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Greif Cannon
The ''Griffin'' cannon, also called Vogel Greif, (English: Bird Griffin), is one of the largest cannons from the 16th century. Since 1984, it has been in display in the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in Koblenz. The possession of the cannon moved several times between Germany and France and became a symbol of the Franco-German reconciliation. History The Trier elector and archbishop Richard von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads had Master Simon from Frankfurt am Main pour the cannon in 1524 and set it up on the Ehrenbreitstein fortress. After the conquest of the Ehrenbreitstein by the French in 1799 during the coalition wars, the cannon on the Moselle was brought to the Arsenal there in Metz. Metz was besieged in 1814 and 1815. Since the French feared the fall of the city, they buried the ''Griffin'' in the ground or sank it in the Seille. In 1866 it was moved to Paris by rail to the French Musée de l'Armée in the Hôtel des Invalides, Paris. In 1940, after the conquest of France by Nazi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koblenz Im Buga-Jahr 2011 - Festung Ehrenbreitstein 76
Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its name originates from the Latin ', meaning "(at the) confluence". The actual confluence is today known as the " German Corner", a symbol of the unification of Germany that features an equestrian statue of Emperor William I. The city celebrated its 2000th anniversary in 1992. It ranks in population behind Mainz and Ludwigshafen am Rhein to be the third-largest city in Rhineland-Palatinate. Its usual-residents' population is 112,000 (as at 2015). Koblenz lies in a narrow flood plain between high hill ranges, some reaching mountainous height, and is served by an express rail and autobahn network. It is part of the populous Rhineland. History Ancient era Around 1000 BC, early fortifications were erected on the Festung Ehrenbreitstein hill on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Occupation Zone In Germany
The French occupation zone in Germany (, ) was one of the Allied-occupied areas in Germany after World War II. Background In the aftermath of the Second World War, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin met at the Yalta Conference to discuss Germany's post-war occupation, which included among other things coming to a final determination of the inter-zonal borders. Originally, there were to be only three zones, with the French excluded. French General Charles de Gaulle, who by this point was the leader of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, was not invited to Yalta. Deeply offended by this snub, the French leader nevertheless worked tirelessly to restore his nation's honour in the aftermath of the German occupation. Key to this was ensuring a French occupation of substantial German territories – in de Gaulle's view, only a French occupation of Germany could restore the honour of France. He therefore vehemently demanded that a zone be alloc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Large-calibre Artillery
The formal definition of large-calibre artillery used by the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) is "guns, howitzers, artillery pieces, combining the characteristics of a gun, howitzer, mortar, or multiple-launch rocket system, capable of engaging surface targets by delivering primarily indirect fire, with a calibre of 75 millimetres and above". This definition, shared by the Arms Trade Treaty and the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, is derived from a definition in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/36L, which set a threshold of 100mm. Several grammatical changes were made to that latter in 1992 and the threshold was lowered in 2003 to yield the current definition, as endorsed by UN General Assembly Resolution 58/54. Historically, large-calibre weapons have included bombards and siege guns. Late Middle Ages In the context of late medieval siege warfare the term superguns applies to stone-firing bombards with a ball diameter of more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of The Largest Cannon By Caliber
The list of cannon by caliber contains all types of cannon through the ages listed in decreasing caliber size. For the purpose of this list, the development of large-calibre artillery can be divided into three periods, based on the kind of projectiles used, due to their dissimilar characteristics, and being practically incommensurable in terms of their bore size: *Stone balls: Cannon of extraordinary bore, which fired stone balls, were first introduced at the turn of the 14th to 15th century in Western Europe. Following a logic of increasing performance through size, they had evolved from small handguns to giant wrought-iron or cast-bronze bombards within a span of just several decades. *Iron balls and shot: By the 16th century, however, a general switch from stone balls to smaller, but much more effective iron projectiles was in full swing. This and the parallel tendency towards standardized, rapid-firing cannon made the enormously costly and logistically demanding giant guns so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cast Bronze
Lost-wax casting (also called "investment casting", "precision casting", or ''cire perdue'' which has been adopted into English from the French, ) is the process by which a duplicate metal sculpture (often silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is cast from an original sculpture. Intricate works can be achieved by this method. The oldest known examples of this technique are approximately 6,500-year-old (4550–4450 BC) and attributed to gold artefacts found at Bulgaria's Varna Necropolis. A copper amulet from Mehrgarh, Indus Valley civilization, in Pakistan, is dated to circa 4,000 BC. Cast copper objects, found in the Nahal Mishmar hoard in southern Israel, which belong to the Chalcolithic period (4500–3500 BC), are estimated, from carbon-14 dating, to date to circa 3500 BC. In Other examples from somewhat later periods are from Mesopotamia in the third millennium BC. Lost-wax casting was widespread in Europe until the 18th century, when a piece-moulding process came to predomi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to 1998. Kohl's 16-year tenure is the longest of any German chancellor since Otto von Bismarck, and oversaw the end of the Cold War, the German reunification and the creation of the European Union (EU). Further, Kohl's 16 years and 30 day tenure is the longest for any democratically elected Chancellor of Germany. Born in 1930 in Ludwigshafen to a Catholic family, Kohl joined the CDU in 1946 at the age of 16. He earned a PhD in history at Heidelberg University in 1958, and worked as a business executive before becoming a full-time politician. He was elected as the youngest member of the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate, Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate in 1959 and from 1969 to 1976 was Minister-president, minister president of the Rhineland-Palatinate state. Viewed during the 1960s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he was the first left-wing politician to assume the presidency under the Fifth Republic. Reflecting family influences, Mitterrand started political life on the Catholic nationalist right. He served under the Vichy regime during its earlier years. Subsequently he joined the Resistance, moved to the left, and held ministerial office several times under the Fourth Republic. Mitterrand opposed Charles de Gaulle's establishment of the Fifth Republic. Although at times a politically isolated figure, he outmanoeuvered rivals to become the left's standard bearer in the 1965 and 1974 presidential elections, before being elected president in the 1981 presidential election. He was re-elected in 1988 and remained in office until 1995. Mitterran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Invalides
The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose. The buildings house the Musée de l'Armée, the military museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d'Histoire Contemporaine. The complex also includes the former hospital chapel, now national cathedral of the French military, and the adjacent former Royal Chapel known as the , the tallest church building in Paris at a height of 107 meters. The latter has been converted into a shrine of some of France's leading military figures, most notably the tomb of Napoleon. History Louis XIV initiated the project by an order dated 24 November 1670, as a home and hospital for aged and disabled () soldiers. The initial arch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (german: Festung Ehrenbreitstein, ) is a fortress in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz. Occupying the position of an earlier fortress destroyed by the French in 1801, it was built as the backbone of the regional fortification system, '' Festung Koblenz'', by Prussia between 1817 and 1828 and guarded the middle Rhine region, an area that had been invaded by French troops repeatedly before. The Prussian fortress was never attacked. Since 2002, Ehrenbreitstein has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Middle Rhine Valley. Location Ehrenbreitstein is located on the eastern bank of the Rhine at Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It overlooks the confluence of the Mosel and the Rhine. The peak of the hill, which shares the name, is 118 metres above the Rhine. It is the northernmost point of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Middle R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army Museum (Paris)
The Musée de l'Armée (; "Army Museum") is a national military museum of France located at Les Invalides in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is served by Paris Métro stations Invalides, Varenne and La Tour-Maubourg The Musée de l'Armée was created in 1905 with the merger of the Musée d'Artillerie and the Musée Historique de l'Armée. The museum's seven main spaces and departments contain collections that span the period from antiquity through the 20th century. History The Musée de l'Armée was created in 1905 with the merger of the Musée d'Artillerie and the Musée Historique de l'Armée. The ''Musée de l'artillerie'' (Museum of Artillery - "''artillerie''" meaning all things related to weapons) was founded in 1795 in the aftermath of the French Revolution, and expanded under Napoleon. It was moved into the Hôtel des Invalides in 1871, immediately following the Franco-Prussian War and the proclamation of the Third Republic. Another institution called the ''Musée ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seille (Moselle)
The Seille (; german: Selle) is a river in north-eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Moselle. It is also known as the ''Seille lorraine'' or the ''Grande Seille'' ("large Seille"), to distinguish it from another Seille, a small tributary of the Saône. It originates near Azoudange, in the department of Moselle. Leaving the Lindre lake, it skirts the town of Dieuze, and traverses Vic-sur-Seille and Nomeny, before flowing into the Moselle at Metz. It is 138 km long, and has a basin area of 1348 km2. Most of its length is in the department of Moselle, except for the part between Aulnois-sur-Seille and Cheminot, which is in Meurthe-et-Moselle. The Seille also forms the border between Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle from Chambrey to Aulnois-sur-Seille. Upstream Originating in the Pond region, the Seille then crosses the Saulnois, a region in the south of Moselle. This section of the river is part of the ''Parc naturel régional de Lorraine'' ("Regional Na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
