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Veluwe

The Veluwe is a forest-rich ridge of hills (1100 km2; 420 sq. mi.) in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes, including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts.

The Veluwe is the largest push moraine complex in the Netherlands, stretching 60 km (40 miles) from north to south, and reaching heights of up to 110 metres (360'). The Veluwe was formed by the Saalian glacial during the Pleistocene epoch, some 200,000 years ago. Glaciers some 200 metres (600') thick pushed the sand deposits in the Rhine and Maas Delta sideways, creating the hills which now form most of the Veluwe. Because the hills are made of sand, rain water disappears rapidly, and then it flows at a depth of tens of metres (yards) to the edges where it reaches the surface again.

Originally the Veluwe was surrounded by a string of swamps, heavily populated with game such as deer and wild boar because these areas offered rich vegetation to feed on. Since the 1990s many plans are underway, or have already been implemented, to restore these wetlands by blocking the drainage systems built by farmers during the last 150 years. This results in very dry heathland changing into wetland within a span of just a few hundred metres (yards). The Wisselse Veen near the village of Epe, on the northeastern Veluwe, offers a good example of this.

Etymology
Veluwe derives from Proto-Germanic *falwaz (pale, fallow) and *awjō (island). The name corresponds to "fallow lands" in English and probably was used in opposition to the fertile "good lands" of the Betuwe (from *bataz, good, and *awjō, island) to the south.

Geography

There are 21 municipalities in the Veluwe region: Apeldoorn, Arnhem, Barneveld, Brummen, Ede, Elburg, Epe, Ermelo, Harderwijk, Hattem, Heerde, Nijkerk, Nunspeet, Oldebroek, Putten, Renkum, Rheden, Rozendaal, Scherpenzeel, Voorst and Wageningen.

The sparsely populated, infertile Veluwe acts as the traditional linguistic boundary between Low Franconian dialects (i.e. essentially Dutch and closely related dialects) to the west and south and Low Saxon dialects further north and east.

Flora and fauna

There are both coniferous and deciduous forests on the Veluwe, and some 500 different plant species can be found. The region is also home to many different species of animals, such as wild boar, several species of deer (like the roe deer, red deer and fallow deer), several species of snakes (including the common viper), pine martens, foxes, and badgers. Furthermore, the bird raven was successfully reintroduced, and the introduced Reeves's muntjac and mouflon can sometimes be seen. Furthermore, there live semi-wild and wild cattle and horses like both semi-wild and wild Highland cattle in multiple areas of the Veluwe, semi-wild Sayaguesa cattle and two semi-wild horse breeds: New-forest pony and Icelandic pony. Since 2019 the wolf is officially back with a female and male pair in the northern Veluwe (spring 2019) who had their offspring in the summer of 2019 and one female wolf in middle Veluwe. The prognosis are that many more wolves will reclaim the area. The European bison is also reintroduced as pilot in a fenced area in the Radio Kootwijk Reserve and the golden jackal is reaching the area, from which they are not native, but since the jackals reach the area all by their own they are seen as a welcome and new native species.

Developments
Parts of the Veluwe that have been separated from each other by roads, towns and farmland are being reconnected by returning farmland to nature and creating wildlife crossings over highways. In 2012, nine of these overpasses had been built, each one about 50 metres (200') wide and covered with sand and vegetation to encourage animals to use it. Wildlife corridors connecting the Veluwe to other wildlife areas such as the Oostvaardersplassen in the Netherlands are being developed and further connections to Germany are an option. It is hoped that by doing so the genetic diversity of the wildlife population will increase.

In order to turn the entire Veluwe into one IUCN (Category II) standard National Park a number of actions have been taken, or are planned, including: bungalow parks located in a more sensitive natural area have been removed; taking down remaining fences, as around De Hoge Veluwe; an old industrial zone near the village of Renkum was cleared away because it blocked a valley that was important for the migration of wildlife; and a military complex near Nunspeet was removed instead of being redeveloped as a business area.

Tourism and recreation

The Veluwe is a tourist destination, especially for Dutch people wanting to go on a short vacation in their own country. Campsites and bungalow parks are the preferred place to stay for most visitors. There are more than 500 of these sites, most located on the outskirts of the natural area.

Tourist attractions in the area include four zoos, over 50 museums including the Kröller-Müller art museum, and the royal palace Het Loo at Apeldoorn. The National Sports Centre Papendal, a large sports complex and Olympic Games training facility, is located in the south of the Veluwe near Arnhem.

title: Veluwe


text:
William Fairbairn

Sir William Fairbairn, 1st Baronet of Ardwick (19 February 1789 – 18 August 1874) was a Scottish civil engineer, structural engineer and shipbuilder. In 1854 he succeeded George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson to become the third president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Early career
Born in Kelso to a local farmer, Fairbairn showed an early mechanical aptitude and served as an apprentice millwright in Newcastle upon Tyne where he befriended the young George Stephenson. He moved to Manchester in 1813 to work for Adam Parkinson and Thomas Hewes. In 1817, he launched his mill-machinery business with James Lillie as Fairbairn and Lillie Engine Makers.

Structural studies
Fairbairn was a lifelong learner and joined the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1830. In the 1820s and 30s, he and Eaton Hodgkinson conducted a search for an optimal cross section for iron beams. They designed, for example, the bridge over Water Street for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which opened in 1830. In the 1840s, when Robert Stephenson, the son of his youthful friend George, was trying to develop a way of crossing the Menai Strait, he retained both Fairbairn and Hodgkinson as consultants. It was Fairbairn who conceived the idea of a rectangular tube or box girder to bridge the large gap between Anglesey and North Wales. He conducted many tests on prototypes in his Millwall shipyard and at the site of the bridge, showing how such a tube should be constructed. The design was first used in a shorter span at Conway, and followed by the much larger Britannia Bridge. The tube bridge ultimately proved far too costly a concept for widespread use owing to the sheer mass and cost of wrought iron needed. Fairbairn himself developed wrought iron trough bridges which used some of the ideas he had developed in the tubular bridge.

Shipbuilding
When the cotton industry fell into recession, Fairbairn diversified into the manufacture of boilers for locomotives and into shipbuilding. Perceiving a ship as a floating tubular beam, he criticised existing design standards dictated by Lloyd's of London.

Fairbairn and Lillie built the iron paddle-steamer PS Lord Dundas at Manchester in 1830. The difficulties which were encountered in the construction of iron ships in an inland town like Manchester led to the removal of this branch of the business to Millwall, London in 1834–35. Here Fairbairn constructed over eighty vessels, including Pottinger of 1,250 tons, for the Peninsular and Oriental Company; HMS Megaera (1849) and other vessels for the British Government, and many others, introducing iron shipbuilding on the River Thames. In 1848 he retired from this branch of his business.

Fairbairn drew on his experience with the construction of iron-hulled ships when designing the Britannia Bridge and Conwy Railway Bridges.

Railway locomotives
Fairbairn began building railway locomotives in 1839 with an 0-4-0 design for the Manchester and Bolton Railway. By 1862 the company had constructed more than 400 at Millwall for companies such as the Great Western Railway and the London and North Western Railway. However, as the works had no rail access, any locomotives had to be shipped by road.

Boilers
Fairbairn developed the Lancashire boiler in 1844. In 1861, at the request of the UK Parliament, he conducted early research into metal fatigue, raising and lowering a 3 tonne mass onto a wrought iron cylinder 3,000,000 times before it fractured and showing that a static load of 12 tonne was needed for such an effect.

He experimented with glass cylinders and was able to show that the hoop stress in the wall was twice the longitudinal stress. When a cylindrical boiler failed, it usually fractured along its length owing to the high hoop stress in the wall.

This knowledge of how hoop stress increased with diameter, and how stresses were independent of drum length led to his invention of the Fairbairn-Beeley and his five-tube boilers, where a single large diameter shell was replaced by multiple smaller, and less stressed, shells. Eventually this would lead to the near-universal adoption of water-tube boilers with small tubes for high pressures, replacing the older fire-tube designs.

Investigations
Fairbairn was one of the first engineers to conduct systematic investigations of failures of structures, including the collapse of textile mills and boiler explosions. His report on the collapse of a mill at Oldham showed the poor design methods used by architects when specifying cast iron girders for supporting heavily loaded floors, for example. In another report, he condemned the use of trussed cast iron girders, and advised Robert Stephenson not to use the concept in a bridge then being built over the river Dee at Chester in 1846. The bridge collapsed in May 1847, killing 5 people who were passengers on the local train passing over the structure at the time. The Dee Bridge disaster raised concerns about the integrity of many other railway bridges already built or about to be built on the rail network.

Fairbairn conducted some of the first serious studies of the effects of repeated loading of wrought and cast iron girders, showing that fracture could occur by crack growth from incipient defects, a problem now known as fatigue. He built large-scale testing apparatus for the studies, and was partly funded by the Board of Trade.

He also conducted experiments on pressurized cylinders of glass and was able to show that the highest stress in the wall occurs around the diameter. It is known as the hoop stress and is twice the value of the longitudinal stress which occurs along the length of the cylinder. The precise value depends only on the wall thickness and the internal pressure. His work was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society and was of great help in analysing failures in steam boilers and pipes. In 1854 he founded the Manchester Steam Users' Association, which quickly became recognised as setting national standards for high-pressure steam boilers. As the "Associated Offices Technical Committee" of British insurers the MSUA remains a national certification authority.

Honours

 * Fellow of the Royal Society elected 1850 (Gold Medal 1860)
 * President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers 1854–1855.
 * President of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society (1855–1859)
 * Elected in February 1860 to the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers
 * Appointed Baronet, (of Ardwick), 2 November 1869; he had declined a knighthood in 1861
 * A statue stands in Manchester Town Hall
 * Conferred with Honorary Membership of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland in 1859.
 * President of the British Association 1861
 * Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1862
 * Inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame in 2017.

Fairbairn is one of several notable engineers to be buried in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, Prestwich. The number of people present at his funeral was estimated at from 50,000 to 70,000.

Works

 * Experiments to determine the effect of impact, vibratory action, and long continued changes of load on wrought iron girders, (1864) Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London vol. 154, p311
 * Experiments to determine the effect of impact, vibratory action, and long continued changes of load on wrought iron girders, (1864) Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London vol. 154, p311
 * Experiments to determine the effect of impact, vibratory action, and long continued changes of load on wrought iron girders, (1864) Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London vol. 154, p311
 * Experiments to determine the effect of impact, vibratory action, and long continued changes of load on wrought iron girders, (1864) Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London vol. 154, p311
 * Experiments to determine the effect of impact, vibratory action, and long continued changes of load on wrought iron girders, (1864) Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London vol. 154, p311
 * Experiments to determine the effect of impact, vibratory action, and long continued changes of load on wrought iron girders, (1864) Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London vol. 154, p311
 * Experiments to determine the effect of impact, vibratory action, and long continued changes of load on wrought iron girders, (1864) Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London vol. 154, p311
 * Experiments to determine the effect of impact, vibratory action, and long continued changes of load on wrought iron girders, (1864) Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London vol. 154, p311
 * Experiments to determine the effect of impact, vibratory action, and long continued changes of load on wrought iron girders, (1864) Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London vol. 154, p311
 * Experiments to determine the effect of impact, vibratory action, and long continued changes of load on wrought iron girders, (1864) Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London vol. 154, p311

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

title: William Fairbairn


text:
Timo Kotipelto

Timo Antero Kotipelto (born 15 March 1969) is a Finnish musician best known as the lead singer of the power metal band Stratovarius, whom he joined in 1994, as well as fronting his own band Kotipelto.

Biography
He studied vocals at the pop/jazz conservatory in Helsinki, briefly singing for an amateur cover band named Filthy Asses. In summer of 1994, he applied to Stratovarius, who were looking for a singer at the time, and was accepted. His arrival corresponds closely with the band's rise to international fame. The first album he recorded with the band was Fourth Dimension, in 1995. Stratovarius has then become a top name in the European heavy metal scene, recording seven more albums and performing in numerous notable rock festivals.

In late 2003, Kotipelto split from Stratovarius after intra-band disagreements, notably with guitarist Timo Tolkki. After much turmoil throughout 2004, he rejoined the band in January 2005, recorded the album Stratovarius, and performed live on tour that covered North America, South America, Europe and Asia. In 2008, Timo Tolkki made public that he and Timo Kotipelto had arguments but Kotipelto never really left the band and the announcement that he left was part of a big publicity stunt.

In 2002 Kotipelto started his solo project, called Kotipelto. So far he has released three albums: "Waiting For The Dawn", "Coldness" and the last one, released 20 April 2007, "Serenity". Aside from Stratovarius and Kotipelto, Timo Kotipelto has also provided additional vocals to Sonata Arctica's Silence album along with lead vocals with his close friend, ex-Sonata Arctica guitarist Jani Liimatainen and his band Cain's Offering. and lead vocals for the song "Out of the White Hole", on Ayreon's 2000 release Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator.

Kotipelto also provided vocals for the track "Eye of the Storm" on Warmen's 2009 album Japanese Hospitality.

With Stratovarius

 * Fourth Dimension (1995)
 * Episode (1996)
 * Visions (1997)
 * The Past and Now (Compilation, 1997)
 * Visions of Europe (Live, 1998)
 * Destiny (1998)
 * "Visions Of Destiny" (DVD, 1999)
 * The Chosen Ones (Compilation, 1999)
 * Infinite (2000)
 * "14 Diamonds - Best Of Stratovarius" (Compilation, 2000)
 * Infinite Visions (DVD, 2000)
 * Intermission (2001)
 * Elements, Pt. 1 (2003)
 * Elements, Pt. 2 (2003)
 * Stratovarius (2005)
 * "Black Diamond: The Anthology" (Compilation, 2006)
 * Polaris (2009)
 * "Polaris live" (2010)
 * Elysium (2011)
 * "Under Flaming Winter Skies (Live in Tampere - The Jörg Michael Farewell Tour)" (DVD, 2012)
 * "Under Flaming Winter Skies – Live in Tampere" (Live, 2012)
 * Nemesis (2013)
 * "Nemesis Days" (DVD, 2014)
 * Eternal (2015)
 * Best Of (2016)
 * Enigma: Intermission 2 (2018)
 * Survive (2022)

Kotipelto

 * Waiting for the Dawn (2002)
 * Coldness (2004)
 * Serenity (2007)

With Cain's Offering

 * Gather the Faithful (2009)
 * Stormcrow (2015)

Kotipelto & Liimatainen

 * Blackoustic (2012)

With Gamma Ray

 * Time To Break Free Song live (1996)

With Tarot

 * For The Glory of Nothing (1998) – Backing vocals on 'Warhead' and 'Beyond Troy'

With Tunnelvision

 * While The World Awaits (2000) - Backing vocals

Timo Kotipelto and Klaus Flaming

 * I Wanna Love You Tender (cover of Danny & Army) (2002)

With Warmen

 * Beyond Abilities (2002) – Vocals on 'Spark' and 'Singer's Chance'
 * Accept the Fact (2005) – Vocals on 'Invisible Power' and 'Puppet'
 * Japanese Hospitality (2009) – Vocals on 'Eye of the Storm'

With Sonata Arctica

 * Silence (2001) – Backing vocals and last line on 'False News Travel Fast'
 * Stones Grow Her Name (2012) – Backing vocals

With Klamydia

 * Seokset (2003) – Vocals on 'Metanol Man

With Ayreon

 * Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator (2000) – Vocals on 'Out of the White Hole (M31 – Planet Y – The Search Continues)'

Monstervision Freakshow

 * Welcome to Hellsinki (2007)

With Ella Ja Aleksi

 * Takapihan Tavikset (2009)

With Leningrad Cowboys

 * I Will Stay         (2006)
 * Let's Have A Party  (2006)

With Amberian Dawn

 * Circus Black (2012) – Vocals on 'Cold Kiss'

With Hevisaurus

 * Räyhällistä joulua (2011) – Vocals on 'Pieni liekki'
 * Bändikouluun (2019) – Vocals on '100'

With Soulspell

 * The Second Big Bang (2017)
 * The End You'll Only Know at the End (2017)
 * Alexandria (Apocalypse version) (2017)

With La suma de las partes

 * Vergel (2020) - Vocal on "Rain In The Ocean"

With Tarja

 * Feliz Navidad (2017) - Vocal on "Feliz Navidad"
 * From Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a Dark Christmas) (2020) - Vocal on "Feliz Navidad (Barbuda Relief and Recovery Charity Version)"

With Jani Liimatainen

 * My Father's Son (2022) - Vocal on "Who Are We" & "Into The Fray"

title: Timo Kotipelto


text:
Timo Tolkki

Timo Tapio Tolkki (born 3 March 1966) is a Finnish musician best known as the former guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of the power metal band Stratovarius. With his tenure lasting for more than twenty years, he was the longest standing member of the band before his departure in 2008. After leaving Stratovarius he formed two supergroups named Revolution Renaissance and Symfonia, both of which have since disbanded. In a 2011 article by Guitar World magazine, Tolkki was included in the all-time top 50 list of the world's fastest guitarists.

Early years and Stratovarius
Tolkki started playing guitar at the age of seven and practiced intensely, sometimes eight hours a day. When he was twelve years old, his father committed suicide by jumping from the fourth floor of his apartment.

Before joining Stratovarius in 1984, Tolkki had played with the bands Antidote, Thunder and Road Block. At the beginning of his career with Stratovarius, he served as vocalist as well as handling all lead and rhythm guitars, and at times bass guitar (until Jari Kainulainen's arrival in 1993). After the band's third album, Dreamspace (1994), Tolkki handed over vocal duties to Timo Kotipelto, who took over from Fourth Dimension (1995) onwards. This was largely due to Tolkki's desire to evolve the overall musical direction of the band and concentrate on his guitar work. Further changes were made after Dreamspace, including the departure of the remaining original members of the band, keyboardist Antti Ikonen and drummer Tuomo Lassila, due to creative differences.

In 1994, Tolkki released his first solo album, Classical Variations and Themes, which had at the time been one of his longtime ambitions. The album was similar to his work with Stratovarius, but with more focus on primarily instrumental compositions. His second solo album, Hymn to Life (2002) showed a more personal side, dealing with such emotional issues as his relationship with God and his late father.

He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2004, following a nervous breakdown which occurred some months after Stratovarius acrimoniously disbanded. After a period of rehabilitation, he went on to make a full recovery later that year and subsequently opened his own recording studio named Goldenworks. A final self-titled album with Stratovarius was released in 2005, after which he announced his departure from the band in 2008. Upon leaving he decided to waive the legal rights to the name. He later claimed this was done as a protest due to the remaining members deciding to continue the band as Stratovarius.

Revolution Renaissance
Tolkki's next project was an album described as a rock opera, named Saana – Warrior of Light Pt 1. Released on 14 March 2008, it featured a number of guest vocalists, including soprano Jennifer Sowle in the lead role, as well as Heikki Pöyhiä of Twilightning. Also in 2008, he founded a band called Revolution Renaissance, which released three albums between 2008 and 2010.

Symfonia
In 2010, Symfonia was formed as a power metal supergroup comprising Tolkki, singer André Matos, keyboardist Mikko Härkin, drummer Uli Kusch and former Stratovarius bandmate Jari Kainulainen. They made their debut performance at the 2011 Finnish Metal Expo and later released their only studio album, In Paradisum, but in December of that year Tolkki announced the discontinuation of the band, and subsequently his retirement from the music industry.

In March 2012, Tolkki stated on his Facebook profile (and official Symfonia page) that although he had left the music business, he hadn't given up on music altogether: "With all the tools available for us today to release music, you will hear something interesting from me". Later he released a mock album cover entitled Classical Variations and Themes Vol 2, suggesting a new solo album. On 10 April 2012 he released a new instrumental track named "Dinner with Paganini", which was made available as a free download through PledgeMusic, as well as a revised name for a potential new album, Classical Variations and Themes II: Credo. However, on 26 July, he announced the cancellation of the project.

Avalon Metal Opera
On 8 January 2013, Tolkki announced the opening of a new mixing and mastering studio named Studiotolkki, located in Helsinki, Finland.

In February 2013, Timo announced his new project, Avalon, featuring a group of guest musicians such as Michael Kiske (Unisonic, Helloween), Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation), Elize Ryd (Amaranthe), Russell Allen (Symphony X, Adrenaline Mob, Star One), Rob Rock (Impellitteri, M.A.R.S.), Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica), Jens Johansson (Stratovarius, Yngwie Malmsteen), Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater) and Alex Holzwarth (Rhapsody of Fire). The album, released on 17 May 2013, follows a story set in a post-apocalyptic future. In 2055, Earth has been almost destroyed by natural catastrophes, and a small group of survivors decide to set off a journey to find a sacred place known as The Land of New Hope.

In October 2013 Timo launched a news website for the project in which he announced the sequel to The Land of New Hope, which was provisionally titled Avalon II. The cast of guest musicians will be revealed one by one. Simone Simons of Epica fame is the first confirmed singer. Floor Jansen will play the leading role. It was also announced that Timo's former bandmates in Stratovarius, drummer Tuomo Lassila and keyboardist Antti Ikonen will play on this album.

A European tour was planned for May 2014, coinciding with the release of the album.

On 28 January, Timo revealed title of the album (Angels of the Apocalypse) and the rest of the cast: Fabio Lione (Rhapsody of Fire, Angra), David DeFeis (Virgin Steele), Elize Ryd (Amaranthe) and Caterina Nix. Timo also announced that there will be a contest for guitar and keyboard players, with the winners getting a chance to perform a solo with him in one of the songs.

In June 2019, Timo Tolkki released the third part of the Avalon trilogy, the album Return to Eden, with the main working song, "Promises".

In 2021, Timo Tolkki releases his new solo album with "Infinite Visions" project's songs, called "Union Magnetica", as the fourth Avalon album, which is called "The Enigma Birth", with many musicians as guests. The new metal opera album has the main working songs "Master of Hell" and "The Fire and the Sinner".

Allen/Lande
On 24 July 2013, Tolkki announced via his Facebook page (among a statement regarding Stratovarius) that he would be the producer, mixer and songwriter for a new album of the duo Allen/Lande, composed of Symphony X vocalist Russell Allen and Norwegian singer Jørn Lande. The album The Great Divide was released on 17 October in Europe and 21 October 2014 in North America.

Chaos Magic
In May 2015, it was announced that Timo would produce and perform in a project with Chilean singer Caterina Nix titled Chaos Magic. Caterina and Timo met in Chile when Stratovarius was performing there. She would later guest sing in Avalon's second album, Angels of the Apocalypse. Their first, self-titled album is set for a 3 July release in Europe. In June 2015 they released their first videos: a video for the song "I'm Alive", and two lyric videos for "One Drop of Blood" and "A Little Too Late".

Playing style
From the period spanning Stratovarius' first three albums, Tolkki's guitar playing was more progressive and heavy. During this time he preferred E♭ tuning, with his compositions often bearing a dark and unnerving tonal quality (particularly on Dreamspace). Following Timo Kotipelto's arrival as lead singer, Tolkki's style shifted gradually more towards the traditionally speedy and melodic format of power metal, with an emphasis on such elements as neoclassical phrasing and fast alternate picking.

Personal life
Tolkki has been married three times. He has one daughter from his second marriage, born in 1988. Since 2000, Tolkki has been in a relationship with Dominika Gottová, eldest daughter of Czech singer Karel Gott. They got married in 2010. Gottová filed for divorce in December 2019, but the proceedings were halted in November 2020 after the couple decided to reconcile.

In November 2023, Tolkki was convicted by the Helsinki District Court for fraudulently claiming income support in 2020. He received a 45-day suspended prison sentence and was ordered to pay €3,063 to Kela.

As singer and guitarist

 * 1989: Fright Night
 * 1992: Twilight Time (Stratovarius II)
 * 1994: Dreamspace

As guitarist

 * 1995: Fourth Dimension
 * 1996: Episode
 * 1997: Visions
 * 1998: Destiny
 * 1999: The Chosen Ones
 * 2000: Infinite
 * 2001: Intermission
 * 2003: Elements Pt. 1
 * 2003: Elements Pt. 2
 * 2005: Stratovarius
 * 2006: Black Diamond: The Anthology

Solo albums

 * 1994: Classical Variations and Themes
 * 2002: Hymn to Life
 * 2008: Saana – Warrior of Light Pt 1
 * 2022: We Are The Revolution - Single
 * 2023: Renaissance Acoustica
 * 2024: Classical Variations and Themes II: Ultima Thule

Revolution Renaissance

 * 2008: New Era
 * 2009: Age of Aquarius
 * 2010: Trinity

Symfonia

 * 2011: In Paradisum

Timo Tolkki's Avalon

 * 2013: The Land of New Hope
 * 2014: Angels of the Apocalypse
 * 2019: Return to Eden
 * 2021: The Enigma Birth

Allen/Lande

 * 2014: The Great Divide

Chaos Magic (Caterina Nix feat. Timo Tolkki)

 * 2015: Chaos Magic

Other appearances

 * 1998: Edguy – Vain Glory Opera (guitar solo on "Out of Control")
 * 2001: Avantasia – The Metal Opera (vocals on "The Tower")
 * 2002: Avantasia – The Metal Opera Part II (guitar solo on "The Seven Angels" and "Into the Unknown")
 * 2002: Thunderstone – Thunderstone (guitar solo on "Like Father, Like Son")
 * 2003: Gimmel – Kaksi kertaa enemmän
 * 2010: Beto Vázquez Infinity – Existence (guitar solo on "Existence")
 * 2013: Dreamtale – World Changed Forever (guitar solo on "The End of Our Days")
 * 2014: Ring of Fire – Battle of Leningrad

Books

 * 2010: Loneliness of a Thousand Years
 * 2012: Golden Handbook of Recording Heavy Metal Music
 * 2020: Hymni elämälle – Stratovarius-kitaristin tarina ("Hymn to Life – The Story of a Stratovarius Guitarist")
 * 2020: Golden Handbook of Recording Heavy Metal Music – Update

title: Timo Tolkki


text:
User:Steluta~enwiki

Ce faci?

title: User:Steluta~enwiki


text: User:Halibutt/Mozzerati

authors: ಮಲ್ನಾಡಾಚ್ ಕೊಂಕ್ಣೊ

title: User:Halibutt/Mozzerati


text:
Jari Kainulainen

Jari "Jartsi" Kainulainen (born 29 April 1970) is a Finnish bass guitarist. He is best known for having been the bass player of the power metal band Stratovarius from 1993 until 2005. Kainulainen is currently the bassist of Masterplan, having joined 2012.

After his period in Stratovarius he founded his own band called Mess.

Between 2002 and 2006, Kainulainen played bass with Kotipelto, a Finnish power metal band formed by Timo Kotipelto, singer of Stratovarius.

In 2007 he joined the Swedish progressive power metal band Evergrey.

In 2010 Jari Kainulainen created the power metal supergroup Symfonia along with Andre Matos, Timo Tolkki, Mikko Härkin and Uli Kusch.

He joined Masterplan in 2012. In 2013 he created the melodic power metal band Shadowquest.

Kainulainen plays Ibanez 6 string basses and uses Ampeg amplifiers. He is influenced by Geezer Butler, Billy Sheehan, Cliff Burton, and Steve Harris.

Masterplan

 * Novum Initium (2013)
 * Keep Your Dream Alive (2015)
 * PumpKings (cover album of Helloween by Roland Grapow) (2017)

Shadowquest

 * Armoured IV Pain (2015)

Stratovarius

 * Dreamspace (1994)
 * Fourth Dimension (1996)
 * Episode (1996)
 * Visions (1997)
 * Destiny (1998)
 * Live! Visions of Europe (1998)
 * Infinite (2000)
 * Intermission (2001)
 * Elements Pt. 1 (2003)
 * Elements Pt. 2 (2003)
 * Stratovarius (2005)

Evergrey

 * Torn (2008)

Symfonia

 * In Paradisum (2011)

Kotipelto

 * Waiting for the Dawn (2002)
 * Coldness (2004)

title: Jari Kainulainen


text:
Royal Castle, Warsaw

The Royal Castle in Warsaw (Zamek Królewski w Warszawie) is a state museum and a national historical monument, which formerly served as the official royal residence of several Polish monarchs. The personal offices of the king and the administrative offices of the royal court were located in the Castle from the 16th century until the final partition of Poland in 1795. Situated in the Castle Square, at the entrance to the Old Town, the Royal Castle holds a significant collection of Polish and European art.

The Royal Castle witnessed many notable events in Poland's history; the Constitution of 3 May 1791, first of its type in Europe and the world's second-oldest codified national constitution, was drafted here by the Four-Year Parliament. The edifice was redesigned into a neoclassical style following the partitions of Poland. Under the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939), it was the seat of the Polish head of state and president. The Second World War brought complete destruction to the building; in September 1939 it was targeted and ignited by Luftwaffe fighter aircraft, and then detonated by the Nazis after the failed Warsaw Uprising in 1944.

In 1965, the surviving wall fragments, cellars, the adjacent Copper-Roof Palace and the Kubicki Arcades were registered as historical monuments. Reconstruction was carried out in the years 1971–1984, during which it regained its original 17th-century appearance. In 1980, the Royal Castle and surrounding Old Town became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the second most visited art museum in Poland (after the Wawel Castle in Kraków) and the 25th most visited art museum in the world with over 2.02 million visitors in 2023.

Overview
The history of the castle dates back to the 14th century when the first Castle Tower was constructed and the fortified complex was initially used as the residence of the Masovian dukes. In the early 1600s, it was designated to replace Wawel Castle in Kraków as the seat of the King, Parliament (Chamber of Deputies and Senate), and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The medieval Gothic structure was remodelled into Italian mannerism by architects Matteo Castelli and Giovanni Battista Trevano. The Baroque easternmost wing was designed by Gaetano Chiaveri and completed in 1747.

Castle in the Middle Ages

In 1339 the Papal Legate in Warsaw heard a case brought by the King of Poland, Casimir III the Great, against the German Teutonic Order. He claimed that they had illegally seized a slice of Polish territory — Pomerania and Kuyavia regions. The documents in this case are the earliest written testimony to the existence of Warsaw. At that time a fortified town surrounded by earthen and wooden ramparts, and situated where the Royal Castle now stands, it was the seat of Trojden, Duke of Masovia. At the end of the 13th century, during the Duke Conrad's rule, the wooden-earthen gord called "Small Manor" (Curia Minor) was erected. The next duke, Casimir I, decided to build the Great Tower (Turris Magna), possibly one of the first brick building in Warsaw.

In the middle of the 14th century the Castle Tower was built and its remains up to the first storey have survived to this day. During the reign over Masovia by Duke Janusz I the Elder, the Curia Maior (Big Manor) was erected between 1407 and 1410. Its facade, which was still standing in 1944, was knocked down by the Germans, but has been rebuilt since then. The character of the new residence and its size (47.5 m/14.5 m) decided the change of the buildings status, and from 1414 it functioned as a Prince Manor.

Renaissance period

When the Masovia region was incorporated in the Kingdom of Poland in 1526, the edifice, which until then had been the Castle of the Dukes of Masovia, became one of the royal residences. From 1548 onwards Queen Bona Sforza resided in it with her daughters Izabela, who became Queen of Hungary, Catherine, later to become Queen of Sweden, and Anna Jagiellon, later Queen of Poland. In 1556–1557 and in 1564 the King of Poland, Sigismund II Augustus, convened royal parliaments in Warsaw. They met in the Castle. Following the Lublin Union (1569), by which the Polish Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – were united as a single country, Warsaw Castle was regularly the place where the parliament of the Two-Nations State met. In 1569–1572 King Sigismund II Augustus started alterations in the Castle, the architects being Giovanni Battista di Quadro and Giacopo Pario.

The Curia Maior was altered so as provide a meeting place for the Parliament, with premises for the Chamber of Deputies (Sejm – delegates of the gentry) on the ground floor (the Old Chamber of Deputies), and the Senate Chamber (where the Senators debated in the presence of the King) on the first floor. This was one of the first attempts in Europe to create a building that would be used solely for parliamentary purposes. The parliamentary character of the Curia Maior is stressed by the paintings of the facade – the coats-of-arms of Poland, of Lithuania, and of the various regions from which the delegates were elected. A new Renaissance—style building, known as the "Royal House", was erected next to the Curia Maior. The king resided there when the parliament was in session.

Vasa period and the Deluge

The next alterations to the Castle were made in the reign of Sigismund III, who transferred the royal residence from Kraków to Warsaw. In 1598–1619 the Castle was enlarged. Giovanni Trevano was in charge of the reconstruction. His plans were probably amended by the Venetian architect Vincenzo Scamozzi.

Between 1601 and 1603 Giacomo Rodondo finished the new northern wing. From 1602 Paolo del Corte was doing stonework. Later after 1614, when Matteo Castelli took the lead, the western wing was built (from today's Plac Zamkowy side) as chancelleries and a marshals office. The southern wing was built at the end. In that way five-wings in a mannerist-early baroque style were built. In 1619 the New Royal Tower (Nova Turris Regia) also called Sigismund's Tower was finished. It was 60 meters high and was placed in the middle of a newly built west castle 90 meters in length. At the top of the tower, a clock with gilded hands and copper face was placed. The new tower's spire was 13 meters high and had glided knobs and a copper flag at the top.

On 29 October 1611 in the Senator's Chamber, Tsar Vasili IV of Russia, who had been captured by the hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski, paid homage to the Polish king Sigismund III Vasa.

The Polish king Sigismund III and his successors of the Vasa dynasty — Władysław IV Vasa and John II Casimir Vasa — collected many rich works of art in the castle, such as oriental fabrics, tapestries, and numerous paintings by such famous artists as Titian, Veronese, Jacopo, Leandro Bassano, Tintoretto, Palma il Giovane, Antonio Vassilacchi, Tommaso Dolabella, Guercino, Guido Reni, Joseph Heintz, Bartholomeus Spranger, Roelant Savery, Rembrandt, Pieter Soutman, Peter Danckerts de Rij, Peter Paul Rubens, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Daniel Seghers, Georg Daniel Schultz and sculptures by Giambologna, Giovanni Francesco Susini and Adriaen de Vries. These splendid works of art were either destroyed or plundered during the invasions of Poland by Sweden and Russia during The Deluge, in 1655–1657. The Swedes took all the priceless pictures, furniture, tapestries, the royal library, the crown archive, numerous sculptures, whole floors and royal flags. In the castle they had a military Lazareth field hospital, which additionally contributed to the devastation of the buildings. A few months later armies destroyed the rest, plundering most of the copper elements and tearing up the rest of castle's floor.

The majority of the preserved castle furnishings from the Vasa period found their place in the collection of the Visitationist Monastery in Warsaw as donations from the last Vasa, John II Casimir and his French-born wife Marie Louise Gonzaga.

In 1628 the first Polish opera – Galatea, was staged at the Castle. The great opera hall (double-storied, over 50 m long), which existed at the Royal Castle, was demolished by Swedes and Germans and rebuilt in the 1660s by King John II Casimir.

Late Baroque period

In 1657 the reconstruction of the castle started, under the Italian architect Izydor Affait's guidance. Because of the lack of money the following Polish king, Michael I Korybut did not decide on radical rebuilding, just limiting himself to rebuilding destroyed buildings. Because of bad conditions of the residence he had to move to Ujazdów Castle in 1669. Until 1696 when the next Polish king, John III Sobieski died, no serious works were done. They only limited work to current inspections of the building's condition. Sessions of Parliament continued to be held in the castle, as well as various State occasions, such as when the Hohenzollern Dukes of Prussia paid homage to the Kings of Poland and occasions when the king received the ambassadors of foreign countries.

After choosing Augustus II in an election in 1697, the castle again began to deteriorate. A new conflict with the King of Sweden, Charles XII significantly limited the king's budget. Despite problems, in 1698 Augustus II commissioned a residence reconstruction project. In 1700 it was done by Johann Friedrich Karcher, who came from abroad. On 25 May 1702 the Swedes re-seized the Royal Castle in Warsaw, creating a hospital with 500 beds, and into The Chamber of Deputies and ministers' rooms, they placed a stable. During the Polish army's siege in 1704 the castle was retaken. However, it was soon retaken once more by Sweden's army. In 1707, by virtue of the peace treaty between Augustus II and Charles XII of Sweden, Russian allied troops entered Warsaw, and Tsar Peter I of Russia settled in the castle. After two months, Russian forces were removed from Warsaw, taking with them works of art from the castle, including Tommaso Dolabella's pictures, which included two that were very important for Russians: The Defense of Smolensk and Russian Tsar Vasili IV compelled to kneel before Polish King Sigismund III of Poland. The Władysław's Opera Hall was completely devastated and was never restored.

The reconstruction according to Karcher's plans began from 1713 to 1715. In 1717 the Parliament Hall was completely rebuilt. It was used to serve the Saxon rulers as a coronation hall. During the following years, between 1722 and 1723, the other castle halls were converted-under the direction of architect Joachim Daniel von Jauch, the new Senate Chamber was built, and all the furnishings moved from the old to the new location, including among others: 60 Polish provincial emblems, panelling, mouldings and lesene. On 31 May 1732, a fire broke out in the castle destroying the west elevation and part of the Sigismund's Tower and the exterior façade sculptures, known as armature.

The next reconstruction project of the Royal Castle appeared after Augustus III took to the Polish throne in 1733. New plans, which were formed in 1734 and developed in 1737 by architect Gaetano Chiaveri, saw among other things, the reconstruction of the castle's façade on the Vistula side in the rococo style, which was meant to form a new so called Saxon elevation and also the conversion of the north-east part with the Altana Tower, where it was planned for 3 two-storey avant-corps (risalto) to be built on. The reconstruction work according to these plans was carried out with various intensity between 1740 and 1752. During the period of 1740–1747 the façade on the Vistula side was reconstructed in the late baroque style (architects: Gaetano Chiaveri, Carl Friedrich Pöppelmann, Jan Krzysztof Knöffel). One of the best sculptors who did work on the castle in this period was Jan Jerzy Plersch, who made the royal decorative frames, mouldings and statues called the Famous Figures, which held the royal crowns on the top of the middle risalto, of the Saxon elevation, on the Vistula side. The last reconstruction work of this period was finished by late 1763, after the death of Augustus III, when Plersch made the last sculptures and frames with province emblems for the Parliament Hall.

Enlightenment period

The most splendid period in the history of the Castle was during the rule of Stanisław II Augustus (1764–1795). This monarch collected exquisite works of art, many of which have survived to this day. He recruited first-rate architects such as Jakub Fontana, Merlini, Kamsetzer, and Kubicki, to work on the castle, as well as splendid painters such as Marcello Bacciarelli, Bernardo Bellotto (otherwise known as Canaletto), Franciszek Smuglewicz, Kazimierz Wojniakowski, and Jean-Baptiste Pillement and eminent sculptors such as André le Brun and Jakub Monaldi, and famous French artists such as the architect Victor Louis. The total reconstruction of the castle planned by the king did not come to fruition, but the interior was changed to the neoclassical style – although this, known in Poland as the Stanisław Augustus style, was rather different from neo—classicism in the rest of Europe.

During 1766–1785 on the basis of Jakub Fontana's plans, the southern wing of the castle, which was burnt on 15 December 1767 was rebuilt (2 destroyed floors, a new elevation on the south side with three avant-corps or risalti, the division of the façade by lesene and pilasters with Ionic capitals). Between 1774 and 1777 the monarch's private apartments were furnished. They consisted of the Prospect Room (with landscapes by Canaletto), the chapel, the Audience Chamber, and the Bedchamber, while between 1779 and 1786 the Senate Apartments were completed, consisting of the Ballroom, the Knights Hall, the Throne Room, the Marble Room, and the Conference Chamber. These rooms contained pictures and sculptures depicting great events in Poland's history, as well as portraits of Polish kings, generals, statesmen and scholars (including Copernicus and Adam Naruszewicz). In 1777, a gilded bronze altar presented to king Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski by Pope Clement XIV, was installed in the new Chapel of the Royal Castle, so-called Saxon Chapel (today's concert hall). The Castle also housed the rich royal collections including 3200 pictures, classical statues, about 100 000 graphics, in addition to medals, coins, and a fine library, to house which a separate building was erected in 1780–1784. The new library building housed many books, gems, drawings, coins, maps and plans belonging to the monarch. The Royal Library's book collection amounted to 16 000 volumes of various works, 25,525 drawings, 44,842 etchings in 726 bound volumes, overall a number of 70,000 etchings—fancy dress balls were also held in this hall.

Up until 1786 Stanisław II Augustus tried a few times to change the outside decor of the Castle and to build an architectural castle square, he was not however successful in carrying out these plans.

During this period, the Castle was the place where the ideas of the Polish Enlightenment first flourished. The king held "Thursday lunches" at the Castle, for scientists, scholars, writers and artists. This was where the idea for the National Education Commission; one of the first secular Ministries of Education in Europe, was mooted. The Castle was the place where the first proposals were made for a Knights' School, and for a national theatre. It was in the Senate Chamber in the Castle that what was known as the "Great Sejm" (Great Parliament) passed the famous Polish Constitution of 3 May, 1791. During the ceremony the King was carried out to the nearby church of St. John. In honour of this occasion a marble plaque with Ignacy Krasicki's text written on it was set into the wall of the Castle.

In partitioned Poland and the Second Polish Republic
Between 19 and 20 December 1806 and 1–30 January 1807, Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor, spent his time at the Castle. Here in 1807 he made the decision to form a Warsaw duchy, which was to be ruled by the Saxon prince Frederick August I, using the Royal castle as his residence. Prince Józef Poniatowski, Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army and Marshal of France, resided in the Copper-Roof Palace joined to the Castle. After the creation of the constitutional Kingdom of Poland (1815) its parliaments met here at the Castle. As Kings of Poland, the Russian Tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I also resided in the castle when they stayed in Warsaw. During the November Uprising, on 25 January 1831, the Sejm debating in the castle dethroned Tsar of Russia, Nicholas I as Polish king.

In 1836, after abolishing the division into voivodeships in the Congress Poland, they were replaced by the guberniyas. During that time, the Royal Castle became the residence of the Tsar's governor Ivan Paskievich. Paskievich charged Ludvik Corio – a Russian Colonel and architect – with designing new elevations and facades (the west, south and east parts). However, Russian authorities were not satisfied with the new designs and Corio was told to prepare another design – one that would refer to Kubicki's solutions (and his co-workers Lelewel and Thomas). Finally, Corio rebuilt all the elevations and facades in the neoclassical style, but the Saxon Elevation was left the same. After the death of Paskievich in 1856, all the next governors resided in the Royal Castle's Chamberlain's Room. The Russian officials occupied rooms on both floors of the west and north wings of the castle. The governors were heavily guarded by the Russian army. Unfortunately, the living space that was assigned to these soldiers was the Parliamentary Hall, Library and barracks under the Castle. As a result, these were left devastated.

After the January Uprising in 1863, the Russian army totally destroyed the Royal garden on the Vistula side (which was transformed into the military parade square), building a few barracks made of brick for stables and Cossacks' barracks. In 1862–1863 some maintenance work was done in the Royal Castle under the supervision of Jerzy Orłowicz, Ludwik Gosławski and Potolov. In 1890 the Saxon Elevation was rebuilt under the supervision of a builder January Kiślański, when the arcades of both viewing galleries, dating back to the August III period, were deformed. The last repair works, which cost 28 000 rubles, during the reign of Russia, were in 1902 in the rooms which had been occupied by the Russian army.

During the First World War it was the residence of the German military governor. After Poland regained her independence in 1918, the Castle became the residence of the President of Poland. It was restored under the guidance of Kazimierz Skórewicz (1920–1928) and Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz (until 1939). Under the terms of the Peace Treaty signed with Soviet Russia at Riga in 1920, works of art and other precious things, including all the castle furnishings, which had been taken away to Russia, were brought back to Poland. As a result, it was possible to restore the historic rooms to their appearance in the reign of Stanisław II Augustus.

During World War II
On 17 September 1939, the Castle was shelled by German artillery. The roof and the turrets were destroyed by fire (they were partly restored by the Castle's staff, but later deliberately removed by the Germans). The ceiling of the Ballroom collapsed, resulting in the destruction of Bacciarelli's ceiling fresco The Creation of the World and other rooms were slightly damaged. But immediately after the seizure of Warsaw by the Germans, their occupation troops set to demolish the castle. The more valuable objects, even including the central heating and ventilation installations, were dismantled and taken away to Germany.

On 4 October 1939 in Berlin, Adolf Hitler issued the order to blow up the Royal Castle. On 10 October 1939, special German units, under the supervision of history and art experts (Dr. Dagobert Frey, an art historian at the University of Breslau; Gustaw Barth, the director of museums in Breslau, and Dr. Joseph Mühlmann, an art historian from Vienna) started to demount floor, marbles, sculptures and stone elements such as fireplaces or moulds. The artefacts were taken to Germany or stored in Kraków's warehouses. Many of them were also seized by various Nazi dignitaries who resided in Warsaw. The Castle was totally emptied. Disobeying German orders, despite the danger of being shot, Polish museum staff and experts in art restoration managed to save many of the works of art from the castle, as well as fragments of the stucco-work, the parquet floors, the wood panelling, and more which were later used in the reconstruction. The great service done to Poland by Professor Stanisław Lorentz, in leading this campaign to save the castle's treasures, is well known. Wehrmacht sappers then bored tens of thousands of holes for dynamite charges in the stripped walls.

In 1944, after the collapse of the Warsaw Uprising, when hostilities had already ceased, the Germans blew up the Castle's demolished walls. Leveling the Royal Castle was only a part of a larger plan – the Pabst Plan – the goal of which was to build a monumental Community Hall (ger. Volkshalle) or an equally sizable Congress Hall of NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers Party – ger. Parteivolkshalle) in the Royal Castle's place and to replace the Sigismund's Column with the Germania Monument.

A pile of rubble, surmounted by only two fragments of walls, was all that was left of the six-hundred-year-old edifice. On one of these fragments part of the stucco decoration remained, this was a cartouche with the royal version of the motto of the Order of the White Eagle — "PRO FIDE, LEGE ET REGE" (for Faith, Law, and King).

Reconstruction

Immediately after the end of war in 1945, work started on rescuing the surviving fragments of the castle's walls, foundations, and cellars as well as the fire-blackened walls of the Copper-Roof Palace and the Royal Library building, from further destruction. In 1949 the Polish Parliament passed a bill to rebuild the Castle as a monument to Polish history and culture. Meanwhile, special architectural designing offices, under Jan Dąbrowski, Piotr Biegański and Jan Zachwatowicz, drew up blueprints for restoring the framework of the building and furnishing the historical rooms. The decision to start work was postponed several times, but was finally taken on 20 January 1971. A Civic Committee was set up. Amid universal applause it was decided to rebuild the castle from voluntary contributions. Both, in Poland and abroad fund-raising committees were set up.

By May 1975 the Fund had already reached the 500 million zlotys. By the same date more than a thousand valuable works of art had been given to the Castle by numerous Poles resident both in Poland and abroad. Official representatives of other countries have likewise presented to the Castle works of art of great artistic and historic value.

Today
The imposing façade, built of brick, is 90 m long and faces the Castle Square. At each end of the façade stands a square tower with a bulbous spire. The Sigismund's Tower is located in the centre of the main façade, flanked on both sides by the castle. This huge clock tower (60 m in height), designed in the 17th century, has always been a symbol of the Polish capital and source of inspiration for the architects of other buildings in Warsaw. The castle now serves as a museum and is subordinated to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Many official visits and state meetings are also held in the Royal Castle.

Interior
The interior consists of many different rooms, all painstakingly restored with as much original exhibits as possible after the destruction of the Second World War.

These rooms, which belonged to the residence of Sigismund Augustus, are now host to a number of portraits of the Jagiellon dynasty, a royal dynasty originating in Lithuania that reigned in some Central European countries between the 14th and 16th century. In 2011 the Jagiellonian Rooms were re-arranged to house the modern Gallery of Painting, Sculpture and Decorative Arts.
 * The Jagiellonian Rooms

From the 16th century onwards, Polish democracy started here. In 1573, amendments to the constitution of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were written here, with great religious tolerance. Also, during the Deluge in 1652, the liberum veto was established in these rooms, although not carried out until 1669. In 1791, the May Constitution, Europe's first modern codified national constitution as well as the second-oldest national constitution in the world, was drafted here. The decorations in the room are replicas of the originals by Giovanni Battista di Quadro.
 * The Houses of Parliament

In these apartments, King Stanisław Augustus Poniatowski lived. They consist of the Canaletto room, in which several painted views of Warsaw are on display. These were not painted by Canaletto, but rather by his nephew, Bernardo Bellotto also called il Canaletto. Jean-Baptiste Pillement worked between 1765 and 1767 on one of his largest projects, the wallpaper. Domenico Merlini designed the adjacent Royal Chapel in 1776. Nowadays, the heart of Tadeusz Kościuszko is kept here in an urn. The Audience Rooms are also designed by Merlini, with four paintings by Marcello Bacciarelli on display. Andrzej Grzybowski took care of the restoration of the room, that included many original pieces.
 * The Royal Apartments

In 1994 Countess Karolina Lanckorońska donated 37 pictures to the Royal Castle. Collection includes two paintings (portraits) by Rembrandt: The Father of the Jewish Bride (also known as The Scholar at the Lectern) and The Jewish Bride (also known as The Girl in a Picture Frame) both originally in the Stanisław Augustus Poniatowski collection.
 * Lanckoroński Collection

In December 2018, the Castle acquired a violin created by Antonio Stradivari in 1685. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Poland regaining its independence, the instrument was officially given the name Polonia. The virtuoso violinist Jerzy Wawrowski is the only person who is allowed to play on the instrument.

In December 2018, a painting by Marcello Bacciarelli titled Portrait of Jerzy Mniszech with Daughter Elizabeth and Kiopek (1795), which was considered missing, was returned to the Castle's collections.

Copper-Roof Palace
The Copper-Roof Palace has since 1989 been a branch of the Royal Castle Museum. The palace is contiguous with Warsaw's Royal Castle, and down a slope from the Castle Square and Old Town. It was originally a patrician house of Wawrzyniec Reffus, it was built 1651–1656. After 1657 destruction by the army of George II Rákóczi, it was completely remodeled in 1698–1701 for Jerzy Dominik Lubomirski.

Lubomirski expanded the palace by building a southern wing, perpendicular to the rest of structure, and also expanded the western elevation. Shortly after its construction the palace became known as Palais Martin, after Lubomirski's grandson. In 1720 the palace was rebuilt with an addition of a second northern wing. Additionally the interior was decorated with rococo paintings. After 1777 the palace passed into ownership of Poland's last king, Stanisław II Augustus, who hired the architect Domenico Merlini to once again redesign the inside rooms of the palace and join the library wing of the Royal Castle to it. The king then made a present of the redecorated place to his nephew Prince Józef Poniatowski The younger Poniatowski was a successful commander in the 1794 Kościuszko Uprising, and later one of Napoleon Bonaparte's marshals. Under his ownership the palace became a center of Warsaw's high class social scene. When Warsaw became part of Kingdom of Prussia after the Third Partition of Poland the buildings became the headquarters for the Prussian Ministry of War.

The Copper-Roof Palace was burned in 1944 and reconstructed, based on paintings of Bernardo Bellotto, between 1948 and 1949.

Currently the palace is a museum hosting, inter alia, a permanent exhibition of oriental carpets and other oriental decorative art, donated to the museum by Mrs. Teresa Sahakian. The collection comprises 579 items, 562 of which are textiles.

Interesting facts

 * On 24 May 1829 in the Royal Castle's Senator's Hall, Nicholas I of Russia was crowned King of Poland.
 * On 5 November 1916, the Act of 5 November was announced in the Grand Hall.
 * On 23 April 1935, the April Constitution was signed in the Knight Hall.
 * Stanisław Augustus Poniatowski's regalia are kept in the Royal Chapel. These are the Order of the White Eagle, the ceremonial sword of the Saint Stanisław's Order and aquamarine sceptre.
 * The insignia of presidential power are also stored in the Castle- the stamp of the President, the Jack of the President of the Republic of Poland and national documents, which Ryszard Kaczorowski gave to Lech Wałęsa on 22 December 1990.
 * Many of the Polish legends are connected with the Royal Castle. According to one of them in 1569 the King Sigismund Augustus, who was in mourning after death of his beloved wife Barbara Radziwiłł, asked the renowned sorcerer Master Twardowski to evoke her ghost. The experiment was successful with support of a magic mirror, which today is kept in the Węgrów Cathedral. Despite that some people suspected that it was not the Queen's ghost but closely resembling her king's mistress Barbara Giżanka and the whole event was set up by Giżanka's accomplice Mikołaj Mniszech, king's chamberlain.
 * The Royal Castle in Warsaw is one of the official members of the Association of European Royal Residences.
 * In 2014, the National Bank of Poland issued a 5 zloty coin in a series called "Discover Poland" depicting the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

Chicago replica
In 1979, the historic Gateway Theatre in the Jefferson Park community area of Chicago was purchased by the Copernicus Foundation with the intention of converting it into the seat of the Polish Cultural and Civic Center. Because of the building's historical significance, its interior was kept intact while the exterior was remodelled and a Neo-Baroque clock tower was added to give it the resemblance of the Royal Castle in Warsaw. It is a visual tribute to Chicago's large Polish populace, the largest such presence outside of Poland.

title: Royal Castle, Warsaw


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Incremental encoding

Incremental encoding, also known as front compression, back compression, or front coding, is a type of delta encoding compression algorithm whereby common prefixes or suffixes and their lengths are recorded so that they need not be duplicated. This algorithm is particularly well-suited for compressing sorted data, e.g., a list of words from a dictionary.

For example:

The encoding used to store the common prefix length itself varies from application to application. Typical techniques are storing the value as a single byte; delta encoding, which stores only the change in the common prefix length; and various universal codes. It may be combined with other general lossless data compression techniques such as entropy encoding and dictionary coders to compress the remaining suffixes.

Applications
Incremental encoding is widely used in information retrieval to compress the lexicons used in search indexes; these list all the words found in all the documents and a pointer for each one to a list of locations. Typically, it compresses these indexes by about 40%.

As one example, incremental encoding is used as a starting point by the GNU locate utility, in an index of filenames and directories. The GNU locate utility further uses bigram encoding to further shorten popular filepath prefixes.

title: Incremental encoding


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Thomas W. Palmer

Thomas Witherell Palmer (January 25, 1830 – June 1, 1913) was a U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan. He is considered to be one of the most significant figures in the history of Detroit, Michigan.

Palmer was born in Detroit, where his mother was the daughter of the third Michigan Territorial Judge James Witherell, while his father was a New England merchant who had settled in the city following the War of 1812. Palmer attended the public schools, Thompson's Academy in Palmer (now St. Clair), and studied one year at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He traveled to Spain and South America and then entered the real estate business in Detroit in 1853 and then engaged in lumbering and agricultural pursuits with his future father-in-law, Charles Merrill, beginning in 1855. He served on the first board of directors and as the first president for the Michigan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (now known as the Michigan Humane Society).

He served on the Board of Estimates of Detroit in 1873 and was a member of the Michigan State Senate 1879–1880. He was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1883 after decorated Senator Thomas W. Ferry handpicked Palmer as his successor. He served from March 4, 1883 to March 3, 1889. He was not a candidate for reelection. He was chairman of the Committee on Fisheries in the 49th Congress, and the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry in the 50th Congress. While in the Senate, he became known as an advocate for the women's suffrage movement, immigration restrictions, and homesteader rights. He is credited with coining a phrase widely adopted by latter-day reformers, Equal rights for all, special privileges to none. On February 6, 1885, he delivered a noted speech arguing in favor of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women's suffrage.

Palmer was appointed United States Minister to Spain on March 12, 1889, by U.S. President Benjamin Harrison and served from June 17, 1889, to April 19, 1890. He was president of the National Commission of the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago 1890–1893. He retired to his Wayne County farm near Detroit.

Palmer and his wife, Lizzie Pitts Merrill Palmer, became known for their generous gifts to the city of Detroit. Among his activities, Palmer was one of the major benefactors of the Michigan Soldiers and Sailors Monument erected at Campus Martius. In honor of his mother, he built the Mary W. Palmer Memorial Church. He was also one of the founders and the first president of the Detroit Museum of Art (now known as the Detroit Institute of Arts), to which he contributed $16,000 and its current building stands on the site of Palmer's former home.

Lizzie Palmer in 1901 commissioned the Merrill Fountain in Campus Martius, dedicated in honor of her father. New York architects Carrere and Hastings are responsible for the design. The fountain was moved to Palmer Park in 1926. She bequeathed $3 million to found the Merrill-Palmer Institute in 1916, which is a national center for child and family development and is now affiliated with Wayne State University and located in the former house of Charles Lang Freer.

In 1897, Palmer donated 140 acres (60 hectares) of land along Woodward Avenue to the city for use as a public park. This land formed the basis of Palmer Park. Palmer had inherited the land from his grandfather Michigan Territorial Judge James Witherell. In 1885, the Palmers had had the prominent architecture firm of Mason & Rice design a rustic log cabin-style summer house on the land, which still remains in the park, although it is currently closed to visitors.

Palmer was a Unitarian and a member of the Freemasons. He died in Detroit and is interred in Elmwood Cemetery.

title: Thomas W. Palmer


text: Category:Parts of speech

title: Category:Parts of speech


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Table engine

A table engine is a variety of stationary steam engine where the cylinder is placed on top of a table-shaped base, the legs of which stand on the baseplate which locates the crankshaft bearings. The piston rod protrudes from the top of the cylinder and has fixed to it a cross-head which runs in slides attached to, and rising from, the cylinder top. Long return rods connect the crosshead to the crankshaft, on which is fixed the flywheel.

This pattern of engine was first introduced by James Sadler at the Portsmouth Dockyard in 1798 and was house-built in that its framing was formed by the engine house, as had been common practice for beam engines.

Henry Maudslay patented an improved version of this a few years later, and other makers adopted the configuration.

It was supplied for low-speed, low-power applications around the first half of the nineteenth century. They continued to be made in a range of sizes, down to very small, with a bore and stroke of only a few inches.

The table engine was one of the first types where the engine was constructed as an independent unit, rather than being house-built. This made the engines cheaper, and more importantly quicker, to erect on site. Entire engines could be built and tested at their factory before delivery. Engines could also be pre-built, then offered for sale from stock, rather than having to be designed and constructed for each site.

One reason for the continued use of a vertical cylinder was the belief that with a horizontal cylinder, the weight of the piston within the cylinder would lead to uneven wear on the lower bore of the cylinder. This erroneous view was not dispelled until around 1830 and the increasing number of steam locomotives using horizontal cylinders without such wear problems.

title: Table engine


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Carney Island

Carney Island (-73.95°N, -121°W) is an ice-covered island, 70 nmi long with all but its north coast lying within the Getz Ice Shelf, Antarctica. It is located between Siple Island and Wright Island along the coast of Marie Byrd Land.

Name
Carney Island was first delineated (except for its south part) from aerial photographs taken by United States Navy Operation Highjump (OpHjp) in January 1947. It was named by the United States Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) after Admiral Robert Carney (1895–1990), Chief of Naval Operations during the organization of Operation Deep Freeze support for the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957–1958.

Cape Gates
-73.58333°N, -122.63333°W. An ice-covered cape which marks the northwest extremity of Carney Island along the coast of Marie Byrd Land. First mapped by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from aerial photographs taken by United States Navy OpHjp in January 1947. Named by US-ACAN for Thomas S. Gates, Under Secretary of the Navy before and during the Navy's Deep Freeze expeditions. {{coord|

Ramage Point
-73.65°N, -120.33333°W. An ice-covered point lying just west of Beakley Glacier on the north side of Carney Island, along the coast of Marie Byrd Land. Delineated from aerial photographs taken by United States Navy OpHjp in January 1947. Named by US-ACAN for R. Admiral L.P. Ramage, United States Navy, Assistant Chief of Naval Operations, Ships Operations and Readiness, in the post 1957-58 IGY period. {{coord|

Beakley Glacier
-73.85°N, -119.83333°W. A glacier on the west side of Duncan Peninsula on Carney Island, flowing north into Amundsen Sea. Delineated by USGS from aerial photos taken by United States Navy OpHjp in January 1947. Named by US-ACAN for V. Admiral W.M. Beakley, United States Navy, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Ship Operations and Readiness during the IGY period, 1957-58. {{coord|

Cape Leahy
-73.71667°N, -119°W. An ice-covered cape which marks the north extremity of Duncan Peninsula, Carney Island. Discovered and photographed from the air on January 24, 1947, by United States Navy Operation Highjump, 1946-47. Named by R. Adm. Byrd for Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, United States Navy, who, as naval advisor to the President at the time of Operation Highjump, assisted materially at the high-level planning and authorization stages.

Duncan Peninsula
-73.93333°N, -119.5°W. An ice-covered peninsula, 30 nmi long, which forms the east part of Carney Island. Delineated from aerial photographs taken by United States Navy OpHjp in January 1947. Named by US-ACAN for Admiral Donald B. Duncan, United States Navy (Ret.), Vice Chief of Naval Operations under Admiral Carney during the IGY period of 1957-58.

title: Carney Island


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User talk:80.41.146.1

Hi. Thanks for your contributions. You might wish to choose a user name and become a logged on user here. Cheers, -- Infrogmation 16:05, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:80.41.146.1


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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bigidi

Jamaican dictdef Salasks 16:08, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Creole dictdef, not very likely to be Wiktionary. Geogre 17:38, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * DDDS. - UtherSRG 18:06, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete dicdef. -- Cyrius|✎ 21:52, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)

title: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bigidi


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Laser-induced fluorescence

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) or laser-stimulated fluorescence (LSF) is a spectroscopic method in which an atom or molecule is excited to a higher energy level by the absorption of laser light followed by spontaneous emission of light. It was first reported by Zare and coworkers in 1968.

LIF is used for studying structure of molecules, detection of selective species and flow visualization and measurements. The wavelength is often selected to be the one at which the species has its largest cross section. The excited species will after some time, usually in the order of few nanoseconds to microseconds, de-excite and emit light at a wavelength longer than the excitation wavelength. This fluorescent light is typically recorded with a photomultiplier tube (PMT) or filtered photodiodes.

Types
Two different kinds of spectra exist, disperse spectra and excitation spectra.

The disperse spectra are performed with a fixed lasing wavelength, as above and the fluorescence spectrum is analyzed. Excitation scans on the other hand collect fluorescent light at a fixed emission wavelength or range of wavelengths. Instead the lasing wavelength is changed.

An advantage over absorption spectroscopy is that it is possible to get two- and three-dimensional images since fluorescence takes place in all directions (i.e. the fluorescence signal is usually isotropic). The signal-to-noise ratio of the fluorescence signal is very high, providing a good sensitivity to the process. It is also possible to distinguish between more species, since the lasing wavelength can be tuned to a particular excitation of a given species which is not shared by other species.

LIF is useful in the study of the electronic structure of molecules and their interactions. It has also been successfully applied for quantitative measurement of concentrations in fields like combustion, plasma, spray and flow phenomena (such as molecular tagging velocimetry), in some cases visualizing concentrations down to nanomolar levels. LED-induced fluorescence has been used in situ to delineate aromatic hydrocarbon contamination as a cone penetrometer add on module and also as a percussive capable asset.

Applications

 * Detection of purity
 * Optical tumor diagnosis
 * Imaging of paleontological specimens
 * Detection and quantification of biomolecules and biological processes (e.g. DNA sequencing, trace protein analysis, polymerase chain reaction products, and single-cell analysis)
 * In plasma diagnostics, which measures plasma properties such as the ion distribution function and velocity space diffusion and convection in a plasma

title: Laser-induced fluorescence


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Prayer of Columbus

"Prayer of Columbus" is a poem written by American poet Walt Whitman. The poem evokes the enterprising spirit of the Christopher Columbus in a God-fearing light, who rediscovered the North American continent in 1492, leading to the colonization of the Americas by the emerging European powers. Although the Viking Leif Ericson has generally been credited as having discovered the North American continent roughly 500 years earlier, Columbus' rediscovery has had a more lasting impact on the colonization trends that continued until around the onset of World War I. Thus, Whitman's poem serves as a fitting tribute to the proper explorer.

Portions of Whitman's "Prayer of Columbus" have been inscribed in gilded letters in the marble wall of the Archives/Navy Memorial metro station in Washington, D.C.

Musical settings
In modern times the poem has been set to music by various composers including:
 * Robert Strassburg

title: Prayer of Columbus


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Thomas Brown (Florida politician)

Thomas Brown (October 24, 1785 – August 24, 1867) was an American politician who served as Florida's second Governor from 1849 to 1853. He is buried at the Old City Cemetery in Tallahassee.

Early life
Thomas Brown was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, United States, home to George Washington, James Monroe, and others.

Brown served in the War of 1812, and subsequently became chief clerk of the post office at Richmond. While in that position, he invented the post office letter box.

In 1828, Brown moved with his family to the Florida Territory.

Politics
Brown, a Whig, became auditor of the Florida Territory in 1834, president of the legislative council in 1838, a member of the constitutional convention in 1839, and a member of the first Florida House of Representatives under statehood in 1845.

Governor of Florida
As governor, Brown tried to improve Florida's transportation system. Also, he complained that Florida was making slow progress on education. On January 6, 1853, he signed the bill that provided public support to higher education. East Florida Seminary in Ocala was one of the first schools to utilize this funding, but it soon closed due to the Civil War. In 1866, EFS reopened in Gainesville, and the University of Florida traces its history to this institution. Brown was inspired by the discovery of the rich muck lands of the Lake Okeechobee area and encouraged cattlemen and farmers, protected by the Florida militia, to enter the region. Brown also made an effort to determine whether the Everglades should be drained. During this period, Fort Myers was developed into a full-sized village.

In December 1855, Lt. George Hartsuff, on a "survey" of Seminole facilities, ran survey lines across Billy Bowlegs' prize banana garden and the Seminole Indians returned to war.

Other accomplishments, and death
Brown was an active Mason for more than 60 years, serving as Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of the State of Florida from 1834-1836 and compiling a book on Masonry. Governor Brown died in Tallahassee on August 24, 1867.

In 1834, Brown built a hotel called Brown's Inn in Tallahassee, located on the west side of Adams Street, between Pensacola and Lafayette streets. In 1839 it was known as the City Hotel, in 1840 as the Adelphi, and later as the Morgan Hotel. It was destroyed by fire in 1886.

title: Thomas Brown (Florida politician)


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Shenzhou 1

Shenzhou 1 launched on 19 November 1999, was the first uncrewed launch of the Shenzhou spacecraft. The spacecraft used was not equipped with a life support system or an emergency escape system. After orbiting the Earth 14 times, the command for retrofire was sent by the Yuan Wang 3 tracking ship off the coast of Namibia at 18:49 UTC. After a successful reentry it landed about 415 km east of its launch pad and 110 km north-west of Wuhai, Inner Mongolia.

The first Shenzhou spacecraft was different from those later used. Instead of featuring unfolding solar panels, Shenzhou 1 was equipped with fixed solar cells. During this first flight there were also no orbit changes. According to Qi Faren, the chief designer of the spacecraft, only 8 of the 13 sub-systems on board the spacecraft were operational. Shenzhou 1 was designed primarily to test the Long March 2F rocket. The only systems and capabilities tested on the spacecraft were the separation of the modules, attitude control, lifting body reentry, the heat shield, and ground recovery.

The spacecraft is thought to have carried 100 kg of seeds to investigate the effects on them of the space environment. It is also thought that the front of the Orbital module was equipped with a dummy ELINT package, with Shenzhou 2 onwards equipped with fully functional models.

It was announced in June 1999 that the flight would take place in October of that year. At about the same time images were released on a Chinese military internet forum of the Long March 2F launcher and the Vehicle Assembly Building that would be used. After a reported propellant explosion at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (though the explosion was denied by Chinese officials) the launch was pushed back.

Mission parameters

 * NSSDC ID: 1999-061A
 * Mass: 7600 kg
 * Perigee: 195 km
 * Apogee: 315 km
 * Inclination: 42.6°
 * Period: 89.6 minutes

title: Shenzhou 1


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Comparison of Logo to Pascal

 * Such a minor branch of a subject that it doesn't deserve an article
 * No potential to become encyclopedic
 * Completely idiosyncratic non-topic
 * Delete: Inherently POV and of very limited usefulness. It amounts to a review or evaluation, so it's not appropriate for an encyclopedia. Geogre 17:31, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete, although some information might be merged into either of the language's articles. - UtherSRG 18:05, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Both Logo and Pascal are of course worthy of articles, but this article serves no purpose. Denni ☯ 18:36, 2004 Jul 31 (UTC)


text: File:WhiteBikesVeluwe.jpg

title: File:WhiteBikesVeluwe.jpg


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Talk:DVDA

Removed dubious claim from the article:

 * ''Although this position occurs during the events of the movie (offscreen, of course), it would seem to be physically impossible, but it was achieved in a pornographic film released in 2003 called: DVDA. See:

According to the blurb for the film, it depicts dual vaginal penetration, and also dual anal penetration, both of which are quite believable and well documented practices, but not both at once. Putting two penis-sized objects into each orifice of the receptive partner is not the problem, given someone used to dilating themselves to that degree, and large amounts of lubricant. The problem is geometry. Think about it: where do all four male performer's pelvises go in a hypothetical DVDA? -- Karada 16:27, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:DVDA


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A Collection of Beatles Oldies

A Collection of Beatles Oldies (subtitled But Goldies!) is a compilation album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released in the United Kingdom in December 1966, it features hit singles and other songs issued by the group between 1963 and 1966. The compilation served as a stopgap release to satisfy EMI's demand for product during the Christmas period, since the Beatles had only begun recording Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the follow-up to their Revolver album, late the previous month. It was the band's first official greatest hits collection, although the Beatles had no involvement in the album.

The album's preparation and release coincided with rumours in the press that the group were on the verge of splitting up. This speculation was encouraged by the band members' high-profile individual activities since completing their final US tour, in late August 1966, and the announcement that, unlike in previous years, the Beatles would not be performing any concerts in Britain at the end of the year. The album cover is a painting combining contemporary psychedelic and op art themes and was commissioned by the band's manager, Brian Epstein. To adherents of the "Paul is dead" hoax, the artwork offered the first clues relating to the alleged demise of Paul McCartney and his replacement in the Beatles by a lookalike, a scenario that is said to have taken place in November 1966 and been facilitated by the group's retirement from live performance.

A Collection of Beatles Oldies offered the debut album release in Britain for many of the band's singles, although these songs had been available on compilation EPs since their initial release. It also provided the debut release in stereo for these recordings, since the Beatles favoured mono mixes for their singles until 1969. The compilation peaked at number 7 on the UK Albums Chart, where all the band's previous albums had held the top spot. It was also released in some other European countries and, in 1968, in Australia. The album was deleted from the Beatles' catalogue following the reissue of their albums on compact disc in 1987.

Background
The Beatles made the decision to retire from live performance in 1966, dissatisfied at playing to audiences of screaming fans, and following a series of controversies that had tarnished the band's image throughout the year. Those controversies included the unfavourable reaction to the butcher cover originally used for the band's American album Yesterday and Today, death threats and political incidents during their visits to Japan and the Philippines, and condemnation from some religious groups in America in response to John Lennon's comment that the Beatles had become more popular than Christ. After completing their world tour on 29 August, the four band members took a break from group activities for three months. Due to the attention that their individual activities received, by early November, rumours in the press claimed that the band were breaking up. Alternatively, according to a report in The Sunday Telegraph, the Beatles were to sever ties with their longtime manager, Brian Epstein, and instead be represented by Allen Klein. Fans of the band were disappointed by the announcement that, in a break from the tradition established in 1963, the Beatles were not playing any UK shows over the Christmas period. On 10 November, four days after 200 fans had demonstrated outside Epstein's home in central London, newspapers reported that there would be no further concert tours by the Beatles.

Although Epstein voiced support for the Beatles' continuing evolution as artists, highlighting the advances they had made with their August 1966 album Revolver, this period was one of doubt and anxiety for him. As a manager who thrived on organising the group's concert appearances, he began to worry that their enormous popularity might be coming to an end, or would diminish in the absence of new musical product. In the Beatles' absence, The Monkees – a television show starring four California-based musician-actors, brought together as a Beatles-like act – had first aired in September and soon won over the teenybopper audience that the band had sought to lose. In late October, Epstein informed EMI that, unlike in the previous three years, no new Beatles material would be ready in time for a Christmas release. As a result, the record company planned a compilation album, titled A Collection of Beatles Oldies (But Goldies!), for release in Britain and other territories overseen by EMI.

According to their press officer, Tony Barrow, the Beatles were opposed to the release of the compilation. The band returned to work on 24 November, when they began the recording sessions for their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Although an article in Melody Maker stated that the band would issue a new single in December, the only other scheduled release, aside from the new compilation, was the Beatles' annual fan-club Christmas record. Writing in 1977, author Nicholas Schaffner commented that it was surprising that EMI's US counterpart, Capitol Records, did not also issue the compilation album, given the company's policy of maximising the number of Beatles releases in North America.

Song selection
A Collection of Beatles Oldies was the band's first official greatest-hits set and their eighth official album release in Britain. The album was hurriedly prepared, to satisfy EMI's concerns. A cover version of Larry Williams' "Bad Boy" was the sole new track for the UK market, although it had already been released in the United States, on the Capitol album Beatles VI in June 1965. Thirteen of the fifteen other songs had been issued as singles, all of which had topped the national chart compiled by Record Retailer magazine (subsequently adopted as the UK Singles Chart). "Love Me Do" and "Please Please Me", the Beatles' first two hit singles, were not included.

The compilation provided the debut UK album release for the following singles tracks: "From Me to You", "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "I Feel Fine", "Day Tripper", "We Can Work It Out" and "Paperback Writer". The two songs that had not been issued as UK singles (apart from "Bad Boy"), "Yesterday" and "Michelle", had each been number 1 hits in other European countries overseen by EMI. Aside from their appearances on albums or as standalone singles, most of the songs on A Collection of Beatles Oldies had also been available on the various compilation EPs issued by EMI since 1963, one of which was the December 1965 release The Beatles' Million Sellers. EMI therefore pushed for the inclusion of "Bad Boy", to ensure that British fans had a reason to buy the new compilation album.

Stereo mixing
Several tracks, including "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "Day Tripper", "We Can Work It Out" and "Paperback Writer", were remixed in stereo for the album, since the majority of the Beatles' singles had only been mixed for mono release previously. The stereo mixing was overseen by George Martin, the Beatles' producer, with none of the band members present. The mixing sessions took place between 31 October and 10 November 1966 at EMI Studios (later Abbey Road Studios) in London.

Martin was surprised at how time-consuming the remixing of "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" proved to be. In the case of "She Loves You", the 1963 two-track recording tape had since been reused, forcing EMI engineer Geoff Emerick to return to the mono master and create a "mock stereo" mix. This was achieved by removing the high frequencies from the left channel and the low frequencies from the right. They had also intended to remix "From Me to You", the Beatles' first song to top the Record Retailer chart, but this did not take place.

The final day of the album's preparation was carried out without Martin and Emerick. Author Kenneth Womack writes of their absence, as of the Beatles' non-participation: "Clearly, A Collection of Beatles Oldies was the sole priority of EMI at this juncture." Two other EMI engineers, Peter Bown and Graham Kirkby, remixed "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out" that day. They then worked on "This Boy", the B-side of "I Want to Hold Your Hand", but this was due to a miscommunication with EMI's office in Manchester Square, where the song had been confused with "Bad Boy". The error was discovered later, by which point there was no time to remix "Bad Boy" and the original mix was used for the compilation.

Artwork
The album cover is a painting by artist David Christian, who captured the vibrant colours then popular in London's Carnaby Street fashion boutiques. In the description of music journalist Martin O'Gorman, the cover image partly reflects the popularity of retro boutiques such as I Was Lord Kitchener's Valet; it also includes a man with a mop-top haircut reclining on a chair and "clad in Day-Glo striped trousers and a garishly patterned tie". O'Gorman adds that, except for the moustaches that the four Beatles had recently grown, the artist had captured the band's new psychedelic image, which would be unveiled in the film clips for the two songs on their next single, "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane". According to a report in the 3 December issue of Billboard magazine, the painting was a "colorful Op-Art" work that had been commissioned by Epstein.

The back of the LP sleeve featured a photograph of the group taken by Robert Whitaker. The photo was taken in the Tokyo Hilton, where the band members were confined for much of their 1966 concert tour of Japan due to security concerns. Author Colin Larkin comments that, in comparison with their look as live performers, their "image as pin-up pop stars was also undergoing a metamorphosis" by late 1966. The Beatles are shown inspecting objets d'art that the Japanese promoter had arranged to have brought to the group's hotel suite, on 1 and 2 July, to help fill the time before their shows at the Budokan Hall.

The LP cover was one of several references to the Beatles that the English band Oasis incorporated into the artwork for their albums and singles from 1994 onwards, at a time when the Britpop movement drew heavily on the visual style of the Beatles' Revolver period. The image of the Beatles in the Tokyo hotel room served as inspiration for the photograph used on Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe, taken by Michael Spencer Jones.

"Paul is dead" interpretation
From Revolver onwards, the Beatles' more dedicated fans began analysing the band's song lyrics for hidden meaning, and, in the description of American academic Camille Paglia, their album covers were also "feverishly scrutinized for clues and coded messages". The cover of A Collection of Beatles Oldies was viewed as the first example of the Beatles leaving clues relating to the "Paul is dead" hoax. This theory, which escalated in late 1969, contended that Paul McCartney had been decapitated in a car crash in November 1966 and replaced in the band by a lookalike – a subterfuge that was facilitated by their retirement from live performance and change of image for Sgt. Pepper. Proponents of the theory noted that four figures were pictured around a car in the top left corner of the painting, and that another car appeared to be heading straight towards the head of the man reclining in the chair, who supposedly looked most like McCartney out of all the Beatles. In addition, if the first two letters of the word printed on the bass drum, "OLDIES", are each advanced alphabetically, the word becomes a message stating "PM [for Paul McCartney] dies".

The back-cover photo is also cited as evidence in the "Paul is dead" hoax, because of McCartney's atypical black attire, his distance from Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison, and the appearance of smoke around him. This clue represents ectoplasm, suggesting, in the description of author Nicholas Kollerstrom, that McCartney's presence is merely an "apparition".

Release
EMI's Parlophone label released A Collection of Beatles Oldies on 9 December 1966. With speculation continuing to surround the Beatles' future, Independent Television News (ITN) filmed its Reporting '66 segment outside EMI Studios on 20 December; each of the band members was interviewed on arrival and assured ITN's reporter that they were not going to break up. Otherwise, the only television appearance that month by a member of the Beatles was when Lennon appeared in the Not Only ... But Also Christmas special. On Record Retailer's LPs chart (later the UK Albums Chart), where all of the group's previous albums had held the top position for a minimum of seven weeks, the compilation reached number 7. On the national chart published by Melody Maker, it peaked at number 4.

At this time, the Beatles came second in the World Vocal Group category in the NME's annual readers poll, finishing with 5221 votes to the Beach Boys' 5321 – marking the only year between 1963 and 1969 that the Beatles failed to win in that category. Reports in Billboard and KRLA Beat attributed this result partly to the lack of new music from the band, and the fact that they had not toured the UK in 1966. According to author Jonathan Gould, Epstein's concern was the Monkees, whose rise influenced his decision to cede to EMI's demands and release "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" as a single in February 1967.

According to Official Charts Company researcher Sharon Mawer, EMI had been expecting to achieve the "biggest album" of the year with the first compilation of the Beatles' greatest hits, but A Collection of Beatles Oldies proved to be "one of the biggest miscalculations of the pop charts". She concluded that fans were unwilling to pay for an LP that, aside from "Bad Boy", repackaged recordings they already owned and "The era of the successful Greatest Hits compilation was not yet with us." The album was released in Australia in 1968, after EMI's regional office had issued two greatest hits sets exclusive to the local market, in late 1966 and early 1967. There, the retrospectively compiled Kent Music Report recorded a chart peak for A Collection of Beatles Oldies of number 7. The album returned to the UK chart on several occasions in the early 1970s, including placing at number 32 in April 1970 and number 38 in July 1972.

Critical reception
Among contemporary reviews, Tracks commented that the album "ought to give some indication of how the Beatles have developed, but it proves mainly how much more variety there is in their albums than in their singles". Record Mirror reviewer criticised the omission of "Please Please Me" and considered "Bad Boy" "probably the worst on the album". The writer said that the album would only appeal to "the occasional Beatle buyers", but added, "doubtless there are enough of them to make this into a chart-topper."

Writing in the 1970s, NME critics Roy Carr and Tony Tyler said of the compilation: "Once again, it was Christmas – and the Beatles had no new product to give to EMI for their Santa sack! As a last resort, a predictable collection of oldies was hastily assembled and crammed into an inferior Carnaby-Street-style carrier-bag sleeve." They also commented on the record company's propensity, starting in 1963, for releasing the Beatles' hits and other previously issued songs on EPs – an approach they describe as an "Old Ukrainian saying: if it moves, sell it". Author Robert Rodriguez criticises EMI's commercial motivation, adding: "It must have been obvious to anyone paying attention that, given the low-rent design and their own oft-stated aversion to compilations, the Beatles had nothing to do with this project."

Writing for Rough Guides, Chris Ingham describes it as a "fair, if safe, mid-career compendium". In his review for AllMusic, Richard Ginell says that EMI did give fans value for their money, by offering sixteen songs instead of the usual quota of fourteen for a British LP release, one of which was the previously unissued track. Ginell writes that, in retrospect, the compilation stands as "a decent summing up of the Beatles' achievement just before the plunge into 'Strawberry Fields' and Sgt. Pepper".

According to a December 1971 report in Billboard on the preference for UK-pressed LPs among Los Angeles record-buyers, A Collection of Beatles Oldies was one of the most popular imported titles, and recognised as good value for its generous number of songs relative to the US industry standard. For many years after its release, the 1966 compilation remained the only British album to contain the Beatles' version of "Bad Boy". Although briefly available on the Music for Pleasure budget label, it was superseded by subsequent compilations: the band's 1962–1966 greatest hits set, released in 1973, contained fifteen of the songs; the remaining track, "Bad Boy", was then included on the 1976 compilation Rock 'n' Roll Music. A Collection of Beatles Oldies was deleted from the Beatles' catalogue following the reissue of their albums on compact disc in 1987.

Track listing
All songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney except "Bad Boy" by Larry Williams.

title: A Collection of Beatles Oldies