental Organizations), ad hoc working groups (Accra Caucus; Human Rights & Climate Change Working Group and REDD+ Safeguards Working Group), and faith-based, environmental and climate justice organizations, came together to develop textual language that would be at the heart of the Paris Accord:

 

This Agreement shall be implemented on the basis of equity and science, in [full] accordance with the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities [in the light of national circumstances] [the principles and provisions of the Convention], while also ensuring the integrity and resilience of natural ecosystems and ensuring the respect, protection, promotion and fulfillment of human rights, including the rights of indigenous peoples; gender equality and the full and equal participation of women; intergenerational equity; a just transition of the workforce that creates decent work and quality jobs; and food security.

 

Photos by: Christine Irvine | Survival Media Agency