Venedig - Markusdom

 

seen from Doge's Palace

 

gesehen vom Dogenpalast

 

The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark (Italian: Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica (Italian: Basilica di San Marco; Venetian: Baxéłega de San Marco), is the cathedral church of the Catholic Patriarchate of Venice; it became the episcopal seat of the Patriarch of Venice in 1807, replacing the earlier cathedral of San Pietro di Castello. It is dedicated to and holds the relics of Saint Mark the Evangelist, the patron saint of the city.

 

The church is located on the eastern end of Saint Mark's Square, the former political and religious centre of the Republic of Venice, and is attached to the Doge's Palace. Prior to the fall of the republic in 1797, it was the chapel of the Doge and was subject to his jurisdiction, with the concurrence of the procurators of Saint Mark de supra for administrative and financial affairs.

 

The present structure is the third church, begun probably in 1063 to express Venice's growing civic consciousness and pride. Like the two earlier churches, its model was the sixth-century Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, although accommodations were made to adapt the design to the limitations of the physical site and to meet the specific needs of Venetian state ceremonies. Middle-Byzantine, Romanesque, and Islamic influences are also evident, and Gothic elements were later incorporated. To convey the republic's wealth and power, the original brick façades and interior walls were embellished over time with precious stones and rare marbles, primarily in the thirteenth century. Many of the columns, reliefs, and sculptures were spoils stripped from the churches, palaces, and public monuments of Constantinople as a result of the Venetian participation in the Fourth Crusade. Among the plundered artefacts brought back to Venice were the four ancient bronze horses that were placed prominently over the entry.

 

The interior of the domes, the vaults, and the upper walls were slowly covered with gold-ground mosaics depicting saints, prophets, and biblical scenes. Many of these mosaics were later retouched or remade as artistic tastes changed and damaged mosaics had to be replaced, such that the mosaics represent eight hundred years of artistic styles. Some of them derive from traditional Byzantine representations and are masterworks of Medieval art; others are based on preparatory drawings made by prominent Renaissance artists from Venice and Florence, including Paolo Veronese, Tintoretto, Titian, Paolo Uccello, and Andrea del Castagno.

 

History

 

Several medieval chronicles narrate the translatio, the removal of Saint Mark's body from Alexandria in Egypt by two Venetian merchants and its transfer to Venice in 828/829. The Chronicon Venetum further recounts that the relics of Saint Mark were initially placed in a corner tower of the castrum, the fortified residence of the Doge and seat of government located on the site of the present Doge's Palace. Doge Giustiniano Participazio (in office 827–829) subsequently stipulated in his will that his widow and his younger brother and successor Giovanni (in office 829–832) were to erect a church dedicated to Saint Mark wherein the relics would ultimately be housed. Giustiniano further specified that the new church was to be built between the castrum and the Church of Saint Theodore to the north. Construction of the new church may have actually been underway during Giustinian's lifetime and was completed by 836 when the relics of Saint Mark were transferred.

 

Although the Participazio church was long believed to have been a rectangular structure with a single apse, soundings and excavations have demonstrated that St Mark's was from the beginning a cruciform church with at least a central dome, likely in wood. It has not been unequivocally established if each of the four crossarms of the church had a similar dome or were instead covered with gabled wooden roofs.

 

The prototype was the Church of the Holy Apostles (demolished 1461) in Constantinople. This radical break with the local architectural tradition of a rectangular plan in favour of a centrally planned Byzantine model reflected the growing commercial presence of Venetian merchants in the imperial capital as well as Venice's political ties with Byzantium. More importantly, it underscored that St Mark's was intended not as an ecclesiastical seat but as a state sanctuary.

 

Remnants of the Participazio church likely survive and are generally believed to include the foundations and lower parts of several of the principal walls, including the western wall between the nave and the narthex. The great entry portal may also date to the early church as well as the western portion of the crypt, under the central dome, which seems to have served as the base for a raised dais upon which the original altar was located.

 

Orseolo church (976–c. 1063)

 

The Participazio church was severely damaged in 976 during the popular uprising against Doge Pietro IV Candiano (in office 959–976) when the fire that angry crowds had set to drive the Doge from the castrum spread to the adjoining church. Although the structure was not completely destroyed, it was compromised to the point that the Concio, the general assembly, had to alternatively convene in the cathedral of San Pietro di Castello to elect Candiano's successor, Pietro I Orseolo (in office 976–978). Within two years, the church was repaired and at the sole expense of the Orseolo family, indications that the actual damage was relatively limited. Most likely, the wooden components had been consumed, but the walls and supports remained largely intact.

 

Nothing certain is known of the appearance of the Orseolo church. But given the short duration of the reconstruction, it is probable that work was limited to repairing damage with little innovation. It was at this time, however, that the tomb of Saint Mark, located in the main apse, was surmounted with brick vaults, creating the semi-enclosed shrine that would later be incorporated into the crypt when the floor of the chancel was raised during the construction of the third church.

 

Contarini church (c. 1063–present)

 

Construction

 

Civic pride led many Italian cities in the mid-eleventh century to begin erecting or rebuilding their cathedrals on a grand scale. Venice was similarly interested in demonstrating its growing commercial wealth and power, and probably in 1063, under Doge Domenico I Contarini (in office 1043–1071), St Mark's was substantially rebuilt and enlarged to the extent that the resulting structure appeared entirely new.

 

The northern transept was lengthened, likely by incorporating the southern lateral nave of the Church of Saint Theodore. Similarly, the southern transept was extended, perhaps by integrating a corner tower of the castrum. Most significantly, the wooden domes were rebuilt in brick. This required strengthening the walls and piers in order to support the new heavy barrel vaults, which in turn were reinforced by arcades along the sides of the northern, southern, and western crossarms. The vaults of the eastern crossarm were supported by inserting single arches that also served to divide the chancel from the choir chapels in the lateral apses.

 

In front of the western façade, a narthex was built. To accommodate the height of the existing great entry, the vaulting system of the new narthex had to be interrupted in correspondence to the portal, thus creating the shaft above that was later opened to the interior of the church. The crypt was also enlarged to the east, and the high altar was moved from under the central dome to the chancel, which was raised, supported by a network of columns and vaults in the underlying crypt. By 1071, work had progressed far enough that the investiture of Doge Domenico Selvo (in office 1071–1084) could take place in the unfinished church.

 

Work on the interior began under Selvo who collected fine marbles and stones for the embellishment of the church and personally financed the mosaic decoration, hiring a master mosaicist from Constantinople. The Pala d'Oro (golden altarpiece), ordered from Constantinople in 1102, was installed on the high altar in 1105. For the consecration under Doge Vitale Falier Dodoni (in office 1084–1095), various dates are recorded, most likely reflecting a series of consecrations of different sections. The consecration on 8 October 1094 is considered to be the dedication of the church. On that day, the relics of Saint Mark were also placed into the new crypt.

 

Embellishment

 

The juncture of the southern and western crossarms, showing the original brickwork and the subsequent embellishment

 

As built, the Contarini church was a severe brick structure. Adornment inside was limited to the columns of the arcades, the balusters and parapets of the galleries, and the lattice altar screens. The wall surfaces were decorated with moulded arches that alternated with engaged brickwork columns as well as niches and a few cornices. With the exception of the outside of the apse and the western façade that faced Saint Mark's Square, the stark brick exterior was enlivened only by receding concentric arches in contrasting brick around the windows.

 

The western façade, comparable to middle-Byzantine churches erected in the tenth and eleventh centuries, was characterized by a series of arches set between protruding pillars. The walls were pierced by windows set in larger blind arches, while the intervening pillars were adorned with niches and circular patere made of rare marbles and stones that were surrounded with ornamental frames. Other decorative details, including friezes and corbel tables, reflected Romanesque trends, an indication of the taste and craftsmanship of the Italian workers.

 

With few exceptions, most notably the juncture of the southern and western crossarms, both the exterior and interior of the church were subsequently sheathed with revetments of marble and precious stones and enriched with columns, reliefs, and sculptures. Many of these ornamental elements were spolia taken from ancient or Byzantine buildings. Particularly in the period of the Latin Empire (1204–1261), following the Fourth Crusade, the Venetians pillaged the churches, palaces, and public monuments of Constantinople and stripped them of polychrome columns and stones. Once in Venice, some of the columns were sliced for revetmets and patere; others were paired and spread across the façades or used as altars. Despoliation continued in later centuries, notably during the Venetian–Genoese Wars. Venetian sculptors also integrated the spoils with local productions, copying the Byzantine capitals and friezes so effectively that some of their work can only be distinguished with difficulty from the originals.

 

Later modifications

 

In addition to the sixteen windows in each of the five domes, the church was originally lit by three or seven windows in the apse and probably eight in each of the lunettes. But many of these windows were later walled up to create more surface space for the mosaic decoration, with the result that the interior received insufficient sunlight, particularly the areas under the galleries which remained in relative darkness. The galleries were consequently reduced to narrow walkways with the exception of the ends of the northern, southern, and western crossarms where they remain. These walkways maintain the original relief panels of the galleries on the side facing the central section of the church. On the opposite side, new balustrades were erected.

 

The narthex of the Contarini church was originally limited to the western side. As with other Byzantine churches, it extended laterally beyond the façade on both sides and terminated in niches, of which the northern remains. The southern terminus was separated by a wall in the early twelfth century, thus creating an entry hall that opened on the southern façade toward the Doge's Palace and the waterfront. In the early thirteenth century, the narthex was extended along the northern and southern sides to completely surround the western crossarm.

 

Also, in the first half of the thirteenth century, the original low-lying brick domes, typical of Byzantine churches, were surmounted with higher, outer shells supporting bulbous lanterns with crosses. These wooden frames covered in lead provided more protection from weathering to the actual domes below and gave greater visual prominence to the church. Various Near-Eastern models have been suggested as sources of inspiration and construction techniques for the heightened domes, including the Al-Aqsa and Qubbat aṣ-Ṣakhra mosques in Jerusalem and the conical frame erected over the dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the early thirteenth century.

 

Architecture

 

Exterior

 

The three exposed façades result from a long and complex evolution. Particularly in the thirteenth century, the exterior appearance of the church was radically altered: the patterned marble encrustation was added, and a multitude of columns and sculptural elements was applied to enrich the state church. It is probable that structural elements were also added to the façades or modified.

 

Western façade

 

The exterior of the basilica is divided into two registers. On the western façade, the lower register is dominated by five deeply recessed portals that alternate with large piers. The lower register was later completely covered with two tiers of precious columns, largely spoils from the Fourth Crusade.

 

Consistent with Byzantine traditions, the sculptural elements are largely decorative: only in the arches that frame the doorways is there a functional use of sculpture that articulates the architectural lines. In addition to the reliefs in the spandrels, the sculpture at the lower level, relatively limited, includes narrow Romanesque bands, statues, and richly carved borders of foliage mixed with figures derived from Byzantine and Islamic traditions. The eastern influence is most pronounced in the tympana over the northern-most and southern-most portals.

 

The iconographic programme is expressed primarily in the mosaics in the lunettes. In the lower register, those of the lateral portals narrate the translatio, the translation of Saint Mark's relics from Alexandria to Venice. From right to left, they show the removal of the saint's body from Egypt, its arrival in Venice, its veneration by the Doge, and its deposition in the church. This last mosaic is the only one on the façade that survives from the thirteenth century; the others were remade in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. The general appearance of the lost compositions is recorded in Gentile Bellini's Procession in Piazza San Marco (1496), which also documents the earlier gilding on the façade.

 

The upper register is enriched with an elaborate Gothic crowning, executed in the late-fourteenth/early-fifteenth centuries. The original lunettes, transformed into ogee arches, are outlined with foliage and topped with statues of four military saints over the lateral lunettes and of Saint Mark flanked by angels over the central lunette, the point of which contains the winged lion of Saint Mark holding a book with the angelic salutation of the praedestinatio: "Peace to you Mark, my Evangelist" ("Pax tibi Marce evangelista meus"). The intervening aediculae with pinnacles house figures of the Four Evangelists and on the extremities, facing one another, the Virgin and the Archangel Gabriel in allusion to Venice's legendary foundation on the 25 March 421, the feast of the Annunciation.

 

Culminating in the Last Judgment over the main portal, the sequence of mosaics in the lateral lunettes of the upper register present scenes of Christ's victory over death: from left to right, the Descent from the Cross, the Harrowing of Hell, the Resurrection, and the Ascension. The central lunette was originally blind and may have been pierced by several smaller windows; the present large window was inserted after the fire of 1419 destroyed the earlier structure. The reliefs of Christ and the Four Evangelists, now inserted into the northern façade, may also survive from the original decoration of the central lunette.

 

The four gilded bronze horses were among the early spoils brought from Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade. They were part of a quadriga adorning the Hippodrome and are the only equestrian team to survive from classical Antiquity. In the mid-thirteenth century, they were installed prominently on the main façade of St Mark's as symbols of Venice's military triumph over Byzantium and of its newfound imperial status as the successor of the Byzantine Empire. Since 1974 the original four horses are preserved inside, having been substituted with copies on the balcony over the central portal.

 

Northern façade

 

The aediculae on the northern façade contain statues of the four original Latin Doctors of the Church: Jerome, Augustine, Ambrose, and Gregory the Great. Allegorical figures of Prudence, Temperance, Faith, and Charity top the lunettes.

 

Southern façade

 

The Gothic crowning continues in the upper register of the southern façade, the lunettes being topped with the allegorical figures of Justice and Fortitude and the aediculae housing statues of Saint Anthony Abbot and Saint Paul the Hermit.

 

The southern façade is the most richly encrusted façade with rare marbles, spoils, and trophies, including the so-called pillars of Acre, the statue of the four tetrarchs embedded into the external wall of the treasury, and the porphyry imperial head on the south-west corner of the balcony, traditionally believed to represent Justinian II and popularly identified as Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola.

 

After a section of the narthex was partitioned off between 1100 and 1150 to create an entry hall, the niche that had previously marked the southern end of the narthex was removed, and the corresponding arch on the southern façade was opened to establish a second entry. Like the entry on the western façade, the passage was distinguished with precious porphyry columns. On either side, couchant lions and griffins were placed. Presumably, the southern entry was also flanked by the two carved pillars long believed to have been brought to Venice from the Genoese quarter in St Jean d'Acre as booty of the first Venetian–Genoese war (1256–1270) but actually spoils of the Fourth Crusade, taken from the Church of St Polyeuctus in Constantinople.

 

Between 1503 and 1515, the entry hall was transformed into the funerary chapel of Giovanni Battista Cardinal Zen, bishop of Vicenza, who had bequeathed a large portion of his wealth to the Venetian Republic, asking to be entombed in St Mark's. The southern entrance was consequently closed, blocked by the altar and a window above, and although the griffins remain, much of the decoration was transferred or destroyed.The pillars were moved slightly eastward.

 

Influence

 

As the state church, St Mark's was a point of reference for Venetian architects. Its influence during the Gothic period seems to have been limited to decorative patterns and details, such as the portal and painted wall decoration in the Church of Santo Stefano and the portal of the Church of the Madonna dell'Orto, consisting of an ogee arch with flame-like relief sculture reminiscent of the crockets on St Mark's.

 

In the early Renaissance, despite the introduction of classical elements into Venetian architecture by Lombard stonecutters, faithfulness to local building traditions remained strong. In the façades of Ca' Dario and the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, surface decoration in emulation of St Mark's is the principal characteristic, and the overall effect derives from the rich encrustration of shimmering coloured marbles and the circular patterns, derived from the basilica. Similarly, the Foscari Arch in the courtyard of the Doge's Palace is based on ancient triumphal arches but owes its detailing to the basilica: the superimposed columns clustered together, the Gothic pinnacles, and the crowning statuary. At the Scuola Grande di San Marco, the reference to St Mark's is made in the series of lunettes along the roofline which recalls the profile of the basilica.

 

Administration

 

Under the Venetian Republic, St Mark's was the private chapel of the Doge. The primicerius, responsible for the religious functions, was nominated by the Doge personally, and despite several attempts by the Bishop of Olivolo/Castello (after 1451 Patriarch of Venice) to claim jurisdiction over St Mark's, the primicerius remained subject to the Doge alone.

 

Beginning in the ninth century, the Doge also nominated a procurator operis ecclesiae Sancti Marci, responsible for the financial administration of the church, its upkeep, and its decoration. By the mid-thirteenth century there were two procurators in charge of the church, denominated de supra (Ecclesiam sancti Marci). Elected by the Great Council, they supervised the church in temporalibus, limiting the authority of the Doge. In 1442, there were three procurators de supra who administered the church and its treasury. The procurators also hired and paid the proto, directly responsible for overseeing construction, maintenance, and restoration.

 

St Mark's ceased to be the private chapel of the Doge as a result of the fall of the Republic of Venice to the French in 1797, and the primicerius was required to take an oath of office under the provisional municipal government. At that time, plans began to transfer the seat of the Patriarch of Venice from San Pietro di Castello to St Mark's. However, no action was taken before Venice passed under Austrian control in 1798. During the first period of Austrian rule (1798–1805), it was alternatively suggested that the episcopal seat be moved to the Church of San Salvador, but again no action was taken until 1807 when, during the second period of French domination (1805–1814), St Mark's became the patriarchal cathedral. The new status was confirmed by Emperor Francis I of Austria in 1816 during the second period of Austrian rule (1814–1866) and by Pope Pius VII in 1821.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Der Markusdom (italienisch Basilica di San Marco) in Venedig war das zentrale Staatsheiligtum der Republik Venedig bis zu ihrem Ende 1797 und ist seit 1807 die Kathedrale des Patriarchen von Venedig. Er befindet sich am Markusplatz im Sestiere San Marco.

 

Geschichte

 

Die erste dem heiligen Markus geweihte Kirche wurde 828 gestiftet und in den Jahren 829 bis 832 als Palastkapelle des Dogenpalastes unter dem Dogen Giovanni I. Particiaco erbaut, um die 828 aus Alexandria geraubten Gebeine des Evangelisten Markus aufzunehmen, der den heiligen Theodor als Stadtheiligen Venedigs ablöste. Dabei war der Wechsel des Stadtpatrons auch ein Zeichen der Unabhängigkeit von Byzanz.

 

976 wurden die Kirche und 200 Häuser durch ein von Aufständischen im Dogenpalast gelegtes Feuer zerstört. Im selben Jahr begann unter dem Dogen Pietro I. Orseolo der Wiederaufbau der zweiten Kirche. Der heutige Markusdom wurde 1063–1094 als Stiftung des Dogen Domenico Contarini errichtet. Der Legende nach wurden die Gebeine des hl. Markus durch ein Wunder am 25. Juni 1094 wiedergefunden. Dieser Tag wurde zum Feiertag Inventio Sancti Marci.

 

Im 13. Jahrhundert wurden die Kuppeln der Markuskirche erhöht, die nördliche – vom Dogenpalast abgewandte – Vorhalle hinzugefügt und die dem Markusplatz zugewandte Westfront als Säulenfassade umgestaltet. Seither sind die Kuppeln vom Markusplatz aus zu sehen. Die nördliche Vorhalle entstand zwischen 1231 und 1253 nach byzantinischem Vorbild. In der zweiten Hälfte des 14. Jahrhunderts erfolgte eine dritte Bauphase, die das Gebäude im Sinne der venezianischen Gotik veränderte. Diese Bau- und Ausschmückungsphase erstreckte sich bis ins 17. Jahrhundert, als Fertigstellungsdatum gilt vielfach das Jahr 1617.

 

Daher erschien zum 400. Jahrestag eine 2-Euro-Gedenkmünze.

 

Bis zum Ende der Republik Venedig war es durch die Jahrhunderte hindurch ihr erklärtes Ziel, den Bischofssitz des Patriarchen von Venedig weit entfernt vom Zentrum der Macht in San Pietro di Castello zu halten. Die Quadriga über dem Hauptportal, die aus Konstantinopel stammt, wurde 1982 durch Kopien ersetzt, das Gesamtgebäude bis 1994 restauriert.

 

Architektur

 

San Marcos Baugestalt folgt Vorbildern aus der byzantinischen Architektur: Ein ungleichmäßiges griechisches Kreuz bildet den Grundriss (76,5 m Länge und 62,6 m Breite). Der westliche Arm ist breiter und länger. Neben der Vierung sind auch die Kreuzarme durch Kuppeln (45 m Höhe) überwölbt. Dabei sind die Vierungskuppel und die westliche Kuppel größer als die restlichen drei Kuppeln. Die enge Verbindung Venedigs mit Byzanz bewirkte, dass die zu den Bauarbeiten herangezogenen Künstler vor allem nach byzantinischen Vorbildern arbeiteten. Vorbild könnte die heute nicht mehr vorhandene justinianische Apostelkirche in Konstantinopel (536–546) gewesen sein. San Marco folgt also bewusst keinen neueren Bauten der eigenen Zeit, sondern der würdevolleren, ursprünglichen Form. San Marco hat den Baugedanken des großen überkuppelten Zentralbaues nach Italien gebracht und wurde damit seinerseits vorbildlich für die wesentlich späteren Großkuppelbauten von Bramante und Michelangelo. Die Anbauten des 13. Jahrhunderts erfolgten noch im byzantinischen, die des 14. Jahrhunderts im gotischen Stil.

 

Um vom Markusplatz aus in die Basilika zu gelangen, muss man einige Stufen hinabsteigen. Dieses Absinken des Bodens, das zurzeit 23 cm beträgt, betrifft nicht nur die Markuskirche, sondern alle alten Stadtteile Venedigs.

 

Fassade

 

Die in zwei Stockwerke geteilte Hauptfassade repräsentiert den Anspruch von San Marco als Staatskirche Venedigs und ist zugleich Zeichen des Triumphes über Konstantinopel beim Kreuzzug von 1204. Die Fassade wird gegliedert durch fünf Portale mit mosaikverzierten Bögen und entsprechenden Bögen im Abschlussgeschoss, von denen die vier seitlichen ebenfalls Mosaikschmuck aufweisen. Die Supraportenmosaiken über den vier seitlichen Portalen erzählen von der Seite der Mole im Süden nach Norden die Legende der Rettung und Überführung der Gebeine des hl. Markus nach San Marco (siehe Bild), wobei "Rettung und Überführung" eher ein Euphemismus sind, also eine beschönigende Bezeichnung für Diebstahl. Das nördliche Portal ist das älteste und einzige aus dem 13. Jh. erhaltene Portal, die Porta Sant'Alipio, auf dem die Ansicht des Markusdoms im 13. Jahrhundert überliefert wird. Über dem mittleren Portal der fünf eindrucksvollen Portale ist das Jüngste Gericht nach der Vorlage Lattanzio Querenas (1836) dargestellt.[8] Die Archivolten[9] dieses mittleren Portals wurden im 13. Jahrhundert skulptiert und zeigen die venezianischen Zünfte, die zwölf Monatszeichen und Allegorien der Tugenden. Die vier seitlichen oberen Bögen sind bekrönt mit Blattschmuck und jeweils Reliefbüsten der Propheten im Bogenzwickel. Auf den Bogenspitzen stehen Stadtheilige Venedigs: Konstantin, Demetrius, Markus (1420), Georg und Theodor.

 

Im Giebelfeld des mittleren, größeren Bogens unterhalb der Statue des heiligen Markus befindet sich ein goldenes Relief des schreitenden Markuslöwen, beides republikanische Symbole.

 

Der Eindruck der Fassade ist weiter bestimmt durch die überreiche Dekoration durch Marmorverkleidung, die unzähligen antiken Säulen aus Marmor, Porphyr, Jaspis, Serpentin und Alabaster und viele Skulpturen unterschiedlichster Epochen. Die 2600 oft antiken Säulen wurden zu großen Teilen bei Eroberungen (z. B. die von Byzanz während des Kreuzzuges 1204) zusammengetragen und in San Marco als Spolien weiterverwendet. Meist erfüllen sie keine tragende Funktion, sondern dienen zur Dekoration und als Symbolträger für die Macht Venedigs; so die Pilastri Acritani (Pfeiler aus Akko) vor dem Südportal, die aus der Polyeuktoskirche in Konstantinopel stammen.

 

Nach byzantinischem Vorbild erhielt die Markuskirche 1231–1253 die nördliche Vorhalle (62 m lang, 6 m breit, 7,35 m hoch), die von acht kleineren Kuppeln überwölbt wird.

 

Angesichts der Schäden, die Scharen von Tauben durch Knabbern an der kalkhaltigen Bausubstanz für ihre Ernährung und durch Ausscheidungen verursachten, erließ die Stadt Anfang Mai 2008 ein Fütterungsverbot. Das unterbundene, vorher legale Füttern, das sogar durch Futterverkäufer auf dem Markusplatz forciert wurde, reduzierte die Taubenpopulation am Markusplatz drastisch.

 

Pferde von San Marco

 

Die Balustrade über dem Portal wird durch eine Kopie des berühmten antiken Viergespanns aus vergoldeter Bronze dominiert, das – wie auch viele der Säulen und einige Skulpturen – bei der Eroberung von Konstantinopel (1204) geraubt wurde.

 

Die vier Pferde von San Marco, ehemals Teil einer Quadriga, sind das einzige erhaltene antike Vierergespann. Nach Restaurierung und Untersuchung in den 1960er Jahren wurden sie im Museo Marciano im Inneren des Doms (in einem Seitenraum der Empore) ausgestellt und an der Fassade von San Marco durch Kopien ersetzt. Der Ursprung der Kolossalfiguren ist unter Experten umstritten, ihr Entstehungsort ist zwischen Rom, Griechenland und Alexandrien nicht geklärt. Sicher ist jedoch, dass sie deutlich älter sind als ihr Transfer nach Konstantinopel im frühen 4. Jahrhundert. Manche Wissenschaftler schreiben sie den nicht erhaltenen Triumphbögen der Kaiser Nero oder Trajan in Rom, andere dem Mausoleum Kaiser Hadrians zu (also dem 1./2. Jahrhundert n. Chr.); stilistisch werden aber auch Ähnlichkeiten mit der Reiterstatue Mark Aurels (um 165 n. Chr.) gesehen. Eine Einzelmeinung weist sie sogar dem griechischen Bildhauer Lysipp (aus dem 4. Jahrhundert v. Chr.) zu, der im Auftrag von Rhodos ein Gespann für Delphi schuf.

 

Kaiser Konstantin der Große nahm die Quadriga mit nach Konstantinopel, wo sie im Hippodrom aufgestellt und 1204 im Vierten Kreuzzug bei der Eroberung Konstantinopels als Kriegsbeute nach Venedig mitgenommen wurde. Dafür nahm man ihnen möglicherweise die Köpfe ab und setzte sie später falsch wieder auf.

 

Bei der Restaurierung der Pferde fiel auf, dass der Goldbezug der 1,60 Meter großen und je 875 kg schweren Plastiken schon vor Jahrhunderten eingeritzt worden war, damit die Pferde in der Sonne nicht zu sehr blenden und einen lebensechteren Eindruck machen. Außerdem wurde festgestellt, dass die Quadriga nicht aus üblicher Bronze gefertigt war, wie man jahrhundertelang glaubte, sondern fast ausschließlich aus Kupfer, das zwar viel schwieriger zu schmelzen ist als Bronze, jedoch leichter vergoldet werden kann. Jede Figur wurde in nur zwei Teilen gegossen, deren Nahtlinie das Halsband verdeckt.

 

In Venedig standen die Pferde zunächst einige Jahrzehnte lang vor dem Arsenal und wären fast eingeschmolzen worden, bevor man sich rechtzeitig ihrer Bedeutung bewusst wurde und sie an der Fassade des Markusdomes unterbrachte. Im Jahr 1798 ließ Napoleon nach seinem siegreichen Italienfeldzug und der Beseitigung der Republik neben zahlreichen Kunstwerken aus Galerien und Sammlungen auch die beiden Wahrzeichen der Serenissima di San Marco, den Markuslöwen und die vier goldenen Pferde nach Paris bringen. Dort zierten die Pferde fortan den Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. Infolge des Wiener Kongresses konnte das Raubgut 1815 im Beisein Kaiser Franz I. und des Staatskanzlers Fürst Metternich an seine historischen Plätze im nunmehr österreichischen Venedig zurückkehren. In Paris kamen an ihre Stelle Kopien von François Joseph Bosio.

 

(Wikipedia)

The conductor of a westbound CSX intermodal train stands to check the signal indication at the west end of the CP 194 interlocking in Berea, Ohio. The train is headed directly into the late day winter sun.

Disclaimer:

The following Pingo images were taken in 2018.

Before my trip I was researching the Pingos and found no indication on the internet in regards to visitation rules. There also were no signs up anywhere locally or at the viewing platform once I visited.

I now see there are rules prohibiting the climbing of the Pingos from the base up, signed this March 2021 by the Parks Superintendent.

 

I have mixed feelings about that. On one hand I see excessive visitations by too many people [since it is marketed to mass tourism] may cause some wear or establish a trail. I was very conscience about not leaving any footprints or cause any damage and on one of the Pingos I found a large piece of plastic, the wind had likely carried up here, which I took back out.

 

Since it became a Canadian Landmark under Parks management, a viewing platform has been built in a location that gives a very panoramic view of the larger Pingos with no human structures visible. I’m not a friend of board walks and platforms in natural landscapes. They are in many ways eyesores to me as a photographer and aesthetically a small trail has much less impact. But in this location I found both rather well designed. To get to the boardwalk, one needs to organize a boat ride or have a watercraft to get to the Parks dock, which at that time was damaged and difficult to land on.

 

On the other hand I think it was [could be] an incredible experience to use these Pingos as lookout, just like generations of Inuk have done. The thing missing in these coastal regions are high points. So I can see why these Pingos had an importance for hunters to scan the ocean for game, ships, ice-conditions etc.

The lack of any high-points in Tuktoyaktuk itself, along the coast or the highway leaves something to be desired. Short of flight-seeing the coast from Inuvik, one does not get a picture of the beautiful Arctic coast.

 

The top of the Pingos are mostly sand with peat at some places and the sides covered by dense tundra shrubs, berry bushes, Labrador tea and some grasses on the top. I noticed some faint footprints in the sand on top, which obviously disappear with the wind/rain and annual thawing/freezing cycles these hills are constantly exposed to. The science behind these ice-cored hills is described in detail in a study paper by J. Ross Mackay:

Pingos of the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula Area

t.ly/Xs9U

 

and this video by Stephen Wolfe:

Pingo Distribution, Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula Region, Western Canadian Arctic

geosympos.ca/?p=618

 

So these photos are very special to me, as I or others may not be able to document/experience these magnificent ‘ice-hills’ again without breaking the law. Drone flying is also banned within the Landmark.

 

2018 Road Trip to Tuktoyaktuk, NWT via Dempster Highway and the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway or ITH (Tuk Highway).

Caver on the bridge in a gallery in Moel Fferna Slate mine - North Wales

We're at XN Tower on the Toledo Subdivision. The dispatcher has an I&O train lined back to their main off the CSX main track. The lunar white "Restricting" signal governs the switch to the I&O (former DT&I) track.

 

The 'M' indication on the signal between the two trains indicates the Hoover has the main via Warwick to Birmingham on the 09.50 Paddington - Liverpool Lime Street. This was before almost all cross-country trains were diverted via the single line to Coventry via Kenilworth and also when at least four different class 50s could be seen passing through Leamington each day.

The loaded mgr for Didcot PS is working hard up the 1 in 109 grade out of the dip before the station and will climb all the way past Fenny Compton.

This shot of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha gives some indication of just how hectic it was at the Grand Palace when we visited back in July. This made photography difficult in some ways but it also presented a lot of opportunites to shoot some candid shots of tourists.

 

In addition to the usual bus loads of tourists the Palace was also swamped with Thais who were visiting to pay their last respsects to the king who was lying in state in a seperate part of the Palace.

 

Click here to see photos from this and a previous trip to Thailand : www.flickr.com/photos/darrellg/albums/72157600177340620

 

From Wikipedia : "Wat Phra Kaew, commonly known in English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and officially as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple (wat) in Thailand. The Emerald Buddha housed in the temple is a potent religio-political symbol and the palladium (protective image) of Thai society. It is located in Phra Nakhon District, the historic centre of Bangkok, within the precincts of the Grand Palace.

 

The main building is the central phra ubosot, which houses the statue of the Emerald Buddha. According to legend, this Buddha image originated in India where the sage Nagasena prophesized that the Emerald Buddha would bring "prosperity and pre-eminence to each country in which it resides", the Emerald Buddha deified in the Wat Phra Kaew is therefore deeply revered and venerated in Thailand as the protector of the country. Historical records however dates its finding to Chiang Rai in the 15th century where, after it was relocated a number of times, it was finally taken to Thailand in the 18th century. It was enshrined in Bangkok at the Wat Phra Kaew temple in 1782 during the reign of Phutthayotfa Chulalok, King Rama I (1782–1809). This marked the beginning of the Chakri Dynasty of Thailand, whose current sovereign is Vajiralongkorn, King Rama X.

 

The Emerald Buddha, a dark green statue, is in a standing form, about 66 centimetres (26 in) tall, carved from a single jade stone ("emerald" in Thai means deep green colour and not the specific stone). It is carved in the meditating posture in the style of the Lanna school of the northern Thailand. Except for the Thai King and, in his stead, the Crown Prince, no other persons are allowed to touch the statue. The King changes the cloak around the statue three times a year, corresponding to the summer, winter, and rainy seasons, an important ritual performed to usher good fortune to the country during each season."

 

My Website : Twitter : Facebook : Instagram : Photocrowd

 

© D.Godliman

... of Spring !!! - Large On Black

 

Crocus / Krokus

in our garden - Frankfurt-Nordend

Explored: 01.03.2009

If the rocker panel and wheel wells are any indication, this old car was going to be someone's pride and joy. Primered after metal or bondo work to remedy the rust prone areas, and wearing "recent" license plates, it must have been a drive-and-restore effort.

Now, however, this 1959 Edsel corsair just sits in a quiet Eastern Washington town. The work-in-progress status is in limbo, abandoned for some other effort, or maybe even lack thereof.

Even if that last owner has moved on, I applaud them for recognizing this as an usual car worth saving. Though Edsels still bear a stigma as Ford's folly, they are now enjoying a resurgence. Likewise, four-door sedans are often overlooked, but in the 1959 Edsel Corsair lineup, even they are rare. While almost 45,000 Edsels were sold that year, only 9,318 of them were Corsairs, made in four body styles. Four-door sedans are, as usual the most common, but even then only 3,694 were made. While not a tiny number, it can be used to illustrate the variety in classic car collectibility. At one of only 3,700, this is just another old car left to sit, while at the same time, one of 77,000 1965 Mustang fastbacks are snatched up like hotcakes. It's all relative.

Silverton:

 

The first indication of silver–lead mineralisation in the Barrier Rangers came in late 1875 with the discovery of galena by Julius Charles Nickel and Dan McLean while they were well sinking on Thackaringa Station, near the South Australian - New South Wales border.

 

In 1879 John Stokie established a store at Umberumberka, 19 km north of Thackaringa. He continued prospecting and discovered silver–lead veins nearby, which he pegged with Edward Pegler in November 1881. A 100 ton parcel of ore was shipped to England for a 40% profit. The following October the Umberumberka Silver Lead Mining Company Ltd was floated with nominal capital of £20 000. Umberumberka was the second area of silver–lead mineralisation discovered in the Barrier Ranges and the new company was the first to be publicly floated. The town of Silverton soon developed close to the mine and became the main settlement of the growing silver field.

 

Silverton was surveyed in 1883, by which time Australia had a population of 2, 250, 194. By September that year, the population of Silverton was 250, and by December 1883 it had doubled. That year the Day Dream Mine opened and attracted an additional population of 400 - 500 people. In 1884 1,222 mineral leases, 937 business permits and 114 miners' rights were issued. That same year 6,000 tonnes of ore were extracted and the town acquired its own newspaper, the Silver Age.

 

By 1885 - 1886 the town's population had reached 3,000. Silverton was proclaimed a township in 1885 and a municipality the following year. In 1885 a short-lived smelter was established at Day Dream Mine, operating for only a year. In 1892 the Umberumberka Mine closed, followed by the Day Dream Mine. The Pioneer Mine at Thackaringa closed in 1897. By 1901, after miners had moved to the richer fields at Broken Hill, the town went into decline and only 286 people remained. Today the town has a population of around 50 people, most of whom work in tourism.

 

The Silverton Tramway Company:

 

The Silverton Tramway Company, a rare private railway of 50klms in length, was incorporated in New South Wales October 14, 1886 and the line was completed and opened for traffic on January 12, 1888. One of only two privately owned railways in the state, the tramway was originally founded to transport ore from local mines in the Broken Hill and Silverton region into South Australia. The company soon branched out, not only carrying ore from the mines but freighted other goods and offered a passenger service which accounted for a third of their business.

 

The company serviced travellers on long trips heading interstate to Semaphore (Adelaide) to the Largs Bay Holiday Camp and excursions for local community groups often conveying passengers to Silverton and McCulloch Park (at Stephens Creek) for the day and returning to Broken Hill in the afternoon. When traveling to South Australia the train would travel from Broken Hill, through Silverton and then to Burns which is on the New South Wales side of the border of Cockburn (a town divided by the NSW/SA border).

 

In 1927 the New South Wales government completed the railway from Sydney to Broken Hill, thus joining the Silverton Tramway and completing the link from Sydney to Adelaide. It played a strategic role in the trans-Australia network until 1970, when it was surpassed by the New South Wales Government Railways (Indian-Pacific). From 1888-1970 it was critical to the economic functioning of Broken Hill, by providing the key transport of ore to the Port Pirie smelters. It played a significant role in the politics and recreation of Broken Hill, and a crucial role at times of water shortage in Broken Hill.

 

Today, Silverton resides in the Unincorporated Area of New South Wales (NSW) and so does not feature a City Council. It is run by the Silverton Village Committee, who to this day hold their quarterly meetings in the Silverton Municipal Chambers.

 

Source: Silverton NSW (www.aussietowns.com.au/town/silverton-nsw), New South Wales Heritage Register & Discover Broken Hill (discoverbrokenhill.com.au/silverton-nsw/historic-building...), "The pathway to Broken Hill: Early discoveries in the Barrier Ranges, New South Wales, Australia" by Kenneth George McQueen, and 'Aplin, Graeme; S.G. Foster; Michael McKernan, eds. (1987). Australians: Events and Places. Broadway, New South Wales, Australia: Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates. p. 97'

Silverton:

 

The first indication of silver–lead mineralisation in the Barrier Rangers came in late 1875 with the discovery of galena by Julius Charles Nickel and Dan McLean while they were well sinking on Thackaringa Station, near the South Australian - New South Wales border.

 

In 1879 John Stokie established a store at Umberumberka, 19 km north of Thackaringa. He continued prospecting and discovered silver–lead veins nearby, which he pegged with Edward Pegler in November 1881. A 100 ton parcel of ore was shipped to England for a 40% profit. The following October the Umberumberka Silver Lead Mining Company Ltd was floated with nominal capital of £20 000. Umberumberka was the second area of silver–lead mineralisation discovered in the Barrier Ranges and the new company was the first to be publicly floated. The town of Silverton soon developed close to the mine and became the main settlement of the growing silver field.

 

Silverton was surveyed in 1883, by which time Australia had a population of 2, 250, 194. By September that year, the population of Silverton was 250, and by December 1883 it had doubled. That year the Day Dream Mine opened and attracted an additional population of 400 - 500 people. In 1884 1,222 mineral leases, 937 business permits and 114 miners' rights were issued. That same year 6,000 tonnes of ore were extracted and the town acquired its own newspaper, the Silver Age.

 

By 1885 - 1886 the town's population had reached 3,000. Silverton was proclaimed a township in 1885 and a municipality the following year. In 1885 a short-lived smelter was established at Day Dream Mine, operating for only a year. In 1892 the Umberumberka Mine closed, followed by the Day Dream Mine. The Pioneer Mine at Thackaringa closed in 1897. By 1901, after miners had moved to the richer fields at Broken Hill, the town went into decline and only 286 people remained. Today the town has a population of around 50 people, most of whom work in tourism.

 

The Silverton Tramway Company:

 

The Silverton Tramway Company, a rare private railway of 50klms in length, was incorporated in New South Wales October 14, 1886 and the line was completed and opened for traffic on January 12, 1888. One of only two privately owned railways in the state, the tramway was originally founded to transport ore from local mines in the Broken Hill and Silverton region into South Australia. The company soon branched out, not only carrying ore from the mines but freighted other goods and offered a passenger service which accounted for a third of their business.

 

The company serviced travellers on long trips heading interstate to Semaphore (Adelaide) to the Largs Bay Holiday Camp and excursions for local community groups often conveying passengers to Silverton and McCulloch Park (at Stephens Creek) for the day and returning to Broken Hill in the afternoon. When traveling to South Australia the train would travel from Broken Hill, through Silverton and then to Burns which is on the New South Wales side of the border of Cockburn (a town divided by the NSW/SA border).

 

In 1927 the New South Wales government completed the railway from Sydney to Broken Hill, thus joining the Silverton Tramway and completing the link from Sydney to Adelaide. It played a strategic role in the trans-Australia network until 1970, when it was surpassed by the New South Wales Government Railways (Indian-Pacific). From 1888-1970 it was critical to the economic functioning of Broken Hill, by providing the key transport of ore to the Port Pirie smelters. It played a significant role in the politics and recreation of Broken Hill, and a crucial role at times of water shortage in Broken Hill.

 

Today, Silverton resides in the Unincorporated Area of New South Wales (NSW) and so does not feature a City Council. It is run by the Silverton Village Committee, who to this day hold their quarterly meetings in the Silverton Municipal Chambers.

 

Source: Silverton NSW (www.aussietowns.com.au/town/silverton-nsw), New South Wales Heritage Register & Discover Broken Hill (discoverbrokenhill.com.au/silverton-nsw/historic-building...), "The pathway to Broken Hill: Early discoveries in the Barrier Ranges, New South Wales, Australia" by Kenneth George McQueen, and 'Aplin, Graeme; S.G. Foster; Michael McKernan, eds. (1987). Australians: Events and Places. Broadway, New South Wales, Australia: Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates. p. 97'

Last night's sky over sale, rather lovely and an indication of the weather for today which has been very warm and sunny.

The perfect spooky activity to do this fall.

   

The interactive pumpkin features a system which allows you to remove the lid, scoop the flesh, carve the pumpkin and then place a candle inside.

   

A smaller model is included for child avatars (tested with bebe youth).

   

A decor pack is also provided which is perfect to use as a photo prop or for decorating your home.

   

How to use:

   

-Rez the pumpkin on a suitable surface (Make sure it's facing the right way - the sticker is an indication).

 

- Stand directly in front of the pumpkin.

 

- Attach the item named "Pumpkin Carving Tool".

 

- Click the pumpkin to begin the interactive functions.

   

I hope you enjoy it guys!

Items on display at an exhibition of India’s varied geographical indications, taking place at WIPO from October 6-14, 2015.

 

Co-organized by WIPO and the Government of India on the sidelines of the WIPO Assemblies of Member States, it was inaugurated with an event themed “Make in India” on October 6, 2015 featuring a recital of traditional Indian music and Indian artisans demonstrating their handiwork.

 

The event began with the screening of a WIPO-produced film on a capacity building project sponsored by WIPO’s Accessible Books Consortium in India and a keynote address by India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Ajit Kumar, followed by a screening of a film on the “Make in India” initiative.

 

Copyright: WIPO. Photo: Violaine Martin. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License.

Jetzt hat mich das Retro-Fieber xDDD

 

Ich sehe mir derzeit die alten Sailor Moon Folgen an (schlimmer Fehler xDDD ) - Tja... *ggg* - Hier mein erster Merch *____*

 

Mit Pluto's Stift bin ich grad am Basteln xD - weitere Bilder folgen :-)

Mallard MALL (Anas platyrhynchos) X Gadwall GADW (Anas strepera)

 

Trevlac Pond / Calvert Park,

Saanich, Capital District, British Columbia, CA

  

Record shot...

Very fun bird to discover here.

i think it is likely one and the same bird seen around in past several years but no way to know for sure

  

DSCN1311

 

ebird.org/view/checklist/S53830779

 

predominantly Mallard structure

intermediate Gadwall plumage with back plumes less extravagant

Pattern of head matches 2 tone pattern of Gadwall but with obvious iridescent green of Mallard,and gold cheek is also iridescent !

neck colour also as Mallard with a slight indication of a Mallard neck ring

 

If you are at your desk,look down at your surge protector (or power strip) on the floor.Those two things in the middle of the shot are the light switch and the indicator light (small red light) on it. The bokeh was added.

Many indication for a great king apart from the size carving precision, the “kartouch” (encapsulation of name inside a rounded corner square. He’s holding a dagger in one hand the other may have a stamp like tool. Also the artificial chin, crown & head scarf

The vastness of the west really puts things in perspective and humbles a person. I shot this at 500mm and still an entire coal train remains minute. Three locomotives, front, middle and rear are all visible, the red making them pop out slightly.

 

This coal train originated on CP in southeastern British Columbia as train 881-159 and was handed over to CN at Kamloops, becoming CN 731. It's an odd arrangement as CN takes the train, power and all and runs it to the west coast, returning it via the same route empty and giving it back to CP to take back to the mine. Other CP-originated trains remain as CP trains to the coast. Throw in the directional running zone down the Thompson and Fraser Canyons and the equipment and trackage a train may be running on give no indication to whose train each may be. Good inside information is really helpful and I thank those who helped me out!

 

The train shown here is on CN's Ashcroft Subdivision approaching Frederick, BC. The tunnel at the top right of the photo pierces "Battle Bluffs", an outcropping reaching into Lake Kamloops.

 

My viewing location is Kamloops Lake View Point off the Trans-Canada Highway in Six Mile Hill Protected Area. It's pretty wild country and now a favourite place of mine.

 

CP 8142 "AC4400CWM" nee CP 9650 AC4400CW

mid-train DPU:

CP 8646 AC4400CW

tail-end DPU:

CP 8500 AC4400CW nee GECX 8500

CSXT J783 with CSXT 4008,runs light power enroute back to The Queensgate Yard, meeting NS 4243 is seen here sitting idle waiting for a signal indication to proceed on forward on the Cincinnati Terminal Subdivision at Winton Place in Cincinnati, OH 8-16-21

Silverton:

 

The first indication of silver–lead mineralisation in the Barrier Rangers came in late 1875 with the discovery of galena by Julius Charles Nickel and Dan McLean while they were well sinking on Thackaringa Station, near the South Australian - New South Wales border.

 

In 1879 John Stokie established a store at Umberumberka, 19 km north of Thackaringa. He continued prospecting and discovered silver–lead veins nearby, which he pegged with Edward Pegler in November 1881. A 100 ton parcel of ore was shipped to England for a 40% profit. The following October the Umberumberka Silver Lead Mining Company Ltd was floated with nominal capital of £20 000. Umberumberka was the second area of silver–lead mineralisation discovered in the Barrier Ranges and the new company was the first to be publicly floated. The town of Silverton soon developed close to the mine and became the main settlement of the growing silver field.

 

Silverton was surveyed in 1883, by which time Australia had a population of 2, 250, 194. By September that year, the population of Silverton was 250, and by December 1883 it had doubled. That year the Day Dream Mine opened and attracted an additional population of 400 - 500 people. In 1884 1,222 mineral leases, 937 business permits and 114 miners' rights were issued. That same year 6,000 tonnes of ore were extracted and the town acquired its own newspaper, the Silver Age.

 

By 1885 - 1886 the town's population had reached 3,000. Silverton was proclaimed a township in 1885 and a municipality the following year. In 1885 a short-lived smelter was established at Day Dream Mine, operating for only a year. In 1892 the Umberumberka Mine closed, followed by the Day Dream Mine. The Pioneer Mine at Thackaringa closed in 1897. By 1901, after miners had moved to the richer fields at Broken Hill, the town went into decline and only 286 people remained. Today the town has a population of around 50 people, most of whom work in tourism.

 

The Silverton Tramway Company:

 

The Silverton Tramway Company, a rare private railway of 50klms in length, was incorporated in New South Wales October 14, 1886 and the line was completed and opened for traffic on January 12, 1888. One of only two privately owned railways in the state, the tramway was originally founded to transport ore from local mines in the Broken Hill and Silverton region into South Australia. The company soon branched out, not only carrying ore from the mines but freighted other goods and offered a passenger service which accounted for a third of their business.

 

The company serviced travellers on long trips heading interstate to Semaphore (Adelaide) to the Largs Bay Holiday Camp and excursions for local community groups often conveying passengers to Silverton and McCulloch Park (at Stephens Creek) for the day and returning to Broken Hill in the afternoon. When traveling to South Australia the train would travel from Broken Hill, through Silverton and then to Burns which is on the New South Wales side of the border of Cockburn (a town divided by the NSW/SA border).

 

In 1927 the New South Wales government completed the railway from Sydney to Broken Hill, thus joining the Silverton Tramway and completing the link from Sydney to Adelaide. It played a strategic role in the trans-Australia network until 1970, when it was surpassed by the New South Wales Government Railways (Indian-Pacific). From 1888-1970 it was critical to the economic functioning of Broken Hill, by providing the key transport of ore to the Port Pirie smelters. It played a significant role in the politics and recreation of Broken Hill, and a crucial role at times of water shortage in Broken Hill.

 

Today, Silverton resides in the Unincorporated Area of New South Wales (NSW) and so does not feature a City Council. It is run by the Silverton Village Committee, who to this day hold their quarterly meetings in the Silverton Municipal Chambers.

 

Source: Silverton NSW (www.aussietowns.com.au/town/silverton-nsw), New South Wales Heritage Register & Discover Broken Hill (discoverbrokenhill.com.au/silverton-nsw/historic-building...), "The pathway to Broken Hill: Early discoveries in the Barrier Ranges, New South Wales, Australia" by Kenneth George McQueen, and 'Aplin, Graeme; S.G. Foster; Michael McKernan, eds. (1987). Australians: Events and Places. Broadway, New South Wales, Australia: Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates. p. 97'

This isn't any indication that I am going to do an ongoing series of Justice Stories, just a coll little cover I made when I was making the Deadshot one. I do want to start doing more of these as I find it really fun not only building and setting up the figures, but also the editing part as well. Tell what guys think, I would really love to hear your opinions.

 

Also a big thank you to the people making my last photo explored, it was really a shock and quite funny how a photo which took me two seconds to make gets more popularity than a photo which takes me over an hour, but I guess that'show things go ;)

 

Final note, I have just made a group where you can post your own Lego Comic Book Covers : www.flickr.com/groups/2759585@N23/?added=2

 

Hope you like it :D

The beauty of APB style signalling...J780 gets an indication out of the east end of the Butlerville, Indiana siding when the switch is lined for the main.

Why would my father hide something like this from us, his own family, for so long? While he had many secrets, I didn't ever consider him being part of something like this.. A secret society, made up of Star City's wealthiest. Adam Hunt, Cyrus Vanch, Martin Somers, Malcolm Morrison, and my father just to name a few members of Tempest. If these articles are any indication, my father's not the only one with something to hide. Like Ken Williams.. He got all of his money through pyramid schemes, stealing millions from home owners. Covered up, thanks to that newfound wealth of his. Once again, the little man is run over by the one who has money. They can get away with whatever they want, which isn't right. Ironic, coming from billionaire, Oliver Queen, I know. But as I've said before, I'm a different person now.. That island, Lian Yu, changed me..

 

I'm getting ready to go, when I notice the bottom drawer of a file cabinet open. Crouching down, I flick through the files, until one in particular catches my eye. Moira Queen. I start looking through the file after grabbing it from the drawer. Inside, are pictures of my mother, and Tommy's dad, Arthur King. The first couple of photos are innocent enough, with them talking. However, I wasn't ready for what came next. My mother, kissing Arthur King. My mom, was having an affair with my best friend's dad. Something straight out of a soap opera. Which begs the question, who took these photos? If it was my dad, he could've tried to use this as leverage against Arthur.. Which just may have lead to his death. I mean there isn't any evidence so far, connecting Arthur to the shooter who killed my dad, but he does have motive for wanting my dad dead. Of course, this theory all depends on Arthur knowing that my dad knew about the affair.

 

"Sorry to interrupt Oliver, but we have to go now. Someone's coming." I hear Diggle say, coming from the main room. Guess I'll have to come back some other time to investigate this further.. But I'm taking this list with me. Placing the file back where I found it, I grab the notebook, containing the list of names, and place it into the inside pocket of my jacket, before following Diggle out of the warehouse.

  

--------------------------------------

Later, Star City National Trust

 

"We have to go now! There's only a few minutes left before police arrive. Making it to the exit alone takes 45 seconds." My boss says impatiently, adjusting his glasses, and looking at his watch, before looking at the rest of us. We gather what we can, before leaving the vault, with dufflebags full of money.

 

"But sir--" I'm about to protest more, when he speaks up.

 

"It's Clock King to you, Second Hand." He interrupts, glaring at me, which is enough to shut me up.

 

"That silly name again? You know no one takes you seriously with a name like that." One of the others, Dale, says, to which Clock King responds with a shot of his gun, a shot that just barely misses, impacting in the wall behind Dale. It's at this point that the gun is shot out of the King's hand, by an arrow of all things. This causes the rest of us Second Hands to drop our dufflebags.

 

" Shit shit shit! I thought that hood guy was a myth! " Alec screams, before aiming and firing at where the arrow came from. Unfortunately, it's just a waste of bullets, as the Hood's already down on the ground with us, quickly firing off an arrow to entrap Dale, before Alec charges at him. The Hood is able to block Alec's punches with his bow, before smacking Alec across the jaw with it. Just like that, Alec's pretty much down for the count.

 

"You shouldn't be here. How could I have miscalculated something like this? It-- it isn't possible.." The boss stammers, diving for his gun. Not that it matters though, as the gun is all but useless now. Damnit, we're clearly out of our league here.. He's picking us off one by one.

 

"I shouldn't be here?! That's rich, coming from the guy robbing this bank. Can't say they don't deserve it, but this'll effect innocent people. Good, hard working, people. Also, Clock King? A little on the cheesy side, don't ya think?" The Hood replies, the voice clearly modulated, diving behind the counter, as I'm shooting round after round, trying to hit the guy. Lucky for him, I'm not a very good shot. He quickly pops up from behind the counter to shoot yet another arrow, which takes the gun out of my hand with ease.

 

"Why does it matter? It's not like the wealthy are doing anything valuable with the money they put here. This is all their money.. It just sits here, wasting away, while everyone else suffers.. I need this money." the King answers, fuming with rage, as he grabs Dale's gun. He unloads the rest of the clip into the counter, now too frantic to think clearly.

 

"Here's a thought, get a job! One that's legal. That way, you don't find yourself in prison." This Hood is trying everything he, or she, can to not laugh, readjusting their position once me and my boss are reloading. It's hard to get a read on where exactly the Hood is when there's now so much smoke everywhere.

 

"Easy for you to say, when you haven't lived the life I have!" Is my leader's response, as he picks up the duffle bags, before running away.

 

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Are the last words I hear, before I'm hit by what I'm assuming is the Hood's bow, my body hitting the floor rather hard.

  

POV Change

 

With three Second Hands down, all that remains is their oh so fearless leader, Clock King. He has a headstart, as I took the time to take down the final Second Hand. I will say, I'm surprised a guy naming himself Clock King doesn't have a clock logo anywhere in sight. Not even some fancy clock helmet either. He's slowing down however, as I catch up not even a minute later. I nock and fire multiple arrows on either side of him, which causes him to stop in his place. He even goes so far as to go down on his hands and knees.

 

"Please.. I need this money for my sister. You see, I don't have very long left.. I just wanted her to be set for life, before I passed.." The man pleads, even tearing up. I can see he's clearly exhausted.

 

"This isn't the right way-" I'm about to say more, but I feel a slight prick in my neck, which causes me to collapse on the sidewalk. Looking up, all I see, before blacking out completely, is a woman standing over me, with short blonde hair, and a black domino mask.

The view from tunnel 5 looking through tunnel 4 into tunnel 3 on the ten tunnel deviation between Newnes Junction and Zig Zag.

I peer through a window in the door of a local pub to see if there are any signs of re-opening ….. the lights are on but no activity or indeed any indication of impending opening.

 

I’ll have to check again!

 

This eastbound auto rack train is on Track 1 so it is not getting a signal indication from the signal bridge on the west edge of Ashtabula on the CSX Erie West Subdivision. (Scanned from a slide)

A trip to the RAF Cosford air show yesterday and time for practising panning the camera. The trouble in these cross-over manoeuvres is that as you follow one plane the other then appears to be going twice the rate in the opposite direction.

 

Normally with propeller driven planes you would want a shutter speed of 1/125s to allow the prop to show indication of motion but as I wanted to catch the crossover then that had to go out of the window and 1/2500s was used.

 

RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Spitfire AB910, Eurofighter Typhoon RAF Typhoon Display Team

 

Wednesday 29 July 1981 was the day of the Royal Wedding between Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, faced with wall-to-wall coverage of the event and having absolutely no interest in the event I decided to head north to avoid things. My family were happily ensconced with extended family in Chester.

This was the first time that I had gone north of Appleby to photograph steam and had very little idea of where to go to get a decent photo.

So I ended up at Kirkby Thore to see SR 4-6-0 850 Lord Nelson heading towards Appleby with not a hint of exhaust though there were indications it had been producing the 'black stuff' shortly before. In fact this lack of success continued for the entire day also with an almost cloudless sky still managing to lose the sun at this location.

Annoyingly the grand headboard proclaimed The Wedding Belle. So much for avoiding the event

Once the defensive wall of Roman Verulamium, the city wall of St Albans can still be traced for most of its two-mile circuit. Its towers and gateway foundations give some indication of the importance of Roman Britain’s third largest town.

Verulamium lay on Watling street, a day's march north from Londinium and beyond that from the coast at Dover and Richborough, and continued to Chester. Akeman Street diverged to the west, leading to Cirencester, Gloucester and south Wales.

The wall was built between 265 and 270 AD of mortared flint rubble with layers of brick bonding. It was faced with dressed flints, though very little of this facing survives. Rising from 3 metre-wide footings, the wall once stood to a height of 5 metres and was topped by a walkway protected by a 1.8 metres parapet. Parts of this massive structure still survive up to 4 metres high, though in places its line is visible only as a change in ground level.

 

At its back was a broad earthen bank up to the level of the walkway and just beyond it a massive defensive ditch, originally up to 29 metres wide and 6 metres deep. Sections of this can still be seen.

 

The foundations of two towers or bastions survive, and east of these are the remains of the impressive London Gate, where Watling Street entered the city. This substantial structure had two passageways for vehicles and two for pedestrians, and was defended by flanking towers.

 

The Norman Abbey was built on the supposed site of the martyrdom of St Alban on the hill top on the opposite side of the River Ver from the Roman city. Here the medieval town developed, leaving the site of Verulamium largely unbuilt upon, but used extensively as a useful quarry of easily re-useable materials in an area with little or no stone.

September 1991 - Hartmarx Corp. has sold its ailing specialty-store operation for $43 million, with the indication that two-thirds of the stores will be quickly closed, the firm said Friday.

 

Among the stores being sold is Hartmarx`s Baskin unit in Illinois.

 

Lincoln Square Mall opened in 1964 and was developed in partnership between the city of Urbana, Carson Pirie Scott & Co., and Victor Gruen in an attempt to revive the towns decaying urban core. Lincoln Square was the first mall in Illinois to be located outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area and was solely anchored by the venerable Chicago-based Carson Pirie Scott & Co.

 

The mall was mildly successful through the mid-1980s until competition from Marketplace Shopping Center in nearby Champaign started to draw shoppers away from the older and smaller Lincoln Square. Carson Pirie Scott sold the mall in 1988 as they were preparing to be acquired by Peoria-based Bergner's and the store was rebranded as Bergner's soon after. Bergner's would close the store after declaring Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in August 1991 and the store would reopen as Minnesota-based Herberger's. Herberger's helped fund a minor mall renovation in 1994, but Herberger's was soon sold to Saks Inc. in 1997 and, closed their store in 2002.

 

Despite its interesting history and historical status, the mall was funnily enough never completed. Only one of the four planes phases was ever completed. Phase 2 would have closed Main Street, between Race and Vine Street and added a second anchor store, likely Montgomery Ward, and Phases 3 and 4 would have added a civic center, theater, and high rise office towers to the mall complex. I don’t think that these additions would have extended the malls life for long. Carson’s, Bergner’s, and Herberger’s went bankrupt as part of Bon-Ton stores bankruptcy in 2018, and Montgomery Ward shuttered the last of their stores in 2001. In addition, Marketplace Shopping Center, or a mall similar to it, would have been constructed off the freeway regardless as major department stores were looking to leave downtown Champaign.

 

There are no signs or mall rules stating "No Photography", but I'm banned for life with a polaroid in the mall offices haha.

What's interesting about this image, taken on what appears to be a rather wet day, is the temporary pole and drum slung under the forward end of the boom of the helicopter. To my non-aviator's eye (and perhaps fanciful imagination?), it looks like it might be the arm of a fixed-wing aircraft's arresting gear with a weight (drum) to help it swing down. Is this an attempt to trial a hold-down system for a helicopter - and are the two chocks on the flight-deck something to do with this? Your comments would be most welcome... This particular airframe, XJ 402, first flew in September 1955. It was delivered to the Royal Naval Engineering College at Manadon in Plymouth for use in ground instruction in 1967 before being passed to the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton in 1976. It was finally scrapped in 1988.

 

In 1950, Westland Aircraft, already building the American Sikorsky S-51 under license as the Westland Dragonfly, purchased the rights to manufacture and sell Sikorsky's larger Sikorsky 3.5-tonne S-55 helicopter (H-19 Chickasaw). While a Sikorsky-built pattern aircraft was flown by Westland in June 1951, converting the design to meet British standards (including the provision of a revised main-rotor gearbox), was time consuming, and the first prototype British aircraft, powered by the 600 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340-40 Wasp did not fly until August 1953. This was followed by 10 Whirlwind HAR.Mk 1s, which entered service shortly afterwards. They served in non-combat roles, including search and rescue and communications functions.

 

The HAR.Mk 3, seen above aboard HMS Victorious, had a larger 700 hp Wright R-1300-3 Cyclone 7 air-cooled radial piston engine and a total of 25 were built. The performance of these early versions was limited by the American engines' low power and in 1955, the HAR.Mk 5, powered by the more powerful British Alvis Leonides Major, flew for the first time. This was followed by the similarly-powered HAS.Mk 7, which became the first British helicopter designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) work in the front-line when it entered service in 1957. From its start with the Navy, the Whirlwind came to be used by the British Army and RAF. More than 400 Whirlwinds were built, of which nearly 100 were exported to 17 foreign customers, including, rather surprisingly, considering political issues during the aircraft's lifetime, Cuba and Yugoslavia! Two Whirlwinds became part of the Queen's Flight, although one crashed in 1967.

 

This is another Royal Navy copyright photo that I received as a small boy in the early-/mid-1960s from a crewmember of HMS Victorious. There's no indication of when the photo was taken but I assume it was not long beforehand.

 

A larger, improved version of a much-earlier post.

sicurezza... femminile

Despite indications that this remote desert complex is in fact the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project outside of Tonopah, Nevada, I'm not convinced. [Canon 6d / 24-105mm f/4L]

Odda is a town and administrative center in Ullensvang municipality in Vestland county in Norway. The town is located deep in the Sørfjorden in Hardanger , and has 4,764 inhabitants as of 1 January 2023 . Odda was the administrative center of Odda municipality , which on 1 January 2020 was merged with Jondal and Ullensvang to form the new Ullensvang municipality.

 

In 2009 , the industrial heritage in Odda-Tyssedal was listed on Norway's tentative list for UNESCO's World Heritage List , together with the Rjukan–Notodden industrial heritage .

 

Public services

Odda hospital is a local hospital for the municipalities of Eidfjord, Jondal, Odda and Ullensvang.

Odda secondary school offers both vocational and study specialist educations.

Business

Odda is known as an industrial location, with companies such as Odda Smelteverk , Boliden Odda (formerly Norzink ) and Tinfos Titan & Iron (TTI).

 

History

Tourism and hotel management

Before industrial activity in Odda began around 1910, Odda was a popular tourist destination which, among other things, attracted many foreigners who wanted to experience the scenic area with glaciers, fjords and waterfalls. This laid the foundation for several people to start hotel operations on the site.

 

Some of the most popular destinations for tourists visiting Odda were Låtefossen and Espelandsfossen .

 

Shuttle station, steamship wharf and steamship expedition

Baard Jakobsen Aga (1812–1895) received a merchant license in Odda in 1861, and in 1864 took over the shuttle station that was in operation in Odda. Then he secured a new plot of land where he built a hotel which was called alternately Prestegårds Hotel and Agas Hotel. In 1868 he became a post opener and steamship dispatcher, and he then had a steamship wharf and dispatch house built at Almerket. He had previously expanded the hotel business, but in 1888 he inaugurated a new hotel building, the "new Agas Hotel". In the 20th century, the large hotel building was used for other purposes, including Rita's bakery, which led to the building being called "Ritagården" colloquially. Agas Hotel/Ritagården was demolished in 1978.

 

From guest house to Hotel Hardanger

The start of hotel operations at Odda occurred around 1845, when a man named Monsen started an inn on the site. Monsen went bankrupt in the 1860s, and the inn was bought by a man named Wetshus. He continued to run the hotel business. After Wetshus had died, the two brothers Sven and Mikal Tollefsen became his successors in the early 1880s, with financial support from a rich Englishman. The Tollefsen brothers carried out a major renovation of the former guest house. When Sven Tollefsen died, Mikal Tollefsen became the hotel's sole owner.

 

Tollefsen also bought Agas Hotel, which Baard Jakobsen Aga had started.

 

On 9 August 1895, the then Hotel Hardanger was completely damaged in a fire. The fire started in Hotel Hardanger, but 7–8 neighboring buildings also caught fire. It was said that the fire was caused by the maid of an English hotel guest having left a candle or a kerosene lamp by an open window, and that the curtain had caught fire - as it was very hot most of the windows in the hotel were open, and this caused the fire to spread with great speed. The fire started at 12 o'clock in the morning.

 

The commander and crew of the steamship "Vega" - which happened to be docked in Odda when the fire started - managed to put out the fire(s) within three hours using fire-fighting equipment from the ship. Among other things, they managed to save the post office, while the telegraph building was lost. The competing Jordals Hotel, which was run by Jacob Jordal, was also saved.

 

Hotel Hardanger was insured, and Bergens Tidende wrote that the insurance sum was NOK 90,000, but also published an anonymous source's assessment that the hotel complex was worth NOK 200,000–250,000, and that the owner - Mikal Tollefsen - had probably suffered a significant financial loss due to underinsurance. No people were injured in the fire.

 

Shortly after the fire in 1895, Tollefsen started building a new and larger hotel on the site of the fire. The new hotel was completed on 24 June 1896, and had 170 hotel beds in 110 guest rooms. Architecturally, it was a mixture of Swiss style and dragon style, with towers and projections.

 

Hardanger Hotel is mentioned, among other things, in a French travelogue published in 1897.

 

In 1913, the owner of Hotel Hardanger filed a claim for damages against the two factories - a cyanamide factory and a carbide factory - which had started up in Odda a few years earlier, because the factory operation caused such great pollution and bad odors that it affected the hotel operation. The provisions of the Neighborhood Act were the legal basis for the lawsuit. The court agreed with the plaintiff that the two factories were obliged to pay compensation for inconvenience and losses that the hotel had suffered after 2 August 1911, but not because Odda had become less idyllic and thus attractive to tourists. The compensation sum was to be determined after an appraisal had been carried out , and the result of the appraisal was not available until 1922. By then both factories had gone bankrupt, and hotel owner Mikal Tollefsen had died.

 

Hotel Hardanger becomes a town hall

In 1917, the municipality bought the Hotel Hardanger, to convert the building into a town hall . The hotel had then been almost empty all year round, because the industrial activity on the site had meant that the tourists did not show up. [9]

 

The hotel's so-called "Kongerom" was converted into a chairman's office and lord's boardroom. Eventually, the new town hall also accommodated a number of other businesses, such as a cinema, police station, doctor's office and bank. The old hotel was in use as Odda Town Hall until a new building was inaugurated in 1957; from then on, the former Hotel Hardanger was referred to as Odda old town hall . This building was demolished in 1976.

 

Jordals Hotel becomes Hardanger Hotel

In 1917, Jordals Hotel was bought by the Melkeraaen family, who continued to run the hotel for 68 years. Along the way, they changed the name of the hotel to Hardanger Hotel.

 

The Hardanger Hotel, which was a wooden Swiss-style building, was demolished in 1962, and a new five-story hotel building was inaugurated on 1 July 1963.

 

From tourism to industrial site

Factories and smelters

At the beginning of the 20th century, two factories were started in Odda. On one, cyanamide was produced, and on the other, carbide was produced .

 

In 1908, the operation of the first factory that was to be part of Odda Smelteverk , a carbide factory owned by a British company, began. In 1909, another British company started production of calcium cyanamide in the same area as the first factory. The reason why Odda was interesting for the foreign companies was the access to large amounts of hydropower and ice-free ports.

 

Both factories went bankrupt in 1921 , in connection with the worldwide economic crisis that occurred in the early 1920s. The bankruptcies led to thousands of people becoming unemployed. Both factories started up again in 1924, with Odda Smelteverk A/S as the new owner. This operating company was established by the power company Tyssefaldene and the Hafslund/Meraker group.

 

The cyanamide factory was built on in the 1930s.

 

At the smelter, the so-called Odda process was developed by chief chemist Erling Johnson in 1927–1928; it is a chemical process based on nitric acid for the industrial production of three-sided artificial fertilizer with the sub-components nitrogen , phosphorus and potassium .

 

Preservation decision and dispute over conservation value

In 2011 , the National Archives decided to protect several of the smelter's buildings and facilities, and to include the smelter in the Norwegian application to UNESCO for world heritage status for Norwegian industrial monuments. In 2013, however, the Ministry of the Environment decided that the series nomination should be split into two phases, 1. application for Rjukan/Notodden to be submitted to UNESCO in January 2014, and phase 2, that work be continued on expanding the nomination to include Odda/ Tyssedal with eventual submission to UNESCO in January 2016.

 

The owners of the smelter site objected to the conservation decision made in 2011, but the decision was upheld in 2012. The conservation included the cyanamide factory, the cable car, the Linde house (named after the German inventor Carl von Linde ) and the limestone silo on the import quay. Over the years, there has been much controversy in Odda about whether the smelter's buildings and facilities should be preserved or removed.

 

Cultural life

Music and theater

Tyssedalkoret and Odda Songlag are two choirs that come from Odda municipality. The water power and industrial history of the area here was documented in the performance and the DVD ``Arven'', performed by Tyssedalkoret with band and soloists in autumn 2004 and released on DVD in Christmas 2005. In addition these two choirs have the bands Odda Musikklag , Odda Skolekorps and Røldal Skolemusiklag. The blues team Lokst Utøve has 272 members. The Blueslaget received the culture award for 2009 for their great work as concert/festival organisers, volunteer workers and inspirers for bands and soloists. In 2011, Erlend Garatun Huus published the book Rock og Røyk , which is about the history of rock in Odda.

 

At the closed smelter (2001), the old "Lindehuset" has been used for theater and concert activities. The theater play Bikebubesong , based on the Oddingen Frode Grytten's novel Bikubesong , was performed in this venue in 2003 with great success. The play's performance in Oslo has been the most watched contemporary drama in Norwegian history.

 

A key cultural player in Odda is the company Oddakonsertene, led by Gunn Gravdal Elton. In April 2019, the Odda concerts staged the musical Albert og Leonie , a story about how Odda arose as an industrial community. The musical was a huge success with sold-out houses. 2,600 people queued to see and hear the story. The director was Martine Bakken Lundberg. The main roles were played by André Søfteland and Lene Kokai Flage. Over 60 amateurs were on stage. Albert and Leonie was planned to be staged again in 2020 and 2021, but had to be canceled due to the corona pandemic .

 

The odd concerts started in 2005 and as of 2019 have staged more than 60 concerts. All have been sold out. The most popular concerts are the annual Christmas concerts, which gather over 1,000 listeners. The traditional Christmas concert in Odda church with a large ensemble and two to three concerts in a row officially ended in 2019, but a simplified version was arranged in 2020, with concerts in Skare and Odda churches.

 

The Literature Symposium

From 2005, a festival called the Literature Symposium in Odda has been organized every autumn . The Linden house at the defunct Smelteverket, Odda cinema, Sentralbadet, Odda church are some of the venues at the symposium. Previously, there was every year "Bikubegang" with Frode Grytten , where he told about the story behind the book "Bikubesong", while he wandered around Odda. The literary symposium also has concerts, often in connection with an author/musician or individual artists. During the Literary Symposium 2011, the Sentralbadet Litteraturhus opened in the old bathroom at the closed Smelteverket, and this has become headquarters for the symposium, as well as a permanent house for literary events all year round.

 

As of 2010, a major rehabilitation/remodeling of Lindehuset was planned, so that the building would be better suited for events such as concerts and theater performances.

 

The National Antiquities' "Value creation project"

Odda is one of the pilot projects in the Value Creation Project for the National Archives.

 

TV shows

The actions in the TV series RIP Henry and Ragnarok have been added to Odda, and are recorded there. In Ragnarok, on the other hand, the city goes by the name Edda .

 

Known oddities

Samson Isberg (1795–1873), sharpshooter

Knud Knudsen (photographer) (1832–1915)

Gro Holm , born Prestgarden (1878–1949), writer

Alfred Hagn (1882–1958), painter, writer and spy.

Claes Gill (1910–1973), writer, actor and theater manager

Torbjørn Mork (1928–1992), doctor, politician ( Ap ), director of health 1972–1992

Walther Aas (1928–1990), artist

Roger Albertsen , (1957–2003), footballer

Anne B. Ragde (born 1957), writer, (raised in Trondheim)

Arne Borgstrøm (born 1959), elite long-distance swimmer

Frode Grytten (born 1960), author

Lars Ove Seljestad (born 1961), author

Bjørn Ingvaldsen (born 1962), author, leader of Norwegian Children's and Young People's Book Writers

Hallgeir Opedal (born 1965), writer and journalist

Børge Brende (born 1965), politician ( H ), former secretary general of the Norwegian Red Cross , minister of foreign affairs

Ida Melbo Øystese (born 1968), chief of police in Oslo from 2023.

Knut Olav Åmås (born 1968), author, editor, director of the foundation Fritt Ord

Leif Einar Lothe (born 1969), entrepreneur, singer, TV profile

Marit Eikemo (born 1971), writer

Tore Aurstad (born 1972), author

Ingvill Måkestad Bovim (born 1981), athlete

Håkon Opdal (born 1982), footballer

Ingvild Skare Thygesen (born 1993), TV profile

 

The Sognefjord is Norway's longest and deepest fjord with its 205 km and 1303 m at its deepest (SNL states 1308), including Sognesjøen which is at the far end towards the North Sea. The Sognefjord has the deepest point on Norway's coast. The fjord is 176–180 km from the innermost Lusterfjorden ( Skjolden ) to Sognefest , and 206 km to the outermost reef (then Lake Sognesjøen is also included). The width varies from around 1 to 2 km in Lusterfjorden to 4–5 km from Leikanger and beyond. Measured from the threshold to Skjolden, the fjord is 174 km. The middle part of the fjord is surrounded by mountains of around 1000 meters and in the inner part the height difference between the bottom of the fjord and the mountain tops is 3500 metres. The highest peak right by the fjord is Bleia at 1,721 metres, which gives a 2,850 meter height difference. Around the inner part of the fjord, the landscape is alpine with pointed mountain peaks, steep mountain sides and glaciers. As an extension of the fjord arms, long and deep valleys extend in all directions, including Jostedalen , Lærdalen and Årdal with Utladalen . The Sognefjord is the world's longest open (ice-free) fjord. The Sognefjord is the world's third longest fjord.

 

It is located in the middle of Vestland county (formerly Sogn og Fjordane county to which it helped give its name) and stretches from Solund on the coast in the west to Skjolden at the foot of Jotunheimen in the east (northeast), where the fjord arm is called Lustrafjorden . The fjord and the land around it make up the Sogn region, often divided into Outer, Midtre and Indre Sogn. The length from Rutletangen to Skjolden is 186 km . Sogn makes up almost 60% of the area in Sogn and Fjordane, or around 11,000 km 2 . The twelve municipalities in Sogn have a total area of ​​10,671.55 km² and 37,063 inhabitants (1 January 2014). The land around the inner part of the fjord is called Indre Sogn and includes the long fjord arms. From Leikanger onwards, the country is called Ytre Sogn . The outer part of the fjord has few and small fjord arms. The fjord arms are like hanging valleys under water in that the bottom in the side fjords is often much shallower than the main fjord with a height difference of over 1,000 meters in some cases. The main fjord has a threshold at its mouth to the sea, while several of the side fjords have thresholds at the mouth of the main fjord.

 

The Sognefjord cuts so deeply into the country that it is only 15 km from the innermost arm at Skjolden to mountain peaks such as Store Skagastølstind in Jotunheimen. The water flow usually exits the fjord. The rivers create sandbanks where they run into the fjord, for example at Gudvangen, in Lærdal and in Gaupne. These sandbars are constantly expanding and changing shape.

 

The Sognefjord, especially the inner part, is surrounded by mountain massifs which are alpine in the inner part and more rounded in the outer part. The innermost arms of the fjord continue as deep and sometimes long valleys, including Lærdal , Årdal with Utladalen , Nærøydalen , Sogndalsdalen , Fjærland , Fortunsdalen , Aurlandsdalen and Jostedalen . The transition between the fjord and these valleys is determined by sea level, and the boundary has moved outwards at the uplift. Some of the side valleys, such as Vik and Fresvik, would have been hanging valleys in the same way as the Feigedalen if the Sognefjord was drained.

 

Name

Amund Helland writes " The Sognefjord's real name is Sogn , while Sogn is now used only for the surrounding landscape, and was thus already used in the Middle Ages. As a landscape name, the name is a masculine word and has undoubtedly been so as a fjord name as well." The name is connected to the word "suction", which probably refers to the suction or the difficult current conditions that are created when the water flows through the fjord mouth and over the threshold.

 

Geography

Large parts of the fjord are surrounded by steep mountains. Kvamsøy at Balestrand is a small island separated from the mainland by a short, shallow strait. Outside Balestrand there are small fjord arms and at Veganes ( Dragsvik ferry quay ) there is a significant branching with the Fjærlandsfjorden .

 

Municipalities

Municipalities with shoreline to the fjord, counted from west to east:

Solund

Hyllestad (north side)

Gulen (south side)

Høyanger (on both sides of the main fjord)

Vik (south side)

Sogndal (north side)

Aurland (south side, around the Aurlandsfjord)

Lærdal (south side)

Luster (north side, around Lustrafjorden)

Årdal (around the Årdalsfjord)

 

Depths

The Sognefjord has only one threshold which is at the mouth and the threshold is around 165 meters deep. The area beyond the threshold is called Sognesjøen , which is sheltered by islands to the north and south; there is no threshold outside Sognesjøen that has free circulation towards the ocean.

 

From the inner parts at Årdal or Skjolden, the fjord gradually deepens outwards (westwards). Between Fodnes-Mannheller and Rutledal-Rysjedalsvika, the bottom is at least 800 metres. The deepest part is approximately at Åkrestrand and Vadheim. The outer part of the fjord (at Losna and Sula ) has a marked threshold with depths of 100 to 200 metres, where the fjord bed rises abruptly from a depth of 1,200 meters to around 100 meters over a stretch of 5 km at Rutledal. In Lake Sognesjøen there are several small troughs (with depths down to 400-500 metres) with thresholds between them. Across the fjord, the bottom is partly completely flat with less than 1 meter variation in depth over a 2 km cross-section. The bottom is covered by fine material (clay) which at Vangsnes is up to 300 meters thick. Seismic shows that the greatest depth to the bedrock is approximately 1,600 m, but loose masses with a thickness of 200–400 m mean that the fjord bottom is nevertheless flat. Seismic surveys at Vangsnes have revealed a 300 meter thick layer of clay at the bottom.

 

Between 50 and 180 km from the mouth, the fjord bed is relatively flat. Almost all side fjords form hanging valleys to the main fjord. For example, the mouth of the Fjærlandsfjord is well over 400 meters deep, while the main fjord is close to 1,200 meters deep just outside the mouth. Vadheimfjord's mouth is 400 meters deep, here the greatest depth is over 1300 m. Ikjefjord's mouth is only 50 meters deep close to where the main fjord is at its deepest. In large parts of the fjord, it is "abruptly deep" in that the steep mountain sides continue just as steeply underwater.

 

In contrast to a number of other fjords, not every single part of the Sognefjord has its own name. Only the outermost part has its own name - Sognesjøen . However, there are many fjord arms. From west to east these are:

 

Sognesjøen

Straumsfjorden

Bjørnefjorden

Nessefjord

The Sognefjord

Lifjorden

Bøfjorden

The Risnefjord

The Ikjefjord

Vadheimsfjorden

Fuglsetfjorden

Høyangsfjorden

Lånefjorden

The Finnafjord

The Arnafjord

The Inner Fjord

Framfjorden

Vikbukti

The Esefjord

Fjærlandsfjorden

The Vetlefjord

Sværefjorden

The Norafjord

Sogndalsfjorden

Barsnes Fjord

The Eidsfjord

Aurlandsfjorden

The Nærøyfjord

Amla Bay

Lærdalsfjorden

Årdalsfjorden

The Lustrafjord

The Gaupnefjord

Climate and fresh water

 

The fjord colored by meltwater from the glacier.

Terrain formations and distance to the sea lead to great variations in climate along the fjord. The outer part has a mild and humid coastal climate, while the innermost part has an inland climate with cold and dry winters.

 

The amount of precipitation decreases strongly inwards into the fjord. Lærdal lies in the rain shadow and has very little rainfall, while west-facing slopes further out have a lot of rainfall and there the rainfall often increases with altitude. Brekke and Takle in Ytre Parish are among the places in Norway with the most rainfall. North of the Sognefjord lies the Jostedalsbreen, Norway's largest glacier, and parts of the meltwater drain into the Sognefjord. Wind conditions are strongly influenced by terrain formations. In winter, the dominant wind direction is out the fjord or out the side valleys in the form of so-called downwinds . Fall winds can be very strong and have a major impact on cooling and icing. The slopes and valleys along the inner parts of the fjord have a partially mild climate and are fertile, which makes the area suitable for growing fruit and berries, among other things. The slopes along the fjord partly have large conifer forests, including in the roadless area of ​​Frønningen .

 

The fjord receives fresh water mainly from the rivers and very little precipitation directly on the fjord's water surface. In the inner part of the Sognefjord, the total supply of fresh water during one year corresponds to a depth of 33 meters if it were distributed over the entire area of ​​the fjord. In spring and partly in autumn, the top 2-3 meters of the fjord are brackish water , especially in the side fjords. The salt content in the surface is lowest in summer and autumn. In June 1954, for example, 5 ‰ salt was measured in the uppermost meters of the Lustrafjord, while at great depths it was 34.5 ‰. Regulation of the waterways for power production has led to a larger proportion of fresh water flowing into the fjord in the winter. The most extensive regulation is in Aurland, Lærdal, Årdal and Jostedal. Regulations affect temperature in the surface layer and icing. In the inner part of the fjord, the rivers are fed by high mountains and glaciers.

 

The rivers Lærdalselvi , Aurlandselvi , Flåmselvi , Mørkridselvi , Henjaelvi , Grindselvi , Hamreelvi , Njøsaelvi , Kvinnafossen , Sogndalselvi and Jostedøla flow into the Sognefjord and normally have spring floods in June. [3] Lærdalselva has the largest catchment, followed by Jostedøla and Aurlandselva, and these three have roughly the same water flow (around 40 m 3 /second). The Årdalsvatnet drains to the Sognefjord through the short Åreidselva or Hæreidselvi through the Årdalstangen . The Eidsvatnet in Luster drains into the Sognefjord just by Mørkridselvi in ​​Skjolden . Regulation of the waterways for hydropower has resulted in a more steady supply of fresh water throughout the year. Without regulation, 92% of the fresh water would have been supplied in the summer half-year from May to October. Several of the large rivers flow into fjord arms.

 

Geology

The bedrock along the outer and middle part of the fjord consists mostly of Precambrian gneiss with orientation east-west and northeast-southwest. The islands of Solund consist mostly of Devonian sandstone and conglomerates , while the interior (eastern part) consists mostly of Caledonian gabbro , anorthosite , granite and phyllite .

 

Jostedøla's material transport (in the form of sludge) involves sedimentation in the Gaupnefjord of 10 to 20 cm/year near the river basin, and 1 cm/year 2 km from the river basin. The river transports 50,000 to 100,000 tonnes of silt annually. The sludge concentration from Jostedøla is at most 1 g/litre. It is particularly at Gaupne that the meltwater from the glaciers is marked by the color of the water.

 

Icing

According to Helland, it was common for the ice to settle on several of the fjord arms every winter, including on Aurlandsfjorden, Nærøyfjorden and Årdalsfjorden. In the winter of 1888–1889, Lusterfjorden was iced over for six months straight. In the deepest parts of the Sognefjord, there is a year-round temperature of around 6.5 °C, according to Helland. Outer parts are almost never iced over, not even the side fjords. The inner parts can be frozen for several weeks at a stretch. Among other things, inner parts of the Aurlandsfjorden and the Nærøyfjorden freeze easily. Lærdalsfjorden is usually ice-free except for the very innermost part, while it has happened that Årdalsfjorden has been iced up to Ofredal and has been an obstacle to ship traffic. Historically, Lustrafjorden has often been iced over as far as Urnes. The Barsnesfjorden has often been covered with ice. In the Nærøyfjord it happened (among other things in the 1920s and in 1962) that the liner was unable to enter the fjord due to ice and had to dispatch at the ice edge.

 

Streams

In the Sognefjord, incoming current is hardly noticeable and is most noticeable in strong westerly winds. Outgoing current dominates and is particularly strong in spring and summer. At strong tides, the tidal flow can reach over 1 m/s (2 knots ) around the pier and headland. The Sognefjord is covered by a layer or stream of brackish water of up to 10 meters (varying with the seasons and supply from the rivers). Beneath the brackish water, a current or intermediate layer at a depth of 150 meters goes in and out of the fjord and below this lies the main basin, which has some connection with the ocean beyond the threshold. Together, these three currents contribute to the fact that the water in the fjord is replaced on average within 8-10 years, so that the fjord has life right down to the bottom. The brackish water layer has less density and therefore does not mix easily with the deeper layers. The brackish water that flows out of the fjord slowly mixes with the layer below so that the salt content increases at the same time as the brackish water layer increases up to 10 times the amount of fresh water supplied. The brackish water that flows towards the mouth must be replaced and sets up an incoming current in a slightly deeper layer.

 

Fish

The Sognefjord has herring and good sprat fishing . In the outer parts of the fjord, salmon has traditionally been fished with wedge nets . Salmon warp or "sitjenet" is a traditional method of salmon fishing and skilled players could catch a lot of fish with this method. Hook nets and drift nets have dominated in modern times and do not require the same active fishing as warp . The salmon's migration in the fjord is controlled by currents on the surface and the warps are placed where there are favorable current conditions where, due to the current, the salmon are driven close to land on their way into the fjord. In Leikanger and Balestrand there are many good places for sitejnot with Suppham being by far the best. Good salmon rivers such as Lærdalselva, Aurlandselva and Årøyelva flow into the Sognefjorden.

 

In the outer part of the fjord (Gulen and Solund) there is some fish farming. Several of the waterways are known for good salmon and sea trout fishing , and five of the rivers have been designated as national salmon rivers. Lærdalselva has a salmon-carrying stretch and has had by far the largest population. Aurlandselva has historically had a good catch of sea trout. The Sognefjord is among the most important in Norway for anadromous fish species. Norwegian spring-spawning herring are fished in the fjord, especially in the outer parts, as well as some coastal sprat.

 

In the Sognefjord there are plankton algae which in other Norwegian waters and the occurrence follows the seasons. In general, there is little occurrence in winter due to low light, diatoms bloom in March-April and are dependent on the supply of nutrient salts, in May-June diatoms and flagellates bloom in connection with the spring flood, in summer there is a varying population, new blooms in the autumn in connection with, among other things, floods, and married species can occur all year round.

 

Tourism

The Sognefjord was established as a tourist destination in the 19th century, among other things, with the establishment of Fylkesbåtane. One of the targets was Gudvangen, which in 1889 received 79 large tourist ships with a total of over 10,000 passengers. In 1889, 4,500 travelers came with the county boats. The German Emperor Wilhelm visited the Sognefjord and Balestrand for the first time in 1890. The emperor subsequently visited the Sognefjord 25 times. The fjord itself and the surrounding area with Jotunheimen, Jostedalsbreen and several stave churches have made the Sognefjord one of Norway's most prominent tourist destinations. Balestrand, Vangsnes, Aurland and Fjærland were among the early destinations for English tourists in the 19th century.

 

History

It has been the Guest of Death

It has sailed on a Torden

It is christened in Rædsler vorden

that has plowed the Sognefjord

from Forthun to Sognefæst.

 

If you have forgotten your Lord's Prayer,

do you remember a prayer to pray:

learn it from the wrath of God!

imagine, Sinder, then present

in a Bath on Sognefjord!

 

Henrik Wergeland

The Sognefjord has been an important transport artery since ancient times. The gulation was probably held near the mouth of the Sognefjord and probably because it was practical to hold the meeting where the ship lay along the coast met the great fjord. From the innermost arms of the fjord it is a relatively short distance to the inland villages of Eastern Norway, particularly through Lærdal to Valdres over the moderate mountain pass Filefjell . Lærdalsøyri was from the 17th century an important market and meeting place. There, farmers from Valdres, Hallingdal and Gudbrandsdalen sold slaughter, tar and other products from the interior and bought fish, salt, hemp and iron from the fjords and from Bergen. Around 1300, the authorities established a shuttle station at Maristova at the entrance to Filefjell. The first drivable road between east and west was built over Filefjell in 1792. From 1843 the paddle steamer "Constitutionen" plyed the route between Bergen and Lærdal, the county boats took over the route in 1857. The road over the Sognefjellet was built as a carriageway in 1938. The Flåmsbana connected the Sognefjord to the railway network in 1940. Stalheimskleivi , between Voss and Sogn, was built in 1850 and turned into a road in 1937. It has made it possible to transport agricultural products , fruit , berries and fish between the villages in Sogn and Bergen .

 

From 1785, the Trondhjem postal route crossed the Sognefjord by boat between Rutledal and Leirvik in Hyllestad . In 1647, a postal route was established between Bergen and Christiania. The post then took 7-8 days via Gudvangen, Lærdal and Valdres.

 

It was difficult to get to the Sognefjord by sailboat and the yachts could lie for many days or several weeks at the mouth waiting for favorable wind conditions. East wind was favorable out of the fjord, while south to Bergen, wind from the north or north-west was needed. To enter the fjord, a wind from the west was necessary. The steam and motor boats revolutionized transport on the fjord and these had completely taken over in the early 20th century The county boats were established in 1858 with boat routes on the Sognefjord and to Bergen as an important activity.

 

In 1934, a ferry route was established along the fjord from Vadheim to Lærdal. From 1939 until the Lærdal tunnel opened, there was a car ferry between Gudvangen and Lærdal - first the ferry went to Lærdalsøyri itself, from 1966 to Revsnes when a road was built there to shorten the ferry route. In the 1990s, the ferry connection Revsnes-Kaupanger was replaced by Mannheller-Fodnes , and after this Kaupanger has only been used by the tourist route Gudvangen-Kaupanger-Lærdal. The road system between Sogndal and Jølster on national highway 5 , including the Fjærlands tunnel , created a ferry-free road connection on the north side of the fjord.

 

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway , is a Nordic , European country and an independent state in the west of the Scandinavian Peninsula . Geographically speaking, the country is long and narrow, and on the elongated coast towards the North Atlantic are Norway's well-known fjords . The Kingdom of Norway includes the main country (the mainland with adjacent islands within the baseline ), Jan Mayen and Svalbard . With these two Arctic areas, Norway covers a land area of ​​385,000 km² and has a population of approximately 5.5 million (2023). Mainland Norway borders Sweden in the east , Finland and Russia in the northeast .

 

Norway is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy , where Harald V has been king and head of state since 1991 , and Jonas Gahr Støre ( Ap ) has been prime minister since 2021 . Norway is a unitary state , with two administrative levels below the state: counties and municipalities . The Sami part of the population has, through the Sami Parliament and the Finnmark Act , to a certain extent self-government and influence over traditionally Sami areas. Although Norway has rejected membership of the European Union through two referendums , through the EEA Agreement Norway has close ties with the Union, and through NATO with the United States . Norway is a significant contributor to the United Nations (UN), and has participated with soldiers in several foreign operations mandated by the UN. Norway is among the states that have participated from the founding of the UN , NATO , the Council of Europe , the OSCE and the Nordic Council , and in addition to these is a member of the EEA , the World Trade Organization , the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and is part of the Schengen area .

 

Norway is rich in many natural resources such as oil , gas , minerals , timber , seafood , fresh water and hydropower . Since the beginning of the 20th century, these natural conditions have given the country the opportunity for an increase in wealth that few other countries can now enjoy, and Norwegians have the second highest average income in the world, measured in GDP per capita, as of 2022. The petroleum industry accounts for around 14% of Norway's gross domestic product as of 2018. Norway is the world's largest producer of oil and gas per capita outside the Middle East. However, the number of employees linked to this industry fell from approx. 232,000 in 2013 to 207,000 in 2015.

 

In Norway, these natural resources have been managed for socially beneficial purposes. The country maintains a welfare model in line with the other Nordic countries. Important service areas such as health and higher education are state-funded, and the country has an extensive welfare system for its citizens. Public expenditure in 2018 is approx. 50% of GDP, and the majority of these expenses are related to education, healthcare, social security and welfare. Since 2001 and until 2021, when the country took second place, the UN has ranked Norway as the world's best country to live in . From 2010, Norway is also ranked at the top of the EIU's democracy index . Norway ranks third on the UN's World Happiness Report for the years 2016–2018, behind Finland and Denmark , a report published in March 2019.

 

The majority of the population is Nordic. In the last couple of years, immigration has accounted for more than half of population growth. The five largest minority groups are Norwegian-Poles , Lithuanians , Norwegian-Swedes , Norwegian-Syrians including Syrian Kurds and Norwegian-Pakistani .

 

Norway's national day is 17 May, on this day in 1814 the Norwegian Constitution was dated and signed by the presidency of the National Assembly at Eidsvoll . It is stipulated in the law of 26 April 1947 that 17 May are national public holidays. The Sami national day is 6 February. "Yes, we love this country" is Norway's national anthem, the song was written in 1859 by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832–1910).

 

Norway's history of human settlement goes back at least 10,000 years, to the Late Paleolithic , the first period of the Stone Age . Archaeological finds of settlements along the entire Norwegian coast have so far been dated back to 10,400 before present (BP), the oldest find is today considered to be a settlement at Pauler in Brunlanes , Vestfold .

For a period these settlements were considered to be the remains of settlers from Doggerland , an area which today lies beneath the North Sea , but which was once a land bridge connecting today's British Isles with Danish Jutland . But the archaeologists who study the initial phase of the settlement in what is today Norway reckon that the first people who came here followed the coast along what is today Bohuslân. That they arrived in some form of boat is absolutely certain, and there is much evidence that they could easily move over large distances.

 

Since the last Ice Age, there has been continuous settlement in Norway. It cannot be ruled out that people lived in Norway during the interglacial period , but no trace of such a population or settlement has been found.

 

The Stone Age lasted a long time; half of the time that our country has been populated. There are no written accounts of what life was like back then. The knowledge we have has been painstakingly collected through investigations of places where people have stayed and left behind objects that we can understand have been processed by human hands. This field of knowledge is called archaeology . The archaeologists interpret their findings and the history of the surrounding landscape. In our country, the uplift after the Ice Age is fundamental. The history of the settlements at Pauler is no more than fifteen years old.

 

The Fosna culture settled parts of Norway sometime between 10,000–8,000 BC. (see Stone Age in Norway ). The dating of rock carvings is set to Neolithic times (in Norway between 4000 BC to 1700 BC) and show activities typical of hunters and gatherers .

 

Agriculture with livestock and arable farming was introduced in the Neolithic. Swad farming where the farmers move when the field does not produce the expected yield.

 

More permanent and persistent farm settlements developed in the Bronze Age (1700 BC to 500 BC) and the Iron Age . The earliest runes have been found on an arrowhead dated to around 200 BC. Many more inscriptions are dated to around 800, and a number of petty kingdoms developed during these centuries. In prehistoric times, there were no fixed national borders in the Nordic countries and Norway did not exist as a state. The population in Norway probably fell to year 0.

 

Events in this time period, the centuries before the year 1000, are glimpsed in written sources. Although the sagas were written down in the 13th century, many hundreds of years later, they provide a glimpse into what was already a distant past. The story of the fimbul winter gives us a historical picture of something that happened and which in our time, with the help of dendrochronology , can be interpreted as a natural disaster in the year 536, created by a volcanic eruption in El Salvador .

 

In the period between 800 and 1066 there was a significant expansion and it is referred to as the Viking Age . During this period, Norwegians, as Swedes and Danes also did, traveled abroad in longships with sails as explorers, traders, settlers and as Vikings (raiders and pirates ). By the middle of the 11th century, the Norwegian kingship had been firmly established, building its right as descendants of Harald Hårfagre and then as heirs of Olav the Holy . The Norwegian kings, and their subjects, now professed Christianity . In the time around Håkon Håkonsson , in the time after the civil war , there was a small renaissance in Norway with extensive literary activity and diplomatic activity with Europe. The black dew came to Norway in 1349 and killed around half of the population. The entire state apparatus and Norway then entered a period of decline.

 

Between 1396 and 1536, Norway was part of the Kalmar Union , and from 1536 until 1814 Norway had been reduced to a tributary part of Denmark , named as the Personal Union of Denmark-Norway . This staff union entered into an alliance with Napoléon Bonaparte with a war that brought bad times and famine in 1812 . In 1814, Denmark-Norway lost the Anglophone Wars , part of the Napoleonic Wars , and the Danish king was forced to cede Norway to the king of Sweden in the Treaty of Kiel on 14 January of that year. After a Norwegian attempt at independence, Norway was forced into a loose union with Sweden, but where Norway was allowed to create its own constitution, the Constitution of 1814 . In this period, Norwegian, romantic national feeling flourished, and the Norwegians tried to develop and establish their own national self-worth. The union with Sweden was broken in 1905 after it had been threatened with war, and Norway became an independent kingdom with its own monarch, Haakon VII .

 

Norway remained neutral during the First World War , and at the outbreak of the Second World War, Norway again declared itself neutral, but was invaded by National Socialist Germany on 9 April 1940 .

 

Norway became a member of the Western defense alliance NATO in 1949 . Two attempts to join the EU were voted down in referendums by small margins in 1972 and 1994 . Norway has been a close ally of the United States in the post-war period. Large discoveries of oil and natural gas in the North Sea at the end of the 1960s led to tremendous economic growth in the country, which is still ongoing. Traditional industries such as fishing are also part of Norway's economy.

 

Stone Age (before 1700 BC)

When most of the ice disappeared, vegetation spread over the landscape and due to a warm climate around 2000-3000 BC. the forest grew much taller than in modern times. Land uplift after the ice age led to a number of fjords becoming lakes and dry land. The first people probably came from the south along the coast of the Kattegat and overland into Finnmark from the east. The first people probably lived by gathering, hunting and trapping. A good number of Stone Age settlements have been found which show that such hunting and trapping people stayed for a long time in the same place or returned to the same place regularly. Large amounts of gnawed bones show that they lived on, among other things, reindeer, elk, small game and fish.

 

Flintstone was imported from Denmark and apart from small natural deposits along the southern coast, all flintstone in Norway is transported by people. At Espevær, greenstone was quarried for tools in the Stone Age, and greenstone tools from Espevær have been found over large parts of Western Norway. Around 2000-3000 BC the usual farm animals such as cows and sheep were introduced to Norway. Livestock probably meant a fundamental change in society in that part of the people had to be permanent residents or live a semi-nomadic life. Livestock farming may also have led to conflict with hunters.

 

The oldest traces of people in what is today Norway have been found at Pauler , a farm in Brunlanes in Larvik municipality in Vestfold . In 2007 and 2008, the farm has given its name to a number of Stone Age settlements that have been excavated and examined by archaeologists from the Cultural History Museum at UiO. The investigations have been carried out in connection with the new route for the E18 motorway west of Farris. The oldest settlement, located more than 127 m above sea level, is dated to be about 10,400 years old (uncalibrated, more than 11,000 years in real calendar years). From here, the ice sheet was perhaps visible when people settled here. This locality has been named Pauler I, and is today considered to be the oldest confirmed human traces in Norway to date. The place is in the mountains above the Pauler tunnel on the E18 between Larvik and Porsgrunn . The pioneer settlement is a term archaeologists have adopted for the oldest settlement. The archaeologists have speculated about where they came from, the first people in what is today Norway. It has been suggested that they could come by boat or perhaps across the ice from Doggerland or the North Sea, but there is now a large consensus that they came north along what is today the Bohuslän coast. The Fosna culture , the Komsa culture and the Nøstvet culture are the traditional terms for hunting cultures from the Stone Age. One thing is certain - getting to the water was something they mastered, the first people in our country. Therefore, within a short time they were able to use our entire long coast.

 

In the New Stone Age (4000 BC–1700 BC) there is a theory that a new people immigrated to the country, the so-called Stone Ax People . Rock carvings from this period show motifs from hunting and fishing , which were still important industries. From this period, a megalithic tomb has been found in Østfold .

It is uncertain whether there were organized societies or state-like associations in the Stone Age in Norway. Findings from settlements indicate that many lived together and that this was probably more than one family so that it was a slightly larger, organized herd.

 

Finnmark

In prehistoric times, animal husbandry and agriculture were of little economic importance in Finnmark. Livelihoods in Finnmark were mainly based on fish, gathering, hunting and trapping, and eventually domestic reindeer herding became widespread in the Middle Ages. Archaeological finds from the Stone Age have been referred to as the Komsa culture and comprise around 5,000 years of settlement. Finnmark probably got its first settlement around 8000 BC. It is believed that the coastal areas became ice-free 11,000 years BC and the fjord areas around 9,000 years BC. after which willows, grass, heather, birch and pine came into being. Finnmarksvidda was covered by pine forest around 6000 BC. After the Ice Age, the land rose around 80 meters in the inner fjord areas (Alta, Tana, Varanger). Due to ice melting in the polar region, the sea rose in the period 6400–3800 BC. and in areas with little land elevation, some settlements from the first part of the Stone Age were flooded. On Sørøya, the net sea level rise was 12 to 14 meters and many residential areas were flooded.

 

According to Bjørnar Olsen , there are many indications of a connection between the oldest settlement in Western Norway (the " Fosnakulturen ") and that in Finnmark, but it is uncertain in which direction the settlement took place. In the earliest part of the Stone Age, settlement in Finnmark was probably concentrated in the coastal areas, and these only reflected a lifestyle with great mobility and no permanent dwellings. The inner regions, such as Pasvik, were probably used seasonally. The archaeologically proven settlements from the Stone Age in inner Finnmark and Troms are linked to lakes and large watercourses. The oldest petroglyphs in Alta are usually dated to 4200 BC, that is, the Neolithic . Bjørnar Olsen believes that the oldest can be up to 2,000 years older than this.

 

From around 4000 BC a slow deforestation of Finnmark began and around 1800 BC the vegetation distribution was roughly the same as in modern times. The change in vegetation may have increased the distance between the reindeer's summer and winter grazing. The uplift continued slowly from around 4000 BC. at the same time as sea level rise stopped.

 

According to Gutorm Gjessing, the settlement in Finnmark and large parts of northern Norway in the Neolithic was semi-nomadic with movement between four seasonal settlements (following the pattern of life in Sami siida in historical times): On the outer coast in summer (fishing and seal catching) and inland in winter (hunting for reindeer, elk and bear). Povl Simonsen believed instead that the winter residence was in the inner fjord area in a village-like sod house settlement. Bjørnar Olsen believes that at the end of the Stone Age there was a relatively settled population along the coast, while inland there was less settlement and a more mobile lifestyle.

 

Bronze Age (1700 BC–500 BC)

Bronze was used for tools in Norway from around 1500 BC. Bronze is a mixture of tin and copper , and these metals were introduced because they were not mined in the country at the time. Bronze is believed to have been a relatively expensive material. The Bronze Age in Norway can be divided into two phases:

 

Early Bronze Age (1700–1100 BC)

Younger Bronze Age (1100–500 BC)

For the prehistoric (unwritten) era, there is limited knowledge about social conditions and possible state formations. From the Bronze Age, there are large burial mounds of stone piles along the coast of Vestfold and Agder, among others. It is likely that only chieftains or other great men could erect such grave monuments and there was probably some form of organized society linked to these. In the Bronze Age, society was more organized and stratified than in the Stone Age. Then a rich class of chieftains emerged who had close connections with southern Scandinavia. The settlements became more permanent and people adopted horses and ard . They acquired bronze status symbols, lived in longhouses and people were buried in large burial mounds . Petroglyphs from the Bronze Age indicate that humans practiced solar cultivation.

 

Finnmark

In the last millennium BC the climate became cooler and the pine forest disappears from the coast; pine forests, for example, were only found in the innermost part of the Altafjord, while the outer coast was almost treeless. Around the year 0, the limit for birch forest was south of Kirkenes. Animals with forest habitats (elk, bear and beaver) disappeared and the reindeer probably established their annual migration routes sometime at that time. In the period 1800–900 BC there were significantly more settlements in and utilization of the hinterland was particularly noticeable on Finnmarksvidda. From around 1800 BC until year 0 there was a significant increase in contact between Finnmark and areas in the east including Karelia (where metals were produced including copper) and central and eastern Russia. The youngest petroglyphs in Alta show far more boats than the earlier phases and the boats are reminiscent of types depicted in petroglyphs in southern Scandinavia. It is unclear what influence southern Scandinavian societies had as far north as Alta before the year 0. Many of the cultural features that are considered typical Sami in modern times were created or consolidated in the last millennium BC, this applies, among other things, to the custom of burying in brick chambers in stone urns. The Mortensnes burial ground may have been used for 2000 years until around 1600 AD.

 

Iron Age (c. 500 BC–c. 1050 AD)

 

The Einangsteinen is one of the oldest Norwegian runestones; it is from the 4th century

 

Simultaneous production of Vikings

Around 500 years BC the researchers reckon that the Bronze Age will be replaced by the Iron Age as iron takes over as the most important material for weapons and tools. Bronze, wood and stone were still used. Iron was cheaper than bronze, easier to work than flint , and could be used for many purposes; iron probably became common property. Iron could, among other things, be used to make solid and sharp axes which made it much easier to fell trees. In the Iron Age, gold and silver were also used partly for decoration and partly as means of payment. It is unknown which language was used in Norway before our era. From around the year 0 until around the year 800, everyone in Scandinavia (except the Sami) spoke Old Norse , a North Germanic language. Subsequently, several different languages ​​developed in this area that were only partially mutually intelligible. The Iron Age is divided into several periods:

 

Early Iron Age

Pre-Roman Iron Age (c. 500 BC–c. 0)

Roman Iron Age (c. 0–c. AD 400)

Migration period (approx. 400–600). In the migration period (approx. 400–600), new peoples came to Norway, and ruins of fortress buildings etc. are interpreted as signs that there has been talk of a violent invasion.

Younger Iron Age

Merovingian period (500–800)

 

The Viking Age (793–1066)

Norwegian Vikings go on plundering expeditions and trade voyages around the coastal countries of Western Europe . Large groups of Norwegians emigrate to the British Isles , Iceland and Greenland . Harald Hårfagre starts a unification process of Norway late in the 8th century , which was completed by Harald Hardråde in the 1060s . The country was Christianized under the kings Olav Tryggvason , fell in the battle of Svolder ( 1000 ) and Olav Haraldsson (the saint), fell in the battle of Stiklestad in 1030 .

 

Sources of prehistoric times

Shrinking glaciers in the high mountains, including in Jotunheimen and Breheimen , have from around the year 2000 uncovered objects from the Viking Age and earlier. These are objects of organic material that have been preserved by the ice and that elsewhere in nature are broken down in a few months. The finds are getting older as the melting makes the archaeologists go deeper into the ice. About half of all archaeological discoveries on glaciers in the world are made in Oppland . In 2013, a 3,400-year-old shoe and a robe from the year 300 were found. Finds at Lomseggen in Lom published in 2020 revealed, among other things, well-preserved horseshoes used on a mountain pass. Many hundreds of items include preserved clothing, knives, whisks, mittens, leather shoes, wooden chests and horse equipment. A piece of cloth dated to the year 1000 has preserved its original colour. In 2014, a wooden ski from around the year 700 was found in Reinheimen . The ski is 172 cm long and 14 cm wide, with preserved binding of leather and wicker.

 

Pytheas from Massalia is the oldest known account of what was probably the coast of Norway, perhaps somewhere on the coast of Møre. Pytheas visited Britannia around 325 BC. and traveled further north to a country by the "Ice Sea". Pytheas described the short summer night and the midnight sun farther north. He wrote, among other things, that people there made a drink from grain and honey. Caesar wrote in his work about the Gallic campaign about the Germanic tribe Haruders. Other Roman sources around the year 0 mention the land of the Cimbri (Jutland) and the Cimbri headlands ( Skagen ) and that the sources stated that Cimbri and Charyds lived in this area. Some of these peoples may have immigrated to Norway and there become known as hordes (as in Hordaland). Sources from the Mediterranean area referred to the islands of Scandia, Scandinavia and Thule ("the outermost of all islands"). The Roman historian Tacitus wrote around the year 100 a work about Germania and mentioned the people of Scandia, the Sviones. Ptolemy wrote around the year 150 that the Kharudes (Hordes) lived further north than all the Cimbri, in the north lived the Finnoi (Finns or Sami) and in the south the Gutai (Goths). The Nordic countries and Norway were outside the Roman Empire , which dominated Europe at the time. The Gothic-born historian Jordanes wrote in the 5th century about 13 tribes or people groups in Norway, including raumaricii (probably Romerike ), ragnaricii ( Ranrike ) and finni or skretefinni (skrid finner or ski finner, i.e. Sami) as well as a number of unclear groups. Prokopios wrote at the same time about Thule north of the land of the Danes and Slavs, Thule was ten times as big as Britannia and the largest of all the islands. In Thule, the sun was up 40 days straight in the summer. After the migration period , southern Europeans' accounts of northern Europe became fuller and more reliable.

 

Settlement in prehistoric times

Norway has around 50,000 farms with their own names. Farm names have persisted for a long time, over 1000 years, perhaps as much as 2000 years. The name researchers have arranged different types of farm names chronologically, which provides a basis for determining when the place was used by people or received a permanent settlement. Uncompounded landscape names such as Haug, Eid, Vik and Berg are believed to be the oldest. Archaeological traces indicate that some areas have been inhabited earlier than assumed from the farm name. Burial mounds also indicate permanent settlement. For example, the burial ground at Svartelva in Løten was used from around the year 0 to the year 1000 when Christianity took over. The first farmers probably used large areas for inland and outland, and new farms were probably established based on some "mother farms". Names such as By (or Bø) show that it is an old place of residence. From the older Iron Age, names with -heim (a common Germanic word meaning place of residence) and -stad tell of settlement, while -vin and -land tell of the use of the place. Farm names in -heim are often found as -um , -eim or -em as in Lerum and Seim, there are often large farms in the center of the village. New farm names with -city and -country were also established in the Viking Age . The first farmers probably used the best areas. The largest burial grounds, the oldest archaeological finds and the oldest farm names are found where the arable land is richest and most spacious.

 

It is unclear whether the settlement expansion in Roman times, migrations and the Iron Age is due to immigration or internal development and population growth. Among other things, it is difficult to demonstrate where in Europe the immigrants have come from. The permanent residents had both fields (where grain was grown) and livestock that grazed in the open fields, but it is uncertain which of these was more important. Population growth from around the year 200 led to more utilization of open land, for example in the form of settlements in the mountains. During the migration period, it also seems that in parts of the country it became common to have cluster gardens or a form of village settlement.

 

Norwegian expansion northwards

From around the year 200, there was a certain migration by sea from Rogaland and Hordaland to Nordland and Sør-Troms. Those who moved settled down as a settled Iron Age population and became dominant over the original population which may have been Sami . The immigrant Norwegians, Bumen , farmed with livestock that were fed inside in the winter as well as some grain cultivation and fishing. The northern border of the Norwegians' settlement was originally at the Toppsundet near Harstad and around the year 500 there was a Norwegian settlement to Malangsgapet. That was as far north as it was possible to grow grain at the time. Malangen was considered the border between Hålogaland and Finnmork until around 1400 . Further into the Viking Age and the Middle Ages, there was immigration and settlement of Norwegian speakers along the coast north of Malangen. Around the year 800, Norwegians lived along the entire outer coast to Vannøy . The Norwegians partly copied Sami livelihoods such as whaling, fur hunting and reindeer husbandry. It was probably this area between Malangen and Vannøy that was Ottar from the Hålogaland area. In the Viking Age, there were also some Norwegian settlements further north and east. East of the North Cape are the scattered archaeological finds of Norwegian settlement in the Viking Age. There are Norwegian names for fjords and islands from the Viking Age, including fjord names with "-anger". Around the year 1050, there were Norwegian settlements on the outer coast of Western Finnmark. Traders and tax collectors traveled even further.

 

North of Malangen there were Norse farming settlements in the Iron Age. Malangen was considered Finnmark's western border until 1300. There are some archaeological traces of Norse activity around the coast from Tromsø to Kirkenes in the Viking Age. Around Tromsø, the research indicates a Norse/Sami mixed culture on the coast.

 

From the year 1100 and the next 200–300 years, there are no traces of Norwegian settlement north and east of Tromsø. It is uncertain whether this is due to depopulation, whether it is because the Norwegians further north were not Christianized or because there were no churches north of Lenvik or Tromsø . Norwegian settlement in the far north appears from sources from the 14th century. In the Hanseatic period , the settlement was developed into large areas specialized in commercial fishing, while earlier (in the Viking Age) there had been farms with a combination of fishing and agriculture. In 1307 , a fortress and the first church east of Tromsø were built in Vardø . Vardø became a small Norwegian town, while Vadsø remained Sami. Norwegian settlements and churches appeared along the outermost coast in the Middle Ages. After the Reformation, perhaps as a result of a decline in fish stocks or fish prices, there were Norwegian settlements in the inner fjord areas such as Lebesby in Laksefjord. Some fishing villages at the far end of the coast were abandoned for good. In the interior of Finnmark, there was no national border for a long time and Kautokeino and Karasjok were joint Norwegian-Swedish areas with strong Swedish influence. The border with Finland was established in 1751 and with Russia in 1826.

 

On a Swedish map from 1626, Norway's border is indicated at Malangen, while Sweden with this map showed a desire to control the Sami area which had been a common area.

 

The term Northern Norway only came into use at the end of the 19th century and administratively the area was referred to as Tromsø Diocese when Tromsø became a bishopric in 1840. There had been different designations previously: Hålogaland originally included only Helgeland and when Norse settlement spread north in the Viking Age and the Middle Ages, Hålogaland was used for the area north approximately to Malangen , while Finnmark or "Finnmarken", "the land of the Sami", lay outside. The term Northern Norway was coined at a cafe table in Kristiania in 1884 by members of the Nordlændingernes Forening and was first commonly used in the interwar period as it eventually supplanted "Hålogaland".

 

State formation

The battle in Hafrsfjord in the year 872 has long been regarded as the day when Norway became a kingdom. The year of the battle is uncertain (may have been 10-20 years later). The whole of Norway was not united in that battle: the process had begun earlier and continued a couple of hundred years later. This means that the geographical area became subject to a political authority and became a political unit. The geographical area was perceived as an area as it is known, among other things, from Ottar from Hålogaland's account for King Alfred of Wessex around the year 880. Ottar described "the land of the Norwegians" as very long and narrow, and it was narrowest in the far north. East of the wasteland in the south lay Sveoland and in the north lay Kvenaland in the east. When Ottar sailed south along the land from his home ( Malangen ) to Skiringssal, he always had Norway ("Nordveg") on his port side and the British Isles on his starboard side. The journey took a good month. Ottar perceived "Nordveg" as a geographical unit, but did not imply that it was a political unit. Ottar separated Norwegians from Swedes and Danes. It is unclear why Ottar perceived the population spread over such a large area as a whole. It is unclear whether Norway as a geographical term or Norwegians as the name of a ethnic group is the oldest. The Norwegians had a common language which in the centuries before Ottar did not differ much from the language of Denmark and Sweden.

 

According to Sverre Steen, it is unlikely that Harald Hårfagre was able to control this entire area as one kingdom. The saga of Harald was written 300 years later and at his death Norway was several smaller kingdoms. Harald probably controlled a larger area than anyone before him and at most Harald's kingdom probably included the coast from Trøndelag to Agder and Vestfold as well as parts of Viken . There were probably several smaller kingdoms of varying extent before Harald and some of these are reflected in traditional landscape names such as Ranrike and Ringerike . Landscape names of "-land" (Rogaland) and "-mark" (Hedmark) as well as names such as Agder and Sogn may have been political units before Harald.

 

According to Sverre Steen

there is comfort right in the eye of the hurricane ~~~

 

i have had a phenomenal week ~ and if this is any indication of what 2010 has in store for me.. bring it on, year! a detail from today: i will be exhibiting some prints in a local coffee shop for roughly three months. every time that i am asked to show, i search and search for square frames that will hold a matted 10 x 10 image. usually i find some horrendous plastic mess.. but today i came across a buy-one-get-one-free deal at michaels craft store ~ $27 for two 12 x 12 frames! i was sooo pleased that i made some kind of super cheesy comment towards the cashier regarding my absolute ecstatic-ness..... great job, laura.

Beautiful, but scary. This is the Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula). An impressive 2 inch exotic Fulgorid type thing from China and Southeast asia, it is a bark sucker and can do tremendous damage to smooth barked woody plants. The Ag folks are concerned about things like apple, peaches, and grapes, but there are indications that other native plants may be at risk. Currently found in 6 counties in PA, efforts to eradicate it are ongoing, but it continues to spread. Any sightings of something like this should be reported to your local Ag Extension Office if you are in the U.S. One final note is that this species favorite late season host is Tree-of-Heaven. (Ailanthus altissima). Photos, in part, by Sydney Price. Specimen from USDA APHIS, would love to have additional fresh specimens particularly of the strikingly colored nymphs.

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All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

 

Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200

 

Beauty is truth, truth beauty - that is all

Ye know on earth and all ye need to know

" Ode on a Grecian Urn"

John Keats

 

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

 

Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Marylandhttp://bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf

Basic USGSBIML set up:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY

 

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4

 

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

 

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo

or

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU

 

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

www.photomacrography.net/

 

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

  

The irregular deposits along the floor here might be within either a complex impact crater or a collapse feature. There also have been indications of clay minerals like iron and magnesium from other instruments, including CRISM.

 

(Less than 5 km, or 3 miles, across. For full image with scalebars, see the below link.)

 

NASA/JPL/UArizona

www.uahirise.org/ESP_061637_2000

Probably the last DSLR shot I'll upload from the 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red' installation at the Tower of London. I took a few panoramic shots with my iphone that give a better indication of the sheer scale, I've yet to process so hoping to get them uploaded later today.

 

My Website : Twtter : Facebook

Best viewed Original size.

 

Internal User 070882 ADW150141 ZSV fuel tank (frame from W2564 - Dia O37, 1932 milk tank) at Exeter stabling point - c.07/1980.

 

The actual date the image was made is unknown; the indication given is based on the film processing date imprinted on the original slide.

 

© 2017 - 53A Models of Hull Collection. Scanned from the original 35mm colour transparency.

 

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Carved from white Italian Carrara marble, the "Maiden with a Lute" sits picturesquely amid a well established tree Rhododendron. There is no indication as to which studio or artist carved her, but she is very elegant and beautiful in an almost melancholic way. She has obviously paused to gain some inspiration before taking up the lute to play again. How could she not find inspiration amid the beautiful Forest Glade Gardens in Mount Macedon where she resides?

 

The Forest Glade Gardens are well established European inspired landscaped gardens of six hectares that are to be found on the Mount Macedon Road in the hill station town of Mount Macedon.

 

The Forest Glade Gardens are just shy of one hundred years old. The gardens were originally two adjoining properties that comprised orchards and lush grazing paddocks. In 1941 local family the Newtons purchased and extended the property and set about creating one of Mount Macedon's most stunning gardens.

 

In 1971 the Forest Glade Gardens were acquired by Melbourne property developer Mr. Cyril Stokes who together with his partner Trevor Neil Bell, developed the gardens even further. Cyril was a great collector of European antiques, and his love of European antiquity is reflected in the gardens, particularly in the many classical marble and bronze statues dotted about the grounds.

 

Unfortunately the Forest Glade Gardens were partly destroyed by the tragic Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983. However, after many years of hard labour put in by Cyril and Trevor, The Forest Glade Gardens were reborn from the ashes. The gardens are built on a sloping block and consist of a range of terraces all of which offer wonderful vistas. A garden designed to give pleasure all year round, the Forest Glad Gardens contain several heritage listed trees and are made up of smaller themed gardens including; the Italian Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Daffodil Meadow, the Peony Walk, Hydrangea Hill, the Topiary Gardens, the Bluebell Meadow, the Fern Gully and the Laburnum Arch.

 

In 2011 the property was gifted to a registered charity - The Stokes Collection Limited - with the intention of keeping the Forest Glade Gardens maintained and open to the public.

 

I spent a delightful Saturday with the Famous Flickr Five+ Group in Mount Macedon, where I have never been before. Now I have, I would very much like to go back to such a picturesque place again.

 

The Mount Macedon township is located east of the Mount Macedon summit, which is approximately 60 km north-west of Melbourne.

 

The name of Mount Macedon is apparently derived from Philip II, who ruled Macedon between 359 and 336BC. The mountain was named by Thomas Mitchell, the New South Wales Surveyor General.

 

Settled in the 1850s by gold miners and timber cutters, the railway arrived at the Mount Macedon township in 1861, providing a vital connection to Melbourne, and sealing the town's future as a 'hill station' resort for wealthy Melburnians escaping the summer heat in the 1870s. With the land deforested, large blocks were sold and beautiful and extensive gardens were planted around the newly built homes. The rich soil and good rainfall also made the area suitable for large orchards and plant nurseries who could send fruit and flowers back to Melbourne. Newspaper owner, David Syme, built a house, "Rosenheim" in 1869. It was acquired in 1886 for Victorian Governors to use as a country retreat, making Mount Macedon an attractive destination for the well heeled of Melbourne society. A primary school was built in Mount Macedon in 1874, and as the decades progressed, hotels, guest houses, shops, a Presbyterian Church and Church of England were built. In 1983, Mount Macedon was devastated by the Ash Wednesday Bush Fires. A large portion of the town was raised, and a number of lives were lost. However, like a phoenix from the ashes, Mount Macedon has risen and rebuilt. Today it is still a popular holiday destination, particularly during spring time when the well established gardens flourish with flowers and in autumn when the exotic trees explode in a riot of reds and yellows.

ORTAHISAR AND ORTAHISAR CASTLE

 

Ortahisar is picturesque stone houses, narrow streets and lovely churches as well as the castle-like rock formation after which the town is named. This 90m high natural fortress, a prominent landmark in the region – honeycombed with caves and tunnels, camouflaged by nature without the slightest indication of human presence inside – has partly crumbled away revealing some of its interior. Today it has been restored and the peak is accessible by a staircase. The Ortahisar Castle offers a magnificent panorama over the fairy chimneys of Hallacdere and the snowy peak of Mt. Erciyes.

 

Cappadocia World Heritage List;

  

whc.unesco.org/en/list/357

 

In a spectacular landscape, entirely sculpted by erosion, the Göreme valley and its surroundings contain rock-hewn sanctuaries that provide unique evidence of Byzantine art in the post-Iconoclastic period. Dwellings, troglodyte villages and underground towns – the remains of a traditional human habitat dating back to the 4th century – can also be seen there.

Brief synthesis

Located on the central Anatolia plateau within a volcanic landscape sculpted by erosion to form a succession of mountain ridges, valleys and pinnacles known as “fairy chimneys” or hoodoos, Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia cover the region between the cities of Nevşehir, Ürgüp and Avanos, the sites of Karain, Karlık, Yeşilöz, Soğanlı and the subterranean cities of Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu. The area is bounded on the south and east by ranges of extinct volcanoes with Erciyes Dağ (3916 m) at one end and Hasan Dağ (3253 m) at the other. The density of its rock-hewn cells, churches, troglodyte villages and subterranean cities within the rock formations make it one of the world's most striking and largest cave-dwelling complexes. Though interesting from a geological and ethnological point of view, the incomparable beauty of the decor of the Christian sanctuaries makes Cappadocia one of the leading examples of the post-iconoclastic Byzantine art period.

It is believed that the first signs of monastic activity in Cappadocia date back to the 4th century at which time small anchorite communities, acting on the teachings of Basileios the Great, Bishop of Kayseri, began inhabiting cells hewn in the rock. In later periods, in order to resist Arab invasions, they began banding together into troglodyte villages or subterranean towns such as Kaymakli or Derinkuyu which served as places of refuge.

Cappadocian monasticism was already well established in the iconoclastic period (725-842) as illustrated by the decoration of many sanctuaries which kept a strict minimum of symbols (most often sculpted or tempera painted crosses). However, after 842 many rupestral churches were dug in Cappadocia and richly decorated with brightly coloured figurative painting. Those in the Göreme Valley include Tokalı Kilise and El Nazar Kilise (10th century), St. Barbara Kilise and Saklı Kilise (11th century) and Elmalı Kilise and Karanlık Kilise (end of the 12th – beginning of the 13th century).

Criterion (i): Owing to their quality and density, the rupestral sanctuaries of Cappadocia constitute a unique artistic achievement offering irreplaceable testimony to the post-iconoclastic Byzantine art period.

Criterion (iii): The rupestral dwellings, villages, convents and churches retain the fossilized image of a province of the Byzantine Empire between the 4th century and the arrival of the Seljuk Turks (1071). Thus, they are the essential vestiges of a civilization which has disappeared.

Criterion (v): Cappadocia is an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement which has become vulnerable under the combined effects of natural erosion and, more recently, tourism.

Criterion (vii): In a spectacular landscape dramatically demonstrating erosional forces, the Göreme Valley and its surroundings provide a globally renowned and accessible display of hoodoo landforms and other erosional features, which are of great beauty, and which interact with the cultural elements of the landscape.

Integrity

Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia, having been extensively used and modified by man for centuries, is a landscape of harmony combining human interaction and settlement with dramatic natural landforms. There has been some earthquake damage to some of the cones and the pillars, but this is seen as a naturally occurring phenomenon. Overuse by tourists and some vandalism have been reported and some incompatible structures have been introduced.

The erosional processes that formed the distinctive conical rock structures will continue to create new fairy chimneys and rock pillars, however due to the rate of this process, the natural values of the property may still be threatened by unsustainable use. The cultural features, including rock-hewn churches and related cultural structures, mainly at risk of being undermined by erosion and other negative natural processes coupled with mass tourism and development pressures, can never be replaced. threats Some of the churches mentioned by early scholars such as C. Texier, H.G. Rott and Guillaume de Jerphanion are no longer extant.

Authenticity

The property meets the conditions of authenticity as its values and their attributes, including its historical setting, form, design, material and workmanship adequately reflect the cultural and natural values recognized in the inscription criteria.

Given the technical difficulties of building in this region, where it is a matter of hewing out structures within the natural rock, creating architecture by the removal of material rather than by putting it together to form the elements of a building, the underlying morphological structure and the difficulties inherent in the handling of the material inhibited the creative impulses of the builders. This conditioning of human effort by natural conditions persisted almost unchanged through successive periods and civilizations, influencing the cultural attitudes and technical skills of each succeeding generation.

Protection and management requirements

The World Heritage property Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia is subject to legal protection in accordance with both the Protection of Cultural and Natural Resources Act No. 2863 and the National Parks Act No. 2873. The entire territory between the cities of Nevşehir, Ürgüp and Avanos is designated as a National Park under the Act No. 2873. In addition, natural, archaeological, urban, and mixed archaeological and natural conservation areas, two underground towns, five troglodyte villages, and more than 200 individual rock-hewn churches, some of which contain numerous frescoes, have been entered into the register of immovable monuments and sites according to the Act No. 2863.

Legal protection, management and monitoring of the Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia fall within the scope of national and regional governmental administrations. The Nevşehir and Kayseri Regional Conservation Councils are responsible for keeping the register of monuments and sites, including carrying out all tasks related to the legal protection of monuments and listed buildings and the approval to carry out any restoration-related works. They also evaluate regional and conservation area plans prepared by the responsible national and/or local (i.e. municipal) authorities.

Studies for revision and updating of the existing land use and conservation plan (Göreme National Park Long-term Development Plan) of 1981 were completed in 2003. The major planning decisions proposed were that natural conservation areas are to be protected as they were declared in 1976. Minor adjustments in the peripheral areas of settlements and spatial developments of towns located in the natural conservation sites including Göreme, Ortahisar, Çavuşin, Ürgüp and Mustafapaşa will be strictly controlled. In other words, the Plan proposes to confine the physical growth of these towns to recently established zones. Hotel developments will take into account the set limits for room capacities. Furthermore, the plan also suggested that local authorities should be advised to review land use decisions for areas that have been reserved for tourism developments in the town plans.

Preparation of conservation area plans for the urban and/or mixed urban-archaeological conservation sites within the historic sections of Göreme are in place and provide zoning criteria and the rules and guidelines to be used in the maintenance and restoration of listed buildings and other buildings which are not registered, but which are located within the historic zones. Similar planning studies for the towns of Ortahisar and Uçhisar are in place. Once finalised, a conservation area plan for the urban conservation area in Ürgüp will be in place. All relevant plans are kept up to date on a continuing basis.

Appropriate facilities aimed at improving the understanding of the World Heritage property have been completed for the subterranean towns of Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu, and are required for Göreme and Paşabağı.

Monuments in danger due to erosion, including the El Nazar, Elmalı, and Meryemana (Virgin Mary) churches, have been listed as monuments requiring priority action. Specific measures for their protection, restoration and maintenance are required at the site level.

While conservation plans and protection measures are in place for individual sites, it is recognised by the principal parties responsible for site management that an integrated Regional Plan for the Cappadocia Cultural and Tourism Conservation and Development Area is required to protect the World Heritage values of the property. Adequate financial, political and technical support is also required to secure the management of the property.

 

whc.unesco.org/en/list/357

  

www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/world-heritage/cappadocia/

 

www.goreme.com/ortahisar.php

 

The pig iron which is output from the blast furnaces at temperatures of around 1200°C is transported to the steel mill in 'Torpedo' cars.

 

The glow from the hot metal inside is an indication of the temperatures involved as one of the cars is prepared for emptying at Scunthorpe.

 

11th March 2017.

  

This garage still exists and looks more or less identical to how it appears here except for the loss of pumps and pole sign. Here the Arndale branding has gone as, along with the Little David brand, it would be phased out as all sites were unified under the new Butler branding featuring far more red than before. The two recovery vehicles dominate the view but we can see the same pumps still sit on the forecourt. The only indication left that Butler petrol was ever sold here are the canopy supports which are red at the bottom and white for the remainder.

www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.8889843,-1.7718864,3a,75y,310.0...

The first indication of silver–lead mineralisation in the Barrier Ranges came in late 1875 with the discovery of galena by Julius Charles Nickel and Dan McLean while they were well sinking on Thackaringa Station, near the South Australian - New South Wales border. John Stokie, hotel keeper at Thackaringa, learnt of the find and had a sample assayed to reveal 72% lead and 49 oz/t of silver. He applied for a lease in June 1876 and later, with Menindee storekeeper Patrick Green, developed the Pioneer Mine. About 35 tons of ore were mined and transported to Menindee, shipped to Adelaide by paddle steamer and then sent to England as ballast on a wool ship. However, most of the ore was thrown overboard when the vessel sprang a leak and it was thought that the hull had been strained by the dead weight. Five tons were saved and tested in England to reveal the ore was payable. Before receiving the news, Stokie had been persuaded to abandon the enterprise, particularly given the transport and other difficulties, and Green had died.

 

The mine remained idle until 1881 when the Mount Browne gold rush occurred, 250 km to the north. Stokie and hotelier Richard Green (Patrick’s brother) applied for several new claims over the site. Mining recommenced with two miners in April 1881 and by September, 100 tons of ore had been raised and shipped to England. News of silver mining in the Barrier Ranges attracted more prospectors, including Cornish miners from the declining copper mines of South Australia. More than 30 silver-bearing lodes were discovered at Thackaringa and the narrow (<2m) veins of galena, siderite and quartz were worked in small quarries and shallow shafts. All ore was bagged and taken by bullock dray 320 km to Terowie in South Australia, then by train to Port Adelaide and shipped overseas for processing. By 1888, the population of Thackaringa was between 200 and 300 people.

 

The Thackaringa district is most famous for containing several large pegmatites that were selectively mined for feldspar and beryl - the best known being the Triple Chance Mine. The northern part of the district is cut by a large retrograde shear zone containing large garnets and minerals for fire resistance use.

 

The western edge of the Thackaringa Hills has the first site of mining in the Broken Hill silver fields with the Pioneer Mine. This along with many other small silver lead mines occur over a 10km north-south strike where numerous quartz veins contain silver and lead mineralisation. There are many other small mineral deposits found in the Thackaringa district where quartz veins and/or granitic rocks have crystallised including the Thackaringa davidite belt and pods of large rutile crystals.

 

Source: The pathway to Broken Hill: Early discoveries in the Barrier Ranges, New South Wales, Australia Kenneth G. McQueen, IAE, University of Canberra, mindat.org & Trove.

The only indication at Railfest to what the starboard side of 91110 looks like was on the entrance to the Rail magazine tent. Superb :)

 

The actual livery is slightly different on the loco - the speed badge of the blunt cab is black and bronze in the traditional LNER style and the Lanc graphic has been moved so both starboard engines are visible No.1 Engine now aligns to the slits in the top of the bodyside. The black at the top also now runs into the front of the gap for the pantograph

 

For the real thing see www.flickr.com/photos/penske666photography/7334837428/in/...