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Hexenturm (Sarnen)
The Hexenturm is a stone tower in the municipality of Sarnen in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The name (" Witch tower") refers to it being used as a prison for suspected witches in the 17th century. Today it houses the Cantonal Archives of Obwalden. History The tower was built around 1285/86 (determined by Dendrochronological dating) as the residence tower of larger castle complex, the ''Unteren Burg von Sarnen'' or Lower Sarnen Castle. The castle was built for the von Kellner family who were knights in service to the Murbach Abbey. The first member of the family to appear in records is the ''cellarius'' Heinrich at the monastery in 1229. The family name may be a form of the title and office that he held. The sons of Heinrich and his brothers were the knights Niklaus and Heinrich Kellner who built the castle. Niklaus probably lived in Sarnen, while his brother lived in Lucerne. In 1291 the Habsburgs bough ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarnen
, neighboring_municipalities= Alpnach, Entlebuch (LU), Flühli (LU), Giswil, Hasle (LU), Kerns, Sachseln , twintowns = Sarnen is a small historic town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Obwalden situated on the northern shores of Lake Sarnen (german: Sarnersee) in Switzerland. It has a population of just over 10,000 and is surrounded by countryside and mountains. Sarnen is located 20 km south of Lucerne. The official language of Sarnen is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. History Stone Age and Bronze Age finds show that the Sarnen valley was inhabited from the earliest times. Over the years Sarnen developed into an important trading center. Geography Sarnen is situated at an altitude of on the northern shore of Lake Sarnen (german: Sarnersee) along the outflow of the Sarner Aa. Lake Sarnen covers approximately an area of . The town is surrounded by mountain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Federal Charter Of 1291
The Federal Charter or Letter of Alliance (german: Bundesbrief) is one of the earliest constitutional documents of Switzerland. A treaty of alliance from 1291 between the cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, the Charter is one of a series of alliances from which the Old Swiss Confederacy emerged. In the 19th and 20th century, after the establishment of the Swiss federal state, the Charter became the central founding document of Switzerland in the popular imagination. The Charter documents the Eternal Alliance of the League of the Three Forest Cantons (german: Ewiger Bund der Drei Waldstätten), the union of three cantons in what is now central Switzerland. It is dated to early August 1291, which in the 20th century inspired the date of Swiss National Day, 1 August. Done in Latin, the Charter makes reference to a previous (lost or unwritten) pact. It is now exhibited at the Museum of the Swiss Charters of Confederation in Schwyz. Contents The Alliance was concluded between th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Castles And Fortresses In Switzerland
This list includes castles and fortresses in Switzerland. Entries list the name and location of the castle, fortress or ruins in each Canton in Switzerland. Aargau Appenzell Ausserrhoden Appenzell Innerrhoden Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Land Basel-Stadt Canton of Bern, Bern Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg Canton of Geneva, Geneva Canton of Glarus, Glarus Graubünden, Graubünden (Grisons) Canton of Jura, Jura Canton of Lucerne, Lucerne Canton of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel Nidwalden Obwalden Canton of Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen Canton of Schwyz, Schwyz Canton of Solothurn, Solothurn Canton of St. Gallen, St. Gallen Ticino Thurgau Canton of Uri, Uri Vaud Valais Canton of Zug, Zug # Buonas Castle, Risch # Freudenberg Castle (Rotkreuz), Freudenberg Castle, Risch-Rotkreuz # Hünenberg Castle, Hünenberg # St. Andreas Castle, Cham, Switzerland, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terrace (agriculture)
In agriculture, a terrace is a piece of sloped plane that has been cut into a series of successively receding flat surfaces or platforms, which resemble steps, for the purposes of more effective farming. This type of landscaping is therefore called terracing. Graduated terrace steps are commonly used to farm on hilly or mountainous terrain. Terraced fields decrease both erosion and surface runoff, and may be used to support growing crops that require irrigation, such as rice. The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the significance of this technique. Uses Terraced paddy fields are used widely in rice, wheat and barley farming in east, south, southwest, and southeast Asia, as well as the Mediterranean Basin, Africa, and South America. Drier-climate terrace farming is common throughout the Mediterranean Basin, where they are used for vineyards, olive trees, cork oak, and other crops. Ancient history Te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prison Cell
A prison cell (also known as a jail cell) is a small room in a prison or police station where a prisoner is held. Cells greatly vary by their furnishings, hygienic services, and cleanliness, both across countries and based on the level of punishment to which the person being held has been sentenced. Cells can be occupied by one or multiple people depending on factors that include, but are not limited to, inmate population, facility size, resources, or inmate behavior. Description The International Committee of the Red Cross recommends that cells be at least in size for a single cell accommodation (one person in the cell). However, in shared or dormitory accommodations, it recommends a ''minimum'' of per person, including in cells where bunk beds are used. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witch-hunt
A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The Witch trials in the early modern period, classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and European Colonization of the Americas, Colonial America took place in the Early Modern period or about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Protestant Reformation, Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, resulting in an estimated 35,000 to 50,000 executions. The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In other regions, like Africa and Asia, contemporary witch-hunts have been reported from sub-Saharan Africa and Papua New Guinea, and official legislation against witchcraft is still found in Saudi Arabia and Cameroon today. In current language, "witch-hunt" metaphorically means an investigation that is usually conducted with much publicity, supposedly to uncover subversive activity, disloyalty, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Powder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). The sulfur and carbon act as fuels while the saltpeter is an oxidizer. Gunpowder has been widely used as a propellant in firearms, artillery, rocketry, and pyrotechnics, including use as a blasting agent for explosives in quarrying, mining, building pipelines and road building. Gunpowder is classified as a low explosive because of its relatively slow decomposition rate and consequently low brisance. Low explosives deflagrate (i.e., burn at subsonic speeds), whereas high explosives detonate, producing a supersonic shockwave. Ignition of gunpowder packed behind a projectile generates enough pressure to force the shot from the muzzle at high speed, but usually not enough force to rupture the gun barrel. It thus makes a good propellant but is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landenberg Castle
Landenberg Castle is a ruined castle atop a hill in the municipality of Sarnen in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. In the 18th century an armory and firing range were built on the site. The Landenberg Armory is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The ruins of the castle was the meeting place of the Landsgemeinde or Cantonal assembly for over three centuries. History The castle was originally known as Sarnen Castle or simply Sarnen. Landenberg first appears in records in the 17th century. The earliest fortifications on Landenberg hill probably date back to the early 11th century, when the Counts of Lenzburg built a wooden fort there. After the Lenzburg line died out in 1173 their estates around Sarnen were inherited by the Habsburgs. The Habsburgs built a stone ring wall around much of the crown of the hill. While parts of the wall are still visible, very little is known about the buildings inside the wall. The castle was one of the largest castles in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mass (Catholic Church)
The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross, is present and offered in an unbloody manner". The Church describes the Mass as the "source and summit of the Christian life". Thus the Church teaches that the Mass is a sacrifice. It teaches that the sacramental bread and wine, through consecration by an ordained priest, become the sacrificial body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ as the sacrifice on Calvary made truly present once again on the altar. The Catholic Church permits only baptised members in the state of grace (Catholics who are not in a state of mortal sin) to receive Christ in the Eucharist. Many of the other sacraments of the Catholic Church, such as confirmation, holy orders, and holy matrimony ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation of Christmas Day. Together, both days are considered one of the most culturally significant celebrations in Christendom and Western society. Christmas celebrations in the denominations of Western Christianity have long begun on Christmas Eve, due in part to the Christian liturgical day starting at sunset, a practice inherited from Jewish tradition and based on the story of Creation in the Book of Genesis: "And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day." Many churches still ring their church bells and hold prayers in the evening; for example, the Nordic Lutheran churches. Since tradition holds that Jesus was born at night (based in Luke 2:6-8), Midnight Mass is celebrated on Christmas Eve, traditionally at midnight, in c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Book Of Sarnen
The ''White Book of Sarnen'' (german: Weisses Buch von Sarnen) is a collection of medieval manuscripts compiled in the late 15th century by Hans Schriber, state secretary (''Landschreiber'') in the Swiss Confederation canton Obwalden. This volume, 258 pages in length, was given its name because of the white parchment in which it is bound. The White Book of Sarnen contains the earliest surviving reference to the Swiss national hero William Tell. Composition and structure The ''White Book of Sarnen'' was composed in 1474 by a country scribe called Hans Schriber.Bergier, p 63. Schriber’s book consists of two parts. The longer first part contains seventy-seven different documents that Schriber copied from original documents stored in the archives of Sarnen.Johnson, p 428. To this documentary section, Schriber added a brief report on the early history of the Old Swiss Confederacy.Bergier, p 63. This second part, 25 pages in length, makes mention of the Rütli oath ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. While the rights and obligations of a vassal are called vassalage, and the rights and obligations of a suzerain are called suzerainty. The obligations of a vassal often included military support by knights in exchange for certain privileges, usually including land held as a tenant or fief. The term is also applied to similar arrangements in other feudal societies. In contrast, fealty (''fidelitas'') was sworn, unconditional loyalty to a monarch. European vassalage In fully developed vassalage, the lord and the vassal would take part in a commendation ceremony composed of two parts, the homage and the fealty, including the use of Christian sacraments to show its sacred importance. According to Eginhard's brief description, the ''commenda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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