text:
Talk:Sejong the Great

Literature/Hangul
There is a sentence under "Literature" that looks like a remnant from a previous organization of the article: "Although most government officials and aristocrats opposed usage of hangul, lower classes embraced it, became literate, and were able to communicate with one another in writing." It is out of context in that location, but appears important. Should it be relocated further down in the "Hangul" subheading? Thanks. Kyrieo (talk) 23:13, 8 February 2017 (UTC)

Misunderstanding
In the section "Name", it states: "Although the appellation 'the Great' (대왕；大王) was given posthumously to almost every ruler of Goryeo and Joseon, this title is usually associated with Gwanggaeto and Sejong."

However, there seems to be a misunderstanding of 대왕 daewang ('the Great'). The 대왕 in 장헌영문예무인성명효대왕 and in 세종대왕 are not the same. The former one is traditional Korean culture. However, the letter one comes from the way history is retold by Western standards. It is based on the way Alexander is called "the Great". The Korean kings that carry that attribute in history are Sejong, Gwanggaeto and Munmu. Therefore, the statement above is not a contrast. It is just two different concepts that coincidentally use the same word. --Christian140 (talk) 06:02, 22 August 2021 (UTC)

Article needs work
Mid-quality sourcing (non–peer-reviewed casual websites), poor grammar, poor completion, lot of unsourced information. He's one of the most important people in Korean history, deserves better than this. toobigtokale (talk) 10:52, 10 March 2024 (UTC)

 * This is toobigtokale on an IP; why are all the dates in the lunar calendar? We should convert to Gregorian; that's what the rest of Wikipedia is in.

 * I may take a quick pass at some point in near future to convert dates and source everything. 104.232.119.107 (talk) 07:16, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
 * The date changes were done back in September by a (good faith) user, although from what I could tell it was WP:OR. By any chance do Korean scholarly sources use lunar dates? I suspect not but just wondering if that’s where the user got the idea. Dantus21 (talk) 11:06, 4 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks for looking into this. I'm not sure about what Korean scholarly sources do; sometimes I've run into sources about late Joseon–era people where it's not explicitly stated which calendar system was being used, and it turned out it was lunar. Based on that I think there's possibly a mix of both lunar and gregorian, unfortunately. I'll possibly post again later when I begin revision 104.232.119.107 (talk) 19:27, 4 June 2024 (UTC)
 * This is a good idea, the lunar calendar point is an issue that needs to be fixed Sunnyediting99 (talk) 00:11, 5 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I agree. Please stop citing other encyclopedias (circular citation) and use primary sources. The Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty are available for free online. Jourdy345 (talk) 04:44, 25 June 2024 (UTC)
 * A mild counterpoint: WP:TERTIARY. I think there's a role for other non-Wikipedia encyclopedias being cited. They are less preferred over secondary sources though 211.43.120.242 (talk) 07:51, 28 June 2024 (UTC)

Koreans, verify your stories
Many Koreans may not realize they're posting wrong information. There are lots of made-up stories about Sejong because he's famous and loved, and people use him to tell nationalistic stories. No, there's no evidence that Hyoryeong became a monk, even though many Koreans believe this story; no, there's no evidence that Yangnyeong willingly yielded his position as crown prince, because he believed Chungnyeong deserved to be king. To avoid spreading wrong information, ALWAYS give sources for what you write—preferably primary sources, like the Veritable Records. Wikipedia isn't a place to share personal opinions. Every fact should be something you can prove. Jourdy345 (talk) 22:03, 25 June 2024 (UTC)

 * This is toobigtokale, wondering if the Veritable Records are actually primary sources? They're written by court historians who had (afaik) reasonable editorial independence. I think they're possibly secondary sources.
 * Per WP:SECONDARY, I think secondary sources are preferred on Wikipedia over WP:PRIMARY too. Primary sources are of course nice to ground our work. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 07:47, 28 June 2024 (UTC)
 * You're right—they're secondary. In my defense, I used primary in the sense that the Veritable Records are the closest thing we have to watching live footage in the 15th century. Court historians record every second of the king's movement (of course, not all of them; only the ones they deemed important as all historians do), and once the king dies, the historians are sequestered in a hall to compile the late king's veritable records. So all Veritable Records have been processed at least once and therefore are secondary sources at best.
 * Side note: I found another example where there's no supporting evidence of a statement in the article. The account that Sejong asked scholars to look after his grandson, Danjong, specifically on his deathbed is an unnecessary embellishment—unless 2 months before one's death is considered on the deathbed. And when I say "no evidence", the ultimate authority is the Veritable Records or the Journal of the Royal Secretariat. There are little bits of such misinformation that would be prevented if the Wikipedian cited their sources. Jourdy345 (talk) 03:49, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Fyi, I'm considering doing a sweeping revision of the article imminently, and scrapping a lot of the old writing entirely. Just need to find a good source... 211.43.120.242 (talk) 07:59, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * For anyone reading, I'm still having trouble finding an authoritative biography on Sejong. I'm looking in Korean but can't seem to find a consensus on what modern books on Sejong are considered "the best". Encyclopedias and the kowiki just cite the Veritable Records... 211.43.120.242 (talk) 11:00, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * That's because the Veritable Records are his biography. The Veritable Records are essentially biographies of the Joseon kings. And the Veritable Records are the original sources. Any other biographies of Sejong will eventually have to cite them, because what we know about Sejong today comes from the Records (or the Journal of the Royal Secretariat). Jourdy345 (talk) 13:12, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * My point is that the Veritable Records aren't 100% of the information available on him, although they're certainly >80%. The synthesis of other sources and information, like developments in our understanding of medicine and science (especially what diseases killed him), are important. Another example: information about foreign policy. The Joseon court didn't know everything going on in China and Japan at the time; modern historians can access a lot of information now that they presumably couldn't. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 14:03, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * The issue with modern medical diagnosis has little to do with medical advancements. It has more to do with the fact that diseases were not clearly defined when the Veritable Records were compiled, and the names of the diseases do not align with diseases that we know today. For example, 학질 (瘧疾) was used in the Joseon dynasty for any diseases that caused a fever. After Joseon increasingly came into contact with western powers and western medicine became the mainstay, the word 학질 started being used for malaria, specifically. So people today reading the Veritable Records may see the word 학질 and associate it with malaria, but that would be an error.
 * Also I must ask: what other information can modern historians access that they couldn't? Jourdy345 (talk) 18:43, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure what happened to Sejong's corpse, but if it still exists and modern doctors theorize (this is just a hypothetical, I don't know what he died of) "he didn't die of 학질/malaria/etc, he died of some completely separate disease", that's worthy of inclusion. See Napoleon; old reports used to think completely different things about his death. Studies have continued even until the past few years about what he died of. This is an example of why modern scholarship is needed.
 * I'll think of more examples of the benefits of modern scholarship (need to eat breakfast), but I'd argue the examples I've provided are already sufficient to warrant at least a sizeable (>=15%) inclusion of non-VR sources. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 00:13, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I'm not arguing against including non-VR sources. However, given that this part of Korean history occurred 600 years ago, anyone seeking to understand what happened in the Joseon royal court will inevitably need to consult the Veritable Records. Ultimately, we both agree that the Veritable Records provide firsthand accounts with some commentary, while modern scholarly articles offer educated guesses to fill in the gaps in those stories.
 * I don't agree that modern historians have somehow developed a historiographic methodology to uncover historical facts out of thin air. What happened is a historical fact; why it happened is a narrative. There are no new records being created for events 600 years ago. When recounting an event, modern "scholarly" work is supportive at best. To verify if the scholarly work provides a good-faith narration, one would need to consult the Veritable Records. To avoid unnecessary verification of the cited sources, it's best to directly cite the relevant parts of the Veritable Records.
 * You and I also define "scholarly" differently—and . History books for the general audience in the west are often grounded in someone else's PhD dissertation. I find Korean general-audience history books not to be as rigorous.
 * I don't see any substantive difference between the Veritable Records and the autopsy reports of Napoleon, as they are both firsthand accounts (i.e., those who saw it report it). I also don't have any objection to citing modern medical papers that examine the Veritable Records and try to figure out how Sejong died. These are educated guesses, but they are interesting scholarly work, but again, I would cite the original paper, not a book that cites the paper, to minimize work that's required for verification.
 * Jourdy345 (talk) 16:52, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Other examples of things offered by modern scholarship:
 * Evaluation of legacy. Sejong's Veritable Records were written in the 15th century; we've had a whole 500+ years since then.
 * Analysis of what's not included in the Veritable Records. This book I'm using has some of that and I've found those bits interesting and useful
 * I feel this is similar to other situations where ancient sources are used. Records from Josephus are sometimes the only known sources on some really important topics about the ancient world. However, Josephus's work has a lot of gaps that are themselves interesting, and he himself as an unreliable narrator is worthy of analysis. I'm pretty confident the Veritable Records sometimes treat some now debunked things about science as fact. That means we'd need to tiptoe around those bits, which leans towards WP:ORIGINALRESEARCH. Better to use analysis that's more consistently solid. And either way, since objectivity is functionally impossible I think there'll always be more room for useful analysis.
 * 211.43.120.242 (talk) 14:16, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Historiography will inevitably carry a narrative, but that doesn't mean subjective analyses and evaluations should be prioritized. We could create a section for appraisals and curate some scholarly work that views Sejong's life and achievements as king from different perspectives. Jourdy345 (talk) 18:57, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I do not advocate for prioritizing speculation. If we do include the theorizing of modern scholars, that should be with WP:INTEXT attribution to make clear it's theorizing. E.g. "Scholar x argues that y". We should be selective about what theorizing to include, but I'd argue the selectiveness threshold is not near 0%. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 00:05, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I agree we should rewrite sections of the article but recommend improving, instead of scrapping, the old writing unless it's a straight-up falsehood that deserves scrapping. What do you think? Jourdy345 (talk) 13:35, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Much of the article relies on low quality sources at present. Those portions tends to have poor prose. I don't mean to implicate you in this; your additions with the Veritable Records are consistently solid. Regardless, based on my experience with March First Movement, Kim Ku, and Park Chung Hee, an article of this importance should probably be expanded 2-4x, which will inevitably result in most of the writing being replaced or rearranged to fit in with the new information. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 14:05, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Your edits about Sim On contain misinformation. Shim On didn't die because he "criticized the system." His son-in-law had been charged with and incarcerated for treason (which was political), and Taejong tortured him until Shim On's name came out of his mouth. The prevailing view is that Taejong had already intended to kill Shim On, considering Taejong's mistrust of queens' relatives, and Shim On had shown political ambitions and made Taejong see him as a potential political force that should be nipped in the bud. So yes, Taejong manufactured a pretext to execute Shim On, but no, "criticism of the system" was not the pretext. Jourdy345 (talk) 18:36, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks for pointing this out; I'll do a second pass with the Veritable Records to hash this out. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 00:02, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Another thought: we should also prioritize recent scholarship in general. While the Veritable Records are great for grounding things, they're just one perspective that's particular to the time they were in. Probably more recent scholarship has discovered things about Sejong that not even the court historians knew. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 10:59, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * The "not even the court historians knew" part seems like a long shot, though if someone's found something like that and we can cite it, I don't object. Most original sources are from Joseon court historians and officials, and some other sources are from documentation in the Chinese dynasties. Additionally, some court officials, or royal family members and their wives left some private writings (i.e., )—most notably the Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong. These unofficial sources have different angles than the Veritable Records, and they are good sources, too. Jourdy345 (talk) 13:23, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * One of my replies above, "My point is that the biographies aren't 100%", relevant here 211.43.120.242 (talk) 14:06, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I don't understand what you're arguing for. If you're advocating for making Sejong's Wikipedia page primarily about modern scholarship's evaluations and analyses, I find that to be inappropriate. The Veritable Records are as close as it gets to a primary source, and they are the object of modern scholarship, complemented by external sources to create a narrative and identify potential biases in the Veritable Records. I would like to see what modern scholarly work that should be considered more authoritative than the Veritable Records.
 * My point is, evaluations and analyses should be clearly differentiated from sections that contain historical facts. Organizationally, it's confusing just to slip in someone's analysis and cite something, because there's a chance a reader will take that analysis as historically factual. Jourdy345 (talk) 19:06, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Organized points:
 * The Veritable Records are as close as it gets to a primary source, and they are the object of modern scholarship, complemented by external sources to create a narrative and identify potential biases in the Veritable Records. Both of us agree on this: the Veritable Records (VR) should be weighed highly. But I weigh modern analysis relatively higher than you do. I'm not saying the majority of the future article should be modern sources, but it should certainly be at least as high as 15%, possibly higher given that entire books have been written about Sejong's legacy.
 * For clearly differentiating modern analysis, that's handled by WP:INTEXT.
 * We also don't want to run into WP:ONESOURCE, not just because of WP:NOTABILITY issues, but also for the fact that the VR is just one perspective from a limited set of historians 500+ years ago. Those historians were human and can/should be challenged.
 * There isn't really such a thing as "historical fact" imo. Everything written is interpreted when written and when read. In most cases, the fewer layers of interpretation there are, the better. But it is impossible for that to be a 100% guarantee; the Veritable Records will be clearly wrong in some parts, even if those parts are minor details. That's enough to warrant reading modern sources to see what is challenged/missing. The historians who wrote the VR are human and capable of speculation, just as humans in 2024 are.
 * If they attribute something to pseudoscience/magic (e.g. "this person died because of a curse/because of evil spirits"), we should really repeat verbatim what they say, otherwise we risk WP:ORIGINALRESEARCH/WP:CHERRYPICKING. Modern scholars do the job of dismissing that kind of information for us.
 * 211.43.120.242 (talk) 00:01, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I think it's probably okay to cite the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty in isolated cases, like how the featured article Cai Lun cites the Book of the Later Han a few times, but the majority of citations should be to relatively modern scholarship. Ming dynasty, another featured article, rightly doesn't cite the Ming Veritable Records or the History of Ming directly.
 * I wasn't able to find too many scholarly books about Sejong, but here's what I got:
 * In English:
 * King Sejong the Great: The Light of Fifteenth Century Korea, revised ed. (1997), originally published in 1992, edited by Young-Key Kim-Renaud (already mentioned in the article): this has a positive review ; it's not strictly a biography, but it contains essays by different authors discussing Sejong's achievements. See  and its table of contents  for more information.
 * King Seijong the Great: A Biography of Korea's Most Famous King (1970) by the King Sejong Memorial Society (ko:세종대왕기념사업회): its website (click "1970's")  says that one of the writers was Choe Hyeon-bae (최현배), who served as the fifth president of this organization . His name is romanized as "Choi Hyon Pae" in the book.
 * In Korean:
 * 세종대왕 [Sejong the Great], revised ed. (2011), originally published in 1971, by Hong I-seop (홍이섭): this is a pretty detailed biography by a prominent historian. It's also listed on the King Sejong Memorial Society's website (click "1970's"):.
 * There are other biographies as well, but I feel they're a bit less reliable:
 * 성군 세종대왕 [Wise King Sejong the Great] (2015) by 조남욱 : this book appears to focus on his youth. The author isn't a historian, but an ethics professor at Pusan National University. The appendix contains evaluations of Sejong by ko:서거정, ko:조광조, ko:이이, ko:조헌, and ko:이수광.
 * 한 권으로 읽는 세종대왕실록 [Veritable Records of Sejong the Great in One Volume] (2008) by 박영규 : this book not only contains a biography of Sejong but also has related information; see its table of contents. However, the author appears to be a popular historian.
 * I'm not sure how accessible these books are, but they seem to be available in some libraries.
 * I see that the article is currently citing 나는 조선이다 [I Am Joseon] (2007) by 이한, which I guess is okay to use, but it appears to be a popular history work, and the author doesn't seem to be notable. Malerisch (talk) 06:23, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks for looking into this. I saw the same top three sources, but have been debating whether we want to use sources from societies dedicated to memorializing Sejong. Appears somewhat POV. The first source I really wanted to use but I'd have to buy a copy of the book; doesn't seem to be sold as an ebook.
 * I may put a pause on using 나는 조선이다. I started with it because it's easily available as a cheap ebook. I try to move fast when editing pages, but this page deserves more care.
 * May also try to track down a copy of the Hong I-seop book. It's still hard for me to believe that there aren't more recent English-language biographies of Sejong. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 07:01, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Hmm, my understanding is that per WP:BIASED, biased sources are fine to use as long as they meet the normal criteria for reliable sources (editorial control, a reputation for fact-checking, and the level of independence from the topic the source is covering). I think these sources still meet these criteria (Choe and Hong appear to have been reputable scholars, and Sejong's been dead for a while), so I guess if there aren't any significantly better sources and one sticks to the facts and attributes opinions, it should be fine? Malerisch (talk) 08:16, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * That's my understanding too. I don't suspect the books will be significantly biased in meaningful ways, just being careful. I'll use the Hong book for now, but will keep an eye out for other books. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 09:46, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * You have a more liberal definition of who qualifies as a "historian." While I'm not trying to write off Lee Han, he presents himself as a history communicator and writer online. I will review your rewrite carefully once you're finished and might remove references to 'Historian Lee Han argues.'
 * Also, please be mindful of your word choices. As you said, word choice itself can imply a particular narrative and support one interpretation over others. I don't have access to Lee Han's book in the United States so there's no way for me to verify the statement, but whether Sejong "dutifully consented" to his father-in-law's execution is one possibility among many others, and the degree to which Sejong agreed with it is unclear—and likely unverifiable. There's a lot more context to be considered to interpret the incident to the point that Shim On's execution and its many interpretations could easily be a standalone article. Nevertheless, for this article, we should avoid language that implies how Sejong felt about it one way or another. Jourdy345 (talk) 16:17, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Fair enough, I welcome scrutiny on my writing. Please yourself be mindful of tone in our discussions; it's been a little personally piercing towards me on a number of occasions. We're on the same team. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 16:46, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * I apologize if I came across as critical and strident. I didn't mean my comments to be directed at you. Jourdy345 (talk) 16:58, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * It's ok, thanks. I actually do really appreciate this feedback; I'm often alone when writing so help has felt like a luxury lol 61.85.17.104 (talk) 01:40, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
 * FYI, 이한 should be romanized as "Yi Han", not "Lee Han", based on her X handle (yihanhistory) and WorldCat listings of her books . She's also a regular guest on KBS Radio 1, where she does indeed call herself a "history communicator" (역사 커뮤니케이터). Malerisch (talk) 10:28, 2 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks; although I may remove stuff from her text altogether in near future. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 13:34, 2 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I just wanted to add that this article and especially this article (which includes two of the above-mentioned books) in the 세종신문 list some other books about Sejong that may be of interest. This 2006 article in The Chosun Ilbo lists only two comprehensive biographies of Sejong (a 1950s biography by ko:김도태, and the 1970s Hong biography), so we're probably not missing too many biographies... Malerisch (talk) 21:51, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Related, after browsing FA/GA history articles I agree that we should be relying mostly on modern scholarship. This is the first time I've worked seriously on an article of this kind (pre 19th century, with reasonable quality sourcing from the time period).
 * I've ordered the Hong book; will get started once it arrives. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 16:54, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I suggest we break out "References" into two headings:
 * "Historical Sources", such as the Veritable Records
 * "Modern Secondary Sources" such as some of the works referenced above (I have a copy of Sejong the Great (세종대왕) Written by Hong Yi-Seop (홍이섭) which I'll be working through when I have time).
 * In support of this approach, see for instance how the classical references are organized on the page for Pythagorus. These classical sources are usually (but not always) crossed-referenced by by latter academic writing: both are important and add value to the reader or researcher. Commentary on the sources themselves might be appropriate too but would recommend this goes in footnotes. Nonabelian (talk) 20:38, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I think the distinction is fine. Any work you can do on the article would be appreciated. I'd ideally like to be a backup here and not the main driver; I'm a novice to this time period and also am delaying working on my perennial projects Kim Ku and Park Chung Hee. This article was just in such a rough state without momentum for significant change that I wanted to get the ball rolling. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 15:28, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

Infobox image
We need a different infobox image. The is of a statue in South Korea, apparently one in Yeouido Park. It was installed in 1999. Note that South Korea does not have freedom of panorama laws, so statues even in public spaces are copyrighted, unless they're sufficiently old. There's, but this one is also probably copyrighted (I researched it; it's a 1973 painting). Can someone find and upload another suitable replacement that's firmly out of copyright? I'd try to find a drawing myself, but I don't have an account so can't upload pics. Here's a few good sites for searching:. Also, some South Korean museum websites have pictures of paintings; if there are any photos of old paintings, we can probably get away with using their photos. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 10:39, 29 June 2024 (UTC)

 * According to this Hankyoreh article there are currently no surviving portraits of Sejong which were drawn during his lifetime. The last ones were lost when Gyeongbokgung Palace was burned down in 1592, during the Imjin War. The best replacement I can think of would be a photo of his tomb. I don't know too much about FOP laws but apparently its ok to use photo files of sculptures that are from countries that have no FOP on the English Wikipedia as long as the photo is not uploaded to commons. (see here) 00101984hjw (talk) 22:57, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Oh you're right, I forgot about that technicality. We could use the statue photo for now then; but we'd need to do the Enwiki only upload process. As I don't have an account, I can't do this; could you?
 * For the longer term, it'd be nice to have a photo other Wikis can use too. Is there some posthumous drawing from like the 1600s onwards that survived? Those will be out of copyright. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 23:05, 29 June 2024 (UTC)
 * As I disclaimer, I don't know too much about Wikipedia's file guidelines other than the basics (no non-commercial use only, etc.). I did tag the commons file with per Copyright rules by territory/South Korea  and added a discussion for deletion on the talk section. I considered uploading the same file in a different name for enwiki only, but I'm not sure whether I should just use the old corresponding enwiki file. Are enwiki file pages also deleted when its corresponding commons file is deleted?
 * Also, as far as I know, I'm pretty sure there aren't any surviving portraits of Sejong which are old enough to be considered public domain. If there are any, those would be paintings from either really, really old history books or Confucianist shrines. I'll leave a message on your talk page if I manage to find any. -- 00101984hjw (talk) 21:52, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Just fyi, there are very few royal portraits of Korean monarchs which still remain to this day. Only 5 of them are fully intact, with most completely lost during the Imjin War and the Qing invasion of Joseon. Around 40 royal portraits remained around the time of the Korean War, but most were lost or heavily damaged during a 1954 fire in Busan along with approximately 3400 artifacts.
 * Although the kowiki doesn't have an article for it, I feel like the 1954 fire might deserve a separate Wikipedia article of its own. That would be helpful to readers who would wonder why so many pages about Korean kings lack a page image. 00101984hjw (talk) 22:28, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Not sure on what happens for Commons -> Enwiki deletions. May need to ask the Wikpedia Discord or post and ask on Commons for suggestions. Discord is pretty good for these kinds of questions.
 * I strongly suspect old history books in English and Japanese have pictures of Sejong. See my old Commons upload page; I've uploaded tons of pictures from these kinds of books.
 * Edit: See WikiProject Korea for a list I wrote of where to find images. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 02:11, 2 July 2024 (UTC)
 * @00101984hjw I submitted a draft for the fire btw, Draft:1954 Busan Yongdusan fire 211.43.120.242 (talk) 14:23, 5 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Nice. I'll work on it more when I have the time. 00101984hjw (talk) 16:34, 5 July 2024 (UTC)

Hi everyone, just a note to say the current undelete request for Statue of King Sejong.jpg seems relevant. Will let you know how it goes. Nonabelian (talk) 14:59, 4 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I've placed the King Sejong file on a deletion request for now. I guess this issue of whether certain NoFoP-SK-related photos have been given governmental permission is getting pretty contested, per @Nonabelian's input. 00101984hjw (talk) 18:43, 4 July 2024 (UTC)
 * I have not had time to investigate this particular statue properly, but it looks like there are pictures of the same statue (perhaps even the same photo?) that are properly licensed for use in Korea that are suitable for Wikipedia. See for instance this photo. We would need to check the statue's copyright is controlled by the Korean government and therefore can permit free use. But the fact some images have a UCI (a national identification standard in Korea) and are indexed by Korea Copyright Commission is a good sign. For such images FOP would not be needed. Nonabelian (talk) 20:16, 4 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Just a note to say I have uploaded King Sejong's Standard Portrait for this article under the non-free use rational for the english Wikipedia here. Nonabelian (talk) 15:53, 7 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Thank you, I have also valued reading your writings on the copyright issues for this portrait and the statue. 211.43.120.242 (talk) 08:02, 10 July 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Sejong the Great


text:
Talk:Malleability

August 2007

My argument concerns the difference between Malleability and Ductility. Firstly, I concur with the assertion that both are mechanical properties since both describe the response of a material to applied load. However, the distinction between the two is that malleability refers to the maximum plastic deformation possible under compressive load whereas ductility is the maximum plastic deformation possible under tensile load. So materials that are extruded need to be malleable and materials that are drawn must be ductile.

Roger Tyler MSc

Shouldn't we get rid of the "root word" and "part of speech" thing? This is an encyclopedia article, not a dictionary entry. -- Ben

What is the scientifc word for hardness? It's along the lines of malleability, but the antonym.- John

May I inquire to any quantitive measuring systems for malleability?

Physical vs. Mechanical Properties
Malleability and ductility are mechanical properties of materials, not physical properties. Mechanical properties are responses to applied loads. Therefore, the current entry for malleability contradicts the entry for physical properties.

CU Material Science Class?
According to our dissections in class and with many professors and experts, a mechanical property is the reaction of a substance when a load is applied, which is not necessary for measuring malleability. Therefore, malleability must be a physical property or possibly neither. Anyone have anything to say on the possibility of it being neither? Thatcherk 03:15, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Merging articles
Since the properties are so closely related, this proposal seems sensible to me. At the same time, the text can be edited and rationalised. Peterlewis (talk) 17:08, 17 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I support said merger. The topics cover the same subject matter. Iepeulas (talk) 03:55, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Malleability


text:
Trakai

Trakai (see names section for alternative and historic names) is a city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies 28 km west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania or just 7 km from the administrative limits of the Lithuanian capital city. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. Trakai is the administrative centre of Trakai district municipality. The city is inhabited by 5,357 people, according to 2007 estimates. A notable feature of Trakai is that the city was built and preserved by people of different nationalities. Historically, communities of Karaims, Tatars, Lithuanians, Russians, Jews and Poles lived here.

Historically, the Trakai Island Castle, which construction was finished by Grand Duke Vytautas, served as a residence of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania.

Names and etymology
The name of the city was first recorded in chronicles from 1337 in German as Tracken (later also spelt Traken) and is derived from the Lithuanian word trakai (singular: trakas meaning "glade"). Since the time of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the city has been known as Troki in Polish. Its other alternate names include Тро́кі (Tróki, historic)/Трака́й (Trakáj, modern Belarusian), Trok (Yiddish), Troky, and Traki. The name is the origin of the surname Trotsky (lit: of Traki), which Leon Trotsky would later adopt as a pseudonym to avoid profiling by the Russian Imperial Police, the Polish variant of the surname is Trocki.

Demographics
The majority of Trakai's inhabitants (66.5%) in 2011 were Lithuanian, although the city also has a substantial Polish minority (19%), as well as Russians (8.87%).

According to the census of 2021, there were 5426 inhabitants in Trakai city: 3694 Lithuanians (68.1%), 1020 Poles (18.8%), 395 Russians (7.3%), 62 Belarusians (1.1%). There are other traditional minorities among Trakai inhabitants – Karaites, Tatars (also known as Lipka Tatars), Jews (also known as Litvaks), Russians Old Believers and others.

Geography
There are 200 lakes in the region, the deepest being Galvė with its 21 islands. Galvė covers an area of 3.88 km2, Vilkokšnis lake – 3.37 km2, the lake of Skaistis – 2.96 km2. There are Trakai Historical National Park and Aukštadvaris Regional Park founded in the territory of the region.

Trakai Historical National Park was founded on 23 April 1991 to preserve Trakai as a centre of Lithuanian statehood as well as the park's authentic nature. The park covers 82 km2, 34 km2 of which are covered by forests, and 130 km2 of which are covered by lakes.

Aukštadvaris Regional Park was founded in 1992 to preserve the valuable landscapes in the upper reaches of Verknė and Strėva. The area of the park is 153.5 km2, most of which is covered by forests. There are 72 lakes here, the biggest of which is Vilkokšnis.

Trakai is a city built on water. The city is surrounded by the lakes of Luka (Bernardinai), Totoriškės, Galvė, Akmena, Gilušis. There are a number of architectural, cultural and historical monuments in Trakai. The history museum in the castle was established in 1962. Festivals and concerts take place in the island castle in summer.

Beginnings
The first settlements in this area appeared as early as the first millennium A.D. The city, as well as its surroundings, started developing in the 13th century in the place of Senieji Trakai (Old Trakai). According to a legend after a successful hunting party, Grand Duke Gediminas discovered a beautiful lake-surrounded place not far from Kernavė, then capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and decided to build a castle in the location. This was how the Old Trakai Castle was built in Senieji Trakai. The name of Trakai was first mentioned in Teutonic Knights' chronicles in 1337. This year is considered to be the official date of city's foundation. When Grand Duke Gediminas finally settled in Vilnius, Senieji Trakai was inherited by his son Kęstutis. The Duchy of Trakai developed and the city entered its best decades.

Golden age
Kęstutis moved the town from Senieji Trakai to its current location, which is sometimes known as Naujieji Trakai. The new location was a place of intensive construction: a new castle was built in the strait between lakes Galvė and Luka and known as the Peninsula Castle, and another one, known as the Island Castle, on an island in Lake Galvė. A village grew around the castles. Vicinity of Trakai was protected by Senieji Trakai, Strėva, Bražuolė, Daniliškės and other hillforts from attacks of the Teutonic Knights. Despite the protection, both wooden castles were successfully raided by the Teutonic Knights several times in a row.

The town was in the center of a conflict between Grand Duke Jogaila (later to become King of Poland) with his uncle Kęstutis. In 1382 Jogaila's and Kęstutis's armies met near Trakai, but Jogaila tricked Kęstutis and imprisoned him in Kreva. A few weeks later Kęstutis died in captivity and Jogaila transferred the castles to his brother Skirgaila, who became the governor of Lithuania Proper. However, his rule was briefly interrupted when in 1,383 joint forces of Kęstutis's son Vytautas and the Teutonic Knights captured the town. In 1392, Vytautas and Jogaila signed the Astrava Agreement ending their quarrel. Vytautas became the Grand Duke of Lithuania while Jogaila technically remained his superior. Vytautas also regained his father's lands, including Trakai. Despite his official capital being in Vilnius, Vytautas spent more time in Trakai. In early 15th century he replaced the older, wooden fortress with a stone-built castle. Some design elements were borrowed from the castles of the Teutonic Knights as Vytautas spent some time with the Teutons forming an alliance against Jogaila in earlier years.

Trakai became a political and an administrative centre of the Duchy, sometimes named a de facto capital of Lithuania. The construction of the brick castles was finished and a Catholic church was built. In 1409, the town was granted with Magdeburg Rights; it is one of the first towns in Lithuania to get city rights. The village started rapidly developing into a town. In 1413, it became a seat of the Trakai Voivodeship and a notable center of administration and commerce.

Decline and reconstruction
After the Grand Duchy of Lithuania joined the Kingdom of Poland to form the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569, the castles remained a royal property, but the town's importance gradually declined, with the nearby Vilnius and the political center of the Commonwealth in Kraków becoming far more important. Nevertheless, it continued to be the seat of the local Sejmik. In Polish sources, the town name was started to be referred to as Troki. In 1477, the castle on the lake was a meeting place of King Casimir IV with Venetian envoys. After that, the castle became a luxurious prison for political prisoners. Sigismund I the Old imprisoned the members of Goštautai family, believed to be conspiring with Michael Glinski. Also Helena, widow of King Alexander was kept there in order to prevent her escape to the Grand Duchy of Moscow. The castle was refurbished by King Sigismund I the Old, who set up his summer residence there; however, after his death in 1548, the castle gradually fell into disrepair.

During the wars between Russia and Poland between 1654 and 1667, the town was plundered and burnt. In the aftermath of the war with the Tsardom of Russia in 1655, both castles were demolished and the town's prosperity ended. The castle ruins remained a historical landmark. During the Great Northern War (1700–1721) Trakai was plundered again, as famine and plague swept the country.

After the Partitions of Poland in 1795, the area was annexed by the Russian Empire. After World War I, the area became part of the restored Republic of Poland. In 1929, the Polish authorities ordered reconstruction and restoration of the Trakai Island Castle. The works in the Upper castle were almost complete in 1939, when the Invasion of Poland started and the area was soon annexed by the Soviet Union, then by Nazi Germany during Operation Barbarossa. During the war, more than 5,000 Jews from the Trakai region were murdered by the Nazis. In 1944, during Operation Tempest, the town was liberated by joint forces of the underground Polish Home Army and Soviet partisans. After World War II it was again annexed by the Soviet Union and made part of the Lithuanian SSR in the Soviet Union; subsequently many of the city's and area's ethnic Polish inhabitants left for the recovered Territories of the Polish People's Republic.

In 1961, the reconstruction of the upper castle and a high tower construction were completed; however, the works came to a halt as a result of Nikita Khrushchev's speech of 21 December 1960, where the First Secretary declared that reconstruction of the castle would be a sign of glorification of Lithuania's feudal past. Restoration work in the lower castle were not resumed until the 1980s and were completed by Lithuanian authorities in the early 1990s. Today the Island Castle serves as the main tourist attraction, hosting various cultural events such as operas and concerts.

Karaim community
Karaims (or Karaites) are a small Turkic-speaking religious and Jewish ethnic group resettled to Trakai by Grand Duke Vytautas in 1397 and 1398 from Crimea, after one of his successful military campaigns against the Golden Horde. Both Christian and Karaim communities were granted separate self-government in accordance with the Magdeburg rights. Despite ever-increasing Polonisation, Trakai remained a notable center of Karaim cultural and religious life. Scholars who were active in Trakai in the 16th and 17th centuries include Isaac of Troki (c. 1533 – c. 1594), Joseph ben Mordechai Malinowski, Zera ben Nathan of Trakai, Salomon ben Aharon of Trakai, Ezra ben Nissan (died in 1666) and Josiah ben Judah (died after 1658). Some of the Karaims became wealthy and noble.

The local Karaim community, which was the backbone of the town's economy, suffered severely during the Khmelnytsky Uprising and the massacres of 1648. By 1680, only 30 Karaim families were left in the town. Their traditions, including not accepting neophytes, prevented the community from regaining its strength. Early in the 18th century war, famine, and plague reduced the Karaims to three families. By 1765 Karaim community increased to 300. Trakai's Karaim kenesa is a rare example of a surviving wooden synagogue with an interior dome. Kibinai, which is the traditional Karaim pastry, became a local speciality and are mentioned in tourist guides.

Twin towns – sister cities
Trakai is twinned with:

 * 🇮🇱 Acre, Israel
 * 🇹🇷 Alanya, Turkey
 * 🇮🇹 Avola, Italy
 * 🇵🇱 Giżycko, Poland
 * 🇵🇱 Giżycko (rural gmina), Poland
 * 🇺🇦 Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
 * 🇵🇱 Koszalin, Poland
 * 🇺🇦 Lutsk, Ukraine
 * 🇵🇱 Malbork, Poland
 * Mtskheta, Georgia
 * 🇵🇱 Nowy Sącz, Poland
 * 🇦🇿 Qazax, Azerbaijan
 * 🇩🇪 Rheine, Germany
 * 🇩🇪 Schönebeck, Germany
 * 🇸🇪 Västra Götaland County, Sweden

Notable people

 * Isaac of Troki
 * Vladimir Belsky (1866-1946), poet and librettist

title: Trakai


text:
Dave Fridmann

David Lawrence Fridmann is an American record producer and musician.

Career
From 1990 onwards he co-produced most releases by Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips. Other bands he has worked with include Weezer, Saxon Shore, Neon Indian, Wolf Gang, Ammonia, Ed Harcourt, Sparklehorse, Creeper Lagoon, Café Tacuba, Creaming Jesus, Elf Power, Mogwai, Thursday, Longwave, Mass of the Fermenting Dregs, The Delgados, Low, OK Go, Phantom Planet, Gemma Hayes, Ava Luna, Goldrush, Tapes 'n Tapes, Baroness, and MGMT.

As a musician, Fridmann was the bassist and a founding member of Mercury Rev. He gave up his role as a touring member of the band in 1993 to concentrate on producing other artists. In 2001, Fridmann was included on MOJO's 100 Sonic Visionaries list and was described as "the Phil Spector of the Alt-Rock era". In 2007, he received a Grammy for The Flaming Lips' At War With The Mystics at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards (Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical). In 2010, three Fridmann-produced albums were listed on the Rolling Stone 100 Best Albums of The Decade: MGMT's Oracular Spectacular, The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, and Sleater-Kinney's The Woods.

Fridmann often brings a distinctive, expansive, open sound to the albums he produces, which has much in common with that used by Mercury Rev.

Fridmann is an occasional faculty member of SUNY Fredonia, teaching sound recording techniques in the Fredonia School of Music.

In 2017, Fridmann became the director for the Western New York Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps, where he plays the bass drum. The group disbanded in 2022.

title: Dave Fridmann


text:
Alternative 3

Alternative 3 is a 1977 British television mockumentary concerning government conspiracies. It inspired much speculation and interest by proponents of fringe ideas. It has been compared to Orson Welles' 1938 radio production of The War of the Worlds, as both were science fiction programmes, not intended to alarm the public, that were misinterpreted as legitimate.

Premise
Purporting to be an investigation into the UK's contemporary "brain drain", Alternative 3 describes a plan to make the Moon and Mars habitable in the event of climate change and environmental catastrophe on Earth.

Production
The script was written by David Ambrose. Music was supplied by Brian Eno, a portion of his score being released on his album Music for Films (1978). Apart from the presenter Tim Brinton, all characters were played by actors who were explicitly credited at the end. It was made with film stock used at the time to make it appear like a conventional documentary programme. In a 1989 interview, actor Richard Marner (who plays Dr. Carl Gerstein) said he did not rehearse his lines to make the delivery appear as natural as possible.

Broadcast
The programme was presented as an edition of an Anglia series Science Report. The intended transmission date was 1 April, but it seems that Anglia was unable to obtain an ITV network slot for the programme on that date due to strike action or labour disputes.

Having aired once in the United Kingdom, Alternative 3 was later aired in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The programme was originally meant to be aired on April Fools' Day 1977, but its broadcast was delayed to 20 June. Alternative 3 ended with credits for the actors involved in the production and featured interviews with a fictitious American astronaut.

The interviews with supposed scientists, astronauts, and others were far too dramatically polished to have been spontaneous, and in any case, the episode's closing credits named the actors who took the roles of interviewees and correspondents. Though artfully produced, the show's counterfeit documentary style could scarcely have been expected to fool many. As an Anglia TV spokesman put it, 'We felt viewers would be fairly sophisticated about it.'"

Plot
The program begins by detailing the so-called "brain drain": a number of mysterious disappearances and deaths of physicists, engineers, astronomers, and others in related fields. Among the strange deaths reported was that of "Professor Ballantine" of Jodrell Bank. Before his death, Ballantine had delivered a videotape to a friend in the press, but upon playback the tape appears to contain only static.

The missing scientists are revealed to have been involved in a secret American-Soviet plan. Interplanetary space travel had been possible for much longer than was commonly accepted, with Bob Grodin, a fictional Apollo astronaut (Shane Rimmer) claiming to have stumbled onto a mysterious lunar base during his moonwalk. It is then revealed that, during the 1950s, scientists had secretly determined that the Earth's surface would be unable to support life for much longer, due to pollution leading to catastrophic climate change. In 1957, physicist Dr Carl Gerstein (Richard Marner) proposed three solutions. The first was the drastic reduction of the human population on Earth. The second was the construction of vast underground shelters to house government officials and a cross section of the population until the climate had stabilized, a solution reminiscent of the one proposed at the finale of Dr Strangelove. The so-called Alternative 3, revealed to have been secretly undertaken, was colonization of Mars via a way station on the Moon.

The program ends with some detective work; acting on information from Grodin, the reporters learn that Ballantine's videotape requires a special decoding device. After locating the decoder, the video documents a joint American and Soviet landing of an unmanned probe on the Martian surface in 1962. After landing, the camera focuses on an unknown organism moving under the surface of the ground. According to a mission controller, "22nd May, 1962, we're on the planet Mars and we have life!"

Reception
Austin writes that he was both delighted and disturbed by the Alternative 3 controversy, and adds that the reasons "a clever hoax, openly admitted to be such by its creators, should continue to exercise the fascination it so obviously does the best part of a generation after its first appearance is beyond my feeble powers of analysis and explanation."

Authorized
In 1978, a tie-in "nonfiction" book written by Leslie Watkins with David Ambrose and Christopher Miles, appeared from Sphere Books Ltd, of Gray's Inn Road, London. An American edition, also marketed as nonfiction, appeared from Avon Books, with the title stylized as Alternative 003. The novelization added further detail to many of the claims presented in the show, with some changes. Rather than fictional astronauts like Bob Grodin, it now includes bogus quotes from real ones such as Buzz Aldrin and Edgar Mitchell. Instead of the astronauts discovering primitive life on Mars, they discover a breathable atmosphere. The book further claims that the conspirators have been engaged in shipping staff to a secret base on Mars, abducting potential workers to use as slaves.

Unauthorized
Jim Keith's Casebook on Alternative 3: Ufo's, Secret Societies and World Control argues that some elements of the 1977 broadcast were in fact true.

Ken Mitchell's novel Alternative 3 uses the Alternative 3 scenario as a background to a techno thriller.

On 20 June 2010, the 33rd anniversary of the original Anglia Television broadcast, an unofficial, allegedly "unexpurgated" eBook version of Watkins' book "edited by Anonymous" and published by "Archimedes Press" appeared online. It contained a new foreword and other material.

DVD release
The film was released on DVD in October 2007, together with a 30-minute featurette with presenter Tim Brinton and writers David Ambrose and Christopher Miles the production's director, a production stills gallery; and contemporary press cuttings. The film is taken from a 16 mm print with optical sound. According to Miles in the featurette, this is his personal copy, and the only one to have survived.

Possible influences on the mockumentary
"The Man in the Moon", a 14 July 1950 episode of the American radio science fiction anthology Dimension X featured a similar story. Here, an employee of the fictional United States Bureau of Missing Persons overhears a radio broadcast from a man who claims to be held prisoner on the Moon. The employee investigates, and uncovers the kidnapping of many persons, including scientists and engineers, who are then forced to toil on the Moon by German overseers, who had colonized the Moon in the late 1930s, and are preparing an invasion and takeover of the Earth.

References in popular culture
Canadian musician Ian Thomas has stated that the lyrics to his 1979 hit "Pilot" were inspired from watching Alternative 3.

The track "Vats of Goo" on the OST for the 1997 video game Fallout is a cover of Alternative 3's theme.

British doom metal band Anathema's 1998 album Alternative 4 was also named after the programme.

Rock band Monster Magnet have a song about the conspiracy, titled "Third Alternative" on their Dopes to Infinity album.

The song "Alternative Three" on the album Karma Had It Coming by Canadian punk rock band The Broomhandles, takes inspiration from the program.

An alternative soundtrack for the film by members of Add N to (X), Stereolab and Hairy Butter was released on Lo Recordings in 2001.

Costa Botes cited Alternative 3 as one of the influences that inspired him to produce the New Zealand mockumentary Forgotten Silver with Peter Jackson.

A character in Richard Linklater's 1991 film Slacker, portrayed by Jerry Delony, claims that Alternative 3 is "absolutely true" and that humans have been on Mars since 1962.

UK punk rock band UFX released a video using allegedly hoax footage from Alternative 3, the Roswell alien autopsy and footage of Nazi flying saucers to accompany the title track of their 2013 album Reverse Engineering.

title: Alternative 3


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Detmold (region)

Regierungsbezirk Detmold is one of the five Regierungsbezirke of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the north-east of the state. It is congruent with region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL, East Westphalia–Lippe).

The Regierungsbezirk was created in 1947 when the former state of Lippe was incorporated into North Rhine-Westphalia by merging the former Regierungsbezirk Minden with the territory of Lippe-Detmold. The Regierungsbezirk Minden dates back to 1815, when the municipality type Regierungsbezirk was created initially.

Location
The Regierungsbezirk Detmold is located in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia and therefore it forms the area where the German low mountains are divided from the North German Plain. As the Regierungsbezirk has an expanse of circa 6,500 km², it is one fifth of the area of North Rhine-Westphalia. North and east of the Regierungsbezirk is the German state of Lower Saxony, south there is the state of Hesse. At the western border is the Regierungsbezirk of Arnsberg and the Regierungsbezirk of Münster.

Administration
The administration is located in Detmold in the district of Lippe.

Administrative divisions
The Regierungsbezirk consists of six districts with 69 municipalities, and of one district-free city.

History
The Regierungsbezirk Detmold has two historical roots:
 * the East Westphalian part (almost 80% of the area) belonged to the former Prussian Province of Westphalia and there it formed the unit of the Regierungsbezirk Minden. In 1946 the Prussian Province formed the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia along with the northern Rhineland.
 * the region roughly around the today's district of Lippe was called Land Lippe until 1947 and it was a separate German State just like Prussia. Until 1918 it had been a principality (Fürstentum), then a Free State (Freistaat) and so it has a different historical background than East Westphalia.

Economy
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 77.7 billion € in 2018, accounting for 2.3% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 34,700 € or 115% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 97% of the EU average.

title: Detmold (region)


text:
Active site

In biology and biochemistry, the active site is the region of an enzyme where substrate molecules bind and undergo a chemical reaction. The active site consists of amino acid residues that form temporary bonds with the substrate, the binding site, and residues that catalyse a reaction of that substrate, the catalytic site. Although the active site occupies only ~10–20% of the volume of an enzyme, it is the most important part as it directly catalyzes the chemical reaction. It usually consists of three to four amino acids, while other amino acids within the protein are required to maintain the tertiary structure of the enzymes.

Each active site is evolved to be optimised to bind a particular substrate and catalyse a particular reaction, resulting in high specificity. This specificity is determined by the arrangement of amino acids within the active site and the structure of the substrates. Sometimes enzymes also need to bind with some cofactors to fulfil their function. The active site is usually a groove or pocket of the enzyme which can be located in a deep tunnel within the enzyme, or between the interfaces of multimeric enzymes. An active site can catalyse a reaction repeatedly as residues are not altered at the end of the reaction (they may change during the reaction, but are regenerated by the end). This process is achieved by lowering the activation energy of the reaction, so more substrates have enough energy to undergo reaction.

Binding site
Usually, an enzyme molecule has only one active site, and the active site fits with one specific type of substrate. An active site contains a binding site that binds the substrate and orients it for catalysis. The orientation of the substrate and the close proximity between it and the active site is so important that in some cases the enzyme can still function properly even though all other parts are mutated and lose function.

Initially, the interaction between the active site and the substrate is non-covalent and transient. There are four important types of interaction that hold the substrate in a defined orientation and form an enzyme-substrate complex (ES complex): hydrogen bonds, van der Waals interactions, hydrophobic interactions and electrostatic force interactions. The charge distribution on the substrate and active site must be complementary, which means all positive and negative charges must be cancelled out. Otherwise, there will be a repulsive force pushing them apart. The active site usually contains non-polar amino acids, although sometimes polar amino acids may also occur. The binding of substrate to the binding site requires at least three contact points in order to achieve stereo-, regio-, and enantioselectivity. For example, alcohol dehydrogenase which catalyses the transfer of a hydride ion from ethanol to NAD+ interacts with the substrate methyl group, hydroxyl group and the pro-(R) hydrogen that will be abstracted during the reaction.

In order to exert their function, enzymes need to assume their correct protein fold (native fold) and tertiary structure. To maintain this defined three-dimensional structure, proteins rely on various types of interactions between their amino acid residues. If these interactions are interfered with, for example by extreme pH values, high temperature or high ion concentrations, this will cause the enzyme to denature and lose its catalytic activity.

A tighter fit between an active site and the substrate molecule is believed to increase the efficiency of a reaction. If the tightness between the active site of DNA polymerase and its substrate is increased, the fidelity, which means the correct rate of DNA replication will also increase. Most enzymes have deeply buried active sites, which can be accessed by a substrate via access channels.

There are three proposed models of how enzymes fit their specific substrate: the lock and key model, the induced fit model, and the conformational selection model. The latter two are not mutually exclusive: conformational selection can be followed by a change in the enzyme's shape. Additionally, a protein may not wholly follow either model. Amino acids at the binding site of ubiquitin generally follow the induced fit model, whereas the rest of the protein generally adheres to conformational selection. Factors such as temperature likely influences the pathway taken during binding, with higher temperatures predicted to increase the importance of conformational selection and decrease that of induced fit.

Lock and key hypothesis
This concept was suggested by the 19th-century chemist Emil Fischer. He proposed that the active site and substrate are two stable structures that fit perfectly without any further modification, just like a key fits into a lock. If one substrate perfectly binds to its active site, the interactions between them will be strongest, resulting in high catalytic efficiency.

As time went by, limitations of this model started to appear. For example, the competitive enzyme inhibitor methylglucoside can bind tightly to the active site of 4-alpha-glucanotransferase and perfectly fits into it. However, 4-alpha-glucanotransferase is not active on methylglucoside and no glycosyl transfer occurs. The Lock and Key hypothesis cannot explain this, as it would predict a high efficiency of methylglucoside glycosyl transfer due to its tight binding. Apart from competitive inhibition, this theory cannot explain the mechanism of action of non-competitive inhibitors either, as they do not bind to the active site but nevertheless influence catalytic activity.

Induced fit hypothesis
Daniel Koshland's theory of enzyme-substrate binding is that the active site and the binding portion of the substrate are not exactly complementary. The induced fit model is a development of the lock-and-key model and assumes that an active site is flexible and changes shape until the substrate is completely bound. This model is similar to a person wearing a glove: the glove changes shape to fit the hand. The enzyme initially has a conformation that attracts its substrate. Enzyme surface is flexible and only the correct catalyst can induce interaction leading to catalysis. Conformational changes may then occur as the substrate is bound. After the reaction products will move away from the enzyme and the active site returns to its initial shape. This hypothesis is supported by the observation that the entire protein domain could move several nanometers during catalysis. This movement of protein surface can create microenvironments that favour the catalysis.

Conformational selection hypothesis
This model suggests that enzymes exist in a variety of conformations, only some of which are capable of binding to a substrate. When a substrate is bound to the protein, the equilibrium in the conformational ensemble shifts towards those able to bind ligands (as enzymes with bound substrates are removed from the equilibrium between the free conformations).

Types of non-covalent interactions
Electrostatic interaction: In an aqueous environment, the oppositely charged groups in amino acid side chains within the active site and substrates attract each other, which is termed electrostatic interaction. For example, when a carboxylic acid (R-COOH) dissociates into RCOO− and H+ ions, COO− will attract positively charged groups such as protonated guanidine side chain of arginine.

Hydrogen bond: A hydrogen bond is a specific type of dipole-dipole interaction between a partially positive hydrogen atom and a partially negative electron donor that contain a pair of electrons such as oxygen, fluorine and nitrogen. The strength of hydrogen bond depends on the chemical nature and geometric arrangement of each group.

Van der Waals force: Van der Waals force is formed between oppositely charged groups due to transient uneven electron distribution in each group. If all electrons are concentrated at one pole of the group this end will be negative, while the other end will be positive. Although the individual force is weak, as the total number of interactions between the active site and substrate is massive the sum of them will be significant.

Hydrophobic interaction: Non-polar hydrophobic groups tend to aggregate together in the aqueous environment and try to leave from polar solvent. These hydrophobic groups usually have long carbon chain and do not react with water molecules. When dissolving in water a protein molecule will curl up into a ball-like shape, leaving hydrophilic groups in outside while hydrophobic groups are deeply buried within the centre.

Catalytic site

Once the substrate is bound and oriented to the active site, catalysis can begin. The residues of the catalytic site are typically very close to the binding site, and some residues can have dual-roles in both binding and catalysis.

Catalytic residues of the site interact with the substrate to lower the activation energy of a reaction and thereby make it proceed faster. They do this by a number of different mechanisms including the approximation of the reactants, nucleophilic/electrophilic catalysis and acid/base catalysis. These mechanisms will be explained below.

Approximation of the reactant
During enzyme catalytic reaction, the substrate and active site are brought together in a close proximity. This approach has various purposes. Firstly, when substrates bind within the active site the effective concentration of it significantly increases than in solution. This means the number of substrate molecules involved in the reaction is also increased. This process also reduces the desolvation energy required for the reaction to occur. In solution substrate molecules are surrounded by solvent molecules and energy is required for enzyme molecules to replace them and contact with the substrate. Since bulk molecules can be excluded from the active site this energy output can be minimised. Next, the active site is designed to reorient the substrate to reduce the activation energy for the reaction to occur. The alignment of the substrate, after binding, is locked in a high energy state and can proceed to the next step. In addition, this binding is favoured by entropy as the energy cost associated with solution reaction is largely eliminated since solvent cannot enter active site. In the end, the active site may manipulate the Molecular orbital of the substrate into a suitable orientation to reduce activation energy.

The electrostatic states of substrate and active site must be complementary to each other. A polarized negatively charged amino acid side chain will repel uncharged substrate. But if the transition state involves the formation of an ion centre then the side chain will now produce a favourable interaction.

Covalent catalysis
Many enzymes including serine protease, cysteine protease, protein kinase and phosphatase evolved to form transient covalent bonds between them and their substrates to lower the activation energy and allow the reaction to occur. This process can be divided into 2 steps: formation and breakdown. The former step is rate-limit step while the later step is needed to regenerate intact enzyme.

Nucleophilic catalysis: This process involves the donation of electrons from the enzyme's nucleophile to a substrate to form a covalent bond between them during the transition state. The strength of this interaction depends on two aspects.: the ability of the nucleophilic group to donate electrons and the electrophile to accept them. The former one is mainly affected by the basicity(the ability to donate electron pairs) of the species while the later one is in regard to its pKa. Both groups are also affected by their chemical properties such as polarizability, electronegativity and ionization potential. Amino acids that can form nucleophile including serine, cysteine, aspartate and glutamine.

Electrophilic catalysis: The mechanism behind this process is exactly same as nucleophilic catalysis except that now amino acids in active site act as electrophile while substrates are nucleophiles. This reaction usually requires cofactors as the amino acid side chains are not strong enough in attracting electrons.

Metal ions
Metal ions have multiple roles during the reaction. Firstly it can bind to negatively charged substrate groups so they will not repel electron pairs from active site's nucleophilic groups. It can attract negatively charged electrons to increase electrophilicity. It can also bridge between active site and substrate. At last, they may change the conformational structure of the substrate to favour reaction.

Acid/base catalysis
In some reactions, protons and hydroxide may directly act as acid and base in term of specific acid and specific base catalysis. But more often groups in substrate and active site act as Brønsted–Lowry acid and base. This is called general acid and general base theory. The easiest way to distinguish between them is to check whether the reaction rate is determined by the concentrations of the general acid and base. If the answer is yes then the reaction is the general type. Since most enzymes have an optimum pH of 6 to 7, the amino acids in the side chain usually have a pKa of 4~10. Candidate include aspartate, glutamate, histidine, cysteine. These acids and bases can stabilise the nucleophile or electrophile formed during the catalysis by providing positive and negative charges.

Conformational distortion
Quantitative studies of enzymatic reactions often found that the acceleration of chemical reaction speed cannot be fully explained by existing theories like the approximation, acid/base catalysis and electrophile/nucleophile catalysis. And there is an obvious paradox: in reversible enzymatic reaction if the active site perfectly fits the substrates then the backward reaction will be slowed since products cannot fit perfectly into the active site. So conformational distortion was introduced and argues that both active site and substrate can undergo conformational changes to fit with each other all the time.

Preorganised active site complementarity to the transition state
This theory is a little similar to the Lock and Key Theory, but at this time the active site is preprogrammed to bind perfectly to substrate in transition state rather than in ground state. The formation of transition state within the solution requires a large amount of energy to relocate solvent molecules and the reaction is slowed. So the active site can substitute solvent molecules and surround the substrates to minimize the counterproductive effect imposed by the solution. The presence of charged groups with the active site will attract substrates and ensure electrostatic complementarity.

Examples of enzyme catalysis mechanisms
In reality, most enzyme mechanisms involve a combination of several different types of catalysis.

Glutathione reductase

The role of glutathione(GSH) is to remove accumulated reactive oxygen species which may damage cells. During this process, its thiol side chain is oxidised and two glutathione molecules are connected by a disulphide bond to form a dimer(GSSG). In order to regenerate glutathione the disulphide bond has to be broken, In human cells, this is done by glutathione reductase(GR).

Glutathione reductase is a dimer that contains two identical subunits. It requires one NADP and one FAD as the cofactors. The active site is located in the linkage between two subunits. The NADPH is involved in the generation of FADH-. In the active site, there are two cysteine residues besides the FAD cofactor and are used to break the disulphide bond during the catalytic reaction. NADPH is bound by three positively charged residues: Arg-218, His-219 and Arg-224.

The catalytic process starts when the FAD is reduced by NADPH to accept one electron and from FADH−. It then attacks the disulphide bond formed between 2 cysteine residues, forming one SH bond and a single S− group. This S− group will act as a nucleophile to attack the disulphide bond in the oxidised glutathione(GSSG), breaking it and forming a cysteine-SG complex. The first SG− anion is released and then receives one proton from adjacent SH group and from the first glutathione monomer. Next the adjacent S− group attack disulphide bond in cysteine-SG complex and release the second SG− anion. It receives one proton in solution and forms the second glutathione monomer.

Chymotrypsin
Chymotrypsin is a serine endopeptidase that is present in pancreatic juice and helps the hydrolysis of proteins and peptide. It catalyzes the hydrolysis of peptide bonds in L-isomers of tyrosine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan. In the active site of this enzyme, three amino acid residues work together to form a catalytic triad which makes up the catalytic site. In chymotrypsin, these residues are Ser-195, His-57 and Asp-102.

The mechanism of chymotrypsin can be divided into two phases. First, Ser-195 nucleophilically attacks the peptide bond carbon in the substrate to form a tetrahedral intermediate. The nucleophilicity of Ser-195 is enhanced by His-57, which abstracts a proton from Ser-195 and is in turn stabilised by the negatively charged carboxylate group (RCOO−) in Asp-102. Furthermore, the tetrahedral oxyanion intermediate generated in this step is stabilised by hydrogen bonds from Ser-195 and Gly-193.

In the second stage, the R'NH group is protonated by His-57 to form R'NH2 and leaves the intermediate, leaving behind the acylated Ser-195. His-57 then acts as a base again to abstract one proton from a water molecule. The resulting hydroxide anion nucleophilically attacks the acyl-enzyme complex to form a second tetrahedral oxyanion intermediate, which is once again stabilised by H bonds. In the end, Ser-195 leaves the tetrahedral intermediate, breaking the CO bond that connected the enzyme to the peptide substrate. A proton is transferred to Ser-195 through His-57, so that all three amino acid return to their initial state.

Unbinding
Substrate unbinding is influenced by various factors. Larger ligands generally stay in the active site longer, as do those with more rotatable bonds (although this may be a side effect of size). When the solvent is excluded from the active site, less flexible proteins result in longer residence times. More hydrogen bonds shielded from the solvent also decrease unbinding.

Cofactors

Enzymes can use cofactors as 'helper molecules'. Coenzymes are referred to those non-protein molecules that bind with enzymes to help them fulfill their jobs. Mostly they are connected to the active site by non-covalent bonds such as hydrogen bond or hydrophobic interaction. But sometimes a covalent bond can also form between them. For example, the heme in cytochrome C is bound to the protein through thioester bond. In some occasions, coenzymes can leave enzymes after the reaction is finished. Otherwise, they permanently bind to the enzyme. Coenzyme is a broad concept which includes metal ions, various vitamins and ATP. If an enzyme needs coenzyme to work itself, it is called an apoenzyme. In fact, it alone cannot catalyze reactions properly. Only when its cofactor comes in and binds to the active site to form holoenzyme does it work properly.

One example of the coenzyme is Flavin. It contains a distinct conjugated isoalloxazine ring system. Flavin has multiple redox states and can be used in processes that involve the transfer of one or two electrons. It can act as an electron acceptor in reaction, like the oxidation of NAD to NADH, to accept two electrons and form 1,5-dihydroflavin. On the other hand, it can form semiquinone(free radical) by accepting one electron, and then converts to fully reduced form by the addition of an extra electron. This property allows it to be used in one electron oxidation process.

Inhibitors
Inhibitors disrupt the interaction between enzyme and substrate, slowing down the rate of a reaction. There are different types of inhibitor, including both reversible and irreversible forms.

Competitive inhibitors are inhibitors that only target free enzyme molecules. They compete with substrates for free enzyme acceptor and can be overcome by increasing the substrate concentration. They have two mechanisms. Competitive inhibitors usually have structural similarities to the substrates and or ES complex. As a result, they can fit into the active site and trigger favourable interactions to fill in the space and block substrates from entry. They can also induce transient conformational changes in the active site so substrates cannot fit perfectly with it. After a short period of time, competitive inhibitors will drop off and leave the enzyme intact.

Inhibitors are classified as non-competitive inhibitors when they bind both free enzyme and ES complex. Since they do not compete with substrates for the active site, they cannot be overcome by simply increasing the substrate concentration. They usually bind to a different site on the enzyme and alter the 3-dimensional structure of the active site to block substrates from entry or leaving the enzyme.

Irreversible inhibitors are similar to competitive inhibitors as they both bind to the active site. However, irreversible inhibitors form irreversible covalent bonds with the amino acid residues in the active site and never leave. Therefore, the active site is occupied and the substrate cannot enter. Occasionally the inhibitor will leave but the catalytic site is permanently altered in shape. These inhibitors usually contain electrophilic groups like halogen substitutes and epoxides. As time goes by more and more enzymes are bound by irreversible inhibitors and cannot function anymore.

Competitive inhibitor: HIV protease inhibitor
HIV protease inhibitors are used to treat patients having AIDS virus by preventing its DNA replication. HIV protease is used by the virus to cleave Gag-Pol polyprotein into 3 smaller proteins that are responsible for virion assembly, package and maturation. This enzyme targets the specific phenylalanine-proline cleave site within the target protein. If HIV protease is switched off the virion particle will lose function and cannot infect patients. Since it is essential in viral replication and is absent in healthy human, it is an ideal target for drug development.

HIV protease belongs to aspartic protease family and has a similar mechanism. Firstly the aspartate residue activates a water molecule and turns it into a nucleophile. Then it attacks the carbonyl group within the peptide bond (NH-CO) to form a tetrahedral intermediate. The nitrogen atom within the intermediate receives a proton, forming an amide group and subsequent rearrangement leads to the breakdown of the bond between it and the intermediate and forms two products.

Inhibitors usually contain a nonhydrolyzable hydroxyethylene or hydroxyethylamine groups that mimic the tetrahedral intermediate. Since they share a similar structure and electrostatic arrangement to the transition state of substrates they can still fit into the active site but cannot be broken down, so hydrolysis cannot occur.

Non-competitive inhibitor: Strychnine
Strychnine is a neurotoxin that causes death by affecting nerves that control muscular contraction and cause respiration difficulty. The impulse is transmitted between the synapse through a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. It is released into the synapse between nerve cells and binds to receptors in the postsynaptic cell. Then an action potential is generated and transmitted through the postsynaptic cell to start a new cycle.

Glycine can inhibit the activity of neurotransmitter receptors, thus a larger amount of acetylcholinesterase is required to trigger an action potential. This makes sure that the generation of nerve impulses is tightly controlled. However, this control is broken down when strychnine is added. It inhibits glycine receptors(a chloride channel) and a much lower level of neurotransmitter concentration can trigger an action potential. Nerves now constantly transmit signals and cause excessive muscular contraction, leading to asphyxiation and death.

Irreversible inhibitor: Diisopropyl fluorophosphate
Diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DIFP) is an irreversible inhibitor that blocks the action of serine protease. When it binds to the enzyme a nucleophilic substitution reaction occurs and releases one hydrogen fluoride molecule. The OH group in the active site acts as a nucleophile to attack the phosphorus in DIFP and form a tetrahedral intermediate and release a proton. Then the P-F bond is broken, one electron is transferred to the F atom and it leaves the intermediate as F− anion. It combines with a proton in solution to form one HF molecule. A covalent bond formed between the active site and DIFP, so the serine side chain is no longer available to the substrate.

In drug discovery
Identification of active sites is crucial in the process of drug discovery. The 3-D structure of the enzyme is analysed to identify active site residues and design drugs which can fit into them. Proteolytic enzymes are targets for some drugs, such as protease inhibitors, which include drugs against AIDS and hypertension. These protease inhibitors bind to an enzyme's active site and block interaction with natural substrates. An important factor in drug design is the strength of binding between the active site and an enzyme inhibitor. If the enzyme found in bacteria is significantly different from the human enzyme then an inhibitor can be designed against that particular bacterium without harming the human enzyme. If one kind of enzyme is only present in one kind of organism, its inhibitor can be used to specifically wipe them out.

Active sites can be mapped to aid the design of new drugs such as enzyme inhibitors. This involves the description of the size of an active site and the number and properties of sub-sites, such as details of the binding interaction. Modern database technology called CPASS (Comparison of Protein Active Site Structures) however allows the comparison of active sites in more detail and the finding of structural similarity using software.

Allosteric sites
An allosteric site is a site on an enzyme, unrelated to its active site, which can bind an effector molecule. This interaction is another mechanism of enzyme regulation. Allosteric modification usually happens in proteins with more than one subunit. Allosteric interactions are often present in metabolic pathways and are beneficial in that they allow one step of a reaction to regulate another step. They allow an enzyme to have a range of molecular interactions, other than the highly specific active site.

title: Active site


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Kernavė

Kernavė was a medieval capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and today is a tourist attraction and an archeological site (population 238, 2021). It is located in the Širvintos district municipality located in southeast Lithuania. A Lithuanian state cultural reserve was established in Kernavė in 1989. In 2004 Kernavė Archaeological Site was included into UNESCO world heritage list.

Geographic information

Kernavė is a small town in the southeastern part of Lithuania, in Širvintos district, located on the right bank of the river Neris, on the upper Neris terrace. It is 21 km distance from Širvintos and 35 km from Vilnius. It is close to the Vilnius-Kaunas (18 km) and Vilnius-Panevėžys (17 km) highways. It is possible to travel to Kernavė from Vilnius by the Neris River.

Alternative names
Its alternative names include Kernavos, Kernovo, Kiernowo, Kiernów (Polish), and Kernuvke (Yiddish).

History
The area of Kernavė was sparsely inhabited at the end of the Paleolithic era, with the number of settlements significantly increasing in the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras.

The town was the first capital of Lithuania, a symbol of statehood and pagan independence.

The town was first mentioned in 1279 in written sources, when, as the seat of the Grand Duke Traidenis, it was besieged by the Teutonic Knights. This military operation is mentioned in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle (with the same passage repeated by Hermann von Wartberge in Cronicon Livoniale). In 1390, during the Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392), the knights burned the town and its buildings in the Pajauta valley, including the castle. After this raid, the town wasn't rebuilt, and the remaining residents moved to the top of the hill instead of staying in the valley.

In later years, the remains of city were covered with an alluvial layer, that formed wet peat. It preserved most of the relics intact, and it is a treasure trove for archaeologists, leading some to call Kernavė the "Troy of Lithuania". For example, Kernavė has the oldest known medgrinda, a secret underwater road paved with wood. The road was used for defense and dates from the fourth through the seventh centuries.

In 1613, the town was marked on a famous map of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania — Magni Ducatus Lithuaniae, et Regionum Adiacentium exacta Descriptio printed in Amsterdam and financed by the Lithuanian magnate Mikalojus Kristupas Radvila.

The site became the subject of wider interest again in the middle of 19th century, when a romantic writer, Feliks Bernatowicz, depicted the area in his novel "Pojata, córka Lizdejki" ("Pajauta, Daughter of Lizdeika", Warsaw, 1826). The hillforts were soon excavated by the Tyszkiewicz brothers and then by Władysław Syrokomla (1859). After World War II, the excavation works were restarted by Vilnius University in 1979, and then again by the Lithuanian Institute of History between 1980 and 1983. The State Cultural Reserve of Kernavė was created in 2003.

The church
Next to the present-day church is the churchyard of the old churches. The foundations of the church built in 1739 have been excavated. This wooden church was moved in 1935 to Krivonys. A concrete monument with a cross erected in 1930 during the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of Vytautas death serves as a reminder of the Vytautas Church built in 1420.

In the grounds of the ancient churches, from the 15th to the 19th century, the people of Kernavė were buried. Two chapels stand nearby. The wooden chapel is an example of folk architecture. It is believed that it was built at the end of the 13th century on the Kernavelė estate, and moved to the Kernavė church. At the end of the 19th century the church used it as a storehouse. In 1920 a new church was built, and the chapel staffed to decay, since it was no longer part of the church. In 1959 it was repaired, and in 1993–1994 restored. The building belongs to the Kernavė parish. It is used to display exhibits of wooden church sculpture.

The brick chapel from the 19th century houses the mausoleum of the Romer family. It was built in 1851–1856 by the landowner Stanisław Romer. The chapel is built of brick and plaster, and is an example of late classicism. It is small and has an octagonal plan, which is unusual for classicism. Inside, there is an opening in the floor which leads to the crypt. Coffins were bricked into its niches. Inside the chapel the altar's mensa, built of stones, has survived. Along the side walls there are black benches. Memorial plaques with the coat of arms and names of the members of the Riomeriai family are attached to the walls. After the First World War the chapel was neglected. It was repaired in 1959 and 1987. At the present time the chapel belongs to the Kernavė parish.

Both chapels are situated in the Kernavė archaeological and historical reservation. The present-day church was built between 1910 and 1920. Neo-gothic elements are dominant in the architecture.

During the 1980s, on the initiative of Monsignor Česlovas Krivaitis, the churchyard was repaired, new gates were built and the altar and interior were restored. The churchyard is decorated with Stations of the Cross, arranged by the artist Jadvyga Grisiūtė. In the churchyard there are two monuments built to commemorate the 600th anniversary of Christianisation and the 700th anniversary of the first mention in written sources of the name of Kernavė. The first monument depicts a hearth and a sword, the transition from Paganism to Christianity; the second, a knight with a sword standing between the city gates, the main part of the town coat of arms. Millstones are incorporated into the structures of both monuments. The grave of the priest, writer and promoter of the history of Kernavė, Nikodemas Švogžlys-Milžinas is near the monument commemorating the 700th anniversary of Kernavė.

In the church there are several valuable pieces of art. The altar, two paintings, two sculptures, a small altar, three glasses and the bell are listed. The Neo-baroque altar is in the side nave. In its center is the painting Maria, on its sides are columns and sculptures of St. Peter and Saint Paul. Another five smaller sculptures depict St. Mary, two angels and two saints. All the sculptures belong to the Baroque style. The polychromatic architectural details of the altar are imitation marble, their features are bronze.

The painting Marija Škaplierinė (canvas, oil, metal, 220 x) is on the altar in the central nave. It was painted in 1816 and depicts the Mother and Child, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit (a dove). The painting The Holy Family (canvas, oil, 143 x) comes from the 18th century. The painting shows the Mother and Child and a lamb. In the background is St. Joseph; above are angels. The composition is asymmetric, and has several lines of perspective.

Other pieces of art include a small altar from the early 19th century, two glasses from the beginning of the 19th century, one glass from the beginning of the 18th century, and a bell from the 17th century. The bell is made of brass, 45 cm in diameter, cast in Vilnius in 1667. In the 1980s, thanks to the efforts of Monsignor Ceslovas Krivaitis, a non-traditional presbytery was constructed, and the surroundings were cleaned up.

In the presbytery is an exhibition of the way of life of parishioners, and historic and holy relics. In 1987 a museum of sacramental relics was opened in the old presbytery building. At the parish hall the pre-war sculpture of the Iron Wolf has been rebuilt. The cultural activities of the church contribute much to the general historical and cultural life of Kernavė. A wide pavement leads from the town centre to the church. The State Kernavė Archaeological Historical Museum and the district office have moved into the cultural center (architect A. Alekna).

Primary school

The Kernavė Primary School, is a two-story building built in 1929. Here, on 28 December 1930, the teacher J. Šiaučiūnas opened the first exhibition of the museum. He devoted his life to educational and cultural work at this school until his deportation on 14 June 1941 by Soviets. He died in Siberia on 17 October 1943. In 1998 the school was repaired and restored. In 1998, by decision of the Board of the Širvintos District, the Kernavė primary school was given the name of Juozas Šiaučiūnas. In 1999 the school, and in the year 2000 the Kernavė museum, celebrated the 70th anniversaries of their foundation.

The old architecture of Kernavė is best preserved in Vilnius and Kriveikiškio streets. In the central part of the town, the buildings are mainly from the postwar period. To the south of the town is the Archaeological and Historical Reservation.

Tourism information
Tourists can find the latest information about events and surrounding tourist attractions at Kernavė tourist information bureau. In summer Kernavė comes to life. Celebrations and folk festivals are organized. Archaeological expeditions have been held for more than 20 years, in which Lithuanian and foreign archaeologists, students, and school children take part.

Kernavė is also known for its traditional Rasa festivals. As early as 1967 a group of university students held the very first Rasa festival, which later became a tradition. For several decades it was not only a way to clean the soul, but also to protest against the humiliation of national consciousness and the forced implantation of Soviet traditions. Attempts to prohibit this festival were not successful.

Kernavė is known for national celebrations of Mindaugas coronation day on 6 July. On that day a festival is held, where medieval authentic crafts, war games and folk music are presented. The craftsmen come from around the Baltics and neighboring countries.

title: Kernavė


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Düsseldorf (region)

Düsseldorf is one of the five Regierungsbezirke of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the north-west of the country. It covers the western part of the Ruhr Area, as well as the Niederrheinische Tiefebene, the lower Rhine area. It is the most populated of all German administrative areas of the kind. It is the only area in Germany where the traditional dialects are Low Franconian, rather than Low German or High German.

It was created as a subdivision of the Prussian Rhineland when Prussia reformed its internal administration in 1815. In 1822 the Regierungsbezirk Kleve was incorporated into Regierungbezirk Düsseldorf.

Its highest point is the Brodtberg (378 m).

Economy
The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 215.7 billion € in 2018, accounting for 6.4% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 38,100 € or 126% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 108% of the EU average.

title: Düsseldorf (region)


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Talk:Canada-U.S. relations

This article is Americocentric and badly named. Tuf-Kat

I would say it is more Americanophobic, at least in its current incarnation. We need to watch out that it doesn't turn into a conspiracy theory page, as currently it doesn't actually hold much factual information. cferrero 15:42 Feb 26, 2003 (UTC)

title: Talk:Canada-U.S. relations