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Middelburg (Zeeland)
Middelburg () is a city and municipality in the south-western Netherlands serving as the capital of the province of Zeeland. Situated on the central peninsula of the Zeeland province, ''Midden-Zeeland'' (consisting of former islands Walcheren, Noord-Beveland and Zuid-Beveland), it has a population of about 48,000. The city lies as the crow flies about 75 km south west of Rotterdam, 60 km north west of Antwerp and 40 km north east of Bruges. In terms of technology, Middelburg played a role in the Scientific Revolution at the early modern period. The town was historically a center of lens crafting in the Golden Age of Dutch science and technology. The invention of the microscope and telescope is often credited to Middelburg spectacle-makers (including Zacharias Janssen and Hans Lippershey) in the late 16th century and early 17th century. History The city of Middelburg dates back possibly to the late 8th century or early 9th century. The first mention of Middelburg was as one o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Cities In The Netherlands By Province
There are no formal rules in the Netherlands to distinguish cities from other settlements. Smaller settlements are usually called ''dorp'', comparable with villages in English speaking countries. The Dutch word for city is ''stad'' (plural: ''steden''). The intermediate category of town does not exist in the Netherlands. Historically, there existed systems of city rights, granted by the territorial lords, which defined the status of a place: a ''stad'' or ''dorp''. Cities were self-governing and had several privileges. In 1851 the granting of city rights and all privileges and special status of cities were abolished. Since then, the only local administrative unit is the municipality. Regardless of this legal change, many people still use the old city rights as a criterion: certain small settlements proudly call themselves a ''stad'' because they historically had city rights, while other, newer towns may not get this recognition. Geographers and policy makers can distinguish betwe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noord-Beveland
Noord-Beveland (; "North Beveland") is a municipality and region in the southwestern Netherlands and a former island, now part of the Walcheren-Zuid-Beveland-Noord-Beveland peninsula. Noord-Beveland is enclosed by the Oosterschelde estuary to the north, and the former straits, now combined lake, of Veerse Meer and Zandkreek to the south. As part of the Delta Works, dams have connected Noord-Beveland to Walcheren and Zuid-Beveland. Population centers There is no village called ''Noord-Beveland'' itself. Topography ''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Noord-Beveland, June 2015'' Ganuenta In Roman times, the town of Ganuenta lay north of where the village of Colijnsplaat is now, a location now covered by the water of the Oosterschelde. It was an important centre for trade. Nearby, there was a temple dedicated to the ancient regional sea goddess Nehalennia. A replica of this temple was officially opened in Colijnsplaat in August 2005.Van der Velde, Koert (August 13 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Lippershey
Hans Lipperhey (circa 1570 – buried 29 September 1619), also known as Johann Lippershey or Lippershey, was a German-Dutch spectacle-maker. He is commonly associated with the invention of the telescope, because he was the first one who tried to obtain a patent for it. It is, however, unclear if he was the first one to build a telescope. Biography Lipperhey was born in Wesel, now in western Germany, around 1570. He settled in Middelburg, the capital of the province of Zeeland, now in the Netherlands, in 1594, married the same year and became a citizen of Zeeland in 1602. During that time he became a master lens grinder and spectacle maker and established a shop. He remained in Middelburg until his death, in September 1619. Invention of the telescope Hans Lipperhey is known for the earliest written record of a refracting telescope, a patent he filed in 1608. His work with optical devices grew out of his work as a spectacle maker, an industry that had started in Venice and Florenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zacharias Janssen
Zacharias Janssen; also Zacharias Jansen or Sacharias Jansen; 1585 – pre-1632) was a Dutch spectacle-maker who lived most of his life in Middelburg. He is associated with the invention of the first optical telescope and/or the first truly compound microscope, but these claims (made 20 years after his death) may be fabrications put forward by his son. Biography Zacharias Janssen was born in The Hague. Local records seem to indicate he was born in 1585 although a date of birth as early as 1580 or as late as 1588 are also given. His parents were Hans MartensSource: a book by Huib J. Zuidervaart which is to be published in the spring of 2008. The in Middelburg has already been shown a first version of this book. (who may have had the occupation of a peddler) and Maeyken Meertens, both probably from Antwerp, Belgium. He grew up with his sister Sara in Middelburg, at the time the second most important city of the Netherlands. He was known as a "street seller" who was constantly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invention Of The Telescope
The history of the telescope can be traced to before the invention of the earliest known telescope, which appeared in 1608 in the Netherlands, when a patent was submitted by Hans Lippershey, an eyeglass maker. Although Lippershey did not receive his patent, news of the invention soon spread across Europe. The design of these early refracting telescopes consisted of a convex objective lens and a concave eyepiece. Galileo improved on this design the following year and applied it to astronomy. In 1611, Johannes Kepler described how a far more useful telescope could be made with a convex objective lens and a convex eyepiece lens. By 1655, astronomers such as Christiaan Huygens were building powerful but unwieldy Keplerian telescopes with compound eyepieces. Isaac Newton is credited with building the first reflector in 1668 with a design that incorporated a small flat diagonal mirror to reflect the light to an eyepiece mounted on the side of the telescope. Laurent Cassegrain in 1672 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
