AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
In military usage, the word "firearm" is used for the type of weapons that soldiers carry. Most of them are either pistols or rifles. Guns that are small enough to be carried and used by one person have the same basic parts: a trigger, a barrel, and a handgrip or stock. The trigger is pulled by a finger to fire the weapon which releases a bullet. The barrel guides the bullet which then flies to the target. The handgrip is held by the shooter's hand. Guns can be very effective weapons. Their bullets fly faster than an arrow or spear. Their high kinetic energy makes them more lethal. They also shoot from far distances. Bullets are usually non-explosive pieces of metal.
A modern bullet is the front part of a "round" or cartridge. A cartridge consists of a "bullet", propellant and a primer. These are packaged in a metallic, paper, or plastic case which is sized exactly for the chamber of the firearm being used. When the rear of the case (containing the primer) is struck, an explosion in the back of the cartridge ignites the propellant. The controlled explosion forces the bullet out of the barrel. Cartridges have different ways of being loaded into different kinds of weapons. Cartridges can be loaded directly into a firearm into the chamber. Or, more commonly, into a clip, a magazine or other bullet container which is loaded into the firearm. Handguns known as revolvers have a cylinder with holes that the bullets are loaded into. Modern guns called pistols are handguns loaded with a magazine.
Guns have been used by armies since about the 14th century. Long barreled guns called muskets, that could be carried and used by one person, were in use by 1350. They became an important weapon in European armies about the 1600s.
Modern militaries use the word "gun" for larger artillery guns that need several people, and that fire big ammunition. For example, weapons on warships and tanks are called "guns". They may be in a "turret" (a rotating base). Big guns usually fire artillery shells, which explode upon impact.
In almost every country firearms are the main weapons used by armies. In modern armies, every soldier has at least one firearm as standard equipment. Soldiers are trained to use firearms, and to keep them clean and ready for use.
Shooting is a competitive sport involving tests of accuracy and speed. They use various types of guns such as pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns and airguns. Shooting sports are categorized by the type of firearm, targets, and distances at which the targets are shot. Target Shooting is an Olympic sport.
Since the first humans, hunting became a way of life. It was and still is in some places, the key to survival. Mankind is distinguished from other animals by the use of tools. At least 2 million years ago man learned to hunt animals for meat. They learned to create and use spears and axes. Bows and arrows were used at least 71,000 years ago. Modern hunting still uses more primitive tools. But many subsistence hunters have adapted to use modern firearms. In modern countries hunting is still allowed but is considered a sport. Hunting can be used to control the populations of many animal species. As with many aspects of gun ownership and use, modern hunting remains controversial. Handguns are not generally used for hunting.
Guns can be used to kill other people. For that reason many countries only allow soldiers, policemen, and certain social classes to have them. In some countries, a person must have a special permit (or license) if they want to own a gun. Depending on the gun, people need to be a certain age and may need to meet other criteria to get such a permit.
An example of this is that in the United States federal law allows buying rifles and/or shotguns at age 18—if purchased from a licensed firearms dealer. But a person must be age 21 or older to purchase a handgun—from a licensed firearms dealer. However, if purchased from an unlicensed person, with few exceptions, a handgun may not be sold to anyone under age 18. There is no age restriction on who may buy a rifle or shotgun from an unlicensed person. In the United States and other countries, people can buy guns for self-defense, hunting, and shooting sports like target shooting.
In some countries, such as Australia, people who live on farms are allowed to keep guns, but it is not easy for a person living in the city to get a gun without good reason. In the United Kingdom, access by the general public to firearms is tightly controlled by law. However, this is less restrictive in Northern Ireland. After the Dunblane school massacre in 1996 followed by the Hungerford massacre in 1987, Britain passed the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988. It required registration for shotguns and banned semi-automatic and pump-action weapons. A further ban on all handguns in mainland Britain came a year and a half later.
New York might mean:
A hobby is a leisure activity that people do for fun or recreation. People do it because they like it.
Some people do arts and crafts. They make clothing or decorations with their hands. Some popular arts and crafts that involve textiles or fabrics include crocheting, sewing (making clothing), embroidery, knitting, and quilting.
Some people like to do hobbies that involve making images on paper, such as scrapbooking, painting, and drawing. Some people like to make three-dimensional decorations using clay or wood, in the hobbies of pottery, sculpture, wood carving, and woodworking.
Some other arts include movie-making, photography, and musical hobbies such as singing, playing musical instruments, and writing songs.
Some people enjoy hobbies such as playing games or solving puzzles. Games include board games such as chess, card games, and newer games such as wargaming and role-playing games. Popular puzzles include jigsaw puzzles and crossword puzzles.
Some people enjoy spending their time reading books, magazines, and newspapers, or writing stories or in a diary. Other people enjoy learning foreign languages by taking classes, or doing research, such as genealogy.
In the 2000s, many people have Internet-based hobbies, such as editing Wikipedia, writing their own blogs, or having online discussions in Newsgroups or online forums.
Some people enjoy computer activities, such as computer programming, learning about open source software, or playing computer games. Some people enjoy learning about electronics such as doing amateur radio broadcasts or building robots.
Some people enjoy working on their home and learning how to repair their home by themselves, without hiring repair people or plumbers. Some people enjoy learning how to repair motor vehicles, such as antique cars. Some people even build and repair sailboats in their backyard.
Many people have hobbies that they do in the kitchen, such as cooking for their guests and family, and making their own beer. Many people also have hobbies in their home that involve animals, such as keeping a pet animal, such as a dog, a cat, or tropical fish. Some people even learn about dog breeding.
Collecting is a popular hobby in North America and in Europe. People enjoy finding interesting examples of different items and learning about them. Some of the well-known types of collecting include stamp collecting, coin collecting, video game collecting, trading cards such as baseball cards, and Pokémon cards. People also collect toys, books, comic books, and old records. Some people collect antiques and artwork, but these hobbies are more rare, because antiques and artwork are usually expensive.
A type of hobby that is related to collecting is model building. People who do model-building as a hobby collect small models which they build, paint, and then display. Some common types of model-building hobbies include model airplanes, model rockets, model ships, model cars, and model railways.
Outdoor hobbies include bird feeding, birdwatching, canoeing, gardening, hiking, walking, and sports such as baseball, bowling, cycling, fishing, hunting, and sailing.
Many people spend a lot of time in leisure activities that are not necessarily called hobbies. Some people disapprove of spending time on these activities. These activities include watching too much television, drinking alcohol, and taking illegal drugs.
World Trade Center (1973–2001)
The original World Trade Center (WTC) was a complex of buildings in Lower Manhattan, New York, New York, United States which was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks; a new complex is mostly complete and is built on the site of the old one.
The biggest buildings in the original World Trade Center were the Twin Towers. The North Tower was the tallest building in the world when it was built. Taller ones were built later. The Twin Towers had 110 stories, and, at the time of its destruction, were the two tallest in New York. They and 7 World Trade Center were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks and other buildings were damaged beyond repair.
The original World Trade Center was designed by Minoru Yamasaki in the early 1960s using a tube-frame structural design for the twin 110-story towers. In gaining approval for the project, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey agreed to take over the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad which became the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH).
Groundbreaking for the World Trade Center took place on August 5, 1966. The North Tower, officially World Trade Center 1 was completed in December 1970 and the South Tower, officially World Trade Center 2 was finished in July 1971. Construction of the World Trade Center involved excavating a large amount of material that was then used in making Battery Park City on the west side of Lower Manhattan.
The first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center occurred on February 26, 1993, at 12:17 PM. A truck filled with 680 kg of explosives, planted by Ramzi Yousef, exploded in the underground garage of the 1 WTC. The bombing created a 30 m (100 ft) hole through five sublevels. Six people were killed and 1,042 others were injured during escape attempts. Many people inside the tower were forced to walk down darkened stairwells with no emergency lighting, some taking two hours or more to reach safety. As a memorial to the victims of the bombing of the tower, a reflecting pool was installed with the names of those who were killed.
On September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 and crashed it into the 1 WTC, striking between the 93rd and 99th floors, killing 1,344 people. Seventeen minutes later, a second group crashed the hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 into the WTC, striking between the 77th and 85th floors, fewer than 700 were killed. At 5:20 p.m., 7 World Trade Center started to collapse with the crumble of the east penthouse. The Vista Hotel was destroyed during the collapse of the twin towers. The three remaining buildings in the WTC plaza were damaged by debris and later were demolished. Many conspiracy theories have appeared which say that certain people in the United States government knew about the attacks beforehand, or even made them happen.
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in World Trade Center site, as the memorial of the 9/11 attacks, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 bombing, which killed six. It is operated by a non-profit institution whose mission is to raise funds for, program, and operate the memorial and museum at the World Trade Center site. The National September 11 Memorial opened on September 11, 2011, and the museum opened in May 2014.
An hour (abbreviation: h or hr) is a unit of measurement used to measure time. An hour is equal to 60 minutes. 24 hours are equal to one day. Unlike the second, the hour is not a base SI unit.
A minute is a customary unit of time. It is equal to 60 seconds. There are 60 minutes in an hour. Unlike the second, the minute is not an SI unit.
A minute is also of a degree. In this context, a minute is also called an arcminute, and is written with the formula_1 symbol.
For example, the Sun and Moon both have angular diameters of about 30 arcminutes—when seen from Earth.
Coat
Study skills or study strategies are systematic ways to improve learning. They are needed for success in school, especially for college and beyond. Study skills include numerous techniques and skills that help in acquiring and retaining information. Some are assessment tools that help a student see where they need help most.
Study skills might include a learner's ability to listen, read, understand, concentrate, remember and organise their learning material, and manage studying time.
The head is the part of the body where the brain is. It is also where the face is. Different things may be worn on the head, for example a headband or a hat.
Some people get pains in their head occasionally, known as headaches. Also, some people have worse pains in their head called migraines.
A "head" in English can also mean a person in charge of something, such as the head of a company.
Also, the word "head" can also mean the front of something. An example of this is the word "Headline", meaning large words on the front page of a newspaper.
Norway is a country in the north of Europe. It is the western part of the Scandinavian peninsula. The mainland of Norway is surrounded by the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean on the west side, and borders Russia, Finland, and Sweden to the east. The southern coast touches the Oslofjord, Skagerrak, and the North Sea.
The Monarchy of Norway has been independent since 1814. Its head of state is a king - Harald the 5th (as of 2017). The national day is May 17, which celebrates Norway's constitution of 1814. The parliament is called "Stortinget" and its members are elected by the people every 4 years.
About 5 million people live in Norway. The capital is the city of Oslo.
Norwegian is the national language. There are two official written versions of Norwegian called "Bokmål" and "Nynorsk".
The Northern Sami language is spoken by around 90% of those who speak one of Norway's 3 Sami languages. Northern Sami is also an official language in a number of municipalities.
The battle of Hafrsfjord (872 A.D.) resulted in small kingdoms becoming one larger kingdom, ruled by Harald Fairhair. After the king's death, again there were smaller kingdoms, inside Norway.
Stockfish (or fish that has been freeze-dried, outside in cold weather) has been traded and exported; this happened as early as either the 9th century, 10th century, or 11th century until 1066. Other sources say that the exporting was happening as early as the 12th century; stockfish is one of the country's oldest [type of] things to be sold for export.
In 1349 half of the Norwegian people died, getting sick from the bubonic plague (or Black Death).
When a Norwegian king died in 1387, there was no Norwegian king until the 20th century.
In 1397, Denmark, Norway and Sweden began the Kalmar Union.
The first [known] map, where Norway is drawn, was made in 1482.
Sweden left the Kalmar Union in 1523. From 1536/1537, Denmark and Norway formed a personal union that by 1660 became the state called Denmark–Norway; Norway was the weaker part of the union with Denmark. That union lasted until 1814, when the Treaty of Kiel said that Norway be ceded (or given) to Sweden; Denmark did not cede the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland
The Norwegian constitution was written in 1814 and signed on 17th May that year. However, Denmark, on the losing side of the Napoleon wars, lost Norway to Sweden, on the winning side.
A Swedish–Norwegian War started on 26 July 1814. It ended on 14 August, because of an agreement, called the Convention of Moss.
The union with Sweden: It started on 14 August 1814, when the Convention of Moss was signed; the union went on for 90 years.
The results of the election in 1882, led to parlamentarism becoming part of Norway's political system; the votes of the "swamp men" decided the outcome of the election; they included teachers, artists and craftsmen who were not poor but also did not own land; ownership of land or a contract to use land was necessary to get voting rights; the "swamp men" had bough cheap land which was nearly useless, except for getting a right to vote.
The right to vote in [ national and local ] elections, was given to the public (or the general public) in 1898.
The end of the Union of Sweden and Norway, was on 7 June 1905, when Norway got its independence.
In 1905 Prince Carl of Denmark was elected King of Norway. His name as a king, was King Haakon VII.
In World War I, Norway was neutral and served as a trading nation.
Norway tried to stay neutral in World War II, but was occupied by German forces from 9 April 1940 to 8 May 1945.
In 1952 Norway became a member of NATO.
Oil was found in Norway's part of the North Sea, during the 1960s; the oil was found under the sea floor.
King Haakon VII was already married, before he came to Norway (in 1905). His wife, Princess Maud, became Queen Maud. Their son, Prince Alexander of Denmark, became Crown Prince Olav and followed after his father as King Olav V in 1957. Olav and his wife, Crown Princess Märtha, had three children; Princess Ragnhild, Princess Astrid and Prince Harald (later Crown Prince Harald and in 1991 he followed his father as King Harald V).
King Harald is the first king born in Norway in over 600 years. He has two children; Princess Märtha Louise and Crown Prince Haakon Magnus.
The Government has Norwegian soldiers working in Syria (as of 2017) and Afghanistan, together with soldiers from other countries that belong to NATO.
Exports include :
natural gas, oil, hydroelectric power, and fish.
Other natural resources are agriculture, forests, and minerals.
The government collects much money from various sources, and has policies intended to spread this wealth among Norwegians. This spread of wealth, is done both directly and indirectly.
[Including year 2020], the fishing industry is catching between 2.5 million tons and 3 million tons fish from the ocean per year; from fish farms around 1.5 million tons are slaughtered per year.
At the end of 2020, immigrants and people who were born in Norway, but who had two parents who were immigrants, they were 18.5 percent of the population; from those (two categories), 11.8% came from Poland.
Most people in Norway are ethnic Norwegians. Norwegians speak a language that is related to German and English. Swedish and Danish are so close to Norwegian that most Norwegians understand them. Across Norway, many different dialects are spoken. Norwegians disagree on how to make one correct written language. Therefore, there are two standard languages, Bokmål and Nynorsk. Nynorsk is used in writing in most of the western areas and in the central mountains. Bokmål is written by most people in the rest of the country.
A native population of Norway, the Sami people, has its home in the northern parts of the country. Their language is not at all related to Norwegian. In some parishes in the far north, they make up the majority of people. Many Sami now live outside the Sami homeland, mostly in Oslo and other big cities. Earlier, Sami people were forced to speak Norwegian in school. Now Sami is taught as the first language in school for Sami children, and Norwegian is the first foreign language.
Many immigrants have come to Norway in the last 30–40 years. They mostly live in and around Oslo, and in the other big cities. Many immigrants come from nearby countries, like Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Russia. There are also many from countries far away, such as Pakistan, Somalia, Iraq and Vietnam.
Traditionally, all Norwegians were Lutherans, a variety of the Protestant faith. Still, more than 80% of Norwegians are Lutherans. Other important faiths include Islam, other Protestant groups and Catholicism.
Among tourists to Norway, more come from Germany than from any other country. There are also many Swedes, Danes, British, Dutch and Italians visiting Norway. The Swedes and Danes often come in winter to go skiing. The others mainly come in summer. Many people visit Norway to see the Northern Lights, also known as the 'Aurora Borealis'.
The largest national newspapers in Norway are Verdens Gang (VG), Aftenposten and Dagbladet.
Norwegian culture can be compared to English culture in the way that it is considered a bad thing to show off, as opposed to the US, where this is more acceptable. This is a big aspect of Norwegian culture, and it is related to the philosophy of egalitarianism. Because of this, people will understate things, for example if a Norwegian says something is good or nice, it can mean that it's really great.
Items from the Viking Age (in Norway), are shown in museums: One item is the Gokstad ship.
Museums in Norway includes The Ibsen Museum - named after Henrik Ibsen.
The farmers' culture ("bondekulturen") was brutal.
Unwanted babies were "placed in the forest" ("sette barn på skogen") to die, until the nineteenth century; in the end, the [rural] police authority - consisting of individuals called lensmann - were able to control [and stop] these crimes.
Modern, cambered skis were invented in the Norwegian province of Telemark in the early 19th century.
In Norway power is shared among three branches: The justice sector, the government and the parliament (Stortinget). Norway also has a king, Harald V, but he does not have any real power and acts as a symbol and ambassador. This form of government is called a constitutional monarchy. Elections are held every four years, and the winner of the election is the party or coalition of parties that gets the most votes and seats in the parliament. After the elections are done, the winners work together to find out who the prime minister should be, as well as who the other ministers should be.
Here is a short summary of the biggest political parties in Norway, from left to right on the political axis:
The Conservative Party and the Progress Party are currently working together in a coalition government, after getting elected in the 2013 elections. It's also a minority government, so it has to work together with the other parties in the parliament to make change.
The city with the most people living there (or inhabitants) is Oslo. The city of Bergen has 272,000 people living there; the city of Trondheim has 182,000 people in its population.
Some claim that Bergen and Trondheim, each had their time as Norway's capital during the Middle Ages.
Albania ( ; ), officially called the Republic of Albania is an independent republic in Southeastern Europe, with an area of . The capital is Tirana, and other important cities are Durrës, Elbasan and Vlora. Over 3 million people live in Albania. The majority of Albanians are Muslims with 55%, 23% Eastern Orthodox and 15% Roman Catholics.
Albania is next to Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and North Macedonia and Kosovo. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea in the west, and a coast on the Ionian Sea in the southwest. The official language is Albanian. The national anthem is "Hymni i Flamurit".
Albania was the southern part of "Illyria" during the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages the Albanians were ruled by many foreign countries, including the Byzantine and Venetian Empires and during the 16th century resistance to the Ottoman Empire's rule was led by the Albanian national hero "Skanderberg" but his real name was Gjergj Kastrioti. After four centuries of Turkish domination, finally in the 20th century an independent Albania was created. In 1939 Albania was conquered by fascist Italy and was part of the Kingdom of Italy until 1943. After World War II Albania became independent again, under communist rule. It was ruled by Enver Hoxha, who died in 1985. Ramiz Alia took over and also later became President when, in 1992, Albania returned to democracy, and it now has friendly relations with the European Union, which it has applied to join.
Albania is divided into 12 counties. These counties include 36 districts and 373 municipalities
This is a list of the largest cities in Albania.
The Albanian Armed Forces were first formed after independence in 1912. Albania reduced the number of active troops from 65,000 in 1988 to 14,500 in 2009. The military now is mostly a small fleet of aircraft and sea vessels.
Albania has a total area of 28,748 square kilometers. Albania's coastline length is . It goes along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. On the coast there are mild, wet winters and warm, sunny, and rather dry summers.
70% of the country is mountains. The highest mountain is Korab.
Albania is bordered by Greece, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo. A short stretch of sea separates Albania from the far southeast of Italy.
Although a small country, Albania has a lot of variety in plants and animals. The total number of plants is over 3250 species. There are over 350 bird species, 330 freshwater and marine fish and 80 mammal species. The Golden Eagle is the national symbol of Albania.
Hungary is a country in Central Europe. Its capital city is Budapest. Hungary is slightly bigger than its western neighbour Austria and has about 10 million inhabitants. Other countries that border Hungary are Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. Hungary's official language is the Hungarian language. It has been a member of the European Union (EU) since 2004. In Hungarian, the country is called "Magyarország" (literally, "Hungarian country"), or "Magyar Köztársaság" (Hungarian Republic). This is named after the Magyar tribes who came to Hungary in the late 9th century.
The Magyars established Hungary in 896, after they had arrived there from their previous, Eastern European territories. Prince Árpád was their leader at the time; he also established the first royal house of the country, the Árpád-house. In 1000, after the first king, Saint Stephen had been crowned, the country became a Kingdom.
In 1241, the Mongol Empire invaded the country, causing the Hungarian king Béla IV to flee and approximately 500,000 Hungarians were killed, along with with heavy damage. In 1301, the Árpád-house died out. Later on, kings from various houses ruled over Hungary. The greatest of them is Matthias Corvinus, famous for taking Austrian terrirories like Vienna, etc. and protecting the country against Ottoman aggression. However, some decades after he had died (1490), the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent defeated the Hungarian king in the Battle of Mohács (1526). The Kingdom was cut up into three parts: the western and northern areas remained Hungary, the southern region fell under Ottoman rule, and the eastern part became an Ottoman vassal as the Principality of Transylvania.
The Kingdom of Hungary became a Habsburg dependency, because an agreement made in Vienna in 1515 said that the Habsburg family would take over the territory of the Jagellion family in Bohemia and Hungary if the line of kings should die out. In 1686, the Ottomans were forced to leave, and the country was reunified. Many nationalities were living in the country at this time. Along with Hungarians, there were also the ancestors of modern Slovaks, Serbs, and Romanians.
In 1703, Francis II Rákóczi, a Hungarian nobleman organized a revolution against the Habsburgs, as the Hungarians were not satisfied with them. However, his revolution failed in 1711, and he had to go into exile. The next most important event is the "Hungarian Revolution of 1848", when the inhabitants of the country mutinied again. Fighting ended in 1849, with Habsburg success. The leaders of the revolution were executed.
The country tried to find the way towards consolidation: in 1867, the two most important Habsburg territories, Austria and Hungary signed a treaty, and they established the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The new situation was feasible for both sides: the agreement brought massive economic growth.
In 1918 after the defeat in World War I, the Kingdom was abolished, and a republic was established, as people had enough of war. This republic was short-lived, and soon the Communists seized power (1919). Their rule was irresponsible and many people, including the peasants and the intelligentsia, were tortured. The communists had to abandon the country as Romanian troops invaded.
In late 1919, the Hungarian forces, led by Admiral Miklós Horthy, finally occupied the capital, Budapest. In response to the communist terror, they launched the "White Terror", in which they persecuted the communists and their supporters. The kingdom was re-established but there was no king. Horthy was elected as the regent of the country, as the assembly decided not to recall the Habsburgs.
Hungary lost the war. According to the Treaty of Trianon (1920), Hungary lost two thirds of its territory. In the majority of these territories, non-Hungarians were the majority; however, many Hungarians also found themselves outside their country, in the nation state of Romanians or Slovaks. Thus, the main political goal of the governments under Horthy was to revise this treaty, and at least, to regain the Hungarian-inhabited lands.
After the fall of Nazi Germany, Soviet troops occupied all of the country. So Hungary gradually became a communist satellite state of the Soviet Union. After 1948, Communist leader Mátyás Rákosi established Stalinist rule in the country. He forced collectivization and a planned economy. This led to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Hungary withdrew from the Warsaw Pact. But the Soviets sent in over 150,000 troops and 2,500 tanks. Nearly a quarter of a million people left the country during the brief time that the borders were open in 1956. János Kádár became leader of the communist party. In 1991 Soviet military presence in Hungary ended, and the transition to a market economy began.
Today, Hungary is a democratic republic. Elections are held every four years.
The current president of the country is János Áder, and the prime minister is Viktor Orbán. Orbán was Prime Minister from 1998 to 2002, and was elected again in 2010.
Hungarians make up the largest part of the population but there are also several other ethnic communities. The largest of these are the Roma and Germans. Hungarian is the most widely used language in Hungary. Ethnic communities often use their own languages as well. The majority of Hungarians are religious, mainly Roman Catholic and Calvinist (in Hungarian 'református' - 'reformed'). There are Jews, often in intellectual and artistic occupations, and some Muslims. Orthodox Christianity is practised by ethnic minorities from eastern Europe.
Hungary's highest point is "Kékestető" (1014 m; in the northeastern part of Hungary). The River Danube, one of Europe's largest rivers, divides Hungary into a western and an eastern part. The region west of the Danube is called Transdanubia ("Dunántúl"). Transdanubia has a hilly landscape and many small villages and towns. The large flat area in the eastern part is the Great Plains ("Alföld"). Along the Slovakian border there are mountains.
Lake Balaton, Central Europe's largest lake can be found in Hungary. This small country has several thermal spas too. Lake Hévíz is one of the world's largest thermal lakes. Hungary, however is a landlocked country (it has no coastline).
Its biggest cities are Budapest, Debrecen, Miskolc, Szeged, Pécs, Győr, Nyíregyháza and Szolnok. Szolnok is found at the juncture of the Tisza River and the Zagyva River (stream).
The Netherlands is a country that is part (of a constituent country) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Most of it is in Western Europe, but there are also some parts in the Caribbean. More than 17 million people live there. To the north and west of the European part of the Netherlands is the North Sea, and to the east is Germany and to the south is Belgium. The Netherlands is one of the countries that started the European Union. People who live in the Netherlands are called "Dutch". The language of the Netherlands is also called Dutch. The official capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam. However, the government is in The Hague.
"The Netherlands" means "the low lands". The land only rises, on average, 1 meter above sea level. One third of the land is below sea level. The Netherlands is also - incorrectly - referred to as Holland. Holland was a very rich area (two provinces) in the western part of the Netherlands, thus causing people to be mistaken. Some people who do not live in the western part of the Netherlands do not like it when people call the country Holland. The name "Holland" originates from the old Dutch words "Holt land" which means "wood lands".
At the end of the Middle Ages the dukes of Burgundy, a country that is now part of France, united seventeen areas. Those areas were called the Netherlands. When the daughter of a duke married Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1477, the Netherlands became part of Spain. In the 16th century many Dutch people became Protestant. The king of Spain did not like it, he wanted all Dutch to be Roman Catholic. Of course the Dutch people did not like this, and after violent excesses by the Spanish they started a war against Spain in 1568, also for reasons of taxation. The war lasted until 1648, therefore it is called the Eighty Years' War. An important leader of the Dutch in this war was Willem van Oranje (Willem of orange) also called William the Silent.
In 1648 the Netherlands and Spain signed peace. The Dutch people were allowed to keep all the areas they conquered. The part of the Netherlands that was not conquered by the Dutch stayed part of Spain. Later this part became the country Belgium.
When the Netherlands became independent, it was a very special country. That time almost all countries in Europe were ruled by a king, but the Netherlands was a republic. The Netherlands was made up of seven provinces, that were ruled by the big cities. The cities were ruled by the municipality which consisted of rich civilians. Together those provinces were ruled by a stadtholder, a very powerful man, but compared to the kings of other European countries he had much less power.
In the 17th century the Netherlands was the richest and one of the most powerful countries in the world. Therefore, the Dutch call the 17th century the Golden Age. Their Dutch Empire had colonies around the world. One important colony was the East Indies, which is now called Indonesia. They also had colonies in the Caribbean, like the other European empires. They also started New Netherland, which is now called New York. The Netherlands often fought wars against other European countries, especially the Anglo-Dutch Wars against England. Michiel de Ruyter, a Dutch admiral, became a Dutch hero when he defeated the English navy close to London.
In the 18th century the Netherlands became poorer. Many people blamed this on the government leaders, the stadtholders. Many thought they had too much power and wanted them to get away. In 1789 the French people deposed (got rid of) their king. French armies attacked other countries to depose their leaders too. In 1795 they attacked the Netherlands. Stadtholder William V had to flee to England. The Netherlands were renamed to Batavian Republic and became a democracy. But the French were not content (satisfied) with the Dutch ruler, so in 1806 the French emperor Napoleon made his brother Louis Bonaparte king of the Netherlands. Louis became popular in the Netherlands, but the emperor was again not content with him, so in 1810 the Netherlands became a part of France.
In 1815 Napoleon was defeated, and the Netherlands became independent again. The rulers of European countries thought it was a good idea to make the Netherlands stronger, to make them able to resist another French invasion. Therefore, Belgium and Luxembourg were added to the Netherlands. William I, the son of stadtholder William V, became king. Some Belgians disliked their Dutch king. In 1830 they revolted. William sent an army. He was much more powerful than the Belgians but after ten days the French sent an army to support them. In 1831 the Belgians chose their own king and Belgium became an independent country.
Some people again thought the Dutch king had too much power. They wanted to give him less power and vote for the government themselves. In 1848 there were violent revolts against the kings of many European countries. The Dutch king was afraid the same would happen in the Netherlands. Therefore, he allowed Johan Rudolf Thorbecke to write a constitution. From then on people were allowed to vote. At first only rich men were allowed to vote. From 1919 on all adults were allowed to vote.
In World War I, the Netherlands did not fight and were not invaded. The Dutch wanted to stay neutral in World War II as well, but in 1940 the country was invaded and occupied by Germany. Like in other countries they had occupied, the German authorities started to kill Jews. Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who lived in the Netherlands. Her family hid from the Nazis and she wrote a diary. She died in a Nazi concentration camp and her diary became famous.
In 1944 the American, Canadian, Polish and British armies liberated the south of the Netherlands from Nazi Occupation. They wanted to cross the Rhine river in Operation Market Garden to liberate the rest of the country, but they were defeated. It took until May 1945 before the entire country was liberated. During the five years of Nazi occupation, 250,000 people had died in the Netherlands.
Shortly after the war, Indonesia declared its independence. The Dutch sent soldiers to fight in Indonesia. After other countries, including the United States, told the Dutch to leave Indonesia, they finally did so in 1949.
After the war the Netherlands became one of the richest countries in the world. In 2004 the United Nations said that the Netherlands was the 5th best country to live in.
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. That means the country has a king, but the real power is in the hands of a parliament, chosen by the Dutch people. All Dutch people at least 18 years old or older are allowed to vote. The Dutch parliament consists of two chambers: the Second Chamber (Dutch: "Tweede Kamer", this is the House of Representatives, elected every four years), and the First Chamber (Dutch: "Eerste Kamer", this is the Senate, elected by provincial politicians every four years). After the Second Chamber elections, parties that have had a majority of the votes create a cabinet. The cabinet consists of a prime minister and several other ministers and deputy ministers. Current government is the liberal-Christian democratic Third Rutte cabinet, consisting of VVD, CDA, D66 and CU politicians. Prime Minister is Mark Rutte (VVD).
The latest general elections were held on March 17, 2021. Winners were liberal parties like VVD (also the biggest party), D66 (second biggest party) and Volt, and populist parties like FVD and JA21. Losers were left parties like SP and GL, Christian democratic party CDA, populist party PVV, and senior citizen party 50+.
The Netherlands is known for tolerance in politics. The Netherlands is the only country where soft drugs are not entirely considered illegal. Furthermore, the Netherlands is one of the few countries that allow same-sex marriages, euthanasia and prostitution to a certain extent.
More information: "Politics of the Netherlands".
The Netherlands is subdivided in provinces and municipalities.
In the Netherlands there are 12 provinces:
These provinces are all located in the part of the Netherlands that is in Europe. The country also includes three special municipalities in the Caribbean: Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius. They are not part of any province, but together are known as the Caribbean Netherlands. The Netherlands (both the European part and the Caribbean Netherlands), together with Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, also in the Caribbean, form a sovereign state called the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
When the Kingdom was formed in 1954, the territories in the Caribbean became part of the Netherlands Antilles. At that time it also included Suriname in South America, which became an independent country in 1975. Aruba left the Antilles in 1986, and Curaçao and Sint Maarten did the same in 2010. The rest of the islands then became the Caribbean Netherlands which is part of the Netherlands proper.
The Netherlands has 352 municipalities (2021) and also three special municipalities in the so-called Caribbean Netherlands.
Almost every year the amount of municipalities decrease.
Cities aren't actually a subdivision of the Netherlands. Cities are also municipalities or they make part of municipalities.
This is a list of the cities with over 100,000 people.
In fact a large part of the Netherlands was created by the sand that came from the many rivers flowing through it. Notable Dutch rivers are the Rhine, the Maas, the IJssel and the Scelt. A large part of the Netherlands is below sea level. This is because the Dutch have made many lakes and parts of the sea dry, creating polders. Therefore, there is a saying "God created the earth, but the Dutch created the Netherlands." This makes the Netherlands very flat. In the very south-east of the Netherlands, in Limburg, there are some hills. Therefore, this region is a tourist-attraction for many Dutch people. The highest point in the European portion of the Netherlands, the Vaalserberg, is 323 metres above sea level. The highest point in both the Netherlands proper and the Kingdom of the Netherlands is Mount Scenery, on the Caribbean island of Saba, at 887 metres.
The Netherlands is a small flat country; about 300 kilometers from north to south, and about 170 kilometers from east to west. It has an oceanic climate ("Cfb" in the Köppen climate classification).
The Netherlands is a small country, but many people live there. It is one of the most densely populated countries of the world.
Most people in the Netherlands speak Dutch. In Friesland, about 200,000 people speak Frisian. Frisian is the language with the most similarities to English. Some Dutch people speak dialects. The Saxon dialects spoken in the northeastern part of the Netherlands are somewhat similar to Low German.
According to a survey done in 2006, 25% of the Dutch people are Christian and 3% believe in another organised religion, like Judaism, Islam or Hinduism. Twenty-six percent are 'unbounded spiritual' (have their own beliefs and are not tied to a religion). The other 44% are not religious.
Nederlandse Spoorwegen () or NS is the main passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. The rail infrastructure is maintained by network manager ProRail, which was split from NS in 2003. Freight services, formerly operated by NS Cargo, merged with the DB Schenker group in 2000.
NS runs 4,800 scheduled trains daily. In addition, NS provides international rail services from the Netherlands to other European destinations and carries out concessions on a number of foreign rail markets through its subsidiary Abellio such as Abellio Greater Anglia, Merseyrail and ScotRail.
Arriva is another passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a subsidiary of the German company Deutsche Bahn. Their local headquarters is based at Heerenveen. They have been active since 1998.
Ukraine (, [ukrajina]) is a country in Eastern Europe. Russia is to the north-east of Ukraine, Belarus is to the north-west, Poland and Slovakia are to the west, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and self-proclaimed Transnistria are to the south-west and the Black Sea is to the south.
Ukraine is a republic.
The capital of Ukraine is Kyiv (). It was a part of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991.
The official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian (, [ukrajin’s’ka mova]). In the 2001 census, about 29% of people in Ukraine said that they consider Russian to be their main language. These two East Slavic languages are similar in some ways but different in other ways.
Ukraine is divided into 24 oblasts and one Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
The largest cities in Ukraine are:
The name "Ukraine" (u-krayina) is variously interpreted as "edge" or "borderland", but this was proved false. Language specialists are still searching for the true meaning of the word.
It was first used in reference to a core part of the territory of Kyivan Rus in the 12th century. In English, Ukraine was usually used as "the Ukraine". But after 1991, adding "the" is no longer correct.
Many different tribes lived on the territory of modern Ukraine since pre-historical times. Most historians believe that the Great Steppe at the North of the Black Sea was a homeland of all Indo-European and Indo-Iranian languages. Some believe it was also a birthplace of the whole Caucasian race. Wends, Goths, Huns, Sclaveni, Avars and other tribes and tribal groups fought among themselves, joined unions, terminated and assimilated each other.
By the middle of 4th century AD Antes joined other tribes and established a state under their rule. Their state fell under the pressure of Avars in 602 AD and their name was longer mentioned. Since the 7th century over 10 tribal groups joined under the name "Slavs" and made their own state named Rus. The chronicles mention three centers which formed this state: Kuyavia (Kyiv land with Kyiv itself), Slavia (Novgorod land) and Artania (exact location unknown).
Historians still argue about whether Kyiv was founded by Slavs themselves, or they just captured the Khazar fortress which was located on the bank of the Dnieper river, but since the 10th century, it became the capital of the largest and most powerful state in Europe.
Kyivan Rus, is the medieval state of Eastern Slavs. Established by the Slavic with the help of the Varangian squads whose force was used to integrate separate tribes and their lands into one powerful state. Varangian princes, who ruled Rus from its first years were gradually assimilated by natives, but the dynasty started by semy-legendary Ririk survived and continued to govern their separate principalities even after the collapse of Rus.
At an early stage of its existence Rus destroyed such powerful states as the Khazar Khaganate and Old Great Bulgaria. Rus princes successfully fought against the Byzantine Empire, whose emperors had to pay tribute to them. Rus' finally disintegrated into separate principalities.
In the reign of Volodymyr the Great (980-1015) the Kyivan State almost finished its expansion. It occupied the territory from Peipus, Ladoga and Onega lakes in the north to the river Don, Ros, Sula, Southern Bug in the south, from the Dniester, the Carpathians, the Neman, Western Dvina River in the west to the Volga and the Oka River in the east, its area became about 800,000 km. Although some of his predecessors already accepted Christianity for themselves, Vladimir decided to convert the entire population of the state to the new religion. Partially with the help of Byzantine missionaries preachers, partly by the brutal violence, he finally made all Kyiv population to be baptized. For this action, the Ukrainian, and later the Russian Orthodox Churches canonized him under the name of Vladimir the Baptist.
During the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, (1019–1054), Rus reached the zenith of its cultural development and military power. Rus raised the prestige of Eastern Slavs in Europe, improved the international significance of Kyiv. Rus influenced the political relations in all of Europe, Western Asia, and in the Middle East. Kyivan princes supported the political, economic, dynastic relations with France, Sweden, England, Poland, Hungary, Norway, Byzantium.
The Rus state also ruled non-Slavic people (Finno-Ugric population of the North, Turkic of the East and South, Balts of the West etc.). Those people gradually assimilated with the Slavs, and with each other, establishing a framework for the future emergence of three new Eastern-Slavic peoples.
The Kyivan State was an eastern outpost of European Christendom, it kept the movement of nomad hordes to the West, and reduced their onslaught against Byzantium and Central European countries.
After the death of Mstyslav Volodymyrovych (1132), Rus lost its political unity and finally was divided into 15 principalities and lands. Among them Kyiv, Chernygiv, Volodymyr-Suzdal, Novgorod, Smolensk, Polotsk, and Halycian lands and principalities were most large and powerful.
Major political conditions of fragmentation were:
While Kyiv was the center of all social, economic, political, cultural and ideological life in the country for a long time before, other centers have competed with it from the mid-12th century. There were old powers (Novgorod, Smolensk, Polotsk), as well as new ones..